It's Over!

The christmas shopping season is over! Finally! It's not that it was horrible it's that it never seems to end. Sale after sale, cranky customers, messy people - really would it kill you to put it back where you found it.

Now maybe I can claim my house back. I'm seriously considering using my christmas money to go to the laundry mat and catch up. There's probably somewhere around a dozen loads. My dad made a comment about having to much clothing, what he doesn't realise is that isn't really the case. I just haven't gotten any of the summer clothes washed and packed, they're still laying in piles everywhere.

But I want yarn too. Decisions, decisions.

So I think my favorite present wasn't really a present for me. My mom got a new flat monitor for her computer so I got the hand me down. It's brighter and so much bigger than mine. Yay!

For christmas I got an accessory pack for my gameboy, a stuffed penguin, a heart christmas ornament, earrings, $25, Tracy Ulman's knitting book Knit Together, a full set of bamboo knitting needles, two Diana Krall CDs and the Knitting Pattern-A-Day 2007 calendar.

The kids got quite a bit but the MIL finally slowed down, she didn't buy nearly as much as she usually does. Everything should actually fit this year.

Well I better go get a load in the washer now that the dishwasher has finished.

In Memory

For Duty Calls
(In Memory of Count Sarnac Kir)
Catherine of Eoforwic (c) 2006

The trumpets sound, throughout the halls,
He does not come, for Duty calls.
Seek now him not, for he's not found,
He's gone ahead, for Duty calls.

The pipes, they cry, echo the walls,
He answers not, for Duty calls.
Hail now him not, for this is why:
He heard the Song, for Duty calls.

As strong he stood, then sudden falls,
Although he fights, for Duty calls.
We left him not, we never could,
He travelled on, for Duty calls.

He served as Khan, white mammoth bawls,
His humour served, for Duty calls.
It harmed him not, as crown passed on,
He tread the path, for Duty calls.

T'is not the end, for though voice drawls,
His mem'ry lives, for Duty calls.
Forget him not, forever, friend,
His Game is Ours, for Duty calls.

Farewell to a great man

Count Sarnac passed away yesterday Dec. 4/06

I did not know him well but he is the first King I remember. Until Sarnac took the thrown I did not pay attention to the royalty of Ealdormere, my kingdom. But he filled that crown. I still remember his vigil - dishes. His was the first knighting I witnessed and I will never forget the slap that he took with pride, it echoed, it like the man he was left an imprint.

We need to live every moment. You never know when it could all be over.

Finally

It's finally starting to feel like christmas. There's snow on the ground, people are shopping, carols are on the radio, gifts being ordered & wrapped.

Getting in the christmas mood is hard for me some years, working at the mall kind of kills it. But the mood has finally hit so today I'm going to pull out my control jourmal and check those fly missions.

So yes we have snow, about 3 inches, and of course everyone has forgotten how to drive in it. My truck tends to spin the tires when pulling away from the corner so I take it slow and make sure no one is coming.

Well some arse behind me today was honking his horn at me. Wouldn't you think that if someone lets a car turn before them and waits for the plow to go across that maybe just maybe there's a reason for it.

I'm tempted to put a sign on the back of the truck: "This truck slides & skids. Be patient or at least stick around when I hit the ditch." Do you think that would work?

Recent Adventures in Knitting

So since Nov. 2nd

Completed:

• 3 pairs of wristlets
• a cable knit toque for hubby

Currently on the needles:

• a pair of socks for me
• a crochet shawl that I want to wear to hubby's work party - luckily the party is probably going to be in January
• a test baby sweater - I'm trying to knit it as one so that I don't have to sew any of it together. So far not a problem the sleeves however maybe a different story. We'll see.

Need to make for christmas

• 2 pairs of wristlets
• a matching hat & scarf
• a knitted doll
  
• maybe a knitted stocking or two - hubby & I need new ones
• maybe knitted ornaments - always makes for nice gifts
  

The Ups & Downs of my vacation week: part 2

Wednesday cont...

So anyway I mentioned to my friends while we were working that I really want to get rid of the couch (it's 30yrs old) and go to two love seats instead. Well later that night my one friend phones me to let me know she's found two matching loveseats, do I want to go see them?

Thursday Oct 26th

Drop the kids at school & off I go to KW to look at two loveseats. They were fabulous and are now residing in my livingroom - they look great! I spent the rest of the day lounging on the couch watching bad tv and knitting. And then took the kids out to work for the little halloween thing they had.

Friday Oct 27th

I went into work in the morning to check on a couple of thing and then left again. Ran some errands, cleaned a little and sat to knit.

Later in the afternoon my mom phoned with some bad news. My uncle (my dad's brother) had died. I was in shock and kinda lost after that.

At 5 o'clock I picked up hubby and we went to KW for dinner & shopping for halloween stuff. We ended up finding knitting needles and books for the kids but no costume stuff. I did my best to block out the thoughts of my uncle, I just wasn't ready to deal with it.

I did manage to finish dd7's 2 pairs of knitted socks. She loves them.

Saturday Oct 28th

I spent the day with the kids. We went to the farmers market, got our pumpkins and fresh baked cookies. We then went home and spent our time doing crafts and watching halloween specials.

That evening we went to a friends for supper, a visit and to play games. It was a nice distraction and a fun evening.

Sunday Oct 29th

We slept in, sat around watching tv and knitting. I finished one wristlet for my daughter's friend and started the next. Stayed up to late watching movies but didn't care. I was still upset and numb at the same time.

Monday Oct 30th

The funeral was strange in many ways. First off my uncle looks a lot like my dad. It was creepy. I couldn't get close in fact I eventually left the "family viewing room" cause it was just weirding me out. Then there was the music choices. They brought him into "I've got friends in low places." What? That song is now going to be really weird for me.

After all of the funeral stuff we went back to Mom & Dad's, picked up my truck from the garage and they took us out for supper at East Side's. It was nice we had a long dinner & gabbed for about 2hrs. It was a good way to finish an awkward day.

Tuesday Oct 31st - Our 10th Anniversary

Not exactly the ideal anniversary but it was still fun. I spent most of the day fetching candy, decorating, finishing costumes and carving pumpkins. Mike took the kids out trick or treating, I handed out candy and watched Practical Magic. Once the kids got home they poured through thier stash and gave us the stuff they don't like. Not a bad haul actually. We let them stay up late (no school the next day) and watched more movies. Not a bad night at all.

Oh and I got the DVD release set of figures for the Corpse Bride as my anniversary gift. I had them up before the first kids were at the door. lol

And holidays over back to work.

The Ups & Downs of my vacation week

I just completed a much deserved week off from work and I'll admit going back yesterday was hard.

So....

Wed Oct 25: Flyfest at my house

After getting the kids off to school and running to the store for supplies two of my fellow flybabies came over and we attacked my front entrance & livingroom. I know 3 people to clean - why would I need that. Well first off check out flylady and you'll understand a little of it and secondly because even though I take medication for my narcolepsy it doesn't make me "normal". My medication keeps me awake but it doesn't give me a great deal of energy. Think about the last time you had the flu and what you felt like the day after. That is an average day of energy for me. Think of how much you can get done on that day. Now think of only getting that done everyday. What would your house look like?

So needless to say I'm very lucky to have a group of ladies that are willing to put up with my mess and help me out of it. They know I love them.

The two rooms got cleaned, we sorted out stuff to give away (mostly kids shoes) and enjoyed lunch & a good gab session. A fabulous day.

to be continued.......

Spitting Nails (bitch session)

So my employer is running a new service for the holidays and it's big, really big. Myself and my service team went to a company training session yesterday to learn our new job. Everytime a new responsibility or essentail need was brought up I could see all the problems this was going to create for me with the rest of the management team back at work. Enough so that it was apparently showing on my face and got called upon to tell them what was going through my head. They reassured me that these things wouldn't be an issue because this is the direction that the company is going and that it must be supported.

So today I went to work and answered a few of the questions they had without telling them a lot because I didn't want to create issues before the unit manager is on board. Well it went exactly like I thought it would and I am so sick of hearing "Well that's just not possible.", "That's not realistic.", "We're not going to be able to do that here.", "You have to remember......" and much much more.

The day went exactly as I thought it would. The support for this program is just not there and I'm afraid it won't be no matter what is said by those at head office.

First Snow

That's right it's snowing. Great big white flakes. The news this morning called for thunder storms for our area with the possibility of flurries and yet the next town over was predicted snow. I'm glad I made the kids wear thier winter coats.

It's funny the leaves haven't even fallen off all the trees yet.

Dead, dead, I'm dead

I recieved these beautiful geranium red socks of doom in the mail today. I'm dead. I've been wearing them since I got them, even to work. And oh my they are loverly.

They actually helped keep me a little grounded today, it was a crappy day at work today and all I had to do was wiggle my toes to remind me that there are better things in the world and that this was just one day.

Thank you Miss Fee

Socktoberfest Questions

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

Back in January of this year I developed a case of vertigo. It lasted for 3 months. Laying down was bad, standing up was bad (let alone moving), the computer screen made me dizzy, moving my head to much same thing. So I was stuck on my ass for quite a while. I had to do something and I had got a new knitting book for Christmas. So I taught myself to read a pattern and knitting became my new favorite hobby. Socks were always something I wanted to do because I love wearing knitted socks.

What was your first pair?

I didn't adventure into socks until my boss handed me a description of sockwars. It was just so up my alley that I had to sign up. My first completed pair of socks were for a complete stranger and she loves them.

How have they "held up" over time?

Don't know we'll have to see.

What would you have done differently?

Nothing on that pair but I did do a different pattern for myself starting toe up and realised that cuff down is much easier because casting off toe up has to be done very loosely (took me four tries) to get them around your heel. The pair I made still have barely enough give to get them on easily.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

My favorite so far for socks was the Australian DK 100% marino that I made nuttnbunny's socks out of. I am currently making a pair of wristlets for myself out of the left over yarn (not quite enough for socks).

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

I like to knit them cuff down using the Magic Loop method two or more at a time. I currently have two pairs of kids socks on the needle right now. My kids felt left out that I had knitted socks & my Target had some but not them. My youngest daughter picked out a self striping yarn from Regia herself.

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

I'm not sure yet - as long as it looks good I don't care.

However I am thinking that I need to have a re-enforced toe for my youngest. All her socks get holes in the toe and I've never been one for darning. My grandmother did teach me how to darn though, she always fixed everyone's socks. She didn't knit but boy could she mend anything you gave her. I guess that's what happens when you raise 8 kids.

How many pairs have you made?

I have completed 2 pairs. I have 2 more on the needles and yarn for 3 more. What can I say I'm hooked.

Socktoberfest

Yes you read it right.

Socktoberfest Qusetions:

• When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
• What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
• What would you have done differently?
• What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
• Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
• Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
• How many pairs have you made?

I'll answer these later when it's quiet again & my brain is not being overloaded by noisy kids.

LYS - found 2!

So I finally adventured into St. Marys today to see if they had a yarn shop. Well they have 2 places to get yarn & knitting supplies. They also have a sewing shop, a candle making supply shop, a scrapbooking shop and goodness knows what else.

So I now know of 3 half decent places to get yarn within a 30min drive. The one in Waterloo is so far my favorite though, they have the best selection.

My little trip out today also reminded me of just how much I miss going out on my own & going to little shops like that. Working at a mall really turns you off of not only shopping but going out in public period. Franchises be they restaurant or retail have really sucked all the culture out of our surroundings. It all gets boring when everything starts to look, smell, sound and feel the same no matter where you go. It drains you. It turns you into a cog in the system. Fitting everything into a mold.

I hate the mall.

No Sun = No Energy

I know you're saying well duh. But for me this really worries me. I take a stimulant to stay awake during the day and under normal light conditions I get a burst of energy when my meds kick in. When I'm home on a gloomy day I get antsy but still don't have energy.

One of the biggest problems that all these dingy days are creating is that the house looks like shit.

Right now for instance I'm home alone - perfect time to get things done because no is here to object or get in the way. However I don't even know if I could lift my ass out of the chair let alone clean.

I'm wondering if more lighting in the house (and the right kind) would help. I don't have this issue at work because it's always brightly lit in there.

Maybe I'll go research this. Here I come google.

Night 3 without the kids.

Night one was spent adventuring on my drive to KW.

Night two was spent out to dinner with dh and a live blues band playing at the bar followed by a movie at home.

Night three dinner at home and another movie. Dinner at home was however my favorite one yet. Puff pastry appetizers, oven hot baked bread, lamb chops, stuffing, baked potatoes, fresh green beans, and lava cakes for dessert. My man can spoil me when he wants to.

Well now I'm going to go back to my knitting.

Wristlets

So pardon the crappy scan job (man we need a digital camera) but here's the finished wristlet.

This was my first attempt at cable knitting and it ends up it's really easy. Now I have to make the other one and a pair for myself. I wore the one (just in the truck where no one could see that I was lopsided) and they're pretty warm.

I think I'll leave the girly bow off mine and just add an inch or two of ribbing at the top instead. We'll see how it works out.


Pattern: Knit It! magazine Fall/Winter 2006 pg. 75

My little adventure

So this evening I did something that I would never have done before. I left my folks place headed to KW for supper without a clue as to how to get there. That's right I just drove and headed in the general direction of the tri-city area. And you know what it was actually a lot of fun.

I kept to paved roads and just headed north-east. I even beat Mapquests suggested time by 15min. See I looked up a way to go but decided it was to many turns on concessions that I didn't recognize.

So that was my adventure and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Waiting

I seem to be waiting for a lot of things right now.

Waiting for my socks to reach my target, waiting for my socks to come to me from my assassin.

Waiting for a new employee for my old dept.

Waiting for a schedule of the new manager for my old dept.

Waiting to move to my new dept.

Waiting for this cold to leave my house. Right now I'm the one with the fever & aches.

Waiting for the weekend cause the kids are going to the cottage with Nana & Papa. Ah the freedom and most of all the silence.

I think I'm going to go convince my arms that movement is a good thing and start my daughters wristlets.

Socks of Doom - Done!

Not only are my socks of doom complete but they are in the mail. The lucky lady does however have some time cause I could only afford to send them air mail - I'm not paying $40 for 2 day service. I'm in this for the fun not to go broke.

Busy Week

It has indeed been a busy week. I've been kind of promoted at work, I say kinda cause the hours are the same, the pay is the same and I'm still a sale team lead. But I now will have a larger staff, am the 'cheerleader' for account requisitions and will do event planning - so I consider it a step up.

Also this week was hubby's 40th birthday so we went out for dinner on wednesday to KW and had all that fun.

And of course Sock Wars has begun. Right now I'm on row 26 of both socks. The scary part though is that there are some people that are already done. Well we'll see what happens.

The Party is over

Dh's party went off without a hitch. We had about 17 adults & 7 kids. Everyone young & old was well behaved. Dinner was steak, chicken, hotdogs, corn, potatoes, 2 salads, focacia, munchies galore & german chocolate cake (the birthday boy's preference).

The house was mostly clean (never got the bathroom or any bedrooms done), now I just need to declutter more.

Will the clutter never end!

Dh's bday party is this saturday so we are cleaning house. Not only is there the usual mess from the kids but we started going through all the crap that has collected itself in the livingroom & enterance way. It is never ending. I think I have to get back to my 15min decluttering sessions and 27 fling boogies.

We cleaned for about 2hrs yesterday and it doesn't look like we did. We currently have 2 recycle bins full of paper and we could probably fill at least one more. I'm going to have to start bagging it soon just to make it manageble for recycling.

Ta Da's for Tuesday

• Cleaned livingroom floor, couch & entertainment unit
  
• knitted foot of second sock
• called guest about sat.
• started my oct schedule
• gathered all the laundry- 5 bags
  

Friday's Ta Das

• cleaned the livingroom
• found a great painting at the goodwill
• also found 2 shelves with coat pegs, a large basket & a knick knack shelf
• finished sock #1

Ta Da's

• baked cookies
• laundry - 3 loads
• dishes - 1 load
• recycled old xmas cards
• tore up paper for paper making
• knitted
• caught up with Amethyst
• walked dd2 to & from school
• got kids to have a bath
• worked on mending
  

Simple Oatmeal Cookies

1 1/2 c. margarine
1/2 c. shortening
2 c. brown sugar
1 c. white sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 c. flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamon
4 c. oats

Heat oven to 350'. Cream together fats & sugars. Stir in eggs and vanilla until mixture is consistent. Add in flour, baking soda, cinnamon and cardamon. Mix into a smooth dough. Stir in oats through out. Now these cookies are best large to keep the centers soft. Using an ice cream scoop spread six level scoops evenly on the cookie sheet and bake for 10-12min or until tops start to turn golden.

One of those days

Well I think I had energy for about an hour tops today. It's just one of those days where the narcolepsy is in charge. I've been making cookies since about 10am - just one batch not multiple. I just can't get moving. Narcolepsy is one of those weird disorders that you can't predict. At this moment I'm very weak but in a sad way I'm use to it and I know that I'll just have to force my body to move and carry on. After all there's still supper to be made (no idea what) and finish those darned cookies. At least they taste good (I've had 3 so far).

Hmm, maybe a nap will help.

Reading List

Books I want to read, re-read or finish.

~ The Red Tent
~ Blackbird House
~ The Second Summer of the Sisterhood
~ The Marble Fawn
~ Wuthering Heights
~ Anna Karinanin
~ The French Lieutenant's Woman
~ Treasure Island
~ The Turning of The Screw
~ The Birth of Venus

Ta Da's

• Kids off to school on time
• went over control journal with dd1
• knitted sock - just the cuff left
• laundry - 2 loads
• dishes - 1 load
• grocery shopping
• got binders for girls control journals
  

Tuesday's Ta Da's

Forgot to post them last night. Oops.

• 3 loads of laundry
• supper in the crockpot by 11am
• kids off to school on time
  
• kitchen tidied
• unloaded the top of the truck (camping gear)
• 1 load of dishes
• knitted the heel of my sock
• read all the papers home from school
• brewed real ice tea
• water = 2 glasses
  

School's Back

Ah, the house is quiet, dh is at work and the kids are back to school!

Time to do the happy dance!

Family Vacation

Well we're home. Wet but home.

We went camping at a great site, and all was well until the skies decided to dump 24hrs of rain on us.

Friday we packed up and headed to T.O. after hubby was done work. Friday night was spent traveling, setting up camp and then making supper in the dark. We played a game of UNO and then went to bed.

Saturday we got up early & headed downtown to the comic book convention. The convention was horribly run - we had to cross the skywalk from one side to the other, stand in the first line to buy tickets and then stand in a second line to get into the convention and then they had laid the place out so cramped that it was difficult to see anything through the people. They also didn't have the areas clearly defined like they have in the last years. So we wasted $20 on a ticket for me because I looked around for about an hour and then took the kids out of there before I lost them in the crowd. It was just insane. Both my dh and his best friend are talking about never going back, and they've been going for years. I wonder how many other people are thinking the same thing.

Anyway the girls & I went for lunch, went shopping at Aboveground Art Supplies and then to the AGO for a couple of hours.

Now on our way to the convention it started to rain and it kept raining. So by the time we got to supper we had been soaked & had dried about 3 times. I was keeping my fingers crossed that we had a place to sleep at all back at camp. When we returned we discovered that the tent had actually held up pretty well it had leaked in about 3 spots one being on dh's side of the bed. We shuffled around a bit and did manage to get a good nights sleep though.

Sunday we went to the Science Center - due to the rain the place was so busy that the staff there was definitely not prepared so we got to park for free because the had to get people to park in the bus lot. We had a good day though.

So by the time we got home I went straight to bed. It wasn't my ideal vacation but I'll enjoy my time alone once the girls go back to school tomorrow. I can't wait.

Ta Da's - Tuesday Aug 29th

Not a bad day today considering I had inventory tonight.

• baked cookies
• knitted 4 inches of my sock
• finished our inventory on time!!!
• went for a bike ride
• water = 4 bottles
  

Ta Das

• picked up the camp bed & cots
• picked up M.Y.'s ring
• got the oil changed on the truck
  
• reminded Dad about DD's bed (when I want him to do something I have to remind him every once in a while)
• found 80cm long circular needles & a gorgeous ball of sock yarn
• filled the gas tank cheap
• visited with my brother while he checked the truck over
• ate a large portion of spinach salad
• glasses of water = 1
• spent = $84 (meds, wool, breakfast, munchies)
  

Great Yarn

The yarn I bought today is just fab. It's a german import, 75% virgin wool/25% nylon with aloe and jojoba in it - Austermann Step. It's so soft and doesn't iritate my hands at all! OOh and the aloe & jojoba are guarenteed for 40 washes - my feet will love me.

I'm just dying to get started on them, good thing I can sleep in tomorrow.

Weird Work Week

I'm definately having a weird work week and I'm probably not going to get a lot done either. Today I opened so I was done at 1:30, tomorrow night is my inventory, wed - rearranging merchandise by the new plan, thurs I'm nights and then I'm on vacation.

I really don't know how they expect me to do my job part time. It's not that I really want to work full time but more of that I need to just to get everything done that's expected of me. I just don't get it.

Oh well I'll just knit. I'm practising my sock knitting!

Ta Das

For anyone who doesn't know Flylady: a Ta Da list is the stuff you did get done. It's a much more encouraging list than a To Do list.

Today's

• learned to knit socks on a circular needle
• set up my new blog
• found a new location for my magazines (actually on a shelf)
• joined sock wars
• emptied & filled dishwasher
• swept under computer desk
• glasses of water = 2
  

Knitting Socks - circular needle

I was checking out the sock wars forum and found mention of using a circular needle to knit socks. I didn't think you could knit something that small on circulars. Anyway to make a long story short I gave it a try and I love it.

The only problem is that it's now after 5pm and I am yet to do any housework at all and trust me the house needs it. Of course my energy level is now dropping and the only thing that sounds good is a nap but I must push myself to get off my ass before I'm sleeping at the computer. Thank goodness for my dishwasher.

First Post

So my boss comes up to me at work on friday looking all serious with this folded paper in her hand for me. My brain automatically goes ah shit what's come down the pipe now. Instead she hands me a post off the net about Sock Wars.

Sock Wars is a kill or be killed knit off. Cool! I've signed up.

It's so great that my boss and I share stuff in common and that she thinks of me when she runs across something like this. Now I'll not only have to knit faster than the person knitting for me but also see if my boss and I can out knit each other. lol I can't wait.