Tactics for Surviving the Heating Hold Out

Today was an abolutely beautiful day here in the City of Lakes. It was 14C outisde. I biked to work today. Between my trips to Moncton and Atlanta AND then the tail end of Wilma raining down on us, I haven't been on my bicycle in about 3 weeks. It was truly gorgeous outside. Unfortunately, I didn't have the camera with me to take any photos of the fall foliage. Trust me, it was absolutely stunning this morning with the sun streaming through the red and yellow leaves. I didn't think we were going to get much of a fall show this year, but Mother Nature has decided to amaze us yet again.

Here's just a tiny glimpse of the nice patch of yellow I can see from my back yard.

This weekend was about surviving the cold and getting on the road to finishing some projects. (I finished the hat for Tangled Skeins. It's so cute. I don't have a photo of it b/c it's at the store already.) Let's take at look at how the weekend shaped up here in Dartmouth:

Day: Saturday
Morning temperature inside the house: 11.1C or 52F
Tactic: RUN AWAY!
Saturday afternoon, while Andrew was at work, I swung by Tangled Skeins to see Martha (Hi M!) and ran into Sachiko, a member of the Dartmouth Stitch and Bitch group. Sachiko is hosting Stitch and Bitch at her house on Tuesday night. I was very excited at the prospect of going, as she doesn't live far from me... but was very sad when I realized that I HAVE A HUGE WORK EVENT THAT NIGHT!

I organized the bloody thing. You would think I would remember. Yeesh. It's the big annual student recruiting event. It's actually a fun night and I usually end up feeling like I'm playing matchmake with the students and prospective employers. Last year we wanted something special to jazz up the event so I ordered a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN. Oh yes, my chocolate addiction is so strong that I would stoop as low as to order a chocolate fountain for a work event and pass it off as a way to treat the students. The fountain was a huge hit. One of my (55+) "bosses" was so impressed with it that I heard through the grapevine he ordered one at his wedding this summer. I like to think that in my own special way, I contributed to the happiness on his wedding day! By the end of the evening last year, I was so wired from all the chocolate that I offered to frolic in the fountain with another one of my "bosses". I didn't mean it the way he took it. Yeesh. He calls me "Chocolate" whenever he calls now. I keep reminding him that we have a policy in place about employee harassment. (It's not serious, don't be alarmed. He used to work in the office with us and is a great guy, even though his favourite word starts with "F" ends in "K" and has an "UH" sound in the middle.)

I'm sorry Sachiko. I can't go the SnB at your place. I'll be frolicking in the fountain. Double yeesh.

When I got home from my LYS, I finished this.

It's a scarf for Andrew (I think). It's the Malabrigo scarf. I love it soooooo much. It's soooooo soft. And, when you lay it out and really look at it, you realizing the colours are pooling in a very strange way!

DO YOU SEE THAT? It almost looks like argyle! Crazy. Just crazy.
As soon as I finished it, I wrapped it around my neck. Brrrrrrrrr...
Saturday evening temperature: 12.7C or 55F


Day: Sunday
Morning temperature inside the house: 11.1C or 52F
Tactic: Confuse the enemy, try different means of avoiding him: Keep moving, bundle up or go outside

On Sunday, while Andrew was caulking the windows with the nasty (and probably toxic) draft stopper stuff, I blocked my niece's Molly Bolero.
Here it is, in all its glory.

I don't have any blocking pins, so I just use regular pins. Maybe Santa will bring me some pins for Christmas. That green blob in the upper left hand corner of the photo is the Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. While I love that colour green, it makes me look dead when placed so close to my face. (Oh, Halloween costume scarf, perhaps), I think it might look better on someone else.

Andrew had to go to work for a while in the afternoon, so I ran around the house for a while, doing laundry, and staying warm. The smell of the caulking was very strong, so we had both the front door and the back door open to air out the house. Eventually I realized it was a beautiful day, so I sat on the front step IN THE SUN and worked on my Cabled Cankle socks. When the shadows started to fall, I went back inside. Andrew arrived home with a chick flick (Awwwww, so sweet) and we hunkered down under blankets to watch. I kept on knitting. AND FINISHED MY SOCKS!

Drumroll, please!

Aren't they lovely? As soon as the ends we woven in, I pulled them on and danced my own interpretation of the Highland Fling around the living room. Andrew was in awe of not only my dancing abilities, but of the sight of these beautiful socks. They are so warm! It's true! Hand knit socks ARE the best!

I was so happy about the socks that I wore them to work today. I ran around lifting my pantlegs to show them to my coworkers, who now know for sure that I am crazier than three bags of hammers (don't blame me, my mother used to say something like that). Yes, Moe, I'll be wearing them at SnB on Wednesday.

Day: Monday
Morning Temperature inside the house: 12. 7C 55F
Temperature outside the house as told to me by Jeff Hutchison on Canada AM: 14F
Tactic: As I did not believe Jeff, I bundled up to bike to work.

This is what I put on this morning:
Fleece pants over stretchy pants and biking shorts.
Warm long sleeve shirt, fleece jacket, biking jacket.
Cabled neck thingy and hat.
Mitts in hand.

Thus prepared I stepped out back door and IMMEDIATELY STARTED SWEATING! Looks like the heating hold out is going to last past November 1. It's 15.5C or 60F in here right now. I'm going to switch off the heating pad and have a slice of the bread that just came out of the oven.

What? Baking is not cheating. We didn't have any bread in the house.

Red Hot Sexy (or Cold Weather Loungewear)

OH YEAH BABY.

This was the site of my demise this week. The scene hasn't really changed much (I've moved to the other sofa):

Let me give you the inventory of what is surrounding that sofa. Let's go clockwise from the top left.

On the sofa:
1. The extension cord in which my cellphone is plugged. 'cause I wouldn't want to get off my arse to answer the phone
2. A hat I was knitting for Tangled Skeins. (sitting on the blanket)
3. TV remote control
4. AN ENTIRE CHOCOLATE CAKE. Thanks alot, NORMA! I practically ate the entire thing that night. Geez. You were right about the cayenne pepper, though. Who knew?!?!?!

Sitting on my coffee table (aka the bass drum)
5. Coffee (to warm my hands)
6. Bath and Body Works hand cream. YUM.
7. A bag of Rowan wool cotton.
8. The bunny hat made out of #7.

On the floor
9. My backpack (only mentioned b/c I love the colour).
10. The heating pad, where I was resting my feet.
11. The blanket that went over my feet.

I think the fact that the cake is sitting on the couch just kind of says it all, doesn't it?

No? You need further proof that my life has gone downhill? Ok. Here's what I looked like that brisk evening:

That's a double layer of fleece, gang. It's the world's most unattractive housecoat (featuring teddy bears) and a pair of fleece pjs with snowmen. Note: I'm wearing a t-shirt UNDER all that fleece.

It was 52F in the house this morning and it's back up to 54 tonight. I have a feeling that we'll be turning on the heat tomorrow. I bought the removable plastic caulking to seal up our drafty windows and a kit to cover the two windows that seem to give us the most grief. Once we finish with those things, we'll be firing up the furnace.

Tomorrow morning, however, we'll be catching up on Coronation Street!

It All Happened At Stitch and Bitch

Wednesday night was the first time I had been to Stitch and BItch in what seems like forever. It was just Moe and I for a while. We sipped our frothy coffee flavoured drinks and caught up on the news.

Moe worked away on the hat she has started for Mr. Moe...

And I worked away on the scarf I'm making from the Malabrigo.

Eventually Morgan showed up. It was the first time I had seen her since the summer. She bounded through the door with her usual exuberance and proceeded to whip out a crochet hook and start making flowers for an upcoming show:

Moe and I both commented on how fast her hands were moving. It seemed like she turned out a flower in about a minute.
As you can see here:

Moe is in awe.

We had a lovely time until IT happened. The Clapotis was mentioned. Moe made a Clapotis. She was very put out when she only needed about a yard of yarn to finish, but didn't have enough yarn. She refused to buy another entire ball of yarn and chose to bind off. I would have done the exact same thing if it had been me... but well, Frecklegirl ran into a similar problem with her Clapotis and was very frustrated by it. I left the following tongue-in-cheek comment on Frecklegirl's blog... not really sure if Moe was a regular reader or not...

My pal, Moe (www.slomoeknits.blogspot.com) ended up with one wonky corner on her Clapotis. She needed less than a meter of Estelle Silk to finish it, but couldn't bring herself to but another whole ball for that amount! We all politely avert our eyes when the wonky corner is showing. It's both out of respect for her beautiful knitting and embarassment (it's almost as if her fly is perpetually down). The corner of shame... oh the shame... (I think she might maim me with her needles at our next SnB if she finds out about this. Heh heh.)

I hope that stupid little ball of yarn has a brother or sister out there

...but kind of hoping that she was... 'cause I knew she would get it.

It wasn't long before Moe found me out...

Hi, Moe here. Steph doesn't realize that I'm a regular reader of your blog (love it by the way - you and Casey are the cutest).
Alas, it's true. I bound off and dropped the stitches about 8 rows short of the final corner. I even had MORE yardarge (in another yarn) than called for. Bought an extra ball to be sure. Still ran out. That said, in my defense, you SO cannot tell. I have had numerous unsolicited compliments from strangers (non-knitters!) on it. Off to leave a comment on Stephs blog now....

and I felt the need to let Frecklegirl that we weren't going to start a war in her comments.

Doh! BUSTED.
But like Moe says: You really don't notice the corner unless she points it out. (darn... literary license has gotten me in trouble again!) And it is a gorgeous scarf. I'm so jealous of all these Clapotis that I spend my shifts at the LYS staring at the yarn thinking "Is that worthy of the Clapotis? Would that work? How about that?"

Little did I know what Moe had planned for me at SnB. Although our evening started out with fun and laughter, the end wasn't quite so comfortable.

Do you see that? She's got a 6mm needle and she's coming at me! Argh!


Note to self: Don't use your friend's knitting frustration as blog fodder. It's not nice.

Heating hold-out: I almost caved tonight. But it's a balmy 57F in here right now and Andrew convinced me to hold out!

Yarn in the Media

So, I was driving home... well, actually, I was driving to my LYS yesterday when I heard the some of the most appalling words ever spoken by a news reporter on CBC Radio 1:

Atlantic Yarns announced the "temporary" closure of their two mills in northern New Brunswick today...

Suddenly I heard a loud scream that sounded like The Man In Black when his heart was breaking... and realized, to my horror, that the scream was coming from my own mouth.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

How can this possibly be? Is it because they're making cotton yarn in northern climes? Is it because it's a "crap yarn" factory? Or is it that good yarn has had the misfortune to fall in the hands of bad managers?

I managed to get home safely, despite weeping uncontrollably and worrying about yarn being misrepresented in the media... after only a brief stop at my LYS to buy Brown Sheep Nature spun to make something for the niece and nephews for Christmas...

I had some supper and then, ensconced myself on the couch with my yarn around me for comfort, I ripped back the Malabrigo scarf I had started at SnB on Wednesday night (too narrow) and turned on the TV for some mindless fluff (we have "Peasant-Vision" so there aren't many choices at 7pm).

Catherine Z-J was being interviewed about her upcoming movie and she was asked what she did when filming was over for the day. She said, and I quote to the best of my ability,

"Go back to my room to sleep or to knit. I had everyone on the set knitting."

I will set aside any and all opinions about CZJ and she will forever be known, in my mind, as this century's Catherine The Great for her commitment to spreading the word of the joy of knitting to the masses.

I bet she doesn't use crap yarn.

What I need...

Stephanie needs...

...to get some pies to Brooklyn. Mmmm... pie.

...to let the wimp go, he is of no use to her at this point. I don't know who this is, but ok!

...some help Look at those pants! Sigh. Even the internet knows about my clothes!

...an infusion of cash Don't we all?

...the help of kennel clubs and concerned citizens in her quest to protect every deserving dog in the nation. Awwwwwww... Minou, this one is for you!

...to go. Now she REALLY needs to go. Soon. I can't hack her whining another minute. Really... Alright, alright. Do you ahve to be so mean?

...to seek some serious professional help. Gee, thanks.

...all lunch requests by Wednedsday January 26th. Gah! This sounds like part of my job! It totally sucks too. Why can't people ever RSVP on time?

...a breakthrough.

...to go ballistic more often. I'm a woman on the verge, people, I'm on the verge!

...to get out of the house more. Well, I already knew that!

...a trim. And hopefully, I'll get that this weekend!

...a job really bad. 'cause the one I have sucks.

...to be bitch slapped. well, I NEVER!

...to find a bunch of nasty elves

JAK - You've got to try this!

11 degrees Celsius

That's what the temperature was in our house this morning.

That's 55F.

But then we went outside. And it's warmer outside than it is inside.

The Parade of Shame... (or, Why I'll Be Phoning 1-800-SOS-KNIT)

Caution: Photo heavy post!

(The Parade of Shame should not be confused with the "Irving of Shame" - please... please... can I tell that story? Identifying details will be left out... it's just so funny... and I'm sure many people have had their own "Irving of Shame" moments.)

I think I finally understand the meaning of Startitis. It's like PMS... only instead of chocolate... I'm craving yarn. I want to buy yarn, and not just one project worth of yarn, I want to buy several different kinds of yarn and then, I want to start all of the projects as soon as I get home! My fingers are itching. I'm only blogging tonight to keep myself from starting something new. I know the delay will only last as long as it takes me to finish this post. I feel so out of control!

I know I've got quite a few projects on the needles and what did I do today? I had the day off so I headed off to visit Sheryl at Tangled Skeins. I was barely out the door of my house when she called to ask if I was on my way and to let me know that there was new yarn at the shop. Great. I wasn't even 100 yards from my stash and new stash possibilities were presenting themselves to me. I practically sprinted down the hill to the store...

But first, I stopped here:

Linda of Two Sticks and Some String will be glad to know that. Please, Linda... don't pass out when the package arrives.

After ticking off the appropriate spots on the customs form, I headed to Tangled Skeins (alert, alert - Sheryl has put the sock yarn on for 20% off!!!!! Alert, alert! Sock knitters, sit up and take notice! Sock Yarn Sale at Tangled Skeins! Even on the new Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn.). It was bad, ladies and gents. Bad. I wanted to buy everything in the store. I had $ in my pocket and I didn't know what to do with it. No, wait, I did know what to do with it.

A while ago, Sheryl made this for a friend who was having a baby:

And I've been thinking about it ever since. There are a lot of people having babies in my family. Stop looking at me like that. I know I shouldn't have done it... but I just had to bring it home.

After the Celestial Merino Dream, I moved on. To this:

This is Malabrigo Uruguay. This is the stuff that Sheryl called to say had arrived. It's the kind of yarn that makes you want roll around on a pile of it on the floor. You could make a bed out of it and if you slept on it, you would think you had been sleeping on a cloud. The blue/green skein the left is for either Mr. Happy or one of Mr. Happy's nephews. The stuff on on the right is for someone else...

After that things got really bad. I flitted from cubby to cubby, fondling yarn, pulling out pattern books. I even called my SIL's house to see what colour her husband's winter coat is so that I could start working on a hat for him for Christmas. My SIL wasn't home, so I discussed it with my 10.5 year-old niece. What kind of monster have I become??????? I'm dragging a 10.5 year-old girl into my addiction. It's awful. Just awful. I'm so ashamed of myself.

So, I swapped a leftover ball of pink Rowan Wool Cotton for this...

and left the store.

When got home, I put everything out on the table. The new stuff. The old stuff. All together. One great big dysfunctional family of yarn and UFOs. Here it is:

Do you see all that? Let me just show you some close ups of the things we haven't already discussed.

For one, here's the hat I brought home from the shop after I worked on Saturday. It's something Sheryl started and then abandoned in her own fit of startitis. I decided it looked lonely and that I should be the one to finish it.

Here's the second Molly bolero that I need to finish for my niece, Lauryn, before Christmas.

I worked on this all day on Thursday while I was in Atlanta. I worked on it for so long that day, in fact, that my right hand ached when I was getting undressed and I could hardly pull off my socks. Repetitive stress injury, perhaps? It's the first time I've ever felt that. It's not pleasant.

I started this while on summer vacation.

It's the Travelling Vines pattern from Dogs Steal Yarn. It's for my MIL. I work one pattern repeat every few days. Or at least, that's the lie I tell myself so that I don't panic and worry that it won't be done for Christmas. I didn't put anything in this photo for scale on purpose. I don't want the rest of you to know how unlikely it is that this will be much more than a pipe dream Christmas present. My MIL is having a rough year. This would be a very nice thing for me to finish for her. Please, feel free to remind me about it if I don't talk about it again, ok?

This is the reason I had some Rowan Wool Cotton to swap.

SnB Nation says you need TWO balls of the main colour for this hat. If you're knitting the small version, I'm quite certain you'll only need one ball. Isn't it adorable?

You can also see...

...that I've managed to avoid most of the second sock syndrom and have already turned the heel on this sock. I know it seems like I've been knitting these socks for a long time, but truth be told, and as you can see, I've been working on other things when I'm at home. Sock knitting is airplane knitting. It's standing in line at the bank knitting.

This big pile of hurt:

is at home knitting. This is the yarn for and a corner of the baby blankets I'm making for the twins my cousin's wife will be having some time after Christmas. I hope. No pressure or anything. Just two blankets. Along with everything else. I can handle it. No problem-o. I'm a knitting machine.

*tiny voice* I. can't. breathe.

Let The Annual Last-To-Turn-On-The-Furnace Challenge BEGIN!!!

I'm home. Never been so glad to type those two words in my life. Don't get me wrong. Atlanta was lovely. The people were so nice and friendly and the weather was glorious. There were just parts of my trip (or perhaps the person I shared a room with on my trip) that were frustrating. HOWEVER... I'm not going to discuss that frustration here. Let's just say that I have arrived home with a sizeable wound in my tongue which was caused by BITING IT!

I met the homesick Canuck otherwise known as the artist, Jodi and Hockey Mom who were both funny and endearing and just so darned nice. This was my first PLANNED blogger meeting. (I met another blogger quite by accident one day... one who seems to have taken leave of the blogosphere.)

We ate at an Ethopian restaurant where we were treated to a video of ethnic dancers. I had no idea that the human body could shimmy that fast. After supper, Hockey Mom gave me a nice tour of Atlanta and the sights. Some call it "lost" others call it a sightseeing tour.

Please go to Jodi's blog for photos. Well, that is if you want to see a photo of me playing with my cankle sock and looking so much like my father (except for the ponytail) that I want to crawl out of my own skin (my dad is a handsome guy... I just don't want to be a "handsome" woman, if you know what I'm sayin'). My photos are still on the film that needs to be developed.

So, you've noticed the title of this entry. I started typing this on Saturday night, in my bed where I was sitting on a heating pad and wearing the turtleneck quasi-poncho thingy that I made for surviving our self-imposed ban on heat. Last year at this time, Andrew was in England and I turned the heat on the morning before he got home. This year, he's here to experience the joy of the crisp fall mornings... the frosty afternoons and the sight of the dishcloth, steaming as it sits on the counter. He can marvel with me as our breath cuts through the cold air in our bedroom.

The challenge is on, gang... It is 15 Celsius (about 59F) in my house right now. It got down to 12C (about 52F) before I turned on the furnace last year on October 26th. We're hoping to get past November 1 this time. Does anyone else want to join me in this challenge?

Anyone?

Atlanta, Georgia is...

...hot

...full of very funny people (funny ha ha, not funny weird).

...big. (my hometown had a pop. of about 1400 when I was growing up).

...LOUD.

...very, very loud.

...friendly. (perhaps a little too friendly? Men keep telling me I'm good lookin'.)

...a little hazy.

...in a state of construction (is this constant?)

...large (they don't grow alot of short people down here... I feel like I'm a statistical anomaly with my 5'1 1/4" stature)

...a nice place to visit...

...but I'll be glad to get home to my honey. I'm feeling a little homesick today.

When Will My LIfe Return To Normal?

Ok, first of all... since I last blogged, I've been to Monkeytown, NB, for an Expo (sweet mother of yarn, working community marketing booths is hard on the feet and your brain)... where I also saw Becca and now I'm in ATLANTA!

Atlanta, GEORGIA.

Things are, uh, different here. For starters, the food servings are larger. And they serve gravy with breakfast (something my husband would love, I'm sure).

I've had all sorts of fun and we only arrived yesterday. But after tomorrow night, I'll have even more to talk about. I'm meeting JODI and Hockey Mom for Stitch and Bitch on the road. I can't wait to tell you all about it when I get back! I'm so excited.


But I've got a late night snack of sweet potato fries waiting for me.


(Becca - I sent to Bath and Body Works. WHOA. They had a sale on. Ang... I've got this new hand cream you should try... snort!)

Will This Parade Of Birthdays Never END???

For the love of all that is good and yarny... will these birthdays never end?

Tomorrow, October 13, is Minou's Mommy's 31st birthday.

She's a wonderful, fabulous friend... who lives on the other side of this ginormous country. Darn it! In the past, I have waxed poetic about why I will always love and cherish her as a friend. (I think the photos are missing off that post now. I'll have to dig them up.)

Here are just a few more:
1. She sends things in the mail - sometimes hastily packaged and often bearing only a note on the outside of the envelope - but the gifts always make me smile and often make me laugh out loud... and other gifts which I am not allowed to talk about in public... mostly because it will betray just what a supreme geek I AM.

2. She has David B0WIE's makeup sponge and several other discarded items from a show he performed in NYC prominently displayed IN A SHADOW BOX. It brings the concept of obsession to a whole new level... "Hey, he's hot. I'd totally steal his makeup sponge and put it in a shadowbox."

3. She wears one of DB's discarded guitar picks on her earring. And it looks cool. Me with the same earring? Total dork.

4. She is my only friend who will sit up late, late, late with me and discuss over MSN how to best edit a video of Minou on the beach so that she can email it to me and I can have a little Minou-time. And I think she felt it was as important as I did.

5. Her b-day is on the 13th of this month. My b-day is on the 13th of another month. This is important - it means we don't forget each other's b-days.

6. Her boyfriend makes the best crepes. Ok, so this isn't so much about her as it is about my stomach - but she's got good taste to pick a guy who can cook like him.

7. She and Andrew have a great time talking shop.

8. She lets me write silly things about her dog's clothes and posts them on Minou's website.

9. She smells nice (hey - who wants a friend who smells funky?)

10. She's just so darned cute.



How could you not LOVE that face?

Happy Birthday, Angie. I hope you have a great day!

Your birthday present will be about 3 months late.

Things I'm Thankful For...

When the evening news gives me nightmares, I have to remember that I, as a Canadian, have so many things for which I can be thankful. Granted, it seems like lately there are many things that make me want to rip my hair out, clothe myself in sackcloth and hide out in the bush. Until that time, here's my list:

1. My husband (and his ocean eyes).
2. My family - yup, every single one of them. Even the cranky ones... and all my memories of time spent together.
3. My friends, near and far, both knitters and "Muggles"
4. My yarn. (trust me, it was hard not to put this first.)
5. Dogs - Minou, Pippin, Willie, Abby, Sasha... all of 'em. Except those two brown Dobermans that belong to that awful lady... Well, it's not the dogs I dislike so much as the lady.
6. ok... ok... and cats... well, let's just lump them under all animals...
7. Music and musicians (see #1)
8. Books (and that my parents never censored my reading).
9. Freedom to vote for whoever I choose and not ever tell anyone how I voted. (I've really got to stop telling my father that I vote for the marijuana party. I'm sure it's turning his hair grey.)
10. Freedom to walk out my back door in my jammies and hang my laundry on the clothesline.
11. Snow.
12. No snow.
13. Snowshoes.
14. Leaves changing colour on the trees.
15. Maple syrup.
16. Airlines that allow knitting.
17. Bicycles
18. Xmen *cough, cough* TRILOGIES.
19. Chocolate... oh yeah, baby... chocolate bars, chocolate brownies, chocolate cake... chocolate dessert of any kind.

And last, but oh, so, definitely NOT LEAST...

20. A MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CBC AND THE EMPLOYEE UNION. - The CBC is coming back. In time for hockey. Fancy that...

Another Birthday Greeting

Happy Birthday Auntie K!

I can't believe you're the big Five-Oh. You really and truly seem more like you're only Three-oh. Especially since you don't wear old lady jeans. (My aunt wears way cooler jeans than me. Seriously, gang... she wears American Eagle jeans. And she looks HOT in them. Aren't I right, Uncle K?)

Although I haven't spent much time with my Auntie K over the years - as she lives very far away... whenever I have spent time with her, I've always felt blessed to have her as part of my family. When I was about 3 years old, she and my Uncle K got married. I always thought that she and Uncle K were the coolest aunt and uncle EVER. They had DOGS instead of kids for the longest time. And then, when they did have kids, they had the nicest, sweetest kids you could ever hope to have as your cousins.

Auntie K is the kind of person that you want to grow up to be like. She's extremely young at heart. She's also very sensible about life and what is important. She's the kind of lady who has her priorities figured out. Family is very, very important to her and she'll let you know that with a big hug the moment she sees you. She walks miles every single day... she has a great sense of humour... she rides her mountain bike in the mountains... and she, like Becca, is one of the nicest human beings I know. I just wish she lived closer.

But perhaps even more exciting than the fact that it is her birthday today, rumour has it that Auntie K is LEARNING HOW TO KNIT! Her best friend gave her "The Knit Stitch" for her birthday and... is going to share some of her stash with her. I think that is a testament to just how wonderful Auntie K is - her knitting friend is going to share her stash. You've got to be awfully special for a friend to share their yarn, Auntie K. Your friend is a good, good woman.

Welcome to the Wide World of Wool, Auntie K.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

(I know, I look stunned in this photo, but Becca looks darling.)

Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday to you...
Happy birthday dear Becca!
Happy birthday to you!

Yay! It's Becca's birthday today. And although I promised that this post would be entitled "Things to be Thankful For"... well, Becca is one thing I'm thankful for.

Awwwww...

Becca and I have been friends for 10 years as of this fall. We met when she moved to Dartmouth for a job in 1995. She was friends with my Newfie roommates... and although I've lost touch with both of them, I'm quite glad that they gave me the gift of Becca.

Lemme tell you about Becca...

Becca has always been there for me in good times and bad. We've shared our triumphs (18 pounds of triumph) and our trials (I'm having a moment). We've shared too many laughs to count, often the kind where we feed off each other, squeaking out new and more ridiculous statements through gales of laughter. It's only gotten better as we age... and we know more and more about each other and how silly life really is.

Although she has lived two and a half hours away for the last 6 years, we've kept in touch better than some married couples (thank goodness for those phone plans) and shared many a "meal" over the phone. ("What 'cha doin? Wanna have supper with me?")

She puts up with my craziness and often comes for a visit when she knows I need it most (especially when winter seems like it's never going to end)... and I do my best to keep her craziness in check (ahem... and prevent her from throwing herself at the Jesus who drops down from the ceiling) or to unleash it when it would serve us best (and since your parents read this blog, I don't think I should be telling them what I mean by that).

Becca, love ya dearly. We'll be the absolute scourge of the nursing home, 'specially considering that the two of us are going to live to be 132. Bloody good genes, we've both got. Of course, you'll be on your fourth hip and I'll be blind, either from natural aging or poking myself in the eye with a knitting needle. But we'll definitely be the source of much amusement for the staff.

Love ya lots, ducky. I'll see you on Thursday night. YAY!

A Last Bit About Newfoundland

The first time I went to St. John's (3 years ago now), I knew I had to go to Signal Hill. I've been to St. John's at least once a year since, but I hadn't had the chance to go back to the Hill again until last week. It was a beautiful day, so I set off in the rental car and drove downtown.

In the spirit of she who needs no link I took my sock along to enjoy the view.


The sock was a little nervous at first. Preferring to stay inside of Cabot Tower. I think it was because someone told us that it was very windy on top of the tower.

But after some persuading, I managed to convince the sock that the she should come outside with me. What are the chances, after all, that this one small sock would get to see the North Atlantic again on such a lovely day? Well, once I talked her into going outside, I had a hard time keeping her from crawling all over the place. This is her, sitting on the ledge of the tower.

That rock you can see beyond the ledge is actually quite far away. I walked out there the first year that I went to St. John's but I didn't have the time nor the lung capacity to walk down all the stairs and back up again before I had to be back at the hotel. The sock asked if I could show this photo. There's a cruise ship sitting in the harbour.

Once we were back inside, the sock was feeling more adventurous. She got quite out of hand. The next thing I knew, she was hanging over the stairs in Cabot Tower. The cheeky bugger. She knows I don't like stairs.

After some struggle, I reeled her in and shoved her in my bag. I didn't let her out again until I was sitting in a nice sheltered spot enjoying the view. The sock was feeling shy so she missed out on this last photo op from the top of Signal Hill.

Then the sock and I headed back to the hotel. She was navigating, and although we did eventually end up back at the hotel, I think she had me taking her on a joyride. She even snapped some photos while we were driving.



She started snorting with laughter when she saw this place...



...and asked me if W. J. Murphy was any relation to Jesus Murphy. At that point, I had had enough and put the sock away for the trip home.

Next post: Things To Be Thankful For.

There's a Moose In My Lane

Back to Newfoundland we go.

Before I start telling you about the moose, I must take a moment to thank the kind people at the hotel where we stayed in Gander for providing me with the following blog fodder:

It was very considerate of them to give me the only suite left in the hotel. I also appreciated that they went to the effort to go into that suite, dirty a facecloth and leave it on the vanity for me to find. I think it is perhaps some sort of cultural equivalent to the mint on the pillow. I really and truly appreciated the sight of that facecloth b/c my first thought on seeing it was not, "Call the front desk and complain" but "Take a photo of that sucker for the blog!"

Let's just say that although I'm sure the people who work there are very nice and all, I'm just not entirely sure about the cleanliness of this hotel. Needless to say, I was so freaked out by the thought of what may be on the bedspread, that I really don't think I moved all night long. Ew, ew, ew.

Sunday morning, my coworker, T and I met up with my manager, R, who had been in the hotel for a conference since Thursday evening. I've never seen her sooooo ready for familiar human contact and the promise of the clean sheets that awaited at the H.I. in St. John's. She almost tripped over herself greeting us in the lobby.

After about 2 seconds of debate, T decided that she was too tired to drive to our outport destination and I jumped into the driver's seat. T is a very good driver, but her eyes were screaming "Please, let me just nap in peace!" We turned onto the highway and set off, each of us eager to meet the day head on.

You all remember the last post when I said that the cabby gave us the best directions ever? Well, C, our bald-headed friend on the previous night's flight had agreed with the instructions and had also given us a few words of warning.

"Watch our for moose. It's hunting season. The moose are spooked and on the move. Be careful."

Now, my father is a hunter extraordinaire. While he hasn't shot a deer in years, he is still fond of moose hunting. As a child, I was often recruited to go with my dad up to "check on the camp" in the woods and to wander around back roads looking for moose signs. It may seem about as much fun as a temporal lobotomy to some of you, but I loved hanging out with dad and tromping around in the woods. Anyway - what I'm trying to say is, I was trained from a very early age to spot moose and other wildlife at great distances. A skill that would come in handy on the trip... Erm, I guess I don't need to foreshadow this, 'cause I already told you we saw a moose.

So, the girls and I reach our turnoff (sees how I'm puttin' on me signal loight? I'm turnin' in here, me ducky) in Gambo. About 2km later, the road sign informed us that the speed limit is 40km/hr in this area.

There are moans of protest from the passenger seat and the back seat.

"We'll never make it there."

"I can't believe it's 40!"

I said something about, "Well, maybe it's 40 because of the moose."

The response?

"We're not going to see a moose. Drive faster..."

Famous last words.

We turn a corner. I see a large dark form, trotting toward us up the road a ways. I see a minivan pulled to the side of the road. I turn on my signal light and pull over to the shoulder.

"T," I say, "Get your camera."

"Stephanie," responds T, "What are you doing? We don't have time to stop for pictures."

I point ahead of us.

T's head swivels and I hear her gasp.

Then I hear this from the back seat, in a loud panicked voice, "OK, don't move, we'll just SIT RIGHT HERE." (Which was the cause of much hilarity for the rest of the trip.)

I keep repeating, "T, camera, get your camera... you're going to miss..."

The moose, who by this time had trotted closer to us, saw her exit (Sees how I'm turnin' on me signal loight?) and took it - a gravel road that led heaven knows where.

She got close enough that I could tell two things about her:
a. She was frickin' huge. i.e. she made the minivan look small.
b. She was not entirely certain of her path, but she wasn't mad (which is good, b/c mad moose = long explanation to the rental company)

After she disappeared I turned to my passengers to see their reaction. T was frozen in position - leaned slightly forward with her hands cupped over her wide-open mouth and eyes bugged out. R, in the back, was engaged in stunned shock.

Then we all started laughing.

T said, "I wondered why you were stopping. I didn't think we had time to stop for photos."

To which I replied, "Um, I couldn't really proceed, there was a moose occupying my lane!"

We continued to discuss what a bunch of city slickers we were (well, them, not me. I still like to pretend I remember my roots) when my manager came out with what could possibly be the best line of the day:

"I'll have to say, I'm just really glad we didn't see any hunters chasing it."

After wiping away my tears of laughter I said, "Um, you do know that they don't actually chase the moose on foot, right?."

The rest of the drive was rather uneventful (Well, except for me choking on a mouthful of water while driving and having to make a hasty stop on the shoulder of the TCH while a transport truck barrelled past - serves them right for discussing such inflammatory subjects with me in the car - honestly, I thought I was going to drown in the driver's seat)... but we managed to make it more interesting by ingesting lots of chocolate. Now, I know the following photo is blurry, but I think if you saw it clearly, you might be turned off your breakfast.

I like to call this photo "Carnage on the TCH" (that's Trans Canada Highway).

(BTW - we were quite lucky that this was the only moose we saw on this trip. According to the news, there was more than one car accident involving moose on the same road we travelled later that day.)

Welcome Aboard Flight 107 To Gander

Newfoundland. I've said many times before that going to Newfoundland must be something like visiting England or Australia: Everyone speaks the same language as you, but their accents are so different from your own that you start to wonder if you have a firm grasp of the English language. Whenever I'm there, I start to pick up the accent (something for which I have my many Newfie roommates to thank) and people start asking me where I'm from.

On dat note, I'd like ta share sum of da stories about me trip to da RAHk.

We knew we were off to a good start when my coworker, T and I, saw this on the way to the airport.

"We've GOT to pass it! We just have to pass it!" I said to T. Under duress, T sped up and we got closer...



and then finally, we pulled out and because the camera is slow, this is all I've got:

But it gives you an idea of how big the pumpkin was. It filled the back of the truck. I'm not sure where this pumpkin was headed, but I DO know that Thanksgiving weekend is the annual Pumpkin boat race in the Annapolis Valley - and the domestic goddess herself will be there for the race this year. Yes, that's right: Martha Stewart will be racing a pumpkin boat in the Valley this year. And the Valley is where I spend my Thanksgiving holiday!!!! But, I digress...

We flew into St. John's and had a few hours between flights. T and I headed into town for supper. On the way back to the airport, the cab driver gave us directions on how to get to the outport community that we would be visiting the next day. He was from that area, so he knew what he was talking about, but poor T could barely understand a word he was saying. I think he sensed that one of us was lost, so he DEMONSTRATED the instructions:

"Ya head down da hoi-way, as if yer goin' to St. Jahn's. Take the exit at Gambo, see hows I'm puttin' on me signal loight? I'm turnin' inta Gambo. Alroight, then, the next place we comes to is Dover. But you're not goin' ta turn in there, no my ducky, no my lovely, you're goin' ta droive raght by. You sees how I'm passin' by this exit? Sees hows I'm not turnin' in? I'm droivin' raght by."

Then, he put his foot on the brake for a stop light and the brakes screeched like someone was murdering a cat in the trunk. At this point, I was clutching T's hand in the back seat and doing my best to remember the instructions, while trying not to giggle. I have to say, though, best darned instructions ever.

We got back to the airport and I, giddy from the drive and the coffee at the restaurant, was given a once over my the securing guards. My belt buckle had set off the metal detector and the security in St. John's is nothing if not thorough. As the security guard was putting his hand around my ankle (thank you so much, cheapy zippers in my boots) I made the mistake of saying,

"Geez, I was just telling someone that I never get felt up at the airport. It's always my manager, she has a metal rod in her ankle."

I clapped my hand over my mouth when I said it, but it was too late. I'm a dork. I saw T look at me with a horrified expression on her face and then scurry out the door. The security guard who was working the X-ray machine laughed. And I'm sure they all heard me laughing as I walked away. I am such a moron. I still can't believe I wasn't put in some back room and forced to listen to a lecture on how airline security isn't a joke.

The good news is, I made it through with this...

A little while later, we were told to board our flight to GANDER. T and I walked out on the tarmac and saw a large airplane that we thought was ours. Then we saw that our fellow passengers were heading toward a very small plane with the name "Air Labrador" stencilled on the side.

This is what the plane looked like on the inside. The two gentlemen at the front are, on the left, an American tourist from the South and C, a friend of the person we were going to visit on business, who said the cabby gave us good directions.

And that's the Co-Pilot's sleeve in the photo. The co-pilot did the whole, "Welcome aboard flight 107 to Gander" complete with a Newfie accent. I half expected him to say, "Oh behalf of Jimmy and myself" instead of "On behalf of the captain and myself", but he didn't. I laughed the entire way to Gander.

If you want to see what the plane looked like Click Here and then choose the Beech 1900. Scroll down the page for a view of the passenger area.

Ok, next post, "There's a moose in my lane."

Airplane Conversations

During safety demonstration:
Manager: If I'm in the water, and the life vest doesn't self inflate, how am I supposed to blow up the life vest if I can't swim?

Me: I guess that you could use the air you'll be hyperventilating with.


Later, somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland:
Me: Hey, we're over the ocean now.

Manager: I don't need to know that... geez.

Me: Sorry.

Manager: What if we crashed in the water and I can't swim... I'd be asking you to save me.

Me: What? Do my job responsibilities never end? I have to save your life too?

Manager: *mock horror* HEY! You'd still be on company time, you'd have to save me. With your last breath!

Me: I can see us now in the water. You're like an albatross around my neck.

Manager: HEY! An albatross? That's so mean.

Me: I think I would have to resign if we landed in the water.

Manager: *laughter*



Later, while manager is quietly reading and I'm knitting.

Me: Uh, you know you're not really an albatross, right?

Manager: Yeah. sheesh.

Me: And I would look out for you in the water... but you'd have to at least paddle a bit.

Manager: Yeah. I know.


Random quotes:
Me: geez, this plane is dirty - there's a squished cracked under the seat in front of me.
__

Manager: Oh, no one is here to pick us up. Look, that man is bringing flowers to the person he's waiting for. Our men are late and there's no one here to hug us or kiss us.

Me: Oh, for Pete's sake, HERE, *giving her a quick hug* but I'm drawing the line at the kiss.

Manager: Doh!
_______________

I'm home. We didn't land in the water, but at least we worked out our contingency plan in the event of a plane crash. We were both pretty tired from our trip and were getting punchy at the thought of being home. You know, as much as my manager is a crazy lady, we do have fun teasing each other.

As I already mentioned, I have some fun road stories to share, but I'm pretty much zonked at this point and, apparently my father is on his way here for a quick overnight stay. I had no idea that he was coming down until Mr. Happy picked me up at the airport. Yeesh. What does this look like, a bed and breakfast?

Have I Got Stories For YOU!

I'm in St. John's, Newfoundland right now and BOY, oh BOY, do I have stories for all of you!

It's been a grand adventure so far. Here are the teasers:
- the best driving directions ever, given by a cab driver, complete with a demonstration of how we should pass certain exits ("see how I'm driving past that exit? I'm not turning in, am I?") and how we should signal for the one we were to take, all done wit' a 'tick Newfie hack-cent. HE ROCKED the ROCK!
- making a joke in security at the airport (I am such a loud-mouthed DUMBASS).
- the smallest domestic passenger plane I have ever been on (I've been in a biplane, so it's not the smallest airplane, just the smallest one that also carried my luggage).
- a large moose who was "Occupying my lane"
- missed photo opportunities
- almost getting us all killed by choking on a mouthful of water while driving on the "TCH" (i THOUGHT I WAS GOING TOWARD THE LIGHT)
- eating WAY TOO MUCH CHOCOLATE
- a lot of laughter
- general bad behaviour
- knitting (I'm almost done a the bunny baby hat out of SnB Nation! - but I was chastized for knitting in the car b/c if we were to get in an accident, the needle might go through my nose and into my brain, dontcha know?)

Ok, I've got work to do. I do have some photos, I'll share them later.