Knitting Photos: 0

So, the knitting photos - again the boy has run off with the camera, so I can't show you what I've completed, but I can tell you:

1. scarf made with the red yarn sent by Kat of Pinku - I used a pattern I found on the net. It's reversible.

2. Shining Star hat - using Kate Gilbert's pattern - I used a deep coral (?) pink yarn that I got in the bargain bin at my LYS. It's from Custom Woolen Mills. If I knit the pattern again I think I would use something more "refined" to really show off the pattern. The CWM yarn seems "rough" or "rustic" next to other yarns I've used.

3. Two baby hats - Now these I probably won't be able to show you a photo of for quite some time. I didn't get to take a photo of them before I gave them to my friend who is expecting TWINS!

I made both hats from Debbie Bliss Cotton DK using the rolled brim pattern. I tweaked the pattern by knitting it in the round (I hated the thought of a seam on a little noggin'), made a knotted top and added a striped portion (2RCC, 1RMC, 4RCC,1RMC, 2RCC - does that make sense?) . The hats are in two different shades of blue with cream stripes. Hopefully the boys will model the hats for their mommy when they are fully baked.

My pregnant friend is shorter than me (I'm only 5' 1 and 1/4") and her belly protrudes like nothing I've seen before - well, nothing I've seen on a woman before. I've seen beer guts that would rival a quintuplet pregnancy. I digress... I've seen lots of pregnant bellies, but never, uh, exposed ones. The friend, we'll call her Meg, pulled her shirt over her belly to show us how funny it looks - her belly button is completely inside out! Ow, Ow, OW! Can you tell I don't have kids? I'm worried more about how her belly button feels than how it would feel to pop a cannonball out of a pea-shooter. Yeesh. FYI: She's getting a c-section. She calls her belly her "Third boob." hee hee.

Moving on!

I got a ride home today with my coworker/partner in knitting-related crime. She asked if I was thinking about my birthday yet. It dawned on me that our birthdays are not very far off. Her b-day is four days before mine. In fact, she is precisely four days older than me... and we were both born in New Brunswick. Last year, on the big three-oh day for her, she hid out. She didn't come to work, she didn't want a party, nothin', zip, nada!

I on the other hand wanted to do SOMETHING! Andrew and I went out with her, her husband, and Minou's Mommy and Daddy. My b-day is the day before Valentine's Day, so we were able to hit the CHOCOLATE BUFFET at a rather posh restaurant in town. We didn't even order a meal, we just totally pigged out on the buffet. I think our waiter was rather disappointed. I, on the other hand, was THRILLED! An entire buffet dedicated to my favorite food group! It was divine. Especially the CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN! Who knew such a wonderful thing could exist out side of Willy Wonka's chocolate factory? They peeled me off the buffet before I was able to get my mouth under the stream of the chocolate fountain. Drat, foiled again!

(That buffet led to me ordering a chocolate fountain for an event with the students my company woos each year. They asked if they could have a chocolate fountain in every store. I must agree that this seems like a good thing to incorporate into a contract. It would be a good way to improve employee satisfaction and retention.)

So, this year... what do I want for my birthday? Well, my partner in knitting related crime actually WANTS to acknowledge her b-day this year and I want to hide under the covers. I've even told my dear pal, RJS to stay home, there will be no festivities. I don't know why I feel this way. Perhaps it's the wrinkles that I saw on my forehead this morning. Sigh.

BTW: Is it strange/sad that all I want for my birthday is a ball winder and swift?

'scuze me. I've got to go slather some sort of acid on my forehead in an attempt to get it back to the smooth alabaster it once was. bwah ha ha ha ha ha...

-41 With the Wind Chill

'nuff said.


Mantra of the day: "I love my Grandmother; she makes warm mittens."

Storm Day Take 3?!?!?!?!

I was off work AGAIN yesterday! It snowed from 9am Sunday until at least 2:00am Monday morning. Andrew walked home from the studio at 2:00am and said it was still snowing when he was out there. The lunatic.
Despite all the chaos that 45cm of snow wreaked on the city, we still don't seem to have as much snow accumulation as we had after the blizzard last February (we got 96cm during that storm - aka White Juan - the blizzard was just 4 months after Hurricane Juan hit us). I took a couple of photos last night and I'll try to take some more in the next few days. My big plan is to head to the mall to get a photo of the "Mall Mounds" - those big piles of snow found in mall parking lots. Andrew and I had a big discussion in the car this morning about how snow isn't really white, it just appears to be white because of the way it reflects the light. In the absence of light, snow is actually clear. Can you imagine big clear snowbanks? You could see through them, but everything would be kind of distorted, like, oh, I dunno, looking through water or ice?

We also discussed this really funny show on CBC called "Nanalan". We watched it yesterday morning. It's a kids show but little Mona cracks us up. She calls the dog "Russer" (his name is Russell) and Nana is just so funny. Yesterday this little old man (puppet) was on the show and he did a puppet show for Nana, Mona and Russell about a Princess and a frog. It was rather Shakespearean with the play within a play - except instead of catching the conscience of the king, he caught Mona's conscience. She saw how the frog in the play was free to jump around and felt guilty about the frog she had caught that morning. When Mona went out to release her "Froggy in the buckie" the old man said to Nana:

"I, uh, don't want to embarrass you but I, uh, wanted to let you know that I modelled the princess after you."

Bwah ha ha ha ha ha - if only you could see the Nana puppet. Hee hee.

Meanwhile Mona and Russer were waving goodbye to the froggy. Picture it - a little green toddler and brown and white dog waving goodbye. ROTFLMAO.

Oh, here's the official Nanalan website. Hmmmmm... Nana's hair is white now. Seems she's so busy taking care of Mona that she doesn't have time for Miss Clairol.

Jeez, I've got to start smoking pot. Then every show would be as entertaining as Nanalan.

Luc, Baby, This One's For You

Ohmigod, ohmigod!!!!!!

I just saw GaryBeals!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH!

I was standing in the grocery store, hollering to Andrew to get cereal and toilet paper before I went in the other direction to get eggs and freezer (aka Yarn) bags... and when I turned around I almost ran smack into Gary.

Who is Gary Beals, you (people without heartbeats or those who live outside Canada) might ask?

Gary Beals was in the top two of Canadian Idol in 2003. And he's a hometown boy. Who apparently doesn't mind going out for groceries on a Friday night.

I teased Andrew the rest of the way through the grocery store by saying: "Do you think Gary recognizes you, too? Do you think Gary is saying to the lady he's with, 'hey, isn't that Andrew from The Heavy Blinkers?' I bet Gary is in shock that you're shopping for groceries on a Friday night. I bet he thinks you should be out whooping it up at some exclusive indy club with all your indy friends. heh heh."

I think that is when Andrew wheeled the cart to the checkout and refused to acknowledge me for the rest of our time in the store.

OHMIGOD, OHMIGOD!!!!

For those of you out there in bloggy land who know who Gary is and love him, I can tell you that he appeared to be doing well and people should really give celebrities, even Canadian celebrities, space and not analyze every little thing about them, their lives or their food. What do you think I did, check out the contents of his grocery cart? Check out his shoes so I could tell you that latest fashion trend for former idol contestants and current Acadia University students? Geez.


(oh, and FYI, I wasn't really hollering at Andrew for toilet paper. I just asked him to get cereal. I threw the toilet paper reference in for comedic effect. Did it work????)

Performance Reviews: 0, Buttons: 1, oh & a 5 Star Yarn Store

Ok, so, I finished up my performance review homework. At one point there was a glass of whisky on the rocks on the table - one sip reminded me why I'm not a hard-liquor-on-the-rocks-kinda woman - gah! I'm sure that's what evil tastes like! Where is the nice man with the cocktail shaker and the ingredients for a whisky SOUR when I need him? Anyway, I've decided that I'm a pretty good employee. But I don't know if anyone else agrees. I went to work today, mentally prepared for the review. My manager, on the other hand, didn't come in today. She had meetings out of the office. She didn't mention the review when she called to check in this afternoon. Oh well, such is life. Scuze me while I'll just find the nice man with the cocktail shaker.

On a happy note, I made a button for my blog this week. Angela of MinouPitou fame refined it a bit for me. Let's see if this works:



This is to replace, for now, the horrid photo Angela had of me wearing a felted purse I made for her, uh, on my head. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Unfortunately I do these things when I'm stone-cold sober. Yeah, yeah, if I suddenly stopped acting like this, none of you would be reading this blog because it would be drier than, uh, drier than... crap, it would just be boring. (I'm no longer sure how well I'll do with that creative writing class.)

I popped by my LYS after work today. The shop is called Tangled Skeins. For you Dartmouthians and Haligonians, the shop is on Portland Street in Dartmouth, right between Ducky's Cafe and Merchant Marie's Tattoo Parlour. You can choose to visit all three places in one day or not. I've often wondered if the guys at the tattoo parlour ever wander into Tangled Skeins looking to expand their creative horizons. I think they would excel at designing patterns for intarsia.

Ok, back to Tangled Skeins: Have I mentioned how FAB-U-FREAKING-LOUS it is? Sheryl, (Cheryl? Sherrill? crap, lady, how DO you spell your name? I've never asked, but I tend to think of her as a Sheryl. Of course, my first name makes me lean toward using the S), the owner, is just the best (and I'm not just saying that b/c you told me today that you read my blog last night). She's got a really great eye for putting colours together, she's very encouraging, and even though I threatened to hug her the first time I was in her store (erm, I was just a little excited that there is a yarn store within walking distance of my house), she still lets me come in and pat the yarn. She doesn't even seem to mind that I get a little hyper-active when I walk in the door. I think, however, she might still be getting over the joke I made about knitters getting wool in their throats like cats get hairballs - I'm really sorry, the situation just seemed to call for sound effects!

Anyway, the shop is really cozy and bright and packed full of yarn. She's stocked it will yarn that you actually see in new pattern books, and it's yarn that you DON'T necessarily see in the local craft stores. She just got Manos - oooooooooh, pretty. And I'm pretty sure that she's still out there surfing the net for trends and for the classics as well. The best thing about the store is the people who work there - they've got a great sense of humour and they're all pretty darn friendly and knowledgeable too.

Oh - and Sheryl sells my stitch markers in her store. Woowee!

That concludes my info-mercial moment for today. People of HRM, shop at Tangled Skeins!

(Does anyone notice how many brackets I use? I tend to think tangentially, so they just naturally crop up in my writing. Crop, not crap. Those of you who mind the brackets, well, suck it up, Buttercup, I don't think they'll be going away.)

Storm Day, Take 2

I went to work this morning only moderately delayed by my somnolence, indecision about my wardrobe and the traffic entering the business park. I was ready to take on the day. By 11:00am, I was back in my house making tea and whipping up some granola bars to snack on this afternoon.

This is what it looks like outside of my house:

It actually looks much better than it really is. About 10 centimetres have fallen since I took this photo. I'll have to shovel our driveway before Andrew gets home. There isn't much chance that he'll be able to get the Civic over the plow "leavings" at the end of our driveway.

This is what it looks like inside my house:

It actually looks much better than it really is... This is my "take home" work.

If you look closely, you'll see a novel in the upper left hand corner of the table (Zermatt by Frank Schaeffer - I cannot get enough of Calvin Becker!!!!), a Best Practices Guide for Dispensary Operations that I am editing (given some of the typos on this blog, I'm sure you're all experiencing facial twitches just thinking about my editing skills! Trust me, I'm much better with a pen and paper. Spell check and auto-correct on Microsoft Word have made me a tad lazy when I type). In the centre, under my current WIP, an Avril wool scarf (thanks again Kat), is my Employee Performance Review. I have to do a review of my own performance before getting reviewed tomorrow. A sharp eye will notice that there are two Advil Liqui-gels sitting on the placemat to the right of my pens and granola bars. Those puppies are going to get me through the rest of that personal review.

Not pictured: Huge pile of files. Ich.

Now, because I can't work at home without a bit of a break from the worktable, I have something to show you. I think it might pique Norma's interest.

Does anyone recognize the patterns? Robin Hansen, perhaps?

These mittens were made by my wonderful paternal Grandmother (who wears her beautiful hair in a bun every day and is the most wonderful, admirable 85-year-old woman I've ever known - not a day goes by that she doesn't do some sort of handwork! She's ALWAYS knitting or quilting or candle-wicking).

The pink and purple mittens as well as the grey ones are mine, the rest are all brand new and belong to my husband. He also received a pair of gloves from my grandmother this Christmas. I think she likes him. He wasn't able to see her the night that I dubbed her and her sisters "The Holy Trinity of Knitting" so he sent along a tracing of his hand. The gloves and mittens fit him perfectly. He's a very happy camper. I would have taken a photo of the gloves, but he's wearing them today.

On a side note, I talked to my pal this afternoon and she helped me to decide to take a creative writing course with her. I hope they've still got room for me. It should have started tonight, but was cancelled because of the snow. If the class had started tonight, I would have been hanging out with her 8-year-old son while she went to the class (her husband is out of town so I had offered to take care of him). I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't get to hang out with her little guy - I had pulled Mastermind and Clue out of the closet last night and I was going to unearth my comic book collection for him to take a look at. (I spent my early years going to my dad's drug store after school - I've got a LOT of comic books.) HOWEVER, with the way it worked out, I'm now going to be taking the course with her!!!!! YAY!!!!!!

OK, back to the table!

Good Things About Storm Days

1. Calling manager at 7am and hearing her say, "Yeah, even the universities are closing so go back to sleep, the office is definitely closed today."
2. Listening to the cancellations on the radio and still getting that surge of happiness upon hearing that the schools are closed because of the storm.
3. Waking up at 9:50am and feeling only slightly guilty.
4. Cream of Wheat for breakfast.
5. Coming downstairs in my full Stanfields long johns in preparation for putting on my snowpants and hearing my husband say, "Nice bum flap. You look hot." I most definitely did not look hot.
6. Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant in "Indiscreet" on CBC this afternoon.

So, mostly a good day. Did plenty of knitting - working on new scarf with red wool sent in swap with Kat from Pinku. Should be making hats for a baby shower next weekend. Yes, I said hats, that's hat, plural. A friend is expecting twin boys. The lady organizing the shower suggested a diaper only shower, as friend already has a boy and apparently piles of baby clothes. I can't just bring diapers or diaper-related gifts! That just seems, oh, I dunno, shitty? I've got some Debbie Bliss cotton to make a little umbilical-cord-type hat.

On the bad things about storm days front, I did have to go out and shovel most of the driveway. Andrew has a really, genuinely bad back and shovelling has proven in the past to be quite bad for it: a week off work, walking bent-over and pigeon-toed. Gawd, he's hot when he's vulnerable like that. hee hee. Today, however he did brave the big snow scoopie thing - Snow belt people would recognize this as the big double-handled scoop with which you scoop up snow, drag it to the snow dumping area and then tip contents out. I like to call it "My Best Friend". Andrew did the worst part of the shovelling - the end of the driveway. He's a prince among men.


Maritime Colloquialisms:
(I can't entitle this paragraph "Atlantic Canadian Colloquialisms", because that would mean going into the Newfoundland dialect, and while it would be informative and incredibly interesting, Lord Liftin' Love a Duck, I don't have the breadth of knowledge nor the bandwidth needed to cover that. Perhaps Becca could write an essay on Newfie dialect and its usage for me? Or, you could all just track down episodes of Cod Co.)

Over the years, I've had several discussions with people about the way Maritimers speak. My uncle has lamented living where he does in this great country because he misses the richness of the language of the East Coast.
Now, I'm sure that other regions have an equally rich linguistic history and I'm also sure that some of our sayings are used by other people. By now though, no one knows which direction these sayings travelled: from us to them or from them to us. That being said, without further ado, here are some of my favorites:

"Fart in a mitten"
Usage: "He or she is just like a fart in a mitten."
This is a person who, like a fart in a mitten, cannot be contained. They are always on the move, cannot sit still, are always busy. I'm quite certain that this saying does not take into account the fart retaining qualities of a thrummed mitten. Anyone care to test this?

"Fart in a bucket"
Usage: "Isn't that just a fart in a bucket?" Or, "Grrrrr... Fart in a bucket!!!"
As explained to me by the first person I heard use this phrase: When you go to the outhouse in the middle of the night thinking you've got urgent business to attend to and all you do, after sitting on the cold seat, is let out a big fart, then you've wasted a trip. Therefore, this expression is used to express disappointment. The word outhouse has been replaced with a bucket, because, well, we don't need to use the word outhouse any more than we already do.

"Ridge Runnin'"
Usage: "Me and the boys are goin' ridge runnin' in Jim's new four by four."
Ridge running doesn't necessarily include an actual Ridge. There are areas in New Brunswick that are called Ridges because they border a location of the same name, for example, there is Pennfield and then there is Pennfield Ridge. The Ridge usually has few inhabitants if any, and also has lots of muddy roads and fields where boys with a new four wheel drive truck can get stuck and cover the vehicle in mud from bumper to bumper.

Well, that's about all I can muster up for now. If you're interested in learning more about Maritime culture, I would direct you to the Carleton County Colloquialisms. This is an online dictionary which may come in handy if you meet a Maritimer and they say something to you that you need translated, like: "We were overtown in the MacDonald's dooryard talkin' about the shiveree we're plannin' for their son, (can you believe the little Christer's gettin' hitched?) when Bob arrived in his new TransAm and did a doughnut in the yard. We all laughed and told him to just give'er."

Finally, knitting content

Alrighty then, let's get right down to biz-ness.

First up - a finished project.

This is a scarf for Andrew. I really like this scarf because it's very soft and squishy. It's a 50:50 merino:alpaca blend. I think the pattern is called a broken rib (anyone? K2P2 over odd number of stitches?).

Next, the petticoat sock from Weekend Knitting.

The yarn is Shelridge Farms Soft Touch Heather. If I finish this sock then it will be my first completed sock! If I start and finish the second sock, then it will be a veritable miracle. Here is my favourite part of the sock (yup, I have a favourite part of a sock - who knew, when I was studying for those Biology exams or when I was trying desperately to look cool while wearing black from head to toe and lipstick that looked like dried blood, that I would have a favourite sock part???)... moving on - it's the picot edge:

Now, Minou, I'll need you to look away from the screen. This next item is being modelled by Ruff the dog. Ruff enjoys walks on the beach and extended belly rubs.

Ruff is wearing the sweater I'm making for Minou. It's a design in progress. I'm worried about the fit, so I've put two sections of ribbing on the belly and two on the back. It's much easier to fit a sweater on a tiny dog when she is available for fittings. Note - Ruff is significantly smaller than Minou, so this photo is not an accurate representation of how the sweater will look on Minou.

Ruff, are you ready for your closeup?

For your information, no stuffed animals were harmed in the making of these images. Ruff did express his trepidation about having the knitting needles in the sweater when he tried it on.

On a personal note - On Friday afternoon, just when I was getting bummed out about Andrew's work schedule (he's mixing an album this week), my dad called to say that he and his wife and our dear friends, P (yup, Mommy P) and her husband, R, were coming down for a last minute visit.

I haven't eaten that much over the course of 24 hours since, oh, um, gee, Christmas. We ate breakfast at Cora's yesterday. If you live in a province where there is a Cora's, I highly recommend the waffles, the crepes and especially, the crepe-omlette (remember, Ang???? mmmmm). Then, we were so full that we didn't need to eat again until supper, which we ate at Salty's on the Halifax waterfront. It's a bit of a tourist trap, but darn it if they don't make good crab cakes, entrees and desserts. I won't even go into what we had for breakfast this morning, let's just say I haven't really had to eat much today.

Anyway, I had a really great time with everyone. It was such a nice surprise. P and R hadn't been down to visit in ages. We're hoping they all come visit again soon. Andrew was really bummed out that he didn't get to spend more time with everyone.

Ever since they left, though, I've realized how much their visit exhausted me! Those guys are like a fart in a mitten (Does everyone know what that expression means? Hazard a guess, I would like to know what you think.) I went out for a bit this afternoon and then came home and turned off the world... I've been watching old video tapes of Friends' episodes.

Oh dear, it's late - bedtime! I've got to work tomorrow. Then again, it's already snowing outside. We've got a blizzard warning tonight. I may not have to go into the office if the roads are bad. ooooooh, if we get as much snow as they promised, I'm going snowshoeing at the golf course up the road... hmmmmmmm...

This Blog Needs Some Photo Content!

Sorry folks, it ain't knitting content. Somebody, (not naming any names but we'll just say his name starts with an A, has a W at the end and has "ndre" in between), didn't bring our digi camera home from the studio so I was unable to take photos today. I'm trying not to let my raging PMS temper my reaction to that. 'Scuze me while I scream into this pillow.

Alrighty then. So, because I don't have any knitting photos to show you here's a nice little photo of the Chubby Big Buddy dolls that my husband (with a little help from me and ye olde ancient Singer Touch and Sew) made for our three nieces and two nephews for Christmas... and for some grownup friends who knew and loved Chubby.



*Added later: I just had a physical shock when I realized that Claire of Loobylu posted this photo on her Month of Softies site for January's Vintage Catwalk. I sent the link to her and then later thought, "hey, how can I justify the vintage part?" I'm going to have to say that they remind me of Jackie Gleason. Can you see it? Picture Chubby with pants pulled up to there, then turn him around and look at that bum. Yup, Jackie Gleason. The cats were also photographed in what we call our "1950s room" (fully equipped with vintage lamp and chenille bedspread). I may be able to stretch it a bit by saying that my niece was making her doll strut around her room to Chubby's theme song: that's the catwalk portion! I'm honored that Claire posted our silly cats on her site along with all of the talented artists whose contributions blew Chubby right out of his airship!

Along with the dolls the children each received a copy of Chubby's theme song which speaks of the possibility of adventures aboard his airship. It goes something like this (having heard it numerous times over the holidays, I think I can quote it directly):

(spoken)
Hi Kids, this is Chubby! It's time for my show!

(sung - complete with background vocals and harmonies and nice little piano track)

Chubby Big Buddy
Climb aboard and I know you'll find
You'll have a real good time with
Chubby Big Buddy...
Grab your jacket and helmet too.
Step aboard and meet his crew
That's Chubby Big Buddy
You can Chubby Big Buddy with him!

I may have said my husband was talented, but I don't think I've ever said he was completely sane. And we're still not entirely sure what that last line means or if it is appropriate in a song meant for children.

Some of our more, uh, like-minded friends also received (or will be receiving) their own Chubby Dolls along with the cd. There has been talk that next year Chubby's arch nemesis, Chairman Meow, will be made and could possibly have his own theme. Heaven help me!!!!

Two posts in one day - aren't you all just the luckiest?
(BTW - I'm not editing for typos tonight. I did that all day at the office. I'll just apologize now for any disturbing errors in English.)

Phew...

Remember this post?

I just got off the phone with A.

The "large employer" called this morning and told him that a vote was taken and they are still going ahead with the winter gala.

Insert huge sigh of relief and/or cries of "yippee!" here!

This job, along with the three others A took to make up for the loss of the job, will greatly help our cash flow!!!!

YAY!!!!

Who Can Make You Dance? Chihuahua...

That's a line from a song on a cd that Minou's Mommy sent to me. It cracks me up every time. Especially since I picture Minou dancing to the song. It was listed as a "Bonus Track" on the cd b/c Angela ran out of room to write the title on the cd.

The Chihuahua can also make you knit. I started swatching for a new puppy sweater last night. Minou is a very special chihuahua. And for those of you out there who are thinking, "Ick, chihuahuas, vile little things", I would challenge you to spend an afternoon with Minou and not fall in love with her. I thought the same thing when Angela said she had gotten a chihuahua - actually, my first thought was of a chihuahua that used to visit my dad's store when I was a kid. It had bulgy eyes that I always thought were in danger of getting poked out. It was a skittish little thing that travelled around in its owner's purse. The lady who owned it was kinda scary too. She had facial hair that looked like her chihuahua's whiskers. In fact, I think she had more...

BUT, I digress. Minou is wonderful. She and Angela stayed with us for a few weeks when Angela was teaching on this coast. Minou quickly became the object of everyone's affection. She used to run around our house like someone put a rocket up her butt. She would bounce from sofa to sofa and would end up wrapped around your head, hind legs on your left shoulder, forelegs on your right, licking your ear on one side and beating you senseless with her wagging tail on the other. She's got a load of personality. Her eyes aren't bulgy. She is very personable and loves people (rare for tiny dogs, I know). She's also got a wardrobe that most of us would envy. My duty as her god-mother is to supplement that wardrobe.

So Minou's swatch has been started using some hot pink wool I bought, appropriately, at Woof Designs in St. John's, Newfoundland. They mostly sell sweaters but on the day I was there they had some spools of discontinued yarn on sale. I got one spool with LOTS of yarn on it. It is knitting up quite nicely on 4.5mm needles. I'm working on the design for this sweater. I want to do a nice picot edging, to give it a dainty air, but I would really like to do something to give it some edge as well. Think Vivienne Westwood on Crack-flavoured Milk Bones. The hot pink is very 1980s retro-chic, so I think I'll let that influence the design (hmmmm... asymmetry). I don't know if I'll use intarsia or just to be really sneaky: use purled stitches to make a pattern. Hee hee, designing dog sweaters. I feel almost like a real designer.

Minou, I hope you're not reading this, you sassy little poochie!

In other knitting news, I finished a scarf made with variegated merino and alpaca blend that I purchased at Cricket Cove over the Christmas holiday. I haven't really done a lot of scarves and my husband has claimed this one. I just took it off the ironing board where it was blocking. I'll get him to model it for photos some time this week.

Must be off - we're having a university student from my hometown over for supper tonight and I've got brown bread rising in the oven (mmmmm... brown bread).

Free Bits of Happy "Family & Friends Edition"

Ok, so Christmas was great this year. We had a great time on Christmas day with my husband's family. The kids liked their gifts - the adults seemed to as well - every time I see my father-in-law he's wearing his Fuzzy Feet. My sister-in-law says she feels glamourous (glamorous? Cdn spelling?) with the pink fun fur at the top of hers. We had a nice restful trip to my dad's house. My step-mom made this amazing meal on Monday for all of us - yummy ham (hubby was in a carnivore's heaven)... oh and my step-sister (K - every time I call you that think of Cinderella's step-sisters - and geez, I'm way more evil-step-sister-ish than you could ever be) made this awesome tettrazini for lunch one day that I totally forgot to get the recipe for. *hint, hint* It was delicious. Especially with "special coffee", heh heh.

The kids were adorable. I got to play Play-Doh with Lauryn! I love play-doh! And Brooke, well, what can I say - the girl likes her ham and she IS a ham. She took quite a while to warm up to my hubby, aka Uncle A, in fact on the night before we left, she finally went to him and crawled up on his lap. This is totally funny, b/c Uncle A usually has the kids hanging off him. I've never seen him so desperate to get a kid to pay attention to him.

So, in light of having spent time with our family over the holidays - here are the Free Bits of Happy, Family Edition:

1. Watching Brooke look at Uncle A out of the corner of her eyes - she refused to turn her head toward him.
2. Playing Play-Doh with Lauryn.
3. Hearing about the conversation between Uncle A and his 6-year-old nephew, Ben:
Ben: Uncle A - do you want to play Lego with me?
Uncle A: Sure Ben, what should I do?
Ben (thinks for a minute): Well, you just play... Uncle A, you don't have to if you don't want to.
Uncle A starts playing with the Lego.
Ben (after playing for a bit): Uncle A, thank you for the little remote control car and the Chubby Big Buddy Doll* with the cd.
Uncle A (grinning at his polite nephew): You're welcome Ben.
4. Seeing my dad wearing the hat I made him for Christmas last year in true Dad style - barely pulled on his head so he looks like a zucchini.
5. Watching my husband roll on the floor with his sister's dog.
6. Playing Cranium with my sister-in-law and her friends on New Years Eve.
7. Yummy meals prepared by family and friends.
8. Giving the scarf to my grandma and seeing her smile.
9. Hanging out with my family and my husband's family.
10. Snow in New Brunswick.
11. Having supper with my neighbours on New Year's Eve.
12. Seeing my pal, R and her parents on Boxing Day.
13. Getting an entire salmon from my dad's pal just because he knows I love salmon.
14. Having breakfast with friends every morning (ok, the meal wasn't free, but the friends don't cost a thing).
15. Having one of my oldest pals cut and dye my hair (again, not free, but the time spent with her was totally worth it).
16. Just being home.
17. Hanging out with my hubby.
18. Watching my dad and my husband head out for a drive to the hunting camp, carrying a rifle. My husband said, "Your dad is taking me hunting - I'm getting a 10 minute head start." (They weren't really going hunting.)
19. Having brunch on New Years day with our former boarder and his girlfriend, then sitting around talking for hours.
20. Hearing my sister-in-law's mother-in-law laugh when my husband said it was okay that she had missed the Queen's Christmas Day speech because the Queen didn't have anything to talk about. He proceeded to say, in a lovely British accent, "Merry Christmas. I don't really have much to say this year. Charles is behaving. The world's a mess, that's not really new. The Corgies are doing well..."

Wow, that's 20. All done.

* Chubby Big Buddy is a cartoon that exists in my husband's imagination. It's based on his friend's late manx cat who was called Charlie but soon earned the name Chubby Big Buddy. He made Chubby dolls for all the kids for Christmas this year - he also included a cd of Chubby's theme song.