Did You Survive?

Christmas has come and gone for another year. I hope you all had a wonderful time, whatever holiday you celebrate.
We just tried our best to relax and enjoy the day. That is a bit difficult for me as I worked.
I did however receive a very special gift. I was called Mom. I may not be his biological mother, but we are family. We do the best we can. I try to teach and show him love. He actually does the same for me, even if he doesn't know it. I feel very blessed this holidays season. I could not ask for a single thing more.

The fuzzy children enjoyed Christmas.
Turns out Tommy has a thing for Candy Canes

While we were eating dinner, I could hear this bizarre crackling, crunching sounds. I could not quite place it. I turn around and lo and behold! There is Tommy, sitting all nonchalant, with his, what? face perfected.

Rebel just likes to sit back and watch the chaos.

Rebel is still having a rough go. He drinks lots of water, just has no interest in food whatsoever. I try my best to make him comfortable.
I was just telling hubs this morning, You know, this cat and I have been together longer than the average marriage.
That is 20 years under our belts Rebel. He has probably seen more of Canada than most people as he has traveled with me all over this beautiful country. I cannot possibly complain. He has been one of the best companions I have ever had the pleasure of knowing.

We have been experiencing some interesting weather in Southern Quebec as well.
One day everything is covered in ice,


Then it all melts, next thing you know

BAM!

Return to winter,


I read in the paper, today will be much colder. So all that wet stuff that fell during the night, yes, most likely to freeze.

I want to show you what I have been knitting. I have had so much fun with some of these projects!
I actually made two of these toques!
The pattern is called Fuck The Cold,
Hubs really likes his. It keeps his head warm.


Cthulhu Mittens!

Still a work in progress.

Mitts for my Mom,
Bird Mittens,


Finally, a toque for Jacob,
Dead or Alive Fish Hat,


I have had a long night, so I must retire.
I hope you are all well.
Enjoy your holidays!

Free Pattern

Arched Beanie

I was inspired by the church tower in my little town. The arches are decorated by stained glass and reflect beautifully in the snow. This is a beanie I created using leftover yarn from a previous project from Caron Cakes. Aran weight. I used approximately 65 yards with size 4.5mm needles.
You can find the pattern available for download at
Craftsy
or through
Ravelry.
I hope you enjoy it!

Christmas Spirit

It's around here somewhere. I might have packed it up with the tree last year.
Just have to search a little longer.
December has already began oddly weather-wise.
We have snow, then rain, then snow and well, look at that, rain again.
We try not to let it get us down.





We made an apple pie with the Honey Crisp apples we picked in September.


Now we will clean up a bit before we go out to mail our Christmas cards and parcels.
Jackie has picked up her things,


And Napoleon is supervising the battlefield.


For now we are all just trying to keep busy. Not worry about the stress to come with the holiday season.
Jacob has actually started a video blog. He loves gaming. Especially Minecraft. He would like to try and expose a new audience to the game.
So here is his new channel, about Minecraft and other things.
Welcome to my Channel

Better Behaved

I am being better behaved today and not engaging on any bizarre, angry, useless conversations on the internet.
Instead, I made myself useful.

I made cinnamon rolls:

Note that fuzzy blur. That would be my best buddy!

Finished my Christmas card for this year:

It is a watercolour based on an image I saw online the other day.

Picked up squishy mail:

Nice online sales the other week.

Looked in on my lemon tree:


I did a lot of knitting, but I cannot share those pictures, as some of the items are to be gifted.

Today is going to be a veggie kind of day. Nothing but t.v., knitting, visits outsides and relaxing.
Have a good day everyone.

Too Dramatic

My Facebook feed is still filled with a lot of hate and confusion. No one is really willing to listen to reason at this point. This are very scary times for so many people. From personal experience, people need to rewire their memories in order to make sense of events. Very clearly, on record even, people will tell bald face lies. There is evidence of it. People need to take those lies and spin them so that they are no longer lies and in fact just thoughts that were not really expressed out loud. I am having a very difficult time trying to explain my self this morning. My apologies.
I'll try again.
Some people lie all the time. It's like they cannot even help themselves. Do they even know they are lying? Psychologist call these sort of people, compulsive or psychopathic liars. There is actually an official name for these people. We all at some point accept these lies. It is easier. They might give us comfort or just simply we can no longer argue and try to get these people to see the falsity in what they say.
These seemingly random thoughts of mine have been sparked by sort of a debate on that previous mentioned social site. There was a person who claimed quite fervently that everything their newly elected leader said, were simply opinions. He did not lie at all. I was shocked by that statement. Did that person not watch the same debates as I? Did that person just not understand what the terms racism and sexual assault actually mean? I provided actual quotes the elected official actually said. Words that came out of his mouth on various programs, news and talk. Nope. Those are just opinions. At the end of it all, forget it. I had to walk away for my own sanity. You cannot argue with people who will not see the truth. Actual truth. Not just media spinning words into plausible explanations.
People need to believe in these lies because the truth can be a dark and scary entity. I'm very curious to see what next year brings.

There is Pie

And quite a bit of it!


Which is good, because looking at all the snow we received the past few days, I really do not want to leave the warmth of my home.



Jackie however, had other ideas:

We need to be outside! Now!


So off we went!
While out enjoying the blistering, blowing snow, we followed some rabbit tracks,


We ran around like crazy for a bit,




Napoleon thought about it.....for a few seconds, which is longer than his attention span, and gave that idea a very big nope.

That was also by the way, one of the quickest nopes I have seen from this cat.

Rebel has absolutely zero interest in the outside world.
He found a freshly emptied laundry hamper to sleep in for a bit.


Actually, after last night at work, a good sleep sounds great right now.
Good plan Rebel. I'd high five you, but you are still sleeping.

I hope you all are healthy and warm.
Talk with you later!

Some Wins and a Good Effort

Yesterday I was trying my hand at being one of those domestic goddesses I read about once in a while.
I pureed my first pumpkin.

Before:
Gorgeous scaly topcoat. I wish I could remember the name of this particular pumpkin. Even before I cut it open, it has a sweet smell.

For such a small pumpkin, it certainly has a lot of flesh inside.


I brush some olive oil and place it down on a cookie sheet to bake for about 45 minutes at 350.


Napoleon and Jackie were on hand to supervise the baking process.


Rebel is not really into Pumpkin. He is however a fan of Bruschetta.
So while the pumpkin is baking, I made some. I follow the recipe I just linked and it turns out pretty good.

Just think, that started out from our monster harvest of tomatoes!

Oh, that photo was taken after I did that blanche thing.

Rebel loves when I cook. I always drop stuff.


By the time the tomatoes have transformed into bruschetta, the pumpkin is ready to be pureed

This weekend, that will magically transform into Pumpkin Pie!

So that bit where I put in good effort.
I am struggling with the concept of watercolour.
I have been watching a few tutorials.
I have to watch a lot more.
Scratch that. I NEED to watch a lot more.
The bit I'm struggling with is the concept that less is more.
With oils and a few other mediums, I can layer the colour on thick. Eventually it will be what I want it to be.
Watercolour, I am discovering is a little different.
A bit more permanent.
Anyways, this is my painting of a Moose in Autumn.

Like I said, work in progress. The effort is there. I just need more practice.
Well, I had a long night. Time for me to turn in.
I hope you are all well.
See you later.

Super Moon

I have to give all the photo credit to Hubs. He did a fantastic job finding the right settings on the camera and the ideal location to take such a beautiful work of art.


What makes this experience so special is this will be the first time since 1948 that the moon has traveled this close to the sun on its elliptical orbit. There are three super moons. The first was October 16th, Monday that just past, was the largest and the next will be December 14. So you have another chance if you missed the other two occasions. After that, the next super moon will be in the year 2034.

Beside watching the skies, I have been knitting like a fiend.

I cannot yet show pictures, because some are gifts.

I can however show you some pictures of slippers I just made!

Jackie and I are now having a serious discussion on whether to add poms poms.
I'm leanings towards no.
Jackie is suggesting add some challenges to going up and down stairs as the cats try to madly catch the pom poms.

Speaking of cats. I hear angry meowing. I suspect someone is trapped down in the basement. Again.
Sometimes they like to follow me down and I do not see them right away.
Right then. Off to rescue someone.
I hope you all have a great day!