I Am.......

I am Canadian. I love it. I love my country. I love my freedoms. I can do whatever I please (within reason of course), speak to whomever I choose. It is a great feeling of power to live in this country. This sentiment I learned from father. He was a pretty cool guy. I idolized him. This is one of the few things that I have left of his belongings.

It was actually the only thing I really wanted. It is something that I have with me all the time. I love what it symbolizes. We refer to it often as the "church key". It serves it's purpose well.

Over the past week, we ran a few errands and came across these gems.


I have yet to try them out. I'm hoping to have time this week end. It will also be a very domestic week end. I need to start a search and rescue for vacuum. I have been neglecting it lately. I blame the weather. It draws me away from my domestic duties. I have even been hearing birds this week. I had no idea how much I missed that sound until this week. It was a long winter and I hope actual spring weather is getting closer.

I have been knitting feverishly. I have a quite a few scarves on the sticks.

I like these projects as something a bit mindless when I just can't seem to focus on anything properly. I am not in any hurry to have them completed, making them the perfect "go to" project when I want to knit and just not sure what to start. I'm not even sure how long they will be. I guess I will know when I get to that point.

Salida is also coming along very well.

All those times I ripped it back to the cuff on the first sock has paid off. I am now very familiar with this pattern and can easily watch Dollhouse or Big Bang Theory while I plug away at them.

I had a nice conversation with my parents the other day. They are keeping very busy. Apparently, they have adopted a family of raccoons. Not only is Mom waking at "2 am in the morning" to provide them with a healthy serving of bread and margarine with the crusts cut off, but she is also preparing ham for the family. I wonder how her neighbours are coping? Never a dull moment over there.

Friday has officially arrived. I hope you all have a great week end. :) Here is a little tune I have in my head now for the better part of the week. Not the prettiest boys out there, but fun nonetheless. Enjoy:

Three

Today was quite stressful. It was our annual voyage to the vet. Rebel and Napoleon were due for their vaccines. This is always an event to behold. It is a day filled with suspense, drama, action and adventure. First I do my prep work. I find the carriers, and leave them out so that the cats can familiarize themselves with their mode of transportation. This is the easy part. Napoleon even climbs into and naps in his.


When he is not resting, he is living as his alter, Demon Kitty.


Rebel remains elusive. There is no photographic evidence to be had of his familiarization.

The next day, appointment day, is filled with battle and intrigue. Every year, I try different methods to make this as painless as possible, (for me). The best I have found is to load Rebel first. I bring the carrier to him and hope for the best. It always ends the same. A lot of fur flying, screaming, (mine) and hissing, (Rebel's). After all is said and done, I have to change my clothes. It looks like I have been in a bar fight. Once Rebel is safely tucked away, I work on Napoleon. He is a little easier as he is normally found playing in his carrier.


I sort of imagine their dialogue to go something like this:
R: What are you in for?
N: I'm not sure. I'm not going to admit anything until I narrow down the offenses.
R: I bet it's for chewing through the cable cord again.
N: You think so? I was leaning towards hiding the remote control.

Today's visit brought us amazing news. Over the past year, Rebel has slimmed to a lean and mean 25lbs. That means he lost 3lbs. I'm one very proud mom.


This couldn't have been possible without the help of his personal trainer.


Unfortunately, Napoleon is still a little dazed and confused. He does not do well with his vaccines. They make him quite sleepy and grumpy. He should be back to normal tomorrow.

Way to go Rebs!! We are so proud of you.

When we arrived home again, I worked on a little sweater for a special person. Baby Om is finally complete and none too soon as the new owner arrived on March 11, 2009. :D.

All I need to do now is block it and ship it.
Front view:


Back view:


In our travels on Friday, we came across a great sushi place. We had one in our town which was totally awesome. The food was always prepared so well and was so tasty. I find with sushi, it can be really good, or plasticy. Unfortunately, that location is no more. We have been on the hunt for a substitute for quite some time. I believe we finally found one! The name of this super cool place is Daiichi Japanese Restaurant. Their presentation is almost as good as the food they offer.


I hope you are all enjoying the week end. I'm off to watch another movie and see if I can settle down to sleep a little. Have a good night everyone.

S A T U R D A Y night

It's Saturday night. Big Smile over here at Chez L. I do not have any plans. I just want to hang out with my family, watch movies and knit. I've been working steady on the SKP socks, Salida. I am now past the heel point and working on the foot. I will just call the first few cast-ons practice. I'm liking how this is turning out. I know it is not quite finished, but it is really shaping to be a comfortable sock. I was thinking that with all the little twists it may prove to be tight. This is thankfully, not the case.

I do have some sad news in terms of knitting. A favourite pair of circs has managed to become decapitated. I was just cruising along, listening to AC DC, patiently waiting for the first aid course to start when I felt it give way.


A closer look at the misfortune:


I'm wondering if I wrote to the kind people of Addi, if they would do something about this. This is the first time that a pair of circs have actually fallen apart and Napoleon has an alibi:


Baby Om is coming along nicely. Tomorrow I will finish the seaming and then get it prepped for transportation.

Speaking of transporting:


It is just a simple manipulation of yarn overs and purling two together. I like the effect. It gives me an idea for something............

The last of the traveling scarves is complete. When I go for my walk tomorrow, I will send it home to it's owner. I'm sure she is anxiously waiting its return as much as I am mine.

I'm off to enjoy the rest of my Saturday Night:

Have a great week end everyone :D

I Strongly Dislike This Time of Year

Just when I get used to the idea of seeing the sun when I leave work, the greater number of society has decided to play a game with my mind and move the time and space continuum ahead one hour. That is just plain mean.
Enough of that now.

Another lesson was learned this week end.
This:


equals this:


Someone, and I am not naming any names cannot dabble in the spirit and follow a chart. It is a good thing I enjoy this little hobby of mine, or I would be persuaded to freak out a little bit.

I do however, have a success story to share with all of you. A little sweater is almost off the sticks. I just need to get to some seaming! Now that I have procured a tapestry needle, this should be finished any day now.



I'm off to try and settle down a bit so I can attempt to sleep. I hope the rest of you were not put out by the time change. If it is any consolation, Spring has almost arrived, maybe.
Good night everyone.

A New Venture?

I was involved in a discussion in a chat room type of thing a few days ago. The topic gradually switched to art. This was a very nice change as some of you who frequent chat rooms can well imagine. To make a potentially long story short, a gentleman was looking for people to draw their interpretations of the constellations. I chose Andromeda, The Chained Maiden.

Lesson 1. Be very specific when you are googling for information.



This is my very rough draft of my concept. As you can see, she is lacking a hand. There is also a weird stain by the leg.
Lesson 2. Make sure coffee is out of reach of cat.

Napoleon was closely supervising the work detail. There is progress. This time yesterday, she did not have a head.
I also spent the better part of the day taking pictures of my foot to help me gain a perspective on proportion. Which brings us to:
Lesson 3. Enlist the help of a photographer for my next picture.

Hunnnnnyyyyy.........Heellllllpppp!!

We never discussed any monetary value for this work. If the gentleman likes my work, then cool. If not, then that is OK too. I will call it a practice run to get myself back into my craft. I noticed my pencils were dusty and that saddens me. I need to draw more.

I have also been working on my sock for the SKP International group on Ravelry.


I am really loving this. It appeals to my need for instant gratification. The pattern is already evident and I am looking forward to see how the heel will work with it.

Did anyone watch the premiere of America's Next Top Model? I cannot tell who the possible winner for this cycle will be. I was a bit disappointed with who they sent home. I was routing for another young lady to go home. I won't say who because I do not want to spoil it for anyone. I know there are a lot of people out there who watch television very similar to me, long after the fact.
I'm going to head bed now. I'm not feeling 100%. It must be my body telling me to pay attention and take better care of myself.
So, good night everyone. the week end is almost here.

Where Did It Go?

That was a very quick week end. It was also a chilly one. Just think.....another month and maybe we can start thinking about dressing in less layers. Until that time comes, I will have my woollies to wear.
It was a busy little week end for us. Napoleon tried to accompany the husband to the gym. I think he is a brave little cat to take up residence in there:


I also caved and bought some tapestry needles:


I have some finished projects to show as a result of said purchase:
The Mod Mitts:


And my bordello Sea Wool Socks:


I cannot just walk into a yarn shop and come home with only tapestry needles, so this sort of jumped into my arms as well:


We watched a few movies this week end.One was Sex Drive with Seth Green. The other was The Orphanage, a Spanish horror film.

To go with the films, we shared a bottle of wine:


Today we were off to a late start,well, OK, I was off to a late start. When I was finally sorted, we walked over to the parents for a nice supper.
My sneakers going out for a walk:


We had a very good appetizer of cheddar, cracker, and hot pepper jelly. It's my favourite. Actually, anything with cheese is my favourite.


It was a very chilly walk home. Even our shadows are chilled.


My sneakers finally had a chance to rest and watch the in home version of animal planet.





I don't even want to know what they do when we are not at home.

Happy March everyone. It is time for me to settle down so I can try to sleep before work.

Night.

Thank You

I just want to say thank you. You are my best friend. I tell you absolutely everything. Perhaps too much sometimes :)
You make me feel strong. You make me feel like I can do anything. You know all my secrets. I know all of yours. There have been stressful difficult times, but they are hugely outweighed by all the cool experiences. I would never ever trade any of that away. You're stuck with me. :D