One Down

Today was sort of lazy Sunday. I finished one mitten while watching Julie & Julia. I bought this movie because of Meryl Streep. I've loved her in just about anything she has ever done. I actually did laugh out loud at quite a few parts. I thought her version of Julia Child was excellent!

This is the mitten I completed:

It is from a pattern called Newfoundland Mitts which I found here!

It is actually my second try. I first try was quickly frogged after I realized I had miscounted:

The circles should not be lined up liked that.

I also made myself a great supper tonight! Beef Teriyaki Stir Fry.

I cook my beef separately in teriyaki sauce with a bit of garlic.

I cooked it separately so I know it would be cooked clean through.

My vegetables are in a pre-heated wok with oil, garlic, ginger and a bit of sauce

Just a mix of sweet peas, broccoli, carrots, onion and mushrooms.

Mixed with my long grain brown rice:

Most of my time is spent chopping up the veggies. It is worth it. Good thing. I made enough for my lunch and supper again!

Hope you all had a fantastic week end. It went by awful quick didn't it? Have a great Monday. See you all later. :D

New Mittens!!

Not only have I been searching for a coffee grinder, but I've been hard at work creating a few new patterns.

I have recently completed this one for a special friend's daughter:

The link for this pattern can be found on Ravelry!

I hope you like it. :D

Coffee Drama Continues...

...and I brought it on myself.

I have mentioned this before. I know I have. When I do the domestic thing and go grocery shopping, it's more of a scavenger hunt. All of those packages, labels, colours, ingredients; it's all very over whelming. That's why I stick to the outskirts of the store. I try and avoid packaged goods. I can identify fruits, vegetalbles and meat products. Companies keep changing their labels. I can't keep up. I should take the time and actually read the label but I always go for the colour or design on the box. That is also how I choose wine. I gravitate towards the most interesting package. The way I look it, if the company spends that much time and effort into their packaging, they must spend that much time on their product in the pretty package. So back to the grocery store. When I go for a certain product, I go for that particular box or package. When the package gets changed, I don't really notice. That is actually how I have ended up trying new and exciting goods, for example this coffee I purchased. Anything with Kick Ass in the title is my kind of coffee! I swear to whoever higher power, I thought it said ground coffee. I was in a hurry though. Entirely my fault. I did not take the time to read the label properly. It said Kick Ass though.....

My solution to this little oversight I thought was rather simple. I will purchase a coffee bean grinder! A shiny new toy. Great idea Joce! So Monday, I sucked it up and had tea for my morning beverage. On my lunch hour I will find a coffee grinder thing. No problem. It's one day. I can handle this switch of beverage. On my lunch hour, I venture to Wal Mart. It was a decent experience. There was not too many people there. I go to the small appliance section. Oooh. There is quite a selection here. Most of these names I have never heard of before. I go for something familiar. Black and Decker. I recognize those. They make tools. Tools are cool. They are built to last. I happily take my selection to the check out. Done. Mission complete.
I get home with my shiny silver and black new toy. I rip open the box. Wait. What? This doesn't look like the box. Where is the black part of the black and silver? Hmmmm. This is called something else. It starts with the letter S. Something is not right. I plug it in. Add in my Kick Ass beans. Push that little button. Nothing. Unplug, plug back in. Push little button. Nothing. Hmmmmm. Not good. Fire up computer. Look up Black and Decker coffee bean grinders. Try and match up the one sitting quietly on my counter in the kitchen with one on their website. Nothing looks like the one sitting on my counter. Hey now. Hold on a minute. This is not a Black and Decker coffee bean grinder. Bloody hell. Another morning without coffee. This will not end well. At least I kept the bill.

Another lunch hour approaches. I have gone two mornings without coffee. To all those who were in my path these past few days, I'm sorry. Tea is not the same as coffee in my system. I stumble into Wal Mart. I get directed to their customer service department.

Hi there. I start. I need to exchange this please.
Why?
It doesn't match the box.
So?
It is not what I expected when I opened the box.
OK
May I please have another one that matches the box?
Um. You don't like this one?
Not really. It didn't work and it doesn't match the box.
OK, get another.
Why thank you. :)

I go back to the small appliance section. I find the Black and Decker coffee bean grinders. I open the box. Fool me once..... Inside is a Black and Decker coffee bean that matches the box! Yes! I make my way back to the counter with the helpful cashier. I'm grinin' like an idiot. I make the switch and hope for the best.

I can't go directly home tonight. I will have to wait to test out my little machine. There is something I have to do that will take me away from home until at least
22h00. When I finally arrive home I'm anxious to test out my new toy. The fuzzies are quite angry at my list of priorities. Their supper time is precisely 18h04. It is now 21h46. I'm horribly late. But no matter. The machine works. It is grinding coffee. I will have coffee tomorrow morning. All will be right in the world. People will live. It will Kick Ass!!

Freedom

2011 is going to be interesting. I have a great feeling. There will be new adventures, new people, new places to explore. I am going to need more coffee to keep up! :D

I had a wonderful week end with my friend. We celebrated new possibilities:


We watched a few movies; did a little people watching, enjoyed some awesome food and knit a little. It was a perfect week end!

Alright Monday! Bring it on! I'm ready for you.

My Version of a Grilled Cheese Sandwich

That's it!
I love grilled cheese sandwiches. They are one of my many comfort meals. It was one of the few meals my mom first taught me to make. Actually, it may have been my dad now that I think of it.
I was thrilled when I was away at school and that was on the menu one evening. I was ecstatic when they improved it by adding ham to the cheesy goodness! The sandwich you see in my blurry pic above has a quick fried steak in the middle of old cheddar on marble whole wheat and rye bread. It was awesome!

Look what I learned over the week end:

There is a little drawer on the front of my tower that hides those plug ins for ear phones. I had no idea. I thought it was something you remove when you wanted to add in an extra CD thingy.

That divorce thing is just about sorted. I'm in the final stretch now. I just need to sign something else and that is it. It has been just under a year since I've been on my own. I've learned a lot about myself and I like what I have learned :D

I hope you all are enjoying your Wednesday. A few more days and the week end will be here!

I Survived Christmas of 2010

I have learned that The Fuzzies are not really good travel companions. Next time, I sedate them...maybe. They go into their carriers without a worry. The trouble starts when you start to pick up their carriers. That is when things get interesting. They screamed all the way down the downstairs; all the way outside to the truck and for the better part of an hour on the highway. I think they stopped because either their throats were sore or they finally realized we were not going to the vet. Either way, I was very thankful. You can only turn up the radio so loud to drown them out. I don't really like the stereo too loud because their have that incredible hearing. I can remember watching a documentary about cats and the part I remember most easily is they can hear the electricity in the walls.

Once we arrive at my parents, Napoleon lived up to the stereotype of being a black cat cellar dweller and went straight to the basement. Rebel made his way to the kitchen. That is where the two of them stayed for the better part of our trip. At night, Napoleon ventured upstairs and proceeded to eat most of Mom's plants. I guess he was roughing it.

With just the three of us humans, it was rather quiet. I rather enjoyed it, even if all we really watched was the news....24/7..for the first few days anyway. With their satellite system, they can watch the news across the country and comment on each provinces' local news stories. The weather was the most exciting. There was lots of flooding on the east coast and a few fires. When there were no more news programs to watch we watched CP24 and CNN. Did you know those channels show the same six stories and just loop them? I do now. :)

I finally was all newsed out and joined Napoleon in the basement. We watched a ton of movies. Miracle of 34th Street; Men With Brooms; It's a Wonderful Life; The Sound of Music; Pirates of the Caribbean; Surveillance; Nottinghill; and so many more. Wow that is a lot of movies. I had a difficult time sleeping so I knitted and watch movies. I completed a toque for Mom and finished the socks for Dad. I didn't bring my camera because of the flash trouble so I regret to say there are no pictures. You know it is rather strange. I refer to him as Dad when introducing him and mentioning him to other people, but in face to face conversations, I call him Len. I didn't create that name, Len is his name. I just noticed that. How strange. Anyway, I started another pair of socks for me. Nothing fancy. Just plain stocking stitch. I like the colour of the yarn. It is red and I suspect purple striped. That colourblind thing makes it a little difficult to differentiate between some colours. It's quite thick so I'm making the assumption they would be perfect winter lounging socks. Well you can see for yourself:

Pretty cool eh?

I always have a tricky time sleeping away from home unless I have had a few "beverages". Sleeping at Mom's is always interesting. First there is the battle of the thermostat. Mom prefers the house to be heated around 21 or 23 degrees. Dad likes it at a comfortable 27 or 30 degrees. Where I sleep in the basement you can hear the heater kicking on and going off at various stages in the battle. I believe the score by the end was Mom 10, Dad 25. I should have packed more T shirts. At least I remembered to pack my pillow. That helps. Next time I'm rigging something up for that futon. There is this bar that runs along the middle. If you land on top of it in your sleep, your back will scream all the next day. I had a difficult time keeping to one side. The Fuzzies kept pushing me around. Why is it the smallest critter takes up the most room?

Mom and Dad enjoyed their presents. I'm always a little worried about whether I chose properly. It's hard to shop for people who say they don't need anything. I like to think that after 30 years, I have finally got them pegged. The weather was awesome for driving. There were no freaky snow storms or onslaught of rain like in previous years. Just a blue sky, lots of sun and freezing cold. After the first hour it was quite enjoyable.

Now I have a day to myself. I'm going to wash my floors, make some soup and vegetate before I have to return to work tomorrow. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. :)

My Hair is All Staticy and Some Stranger Touched My Laundry!

That pretty much sums up my week thus far. I have fine hair. It is constantly clamped up because of the static issues. I don't think that is what Pantene had in mind when they said their volume increasing shampoo will work for fine hair. I'm forever that little one that pulls of her toque and all her hair looks like she has just touched that static ball at The Science Centre. If I listen closely, I can even hear the electrical charges.
I was trying to do my laundry last night because I will be away for the holidays. I was aiming to have some clothes to bring with me on my Christmas vacation. Yea for clean underwear!!! So anyways..I thought I had the laundry machines down path as far as timing goes. It takes 34 minutes for the washers and 42 minutes for the dryers. I was one minute late. I enter the laundry room and find my wet clothing on the counter and a woman happily shoveling her items into the machine.
Um...I start....were you waiting long for that machine?
No. It had just finished, she answers all smiley.
I had nothing to say. I have never had anyone else touch my laundry before. I guess I have to rethink the timing on my laundry adventures and correct the washer to 33 minutes to beat the eager Sallys of the world anxious to do their laundry. Lesson learned.
Tomorrow I'm driving to my Mom's with the two cats. They know something is happening. I found their carriers last night and set them out. Napoleon has been in and out of his since they came out of the closet. Rebel just stares at his. Right now those carriers are pieces of furniture. Tomorrow morning they will be high tech torture devices. I always feel like I'm transporting Hannibal Lector with Napoleon. I have to use twist ties to keep him from breaking free. As I move down the hall with them, they scream at the top of their little lungs. I just look at it as their version of telling the neighbours they are excited to be out of the apartment. Ah who am I kidding. They are screaming that they are being held hostage and heading to unknown territory and should be leaving the comfort of their sanctuary. I can't say I blame them. That's how I feel most days when I leave my domicile.
I am looking forward to Christmas. I thought I would be all apprehensive, what with this being my first Christmas as single. This is not the case. I've been enjoying myself quite a bit actually. I've been knitting for people that I really care about, watching all the Christmas movies on television and just enjoying the season. I can't really account for my feelings. I'm just thrilled that I'm in high spirits.
Merry Christmas Everyone!!! Stay healthy and safe. :)