Recap and Relist.

So I dug up last year's things to do this year list. Just to see how I did.

Ten Things to do in 2007

1. Carry my camera everywhere. - Pretty good on this one. I only lost momentum when my good one had to be sent away to get fixed.

2. Quit wearing men's sweat pants in public. Not even to the mailbox or the grocery store. Giant Sorel's don't disguise what they are. - Success! I haven't worn sweats in public all year. I am proud of me. My standards for pride may be a touch on the low side. ;)

3. Start a knitting/crafting group. - Tried it didn't work out. People are too busy not interested in going out in the cold once they've come home from work. Ah well. I didn't flake on it. Good enough.

4. Get outside more often. Unless it is really cold or really wet. Don't feel like it isn't an excuse since I never seem to feel like it. - Um. I parked the car more often and walked from place to place even in the cold. That counts, right?

5. Keep up with the charity knitting. - Not bad. Not as good as I did in 2006, but not bad.

6. Try harder not to put things off until the last minute. This would ensure that I am on time more often. - I've been good about getting there closer to on time or right on time. Partial success.

7. Quit glaring at things and waiting for them to do themselves. Sitting on the couch knitting and getting annoyed at the laundry and dishes for not doing themselves hasn't worked thus far, it probably won't work in the future either. - Apparently hope lives eternal. Although I have spent less time glaring before doing.

8. Try to bake a bit more often. - Not bad on this one. Not as much as I had envisioned when I wrote this list, but a little more is better than less.

9. Try to exercise once in a while. - I parked the car more often. I'm counting it.

10. Start knitting small gifts now so I have a backup stack of stuff for birthdays and Christmas. - This one is pretty damn funny. I was busy knitting other stuff. Someday I will be prepared. It wasn't this year.

Not a bad job on the list.


Tomorrow the new list. I wish each of you a very Happy New Year and an excellent night.

Christmas was lovely.

The snow fell and the area is a postcard from the North Pole. If the North Pole had trees, that is.

I didn't get much showable knitting done. What little I did manage irritated my mouse hand. I thought that I was on the computer a good bit from home. Apparently I click a heck of a lot more at work and I am feeling it. Hopefully it won't last long, but in the meantime I am keeping the knitting to a row or three and switching mouse hands often to prevent it from getting worse. Who knew F@! F*# and wool/nylon sock yarn could be so warm?!

My favourite Christmas gift from my parents. 9 skeins! Enough for a sweater for me! Now for the hand to heal so I can get started.

Next, the New Year's List.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

May you be blessed with sweet memories,

Good friends and

Great peace.

Spirit lifting.

So the other day, I'm at the local fresh-ish market buying some cabbage rolls for lunch when this lady walks up to order some chicken. We got to talking since, apparently I am rather yappy, and she told me that she makes cabbage rolls every year and gives a tray of them as gifts to her friends and family. Jokingly I told her where I work. We both laughed and wandered off in our own directions.

Yesterday, she stopped by the office with a beautifully wrapped, very cold gift. It was a tray of cabbage rolls for me! I was very surprised and more than a little touched. Our Christmas spirits have risen around here and things are getting merry and bright.

Some spirit.

This is not a Christmas story although there was a gift given. It is not about presents, but the feeling of having chosen perfectly is there. I saw this on the internet and though to share it with all of you. My Christmas spirit is flagging this year and I am a little burnt out with all the changes and missing my baby. So when I see things like this, it reminds me of why Christmas is so great. Sometimes it's the things we think aren't that big a deal that mean the most.

Like with ISE 5. We needed an angel knitter and it's one week to Christmas. Within minutes I had many people offer to step up and make a gift for someone who may otherwise have been left out. It only took that to raise my spirits immensely.

This helped raise them even more. I hope it helps one of you who may not be feeling the ho-ho-ho thing.

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe, that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!


So little to change so much for just one person.

Hello, hi!

Things here are still well. Busy, but in a good way. The snow has been falling nearly everyday. Hopefully I will manage to get out for some pictures in the daylight. I get up to go when it's just greyish out and by the time I'm off work, it's back to twilight.

Then there's the Christmas stuff. Someone fought the cats off for a chance to hide in the box.

Apollo is still going strong and scrapping Sam for a chance to climb the tree.

I've managed to get a bit of knitting in here and there, but nothing like before. This is requiring some expectation adjustments on my part. It will come though. It's just very different.

I love this little lace scarf. I'm using some leftover SRK Ovation. I'm going to do this until I run out and see how far I've gotten. I think I have a total of one whole ball of each colour.


I've written down the three people who joined me on the Pay-It-Forward bandwagon. I hope you have as much fun as I will!

So there's this thing...

It's going around blogland lately. I happen to think it's a great idea and of course hopped on the bandwagon as fast as I could. I am nothing if not a joiner. Lead on MacDuff! Not to mention blog fodder as I have nothing new on the needles.

The first three people to comment will receive something handmade by me within six months. There's a catch though. This game is along the Pay it Forward lines. In order to accept you have to promise to make something for three people within six months too.

The first three people to comment may leave their colour and fibre preferences in their comment and I will do my best to come up with something good for them.

I was fortunate enough to catch this on Suzanne's blog. Let's hope I can match her skill with the colour wheel. Check out the scarves she just finished. Pretty!

Now, some Figaro.

Biggun.

Wow! It's been a while since I last posted. Apparently when you have a job and a family and cleaning and stuff to do, you need a crapload more organization than my current level of very little. I am still here, still working mostly full time. Let's hope it lasts a while. We could use it.

All this time and I've only managed to finish a hat.

I'll get some better photos and post a pattern a while. I don't normally go for bobbles, but these ones don't bother me a bit. The Strawberry Shortcake bigness of this hat on the other hand, does. I may be letting it boil to see if it shrinks a little. The good thing is that it hasn't given me hat head. I may not shrink it if that keeps up and it doesn't blow off.

I've gotten some knitting in on my mystery project too. I really like how this is turning out.

My Birthday went very well. Thank you for all the well wishes!

The smoke alarm didn't go off, but if we'd let it burn a bit longer it might have. The frosting was nicely caramelized though. :)


Suzanne, 17 years ago, I was living in Winnipeg working at a little cafe in Winnpeg Square underneath the city centre. I was dating someone and had been for a year, but living alone and liking it. Life was good but damn poor, sort of like now only I have a Mr. and a child to show for it all. When I was 2, life was good but also poor. It seems my prime factors are often very similar to my current factor. Maybe the next time I hit a number with two prime factors, I will be enjoying life, but damn filthy rich. Or not. :)

Cold, much?

I can almost see the shivering.

The roof is well insulated now though.



So you wanna know do ya?

Suzanne: Yes, the Balance bag is the same swatch as shown on the Barbara Walker Treasury site. I knit another swatch, a long side/bottom piece, some handles and seamed 'er up.

Yes, it is my Birthday on Thursday. I will be 34 years fabulous. ;)

Rhonda: Yes, I am still working and the combination of work and internet issues are causing my blogging to be a bit spotty. Ah well, ces't la vive.

Finally! Internet ready again.

For now at least. What a weekend for my internet to crap out! We've been having issues on and off for a good while now and if we had a choice of "high" (we pay for 2MB and on a good day we think we are lucky to get 1MB) speed internet providers, we wouldn't be working with our current one anymore. We would have kicked them out a long time ago for that matter. Sometimes it really sucks living in the middle of nowhere. I hate not having any good choices in services like this. We can put up with the crap we already are with the hope that eventually the company that rhymes with haw will replace the lines they should have replaced the first time around or pay a frickin huge fee for the company that rhymes with well to upgrade the telephone lines so we can use that method of high speed. Anyway, you didn't come here to read a rant on my frustrations. You came for the ...

Snow! Loads of it. The swings are getting covered and if this keeps up, they may end up buried.

You probably also came to see if I've managed to knit anything in between rants. The secret project is going well. I had to tweak the pattern a little due to it not showing as well as I would have liked, but now it's all good.

It working up huge on my "Xena, Warrior Knitter!" needles too. Sweater hand purchased.

Balance is finally done and felted. I am still working on the pattern though. It may be a while. Things have been crazy lately and I like it.

The side. Gives it a nice shape. All that's left is some stiffener for the bottom and maybe a lining. Maybe.

Meantime, a new project! See I kind of accidentally threw my Flapper Girl's Twist in the wash and it's a wee bit tight now. The wool was washable, but not the kind of washing it got. Whups. Ah, well. I needed something new to work on and I wanted a quick project.