So. How ya been?

Good?

Oh, that's nice.

Me?

Well, I'm just fine.  Busy as hell, but feelin' good.  Much better than that fateful day a few weeks ago when I shamelessly begged for your friendship.  Much much much better than that.  But still, very busy.

So that's why I've been avoiding you.  Ok, not avoiding.  Just prioritizing and unfortunately for you, that means avoidance of the internet. 

On Saturday, we went to Halifax, where we ate nachos and shopped at MEC.  We also went to the Farmer's Market and the mall (oh Gap, why did you have to halt production of my latest favourite made-in-heaven jeans?).  But you know what I forgot to do?  You're not going to believe this!

I forgot to go to the yarn shop.

Forgot.  To.  Shop.  For.  Yarn.

I'm still shaking my head at my sheer absentmindedness.  It must have been the world-class nachos.  The cholesterol must have addled my brain.  That's the only explanation.

Then, Sunday brought chores and the finishing up of mending projects (ugh), and I figured you wouldn't want to hear about that (you also didn't want to hear about the hour I spent re-fastening loose floorboards, right?).

So, that's why I've got nothing for you.

Well, ok.  Not "nothing".  There's this:

This is a little blurry, isn't it?  Sorry about that.

This never ceases to amaze me.  I know that makes me sound like a) a naive child or b) a pot-smoking, granola-crunching hippy.  But, I can't deny it - I'm always surprised when my seeds sprout.  When those first little stems poke up out of the ground, I inevitably do a little dance of joy, where I clap my hands like a dork and wiggle back and forth really fast.

It's really mature.  And attractive.  You should try it.

Anyway.  This is the only progress I have to share with you, sadly.  The sweater has stalled since you saw it last.  I have no new clothing to show you.  I am working on something right now (free pattern to follow!), but I can't show it to you because it's for someone who reads this blog.  I'll post it when said person is in possession of said gift.

{Now you're wondering if it's you, aren't ya?  Well, let's put it this way: If your birthday was last week and you've agreed to file my income taxes for me, then the answer is yes, this gift is for you.  If not, you're out of luck.  This time.}

Other than that, the sweater pattern is being test-knit by a very kind soul and I'll have that up as soon as she has finished and I've made some adjustments to the wording.  The tutorial for the pants is going to morph into something much bigger, methinks.  I've been thinking about going off on a longer general-clothing-sewing-instruction tangent and I may have to work a bit more on that before I'm ready to start.

The garden planning is somewhat on hold for this week.  I'm going to pick it up again this weekend.  I have plans to also go and visit my friend Ruth who is not only my yoga instructor, but a gardener-extraordinaire.  I'm going to document a bit of what she does and how she does it for you, my blog peeps.  She just got back from a three-week trip from Mexico (the jerk), so I'll give her a few days to gain her bearings before descending upon her, looking for gardening advice.  In the meantime,  I am looking at inspiration and getting some information together to make my planning easier.  I'm going to make a few of these, so I don't have to contend with my clay soil (P-Dub, I love you).  Oh, and when I say that "I" will make them?  Don't believe me.  I will be involved, but I can not lie to you - I shall be heavily aided by a certain male member of this family.  And by "aided", I mean "he'll be doing most of the dirty work and I will get to stand back and make sure it gets done right".   Like usual.  HA!  Just kidding. 

Sort of.

{I've actually been feeling increasingly guilty at the amount of work the hubs has been doing around here (*cough*hesdoingthedishesrightnowwhileIblog*cough*), so that's kind of why I took a little Interwebs-hiatus.  And that's the reason for the floorboard-fixing.  I just can't let him do everything.  It's not fair.  So, if I disappear for a while again, it's for a good cause - the survival of my marriage.}

Anywho, I gotta go and get some work done.  I'll be back soon with more stuff to show you.  In the meantime, if you've got some special tutorial/blog post requests, please feel free to leave them in my comments.  I'll do what I can to oblige! {Like, do you still want a mitten tutorial, or will that be put aside until autumn, in favour of gardening and sewing?  It's up to you.}

Here's a parting photo of Ruth's garden, taken in 2008, in late May (spring arrives very late, here - you can see that the trees are just starting to bud):

This only shows you about 1/3 of the garden, and doesn't give you any indication of the adjacent orchard. 

I know.  She's crazy.  But you wanna guess how much awesome (organic) food I get, for giving her a hand with the weeding?  Oh, yes.  It's fab. you. luss.

Ok, so farewell for now, my friends!

Gun-shy, little guy?

I was driving home today and I was totally blown away by all the wildlife I saw (Holy crap, Daylight Savings and some nice weather and blamo!  Turns out I'm living in an episode of "The Nature of Things"!).  After seeing 4 bald eagles (one of them was a teenager carrying off what looked like a still-wriggling squirrel), I wasn't expecting to have a fox cross the road right in front of the car.

I stopped and rolled down the window, whipped out the camera and just started shooting.  Of course, I didn't check my shutter speed, first.  And when he saw the camera (and maybe heard my radio), he bolted.  Up until that point, he sat there looking at me, just like I was looking at him. 

This is the only Photoshopped-all-to-hell, way overexposed shot I got of him, as he was making his getaway:

That settles it: I'm not going anywhere without my camera, from now on.  And I'm going to leave it in Auto Mode, when I'm not using it.  Bollocks.

We took a walk and overheard a conversation...

"Winter!" cried the Wind.

"Spring," whispered the Sun.

 And I have the coolest wellies, ever.  See?

 

They're neoprene and rubber, all cozy and seamless, so my feet stay warm and dry.  Perfect for the Maritimes in the spring.  (psst: Canucks - I got 'em at Canadian Tire and they were $40+tax....not a lot to pay for your own little piece of magic!)

Also, some randomness:

• I started a tray of seeds this weekend, to see if I can grow some greens indoors.  I also bought some alfalfa seeds to try out a sprouting method my health food store owners told me about.  I will keep you posted.
• As I predicted, I have to re-hem by new brown pinstriped wool pants.  When will I learn to pre-wash my fabrics?
• My husband is clearing out some of the woods behind our house, to let in a bit more sunshine and help dry things out in the summer.  I can hear the chainsaw starting and stopping, starting and stopping.  It makes me a *little* bit nervous, given his past history of clumsiness.
• I made some awesome progress on my sweater, this weekend:

 

• I went back and dropped every third sleeve stitch (one at a time) and re-knit them with a crochet hook, to create 2x1 ribbing.  It snugged up the sleeves quite nicely and added a bit of zazz to them.
• I'm now 3/4 done one sleeve and still have to pick up and knit the second.
• I can see the end of the tunnel.
• The best part is that I will have no seaming, when I'm done that sleeve.  Just blocking and drying.  Yippeeee!
• I am making lasagna for supper tonight (with brown rice noodles).  It is going to rock.
• I rented "The Time Traveler's Wife" and I really liked it.  Eric Bana sounds a little stilted, sometimes (I think it's because of his accent), but I really loved the sets and the cinematography.  You know that red blanket she uses for her little picnic, when they first meet?  I have that blanket!  It's a Hudson's Bay blanket and it is wool.  I found it abandoned in the laundry room of my last apartment.  No-one in the building wanted it, so we kept it.  My hubbie and I fight over who gets to use it. 
• Daylight Savings kicks my arse every time it comes around (see mention of insomnia in previous post), so I'm not looking forward to waking up this week.  It's a good thing I know where to get some caffeine.

What about you guys?  Did you do anything nice over the weekend?

Confessions

1. I hate hockey.  I know, you didn't think there was such a thing as a hockey-hating Canadian, did you?  Well, I do hate it.  With a passion, the likes of which you have never seen before.
2. I also hate coffee.  I have never had an entire cup, because the first sip always makes me gag.  Therefore, I don't care for Tim Horton's.  (That won't mean anything to anyone who isn't Canadian.  And to the Canadians, it will make me seem *almost* as un-patriotic as my aversion to hockey.)
3. I don't like to do bad things - the thought makes me queasy.  I have never stolen a thing in my life.  Never.  Not even a candy bar.
4. I can sit down and eat an entire bag (I'm talking economy-sized) of potato chips without help.  The whole bag, guilt-free.  Not that I'm proud of it...it's more of a morbid fascination with my blatant gluttony.
5. If I could change one thing about myself (physically), it would be to grow taller.  I am short and I hate it.  Everything else, I can live with.  Even my big feet.
6. I'm not very good with money.
7. I can speed read and I am incapable of putting a book down, once I've started.  That means I can't start a book mid-week, or else I won't go to sleep until it's done.
8. I struggle with insomnia.  As a result, I sleep alone, in my own bed.  This arrangement has saved my flailing-and-snoring husband's life, many times over.  Not to mention our marriage.
9. I don't wear a wedding band.  Or any rings, for that matter.  I used to retain a LOT of water at night, and when I wore rings, they would cut off the circulation to my fingers (purple fingers are scary, in the morning).  Instead of messing about with putting on/removing of them, I just forgo the whole thing.  (Incidentally, my feel also swell so much overnight that my shoes are *much* tighter in the morning than at the end of the day.)
10. As a result of #8, I sometimes get questions along the lines of "why isn't a lovely thing like you married?", but always from geriatric men.  In fact, I have never been flirted with by men my own age - always men old enough to be my father (or thereabouts).  I've never understood it and as a teenager, it really creeped me out.
11. I'm a prude, body-wise.  I can't imagine a more uncomfortable place to be than the locker room (ladies' or men's) of a gym.  I have two step-sisters my age and I've never seen either one naked.  Or even topless.  They've never seen me, either.  It would be a seriously traumatizing experience for all parties involved.  Trish, I'm sure you can back me up on that one.
12. I hate makeup.  When I wear a tuque, I look like a boy.
13. If you dropped me off in the middle of Winnipeg (where I spent most of my childhood), I would probably not be able to find my way out.  I learned to drive there, but I have completely forgotten how to navigate the city.
14. I am French Canadian, but I haven't read a French book in at least 10 years (OH FOR SHAME!!!).
15. I have never personally owned a TV.
16. I didn't think "Gangs of New York" was all that violent.  And I didn't really like it, though I would trade my left arm for a chance to meet Daniel Day-Lewis (he's dreamy)(and old enough to be my father...).

That's all I can think of, today.  What about you?  Any confessions you just *have* to get off your chest?

Blerg

Here's the scoop, Internet.  I need a favour from you.  I have just had what is most likely the second-most craptastic day in the history of days. 

{I say "second-most" because, if pressed, I'm sure I could come up with a slightly more crappy scenario than the one I lived through today...and I don't want to tempt the Universe into delivering it to me just to prove that I've gone too far with my penchant for exaggeration, this time.}

As a result, I really need to hear some nice things.  Tell me some nice things, will ya?  I don't care WHAT you say, just make it nice.  Please.  I'm begging you.  Nice and pretty and nice.  And nice. 

For example: you could say "spring is coming".  {Albeit, not where I live (we still have another month or so of snow to contend with), but in some places in the world, it's getting springy}.  Another example: "the sun was shining today and I got to spend time with a good friend".  See?  So nice. 

If you promise me that you will say nice things, I will give you a treat.  Like an update on my sweater.  How about it?  You promise?  Ok, here you go:

(FYI: if you're annoyed at how long it's taking you to finish a knitting project, I highly recommend getting sick and lying around for 4 days...works like a charm)

The sleeves are turning out to be a *little* big, but I'm thinking I'm going to make them ribbed, so they snug up a bit.  Still pondering that one...

Flapped open, so you can see the ribbing at the hem and up the side "seam".

 

And...an artsy shot, just for the heck of it.

I'm still not clear on how it will close, but I'll figure that out later.  Told you I was flying by the seat of my pants.

So, lay some nice thoughts on me, will ya?

Under the weather, which is not saying much

Feelin' a little "under the weather" today.  And it seems that the weather is feeling a little "under the weather", too.  So, I stayed home to rest (took a four-hour nap...oops) and spent the rest of the time curled up, drinking peppermint tea with honey and cutting out little flower photos to fill up the new scrapbook my hubs got me for garden inspiration (thanks, schmoopsiepoo!  yes, I really do call him that - he's 6'-2" and weighs 220 pounds - he can handle it).

And I'll bet you're curious about that barn in the corner - the one that stole my heart and made me shiver when I first saw it in my Canadian Gardening magazine - aren't you?

Go here and you'll find it under "Amenities & Services".  Click on "Organic Farm" and prepare to fall in love, my dears.  A development with it's own, built-in CSA?  Yes, please.  Of course, the property prices are ridiculous and it all smells somewhat of elitism, but still.  Yes, please.  And I'll take two servings of that there barn, please.  With whipped cream on top.

Completely unrelated, I was just now wandering completely off-track in the wilderness that is the Interwebs, and fell upon this little jewel.  Go and watch the video.  I'm not a hip-hop fan, but this just about knocked me out of my chair.  Me likey good art.

Boooyah!

Alright. So you know a few weeks ago when I said I was working on a few projects and I was too busy to post proper blog entries? Well, I wasn't lying! And one of those projects is finally ready to reveal!

Behold:

(PS: Does anyone know where the heck I'm supposed to paste the code for this little doodad into my sidebar? I know just enough about HTML to get myself INTO trouble.)  Never mind, I figured it out.  Nothing like taking your blog's life into your own hands to make you feel alive!


I've honoured to announce that I'm a....drumroll, please....STAFF CONTRIBUTOR on the brand-spankin'-new Creative Humans magazine!!! My contribution was not fancy or even very big, this time around, but I've already almost polished off my second assignment (I got a little ahead of myself, I think...) and I'm stoked! I don't have my paws on an actual copy of the magazine yet, but the previews look pretty wicked (OH THE PHOTOGRAPHY!!!). Leah (leahpeah.com) sent out a call for contributions, oh about a month ago, and I figured why the heck not give it a shot?  I had a great time putting it together and I'm so excited to see what comes of this little pilot project.  I think all the contributors are bloggers and many are people I've never met or even heard of.  I can't wait to read it through and go exploring to see what the others are up to!

YAY!