High Winds

Fun times are being had in these parts.  The Bumblebee is writing a book about a monster with smelly feet, and that there drawing is a town meeting to brainstorm some solutions 'cause all the 'sunlight' super power flowers are wilting from the toxic fumes.  We've come up with an ending, but each page she writes takes us farther from that predetermined destination.   Needless to say, it's going to take more time than I thought to wrap this ditty up.

Thankfully the girls and I have the next two days to hang out and enjoy each other's company.  I plan to wear lots of sweats, knit up a storm, drink pots of tea, and do a little early spring tidying.  What I am really looking forward to is an event on Tuesday morning that I am co-organizing for work with Glen Pearson's office.  Senator Art Eggleton will be presenting his report In from the Margins: A Call to Action on Poverty, Housing and Homelessness at the Wolf Performance Hall.  Doors open at 8:30 a.m., it's free, and there's no registration required to attend.  I'm stoked because this is exactly what I was seeking in my resolution-making - getting involved and building a caring community.   I just hope that I keep it together and don't cry.  When I get passionate about anything, I get really blubbery and unintelligible.  Everyone deserves a roof over their head, enough food to eat, and respect.  We live in a country that is incredibly rich with resources.  If one person is in need, we are all diminished.  If only this was as easy as solving some freaky malodorous toe jam.

N

Jackpot!

The Bumblebee likes reading.  Let me clarify.  She likes me reading while she listens.  And that's cool.  In the last few years, we have read Charlotte's Web, Nancy Drew, Anne of Green Gables, and lots of Little House on the Prairie books.  I'm a sucker for reading.   Just before Christmas, the Bumblebee discovered the Bad Kitty books, and suddenly she wasn't waiting for me to read to her, and before I knew it, she had finished all of the Bad Kitty books, and I hadn't read a single page.  I felt a little left out.  I could hear her laughing in bed and staying up late to finish "just one more chapter".   And so the quest began to search out another series that would equally encourage this solo reading.  She had seen the Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie and expressed interest in reading the book.  The library came to the rescue last week, and she's flying through the first book.  And this week, the second in the series came in, and it's just waiting in the wings.  I'd have to say I'm enamoured of this little one flipping through the pages and chuckling to herself.   I admit I've snuck in bed beside her and listened to her read aloud, and this Wimpy Kid is hilarious.   Maybe not the classic headstrong female heroine I've been pushing on her for the last while, but I'll take it if it means that she continues to love reading.  :)

N

Little House on the Conservation Area

I found my paradise in the form of a pioneer village.   We learned about printing presses, really tiny fonts, making ink from soot, carding and drafting wool, singing God Save the Queen, churning and molding butter, and living in a one-room homestead.  It was awesome.  We only saw half of the village, so I'm eager to return and visit the rest.  I'm packing a bag.  Wonder if it would get wi-fi.  Hmmm. 

N

PS. The littlest and I are reading The Little House on the Prairie every night before bed, and I'm amazed that I've made it this far in life without reading this series.  We've just finished chapter 9 in which Pa has built a fireplace for their new house on the prairie.  I was super relieved last night/chapter 8 when Laura helped Pa build a door to replace the ol' quilt that hung over the doorway.  I barely slept a wink after chapter 7 in which a giant pack of 50 or so of the biggest wolves that Pa had ever seen surrounded the house howling at the moon.  I honestly don't think that Pa and his gun and Jack the scruffy dog would have been a match had the wolves stormed the quilt-covered opening to the house.  Evidently I am quite consumed by this book.  I'm going to freak out when they have to move house again.  Just saying.

In Today's Mail

Dear T,

I found myself in a kitchen wares store the other day.  I hadn't been there in years, and when I first walked in, I couldn't think of one thing I needed in that store.  After a complete walk-through of the store, I settled my eyes on a wall of stainless steel pots, and after deciding on one and nearly calling it a day, I hollered over to the salesperson, "Would you happen to have any pizza stones???"  I have no idea what made me think of a pizza stone at that very moment as I have never seriously considered buying one until months ago when you recommended Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, but you also noted that I would definitely require a pizza stone.  But I didn't have the book, and I really think in these cases that the book needs to come before the stone.  However, the store had a pizza stone, and I threw the pot back on the shelf, and I bought that pizza stone.  And it's a very good thing that I did!

Thank you SO much for the book and the fabric and the skirt pattern (I will make oodles of them!), and most of all, thank you so mother flippin' much for the crocheted acorn basket!   Honestly,  I think I screamed when I opened the box.  Well, and there was the unicorn card!  I'm still not sure how that one got past me.  You've been holding on to that one for a while.  I'm impressed.  And humbled.  You did good.

How'm I supposed to top that?

N

Using Up the Lunch Apples

Don't let the tin foil plate fool you.  I made this entire pie from scratch.  The pastry and the pie filling.  See, we buy lots of apples for lunches.  Work lunches and school lunches.  This isn't to say that they get eaten.  I also unpack lots of apples at the end of each work and school day.  The girls rarely eat them.  The cookies and popcorn are always gone, but the apples mysteriously return home.  Another reason I always have a mountain of apples, besides no one eating them, is that one daughter will only eat green apples and the other, only red, so I buy double what we could realistically eat.  I'm indiscriminate when it comes to eating apples.  I will eat any put in front of me.  I also like to smell them.  But I really can't eat ALL of the apples myself.  So every couple of weeks, I am forced to come to terms with a load of rotting apples.  I make a lot of applesauce because I am really lazy.  This week, I cracked open a veritable cookbook, and I was lured by the recipe name - Best Ever Apple Pie.  Hells ya.  It was fairly easy with the exception of peeling and slicing many an apple.  I did good.  My only complaint is my timing.  How come I didn't churn this baby out Easter weekend or another time when I was needing to dazzle friends and family with my superb baking skills.  I really like to be fawned over.   Instead the four of us sat around with forks hunched over the table  in our pyjamas, and admittedly there were some mumbles and grunts and empty plates that indicated a job well done. Who am I kidding?  That'll do.  I'ma gonna take it however I can get it.  The next day, I went to the Goodwill and picked myself up a glass pie plate.  I'm set.

N

Meeting a Challenge

I've conquered the art of baking bread from scratchety-scratch.  I think two perfect loaves counts as conquering.  Don't ask for a repeat performance just yet.  I'm still recuperating.  It takes a long time.  And I didn't use a bread machine.  Just two noodle-y arms.  Whew!  The rear loaf is whole wheat sandwich bread and the front loaf is cinnamon raisin.  A couple thick slices of the whole wheat with some cheddar made the most delicious grilled cheese sandwich I've had in forever!  MMmmmm.  I used Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads recipe book.  This book is very detailed, and I believe, if followed meticulously, one can not possibly go wrong.  I have a few of his other books on hold at the library.  By the time, my holds arrive, I'll be plenty rested up for another bread baking session.  :)

N

Monkeys in the Basement

The Bumblebee has her male counterpart over to play tonight, and crazy noises are coming up the stairs.  They're engaged in a game of Super Mario Bros.  The Bee says 'bros' instead of 'brothers', and it's making me giggle still.   Never occurred to me to say 'bros'.  

My knitting has taken a hit this week.  I've been busy with work, but that usually doesn't stop me from progressing.  I had the first sleeve on the Tomten almost finished when I realized that I had read EZ's instructions wrong.  I've been decreasing twice as fast as I should have been - decreasing every three rows when I should have been decreasing every three RIDGES.  I could not live with it, and had to do a dangerous frog back past the live pit stitches.   Alas, all stitches were picked up and accounted for, and I've started again down the arm.   Oh EZ!  You and your ridges!  I should have seen it coming.

It was also with best intentions that I thought I could participate in Ravelympics, and I cast on last Friday for an Ishbel shawl, but I've been so consumed with the Tomten that I have stalled.  I honestly do not see me finishing a lace project in one week.   I might finish off a few pair of mittens that have been snoozing on my ravelry 'projects' page which would score me some points in the ufo event.   We'll see. 

T asked me this week which EZ book she should invest in first, so I will answer her in this space.  It appears she's waffling between Knitters Almanac and Knitting Without Tears.  Both are in my collection.  Both are quite inexpensive.  Both have the same number of patterns - 18 or 19 give or take one or two.  I spent some time comparing them on ravelry because it gives you a more visual idea of the patterns.  I don't believe there is any overlap between the two books.  In other EZ books, there is much overlap.  For instance The Opinionated Knitter is a good comprehensive collection of the best, and it is the only book with photos of the projects in colour!   The Knitters Workshop is my newest EZ book and fast becoming one of my favourites.  It has everything - lots of sweaters, lace, colourwork, and all the accessories one needs.  It starts off easy, and you quickly build your skills by turning the pages.   Back to the Almanac and Tears.  The Almanac doesn't have the nicest adult-sized sweaters, but it's worth every penny for the February Baby Sweater.  You've seen me knit this twice, and I plan to knit dozens more.  It's the perfect baby sweater pattern.  And it's stunning.  The Almanac is the only place you'll find it.   That's why you need it.  Knitting Without Tears (KWT) has loads of instruction that are handy for even the most seasoned knitter.  It captures EZ's great and versatile sweater patterns - the Tomten, the seamless hybrid, the kangaroo pouch sweater, saddle-shoulder and raglan and more.  If you want more sweaters, this is the book.  Plus the how-to's are golden.  The Almanac is great reading though.  It's like you were invited to sit by the fire with EZ herself, and you are sitting there listening to her wild adventures to the clicking of her needles.  I realize I am all over the place with this book recommendation, so I am going to summarize the pros of each below:

Knitters Almanac - February Baby Sweater!, storytelling, monthly projects covering all bases

Knitting Without Tears - a plethora of fantastic sweaters, lots of instructional pictures and text

Knitting Workshop - instruction amidst the patterns, stuffed to the gills with patterns, Baby Surprise Jacket!

The Opinionated Knitter - PICTURES!! Lots.  In colour., a compilation of the best EZ

Now it's everyone else's turn to help T.  Please add your two cents in the comments!

N

Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy

It's 2 p.m. on a Sunday afternoon, and we've just gotten dressed for reals, and the Bumblebee is doing the mambo or some kind of salsa all over the living room.  So far we've beaded, drawn thumbprint animals, knit, and embroidered.  The paperwhites are blooming, and they're definitely 'fragrant'.  :)   I'll kill it with some chili in the slow cooker 'cause tonight is field hockey practice, and we'll want to eat as soon as we walk in the door.   'Til then, I'ma gonna go back to the comfy couch and curl up with my sock knitting, a cup of tea, and a silly book.

Happy Sunday!

N

Sweets

I am now absolutely certain that if I didn't work outside the home, I would 'make' every day in epic proportions.  Oh yes.   So far on my four days of no work, I have baked dozens upon dozens of squares and cookies, I have sewed up two origami wraps (thank you, Queen of Origami!), made trees for my impromptu winter village, made holiday cards, and knit two fairisle hats with one skein of Briggs & Little.  And I'm reading a really awesome book with very little punctuation and lots of wit.  And I watched Where the Wild Things Are, and tears streamed very heavily when Carol waves good-bye to Max.  There is something very moving about a beast with sadness.   I am pretty sure I had to look away at one point.

Today we're going to get our skates ready for ice skating, and I'm going to brush up on my turkey cooking skillz.  I even bought a baster.  It's as if I'm getting very serious about turkeys.  Watch out, my friends!

N

Soda Bread: A Review

Any hope of dieting has just flown out the window.  I've discovered Soda Bread.  More importantly, I've discovered Alice Waters' The Art of Simple Food.   The book is described as 19 culinary lessons and more than 250 everyday recipes that illustrate just how easy it is to eat wonderfully well if you cook, eat, and live by these fundamental guidelines:

• eat locally and sustainably
• eat seasonally
• shop at farmers' markets
• plant a garden
• conserve, compost and recycle
• cook simply
• cook together
• eat together
• remember food is precious

I decided to start with the soda bread because it had four ingredients, required no rising or kneading, and was true to its word of taking under an hour from start to finish.  Really.   And it's delicious.  Funny thing is, it was so simple that I continued to bake because I hadn't even begun to scratch my itch to bake.  So I baked my ol' stand-by chocolate chip muffins.   I then offered up my gift of bread and muffins to my little family, and they gobbled up my bread and left the muffins on the counter all sad and chocolate-y.   Now I must figure out what to make next.

N

Slowly Waking Up

I forgot that I hadn't shown you proof that the sweater is being worn - here it is. The front looks the same as the back. I am a horrible model - as soon as the camera clicks, my face contorts into awkward grimaces and weird jerks. Seriously, I think I make normal faces most of the time. Cameras freak me out. Well, when they're pointed at me. I am a zillion times more comfortable being behind the camera. Regardless, the sweater is finished, and I learned many things - proper seaming techniques and drop-down shoulders are not flattering. Did everyone else know this? I will never knit me a drop-down shoulder sweater again. I look like a quarterback.

Enough about that, I have to hunt down a turkey - preferably a fresh kill since I haven't the time to thaw a frozen one since we would like to eat the bird tomorrow night. This all crept on me a little too quickly when I was reading the Bee's Thanksgiving wish, and all the kid wants is turkey. She's a turkey monster. I thought it sweet until ten minutes later while reading an email from my dad in which he mentioned that my pies would nicely complement my mum's roast beef. EEK!! So off to the market, I must go and find a small-ish turkey to feed just the four of us. This will also be my first time cooking a turkey. I've got Donna Hay beside me to help. I can not go wrong.

Happy Saturday!

N

Holy Toledo Civic Weekend

We've been blessed with a 3-day weekend in which relaxing is definitely on the agenda! We're kicking back between toasted tomato sandwiches with cream cheese and garden salads AND sponge cake with real whip cream and berries. There will be lots of basking on the couch with my knitting (the 3rd clapotis is DONE - pictures to come) and a pile of Sue Townsend novels. I expect there will be drowsing off to sleep when my eyelids get to heavy to read another word and staying up too late on ravelry inputting all the gold I whisked away from yesterday's yard sale (that's the top photo minus another 30 skeins of wool that didn't fit in the picture). Each skein was a dollar, and I now have 100 more to add to the stash - do the math. There's Noro, Debbie Bliss, Koigu, Jo Sharp, Rowan and Manos del Uruguay. Am I dreaming???? Somebody pinch me. Today there was a girls trip to IKEA for Swedish meatballs, slipcovers, storage bins and fabric, and I laughed so hard that I had to wipe the tears from my eyes.

A weekend like this comes once a lifetime! I wish it didn't have to end.

N

Heat Rash

We're back from the beach, and while the scenery was pretty and the littlest had a blast jumping waves and building sandcastles, home is where my heart is. I've spent a good part of the day catching up on my blog reading and emails, and we hung out a little at the library, and I found an Adrian Mole book that I've never read. This is enough to make me want to bury myself in bed and read for two days straight. Speaking of beach reading, I polished off Rush Home Road by Lori Lansens. This book will force you to miss meals and stay up painfully late. I highly recommend you reserve a copy at the nearest library now. I know for a fact that the LPL has double-digit copies on their bookshelves at this very minute. Go. Now.

N

The Official Start of Summer

Teachers gifts were made just under the wire. That was close. Not sure what took me so long to get my butt in gear 'cause these cup sleeves took no time and little skill. I might do some things differently next time such as use longer hair elastics, but the instructions were flawless. If I can do these, anyone can.

As of yesterday, the girls finished their school year, and I wrapped up at work with the Annual General Meeting - not to mention a 12-hour work day. Ah, sweet summer!! The girls are looking forward to staying up late each evening and sleeping in each morning, no homework, and no walking to school. I can do without all the hassling to finish school work and packing lunches for picky eaters. I can stop worrying about running out of drinking boxes and white cheddar popcorn and butter croissants and sandwich bags. Now I just need a plan to keep them somewhat active and not bored. I have ideas - I just need to get these lazy daisy girls on board.

So I am nearly finished my first non-fiction-current-world-issue-library book on modern-day slavery, and I have to say I've never been SO engrossed in a non-fiction-current-world-issue-library book EVER before. Who knew trafficking humans was so lucrative? Did you know that a Romanian prostitute can bring in $250,000 annually for her pimp? Did you know that there are more slaves in the world currently then there has ever been before? That is with all of the sanctions, treaties, policies, human rights commissions, and legislature in place. It's incredible. It's also incredible how the "solutions" add to the problem. For instance, international religious agencies are profitting from "redeeming" slaves, and traffickers and war lords are in large part funding their operations using funds paid by "redeemers". It all seems so ridiculously hopeless. And the real tales are sickening. Just being born in North America has gifted us a life of privilege. We have all the necessities to survive, and we live in a culture that demands we have freedoms. Is it education? Is it wealth? Is it social services? Is it love? I am curious to see how the author ends this commentary. And is anyone else blown away by how flippin' hunky this guy is? He's a cross between Justin Timberlake and David Beckham. Oh dear.

Happy weekend!

N

The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs

We're a-celebrating Fa-jzha's Day in da house with flapjacks and oodles of sirop d'erable. My lord, that's stuff like gold!

Later, J, the girls and I are heading just out of town to hang out with these dudes by the pool for more celebrating. My grampa, on the left, turned 79 this year. He's the coolest. My dad, in the centre, is getting back from a bachelor party in Detroit this afternoon (I hope he has stories!!), and my uncle on the right will be the barbe-Q-er and host-with-the-most. There will be good times for shizzle.

Now forget those guys - back to me. I've been concerned lately that I need to develop opinions on current affairs. I've always been a bit wobbly and wishy-washy with my thinking - meaning if you say something, I'm most likely to lean to your way of thinking. I'm easily manipulated. I will also change my thinking when I hear something different. Is it called titter-tottering? Who knows? Anyway, yesterday I borrowed a pile of books in some topics that are on the top '0' my mind lately. I am trying to learn assertiveness, and I think I must have some concrete opinions with which to fight and argue. I could be wrong here. See what I mean? Here's the pile so far:

• Wake Up and Smell the Planet - The non-pompous, non-preachy Grist guide to greening your day!
• A Crime So Monstrous - Face-to-Face with Modern Day Slavery
• The Book of Negroes - a novel by Lawrence Hill
• The Big Red Machine - How the Liberal Party Dominates Canadian Politics
• The Female Eunuch - a searing examination of women's oppression
• The David Suzuki Reader - A lifetime of ideas from a Leading Activist and Thinker

I really want to clear up some of those blurry lines in my mind. Wish me luck! I hope I'm smarter by next weekend. : ) People will be crazy to mess with me. Just saying.

N

Sins and Needles

It's dreary, rainy and grey today, but that's cool with me. It's also not windy or snowing or freezing out. If there's a trade to be had, wet blah days are preferred. A couple cups of coffee have been drunk, and I am just sorting through my 26 library books and movies that I can bear to return this afternoon 'cause I gots 23 holds to pick up, and my max items are 40 on one card. Doing the math is hurting my head. There should be a rule against math on the weekend. Before anyone goes calculating it all for me, I've run around the house and randomly made a pile by the front door of stuff to go back. I think I'm good. The head librarian at my branch has a reputation of scaring patrons silly, so I get a little anxious before I go - I have to make sure I've covered my bases. And it kills me to return my loans to the library. I get attached too easily. Reason #103 not to foster.


This blog is becoming a blog about the library. Not my intention. I do have other interests. Honest. In fact, I finished some projects this week. I sewed a few more zippered pouches, 'cause I'm hooked, but I also did a little knitting, 'cause I got stuck at the walk-in again with a feverish littlest for three hours one evening, and you just can't take a sewing machine with you to the clinic. Nope. Impossible. Yet it's entirely possible to write a crazy running-on sentence. I have a pair of fingerless mitts for El completed, and only a picture of one to show. I mentioned there was no sun today, right? I used Estelle Arequipa fingering weight wool with a touch of alpaca on 3mm circs and a free handout pattern from Shall We Knit that caught the El's eye before Christmas. Originally she was supposed to knit them, but I got scared when she tried knitting in the round. She kept knitting in the wrong direction, and when I would just go with that, she would begin to knit in the right direction. I didn't know what else to do but just knit them myself which was just fine with her.

Everyone is happy! Oh, and I bought 32 more zippers just because one can't have enough zippers. Don't underestimate the power of the zipper. At the rate I am using them up, 32 may be enough to get me through March. I never imagined that this would be a real concern. Oh dear.

N

Sunny Side of My Basement

My craft shizzle finally has a home! It needs more light and more table space, but this is a huge start. I keep going down to the basement to make sure it's still there. Yep. All's good. The pictures are kind of craptastic, but I'm still working on lights, and in all honesty, I was supposed to be cooking dinner for 15 people and not taking pictures of the basement. It wasn't all picture-taking however 'cause I whipped up that fancy blue floral curtain right there yonder to cover up the water meter or what have you. I couldn't have all that ugly in my special pretty place!

I'm not sure how the computer made it to my work table, but something tells me that I shouldn't argue. A girl's got to look for inspiration, patterns, and tutorials somewhere.

That there is maybe one fifth of our books - all read and enjoyed. Ironically we haven't bought any books for four years since we moved into this house, AND we filtered the collection before so that there would be less to move. We are book junkies. Every few years I can read and enjoy the same books because my mind retains very little, and the little that I do retain enhances each re-reading. I've read The Handmaid's Tale four times, and each time it gets better and I understand a little more its pure genius. Having too many books is a good problem to have.

Oh dear, I need to get back to staring at my craft space. It's calling me. "M-a-k-e something!!"

Cheers!

N

Saturdays

This full-time working gig unimaginably cuts into picture-taking and crafting. By the time homework is completed, dinner is made and devoured, kitchen is cleaned, and the day's events shared and discussed to death, there isn't any light to take a good picture, and I'm lucky to have knit a few rows, so please forgive the sparse blogging.

I am equally thrilled when the weekend comes along, and I can bask in the sunshine and knit to heart's content. Pictures are taken! My work-week 'mood' lifts! And outings are anticipated with my most favourite to the library! I'm repeating myself here, right? And Saturday is my definite library day meaning I definitely go to the library regardless of all other plans. The library is top priority on my Saturdays. I pop in during the week as time allows, but Saturday is no-arguments, we're going. Sometimes the girls win their battle to stay home. The littlest is usually an eager come-alonger, but El prefers to have me bring books to her. I'm a good book picker-outer. She would never come right out and say it, but she stays up 'til all hours of the night devouring my book choices. I haz skillz. Today I look forward to see what's awaiting on my holds shelf. I know there's knitting DVDs and Spanish-subtitled movies. Woo-hoo!

As for knitting projects on the go-go, I've got lots on the needles. I have a body and two sleeves ready for a yoke (J's Cobblestone), one and a half Monkey socks (did I say that last week?), a Woodland shawl begging and sobbing to be cast off, and a NEW weaver's shawl knit with Noro Aurora. And despite all of this, it is taking all my willpower to not cast on a new pair of mittens. See this turquoise Briggs & Little yarn cake? It's determined to win the battle.You can see my problem, right?

N

Craft Dinner

It’s been a thrilling week for us Balkan Style bloggers! We’ve never had so many sweet comments. It’s been fun reading your blogaversary wishes and meeting many of you through your blogs. Personally, my bloglines subscription just got longer. Oh dear. And we submitted our Newfie Mitten pattern to the Knitting Pattern Central website, and we’ve had a tonne of visitors. Welcome! Please stay and hang out a while longer. We promise to entertain. Really. I’ll make up stuff if I have to.

Where should I start? Oh yis – the chowdah.

I’ve been on a potato corn chowder kick lately, and thankfully my little family minus the littlest has come along for the ride quite willingly. There’s no cooking fancy for the littlest – she’s an Easy Mac kind of girl. I am certain that one day, she will expand her food preferences, but it will have to go down in history that for her sixth year, she subsisted purely on cheesy noodles zapped in the microwave. But for the rest of us that need a little variety, I have been testing out new dishes, and my favourite is by far is this potato corn chowder. Done in under half an hour and paired up with a crusty whole wheat loaf, our appetites are satisfied. I recommend adding some chopped celery in with the onions.

I’ve also recently been blessed with a throat infection for which there is no cause for concern. I managed to be one step ahead of it getting nasty by heel and toeing it to the walk-in clinic yesterday and sweet-talking the physician to prescribe me ten-days worth of amoxicillin. With three doses a day, I’ll barely feel a thing. In fact, I feel pretty well for being infectious. I managed to knit a few more pattern repeats on a second monkey sock and a couple more inches on a second cobblestone sleeve. I also baked a super moist chocolatey mocha snacking cake ‘cause I have found food being shovelled down my throat quite soothing. Guacamole too. In between knitting and eating, I swept and washed the floors. Not bad for a sick day.

And in amongst my holds from the library, I snagged an illustrated copy of Anne of Green Gables in the hopes that a second attempt might entice B to listen more if there were a few pictures on which to focus. The verdict? She was sawing logs by the second page. I kept reading. Tonight, we’ll tackle Chapter Two: Matthew Cuthbert is Surprised. Again. Maybe a better plan would be to just place a hold on the movie.

N

A Recap of Sorts

I see lots more prettiness ahead.

I just finished reading Twilight, and El is quite proud of me. I agree with the rest of the world that the book is ridiculously addictive and fast to read and most difficult to put down, but it seriously makes me want to scream and pull my hair out all the same. I guess you just have to read it. I don't know if this review I read AGES ago tainted my opinion of the writing, or whether I would have easily come to that conclusion on my own. I'd like to think that I am that perceptive.

I can't believe another year has gone by. I feel all sappy and cheesy all of a sudden. What am I going to make out of 2009? I have ideas. Dear sewing machine, I promise that I will dust you off and USE you. That reminds me - I must remember to send myself a Christmas card from the photocopier next year and pretend to be shocked and thrilled when I open it in front of everyone. Please don't let me forget. As soon as I publish this post, I am emailing myself at work to add that to my Outlook calendar. Yis. Good plan.

Happy New Year, friends. Eat and be merry. And knit lots. Here's to you!

N