HIPPO on a BUDGET
BEAVER on a NICKEL
18 August 2006
________ on a ________
There is a fabulous contest (for a super-fabulous prize) on the knitters anonymous blog. You have to come up with a ______ on a _______ saying (inspired by the movie "snakes on a plane") that involves an animal in or on an inanimate object.
Being the crafty English major that I am, I decided to play with the rules a bit. If my entries are invalid, that's okay. I'm just having fun.
Well, he's often quite the animal, and what is more inanimate than a deadline? (Oxford Canadian Dictionary definition of inanimate: "1. not animate; not endowed with life. 2. lifeless; showing no sign of life. 3. spiritless, dull; lacking energy and vitality") Deadlines not only lack life, they SUCK life!
More to come!
Being the crafty English major that I am, I decided to play with the rules a bit. If my entries are invalid, that's okay. I'm just having fun.
First Entry:
BOYFRIEND ON A DEADLINE!!!
BOYFRIEND ON A DEADLINE!!!Well, he's often quite the animal, and what is more inanimate than a deadline? (Oxford Canadian Dictionary definition of inanimate: "1. not animate; not endowed with life. 2. lifeless; showing no sign of life. 3. spiritless, dull; lacking energy and vitality") Deadlines not only lack life, they SUCK life!
More to come!
29 July 2006
Too Deep?
I joined Sock Wars. I have never showed my knitting to other knitters before, and I'm not the quickest draw, but I figured even if I'm out in the first round or so, it's a chance to see how well I knit under pressure. And not only under pressure, but with the knowledge that actual knitters will see the finished product, and not just friends and family who ooh and aah politely if I knit them slippers that look (and fit) more like floppy messenger caps (yes, I did).
Summer is almost over. I'm off to Quesnel on Thursday to be a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding. I still have to buy shoes, but I have my eye on a pair. As for knitting, not much has changed. I've been picking away at a couple of projects, but slowly since I've decided to get ahead on my reading for the fall. I'm 2/3 of the way through Adam Bede by George Eliot and I will start Trainspotting by Irving Welsh next (for a different class, obviously). Unfortunately none of my current projects lend themselves well to reading. One is lace and the other two are in finishing or shaping stages, which means that I have to pay attention.
On August 26th, my boyfriend and I drive to Edmonton to visit his family (and a little bit of mine). His sister had a baby in April and we are going to be godparents, which I'm very excited about. An excuse to knit copious amounts of cute baby items! I would like to get something knitted for him by the time we leave, but I don't know if my current projects basket can handle another item. The three I have on the go are on deadline as it is. I also have an itch to try my hand at designing. I think it will be mostly trial and error knitting, with less pre-knit calculating than is probably wise. I spent four hours sketching and swatching today, and I think I have quite a clear idea of what I want to make. This is really taking up the front part of my brain right now, so I want to get to it before it fades.
No pictures to post at the moment. We just moved and haven't found the digital camera cord yet. (Okay, we moved a month ago but we've been particularly lazy about unpacking and sorting through the rat's nest of computer paraphernalia.)
Must go fight with the voices in my head over whether I should knit or read. More later (with pictures!).
Summer is almost over. I'm off to Quesnel on Thursday to be a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding. I still have to buy shoes, but I have my eye on a pair. As for knitting, not much has changed. I've been picking away at a couple of projects, but slowly since I've decided to get ahead on my reading for the fall. I'm 2/3 of the way through Adam Bede by George Eliot and I will start Trainspotting by Irving Welsh next (for a different class, obviously). Unfortunately none of my current projects lend themselves well to reading. One is lace and the other two are in finishing or shaping stages, which means that I have to pay attention.
On August 26th, my boyfriend and I drive to Edmonton to visit his family (and a little bit of mine). His sister had a baby in April and we are going to be godparents, which I'm very excited about. An excuse to knit copious amounts of cute baby items! I would like to get something knitted for him by the time we leave, but I don't know if my current projects basket can handle another item. The three I have on the go are on deadline as it is. I also have an itch to try my hand at designing. I think it will be mostly trial and error knitting, with less pre-knit calculating than is probably wise. I spent four hours sketching and swatching today, and I think I have quite a clear idea of what I want to make. This is really taking up the front part of my brain right now, so I want to get to it before it fades.
No pictures to post at the moment. We just moved and haven't found the digital camera cord yet. (Okay, we moved a month ago but we've been particularly lazy about unpacking and sorting through the rat's nest of computer paraphernalia.)
Must go fight with the voices in my head over whether I should knit or read. More later (with pictures!).
19 June 2006
Who knew it was light out at 6 am?
Happy Four and a Half Years, Job! I Love You!
Had a fabulous weekend. Finishing a project (see socks below) always makes me want to find a new project. I wish it inspired me to finish more of the projects that I've started, but not so. I've decided to design a cardigan. Not really "design" so much as start knitting and see how it goes. I tried to measure things but it seems really off-balance to me. I figure I'll just go for it and hope for the best, preparing myself beforehand to redo a lot of it. It shouldn't be too bad, though; what I have in mind is pretty simple.
On Saturday, after the BEST HOCKEY GAME EVER (GO OILERS!!!!!!!! GAME SEVEN TONIGHT!!! WOO HOO!!!!!), Job and I decided to celebrate by going to a movie. He does this amazing thing that I love him for: once in awhile, when I have no thoughts in my head of going out, he just up and says "let's go to a movie". And we do! I love this man. He still surprises me once a week. We saw Cars, which was awesome. The movie got out at midnight, so we went to 7-11 to satisfy our hot dog craving! I love spontaneous guilt-free dates.
I am up so early because I am off to a computer course at the University and I'm very very nervous. I was the youngest one there last year and likely will be again. Oh well. Hope someone else is wearing jeans! Yikes!
15 June 2006
Finishing Touches
Ta Da!
Finished "Simply Lovely Lace Socks" from IK for Mom. The model feet are mine, so try to disregard the pasty whiteness and the hair. Yecch!
Pre-blocking:
Closeup of lace pattern (this wool has a little bit of black in it that makes it shimmery, but you can't really see it in these photos):
Post-blocking and post-Photoshopped tag:
Photoshop is another hobby of mine. The tag includes washing instructions. Yay!
Finished "Simply Lovely Lace Socks" from IK for Mom. The model feet are mine, so try to disregard the pasty whiteness and the hair. Yecch!
Pre-blocking:
Closeup of lace pattern (this wool has a little bit of black in it that makes it shimmery, but you can't really see it in these photos):
Post-blocking and post-Photoshopped tag:
Photoshop is another hobby of mine. The tag includes washing instructions. Yay!
10 June 2006
Wisdom Teeth and Coffee Cups
Job had his wisdom teeth out today. I went into 
severe mother-hen mode, although he was far too groggy to be embarrassed by me. I think that this picture is kind of cool, although blurry. That's gauze in his mouth. I guess I should have taken one before we rinsed all the blood out, for maximum dramatic effect, but there you have it. He couldn't open very wide, what with all the swelling. We had to sit in the waiting room for an hour so that the drugs they gave him could set in. I think the people around us may have thought he was either drunk or mentally challenged, since he started to slur his speech and had trouble reading. He repeatedly picked up a Macleans magazine to read it, looked at couple of pictures, started talking to me and dropped the magazine, having forgotten he was holding it. Whenever I tried to take it to put it back on the coffee table, he exclaimed, frustrated, "I was reading that!" and the whole process began again. Poor guy. I would have laughed hysterically if I wasn't so worried. Anyway, he's asleep now, full of Tylenol 3. Whew. What a day.
These are the teeth they removed. You may be thinking to yourself, "there are five teeth here, and the average human being has only four wisdom teeth." You would be right. If you look closely, you may be able to see that there are in fact four teeth, and one has been cut in half. I guess this was the one he "felt." Job didn't want to keep them, but I asked them to anyway, since I think it would be a great way to torture our kids: "Here's what will happen if you don't brush your teeth!
I've decided to introduce my coffee cup collection to this blog. Now that I read that, it seems very little-old-lady of me and sort of boring. I hate coffee cup sets. We have one set of cups that came with our kitchen starter set from IKEA, and those hold only water or paint thinner for craft purposes.
I started my love affair with coffee cups when I lived overseas. My family lived in Cyprus for 4 years, and we travelled a lot around the Middle East and Europe, since we were right there. I bought a souvenir mug in every place I visited, and I just continued buying mugs when I moved back to Canada. I've long since run out of storage space, but that hasn't stopped me yet. Our grocery store occasionally sells fun, colourful mugs of interesting shapes for a couple of dollars, so those are in here too. They don't all have a story or a great deal of meaning, but I love all the colour and the choice. My favourite part of morning coffee/tea is picking the mug I'm in the mood for. Today was a double-size robin's-egg-blue mug full of Murchie's Empress Afternoon Blend tea. The mug was a gift from Karen, my best friend who recently moved away. I'm going to be her bridesmaid in August. The tea was introduced to me by my boss/professor/mentor, who is a tea afficionado (at least compared to me) and once said, with such shock that I thought she might fire me on the spot, "You haven't been to Murchie's???" Thanks, Dr. J. When I get a new mug (or get misty-eyed about a current one), I will post a picture and share, whether anyone cares or not!
Sock is progressing (Job got to rent whatever he wanted, so I'm knitting Taken, which is actually quite interesting and has already made me muck up a couple of yarnovers!).
severe mother-hen mode, although he was far too groggy to be embarrassed by me. I think that this picture is kind of cool, although blurry. That's gauze in his mouth. I guess I should have taken one before we rinsed all the blood out, for maximum dramatic effect, but there you have it. He couldn't open very wide, what with all the swelling. We had to sit in the waiting room for an hour so that the drugs they gave him could set in. I think the people around us may have thought he was either drunk or mentally challenged, since he started to slur his speech and had trouble reading. He repeatedly picked up a Macleans magazine to read it, looked at couple of pictures, started talking to me and dropped the magazine, having forgotten he was holding it. Whenever I tried to take it to put it back on the coffee table, he exclaimed, frustrated, "I was reading that!" and the whole process began again. Poor guy. I would have laughed hysterically if I wasn't so worried. Anyway, he's asleep now, full of Tylenol 3. Whew. What a day.
These are the teeth they removed. You may be thinking to yourself, "there are five teeth here, and the average human being has only four wisdom teeth." You would be right. If you look closely, you may be able to see that there are in fact four teeth, and one has been cut in half. I guess this was the one he "felt." Job didn't want to keep them, but I asked them to anyway, since I think it would be a great way to torture our kids: "Here's what will happen if you don't brush your teeth!I've decided to introduce my coffee cup collection to this blog. Now that I read that, it seems very little-old-lady of me and sort of boring. I hate coffee cup sets. We have one set of cups that came with our kitchen starter set from IKEA, and those hold only water or paint thinner for craft purposes.
I started my love affair with coffee cups when I lived overseas. My family lived in Cyprus for 4 years, and we travelled a lot around the Middle East and Europe, since we were right there. I bought a souvenir mug in every place I visited, and I just continued buying mugs when I moved back to Canada. I've long since run out of storage space, but that hasn't stopped me yet. Our grocery store occasionally sells fun, colourful mugs of interesting shapes for a couple of dollars, so those are in here too. They don't all have a story or a great deal of meaning, but I love all the colour and the choice. My favourite part of morning coffee/tea is picking the mug I'm in the mood for. Today was a double-size robin's-egg-blue mug full of Murchie's Empress Afternoon Blend tea. The mug was a gift from Karen, my best friend who recently moved away. I'm going to be her bridesmaid in August. The tea was introduced to me by my boss/professor/mentor, who is a tea afficionado (at least compared to me) and once said, with such shock that I thought she might fire me on the spot, "You haven't been to Murchie's???" Thanks, Dr. J. When I get a new mug (or get misty-eyed about a current one), I will post a picture and share, whether anyone cares or not!Sock is progressing (Job got to rent whatever he wanted, so I'm knitting Taken, which is actually quite interesting and has already made me muck up a couple of yarnovers!).
09 June 2006
My Life is Almost as Blah as my Blog...
Well, that's not entirely true. I did convocate this week (can that be used as a verb? or just as a noun [convocation]?). I officially have a BA (Hons.) with distinction. Pretty nifty. And I'm settling into a routine at work, which is nice. My brother graduated from high school last weekend, and my cousin got her second degree the weekend before that (B.Ed.). So I guess it has been an eventful couple of weeks. But as far as knitting goes, not much has happened. There is, however, a reason for this:
DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION... The Mario Mix!
I've never played DDR before, and Job got it for me as a grad gift because we heard from a friend that it's a good cardio workout. I'm completely addicted. I think I'm getting pretty good, but we read on some message board that true-blue DDR-ers (?) find the Mario Mix far too easy. Oh well. It's fun. And when I finish a few levels at "Hard" and "Very Hard" I have worked up a sweat and didn't even notice! Is that the best way to work out or what??
For those in the world (could there be any?) who do not know what DDR is, it is a video dancing game. You need to step on the arrows when they flash on the screen at the right time. In the Mario Mix, you dance to remixes of all those Mario tunes... you know you know them... and you can play Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, or Super Hard. There is also a story mode, which is kind of lame but pretty standard in any Mario franchise title. Somehow dancing becomes magical and you use your moves to melt ice, stop whirlpools, etc. I don't think the masterminds at Nintendo put a lot of overtime hours into the perfect way to work dancing into the story. But hey, that's not the important part of the game.
So, long story short (yeah, right!), socks are progressing ever-so-slowly, scarf even more so, sweater is at a screeching halt, but not expected until Christmas so I'm okay with that. But another grad gift (from Job's mom) was a $50 gift certificate to my LYS, so I think it's time to add another mess of yarn and needles to the "current project basket". Yay!
Anyhow, I'm experiencing severe Mario withdrawal... my feet are starting to twitch... so that's all for now!
DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION... The Mario Mix!
I've never played DDR before, and Job got it for me as a grad gift because we heard from a friend that it's a good cardio workout. I'm completely addicted. I think I'm getting pretty good, but we read on some message board that true-blue DDR-ers (?) find the Mario Mix far too easy. Oh well. It's fun. And when I finish a few levels at "Hard" and "Very Hard" I have worked up a sweat and didn't even notice! Is that the best way to work out or what??
For those in the world (could there be any?) who do not know what DDR is, it is a video dancing game. You need to step on the arrows when they flash on the screen at the right time. In the Mario Mix, you dance to remixes of all those Mario tunes... you know you know them... and you can play Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard, or Super Hard. There is also a story mode, which is kind of lame but pretty standard in any Mario franchise title. Somehow dancing becomes magical and you use your moves to melt ice, stop whirlpools, etc. I don't think the masterminds at Nintendo put a lot of overtime hours into the perfect way to work dancing into the story. But hey, that's not the important part of the game.
So, long story short (yeah, right!), socks are progressing ever-so-slowly, scarf even more so, sweater is at a screeching halt, but not expected until Christmas so I'm okay with that. But another grad gift (from Job's mom) was a $50 gift certificate to my LYS, so I think it's time to add another mess of yarn and needles to the "current project basket". Yay!
Anyhow, I'm experiencing severe Mario withdrawal... my feet are starting to twitch... so that's all for now!
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