Feeling a bit better

You may know that I was struck down with the nasty flu and then a cold/phlegm thing. Just wanted to let people know that I'm feeling better.

I'm also less in the dumps. Since I got sick and stayed home from work for three days, I used up my tolerance for being at home alone (re: Hubby being away). By the time the weekend came, I was in the dumps big time.

Back at work on Monday, I was feeling like my ol' self by 10am. Nothing like dealing with the problems of other people to get your head screwed on straight.

Avoidance 101

Blogging, reading blogs, calling your friends and family on Skype, landlines, and cells, are all great ways to avoid sorting out the dreaded home office.

Blanket idea

I'm thinking of making a patch-work type baby blanket. Scraps of yarn made into squares of various stitches, sewn together in a pleasing design. I'm sort of excited about using up some scraps, choosing stitches, and laying out the design. I'm 100% not excited about the assembly. I really don't like sewing things together. Likely I will use single crochet to assemble them - less painful for me.

Stay tuned.

Other projects on the go:

black slouchy beret (on hold, not inspired to finish it)
toy pig
MezzoDiva's cardigan (spider web pattern)
baby cardigan (12 month size)

3:10 to Yuma

I finally saw 3:10 to Yuma! (refer to More about movies below) I flew to Winnipeg to visit Hubby on Friday. Air Canada has a great entertainment system that allows every customer to watch exactly what she wants on her own private screen. I was sitting in the middle seat right behind Business Class, so my screen was hidden in the arm of my chair, not on the back of the seat in front of me. The stewardess had to help me find my screen, so I got started on the movie a little bit late.

I watched 2/3 of the movie on the way to Winnipeg and the last 1/3 on the way home. Oh my, how I love westerns! I haven't been a particular fan of Russell Crowe before now, but he sure is a bit hubba-hubba in 3:10!

Good looking pizza

I made this pizza last night and it looked so good I had to take a picture! It tasted almost as good as it looked. It was missing just a little something... garlic? Goat cheese? Just one more ingredient would have made it perfect.

Pottery class therapy update

There was lots of laughing tonight at pottery class. It got my mind off things for a few hours. I have been missing my pottery friend who died a year ago this month. By the end of class he was on my mind and i was teetering on feeling down again. He was a risk taker in class and in life in some ways. He wasn't afraid to try something new. So, I shall stretch myself and try a couple of new techniques on some mugs. I don't want to go bigger and better. I just want my mugs to look different than they look now.

(I'm a little bit surprised how often my thoughts drift to him. I knew I would miss him. I knew it. I guess I just didn't know exactly how much I would miss him. It's a lot. A lot.)

little down

I'm feeling a little bit down tonight. Nothing is really wrong, but a couple of things in my life are a tad bit 'off' right now. That little bit 'off' makes it difficult to sleep. Lack of sleep makes it harder to get through the day.

I miss Hubby. He's very stressed right now and I'm worried about him. I feel helpless. There is nothing I can actually do to help him with the problem he is facing. I can only listen and support.

Maybe a little pottery class therapy will give me a boost.

More about movies

I just realized that I've probably missed my last chance to see 3:10 to Yuma on the big screen! It was playing at the Bloor Cinema last week. I must have been snoozing, 'cause I missed by two days! Crap! I'm really into Westerns and I have no idea how I didn't get my act together to see this on the big screen.

I'll be seeing Before The Devil Knows You're Dead on Friday. I love, love, love, Philip Seymour Hoffman. I might make it a Philip Seymour Hoffman weekend; he's in at least two other movies in the theatres now.

Hubby and I watched Fargo again last week. I'd forgotten how great that movie is. I love Margie.

I just saw, for the first time, To Sir, with Love on Sunday. I really dig Sidney Poitier and I can't resist the 60s music. I give it a thumbs up. (If my Hubby is reading this, he's rolling his eyes in disbelief that I haven't seen this movie before now. He believes that I am a bit retarded in the pop culture areas of my life.)

Holiday movies I saw: Atonement - great music and cinematography, but a wee bit slow for me; I am Legend - I loved it and really appreciated how Will Smith's character flutters on the edge of insanity. (Hubby was less enthusiastic about it.) I think there was one other movie we saw, but I just can't remember right now.

80 year old plumbing

Just before the holidays, our basement tenant told us about a not-so-pleasant smell that had started burping up from his toilet. Yuck! Around Dec 23 we thought we could smell a super bad fart up in our master bedroom. Neither of us had let one rip. Where did that smell come from? We suspected it was the burping toilet sending its strong fumes up the heating vents.

By Dec 26 I had discovered two small messes on the floor of the basement shower. Sewage back-up! We made a call pronto! On Dec 27 two strong Russians were digging under our porch.








They dug about 7 feet down to reach the old clay trap for our very old house. At a certain point they asked us to flush all the toilets twice. We went outside to check out the flow in the hole under our porch. One of the guys said, 'It was like Niagara Falls! It was really backed up in there!'. I said, 'Ya, but the American side, not the Canadian side.' We all laughed.

And then I wrote a cheque for almost $2800.

Hubby was a bit down about the whole thing initially, but before long we both acknowledged that it was the best of a worse case scenario. At least it didn't flood our basement.

Lots o' stuff

As promised, here is a mish-mash of updates and interesting tidbits.

Here's me cutting a delicious carrot cake I made for a Girls' Night at S's home in November.



Here are some of the carrot cake fans:



And another big fan:



She also likes Scooby-Do books and Spider Man! She's so cool! I dig her!

On a trip to Montreal earlier this year, I started working on creating a baby blanket pattern. I found the Catherine Wheel design in a book of trims and patterns. Here is a shot of the gauge swatch for the blanket.



Here's a picture of Hubby and our friends waiting for our Porter Air flight to Montreal.


I feel like I'm putting my neck out a bit admitting that we took Porter Air. I am only slightly ashamed to admit that it was pure luxury and I would do it again in a second. In the picture above we are sitting in the self-serve kitchenette in the Porter Air lounge with its unlimited and complimentary snacks and bevies. These are no cheapie snacks either - espresso, cappuccino, juices, trail mix, and quite yummy cookies.

They even served lunch on the plane with your choice of wine or beer! I was so excited that I took a couple of pictures! Here is lunch container:



Here is what was inside!



Hubby and I shared our sandwiches for a little variety. It was all delicious!

So, the Catherine Wheel baby blanket was born on our little adventure to Montreal. Here is the finished product and a detail shot:





This lovely green blanket has a happy home in Winnipeg with the scrumptious little daughter of my childhood friend.

Special thanks to my Knitomatic SnB gals for good feedback on this blanket. After searching and thinking and searching and thinking about the border, I took Haley's advice and went with a simple single and double crochets. Leona also gave me good advice about the tension and hook size. The second attempt at this pattern has been crocheted with Hook size I rather than H. (I haven't yet photographed the second blanket).

You may recall the beginnings of my turtle baby project. Here he is!



This critter was just sent to a sweet little Ladybug in Calgary whom I hope to meet someday.

There is more to tell, but my bed beckons. Plumbing stories can wait.

Lazy blogger

I've been a lazy, lazy blogger. I thought I would get some done over the holidays, but Hubby was home without his own laptop, so I had to relinquish all rights to my laptop since laptop = lifeline for Hubby's work situ. I read the New York Times and caught up on some crochet projects instead of blogging.

This wee entry is just to say 'stay tuned' for a HUGE entry coming this weekend. I have tons o' pics of crochet, friends, plumbing issues, and other fun stuff!