WOOHOO!!!!!

I just learned to knit and purl in the Continental (left-handed) method! Knittinghelp.com works for me!!! The purl stitch is a bit tough to do at first, but it smooths out after the first couple of stitches. The knit stitch is pretty easy and goes well. The hardest part was figuring out how to hold the blooming yarn in the left hand, wrapping it around the pinkie and pointer fingers and not dropping the whole mess into my lap. Dropping needles out of the yarn stitches isn't any fun either. Fortunately, there's videos about how to pick those up too. Yayyyy!!!

I'm going to go knit in the living room now. Away from the computer! Away!!!

Oh yeah. Our couch surfer, Emma Laigle, should be arriving sometime today or tomorrow. French girl with a (holy smokes does she ever have one) British accent who just spent a bunch of time in Iceland.

Bye-bye!

Things to check out for editing Blogger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pozsSkNpeh0&feature=related

Hope this link continues to work! I hate trying to figure out how to use YouTube. :)

An "argh" kind of day...

I have such a tough time figuring out how to FIND people's blogs on here! Agh! I wonder if maybe it's the wrong name... Ah well. I'll have to check that out further.

It's been one of those weird kinds of days where I ended up on the computer for long periods of time without actually managing to feel as though I've accomplished anything. Why? Well... many many e-mails were sent back and forth about a flyer we're doing for the Dominion Hill issue, but it doesn't seem as though they were all being read in the same way by everybody on the mailing list. Too bad. I think it's just about time for me to pull my feelers back in and hide out in my shell again. Just for a bit. The election is next Tuesday. ...

Funny, but I just realized that I'm donating blood that same day. Wheee... Is there something Freudian about that?

Tuesday again.

Funny how the days just keep sliding by. We've been cleaning house like crazy this past few days. Company coming, etc... Miranda's room's been completely changed around. She loves it, but there's tons of stuff to discard. Value Village, here we come. Well, here ALIA comes. :)

I get to finish the job with a vacuuming this morning. All the carpets need it desperately. And sweeping. I get to sweep too. Yeehaw! I hope to get some time to play with Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 today. What're the odds? Yeah. Pretty slim.

Unless you count using it this morning to crop a photo of Miranda to attach to Alia's e-mail about the Terry Fox Run. I wonder how that'd print... hmm... I guess I could give that a try too. Laser printer is up and running...

Procrastinating again, aren't I? Yup.

Here's the picture I wound up with. I wonder if I can get Alia's hand/arm out of the photo too. ... hmmm...

Saturday...

Took a Smart car for a test drive today. What fun! It felt really strange at first, not because it's a small car, but because there's no power steering and you have to turn as you're moving, and also because the brake pedal is a weird thing... push from the top instead of lightly from the bottom like the Malibu.

Too bad we're not going to get one... *boo* It was fun!

Talked to my dear darling daughter for a bit this afternoon until her pain inna butt friend came over. *grr* I'M more important! Talking about KNITTING is more important than studying chemistry. *hmpf*

Picked up a new book at Michael's yesterday. "fitted knits" by Stefanie Japel. Some fun looking sweaters in there. I added it to my Ravelry library and checked out some of the sweaters in the book. Some definite possibilities in there!

Got new canvases yesterday too. *pbbbtttht!* at Dana ... Three 30" x 40" ... or is that 40" x 30" ?? Hmm... Depends on how I want to set them on the wall of the kitchen. Now to figure out exactly what I want to paint! Must get some drawings/pastels done. I was thinking of something that sort of looks tropical and lush, to match the painting that Miranda's planning to do for Xmas. But maybe I should do something using some of the great photographs I have from Winnipeg. Birds and flowers... birds' eye view of the flowers? Eh. Whatever. I'll get some drawings done and figure it out from there. You'll help me, right? Dana? Hellooooo! :)

I'm going to re-paint *gasp* the buckets on my Casting for Capelin painting. The more I look at the stupid things, the more I hate them. I can do better than that. I should've changed it as soon as I realized the perspective was wrong. But I didn't... Now I'm unhappy. It's off the wall. Soon it'll be on the easel. Yeah. That's right. On The Easel.

Wait... where am I going to put the easel? We've got a couchsurfer coming sometime this month, and then Pat is coming at the start of October... argh! It may have to wait. NooOoooooo.... *sigh*

Going to go upstairs now. Either I'll take a bath or I'll take up my knitting. No... knitting in the bath doesn't work. Maybe I'll hot tub instead. Yeah... that and a glass of wine. That may get rid of these stupid little aches I've got thanks to catching Miranda's cold. Yeah... hot tubbing!

Garbage Truck hits the Deck...

Weird. There I was, innocently minding my own business and thinking about pouring a fresh cup of coffee... then sitting down and knitting (agh!) when I saw the garbage truck go by... no biggie right? It's garbage day. Suddenly *WHAM!!!* ... the house shook! Damn truck hit the deck! Clutch slipped? Something... The guy had managed to toss 2 of our garbage bags into the truck, gone back for the 3rd and final, turned... truck's rolling!!! Missed the car in our driveway, missed the side of the house... just took out the front deck. *Phew!* Could've been worse.

Enough excitement for the day. Tow truck needed to haul it out. That might be fun. :)

Am I hooked?

I'm not entirely sure what constitutes an addiction. I usually take great pride in NOT being able to get addicted to anything, but realize that I'm a huge book-devourer. THAT might be an addiction. But other than that... and chocolate... So far, I've gotten away with it.

Is that changing? I'm working on this shawl, and I want to have it done for Christmas. I'd really like to have it done even sooner so that I can start on another project (oh no... another sign!!), and that means I have to commit time to knitting. I've been knitting while visiting with my best friend, while cooking dinner, while sitting with the family post-dinner, pre-bed, and now... post-bed!!! I'm knitting while waiting for it to be time to drive Miranda to school!!!! While waiting for coffee to be done!!!

Worst thing of all is that I'm actually wavering between reading and knitting! AAAAAaaaaaaggh!!

I'm afraid to go to the library, because it might become official when I start looking for knitting books. Oh gods... what am I going to do?!!!

DANA! This is all YOUR fault!

Love you. ;)

Gotta go doctor up my coffee and pick up my knitting again. I'm heading out to Michael's with Gerri later in order to use my 50% off coupon to buy a ginormous (or medium-sized ginormous) canvas... maybe some yarn... and some non-plastic needles! They squeak and my yarn sticks to them!

... going now... must get off the computer before I look at yarn requirements for another project... *gasp*

Knit ? Purl ? ... go crazy!

It's been a while since I've been here. Too many other things going on, I guess. Went to Winnipeg to visit with Dana (Hi, Dane!!!) and had a fabulous time. Ethnic food galore (oh yum!), shopping and hanging out with Dane! (yaaaayyyy!) We watched a few movies, some of them repeaters. Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes are proceeding apace. Dana! Stop watching them!!! This is a "you-and-me" thing to do. Otherwise I'll start watching them with Alia! Yes. She's asking. ... hmm... It means I might get the whole series watched before I'm 60. *thinking*

Ron and Diane's wedding out in Grindstone National Park, Confusion Corner Bar and Grill with Dana (Beach Salad!), all the fun stuff. *sigh* It's going to be a long time before next summer comes around.

Dana learned to knit not long ago. She kept at it, even while I was visiting. She asked if I'd like to learn. My response was a pretty big "NO WAY!" ... After about a week, I'd softened up and asked her to show me. It seemed pretty easy.

Note to self: Never try learning something new when you're exhausti-pooped and stupid-blind. I couldn't even count as far as 2 on a continuing basis. Ah well. I got over that little learning bump and have since been doing pretty well.

My first project, a dog collar-cover with a neckerchief attached, turned out pretty well. Unfortunately, it's the wrong size scarf for Niki. I have to find a smaller dog to give it to. Try again with the larger size! I'd also like to get a sweater knitted for Niki before it gets cold. Poor puppy... don't want her to freeze!

The second project was hilarious. I think I must've cast-on about half a dozen times before I finally got it! Then I'd stitch a couple of rows, realize that I'd messed it up and proceed to tear the whole thing out! Argh! I finally stopped being the "anal knitter" and left it as is. The shawl took much longer than the pattern indicated it would take, but it's finally done. Funny thing though, I kept making longer and longer rows, thinking that I was making the part that lays over the shoulders with each pass. Nope... not so. It turned out that the beginning part that I'd ripped out repeatedly until the yarn was actually a bit fuzzy-looking was the top-centre. Right at the nape. *sigh* Fortunately, it looks gorgeous everywhere else. I refuse to look for mistakes and I push Alia's comments aside every time she tries to say anything about it. She's quit now.

Project three is well on its way! Another shawl, but not the triangular kind. Something a bit different, and using a boucle (eep!) yarn instead of the thick bulky stuff.

Pictures to follow. Honest!