Interest

shaved belly

A fun picture of Suki showing off her shaved belly and her scar from the surgery. She's back to "what are you doing here" when I spend too much time at home.

There is going to be an event in the Great Hall at the Museum of Civilization with knitters! I'm going to be hanging out with a bunch of lovely ladies and showing off some of my work!

Unleashing the Knitters:

So there's this guy who's doing a panel at the MLA, and he's checking to see how a meme or, depending on how you look at it, a chain letter, moves through the blogosphere.  We knitters have a rather populous corner of the blogosphere, and one that I think routinely buffaloes those who attempt to study blogs and blogging.  Who are all these knitters and what do they want?  (Wool.)  If blogging is concerned with social change, what the hell are all these people doing talking about yarn? (We'll get back to you when the plans for world domination are available in pdf format.)

Anyway, Jody explains it all in a way that is far more interesting and complete than I have the patience for, but do please play.  All you need to do is mention and link to the project, ask others to participate, and then ping technocrati.  Let's show the MLA a little knitting mojo, eh?

Suki

Just a quick post to let everyone know that my furball made it through the surgery all right, but is having a nice stay at the vet tonight so they can keep her on the IV overnight. I stopped by this evening, and she was still really groggy from the anesthesia.

They took out two tiny stones, each smaller than my pinky finger nail, but they were definitely causing problems, so they had to come out. The vet thinks they're calcium related, which means the cat can no longer drink the last of the milk from my cereal. She's not going to be happy about that!

WIPs

I thought I'd actually try to post something about knitting, seeing as this is a knitting blog. I'm writing on Sunday, but I figure I'll save this post for a couple days so as not to completely flabbergast anyone by posting twice in one day. (The pictures are already out of date, and I took them yesterday.)


icarus progress

I have been making very slow progress on my Icarus, mostly because the yarn is fiddly and I can't do much else while I work on it. The yarn is the grey laceweight mohair that I won for my (incomplete) participation in the Knitting Olympics.


close up of icarus


gatsby girl

As a birthday treat to myself, I started the Gatsby Girl Sweater from the fall Interweave Knits. I even bought the suggested yarn (Rowan Cashsoft DK - it pills a bit while knitting, but feels lovely). I have also just come to the realization that I will not have enough yarn (I'm knitting at a tighter gauge than the pattern suggested, and using the stitch numbers from a larger size to make it fit the schematic for the size I want.) Note to self: Call Gisele at Wool N' Things to order more!


alpaca-from-NB scarf

I bought myself a skein of alpaca yarn from the only (or at least the only one I could find) yarn store in St. John during my trip to NB. I'm using the stitch pattern from a scarf in the booklet that came out with the fall Interweave Knits. It will be a short scarf (I just started the other half, because I'm not sure how much is left in the ball), but soft and warm!


hat

This is a hat promised to a friend last year. Yes, I'm running a little behind. Its knit in Patons Shetland Chunky, top down. I am stranding the part of the hat after the increases to create a nice, thick, inelastic fabric around the ears. Great for warmth while not crushing hair. I will do applied i-cord around the bottom to finish it off.

In other news, I finally ordered a swift and ball winder from Camilla Valley Farm. I missed them at the Inspirations Needle Craft Show, but the shipping is only $9!

News

Suki

Miss Princess Spooky Cat has been curled up on my lap all afternoon after the trauma of going to the vet. (Which is unusual. My cat hates being held most of the time.) Sadly, it seems she has a bladder stone, and will be having surgery on Monday. As the vet pointed out, I’m just glad it’s not a tumour.

Interestingly enough, it looks like I will have to take the day off work. I need to drop her off at the vet between 8:30 and 9, and pick her up between 4 and 6, which isn’t too bad if I had a car. Since I don’t, and I can’t take the cat on the bus, I think it will be a day off. Cabbing to and from the vet is expensive enough. If anyone in Ottawa has time to hang out during the day while I’m waiting, let me know.

The evil that is Steph

Some will probably find it cruel that I post this picture, but I just had to show of the look of glee on her face when she received the magnifying glass with light to better help her distinguish between the conditioner and the body lotion in the future.


Evil glee

Harlot in the house

There are no words right now, only pictures... words will come later.

Edited to add: As I'm sure everyone knows by now, Stephanie came to Ottawa on Thursday. She was hilarious. As if you didn't already know that. I took a short video, which I plan to upload to Youtube if I can figure out how.


knitters in Kanata


more knitters

There were bloggers (from L to R) Lissa, Orris, Justine, Nancy, and Heather. Behind us are Kathy, Mairi (blog not known) and Leanne


blogger blogging blogger


proof

My cat hates me

So, not only do I not post here very often, I also am not home as often as she would like. (I don't think anyone is ever home as often as his/her pet would like, but I still feel guilty.)

Sadly, I don't have any progress pictures (or any pictures at all) to show you. I am still working on the Gatsby Girl Sweater, the Icarus shawl, a baby blanket, and I've added a hat for a friend (my own design) and a scarf. The current socks and the jamesy sweater have been put in time out. I still have time to knit most days, but I obviously haven't been taking pictures.

Hmmm... other than that, I don't have a lot of news. I guess I should go play with the cat.

Southern Ontario

View from the balcony

Well, since I don't have any photos of the four or five projects I'm working on right now, I thought I'd post some of my photos from my trip south to a friend's cabin (somewhere near Gananoque?) The trip was in mid-September, so I thought the water was too cold for swimming, but you can faintly see the boy snorkeling in the last photo. I did get some canoing and walking in the woods in.


wet fall leaves


sunflowers growing from a tree


another lake view


the fish wind sock

Bad Blogger

I think I've used that title before, but its still true.

I haven't posted in a very long time. More than a month.

Well, everyone says it, but I've been busy. I'm dating someone new, which is pretty exciting, and definitely takes up a bunch of my spare time. On top of that, I'm playing ultimate 2 times a week, doing judo 2 nights a week, and seeing other people as well.

Another new development is that I've started language training. I'm learning Arabic for my job, and it takes a lot of time and energy. I'm already considering what time it too early to go to bed, since I've had a rough day. Actually, I've only been in training for a week, but the run up to leaving my last position was also nuts.

Anwyay, I haven't done much knitting. In the past 2.5 months, I've finished (almost) 2 pairs of socks. That's it. It's only in the past two weeks that I've even started knitting regularly through the week. I've started the Icarus shawl in the grey mohair laceweight from Fyberspates and I bought myself some Rowan Cashsoft DK to start the Gatsby Girl Sweater from the new Interweave Knits. I could link, but I'm tired.

Bye

update

Umm, well... I thought I should drop in for a quick update, just to let everyone know I'm still alive.

I have zero pictures of knitting to show, even though I have done some over the past month. I have to kitchener the toe of the first mega boots stretch sock and then start number two. I have only the cuff to finish on the second sock for a pair of footlets I'm making out of some of my hand dyed yarn. I'm halfway through ball 2 on a random baby blanket I'm making (with no recipient in mind yet). However, jamesey is languishing in the never ending ribbing section. I need to take it on the bus to knit, but there hasn't been as much bus riding lately, more biking and walking.

Work is getting busy again, and I expect the next month to be challenging. My boss is away, and there's lots of work coming up.

Other than that, soccer is going pretty well, but we rarely get many people out to practice. We'll see how many show tonight, given that its the hottest day of the summer so far. Also, I'm now learning how to play ultimate. Its fun, even if I don't really know what's going on!

North and Interior

Sorry for the delay. My parents are in town this weekend, and this is the first chance I've had to update. The photos below are for four Mayan sites (Lamanai, Altun Ha, the Barton Creek Cave and Corocal) that we visited and the storm that capped off my vacation.


jungle


mask


big stairs


rounded corners


Altun Ha


cave entrance


Ceiba tree


storm at Caye Caulker

Make that in a few days...

I am here, with pictures... These are only the first few days of my trip, but since this post is already picture heavy, I thought I'd save my collection of Mayan ruins for another day.


Welcome to Caye Caulker

The Cayes (pronounced Keys) off the coast of Belize are small islands, at least partially formed by mangroves. They are in close proximity to the second longest reef in the world, so the snorkeling and diving are fabulous (I only tried the snorkeling). We stayed on Caye Caulker, which is very laid back. We also visited San Pedro, on Ambergris Caye, which is both larger and busier.



Caye Caulker doesn't have many motorized vehicles, but there are always people meeting the boats who will help you carry your luggage to your hotel.


Lokal Flava


local transport

The one thing you do have to watch out for are the golf carts. They don't go very fast, but they're hard to hear coming.


daytime


sunset

This was taken during a sunset canoe trip on the landward side of the island. The mangroves act as a nursery for all of the creatures that you can see out on the reef.

I'm back! More pictures tomorrow!

San Ignacio

Hi again... I'm now in San Ignacio, after passing through Orange Walk and Crooked Tree. We've been on the move quite a bit since we left the Cayes. Mostly, we've seen Mayan ruins and wildlife. Again, I will have to post pictures when I get home. I'm only here for a few more days, so we've booked a couple different things before I have to make my way back to Belize City to fly home.

Caye Caulker

I am now in Belize, after a couple of flights and a lot of time in airports. We did a full day snorkelling trip today, and I've managed to burn myself in an uncomfortable location. Too bad! It was really cool to see sea turtles, sharks, sting rays and lots of other assorted fish and coral. Part of our group even saw a manatee! Sadly, I didn't bring my camera cord to the internet place, so there are no pictures yet. Anyway, its only been one day. I'm sure there will be moe to come.

Vacay

Obviously I'm not doing that well with the regular posting. I don't know that I'm too busy to post, but I haven't finished anything in ages. I'm knitting a pair of socks from Mega boots stretch. I am on the foot of the first one, after having to rip back multiple times. It was almost horrifying that I briefly blanked on how to do an hourglass heel. I redid it three times before I could make it work.

So, I'm leaving on vacation. I'm going to Belize for 10 days, or so. I'm excited, and I'll try and post a couple times, just to let J know I'm still alive. Other than that, I'll probably be quiet for the next two weeks (not that that differs much from the current state of affairs here.)

A saga of socks

So, apparently I have bad sock karma. I have taken part in sockapaltwoza and sockapaloooza (organized by the wonderful Alison), but I have yet to receive a pair of socks!

My first pal actually flaked on me, so Alison kindly arranged for a sock angel (for whom I was a sock angel as well). Unfortunately (this portion of this sad story is entirely my fault), I had moved at some point and completely blanked on changing my address. So, the postal people say the package was delivered, but the people in that apartment (I still live in the same building) claim they never received any of my mail. (I don't believe them. They tried to steal money from me through mail they received. You'd think I'd have learned by now!)

But now it seems that Canada Post has taken a dislike to me. A few weeks ago, my new sockpal (the lovely Kayla, who is currently taking a break from blogging) emailed me to tell me that the sock package she had mailed to me had been returned to her! I was hyper alert to ensuring that I had submitted the right address this time, so I don't understand what the problem was. Anyway, she promised to remail, but I haven't seen anything yet! The last message I have on the subject is from May 16th. I clearly understand how Ms. Grumperina feels.

So, if I maybe don't participate in the next sock pal round and actually knit some socks for myself (and I've now sent out three pairs), please be understanding.

Wow

I was doing so well with the posting, and then I fell of the face of the earth again. Actually, the problem is that I never get home until 9ish on weeknights, and I had an intense bout of lethargy last weekend, which resulted in my not leaving the house or doing anything else for two days. It's actually a sad waste of a weekend, but sometimes there's nothing to be done.

The other reason for my lack of posting is my lack of knitting. I've been working on some Mega Boots Stretch socks, which need to be frogged (too small, although I'm toying with the thought of turning it into a pair of fingerless gloves). And Jamesay will still be another 10 inches of ribbing, and I'm finding it difficult to work up the enthusiasm. I feel the need to knit something in pieces, so that I can have different things on different sides (if that made any sense at all).

So, its hot here today. I finally set up the fans I bought a few weeks ago in preparation for this weekend. The cat doesn’t like them, but hopefully they will help me be slightly more comfortable this summer than last. I wonder if a dehumidifier would help even more, as feeling mildly damp all the time makes the heat even harder to bear. Actually, given the orientation and size of the windows in my apartment, I’m thinking not. (I actually installed the blind and the curtain rod in the bedroom today. Now I just need to get curtain rods up in the living room before my parents show up in July. And the saddest part is that I've lived here for 9 months!)

I ran in the 5K race for the Ottawa Race Weekend on Saturday. According to the official results, I finished in 33:35, and I came in 2576th place (out of more than 6500). It was definitely a learning experience. Next time I’ll start much nearer to the front, cause I was frustrated trying to get around the many walkers for the first half (after that, it was slightly more spread out). They were very well organized for the number of people, though.

Soon to come, a draft about socks...

lull

Yay! Cynthia received the socks I knit for her! And if you haven't seen it yet, you should check out her Warming Grace project.

So, I don't have much to show as far as recent knitting. I've been working on nothing but my sockapaloooza socks for exclusively since March, so I had to start some new projects after I sent them off on Wednesday. I've started a new pair of socks, and a Jamesey. Nothing worth photographing yet.

And, although J forbid me to post the photos from her bridal shower yesterday, I'm going to break her rules...


J's shower

(I don't think this is the one she objected to anyway...) Anyway, this is near the end of the party. You can see the tops of the many wine bottles (for the August party, assuming they last that long).

Muse

So, I was at the Hawksley Workman concert on Monday, and I had an amazing time! It was in a theatre, which felt a little odd (it was different than previous shows that I've been to) but really fun! I find him really enjoyable to watch, and I highly recommend going if you get the chance. This was my third Hawksley concert, and I own three cds, so I am a bit of a fan. However, no performance is ever the same, and he rarely plays the songs in the same way they're recorded for the cd. He uses his voice as an instrument as well as singing, so it can seem a little odd (there's a lot of howling/screeching/warbling etc.) the first time you hear it, but now I think its interesting to hear how many different ways a song can be transformed. And then there's the conversation with the audience that flows through the performance. It has to be experienced to be understood.

Tonight was my first soccer game of the season (it was an exhibition game against the WR1 team from my club (that's one division higher than the team I play on))! I remember why I love playing. At the same time, I felt much more fit than I did at the same time last year, so that makes me happy. I've been working on running for around 2 months now, and I'm doing a 5K at the end of the month, so its good to feel the improvement. Yay!