Just a note

I know my entries have been sparse.

I know my entries have been about knitting. ALOT!

I have knitting on the brain as it is what I am doing right now.

I promise to be more interesting in the coming weeks.

IT'S A THROWDOWN!!!!

Good Monday to you all!

So my Dad has just thrown down!

I am on a kntting kick for the holidays. NOTE: If you read this blog and are related to me and know I am giving you a present, SURPRISE!

My Dad was watching my knitting last night when my sister and the girls were over and told me he was sure I was over extending myself for Christmas knitting.

Now to be fair, early on in my knitting career, I was not as fast, into it and knowledgable as I am now. I did promise him a scarf and Mum a sweater 6 months after I started knitting and it has been about 4 years since. Mum got her sweater this summer. Dad made a request that it change into a  blanket. Which if you know me or have read this blog is in the works. If I were not making stuff for the holidays, it would probably have been done by now!

With all that back information, I see where he is coming from. But what he doesn't know is that I am a faster knitting now then I was 4 years ago and I had started knitting for the holidays about a month ago!

So Dad it is on! I accept your throw down challange to have everything on the list done in time for Christmas!

Knitting and Psychology

Hello all!

I  know it has been a while since posting. You'll have to excuse me for that! I have been feeling a little run down lately and have had trouble waking up in the mornings. My energy is not what it usually is. I am not sure yet if it is adjustment to night school or if I am coming down with something.

But I am feeling pretty good today!

I am currently knitting up a storm. Seeing as it is the holiday season, and I actually love to make things for people it is a good match.  My nieces and nephew's presents are almost complete and some of the adults in my life are under way as well.

I have been having fun making up a couple of patterns as I go along. That shows me that my confidence is rising in my abilities.

My knitting endeavors show me a few things about myself as I take stock in what I am in the midst of producing.

1. I knit for others first. This tends to be my motto when it comes to those I care about. I seem to worry about others and then myself in life. I sometimes forget to do things for myself.
              SOLUTION: In the midst of the holiday knitting I saw a pattern suggestion for this great scok yarn that was not a sock. I decided that I would make that for myself in the midst of all my holiday knitting. I may not get it done for a while, but I will get it done!

2. I'm just a girl who can't say no! Someone asks and even if I say no there is still some pushing for me to do it. There is that feeling of letting people down if I say no and for some reason I can't handle them being upset with me(Silly I know!).
               SOLUTION: Say yes but that it might take a bit of time to get it to them. In knitting either they forget about it or they will eventually get it and that calms them down.

3. Despite what people may think, I am actually a pretty organized person. I know what yarn I have. I know most of the needles I have. I also know what I am knitting for whom and when I need it done by.  It's interesting that I have spent most of my life believing that I am not the most organized, messy sure but organized? No way!  What's funny is that I run an office and I am organized enough to know before hand what and where the problems are to head them off.  My mother's family are all organizers of some form or another. So where is the surprise?
    I think it is amazing how one's perception of oneself stays with you even if the signs are there that you are wrong of your self image. Of course it can be too good a perception or horrible perception, but sometimes you have to stop and take stock of where you are in the moment and not in the past.  It is ok for me to knit for myself in the chaos of holiday knitting and  yes I can say no!

I didn't plan for this to be so heavy! Talk to y'all later

Introducing a new blog brought to you by Aunt Tallulah!

Happy Halloween to you all!

Hope you all get lots of tricks & treats today!

Just to let you know I have started a second blog which you can link to from this one.

It is called "crazy eighties lady." You can probably guess what it will cover.

For those of you who know me my informative years were in the 80s. I love the music, television and movies. So I decided to do a blog about it.

The inspiration came from listening to a podcast  called Muststashyo. It is done by two people I know Cindy - who is a spinner & maker of great yarns which can be found at studio loo which I have added as a link & Mat - spinner & maker of great yarns known as manspun! I will also add that link to the blog. If you are interested in purchasing some of their yarn, you can also mosey over to Knit-o-matic. Haley carries some of their yarn.

Anyway I was think after listening to their podcast (available on Itunes!), which made me think I would love to do a podcast about the eighties. I am pretty sure there would be some copyright problems if I played the music or clips from the movies or shows. So I thought that for now the best thing I could do is start a blog about the decade that I grew up in.  Please stop by. It is just in the beginning stages, but I am planing to do a where are the now post. Top movies of 1983 & a tribute to John Waters.

Don't worry though my other random thoughts will still be entered here on a regular basis as well. I am just moving one set of the randomness on to another page.

This is my brain!

So what's new in this brain of mine?

Well there are lots of things swimming around in there, it is often difficult to form what is thoughtful, insightful or entertaining. So I am just going to carry on and see what happens.

The newest thing I have done is dye some natural yarn that I had sitting around the house. I  used kool-aid (yes that KOOL-AID you used to drink as a child for pennies a glass!) and the new crock-pot (or slow cooker if you will!). The yarn is very  funky & I like it for the first attempt at yarn dyeing. But I am sort of considering dyeing it again. I haven't quite made that decision yet. I also have been eyeing the natural ultra alpaca at Knit-o-Matic for more dyeing fun!

I am trying to use up all my old yarn that I have sitting around the house. Yarn can get expensive & even easier to let pile up in your room waiting to be used. So most of the yarn is now being washed & re-wound & will be made into gifts for people for Christmas. Some of you maybe able to figure out what you're getting!

I am also kind of thrilled that someone like my earflap hat that he asked me to knit him one. Luckily it is quite easy to knit-up.

Yes there is more to life than my yarn obsession!

One of those is my photography. I haven't been able to do much because all of the photos are on my Dad's computer. I mentioned that I might want to work on and print some stuff. So that is a step in the right direction! When I left for the Cottage on my week vacation in June/July, my Dad gave me a photo card that holds 1800 photos! As of today I have 350 left. I am toying with the idea of transferring them to the computer, but I kind of like the idea of filling the whole thing up! It is somewhat satisfying that I have all those photos to sift through!

I have bought frames that I think I  can do stuff with as well. Those are often bought on trips to Homesense and other places where I find cheap frames. The thing is I now have plans for all of them, but I can't get to printing. Maybe I'll take some time off & just work on photos.

Let's see other thoughts.....

I am actually doing well so far in my Litigation law clerk class! Who knew? I know you are all saying  that I am being hard on myself. But I'm actually not. I am in no way putting down my intellegence! This is just not where I saw myself 10 years ago. Heck, I didn't see myself here 5years ago! It is quite amazing where life takes you!

I have been watching a show on A&E called Hoarders. It is quite scary to see how people live. I know I am not a hoarder. But looking at that has scared me to get rid of things. I plan to empty out my closet in the spring, because I am not ready to spend the time doing it yet! That means that my room is also going to need to get cleaned out as well. I have started by getting rid of a bunch of books that I don't need anymore by taking them to Goodwill. It can be very satisfying you know.

What strikes me about the hoarders is that this stuff has some meaning, even if it is a bottle of water. I don't want to get to that place in my life, ever. So my goal is to not collect too much stuff. I think photos are a different matter of course! I think that is where the yarn use up is coming from as well!

I would like to swim more than I have been, walking more than I have been and biking more than I have been. The many factors that are slowing that down are the unusually cold weather, the darker mornings. I also used to get infections every 3-4 months. The cycle has gradually gotten longer and  it has been 13 months since my last infection (September 2008). I was feeling a little off so I stop anything that might cause me to get sick (i.e. swimming) I left my bike at the office when I wasn't feeling well & haven't had a chance to bring it home.

I have also had difficulty waking up in the morning so the hour I would need to walk to the office doesn't exsist. I do find that I miss the exercise! I do go out for longish walks on the weekends. It's not like I am doing absolutely nothing!

Finally, I am on a no junk food mode again.  It has been quite easy to go & eat a bunch of junk so I am taking a break from it. I started it on Monday, but I ate one small cookie, so no big deal!

Finally I am done. For now!

Hope all is well with you!

I'm crazy smrt

So I am the class know it all!

I know sounds crazy doesn't it?
How on Earth did that happen?
It's not that I am unintelligent, quite the contrary.

We had a pop quiz last night in class. The instructor forgot the paper at the office & gave it to us orally. Now as you all know I am a bit of a chatter box on a good day, so I did cover my mouth a few times to stop from shouting out the answers.

The first couple of questions were about tort law. I answered one or two of the answers she wanted & let everyone else answer. No one really did.

The next set of questions were about the Rules of Civil Procedure (The rules is how I will forever refer to them). I could have answered them all. We were allowed to use our books because there is no  real way to memorize the rules (there are far too many & they're in legalese). I organized the book as she had suggested & was the only one who could answer the questions, I didn't because she wanted other to answer & she looked at me & knew I knew.

I think being organized with the Rules is the way to pass this thing. So my law clerking is going well! I was so scared about this whole thing!

This isn't like getting a music degree or opera school. But hey I'm not a complete disaster! **DANCING**

Random, Random & more random!

Hello all!

It has been a while since my last post. I have not been well but I am certainly on the mend.

The first of today's thoughts is about squirrels! I am always having a laugh or giggle about them. I know they are basically rats with fluffy tails, but for some reason I love them. They seem to have these great personalities! My dog likes them too. However, I think that she wants to capture them & eat them. Well maybe not eat, but torture them. I often tell my dog that we are going on a squirrel hunt instead of calling it a walk. I even worked out a movie in the style of a Cousteau film about hunting the elusive squirell! The other day on our walk I saw a cute chipmunk. I don't see them very often in the city. This one was especailly cute!

My other issue is the scary pigeons that surround the office building. I mostly work in the centre of the floor and don't have a window. I see the pigeons out the window of the board room or in the lawyers office. The office that I do my admin work has a huge window, but it is covered with boxes that need to be stored somewhere, but I'm not sure where. I was working in the office & felt like I was being watched. I looked through the crack of boxes at the window & there was a pigeon staring at me. It startled me but it was also knid of creepy. Not exactly the kind of person I would want to meet in a dark alley stare!

So today Toronto is the windy city! I am trying to grow my hair out. I had a pixie cut last December. I got my cut cleaned up in June (Yes I know it's time for a haircut...I am planning to go!). My hair has finally passed the awkward growing phase, hence the hesitance to get a cut! My hair is longer in the back than on the sides. You could call it a mullet, but it isn't really a mullet! ANYHOO! I went for a walk at lunch today & boy was it windy! I saw my hair in the mirror in the elevator & boy did I get some wings! I have naturally curly hair & the wind made it look like I had a really hilarious 70's style flip! I couldn't ever copy that if I tried!

Anyways I think that's it for now! Have fun!

An open letter to my body (Not as bad as it sounds!)

Dear body,

I appreciate all that you do for me. I really do. I know that without you I wouldn't exist.

I admit that there are times where I don't take care of you properly. I may eat the wrong things or not exercise enough. I may spend too much time sitting for long periods of time or walk for a lot longer than I probably should. Yes, I do the best I can with what I've got and am far  from perfect.

You are important to me and obviously you are not very happy with me today.
Did I do something to offend you? Are you punishing me for past wrongs? Was the haircut really that bad?

I understand that one gets sick. I have spent many years going through an infection or two every 3-4 months. It eventually started slowing down. I know it has been a year since my last infection but I don't want one now, please.  Is this just a way for me to remember? Trust me I remember!

I remember falling asleep only to wake up in the middle of the night in the clothes you wore all day & all the lights are on in the room. I remember getting a phone call but completely missing it although I have apparently had a conversation with someone.

I remember my ear drums playing the little drummer boy. I remember the pain around my eyes caused by my  sinuses. I remember taking an hour to get out of bed even though I have to get to work. I can also remember the headaches.

Oh and how could I ever forget feeling like there is sandpaper in my throat?

You see body I don't forget. I have suffered many times over and over. I was sort of hoping you might hold off for a while. I wish I knew what I could do to help you get over the pain of the past. Can't we move forward and work towards a fulfilling mutually benefitial relationship for both of us?

I would truly love a reply to my plea. You know where to find me!
Rosie

Musical musings

Happy Monday to you all!

Today is going to be a short note to you all.

I am still singing most Sundays at a church in the west end. The solists rotate singing a solo. It was my turn yesterday. I sang "O rest in the Lord" from "Elijah" by Mendelsson.

After the service an older women (meaning older than my parents) stopped me in the hallway & asked if I was the soloist. She told me it was her first time at the church. She started to talk about the music but broke down in tears. She was quite eimbarrassed & surprised that she was reacting the way she was.

I told her there was nothing to be embarrassed about that music by it's very nature is meant to evoke emotions in people whether it is good, bad, happy or sad. She was still quite worried about it. I also explained that my mother when she hears organ music often has a strong response, so she wasn't alone. That seemed to make her feel better & off she went  off to coffee hour.

That moment meant alot to me for many reasons. Primarily it reminds me that the power of music is so strong. I realize that although the professional singer I was is no longer, I can still touch someone. For me that is what singing was always about. Being able to touch that one person enough to tears.  It also shows me that no matter what I am now & always will be a singer, professional or not. It is in my heart & soul.

Show some manners! PLEASE!

I am in a weird mood today.

I am blaming an incident in my class last night as the reason for it.

We had a sub last night. She explained that she was not as familar with the reasearch function that we were using. She struggled a bit. But I figure we are all learning how to do it together.  In order to prove a point she started to read something from the text and a woman in the class said very loudly "I can read thanks!"  This stopped the instructor in her tracks and she naturally responded with "Excuse me?" The woman responded with "Oh I wasn't talking to you."  It was obvious she was talking about the instructor, whether it was intentionally directed at the instructor or not.

The instructor looked like she wanted to say something so badly. But instead she took the high road and had us work on something that our regular instructor was supposed to have emailed us, but none of us got.  The rude woman got up & left after that.

After the class I went up to the instructor & appologized for the woman (I don't know her but I felt bad that someone would do that to another person!). The instructor told me that if she had been the actually instructor, she would have totally told off the woman but seeing as this was only one time she would be here, she bit her tongue.

My problem with the whole thing is that we are all human. There is no need in this situation to have been a nasty rude person, what-so-ever. I don't care how bored, frustrated or whatever you're feeling. You don't treat people like that. My nieces & nephew wouldn't act that way & they are all under 10!

 I know I should shake it off. I will eventually, but I need to wind down. I'm sure I will be fine by lunchtime!

I did learn how to read & write citations. So something good came out of it.

I also realise that not only am I a sensitive person, but I am also an unusual person (Insert joker here!). But that is for another post at another time!

R.I.P.

First off I would like to have a moment of silence for Patrick Swayze.

I am not sure why I am more upset by his passing than say Michael Jackson. But it is a two-fold reason.

Firstly, PS was in many of  my youthful movies, that I loved watching. The Outsiders, Red Dawn, Dirty Dancing & Ghost were all movies that have had some siginifigance in my growing up. How many times have we referenced a line or two from Dirty Dancing? Or tried the final lift that Baby can't do. So in a way it's like saying good -bye to your youth.

I think the second reason it has hit me more is that our client and freind, Sam George, died of pancreatic cancer  at the beinging of the summer. Sam was diagnosed after PS but passed away in about 9 months. PS lasted more than twice as long than that. I may not have know Sam for a long time, but he did make a mark in my adult life if even for a brief moment. Sam was always in a good mood (I have heard about when he wasn't, but I never saw that side!)! He was also the first client I got to know here. He told Murray that I was a keeper a couple of days after I started working here!

So now I would like a moment of silence for Sam.

I don't have anymore to say right now!

Monday!

Good morning all!

Firstly, if there are a few spelling mistakes in my entries as of late I apologize. They have changed the  formatting tools on the blog, but I haven't yet found the spell checker. Of course in my humble opinion, the spell checker is the most important tool of all!

If you know where it is, please let me know. I have been trying to go back & check on my own, but I am only human & therefore I am not perfect (contrary to what you might think!)!

So I have spent the last 3 days trying to read the stuff for my class tomorrow night. After 3 days of trying, I finally got through it. Yes I understand it, but my question is why must everything be written in long stupid explanations?  I understand that Binding law is always (with few exceptions!) what the higher courts have decided.

I am still feeling a bit of trepidation, but I think once I really get in the swing of it, all will be well! I finally figured out this morning that I had been signing into the wrong thing on-line to get my course notes. But there still seems to be a problem with getting anything on the new website too. I am sure that will get figured out soon enough!

Dad's blanket is getting big now. When I work on it, I can stay warm underneath it! I have offically finished a second skein of one of the yarns & in two weeks will be ready for a new round of them ( I only work on the blanket at Knit-o-matic on the weekends) so I won't get to the colour I don't have for another couple of weeks (Yes! It's getting that big!). Haley was nice enough to stash it away for me because the colours are starting  deminish in quantity. So she has hidden them away, so I can get them in a couple of weeks.

I have also started work on another hat for myself. Hats are general quick & easy & my head is rather large so I often have a hard time finding a hat that fits my head. So knitting a hat is great for me!  Eve, one of the Stitch N' Bitch ladies, made a great ear-flap hat in noro, so I think I am going to make myself one simular to that !

I am also going to take a mitten class, so I can make mitts to match all my hats!

TTC Things That (drive me) Crazy

I am going on a TTC rampage.

On the whole I love our public transit system. I love that I can get anywhere from my house in about half an hour. I could be going north, south, east or west if I go into a station anywhere really really fast!

My gripes are as follows:

1. There was a horrible, I mean HORRIBLE, mildew smell at the south entrance at the St. Clair West escalators. It was horrible! That was in February! They then shut down the  escalators for maintenance to presumably fix the escalators. The only way down  was the stairs. Not good if you are with stroller or wheelchair! They kept putting a sign up saying it would be fixed. It was not fixed until July! That's way too long! Especially when there is no accessibilty at either St Clair West entrances!

2.People on the subway are stupid. Who stands in the doorway of a completly empty train on the side that the platform is on? I understand if it is rush hour & full but honestly!

3. People on the subway smell. I accept that body odour exists. I accept that people will lather on smelly stuff to mask the odour. But there are people not only with bad B.O. but the scent they are masking it with  is just as bad. And it gives me  a headache or a runny nose because I am allergic to the combo!

4. People on the subway are rude. Bags & backpacks should be put in between your legs not on your shoulder. If there is a sudden jolt you could take someone out. It is common sense people! Also people who are pregnant, obviously injured, too old to balance properly, or too little to balance properly should be  given your damn seats! And if someone gets up to give one of these people their seat, don't steal it from underneath them!

5. Sunday bus service is really stupid! I have to get to my church gig at 9:00am on Sunday mornings. The trains start operating at 9:00am. So in order to get there on time I have to take a bus across Bloor St from Bathurst all the way over to Dundas West. Once I'm on the bus it goes really fast. But waiting is rediculous! If you don't get there before 8:10 you have to wait almost 30 mins before another shows up. Correction, 2 or 3 go by in the other direction, 2 or 3 go by and are out of service! When the bus finally arrives it is followed by another 2 Buses. What's the point really? It does not make me love the transit system on a cold Sunday morn!

6. I am a mental case! I admit to mild claustrophobia. It is particularly bad on the Subway at rush hour. I have pretty much solved the problem by listening to my ipod & therefore I block out the noise & my mind can't play games on me. All though I have to get off the subway first. Only because I NEED to get out of there!  One time we lost complete power in the  cars (lights too!). I had a crazy panic attack. I don't usually have panic attacks. So I am for some reason a TTCophobe!

My final question is how on earth does someone put a full face of make-up on? I'm talking foundation, eye-liner, mascara, etc. I would be affraid to blind myself if the car jerked. Can you not take an extra 10 mins out of your day to do it at home or the gym? I don't care if you are reapplying lipstick, but eyeliner? Really?

The one thing I really like about the TTC is the different people who ride it. There is such a variety of people from every background, race, age, level of reality. So watching the people despite my  issues is quite intriguing.

Tuesday's musings

I got up this morning at 5:45am (Willingly!) after a night of some really bizzare dreams. I am not going to share those. The dreams are for me & me alone.

I went off to the Gym for a 35min swim. I felt like I was going slower then ever before. But I went & felt really good afterwords. I washed my hair & walked the 1 1/2 blocks to the office.

Then it hit at 2:30! I want to curl up for a nap! Why? Because I would feel better.

I have to laugh at myself because I start my Law Clerks class tonight and breifly (But not really planning to) skip the class and go home. I laugh because after acutally going to "real school" last in 1993 I am a tad scared. Excited but scared and the scared part of me thought of skipping out. But my older sensibilities have gotten the better of me in my old age and of course I can't skip the first class. I need to save myself for later on in the course when I'm too sick or really lazy to go. I have six months of this class. I need to pace my skipping.

It's not even really going to the class that's the problem. It's the getting home part. The class finishes at 9:15pm. But it will probably take an hour to get home. I briefly considered cycling down there. But I  am a relatively new cyclist & don't have the correct nighttime flashy wear. I have bike lights that flash! I just don't have any clothes! Maybe I'll change my mind in a couple of weeks & go.

RANDOM WEEKEND BITS!
Mum's sweater is finally done! I washed it and it is currently drying. What is thrilling about this is that I am now only left with two promised knitting/crocheted gifts. A bag for my sister, which I will fiinish sometime this week & a knitted blanket for my Dad. I can only work on the blanket a little at a time. It is abit of a mind numbing project & if I only worked on that I would not be happy. It is a beautiful blanket! I normally work on it at the weekend Stitch N' Bitch at  Knit-o-Matic (Which moves back to Sundays this weekend!). People who come into the store are often admiring it.

This weekend I knitted myself an ear flap hat. It took me one day to complete! It is Malabrigo(Brand of Yarn) Chunky (Weight of yarn). It is in a variation of purple. I want to make one in another colour. This is going to be my winter going to the Gym hat!

I went for a fabulous 2 hour walk on Sunday. Just me, my ipod & my camera! I walked all the way to the St Lawrence Market. It was closed. I was surprised by that. The flea market part was open, but not the main market. I did acheive my photo goals. I had wanted to take a photo of the Flatiron Building. I think if they are any good, I will use them in my old Toronto photo group.  One of my neighbours up the street have these really weird yet beautiful flower. It will be added to my lovely flower collection.

I even found frames for the flower group of pictures! Homesense is great for frames, but bad for me to enter into! I didn't want to spend anything this past weekend, but alas there were four of the exact same frames so I could do a group of them together. You have to be careful at Homesense. Some of the frames have nicks on them. Not the ones I found though.

So the big thing is I had over 1800 photos on this one card (OMG! That's friggin' huge!). I am now at 650 left. So I am slwoly inching towards the end of the card. But the question is should I empty if now incase something should happen to it? Or should I try and fill the whole thing?

Randomness Ravings of a Crazy Lady!

So last night's stitch n Bitch was a lot of fun.

There was lots of things to talk about. Seeing as here in Toronto there is some crazy stuff going on. The former Attorney General had an altercation with a cyclist ( I am not making a judgement either way on that one until the facts come out. I have heard a million different things & that makes it hard to fully decide what is right or wrong, or who did what to whom. The whole thing is just bizarre!).

There was also that same night, a wacko who after an altercation with a woman got on a bus & eventually pulled out a can of gasoline, poured it on the bus seats, then set it a blaze. It was captured on the TTC security camera in the bus. As weird as it was, who on earth just happens to carry a can of gasoline in their bag? Is it just for emergencies? I know I am often annoyed when I realise I left my gas can in my other bag. BIZARRE!

But those conversations weren't as much fun as the bad actors who win awards for bad performances.

We started a conversation about bad clothing issues. Sort of fashion police kind of stuff. I went on a rant about age appropriate jeans for my Mum, muffin tops, capped sleeves, Shorts on fat people ( I am a recovering fat person who wore shorts so I know of what I speak!), the disappointment of selection of plus sized clothes in the late eighties, early nineties when I could only go to one store & dress like my Bubby! The clothing list is endless. I was on the top of my game by the end of the night.

One of my friends even suggested that I go do stand up at Yuk Yuk's.

I think that I need to make a statement now. I was a walking fashion disaster. I still have my moments & am far from perfect. I don't want people who hear my rant who've known me to say " But you've had some fashion crap yourself. I remember when you wore long johns with boxer shorts out as your everyday wear." or " You complain that people wear pants where the underwear are showing, but you have been a victim of that!"

I know I have been a victim of fashion disasters! I hear you! I acknowledge & I am working towards repairing the damage. I do have a few things that I could say in my defence but I own that I have many many many times been a disaster!

As for me doing stand up, I think there are a few problems with that.
One is I am too happy about life to do it.
Two I am only funny when I am doing it unconsciously. If I think about it, its not funny.
Three - I don't have a shtick that stand-ups have. Be it gay, straight, Indian, black, white I just don't have anything. I suppose I could do fat single lady jokes. But people seem to be uncomfortable when heavy women make fat jokes. It's some taboo subject that I don't get. I am making fun of myself people. I know of what I speak. I am not being a mean girl. Please give me a break!

The other thing that would make it difficult about my identity is that I am Canadian. My parents are both from Toronto. They each have a parent that grew up in Toronto. Although I am half Jewish, it is the wrong half. My Dad is Jewish not my Mum. Although most of my non-Jewish friends refer to me as their Jewish friend, the actual Jewish friends I have tell me I'm not Jewish (for the record I say I take after my Dad's (Jewish) side of the family, but I am not really Jewish!).

So if I were to do stand-up, being Canadian, I couldn't do anything interesting because we as Canadians are too PC. They don't want to offend anyone by saying anything slightly wrong.

There goes my stand-up career.

Pain, soreness & confusion

So it has been 18hours since I my trip to the dentist & I am still sore.

Teeth are fine, but the gum where the two needles went in still hurt. OH THE HUMANITY!!!!!
My jaw is a little tight as well thanks to having to keep my mouth open for 1 & a half hours!

I did just eat an apple, using both sides of my mouth, although I am favouring the left side.

I am also stiff because I biked down to the pool & then swam for 35 mins! I stretched so don't go telling me that is my problem right now. Because it's not.

While I was swimming, my arms wear screaming at me (the were literally screaming at me!) because they were tired. Really tired. I walked & biked quite a lot this summer, but I didn't do much with the arms. My Bubby flabs are not as tight as they were in the spring. But I think with all the swimming, I will tighten them up in no time.

I am enjoying myself so much, I am even considering adding a fourth day of the week. I am also considering biking to & from school on Tuesday nights. I think I will this week as a trial. The main reason I worry is that I am not used to cycling late at night in the dark. But maybe if I try it now before it is too dark I might get comfortable! If it works out, I'll get one of those bike jackets that have iridescent strips on them. Or maybe the big yellow vest! I would be truly fashionable!

Now is the time in our program about obsessive food chat.

I thought that once I started swimming & biking on a regular basis that I would start to want to eat alot more. Surprisingly for me it it not the case. I am still not particularly hungry, but when I actually eat I feel a bit better.
What is the cause of my dilemma?
Is the food I eat in the morning enough to get me to last?
Is it the Greens+daily detox?
Am I just going through a phase?

I don't crave junk at all. If something overly emotional was going on I would want to eat more than I do. So this isn't depression.

This is a very strange place to be in. I don't know if it is temporary or if my body has just changed.

I certainly don't see any changes on the scale. I am not really complaining about that. I am maintaining the same weight & have been for a few months. It would be nice if I could drop 15lbs. That's the amount I have told myself I need to lose to get a new bathing suit. That & I have to consistently stay on a swimming schedule.

I know I have just started the workouts this week. Maybe it is just going to take a few weeks for my body to get it.

But my other problem is I worry about how much food I am actually taking in.

Dentist hate!

I hate needles, blood, wrinkly fruit (That's for another blog!) and sharks!

Today I hate the Dentist!

I know no one really likes the dentist. I don't have a monopoly on those feelings.

Well no wonder I hate the dentist today! I had to have one needle of freezing. He told me that it should last 2-3 hours. Well I told him at 30 mins in I could feel what he was doing. Maybe he thought I was making it up (I wasn't. Trust me!). But he figured out when I winced when he touched my mouth. He then said I should have told him. I do recall telling him, maybe it was a miscommunication on my part. But I think if you say that your mouth is tingling which is the sign that it is wearing off, you might clue in.

Anyway, he gave me yet another needle. After another 45 mins he told me I could eat once the freezing wears off. Great. The freezing has warn off & let me tell you that I can't feel where he did the work but I can feel exactly where the needle entered my gums! It hurts to eat on that side. So I had to feed myself on the left side of my mouth.

I was telling people today, I wish that we should all just go with the old British teeth (I'm talking Austin Powers! "Yeah Baby!").

That's why today I hate the dentist!

SWIMMING AGAIN! FINALLY!

So yesterday I had been all excited about going swimming for the first time in months. I had stopped due to Dad & Dog duties. I was very disappointed that my alarm did something wacky.

So this morning I went. I am tired. I am sort of sore. But I feel great!

I thought I would be a complete mess but I wasn't as out of shape as I had thought I would be.

I don't know what it is about water but it makes me calm & feel great. I don't realise how much I miss it until I get back in the water.

The other thing I noticed is that food tastes better today. I have been pretty much eating the same breakfast for a while with variations on a theme. It tastes fine. If it were horrible I wouldn't eat it right? But today that breakfast was fantastic. Actually it was the best Oatmeal I have had in a long time. I didn't do anything different. I wonder if the exercise makes the food I eat better.

I was worried that I might want to snack all day long, but since breakfast I haven't really been hungry. I am going to eat lunch now or I might gnaw off my arm!

So the plan is that I will swim Thursday & Friday this week. My normal days would be Monday, Tuesday & Thursday. Friday will replace the holiday Mondays. I know this will make both Tuesdays & Thursdays long days (for different reasons). But I kind of like it that way!

Boardom & other excuses

Hello all!

Sorry for missing a couple of days. I have been in a weird place. Nothing bad just weird.

I have found that I haven't been as hungry as of late. If there isn't food already prepared for me than I don't know what I want & because I am not really that hungry, I don't eat at all.

Friday night was one of those nights. I walked home & because I knew I had to eat something I went into a corner store. It's called the food Depot. It has all sorts of things that if you went to a real supermarket, you wouldn't pay nearly as much.

Anyways, I didn't know what to eat & somehow settled on tortillas, guacamole & a large bag of chocolate m&m's. Now I haven't eaten like that in years! YEARS! That kind of eating normally is triggered by some emotional upheaval in my mind. But this wasn't that.

Needless to say, I felt like I was hungover the next morning! I had no energy at all.

Well I seem to have recovered from that moment well. I am still not that hungry, but at least there is food at the office that I am making myself eat so I don't pass out.

I was all psyched about going to swim this morning. Wouldn't you know my alarm went of but didn't. So I didn't' get to go. I have fixed the problem & will be getting up tomorrow as per my new weekly plan. I will go on Friday this week as per the contingency plan for holiday Mondays like next week.

Fall Ivy

This is ivy on a church on St Clair West. Again, this was taken in the fall. I loved the change in the ivy from the standard green over to the bright vibrant red.

Snow Day!

I forgot to post a picture for today! This is snow bench!

Why is it called snow bench? Snow reason. It is just what it is. A snow bench.

Hulk angry

So one thing I realise is the importance of patience & not going off half cocked.

In general I am not very quick to anger. I don't like to argue or make that kind of a scene. Every once in a while that all goes to pot & I turn into angry Hulk. Almost no one ever sees that side of me, although I think they know it exists.

There was an incident with a friend.What happened doesn't . It did leave me incredibly angry. You know the kind of anger that makes you shake.

In the hulk mode, my normal instinct and usual pattern would be a big huge screamfest & in the end I wouldn't not feel any better than before the rant began.

This time was different. I decided not to face the issue head on. YET. I needed sometime to collect my thoughts. I walked home. Missed the call. But that was all to help me work out my feelings as I go along. After working through it & sleeping on it, I am ready to deal with it, calmly like an adult & no hulk.

I think this is a large step towards my inner calm & peace. Maybe I can actually let go of something & not keep it with me for a dogs age. I have things I haven't gotten over from ten years ago because of these issues.

Problem averted! FOR NOW!

Have a great rest of the day if you dare!

Housekeeping

Firstly I want to let you all know that I am playing around with the format of the blog. I am not sure if it is just that my aesthetic is changing or that I am figuring things out as I go along.

I have added a new set of links over to the right which would be blogs I read. If you are a friend who has a blog you would like me to put up, let me know & it shall be so.

Bitchn' about knittin'

Last night when I got home Mum & I were talking about my knitting.

As I mentioned in yesterdays blog, I knit a headband for myself on Saturday & I had a bunch of yarn leftover. I mentioned the leftover yarn to my Mum & thought that one of my sister's kids would probably like a headband. She suggested that I make one for my brother's daughter Maya (She has my middle name and has her birthday in March just like me!).

I hesitated only because I am worried that my nephew Siddhartha (Maya's brother) might get jealous that he wasn't getting something from me. You know how kids can be. It's all about being fair. I admit that Siddhartha probably doesn't want a knit headband seeing as he doesn't have the hairstyle for one and he might feel funny wearing one.

So after a moment's hesitation, I went upstairs and grabbed all the stuff for the headband. See as Maya has a smaller head than me I decided to modify it for a child's head. I started at 7pm & finished just before 10pm. I did stop for a couple of breaks so it took less than 3 hrs. I must say that it is very satisfying to finish a project in less than a day. I was worried that I wouldn't get it done before she leaves on Friday. So she will get it. The green is great for her colouring. I also still have half of the skein left. So if I want to I can make them for my other nieces and/or my sister.

I have also knitted some dish clothes for the office over the summer. It is another quick satisfying knitting project that doesn't take too long to finish. One of the summer students, whose last day is Friday, mentioned he would love a couple for his wife. So tonight & maybe tomorrow, I will be knitting those as well.

I have been working on a few large projects as of late. My Mum's sweater which just needs to have the last half sewn together & then washed for good measure is one of those projects. I tried working on that one on Friday night, but ended up freaking out & stopping (I have done mattress stitch before. Hello I already sewed half of the sweater already!). I am going to try again this weekend **FINGERS CROSSED!**

My other big long project is my Dad's arrears log cabin blanket, which I have blogged about before. It is coming along nicely & will be done sometime this fall. I love going to sit at Haley's working on it & people telling me they love it.

My final three projects (not for me, but promised!) are crocheted bags for my sister & the girls. Seeing as it was Avery's birthday almost two weeks ago, I am currently working on hers. I have modified it slightly to make a bit smaller for her. I think that can be done by the end of the week. I will add a chapters gift card as part of the present and then her birthday present is complete. I may start my sister's next, because I was originally going to make one for her up at the cottage, but I didn't have the pattern to work from. Her birthday is past by a few months. Tyler's birthday is in November, so I will get it done by then no problem.

I must say I like the biggish projects, but feel somewhat bad that they take forever to complete.

After I have done most of the biggish projects, I will make myself a shrug that is in a book I have. It is going to be in chunky alpaca wool so it will be a petting shrug that can keep me warm. It will end up looking good with work or casual fair!

Maybe someday I'll post some shots of my knitting. However at this time whenever I try to take pictures of it it is coloured very weirdly.

Simply Squirrelly!

I have had something on my mind a lot lately. Actually it is on my mind almost every time I leave the house. There appears to be mutation in our midst.

I'm talking Squirrels!

Yes it seems that squirrels are mutating!

I'm not talking zombie squirrels or anything out of a horror story.

I first began noticing that the squirrels in the park near my office we're two toned. What was strange about them is that halfway through their bodies would change from black or dark brown to strawberry blond. It kind of looks like they had been dipped in a bottle of Sun-in( That happened to me when I was 13yrs old. My friend on a school trip dumped a whole bottle of it in my hair. I was strawberry blond for a while there!).

Anyways, it was always the bottom half including their tails. It wasn't one squirrel ,it was all the squirrels in the park. I tried to take a picture of them, but those suckers move pretty darn fast when you close in on them. Even with my long lens they would move too fast for me.

So it made me wonder was someone cruel to a pack of squirrels? Was this a new mutation? And if it was, why on Earth would this help them in the evolution of life?

Jump forward a couple of months & I have been noticing that all the squirrels tails are not as thick & bush as the once were. The advantage it that they look sleek & full. I find the bushy tails often looked sparse.

So the question is what is the reason for the changes that are taking place in the squirrel population?

How many times can I use the word squirrel in a blog entry & not be a squirrel expert?

Will I ever get the answers I seek?

Monday Randoms

Well I'm back & I have lots of things flowing through this brain of mine. So let's get started!

I decided to knit myself a headband this weekend. My friend Haley's store Knit O Matic (see the link on the things I like list!) has some new yarns in. So I went to the new yarn's web page to look. I discovered a free pattern on the web for a head band. I had wanted to make a headband because of my big noggin it is hard to find ones that I like that I can wear. So it was sort of meant to be. So Saturday I went to Haley's & bought skein of the yarn. It is a nice green with bits of variation in it. I knit most of it whilst sitting in the store with Liane (Haley was off for a weekend of fun!). I finished it that night whilst watching Lost on my old Sony Vaio! It's cute! I look cute with it on (Of course I always look cute!)! I also have enough to make another one or two! Maybe one of my nieces or my sister would like one!

I just changed my Greens+ product. I was taking the smoothie a day stuff, which I thought was pretty sweet. I just started today the Greens+Daily detox the green apple flavour. Dang is it sweet! There is also a tea flavour, but this container was labelled $10 cheaper than any other container (Obviously a mistake on the person tagging!) so I got this one. I think I will try the tea flavour next time.

I started back doing my at home resistancey stuff. You know squats, lunges, abs, arms that sort of stuff. I stretched afterwords, but my butt is still feeling it. But in a good way!

I biked to the office this morning & it put a great big grin on my face. I love it. I am glad that 1. My Mum is back to drive my Dad to work or he can now drive himself & 2. It is not humid outside!

I am happy to announce that despite feeling gross I stayed the same when I weighed in today. I was positive I was going up. But it didn't happen! Now I think with the return of real exercise in the next couple of weeks ( I am going back to swimming 3-4x a week) & with the watching a bit more carefully, some of this weight will come off!

Have you ever noticed the suggestions for possible corrections of your spelling? It can be quite entertaining!

I haven't had a cup of tea or coffee yet this morning! Talk about weird!

More fall colours!

Good Monday morning to you all!

Here is another shot of lovely fall colours to add to you collection.

FYI! I will probably start writing on weekends starting in the next couple of weeks. I will now have easier access to a computer at home so I will be able to write randomly on the weekends as well.

Right now, my brother is staying with us and he is sleeping in the room with the computer. He leaves on Friday, so I'll probably start this weekend!

I will be even more random later!

Crappy day for me!

This is underneath that tree from yesterdays photo.

I am not going to write much, because I feel crappy!

I think it is a mixture of the weather, going in & out of hot & cold & maybe I have been o ding on too much caffeine (which I am about to get a cup of now. But it is my first of the day!). I also think I may have eaten something yesterday (in the wheat & gluten world) that has mad me feel lethargic since. No more Ginger for me!

Picture of the day!

Even though the weather is not as disastrous, I thought I would continue with the colours of fall photos.

This again was taken Thanksgiving weekend 2008. The car was covered in leaves & the colours were stunning!

Trying to keep it cool!

In continuing with a theme of cooler, less humid times, I give a colours of fall photo.

This was taken thanksgiving weekend last year in a walk around the hood!

The colours I saw that day were amazing. I am not sure my photos do them justice (yet!). Hopefully I will be able to get some amazing photos this fall!

Random random random

Well now that I have finally cooled off from my trip to work this morning, I can actually form a thought.

Random 1
I am growing my hair out. It is only just long enough for tiny pigtails. I can't collect the long bangs yet. I need to get all the hair off my neck so I look like the 1 year old who doesn't have enough hair yet. The upper part of my hair is a nest! Thanks Humidity!

Random 2
Tom Delay (a republican politician) is going on Dancing with the Stars. WTF? As Basil has said I guess he's not running for the presidential nomination!

Random 3
I down loaded a bunch of songs on my ipod. The majority of them are upbeat dance tunes. I was obviously in a good mood if I down loaded them. I keep a running list going of the songs I want. Therefore I won't miss one when I actually get down to getting them. I down loaded some Eminem -obviously he is not an upbeat dance tune maker. I also picked "this woman's work" by Maxwell & "Wicked Game" by Chris Issaack - again not upbeat dance songs, but nice songs. Al
Also for all you Lost freaks ( I include myself in that category!), there is a by Joe Purdy called "Washed Away" that Hurley listens to on his discman before it loses power.
Then there is some Madonna, PCD (Forgive me!), Ciara, Lady Gaga & some other tunes that you would hear & go oh yeah that one.
I also did a bit of Jackson music. Dirty Diana & Will you be there? (The long version) I downloaded Torture (Jacksons) & Jermaine's smash hit "Dynamite."

What was fun was while I was listening to them getting supper ready for my Dad, I totally geeked out dancing to the music. My dog even tried to dance with me, even though she couldn't hear the music because I had my ear buds.

Random 4
My sister & her family came back from Emgland on Friday night. They came over Saturday for a swim & to give me a couple of presesnts. The first was a box of British Smarties. They are different than Canadian Smarties because they add a bit of flavouring to them i.e. One has an orange flavour one tastes kind of peachy. Really weird.

They also bought a small tin that is a double decker bus that holds english breakfast tea in it. I had the tea this morning and it was yummy. I don't normally do english breakfast tea.

Random 5
After last weeks abysmal weight gain of 3.8lbs. I have some how managed to lose all of it plus a little extra. I suspect there must have been something in my system, that hadn't made it's way out yet.

That means my goal for my friends wedding is going ahead quite well!

Stay COOL ALL!

Hot mess Monday!

Due to the humidity in our fair city & all I want to do is be cranky. I am putting up the picture of the snow tree. Maybe it will cool myself & everyone else off!

If I'm feeling better later, maybe I'll write some of my witticisms!

Photo Phriday!

Good Friday morning to you all!

This is a second ivy sun shot from the backyard. What this shows is not only my love of how the light is reflecting in the leaves, but there is also a reflection in the window. I am a reflection photo freak. I have taken a lot and at some point will make a collection of reflections. I think it will be called collection of reflection.

So I have three groups of works that I am hoping to put together:

1. The importance of being Urnest

2.Birds on a wire

3.Collection of reflection.

So now I actually have to get my butt in gear & get them ready, printed & framed!

I also have been inspired by the subway. There is a walkway at St Patrick subway station that is mint green tiles. When walking it, it can feel claustrophobic. I want to take pictures of it & go along the subway line & RT route to capture the entrances to the stations.

Another collection would be one of Toronto buildings, included in that would be the claustrophobic building shot that showed up earlier in the pictures.

I've got to go find a book & write these down!

Cats & Dogs

Good morning all!

This is a picture of my dog Silvia.

She is a beautiful yellow lab who is almost 9 years old. This is not the best picture of her, but it is hard to take her picture as she is almost always moving.

I picked this picture today because of the incident we had just as we were starting the morning walk today.

One of my neighbours has a Persian cat. I don't think I've ever seen a cat with so much attitude. EVER!

Anyhoo, Silvia loves to bark at & chase cats, birds & squirrels. So of course when she sees the cat across the street she barks & pulls on her leash. The cat just sat there looking disdainfully at her.

I pulled on the leash to try & keep her calm & away from the cat. But Silvia pulled & pulled. She pulled so hard, that the ring the leash was clipped to broke & all of her tags went flying everywhere.

Needless to say, Silvia did not get the cat. It took off after Silvia headed her way.

So that is the reason for today's picture!

The system is down! The system is down!

So my office computer has been getting gradually worse & worse since Thursday afternoon. It likes to just turn itself off & reboot. Sometimes there is a blue screen at first. Sometimes it just goes black! Let me just say that it is one of the most annoying things ever!

I am in the middle of typing something & before I get a chance to save it, it crashes in front of my eyes. It makes me not want to do the work, so that I don't have to keep going & going with the exact same information time & time again!

When I tried to print some stuff it is saying that I don't have a printer connected to my computer. I have my administrative printer, the main photocopier & the secondary photocopier at my ready. So the computer is lying!

So how am I typing now, you may ask. I am sitting at the older, somewhat slower computer in the Admin office.

I have told Basil, the lawyer who also is the computer guy, that to deal with this problem, we should just switch to Macs. But seeing as he is not the one with the cash to pay for it, I am stuck with my stupid corrupted computer!

I don't know when this is going to get fixed. Hopefully before the weekend, but as Basil is busy & still trying to figure out the problem, I am not going to hold my breath.

Ah technology! Love it, but hate it all the same! I guess this is where the adage there is a fine line between love & hate can be applied!

The title of this post is also in reference to homestarrunner.com. Strong bad has emails, & there is an email that is called Techno, which uses the title as part of it's music. Now for your homework assignment. Go to homestarrunner.com and find the strong bad email Techno.

Class dismissed!

Good Ol' Toronto

Hello all!

This picture has new & old combinations. That is one of my "fascinations." I love pictures of opposites, unusual colours, unusual angles.

This one was taken walking along Queen Street heading towards the Eaton Centre. The concrete is from city hall. The old building is old city hall. And then there is the newer(in relationship to the other buildings) building next to the Eaton Centre.

I find this to be an interesting juxtaposition of architecture!

Toronto? Tokyo? New York?

I can give you some hints as to where this photo is taken.
1. I have never been to Tokyo
2.I did not have this camera the last time I was in New York
3. The name of the city is in the bottom right hand corner.

The answer is....... TORONTO!

What intrigues me is how much Toronto is starting to look like any other major city with large buildings, the hustle & bustle of people.

This is shot on Dundas, just before University looking towards Yonge. Yonge & Dundas isn't the same as I remember it as a child. The major changes started when I moved to Montreal for university in the Mid 90's. They have continued over the 11 years I have since lived here. The Toronto Eaton Centre now seems to be enveloped by Ryerson University. Is this progress? I don't really know.

I guess my sentimentality is really stemming from my walk up Yonge Street the other day to my boss' for dinner. Looking at the old Sam the Record Man building (which has been taken over by Ryerson!), has made me slightly nostalgic for my youth.

It's amazing what a photo can do in evoking emotions.

Random Mondays

Persnickety!

Shenanigans!

Those are words I enjoy. I am going to think of a whole bunch & type them out!

RANDOM CHANGE!
This humidity is awful! My hair is now a fro! I admit that I did wash my hair last night & not add any product to it. But the humidity adds to the overall largeness that is my hair!

QUICK CHANGE!
The thunder storms last night were beautiful! I had a bath with lights flashing and sounds going. It was pretty awesome. I tried to take some pictures, but they weren't so awesome! I need to work on those kinds of pictures!

MORE RANDOMNESS!
I worked on my Dad's blanket some more this weekend. I have finally made it to the 2nd ball of each colour. There are about 200yrds per ball & I am using 5 different colours so you are looking at 1000yrds of woolly warmness!

OH LOOK MORE RANDOMNESS!
I bought an great camera bag. Unless I am an idiot, there is no way any part of the camera is going to fall out of it!

RANDOM WARS
I need to walk over to where Sam the Record Man once was. The side of the building still stands & there is some cool wall advertising on it. My Dad & I both love that stuff!

THE RANDOM STRIKES BACK!
I also need to go over to Riverdale Park on the farm side & the Broadview side(That may be a different park, but I don't know). The view of the city is great. If I can get there later in the evening, then I could take some beautiful pictures.

RETURN OF THE RANDOM!
I am again on a junk detox! I ate far too much crap in the last week. So I am now going to take another break from the junk! I will do a real cleanse in the fall once the humidity is not so bad!

Importance of being Urnest part 3!

Good Monday!

I will write more later on a I have been having a crappy day already at 9:16am. But I thought I would post my daily picture for all to see.

This is another of the Urn. It was taken this spring. I have taken a few more shots this summer, but they are still on the photo card. I will see if they are any good!

The importance of being Urnest #2

Good Friday morning to you!

This is picture the urn once again. Obviously it was taken in the winter. The snow is a dead give away eh?

Sorry I don't feel like pontificating at the moment. It was a late night at my boss' for dinner & I haven't fully woken up yet.

Maybe I'll write again!

Thurday thoughts

So the weekend is almost here!

I will not be at stitch n' bitch tonight as my boss is having all of us on the floor for dinner. No he's not eating us. He is having us to his home. He normally has us in the summer & at Christmas time. It will be a nice evening of getting to know some of the newbies starting at 1:30pm today.

This is a church weekend for me. I am singing at a wedding on Saturday & then its my turn for the summer service. I am singing the Lakme duet for the wedding & Do what you have to do for the service. So it's a pretty good singing weekend.

I was hoping to do some photography, but it looks like the weather is not going to co-operate with me this weekend.

I showed my Dad the beginnings of his blanket. I wold say that it is a large lap blanket at the moment & is going to get bigger. It is a log cabin design. Dad had told me he wanted it to be brick colours, so it's been in reds & browns & looks pretty good. The final step in the blanket will be to go to the fabric store & line the back of the blanket in matching colours. I'm thinking a nice fuzzy flannel

I tried to take a picture of it, but it looked terrible in the light. I have to try & figure out how to take a good indoor shot of my work without it looking bright Orange.

Dad really liked it & even said that he wants to die under that blanket. Which from him is a compliment.

It was nice to see my Dad's reaction to it. I admit that for me making stuff for people & getting their reactions when I give them is what I enjoy. There is nothing like giving a hand-knit pair of socks to your niece who hates socks & she puts them on right away that feels really good.

The importance of being Urnest!

This is the first in my series of 3(I believe there is a fourth hiding on my Dad's computer!) urn shots.

Again this was taken in the backyard. This was taken in the fall of 2008. The first shot of it was taken in the summer 2008. I was intrigued by all the cracks in the urns & new that each season it would change in character. So I have returned at different points in the season to see how the split develops.

Wednesday Photo!

This is the second of the framed reflected light. It goes with the one posted yesterday.

Obviously this is not the same kind of leaf. It was also taken in the backyard last August.

Later on I will show you the Urn series. Those will also end up as a framed series, when I get a chance to do some work on them.

I also have a pigeon series in the works. It's better than it sounds. I won't explain it now.

Will write more later!

New link

Please check out the new link on the left.

For those of you who would like to know what I am involved in you can get a sense of the work we do. Although I am indirectly helping (I am the office administrator & do all the background stuff so the Lawyers can do there work!) the work is important!

This is one of our clients and the word needs to get out!

A smidge of random - but not really

My Dad is great. I broke a small camera lens & he has given me (I am not sure if he GAVE it to me or if it's a loner!) a new short lens. But my god is a great lens. I have been pretty bad at taking pictures inside the house. I am learning on my own & therefore I have experimented a lot!

But this lens is fantastic. Almost every photo was great! I did play with the isos so when playing with isos I caused some funky looking photos.

It was my friend Cassandra's birthday this weekend. She lives in Unionville (just Northeast of Toronto). Her house is the Bed & breakfast and spa (see link to the right!). So while I was there, I went out and took a bunch of photos. Cassandra, if you're reading this, I will hopefully get those pictures out there and posted some time soon!

I am currently using a card that has an 1800 photo capacity. I am in the 1200 range of photos left. So I better get cracking! I wish I had the camera for the dog walk this morning. I would have done garbage shots.

I have made 2 dish cloths for the office. My boss was quite impressed. I am going to make one more for the office and then make face cloths for myself (add that to the list of things to make).

I am going to work on my niece Avery's red crocheted bag. That is the current need to make. Then it's onto my sister's crocheted bag. I need to continue work on Dad's blanket and just sew Mum's sweater together. I will have he sweater done before she returns from England in a few weeks.

Once all that is done, I am making me a shrug! I have been planing it for months now. I am excited to make a piece of clothing for myself!

Tuesday's picture!

Good morning all!

Here is one of my favourite photos!

It is a small piece of Ivy hanging off the wall of my house.

I thought the way the light hits it was quite beautiful.

I actually printed this photo as a batch of photos in December. I finally went found a frame for it & a match for the other leaf photo I printed as well yesterday (Thank-you Winners!).

The photos look really nice together!

Some actual randomness to come soon!

Picture #6

Good Monday morning to you all!

I am at work and I will write more later. But I did want to post my latest picture.

I call this "Claustrophobic in the City."

I took this while walking down near the SkyDome(Rogers Centre). What originally struck me about this picture is the different colours and textures all the buildings created.


But after looking at it for a while I would get a little dizzy. If you notice there are no spaces between the buildings which causes the claustrophobic feeling.


If we want to get all philisophical, it could be representative of how the building up of tall structures cause us to lose hope. All of the people settled in as small a space as possible without the possibility of parole. Parole the freedom of light, air, green spaces,etc.

What a cheerful thought for a Monday!

Picture #5

Good morning!

So here is the last photo of the week.

This is another photo of the sunset at stoney lake.

It was not taken on the same day as the other one.

Enjoy the weekend!
Play Safe!
Have Fun!

Change is a comin'

I am amazed at how my eating habits have changed in the last few months.

I always plan what I am going to eat & when. I usually make my lunch for the week on Saturday or Sunday. I always make enough food to last a week.

I eat my breakfast at work around 8:15 or 8:30am. There are two reasons for this. One if I am swimming, I don't have too much food in my system & feel sick. The other is that I'm not starving by 10am and then a cycle of starving starts for the whole day.

I usually have some sort of snack in the morning and a largish lunch. I finish off the day by having a small supper & maybe a snack around 8pm.

Well I don't seem to be hungry these days.

I think there are a few options here:

1. I am taking greens + which is said to stop cravings for most foods, because you are getting the nutrients added.

2. The weather - They say warmer weather makes you eat less and/or lighter, but I personally have never found this.

3. Junk food detox - Maybe I am not hungry because instead of "Feeling" hungry because of the severe dip of my blood sugar.

4.My food obsession is going away - I have been obese most of my life. I have tried to lose weight and had some success, but nothing has worked. I had been going to weight watchers (A very good program that I would highly recommend to anyone!)for many years. I decided it was time to stop. I was paying to go up & down between a few pounds (I know we've all been through many of those situations). But I was also worried about going out & enjoying myself. So I decided I needed a break. It is really easy to let yourself think about the next meal. It was to the point all I could think about is planing food. I seem to be coming out of that phase of my life. Now realistically I will always need to watch what I eat whether I am going to lose or maintain my weight. But there is a difference between watching and watching.

What I think is that it is probably a combination of all of the above.

Photo # 4

Good Thursday to all!

Here is picture # 4 in my picture a day series.

I have chosen this picture because it was taken at the cottage & I thought I would post it in honour of the long weekend coming up. I do not get the day off as it is a civic holiday not a stat holiday. The only reason that sucks for me is that I would have finally got to spend some time with a friend of mine. Somehow we only get to see each other for a brief moment when we do get together.

Anyways, back to the photo. This is obviously a sunset. This is a sunset from the dock of my cottage, Romaja, on Stoney Lake. Or Stony Lake. It is spelled both ways although I have always preferred the first spelling. The second one looks wrong.

Stoney is one of my favourite places. It reminds me of childhood. It reminds me of my extended family whom I enjoy.

The cottage is on a giant island (Ferry Lake island) with a lake in the middle of it (Ferry Lake, Surprising eh?). You can walk it but it isn't walked very often except by the cottagers dogs, although it does seem that more people are using them to go visit each other theses days.

On this island far far away from Romaja is Hurricane Point. Hurricane point was once Peter Jennings grandparent's place & my aunt Margaret bought it with some inheritance money. So her children who coincide with me & my sister in age, spent our summers between those two cottages with visits from other cousins and we were often looked after by our older cousins.

Smack dab in the middle of the two cottages, was my uncle David's cottage. David is not actually my uncle. He is my mum's cousin, but for some reason I have always called him my uncle. So we had even more extended family up at the cottage during the summers.

So I hope you all enjoy your long weekend whatever you may be doing!

Geekiness, Dorkiness & Nerd-dom too!

I am not sure if I am a geek, nerd or dork.

According to dictionary.com the meanings are as follows:
geek  Slang.
–noun
1. a peculiar or otherwise dislikable person, esp. one who is perceived to be overly intellectual.
2.a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
3.a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.

nerd 
–noun Slang.
1.a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person.
2.an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.

dork
–noun Slang.
1.a stupid or ridiculous person; jerk; nerd.

Well I call myself all of the above. But those are not the definitions I see myself as. Although #3 of Geek sounds alot like me! As an admitted Dork/nerd geek, I would hardly say I am unlikeable or stupid. I may be irritating at times, but hey so are you!
I have always been a nerd/geek /dork & I don't think there is anything wrong with that.
When I was a child I didn't understand those labels or any labels at all. Once I hit the teens is a different story. I was a Band/Music/Drama geek in high school but I wouldn't hear those terms. I didn't want to be labelled at all. I was the anti-labeller.
Geekiness, Dorkniess and Nerd-dom continued as a singing geek through my twenties.
I don't know where I learned to accept the "eccentricities" that I have but I did. I hit my thirties and was able to acknowledge my Nerd-dom , Geekines and/or dorkiness. I still had friends who didn't like it when I called myself one of those as if I was insulting myself and not embracing it.

I actually find it freeing in some weird way. I have pretty much been accepting of myself through the years, but accepting that I am who I am, makes me love me more. I wish more people could figure it out for themselves.

Let's stand up and profess ourselves our nerd-dom bliss!

Welcom to Nerd-dom!

Picture # 3

Good morning my peeps!

This picture was taken thanksgiving weekend 2008. It was crazy warm that day and I decided to take my camera around the hood to take some photos.

As I was winding the trip down, I passed by this crazy pink flower. It looks like a sea creature or an alien. It was also pink so it struck me.

I will write more later. I have a bunch of legal documents that have to get out!

Picture # 2

Happy Tuesday!

The garbage strike is basically over. In honour of that I have decided that picture number two in picture a day should be a City Hall shot.

This was taken at city hall. I love the angles, the textures and the one lonely seagull that is sitting there. That seagull (or a seagull) is always there when I walk by city hall.

There is a cement walkway which people can walk on, but I don't think people ever actually do. There are plans by the City to beautify it so maybe more people will go up there. So the light concrete is the ramp up the walkway.

Underneath is ground level. You can sort of make out the shadings of the pillars that hold the walkway.

The third part of this is the texture of the city hall building.

Randomness Monday!

Thought One
I have one more full week of no more junk food. Today's trip to the store for a diet Pepsi was a resounding success. There wasn't even a thought towards the junk food. I looked at it only while I was standing in line.

Next!
I have a goal of losing 60lbs for one of my best friends wedding next summer. So that's 5lbs a month. That shouldn't be a problem. Well I have had moderate success. I lost one pound this past week and that means 59 to go. I wonder if I had been swimming and biking more if there would have been more. But I am right on track right now!

Semi-random change
I hate being a size 15. I can't wear size 14 pants because they're too tight. They don't make size 15 pants. So I have to wear size 16 pants. That sucks because I look like those girls who want to wear the cool styles but don't have the body for it so we can see all the giggly stuff. They also wear shirts that don't fit right so it is just bad. I am constantly having to yank my pants up. Not fun. I will not wear a belt, because I find them uncomfortable.

Weekend randomness!
I decided to sit down & rent a TV show on DVD. I had wanted to watch Mad Men, but the whole season was not available. So as I was perusing the choices I decided upon Arrested Development. Now I have seen bits & pieces of the show. I knew it was strange & quirky(like yours truly!) & it has been recommended to me many times over. Lord is that a funny show. I don't normally laugh out loud at comedies (although I don enjoy them!) but I'm sure I woke my mother up I was laughing so hard. I still have one more DVD of season 1 to finish. But that will easily be done by tonight!

Switch!
This weekend I organized my yarn. That may not sound exciting to some of you but it was very satisfying. I got a bunch of large Ziplocs (a cheap version of them really) and put the same kind of yarn in to the same bag, labelled it & put it in the giant green Tupperware for safe keeping. The organization helped me find some of the multitude of projects I've been hanging onto. Some I will just do something else with. Others are close to completion. I actually finished 2 lingering projects. I have finished the knitting of Mum's sweater, now all I have to do is sew it together! YIPPEE!! This has been an oddly satisfying weekend!

Back to today!
I am a tad disappointed my bag broke at the bottom. It is easy to fix, just a pain!!!

My books for the law clerks class arrived at the office today. Much earlier than I thought they would.

That's it for now. I may be back!

Good Monday Morning Folks!

Good Monday Morning to y'all!

I have now decided post a picture a day. This will last until my current photos have run out. Then I will replenish at some point and continue.

These are photos that I have taken myself and some are works in progress.

Photo one is the building I work at. Seeing as it is Monday morning, the beginning of the work week, I thought that the office building would be appropriate.

The main floor has a Friar & Firkin Pub which some Fridays we go for drinks at. The First set of complete windows is the third floor, where I am. I don't have a window, as I am at the reception in the middle of the floor.

The second full set of windows is the office of Lewis & Collyer. L&C is my Dad's law firm.His actual office is two of those windows facing us in the picture.

Big plans!

It's Friday Y'all!

Oh my weekend plans are big! Huge!

I am doing the food shopping tonight so I miss the weekend rush. I hate food shopping when it's busy. I always take my Ipod with me so I can block out all the people driving me crazy with their stupidity. So if you call while I am shopping & I miss your call, I'm sorry I have the phone on vibrate, but I don't always feel it. Bear with me, I will get to your call.

I also have to get used to the change of the aisles. Apparently all the Loblaws are becoming uniform in where everything goes. Plus they are getting rid of certain products.

Saturday consists of some walking around before it pours, some laundry maybe a bit of cooking and a trip to Haley's store (Knit-o-Matic) for the Saturday Stitch n' Bitch and Yarn Swap. Then I will have the evening dog walk to attend to. I will top off my night probably watching a DVD or *fingers crossed* Checking out some of my photos and try & post them.

Sunday morning it's off to church. No I am not religious (spiritual yes religious no!)! But I am the alto section leader at Emmanuel Howard Park United Church on Roncesvailles. During the summer each of the soloists take turns in showing up to lead the congregation in the hymns, because you know there are lots of people in church during the summer! I am doing a three week stint starting this weekend, and then I start back in September.

After a morning of singing for Jesus, I am supposed to be going to the movies with a friend. We have made plans to see a movie for months but something always gets in the way. The movie we want to see is not playing at the most convenient theatre, but we are going to see something anyway. We have seen movies together for years, at one point for many years it was a weekly occurrence. SO *FINGERS CROSSED!!*

After that it's home to get ready for the work week.

I think I'll throw some sleep in there. If I the weather permits, maybe a bike ride and some photography.

Have a great weekend no matter where you are, what you're doing or who you're with!