Dear (Method of transportation) #2

The following is the second in a series of four letters to the people who use different modes of transportation. It is not meant to be personal as I am also guilty of some of the things that I talk about in these letters.....

Dear Pedestrian,
                         I would appreciate it if you looked both ways before you cross the street. I know listening to your iPod or whatever device you listen to is important in you getting to where you need to be, but it does not give you the right to stop paying attention to traffic. If you do not look and pay attention, how can I predict what you are going to do.
                         I know you may be in a rush to get to your destination but that does not mean that you can cross willy nilly at any part of the road and not face the consequences. If you are between parked cars, it doesn't matter how big or small you are, what colour you are wearing, I can not see you and it is not your right to get upset if I miss you. That's what traffic lights are for.
                        Oh and speaking of traffic lights, green means go and red means stop. There are even little hands on the pedestrian signals. Red Hand Stop! Green Walking person GO! There is even a handy dandy thing called a count down timer, to let you know how much time you have to cross the street. If its at one second, you are not getting to the other side of four lanes of traffic in time. Don't bother.
                       Also pedestrian, when walking down the street with your friends, it is common courtesy to make room for people trying to go in the opposite direction than you are. If you miss a moment of the conversation, you will survive! They may even repeat the three words you missed if you can't figure them out.
                      In the same vain, please notice that some people walk faster than you do so don't walk in a diagonal so that passing you is impossible. Oh and if you are looking in a shop window move closer to it so that there is ample warning you are about to stop.

                          Thanks for reading! Happy Walking!
                              Aunt Tallulah

P.S. I know your love life is important and the details of last nights date is vital, but yelling about it into the phone for all of us to hear the gory details is not necessary or warranted!

Dear (Mode of Transportation) #1

The following is the first in a series of  four letters to the people who use different modes of transportation. It is not meant to be personal as I am also guilty of some of the things that I talk about in these letters.....


Dear Cyclist,
                      I understand that you have a speed machine that uses your leg power to control it, but just because you are using one part of your body, doesn't mean you can stop using your brain.
                     I get that momentum is part of what keeps your vehicle moving. That does not however give you the right to not yield at a four way stop. It also doesn't mean that you can't stop at a red light. It's a red light, it doesn't matter if there are no cars or pedestrians in the way. It is a red light. End of story!
                      You may not be the size of a car and more maneuverable, but that does not make it OK to cycle the wrong way down a one way street. Also it is rude to cut other people off, be it cyclist, driver or pedestrian.
                       I am tired of going along in the bike lane to have a motorcyclist or electric cyclist move into the bike lane in order to get ahead of traffic. That is not OK and you should be punished!
                     Oh, and another thing, the sidewalk is for pedestrians. It is not legal to ride your bike on the sidewalk. I don't care if you are in a quiet neighbourhood or on Bathurst. Unless you are a small child, GET OFF THE SIDEWALK! And certainly don't give me dirty looks for not moving out of your way when it is you who are in the wrong!

                    That's it. Thanks for listening!
                            Aunt Tallulah


P.S. One light ting of your bell is all that is needed to let me know you plan to pass me. A ten minute aria is not needed nor appreciated!

Fall is upon us!

Good afternoon all my lovelies!

It is close to the end of summer. I know it is still August, but the CNE and the arrival of my brother's family from the US is to me, the indication that fall is just around the corner!

I for one am looking forward to the change of seasons for many reasons.

This summer has been too hot and humid for my liking, so that means my normal functioning levels (sleep, exercise, etc..) are useless. So this change in the weather is welcome.

It also means that the sweater I have been knitting for myself and should be finished by the end of the week, will make it into my wardrobe rotation. It is the first sweater I have knit for myself and I love it! I am already planning a second sweater that I will commence in January 2011!

I have always been one who likes comfy things and I find that the fall is conducive to that!

I also always find myself making lists. Lists of the new clothes that I need to complete my fall wardrobe. I have made lists since I was a child prepping for school to make sure I have everything. I make lists of what I need to pack for a trip so I don't forget everything. Today I found myself making said list and as it is a long one that consists of a new bathing suit and sheet set, I am looking at it as a budgeting thing as  well.

The other thing that comes to mind is Christmas knitting. I only have 4 projects going at once ( a miracle for me!). One will be finished by the end of the week. One could be finished at the end of the week and then I can continue with my Dad's never ending blanket.  Of course there is always knitting to be done. I am knitting for my niece's birthday in November (although she doesn't know it and hasn't asked for it). I am going to do a few decorations for  the office during the holiday season (Snowmen and maybe mini-stockings to hang with care!). But I am a little stumped for niece & nephew holiday knitting. I did hats, scarves & mitts last year. So now I have to sit and stew for a bit to figure it out. Of course there will also be cousin knitting as well.

Sorry about knitting on the brain. It doesn't ever really go away.

I also will start my Real Estate Law Clerk course in September. The only thing that makes me mad is that the class is on Stitch n' Bitch night which means I miss the company of my knitting peeps. Let's just say I am not too thrilled about that!

See what I mean about knitting being constantly on the brain?

Pre-Weekend update!

Well the weekend is almost upon us.

I have a few things I am thinking about that I plan to share.

My brother and his family will be arriving tonight around midnight for the annual summer visit. I wish we could see more of them, but they are in Connecticut and therefor it is often difficult to get there.
My niece and nephew are sleeping in the same room, again. I think this will cause problems soon. Seeing as they are 8 and 10. I'm thinking I need to move out so they have the extra room next year. Well maybe that will happen, you never know!

I am becoming yarn obsessed! I was at my stitch n' bitch last night and there was new yarn in. I have been thinking about it all day! Haley announced that there was new yarn at the store and I can't wait to get there and check it out. The one advantage is that I know I can't afford the yarn & generally I don't buy yarn unless there is a specific thing I want to make with it. So I am temporarily safe. For now.

I am happy to report that my friend Roxane, who got married to George 3 weeks ago, liked the blanket I crocheted especially for them!

I have already failed my exercise mission for the week! I did not get out of bed today. I didn't hear the alarm go off, I slept badly last night and my arms felt like lead when I finally woke up! I did bike to work and plan  to bike home shortly, so I still got some exercise!
The sweater I started knitting in January, is almost done (YIPPIEEE!!!)! I had to start it again because it was way too big and then I stopped to complete other projects. I am hoping to finish it this weekend so I can wear it this fall (insert dance of glee here!)!

I coloured my hair a week ago and no one has noticed! Either it looks good enough that it didn't occur to anyone, or it doesn't look too good so no one is saying anything. I will choose the former because I can!

I need to contact a bunch of friends. I am not ignoring any of them. Time just seems to get the better of me. If you are one of those friends, I'm sorry I think about you all the time!

Ok so that's it!  Everyone have a great weekend and I'll see you on the other side!

Mission # 2

I know the importance of exercise. I do actually love to walk, bike, swim and do hot yoga. This summer has been an absolute drain on my energy and there isn't any desire to do any real form of exercise. I wake up at 6am to get my butt down to the pool. I end up sleeping until 7:30 instead.

So the mission I have set for myself is to start swimming 3 days a week. Starting this week for three weeks. As we have all heard at some point in our lives, that it takes  3 weeks to form or break a habit. So I have come to the conclusion, that if I start going swimming 3 days a week for 3 weeks I will have less trouble getting there because my body will crave it.

So the mission this week has been going according to plan. I am up and out the door at 6:30am and in the pool by 7!

As you may or may not be able to tell I am taking little steps to improve the quality of my life. Not that there is anything wrong or cause for concern. I just think there are always a few ways to improve on life as it is. To make it more good (Oh my God! That's a Zoolander sentence!)

So I guess I'm on the working on me phase of life. It may last it may not. But it's here right now and I'll see how long it sticks around for

Merry Manic Monday

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

I began the long arduous task of cleaning up my room.

Let me start by saying I am not the neatest person when I am at home. My room has always been a mess and as a child/teenager was often part of the family angst. When I lived in residence at McGill, my room was nicknamed "Hurricane Rosie." You get the picture.

I am someone who tends to do a huge cleaning twice a year. But apparently I haven't done it yet this year. I had been planning to spend a couple of Sundays trying to work at getting rid of my stuff. Sorting through papers. This summer has pretty much been a bust! I live on the third floor with no A/C so the minute I do work, sweat fills my eyes & I can't do much. I don't do humidity well at all.

Anyhoo! I have been re-watching one of my favorite shows "Homicide: Life on the Streets" and knitting at the same time. I was looking for some DPNs (Double Pointed Needles for those of you out of the knitting loop!) and I was sure that I had the size I was thinking of.  Couldn't find them on  my desk so I decided that it was time to start with the desk area.

It is very satisfying to have finally found the needles I knew I had and recycle a lot of old paper. I am not sure where my cleaning fix will go next. Probably the area around my bed. I am sure there are dust bunnies galore underneath it. As the weather gets better so will my motivation to finish this project.

I would love to have it done before I start back at night school in September, but I won't hold my breath!

IN CONCLUSION
I had a crazy dream last night, which consisted of choir singing, an almost wedding, swimming on the grass in the park in front of the pool I go to and the old bedroom I haven't slept in in years cleared out as if I was moving on.

Obviously the clean room was in reference to  the cleaning I have begun. The swimming has to do with my guilt that I didn't swim  a lick last week and was looking forward to swimming in the morning. The choir singing, not sure yet what that's about, although my friend Doug, whom I sang in the church choir with was there. As for the almost wedding, I suspect it is the residual from my best friend's wedding that happened two weeks ago.

Well enough of that!
Catch ya later homeys!

I'M BACK!

Hello all!

It has been quite a year and I have been remiss in my blogging. It looks as though I am returning to the blogosphere. My thoughts may not be as random as they previously were.

My focus in life these days seems to be studying to be a law clerk, taking care of my lovely curly locks and knitting. Of course family and friends fall into this as well. Same goes to my general life. OK so maybe I will keep it random.  Ignore me trying to focus!

I am not sure how this journey is going to end up, but I am definitely going to try to keep this going. My current goal will be to do at least 3 entries a week.

So hold on to your hats! This is going to be an experiment in weird!