Raisinpie

I recently had a birthday, it was a big birthday. Let’s just say the number in front of the other number changed!!!! I know shocking I’m so young and beautiful how could this possibly happen to the young a beautiful? Well folks it does happen every day even to the best of us. It happened to Elizabeth Taylor and Madonna.

I celebrated with a family dinner. My Mom, Auntie, my offspring and I all enjoyed scrumpsious meal at Montana’s while not my favorite restaurant they do have totally awesome veggie burgers. During this scrumpsious meal I had to wear a viking helmet for some odd reason. See below

I’m totally rockin’ the horns!

The following Saturday my very good friends popped over with pizza from Tony’s (the best in the city), tiramisu and Tony’s chef salad. We watched chick flicks in our pjs and comfie pants. It was exactly what I wanted for my birthday, no muss, no fuss just good friends, good family and good food.

Here are some sites on planning birthday parties
1. Birthday Traditions From Around the World
2. Birthday - Wikipedia (more info then planning)
3. Planning Perfect Parties
etc.

I’ve never used any of these sites but they could provide some good information. Note be cautious how you surf the net….I tried looking for ‘adult parties’ and well needless to say it was exactly what I was looking for.

Happy Partying Friends!

I am currently sitting at my desk….working and I happened to glance out my window. What I saw was a large crow or raven hunting a smaller bird. They weaved in and around the buildings downtown Edmonton. The raven dive bombing the little bird weakening it each time. I realize this is a fact of nature but it almost made me cry. That little bird was flying for it’s life (sadly it lost) up and down, side to side but the bigger bird flew above the little bird with a very strong almost straight flight pattern and then it would swoop down and hit the little bird with it’s talons. I knew the end was near as the magpies started to flock in to see what all the commotion was about….the pigeons are hiding I guess.

Sometimes I feel like that little bird flying up and down and side to side. Luckily I haven’t been dive bombed by any bigger birds just hen pecked by my peers (both genders) who are also small birds of varying species.

Yes, it’s true I have 5 work days left until I am officially on holidays from the rat race. I am really looking forward to having a 13 days off in a row! The first 5 days will be spent at my parents, far far away from the land of concrete and steel on something called a FARM?  The remaining 8 days will be spent:

1. Cleaning house - because it’s an absolute mess
2. Reading - so many books!
3. Knitting - oh so much lovely knitting and spinning to be had
4. Going to matinees - popcorn & m&ms for dinner!! (Let me teach you about the dark side my young padawan)
5. Cleaning house - it really is gross
6. Painting??? maybe I hope

I hope to spent time with my friends as well but everyone has their own families and vacation plans so sadly I may be left to fend for myself. I am a single girl you know so sadly I spend a lot of time by myself when my offspring are visiting their grandparents at the FARM.

Yes, I was raised on that FARM but I do like the land of concrete and steel. FARMS are totally important as that is where the sheep and goats who donate their wool for knitting and spinning live. I totally support the FARM. Now if only the mayor in my city supported FARMS. Mayor Mandel whats to take 700 + acres just north of our fair city and turn it into more houses and shops….SUBURBIA!!!!! I question this decision as there are a number of vacant homes in Edmonton and people will start to lose their jobs due to the recession so who does he think will purchase these homes way way out in the burbs?
I guess the Greater Edmonton Alliance got together and 500+ went to the council meetings that particular evening. Sadly it sounds like there will be development instead of veggie or wheat farms. What a wonderful waste of land. Here’s a website if you are interested in reading more about the plight of farmland in Edmonton. http://www.greateredmontonalliance.com/ and http://www.edmonton.ca/.

I need to find the actual article where I read this information. Sorry about that folks I am unprepared and flying by the seat of my pants today. Spouting off at the mouth without any data to back up my opinions! What kind of university educated person am I??? Sigh perhaps I am tired and frustrated with life. Hopefully I won’t get to jaded.

Oh yeah I wish everyone a Happy Holiday Season whether you celebrate or not I hope you’all have a happy day!

Ta-ta for now.

Shocking isn’t it? 24 days till Christmas. Have you completed your Xmas shopping? This year I am trying something new. Other then my offspring I am purchasing one gift for everyone and it will most likely be under $30. I want to watch my pennies and while I most likely won’t be making items like Oprah encouraged on her great give away show. I did not see the episode but I am sure you can find it on her website http://www.oprah.com/index. I have been looking through the sales bins, book stores (second hand and brand new), grocery stores etc. I would love to show you the items but what if someone I know reads the blog and they see up on the web a photo of their gift? It would take the surprise away….lol

Happy Shopping, non shopping and crafting!!

I’m in a grouchy mood today. I didn’t sleep too well last night *sigh

In other news today I have to work too! But I get to take time in lieu which means I am going to have 2 weeks at Christmas to spend with my family and putter around the house. I am really looking forward to having some time off. For years and years I worked at jobs where there was no time off because it was a wage position or you had to work a full 12 months before you could take your holidays or they frowned upon taking time off and  would yell at me. Yes, I have worked some totally crappy jobs but the job I am in now is a good job. I plan to stick around for awhile and build up my portfolio (graphic design) and event planning experience so I can be a director or something just as important!!! I am the queen of the world.

My cats are being very picky these days. Usually the brand of food I buy is perfectly fine but now they mill around saying it tastes like crap and their dishes are full of food. So they are choosing to starve themselves!! Oh yes I neglected to tell everyone that Princess Buttercup has gone on to that Happy Mousing Ground. She is missed. Before she died I got a third kitty and her name is Sookie Sunflower. I named her after Sookie on Gilmore Girls because I thought Sookie was a cool character always so bubbely and cheerful. that whole show was bubblely and cheerful come to think of it.

This is the little treasure

I think my Mom would agree she is a ‘Little Treasure’ as it was my Mom’s finger that this little girls sunk her razor sharp teeth into. Sookie was feral when I got her well she was born under  the house of my cat dealer and my cat dealer has a lot of cats 12 or 15 or 21…..lots! So Sookie wasn’t handled very much but now she is a cute little love bug. Once she realized we are all cool and won’t hurt her she relaxed.

As for knitting I’m still riding on the success of my first design but I am thinking I should probably re knit the pattern again and confirm what I wrote down is the same as what I am actually knitting. I also still need to knit my good friend AK a scarf and I choose this lacey number from Knitty.com. There are soooo many things I want to knit but I need to knit up some of my yarn stash before I purchase any more yarn.

This is the yarn in my bedroom it doesn’t include the 4 plastic totes downstairs. I think I have a problem!! A Yarn intervention! LOL I even have one plastic tote for my spinning fleece!

Off to work I go hum dee hum.

This weekend I attended the Parkland Institute’s 12th Annual Conference and found it absolutely amazing. Megan Boler was the keynote speaker and she spoke about the power of the media and how the media has or can direct our beliefs regarding the war and politics by omitting specific facts! I must say she has inspired me to think about applying for a Masters degree in communication. When I was working on my Anthropology degree I focused on Cultural Linguistics. I was interested in how we (people) choose the mediums of communication and why? For example newspapers vs tv and well now it would be the World Wide Web, Print and TV. Audio vs visual etc.

Taraq Ali was the closing speaker and I must admit I didn’t know much about him at all but he is one of the most knowledgable speakers I have ever seen. He spoke about culture and society in the UK, Middle East, the West. The importance of poets in the Middle East because people are NOT allowed to speak about the governments in power but because poets are considered artists of a sort the public relys on them to express the views of the public. (Please excuse my run on sentences)

I also have gained a new insight into blogging, podcasting, gaming etc. A truly amazing conference. If you visit the website for Parkland Institute there are a number of blogs regarding the conference. Select individuals were writing blogs about the conference and their interpretations.

Knitting news…
I have officially completed my first design. It is a shrug and now I am attempting to write the pattern so I and others can knit up the shrug, which I will call Coralee’s Shrug. I made it for a friend of mine, whose birthday was last March and her name is Coralee. Here is a teaser.

 

As you know I’ve been away for a long while. My life just sort of took over and little extras like blogging and visiting friends got put aside.

I was reading Crazy Aunt Purl and she mentioned lists and how much she loves lists. She also mentioned a goal-setting site called 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days. I was inspired by the idea of creating a list and then completing the tasks I set for myself. I’m going to start the list today and I most likely will have to revisit it to add more ‘things’ as I think of them. (C:

Family
1. Give my big boys hugs once a week and my little boy hugs everyday.
2. Hug myself everyday.
3. Take my boys on a ‘vacation’ that requires travelling (location undecided at this point)
4. Spend a long weekend with my Grandmother (just me and her)
5. Take my Mom for a pedicure
6. Show my Dad that ethinic food isn’t scary it’s yummy

Personal
7. Bake some apple pies from my neighbours tree.
8. Attempt to bake a pumpkin pie or two with homemade whip cream.
9. Get a facial
10. Bake bread twice a month during the winter season
11. Drive to Vancouver
12. Pick raspberries at one of the raspberry farms around the city. (I just found out that my good AK’s Dad has a wonderful raspberry patch! Next summer I will be heading over there to pick raspberries you can bet your bottom dollar on it!)
13. Fertilize my garden (it’s in a sad state)
14. Buy matching bra and panties from now on….no more odd girl with stripped socks
15. Save $300 a month for the next 9 months
16. Re-evaluate savings situation in 9 months
17. Advance my career by either moving up the ladder and/or enhancing my home writing/editing business.
18. Join a yoga class
19. Bellydance in a restaurant not just up on stage
20. Move into the advanced bellydance class.
21. Work hard on my floor work (bellydance) ouch my knees!
22. Sleep in at least one day a week
23. Make sushi at home at least once
24. Set my easel up and start painting again
25. Attend model drawing classes at Harcourt
26. Exhibit my art again….I miss it
27. Be who I am not what I do (work does not define me)
28. Visit my grandparents graves (all 3 of them)
29. Write my Will
30. Ride my bike to work 5 times before the snow falls (08 fall)
31. Buy a bike lock so my bike doesn’t get stolen.
32. Finish knitting 4 UFOs (unfinished objects - reference to knitting)
33. Watch all the X-files season DVDs (in a row)

Household
34. Find a new place to put the cat litter box (preferably the basement)
35. Paint my livingroom (golden palace)
36. Paint my kitchen
37. Paint my stairwell and upstairs hallway
38. Have laminate flooring installed in the livingroom
39. Purchase a new bathtub and have it installed
40. Clean my house top to bottom including the stupid windows and walls
41. Organize my basement so it is more of a public space rather then storage….it is finished for heaven’s sake

I am going to have to add to this list as I think of stuff….it’s actually more difficult then I thought to come up with 101 things to do in 1001 Days.

Oh yeah I have started knitting again, my summer was busy so knitting and spinning got put to the side. )c: I do have some pics to post…hopefully I can get these up soon soon.

Ciao

It may be Tuesday but it feels more like a Friday. *sigh We still have no leaves or grass yet in this part of the world. I am so geared up to get out into my garden, my poor garden. The soil was done, dead, used up…. I attempted planting last year but it needed to rest. So the plan this summer (assuming it arrives) is to

a) get some good compost or manure in the garden
b) get some new soil
c) mix well
d) move my rhubarb to a shadier corner for maximum growth.
e) plant beans, zucchini and possibly corn

I am also moving some flowering plants around as well and hope to build a few raised flower beds. Oh the planning of a garden is thrilling. I am a strange one I know.

Here’s an addition to the blogroll:

Abby’s Yarns! Abby has grown up around spinning and knitting. I believe her father is a spinner, I have seen pics of an older man with a spindle on her website. Abby’s Yarns! also has some spinning demo videos on Youtube. She also sells fleece for spinning and already spun yarns. 

I would also like to add Velma.org, she is a gardener and I’m not sure how I found her blog as there is limited fibre. But I do enjoy reading about her gardening plans and discussions on babies.

Well my little amigas I must get back to work. I am in the process of taking pictures of knitting and stuff so next time there will be eye candy.

I’m back!! I realize it’s been awhile but we had another snow storm and it kind of put me in a yucky mood. So I thought it best to just stew for while. Yes, there is knitting happening and I will show you when it is finished….assuming the pattern creation turns out. Yup, that’s right! I writing a pattern a new fangled item for people to knit and wear. My mind is soooooo full of creations it’s taking me some time to figure them out what with that pesky normal life interferring. I will tell you it’s red and warm…tee hee.

I will also tell you I have an amazing son he can bend spoons with his mind……??!!!!!! Shocking isn’t it? Well I have the pictures to prove it.

Can you see the concentration in his eyes, the sheer determination, the goofy smile??? That’s my boy super smart star wars wizard and spoon bender!. I know how to make’em, babies that is….this one’s 6′1 and almost an adult?! Where or where did the time go?

Others things on the home front include I was in a bellydance performance! I look like such a goof in my costume with my buddha belly. I have decided to purchase a really nice costume that can be found on many many sites as I am no Demi Moore with her inhumanly shapely body after having 3 babies herself. Shocking…..maybe she is from outer space?

 

I absolutely love bellydancing it’s makes me feel very female rather then just a person. We show off our curves (funny lumps and bumps) it’s awesome! I encourage all to try it out just once.

I must go, I have gardening dreams on my mind and must start preparing my ’want list’.

Ciao, cheerio 

Hello everyone, sorry it’s been awhile. The conference I was organizing occured and I was not only really busy but really tired. We had 1100 in attendance give or take a few people. My whole body hurt, my feet, my thighs, my shoulders even my eye balls hurt…..sigh

I did take my nine year old son to an Easter Egg Hunt at the University of Alberta. It was for alumni and their children, he had a total blast. We were a bit late so missed all the big big eggs but my monkey boy did alright. Here is a pic of his basket…..I do believe it is missing a few packets.

Anyways my monkey boy was convinced that we had missed some easter treats so after hot chocolate we went back out into the quad at the U and hunted for more easter eggs. He was hitting trees with sticks talking about how easter eggs can get stuck at the top of trees???????? huh? Well he’s nine and has an awesome imagination. And believe it or not a whole bunck of easter egg treats fell out of the tree with a wee bit of help from Mom who happened to have some extra treats in her pockets…..he was one happy little boy. Shhhss don’t tell him.

Lately I’ve been reading rather then knitting. I just finished Kate Jacobs, The Friday Night Knit Club. I found the book at bit slow at first but once you start going the story moves quickly and in an unexpected direction. I don’t want to give anything away but keep the tissues near by. There was some inconsistencies here and there and I did notice the same questionable editing as Yarn a go go and, I would also say the 1st pain of labour doesn’t bend you over in pain….. it feels more like a menstral cramp and gradually gets stronger from there. All in all it was a good novel.

In addition to all my usual knitting projects I am knitting a red scarf right now….just fooling around with ktogs, purl and knit stitches. Nothing extravagant but it is keeping me busy. I was reading another blog somewhere…hmmmm not sure where anyways the person knit a number of scarfs and gave them away as Xmas presents, nothing else just scarves. I like that idea and if I can get myself in gear would like to pull this off. BUT when would I have time to knit the sweaters and socks that really rock my world??? Maybe I could starting knitting for 2010 Xmas???? That might give me enough time to get things done. heehee

I’m off to take more pictures of my knitting and to find out what the commotion in the living room is ….ciao ciao