No Jealousy

The spruce trees that stradle our drive way are not jealous of the Christmas tree because they are adorned with snow.

I know it's too early to decorate, but with the teenagers home for a second snow day, I was trying to keep them occupied. We're having a dinner on Friday, and I didn't know how I'd get things done. So I asked for help. I still have to get hold of the Thai restaurant to cook. Oops. We have a tree, outdoor lights and silver decorations on many candles.

Today I have the house back. I plan to get my cards done. If I have things done ahead, I enjoy the season much more. Plus I can focus on the choir and flute.

My course is pretty well finished. My instructor is whinging and making excuses for her poor organization and huge mistakes. I'll wait till I have my marks and then I'll be blunt about my disappointment in her unprofessionalism. Too bad.

Last night was more knitting on the tumbling blocks blanket. I didn't do any of the Backyard Leaves scarf because it takes up too much brain. If I'm done my course, I can start writing in earnest... or I can do another set of rows on the scarf. Hmmm.

What's on your ipod?

MEME (my first)
This is from Stephanie of "And She Knits Too" at acunningplan.typepad.com/andsheknitstoo/


1. Open itunes music library
2. press shuffle
3. press play
4. for each new entry, type the song that's playing
5. press next/fwd for next song

The results are actually kind of spooky. I had to fast forward past my audio books. I don't really want Noam Chomsky to sing at my funeral. I don't know how that affected the results. Try it.


OPENING CREDITS: "Darn that Dream" by Miles Davis, Birth of Cool

WAKING UP: "Like the Way I Do" by Melissa Etheridge, Greatest Hits

1ST DAY OF SCHOOL: "Look at Little Sister" Stevie Ray Vaughan, Live Alive

FALLING IN LOVE: "Cello Suite #6 in D, BWV 1012" JS Bach, Yoy Mah, The Cello Suites

BREAKING UP: "Anatomy of a Murder, Main Title" Duke Ellington

PROM: "Not Dark Yet" Bob Dylan, Best of

LIFE OK: "The Path of Thorns" Sarah McLaughlan, Solace

MENTAL BREAKDOWN: "Pick Up Sticks" Dave Brubeck, Time Out

DRIVING: "No 23 in B Major BWV 892, Prelude" JS Bach, Angela Hewitt, The Well-tempered Calavier

FLASHBACK: "Souls Journey" Amy Stephen, Among the Sanctuaries

GETTING BACK TOGETHER: "Long Journey Home" Elvis Costello from Sountrack

WEDDING: "Never Be the Same" Crowded House, Temple of Low Men

BIRTH OF A CHILD: "Goin' Up" Great Big Sea, Up

FINAL BATTLE: "Jade Visions" Bill Evans, Sunday at the Village Vanguard

FINAL SONG: "Closer To Fine" Indigo Girls, Indigo Girls

END CREDITS: "Your Hands Are Cold" Jean-Yves Tibaudet, Pride & Prejudice Soundtrack

Wonderland?

I can hardly recognize my backyard. It is difficult to realize that something so beautiful can be treacherous and that many accidents occurred in the storm. We were lucky to get home because the Sumas flats between Abbotsford and Chilliwack are the most dangerous of the whole trip.

Schools are closed and I'm happy to hunker down and work on my Backyard Leaves scarf of Lana Grossa Luxor. It's a lovely pewter, but I need quite a large chunk of my brain to get each row knit properly. Anne Modesitt is a genius.

Last night I knit a little toque for our friends we just visited. They put him in the Cowichan sweater I knit him and asked for a hat. I'm very subject to flattery. The sweater did fit beautifully and keep him warm. I was lucky to have some lopi left because I used most of my chunky stash to make toques for the homeless men in East Van this year. I missed the service on Sunday when they displayed some of our work and asked for donations for First United.

I'm trying to deal with my latent anger over my biological father leaving us for alcoholism. We were a family at risk. But we are blessed. No one chooses to become an alcoholic. It is what happens to some. Most of my effort goes to women's shelters. But if you want to change the way you feel about someone, it works to start with actions. So by knitting a hat every month, I had time to knit some blessings into the stitches that the man may feel comforted. We do care. It's just not easy. Next year I thought I'd take a break from the monthly plan eventhough it was successful. I want to get some of those nephew sweaters knit. Brian's wool is under my desk where I can't avoid it. Soon I'll do a new swatch. Top down raglan with a cable down the sleeve in a dark coffee colour.

First the baby. My last nephew will be born in January. The cotton tumbling blocks is coming along. I don't need the pattern anymore! That's a big deal for someone like me who shuns numbers. I thank Lara of Math 4 Knitters for letting me open up to the math.

No Thank-you

I'm not a snow lover. I live in Chilliwack, in a Pacific Coast Rain Forest. It has to be warm enough to rain to make me happy. Sometimes it's a very cold, dark rain, but it's home and green.

D. and I went into Vancouver and enjoyed a sunny day on Granville Island and West Fourth with friends. Then the storm hit. Driving home was treacherous. No fun. D. thinks it is unnecessary to follow the sanding plowing truck even when God puts one right in front of you and conditions are bad enough to need a plow and sanding truck on the Trans Canada Highway.

We bought some special gifts, ate real french food and enjoyed time alone in the evening.

Our yard is white with drifting snow and I'm happy to be home where I can make a cup of tea and be with my kiddies. They made it through the night and even through a Nintendo fight.

They did their chores and practiced their music. I'm grateful.

There will probably be no school tomorrow and I don't intend to go on the roads. Oh no! Knitting time!

Wash Away the Schedule

I guess there will no longer be a normal day.
I may have finished Christmas shopping, but I've already turned down two evenings out and invited over 20 people to my house -twice!

I try to get the shopping done before the season so I don't hate people. I can sit at home and make shortbread and practice flute and choir pieces. Oh, and sherpa my kids around.

It even snowed last night which is very strange.

Today D and I are travelling (90min) to Vancouver to visit with friends from UBC. Our annual shopping. They have a toddler now, so it's a little different. And they didn't leave their evening open. But we'll go to dinner as a couple. Two things- I've hardly seen him for a week and the kids will be home alone. For the first time. Why are we doing this? It's hard enough to give up my Sunday School class. But my kiddies? 15 and 13 is legal. I'll probably wake my son before we go to reinforce expectations and let him know my phone is on.

The salmon in our back yard have pretty well travelled through, but they didn't have it easy either.

Life in Series

I'm just finishing a long haul of classes and assignments and Advent preparations.
I finally finished my socks that rock- no pics yet. I cast them on in August when I broke my lace needle packing for our trip. Toe up doesn't seem to fit that well. I'll start a regular one in a bit.
On the needles: a baby blanket. I have one more nephew expected in January. I set up this pattern from I don't know where. I knit it as a blanket for another cousin's wedding. It's tumbling blocks. I like knitting a quilt and we recently learned that blocks are imperative to a child building language skills. I was only going to knit a sweater because this SIL is hard on me, but I was guilted out by the success of the Moderne Baby Blanket for a mere (but extremely precious) cousin.
There may not be enough light to see that this pattern is a simple series of parts of '10'. Five together, four and two. It is vey peaceful. The rows aren't even that long at 200 stitches. The butterfly cotton is the same I used for my son's sweater in grade one and he loved it. I'll use 5 skeins.
No knitting for Christmas. At least that's what I tell myself. I've started the Annie Modesitt Backyard Leaves scarf from the IK gift special in a stunning pewter. I needed a simple scarf when we went to Winton Marsalis before it got cold. I'll have it for next time.
The weather has been atrocious. Cold and wet and stormy. The pineapple express without the sand and sunsets. Our basement almost flooded. My daughter was excited that the salmon had returned to our river. Her grade 4 class released the little guys four years