And She Knits Too!

It's not home until there's yarn

My first yarn delivery:

Some Knitpicks notions and Wool of the Andes to sew up Lizard Ridge (I forgot to photograph the contents).  Of course, I also partook in the Lettuce Knit 30% off boxing day sale:

The chunky stuff is Noro Iro to make the Lady Detective Hat from Knit 2 Together.  There's also Fleece Artist Sock Yarn, Trekking and Lorna's Laces Shepard Sock in Rainbow (that's for a friend who wants "really bright" socks).

*Now* it feels like home.

Not HGTV, but not bad

Exactly one week ago, the house looked like this (times every room in the house + garage):

Two days later, it looked like this:

So the move-in-shop-the-next-day-creatively-deck-the-halls-with-tons-of-boxes-Christmas-plan (tm) worked.  Everyone was happy when Santa came (he received our change of address).

Though I keep eyeing the tree plotting its immediate removal.  The house is cluttered enough with all our (huge amounts of) stuff without a tree and decorations.

Good thing I have Poppy to sew up to distract me.

At the library

Yes, I'm at the library.  We don't have internet at home right now (nor an unsecure wireless connection to borrow) so I can't blog, read blogs or do all those other virtual things I like so much.

I've only got 3 minutes left:  We're in the house.  We love it.  Christmas was good. Life continues.

Painting, Packing, Poppy

I'm so tired, I can't even think of what to write.  I finished marking Saturday and started packing.  We're almost done--just down to all that junk stuff that clutters up life, but which we can't live without and odds and ends that aren't enough to warrant their own box--stuff that will end up in a bag or laundry basket at the last minute.

My hip still hurts, though it is improving.  I have my first massage booked for tomorrow afternoon and I'm hoping it will help with the pain and stiffness--the only thing that really makes it stop bugging me is booze, but that does make doing other stuff a tad more difficult.  The fact I'm still painting and packing is probably not helping, but for now there really isn't a choice but to play throught the pain.

The movers come Thursday.  It's very exciting, this first house thing.  We never thought this would happen (though we hoped it would).  I'm excited for when we stop referring to it as "the house" and start calling it "Home".  Thursday.

With all this, I did find a wee bit of time to knit.  Poppy is the only thing I have actively on the needles (everything else is too complicated to pull out right now).  I'm loving Poppy.  She has two arms and almost a body (sans shoulders).  I'm really having fun just knitting the body, throwing in the colours and ridges where I want.  I'm pleased with how I've been able to be random on this one.

I doubt there will be much more knitting before Christmas.  I really wanted to go to the Lettuce Knit holiday party tomorrow, but I really just don't have the time and I'm totally beat (probably the therapeutic rum and coke isn't helping).  Normal knitting and life will return by the New Year I guess. 

Next time I blog I'll probably be in the new house!

I got tagged

Ann dinged me with a meme and I'm game to play in my weakened (but improving) state.

“THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

1) I've been thinking about the cultural and gendered meanings of this all day.  Really.  I played all the games on the website.  I even wrote to O'Reilly on the CBC to suggest he look into this new marketing and how it encourages men to engage in feminine bodywork by using common masculine tropes surrounding penis size (see the stuff on the "optical inch" in the ad).

2) I hate getting needles.  Often they make me faint.

3) I like my Coke in a glass, with three ice cubes.  I am not weird enough to make this request at restaurants, but I always do it at home.

4) Sometimes I wish I was weirder or "less normal" than I am.  I want to be iconoclastic, but it's not something you do consciously, it is cultivated unconsciously in my opinion.

5) I cannot sleep with any of my limbs hanging over the edge of the bed.  The monsters will get me that way.

6) I like frozen french fries.  I always eat a few in their frozen state before I put them in the oven.

Tag to Jenn, Jacqueline, Anmyriam (in a shameless attempt to have her post), Janine, Michelle and Vanessa.

Suddenly, less busy

Amazing how one's schedule clears up when one gets out of bed exhausted with some funky-home-reno-related hip-pain and proceeds to zig when she should zag causing blazing hip pain and then loss of consciousness. 

Fainting causes bruise to emerge under left eye area adding to pain and also strict orders from Doctor (concerned about one's low blood pressure) to eat more, rest more and do no more painting/home reno.  Fainting is not romantic in a way that getting hit by a train is not romantic.

Suddenly, all one has to do is mark exams, drink tea and eat the amazing box of goodies sent by my fabulous real-estate agent Hilary.  I'll probably get to knit a little bit too.

Of course "one" is "me".  I knew I was pushing a bit hard, but I would have preferred a more metaphorical push back from my body.  Lesson learned.

It's going to be like this for a while

Fill holes, sand, vacuum, paint.  Mark 95 exams, research, negotiate with whiners about their essays, fill in paperwork.  Find boxes, pack, tape, label, pack van, fill basement with stuff.  Get very tired, knit 5 rows just to touch yarn once a day, fall into bed.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

This house thing would be so much more fun if I didn't have a job.  But the first part doesn't happen without the second part.

Hopefully I'll be back to regular blogging soon.

We're In!

We closed the deal on our house last Thursday.  It was a bit of a bumpy end (with some unresolved issue) but we're in and we're happy.

I haven't blogged because we've been busy. 

Before:

After:

Wall prep sucks (that's plaster dust in the photo).  The end result is amazing, but all that hole-filling, sanding and priming is not so fun.  We have a bit of built-in bookshelf work to do too (we got a bit impulsive!).

This week my fab Mom and super-painter Uncle Ken have been painting our main room.  It's their house warming gift to us and it is much appreciated.  My next-door neighbour Keri has also been helping with painting and wall prep--she taught us some new techniques and totally rocks.  We hope to paint the entire house over the next months and this gets us a good start.  It also rids us of ugly green walls. 

We're moving in officially December 21.  I'm trying not to think too much about it because I have a LOT of packing still to do.  It's more fun to play in my new house and than pack in the old spot.

What Kind of Knitter Are You?

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.com
Take this quiz!

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A good distraction courtesy of Jacquie.  There's lots of good stuff going on right now, and I have a post in waiting.  So this is just filler for now.