1) The house is a disaster. I say this all the time, and sometimes this statement is truer than at other times, but really, it is a disaster. I don't clean. We have mice, although they are more or less confined to one kitchen cupboard where they snack on the poison mousetreat I have in there. They are truly the laziest rodents on the planet, because the kitchen is a veritable cornucopia and they choose to eat the poison. Stupid mice. Katie is a shedding machine and the dog hair is an impossible battle. The kids' bedrooms look like bombs went off in them. Everything is dusty. In our room the handwashing is beginning to block the windows. Toys, toys, toys all over the place, and the words, "Put this away," have no meaning. I live with chaos generators and I am just as bad as they are, but I complain about it because I'm the one who cleans the mess up (most often).
2) Ravelry is a lot of work! It's work I'd like to sit down and do mind you, but man! I've hardly started in on it and feel a bit overwhelmed by it all, but maybe that's because the idea of following someone else's idea of organization is daunting. I'm organized but my system is based on seemingly random relationships. Hmmm. See "chaos generators" above.
3) I have photos to upload, but attaching the camera to the laptop is a Herculean task. There is no good reason for not uploading the photos, except that I'm easily distracted and end up doing something else instead.
4) Backing up the laptop is another task that's not really that huge, but really needs to be done. I have DVD's, they have lots of storage space, I could back up all my files and run the CrapCleaner to get rid of the crazy temp files and run Spybot to get rid of the spyware and once I've backed up a lot of my files I can take them off the hard drive, because really, I don't need files from five years ago any more and I'm just keeping them for sentimental reason. Much like my chemistry course files, the tests and exams, the....oh, now I'll get all nostalgic and want to keep everything. Yeesh. Computer packrat.
5) I owe people letters. It sounds terribly old-fashioned but there is one family with whom we keep in touch via the written word on paper, and they wrote in the summer and I've not gotten back to them. The summer was heavy and difficult and I have excuses, but really, it would take an hour to write a letter and explain everything and I haven't done it and now it's nearly Christmas and then it'll be another letter.....damn.
On the bright side, I have one or two small Christmas gifts left to buy or make, so I'm nearly done with that. My list includes my kids' teachers and the family members I need to buy for and the friends too, and I am actually nearly finished. This is probably because I like to shop more than I like to do most anything else, and I like to shop for other people, and I will shop rather than clean the house (yeah. See #1 again). I have to wrap and send some gifts, but that's okay too, because I can get that done within the next week. I have to finish that crazy sweater for my brother, but that's doable now, just the sleeves to go and it does knit up quickly, it was just hard to pick it up after so long away. I finished the front of it last night and realized that I shouldn't put this off any more, so the weekend will hold at least one sleeve. There are four other things floating around in my head to make, but I'll try to just concentrate on this one thing for now.
There's painting to do, it's time to break out the twinkly lights, there are papers to sort and an office that I can't even get into now because of the stuff that has been piled up. I will need to work in that office soon, because I really think that I shouldn't use the dining room table any more as my office. Why? After all, a dining room is such a useless space...and I agree, except that we have nowhere else to eat in this house. It's the dining room, or stand around the island in the kitchen, and that won't work for the children because they are challenged by their lack of height.
So I'd better get at it then, which is something else I always say just before.....OH look! Something shiny!..........
Friday, November 23, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Maybe I Know Too Much
I doubt it, really. I don't think that I know too much about anything...but tonight, I felt like I knew too much and I was frustrated with this. I decided in the end, to just take my two hours of Yoga and Meditation for Healing and turn it into Things I Know How To Do But Forgot About.
You know how these workshops go....you're thinking as you drive to the studio that really, you could be spending your Sunday night finishing at least two sweaters. You made a lovely roast chicken with spectacular stuffing and gravy and mashed potatoes with an apple crisp chaser for dessert. You drank a not bad baco noir with dinner that wasn't great on its own but opened up to a beautiful flower in combination with the bird. You didn't have to go to the workshop, it was overbooked anyway and the fact that you had a spot is just because the instructors like you. You didn't have to be there, and you could have finished those two sweaters.
Out of the car, up the stairs, it's a chilly night and another sweater would have been a good idea. Carrying the fancy leather bag wasn't the smartest move ever, since there wasn't any spare room for the bag plus how come nobody else had a bag? Doesn't anyone carry i.d. or car keys or a wallet? Maybe not. They certainly all had their little water bottles...not the plastic ones, the Sigi ones. I covet those things by the way, and might pick up four of them and then toss all the nalgene bottles. Imagine such a thing.
The Sigi bottles retail for ridiculous amounts of money.
The yoga was simple, the talk about meditation and the practice itself very straightforward, the sitting was a breeze. It would have been helpful if the instructors had spoken above a whisper but I can't have everything. I would rather have been knitting. I didn't get the feeling that we were talking about healing and health as much as we could have, or as much as we should have. I was feeling disappointed about this, because I really wanted the workshop to be directly dedicated to health and healing, but it was still an introduction to Buddhist meditation and simple yoga practice.
After we sat for 15 minutes or so, we were instructed to come out of the meditation and we dedicated the evening to healing others. It was the only useful time of the evening.
Deep sigh. I would rather have been knitting.
You know how these workshops go....you're thinking as you drive to the studio that really, you could be spending your Sunday night finishing at least two sweaters. You made a lovely roast chicken with spectacular stuffing and gravy and mashed potatoes with an apple crisp chaser for dessert. You drank a not bad baco noir with dinner that wasn't great on its own but opened up to a beautiful flower in combination with the bird. You didn't have to go to the workshop, it was overbooked anyway and the fact that you had a spot is just because the instructors like you. You didn't have to be there, and you could have finished those two sweaters.
Out of the car, up the stairs, it's a chilly night and another sweater would have been a good idea. Carrying the fancy leather bag wasn't the smartest move ever, since there wasn't any spare room for the bag plus how come nobody else had a bag? Doesn't anyone carry i.d. or car keys or a wallet? Maybe not. They certainly all had their little water bottles...not the plastic ones, the Sigi ones. I covet those things by the way, and might pick up four of them and then toss all the nalgene bottles. Imagine such a thing.
The Sigi bottles retail for ridiculous amounts of money.
The yoga was simple, the talk about meditation and the practice itself very straightforward, the sitting was a breeze. It would have been helpful if the instructors had spoken above a whisper but I can't have everything. I would rather have been knitting. I didn't get the feeling that we were talking about healing and health as much as we could have, or as much as we should have. I was feeling disappointed about this, because I really wanted the workshop to be directly dedicated to health and healing, but it was still an introduction to Buddhist meditation and simple yoga practice.
After we sat for 15 minutes or so, we were instructed to come out of the meditation and we dedicated the evening to healing others. It was the only useful time of the evening.
Deep sigh. I would rather have been knitting.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Last night I attended yet another CWL meeting. The meetings are starting to grate on my nerves, because they are interminably long and quite dull. We sit in plastic chairs and they are uncomfortable, so after 2+ hours of sitting, a raging headache is lodged at the temples. We were treated to the thank-yous and the Does anyone need a get-well card and the seemingly monthly reading of the little girl who chatted with the police officer who was pretending to be a stalker so he could tell her parents that she was stupid. Not that I think that child stalkers and internet predators are not serious business, because I definitely think they are serious business, I just think that rather than being all shocked about What Goes On In The Internet, that people should move along to finding out what kids are doing and helping them to see that not everyone out there has their best interests at heart.
Despite the fact that this is a very connected household as far as electronics and high-end knowledge of same, and the fact that both Hub and I know a great deal about some ridiculously specialized scientific equipment as well as computers and all the rest of it, we are in no hurry to show our children how to use the computer or the power of the internets. Right now we're working with books, because books are good, you can hold them, they are weighty. The internet is, by definition, ethereal and intangible. The children know where treehouse.ca is and they go there sometimes to check out their show characters, and that's what they use the computer for right now. I hope that at some point in their learning careers they are taught How to Look Things Up, because with that skill, the usefulness of the internet expands exponentially. I am still defeated by second- and third-year students who cannot find information on the computer. Google is always your friend.
At the meeting I set up Laptop to show the slideshow of the pictures that I took at the church bazaar this past weekend. You would think that I'd waved a wand and used black magic to do this, because truly, many of the women were spellbound. Not that I burst the bubble by showing them that it was a point and click moment; why do that, after all?
It's sad and strange that in a room full of people I'm a supergeek. I'm so used to being the CoolGirl....except I'm also used to hanging out with people who out-geek me by miles and miles. Suddenly here I am with real, regular people and I'm a freak....well, that is, if by "real and regular" I mean women who on average are 20 years older than me at least, and who have never really worked and who are still those nasty conniving girls from high school who whispered behind your back.
I suppose that in all that, I don't mind being a freak.
Despite the fact that this is a very connected household as far as electronics and high-end knowledge of same, and the fact that both Hub and I know a great deal about some ridiculously specialized scientific equipment as well as computers and all the rest of it, we are in no hurry to show our children how to use the computer or the power of the internets. Right now we're working with books, because books are good, you can hold them, they are weighty. The internet is, by definition, ethereal and intangible. The children know where treehouse.ca is and they go there sometimes to check out their show characters, and that's what they use the computer for right now. I hope that at some point in their learning careers they are taught How to Look Things Up, because with that skill, the usefulness of the internet expands exponentially. I am still defeated by second- and third-year students who cannot find information on the computer. Google is always your friend.
At the meeting I set up Laptop to show the slideshow of the pictures that I took at the church bazaar this past weekend. You would think that I'd waved a wand and used black magic to do this, because truly, many of the women were spellbound. Not that I burst the bubble by showing them that it was a point and click moment; why do that, after all?
It's sad and strange that in a room full of people I'm a supergeek. I'm so used to being the CoolGirl....except I'm also used to hanging out with people who out-geek me by miles and miles. Suddenly here I am with real, regular people and I'm a freak....well, that is, if by "real and regular" I mean women who on average are 20 years older than me at least, and who have never really worked and who are still those nasty conniving girls from high school who whispered behind your back.
I suppose that in all that, I don't mind being a freak.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
I'm such a trend whore
I'm in on Ravelry, username Crystallon (same as the Flickr name). I wrote a bunch of stuff about myself but haven't uploaded the stash .... because ye gods who has the time to photograph 50 tonnes of yarn?? or the projects or the needles or the whatever the heck else they've got in there. I've noticed about five thousand discussion groups by a quick tour around the site, and many many many discussion forums. Haven't decided what to do about all that yet. It's a bit overwhelming but taken slowly will be an excellent project and will form the basis of a systematic attack on the yarn in this house.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Fast Fashion Forward
I answered a survey question today that asked if I considered myself to be "fashion-forward". I answered it in the affirmative, since I do indeed think of myself as familiar with fashion trends and styles, both current and passe. I used to spend my time in the hallowed halls of a university after all, and I spent much of my time passing judgement on the hits and misses of the day.
I can only say that I am very, very grateful that shirts are longer now and that my eyeballs are no longer fried 10 times a day by flapping muffin tops.
After I answered that question, I wondered what I thought I meant by saying that I have any kind of savviness when it comes to the human palette. I was clothed after all, in worn jeans and a baggy sweater, and I was without any mascara or other makeup. No lipstick. Red socks and a sports bra.
I like to think that it's the attitude behind the baggy sweater and worn jeans and the red socks: the confidence, the shoulders back, the bright red surreal hair, an air of confidence, warranted or not. So while I'm scarfing down yet another of the myriad little Halloween chocolate bars and feeling these old jeans getting tighter around the hips, I'm feeling good, and thus, I look good.
Fresh Joe
The other night I was parked on the couch here, with my laptop on my lap, and a commercial came on. "Hmph," I thought, "looks like Old Navigator," but no, I was wrong. The catchy jingle, the pretty models dancing around fake white trees, the eye-catching colours and what looked like well-made coats and jackets..."Gap? Maybe, but I don't see any Hollywood starlets dancing around with the rest of the riffraff. And oh those coats are cute. Don't I need a new coat? I should get off this couch right now and do a coat inventory. Perhaps a jacket instead. Or some hats and scarves and gloves and jeans. Yes, I'm sure I need these things but what store is this?"
Not a store, a collection. A collection that's available at a grocery store. Joe Fresh Style has been around for a couple of years, but this year they even did part of Toronto Fashion Week and quite frankly? They are doing it well. Totally, totally affordable. The kid's line is really cute, and right now the girlie colour scheme is all pink and brown, while the boys' stuff is blue camo, a weekend at the cabin inspired. I haven't seen the adult line except online, because in this smaller city where I live the adult line isn't covered. I can drive 25 minutes to go and touch the items that have caught my eye, and that's not such a far distance to go for a shot in my fashion-forward arm.
Dress a Diva, or Choose not to
On Monday nights I watch Project Runway Canada, because my mind has a section that's goopy mush and which requires a daily injection of utterly wasteful television in order to remain in healthy working order. This week they had to build a dress for Measha Brueggergosman, and I think that when she stepped out onto the stage to sing to the would-be designers for two minutes, they were in awe. Her voice is exceptionally powerful, and for people who've never been in the vicinity of an opera singer doing her thing, it can be overwhelming.
Luckily, the designers on PRC have giant egoes, so nothing overwhelms them.
They were given $150 each, they went into a fabric store on Queen West (in Toronto. There are a bunch of excellent fabric stores there, so they could have been in any one of them and my apologies if the store was obvious.) and they were told to spend. That amount of money doesn't buy any gold brocade so it was a lot of flowy chiffon and a lot of fuschia. Why that colour? Did Measha somehow channel bright pink?
Anyway, I was glad to see the snooty 25-year-old from Quebec get the boot, after she blatantly ignored the instructions given to her, and after she created a gown that was not worth putting on a model. Her exiting words, that "they didn't get her style and that's okay," highlighted the fact that her ego had no bounds and that it was clearly getting in the way of her hearing. Really, if you're told flat out, "I go barefoot on stage, but I don't want anyone to see my feet so no short dresses," and then you build a short dress anyway, because clearly the Diva is wrong and needs some re-educating, then you get what you deserve, which was the boot.
I'm not hoping for anyone in particular yet, although some of them are starting to annoy me. I suppose I could learn their names so that I could write a more integrated post on this subject. The truth is, however, that a) I don't care that much and b) the gooey, mushy part of my brain that watches these crazy shows actually doesn't remember what it's seen from one minute to the next. It's not the brightest candle in the grey matter and it needs links. Lots and lots of links.
I can only say that I am very, very grateful that shirts are longer now and that my eyeballs are no longer fried 10 times a day by flapping muffin tops.
After I answered that question, I wondered what I thought I meant by saying that I have any kind of savviness when it comes to the human palette. I was clothed after all, in worn jeans and a baggy sweater, and I was without any mascara or other makeup. No lipstick. Red socks and a sports bra.
I like to think that it's the attitude behind the baggy sweater and worn jeans and the red socks: the confidence, the shoulders back, the bright red surreal hair, an air of confidence, warranted or not. So while I'm scarfing down yet another of the myriad little Halloween chocolate bars and feeling these old jeans getting tighter around the hips, I'm feeling good, and thus, I look good.
Fresh Joe
The other night I was parked on the couch here, with my laptop on my lap, and a commercial came on. "Hmph," I thought, "looks like Old Navigator," but no, I was wrong. The catchy jingle, the pretty models dancing around fake white trees, the eye-catching colours and what looked like well-made coats and jackets..."Gap? Maybe, but I don't see any Hollywood starlets dancing around with the rest of the riffraff. And oh those coats are cute. Don't I need a new coat? I should get off this couch right now and do a coat inventory. Perhaps a jacket instead. Or some hats and scarves and gloves and jeans. Yes, I'm sure I need these things but what store is this?"
Not a store, a collection. A collection that's available at a grocery store. Joe Fresh Style has been around for a couple of years, but this year they even did part of Toronto Fashion Week and quite frankly? They are doing it well. Totally, totally affordable. The kid's line is really cute, and right now the girlie colour scheme is all pink and brown, while the boys' stuff is blue camo, a weekend at the cabin inspired. I haven't seen the adult line except online, because in this smaller city where I live the adult line isn't covered. I can drive 25 minutes to go and touch the items that have caught my eye, and that's not such a far distance to go for a shot in my fashion-forward arm.
Dress a Diva, or Choose not to
On Monday nights I watch Project Runway Canada, because my mind has a section that's goopy mush and which requires a daily injection of utterly wasteful television in order to remain in healthy working order. This week they had to build a dress for Measha Brueggergosman, and I think that when she stepped out onto the stage to sing to the would-be designers for two minutes, they were in awe. Her voice is exceptionally powerful, and for people who've never been in the vicinity of an opera singer doing her thing, it can be overwhelming.
Luckily, the designers on PRC have giant egoes, so nothing overwhelms them.
They were given $150 each, they went into a fabric store on Queen West (in Toronto. There are a bunch of excellent fabric stores there, so they could have been in any one of them and my apologies if the store was obvious.) and they were told to spend. That amount of money doesn't buy any gold brocade so it was a lot of flowy chiffon and a lot of fuschia. Why that colour? Did Measha somehow channel bright pink?
Anyway, I was glad to see the snooty 25-year-old from Quebec get the boot, after she blatantly ignored the instructions given to her, and after she created a gown that was not worth putting on a model. Her exiting words, that "they didn't get her style and that's okay," highlighted the fact that her ego had no bounds and that it was clearly getting in the way of her hearing. Really, if you're told flat out, "I go barefoot on stage, but I don't want anyone to see my feet so no short dresses," and then you build a short dress anyway, because clearly the Diva is wrong and needs some re-educating, then you get what you deserve, which was the boot.
I'm not hoping for anyone in particular yet, although some of them are starting to annoy me. I suppose I could learn their names so that I could write a more integrated post on this subject. The truth is, however, that a) I don't care that much and b) the gooey, mushy part of my brain that watches these crazy shows actually doesn't remember what it's seen from one minute to the next. It's not the brightest candle in the grey matter and it needs links. Lots and lots of links.
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