Bad Blogger

Bill Watterson is the Best

I know I have been neglecting you all terribly, but I have had my head stuck in a novel and … I DID IT!  I won NaNoWriMo!  Not quite finished the story, but I crossed the 50k finish line in 29 days, so that has to count for something.  I am dog tired. <- I like that phrase, tho every dog I’ve ever owned has be undeniably lazy, so I don’t know how apt it is.

I will say that writing a novel in 30 days with toddlers climbing on you is no easy task.  I swear that they have some kind of a radar that tells them when Mommy is busy, so that they can drop whatever it is that they’re doing and come running to chatter or scream at me.  But I muscled through, and now that I am physically exhausted, bring on the holidays!

Haha.  I am going to be spending December catching up on some reading in my spare time between kids, cleaning my sadly neglected house, and the holidays.  I will try to get some more pages updated here.  I will aim for writing up the Yule article for the WOTY page – I had assumed that I had that one written already.

Then my new year’s resolution will be to finish the story I started at NaNo and get it all polished up shiny.  I have also been thinking of finally getting the intro packet from the OBOD.  We’ll see how that goes.

That’s all I’ve got folks.  Talk at ya later!

Kids and Winter Holidays

Halloween has been one of my all time favourite holidays.  From the time I was about 9 or 10 right up until I had my own kids.  Before then, it was Xmas, and after … yeah, Xmas (Yuletide – all those awesome family holidays through the winter months).  I’m not sure if it is that my kids are really young still, or that Calgary’s autumn is unreliable at best, and tending to disappear without notice, but I don’t get that awesome spooky chill that I used to get as October wears down.

What I do get is a kind of nesting/planning compulsion.  Presents, decorations, lights, new coats, new mitts, where are the best sledding hills in our new neighbourhood?  What sort of desserts, casseroles and stews should I make?  My husband mentioned that Halloween is a 20-something’s holiday.  Trick or treating is going out of style, replaced with harvest parties. Decorative gourds stand in for traditional jack-o-lanterns.

The chill in the air doesn’t whisper of secrets and ghosts anymore. It bites and nips with warnings of harsh temperatures and long, deep freezes on the horizon.  And that kind of feeling makes me wish for warm fires and sparkly lights.

Snow hasn’t come for us yet.  Not to stay anyway.  I think that I will take the kids out today to hunt for acorns (if the squirrels have left us any).  Also, I am going to make a pumpkin spice bundt cake.

In Knitting Colour

 Today I have discovered that February is the month when we knitters (and other fibre artists presumably) return to colour after a long fall and winter of neutrals and grays.

I am all for this convention as February marks not only my birthday, but also a festival devoted to fire, warmth, and crafting.  It’s short, but February is an awesome month!

My ‘In Colour’ projects for the month of February will be the Lizzie Shawl in Tea Rose,

Tea Rose Lizzie Shawl (Photo credit: Phae Talon)

And a new pair of baby legs since the Little Girl has pretty well outgrown the pair I made her when she was 6 months old (she hasn’t outgrown them completely.  She has skinny legs, that kid).  The new pair will feature pom-poms.

Baby Legs

What are your plans for getting back into colour?

Using the Light Available

Today is a photography day.  I have been wanting to take some pics from around the house, something to document our lives here, and the transition of packing to move.

The past few days have been sunny, with that stark winter light that adds an uncomfortable glare to everything.  Today is overcast.  The world is lit with a soft gray.  The kind of gray my eyes are used to.  The kind a part of my heart yearns for.  This is the light I wanted to use today.

Because it isn’t bright, I needed to dig out my trusty tripod.  I haven’t used it in years.  I have missed its awesomeness.  Now I just need to find my remote.

Dolly Shoes

My sewing machine. It is older than I am. I love it.

Messy Ribbon. Need to find a better place to keep it.

Still going strong.

“Take a picture of me, Mommy!”

 

52 Weeks of Calgary – Week 2

Someone fell asleep in the bouncer again.

Fun at the Farmer’s Market

Look What I Made!

I’m still in the midst of prepping a bunch of holiday gifts, and I don’t really have much to write about, so I thought I would share a few of my newest FOs.  Enjoy the pretties!

“the snow doesn’t give a soft white
damn Whom it touches”

e.e. cummings

Snow Day

People who love snow always seem to be the people who live in places where there isn’t snow.  Snow is easy to love at a distance.  Hell, some days I love to watch it snow while snuggled under a blanket with a hot cup of coffee in my hands.  Not in April, mind you, but November is a good month for snow.

There is a quiet to snow that is addictive.  It’s as if everyone holds their breath for a moment.  It’s romantic.  It both draws you out-of-doors and settles you into the warmth of your dwelling.  The first snow of the season is awesome.