25 Days

   There are many things to do, clean the house for the holidays, figure out what is going on with my spinning wheel, send out my holiday cards, buy people Christmas gifts, maybe buy a new pair of jeans? And homework. Lots and lots of homework. Over the next 25 days there is a ton of homework to do but then… but then… I’m done for a whole 3 weeks!

    I’ll get to knit, and bake pies, and watch cheesy Christmas specials. I can watch a Muppet Christmas Carol repeatedly and go for walks in the evening to see my neighbours Christmas lights. I can finally settle in and just relax (maybe clean my keyboard too, the J key is just kind of sticky)

   I finished the scarf, pictures to come when I have them. It is currently blocking upstairs. I am so proud of myself for finally finishing the darn thing now I can knit other stuff just for fun. My little cat friend is still as noisy as ever. Right now is quiet time because she is sleeping, but that can only last for so long, then the noise Siamese cats are known for will start again.

  Lately a couple things have kept me going. One is Knit 1 Geek 2, a set of lovely ladies with a podcast about knitting and being geeky. It keeps me light and laughing when school is dragging me down. For now though I’ll leave you all to get back to the real world. Hope everyone has a good time over the next week. Till next I have a chance to type.

Heather

When we are young there is no doubt in our hearts, only a full and complete belief that we CAN do anything. Such is the faith of our youth that no others doubts can hurt our dreams.

Then those doubts become your own. Every small perceived flaw or mistake torn apart by our own super critical, expecting a standard of ourselves no one else can even see.

Disbelief at kind words, offerings of too little too late, for we calmly say thanks and add on our own "but I didn't/don't/can't/"

So I tell you now only belief in your own abilities and your desire to try can limit you. Failing is a terrible word, trying and not getting the right answer is only failing when we don't try again. The person that hurts is only yourself. So try, believe, and do.

A mistake is the obstacle we make it, keep it in scale, because it is hard to crawl back on top of the elephant when we fall off, but you probably only fell off an mouse.

So with that esoteric motivational blurb I leave you to the night, and shall try to sleep like my body probably wants.

Goodnight world, I'll try all this again tomorrow.

Cat Pinned

This is what it looks like when a cat pins you. Please note the smug appearance and paw holding down her my arm and pillowing her head.  This is what happens when you sit still for even a little bit of time in this house now. Suki (exhibit A) has decided that I am her personal couch, so are visitors to the house, my darling man, the couch, the kitchen… you get the idea. I am not usually a cat person, I make an exception for her.

I am taking advantage of being cat-pinned to update this blog since I pretty much fell off the face off the earth with all of this. Firstly I’m back in school, it’s driving me insane but I’m working through and its only 4 weeks of class and a week of exams before I get my life back for a couple of weeks.

When I get my life back I plan to do a major knitting inventory for my ravelry page. My Stash (for any non-knitter tuning in this roughly relates to my closet full of yarn, shh don’t tell!) needs to be fully catalogued (I really don’t know what I have to work with so I am going to catalogue it all and then I can use it up (hahahaha) or at least use some of it. I also want to get some serious knitting done, mittens and hats and maybe a sweater! So excited!

The knitting that is holding me back is a scarf I’m making for my man’s sister. I’ve been working on the damn thing since September and it is literally CREEPING, small quarter inch by quarter inch. It is my goal to complete that project before the end of the semester (this weekend would be great but not likely happening).

Till my next update world!

Heather

Hello World,

I'm full of news today. My graduation has been delayed, which has been devastating but I'm adapting. I need (of all things) electives, which at least will be fun. The cell biology final is coming up quickly (April 13th) and I'm way behind. Making this post probably isn't helping, but I think it is time to vent a bit. I have an essay I'm writing and units still to do, the essay at least I've worked on a bit.

Other news: I might be getting a car. A honda Civic, probably a boring colour but in general a reliable car that is ALL MINE... no more mini van! This is super exciting for me because I'm growing up. When I travel, my mom will have use of the car and the van can cough its last gasping breaths.

Yesterday I spoke with a travel agent about my New Zealand trip and instead of being "awesome I will help you plan your trip" she was all "No way should you be travelling alone, do your parents know?"

Do my parents know! Ummm yeah they know, and guess what EVEN IF THEY HAD A PROBLEM I WOULD STILL GO! There are people who have been kicked out of their house at 18, traveled all over the place and are alive and well with awesome stories to tell.

Ok if I'm missing something then I will post again. Unfortunately knitting is a little on hold. But I will get a chance to pick it up again soon.

Mistakes involving Tea

My Mom has a pleated tea cosy in orange and gold that she has had for over 30 years. Her mother-in-law made it for her, and since that Grandma passed away before I was born my Mom has saved that tea cosy. It is important to note, these are my Mom's least favourite colours from the 70's. The pattern itself is from the early 60's and earlier this month I was given a copy mixed in with a bunch of Vogue Knitting magazines.

I have numerous teapots and none of them have cosies. As I drink a lot of tea, and often need to microwave the last cups to get them warm enough, I decided it was time I make my own tea cosy. I chose to make it for a 6-cup teapot I keep at my boyfriends house and went out with my Mom to the yarn store. I resisted the suggestion to buy calmer yarn (browns, blues, whites or black) and went for a deep purple and what might be called acid green. On a smaller teapot the combination would likely look nice, however I do not have a small teapot.

The result was this...



Needless to say it's not what I was going for. I did not account for the different style of teapot. However I will use it until the garish acrylic yarn breaks or I get sick of people making fun of it. For now I will be strong and proud, because I learn best by making mistakes.

Lesson: just like in clothes, if it looks good on one person/teapot, it wont necessarily look good on you/your teapot.

Lesson Learned...

It sure was a hoot!

Friday I got to attend what was possibly one of the coolest Christmas gifts my parents have ever given me. It was an Owl program at the Arboretum at the University of Guelph. I've heard about it for years, I met the program co-ordinator, Chris Earley, in the summer time and I was determined that this year I would attend. So when my parents came asking for hints, I told them I wanted this and to tell me immediately if I they weren't interested in getting it for so I could register myself. Then I forgot about it. So while it wasn't a complete surprise it was a joy to unwrap on Christmas morning.

Friday was the actual event. I woke up early to make sure I had everything I could possibly need (thermal socks, long underwear, notebook, pens, bird book, lunch) and packed myself into my parents van and drove on into Guelph. I learned about what makes an owl, the size of their eyes, the accuteness of their hearing, and more. I met Einstein the Great Horned Owl from W.E.E.P. and finally mastered creating a bird call with my hands. I can do a great horned owl and a screech owl so far and hopefully I'll get better with practice and one day be able to call out to mourning doves and loons. We learned about the calls for the owls and I have information about what they'll eat, roosting, nesting and ranges.

For all that in todays world many people find owls truly amazing creatures with their glowing eyes and intelligent faces, it wasn't always the case. In ancient europe people used to believe that if you heard an owl call it meant you were going to die... UNLESS you were able to find the owl and kill it. As a result many owls were killed for doing what they do best, giving a hoot.

Anyways Friday's program was great and hopefully I'll have a chance to get out and take part in more programs at the Arboretum. If you ever get a chance to take one of their courses make your way there, I think you'll walk away impressed.

Not Technology Savvy

I've been trying for my benefit to post a countdown on here for my trip to New Zealand. Now I don't have a plane ticket booked or anything like that so I entered January 15th as my arbitrary date of departure. Likely this wont actually be the day I leave, especially since its a Saturday and I can probably get a slightly cheaper flight if I fly out on a weekday. This is where my lack of savvy about technology comes in. I can't get the damn thing to hold a date! At first I thought it was just because it couldn't countdown to something that far in the future, but I can't get it to hold a date for even a month in the future. If anyone reads this, please tell me, how do I do that?

I bought my first travel book today with some of the Christmas giftcards I received. It is Fodor's Exploring New Zealand. I actually reached for Frommers, but I rely on them heavily for Europe and when I last travelled I felt a bit like the guy from Euro Trip who could actually give the tours because he had read the book so many times.

Excited as I am, I'm going to contain my excitement to blogging and journals and non-family types. My family is just as excited as I am, which leads them to do what families to best... give unwanted advice. Whether it's from my brother who has barely left the country, to my parents whom I love but who might be trying to live vicariously through me, it is well meant and a bit overwhelming.

I read today that New Zealand is where Bungy Jumping was invented (spelling it with a y is the way it is done by the natives!). I do not like heights. I live quietly and generally avoid anything considered outrageous (like jumping off cliffs attached to a giant bungee cord). However, I was considering that while I am down there, I might try and jump. It may be one of the few times in my life I am far enough away from my family to try something like this without the freaking out and talking me out of it, which by the time I've seen one of those platforms might be ridiculously easy.