Feeling loads better.

I'm not as stuffed up today, which is great. I should be well enough to go to youth group on Wednesday.

The past couple of days have been pretty nice. I think the weather's finally turning spring-like. Last night it was raining, which I thought was great. I went outside in the rain, wearing my hiking-style boots, to bring in a couple of dog toys that found their way outside. Smiles came with me to 'help' - in other words, I picked up the toys while she danced about in hopes that I would throw one. The ground was pretty soft, and I got mud and stuff on my boots, so I gave them a wash when I came back in.

Katie came over yesterday. She got me and Dad a T-shirt each in St. Martin - she was over there... last week? My shirt's quite pretty. We had turkey for dinner, 'cause Mom and Dad bought a turkey (or several??? I can't remember) on sale. I went back for the last of the Brussels sprouts.

We didn't go to church today because Dad had a really bad headache this morning. I'm not complaining, because it means that I can stay in my pajamas.

Oh, and I e-mailed Holly, since I haven't e-mailed her in ages.

I have to go eat soon...

Cramps :(

Yup, the 'red tide', the 'crimson wave', has come. And I've got cramps. Joy.

Dad's got the sore throat I had last week, so that's not fun for him right now. I think I have a bit of a cold, because my nose was clogged with green snot. Yeah, it's gross, but how else can I tell you why I think I have a cold? ;) Actually, it's not too bad - Dad's throat is probably ten times worse.

Although, I am getting an earache at the moment. eep.

I talked to Holly on MSN, which made me happy. She's now in love with a band called McFly. I told her about the troubles with my first bone graft, and then we were talking about education. I spoke to Justin on MSN as well, but only briefly.

I'm glad that I got my 'curse' on a day like this - a day when I don't have to go anywhere. Not only do I have cramps, but I also have laundry to do, and two library DVDs to watch (Hair and Labyrinth).

I think Mom might pester Dad to go pick up a new TV either tonight or some day very soon. She told me this afternoon that she's sick of Dad insisting that the two TVs they were looking at had the same picture, or something like that.

I still have to work on Grandma's Clapotis! EEK!

I still want to make mittens. And a hat.

But I have to finish my Calorimetry before I start another small project :)

I slept in again.

That's right. I slept in once more. But this time, I did a bit of biology (ball-and-socket joints FTW!!!) and watched an episode of Let's Learn Japanese. I had to skip an episode, because one episode was badly synched - the vocal track was ahead of the video track. Weird.

I feel bad because I never did any algebra. Maybe I'll do some later. I might also switch books for English, because I don't think I want to read I Am Rembrandt's Daughter at the moment - I still haven't finished the first chapter - or is it a prologue? Oh, I don't know. Anyways, my point is that I've only read about two or three pages. Maybe I'll try finishing Howl's Moving Castle, or maybe I'll start Terry Pratchet's first book - I loved watching Hogfather, so I think I'll like his books. I know Holly loves his books, and we have very similar taste in literature.

Speaking of Holly, I never did hang out with her before Christmas - I never got around to asking her about it, because we had family coming to visit, and I forgot to talk to Holly about going to Tim Horton's for a coffee/tea or something. Damn. Maybe we can go shopping over the summer.

So anyways. I have to find a world history book to use instead of relying on my world history program on the DVD-ROM (we were going to get a world history book at Indigo, but mom didn't think it was good enough).

I assume that there's a youth group meeting tonight, as I haven't gotten an e-mail saying that it's cancelled. Should be interesting.

Oh yeah. The knitting meet-up thing at Second Cup was pretty cool. They seem like a cool bunch of folks. The first knitter that arrived was someone who does loom knitting, and two folks were sewing. It turns out that I didn't look like a complete noob with my garter stitch triangle, so that's pretty awesome.

Holiday to-do list.

I got the idea from AJ's blog. Hope you don't mind, AJ :)

Holiday To-do List

1. Help Mom clean up the house for Christmas. This includes sweeping, dusting, washing the couch covers, maybe vacuuming the couch (ah, the joys of having a Jack Russell Terrier!) and washing the dog bed.

2. Play lotsa Christmas music!

3. Help Mom with the holiday baking.

4. Get Justin's scarf finished.

5. Start and finish Breanne's Calorimetry.

6. Buy Mom and Dad's Christmas presents.

7. Wrap presents.

8. Make sure my room is relatively clean. This is a bit difficult, since my room is the basement!

9. Watch as many movies off the Holiday Movies to Watch list I made (see this post).

10. At least finish the pockets for my vest.

11. Attend the Christmas Eve service at the Unitarian church, even if Reverend Barrett isn't there. I miss her :( I hope she DOES come back in January. At first I thought she was forced to resign, but now they're putting the minister down as 'parental leave (January)'. So hopefully she'll come back. If they DID force her to resign, I might cut down on services.

12. Put up a post on Christmas Eve with 'Happy Xmas/War is Over' by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band in the post - via YouTube, of course.

13. Hopefully put up a post on Christmas Day.

14. Put up that video of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band playing 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' in the Bruce Springsteen group on Ravelry.

15. Hopefully hang out with Holly before the new year.

16. Every year, the youth group volunteers at a place that is a food bank and a place for the poor to get Christmas presents for their families. If I can, I'll volunteer there with the youth group, but last year I didn't because of Dad's work schedule AND the fact that there were no permission forms.

17. Set up the tree, of course! We got a red tinsel tree last year with lights already on it, and it's really pretty, so maybe we'll put that up. We would have to stick with mostly silver-coloured ornaments, though, because gold would be too much for our yellow-painted living room! Actually, we have some pretty cool straw ornaments that would look pretty on the red tree.

18. Put on the Galaxie Traditional Holiday channel on December 1st. This also falls under #2.

19. Sort out my sister Katie's birthday present. Her birthday is in the first week of December, so it's a bit difficult!

20. Find out where Christmas dinner is going to be, so I can prepare myself for any bullshit.

21. If we're going over to Grandma and Grandpa's for Christmas dinner, I want to put together a punk outfit ahead of time, to shock my grandparents and my least favourite aunt.

22. Play Grandma and Grandpa's piano, if I can. Usually they have a table in the way, though. Or then there was Grandma's 70th birthday party, when Aunt Patti (my least favourite aunt) got all pissy and wouldn't let me play the piano because it was annoying her. Well, it's not my fault it's out of tune, Princess Patti!

23. Stand up to Grandpa if he decides to be a complete asshole to someone I actually care about.

24. Hopefully go carolling, even if I go alone.

25. Send a Christmas card to Holly. And maybe one to Erica if I feel like it. Even though she usually sends me one, and I always forget to, we're still not as close as we were. But sending her a card would be a good gesture, I think.

26. Say 'happy birthday' to Holly on Facebook. It must be a real bummer to have a birthday shortly after Christmas.

27. Hopefully finish my fingerless gloves, but they can wait. Gifts come first.

28. Go with Dad to the Italian bakery we love on Christmas Eve to pick up some cannoli for our Christmas Day breakfast. Cannoli are Italian pastries, and they're GOOD!

Oh my god, 'Stuck in a Moment' by U2 just came on iTunes. I love that song, but it always reminds me of 9/11...

Hahahahaha!!!

Actually, now that I think of it, there's two funnies. First, Holly got back to me. Her reply to the news about my brother was something like, "LMAO THAT IS SO FUNNY!" In a huge font :)

The second funny happened today, at the library. I took back my DVDs, because they were overdue, and one of them was the 2004 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival. So I thought I'd look at the DVDs on the shelves, since I had just returned three. On one of the shelves, I found the 2004 Eric Clapton Crossroads Guitar Festival!!! It was another copy!!! So I got it out :) Maybe this time I'll actually get a chance to watch it.

Mom had an overdue DVD as well. It was Remember That Night: David Gilmour Live at the Royal Albert Hall. I watched it this afternoon, and WOW. I love it. It must go on my Christmas list for my parents. That and the soundtrack from Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains The Same.

I picked up two items. One is a book on Martin Luther King Jr, the other is a Doors album called Morrison Hotel/Hard Rock Cafe. I think. Hehehe. I listened to all eleven tracks earlier.

I also didn't watch the DVD on Martin Luther King Jr, which I feel bad about. But I might get through the book easily, because it isn't too thick a book.

I feel better

My cold seems to have gone for the most part, which is great. So thank you, Sarah, for wishing me well :)

I'm feeling so relaxed right now, because it's raining. Rain has such a calming effect on me.

So, my day has gone pretty well. I watched the rest of Gilmore Girls, I read quite a bit of the second Artemis Fowl book, and I listened to The Jeff Healey Band's See The Light, which is a pretty awesome album. Only one track skipped! I also watched Coronation Street earlier, and I read The Arctic Incident (the second Artemis Fowl book) during commercials, and sometimes during scenes that didn't require my undivided attention.

Back to the rain... I walked upstairs a little while ago, and I felt a lovely breeze, and I could smell that familiar rainy smell. You know, the smell of damp earth. Man, I love that smell! I can't really smell it as much in here, probably because the ceiling fan is running. But just the sound of the rain is fantastic.

Some 'me time'.

I apologize if this post looks a little disjointed. My mind is still a little foggy.

So, I still have that cold, and I'm still mad at Erica. The last few days have not been the most pleasant ones, after all the crap that's been going on. I just need to relax, only I keep dwelling on it all.

I still read on my bed with music on. It seems to be great therapy. The other day I listened to the Elton john CD I have out of the library, which is called Don't Shoot Me I'm Only The Piano Player. It has Crocodile Rock on it, which is great 'cause it cheers me up.

I've also been watching season one of Gilmore Girls, also borrowed from the library. I forgot how much I love that first season. Rory was so young, Dean was so cute (and he wasn't a jerk back then!)... Jess hasn't appeared yet, though. I can't remember which season he first appears in. And it's been so long since I've seen the first season that, when the folks in the Ravelry group were talking about Max Medina, I couldn't remember that character much, just that scene in the drugstore where he runs into Lorelai. So when I started watching season one yesterday, I got to see more of Max Medina, and he's pretty good-looking. I don't know why I forgot about him except for the drugstore scene... then again, I was quite young when I started watching the series.

Speaking of Maxes, I got to talk to Max-who-used-to-go-to-youth-group on MSN. We didn't talk much, though. Holly was on for a bit, and Justin, too. Erica was also on, but I didn't say much to her.

I managed to watch two discs of Gilmore Girls yesterday, and I plan on starting disc three today. I have to get out of the house soon, though... only I don't know where I'd go. Maybe Value Village, to find clothes for Christmas. I plan on putting together a punk outfit for the holiday season :) I'd also like to look for plain skirts, since I find I wear jeans far too often. And I could probably use a pair of black pants, and a pair or two of jeans... I have to look in my pants drawer before I get jeans, though, because I may have a pair or two that I never wear... like those greeny blue ones that look weird on me. They can be laundry day pants, though...

I forgot to mention this morning. I got up at a decent time, with a stuffy nose, and remembered that I needed to put my duvet cover in the wash, along with some other clothes. I probably have to check on the washing machine soon, actually.

Edited because I didn't have the CD title exactly right.

One more little post...

I forgot to add one more thing...

I was so mad at Erica yesterday and the day before that I was feeling tired yesterday. So I decided to indulge a little - I sat in my room, reading Clapton: The Autobiography and listening to Bruce Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town, which is one of the CDs that I got out of the library. I love that album. I must buy it, or put it on a Christmas list. Last night, I could have listened to 'Badlands' on repeat.

Holly came on MSN yesterday afternoon, which was great. She hasn't been on that often, because she's been busy. We started talking about what we wanted for careers while I browsed the music-related pages on Facebook. Then I'd say something like, "EW a Bon Jovi page!" (I don't like Bon Jovi). And then, "OMG an Aqua page!!!!" And then I told Holly about the Aqua tape my brother had, which, if I remember correctly, he got from someone from the homeschooler group we used to be in. So I said, "I wonder if he still has it?" and Holly said that he probably took it with him when he moved out, and listens to it before going to bed :D So I said, "Knowing his girlfriend, she would probably make him listen to it!"

Good times :D

I'm up this early?!

It is 7:15 AM. I'm normally not up this early. I usually get out of bed before 10:00 (Mom's rule). Anyway, I thought I might fill you in on what has happened recently.

I forgot to mention that on Saturday I picked up my CDs from the library. I've been listening to a couple of tracks off of Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited, but I have not yet put in the soundtrack from The Song Remains The Same. I was tired last night - I think it was partly due to the weather. I also had a headache, and for a bit I had aching wrists (probably from too much knitting), and then aching ankles. Now my ankles are aching again. Yay.

At the library, my dad found a DVD entitled, EastEnders: The Slaters in Detention, and got it out for Mom.. It was really funny, with serious bits mixed in. I don't watch EastEnders as often as Mom does, but I like to watch it when there's an interesting story going on. I'm more of a Coronation Street nut, though. That reminds me... it's not on during the Olympics, and I don't think they're replaying in on Sunday mornings because of said Olympics. I'll have to check CBC's website to see if they've got the episodes online.

I chatted with Erica on MSN (okay, it's Windows Live Messenger now, but you get the idea) last night. She said that since the Festival of Friends didn't work out, would I like to go to the Peach Festival? She didn't know when it was, though, and when I asked her if she remembered what weekend it is, she said, "No. I already stated that." I didn't ask her why she couldn't come to the Festival of Friends (I didn't think to, and it would have been rude of me to ask), but she didn't even apologize. Nice, huh?

I'm not sure if I should knit a Christmas present for her. I intend to make washcloths for Holly, but if Erica's going to be like this, does she deserve a knitted gift?

I hope Max is home for Christmas. I can't remember when he's supposed to be coming back. Max, in case you don't know, used to go to my youth group. He's quite cute. He went away for a while and I can't remember when he went or when he's supposed to be back. I think he'll be home by December, though. If he is, maybe I'll make him a scarf or something... Or a hat.

Back from the festival!

And I only spent $3! On a wooden ring! It's black with pink flowers, and it's quite pretty. I'll have to take a photo of it sometime.

My mom and I also got six buttons from a social justice tent. They're pretty awesome. I got one with a Nelson Mandela quote and one with a Rosa Parks quote.

But when we got funnel cakes, they were more like 'elephant ears'. And I don't mean the actual ears of elephants! I mean friend dough! I had icing sugar and whipped cream on mine, my mom had cinnamon sugar on hers and my dad had maple syrup and brown sugar on his. They were still good, but not exactly what we had anticipated, because we've had a proper funnel cake before. I can't remember where we got one, though...

It was raining on and off. The fella who directed us to a spot and took the $6 parking fee told us a psychiatrist joke: How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb? One - but only if the lightbulb really wants to change!

Before we started looking at the tents, Mom took a photo of some pretty flowers, then Dad went back to the car to get his sunglasses (I, as usual, forgot mine). While we waited for him to come back, Mom took two photos of a squirrel in a tree eating a potato chip.

Holly didn't e-mail me about going to the festival, so she was probably too busy. The festival wasn't that fabulous anyway - it used to be so much better, from what my parents told me. And it was raining, so it wouldn't have been much fun for Holly.

Post #101!

It's hard to believe that my last post was #100!

I'm annoyed for two reasons. First, the judges on America's Got Talent sent David home! He doesn't even qualify for the wild card spot! :( I'm still not sure who I'll vote for for the wild card spot, because I like Victoria the contortionist, and Kyle, and the other fella... I've lost his name, but he's the man who had a car accident and wasn't able to sing for 11 years.

My second reason for being annoyed is a simple, five-letter name: Erica. First we were trying to get together on Tuesday, but I thought my dad was going to work overtime so I told her and Holly that Tuesday wasn't a good day. Erica wanted to know why we couldn't take the bus. So, later on in a string of e-mails, she suggests Saturday. So I suggest the Festival of Friends, which is a late summer festival where craftspeople sell jewelry, clothing and other great stuff - sometimes musical intruments like pan flutes and ocarinas. But Erica wanted to do both - go shopping AND go to the festival. Then she tells me later that Saturday isn't a good day for her.

I'm not mad at Holly. She wanted to go, but she's so busy this weekend, so I'm not sure if she can come with my parents and I. I totally understand if she can't come, because she's preparing for university.

I think that Erica just wants to hang out with her boyfriend and her new friends that she most likely met through her boyfriend. Whatever the reason, she's being a prat about this planning. At least when Holly hasn't replied to an e-mail in a while, she apologizes. Erica just doesn't seem to bother.

Here's what I'm working on

The top photo shows the baby cardigan I started. I haven't been working on it, partly because I don't feel like starting the cuffs. It's knit in one piece, you see.

The second photo shows the kerchief scarf I'm working on. It's from a book called Last Minute Knitted Gifts.

I'm also planning on making a scarf for my cousin. Luckily, he doesn't know about my blog, so I can speak freely without him finding out about my cunning plan :)

I also need to knit a pair of socks for myself. I have some Bernat Sox Multi and my Garnstudio Fabel - I might use the Fabel in a pair of Monkeys, but I'm not sure about the Sox. I'd like to make a pair of Monkeys in the Sox, because the colourway is awesome (anyone who's on Ravelry can see the colourway by looking in my stash). But I'd have to swatch.

I haven't been working on my mobius wrap or my vest. I guess I just feel like knitting with cotton.

Oh, and I'd also like to make some washcloths for my friend Holly. I probably won't get them finished before she starts university in the fall, but I could make them after I'm done my kerchief scarf and give them to her for Christmas, or her birthday, which is shortly after Christmas. The scarf for Justin (my cousin) will be either a Christmas present or a birthday present - I'm not sure if I can knit it in time for his birthday, though.

ETA: The photo of the baby cardigan is quite dark - it's actually a much lighter blue!