Back to school clothes

This weekend, in what started out to be a shopping quest for shirts for JP, actually turned out to be a shopping trip for me! And I got some great deals - three pairs of "dress/casual" pants - for $9 each! Yup! That's right. And yoga pants for $15! Whee!! Bargoons for me! Yay!

I also got a pair of funky rain boots - they'll make splashing in puddle so much more fun!
(They weren't a bargain, but they were
on sale and they were so
cute I couldn't resist!)

And even though I'm not going to school, it sure would be fun to pick up some new pencils and binders and.... I always feel September is more of a new year than January, and I'm apt to start new things and make promises to my self in September rather than in January.

And one more thing I did - or rather, didn't do - was I didn't turn my computer on all day yesterday - no internet, no email. I took a break. It wasn't actually "a thing", it just happened that way. And when I realized about 8pm last night that I hadn't been near the computer I started to think that I should, just in case something happened, but then I realized I'd made it through the whole day-surely anything could wait until the morning and if there was any earth shattering news I'm sure I would have heard about it some how. And there wasn't - and now I'm glad I had a one day break - maybe I should try that every Sunday. What do you think?

Mr. Clockie - FO

It's been a while since I could post a finished object, so I'm probably more giddy than I should be to show you the following:

He's from the September/October 2009 issue of Crochet Today. Only a few changes were made - like the colours, the eyes and the time!

If a man poops in a park, will anyone know?

Remember your first year philosophy classes when your prof asked questions that truly don't have an answer but can spark debate for hours (more if you like to argue with drunks at parties)?

Last week I took Eco to a local park so she could play in the water, however, she was in the middle of cutting 3 adult canine teeth and just wasn't into swimming and retrieving at all. Since we were there anyway, I decided we'd explore a compacted trail which was in between 3' high grasses. Eco loved being out front and was doing a good job checking to see if I was following her. I thought the trail was a short loop back to the main area, but it just seemed to keep going and going and going. And then I saw the head and shoulders of a man up ahead and was happy that maybe I was almost at the end of the trail (water socks are not good for long hikes don't you know). Since the trail wound left and right and up and down at first I didn't think anything of it, but then I saw him stand up and pull up his pants. WHAT? Yup he did. I saw his naked butt and then he zipped up his pants. I saw it really. That was all I neded to see before we turned around to return the way we came.

Yes, folks really. He was maybe 5-10 minutes from a provincial outhouse, but he went poop out there in an open field. So, next time you're walking your dog and you see poop along the trail - don't automatically assume it's from dogs!

As I worked my way back to the parking lot I saw the guy walking towards me, which at least answered one of my questions - that the trail did loop it's way back. He wasn't charmed like most people are by my happy puppy, he just stormed past me stoically. Embarrassed maybe? Or a serial killer? I don't know, but when I looked down at my hand and realized I was carrying two rubber float toys which would make good nunchaku and I could inflict some damage if I had too. I kept looking over my shoulder but he kept walking and luckily, I never saw him again. Really, I think I saw enough of him for one day.

So to answer the question - yes. And if you have to poop in a park, may I suggest you choose your location carefully?

The cutest saltshaker that ever walked the earth!

Have you seen the The Knorr Sidekicks Commercial ?



I just love this little guy so much! He's so adorable. It's got my vote for the best commercial of the year! What do you think?

After our thrifty shopping last weekend, we stopped at the local green grocer as Carol was looking for a case load of peaches. While she was scoping out the fresh fruits and veggies, I bought me a few items too - including a lovely bunch of thin asparagus.

And this is what I made for dinner last night:

Look maw, just like the picture in the magazine! And it tasted good too!

PS - and look at my tablecloth matches my blog now!

Thrifty Treasures

Yesterday was a fun day of thrifting with Carol, Cynthia and Cynthia's mom. We all picked up a little something from each of the store, but mainly we had fun making fun of some of the things we found. First place - the record collection. Not only were many album covers posters for the awkward family photo website but there were also some very creepy puppets (check out Carol's blog, she's posted a photo of that horrid creature) and some interesting songs devoted to the Lord. The second "department" we had fun in was the craft section. You know I always thought the 70's was full of love and peace, but I think there were just too many people trippin' because some of the crafts are down right scary, and some are plain weird. Take this embroidery pattern book I picked up for example:

- why would I want to embroider "my belly button" (top right) on anything?

- or why would anyone want to walk around with "bumper sticker" (bottom) embroidered on their shirt?

- any I have no idea what that crazy creature is with the word "help". Where would that be used?

I did however, find some cool items in the housewares department, like this cocktail glass from the King of Tiny Bubbles, Mr. Don Ho himself:

complete with portrait:

And this ashtray was fun for Jp and I as we had fun cracking jokes the first time we drove through Vernon together and saw the restaurant "Waddy's" complete with a 20' tall 'Waddy' out front. - and Jp's driven by it about 4 times in the past year and each time he hasn't been able to get a photo of the restaurant. Now we have this ashtray to remember it by!

And finally, I found this sweet little lamb flower vase (the one on the right) to go with the one we already had.

Neighbourhood warning?

Yesterday the following piece of paper was found with our mail. I'm not sure if it was put in the mailbox before or with the mail but I thought it was a bit odd. Who would send this out? The RCMP certainly don't have the budget for that kind of thing. However, since my question couldn't be answered I went about my day.

Fast forward about 5 hours and I see a guy going door to door with an ADT clipboard. Interesting since they canvassed the neighbourhood hard about 2 months ago, although I don't think they were too successful.


Click. Was the "Neighborhood Warning" put out by the alarm sales team? We talked to the local police and they knew nothing of it. Interesting tactic - scare the poor little homeowners and then come to the rescue with a solution. Brilliant. And sneaky if that's the case.

And while on the subject (loosely) of marketing - check out this box: Cool image and font isn't it? And you know what? It was bought patially because of the packaging (and partly because someone likes pineapple upside cake) . It turned out to be a pretty good product and probably a 'buy again' item - but it's a reminder that packaging can be as important as the product, don't you think?

Attention all crafty people!

From the Daily Candy:

Nothing kills your creative buzz like sitting down to make that plush garden gnome and realizing you’re out of googly eyes and silk flowers. In such dire situations, there’s only one place to turn: Parcel. Based out of Montclair, New Jersey, the new online shop is full of crafty inspiration boxes.
Available in two sizes and a variety of themes, the pretty parcels consist of vintage and hard-to-find bits of ephemera, millinery, and supplies and are perfect for craft projects, gift wrapping, party planning, or simply as decoration.Choose from motifs like fairies, nature, magic, nesting, and school.Guaranteed to get you thinking inside the box.
Available online at shopparcel.com.

Just thought you might like to know

Edit: sadly, it looks like shipping to Canada will require some phone calls as the site seems to have a 'glitch"

Swim, swam, swum

Remember when you could use the word 'swum'? Yes, I was taught that in school, really I was!

And speaking of swimming, I had such a blast Friday after work taking Eco swimming that I encouraged Jp to go with us again on Saturday morning. She's such a natural and she looks so pretty swimming in the clear water her big little feet elegantly paddling back to me!

Oh and I forgot to show you some of the things I got for my birthday last week. First some thrifty book finds: And some thrifty wall decorations which I will paint:
and then Jp surprised me with a spending spree in the LYS:

and he gave me these books, all knitting - and I didn't have any of them already - that's pretty good for a guy that's not into my knitting! :

There were other birthday goodies, like yummy cupcakes and a lunch and a dinner, and fun time playing mini golf and air hockey... but no pictures to show you - I'm sure you're okay with that, right?

And now I'm heading back into the sun. Hope you're having a great long weekend!