Knitted Optical Illusion

Do you remember the optical illusion where you see either the young girl or the old lady? And sometimes you have trouble seeing it the other way?

Well recently I knit this cute little leaf for a luggage tag. To me, it was nothing else but an leaf, but both the kid and Jp walked into the room where it was drying and asked me why I made a gecko. Okay, I can kinda see how they thought that, but to me, it's still an oakleaf.

Bluebird of Spring!

"Oh I could hide 'neath the wings of the blue bird as she sings
The six o'clock alarm would never ring
But it rings and we rise wipe the sleep out of our eyes
The shaving razor's cold and it stings."

Just finished - one amigurumi momma bird. Thanks to Carol for the adorable nest and eggs that she's sitting on. I wonder when her eggs will hatch.

I can be high as a bluebird flies if you'd love me
A mountain of love and the clear sky above me are all I'd see
Oceans and valleys and canyons and streams
So far below a river of dreams keeps haunting me
I could be high as a bluebird flies and never tell lies
when I look in your eyes you're all that I see

Dinner Out ( or The Vagina Tablecloths)

We went out for dinner the other night and I couldn't helping thinking that this image on the tablecloth looked like a vagina. I know, right?

But still that's what it looked like. And during dinner Jp covertly (because the kid was with us) took a photo of it, and emailed it to me, with the same comment.

The New Heights

So the other day I had some higher heels on (that's a big deal because I work from a home office) when I went to the bathroom. (don't worry, it's not potty humour - I don't think).

Being a tallish person (is 5'10" tall? not anymore it seems) with heels, my thighs were in a negative position to my knees when I finally reached the seat and I wondered - when are we going to make higher toilets? And for that matter, how about some higher kitchen counters? And with all the talk of people getting bigger and fatter and car seats getting bigger - will manufacturers start increasing the size of toilet seats?

What else should be higher/bigger/stronger in our houses?

A message from a coffee cup

One day last week, I was wandering around Vancouver Airport waiting for Jp's flight to land so the kid and I played around in the book store (I love new books) and then wandered through some of the other shops. In one store I saw this message on a coffee cup "Do what you love, Love what you do".

Not a new phrase, I know. But it really got me thinking. First I was kinda sad, because I don't do either - not for the majority of the day. And then I started to think about what I could/should do. I heard David Foster in an interview recently say that if you didn't work Saturdays, you didn't like what you did. Hmm, maybe being self employed or having a chance for a promotion would also change my thinking about working on a Saturday. In his context, his work is so much also his passion that he 'works' all the time.

I think I should hang that message in front of me while I work, so I can think about it some more. In 10 days I'll have been working at the same company, and in almost the same position for 10 years (10 YEARS!) and although I am grateful to have a job, I would also like to move on to try something new. A change is as good as a rest don't ya know. Maybe I could do something I loved.

My friendly puppy

Most people know that Labrador Retrievers are very people friendly dogs. My dog gets very excited when she sees people but is sadly learning that many people don't want anything to do with her. Luckily, dogs don't dwell and she continues on her walk until she sees the next person that might want to see her as much as she wants to see them.

The other day we were walking and saw a 3 ton truck for a furnace delivery company. On the side of the truck is a photo of a man standing with his arms crossed - something like this image:
Eco spied the man and wagged her tail, as we approached she was more and more interested and soon it was a full on butt wag! The man just looked back at her and she was so excited to approach him she even pulled on the leash a bit. That is, until we were a few feet from the tire of the truck and I think the image lost it's dimensionality and she stopped being all excited for that man in the overalls. Drat, fooled again.

Luckily a stick was found nearby and she could quickly move on to other things, enjoying her walk once again. Our lovey, licky, labby.

3 bags full

On Saturday, I purged.
Oh no, not like that!

I got rid of four bags of magazines(one bag isn't in the photo, I know), and three full bags of clothes - just in case you want photos.... I must say I won't miss those magazines, and I'm so happy I can find more of my clothes and access my closet better. I'm sure I won't miss those clothes either. Some I had kept too long, like the office clothes from when I was thin and had an "important" job. There was a time when I couldn't get rid of them, hoping I get back into an office. But after 10 years in this job, I've accepted that times have changed, I have changed, I will probably never wear that size again, those clothes won't look good on my older body, and styles have changed. Some clothes were looking a little tired and I can move on a bit easier.

I have to admit I couldn't have done this chore by myself. Jp is a very good helper when it comes to assessing clothes. And I find it's good to get support when trying to clean out clothes closets, don't you?

So my New Year's resolution to reduce my purchases of clothes and magazines, should help keep my closet this way for a while. (At least until I bring in my spring/summer wardrobe, and then I'll have to purge again!)

In the mean time, look at all the extra hangers I have! Decluttering guru Peter Walsh would have been happy.
Oh, and did you know that it's National Clean Out Your Closets Month? (I found this out after I cleaned out my closet)

Oprah is the Goal

By now I'm sure you've heard that soon Oprah will stop taping her daily talk show and move on to bigger and better things (of course).

So I ask, What are all those people going to do, who have "be on the Oprah Winfrey show" on their goals list/vision boards/etc? If you've watched her show over the years, I'm sure you've seen and heard many an exuberant guest make that claim - 10 years ago, they put it on their goal list and look, here I am! That kind of thing.

Where can they go now? Even Barbara Walters is limiting her interviews. The Tonight Show is changing, what's left? According to this , maybe sites like YouTube or MySpace or Facebook are the answer.

I'm not talking about scandals - that's easy. Not sex tapes that have catapulted people like Paris Hilton or even Verne Troyer, not Ponzi schemes like Madoff. No, I mean legitimate publicity. What do you think people will consider to be the next 'famous' defining moment? How can one define "they've made it" - without Oprah. Or is that even a concern?

How do you define 'when you've made it"?

S is for Sarcasm

So the other day, I asked my lovely husband what one of his customers thought of a Christmas present he gave. This is the answer I received:

"Well, he cried.
It was the best present he received.
Now his Christmas is complete.

What the hell do you think?.... He thanked me. "

That, gentle readers is one sarcastic SOB. (No need to feel bad for me though, it was all in good fun - we laughed, and laughed and laughed. I believed him for the first three words, and then I caught on. )

A good recycling idea

My brother sent me this notebook for Christmas. I think it's a genius idea.This is the inscription: This doubly nostalgic notebook was handmade in Edmonton from one-side-good paper, a used coat hanger, and used LPs... The brand was cut from scrap steel and wood."

The cover record is Don Henley/Building the Perfect Beast and the back cover is Cheap Trick/In Color. And I think this is a brilliant way of re-using items.

McGyver would be proud!

Some knitting projects

Here are two items I made for Christmas. Wrist warmers for the kid and socks for me mum:The socks are from Knitty and I'll have to get back to you with the details on the wristwarmers if you're interested.

It's been a while since I've posted finished knitting projects I know. That's one of the things I'm going to change for this upcoming year - I'm going to work on all the projects I already have and use the yarn I already own. This could be very interesting! I'm thinking about abstaining from craft book/magazine purchases for the whole year, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to (or want to) that, to me, would be as hard as giving up CHEESE! Yes, I am a cheeseaholic. I've never told anyone. I come by it honestly, my mother's from the Netherlands - a cheesehead you know. And there was a reason my father always called me "mouse". I'm not giving up cheese for 2010 but I will be giving up, or dramatically reducing the number of magazines I purchase this year. Oh yeah, I have been a magazine addict for many years as well. Boy, maybe I have more problems than I realize.

Christmas Present from Eco

On Christmas morning, I let Eco out and back in and was in a hurry to open my bounty of presents (my family and friends love me - thank you - I was spoiled!). But a few minutes later, Jp called me into the kitchen to see this:-- lots of little chocolate brown, muddy, dog foot print flowers! A Christmas present from Eco. Thanks puppy!

The photo doesn't show the magnitude of prints - it was more shocking in real life. Jp suggested that maybe someone should manufacture dog foot print patterned floors - I like that idea because I think dog footy prints are cute (okay cat footy prints are cute too). What do you think?

Sink Love

After I finished washing the dishes the other day, I drained the sink and this is what I saw!

Honest!

I didn't touch or alter it at all!My sink loves me. Everybody say "awww".

Meat Dreams

I was stuck for Christmas ideas for Jp, as he usually doesn't wait for the things he really likes, so I though maybe he'd like an embroidered pillowcase (ya right, what was I thinking?). Anyway, since he's not much of a sweet tooth, but loves meat, I made him this... a Meat Dreams pillowcase.

In case you're interested, the images are iron-on transfers from Sublime Stitching's Meaty Treats, except for the word "dream".

Day 1

Oh man! I came back from walking the dog this morning and I couldn't get my computer to start. Bah! When I have managed to get it running (for about 8 minutes at a time), it appears the data is still there. I think I've got a mechanical issue, maybe an internal power supply problem. I'll have to get someone in to look after this for me, I just can't do this kind of stuff. So much for going gangbusters catching up on work or emails etc. I am determined to not let it get to me, I'll take it one step at a time, call the repair technician and accept it. No more swearing or slamming things.

And you know what else? I spend 5 hours in my office/work room yesterday trying to tidy things up and I don't think I made much progress at all. But two good things came of it. One, I was wanting to get a new purse and when I did my tidying up, I found a purse I bought last year that I had forgotten about completely, so that can be crossed of my list. And the second good thing was going through a couple boxes of yarn, it's good to go through your stash every so often. I removed the yarn from the boxes and put them in large clear plastic storage bags so I can see them better. Which will help with my resolution to not buy any new craft supplies this year.

What a year it's been! Already!