Things from Portland

Here are some of the items Jp brought back for me from his trip to Portland, Oregon (I still can't believe it's only a 5 hour drive from Vancouver-always thought it was farther):

1) This book bag from the well-known and very large Powell's Books:

He said he would've needed about 4 days in that store - which is pretty crazy when most people can do Disneyland in three!

2) Fabulously delicious coffee from Stumptown Coffee Roasters.

We did not save any of this, we drank it while it was fresh and tasty and boy howdy was it good! Holler Mountain was the coffee we had, roasted only 4 days prior.

3) He told me this was a Honey Badger, but I know it's a Wolverine:

If you're not familiar with a Honey Badger, then you must watch this informative video:

And just as a point of curiousity, when I googled "Wolverine" the majority of the searches turned up Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and hardly anything for the actually animal. My how things change over time don't they? 

4) And see this cast iron skillet? It's actually only 2 inches across

 - it's a spoon rest, isn't it cute?

It's actually from Cabela's which is in Washington state. Just seeing if you're still with me. 

5) And then a whole bunch of treats  - like Chex Mix because we don't have as many flavours here as there are available in the US and big bags of chips for cheap!

The same goes for Baked Beans, and peanut butter: 

Sedona Sunsets

The project that I had been rushing to make has arrived and now I can show it to you:

I made these socks for my mom and wanted to include them in her Christmas present box and wanted her to be able to wear them right away (so I didn't wrap them). I am pleased to say that her presents arrived yesterday and she loves the socks. I took a risk because orange isn't my mom's colour, but since there were bits of beige and purple and turquoise in them I hoped she would like them. Besides the colours are to commemorate her recent trip to Scottsdale, AZ and so perhaps every time she looks at her Sedona Sunset Socks she can think of that happy trip. These socks were specially made for her, and I knit them a bit looser so they would fit nicely around her legs and loose on the feet and be easy to put on and take off.

Check out this photo that I borrowed from this site:

See the oranges and purples and
turquoise in there? Similar colours, no? 

It's nice when something you've made is well received. My mom frequently tells me how much she enjoys my homemade socks and so I am happy to make them for her. Jp on the other hand tells me he never wants me to knit for him so I won't. 

Baby Shower

Yesterday we went to a baby shower. It's been a long time since I've been to one and it seems so different. First of all there were a couple of 10 year old girls who basically ran the "check-in" desk, and announced when it was time to eat and when it was time for games, and the answers to the trivia questions etc. It was cute and I can understand why there were involved it's just that their voices weren't very loud and it seemed ineffective for getting the group to do certain tasks. Jp came along and cooked some sliders which were fabulous. He brought everything with him - little tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, pickles plus condiments. He even brought his own grill. I thought they were great!

The games were fun and light hearted but there was one that I just couldn't participate in. They put a melted chocolate bar in a diaper so it looked like you-know-what and then people had to guess what kind of chocolate bar it was. First of all I'm not that familiar with the differences between and Oh Henry and a Sweet Marie and second, I'm not too familiar with poopy diapers... luckily I just so happened to be in the carport giving the poor dog a break from it's crate. Ohh, too bad huh?

There were about 30 people there and almost everyone gave a present - I think there were only two gift cards given. I thought this was quite good but Jp figured that since just about everyone was young mom that many items were 're-gifts'. I didn't think of that, but it's certainly possible.

By the time I got up, walked the dog, helped a wee bit with the food prep, then drove an hour to the shower, etc - the whole day was gone and boy do I miss it. It really only felt like I had a one day weekend! Does that happen to you as well?

iPad plus more

For my birthday Jp gave me an iPad. He thought I looked sad reading my books on the little iPod (on the little 2"x3" screen - or maybe smaller), so he surprised me with it. At first I rejected it because it's expensive and I had a good laptop computer, and I wasn't complaining and all that. But well you know, it was here and all set up and so I started to use it. It was l-o-v-e, love.

Next came a really nice case, but then Jp upgraded to a really cool case that stands up the iPad however you like it and I asked him to buy me one, so he did. It makes the whole experience even better (can you believe it?)

And just when you think it can't get any better, he surprised me again (I know, right?!) with a wireless bluetooth keyboard for the iPad.

Kabooom - that's me blowing my mind! Ka-razy! I just love it all very much. Do you have an iPad, what do you use it for mainly? Do you love it too?

Oh and he also got me addicted to Cat Physics, fun, fun, fun. It was all so great that it took my mind off my sore foot and the crappy summer we were having (it's nice now though).