I've hit the jackpot!!!!!

What a great 24 hours in the postal delivery department!



First of all... look at the lovely parcel I received from my Coffee Swap partner, Barb yesterday in the mail! Bavarian Chocolate and Irish Cream Coffee, beautiful heathered green wool, gorgeous lopi (How to describe such a rich colour...), the Bernat cotton, which you can never ever have enough of, some really sweet stitch markers (as I'm finding out these days, you can never have enough of them either!!!), and carmel kisses. I've never even seen caramel kisses. YUMMY!!!!!

Barb's parcel with coffee goodness came at the perfect time as I was frantically, madly trying to write my final philosophy essay. Right after supper I brewed a pot of the chocolate coffee and it kept me fueled well into the night as I wrote! Only about 500 or 600 words more to go give or take and then I'll be sending it off to my prof! Which means I'm only about 500-600 words away from being finished the course! Yippee! I succumbed to the call of the chocolate coffee this morning too... I'm telling you! You just can't get better than chocolate coffee first thing to start your day off right!

I'm really hoping to get Barb's parcel sent off to her this weekend! I just need to get out to the store for a few small things (ok - the coffee actually) and then it'll be ready to go!



Today's post brought another parcel o'goodies for me! My wonderful Spring Fling SP sent me a treasure trove of treats! Body lotion (which is the hint as to who she is, still working on that one apparently I'm a little thick), candle, lip balm, Lorna's Laces in Bittersweet and Knitting Vintage Socks. Now, I'm sure my entire neighbourhood heard me squealing in delight. I actually was hopping up in down in the kitchen when I saw the book!! I've had my name on the list for it at the library for what seems like forever now. They haven't even taken it out of processing yet, and given the fact I'm not the first person on the list, I had lost all hope of clapping my eyes on it anytime soon... but now... I HAVE MY OWN!!!!!!!!! WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!! I didn't even want to take time out for supper! Of course the hunger pangs in my belly won out and I ate, but as soon as I'd cleared the plates away I grabbed a skein of the Lorna's Laces, and (BF) G's hands (he's now more than ever determined to make my swift lest he be employed as one himself again) and am ready to cast on for a new pair of socks. Now... which ones to make?

I've found a new source of entertainment on my bus ride to and from work this week, in the manner of coffee cup sleeves. I made one from the One Skein book, but didn't really like how it turned out, so I set to work making one of my own design. I've now made three. It's like an obsession. I must be stopped. But I figure, one for at work, one for in the car, (BF) G wanted one... what's a girl to do when there's such a demand like that???

Well... I suppose those last few paragraphs aren't going to write themselves, so I'm off to the world of Socrates and Chuang Tzu for now! Well and maybe just casting on for the new pair of socks...

I've been tagged!

Well!

Kristina has tagged me.

Here are the rules of the game according to Kristina, (who got the rules from Julie McC.

List 7 random things about yourself on your blog.
Tag 7 others.
Leave a comment on their blog to direct them to your site to get the rules.

Oh yeah... and we figure no tag backs...

Thankfully unlike most chain mail these days there were no threats of dismal predictions of what my life would become if I didn't send this out right away to contend with! Phew!

Anyways here goes....

SEVEN RANDOM THINGS ABOUT ME!

1) I am third youngest of eight kids. My oldest brother and youngest brother are 33 years to the day apart and my oldest brother is only 10 years younger than my mom. This one stumped the security clearance people back when I was in the military. They kept rejecting my application for clearance based on the fact that I must have listed the birth dates incorrectly. Apparently, what they couldn't understand was the term half-brother. My oldest three siblings have a different mom than the rest of us. (well I guess that's more a random family fact than one just about me - but whatever!)

2) I am frighteningly organized in my work life (good thing being a library technician), and woefully unorganized in my home life! My book truck and desk at work are always kept in order - yet at home I currentlly can't find my tax return statement that I got in the mail last month. Aggghhh.

3) My favourite place in the world is my Aunt Flora's front lawn, which unfortunately is no longer available to me because when I was there last summer, my Aunt had gone into a nursing home and her children were selling the property. It will be gone now I'm sure, as it was prime real estate on the Okanagan lake.

4) I almost always re-read my favourite books. For example... I read Anne of Green Gables when I was seven. It was my favourite book. In grade nine, when we had a choice of what book to study in language arts I chose Anne of Green Gables. I didn't tell the teacher I'd read it for the first time seven years earlier and re-read probably a hundred times in the time in between.

6) When I was fifteen I had the biggest celebrity crush ever on Tom Cruise. I find it embaressing now, but when I was a teenager, I loved him in the movie Top Gun and had a huge poster of him on my bedroom door. Well that is until the night the tape gave way and the poster fell down making the worst noise ever, frightening me half to death. Poster never went back up, and well, now Tom Cruise is just weird.

7) Snakes make me cry. I am that afraid of them. Even harmless (but terrifying) garter snakes. I don't even like to see them at the zoo behind the glass.

There you go! Seven random facts about yours truly!

Now it's your turn should you have the time and inclination...

Bumblefee
Duchess
Colette
Ladylungdoc
This Kitten Knits
Barb
Prairiedaun

Wow! I had a comment already this morning in regards to this post! I've removed it, because really this is all about fun, and I don't feel like having someone's insulting, rude comments regarding my current thoughts on Tom Cruise sitting here spitting venom at people who enjoy my blog. I feel that it's completely within my right not to accept comments that call me names, say derogatory things about an entire nation based on whether or not I like a movie star etc. Some people are odd. It kind of boggles the mind, but I guess it takes all types! Now, go forth and have fun with your random facts, ladies!

Lovely Lush Pampering!

Look what wonderful treats were waiting for me in the mail yesterday!! Wow! I especially love the Sonic Death Monkey, a product that my partner says every mom of a punk rocker should posess! It smells divine. Good enough to eat that's for sure! And bath bars... oh relaxation here I come! And look at the Virtue 100% cashmere there too! Wheeeee! So much fun! Thank you my SP! You are so generous!

In other news I FINISHED MY PHILOSOPHY ESSAY!!!!!!!!!!!! Just one more to go. Granted it's got to be about 2500 words, which shall prove to be challenging at best... but I can do it! No knitting for the next few days mind you. Focus focus focus. Have to have said essay in to the prof before May 31st. But that's ok. I'm not panicking tonight! Really...

I looked after my baby nephew on Sunday! He's so absolutely adorable and so well behaved. Not a single complaint out of him the whole afternoon! He was good as gold for auntie! He's grown so much in the last few months though!

Baby R and the fishies


And finally cause it's just too cool for words... I just have to show off my new book truck that I got at work. I've had it for a couple of weeks now - just never got around to bragging about it. Check it out... Aren't all you library people envious! It's purple-ness sure caused a stir in the office the day it came in! And it's mine! All mine! Teee heeee heee! Makes me happy (apparently it doesn't take much today).

Well I'm off to relish in the fact I've actually got the old essay done and sent! What a relief! Well actually. I think I'm off to bed. My brain is kind of hurting from said essay!

Things that make me happy!

I am a very happy person these days! Why you ask? Because... Wheeeeee! I have a lawn! An honest to goodness lawn!!!!!

Last July we bought our house and the yard looked like this:



On Monday night our yard was transformed into this:

(Side view - but best light to show the grass!)

In other news I made another cel phone cover for (BF) G the other day. It seems to be a bit of a better fit than the last attempt. I used Paton's Classic Wool. Cast on 26 stitches on 5.5mm needles, divided between three needles, knit until appropriate height (about an inch taller than phone), knit strap by picking up three stitches at bottom of cover and knit until just slightly shorter than the top edge cast of these three stitches along with the corresponding stitches on the top edge, casting off all but 9 stitches, knit these stitches for desired length for flap doing slight decrease along the sides, cast off, sew up bottom, throw in washing machine and voila! A manly cel phone cover!


Last but certainly not the least... some Yarn PRon. OK, I know people normally do this on Fridays, but I couldn't wait, and I've never been a conformist so here is my latest addition to my stash. Some gorgeous Lorna's Laces in Lakeview. I'm thinking of trying Pomatomus by Cookie A.

What a week!

The Agitations in concert - Ragpickers, Winnipeg - May 3rd

Between Punk shows, and highland competitions, plus trying to write an essay and get yard work done, it's been quite the week!! J had a gig the other night down in the exchange, so being a good Mom, I first of all helped load the van with amps, guitars, drums, mics not to mention three jolly green giants of teenage boys, plus one not so jolly green giant like 12 year old. Got all the equipment and jolly green giants to the exchange district then went back for the others. I was treated to quite the show, which all took place in a tiny upstairs studio above a vintage clothing store. I though briefly that someone had broken my toe in the madness that was an overflowing mosh pit, but turns out it was just bruised. I found out quite quickly just how old I really am I guess!

I took the day off of work in order to start really getting the yard ready for the sod that was being delivered on Saturday, unfortunately, it rained and rained. Matter of fact, we might have been better off building an ark rather than considering a lawn. It rained all weekend. Well until tonight anyways. So now we have a lake of mud, and a gigantic pile of sod sitting in the driveway. Oh well, I didn't have the worst of it. Although it put a damper - pardon the pun - on my yard work, at least I could stay warm and dry inside!! Poor N was off on an army cadet exercise all weekend out in Caddy Lake.

All the rain at least that gave me ample time yesterday to really get down to business with the philosophy essay that has become quite the monkey on my back. Just a few hundred more words to go - get my critism and conclusion done and fire it off to my prof by Tuesday I hope, so that I can jump head on into the next essay. Sigh... I will NEVER attempt philosophy through distance ed again. I am just not disciplined enough. Three weeks, though. That's all that's left to finish it in. Ack! That's enough to send shivers of panic down my spine!

G and her teacher - Manitoba Provincial Selection Competition - May 6th

G had provincial championships today. Not the best day for her, but she did well considering not practicing like she should have been and falling down the stairs on Monday night. She placed in the Fling and the Seann Tribhuis, which was great and had she not touched her sword, and tripped up in the Strathspey, things might have worked out differently for her results wise, but she's not unhappy and feels pretty good that at least she could still dance today. Kudos to her for a job well done!

I had a spectacular treat waiting for me when I got home this afternoon! My Knitty Spring Fling secret pal went all out with yummy treats for me! I don't think the picture will do the mug justice enough, but it's covered in pictures of Tartan and pipers! Which is perfect for me! She also sent a lovely scottish tin that had been her aunt's (which makes it really special to me!) And the treats, oh the yummy treats! Coffee candies, fruity candies and chocolate. A girl just can't go wrong with treats like that! Plus tea - oh how I love my tea!!!!! She also sent the cutest little wind up critter - I think he's an inch worm the way he inches along! I'm so easily amused! Oh and I can't forget the container of Burt's Bees hand salve, something that I've been really wanting to try! Thank you so much to my awesome SP!!!Q