Thanks and Fixes

Hey, thanks Rebecca (that's my sister's name!) and Linz for the excitement about the job ;D I'm excited too! Hopefully it should be fun.

Also, those eyeglasses links don't work for Linz for some reason :( Which probably means they're not working for other people too. I can see them though, I wonder if it's because I use FireFox? At any rate, they're these eyeglasses:

Buying: www.eye-glasses-now.com, Union Bay UB 320 frames but in Mint Blue

Have now: (same site) Jill Stuart JS 116 but in Mauve

DBF's Dad and Brother are coming up today from Winnipeg to help us move him into his new apartment, so that should be fun. Tomorrow we'll get a U-Haul to move it all, and my parents will also be up for an MS conference so they'll be able to meet them too.

Another little note, I'm getting these eyeglasses, but in a dark blue colour, not the red shown. They'll probably look a lot more professional then my plastic lavendar ones ;)

Package of Yarny Goodness

Yay! Angela got this package today, so I can post a picture of it! I sent it to her for her birthday, she's a best friend from when I lived in Edmonton, and she's a great knitter. There's hand-dyed roving from Egli's Sheep Farm in there, as well as some handspun wrapped around the TP roll to embellish the cuff with (did I mention that Ang? That's what it's for, unless you have another idea :) The yarn is very soft black acrylic. I also included a CD with instructions for the mittens, pictures, and MP3's of the Harry Potter audio books to knit to. It's ironic because Angela never wears pink, so I knew this was the perfect way to ease her into it ;)

Oh btw, there's also homemade stitch markers in it, made from beautiful blue glass beads.

JOB

I got a job! WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even better, it's at Fort William Historical Park. I'm going to be a costumer, hopefully my sewing experience is good enough :P I have been doing some reading up though in hopes of making sure it is.

I have orientation on May 11, so that gives me a few days off yet. Good thing, since I'm sick right now, but my lovely DBF is helping by making me sleep and drink and cooking me lovely things.

Knitting Needles

I was browsing on ebay awhile back and ran into an auction for 25 knitting needles, so for $5 (with shipping) I got 25 needles, meaning that all but three made a set. Most are sizes I didn't have, although a few are doubles (no problems there, since they're 7's and 8's, which are common sizes anyway).

They're also mostly in really pretty colours in aluminum. Fun!

I also had fun painting some of DBF's WarHammer 40K models last night. Although I'm not interested in the game, I may start painting models as well - especially since they now have a Lord of the Rings model game, so I can paint the Fellowship, Arwen...oh it's gonna be fun. Of course, this is once I find a job somewhere, since I have no money. None.

Yeah, I lied.

OK, I am knitting again. But crankily. I'm knitting DBF a geek wrister from Stitch n' Bitch, in Red Heart Cotton Twist (I loathe the fact that my only decent yarn store is WalMart. C'mon people, really! Does anyone have any good online Canadian stores, that won't charge me an arm and a leg for shipping?) in Navy for the background and Red for the lettering. Should be interesting since I don't know how to Intarsia yet.

I also found a really great jacket for my Mara costume, now all I need are pants. DBF super dislikes the yoga pants I'd intended on using (although I don't like them either), and doesn't think that my other black khakis (style, not colour) are quite "right". So we're still on the hunt for those.

I have a Master Class in voice today, just to see what the vocal coach is like. I'm not actually participating, instead I have a private one hour lesson with her on Tuesday. I'm in trouble, because it's $85 and I can hardly afford groceries right now. HOWEVER, I was at my Aunt and Uncle's yesterday, and she has a friend who works at Fort William Historical Park (where I want to work, and had a great interview). She said even though I hadn't heard from them for 2.5 weeks, there's still a good chance I have the job there, the company is just "like that". So I'm a little less disheartened.

These are the boots I found today to go with my Mara costume for the opening of Ep III. They're from Value Village. I'd normally never buy boots with that high of a heel - or really, boots at all for that matter. But I think they'll do OK for a dark Jedi!

Sunset disaster

It's the well known rule. If you blog about how well something is going, it turns out like crap. Well, the sunset top is a fine example of this principle. I checked the measurements and mathematics. 3 times. I measured as I knit.

I mattress stitched one side and...it's at least 3 sizes too big. WTF? Makes me SO ANGRY! See if I knit anything again.

Humph.

Here's all the 100% wool I skeined from from the other Sally Ann sweater. I have no idea what to do with it! I'm going to make SOMETHING feltable, mostly because this wool is extremely scratchy and would make an uncomfortable garment.

Almost done the Sunset top

It's almost done, I'm about 70% finished. I've gotten to the armhole shaping on the back, so just that to knit, and then I have to learn mattress stitch to put it all together. I can't wait until it's done!

In other not quite so nice news, I have restless leg syndrome, and it's been bothering me badly. I've had some trouble sleeping, but according to this website I've been doing everything backwards. So from now on:

1) I'm taking multi-vitamins with iron
2) I'm taking Vitamin B12
3) I'm going to bed at 11PM instead of...well...significantly after that.

Video Games

I'm not really what you'd call a video gamer. I've never had any gaming system, and we didn't get a computer until I was at least 10 (I think. Do you remember Mom?). However, we had computers at school, and we did in fact have an old BETA video of me and my French Immersion Kindergateren class with a Commodore 64 and a game that involved a ladybug which played the song "La Cucaracha". At any rate, as I sit here late at night (score for no school OR work for 2 weeks!) here's my favourite video games.

Outnumbered!
This was a great educational game where you zapped walking evil computers and defeated them by answering math questions. Part of the Super Solvers series.

Operation Neptune
Another math game by the same company who created the Super Solvers series (and Reader Rabbit). This was more advanced math, and you used a submarine and navigated underwater mazes.

Cross-Country Canada
A really simple game, one of the ones where you had a "video" on top, and you didn't use controllers, instead you typed your commands in. You played a truck driver picking up and dropping off Canadian items all over the country.

Commander Keen 4: Keen Dreams
I loved this game. I loved it even more when I found out the cheat code for all the crystals and infinite lives (BAT I think? Maybe BAT4?) I still have it on my computer.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Original (at least, I think) version. This was one of the first games I ever played on our home computer. I kept each city's 3 hints, along with the new city they revealed, in a notebook. I also used a 1979 Almanac for hints. I got so good at it it wasn't fun anymore, because there's only so many locations she can go - this means that since I knew every hint for every city there was no chase anymore.

Myst
All the Myst games are awesome, with my favourite being Exile. This is because this was the first which allowed a basically 360 degree view from wherever you stood, and the worlds were beautiful. One hint is to make sure you actually change your monitor brightness/contrast the way they tell you too - otherwise you might miss pathways and have to look up a walkthrough on the internet.

Star Wars Rogue Squadron
I loved this game too. The only thing I hate are those stupid Speeders. Slow as molasses and with the most ridiculous turning radius I've ever seen on something that can FLY for God's sake. I love how the least manoeverable (sp?) vehicle is the one you have to use to take down those gosh darned AT-AT walkers. Yes, I used a cheat guide so I didn't have to play the whole level to get to the darned walkers every time, but once I finally got good at it I took it back off to complete the level properly.

Sim Tower
The problem with this game is the bug, where after a certain number of days or stores/offices built all of a sudden conditions plummet and everyone moves out. There is a cheat code you can use which instantly lowers all the rents to the lowest amount, so people will move back in but I never got it. I did it all by hand. Actually, I've never finished this game. I got to the second-highest tower level, but never got to build the cathedral.

I also loved SimCity, and for some reason I can't get SimCity 2000 to work on my computer.

Quilt Picture

Here's a picture of me with the quilt I made the summer before last. I call it my Monet quilt, because the colours are pulled from Monet's Nympheas paintings. It was fairly quick, for a quilt, because it was strip-pieced, as well as machine-quilted (because I don't have a frame for hand quilting). I'm in the middle of quilting a lap quilt for my Dad made of cotton plaids, and next I want to make an Amish-style quilt using batiks. I also have a bunch of jeans to make a denim picnic quilt, with brightly coloured flannel in pink, green, blue, and yellow with bugs on them for the top of the picnic quilt.

Ooooh it's the front to the sleeveless roll-neck sweater I'm making from the Sally Ann sweater wool. I hope it'll fit, the back should be done sometime tonight or tomorow. Then I just need to seam it, and I'm done!

First Pattern

Yay! I put up my first pattern ever! It's a simple keyhole-type scarf with seed-stitch hearts on each end. It's simple to make, and very quick. I'd really recommend it! Feel free to make it, even to sell or anything you like. My only request is that you don't say that you created the pattern :D

DONE

I am done exams! Woohoo! Let the celebrations begin! I think I even did well on my Igneous Petrology exam. I went through it, before I handed it in, and I (frugally) gave myself marks and I'm pretty much guaranteed at least a 70%. Normally that is the kind of mark I don't like, I like higher marks, but this is a very difficult class with an even more difficult professor, and the class average right now is like a 50-something. Plus, I may get BETTER than 70%.

In other news, I'm trying to make a sleeveless turtleneck out of the beautiful soft Sally Ann yarn, although I'm not sure if it'll work or not:

A) I might end up short of wool, although I think it'll be OK. It may be mockneck though.

B) The pattern that I'm using is for a ribbon wool. I can knit to the proper gauge using size 7 needles, but that makes a really tight fabric, and I don't think that I'll have enough to do it that way, so I went up to size 13 needles. Now the fabric has beautiful drape, but my gauge is off by 1 stitch and 1.5 rows. This means I now have no idea what to do for the armhole shaping, and I'm just about there. Any suggestions?

I'm also going to the Dr. today to get my sore throat checked out. I've had a sore throat for almost 3 weeks now, and it's not getting better. I also have a package to mail, and a cheque to drop off. Busy busy busy!

This is what my DBF did to his chocolate bunny. Sigh. Guys, huh? It struck me as funny though, albeit disturbing!

My TV ad!

Yes, you read that right. I was in a TV ad. For a grand total of 4 seconds. But two of those seconds were a close-up...man. I didn't even get 15 minutes! I guess it's still coming then.

You can see it here. Click on "Version 1". I'm at 2:42 until 2:46 - the blonde in the yellow t-shirt looking at a rock. Although it looks all smart, what we're actually saying to each other is "Hmm, any idea what this rock is? Is it an olivine? Or maybe it's peridotite"

I am slowly going crazy 1-2-3-4-5-6-switch...

Crazy going slowly am I 6-5-4-3-2-1-switch.

Guess what, it's finals time! I have Geophysics on Monday, and Igneous on Wednesday. I'm prepared for Geophysics. I'm not prepared for Igneous. However, I will NEVER be prepared for Igneous, unless I somehow come across the answers on the bowels of the internet, or lightning strikes down Dr. Gilles as she attempts to administer the final to us.

In good (better, POSSIBLY even best) news, I managed to register in classes now. Here's what I'm taking next year.

Contemporary Canadian Literature:
A study of selected contemporary (1980s to the present) Canadian literature

Classic Mythology:
Pretty much explains itself :)

Children's Literature:
A historical and critical study of children's literature

Canadian Literature:
The rise and development of poetry and prose literature in English-speaking Canada.

Speculative Fiction:
An in-depth study of selected texts from the Science fiction and/or the Fantasy genres.

I'm still trying to get into either Contemporary Children's Literature or Versions of Classic Fairy Tales. I'll also have to overload (take 6 courses both semesters, instead of 5) to take Literature Before/Literature After 1750 because they gave me credit in the wrong English classes when I transferred from U of A :P

I'm still skeining wool from the Sally Ann sweater. I'm gonna have enough to make about 4 pairs of felted mittens, or at least one felted bag. I'm also thinking about making a capelet with the soft lilac wool.

Any ideas?

Sping, spring, spring

Guess what temperature it was today here. Guess! C'mon guess!

16 Degrees Celsius

I also saw a robin on Tuesday, and today I had a job interview at Fort William Historical Park! I hope it went well :) I might either be a costumer (lots of sewing), a historical re-enactor, or an interpreter.

I can't wait to find out!

Goodbye, my first sweater. I'm sorry I haven't knit on you in awhile. Although I loved your cables, they were very time consuming. I would start watching CSI and forget to count your stitches. Do you see your left cable? Yes. I made the same mistake twice. Also, you can see where I had put lifelines in you. I didn't measure properly either, and now you're going to be too long for me. Much, much too long. I shall give you a send-off party tonight, and I will remake you (Gentlemen, we have the technology) as a simple raglan. Goodbye.

Man, I want this bed set. Isn't it cute? I love the colour of blue and the stark tree - I have no idea why but I'm very drawn to it.

Spring has sprung...

Yay for spring weather! It's absolutely beautiful here, the temp was 12C today! I also had my singing final and I think it went OK (although I did screw up my first song. I was trying to calm down because I was so nervous, went on autopilot, and got lost). So stressful! Essentially, it was my final exam in the class, singing four songs in a concert with four other vocalists (also doing their finals) in front of a jury. You don't get to complain about finals unless you've done that my friend! (Unless, of course, you're like Allan and you end up with 5 exams in 3 consecutive days, with two of them conflicting. Then you really earn B*@#&ing rights)

Hi Brenda! Yeah, I've heard of Hearst, I believe I've driven through there before! I live a ways West of there, almost 7 hours away. I was about 18 when I actually learned to knit properly, and continued on my own. My Grandmas tried to teach me every so often starting when I was about 7 or so, but it didn't really "stick", because my one Grandma knits left-handed continental, so I got confused (since the other Grandma knits right-handed English).

And hey E :D I promise a long letter forthcoming, once tomorrow is over (last day of classes). I may still make it out to Edmonton this summer, although chances are starting to look really slim. Maybe you could come and stay at my camp... ;)

Linz, I promise. We used to make the simple eggs too (I'll post a picture in a day or two of me as a 4 year old dumping eggs in a single colour). This year my Aunty Brenda brought her Ukrainian Egg stuff with her (you just need the wax tool, beeswax, dye, and a candle) so we got to do those. I'd done them once before, when I went up to Yellowknife to visis on Spring Break as a kid (visiting Brenda, Heather, and Donna). These were so much fun though! If you'd like to try, you can get the tools at Michaels stores.

In knitting knews (ha ha) I finished the first repeat of the alien illusion scarf. You can see that below, along with all my very nice plants and decorated plant pots (yay!).

All my pretty pots in a row. They're Shire pots, with green bases and rims and yellow sides. The writing is in Kelt font, which is a font created to look like the writing on the "No admittance except on party business" sign in Fellowship of the Ring. I then added the proper vowel tehtar above. (Note that if you used Tengwar instead of "Common Tongue" or "English" letters the tehtar would go above the letter they appear BEFORE. This is because there are no vowel Tengwar letters, they use the tehtar instead.)

See! Green things! You can see my fledgling basil (yes, it's basil. And that's BAH-zil, not BAY-zil).

Here's the Alien Illusion scarf from the top. Looks really stripey (Both yarns are Red Heart acrylic, one is Kids yarn and the other Super Saver. Sean and I are cheap).

Alien Illusion scarf from the side. SO COOL HUH? I can't wait to make myself one with a star pattern (white background, pastel stripes/stars).

Here's Becky and Donna melting was off their pysanky. My sister is a cheerleader, as some of you may already know. Note the biceps on that chick. Sheesh. She can lift me almost easier than I can lift her! She's also a good 5 inches shorter than me (4' 11", maybe), but only weighs 10 lbs less because she is just solid muscle. She's a flyer so she needs all those mus-kles to stay rigid in her lifts (yes Becky, I know that's not the right term. I don't know what the real name is!).

Here's Donna and I this weekend, melting the wax off our Ukranian Easter Eggs. Of course, ours don't look ANYTHING like the eggs in that link. We're also wearing really old clothes because the dye stains very quickly (my fingers looked like I smoked 2 packs a day for a few days, which I don't of course)

I have made it in the blogging world!

*Gasp* I got a message from Stephanie! (Yarn Harlot) Squee! OK, deep breaths :D

No, I haven't yet figure out what to do with that recycled yarn. Thick-thin lilac-y goodness is sitting there tempting me like clouds at sunset, although I just cast on for an Alien Illusion scarf for sean. I'm still welcoming ideas!

And now for something completely different! (tee hee) Pictures from this weekend.

Here's the first picture from our party this weekend, it's Olivia in her "party dress" sitting on mine and Becky's old bouncy horse. Great toy that! You can also juuuust see my sister trying to shove herself down the slide ;)

Here's Sean, playing with blocks and Brio :) We were entertaining my cousins downstairs. Anton loves Brio! I was also right down there building too, I just stood up to take a picture. Can you see our little stonehenge?

Here's my Mom cutting the cake, and my Aunty Brenda with the plates (can you tell they're sisters?). My cousin Donna is in behind my Mom, with my sister and Sean leaning on the island. That cake was seriously good. Three chocolate layers with a khalua-cream and raspberry jam in between.

Here's my Grandpa after dinner opening up his first gift - a card made by my cousin Olivia.

Here's the first batch of Ukranian Eggs we made, aren't they pretty? Starting in the top left corner clockwise: Sean's Egyptian, Becky's stained glass, Becky's music, My striped, Becky's amorphous, Sean's Harlequin, Donna's Nautical, My 70's.