Thanks guys :)

First of all, thanks so much to Marcia and Angela for the encouragements to feel better (yes, I did get the illnesses after all but one exam was finished, and I'm writing it in the New Year), and defence against the anonymous commenter. She's not actually anonymous (we both know who she is), but I've left the anonymous commenting up until now for interest's sake to see what she has to say and laugh at it. However, I think I'm going to disable it now. She's the only person who comments anonymously anyway, since Mom never does anymore *frowny-face* but Mom signs her name anyway. Oh wait, and Patrick. If you want to post a comment (cause I LOVE comments!) and don't have my e-mail address (I'm not going to post it here, although most of you have at least my old hotmail one, which I still check) you can go here: Blogger and make an identity to post. I realise it's an inconvience, but hopefully it'll discourage Miss Anonymous as well as spam.

And Miss Anonymous? I know his other girlfriend - Rachel :D She's a wonderful gal who's totally into Egyptology. And yes I know who YOU meant in your post, but really. Who's got the diamond here?

Marcia (and Patrick, if you see this) I need your up-to-date e-mails and addresses, so once Christmas is over I can send you New Year's cards, seeing as I was too sick to send ours out as Christmas cards.

Christmas updates: Dad's done, Becky's done, Grandpa's almost done, Sean's/Chris's/Tom's/Mary's/Angela's all half done, Grandmas' not started yet, Mom's not started yet. I promise this is NOT anything due to priorities, it's that some projects were transportable and could be brought back and forth between school and got done first.

An ear infection, throat infection, and stomach flu have all conspired against me to prevent me posting or making Christmas presents. I'll be back sometime :P

Knitting is still going on, as is exam studying. Monday's exams went crappy, with almost everyone coming out of the first with no more than a 70% on it (he posted the answer key outside). I personally got about a 66%. The second was ridiculously difficult, and again I think I got about a 70%. Seeing as I had 85 to 90% in these classes BEFORE the finals I'm a little ticked. It's not like I didn't study enough, it's a case again of the questions being SO specific I couldn't possibly know enough to have answered all those questions. At least not when I needed to have enough crammed into my head to write two exams that day.

Today I'm studying for Wednesday's evening exam (Plagues and People), going to a Structure Lab review session, and maybe working. Not sure about that, because I need enough time to study. I think I'll work tomorrow afternoon before my exam though.

I've been knitting on a few projects, got one half done and the other just started. I'm a little stressed about getting these things done in time for Christmas, but we'll see.

BUY MY WALLETS!

These are images of one of the wallets I've made using the tutorial found here. I'm making many more in order to supplement our not-quite-enough income. When they're finished I'll post pictures, but I can describe them for now. I have more like this one, ones with the orange daisy fabric inside and plain blue outside, ones that are Care Bear print with blue inside, and ones that are in bright African prints, mainly green, black, and gold. I'm not exactly sure what I'm charging for them yet, I'm hoping to generate some interest!

Oh, and I have permission from the tutorial-maker to use her pattern to make money :)

R, S, T, and U are for...

R and S are for...ring and Sean! Finally, the long-awaited picture! Although this isn't a clear shot of the ring (next time) you can see it on my finger, and of course the FHF (Effing-hot Fiance) Sean. I look a bit rough in the picture, but that's because it was awfully cold here today (OK Marcia, not as cold as you! :D) and I had put on and take off my hat a bunch of times. Sean looks tired because he's in the midst of a term paper. But anyway, here's my alphabet.

R is for ring.

This is the ring Sean gave to me when he proposed in August, 2006. It's white gold, set with a .25 ct Type IIa brilliant cut diamond (can you tell I'm taking gemology?). It's absolutely beautiful and very simple. For a wedding band to go with it I think I'd like another white gold band, with a small amethyst and maybe a chip diamond on either side.

S is for Sean.

The wonderful, marvelous, hot, caring, loving, nerdy, techie Sean. My fiance. We met in Geophysics class in January 2005, and were introduced (to be friends!) by our friend Keith. Although Sean says his first memories are of watching me stretch in class - the chairs were uncomfortable, so I would arch my back over the back of the chair, not realising that this was drawing the attention of every boy in the class - the other thing we really remember is the day that one of the replacement professors started writing random multi-variable calculus questions on the board. While our much-younger classmates started going glassy-eyed, Sean leaned over to me and muttered "I don't know if that's Geophysics or he's giving us instructions to build a Warp Engine.". When I burst out laughing, he decided that I was definitely a girl of interest! :) We started hanging out and eventually dating nearer the end of the school year, and have been together ever since. We've been hiking at Cascades Park, visited the Mall of America, and lived in 3 different apartments together. A sure sign of our relationship is the way his cat Kyp has bonded to me - he spends every moment either lying beside me or sitting in my lap or on my chest. I love him with all my heart!

S is also for Sushi...



Another thing Sean introduced me to. The first time I tried it was in Mall of America, at Tiger Sushi. I only ate the vegetarian California Roll, which had pickled carrots, cucumber, and avocado. I wasn't thrilled, and particularly hated the taste of the nori. Later on, he convinced me to go to The Sushi Bowl in Thunder Bay, where I was suprised to learn I was liking Sushi! Since then I have become more and more obsessed, and no longer limit myself to the veggie stuff. My favourites are California Roll - with Crab!, Tekka Maki (tuna), and Firefly (a local special, it's tuna, salmon, chili and wasabi, and tempura flakes).


T is for...



Tea! I LOVE tea. When I worked at the Fort, we usually drank it at least once a day, if not twice. Mornings were Orange Pekoe, Earl Grey, or Lady Grey (for me), and afternoons were Moroccan Mint by President's Choice. The best mint/green tea I've ever had. Anyway, I love tea in all of it's forms. I am a big fan of the roasted tea you get at Japanese restaurants, which contains roasted, puffed rice and tastes toasty and a little nutty. I drink it for the flavour, not for the caffeine kick. Favourite flavours are Lady Grey, Prince of Wales, and Monk's Blend. The last two can be harder to get ahold of, and you might need a specialty tea store to get them. Monk's Blend in particular is amazing, because it contains vanilla and grendaine flavours.

U is for...

Umbrellas! I am obsessed with the Gryffindor umbrellas we see in Prisoner of Azkaban, during the Quidditch match. I would like a picture, but couldn't find any! They are pretty pig, burgundy with 2 or 3 gold stripes around the bottom edge. I lurve them though, and make it my quest to find one someday.

And some more present pictures: only click if you are NOT the person mentioned in the link!

NOT JENNY
NOT DAD

PATRICK! So glad to see you posting :D I'd like to know how to do silk-screening, I've never tried. It looks kind of hard to set up :P I need your e-mail address and your picture site because they somehow got lost in the shuffle and no one seems to have them!

White tree I painted on a long-sleeved t-shirt last weekend. I have a t-shirt with this on the front, but it's crooked and the paint cracked badly, plus the stencil leaked a bit. On this one I used freezer paper (so wonderful for stencils!), and instead of a brush I used a little sponge roller to put the paint on. Plus I mixed the paint and fabric medium in a more balanced ratio. This means that although it cracked (since it's a knit fabric) it doesn't stay split and looks all pretty.


Woot! I took a break from term paper 1/term paper 2/presentation/studying and made this recon (reconstruction). It's my Shinerama (for Cystic Fibrosis) t-shirt from University of Alberta. However, it was an XL, as all free t-shirts seem to be. I drew around the body and armscye of a t-shirt that fit well, then cut it and resewed it up the sides and across the bottom (salvaging the collar and part of the shoulder seams). Then I copied the shape of the cap sleeves of the well-fitting shirt, and cut new sleeves (again, salvaging most of the "cuff" seam) and sewed those in too. Woohoo! So much fun. Now I wish I had more free t-shirts to mess with - Value Village here I come!


Another t-shirt I reconned last summer. It was a little too big, since this was bought before Sean's Mom met me and she insisted to Sean I couldn't be so small I'd need a Youth M instead of a Youth L. This didn't require as much reconstruction since it was much smaller, but now it fits me perfect.

In terms of presents, I got a wonderful package from Angela containing presents from Europe, pictures very promptly. And speaking of Angela, as long as you're not her :) you can click here: NOT ANGELA to see one of the things I've done for Christmas for her so far.

Buried in school work...

I have 2 term papers to write (one is almost done, the other not started, they're both due the first Wed in Dec), an assignment to finish for tomorrow, an in-class final next Friday, and 4 other finals in two weeks. Oh and a powerpoint presentation next week.

I won't be posting for a little while yet, but here's a sneak peak for this weekend...

R is for...
S is for...
T is for...
U is for...

and further Christmas updates as soon as I find my quilting ruler...

Hi, my name is Karlie, and I'm an addict...

Yes. Sad but true. I am addicted to LUSH Cosmetics. They are all handmade, mostly natural and organic (with a few minor, safe, chemical ingredients), most (if not all) of their raw materials are sourced fair- and free-trade, and a great many are vegan. They all smell AMAZING, and do wonderful things for your body. Here's a list of my favourite products...because I'm avoiding writing my term paper.

SOAP:

Angel's Delight

Mmmm. This soap smells like something between Jolly Ranchers candy and fruit punch. My only complaint is that in the weird humid-hot-no-ventilation atmosphere of our bathroom in Thunder Bay the soap changed smells over time to be kind of icky, like Rock Star did (see below). I think I'll just cut the soap into bitty chunks from now on. Then we can have more variety too!


Bob Soap

*Homer drooling sound* This soap is a Christmas special, which means I'm buying a MASSIVE chunk of it so I can use it all next year. It smells like slightly spicy orange creamsicles (in a very, very good way). Some people have complained about the lather being highlighter green, but for me that's just an added bonus :D


Demon in the Dark

Phew! This soap is very minty-tingly, and probably best for use in summer or on sore muscles. It smells a bit like apples, since there's pieces of them inside it, and mostly like mint. I sometimes just sneak into my LUSH stash box and sniff it.


Ice Blue

Another minty soap, although this one isn't as complex a smell - it's mostly straight peppermint. I like this one too, but then again I have a "thing" for minty stuff.


Rock Star

This smells like lovely sweet candies. Lots of people don't like it because it's too sweet, but I like candy-sweet smells and vanilla as much as mint. Like I said though, big chunks can change colour strangely and warp in smell. Again with the cutting in bitty chunks, since the soaps last a looonng time if they're left wrapped and not used.


Sexy Peel

Lemon-orange-grapefruit goodness. It almost makes me want to like the taste of marmalade. It's very, very citrussy, and slightly soft which makes it a nice texture to wash with.


Snowcake

Oh. My. Goodness. If you like almonds or marzipan, you need to buy this soap. You HAVE to buy this soap. It has such a creamy lather, and smells so good you just want to EAT it. The sweetness is complemented wonderfully by a slight hint of rose, the only time in my life I've ever like a rose smell (and that's because it doesn't actually SMELL of rose, it just works delightfully with the almonds).

BATH BOMBS:


Avobath

This bath bomb smells like green fruit loops, and makes the bath water bright lime green. It's a great sweet-citrus smell, made even better by the fact it has a faint shimmer from fine glitter particles and is moisturizing from the avocado oil. The only bathbomb I've bought more than 2 of (yet).


Christmas Party

Another of the Christmas specials. It's sweet, spicy orange, and so pretty! Beware the star-shrapnel though, I've heard it's poked more than one bare bottom. I haven't had that experience yet!


Dream On

I don't really like the herbally smell of this bomb that much, although I think it would be easily covered by cocktailing with another bomb. The key thing about this bomb is the jojoba oil. It's very similar to your skin's natural sebum, so it's INCREDIBLY moisturizing, although you sometimes have to chase down the green blobs of oil (a little weird floating on top of the peachy-orange water) and rub them into your skin. Top marks for anyone with dryness.


Puddy Holly

ANOTHER Christmas product! This bath bomb smells exactly like it looks - a spicy christmas cake with marzipan icing. It's singular downside is that the water turns brown. Other than that, delish!


Think Pink

A Breast Cancer bomb (they donate a potion of the profits) that smells like...pink. Sweetness, candy, and everything girl. Yum :D

OK, that's enough for now, I'm bored of this too :) I guess I could go write my term paper...anyone got any tips on amethyst?

Wow another Karlie spelled my way, that's amazing! My parents always say how it never occured to them to use a C or Y (and I prefer my spelling anyway) but there are very few people with the name! Anyway, here's some updates:

1) I don't have celiac disease, which is very exciting. I can eat wheat again! It also means that I have some (expensive) cookbooks to sell, since they were sooooo certain I had celiac and it's pretty much impossible to go gluten-free without cookbooks. Anyone know anyone who could use some gluten-free cookbooks?

2) This means that we have don't have a good idea why I'm exhausted, losing weight, and have a persistant cough. I think my Plagues and People class is getting to me, because I'd laugh if it turned out to be TB.
NOTE: I'm not being paranoid I have TB :) The website is just for interest's sake because I thought the topic was really fascinating

3) I made this:



The shirt, that is. It was a little miserable to sew, partially because it's brocade so I had to stitch around every edge to stop it fraying as I was sewing, and because the collar didn't fit, so I had to do a whole bunch of fiddling around. However, not only did I make the shirt, I made the buttons myself out of soutache braid, using a knot-button pattern.

4) I made a new blog: A Long Yarn (Christmas) where I'm going to post all my Christmas gifts as I make them. I'm hoping that this way I can use links to the posts, so that people who don't want to peek at the progress can choose not to.

5) That said, here are some peeks:
NOT Heather or Chad
NOT Dad
NOT Mary
NOT Becky


Other gifts will be forthcoming, once I've started them.

Thanks for the tip Misty, although the knitting class isn't going to run - Boo-urns. They didn't have anyone else sign up, I'm guessing because of the price. Campus Rec has lots of neat stuff but it's VERY expensive.

I finished my cabled handwarmers (no pictures, maybe tomorrow) and made a black fleece headband since I can't find my earbags. However, I did complete one VERY pretty piece of sewing, although the picture I have is somewhat mediocre:



I kind of look like I'm smirking in the picture, not exactly sure why! I also STILL need to post a picture of the ring, I know. You can kinda see it in the above picture, on my left hand...but I'll post a better one. This weekend is going to be spent visitng Mom and Becky tomorrow, since they're coming up, doing my structure homework (and some research for my Gemology term paper), and sewing at least 3 things: a corduroy skirt, a chinese brocade shirt, and a fleece for Sean. If I have time, I'm also making up a nice futon cover, but it's Sean's turn to clean up the living room and until that's done I can't cut out the Futon cover ;)

Hey Patrick, that was an awesome movie. I'm going to post a link to it later in the sidebar. Glad to see you made your way here! :D

Life is crazy busy. I dropped Art History because it was an insane workload that was affecting my class work in my required classes (it was an elective). I'm still working doing Database Entry. Did well (I'm pretty sure) in my Plagues and People class, and have yet to write my other two midterms. I finished knitting cabled fingerless mittens in the brown alpaca Angela gave me Summer 2005, and am working on my corset in hopes to have it done for Hallowe'en. I think I will be doing the rest on the machine though. I'll still use the pure linen thread.

I just finished making Carrot Dill Soup and Oatmeal-Banana muffins. THen I have to study Archaeology.

Till later...

Q is for...et.al.

Sorry I haven't been writing. I'm just soooooooo tired. I'm working two jobs (altogether 15 hours a week) and trying to do 5 classes. I think I may have to drop one. However, I'll be picking up another - knitting instructor! Yes, as long as enough people sign up, U of M Campus Rec is holding a 7 week (2 hrs/wk) knitting course starting in November, and again at the end of January. I need ideas for how to plan out classes. I'm expecting to get total beginners.

And "Q" is for quilts. I've made two so far:




The first one is a twin-sized quilt, strip pieced and with colours picked from Monet paintings. The second is my Dad's, a lap quilt that was also partially strip pieced.

I'm working on two more at the moment, a snowflake quilt (with paper pieced snowflakes) and a simple Indian Puzzle quilt in black and batik.

Aw thanks Marcia! We haven't set a date yet, because we're not sure when exactly since Sean is going to Penn State next year. Probably in two years or so. I don't yet have a pic of the ring, although I have lots of pics of us together. Like





There you go! :D

The first is from last spring, at Cascades Park in Thunder Bay. The middle one is this spring, at my Grad. And the last is from Fort William Historical Park, end of August this summer. Cute huh? ;)

Finally...

Pictures of stuff I've finished. Minus the panta I just made (don't you wanna, wanna panta), since it's buried in my backpack and I don't feel like digging it out.


The pencil case I made to hold all my structural geology gear: a navigational protractor, erasable pencil crayons, TI-83+ graphing calculator, 0.5mm mechanical pencil and leads, Staedtler MARS eraser, and geometery set. It's made from fabric I got at Value Village which is quite heavy (like upholstery weight canvas) and lined with scarlet stretch twill. The button is also from Value Village.


My finished Scandi mitts. Unfortunately you can see that the second/third right (since I screwed up the first) is smaller than the left. I think thought that some blocking will help take care of that. Nonetheless, I love them.

Oh, and to the anonymous poster who said "What wedding dress?" you see, wedding dresses are a special gown typically worn by the bride when she's getting married. Since Sean and I are getting married in the somewhat near future, I have started keeping a tentative eye out for styles I like.

P is for... and other news

Soooooooo the pictures of all my new stuff are taken and currently trapped in Sean's camera, since he's not home and I don't know where the cord is :) I'd use mine, except the batteries are dead and I haven't the foggiest idea where the charger is.

Life is pretty good. I have some really neat classes, including the one that this letter is named for...

P is for Plagues and People.

This is an anthropology class, dealing with how plagues affect how societies function and develop. It's fascinating and incredibly disturbing at the same time! In one class we talked about how diseases are transmitted, and after seeing pictures like this of people sneezing, it kind of makes me want to live in a bubble. Last class was about the 1995Ebola outbreak in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo. The NOVA film crew came on sight as soon as the outbreak was discovered, and filmed a heart-wrenching and terrifying documentary on the disease. The mortality rate in this particular outbreak was 81%. Read that again. 81% The most disturbing thing? That rate isn't because Ebola is an African virus (and therefore almost exclusively limited to poor and isolated villages), it's because Ebola is such a virulent hemorrhagic fever. They can't treat it any better here than they can in Africa. Our sole advantage would lie in the fact that we can more easily spread news of an outbreak through mass media, and more immediately institute precautions against a chain of infection.

At any rate. The class is cool, but disturbing! We all come out of there looking a little green and shellshocked.

I also have Gemology, which is wickedly cool. We've learned some setting techniques, and major methods for gemstone identification. Some facts:

A gemstone is a mineral valued for its beauty and (sometimes) rarity. A gem is a gemstone which has been fashioned and/or cut in order to maximize the beauty of the stone.

Diamonds are valued for a quality called fire. Fire is when a transparent stone emits multi-coloured sparkles when held up to a light source. The fire in diamond is caused by the fact that causes a great deal of light dispersion. When light enters a diamond, it is split into more or less the full spectrum, like a prism. The high refractive index of diamond means that these rays of light are reflected inside the diamond off the many facets until they are finally refracted out the crown (or top) of the diamond, resulting in multi-coloured sparkles. An improperly cut diamond will either have the light rays passing through the pavillion (bottom) of the diamond, so no sparkle will be visible, or the rays will only reflect once or twice inside, reducing the amount of sparkle.

I'm starting two jobs next week: data entry for the University Admin, and timekeeping for the Campus Rec Ice Hockey League. Yes, hockey. I will be bringing knitting to stay awake. I'm glad to have gotten the jobs, I just hope that I have enough time for everything.

The bus I take to and from school goes by three or four bridal salons, and I always check out the dresses in the window. I found a lovely one the other day, and Sean really likes it too. Of course, I wouldn't be buying it any time soon, but it's nice to keep ideas in mind! Strapless, diamond white bridal satin, with an A-line shaped skirt that stands out just slightly from the body (so it's got a crinoline underneath). Some light silver and iridescent beading along the neckline, and then little dots of beading on the bodice and slightly down the skirt. Cheap too, for a bridal gown - $499. I so could have gotten it cheaper too, because the beading was coming off in places, but I could have fixed it very easily!

I have completed 3 projects, two of which are knitting. There will be pictures once Sean comes back from work with the laptop, since my memory card is in there. I finished my Scandi Mitts, a Panta headband, and a pencil case for all my structure gear. I'm especially proud of the case, it's very professional looking. Now I just have to decide what to do next...

Happy(ish) Birthday to me!

Well, today is my 23rd birthday. The reason there's an "ish" up there is because I'm still not feeling 100% after my gastroscope yesterday. It was an interesting experience. The nurse who put in my IV was very, very nice, one of those people just destined to be a nurse. I was so agreeable as she went through the consent, that she said "I think you'd say yes to anything at this point!" at which point I quipped "and I haven't even had the drugs yet!". She thought this was hilarious.

I don't remember the procedure at all (thank God for Vicodin!), but they took some biopsies and hopefully I'll know (in 4-6 weeks!!!!) if I have celiac disease or not.

Plans today include breakfast with my parents who are in town, possibly going to my last class (the only one it matters a little more if I miss), and resting/knitting.

I've had some people from the craftster board offer to trade scraps with me for the snowflake quilt. Yay! This way we're all ridding ourselves of stash we don't need in favour of that which we do.

I can mark one Christmas present off the list! The thrummed mitts are done (see link in my sidebar), although one is slightly larger than the other. I think this is my gauge changing over *cough*1.5years*cough* I still have a whack of other ones to start, but I just can't do that until I actually have some yarn to work with. You'd think with ALL the yarn I have I could find something that would work, but no. Oh well. Once I get a little bit of money (I have two job interviews!) I can buy a bit more wool. I also have a bit of fabric to buy. If anyone has scraps of blues or white fabrics with a snowflake/snow/winter theme I'd absolutely love to take them off your hands :D I'm looking for abstract patterns. You can see the fabric I have already here in the middle of the post (click for a bigger picture). Mostly snowflake patterns, although some are a little abstract or have stars instead.

If you are looking for quilt scraps let me know, maybe we could do an exchange!

O is for...

Olivia! Here is my beautiful little cousin. After being diagnosed with CF this spring and beginning to receive treatment, she's rebounded in an astonishing way. She gained 6 lbs in about 6 weeks, which for a 4 year-old is an entire year's growth! She much more active and talkative now, constantly telling stories and making sure she gets a word in edgewise with her brother by putting up her hand when he's talking. I've finished her quilt, and I'm almost done her brother's. I'm hoping to have them done by thanksgiving.

N is for...

North. I love living in my land of ice and snow. Winter is pretty close to being my favourite season. I love to go sliding (tobogganing for most people, although it's only tobogganing if you're using a toboggan), and I love to make snow forts, snow men, and snow angels. I love to snowboard and cross-country ski, and go tubing on ski hills. I don't like skating that much, but as soon as they invent skates that keep your feet warm and don't squash your ankle bones I'll be all over it.

I'm proud to now live in the coldest city in the world. To quote an e-mail my Mom sent me a long time ago:

Canadian Temperature Chart

1. 50° Fahrenheit (10° C) Californians shiver uncontrollably,
Canadians plant gardens.

2. 35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C) Italian cars won't start, Canadians drive
with the windows down.

3. 32° Fahrenheit (0° C) American water freezes, Canadian water gets
thicker.

4. 0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C) New York City landlords finally turn on the
heat. Canadians have the last barbecue season.

5. -60° Fahrenheit (-51° C) Mt. St. Helens freezes, Canadians Girl
Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

6. -100° Fahrenheit (-73° C) Santa Claus abandons the North Pole, Ottawa
canal opens for skating.

7. -173° Fahrenheit (-114° C) Ethyl alcohol freezes, Canadians get
frustrated when they can't thaw the keg.

8. -460° Fahrenheit (-273° C) Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops,
Canadians start saying "cold eh?"

9. -500° Fahrenheit (-295° C) Hell freezes over. Leafs win Stanley Cup.

Long time no see

Well, we're finally moved. Took a few days, and a few setbacks (U-Haul screwing up, having an application rejected, etc.). But now we're here and starting to unpack. I've got things worked out at U of M mostly, (that's University of Manitoba, for anyone who isn't sure), and this semester I'm taking Structural Geology, Gemology, Introduction to Archaeology, Art History, and "Plagues and People", a class about how plagues and epidemics affect cultural growth. As you can see, I have lots of electives! I'm looking forward to them a lot, seeing as for the last 2-3 years or so I've done NOTHING but a single type of class every year.

I need to find a choir group or something still, but next week I'll go to the U during orientation and sign up for Swing Dance. I have a good reason for this...

Sean proposed! He got back from Egypt and asked me. Although he's given me a GORGEOUS and simple white gold ring, it might be going back because his Nana has a family heirloom ring instead.

At any rate, the swing dancing classes will ensure that we will look elegant and not like our usual bumbling selves at our eventual wedding. No date, but probably in about two years or so.

I had my lovely appointment with the GI doctor this month, and found out this morning that they decided to book a gastroscopy (camera through your mouth into the small intestine) THE DAY BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY. *sigh* Life is just soooooooo entertaining isn't it?

Getting back into some more knitting, I'd like a simple guy's sweater pattern for Sean. His Mom got some awesome wool from ladies down their street having a garage sale, and I think there might be enough (with some colourwork) of the icelandic wool to make him a sweater. Not sure though. I'm thinking maybe Durrow or something along those lines. I really like The Harlot's gansey though. Maybe something along those lines too.

Hi all, I know I've been terrible for posting! Things have been busy, trying to get moving all worked out and everything. Just wanted to drop you a line and let you know that I'm still alive...and....I've switched over to Geology! Yes I'm finishing my Geol at U of M, and that makes me MUCH happier than a BEd ever could have.

Hope summer is going well! Don't forget it will soon be gone.

So. Hot. It's 37 outside, and feels significantly hotter inside - my guess would be it's at least 40 in here. I really REALLY wish I had a thermometre! I'm lying here in what more or less amounts to a bathing suit spritzing myself with water and eucalyptus oil. Soooooooooooooooooo hooooottttttttttttt. I bought a bag of ice and some lime ices, and wet down the cats (they really looked like they needed it, and while they hated it to start they looked much happier after).

I haven't done an "N" or an "O", but I hope I will find a good way to express those letters once Sean comes home!

Public Service Announcement

You may have noticed that two nasty comments were added to my blog a little while ago. These were posted by the jealous ex and/or her older sister, of my FHBF. I decided initially to leave these alone and take the high road, but I felt I should perhaps epxlain this.

The ring, of course, is mine and always has been - I was with Sean in the store when he bought it and walked out with it on my finger! And although I admit I can sometimes be a bit "whingy" about my health, I am at least not a hypochondriac since I am always, very legitimately, ill. I just have rotten luck!

It's very sad that some people feel the need to resort to vicious anonymous posting in order to relieve thier own petty feelings.

As for Sean's wonderful post, I love you too! Of course, now you're back in Winnipeg and I'm just waitng anxiously for you to get home. I need you here to hug and cuddle...and make me dinner :) I miss you driving me to work in the mornings and brushing my hair out of my eyes. We had such a wonderful chat while you were in Heathrow, so at least it wasn't an ALL bad night.

I love you more than anything.

A very interesting article

To hot here to post much. I went to camp this weekend and had the best time. Sean will be home soon. I'm finishing up a skirt.

And here's the article. It's about how we overprotect our children - and how it's actually creating more dangers for them than we realise.

I'm sorry for the icky picture, but I needed to put up a photo of my new hair - I like to experiment with my hair, as anyone who reads the blog regularly (or knows me in person) knows. I decided to bleach it, and used a home kit. Unfortunately I rinsed that one to soon, so I had to get it repaired at the salon yesterday. However, it was a decently cheap fix, and I like the look. It's still slightly brassy, but in the next few days that will fade. If it doesn't, I'll buy a violet shampoo and that will get the rest of it out.


Olivia chalk drawing. I spent the afternoon with my Aunt and cousins, and we sidewalk-chalked, played in the sandbox, and had a nice snack. The kids had a neat idea of using chalkboard erasers on coloured-in bricks, which gave a nice soft blended mosaic, really pretty! Something I'd never done before.


Anton chalk drawing. He and Olivia and I had such a great time! He was his regular ol' excitable self, but we had lots of fun. He went to his swimming lesson before I left.

Tomorrow Jamie, Susan, and I are going to Pirates of the Carribean, since it's cheap night at the theatre.

Oh I also went thrift shopping yesterday (I've become positively addicted, although I'm very good at only buying necessities, and it's mostly small things like bits of vintage fabric). I got some GORGEOUS shot "silk", a pretty brocade with black warp and shiny turquoise weft. The resulting colour is a deep, rich royal blue, and I"m going to make an evening bag with it. I also got 6 1970's juice glasses, since ours have started breaking. We're not dropping them or abusing them, just in the middle of washing they've been falling apart in our hands. These were at least only 3.99, so if they break it's no big deal. Plus they're kind of unique! I also got another 8 Agatha Christies - yes I know I'm moving Mom, but they're small and were .69 each. Plus it's nice to read!

M is for...

Two things actually. Mom and Music.


My mom, my sister, and my dad at Waterton Lakes National Park last summer. My Mom is a great, wonderful, fanastic person. She believed in me when I wanted to quit piano, and helped me to see that I should keep taking it. She knew I was struggling at Dryden High School, and neither she nor Dad hesitated in allowing me to go a better school in Winnipeg, even though it meant leaving home at 16.

My Mom likes to knit, sew, and make stained glass. She gave me my first love of music by singing to me as a baby. Despite being absolutely terrified she became one of the organists at our church.

I love you Mom.

Now for music. I love music. It's not something I can even call a passion, so much as a necessity of life. I couldn't live without music anymore than I could live without breathing. I whistle when I walk through the halls at school and work, and I sing while doing the dishes. Anytime I spy an unoccupied piano I sit down and play. The first big purchase Sean and I make once we have a (more) permanent place to live, as promised by him, is a piano for me. My favourite classical composers are Bach, Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi, and Rachmaninoff. For more contemporary music I like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Howard Shore, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Williams, and many others. I am addicted to old musicals (Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, anyone?) and always sing along. I even hum along to instrumental pieces.

I took voice when I was younger and completed my Grade 4 RCM. I belonged to University of Alberta Mixed Chorus for 3 years in university as a Soprano 1, and when I moved here I took Performance Voice from Tellie Kahara. Although I didn't do the RCM examinations, she believes that with some minor technical work and health improvements I could do my Grade 10 (which I will, and hopefully also complete my ARCT so I could teach).

I took piano starting I believe at age 4 or 5, until I was 17. I did finish my Grade 10 RCM, however I only have up to my Grade 8 certificate due to immense difficulties in writing the written theory components. I love to play piano as much as I love to sing, and as I say I will play any unoccupied piano I find. Someday I hope to own one of these but that will require me to be rich enough to not only afford the piano, but a house big enough to...well...house it. A grand piano this large and rich-sounding needs considerable space in order not to explode people's eardrums, as well as room to hear all the acoustical richness it offers.

L is for...

Luck and Lonely. I know that Sean must be the world's greatest find for me, since I'm sure that the balancing bad-luck has been getting bronchitis a ton of times, innumerable colds and flus, and shingles. The Lonely is also because of course he's still gone. But I am still so happy for him! I can only imagine the awesome time he's having, doing the things he loves the best. Imagine being in charge of your own (small) dig team! Especially for his first real archaeology field work! It'd be like me being able to take voice lessons from the teachers of Ben Heppner and Measha Brueggergosman. Did you know that Ben Heppner, a Canadian, is considered one of the foremost tenors in the world? In fact, I've heard many critics call him the world's best tenor. And his voice is like melting chocolate - Measha's is just as good.

I digress though.

I'll add one more L word. Love. For Sean, Mom, Dad, and Becky, as well the rest of my friends and family. I love you all!

It's been awhile since I posted, but nothing much is going on. I bought some books from Chapters I'm reading (buy 3 get 1 free, so I got 3 Agatha Christie's and The Rule of Four). Mostly missing Sean, although I'm sure he's having the time of his life! I can start counting down the days though :) Just under three weeks or so.

Went back to work today, and started stitching on the pelisse/half-robe coat. It was nice for the day to go by a little faster and have people to talk to!

It looks as though Sean is having a great time in London. His blog takes a loooooong time to load even on high speed or broadband because of all the pictures. You can read about a few ghostly encounters he had in the Tower of London. He's also called a few times, although Sunday morning he forgot about the time difference and called at 7:30AM :) But that's OK. Sean, if you read this, you'll have to call me at 8:15 my time (1:15PM your time) or after 10:00PM your time.

THE SHINGLES ARE BETTER!!!

I can rejoin life! It's a day or two earlier than expected, but then again I didn't have them really badly. It wasn't until lunch today that I was sure, so I didn't go to work today but I'm going back tomorrow! I cleaned the apartment LOTS more, although it still looks disgusting *sigh* and packed up. I also went to Value Village to drop off a bunch of clothes Sean and I were donating. I also went in, to buy nice wool blankets to use as the "batting" for Anton and Olivia's quilts. I got those, as well as scoring a few excellent finds.


Yay for vintage fabric! The navy and green stuff in the lower left corner seems to be polyester, and is lots for a knee-length skirt or a top. The stuff above that is all a heavy canvas-like material that could make cute clutches. The patches Mara is examining are all vintage cotton, which will someday become part of a cute patchwork quilt.


This is a handmade apron I got for 99 cents, and I absolutely adore it! The purple is so bright and vibrant, and I suspect it's 60's or 70's fabric as well. It very much looks like it at any rate.

I'm so pretty...:D

Here's some photos I promised earlier today:


The stays from above. Sorry about the light/dark thing happening. You can see the 4 hip gores , and one bust gore. They provide extra room, as well as smoothing the abdomen and lifting the bust. I used pink thread to mark the centre, as well as baste, since I didn't want to waste the linen thread it came with.


A closeup of a hip gore, and my very fine backstitching ;)


And the stays from the front. The hip gores are very visible.


This is my grad portrait in sepia tones. It was a little add on when I picked up the pictures, and I dare say that they look better than all the colour pictures. Oh well!

The good thing about being stuck at home is that I've not forgotten a single pill. Usually I forget at least one or two, but not so far! I'm stuck at home at least until Wednesday, maybe Friday. The little spots are in an area about 1.5 times the size of a toonie, and they're just these itty bitty little red things! It's funny, because I had hardly any spots and was hardly sick with chicken pox either! But no matter how sick you are or how many spots you have, you're still contagious. So I'm still at home *sigh*. I went out very briefly yesterday, just to get the first season of "House" and gas (and a slurpee...mmmmm).

I'm feeling a little better today, so maybe I'll clean the kitchen. If I still have energy, next is packing up some more sweaters, and then maybe trying to make my shirred top. I'll have pictures of stay progress today, once I finish some dishes up. I've got 5 of 8 gores stitched in now (and thank God I was smart enough to do the larger hip gores first).

Shingles...

Ick. I have Shingles. (Why me?). I'm not sure how long I'll be off work, but I have to stay off for a little while since I can spread the virus (in the form of chicken pox) to anyone who hasn't had it. Apparently the "Sciatica" was actually just the beginning stages of the shingles. This will give me lots of time to knit, and I'm also starting another project:



It's an 1830 Wedding Stay, the one worn by the woman who's getting laced up. I'm going to sew it by hand, so that if/when I get the chance to do some real historical costuming I'll have an accurate reproduction. It's made of 100% Cotton Drill with 100% Linen lining (incidentally, the sheets at the hospital this morning were cotton drill...), and I'm using real linen thread and silk thread to sew and embroider it. I cut it all out last night.

The only thing I wish is that I had a way of going and getting movies, I don't know if it's a good idea for me to drive to Blockbuster or not. Maybe in 48 hours, after the anti-virals start working.

Allergy Eyes (I hope)

Man, I HATE allergies. Because in June-July, whenever I wear my contacts for more than 4 hours my eyes look like this:



Yeah. It's really gross, and it really hurts. If I accidentally leave them in for a decent amount of time they get REALLY hideous, in fact when it first started happening (Summer of 2002) I finally went in to the ER to get it treated - the Dr. took one look at it, and stepped back saying "EW!".

It's never good when the Dr. says "Ew!".

The hip/sciatica is still bothering me, so I'm not doing a great deal of walking around, and still no machine sewing. At 2:05 today I kissed Sean goodbye as he left for his flight to Winnipeg for two days, then London for a few days, and finally on to his fieldschool in Egypt. His website, with blog, is here, so I'm feeling a little mopey. Especially since I still can't machine sew, even though Olivia's quilt top is done, Anton's quilt pieces are cut out, and I've bought the backing fabric! I also bought fabric for two simple skirts (I'll be making the one the model is wearing, but without the welts and buttons over the kick pleats). One is red, white, pink, and black flowers; and the other is a beige linen. Fabricland is having a massive sale, so I couldn't pass it up. Once I can finally sew again there will be an absolutely flurry of FO's! I find I sew more in summer, I think because it's an activity that needs a certain amount of time set aside to do each step (at least in an apartment as small as ours, that doesn't have a craft room set aside where I can leave projects out as I work on them), and in the winter with school it's easier to just pick up my needles and knit a few rows. Plus I like knitted winter stuff more than knitted summer stuff :D

Speaking of sewing, my new research project idea for the Fort is to develop a new pattern. Every year, each student (both High School/Experience and University/Student) has write a research project about the fur trade. You can also choose to develop a new historical pattern/recipe/etc. Since I'm not wild about the current jackets (look at the 1858-1880 riding habits on this page) since they, as I say, don't seem to be historically accurate to 1815. Evidence from research I've done also says that women wore coats that "fell to fullness either from the waist, or more commonly the bust". Ergo, I am making what might be called a half-robe or spencer or pelisse. My pattern uses a bodice from a long-sleeved empire-line dress, then adds a "skirt" which falls from the bustline to the top or mid-hips. I'm drawing heavily from Katherine's finished half-robe. I can't wait to make other things from her wonderful free patterns as well.

Winnipeg

Well, I got in to Univeristy of Manitoba, for an After-Degree Bachelor of Education for Senior Years with a Major in General Science, and Minor in English. We'll be moving at the end of August, into a nice apartment that will allow us to keep the cats. It's 900 sq feet, almost twice the apartment we live in now! We're very excited. Although my mom doesn't think it's necessarily a good idea, we may buy a small bar-fridge sized freezer. This is mostly dependent on whether I have celiac disease or not (oh yes, they haven't decided about that yet). If I do, we'll have to get the freezer because all celiac flours and baked goods must be kept frozen so they don't go rock hard or spoil, and with the little apartment-sized fridge that's nowhere near practical.

Sockapaloooza, Haversack, and Grad

I finally recovered from the pinched nerve/sciatica/whatever-it-was enough to return to work and get pictures of things I'd promised.


My sockapaloooza socks from Dorothee! As I said, I was wonderfully lucky enough to get TWO pairs of socks (my own will be mailed out tomorrow, FINALLY. Please forgive me Lisa! You already know who I am because gmail isn't anonymous, to my dismay). I just love the first pair, they look a lot like Pomatomus socks. I adore the colour of both socks, and the blue-green pair is Regia Canadian Colors! (Really, if they're "Canadian" shouldn't it be colours, not colors?). Thanks so, so, so much Dorothee. I would have taken a picture of the chocolate, but it's already all gone, minus one last block (urp!).


This is the haversack I'm making at the Fort. It's completely handstitched using real wool and cotton thread on melton cloth. The leaves aren't stitched down yet, but will be stitched down with overcast stitch like the turtles. The fringe is made of czech glass seed beads in a pattern I came up with on the fly. The handle is braided leather with a navy polyester satin ribbon (sorry, no silk satin. I wish it was all natural fibre). I'm very, very proud of this haversack, and I think it's absolutely beautiful.


My cousin Chris, our Grandma, and I after grad. I adore this picture, and it's one of the best that turned out of that day. My grad portraits turned out gorgeous as well, but I have to wait for them. I thought they'd be in on June 5 for some reason, but oh well. I think I might call them just to get the date again.


My family, quite a good picture I think. Dad, Becky, me, and Mom. I do really like this one!


Sean and I. Although he insists this is a good picture, I don't think it's great. My eyes are partly closed, and I'm leaning forward since we were facing up a steep slope and I had heels on. Heels + hills + soft ground = funny angles in pictures. I made the dress myself, and I think it turned out pretty well. It was slightly tight, but a size up would have been too big. If the fabric hadn't been so delicate I would have basted it together first, then I could have used slightly less seam allowance. oh well. It was still pretty!

K is for...

Karlie! I've decided to be narcissistic for this letter in the ABC-along. Since I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, we're going to have a great big photo essay.


I was born in Northern Ontario in 1983. This picture is me at 1 year old. I was very, very blonde, for a very long time. I'm still blonde of course, but my hair is no longer rather clear coloured.


I always did have a penchant for sitting on top of things. There's pictures of me on dressers, desks, shelves, even roofs. It explains why I like rock climbing so much! This is in 1986.


I looooooooved this bike. I would have been 4 in this picture. I remember riding it home from the Canadian Tire, and being absolutely thrilled! It took me a long time to learn how to ride it without training wheels. I think I was 6 or 7, and I took the bike out to the walkways in the backyard and fell over all afternoon finally learning. I'm trying to remember, but I think I may have taken the wheels off myself. Might have been Dad though.


In 1990 my little sister was born, and this picture is part of a series of family portraits we took after she was born. The dress is from when I was a flower girl at the wedding of the daughter of friends of my parents. I'm not sure if it's visible in the above pictures, but I had a grey front tooth. When I was two, I fell while on a set of cast-iron steps, and drove the baby tooth up into my gums. It eventually game back down, but it was dead and therefore looked grey (incindetally, it also damaged the forming adult tooth, and in some of the pictures below you can see its mottled colour). For these portraits my Dad, a dentist, put a white ceramic coating over the grey tooth so that it would look nicer. They had an awful time stopping me from running my tongue over the tooth under my lips.


A very cute Christmas picture of my sister, Becky, and I. This is in 1991. I think this is the year we gave Becky an orange and blue Little Tykes slide to go in the basement. Dad and I put it together out in his woodshop. Becky was thrilled, and it was a wonderful toy that was used for many, many years.


This was my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary. Our dresses, as you can see, match, and were rather cute. They both had very stiff crinolines underneath, and fell straight down from shoulders and stood out in a (cute) circle all wround our feet. While my grandparents were opening gifts, my sister, who was sitting on the opposite side of the couch as me, decided she wanted to see the presents and stood up on the couch, and walked over everyone's lap to the other side. Lucky she was only 2!


My cousins, who used to come down for a couple weeks every summer from Yellowknife, surprised us and came during spring break as well. We're down at my cabin in this picture. Notice the gorgeous neon coat, which had matching slush pants.


*sigh* my Grade 7 picture. Grade 7 and 8 were the worst years of my life. Although I'd been constantly bullied as school until this point, over-sexed adolescents decided that adding new arsenal like how I ugly I was and calling me a man would be entertaining. Oh well, two of my worst torturers are not doing well in University, so meh.


This was my Grade 8 grad dress, although here we're getting ready for a piano recital. I was SO ANGRY that my Mom had let my sister get (near) matching dress to mine. Now it wouldn't bother me at all, but when you're 12/13, these things matter. My Mom now acknowledges that this was maybe not the best idea.


Another family portrait time, this time with my WHOLE family on my Mom's side. My cousins came down for only the second time for Christmas, and we had a good time. We all learned a dance to a Backstreet Boys song that my cousins had done for a skit night and performed it for everyone, with much hilarity.


Our trip to the East Coast! I look frighteningly skinny in this picture because I'd just finished recovering from whooping cough, and was 5'3", 85 lbs. Scary stuff. Green Gables was pretty, although busy and very commercial. The best part was actually Cape Breton Island, which was at least as beautiful as Hawai'i.


Ah, my 18th birthday party. I was about to go off to University of Alberta, I'd graduated on the Governer's Honour Roll from SJR, the high school where I found my niche as a smart, enthusiastic, and musically-inclined person. I was very, very happy! I discovered that I live best in a bigger city with more access to artistic opportunities. I know they say you can make yourself happy anywhere, but it's much easier if you can find a place you want to be.


This was the dress I wore to Jenny's grad. She didn't have a boyfriend, and we were best friends, so she decided to ask me if I wanted to go. We had a TOTAL blast, although the photographer was pretty amusing. He assumed that she'd brought me as a date, and kept trying to get us to stand closer together in the picture. We were like "Oh no, no no! Just friends!" but I don't think he believed it, lol.


More family portraits! I was really, really sick for this portrait (part of the undiagnosed stomach problem), and covered in blush. I think they turned out well though! I'm not wild about the haircut, since it makes my face look very round, but overall it's good.


Ah Hawai'i! I got to go thanks to my parents who gave me half the money to make the trip. It was an unofficial geological field school, so we spent 8 of 9 days hiking over the lava fields. It was wonderful, although I think more than one afternoon spent on the beach would have been greatly beneficial.


My cousin's wedding last summer. Here I am with my Aunt Brenda, who's daughter Heather was getting married. I love that dress, and I've worn it many, many times. both the shape and the colour are really nice. My Mom made it!

So that's my photo essay of me. I'm not sure what will be L yet, but I'll figure it out.