Gobble Gobble!

So why, one might ask, would someone go to all the trouble of making all of this...

...for just the two of us? (Dudes, I made the cranberry sauce. I even used real pumpkin for the pie!)

(Though in the interest of full disclosure, I bought frozen pie shells. Even I have my limits. And pie pastry hates me.)

Anyway. Back to the issue at hand. Why would one go through all that effort - not to mention dirty dishes - for 2 people?

This is why:

Toast with chicken and gravy. The ultimate in left-over comfort food. And it's raining today, and I made this for my lunch while cooking up a vat of chicken stock. A holiday Monday just doesn't get much better than that! (Well, in the fall, anyway. I can think of better things to be doing in the summer, involving gin, tonic, and a lake, to start...but for the fall, this will do quite nicely!)

I've also got a couple more wee knitting projects finished up, but no pics for you, sorry to say. My baby sis reminded me that family members young and not-so-young alike visit here on a regular basis, and let's be honest - at this point, the knitting's for Christmas. No point in posting spoilers!

Back to work-a-day life tomorrow. And the election, of course. Is it just me, or does this one seem kind of blase? I could wax all philosophical about it - and just may, tomorrow, if the mood strikes. All the options being as gimpy as they are, though, I don't know that it wouldn't just be a bitch-fest. Which isn't where I want to spend my energy today!

Happy Turkey Day!

(Though really, that would be just as appropriate tomorrow...sigh!)

Long weekend bliss

I remember, a long time ago, having a conversation with a couple people I'd graduated from high school with. We were talking about how weird it was to be all growed up, and to have opinions on things like thread count in sheets, and good kitchen knives, and how it was possible (gasp!) to actually be too tired for sex.

I think I've got another one to add to the list: waking up at 7:30 am on a Saturday now constitutes "sleeping in." Oy! But - it does make for a productive morning, and a good thing, too. We got out the door as early as we could to get the grocery shopping done, in a bid to avoid the Thanksgiving/long weekend rush. Seems like we weren't the only people with that idea; it was crazier than usual at our cramped little neighbourhood grocery. But we escaped relatively unscathed (Oddly, Mr.Q was the one traumatized by the crowds. Usually I'm the one who ends up curled up under the produce bins, breathing into a paper bag...) And now we don't really have to leave the house for the rest of the weekend! Except for a few essentials, like, oh, Baileys and some DVDs. But Mr.Q's out in the 'hood as I type, procuring those last supplies, including a library book that I've been waiting months to come in.

So I think we're going to hole up for the next 2 1/2 days, watch the first season of Lost, knit, read, listen to records, cuddle with the cats, and generally hang out in our PJs. We'll do a mini-Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow - I picked up a free-range chicken at the butcher shop this morning, and may even bake a pumpkin pie to go with it. But with only two of us here, I'm really doing it more for the leftovers & chicken soup. Mmmmm!

In the meantime, the second eggplant is done, and was just about as much fun as the first:

I've also got the first stocking-stuffer done - a hat for my nephew (I owe him one, as apparently the one I made him a couple of winters ago was rather scritchy. That was before I discovered Malabrigo, which I used for this one...mmmmmmmMalabrigo!)


Finally...Singe has been getting in some good practice for the weekend:


(Is it just me, or does he look like he's running on his side?)

And the other beasties have been reminding us who's boss:


Not quite sure how the Mr. got himself out from under that, actually. I suspect the siren call of his preferred beer helped.

Happy Thanksgiving!

(Edited to add...Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that I ran into Crochet Guy on the bus the other day. He was sitting next to this woman knitting 2 socks on circular needles. I thought she was the woman I'd met at the yarn sale, who also knits on my bus, so I sat down next to them and we started talking. Rather uncharacteristically bold of me, actually. After a few minutes, though, I realized that she was not who I'd thought - oops! - but she was quite friendly nonetheless. And when I told her my mistake, she knew who I was talking about - and told me about yet another regular knitter on the same bus route, who does hats. Something in angora this week. Seems the #4 is quite the crafty bus! It does make up for some of the "challenges" (to put it mildly) of taking public transit on a regular basis. We should just start holding meetings, maybe giving lessons. Resistance is futile!)

Hats off

Eggplant hat #2 is stalled at the stem...been busy I have, no time to finish it. In the meantime, though, I got a good chunk of a Malabrigo hat started on Tuesday night, while we waited to get into the Commodore. Fortunately it wasn't raining, just quite chilly.

The show started a lot later than we'd expected, so we were there a lot earlier than we needed to be. Which turned out OK, as we were near the front of the line, and were able to get good seats looking down over the dance floor. We did have to sit through a very unfortunate opening act...whose art-rock wanking off would have been passable on a different bill, but they were a very poor fit for a solo acoustic headliner.

But it was worth sitting through them, too, in the end. Sam Beam (Iron & Wine) didn't come onstage until about 10:00...past my bedtime already! But then this shaggy-haired, bushy-bearded, rumpled guy ambled onto the stage and picked up his guitar. And had all 900+ of us eating out of his hand within 5 minutes.

It was pretty surreal, to be sitting in the balcony looking down at a dance floor packed with hundreds of eager music-lovers...all standing relatively still, enchanted for the entire set. I went from wanting to go home to bed before he even started singing, to Mr.Q having to drag me out before the encore so we had a shot at getting a taxi home. On a school night, even!

And here it is, Friday again already...and a long weekend to boot! Not sure if we'll go to the fuss and bother of making a proper Thanksgiving dinner...but the weather's supposed to be nice, neither of us have any obligations or prior commitments, and the house is reasonably tidy. So we're set for a relaxing weekend, one way or another!

And there are two major elections to consider this weekend. One Very Important Event, which could have a significant impact on our nation's future; and something about a federal something-or-other on Tuesday. Now, be good little Canucks & get out and vote!

On a roll....

Second eggplant hat is well on its way, and I've had a request for a third (for a baby, Sarah). They are too much fun to knit!

But...no knitting tonight. Or at least, nothing in dark colours. Mr.Q got me an early birthday present: tickets to see Iron & Wine at the Commodore Ballrooom tonight. Now, the Commodore may be a fantastic venue, but it hasn't been one of my favourites. I prefer small and cozy pubs, or sit-down theatres, rather than a 1000-person mob on a sproingy dance floor. Given that the last show I saw there was about 10 years ago, though (Spirit of the West, which virtually requires drunken rowdiness of the best sing-along kind)...I'm willing to give it another chance.

Plus, I 'spect the crowd tonight will be a much mellower sort. And it's an early show. (Which I am sure is one of the reasons I love folk music...sensible bedtimes!)

(Which is not to say that folk musicians can't ring in the dawn with the best of them...but if one does choose to go to bed at a reasonable hour, the kitchen-table or campfire jams are less likely to keep one awake than, say, a speedmetal party.)

(And a night out whose dress code practically requires jeans and hand-knit socks is definitely something to look forward to, on any occasion!)

I am the eggplant, koo koo katchoo

Well, I think the Malabrigo sock yarn is doing the trick. Knitting is my friend again. I can't wait to wear these socks. And I don't think I've ever had a pair knit up so quickly for me, either. Yum! There's also been some baby knitting on the back burner that I finally got going on today. Two first babies - one, born about 6 weeks ago, the daughter of an old friend from university & his wife. And one of Mr.Q's bandmates just had a boy (or, well, his wife did) a few days ago. So today before our bi-weekly Ravelry get-together, I went to the yarn store & picked out the yarn for both. Mission Falls superwash merino...lovely to knit up.

And super-duper speedy. (Excuse the crappy photo, I think our camera is on crack.) Egg(plant) Head Hat #1 (for the newborn):


And while I'm at it, a Malabrigo teaser:


Did I mention that I luuurrrve this yarn?

(Ummm...what does it mean when, not having been into the yarn store for a mere two weeks, a staff member mentions that "it's been such a long time" since she's seen me?)

(How's about we just keep that between us, m'kay, and not mention it to Mr.Q. Though he's not likely to notice - he finally got himself a turntable that works properly, and we have been listening to Todd Rundgren in all his incarnations, all weekend.)

(There was also a little falling-down at the organic food store, which had Green & Black's on sale...oops!)

Teeny-Tiny Self-Pity Party

I had to go back to the dentist this morning for two more fillings (I do brush my teeth regularly, really I do!) The shot for the bottom one didn't quite take, so I got another. Yay me. Plus, there was the one on the top. By the time I got home, the right side of my face was numb from below my chin, all the way up past my eyebrow. Even my ear. It was very, very weird. But I only bit my tongue once, and not badly. I think the Bailey's in the coffee I had when I got home really helped.

Then, when the freezing wore off, I realized that the bottom filling was too high, so I had to go back this afternoon to get it ground down. Good times. Though it was all much less awful than I'd anticipated. Plus, the dentist has a TV in the ceiling, with earphones, and I eagerly embraced the distraction.

However - word to the wise - the Comedy Network is not the best viewing choice while in the dentist's chair. Especially not Rick Mercer doing stand-up!

(Side note: if anybody out there can link me to a clip of Greg Kinnear's interview on Conan O'Brien this week, I'd love you forever! The NBC site "isn't available in my area." Grrr!)

Weird & Wonderful

The weird: I actually signed up for a hockey pool at work. Which is kind of hilarious, actually, since I watch a hockey game about....oh....twice every four years. When the Canadian teams (Women's, then Men's, by preference) are about to kick some gold medal butt at the Winter Olympics. But otherwise? Seriously, the way I do not care about hockey could one day lead to my Canadian citizenship being revoked.

So it's pretty funny that I got into this hockey pool. And just plain freaky that I actually stayed after work for an hour for the draft. What the hell do I know about hockey? Not a thing! But hey, I had first draft pick...wasn't going to let that pass me by! I'm getting a huge kick already, out of my team facing off against the Ice Warriors and the Crimson Canadians....ladies and gents, meet the Yarn Pirates. In pink helmets.

The wonderful (or at least, the pretty cool): I had a voicemail waiting on my cell when I finished class today. A rather sexy phone voice saying that he had got the wrong number, but couldn't hang up without telling me how cheerful my voice sounded, and he hoped I'd have a nice day too. Not in a creepy, sleazy kind of way, either - just cool, random friendliness.

I totally saved the message.

Also, I picked up the new Yarn Harlot book after work. And some fresh spaghetti and tomato-basil-parmesan sauce from Granville Island for dinner, since I was down there anyway. (A note to local knitters: Blackberry Books on Granville Island will happily special-order her book for you, if it's out of stock...it might take a bit longer than walking into Chapters, but you get way better service, and the satisfaction of supporting a local, independent bookstore. Plus it's right around the corner, literally, from the new Maiwa craft store with all the yarn. Ahem.)

So. I think it will be a night for pajamas and curling up with a new book. Even though it's technically Friday, it's kind of got that furry Sunday kind of feeling to it.