so... i used to blog

blogging may not have been my forte these last months, but at least i've still been knitting... right?

and i've been knitting socks. surprised?








i started a shawl or two:



finished a shawl:


since it is 1:21 in the morning, i'll just leave it at that... and maybe warn that I'm Back!

i have a problem...

i'm having a hard time NOT wearing make-up today.

there's no point. it's hot, it'll just melt off my face. and i'm not planning on going anywhere... and nobody is supposed to come by here.

and yet i just keep thinking that i'm "naked". i'm so used to wearing make-up. maybe i'll just put on a little mascara to appease my make-up psychosis because i'm starting to feel anxious about the fact that i'm not wearing any.

dudes... imagine what i'm like when i'm UNmedicated!!

Juliet was kind enough to pose with the Harmony shawl-in-progress for me a little while ago (click to make bigger).


we took the photo at the front door, because, sadly, it's the least messy place in the house at the moment...

... ugh. yeah. moving. blech. i'm already missing the books that were on that shelf... and they only left the house yesterday.

thanks for the suggestions about the shawl edging :) i would like to continue knitting in the direction i am, that way i don't have to attach anything and it's done when it's done, kwim?

i was thinking a ruffly sort of edge myself, but was hesitant because it might be too much with the colours/pattern. i think a picot edging is what i'll go with :D thank you!

in other news... Pop Rocks is gone. she's off at her new home... near Marsville. Sharon came to pick her up today and bring her home. the kids were happy Pop Rocks was going to live with Sharon, they gave her some "tips", packed up the kitten's favourite toy and said goodbye. it was all good until Sharon opened the front door with Pop Rocks in the carrier... and Pop Rocks meowed...

and Juliet started crying.

Jake held it in until Sharon was out of sight. then he cried too.

but they know Sharon and her family will love Pop Rocks and she'll be happy there.

.phew. i'm going to miss the wee little bugger, but i'm glad it's done before we fell more in love with her.

i just haven't felt up to blogging.

i've been having a lot of migraines the last couple of weeks. they've almost settled into a routine. i wake up every morning feeling fine, great, let's do this day. by 3pm i start feeling "off". by 5pm i have a headache. by 7pm i'm in bed early with a full blown migraine.

it hasn't happened every day, but every second/third day is more than enough.

i've been taking stock of what i've been eating, drinking, doing to try to figure out what's causing the freakin' migraines.

i think it's either the weather changing so much, or the stress of moving. or both. either way, i wish it would stop, i've had enough now.

i did get the Addi Lace needles. they are DIVINE. love them so much i ordered another two pair. the Harmony Feather and Fan shawl is coming along a little faster now that i'm not messing around with dull needle points ;)

maybe tomorrow...

maybe then my Addi Lace needles will arrive. yeeesh. wonder what's takin' 'em so long! i have a shawl that's getting out of hand on my current Addi Turbos that needs sharper points and a much longer cord already!

quick harmony shawl update...

squished photos of the crumpled up shawl. but i'm posting them anyway to show that i am still working on it ;) i'm still waiting for my Addi Lace needles to arrive so i can transfer to shawl onto them for (hopefully) faster knitting and better photos :)

the problem with shawl knitting...

is that it's really unbloggable. boring. photos all look the same...



even when your adorable, but extremely pesty, 8 year old son gets in on the action, the photos still look the same...


Jennie tagged me for a chain game... List/talk about 7 facts about yourself. Anything you find interesting that may come to mind. i'm supposed to tag seven more people, but the only person i can think of tagging is Tracy (don't worry Tracy, if you're not up to it, i really won't mind :).

so here ya go, 7 random Zeenesses:

- i don't usually eat breakfast. my tummy just can't handle food after sleeping.

- i am obsessed with Lost. i admit i've even spent time trolling around fan sites to read other people's theories, ideas, explanations... i hate that there are more questions than answers, but it's like a train-wreck... i just. can't. look. away. must. watch. more...

- ssshh... i secretly and quietly check out a few celebrity gossip sites every afternoon. gah, i know!! it's awful! i hate that the paparazzi stalk these people... and yet i'm part of the problem because i keep looking.

- i worry that my kids are going to be really screwed up when they're older because of their upbringing. with the un/homeschooling thing... are they learning enough? is it right of anyone to force education on anyone else? how do i find a balance between them leading in their own education and me leading so that i know they know things? there's no one else to blame but me if things go wrong and i worry about that... a lot.

- i forgot to order Juliet's birthday cake yesterday while we were out grocery shopping. so we have to go back out to Zehrs today to do that.

- i really, really, really want another child.

- i watch a lot of history shows on the laptop while knitting... about WWII, the Nazis, etc. about Great Britain, the monarchy, its history. a few about Canada (there aren't as many well made ones out there about my own country as there are about Britain... hrmmm). i watch many of the good ones over and over. i think it drives John a little batty... so i try to watch them over only while he's at work.

- one more, cuz i can. i really wish i were more fluent in Dutch and German. i have a computer program to help teach both these languages (and french) that would help, but i have to find it. gah. we got it for the kids, homeschooling ya know... we just haven't used it yet nearly as much as we should have. occasionally John will say something to me in German and i'll answer back in Dutch and then we'll both kind of laugh because we sound like an old old married couple reverting back to our respective ancestral languages.

mmmkay. now i must spend 25 minutes on the exercise bike (i'm so impatient to see the damn results), take a shower and get over to Zehrs again.

slowly, but surely...

the Harmony shawl is coming along... i do a row or two every day. it's a little harder to concentrate while high on Percocet, but if i go slow i can manage without too many dropped stitches:



Juliet's been busy! the purple hearts are our new Honeyed Apricot scent. it is DELISH!! it's a candy sweet (not sickeningly sweet) mix of refreshing apricot, sweet sugar, a dab of sweet grapes and a touch of honey. love it!


the orange triangles are Vanilla Bean:

Lovely shawl... awful Jelly Beans...

the Jojoland Harmony Feather and Fan shawl is coming along nicely. slowly, but nicely. the colours are really pretty! i took a couple of photos without the flash, you can really see the pattern better in those. and one with the flash, which shows off the colour changes in a different light.




and the awful Jelly Beans?

are you a fan of Harry Potter?

than you've heard of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean?

yes... then you might know that Jelly Belly made 'em.

in...

every.

flavour.

here's the list from the back of the box: Bacon, Black Pepper, Blueberry, Booger, Buttered Popcorn, Cherry, Cinnamon, Dirt, Earthworm, Earwax, Grape Jelly, Grass, Green Apple, Lemon Drop, Rotten Egg, Sardine, Soap, Toasted Marshmallow, Tutti-Frutti and Vomit.

We spent our drive to and from Ikea today "testing" the beans. We each got a couple of gross ones to try. Somehow John only managed to get one gross flavour... vomit. I tried Black Pepper (not terrible), Booger (blech), Grass (not pleasant), Soap (yuck) and Rotten Egg (so. friggin. disgusting). Juliet nearly puked trying Sardine. Jake did NOT like Earthworm. Juliet claimed that Dirt wasn't nice, but not too bad either. i can't remember who tried Earwax.

hrmm... look at that list. those buggers made me try quite a few of the gross ones, didn't they?!

we laughed *so* hard eating the gross beans though, it was so worth the yucky tastes for the laughs.

Harmony Shawl progress

so i decided to just use the freebie Feather and Fan shawl pattern with the Harmony to see how it knits up.

this is worked on size US2 addi circulars. it's very very very light... like, blow away in a slight breeze light. summer shawl light. it's slow knitting so far because everything is so fine. but i'm really liking the way the feather and fan pattern is turning out in the Harmony better than it's turning out in the dark green mystery lace yarn from my dad.

(you can click on any of the photos to make them bigger)