The Plague


I think this must be the time of year, because we are all sick. And I mean sick, not with little colds, no puffers and antibiotics are involved. For a little while I wondered if we had H1N1. I don't think so though. I certainly don't have the right symptoms. Well, anyway, it's not fun, especially with a very energetic five-year-old who is feeling fairly well and wants to play elaborate car games.

Oh, and by the way, if I see much more of Max and Ruby, I will go postal. Penboy LOVES Max and Ruby. Mr. P and I both loathe it. I have never heard on cartoon TV a more condescending and patronizing voice than Ruby's. I think I'd rather listen to Elmo's annoying laugh.




They look cute, don't they? Do not be fooled!

In crocheting news - excitement! I have finally begun a granny square afghan. I made two squares so far and the afghan calls for 90. So, that makes one square a night for three months and I should be done! Only have 88 to go now. If Mr. P watches one of his fave programs on TV (involving dinosaurs, or real-life cop chases, or dinosaurs chasing cops), I should be able to churn out two or three in one night!

I am sadly behind in making jewellery. I originally planned to give it as Christmas gifts, but I see that won't happen now. I got some nice art nouveau brass pendants on etsy and began making the necklaces to hold them, but sadly my enthusiasm waned. Luckily, I have two birthdays right after Christmas, so that's where they'll go.

We are off to Zellers today to get skates and a helmet for my child. He shows very little predilection for winter sports and I would like to get him excited at least about skating. I mean, we are Canadians, after all. I plan to take him to city hall, where there is a large skating rink with lights, music, and a big Christmas tree. Will keep you appraised of the results. Fingers crossed anyway.

All I Want for Christmas

Happy December! It's Ho Ho Ho time soon. In keeping with the spirit of "getting," here is my wish list. (See Sally on Peanuts - "Christmas is the the joy of getting.") The two main ones are:

1. Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Mankind.

2. Health and Happiness.

And smaller things,

3. Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child.

4. "The Age of Innocence" DVD.

5. "Julie and Julia" DVD.

6. Bella's moonstone ring. Yes, I am smitten by the lore too, though I have not read the books.

7. Lots of yummy things to eat and good times and friends and laughing and joy.

Come to think of it, I'll be happy with #7.

Back!

I won't even bother explaining my lack of updates because otherwise this blog would be all about that.

It's fall again in TO. Falling leaves, back to school, colds. Yep, I got all of the above. I am taking a course in digital publishing, which I LOVE. I think I will totally take more courses like that. Unfortunately, this means one night a week I have class, to obvious disgust of penboy. He has taken to sleeping with me ALL THE TIME. Sigh.

In other news, have been sewing like mad - curtains, bags, skirts. All to avoid making a shirt of Mr.P. But soon, I think I will have to cave and begin the shirt.

Asked for Mastering the Art of French Cooking for Christmas and will attempt yummy Julia dishes. I really love French food!

And this, I shamelessly pilfered from the net, but I love it so!

This is the source.

What I've been doing

You may be wondering what I've been up to all this time. I've been busy.

I painted our bedroom (dusty pink, in case you can't tell from the picture).

I also made curtains for penboy's room.

And for the living room. All fabric from IKEA.

Oh, and inspired by Julie and Julia by Julie Powell, I've been learning how to make Julia Child's recipes.

Speaking of which, I have to go make dinner.

Bon Appetit!

They really are cold!

People in Toronto, that is. Or rather, nuts. And I'm not even talking about the crazies on Yonge street.

The other day I was at Winners, trying to buy a present for a friend. I thought I would buy earrings. I went up to the jewellery counter and gave the little earring tower a tentative turn. Just then a lady (and I use that term loosely) bent her head to look at something in the case. As a result, her head was very close to the earring thingie. I apologized. Even though it was not my fault. She straightened up, said nothing but stared at me.

"Yes?", I said.

"Sorry?!" she spat, "is that all you can say?"

"What?"

"After you almost hit me, on purpose, you f***ing retard!!!"

"Why would I do it on purpose?" I was stunned to tell the truth.

At this point she launched into a litany of expletives, all addressed to me.

"If you think everyone is out to get you, that's not my problem." I said rather lamely and walked away.

More four letter words and name calling.

And she didn't even look crazy, she was wearing a business suit! Not that wearing one means you are sane, clearly. There was a woman standing next to her at the jewellery counter and she looked kind of shell shocked too. I hope that was not her friend.

Not dead yet.

Some changes in the pen household though. Penboy no longer slumbers with us, he has his own room! One day I came home from work to find all the toys gone from the living room. They were all in his room (mind you, that is no longer true because he drags a couple of toy boxes out and certain people are too tired/lazy to drag them back). I have to confess I was not ready! What, my baby is not sleeping where I can see him anymore? As you can imagine, the first night was rough, especially for us. Penboy slept like a baby, but pengirl and Mr.P lay there for half the night listening for sounds of distress.

So, now the computer (confuser as my friend Lynn calls it) is in the living room, nestled cosily near the kitchen. Mr. P has to endure endless phone conversations on the part of yours truly who gabs every night with mom and various friends. By the time little man is nestled safely in bed and pretending that he's asleep, and I finish my phone time, it's usually nine o'clock by which time all I want to do is collapse in front of mindless TV. No writing, certainly no exercising...

Also apparently pengirl is low in iron. I just seem to run out of steam at a certain point in the day.

So, those are my excuses and updates.

We went to see FIL last week. It was my week off. Yippee! Went swimming in frigid waters twice (Stoney Brook State Park), went to Penn's Caves and the Strong National Museum of Play.

A good time was had by all. And I had my fill of Panda Paws ice cream! My FIL even bought me a carton of cherry Panda Paws! Thank God we have Moose Tracks here (kind of a Canadian version of Panda Paws) or else I would be VERY sad.

Here is a pic from inside Penn's Cave.

Birthday Blues

So, yes, it is that time of year - I got to be one year older in one day.

(Image Source)

As birthdays go it was a good one. Mr. P made me a roast chicken and we had a bottle of wine and some lemon cake (my fave) that my mom made. I got picked up at the subway station too! I had asked for an anthology of Sherlock Holmes and that is what I got as a b-day pressie.

And the night before last... We went to our first evah school concert! Our child (it turned out) sang with his class. We didn't really know about this until the morning of the concert. I got a note in his backpack the night before saying something like "have the kids at the school by this time for the concert." I had no idea he was taking part! We double checked with the teacher and sure enough, he was supposed to sing. And he did! It was THE CUTEST! The kids sang three songs. I do have to say though that the parents totally pounced. The minute the kidnergateners came out on stage, the parents almost rushed the stage with cameras.

So, I figure (as he is not wont to let us know what goes on in his school life now) that in the future we'll have this type of conversations with Penboy:

Penboy: Mom, you need to fly to Stockholm tomorrow.

Me: Why?

Pb: Oh, you know, I'm accepting a Nobel Prize.

Me: Oh, OK.

Love Her!

I love this woman's voice!

Still on a Chocolate High

Easter has come and gone and we were just inundated with chocolate. I have to say that my child should be an example to me because he can eat just a couple of pieces and stop, whereas I...

I am really starting to despair of spring. We had a couple of days of high temps and now are back to cold. Growl!

On a totally unrelated note, I have come to love napping. I would even say that napping is a sort of new passion. Every weekend afternoon I indulge. I could be doing lots of other things, but napping is oh, so sweet. Perhaps it's a sign that I'm getting old because all the other things I should be doing are really not that important anymore and more trouble than they're worth. On the other hand, what could be sweeter than curling up under a warm fuzzy blanket, listening to birds chirping outside, and the sounds of kids playing... Oh, I feel a yawn coming on!

Must share this little news tidbit. Apparently, Hugo Chavez is impressed with Barack Obama. He calls him not as dumb as Bush. Finally, they sent us a smart one, says Hugo, and someone who can actually pronounce "nuclear" properly!

Outdone, Outmanouvered, Outsmarted!

Yes, ladies and gents, my child is a master manipulator and I bow to his superior strategizing abilities. Here is what happened.

On Thursday after dinner, he innocently said "Wanna go for a little walk?"

I agreed as I had to get something from the nearby grocery store. The store is in a little plaza that also has a couple of dollar/toy stores.

Penboy: Wanna look for Gordon at the plaza? (He is obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine)

me: You know there are no Thomas toys at the plaza.

Penboy: Wanna look anyway?

me: Yeah, OK, we can look.

I foolishly thought that since there are no Thomas toys, we'd only look and leave. Oh, how wrong I was!

We went to the first dollar store and he had a cursory look at the toys. He expressed interest in a fire truck, but I was able to dissuade him easily. Then we went to the second store. And there, as large as life, was a yellow truck.

"Oh, wanna buy it?" Penboy said with innocent child hope in his eyes. And that was when it hit me. Whoa, he planned this all along. He was not looking for no Thomas toys! He knew perfectly well there are no Thomas toys at the plaza. He was counting on me getting him a toy because I'd feel bad that there was no Thomas. Oh, master manipulator!

I refused to buy the truck, but offered a green car instead (half the price). He refused the car.

"OK, then ," I said cheerfully "let's just go." That was when he stopped in the middle of the aisle and said tearfully "But I have to have SOMETHING!"

"Well," I said slowly "I do need a new lightbulb for my lamp. We can get that."

That was clearly not going to cut it. After long negotiations we left the store with some glass stars of the kind you put on the bottoms of vases. He's good, I tell ya. I am no match for him. I see a bright future in union mediation.

Happy Valentines!

Oh, it was a good one! Let me tell you, the highlights involved lobster tail, Brie, wine, roses, and that his and hers K-Y kit. Oh, yes, a good time was had by all.

Totally unrelated, but I had to share, my husband and I had this conversation while watching TV. A commercial came on for the movie "Confessions of a Shopaholic" with Isla Fisher.

pengirl: You know, I really liked the book. I don't even want to see this movie.

Mr. P: I hate Reese Witherspoon, I hate her face and her smile!

pengirl: But this is not Reese Witherspoon!

Mr. P: I know, but I hate Reese, there's something about her face. I just hate it!

Yep, we are turning into those two old geezers that sit in front of the TV and talk off-topic.

Yes, I'm still around

I am sick. I have some horrible, nasty plague that's in my lungs and sinuses. I am taking a couple of sick days and staying home. Saturday I slept for most of the day. Mr. P is being an angel, taking care of Penboy and cooking so I could basically disappear from the map for hours at a time.

Saw "Mamma Mia" the movie. At first I HATED it! I love Meryl Streep, but seeing her giggling and falling on beds and couches with feet in the air for 15 minutes is not exactly seeing her at her best. So I turned it off and promptly got scolded by Mr. P who said that HE wanted to watch it. So, I sulked on the couch while I turned it back on. And good thing Mr. P knows what I will like before I do 'cause I really ended up enjoying it. The story is crap of course, but the singing was good, (well except for poor Pierce Brosnan) and ABBA songs to the backdrop of the Greek Isles - can't go wrong. I especially liked "The Winner takes it All" which Meryl totally nailed. Who knew she could sing so well! Is there anything the woman can't do?

Happy New Year!

Here it is - the first day of 2009. So far, it's been a pretty good year. I got to sleep in this morning. We went to my parents' for a nice visit. Had a little trouble persuading the munchkin that we were not going to pack grandma's Christmas tree and bring it home with us, but somehow, a few tears later, we managed.



Yes, I have a feeling it might be an ABBA song year.

Resolutions? More like wishes - have more fun, more time with the boy, do the wild thing with the Mr. more, have more money and more time. Easy, no?

Happy 2009!