March

So, almost three months off the Celexa. Feeling much more myself. I wonder how long I'll be saying that.

Sad news. My grandmother passed away March 17. She was 89. It was not unexpected, but still it's a shock. My poor aunt is bearing the worst of it. She took care of grandma and they lived together for the past 20 years or so.

A couple of grandma stories. Once she was babysitting me and we were waiting for my mom to come home. She was standing at the window looking out. She said to me that my mom should wash the windows and just kept looking out. When nobody was looking she wrote my mom's name on the window pane with her finger. Then of course, my mom thought it was me, but grandma came clean. :)

Another time she gave my mom a packet of her favourite cigarettes (it was the 70's, OK?). She wrapped it in like 20 pieces of paper. Each layer was sealed. My mom unwrapped the first, then the second, then the third, all the while smiling. When she got to the fifth and sixth layers, she was getting a bit frustrated. Then she asked us if there was anything actually in there. We said yes, so she had to unwrap the whole thing. She laughed though. My grandma was a joker. I miss her.

In more sad news, we are still monitoring how my father-in-law is doing. His cancer spread to his brain.

In happier news, penboy went to his first confession today. He was super nervous, but was very happy and relieved when it was over (all one minute of it). I went too and was a bit stumped as to what to say. I mean, if you lead a fairly normal life, what can you possibly have to confess. I lie a bit, of course, who doesn't, but other than that? I work and I come home and try to have some fun on the weekends with penboy and Mr. P and that is pretty much my life. Who has the time to sin?

So now penboy is ready for his first communion, which will take place at the end of April. Wow, my boy is getting all grown up!

February

So, I have to tell you that I went off my "happy pills." It's been over a month now. I am pretty surprised at the changes that are taking place. Just a bit of anxiety so far, but perhaps that was just brought on by the fear that the "big one" would hit. Stupid thing, anxiety, things that should help, can actually bring it on, like exercise. The increased heart rate and breathing can mimic and bring on an attack. Not fun. But, as I said, so far, so good. Aside from feeling a lot more emotional (on serotonin enhancers you kind of feel even all the time), I feel more energetic, less lethargic, but also, a lot physically colder. Weird. When I was on Celexa, I was always hot. Now I am freezing. Bizarre. I'm hoping all this will normalize after some time.

So, for me, February has been a month of navel gazing a bit. Mind you, it's the worst possible time for it because I am crazy busy at work and my co-worker is off on mat leave (her third).

My grandma is not doing well. My mom is off to Poland tomorrow. Hard to say, but it seems like it's the beginning of the end. She's had a stroke and they found a mass in her lungs that is cancerous. She's never been a smoker, so likely this is actually a secondary tumour. I was going through my linen closet yesterday and I found a lacy table runner she crocheted for me a long time ago and almost burst into tears. And of course, the sucky thing for me is that I can't even see her one more time. Can't tell her anything. Can't hold her hand.

The one nice thing about February has been Valentine's Day. Mr. P got me a lovely necklace, a huge box of chocolates, and a bottle of wine. Basically, all a girl needs. He also took us out for a nice Milestones dinner.

Another nice thing is that belly dancing started up once again. Meagan is a tough teacher, which I like. She really insists on us doing the moves properly. She made me sweat a lot yesterday. So maybe one day I will be able to do this:

Favourite Book



I have hunted for this book for most of my adult life. First of all, I did not know the English title because I had ever read it only in Polish. I read it first when I was about eleven, and had loved it ever since. It took me a while to figure out the English title, all thanks to a site that sells Polish books. They had it in Polish and that way I found the author - Clare Compton. From there it was easy to learn the title was "Harriet and the Cherry Pie." OK, that was the easy part. Turns out this book was only published in 1963 and then in paperback in 1968 and that's it. Never re-printed in English, though it has been in Polish. I started haunting used book sellers' sites. They had it, sure, but in hardcover, the first edition and for $50, a bit more than I was willing to pay. And then finally, at the beginning of December, I found it from a seller in the UK in paperback. Ordered it immediately. It came a couple of days after Christmas. Oh, joy!!! And now I've read it for the first time in almost 30 years. And I still love it!



And to all my friends out there - I love you, but I am not lending this book to anyone! It's just too important to me.

I bet you're wondering what it's about. It's the story of a little girl (Harriet) who comes from Bristol with her sister to live with a great aunt because their father is posted to Australia for six months and their mother had died. The great aunt owns a cafe called the Cherry Pie and is very young and energentic. She makes the girls feel at home, but Harriet feels lonely and out of place, but by accident meets people who are involved in the theatre and then becomes a child actress and stars in a play. I know it doesn't sound like much, but the writing is very nice, all cosy and comfy and this book has become part of me. I often imagined myself in Harriet's place.

Enjoying Other People's Birthdays

Had a great day celebrating Car's birthday and Mr. P's birthday. Both of them have actually already passed, but for various reasons we had not celebrated them. So, I went over to Car's place and we had a lovely Japanese lunch in Aurora. Bought an extremely cool scarf which I did not need and some sunglasses, which I did. Then this evening, we went to Milestones to celebrate Mr. P's birthday. Had a lovely dinner and I persuaded him to try Bellinis (mostly because I wanted the monkey toy and I was the designated driver, so no booze for me). We did not get the monkey alas, but got a moose and a beaver/squirrel thingie (oh, yeah he had to have two because Penboy wanted a toy too).

I like other people's birthdays!

Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

Well, it's been a banner Christmas day for gifts. I got a laptop! And so did Penboy!
I really have the best husband in the world. And not just because of the electronics. He let me sleep in at six in the morning when our child was done tearing into his gifts (he got up at 5:30). He was the designated driver last night so I could have some Christmas Eve wine. He cleaned the kitchen yesterday and took out the garbage countless times. :)

So, the day has been all about learning about laptops and stuff. And sleeping. I slept very badly last night and have been pretty tired all day.

We are off to my friend Car's tomorrow and seeing Mrs.Peel Tuesday. Love the holidays.

Merry Christmas!

... and Happy Holidays to everyone who does not celebrate Christmas. May all your dreams and wishes be fulfilled.

'Tis the Season... Almost

I can't believe it's almost Christmas. I've been trying to fashion my own felt decorations and let me tell you something - there is a reason you can buy these things instead of making them. Still, it's fun and I learned the blanket stitch pretty well.

Penboy and I are going to Casa Loma for gingerbread decorating later this month. I'm looking forward to seeing the castle decorated for Christmas. And speaking of gingerbread, I finally made it and it turned out pretty good, I think. Of course, my mom turned her nose up at it a bit, but I was expecting this. I was not given the honour of making it for the family at Christmas. That's OK, I will make it for friends.

Penboy has the sniffles. He went to a party Saturday afternoon and Sunday was sniffly all day. Today he's sniffly too. I am having tummy problems and I think a liquid diet will be de rigeur for the next little while. We're just a bunch of sickies right now.

Hoping to get out to the movies this season. I really want to see "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "W.E." Both of them are coming out this Friday, I believe. Mind you, Alec Guiness will be a hard act to follow. Too bad they don't make "Smiley's People." Anyway, Moscow rules all the way.

November



Penboy persuaded me to go to Black Creek Pioneer Village yesterday. It was a fabulous idea. I had not been there in yonks, at least since high school.


They had the place decorated for Christmas and we even spied a certain gentleman in red with a white beard coming in as we were leaving.




From there we went for lunch at a certain Toronto mall and it took us 10 minutes to find a parking spot about a kilometer away form the entrance. I say, Black Friday and Saturday should be cancelled.

In other news, Occupy Toronto people seem to be gone from St. James park (and about time) and I am still not 100% clear what it is they were protesting. They did not do a great job of explaining their protest or even publishing a list of demands. I know they are against banks, but not sure what they propose as an alternative - keeping money in a sock? And what about loans? Back to loan sharks? It's very puzzling. I will just go on with my regular, middle-class life with a job and consumer debt.

October

So, here we are in the fall, friends. October has been busy already, and we're barely past the half mark.

We went to Parry Sound again, for Thanksgiving weekend, and this time made it on the 30 000 islands cruise. It was beautiful - emerald green water, blue sky, trees blazing with reds and golds. Also saw a swivel bridge for the first time. I didn't even know such things existed.

Now it's all about the prep for penboy's birthday. This year we are having a party, mainly because he went to so many parties last year. Booked an indoor playground, bought plates, cups, napkins, loot bags, loot bag contents, decorations. The only thing I still have to get is food and drinks. Now, of course, there is one kid in his class who is allergic to everything, and after some pondering, I realize I can't cater to him. Penboy keeps asking "what's Owen going to eat?" And I say "fruit" 'cause that is the only thing this kid can eat.

In knitting news, I have finished the Harry Potter scarf and have started on baby blanket for co-worker, but I am already thinking about taking it apart and starting again because it's too thin. Yeah, OK, it doesn't have to be super thick, but I'm a lazy individual and making a thin blanket takes way longer, so I would rather double the yarn and go with thicker. Anyway, I have until mid-February to finish, so not that long.

I have also been making bracelets for United Way and they've been selling on the spot, so I keep having to make more. That's good thing, of course, but keeps me away from my knitting time.

And finally, we are almost finished watching Lost. OMG, I am really ready for this series to end. It's been really interesting, but there are only so many iterations of John Locke that I can take.

Splint Free!

The splint is off my broken wrist (that was broken August 1, thank you very much). I feel much better and am back to regular activities like knitting. Penboy is a newly minted Harry Potter fan and wants a Gryffindor scarf, which is about half made now. Pics of the finished product will follow.

In other news... my sister got married. And I found out about it the day before. It astounds me that she can do stuff like this. This is the woman who caused me to join Facebook in the hopes of keeping in touch with her. She did communicate with me there a few times, but clearly did not think it necessary to mention that she was engaged. Slipped her mind, do you think? Of course, she also did not tell our dad and I can only imagine how hurt he is. So, how did we find out, you ask? From my aunt who let it slip that she was resting on Friday because she wanted to be fresh for the wedding on Saturday. Grr. I feel doubly betrayed.

It's funny though. There was no mistaking the satisfaction in my mom's voice when she said "yes, your sister is getting married... for the first time...at her age..." Yah, OK, your daughter's been married for eight years now and is six years younger, we all know. :) I should 'splain that my sister is my dad's daughter from his frist marriage.

One-handed Bandit

I am broken. Literally. Well, OK, just my wrist, but it seems to be taking a toll on the rest of me. I was getting out of a paddle boat at Safari Niagara, slipped and fell and injured my left wrist. Of course, I refused to go to emerg because of a. c difficile in the Niagara region and b. the six hour wait times. So went to physio instead. After about two weeks, the therapist said she was not happy with the progress and I should go get it x-rayed. By then I was in a lot of pain, so went to emerg. Yep, after six hours of waiting, and many painful x-rays (had to twist arm in many directions), found out it's broken. They then sent me to the fracture clinic at Mt. Sinai, where, frankly I looked the most healthy and whole. I got away with a splint, which I have to wear for four weeks (one down, three to go). It's my left wrist and only now I am finding out how much I normally use it. Even stupid things like washing my hair and getting dressed are hard. But worst of all - I can't drive! Gaaah!

Summer!

Summer is offcially here - that means splash pads, ice cream trucks, trips to the beach... We did all three this long weekend. And bbq. Yep, we are those people now, the people we hate because they have a bbq on their balcony and the smoke goes everywhere. We couldn't beat them, so we joined them. So far, we've had four bbqs. Yum. Today we even had my parents over for a bbq lunch. Oh, and I am spreading the evil by helping my neighbours get their own bbq. They have no car, so I drove them to WalMart today to get their own bbq, brickettes, and tools. Ha!

In other news... I have stepped over to the dark side and... joined Facebook. It's all my sister's fault. Why? After five years of no communication from her, she sends me a Facebook invite. So, I joined and sent her a message saying "I'm so happy you got in touch! How are things with you? Here in Toronto, it's been really hot lately." And what does she write back? "In Warsaw it's cold." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, after five years of no calling, writing or otherwise giving a sign of life, my sister imparts this earth-shattering revelation - it's cold in Warsaw.

But speaking of long lost friends, found one! My friend Justyna from elementary school, no less! I did some sleuthing on Google and various other sites and found her! She's married and has two little boys and we've been e-mailing a bit. I miss her. We used to play together for hours. We used to walk each other home after school until our moms came home and pulled us indoors.

OK, last bit of news. My lovely husband gave me an iPod Touch for our wedding anniversary! Oh, I so love electronic toys!

Love Birthdays!

OK, the birthday was good. And the best part is that it keeps on giving! As the actual day was on Wednesday, there was not too much happening (except delish dinner at home). Made up for it starting Friday night! Had a lovely dinner with Mrs. Peel. OK, the company was lovely, the dinner... well, left some things to be desired. We went to this kind of cutsey, artsy place called Kalendar. Frankly, the service was appalling. It took them 45 minutes to bring ANY food to the table (this being hors d'oeuvres). Then another half hour for the main course. I had this "scroll" which was a fancy name for a crepe stuffed with chicken salad. Hmm. The description said roast chicken with tomatos, feta and all kinds of other yummys. I did not expect chicken salad. And there was a LOT of it, my friends. Took half home to Mr. P, who fortunately, liked it. Food and service notwithstanding, we had a blast. She got us matching bracelets!

Saturday was a trip to Port Perry with Car. We took a lovely cruise on lake Scugog and did some shopping in town, of course. I got a lovely pair of summer sandals. Car also gave me some lovely jewellery, all in silver and purple tones. Did I mention that purple is my new favourite colour? The bling is from Magnolia, this UK company that only has a few retail places in Canada. My friends make me feel so special!

Of course, there was cake with my parents as well. And Mr. P gave me a GORGEOUS side table that I am using as my night stand now. Oh, and flowers, AND new fave movie "The King's Speech."

Birthdays - good!

The B-day Approacheth

It is that time of year... next week to be precise. I should be feeling a lot more mature, but I'm not. I am still reduced to tears by the stupidest things, like being seen to have made a wrong decision. I am still in love with jewellery and can't seem to get enough. I still can't give up sugar. Maybe what I need to get is acceptance, not maturity. Or maybe they are the same. Or maybe I should start thinking of these failings as assets. Probably the latter would be best. So. Resolutions for the next year of my life:

Go against every grain but my own.

Be the most genuinely me that I can be, even if that means a magpie fairy stuffing her face with chocolate, running after every shiny stone she sees.

And try not to care how it all looks.

The Height of Married Life

So Mr. P and I have reached the pinnacle of married life. Oh, lucky pengirl, you say. Listen to this. OK, this is going to get a bit intimate. Mr. P and I are not above using some shall we say utensils in our whoopee time and one of them is a bottle of personal ...hm, lubricant. Penboy has a hamster, as you know, Henry. Henry likes to run in his wheel all night long. The wheel has become really squeaky, keeping us up. Do you see where I'm going with this? Finally, Mr.P decided enough was enough and he was going to put WD40 on that wheel.

I came home from work the next day and this conversation ensued.

Mr. P: I finally got Henry's wheel to stop squeaking!

Me: You put WD40 on it, could that not be harmful to him!?

Mr. P (with a happy shining smile on his face): No, actually, I could not find the right lube, so I used our lube for it.

Me: As in...happy times lube?

Mr. P (with pride): Yes!

And that, ladies and gentlemen is the height of married life. Using sex toys to fix your child's pent's cage. Yep, it doesn't get better than that.

Happy Valentine's Day



OK, so it's Valentine's Day's Eve really. Mr. P and I are going to have a quiet celebration with some wine and crepes with mixed fruit. Oooh, la, la! And chocolate, of course.



In t-shirt blanket news... it is almost finished! Yay! Today I put the backing on and now just have to put on some tape on the edges to make it look nice.






This is what it looks like on Penboy's bed.



And speaking of Penboy, he is loving his hamster, Henry. Henry gets to visit pretty much ever corner of our apartment. Luckily, Penboy is good about supervising.





Here's the little rodent, being squeezed in my child's hand.
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In world news, I salute Egypt! The world is really a different place when you can get real-life reports from ordinary people. I love the way they took advantage of the internet to make the world pay attention. This is true power of the individual! I hope they get the freedoms and prosperity they deserve.

School Nerves

Penboy is in grade 1. He has Cruella DeVille as his teacher. Seriously. OK, I know I'm a mom and as such people will accuse me of hysteria when it comes to my child. Let's just get past that for a second. I don't know what this woman wants from my kid. He's not brilliant. He's a normal six-year-old who prefers recess to any school activity. When he writes, you can most of the time figure out what he's trying to say. He can read quite well, but doesn't want to. He's not great at drawing, but loves painting. He also likes geology, space, nature, and animals and knows quite a bit about those subjects. Cruella thinks he's seriously incapacitated. Every time I pick him up from school (which does not happen too often because I work for a living!), she beckons me with her bony finger and says "Oh, Mrs. Pen, I'm so glad you're here." Then proceeds to tell me what extra activities she has dreamed up for my child to do at home. This is supposedly because he is capable of nothing at school.

She asked me the other day if she could bring him up at a school meeting. I foolishly gave permission. She then phoned me with the results (recommendations for occupational therapy and such). She phone my cell. She phoned my work. I was away from my desk, so I called her back. She took about ten minutes to admonish me for not being available to her at the drop of a hat.

Yesterday PenBoy asked me for a timer (a stop watch). I asked him why he wanted one and he said it was because his teacher used it in class.
"What for?" I asked.
"Because Dennis was being slow."
"So she TIMED him?"
"Yes, she set the time for him to be finished the work he was doing."

No pressure there! Good thing my boss doesn't stand over me with a stop watch. "Pengirl! Write faster, you have ten seconds to go!" I think if she threw in the theme from Jeopardy, that would have made it even more "fun."

Yes, so this woman has rubbed me the wrong way. But if I'm overreacting, so is she. PenBoy has even told me of times when she flicked him in the head with her fingers to "make him focus."

Well, now I have to go pick him up. Maybe if I wear dark glasses and a hat I will escape the dreaded finger.

New Year


Yes, another one. It came on subtly. We did not make it until midnight. That is, I read in bed until about 11:00 and then could not fall asleep, so actuall saw midnight come and go, but that's it.


I just have one resolution - to take more action rather than wait for things to "improve."


Today was Mr. P's birthday. We went for our usual Mandarin Palace lunch. I find that buffet places are a waste of time on me. I can eat one plate of food. I had some dessert as well and then I was over-full. Also, their quality has deteriorated or maybe I have become more discerning. Anyway, Chef's House it is not. Munching on my papaya enzymes now.


Christmas was good except for all of us being sick. Seems that every year at this time we all get sick. I got some excellent loot from Santa.


and





and more stuff too, of course, including a new very chic watch from my friend Car. She spoils me so. I wish I could reciprocate.

Penboy has been begging for a new Leapster and we got it for him today - Leapster Explorer. Of course, we now have to get new games for it. Sigh. Toy manufacturers are evil. For Christmas Santa brought him a new hamster whom he named Henry. Henry is very cute and happily climbs onto my hand. Penboy very quickly adapted to Henry. I was worried that he'd be a bit scared. At first he was unsure, but when he picked up Henry for the first time, it was a love affair at first touch.

I got Mr. P a collection of four Sci Fi movies, including 2001 The Space Odyssey. I think it will be many happy hours of knitting time for me.

Happy New Year to all!

Merry Christmas to All. God Bless Us Everyone!

Troubles

The gods of electronics are displeased. In the space of a couple of weeks we lost our hard drive and our TV. They both just gave up. The hard drive HAD to be replaced immediately. We are doing with a tiny portable TV while waiting for dear dear Santa in the person of my lovely friend Car to give us a new TV.

In other news, attempts are being made to get into the black once again. I bought Gail Vaz Oxley's book on getting out of debt and am busy poring over budgets.

I am very proud of self. I am pretty much done Christmas shopping. I just have a couple more things to get, a box of hand cream for my mom and something for Mr. P, which I won't say because he sometimes reads this blog. Hah, thought I'd slip up there, eh?

There was decorating of Christmas trees today. Penboy is excited out of his mind. He is so wired that he has been closed to tears on several occasions. Can't wait for Christmas day!

Halloween



So, this year we had to dress up at work. Yep, I know, I was kind of relieved not to have to do that the past two years and here I was all excited. Well, I was excited because I made my costume. Sewed it, no less. I was Pierrot. I made the shirt and the pants and the ruffle collar. Hah! Was very proud of self. The theme was the circus, btw, in case you're wondering why Pierrot. Which was a bit appropriate because I just read "Water for Elephants" by Sarah Gruen and it's about the circus too.



Here is moi, albeit you can only really see the collar.


Penboy went as a cat on trick or treating night and he made out like a bandit. We had two bags of goodies, which I am munching right now. Mmmm, Cheezies!

Been doing these:

Sock monkeys rock!

Dog Days

The proverbial dog days of summer are upon us. It's been hot and humid most of July and it just makes everything sluggish.

Vacation was awesome, but it seems like so long ago now. We saw Kingston, albeit mostly Princess street. We also went on a 1000 Islands cruise. That was awesome. Nothing but water, rocky islands with trees and birds, bridges, boats. Oh, and multi-million dollar summer homes, of course. I loved it. There were few people on the boat, which was nice. We could look out from both sides of the boat, wander to the front and back (that's stern and bow for you boating people), take pictures, sit and relax.

Later on, we went to the hot air balloon rally in Wellsville, NY. That takes care of one of my entries off my bucket list. I have always wanted to see hot air balloons. There is just something romantic about hot air balloons. I always fantasized about lying in the grass, watching hot air balloons floating in the sky... Well, it didn't quite happen that way. There was sitting on the grass and watching hot air balloons taking off ten meters away!!! Mr. P ran into a lady (Dee) he had met earlier at the balloon rallies of yore and she got us pit passes. We got to go in, talk to the pilots, touch balloons. Penboy had a ball. We saw about 20 balloons launch. Unfortunately, the pilot of sky turkey (and Dee's brother all in one person) decided it was too windy to launch, so Penboy did not actually get to help with a launch. We had a great time though.

But now it's back to work... and heat... and commute. Summer in the city.

Summer!

Yess, yess, it is here! Oh, happy days of splash pads, ice cream trucks, swimming pools, and trips to the beach! Of course, with that come the days of heat and humidity and a perpetually sweaty forehead. But no matter.

Party life

So, bbq season was officially kicked off by my friend Car. Unfortunately, the day of her bbq, it was about +15C and sprinkling. As a consequence, most of the party happened indoors. I love Car dearly, but I had never met any of her other friends. Most of them I really liked, with one notable exception. Let's call her... Celine. Celine was very helped Car with her health in the past and remained a friend afterward. Celine is from la belle provence and has a bit of an accent, which was charming, until this conversation took place. Let me explain first that Celine has no children nor does she work with them or have any real contact with them. Penboy was at the party and was excitedly running around with the dogs, having lots of fun.
Celine and I were in the kitchen. Alone. Penboy flitted through in chase of a dog.
Celine: Your son, he is so tall!
me: Yes, well, he has tall parents.
C: Your son he has, umm, autistic?
me: Excuse me?!
C: No? He has autistic?
me: No, he does not have autism.
C: Well, what does he have? He has SOMETHING!
me (at this point my eyebrows reached my hairline): Why do you say that?
C: Because he is running around like that.
me: He's five. And he does not have a disorder of any kind.
At this point I left the kitchen to join Car's nice and well-bred friends on the terrace. I did not speak another word to Celine though she tried to talk to me. Let me explain to those of you who have no offspring. You do not suggest to a mother (that you have known for five minutes) that her child has an unknown syndrome of some kind.

The Graduate
Penboy graduated from kindergarten on Monday. He had a little hat with a tassel and got a diploma. It was all very touching and exciting. He's grown so much and can read some stuff and write letters. He's good at math and is interested in all kinds of things. Aww. So proud.

What do these women have in common?

They are 40 or over. And yours truly will be joining their ranks tomorrow.

Monthly Update

I say monthly because it seems I write once a month these days. All because Secret Company does not allow blogging at work and comes down hard on people who do. Fair enough, but that means I have little time to blog. Not that I have that many topics...



Attended a fabu conference in Rochester run by the Society for Technical Communicators. Met a whole bunch of nice people and even learned a bit. The hotel (Hyatt Regency) was very nice and had a pool. Mr. P, Penboy and I splashed for a few hours on the night before the conference. Penboy even dared let go of us and splash by himself (with two life preserves on, of course). Earlier there had been panicky clutching of my hair. I swear, I will go bald one of these days because when he's scared of something, he grabs my head and holds on to my hair.

After conference, we went down to visit FIL. With the dollar (then) being at par, we splurged on a portable DVD player. Ahhh, new electronics, love them.



Then of course, on Saturday morning, I woke up to the news that the upper part of the Polish government had been wiped out in a plane crash. I was in shock. My mom was still in Poland and we were worried that air traffic would be cleared for visiting dignitaries and she would not be able to return on time. This was all before the crazy Icelandic volcano eruption, of course. Yes, we do live in interesting times. My mom came back as planned though. Volcano held off until later in the week.

In browsing the net, I found a picture that epitomizes me (I'm sure Mr.P will agree here). It is called the Magpie Fairy. I shamelessly pilfered it from here: http://www.josephinewall.co.uk/magpie.html





Because I am doing some spiritual work with meditiation and reading about Buddhism and stuff, I spent a period agonizing over my love of bright shiny objects. I think I just need to come to peace with it though. This is who I am, the Magpie Fairy.

March Blues

A word about insurance companies - they are bloodsuckers! They will squeeze every penny out of you. This was brought on by my dear insurance company sending me a renewal of my insurance and raising the premiums $50.00 a month! I ask you! Pretty soon if this goes on, I won't be able to afford to have a car at all.

Read "Eat, Pray, Love" by Elizabeth Gilbert and absolutely loved it! Am totally motivated to mediate now. I even bought a book on how to meditate called "The Power of Stillness." I had some success in my early days of meditation, but the last two days were not too successful. Basically it goes like this.

Om. Namah. Shivaya.

Damn that stupid insurance company!

Om.

Gee, I wish I were somewhere warm and lying on the beach. Maybe I'll mediate about that.

Namah.

OK, back to it. Stillness is not thinking about the beach, it's concentrating on the mantra.

Shivaya.

----

Om.

But the beach would be nice. Gee, I wish I were ten pounds thinner. Or twenty for that matter.

OM!!!

And that is when I gave up. Back to it again tonight. I think I am supposed to practice a different mantra this time. Om usually does it for me, but I need a different "emergency" mantra for tougher days.

Valentine's Day

It was a good one this year, peeps. I got a gorgeous art nouveau ceramic box, an Egyptian canopic jar, a really nice Second Cup mug, and little fun toys which I will leave to your imagination. All from Mr. P. :) Penboy gave me a Valentine which he signed himself and where he tried to write Mama, but wrote Mami. I am keeping it for evah!

In other news, sister-in-law is getting a divorce. I spoke to her at length on the phone. It left me feeling down. Then we were supposed to go to Car for dinner, but when we pulled out of the garage, spotted a big flat tire. As it's Family Day, our friendly neighbourhood garage is closed, so there was no going anywhere today. Just a bit of a grey, down day today.

New Year, New Me?

Every year I read the January "New Year, New You" issues of magazines. Not this year. I have decided to give the old me free reign. That said, I did come up with some very unpleasant resolutions:

1. Spend less money.

2. Eat less sugar.

3. Eat less fat.

4. Eat less of everything.

5. Exercise more.

6. Lower debt.

Sigh.

So, a quick review of the holiday season. Santa brought me the coveted Julia Child book and also French Chef on DVD! I immediately made Beuf Bourginion and a lovely roast chicken for Mr. P's birthday that I had to baste EVERY 15 MINUTES! But, oh it was so worth it!

Watched a bunch of movies that found their way under the tree: Howl's Moving Castle, Star Trek, Julie and Julia.

We all finally got over our colds/bronchitises at the beginning of January.

Had my performance review at work and got a very good rating!

We went to Casa Loma a couple of weekends ago and had a blast.

So, not too bad for a month of stuff.

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!

It's that time of year ... again

Actually, it is feeling slightly more magical this year and all because of Alex. He is SO excited about the Christmas tree and lights and decorations. We took him to see Santa at a local mall and he loved it. And here I came across my first Christmas dilemma. Alex asked for Gordon under the tree (part of the Thomas the Tank Engine gang - clicky here for datils). Well, of course, that is the one engine I can't find. And he asked Santa for it. Now, this is the first year we do the whole Santa hoopla and I don't want him doubting just yet. Sigh. I am turning into one of those crazed parents who scour the city for one toy.

In other news... I am sadly behind on all my knitting projects, but I am writing more! Yay! OK, this is Mickey Mouse stuff, but it helps me feel slightly more creative. I publish on Triond. Here is one of mine http://www.socyberty.com/Relationships/What-Women-Like-in-Men.394727. Yes, it does take away from writing the blog, but might actually make me some money too. Why, already I earned three cents!

'Tis the winter of my discontent

Or something to that effect. I could never remember that line.

Secret company where I work has turned out to be rather heartless. Though companies are no matter what they claim. I think the more a company says they care about their employees, the more underhanded they are. Maybe it's only because you expect them to be caring and they by nature are not. They're like Daleks. Exterminate! Exterminate!





Though Daleks still look like giant washing machines to me. Anyway, back to my main point. I am asked to apply for the job I am currently in. Surprised? Yeah. I am currently on contract and they want to get rid of contractors so they have to post the position just in case someone else might want to apply. Oh, wait it gets better. The girl who I hired, trained, and mentored is also encouraged to apply for the position. To give her her due, she is a clearly bigger person (not a Dalek) and has refused to play their game. If only I could do the same! Pride puts very little food on the table though, so I am in the unenviable position of breaking my ideals while wanting the job but not at the company where I am. Very complex. And I used to like Secret Company. Well, not now. At least, not Pointy Haired Boss who looks like the instigator of the whole intirgue. Sux.

Dis an' dat

I have been talking about Santa with Alex. He is getting more and more excited about Chirstmas. We saw a giant Christmas tree at the Eaton Center yesterday. It was all done in white and suspended under the ceiling as though floating on a cloud. Alex even agreed to go see Santa Claus at a local mall this year. He flat out refused last year.

In that spirit I asked Alex if we were going to write a letter to Santa. I explained that we could put down what he wants for Christmas and Santa would try and get it for him. This conversation ensued:

me: So, do you want to write a letter to Santa, so we can tell him what you want under the tree?

Alex: Yes.

me: That way Santa will know what to get you.

Alex: Yes, I will write a letter for Santa. I will write the letter E for Santa.

That was when I realized my son does not know what a letter is.

In other news, things are looking iffy at work. There is a hiring freeze and of course pengirl is on contract, so pengirl might be jobless very soon as contract is ending. Bloody recession!

In other other news, the husband sweater is officially finished (I had to fix the neck). I have now moved on to a pink scarf for moi, happily ignoring all other projects I should be working on right now. Here is le pic.

School

I am the mother of a kindergartener. Alex started school on Monday. I took the day off to be able to take him to school on his first day. He was not in the least nervous, found his coat hook, hung up his coat and went to sit on the carpet with the other children. Then said "bye" when we were leaving. But this totally broke my heart. There was a little girl there who just stood in the middle of the room with her head down, visibly fighting tears. Her wise parents (or whoever brought her) did not intervene, but OMG, I just wanted to scoop her up in my arms and give her a big hug. Good thing she was not my daughter or else she'd be missing school that day.

Alex came home fairly tired on his first day, but after his nap asked if he could go to school in the afternoon too. He was not too impressed when I told him that he'd only go in the mornings.

In knitting news : drumroll please... the sweater is finished. OK, there was a bit of an issue with the neck being slightly too big, but other than that I think it's gorgeous. I might fix the neck at some point. I am working on pillow for FIL now.

Oooh, gotta go. Hear kid sounds from the other room.

Last weekend of the summer

Well, kids this is it - Labour Day weekend. For us it means the last days of the CNE (that's the Canadian National Exhibition for you non Torontonians), the air show, and start of school next week. This year my little guy is actually going to school, well JK. It's been a while since a year to me meant September to June. I remember my first day at school (first grade, mind you) in Poland. They gathered all the first graders in the reception hall of the school and the principal delivered some sort of speech. We had to wear uniforms which consisted of an "apron" over a white blouse and some sort of navy pants or skirt. These "aprons" looked kind of like lab coats and were longer for girls and shorter for boys. They were navy coloured and made of polyester. I didn't really care for them. When I was in the third or fourth grade they were abandoned as required school-wear.

In knitting news - the husband sweater is almost done! I have 15 cm more of sleeves to do and then have to put it together. A proud photo will be displayed here when it is done. Meanwhile I have totally become enamoured with Amigurumi. How long has this been going on and I had no idea? I have begun making a cute little bunny, but then felt guilty and went back to the sweater, so all I have is the head. Will not post a pic as it looks kind of macabre, just the head on its own.

And lastly, here is a conversation I had yesterday with my son:

Alex: Want a bath.
Me: But honey, it's too late. We should not have watched that whole movie.
Alex: Want a shower.
Me: You can have a shower tomorrow.
Alex: No tomorrow!
Me: Yes, tomorrow.
Alex: Tomorrow is tomorrow.

Can't fault his logic there. We might have a philosopher on our hands.

Not gone, just lost for a time

Yes, it's been a while. The summer is proving to be fairly busy. I refuse to stay at home and so consequently our weekends have been full of activity. Finally, one Friday Mr. P said "Is this weekend also going to be so busy?" That made me slow down a little, but not much. Also, I can't blog at work, so that makes it challenging because when I get home I don't really feel like sitting in front of the computer.

Went for an awesome family reunion in NY state. This was at my FIL's house, but both sisters-in-law came, one from Virginia, the other from Missouri. Also brother-in-law even though he is recovering from back surgery. OK, totally warm and fuzzy. Tons of hugs all around, little kids running around the yard looking for kittens that live on my FIL's porch. Huge bbq for about 50 people in the yard, watermelon, chicken, strawberries, tables set up on the grass... It was like something out of a movie or a Norman Rockwell painting.

And, yes, our camera was not working!! Mr. P took it to Canon and they were fixing it and of course we did not get it back in time to take it with us. That's OK though, at least we were not worried about getting the best shot. Mind you, some people promised to send us their pics and so far, not a peep.

Had an awesome anniversary (#5 - can you believe it?). Mr. P made a whole cartoon about our relationship! Clicky here for fun and amusement: http://thestoryofus.ismyse.com/ Apparently he'd been working on it since the fall. I had no idea and was totally surprised.

Well, off to the CNE this weekend, if the weather holds. You Vancouverites out there are probably snickering at all the rain we are getting here in TO. Really, it's been kind of ridiculous.

OK, must get to bed. It's fairly late (for me) and it's a work night.

P.S. The cameras IS working now. Consequently I was able to take this pic of a flower in my mom's little garden. Enjoy.

Style and the City

I had my own little "Sex and the City" moment. For years I have been coveting a piece of Tiffany silver and finally, after I got my promotion (thank you, thank you), I decided that there was no earthly reason why I should not own a piece of my very own Tiffany. I wanted to do this for myself rather than wait for Arthur to get one for me. It's a girl-can-do it thing. So, one lunch time last week, I moseyed on up to 85 Bloor Street West, where the mecca of jewellery stores is located. I felt intimidated by the huge doors a little, but I pushed them open and here I was. I stood in the door way just a second to take in the atmosphere. The security guard (in a suit) greeted me from his station and almost made me jump a mile. But soon, I felt right at home. The lighting was discreet, the carpeting lush and soft and the staff all solicitous for helping find what I wanted. But not in my face. They politely inquired, they did not approach unless summoned. Well, I let myself be helped. You see, apparently, silver is on the second floor. Who knew there was a second floor! But of course, where would they have kept all the crystal and stuff! So I glided as gracefully as I could up the stairs in my heart congratulating myself on having worn my office shoes. It was actually kind of crowded up there. There were mothers helping daughters choose their first silver necklace. There were men buying silver money clips. And there it was among other gorgeous things - my coveted heart tag pendant. There was a girl with impossibly shiny hair at the counter, but she was helping someone else. So, I was helped by Joanna, an obviously Russian immigrant, who was nevertheless courtesy itself.

Plastic changed hands. She put my necklace in the blue Tiffany pouch, which went in the box tied with silky white ribbon and then in the blue Tiffany bag. Sigh. It was totally, totally satisfying. I walked down the street holding my Tiffany bag. And I know I am now an officially evil and shallow person who bows to labels and the doors to Nirvana are firmly shut against the likes of me, but when I put my new silver heart on with the Return to Tiffany stamped on it, I felt like everyone knew that I had something special round my neck (which I'm sure they did not). I had this newfound confidence. And now I want to go back there. Even just to browse. And my name is now on their registry. And I know I sound like I'm five, but this was my lifetime thing - to have something from Tiffany. It's like I have crossed a threshold.

... meanwhile, on the other side of town...

I did go to see SATC today and was totally satisfied. It was like a two and a half hour episode of the show and everything that I expected happened - Miranda is still a workaholic who takes care of everyone but herself and ends up resenting them for it, Charlotte is the princess of 5th Avenue, Samantha wants more sex and she doesn't get any and Carrie and Big get married. Finally, finally, they do it! I think I may want to get the DVD (hint to husbands who my read this).

...and finally

You should check out panties for peace. In an effort to atone for my evil jewellery buying ways, I will participate in the campaign to send women's underwear to guerillas in Mayanmar. You see these guerillas believe that touching women's underwear will rob them of their power. Interesting since they use rape as a weapon of war. Presumably they have to touch underwear then... Anyway, there is this campaing asking women to send in their panties to these guerillas as a peaceful way to help fight them and show solidarity to women being affected by the brutal fighting. Check out this site http://pantiesforpeace.ca/

Walking Hurt

I sprained my ankle yesterday. I was hoisting Penboy over this guardrail and I stepped onto the pavement wrong and my left foot lost balance and twisted. Ouch. I set the child down and he dropped the water cup he was holding. Of course there was screaming at that. I wanted to scream too, in pain. I have not sprained my ankle in a long time, in fact, the last time was when I was still teaching. I was leaving this bar, the Green Room. I was wearing shoes with pretty high heels (for me) and sprained my ankle on the stairs. Then for about a month I had to wear flats and limp. Well, it was the same today. Ugly shoes and limping. Fabulous. And just as I spotted this lovely pair of pumps...

I was going over the guard rail in the first place because we were picking up some rugs that I bought from a co-worker. She's changing decor and one of the rugs is Egyptian Gabbeh, which normally go for about 400 bucks. I got it for 50. The other one is not a Gabbeh, but in that style. OK, they're used. OK, they need cleaning. Some people even likened them to something one might find at a dump. Well, I think they have character. Apparently that might not be a high selling point. Sigh.

OK, now I will go and eat ice cream and maybe sit on my antique "ordures" style rug and nurse my sore foot and my thumb that I closed a door on. Yeah, it's not been the best couple of days.

Where has pengirl been?

Well, busy working, that's what. Learning all about secret company and whatnot. Trying to avoid walking in case of TTC strike. Also, been struck by this plague that's going around and having trouble kicking it.

The joys of talking child.

My son hates having his hair washed, which is weird because normally he loves the water. I told him last night we needed to wash his hair. This we do in the bath. Well, when bath time came, I said "Bathy time!" "No!" he says. "Why?" I ask. "Not dirty," he says. Hm.

Among the Employed



Yes, pilgrims, I am a worker bee once again. I work for a company that cannot be mentioned because I can't bring it into disrepute by any means at all, so I will just stay away from mentioning its name or business. It's all good though. I have a real cube once again, not that open concept crap like my last job. I have a window near. I am downtown. It's a year contract, but hey, a lot can happen in a year.

Polar bear bite vaccine

OK, so I could not not mention this. On my STC list serv a person from the States (let's call him, oh, Ned) mentioned that he is coming to Toronto soon to give a talk and he was asking his fellow list members what kind of VACCINES he should get before coming to Canada. That's in case he gets bitten by a polar bear, I guess and he develops an unexplainable love of Tim Horton's, hockey and normal strength beer. None of the Canadian list serv members replied to this, but many American ones did. To give them credit, nobody suggested Ned go to his doctor immediately and get all the tropical disease shots available to mankind. Ooh, it now strikes me I should have. Damn.

The winter blues

Yes, another bloody snowstorm. The munchkin did not go to school today beacause there is so much freaking snow on the ground!! It's getting me down. I fear only a new purchase of bling will be able to help this. Or at the very least some Brie cheese and cheap German wine. And chocolate. It's also International Women's Day. Last year at work we did a little gifite exchange among all the women and this year - squat. Even I forgot, which makes me even sadder.

In knitting news, the Dr. Who scarf:

I think it looks rather well. I added a fringe on the bottom after this pic was taken. That's Mr. P looking all suave in it.

Now it's time to finish some of the other multitude of projects I had begun - my mom's throw, the famous sweater...

All quiet on the Western front

Meaning I am still looking for some gainful employment. It's a depressingly long process.

On the plus side, it's sunny today, however, the road construction trucks that have been permanently camped in front of my building are very active now and are roaring and making the walls shake. My street is a big mud hole and has been since November. I have to wonder at the existance of brains at city hall. The geniuses picked the absolute worst time of the year to schedule construction - frozen ground, snow storms followed by heavy rain. Lovely.

In knitting news, the Dr. Who scarf is finished! It's not quite as long as the original, but I think that will make it a little more manageable. Mr. P loves it and that's the main thing (there was semi dressed modelling of the scarf last night - hubba hubba). I know I've been promising pics. Here is one when the scarf was just a baby.

I love the colours on it, all rusts and browns. I still need to add a fringe on the bottoms. Then I have a line-up of other project to work on, including the famous sweater. If only someone wanted to employ me as a knitter!

Holy snow!

We have had about a tonne of it. Well, maybe not, but it feels like it. I mean mountains of snow on every street corner, slush everywhere and treacherous driving conditions. Grrr. I know, I know, this is Canada, but let's not exaggerate.

In knitting news, about half done on Dr. Who scarf. Can't wait to be done and have Mr. P sporting it around town. (aside from everything else, it will keep him warm)

Applying for jobs left right and center, but so far nobody has recognized how fabulous I am. I always loved the line from Working Girl when Tess (Melanie Griffith) asks Kathryn (Sigourney Weaver - love her), her boss about her boyfriend proposing.

Tess: What if he doesn't pop the question?

Kathryn: I really don't think it's a variable. I am in the same town now, I have cleared the month of June and I am after all, me.

Ahhh, such self confidence. This is what I should put down on my cover letters : I am after all, me.