Drama Queen

Yes, I admit it - I can be a bit of a drama queen. But today I just may be taking it to the max. 

Prepare to mock me - it's OK  -  I know I deserve it.  Even I am mocking myself.

This morning I was at the hospital.  Nothing serious but it involved me getting . . . . . .(brace yourself) . . . . . a few stitches.

ACCKKK Nothing, and I mean nothing is more horrifying to me than stitches . . . .  in flesh . . . . my flesh.   Gross

At this point if Yaya is reading this (she works in an Operating room) she is probably on the floor laughing at me.

Seriously I am dying here.  You would think I had a major amputation or something the way I am carrying on.  I left the hospital and was all "jello-legged" and my stomach has been squeamish all day.  Its gonna be a long week.   And I don't even want to think about what happens in a few days when I have to change the dressing myself.  I will probably faint - Seriously. 

(Gumdrop Cake recipe to follow - maybe tomorrow - unless I die tonight from the stitches)  seriously - Gross

Meet Me On Monday

Blogging  is a funny thing...we tell our most intimate thoughts for all to read  and yet most of the time I find myself sitting and wondering, "who is  this person!?"  I know them...but yet I don't know them!  I want  to know who the person is behind all those words so I thought of a great  way for all of us to "meet" each other!

Every Sunday Never Growing Old will post five get to know you  questions that you can copy and paste into your own Monday post and we  can all learn a little more about each and every one of us!!

1.  I really need to clean my __________?

My closet.  It is a disaster.  I can never find anything, especially in the morning when I am not the brightest.  In case you are wondering - this photo is NOT my closet.  Well, only in my dreams.  

2. What food makes you think of Christmas ?

Gumdrop cake.  I love it.  When I was a kid I would only pick out the gumdrops and leave the cake part.  Then someone gave us a recipe for cream cheese gumdrop cake.  Mmmmmm.   And family legend says we only use a very few green gumdrops.  I don't know why but it was Grandma's rule and she was a good cook so I listened to her.  But everytime I make one I wonder why . . . . ??   Has anyone else ever heard of that ??

3. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be ?

Now that's a tough one.   Sure, I used to be thinner, prettier, no gray hair or teeny wrinkles but I am smarter now and I know more so I would not trade a few gray hairs for that.   I don't want to get stuck.  I want to keep changing and growing and evolving.  I know I could kick my 30 year old ass in a number of categories now.  :)

4. What was your first paying job ?

At the age of 16 I got a part time - after school job as a cashier at a Department Store.   Luckily I didn't experience the "Black Friday" phenomenon back then.  The closest to that craziness I witnessed was grown women rolling around on the floor in a heap fighting over Cabbage Dolls.  Yes it was the early 80's.   Sad !

5. Have you read the Twilight Series ?

No.  I think I am the only person left who hasn't read it.  I have the first two books but they sit on my bookshelf in a pile of other un-read books.

If you get a chance, check out some of the other participants in todays Meet Me on Monday linky.  Click on the link on my sidebar.

Too close for comfort

Well, here we are again - less than a month from Christmas.  This startling revelation hit me this weekend.  And then that sick, panic feeling started to creep in.   I better get my crabby, bah-humbug butt in gear.   So far I'm not feeling the holiday mood.

Even putting up the Christmas Shower curtain (you know - the naked santa) didn't help.    I did get a few little decorations up and I hooked another small table mat.  I'm not going to blog it until I decide what to do with it.

I did make a list.  Not a naughty/nice list like Santa does - but a OMG . . . . this is what's left to do list.  Now if I could just tackle it quickly.   Actually the list made me feel better. 

Because I read about all your Thanksgiving menus, I am hungry for a big dinner with all the fixins.  A chicken is in the oven and the vegetables are waiting to be peeled. 

I hope to draw out another little gift mat tonight and maybe make the Christmas card list.  I am also going to continue my subtle campaign to switch to an artificial tree this year.  Dear old Auntie is holding out for a real one.  (But she isn't the one who does all the work)  I may have to get devious to get my way.

I realize this is a bit of a rambling, dis-jointed post.  It sums up the day as it seems I have hopped from one thing to another.  I hope this is not a pattern for the month.  

Thankful ?

Even though it's not Thanksgiving in Canada, I am going to jump in on the Thankful theme . . .  well, sort of

Naturally I am thankful for all the usual stuff - family, friends, blah blah blah  (FYI this is not a mushy post)

Most importantly today I am thankful that every day doesn't start like this morning.  Did you ever notice that however your morning starts it seems to color the rest of the day ??

As you know, we had our first significant snowfall yesterday, about a foot and a bit.  So last night I had the bright idea that I should re-adjust my car in the yard to make it easier for the plow driver.  Well, that didn't work and I could feel I was starting to get stuck so I left it in its awkward position and figured I'd move it in the morning.   (Dumb move #1)

So this morning I mis-calculated getting up early enough to shovel the walk etc and was pushing it for time as I had a meeting first thing.  I haphazardly shovelled and jumped in my car and tramped on the gas pedal.  (Dumb move #2)  Well, I started to slip and slide (in the wrong direction) and ended up off the driveway, onto the lawn - - -  the still unfrozen lawn.  So now I'm really mad and you know when I get mad I sometimes get stupid (no comments please Lol)  and I started giving it more and more gas. (Dumb move #3) Which of course just spun my front wheels deeper and deeper into the lawn.   Geez Louise - the air in the car was blue.  I'm glad none of you were in my yard to hear some of the crap coming out of my mouth.

Almost late for work, I left that car sideways in the yard and grabbed Auntie's keys and hijacked her car for the day.  So I arrived at work just in time for the meeting but completely red lining.  I swear I could have burst a blood pressure cuff if someone had taken my BP.

I won't go into the details of the rest of the day at work but the trend continued.   And I still had to worry about how to get my car out.  I was tempted to leave the friggin thing there til Spring. 

Then after lunch a White Knight appeared and offered to meet me at my house after work to push the car out.   Yippee - It worked.  I was so happy he offered because I wasn't going to ask - mostly because I was embarrassed but also because I knew I would get teased.  The Knights silver armour was only tarnished a teeny bit when he laughed and asked me how in the world I manged to get the car in the bizarre position it was in.   Don't you hate it when they do that ?  However I was so grateful  I let his mocking go was just thankful for my White Knight.

Tomorrow will start better. I'm ordering new snow tires.  

Oh and for those of you who invited me to travel across the border to have Thanksgiving Dinner with you - I really did plan to come but now you know why I didn't arrive - Stupid stuck car.  LOL  But I really did appreciate the offers :) 

P.S.  Thanks Michelle for confessing that you also had to get half naked in front of co-workers for your flu shot.  I feel better now!

And so it begins . . . Part 2

I knew the weather was too good to last.  The weather witch was right - the first storm of

season arrived as predicted.

This was the view from my office window this afternoon

And so it begins . . .  Winter.  BAH

Within a very short time after the snow began there were multiple fender benders throughout town.  People seem to forget how to drive in the snow from year to year. You could see morons flying down the streets and then skidding and sliding through stop signs.  Sheesh

It is still snowing with some rain mixed in.  Just a perfect combo for a mess.

There is only one thing that could warm a cold, frosty heart on a day like this

- - - - -

Coming home to find a big box of Heavens to Betsy wool had been delivered.

That almost makes the weather tonight tolerable. 

I hope all my American friends have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day

filled with family and friends.



Torn between two lovers

Last night I found myself torn between 2 lovers.  What a dilemma.   What to do, what to do ?

The basis of my problem . . . .

The conflict of  Dancing With The Stars and Sidney Crosby's triumphant return to the hockey arena on TV at the same time . . . .

It was Part 1 of the DWTS Finale  but Sidney, Nova Scotia's hometown hockey hero was playing in his first game in over 10 months after an injury.     Oh, the stress of it.

Then it came to me - a technological triumph . . . .  watch DWTS on TV and follow the hockey game on my iPad with the Hockey Night in Canada App.   GENIUS   I didn't miss a thing.  The wonder-boy scored the first goal and then another with 2 more assists - 4 points. 

I don't even like hockey that much but had to witness Sid's return, and I was not disappointed.  It was certainly all the talk around the office today.    And equally impressive was JR's performance on DWTS.  Fingers crossed he takes home that tacky mirror ball trophy tonight.

And since I'm here typing I might as well tell you about a little wardrobe malfunction today.  Only me, right ?  Murphy's Law is back over my shoulder.  

Today was the flu shot clinic at work for employees.  I forgot and ended up at work wearing a top with the sleeves too tight to pull up high enough and a neckline too tight to pull down far enough.  And of course we do 2 employees needles at a time in the same room  - - without a screen.

Do you see where this is going ??  In my time slot I was paired with a male employee. . . .  naturally.  After a few minutes of contemplation - What the heck - I turned my chair around, told him not to dare peek and pulled my arm out of my sleeve exposing half a bra.   The nurses were keeping an eye on him and we were laughing.  The good part is that he was so scared about getting the needle, I doubt he was worried about me.  Plus I doubt a young guy like that was really interested in peeking at me  - - I'm just trying to make myself feel good.  LOL 

I better go find the snow shovel in the basement.  The weather witch says a storm's coming.

Meet me on Monday

Today I am joining up with a blog hop hosting by Java at Never Growing Old. 

This is what it is all about, in Java's words:
Blogging  is a funny thing...we tell our most intimate thoughts for all to read  and yet most of the time I find myself sitting and wondering, "who is  this person!?"  I know them...but yet I don't know them!  I want  to know who the person is behind all those words so I thought of a great  way for all of us to "meet" each other!

So each week she posts 5 questions for us to answer about ourselves.  Here we go

1.  I wish I had more time to . . . . play a musical instrument again.

  I played when I was younger for about 6 years and have stopped for about 28 years.  But lately in the past few weeks I have wanted to resume this pastime.  However after 28 years, it will be like starting from scratch.

2. What is your favorite kind of soup ?

I think I would have to say chowder, or really any kind of cream soup.  No matter what it is I always tend to gravitate towards the one that's not good for you :)     (P.S.  This goes for more than just soup hehehe)

3. Where will you eat Thanksgiving Dinner ?

In Canada, we had our Thanksgiving last month in October. The family and a few friends all gather at my house.  It is a favorite holiday of mine and I am a bit jealous of you Americans for having it now.   So, I am open to invitations if you want to invite me over !  Lol

4. What is your favorite time of the day ?

This one is easy - first thing in the morning.  I have my cup of coffee, the morning paper and then a few blogs to read.  It is really the only time I have to myself for the whole day.  Its my time to re-charge and have a few quiet moments.

5.  Did you start your Christmas Shopping yet ?

Well, I was all gung-ho and got a fair number of gifts bought in August.  (a first for me)  I have since picked up a few more plus made a few.  I'm not done by far, but am in better shape than other years at this time.


Make sure to stop by Java's site to check out the other participants in todays hop.

JOY

Last night was a blast.  We had a great time at Sandy's party and the Parade was lovely.  And before you ask - Santa was all lit up.  Not in our "Baileys" kind of way - his float was covered in tons of twinkly lights.   Murphy's Law was visiting someone else last night.  :)

However the weather has taken a turn today with gale force winds and scattered rain showers.  It is so windy I am considering putting ankle weights on Millie the next time she has to go out to pee. 

This morning I got busy and finished binding the last of the 4 little holiday rugs.  Woohoo.  You have only seen a sneak peek of the final rug.  Here is Joy

I decided to whip the border on this one.  I could not find the off - white whipping yarn.  I am sure I have a half a ball left but I couldn't find it anywhere.  So I decided to try something different and whip with a contrast color.  It was either that or put it aside to sit with all the other unfinished projects.  And I did promise to bind all four rugs.  This soft green was a ball of Bernat Roving yarn.  Very soft and pretty but I would not recomment it for whipping.  It broke and frayed so easily.  But in true stubborn fashion, I kept going.

And so it begins

It is officially the start of the Christmas season in my town.  Let the hub-bub and chaos of the holidays begin.

Last night was the Official Town Light Up.  Our crews have been working for 2 weeks to get all the Christmas lights and fixtures ready to go downtown.  Last night we hosted a celebration in our newly renovated downtown square.  The streets filled with people and the Mayor flipped the switch to turn on all the lights at once.  After the light up and the Christmas Carols in the church, people headed to Dayle's Department Store where they revealed their Christmas window displays and lights. 

This morning I headed to the "Bethlehem Market" at another downtown Church.  There were lots of treats and goodies to buy and all the workers were dressed as sheperds.  Very cute, plus I got to see lots of people I don't regularly see.  I think half the town was there.  One booth was staffed by one of my favorite people.  He retired from my office a few years ago and is just the loveliest person.   His booth was selling hugs for 50 cents, but I got mine for free . . . .  SWEET

And then tonight is the main event - SANTA is coming to town.  Yes, it is the Annual Santa Claus Parade.  Our Parade is held in the evening and all the floats are covered in lights.  It is beautiful.  I'm invited to a friends house for her Parade Party.  She lives right on the parade route and each year we get a front row seat on her front lawn.  Plus she has a huge buffet of treats and in case we get cold there is an ample supply of hot cocoa or coffee sweetened with Baileys.  And you know how I love that !

I have to tell you a little story about the Santa Float.  My office is responsible for Santa's float.  About 5 years ago I was tasked with re-designing the town's float.  Its kind of important to make sure Santa's ride is impressive.  If I do say so myself - it turned out fabulous. His sparkly sleigh and the reindeer are on top of a roof and we even had a smoke machine so smoke would be coming out of the chimney.   The night of the Parade that year I was so excited to see it make its debut.  I stood out in the cold and waited patiently for the parade to end as Santa is the last float.   All the other floats went by all brightly lit and festive.   And then I saw our truck . . . .  Santa was sitting on top of the float - - in darkness.  We had put hundreds and hundreds of lights on this float.  Darkness. 

WTF ??  I got on the cell phone looking for answers.  Apparently about 10 minutes into the parade route, the driver looked in his rear view mirror and the generator was on FIRE . . . .   Can you imagine ?  I guess you just can't prepare for everything.  It's never happened again, plus we have a back up now.  I can laugh about it now but I wasn't laughing about it at the time. 

Half crazy and half done

Where did it go ?  The week - it has vanished.  It seems like I just posted Sunday night and POOF it is Thursday.   I had an email from a dear blog friend today who asked me if I had been run over by a giant SUV.  Lol   Nope, nothing that dramatic.  It was just one of those weeks that got away from me.

Well thats the half crazy part.  Now for the half done part.   Some of my regular "hooker" readers may want to sit down before they continue reading.  It's for your own safety.

I have finished the binding on 2 of the 4 little rugs . . . . . . . .  I know - it is SHOCKING !

Two rugs bound in one night.  I can hardly believe it myself.  I finished the edges Deanne style and it went by quickly - plus the rugs are smallish.

Still on the snowman theme - today was Mom's adult day care.  They usually make some kind of craft while they are there.  Today she came home with this cute painted glass snowman.

The staff and volunteers at this program are angels.   I doubt I would have the patience to make a craft with 12 alzheimers patients. 



Now I'm off to catch up on what you have all been doing all week. 

Weekend Update

Hi folks.  You guys made me laugh with all your comments about yesterday's "almost" road rage incident.  I was still fairly mad all the way home but once I typed out the post I was laughing too.  

I had lots of things I should have done this weekend but instead I retreated to the hooking frame and forgot about everything else.  I will probably pay for it tomorrow but it felt good to not think about anything and just create something.

I finished the candle mat and also finished another little holiday mat.  I love the wool I used for the border.  I think I have enough left for another little something.  Just waiting for the idea.

There is enough linen left for one more little mat on the end of this piece.  The only downside is that when I finish I will have 4 mats to bind before Christmas.  And it is a well established fact that I do not enjoy that part and procrastinate, and procrastinate, and procrastinate.   Fingers crossed that I don't do that this time.

Here is a little peek at the current mat.  I added a little sparkly ribbon to this one.  I love this ribbon and luckily I bought some ahead because you can't get it anymore.  I treat it like gold now.

So that is the results of my lazy weekend.   Have a great week.   

A letter

Dear Kind, courteous driver:

This letter is for the sweet man driving the enormous white Escalade I encountered at the intersection of Mapleton and Trinity this morning. 

I'm sure you were just distracted by your cell phone when you cut me off and almost creamed me with your giant SUV.  I'm sure you thought it was OK because you were bigger than me.  But I'm sure you have heard before that size doesn't matter.  In fact, I'll bet your wife has said this to you a time or two.

I am sorry that I could not make out all the words you were saying, as you were looked down on me when you pulled up beside me at the traffic lights.  I could make out a few of your words though.  I may have missed some of the fine nuances as I watched your big fat lips flapping at me through the glass of the windows.

I was afraid that perhaps you wouldn't hear my responses so I chose to respond in sign language.  I truly do hope that you were able to fully understand my gestures.  I have a feeling you have seen them before.

Thank you for making my nice, quiet little drive to Moncton for a few errands so very special.  I hope you have a SUPER day, and that a thousand fleas infest your armpits - Asshole.

Sincerely,  Kim

P.S.    BITE ME

Remember

November 11 - Remembrance Day

Take a moment to thank all the Service Men and Women in the military

past, present and future.



Introducing Cousin Emerson

I am so proud to introduce little cousin Emerson

My little sweetie is less than 1 hour old here.  He was born early this morning

in the Netherlands.

His proud Momma is my baby cousin Angela, but I will

be Auntie Kim to Emerson.

Great name, eh  (I picked his name)

This was a very high risk pregnancy and I have been a nervous wreck awaiting his arrival.

Momma and baby are both doing fine.  It is so hard to be so far away at times like this but modern technology makes it a little easier.  I can't hold him but can Skype with them both soon.

Welcome to the world Emerson



Small and simple

In my quest to get my hooking mojo back, I decided to just draw out a small, uncomplicated little pattern that didn't require a lot of color planning and thought. 



This little mat is approx. 12 x 12 and I am amazed at how quickly it is hooking up.  I dug out my #8 cutterhead for the background.  Now I can't remember why I put that #8 away - I love it.  I will be leaving it in my cutter for awhile.   



I think I have my mojo back.  I still have some room left on the end of this burlap.   Any suggestions for the next little 12 x 12 project ?

Feeding the soul

Where would we be without our women friends?  They are the people in our lives who support us, encourage us and lift us up when we need it.  Sometimes they are also the ones who kick us in the butt when we need it.

But no matter what, the bonds formed by women are important.  I was reminded of that this weekend.

Friday night I attended a Women's Dinner Club.  As I told you before the guest list was a secret.  It was a little like Christmas morning, as each time the door opened we anxiously awaited to see who was on the other side.  Each one was a new gift.

It ended up that everyone knew at least 2 - 4 people out of the 16 invited.   It was certainly an interesting collection of women - all different ages, backgrounds, and experiences.  It is going to be a great journey getting to know more about each of these women as the winter progresses.   In attendance were 2 gals I went to high school with and hadn't seen for many years.  It was so fun to reconnect with them.

And the food. . . . . .  outstanding !   But then again, anytime a man cooks and serves a group of women - its going to be a treat. (hehehe)  I am very much looking forward to our next gathering in December.

The remainder of the weekend was equally enjoyable.  Saturday morning there were a few craft shows around.  I shopped a bit and got a few little bits and bobs and also got a few new craft ideas.  Now if I could only find the time to try and make them.

Next stop was to the International Food Fair that was being held in my Church.  There were 12 different countries represented with food.   And it was (conveniently) lunch time as I ventured in.  I sampled some tasty treats from El Salvador, Cuba, France, China, the Congo, Vietnam, Lebanon, Thailand . . . . . I can't remember the others.  Well I tried all 12 samples.    I hear they are planning to expand it for next year.  I will be there - for sure.

I'm glad I wasn't counting calories this weekend - but I certainly enjoyed myself.   If its been awhile since you got together with your gal pals - - - pick up the phone and make the arrangements.  You won't regret it.

Guess who's coming to dinner??

Well, it's not Sidney Poitier for sure, but that is about all I know.

I have been invited to join a Women's Dinner Club.  Tonight is our first get-together.  And for now, the guest list is a secret.

There are 16 participants - dubbed an "ecclectic" group of women by the organizer. 

So tonight I will arrive and find out who I will be dining with monthly throughout the winter.   I'm excited.  Our meals will be catered by a local chef.

All week I have been trying to guess who might be there. . . . . . I love the surprise aspect of it . . . .  but I'm also curious (and we all know what curiousity did to the cat).

The suspense is almost over.  I will let you know how it goes.

A gathering of 16 different women -  This is shaping up to be a very interesting evening. 

Ever have one of those days??

Just Sayin . . . . .

The spoils of war

It's over again for another year.  We had about 50 little goblins begging for treats at the door.  And you will never believe this but the very first knock on the door last night was a CLOWN......Yes it is true - luckily it was less than 3 feet tall so it didn't send me over the edge. 

Millie is much quieter tonight.  I do think her throat must be sore - she out-did herself with the barking last night. 

My patience was running low with her but the one thing that didn't run low was the treat supply.  We had over bought on the treats.  I have tons left.  I took a big bag to work this morning to get rid of some, but unfortunately several other employees had the same idea.  There is temptation everywhere.   I think the peanut M&M's are the worst - I can't resist.   I need to find a new home for some of this candy - - - quickly !

Changing topics - Have you been watching Dancing With The Stars ?  I was always a fan of Maks - I like his sarcastic edgy attitude but last night I think he went too far.  I was not impressed.

But J.R. Martinez . . . .  what an inspiration !   I think it is his season - at least I hope so.

That's it for now.