Sloth

Not this type which, despite the humongous nails, seems benign and cuddly.

But this....

The room of a teenage girl.
I always know when the mess inside is getting beyond reasonable...stuff starts to pile up in the hallway.

Notice that she has to step over it to get into said room. Why is it so easy to just step over piles?

That is my question....

JUST PICK IT UP AND MOVE IT INTO PRIVATE QUARTERS!

The door is always closed but I cracked it open to reveal the true extent of the sloveliness!

Until I started researching the word I hadn't realized it was one of the seven deadly sins! Now, not only is my child unbaptised but guilty of at least one deadly sin!

She may be crossing the River Styx some day!

Granted she comes by the tendancy naturally.

Any of you who have read my past posts on my piling ways will be well aware of that!
And

As a teenager I too suffered from the sin of slothfullness to the same degree that Dear Daughter (DD) does.

The difference in her life over mine is that I was expected to clean my room on a regular basis where as I live in eternal hope that the desire to be non-messy will come naturally at some point in her life.

Now I am in the hell of having a DD who lives in squalor!

All sins have consequences!

Maybe one day she will have a daughter of the same ilk!

How Slothful am I?

(one always has to check these things before confronting a teenager don't cha know)
What is Sloth?
Sloth is the avoidance of physical or spiritual work.
Well...I try not to avoid spiritual work but physical work is a different thing all together
Why you do it:

You're shiftless, lazy, and good fer nuthin'.

hmmm....lazyish, not shiftless and definitely good for somethings!!

Medieval theologian Thomas Aquinas said Sloth is "sluggishness of the mind which neglects to begin good... [it] is evil in its effect, if it so oppresses man as to draw him away entirely from good deeds."

Well I am not sluggish of mind. In fact the non-sluggishness of my mind causes my physical sloth.

AND
I have not been drawn entirely away from good deeds.

YET.

So what do you think?

Do I help this teenager become less slothful by forcefully instilling orderliness?

Or

Do I mend my own ways first?

(notice I include no photos of my transgressions in this entry!)

The Perfect Afternoon

Some afternoons are meant for being in the backyard.

Yesterday was one of those.

Though it was scorchingly hot in the Toronto area my backyard was just the perfect temperature for sipping Mojitos, knitting and drying laundry.

So.....

that's what I did.

Won't tell you yet what I am knitting but I can tell you it is Katia Tobago 100% brushed cotton.

I have enjoyed how the colours have come together.

Good Morning Birds

One of the sounds of spring, summer and fall that I love is the sound of the birds in the early morning.
I always sleep with the window open a bit even in the dead of winter for the fresh air.
In the winter the mornings are almost deathly quiet with only a few of the bravest of birds out and about before the sun warms the air a bit.
Once there are longer times of daylight and the migrating birds start returning from their warmer homes mornings get quite raucus.
This morning I lay in later than usual (8 AM) and listened.
Close by were the Sparrows, Chickadees, and Goldfinches among others I couldn't identify. There were probably Robins and yes there were the Mourning Doves. Far off were the Crows yelling at everybody (They were probably harassing a hawk or something like that) and the Ring Billed Gulls finding food.
Such a musical treat. If I could compose music they would be my inspiration.

Of course birds get up at the crack of dawn so there have been days when I have been woken at 4 AM and cursed a wee bit. And then I remember the silence of winter and I enjoy. I allow them to sing or chatter me back to sleep.
Mornings are always good when started with the sound of birds.

Birds over Lake
Originally uploaded by martianknit.

May 23 Miscellanea

A-nother warm and sunny day!

B-ackyard my favorite spot today.

C-omputer finally fixed.

D-enial of life's difficulties in full force.

E-njoying my day off.

F-avoring right side of neck. Hard to check blind spot when driving right now.

G-ross is what Kessie was eating earlier. (you don't want to know)

H-eat of day wonderful.

I- am watching an Ant crawl across my monitor.

J-ogging is not something I will ever do.

K-nitting laid aside until I can get the measuring tape.

L -ittle Kessie licking my leg

M-y hair getting out of control again. Do I grow it or chop it off? Looking for ease of care!

N-ostrils flair smelling bbquing steak!

O-rdinary pleasures abound.

P-roud of my Prom girl !

Q-uiet is what I love!

R-esting on my laurels

S-unning my pale, pale body. Hopefully no sunburn....

T-anning is what I am hoping will happen but wearing no sun screen.

U-nder the tree is our table.

V-ulnerablity under wraps.

W-inter is very far away today.

X-anadu in my thoughts.

Y-earning for an airplane ride to anywhere.

Z-est for life fills me.

Prom Night

Simply Gorgeous!

The Week Before the Prom

At the end of every High School year the graduates get to go to a formal outing to celebrate the passage of their teenageness as they grow into young adults.


This year it is my daughter's turn.



Where does the time go?

I remember sending her off to her first party in her Belle Dress and now

she is ready to head off to the party that marks the end of her need to have me sending her off.

It is a good thing. I keep telling myself that.


This weekend was the marathon Prom Dress Making weekend. Louise came over and created magic with Dupioni silk and 2 sewing machines.


Louise is my very closest of friends. We have shared all the ups and downs of our lives with each other for about 30 years.


She was one of the first people after family to meet Rhea and now she is helping her grow some more!

And now for the dress in rehearsal. The first complete try on!

Sometimes you just have to look at your children and wonder how you managed to be a part of making something so beautiful.

Sometimes you just have to wonder why an amazing woman thinks she is not longer photo worthy!

The Big Prom is this Friday. I will make sure to post the photos!

Grooming Day

Today Kessie got groomed. She is not a fan of the grooming but she loves

Lindsay from Furr n Purr!

Here she is before her grooming.

And
One and Half hours afterwards she is back with bows on!

Kessie is a high maintenance gal. It takes the bulk of the time to groom her head while she wiggles all over the place! Having Lindsay come to us is so much better for Kessie. Hardly any stress at all! No crating or spending hours listening to other stressed dogs bark. She calms down almost as soon as she is in the door.

While she was being groomed today I groomed as well. Not an unusual occurance for me. I actually need to groom more frequently than Kessie. I know you thought I woke up naurally beautiful!!

Before

After

I am a low maintenance gal. Wash and go sort. But I do need my mascara!

Mom's Day Oddments

Happy Mother's Day to me!

I bartered myself a new earring and necklace set! Thanks Tara for wanting the Whitby Wrap!

Mmmm...Jewelry!

Rhea in the Whitby Wrap

I am not finished my triangular shawl obsession! I am currently working on one that is tree colours. I am combining Naturally Tussuck with hand spun that Cathy bartered with me.

My Bartered Tree Striation Shawl!

Also working on a sock and lace weight in mauve and terra cotta. As I was working on it I cam across a photo of roof tops in Burgundy France. The colours are almost exactly the same.

My Burgundy Striation Shawl!

Had a relatively successful Studio Sale this weekend as mentioned in last post. Now I have to start gearing up for the November show.

Oh, And Jen has invited me to her place in Newfoundland in October! I can't wait! Her house is on the ocean!

The Studio Show

Brainwave
2008

Today was the Studio tour. It turned out fairly well I think! Lots of people through and a few pieces sold. Of course only those that didn't get sold. Rhea took a few photos.

Brainwave is still one of my favorite pieces . It was one of those pieces that grew organically. My hands were just the medium. I don't really want to sell it because it is perfect for over the Fireplace and I love it. I have therefore put a really high price on it!

Time Exhales

This piece above was a piece that required alot of research and thought on my part. It is a depiction of how events that happened 40 years ago affect every day that follows. How one cataclysmic event can exhale over the world for minute, hours, years, generations... I loved creating this piece because it was done for a competition and I had to work within a theme. It became a very academic piece for me. I learned a lot!

All were on show and will be on show tomorrow again. I get to hang out waith Jen and Tara too! Yeah!!

I am a Chicken Collector

- “A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg.”

- Samuel Butler

yes...

I have a chicken collection. The one above is my Christmas gift from Emily. She sits in my living room keeping the television company.

Don't know why I started a chicken collection.

It is not big but there it is. The barnyard cluckers.

This is Francie the French Hen!

This last chicken was given as a Christmas gift during a knit chicken gift exchange.

I became so enamoured with knitting this chicken that I carried on to knit the two above it. It is a Susan B. Anderson pattern but I have taken my own design road. I am jonesing to make another one. I guess this would be the month to knit one!

I will show my respect for the chicken not by eating one (though they are delish!) but by knitting another one!! What colour should I make her?

Do you think this is the end of my collection? No these are only the knit chickens!

Next time...My Vintage glass Chickens!

Bet you can't wait!

It's Cinco de Mayo Day!

The Dancing Chickens of Ventura Fabian

International Respect for Chickens Day!

May is International Chicken Month and May 4th International Respect for Chickens Day!

Doesn't that just rock your world?

Look at their agility!

Maybe I'll become an Urban Chicken Farmer!

I will choose my chickens based on agility!

Windsor Whirlwind!

I was away in Windsor attending a wedding this weekend with the ever so emotional Munroe clan. I swear that lot tears up so easily I always end up feeling like I am so cold hearted. Which those who know me know I am not.

I just don't cry easily! Never have. Some women ball their eyes out during sad movies but I rarely do. A tear here a tear there and that is about it.

But the Groom for God's sake was almost unable to make it through his vows, his speech, his dance with his Mom etc... Then everytime I looked around some other Munroe was dabbing at their eyes!

I think they find it as funny as I do! They just can't help it. And, you've got to love a group of people who are so in touch with their feelings. Maybe it shows the difference between Scottish lineage and German lineage! Germans are so good at keeping it all under control. Or, maybe it has nothing to do with heritage but the my ability to erect protective walls during emotional events...

I got a few good photos too. One that I love of Papa Munroe's nearly 90 year old hands.

And another of Nana Munroe looking a bit pensive.

I swear every other time I looked at her she was laughing at me! Who knows what I was doing but by the end of the evening she was holding on to her jaw because it hurt so much for laughing! It is always great to see her out and enjoying herself!
My favorite part of the evening was, you guessed it, the dancing!!! One of the things that I dislike about being of an older, respectable age is the rarity with which a dance floor is available for just dancing! Not organised, formal dancing but the freeform go with the beat dancing. Dancing with a group of people who don't give a rats ass what your technique is. A group who can get just as into the rythm as me. And that is what the Munroe clan women are good at!! (Barb and Sheila especially!) This time though all our husbands joined in and that was a hoot! At one point everybody kicked their shoes into the middle of the circle and danced barefoot. Everyone but me that is because I had on heels that were strapped on and I had no intention of sitting down to take them off! And..I was 3" taller than usual which is always a good thing when you are only 5'2"!
Note to self: Must get invited to way more weddings! Just for the dancing!