My husband is on the phone with his father discussing a moose that their buddy has “knocked down” in the woods. It’s all the little expressions and turns of phrase that make living with a Newfoundlander so entertaining.

people at work all seem to be talking about tiger woods, about something he did. cheated on his wife? (is he married?) they keep talking about how he got caught and who he got caught with and blah blah blah. i have no idea what they are talking about – because i don’t care. i don’t pay attention to celebrity gossip. why would i? who actually cares if tiger cheated on his wife other than the people involved.

it’s irritating. people need to focus on their own lives and the world we live in. argh.

PS – oh look, there’s fake snow falling across my banner…weird…

it’s december 1st, 10pm, and 10.4 degrees outside.  this is not right.  where is the snow?  the cold?  we’ve got the wind – gusting to 100 tonight (and i can feel it in the house shaking) – but where is the cold?  it got up to 13 degrees today.  tomorrow?  high of 1.

i shouldn’t complain really, but i do worry about it being global warming and not just a fluke.  and then i go looking for information and find this, which is just depressing.  i drink coffee, use toilet paper, have a widescreen tv and have been known to waste food (but have really been curbing this – i amthe leftovers queen!).

*sigh.

so much to worry about.  i’d rather be knitting.

i am SO ready for this exam to be over so that i can start prepping for christmas.  which is weird since it’s only november…normally i can hold out much longer than this.  we still won’t put the tree up until a week before, but i’m eager to start the baking (the list is already about 10 items long!  and i don’t bake!) and knitting!  i’ll definitely be making more of the little korknisse below – i loved the white ones but gave them all away last year!

with bells and ribbon - all ready for the tree!

i also really want to make a crochet star garland like this one.  the original pattern is here, but the colours on attic24 really make me want to do my own!  then again, everything on that site makes me want to crochet things in bright colours.  i might not end up making  a garland, and i might just crochet some bright stars to hang from the tree.  we’ll see!  other christmas knitting is coming along – i’ll be glad when i can just sit and focus on that though – the deadline is fast approaching!

and as much as i loved decorating these guys last year – i just don’t like gingerbread to make more this year.  i’ll leave you with this pic of the gingerbread that was:

hello, we like to rock out on gingerbread beach!

a few pics from the last few years (just trying out the mosaic maker!):

1. noro scarf, 2. forest canopy cowl, 3. BAWK, 4. forest canopy cowl, 5. gargoyles, 6. eiffel, 7. red door, 8. lumsden spit, 9. waiting for action, 10. finding it all quite strange, 11. fiddling and figuring on the new boat, 12. celebratory welcome, 13. new york, 14. time square, 15. IMG_1296b, 16. DSC00934

passed 2 exams? check.
solved dogs health problems? check.
made bread successfully for the second time? check.

*ok well, i might not have actually solved the dog’s health problems. but he’s seeming better and i’m hoping i helped.

yesterday, in between running a few errands, studying, and watching movies…  i made bread.  the excitement i have at actually having made bread that is edible and not a solid rock is immense.  i feel like annapurna and it feels good.

i started with a recipe from smitten kitchen – bread without a timetable.  i followed it almost to the T…not.    i changed the type of flour used, used bran instead of germ and used rice milk instead of milk and water….  what i did follow was the idea that time and temperature don’t matter; you can’t overknead by hand; just relax and let it go.  and it turned out great:

first bread!

steamy!

i was so excited by my first success making a baguette style loaf that i immediately cracked open the joy of cooking and made two loaves of white bread.  it was an entire day of thinking about bread – i finished the last two loaves around 10pm.  and they are awesome.

basic white bread. nom.

a quick note while i figure out what this blog should be…

view this, share this, act on it.

Remember that yarn you gave me for Christmas? The silk/seacell blend that was oh-so-soft you snuggled with it in the store before purchase? You do? Good. Then also remember that I tried to knit the pattern that it came with, I really really did try. And I really really hated it. I didn’t like knitting with two balls at once. It was twisty and confusing and I think maybe a smaller two ball project would be a better way to start. And as the project grew I also realized that I didn’t like the pattern. Ruh-roh. Danger. If I don’t like the pattern am I going to keep knitting it? Nope. It’s going into “the room” and I’m leaving it there for-evah. So, instead of doing that, I changed patterns! I know that pre-christmas I had sent you a link to this shawl because I am in love with it. The pattern has been knit eleventy-billion times. Right now there are 11,532 projects posted on ravelry. It’s simple and for some reason this one by Terhi over at mustaa villaa made me need to knit it.  Of course, I love most of what she knits.

Anyway, I’m side-tracked.  The new shawl is coming along.  You’ll get to see it in a week when you get here!  I can’t wait to show you.  I know you’ll pet it and ooo a little bit.

love, J