I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up...

Just when I thought that because the two days of nasal congestion had dissipated, I was officially on the mend, I was blindsided by some sort of viral nasty. Flu/cold/Ebola...I'm not sure, but it's ugly and it has my name all over it.

Since yesterday I've been barely able to drag myself from school to home and back...knitting is right out of the question...those needles are so heavy and it takes so much effort to focus on those stitches!

In the interest of conserving my strength for important activities, like taking Miss Elle to the dentist for a couple extractions tomorrow...I allowed the pizza place down the street to cater our evening meal. I'm probably not encouraging my kids to be compassionate human beings because equating maternal illness with pizza for dinner instead of broccoli has the effect of pairing my suffering with their delight. Ok, maybe I'm overanalyzing this.

I'm off to lie down again...see you

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

What could be more festive than spending hours waiting to cross the border with thousands of other Canadians in order to purchase holiday tchotchkas from Target?

Yup, that's how I spent my Saturday. On the road at 5:45 am, home before bedtime and significantly poorer for the experience, the neighbourhood mommies and I started holiday shopping this weekend. I can't disclose the wonders that I acquired for fear of my little darlings peeking at the blog, but suffice to say that US department store crap is sufficiently different from Canadian department store crap as to render it "exotic" in the eyes of 8 and 10 year olds.

I did get a bit of knitting done in the car (when it wasn't too dark to see) and I have knocked off yet another Everlasting Bagstopper. I have to cast on for something else, anything else, because my near total devotion to knitting with mercerized cotton over the last few months is giving me nasty tendonitis.

No finished object photos yet, but I can share some of my non-gift TOPS purchases:

No pre-holiday trip to the US would be complete without the acquisition of



French's Fried Onion Rings, perfect for Xmas Green Bean Casserole! and..



For some reason, Red Velvet cake never really gained popularity outside the US, despite its obvious charm.

Ok so I haven't made much of a dent in my gift shopping yet, but at least I have the meal covered!

A Finished Bunny Bag...

Annypurls Buddy Bag...rabbit-flavour! Pretty cute if I do say so myself.

Lined inside with caterpillar fabric...


It's Monday. That's my hang around the house day...my list for today includes:

raking and bagging yard waste
dragging yard waste and basement mess out to curb for garbage collection
stripping and remaking 4 beds
5 loads of laundry
vacuuming and dusting
collecting kids from school/making lunch/delivering kids back to school
creating school council financial statements
trip to the bank
grocery shopping
book appointment for car heater flush
vacuum car in anticipation of servicing (weather permitting)
wash kitchen floor and front hall


and that's before the kids get home at 3:30...then two sitting of dinner, martial arts, drama practice and homework set in.

About the busyness...when he gets home, DH will wonder aloud what it would be like to stay at home and do "nothing all day"! Oddly enough, I will agree with him in that if asked what I did all day, I will reply "nothing"...

Oh yeah, forgot to mention "losing one of these" on my list



It's been cluttering up our backyard for 7 years now. The girls have outgrown it, but Gillian has a real fascination with water and sand and I've been loathe to part with it up until now. Salvageable stuff tends to disappear from garbage piles the night before the collection, so I'll drag this out to the curb tonight.

Finished Object Alert...

Another Pinwheel Baby Blanket, this time for a co-worker of DH's who is due later this month. Nothing like cutting it close.



Sturdy, practical yet cuddly soft Bernat Satin in Bahamas. And since I was picking up Bernat Satin anyway...



The beginnings of Annypurls Buddy Bag. They are just too cute and I couldn't resist. This is the partially completed bunny version. That is the bag, the drawstring and so far, a one-eared rabbit!

Teacher gift knitting has taken a backseat for the moment (A's baby being due before Xmas and all), but I did manage to complete one Everlasting Bagstopper. Not bad considering how busy things have been lately with Halloween and the school-wide trip to the Science Centre!

Quick snaps of Halloween (Clare did rally and manage a half day at school and a bit of trick or treating)

Molly Weasley, the Corpse Bride and Hermione Granger...oh and Haley in her skeleton Tshirt and devil horns. Gilly was having none of this picture stuff and contented herself munching on Tootsie Rolls!