Somehow....

....the last two months have disappeared into the ozone layer.

Frankly, I blame it on my iPad.

I don't much get on the desktop anymore and I find writing with the iPad to be a challenge. The keyboard is frustrating and then the words that I meant to type, but misspelled, get changed into words or phrases that make little sense, so I go on typing without proofing. And then I go back and re-read and it makes such poor sense that I don't really know what I really meant.....and so I give it all up.

But occasionally, I keep thinking about all the things I have up in my brain and I need a place to spill it....so here I am.

What's been happening? Here is the last 2 months in 10 points or less:

1. Still running. I have done a half marathon here in my hometown and was really pleased with my time. I am planning on doing the Victoria marathon in October. And the Tucson one in December. Might be biting off more than I can chew. We'll see.

2. I have not yet learned that no is a complete sentence, as I have somehow found myself on not one, but 2 boards. This could be a busy couple of years.

3. Our baby girl came home from her second year in university. But not for long. She is headed for Spain in July. And then again in September. And not home until February. I already miss her.

4. The oldest boy needs to get a job. And soon. I cannot afford him for much longer. Too bad 13 year olds are not allowed to work. HE'S very keen to make money.

5. School year is ending this ended last week. Except for exams. But they will both be done by the 22nd. Which is today.

6. Calgary weather continues to suck. Big time. And on June 9, it was snowing in Banff. Technically not Calgary, but considering I was there and not in Calgary, it still counts.

7. I went to Vancouver for a quick trip. I spent too much money. What else is new? Oh yeah - the weather sucked there too. No snow, but cold and rainy/overcast.

8. I fell off the wagon and bought both yarn and books. Not part of the plan for this year, wherein I was going to knit what was in the bin and read what's behind the door. The books were "Let's pretend this never happened" by Jenny Lawson (drop dead funny - if you don't mind a little profanity) and "The art of fielding" by Chad Harbach. Not yet read, Started and came highly recommended. And I have read some of the books by the bed. I just keep bringing home other good ones from work. I have finally resorted to Goodreads to keep me organized - sort of. And let's not even mention the stuff piling up in the digital and audio book shelf.....

As for the yarn - just a little Rowan's Felted Tweed. In ginger. And some Americo cotton. In raspberry. And two skeins of sock yarn. And I am not counting the kit yarn that I get every 2 months. That's different. Sort of.

9. The Flames fell just short of the playoffs. And the coach resigned. His brother coached the L.A. Kings to the Cup. Calgary has a new coach. We'll see what happens. But I will be pissed if Brent Sutter (old coach) goes to a place like Edmonton and they....win.

10. Finally? Still knitting. I have made a sweater, a scarf shawl thingy, a pair of socks and am working on another shawl. Still not that much closer to knitting a marathon. Good thing my running pace is a little faster.

Um, is this thing on?

I am not sure where January went. Actually, I'm not sure where December went, either. Things kind of ....fell apart between then and now. Not in a bad way. Just in a too-much-Toblerone-food-and-giving-induced kind of way. So I'll recap - kind of a monthly wrap-up - only over two months instead of one.

So where was I? Oh, yeah - the Christmas list thing.

1. Turns out that Santa read the list - and I got an iPad. It's my new favourite toy. I took out a book from the library - on Christmas Day!! Pretty cool, huh? Of course, I am still madly addicted to the real book thing. At least I better be - I seem to have enough of them stacked behind the bedroom door...

Oh - and that Ian Rankin novel on the top of the pile on the right?? Totally does NOT belong to the library.....(I wondered where that went)

2. Of course, the big challenge now is trying to manage the above pile. And the growing list of e-books on my iPad. And trying NOT to buy any books - at all.

3. Good thing I like challenges.

4. Second favourite gift? My new oven mitts (I know - rather low-tech. But these are fancy-schmancy silicon and cloth ones. In orange AND purple. They match one of my sweaters. See?)

5. Christmas Day was quiet and low-key. Although I thought I would not like that, turns out there is something rather addictive about pyjamas, Toblerone and reading my newly-checked-out-on-Christmas-Day library book. Without having to worry about turkey. Or dessert. Or rushing around like a mad woman while everyone else is in their jammies, playing with my their toys.

6. Did some running, too. Only this year, it was beautiful out. No stupid cold days. Although I still think we are going to have some major winter soon.

7. Like in May.

8. Or June.

9. I ran the Resolution Run on New Year's Eve. Mostly because of the jacket. For a $40 entrance fee, I got this beautiful, warm, blue jacket. It's my new favourite. And it's not screaming orange like last year's. Which I didn't run. But not because of the jacket. Great jacket. (I'd pop a picture in, but it's in the laundry.)

10. Stayed up late (for us) too. Kind of like New Year's 1998. In that case, however, I was in the throes of labour (sort of).

11. Yes, we have a New Year's baby. Only now he is a New Year's teenager.

12. Not sure how any of it happened.

13. I mean, I KNOW how it happened. It's just that I thought it only happened yesterday. Or last week. Instead of thirteen years ago.

14. On the knitting front, it turns out I knit (and finished) 14 items in 2011. Which worked out to just over 10 kilometres of yarn.

15. Um, that's a lot of yarn.

16. But it is still not a marathon.

17. In the interests of making that goal, I will have to buy more yarn, I guess. (I will ignore for the moment the fact that I likely have a lot more than a marathon's worth of yarn in my workroom.)

18. And I will have to knit a whole lot faster.

19. Which oddly enough is also a running goal.

20. Running faster, I mean.

21. I didn't make any resolutions, but there is a theme emerging in my ponderings. Read faster, knit faster and run faster.

22. Could be an interesting year...

Dear Santa

Most years at this time, I am composing a Christmas wish list. This is as a result of me putting ideas to paper many years ago, when working full-time and chasing three children, all three years apart, blew every coherent thought out of my mind. When my mother would call and say "what do you want for Christmas?", at least I had some concrete ideas to give her.

I never meant for this to become a yearly ritual. I keep trying to get out of it - and every year, DH keeps asking for the list. And now my children do as well.

What I have tried to say, every year, is - you guys should know me well enough that finding something that would thrill me to no end should not be that hard. Because, frankly? You can look around and see that the house is filled with my touches - and if you are observant enough, my needs become very simple.

Two years ago, our now 16 year old did that. He observed me watching Glee in its inaugural season and bought me the Season one soundtrack. I was thrilled and touched. It wasn't on the aforementioned list - but he used his heart and head and got me something that he thought I would love. And it was simple.

(Before you ask - I have tried saying "Surprise me." It doesn't work.)

But I hate getting specific - because when I do, it becomes apparent that if the specific item in question is not found, people go into a panic. And then there was the year my husband bought everything on the list. Which made me feel very materialistic. I really am not. OK - maybe when it comes to yarn and books. But I am wearing the same boots I bought in 2001 - I have re-heeled them twice and given them new soles once. I am carrying the same purse I bought 5 years ago. I believe if you buy quality, it lasts. So I don't want a lot of stuff. But if you want to buy me something, then it should be something that speaks to who I am and what I believe in.

So Santa- here is a list. Nothing too specific, everything related to my passions.

1. Anything woolly. Yarn, pattern books, a gift card, stitch markers. Something that acknowledges that I am rather passionate about knitting. Check out the Yarn Harlot - she is doing a "Gifts for Knitters" every day. It has great ideas.

2. Anything related to running. Take the picture of me coming over the finish line in Niagara Falls and frame it with my number. Buy me some running gear. Enter me in a race at a destination unknown (but a little exotic - and by a little exotic, I mean, not in Calgary. Or Alberta either.) Running is important to me.

3. Tickets to a Flames game. And dinner before hand. Yes, I know they are in a slump. But I am a fan. And I love live games. And it could be a date.

4. Deep inside, I am a bit of a geek. I would love some new technology. Like an iPad. Or an iPhone.

5. Make a donation to a charity or not for profit I care about. The YWCA: DDRC: the Calgary Public Library. These are all things I support.

6. Books. And more books. For title suggestions? See my account in Goodreads. Password is as usual.

7. Music - Emmy-Lou Harris. John Hiatt. Or check out my iPod for bands I like.

8. I would love for my family to develop the ability to see. Everyone walks by the laundry on the line. But I am usually the one to bring it in. The baskets of laundry in the hall? Surely I am not the only one to see them. I know you take your own stuff and put it away. How about taking the towels upstairs and putting them away? The cookie sheet that has been in the sink for three days? It just needs a wipe to be put away. Piles of stuff around the house? You can put it away too, you know. Just saying. Don't leave it out - or worse, stack it in the front mail basket because you don't know where else to put it. Sort through it, put the junk in recycling and store the other stuff where it belongs. Hint - it's not always in MY basket in the office.

9. How about everyone giving me a firm answer when I ask "What do you want for dinner?" instead of "I don't know". Or "I don't care". (Because you do - if I serve something that I like - but you don't, you care enough not to eat it. So don't lie.) I am happy to prepare it. I just get tired of thinking up ideas.

9A. Ancillary gift to number 9? Try a taste or two of the new recipe before you say "Eww" Or "I don't like this". (When you have never had it - unless you are cooking things when I am not around, in which case, (BIG HINT) a key to my heart and eternal devotion would be preparing dinner for me occasionally.)

10. Notice that the bathroom (or the living room. Or the dining room. Or the family room. Or the bathroom. Or the bedroom) needs a little tidying and do it. Without a critical air and saying "Gee, there was a lot of dust in the living room." Like I don't know that. Or it's surprising.

Santa - I know that the last four might be beyond your reach. Especially if you are busy solving world peace or staving off famine in Africa. Which is why I have provided you with items one through six as an alternate.

Merry Christmas

Janet

October wrap-up

1. Finished my second marathon ever!

2. Took 29 minutes off my last time.

3. Any improvements from now on will be in much smaller increments, I feel sure.

Do I look happy, or what??

4. I promptly took 2 weeks off from running.

5. I am worried it will morph into 2 3 weeks if I don't get going.

6. Sadly, I have a very busy week this week.

7. My choice for running with the group on Saturday is 10k or 22k.

8. 10 K seems more reasonable - but that is only if I want to start at 10:00 a.m.

9. I have to work at noon.

10. This might mean I take off several more days.

11. Judging by the amount of Halloween candy I have been eating, I should have started running - say last Wednesday.

12. On other points - we got a new car.

13. It's a Subaru Outback.

14. Apparently, if you want to drive a standard, you don't want a car with leather seats (or vice versa).

15. We had leather seats in the Volvo because we had small chocolate-smearing, cookie-crumb-dropping, muddy-boot-wearing children and the leather was easier to clean.

16. Our children are older, so perhaps that means less mess.

17. Judging from the state of their rooms, perhaps we should have gone with the leather seats.

18. On a knitting note - socks are done!!

19. Sweater is just a time-sucking piece of crap.

20. But it IS a pretty colour.

21. Perhaps it needs a time out.

22. Or perhaps I need to start working on it and stop procrastinating.

23. On another note - I started this on November 1st. I am posting it on November 11. In between, I have spent what I consider to be an inordinate amount of time trying to get on a computer and folding laundry. Not sure why the two are connected - but whenever there was a load of laundry, I was folding it - and everyone else was on a computer. Coincidence?

24. I think not.

Could the apocalypse be near??

I was at the car dealership changing over my tires from summer to winter (because apparently, winter is coming - who knew?) I was knitting. A pair of green socks (which I have been knitting forever, but that's beside the point). A woman came in, sat down, opened her purse and pulled out her knitting. Which was a pair of socks. Which were green.

Perhaps it's not the apocalypse. Perhaps it's just winter.

October update coming soon - I promise.

I have nothing....

So my daughter who is away at university was the person who got me started on blogging. She blogs (it's that one called "Some strange tide" over on the right) about her life away at university. (By the way, AE, glad to see that you took your mother's advice and changed back to the " 'cause how else would a prairie girl get to the Maritimes? ) Anyway, last year, I guess I nagged gently reminded her many one or two times about posting.

Shoe's on the other foot this year - she harassed me last week about blogging and how it has been far too long since I posted.

But here's the problem - right now, I got nothing.

I could talk about running and how we are into our last long run before starting to taper for the marathon in October. Yawn - been there, done that. I am learning that many people don't want to hear about me training for a marathon the second time through. So, yep, nothing there.

I could talk about what I am reading- but right now, it's a YA Alyson Noel - and I have discovered 1/4 of the way into it that I have already read it. Tedious.....

I could talk about knitting, but still on Flint, still on Boating socks, still not much further along. So nothing there either.

I could talk about my broken finger - but it's not broken any more - just crippled up and I have to have therapy. Kind of boring.....

You know - I seem to be leading kind of a boring life these days. I have a friend who is about to have a book published (consulting manual, but still....) and another friend who just got back from Italy. And another friend who is off to Houston for the weekend. And another friend who has gone to New Mexico (with her husband) for a week. Even my husband (who should stay home and share in my boredom) is off to Halifax and gets to see our daughter and go for dinner and meet her friends.

Sigh - I guess I could write some more blog posts. At least that would fill my time.

June Wrap-up

It's half-way through the year - so I think I should look at my resolutions that I posted in January.

1. Book pile by the bed has gone down slightly.

2. I am not looking under the bed, which is where I think some of them have gone.

3. Which likely means I have not been working very hard on tidying more often.

4. At least not in the bedroom.

5. The rest of the house looks - OK, it still looks like a bomb went off. In some rooms.

6. I have been taking more baths - especially after long runs and on cold days.

7. It's summer now - likely less bathing. More showers.

8. Getting to bed marginally earlier. I still wake up at 6:15 a.m.. Every morning.

9. Knitting is very productive. Still slightly addicted to P.vs. Z.

10. But so is my daughter. I guess if you are an addict, it's good to share it around. (It's a time-wasting, but otherwise harmless addiction. I think).

11. I have only slipped once twice in the yarn buying department. That I can see in my Ravelry stash. Both good purchases (Rowan Kid Silk haze and Dream in Color Smooshy).

12. Of course not everything is in Ravelry yet.

13. Speaking up thing is working. In the past month I have confronted a teacher who tore a page out of a book because the content was "immoral" ("but it doesn't change the value of the story overall") and asked that the school consider hiring me for more than one day a week.

14. Post blogs twice a week - FAIL. If you average it out, however, I'm way ahead of the game. March REALLY helped.

15. I like to think it is because my life is very busy.

16. Which is why I am sitting at the computer at 10:47 on Friday morning (Canada Day) - in my pajamas.

16. I have, however, darned the ends in on a sweater, made pancakes, drank 1/2 a pot of coffee, read the Globe and talked to my neighbour for 40 minutes.

17. I can accomplish a lot, it seems, when I am not playing P. Vs. Z.