It's past noon!

I've been craving Mojitos since the heat came back. I thought I'd share my recipe with you guys so that you can all enjoy them too! I warn you, dont mojito and knit, unless you're doing freeform...lol! Here it is:

K's Mojitos

2-3 oz Light rum
Juice of 1 Lime (1 oz)
2 tsp Sugar
2-4 Mint sprigs
Soda water
Ice Cubes
Lime wedges (to decorate)

Mixing instructions:

Put lime juice, sugar(or cane syrup if you have) and mint at the bottom of a glass. Smush (very technical term) them together until you can smell the mint. Add ice cubes. Add rum and soda water. Place a wedge of lime on the edge of a glass, sit in a comfortable garden chair with some cuban music on, sip and enjoy. For a booze free version, just take out the rum!

This drink is killer at a party, BBQ or just when its really really hot.

This post had nothing to do with knitting but man do I love summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy drinkin'!

Hot, muggy and I love it!

I have to say it, I looooooove this tropical weather that we're having. I know it's a pain for lots of people but, you know what? I really HATE winter so this, to me, is like the weather in heaven :-) I think the only inconvenience is that knitting a shrug out of wool is not super easy. Speaking of the shrug, I just need to finish the lace on the second sleeve and i'm ready to block and seam. Woohoo! So that's it...now I'm off to enjoy a beer in a smoky place for the last time!

Happy knitting!

Music and knitting

Okay! Today was a bit of a shopping day for me... I went to American Apparel and, as always, I came out of there with some nice tops. An eggplant tank and a nice green wide neck t-shirt that shows off some back. Oh, by the way, this is the summer of feeling sexy...I don't know how I'm going to get there, but I'm really trying my hardest to do things to make me feel good about me! I also went CD shopping. For all you local folk, you'll know that the weather in Montreal today was reminiscent of a day in the jungle (not tooooo hot but really murky) so, I let myself be swayed by that mood. I bought 3, yes three CD's. The first is the soundtrack to Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou which is actually a guy (Seu Jorge) singing Bowie songs in portugese. It's really, really good, and seriously perfect chilling music. I also got the latest CD by Projet Gotan. They're kick-ass cool. I don't know from where they are, but it's like lounge-ish south american music. That's what I'm listening to now and I strongly recommend it. Finally, I got the new Cheikh Lô CD. He's a senegalese singer who combines good old african rythms with some brasilian sounds, especially the percussions. He's amazing. I know many people are adverse to world music, but to you I say try it, you may like it.

On the knitting front, I only have the final ribbing on the body of the shrug as well as the lace trim on the sleeves. Wow, this thing knit up super fast and super well...I've also decided that for the World Cup, I'll be knitting the caftan top from the spring IK in a scrub-green (but nicer) cotton. I think it'll come out gorgeous!

Happy Knitting!

BTW, Serge thanks you all for the nice comments, he's been posing for some more pics that are to come soon! :-)

I'm a sucker for punishment

Alright...I know that after the disaster that was the knitting olympics I should run at the thought of another crazy KAL BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT (enter pathetic excuse here) I couldn't let this one pass by. I've joined the Knitting world cup! I'm trying to figure out what I could make in a month...one whole month...hmmmm...I'm thinking something on big needles with chumcky yarn...then again...I also thought about the Circle Jacket from IK (that thing was designed for me to make and wear!) or one of the gorgeous tanks from the spring IK...I'm thinking something for me...something sexy...Any suggestions? This thing starts on June 9th so the clock is a tickin'...

Happy knitting

Introducing...

So here he is...the new man in my life doing what he does best. Without further ado, ladies and germs, I give you:



Serge the cat (don't ask about the name, it's a stupid french thing...)

My new man

No I haven't given The Man the heave-ho but finally, after such a long wait, I have a kitten :-) He's the cutest thing in the worls, he's 8 weeks old and is carmel with orange stripes. As the vet called him, he's a pouf-ball as well as a purring machine... So there...haven't gotten much knitting done since he's been here, all we do is play...I've taken about a trillion pics, I just need to sift through them to find the cutest one to share with the world.

Happy knitting!

Soul Patrol!!!!!!!!!

It's time that I confess my TV weakness for American Idol I know, it's cheezy, but I love the damn show. Last week, I was terribly sad when Chris Daughtry was eliminated BUT, I have to say that I've had a weakness all along for one character (cause that's what he is) I'm a member of the Soul Patrol. So there. Tonight, there's a knitting thing, and I know that I'm going to be thinking about the elimination show...If things went my way, Katharine McPhee (I totally don't have McPhee-ver) would get the boot, but she won't and my prediction is that the final will be between Crappy McPhee (sorry, but I don't like her) and Taylor Hicks...we'll know soon enough...

Happy Knitting

Shrugs, travelling and all that jazz

I followed Karines example and decided to try making the Streaker Shrug from the spring IK. Went to my LYS and got hooked up (I'm so cool)with some yarn but not just ANY yarn. I decided to make my shrug in Manos del Uruguay. It is GORGEOUS. I have a pic at home of the progress and must remember to post it later. I'm doing the pib in a pink-ish color and the body is in a beautiful variegated auburn/pink/dark burgundy. I can't wait to wear it!

In other news, I'm getting scared about travelling. I'm such a wuss...I don't know why, I should be all excited, but I'm getting a little panicky...Today, I found out that one of my best friends might be coming with me which, to be honnest made me even more worried...Are we gonna get on okay? What if we don't? How do we go about this and stay sane? I know all these questions are normal and that we'll have a great time, but I don't know... Brides usually get cold feet...maybe I have cold... wings?

Back on the knitting track, I've put down the Poma-nanana-us socks down to concentrate on the shrug, but i should get some pics of that progress up too, the colorway is wicked nice (now i'm from Boston!). So that's that for right now!

Happy knitting

Ah saturday mornings...

Just like with every other saturday, I woke up and just went to the couch and got ready for some bad movie action. Boy was I rewarded...Twister! Oh yeah! So I'm watching it now, gonna go make some breakfast than off to the LYS and then the knitting thing at Cafe Rico. It's a shitty day in Montreal but I'm totally motivated to make it the funnnnnnnest day EVER! (I woke up in a good mood, can you tell?) I'm actually also looking for a good pattern for something that's going to make me crazy happy and that's going to be fun to knit. I don't know...I think a summer shawl or scarf...I don't know...Any-hoo!

Happy knitting!

Ooooh La La!

The Holiday of Holidays


There are holidays for presidents,
Groundhogs and Lovers.

The calendar honors Halloween,
Fathers and mothers.

Now take out your date book.
Find the section for May;

Mark down a celebration so special
It's awarded a month plus a day!

This holiday is unique -
No feasts, parades or an elf;

For the 7th day of this month
Calls for a gift to oneself.

Some holidays are limited
To a particular nation or state;

But here is one that's followed
By all who masturbate.

Masturbation Day is commemorated
By individual and personal picks -

Toys, videos, a scented candle,
Use imagination to get your kicks.

Spread the word! Tell your friends!
Try e-mail or the phone;

Raise the flag! Independence is declared!
Time to set off fireworks of your own.


Happy Masturbation Day!

I just found out the May is Masturbation Month and I thought that I should share the pretty poem that I found about it... I'd cheer but I don't know how much I'm in the mood to "rah-rah-sis-bam-boom GO MASTURBATION!!! Wahooo!" Riggggghhhhhhttttttt....LoL! So I thought I'd share this tidbit of information...Okay...

Happy...masturbation?

BTW this is the first time I actually blush while posting...good for me!

Ooooh pretty!

I was out magazine shopping (as I do every friday morning) and found the new Knit1. and in it, I found the prettiest pattern for a shawl I would totally wear. Then, I flip to the end to look at the pattern...you guessed it, it's crochet...sob! Well, at the same time, it gives me reason to want to learn to be a hooker (hehe). This shawl is so worth it, it's inspired by Frida Kahlo (great artist, bad unibrow) and is a little showy but looks just...beautiful. I really like some of the patterns in this mag, but I have qualms with a 36' bust being a large...not that I'm calling for a fat revolution or anything, but please pattern and magazine people, think of us...not so...anatomically...perfect people when you put nice things in a magazine...

On saturday there's supposed to be a knit-in-the-park think with the knitting ladies...hopefully I can haul my ass over to continue on the Poma-nanana-us socks (which lookquite pretty I must say) although I don't know how I can be attentive to a pattern with these ladies, I always end up laughing or talking up a storm with them...

Oh, I got my SP match and was contacted by my SP...let the games begin! (muahahaha!)

Happy knitting and happy friday!

I really do have an unhealthy love of blogthings...

You Are a Lemon Margarita

Sour, tangy, and overpowering, you tend to give people a jolt back into reality. While you don't sugar coat things, you're honest - which is actually quite refreshing.

What Flavor Margarita Are You?

Your Porn Star Name Is...

Albino Kitty

What's Your Porn Star Name?

Who Should Paint You: M.C. Escher

Open and raw, you would let your true self show for your portrait. And even if your painting turned out a bit dark, it would be honest.

What Artist Should Paint Your Portrait?

Your World View

You strongly reject traditional values. Above everything else, you value honesty. For you, morality and truth are one and the same. You hate to be thought of as weak or insecure. You abhor hypocrisy and have troubles with authority. You are impulsive and somewhat unpredictable.

What Is Your World View?

Poma-nananana-us

I had gotten some Regia Canada colors from my LYS last thursday and started a pair of Jaywalkers but then, I don't know, I had a change of heart. Anyhow, I'm already halfway through a pair of Jaywalkers in another colorway. Soooooooo, I looked through my knitting binder and found this pattern. It's lace...yes I know...and it's pretty...and probably a less frustrating lace pattern than Treillis from IK spring. I mean really...K7tog...how rude! LoL! (I don't say this to be rude, but it's just that I had some serious issues with K7tog-ing...oh don't hate me cause I'm bitter...) So yes, other than that, I have a zillion things that I want to knit, but I'm just too tired, busy and broke to do so for right now, but soon will come some sort of wrappy-thingy/boobholder for early fall and...yes I know this is like...the 3rd time I'm doing this, but I'm going to try to actually finish a sweater for myself...(like that'll ever happen!!)

Happy knitting peeps!

Let's play tag!

I've been tagged by Robyn, so here are my answers...

7 things to do before I die:

1. Get married
2. Go back to Africa
3. Live abroad for at least a year
4. Have children
5. Go to Asia
6. Direct a play that'll be "enjoyed by all"
7. Not settle for anything but the best

7 things I cannot do:

1. Be on time
2. Put on mascara without opening my mouth
3. Sing
4. Lie
5. Put my foot behind my head
6. Commit
7. Drink tequila (bad memories...baaaaaaaaaaaaaad!)

7 things that attract me to my man:

1. Nice hands
2. Made me laugh
3. Honest.
4. Accepts my neurosis's's's
5. Tells me he loves me.
6. Nice legs
7. He can't dance for shit, but tries!

7 books that I love:

1. Shel Siverstein books
2. Harry Potter Series
3. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
4. Nabokov's Lolita
5. Tolstoy's Anna Karenina
6. All Over But The Shoutin'
7. Le Goût du Bonheur trilogy by Marie Laberge (such a good summer read!)
(I could keep goiin, but for your sake, I won't)à

7 things I say:

1. No, I'm not drunk
2. Oh my God!
3. Can you hold me
4. Do I look like I care
5. I'm going out to the pub
6. I miss my pillow
7. I want one

7 Movies I've loved:

1. Chronicles of Narnia
2. Almost Famous
3. When Harry Met Sally
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Little Mermaid
6. Rent
7. Eternal Dunshine of the Spotless Mind

Tagging:
Nadine
The Man
Emmie
And who ever wants to fill this out!

The trip

Some of you have expressed some interest in my forthcoming trip so...here it goes. I'll be leaving for Paris, from there, I'll be taking the train to "La planète Mars" i.e. Marseilles. I have a friend who live near there in Aix en Provence and one who lives in Le Rove so it'll be fun and mostly free of hotel charges. After a week, I'll be flying to Dublin to meet up with a friend of mine who's working in Cardiff all summer. We'll hopefully be going to Puck fair(it's supposedly fun) and other than that...we'll be hitting the many many pubs of Dublin, Jamieson distillerie and the Guiness brewery. As you can guess, this is a half relaxation trip and a half... going crazy in Ireland trip. I guess that I just need to escape a little and spend some time alone a little too. So yeah...

More on knitting later...

Break over

I knew that I said I didn't want to blog, but really...I can't do it. I'm just tempted every time to come and post, so...I'm coming out of retirement! I've decided that I need some me time so, I've booked myself a flight from Montreal to Marseilles from which I'll be going to Dublin. I'm gonna do it, and I'm gonna do it alone. Mememememememememmememememememememe! The Man is fine with it (which I love about him) and my parents are really encouraging me to go and to have fun out of the country and to rely on myself for a couple of weeks. I think it'll do me a whole lot of good.

I also got another piercing put back in, my infamous industrial (a bar through the top of my left ear). I think piercings should be part of remission for burn outs/light depression/whatever you want to call it. It left me with a rush of endorphins and feeling good and relaxed. If it were up to me and not a matter of ca$h, I'd probably have a bunch more...I'm thinking of doing the eyebrow, but I'm not sure about having stuff sticking out of my face other than my nose...Who knows, I'll see, I'm gonna fly by the seat of my pants a little this summer so...expect the un expectable...I'm gonna get the man to take a pic of my ear so you can all see it :-)

On the knitting front, I'm going to go work on a new pair of Jaywalkers in Regia Canadian colors. I have my work camera with me so I'll try to take some pics for my sidebar, I haven't updated it in a while.

On a personnal not (yes...again...) check out the Bangkok Noir blog in my sidebar, a friend of mine just left for Thaïland to do some humanitarian aid and he's fun to read, takes some GREAT pics and...yeah...I strongly recommend him even though he's not a knitter...LoL!

Happy knitting!

throwing in the towel...for now...

Some days are easy for me, some are hard and then there are the days when I just want to take my head and ram it through a wall of cement...Today is the latter...I'm going to be taking a bit of a blog break, in fact a bit of a break of life before I burn out like last summer. So that's it...stick a fork in me...

Haircut-mania

So it's done, the scissors have chopped, and here I am, in all of my splendor (chunky spendor, but splendor) with short hair...not much difference on this pic, but in person, I like it! I thought I should share the pic with all you blog people since I consulted all of youz for the style and stuff. By the way, thanks for all of your inputs, I appreciated it and showed up to see my hairdresser with both the Angela Basset pic and the other one. Fun thing is that now, I can style my hair both ways! hourra!

Went to my LYS! It was the first time in a looooong time I went there...and there was some new yarn...Believe it or not, I actually didn't purchase any yarn except for 1 ball of sock yarn :-) Also say that there is now some sexy Manos del Uruguay as well as some Patagonia natural cotton...yes I had a hard time holding back...all in due time...On a sadder note, they were having a S'n'B at the LYS and felt like I was intruding...that kinda sucked...I love this store...bah! maybe i'm just being a baby...

Happy knitting!

Tagged, I'm it!

I was tagged by Jennifer for this "What's in there" meme...so here it goes!

What's In your Fridge?
cheese, beer, wine, fruits and veggies, spaghetti sauce, every condiment that exists, rice, tomato sauce, milk, belgian chocolates, capers, margerine, butter, youghurt, couscous leftovers, chocolate syrup

What's in your Closet?
My A&W teddy bear, yarn, shoes, the rest is in my dresser

What's in your DVD Player?
The Chronicles of Narnia, Shopgirl, Whale Rider (these three in perma-rotation)

What's in your car?
I don't have a car...but in The Man's car, there's my CD's, Kleenex and a stash of dried fruit

What's in your purse?
Wallet, home keys, office keys, iPod, Anna Karenina, lip balm, mascara, Advil Migraine, gum, Bust mag, my Moleskine, pens, Cendres de Cailloux (a play), ticket stubs, You Grow Girl (no shit my shoulders hurt look at all the crap I'm dragging around, I'm like Allison in The Breakfast Club)

Who am I tagging?
I'm tagging Deawn and whoever wants to fill this out...

Secret Pal 8 Questionnaire

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?

I can't deal with acrylic and love all natural fibers, especially alpaca and merino.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?

Um....store needles....?

3. How long have you been knitting? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?

I've been knitting for about a year and a half. I consider myself an advanced beginner because there's a lot that I still don't know.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?

I do not

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)

I love the smell of lillies and anything cirtus-ish.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?

I definetly have a sweet tooth and have a serious weakness for chocolate...

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?

I love to paint on canvas and am hoping to get back into it this summer, and I definetly want to learn how to spin.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)

I love all music but have a serious issue with country and bad-ass rap...the rest is all good! And I can always use some more MP3's

9. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?

My favorite color is black, but I love creams and natural colors, reds and pinks.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?

I live with The Man. We're getting a kitten next week named Serge.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?

I wear scarves 365 days a year. Hats and mitts are essential during the winter. Ponchos make me look like a bell...

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?

Socks, although I just finished a sweater and like seeing somwthing that big completed...Other wise, I love making scarves.

13. What are you knitting right now?

A secret project that I can't talk about, some socks and a sweater in ZarOne

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?

Hell yes!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?

I like straight bamboo needles and circulars in aluminum...I just discovered the joy of AddiTurbos

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?

I don't but desperately need both

17. How did you learn to knit?

The Man taught me, then it was a matter of Knitting for Dummies and the rest...well I got some help from everyone at MontrealKnits

18. How old is your oldest UFO?

A cabled sweater in Cork, it's a year old...

19. What is your favorite holiday?

It's a toss up between St-Patties day and Christmas

20. Is there anything that you collect?

Yarn...

21. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?

I'm kind of sad the Rebecca isn't available in Canada...I'd love to get my hands on some of the recent ones (spring/summer 2006) I'd looooove to have Big Girl Knits but it's wicked expensive...As for yarns...I haven't knit with enough of them yet but I'd really like to try bamboo yarn...

22. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?

Fair Isle

23. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?

I am an avid sock knitter. I wear a size 11 (yes i know, big feet)

24. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)

I was on 04/05

Working full time is hard...

No it's not, but I just like saying that it is...riiiiiight...I finished a pair of socks (green online ones) and started another pair (blue, yellow and brown online). Socks are so practical for the bus and metro...I love knitting while in public transit...as for bigger projects...well there's one and it's practically all done, but I can't tell you about it...(if I did, you just know that I'd have to kill you...muahahahahha). So that's that...I'm off to bed!

Happy knitting