Music Monday

Hello Mondains back for more?

Short post today.

Here is a good ol' song from a Canadian artist. Aidan Knight with his song "Jasper"



Enjoy.

EO

Micro Update

I am off to work so all you get is a micro update. In point form even...

• Sawyer was the usual -- adorable, snuggly, and hilarious. Erik has been known to say something along the lines of, "I prefer having her for a couple days". And it's true, we get into our own little groove. And she typically likes him more day 2. 
• Speaking of E -- he's sick. I wouldn't go as far as to say he is ill, but he is definitely under-the-weather. The can't-sleep-through-the-night, nose-is-like-a-faucet, my-head-doesn't-feel-so-good kind of sick.
• I am still healthy as an ox though I have been awake since 0330. Much too early, if you ask me. 
• We had a pumpkin carving afternoon with our church yesterday at a friend's house. It was awesome! Good food, good friends, good naps. And pumpkins were carved into some amazing things. There was some serious carving talent. Pictures later today maybe... or tomorrow. I can't "cock block" Erik's Music Monday. He has put a 24 hour no-post policy in place so I can't post for an entire day after his posts. 
• I have no more shifts booked until Friday. Then I start a set. I'm a little nervous to work on my regular floor after the last two weeks on plastics. General Surgery is much much busier. And the patients are much much sicker. And it is much much more intense. It will be fine though -- it usually is. 
• That's all I have time for folks. Have a good day or two. Let's hope Erik doesn't wait until 10pm to post!

my recent knitting

These pictures are the worst! For some reason our camera takes the worst photos when it's cloudy out. Well, they aren't the worst, but the colour is way off in these. Ok, not way off, but definitely off.

First up, the little vests I have been making. I got buttons for them yesterday. They have five buttons down the side and two at the top on one of the shoulders. I am thinking of altering the pattern and making a couple of these babies without all the side buttons. Who wants to finagle a bunch of buttons? We'll see if I am skilled enough to make the adjustment -- I don't think it will be too difficult.

Just another close up of the yarn I used. These are intended to be a "manly" vest. The pattern is so quick and easy so I want to also make minor adjustments to make it a girly vest too. You know, lose the tweed, add softer yarn and more feminine colours. Also doing a different stitch at the top, bottom and may help. And losing the changed side stitch. I'll have to see what I can whip up.

And this little dress is nearly completed. The colour is a lot more subtle in real life -- a pale pink. I was trying to find buttons for this, but wasn't satisfied with any at the yarn store I went to. Maybe I will venture out to Fabricland this week. We'll see.

I have also completed another little project, but it's a Christmas present so you'll have to wait until December to hear about that one. It's lovely though and I can't wait to share it!

Little Sawybean is here for the weekend. As I write this I hear her humming herself to sleep -- what a good little girl. I will hopefully find some time to share a little bit of how adorable she is tomorrow. For now, a movie date with my husband. Have a good night!

No Moment

No {this moment}  this week as I didn't take any photos. Instead I have been knitting up a storm and working when I am called in. But seriously, knitting up a storm. I will take photos today to show you what I have made in the last five days.

For now I will leave you with this little video. Erik and I were obsessed with it a while ago and my sister-in-law recently posted it to her blog reminding me of how much I love it. It sometimes hits me just so and makes me all teary eyed and nostalgic.

a wee dilemma

I have a bit of a dilemma. You see, there's a craft fair in November and I was thinking about knitting some things for it.

Pas de probleme, right?

Wrong.

Sure I could knit a few things. Maybe a couple baby vests. Maybe some toques. I have an entire month to knit them, but the creating of the items isn't the problem. The problem would be the pricing of said items and if it would really actually be worth my while. You see, knitting takes a long time. Especially when you are a slow knitter like myself. Knitting takes time and yarn costs money (especially if you are a yarn snob like me).

Let's put it this way... You know the dress I made my niece, Hailey? How much do you think I could sell it for?

Whatever number you have in your head is not enough. And here's why: I chose relatively inexpensive yarn and it still ended up costing me $25 (the yarn I purchased for my next go-around with the dress was $40... eek!). Would people even buy the dress for $25??? And that would only cover the yarn -- it wouldn't even touch a minute of the 40-some hours I spent knitting the lovely little dress. Yes, I did just say 40 hours... give or take a few. I've made the dress three times now and it has taken varying lengths of time.

Now take the vests I'm currently working on. They take about 10 hours to make but the yarn thankfully only costs $15. They're little vests. How much would I be able to sell them for?? Is it even worth it?

And the toques. The yarn costs anywhere from $7-15. And the toques take about 5 hours to make. Could I really sell them for a decent price though? How much are people willing to pay??

I love knitting, but this is why I think I can only do it for fun. It really isn't worth selling. I wish I could make a profit off it to help fund the yarn addiction I have been wanting to develop, but I guess I will continue to employ my self control.

Instead, I think I will just keep knitting for the people I love.

Well, maybe I'll sell some vests. Or some toques. Or both.

I'm undecided.

Music Monday

I think perhaps that anyone who looks at this blog on such a special day as music monday should have a special name that I can address you all as. I propose "mondains." Send me your ideas or put them in the comments; if you can make me chuckle more than I just made myself chuckle then you may just have your name in lights.

Hello Mondains and welcome to Music Monday!

Today I am dedicating this to everyone whose initials are SKOS. If you are SKOS this day is dedicated to you because for some reason the music reminds me of something you would have given to me on a mixed CD circa ten years ago. The moment I heard it I thought of you and a few moments after that I started liking the song. Hurray!

This is Oh Land with "Perfection"



One part catchy, one part bizarre, three parts delightful.

BONUS ALERT! BONUS ALERT! TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! BONUS ALERT! BONUS!

This is another one which reminds me of SKOS for some reason. Its a collaborative effort by If By Yes and a man whose name rhymes with Bavid Dyrns. This is "Eliza"



Leave your ideas for naming all you mondies (all three of you).

Until next week, keep your Bavid's Dyrning.

E
D
O

mornings.

I am definitely a morning person. I always have been and I hope to always be. Mornings just work for me. In fact, I have a hard time staying up in the evenings. For some reason I have no problem staying awake when I work nights though -- it probably has something to do with the fluorescent lighting that gives me a head ache... or the constant eating... or the incessant call bells. I worked last night and I should probably be napping, but I'm going to stick it out and just go to bed early tonight. I'm good at that.

To reward myself for three night shifts in a row I have decided to have my favourite kind of morning. The kind where I sit with a pot of tea (this morning it happens to be Bengal Spice), a Granville Island Candle (papaya clafouti), and my knitting needles. Bon Iver is keeping me company for the time being.

I love mornings that I get to laze around the house.

My messy kitchen isn't even bothering me.  The scraps of paper scattered around me from partially crafted Christmas gifts aren't even causing a stir.

It is wonderful.

I have already cast on a new baby vest. Worked through about a quarter of it (the easiest quarter) and then pulled it apart because I think I want to use smaller needles. I'm going for a bit of a thicker look than the needles were giving me. I have even re-cast the baby vest on smaller needles already.

The only thing that would make my morning better is if one of you was here sipping on some tea with me.

Good 'ol Shel

We had all of Shel Silverstein's books when I was little and the only two poems that I can still quote are:

Mrs. McTwitter was the babysitter

I think she's a bit crazy.

She thinks a babysitter's supposed 

To sit on the baby.

And, my favourite growing up.

My beard grows down to my toes,

I never wears no clothes,

I wraps my hair around my bare,

And down the road I goes.

on my mind

Well, I am off to work in a couple of minutes. I'm going to be spending my night dreaming in pinks and purples. Oh, and caring for my patients.

I'll have these lovely yarns on my mind.

 

Speaking of yarns, I am almost finished this little dress. Old faithful. I love this pattern. 

Also, in the midst of working on some of my Christmas gifts I have also almost finished an adorable baby vest. I'll have to take pictures of it on Monday. It's pretty cute. It's time I devote some time to those gifts though... November is creeping up on me and December is right behind it.

Have a good night.

some of the weekend.

Erik and I had an all-too-brief visit home last weekend. It was a short one, but it was a good one. We managed to squeeze a lot into the three days we were gone.

It was interesting to see Erik interacting with his old high school friends, former teachers, and other members of his community. Many of them he hadn't seen since graduating eight years ago. He was a little social butterfly at the funeral and I watched contently as he reacquainted himself with everyone. It was obvious that he was (and is) well loved. 

On the way home (Kelowna) from my in-laws we stopped in to see the Reimers so I could meet little Halle Grace.  And to see Stewart, Charisa and Micah... of course.

But Miss Halle was undoubtedly the main event.  She was adorable -- so tiny (though much bigger than when she was born) and so perfect. She was even awake for most of our visit.

And Mr Micah, her older brother, was as cute as ever. He has grown so much since I last saw him! He adored the camera though taking photos of almost-two-year-olds is always a challenge oddly enough. I ended up with many blurry photos. He is such a doting big brother and he was so gentle with little Halle. Very sweet.

And Stewart and Charisa? They were lovely as well. It's always good to visit with friends though I wish we had more time. There's never enough time.

After our visit with the Reimer's we went out for dinner with my brother, SIL and cousin. Again, the visit was much too short. We had to head home to Kelowna that night so we were in a bit of a hurry. It was fun, none-the-less.

And this week I have been working. from 11pm to 7am. Gross. I worked Monday and Tuesday and now I have Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Going to work at 11pm is bizarre. Sometimes I go to bed at 8:00pm and sleep until 10:00pm before my shift. And then my patients are often sleeping when I get to work so I sometimes don't meet them until I am either waking them up at 2am to do vitals or until 6am when I am doing vitals, giving meds, or doing a quick assessment. The benefit of working from 11pm-7am is that I actually get to see Erik after work. My shift from 7pm-7am doesn't leave much time for us to hang out.

That's about all for now. Have a good weekend.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a crisp weekend!

*** *** ***

photo credit: Mr. Micah.

help wanted

We rearranged our living room this week. Or maybe it was last week. It doesn't matter when we did it, our living room is rearranged and we now have a giant empty wall. It sucks the life out of the place. I regularly find myself lost in its emptiness and I don't like it. I am intent on filling up said wall with beautiful, lovely things that make me joyful.

Enter Nikki McClure.

Nikki McClure among other things. I am thinking of creating a collage of many things, but one of those things needs to be a poster of Nikki McClure's work.

The problem is, and this is where your input would be much appreciated, I don't know which print to get. I love them all! I thought I would quickly share the ones I am thinking of for the living room. There are more that I adore, but they'd fit better in the kitchen, my little reading room/baby room, or my one day nursery.

Here goes.

Congregate: I like the message. And I like the print, but I think it would work better in a front entry way (if I had a front entry way). And I would prefer a bit of colour I think. I really like it, but I'm liking it less for the space I intend it for.

Learn: Good Message. And it's a lovely shade of green. And I kind of adore it.

Pause: Always a good reminder. And a dream location, eh? On a porch swing with family. I can smell the fresh air and feel the breeze just thinking about this print.

Rely: There's just something about this photo. I love the mama's hat. And that her growing boy still sits on her lap. And they look so relaxed and comfortable with each other. They seem to embrace the season they are in, both in their lives and in nature. That's what this print evokes in me at least.

Seal: I know this would be better for the kitchen, but there is no room in my kitchen. But I think it is absolutely wonderful. I know how delightful it is to finally get to go to sleep after a day of canning. I love drifting off to the popping sound of jars sealing. And you've got the "sealed with a kiss" idea going on.

Sustain: This one makes me think of my Opa. I love the message.  I love the little pop of colour. I love this one too.

Treasure: I would love to see this out my window. And again, treasure. Another good reminder. And I love the pale yellow. And the slightly cluttered window sill. And the breeze blowing into what in my mind is the kitchen.

I love all of these because they are simple and yet they manage to capture something visceral. Earthy. Innate. Real. They connect with me. They evoke memories and emotions in me while inspiring hopes and dreams. They transcend time and unite past, present and future.  I know this is a lot to contribute to some prints, but I have been staring at these in adoration for well over a year (give or take a bit) and have had a lot of time to think about them.

So please, help a sister out and let me know what print you like best. Pretty please?

Music Monday

Good day.

Music Monday today is dedicated to Doreen Schmitt. Here is her story:

http://www.imaginenocancer.blogspot.com/

I wrote this and sent it in as the family asked for memories of Doreen. It ended up being read at the funeral which was a bit of a shock to me:

I grew up across the field from the Schmitts. Most of my childhood summers I spent playing different sports with Jake in the back field, side yard, and on the concrete basketball court. The Schmitt house was always stocked with refreshments and candies; the perfect mix for two young boys who had just worked very hard to win the World Series, the World Cup, the Stanley Cup, the Superbowl, or any combination thereof depending on how early I had climbed through the barbed wire fence.

I remember Doreen from six years of age up to twenty six years of age. Though I have changed much through the years my experiences with Doreen have not; always vivacious, always smiling, and always fascinated with what was happening in my life. I knew her to be positive, supportive, enthusiastic, motivational, and entirely transparent. One of my favorite memories of her which stands out for me is her interaction with her children. Looking back I marvel that she could be so close, friendly, and funny with her children while executing such unpopular motherly moves as making sure her kids cleaned their room, did their homework, or took out the garbage. It was obvious to me, even as a preteen and teenager that she valued her family and worked very hard to be a loving, encouraging, supportive mother. I believe that she succeeded so well with her family that she had to find others to be a loving, encouraging and supportive person to. Luckily for me, I was one of those she found.

I am very thankful to have had a part in a life so well lived and can say sincerely that the part she played in my life, in our lives, is profound. I know this because her life does what all profound lives cause me to do; they cause me to say "I want to be like her." I hope that I can honor her memory in my life by becoming more like her; loving, encouraging, supportive.

It is time to grieve for a life lost and to celebrate a life well and bravely lived. May peace be with all of us who are in this process.

Sincerely,

Erik Olson

This is a song about a community grieving. This is Sufjan Steven's "Casamir Pulaski Day"



"and he takes and he takes and he takes."

I will say that Doreen's story has more hope in it. A major theme at her funeral was her desire for people to celebrate the gift of life rather than mourn for those passed away.

Until next time, enjoy the gift.

EO

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a rejuvinating weekend!

*** *** ***

Just Another List

• We had Thanksgiving dinner at our place this year. We borrowed a couple long tables from church and converted our living room into a dining hall. We didn't get to spend the day with our families, but we had some wonderful friends fill in. There ended up being ten of us and it was a wonderful evening. 
• I finished knitting the dress I was making. I still have to sew in all the loose ends, but the main construction of the dress is finished. It's adorable, as I knew it would be as I've already made the same dress twice before. I'm making another one of Hailey's dresses only this time it's for me. No, I'm not pregnant, I have just decided that I want to start my own collection of hand knits. 
• Erik and I are planning on going travelling next year. Nothing is set in stone, but we are thinking of going for six months! Wouldn't that be wonderful? We're thinking of doing South America, South East Asia and Africa. I'm a little worried that it's too many continents for only six months -- six months really isn't that long. We are just in the early stages of planning though; we are actually just dreaming still. But we'll make it happen. More on this later. Probably much more over the next year. November 2012 is the anticipated date of departure. We cannot wait!
• We are heading home to Washington tomorrow to attend a funeral for the mother of one of Erik's childhood friends. It will be good to be home. 
• Yes, I do consider my in-law's place home. I'm sure you would too if you were ever blessed enough to visit. 
• I have oriented to another ward at the hospital. I am expanding my knowledge base to include plastics. I'm a little nervous, but plastic surgeries fascinate me! Don't think face-lifts, think taking skin, fat and a portion of the muscle muscle from the lower abdomen, dissecting and elevating it, then creating a tunnel between the skin and the chest wall so you can pull the skin, fat and muscle up through the tunnel with it's blood supply still intact and use it to create a new breast after someone has had a mastectomy. This is a procedure known as the Transverse Rectus Abdmoninis Myocutaneous Flap, or more commonly the TRAM Flap. Now that procedure is absolutely amazing. 
• I borrowed my girlfriend's KitchenAid for a day and it changed my life. It only took me 15 minutes to make bread! And I made a couple batches of cookie dough and it was all done before the bread was even finished rising. Amazing. I have got to get me one of these. 
• I've just started making Christmas gifts. I don't even have ideas for everyone yet. Ugh! I will need to start hounding people for lists. This year Christmas is with the Olsons. I'm always a little sad about not spending holiday's with my side of the family, but I do love sharing them with Erik's. I don't know when we are going to celebrate Christmas though because my girlfriend just sprung an end-of-December wedding on me. We'll just have to work something out though. 
• I work Dec 26, 27, 28 and I may swap an 8 hour for Christmas day. One of the girls wants to spend Christmas with her baby. 
• My SIL is due in December. I can't wait to meet the soon-to-be-newest member of the Jansen family. Shoot! We also need to plan to make it home to meet that little one. I think we are going to have an exceptionally busy December/January. 
• I turn 25 in January. Does that mean I get to throw myself a big party? Who wants to come?

the big 18

My niece, Jessica Hailley, turned 18 today. Happy Birthday J!

Music Monday

Hello seekers of melodic sounds. Today is Music Monday. It is also Thanksgiving for Canada.

I thought that because it is Canada's day to give thanks that I would put in a little something from a Canadian singer songwriter. His name is Owen Pallett. I went to his concert because I was going to Vancouver to see a free show at Signalfest early this year and decided that if I was driving all the way down there I should really see two shows. I hadn't heard too much from him before going to the concert but I can say that I was entirely impressed. He was mesmerizing. It was so much fun to watch him build a song right in front of me. The song I am presenting to you was at the height of my mesmerized state. There are few times in life that I have been able to give my absolute can't-think-of-anything-else full attention to something for longer than a few seconds but this song held it for 5 minutes straight.

This is "E is for Estranged" by Owen Pallett



This video was actually shot at the concert I was at. When you see the audience you may just see me sitting there, eyes fixed, mouth slightly ajar, possibly breathing but maybe not (I don't remember if I was breathing, I can only make an educated guess at it).

If you live in the US you may have a hard time playing this video. You can probably find another version of the song on youtube or the internets.

Until next time, keep your E's for happier words

E-xtravagant D-elightful O-utrageous

At the Cabin

I loved being at the cabin. We were there for only 24 hours, but it was so refreshing. I loved being secluded. I loved the peace, calm, and serenity that only the-middle-of-nowhere can provide. I loved being holed up with my friends in a teeny cabin away from the stresses of the "real world".

We arrived at the cabin at around 12:30pm and hung every article of clothing we had been wearing on the hike up to dry. Erik had thankfully run along ahead to start a fire for us. We then had a group nap up in the loft because we were all pretty tired. It was pouring rain when we got to the cabin so we just stayed inside by the fire playing cards at the table. 

It cleared up a bit while we were making dinner so we started a fire outside to cook the ribs on. The umbrella came in handy while we were making the fire as it provided enough shelter to keep our kindling dry enough to light easily and quickly. We also made pachos with cheese and chives. That was Kevin's request, ribs and pachos for his birthday dinner. 

After having a wonderful candlelit dinner we sat around the table while Rhett read aloud to us. I have no idea what book he was reading from and I had no idea what was going on in the story, but it didn't matter. I absolutely love being read to; I find that I get lost in the sounds of words. I especially love being read to by men (particularly my husband or my father). Deep male voices are soothing and I have noticed that they get a bit husky and deeper when they've been reading for a while. It's almost as though they are relaxing into the story. It is so comforting and makes me feel safe for some reason. Couple that with fire, candles, and my hubby snuggled up beside me -- perfect.

We ended the evening hanging around the fire outside. We meant to have smores with nutella but we ended up just sitting together enjoying the warmth of the fire. Actually, Mandi had a couple marshmellows, but they didn't make it into smores. 

We were in bed by 8:30pm. In the perfect world I would go to bed at 8:30pm every single night. I love going to bed early!!  I slept horribly because I felt as though I was going to vomit ribs up all night long -- I think that may have had to do with my tendency to over-eat. We slept with all the windows open and at some point the fire died so I snuggled in close to Erik. 

We had a delicious breakfast of hashbrowns, leftover ribs, chives, cheese, and egg scramble and Mandi also made french toast. And we had banana-blueberry bread. So so so so so so so so so yummy. After breakfast we cleaned the little cabin, cleaned the outhouse, chopped some more wood and kindling for the next visitors and headed on home. 

It took two hours to make our way up the mountain, but we managed to get down in just over one. It was truly a splendid weekend.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

Wishing you a thankful weekend!

*** *** ***

Valemount

It's my friend Kevin's birthday this week (today actually) and to celebrate we decided to plan a hiking trip in Valemount. It was supposed to be a surprise, but somebody let the cat out of the bag.

We left Friday morning and were planning on hiking to a back-country cabin a few miles in. A few things interfered with these plans. First, we got into Valemount a bit later than expected. Second, the alternator in the Jeep died just as we drove in so we had to replace it. Thankfully the shop had the alternator we needed... but it still took a couple hours. Third, it was pouring when we got there and it was already getting dark. We decided to grab a motel room for the night and to leave in the morning.

I'm so glad we waited till the morning as the hike was a little bit more difficult than we expected. It was thankfully a short hike (it only took us two hours), but it was steep. And wet. And snowy. And did I mention that it was steep?? It was awesome though and it felt so good to get my heart rate up a little bit. And to challenge my little lungs -- boy has it been a while since I've done that. The poor things didn't know what to do with themselves. I'm glad my pack weighed all of 15 pounds because that was challenging enough.

We were told it was a well groomed trail, and it was for the most part, but there were sections where trees had fallen along the trail and we had to climb over and under and through and around them.

And yes, Rhett did take an umbrella. He didn't have proper rain gear and he wanted to stay as dry as possible.

It was a gorgeous hike -- absolutely beautiful! We want to do it again sometime in better weather so we can actually see the view. Hiking is such a funny thing though. I hate it while I'm doing it. I hate making my way up a grueling mountainside. I hate when my lungs feel like they are going to explode. I hate when my legs are shaking and ready to give out. But it feels so good when you reach your destination. It feels so very very good.

What a fabulous idea too -- having a cabin in the middle of nowhere that you can only hike into. The cabin was just big enough for the six of us. There was a loft with foam mattresses up top and a wood stove, a table, and a little cooking area downstairs. And that was all. So simple and so perfect.

It was so wonderful, in fact, that Erik and I are already planning our next back-country cabin adventure. Only next time we may need snow shoes.

Still Reminiscing

Yes, we were in Minnesota a month ago (woah time has flown by!) and I still haven't said everything I wanted to about it. Yes, I realize it is a little late now, but I just can't help myself. The trip was just that good. Those boys were just that cute.

I'm actually just going to post photos. It's easier that way.

 This here is Mr J learning to crawl.

 Erik played guitar while Diego serenaded us.

 Diego picking bugs off our car and collecting them.

 T.J.P.S. snuggled up on a cool morning. 

 Reading with Uncle Erik.

 Sweet Little Jamie.

 Seriously. Too sweet.

Morning with the boys in the sunroom. Yes, Truen is in a tiger suit -- the cutest!

Hanging up laundry. 

Diapers.

I wish my SIL and her family lived closer. We really don't get to see them enough. And it is always wonderful when we do. I don't think anyone is blessed with in-laws as wonderful as mine. I just love 'em. All of them.

never

you should never, and i do mean never, have to pick puke chunks out of your nose.

Music Monday

Hello everyone. I hope that your weekends were wonderful.

My weekend was wonderful but seasonally confusing. I had the opportunity to stay in a back country cabin with friends this weekend. We drove up in elevation quite high and then hiked for a few hours up what felt like a cliff face. Through the hike we started in a sloped and wooded terrain which slowly gave way to alpine meadows of grass, shrubs, and short thin pine trees. We also climbed to a point where the snowline was fighting hard to advance for the winter. From the valleys to the top of the mountains we went through autumn and hit the winter. Waking up in the cabin was like waking up to the Christmas morning I dreamt about while growing up.

Here is a group with childhood dreams. This is Olenka and the Autumn Lovers with "When we were children"



Until next week, keep mornings crisp and your leaves in piles.

Ee Dee Oh