First pair of socks...

Well, they aren't perfect, but they were a learning experience. I learned about the magic loop method (very cool) and about turning a heel, and the parts of a sock. My second sock was somewhat smaller than the first as I started to get paranoid that the yarn was not going to make it through the to end. I was surprised at how LONG my son's feet are, and all in all, a satisfying project. Looking at this pair, they don't look like they would fit a 5 year old.

Next time I will use a different yarn blend, and I need to get my own sock needles. I get the feeling that there is this whole sock culture out there of folks knitting really intricate patterns. At this point, I am all about comfort and utility. I don't really need to incorporate cables and fancy patterns in to my socks... I want to master the art of the" lets figure out how to make some socks, fairly quickly that fit without big holes around the heel flap that scream out comfort". The kind of socks you would wear in front of the fireplace with a tea beside you, a good book in your lap, your kids happily doing their thing, and your hubby doing his thing...

Damn coffee maker, didn't even make a year.

It was a year ago I lamented the slow decline and then demise of my espresso maker. I knew at the time, the next one wasn't going to be nearly as good.

In a gnarly voice "they don't make'em like they used too".....

So, after a little research, and a damn good deal on one of those big giant websites, we got a new cuisinart espresso machine. I must admit, I didn't love it from the start. It wasn't a positive change from our old one, but one I tried to embrace. It took a few months to get the hang of the machine, and my DH never did try. I think my initial hesitation to embrace the machine from the beginning was a deterrent. It was a pain in the ass to make coffee with - in the morning it would take about 15 minutes from start to finish to make my latte, and my patience was wearing a bit thin.

Last week was one of those weeks that had it's moments, and first thing Monday morning, the wand broke off of the machine. So all the machine could do now is pull an espresso shot. Lovely. I was pissed. We paid good money for a machine that you figured you would get a few years use out of... after all, I got 11 years out of a used machine the last time around!!! Not even a year with this one... Of course, this got me thinking. Really, at this point do I need to spend 15 minutes every morning prepping my coffee? In the past, fiddling with the machine was fun and I never did treat myself to a coffee out. Now, between working full-time and the family... I justify having coffees in the afternoon way more than I did in the past... hence the need for a home-made latte has decreased drastically.

After some deliberation, I cracked. No more espresso machine, hello Keurig! Making my environmental self happy, I did get the filter pod that you can buy so I am not always using the convenient little pods in the morning and throwing them after one use.... it arrived from airmiles yesterday (another bonus)... and this morning, my coffee was ready in under a minute.

Ah. I will register the machine so I can take advantage of the warranty if I need to. I am glad to not have to go through the muss and the fuss of making a latte now. I need enough second cups throughout the day, that a latte isn't so much of a treat that it used to be. A good, easy cup of coffee with some half and half in it.. life is good.

It does piss me off I have to hold on to receipts, and then advocate when products break down prematurely. Frustrating as hell when you think you are buying it right the first time. I also have to follow up about the bed we bought for C-man. It is already having issues on one side and is collapsing. Bah - this bed isn't even 4 months old!!!!!! It is a 35 pound kid sleeping in a captain's bed! I will save the rent for the bed giant. I am glad they stand behind their product, but they can't be making much money if folks like us have bought two beds and both beds have been warranty claims!!!

Concept of the Wild

My dear hubby got me this book a few years ago after we watched the movie, and for some reason I put off reading it. I wasn't sure what to expect - if the novel would be a tear-jerker, or how it would pan out. I really wasn't quite sure how I would emotionally respond to this story. I recall the movie being pretty powerful at the time. All in all, a really good read. A blend of non-fiction, some storytelling elements as the life of Chris McCandless is exposed, and then part tale of an adventuring spirit lured by the idea of the wild, and the wilderness of Alaska. This is not a tear jerker, and in some ways, it is like a socratic argument in the sense that you return to the beginning again by the end of the story but with a slightly different sense of appreciation. Krakauer is a good writer, and he understands the lure of wild places. The idea of "wilderness" is one that has intrigued me over the years. The idea of "heading west" that would have lured our forefathers out to the west coast, getting away from it all, and of heading in to the bush. It is ironic to note how close Chris was to being able to save himself, and he took himself off of the grid by throwing away his map. I have been struck in the past of how our footprints are everywhere. If you seek out the wilderness, isolated places, it is truly hard to get away - planes fly overhead, you find litter, you come to a clearing in a bush and the half-buried tracks of an old logging road. It is hard to get away - I do believe we need wild places - places where everything is not paved over. We need wild places, our kids need to know and embrace nature. Our kids need to get dirty!Hence, it never surprises me when I take my kids for a walk and let them splash around in puddles, and the dog walkers are always thrilled I let my kids be kids. Hell - I can throw them in the shower and wash their clothes... there is nothing like jumping and splashing in puddles and coming home to warm up! Long live inner kids!!!

Light and Floofy

Yes, Floofy is a word. I have read so many of Roberts books over the years, that there is a certain level of comfort in picking one up. With few exceptions you know you will get a decent story, a little bit of the mistical, and a few twists. Robert's books are not bit L literature, and they are good at what they are - very much escapist novels that deliver a happy ending.

So, this was a quick, somewhat entertaining, and predictable read. Kind of what I think I needed at this point. I am definitely ready to move on to something with a little bit more meat in it. Our book club is reading a second book by the woman who wrote Sarah's Key... and I haven't found the motivation to pick it up. It may be that I admit in BC that it just wasn't happening for me and I got distracted by other stories.

A wee bit of a struggle

Truly.. even trying to stay up to date with the books that I am reading can be hard. Some days I feel like I am repeating myself in saying that time flies.

I struggled a bit with this book, even though I really like the author/series. This crime focused on hate/racial crimes and it just didn't pull me along like some of the other books did in this series. It wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't one of the standouts for me either. More interesting learning just how early Banks split from his wife, and how all of that unfolded.

The quotable Twain

If you have some spare time, and need a chuckle.. spend some time here...

I spent a few moments scrolling through some of the pages of quotes and found myself chuckling a few times - this came out of a conversation with a friend about the classics, when I asked whether or not she had read any of Mark Twain.. she responded that since he had a very low opinion regarding Jane Austen, she had never bothered with his books (I couldn't help but laugh when she told me that Twain thought that Austen should have been beaten over the head with her own leg bone)... hearing this, I had to go to the website:

"I haven't any right to criticise books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticise Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Everytime I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."- Letter to Joseph Twichell, 13 September 1898 (Mark Twain).

For the whole thread that illuminates Twain's position on Austen, visit here.

Sunday morning sleep ins

I miss sleeping in.

Over the last six years of kids, I have gotten used to waking up in the middle of the night a few times and crashing back to sleep, but it seems that waking up for work at 5:30am has now made it damn hard to sleep in on the weekends.

Remember when you were a teenager and getting up before noon was hard? Sleeping in past 6 am is now hard, regardless of whether or not I could use a few more hours of sleep! This morning is strange, only half the house is up!!!

It has been a somewhat productive weekend so far - I was definitely surprised by the news headlines all over the place last night about Houston. I can't say I was always a fan (different music tastes) but she did possess amazing pipes, RIP. On a total aside, is it terrible to admit I have been enjoying watching the Voice? It feels like a guilty pleasure!! HA HA. Even though I have felt a wee bit culturally disconnected over these last six years, you hear the covers of music enough and eventually you get to know the artists behind the voices.. and Adele definitely has an amazing voice. It seems I am stumbling in to a post about music - when I am trying to get C to sleep, I have had the radio on... to a soft rock station.. amazing how songs can bring you back to an age, with memories flooding back of your past self and different periods of your life. Last night the song that stuck out was "Never Surrender" by Corey Hart.. remember those years?? Remember those sunglasses? Ah, youthful angst.