First off, Happy Mother's Day to all of you Mums, Mommies, or MAAAAAAAs.
So, what's been going on lately?
My parents visited, and finalized the sale of their condo here in Halifax. (They simply weren't using it enough to justify owning it.) So, there was that lovely little slice of madness. Additionally, they decided to not take much of the stuff that was in the apartment, and instead left it in my foyer. So I've been going mad trying to figure out where to put everything. It's not fun trying to assimilate the detritus of another household. But it was a good reason to go through my own house and seriously purge it of accumulated crap. Let's just say that there were several trips to Goodwill and a call or two to the good fellows at 1-800-got-junk.
We also cleaned out the garage. Reason? We bought a new car. Mr. Ninja's 15 year old beater of a Golf died horribly outside the liquor store. And he decided to get a practical family sedan. Guess what came home with him?
Yeah.
Hey, at least it fits both booster seats in the back. And driving it is like being in a spaceship cockpit, people. It drives like you are sitting on top of a massive bottle rocket, and even when you're not driving at top speed, it still feels like you're in the Indy 500. The car has been christened Starbug (10 geek points if you get that reference), and will soon be adorned with a chrome Autobot decal. 'Cause, y'know. The RX-8 is Jazz. Who was one of my favourite Transformers EVAH.
And those lovely flowers in the box? They're my Mother's Day gifts from the kids. I think that the family has figured out that if they give me plants that live outside, then the plants at least have a fighting chance at survival. Indoor plants are doomed in my hands, alas.
Crafting-wise, I'm still plugging away on my Estelle. I am SO not a fan of how the pattern says to increase (for example) 25 across a row. This blows my mind - is is a product of laziness on the part of the designer? Or are they just assuming that the knitter is ok with sloppy math? How on earth am I supposed to increase evenly across a row if the number to increase doesn't divide evenly into the existing stitches? Gah!
I was distracted from my sweater by a request from the Mr. He puts up with the encroaching stash, so any request from him takes priority. Y'see, we recently got a new GPS, in light of our impending travel. I love the man, but there's no way that I'm wrestling with a map that has town names like Hafnarfjordur and Stykkisholmur. Even for him. Anyhoo, the GPS has many different voice options. British, Australian, Texan, etc. And my beloved has chosen...Yeti. So, I now have a Yeti yelling directions at me when I'm driving around. And when I arrive at a chosen destination, the Yeti gives off a blood-curdling yodel.
My sweetie has decided that we needed a traveling companion, a la the gnome from Amelie, and requested that I make him a Yeti.
Voila.
Improvised pattern, and knit from demonic acrylic yarn. The feet were a last minute addition, demanded by the Mister. There is aquarium gravel (left over from the beanbags) in the Yeti's feet, so that he can stand up on his own. I'm pleased with how he turned out - the arms aren't as wonky as they appear in the photo - especially as he's my first toy.
Other crafting includes:
I volunteered to make an "angel" package for one of the Odd Duck swaps - the Alice in Wonderland one, to be precise. I missed the deadline to get in on this swap, so I was more than happy to make up a package for someone who got screwed by a flaky partner. I don't actually have a picture of the entire shebang, but here are the owl flip-top mittens I made.
Cute, eh? They're a mod of the Under the Tree pattern.
Finally, it's almost summer. Which means that it's time to make itty bitty dresses! I'm using this tutorial, and it's working out nicely. Will post pics when they're completed.
Now, I'm off to play video games and zone out in chocolate-fuelled-blissed-out silence. Thank goodness for Mother's Day, eh?
