Going Domestic

If I had a million dollars ...

Any Barenaked Ladies fans out there? I love their earlier stuff ... Anyway, today's installment of the Friday Five got me thinking of them again ...

You have just won one million dollars:

1. Who do you call first? I'd probably call my employer :)

2. What is the first thing you buy for yourself? A trip around the world, so don't be trying to contact me for a year ...

3. What is the first thing you buy for someone else? I'd buy a ticket for my wonderful husband so that he could join me :)

4. Do you give any away? If yes, to whom? Of course ... I imagine I'd donate to a foundation doing research on diseases that have impacted my life, the SPCA, and a few others. I would never ever donate to this university, though. They keep asking me to support their MBA program, and I am not an alumni of their MBA program. Imbeciles!

5. Do you invest any? If so, how? With a sum that large, it might be sensible to invest a good portion of it in an instrument paying a fixed return, whether that means a GIC, a coupon bond, or a preferred dividend stock. That's to provide reasonably steady income for daily living expenses. Chris is having an infatuation with investing at the moment, so I'd let him invest a sum in equities and call any gains "fun money" ... and maybe he could buy few Bowie Bonds:)

Thinking Warm Thoughts

A couple nights ago, Chris and I were peeking out from our front window, and noticed that the creepy white van that used to be parked on the street in between our house and the neighbour's was conspicuously absent and had actually been so for the last couple of weeks. But there was another white van parked across the street - with a logo from "Bob the Plumber" (or Rick or Steve, doesn't really matter) emblazoned on the side. Oh dear - it's frozen pipe season as the temperature dips into the minus forties with the windchill factor! Chris's dad made it his mission in September to make sure that we shut off the water valve for the outside taps, which we hope helps protect us from having to call a plumber of our own. I'm keeping my fingers crossed each morning that we don’t have to face a scene like this when we leave for work!

Better late than never ...

Honest to goodness - the Roman shade is done! Chris and I have been enjoying the aethetics and privacy of it in our dining room for about ten days now, and I've finally typed up a few words about the harrowing experience :)

Idle Hands

Can anyone recommend a good "knitting for dummies" book? Seriously, I have never knitted a thing in my life, but I am in need of a hobby and it seems somewhat natural to lean towards the needles. I've already blogged about this cool shrug and this hat that makes small children resemble yummy desserts (both at Knitty), and I really dig the bag that this girl here made with the smart button closure. I must admit that my recent enthusiasm to take up knitting was peaked by this fun breakfast-themed bag (via not martha via creazativity). One day I will aspire to make cool things like those :)

Another question: anyone know if it's better to knit left-handed if one is left-handed, or will interpreting patterns just be easier if I knit like I'm right-handed? No biggie to me either way - lefties are extraordinary adaptive :)

Wouldn't it be nice ...

There was a very cool article in the T*oronto Star yesterday - about a couple who put out only about half a bag of garbage for collection a year! Gosh, I wish that we had the infrastructure to recycle like that where we live! As long as some of my fellow metropolis-dwellers continue to protest municipal funds being spent on a curbside recycling test project, Calgary is not going to make any progress closing the ten-year gap between it and the recycling projects in other similar cities. Boo.

One thing that the article talks about a lot is something that I would love to do: compost! This is fed by my desire to put in a veggie garden in the spring, and also by my exposure to vermicomposting when I worked as a co-op student for Enviroment Canada one summer (my office composted our lunch scraps). Somehow I envision happier carrots, peas, and tomatoes growing in composted soil than whatever is lying underneath the sod in our backyard.

Hibernation - maybe the bears on onto something ...

It's usually around this time of the year, after possibily three whole months of winter weather, that the minds of otherwise content Canadians start to wander to thoughts of the sun, clear blue water, and endless beaches in Mexico, the Carribean, or Cuba ...

Then there's me, trying to steel myself for another spell of sub-zero weather that is set to roll in tomorrow night. Being practical new homeowners, we purchased our first snow shovel back in October, and have a bag of de-icing crystals just inside the garage door. I read up on proper snow-shoveling techniques today, and will resist dreaming about the good ole days back in the apartment where we didn't pay for our own heating and would turn the thermostat up with wild abandon :)

PSA: If you have pets with access to the outdoors or plan on using a de-icing product in an area accessible to the pets of others, it was brought to my attention (thank you, Chris) that it's a good idea to use a product that does not cause irritation to little dog or kitty feet. There's a slightly more detailed description of the problem here.

Surreality

Wifeing - via Indiebride. What would Laura Bush think?

Sew utterly hopeless

There are so many websites with cute little sewing-inspired names: Sew Wrong, sewgeeky, Sew Crafty, and here I solemnly vow that I will never have one of my own.

Continuing work on the Roman shade for our dining room window this weekend, I discovered that the cord that I had purchased a few ages ago was both too thick to be carried over through three eyelets, and also much too short for three columns of hoops. I'm kind of tempted to blame my information sources, though. One pamphlet that I was referencing said to buy cord 2.5 times the length of the shade. Now that I think about it, that's a really flawed instruction. I went back to Fabricland yesterday and bought three times the combined length and width of the shade, and I still am short for one column of rigging. Blah. A few more sewing misadventures like this one and my Bernina is going to desert me …

On a non-related note, this weekend I noticed that ljc was also pondering the W*hirlpool gourmet laundry room (ah, they call it a "family studio") … and there's more to it than just the ultra-modern washer and dryer. I wonder if the pricing for it all includes the built-in cabinetry ...

Bakeware Snob

I received a few more pieces of Emile Henry bakeware over the holidays, and I am once again very impressed by how pleasant it is to cook in glazed pottery! Quickbreads, casseroles, roast beef … all of that residue that gets stuck to the bottom and sides of the cooking vessel during the time in the oven comes off with a soak and a minimal scrub. Dare I say that it's even easier to clean than the Corningware that I inherited from my mom? I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to make some sort of individual-portion dessert in my new ramekins …

… maybe these little chicken pot pies I read about at Chick: A Girl's Guide (I know that they're not dessert). Very glad that Typepad featured this site - I should have bookmarked it a long time ago!

Living a Fairy Tale

Anyone want to Pay for Cynthia's Wedding? Not sure if she's serious, but I love the creative use of *Barbie Pink* :)