My mom took to calling me “Sarah-Lee” some time ago.  It was a gradual transition but the nickname eventually caught on.  So much so that I eventually started calling her “Mommy-Lee” in response. I imagine that this whole thing had something to do with the cake.

My mother most certainly has not had the easiest life. [...]]]>

My mom took to calling me “Sarah-Lee” some time ago.  It was a gradual transition but the nickname eventually caught on.  So much so that I eventually started calling her “Mommy-Lee” in response. I imagine that this whole thing had something to do with the cake.

My mother most certainly has not had the easiest life. Growing up in a third-world country, coming to Canada in her 20s, getting an education, marrying, working and raising a family. Life has often been hard for her.

Which is why it always amazes me how she can also be so lighthearted and freely giving with her love. I know my mother loves me because she tells me so. “See you later, alligator,” she says to me right before we hang up the phone. “After a while, crocodile,” I reply. She laughs. She is 62 now and I am 29. Both of us are forever young at heart.

I thank my mother for that.

Happy Birthday, Mommy-Lee. Love you.

So yesterday we had a bit of a scare with Daisy. The vet thinks she may be having seizures, which somehow caused her to traumatize her right eye early, early Friday morning while we were still sleeping. The vet kept her all day and ran a battery of tests but couldn’t find the cause. All [...]]]>

So yesterday we had a bit of a scare with Daisy. The vet thinks she may be having seizures, which somehow caused her to traumatize her right eye early, early Friday morning while we were still sleeping. The vet kept her all day and ran a battery of tests but couldn’t find the cause. All of her tests were coming back normal, nothing in her blood, no organ failure, despite the fact that her pupils were different sizes — a possible symptom of a neurological problem or even a stroke — and her right eye just wasn’t responding to light for most of the day. Finally, the vet tried some steroid antibiotic eyedrops. The steroids are supposed to help the eye heal and the antibiotics will help prevent any possible infection. We’re supposed to watch her over the next couple of days to ensure there’s no more seizure activity, or else she may have to see a neurologist.

But for now, the drops seem to be working. She has both eyes open and focusing and practically seems to be back to her old self. I’m still watching her like a hawk though, and I’m hoping for a full recovery by the 24th, her 13th birthday. She’ll be 68 dog-years old.

So the second of the two baby blankets is now under way. I’ve decided to go with a lovely green colour for the blanket since we don’t yet know the sex of this new bundle of joy. It’s a very similar basketweave pattern to the first one, though not exactly the same. I actually found this [...]]]>

So the second of the two baby blankets is now under way. I’ve decided to go with a lovely green colour for the blanket since we don’t yet know the sex of this new bundle of joy. It’s a very similar basketweave pattern to the first one, though not exactly the same. I actually found this pattern in a book, Knitting For Baby, that Dave’s mom got me a few months ago. I think it’s fitting that I should use it to knit up a blanket for her first grandchild!

But, instead of using the cotton chenille yarn they suggest for the pattern, I’ve decided to go with a bamboo/wool blend. I’ve never knit with bamboo yarn before, but I’m already impressed with how even it is to work with. Plus, the wonderful woman at The Wool Mill told me that bamboo yarn is antibacterial. Did you know? Apparently it’s a property of the fibre itself, no extra treatment needed. Perfect for tiny babies. And I mean, come on, they even call the yarn “Snuggly Baby Bamboo” so really, how could I pass it up.

I can’t wait to see how this one turns out. But I won’t have to wait long. My future sister-in-law’s baby shower is just a month away! Better get knitting!

Details for this blanket are ravelled here.

As it usually goes when the weather gets cold, I yearn to knit. And I’ve actually been knitting up a storm recently. Baby blankets, to be exact. I’m planning on doing two of them, and am about, oh, 40% through the first.

I really love the checkerboard pattern I chose for this first blanket, though I’m not [...]]]>

As it usually goes when the weather gets cold, I yearn to knit. And I’ve actually been knitting up a storm recently. Baby blankets, to be exact. I’m planning on doing two of them, and am about, oh, 40% through the first.

I really love the checkerboard pattern I chose for this first blanket, though I’m not sure if the suggested yarn really is the best option for knitting it up. Perhaps next time I’ll use one that’s less nubbly. It may be soft and organic and lovely but its unique ply does distort the pattern a bit. Maybe for the second one I’ll use something with a more standard ply. And I’m thinking I should probably switch to metal needles as well, rather than the bamboo ones I’ve been using. Bamboo+cotton seems to cause too much friction to gain any knitting speed or momentum.

I’ll have to see what they have when I make another run to the yarn store today. I’m hoping to have both blankets ready to go by the beginning of March, since both new arrivals are expected in April and I do have a bit of a due date to stick to. (Some pun intended.)

Details for the first blanket are ravelled here.

You know that movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, where he gets stuck in a repeating loop and every day is the same? That is a little like how I felt last week. Every day I’d get up, work, eat and print. And print, and print, and print. [...]]]>

Did you know? “Melissa” is Greek for “honeybee.”

You know that movie Groundhog Day with Bill Murray, where he gets stuck in a repeating loop and every day is the same? That is a little like how I felt last week. Every day I’d get up, work, eat and print. And print, and print, and print. It took me a week to finish all these, but I successfully printed 50 baby shower invitations for my sister’s upcoming showers.

Floating in a sea of baby shower invitations.

I’m actually hosting two showers for her, one for family and one for all her friends. But it was definitely a lot of printing. I’ve done much smaller print runs on my Gocco before, but this was a lot. And after every step I needed to let the cards dry before moving on.

So what did I do? Well, for the front I used two older prints I had and combined them to create the image you see here. Then I custom printed two different insides, one for each shower. Then, as some extra cuteness, I printed a little message on the bottom of the back of each card in a tiny font (just like real greeting cards do). And to top it all off, I printed more grass onto the envelopes and hand addressed all 50. A week’s worth of work but so worth it when I saw the final product.

I hope all the guests like them, because I put a lot into these. And I can’t wait to start planning the rest of the details for the shower. I’m thinking sunflowers and pink roses. Because babies and parties, two very excellent things. But when combined? Pure magic.

How did 2009 go by so fast? Wasn’t it just summer? Didn’t we just move into our new apartment? The Year of Freedom turned out to be nothing like I expected it to be. Yet, it was definitely a year of growth. Looking back, I know I am not [...]]]> …let the Year of Change begin!

How did 2009 go by so fast? Wasn’t it just summer? Didn’t we just move into our new apartment? The Year of Freedom turned out to be nothing like I expected it to be. Yet, it was definitely a year of growth. Looking back, I know I am not the same person I was a year ago. And I can honestly say that the differences are all for the better.

I have already dubbed 2010 The Year of Change, and so it shall be. There are two babies scheduled to arrive in our families come April. I’m going to become an Aunt (for the first time) twice in the span of one month. Exciting! Plus, of course, I’m getting married. By this time next year I’ll be a wedded woman, with a completely different last name. That thought is still taking some getting used to. If it felt like 2009 went by quickly, I just know that 2010 is going to go by even faster.

But I can’t just let it fly past. I need to have a direction and a plan for this year so I can tackle all the wonderful changes as they come. Which leads me to New Year’s resolutions. Everybody has an idealized conception of the person they could be if only: If only they weighed less, ate better. If only they were more spontaneous, or more organized, or more motivated, or more something. But is holding onto this ideal so wrong? I don’t think so. (Unless the goals are ridiculously unattainable and/or unhealthy, that is.) I always make New Year’s resolutions, and this year I’m spurred on by last year’s resolution successes.

I think it’s healthy to see yourself as a work in progress. To know that every morning, or once a year, we have a chance to make a fresh start. It’s a chance to get one step closer to that ideal person we wish we could be, knowing that having an ideal is not necessarily the same thing as having an end goal. Ideals change and grow just as we do as people. So though they can never be completely reached, they are always good to have.

So yeah, I think I’ll do the same thing for this year’s resolutions as I did for last year’s resolutions review — one a day for five days. Sound cool? Okay, then check back here tomorrow for the first of my 2010 resolutions!!