Waking to a Winter Wonderland

Happy Saturday!

I love the weekend, as I’m sure many people do, except there’s one little problem with it...it goes by too FAST! Every weekend is the exact same, I get all pumped up and excited to tackle my to-do list (mental or physical) and 9 times out of 10 I rarely accomplish its entirety. Then Sunday evenings rolls around and I think back to the last 2 days and wonder "where did the time go? I hardly seemed to have done anything" (which isn’t really true, I usually do a lot on the weekends, both necessary - like grocery shopping, and running errands - and pleasurable - thrift shopping, crafting, internet exploring, sometimes even socializing. But it’s my to-do list that gets neglected, those things listed like "clean out and organize pantry" or "clean out and organize the bathroom cupboard" (not so shockingly both of those things are on my list for THIS weekend, they have yet to be crossed off). Those things are the ones I always find little excuses for not doing, even though I know that once I do them I'll feel better, and Brad will stop getting angry when things fall out of the pantry on him when he opens the door, yeah it’s THAT bad - oddly the muffin cups, salt, and toothpicks seem to be repeat offenders.

Also baking is always on my to-do lists, and I love baking, but the fact that baking is usually kind of messy and can be slightly time consuming, always makes me feel like not going through with it, and sometimes that ends up happening, but usually the fact that I like taking home baked goods with me to work instead of processed food usually makes me stop being lazy enough to just go through with it. The goal is to make gingerbread cake and chocolate chip muffins by Sunday night.

So yeah, I love the weekend, I just have some time-management/procrastination issues I clearly need to work out.

The change in season (at least as stated by the calendar) has helped keep me motivated in life - ex. starting this blog, thrifting like crazy, re-opening my etsy shop (soon!) - the fact that spring is out there lurking somewhere has lifted the dreariness that can cloak ones spirit in wintertime. Unfortunately Newfoundland hasn't gotten too much of spring yet, and by that I mean pretty much not at all so far, unlike the rest of Canada - whose unseasonably high temperatures have had me yearning for home, if only to feel warmth that doesn’t radiate from an artificial source.

So it shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise to me that this morning I woke up to this:

Yeah, snow. A lot of snow. The plows were out and everything. So I did what anyone would do who woke up to snow covering the ground on the last day of March, one week before Easter,

I went back to  bed.

PS its now 4:30 pm, that photo was taken around 11:30 am, its still snowing.

Yarn Along - The Beginning of A Habit

Today I'm linking up with Ginny from Small Things (a most captivating blog  btw) to participate in her weekly Yarn Along, hopefully the first of many for me. I love to knit, its somthing that I would say I spend 80% of my down time doing, especially on evenings and weekends; although as of late my evenings have been spent trying desperatly to beat Brad in the game "Wacky Blasters", a vintage 1990 (I can't believe the 90's are becoming "vintage"!) board game that involves a plastic mountain, mini pom poms and hollow rubber "Blasters" that are used to blow said pom poms up the mountain. It is much harder than it sounds. The game is recomended for ages 6 and up - had I played this game as a child I likely would have ended up in tears very early on - one of the rules is that if your pom pom blows off the game board (aka mountain) you have to start over. This happens far more often than you'd like to think. Needless to say this game is hilarious - likely the best 2.99 Ive spent in a long time at the thrift store, some games can take us upwards of 30 minutes to play - ONE GAME!

So anyways! Back to what this post is sappoused to be about, knitting and reading! Well currently I have a bunch of knitted stuff on the go, some of it has been sitting there since this past summer - ugh, but the thing thats prsently holding my attention is an adorable little knitted bunny, that I shall be knitting two of and will be givin as easter gifts. The pattern is Genevie the Snow Bunny by Rachel Borello Carroll who runs Yarnigans. Her patterns can be downloaded from her etsy shop and ravely. Im really glad I learned to knit in the round because Id been admiring her creative cuteness for some time, and now I get to finally create it! Im knitting the bunny in Red Heart Eco Ways yarn, colour: mushroom. This little bunny is still missing its legs, which I will hopefully get done this week so I can start in the second bunny.

Im currently reading Little Heathens by: Mildred Armstrong Kalish, which Ive been working on for a couple weeks now, although it seems like much longer. I tend to read for pleasure at night in bed, but most nights Im so tired, and I go to bed relativly early so Im not dog tired at work the next day (I am a nanny to four children - your day goes much better when your not sleep deprived - as Im sure mothers could atest to). So yeah, I dont prioritize my reading, but I really do love books and reading, this book is quite the interesting read, I heard of it through Ginny from Small Things, and after reading a description online bought it used on amazon for some insaely low price of like 3 cents. I never really understood why used book sellers sometimes sell books so cheap.

Yay! My first ever Yarn Along!

PS sorry in advance for the crappy photos, I took then this morning at about 6:10am - so I had NO natural light to help me out.

PPS the second picture is wacky blasters - best game ever

A Decision of Epic Proportions

There are few times in ones life where you know in the moment that something is happening, that your life has permenently changed.

I havn't always lived in Newfoundland, I've been here for less than two years, I spent the first 23 years of my life in a cushy suburban town just north of Toronto. In August 2009 I announced to my family that I would be, upon completion of my fourth and final year of university, moving to the other side of the country - they were shocked to say the least.

The morning of my departure, nearly a year later in July 2010 was my first experience in knowing that despite whatever happened once I got to Newfoundland, this decision would ultimatly change my life forever. So I got out of bed, lugged my two overly full suitcases downstairs (I ended up having to pay 100 dollars in overweight fees at the airport!), said goodbye to my family, got in the car and drove to the airport, and watched as the end of the only life I'd ever known was rapidly growing further away  in the rearview mirror.

So here I am, less than two years later and sometimes I still can't believe that Im actually living here. Life in Newfoundland AKA The Rock is the complete opposite from living in Toronto; the people, the rich culture, the scenery! (presently if I drive 5 minutes up the road I can see icebergs!), the SLANG! (Whad'ya at b'y?)(Not to mention the newfoundland accent). Sometimes I forget that Im still in Canada. My life has changed in so many ways since settling here, starting this blog will help me to document this incredible journey that involves life with my fiance, three cats, thrifting, knitting, crafting and of course this glorious province of Newfoundland, I hope you come along for the ride.