Month: January 2008 (page 8 of 8)

1:1000

1:1000
Amy just asked me about a vegetarian place in the city, so I was trying to find the name of a yum cha restaurant I’d heard good things about. I was searching through my Gmail chats when I found this exchange from a few months ago. I was debating with the Snook whether we should accept a yum cha lunch invitation from Eva or spend the morning looking for houses.

Me: we hve to decide one way or the other on yum cha or houses.
your vote?
I’m honestly ambivalent.
I mean, the chances of us finding something we end up getting are like 1:1000
And if we missed something good, we probably wouldn’t even know we did
but we’re supposed to rsvp tonight
Snookums: That sounds like a vote for yum cha.
Me: that’s me being ambivalent
i could easily be swayed if you want to make the argument that looking at houses is the responsible thing to do
Snookums: Like I said, I wouldn’t mind going to that auction, because that place is something I think we’d consider (one of the best fits so far, I think)
Me: okay, so houses then
Invitation declined.

The auction the Snook wanted to check out? That’s the one where we ended up riding in an elevator with a helpful woman who told us about a house she wanted to sell… and four months later we’re living in it. 🙂

Nieces and Nephews

Nieces and Nephews
Last weekend I managed to finish off two small knitting projects that had been languishing. The first is a matinee jacket for my yet-to-born niece (assuming that she does, in fact, turn out to be a girl). The pattern is from Debbie Bliss’s Baby Cashmerino book, and I substituted Sirdar Snuggly DK for the yarn (going up to a 4mm needle). I just need to get a bit of ribbon to go around the waist.

Matinee Coat   Pirate Vest

The second item is a vest for my three-week-old nephew Isaiah. I spoke to my brother on the phone the day of the birth, and I said I wanted to make something for the baby. “Do you think you guys will want to dress him traditionally?” I asked. “Or would it be okay if I did something more modern, like something with a skull on it?” “I think that would be pretty bad ass!” my brother said. Sweet. This vest is based on the “Pirate Jumper” in Zoe Mellor’s Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots. I just used random 8ply wool from my stash. I think it’s pretty appropriate, given that the baby’s dad works at a Harley Davidson shop!

As always, more details are over at Ravelry. (I can’t wait until the site’s open and I can directly link to stuff there…)

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!
The Snook and I rang in 2008 at home with Miss Fee, her Sock Victim, and Albie. It was a fantastic meal, with lamb and rabbit and roast veg and salads. I made “lemon snow” from my CWA cookbook (basically, lemon jello mixed up with whipped egg whites) which made for a nice palate cleanser. We capped off the dinner with a stunning pavlova (Fee is on a tear with these lately) and champagne. Then we played Wario Ware until the fireworks came on. With the sliding doors open, we could hear the thunderous booms from the harbour as we watched the show on TV. It was a lot nicer than venturing out in that crowd!

And now we come to the dreaded Resolutions. I’ve just been looking over last year’s list, and I think I came out about 50/50. My own personal goals took a bit of a backseat in favour of doing grown-up couple things (like taxes and mortgages). I think finding, buying, and moving into a house is a huge accomplishment for us though, and it’s a very big tick-mark on our “Life: To Do” list. I just need to make sure this year that I don’t use this stuff as an excuse to avoid my own personal challenges. So here’s what I’d like to accomplish in 2008:

  • Start taking my running seriously. I want to run the Sydney Half-Marathon on May 18. (I’m already two weeks into my training!) I want to break 100 minutes for the City 2 Surf.
  • Learn to swim properly. I can swim in the sense that I can dog paddle and float and “not drown,” but I’ve never learned to do a proper stroke in my life. I want to be able to swim for fitness, so I’m going to take some lessons.
  • Get a new job. Not that I don’t love the shop, but I’m really feeling like it’s time for a new challenge. I’d also like to contribute more to the mortgage fund.
  • Get my American tax situation fixed up. Now that the UK and Australia are dealt with, the deck is officially cleared and I just need to do it.
  • Be more organised. This is the year I’m going to Get Things Done, I swear. I’ve got a new planner and I’m rarin’ to use it!
  • Clear out some of the knitting backlog. Once I finish my Easter Show entry, I’m going to commit to knitting from my stash for as long as possible.

What challenges await you this year?