Finally Knitting A Sweater

This year, I am making a commitment to knit something of value.  Not that dishcloths are not useful, I just don't think I am making use of my full knitting potential.  I recently purchased a copy of Genevieve Miller's Vampire Knits.  I has some very nice modern projects I can't wait to get started on, particularly the 'Love Bites-For Him' sweater.

I was happy that Knitpicks still had that particular yarn still available. It is Wool of the Andes in Coal colour.  This sweater is simple and I think I will really enjoy knitting it.  I hope my husband likes it!

Rescued Pup

My very kind neighbour was leaving work yesterday and noticed something moving in the snowbank.  Lo and behold it was a puppy, no more than two months old, covered in snow looking weak and exhausted.  He picked up the puppy and put it in his truck, then went in the store to purchase food and treat for the poor little fella (which turns out is a female).  One of the managers wanted to see the pup so he brought it in to let it sniff around while he shopped.  This sickly little puppy was weaving around she was so weak.  He brought her home, fed her and gave her water.   She was dirty and skinny, but a good bath and lots of food seems to have perked her up.  When she was let out to pee in the morning she wasn't too anxious to go out the door, for fear she would not be let back in.    Today she was playful and happy, jumping and playing like any puppy would.  When he let her out to pee again she paused at the door, worried he would not let her back in the house.  She stood outside with one paw still  in the doorway so we couldn't shut the door on her. We are not allowed animals in this apartment complex, but he is really hoping he can keep her.
I don't know how people can neglect their animal that badly.  Even though people here like having their dogs, many of the locals leave them tied outside no matter what the weather.  Someone in town lost all their pups a few weeks ago because they froze to death outside.  There is no animal shelter here, if the dog is picked up by the bylaw officer, I hear they are left in a cage on the tundra and are no better off.  This makes me heartsick for these neglected dogs. 

There is a couple in town that spend their own money getting wood to build and donate little houses for dogs that they see tied outside out in the open. Please, if you are reading this and you have pets, spay or neuter them so there are less unwanted animals roaming around.

Lazy Daisy No More

When I met my husband, I was a very svelt 123lbs.  All muscle, I might add.  My husband was a lanky 185lbs.  Fast forward 14 years and I am now pushing 160lbs.  Mark has also added a couple dozen pounds to his frame.  He is much more athletic than me though, so the weight looks good on him.  I can't blame my weight gain on my daughter, I returned to my pre-pregnancy weight of 135lbs two weeks after she was born.  I just can't seem to stop focusing on the joy of eating these last few years.  I have some hard work ahead of me but, thanks to my new (to me) manual treadmill, I am hoping to change all that.  I think the parts of my body that bother me the most are my roly-poly arms.  For someone that used to be so thin, I never had very slim arms to begin with.  I never had to dress to camouflage them either, but now I choose my wardrobe carefully.  If I can't control my eating, I will control my level of activity.  I managed a full three minutes of fast paced walking on this slightly inclined treadmill, and had to take a break.  A long road ahead.

Belief Still Intact

I am happy and very relieved that my daughter's belief in Santa is still intact.  A few days ago I thought I had let the cat out of the bag (check my previous post).  After mentioning Santa and looking for cues that she is wise to the folklore, I'm confidant she still believes.  Phew!!  Glad she will still enjoy that part of Christmas a little longer.  I think I was six when I found out about Santa.  I don't remember being crushed by the revelation.  We still got presents, so all was well!

Spilling The Beans About Santa

I may have inadvertantly spilled the beans about Santa today.  I was in my own little world, talking to my brother on the phone and discussing who was playing Santa at his church brunch.  I told him we had a young employee play Santa at the Northern and that you can even see the elastic holding up his beard.  I wasn't paying attention to the fact that my five year old daughter was just a few feet away watching tv.  I had just brought her to see Santa at the store last week.  I'm hoping she wasn't paying attention to my conversation, being engrossed in an episode of Fairly Odd Parents.  She hasn't questioned my about it but she may also just be keeping it to herself.  I feel SO bad.  I really hope she didn't hear me.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

It's about 6:25pm and I just checked the weather network.  The temperature outside is -51C with the windchill. Ouch!  I had to walk home from work and I was glad to finally get here.  Unfortunately, my lettuce froze on the way.  It's only a 15 minute walk tops, and I have a full length down coat, but my legs were still feeling the pinch of this crazy cold weather.  Time for a hot bath.   

Teaching My Daughter French

When my daughter was born, I spoke to her in French.  For the first two years of her life, every word she spoke was French.  The problem was, my husband does not speak any French, only English. When I noticed my daughter was falling behind in her language development, I figured it was because we were trying to teach her both languages at once.  I began to speak to her in English and also brought her to speech therapy.  She made good progress, but in the three years that have passed I haven't been conversing in French with her.  Last year, when we moved to Iqaluit, we were fortunate in that there was a French language daycare and school.  The teachers are from Quebec and so had taught Sarah to speak French with perfect pronunciation.

We have since moved to Baker Lake and Sarah is attending an English/Inuktitut school.  Sarah is facing the same difficulties the Inuit children are in preserving their native language.  I must admit, even though I went to French school my whole life, it is easier to just speak English. We are surrounded by the English language on TV, radio and in newspapers.  My husbands family is English and all of our friends are English speaking.  Keeping up my French language has been a challenge. The more I make the effort to speak it though, the more comfortable I am in expressing myself.  If I have difficulty finding the right word, I look it up in my English/French dictionary.  It will be a challenge to go back to thinking in French. 

My next step is to find some interesting French books to read.  I found the Janet Evanovich books for sale, translated into French.  I checked it out online, and it's a slangy French that will be fun to read.  I think I will put that on my Christmas list!

Lovely Morning Colours

On my walk to work this morning, I remembered to bring my camera.  This beautiful photo was shot at about 8:40 this morning.  There was just a sliver of a moon and one bright star out.   Nothing else to report!