Maybe you had to be there

Kate is making a great zine about all of the games that our friends play. I can't even put into words my appreciation for this idea and also for playing games. I've been thinking a lot about fun and having it lately; I need more games in my life.

So, I made a goofy comic about "The Cousin Game", a roadtrip favourite that works exactly how illustrated (though maybe with less investment in the idea of someone being named Darrylb [we were so convinced that Jordaan was just so wrong when he said No; so fucking sure that Darrylb was, in fact, the name of his cousin]). I took myself out on a breakfast date this Friday and doodled and I had a nice time.

Today was a snow day, also, and my weekend has been five days long. Soon enough I'll be heading way north for March Break! What ever happened to Cuba?

What I done did

I have been getting some things done these days. Want to see?

Faroese Footlets! 'Cause I wanted slippers and I wanted to practice new skills. These are my second time working in fair isle (the first was over a year ago), and I learned to crochet so I could put the edging on them (if it wasn't there, they'd be a terrible fit). These are cute and all, but I lost sight of my desire for, you know, SLIPPERS (like serious, big, cushy ones) when I saw these cute booties. The *persimmon* was a gift from Matt's mom, and the gray was the same type of yarn that I've been holding onto for a while. I'm thinking about sewing some leather to the bottom of these to make them a little more sturdy, but lookit how nice:

Just to rub all over the floor.

And so, once I figured out how to crochet, I made this little friend:

I improvised the whole thing, and I think it looks pretty nice. I even managed a little dimple for the spout!

(That's all. Just showin' off.)

So we are practicing answering machines, pretending to make a voicemail message and pretending to call one and leave a note, after the "biiiip" (as is the Québecois onomatopoeia, following the "dring dring"). One group has Tweety Bird calling Bart Simpson. Another has Miley Cirus just missing Justin Bieber. This is all very simple, until I walk up to the group that had, at first, wanted to make a message for a store called Kama Sutra. I could imagine what that was, though, so I said that I know that you know (you know, about sex and whatever) but you should know to pick something tame; this is school, after all, and I am an adult that has to keep you "in line".

I am walking toward this pair (who also faked subtle orgasms in acting out 30-second-Titanic, with a third person as a very determined and stoic boat) and they are laughing, they say it is 100% correct, they are finished and ready to present! Perfection! I don't trust it. I have to physically take the page from her grabby hands, a momentary tug-of-war that was childish and embarrassing, though I pretend I'm confident through it. "But we will just rire and rire," she says. And I have to say, 'This really isn't appropriate for school." I gave it to the real teacher and only the best parts stick in my mind:

"Hi, this is Adam. I am not home, I am having a sex time. Please leave a message. Bye!"

"Adam! Is Eve! If you want to have a sex time with me you will obligated to shave your dick. Bye!"

Biiiiiiiip

Funday Monday

Today it looked like this outside:

This is what I get in return for the not-making of a path for myself to the door. Or for the mail carrier. They scribbled 'NEIGE' across a letter and after I discerned that that was, in fact, written from the mail carrier and not the friend who wrote the letter (more difficult to decide than you might think), I started to wonder if they'd withhold mail.

Tonight I tried to shovel it away but I could only find the kind with two handles, a big scoop. It must have looked very funny, trying to push away knee-deep snow with no leverage at all. Chalk it up to my being Ontarian, or something. I hand't minded trudging to my door until it burst open this morning when I undid the lock. And hard a very hard time closing it again.

Instead of shovelling and going to my contact lens appointment, I did these things instead:

Violets for a February birthday.

Hot Toddy! That was noon, so?

And, snowy Monday soup lunch- fennel, cabbage, turnip, apples, and quinoa.

I did responsible things, also, and other craft things. I managed to get much done which was much needed, though I still manage to feel lazy.

(I think it's 'cause my butt goes numb.)

pop quiz

It's Thursday night. You're exhausted, dinner was a chore, and the house is a mess. You have a full day of classes tomorrow and it's 10:15. You just got off the phone with your best friend, but before that you might have been a bit of a grump. What do you do?

a) Go to bed.

b) Make some tea.

c) Make scones.

d) Go to bed.

The answer is...

C!

Make some scones!

Eat 'em for breakfast (with cinnamon-sprinkled steamed buttnutt and a wedge of flax/buckwheat bread- that one's very unremarkable)! I enjoy big breakfasts. I like to eat slowly and enjoy the time it takes before taking on the day. These little rituals are so important to me.

Scones, though. I'd never made scones before and I'd been wanting to and these are so delicious- hardly sweet until you run across a little nibble of a date. Perfect. The recipe's from jae steele (Domestic Affair). I didn't have enough spelt flour so I substituted about 1/2 C. rye flour, and didn't have pecans so I added in almonds. Oh, and used about 1/2 coconut oil and 1/2 butter.

I spent yesterday morning at my friend Anne-Marie's, while she had already gone to work, reading jae steele's Ripe From Around Here and pretending I lived there, listening to Cat Stevens and enjoying her real cat, Canelle, and the look of the snow- it was falling something fierce! This, only to be followed up by boozy coffee and scrambled tofu chez Julia and Simon! To be followed up by meeting with a new friend from Trois Rivieres, the surprising success that came from this work training session which otherwise felt like frosh week. We walked through Carnaval. It's mostly lacklustre, but now I know. Next year I'll stick to the free pancakes and coffee and that'll be that. Thanks, Bonhomme.

(I used my $9 3-D effigy to get in here, to the Ice Castle. It was hardly astounding.)

What all of this comes down to, apart from my Carnaval Encounters, is that I am knowing some damn fine people lately. And also, I love scones.

I have a lot of work to do, though. You'll see!

messy apartment

Craft heaven or craft hell?

On the table (literally): Faroese footlets (one done, one 1/3 done), chunky tea cozy (with yarn I recycled from a goofy sweatervest), and a crocheted French press cozy (I finally learned to crochet and it is so great!). That big pile of mustard is a wool sweater waiting to be reclaimed- I was getting impatient with the inaccessibility of Quebec's yarn shop. I need to start working on an embroidery, too. Maybe tomorrow.

I can't believe I stopped myself from crocheting for so long, always assuming I could never get my hand to move the right way, the fluidity of it. I know two great crocheters who recently got real into knitting (and are kicking serious butt at it). These little actions can be really inspiring.

This week I had a four day weekend and I'm finally starting to feel the tinglings of inspiration running around my heart and my head. How am I ever going to deal with working full-time? How can I check my privilege when I ask that question?

SUPERBOWL XVILX000

& I know that webcams are a drag but I had a good weekend, OK? We had a SuperBowl party!

I was wearing green so, naturally, I was the GreenDay Packers. I learned that women who like football wear bras made out of cheese. My cheeseplates said, "LET'S GO CHEESEHEADS." They just kind of looked like pizzas. My Cheesehead just looked like SpongBob and also a little like Bart Simpson, nearly naked.

Matt was the Steelers. He was Gort as a Steeler, really. Or the Steelers in the Future. He was a genius and he wore a chestplate that said, "WHY HAVE A CHEESEBURGER WHEN YOU COULD HAVE A PITTSBURGER?"

Are you kidding me?

That's incredible.

So we made our oufits and also chili (and we cooked the beans this way, which was great) (and we used home-canned tomatoes from September!) and drank some of my newer cider batch. We played paper football to 20 points. I lost.

I still love SuperBowl, though.

Who won?

I couldn't figure out how to make GarageBand work in the amount of time it takes me to stay inspired to do any one thing and so I recorded it this way to send to Paul Hay, who wrote the words, earlier today. And then I just recorded it again right now but it is basically the same because I don't even want to think about what it might take for GarageBand to start working and here you can catch a glimpse of my hairs and my goofy sing song self and my s0-so-slow-growing kale. Come on, kale. I know you can do it.

Paul sent me this magical and unassuming book of poetry close to the same day I wrote a little ditty. I couldn't find my words and he has such good ones! It's called Instruments,

Bananagrams

I thought I had one exceptional round of Bananagrams.

Then came this gem of a food theme! (The only misfortune lies in "HI," but I was too invested in the others to find a better word. And don't you say "Hi," when you sit to eat?)