Mylene Lacroix – Page 17

May 31, 2013

It’s the Weekend. Bring It!

You’ll have to forgive me if this post is short. I’m just getting off my last night shift before our SPINNING WEEKEND! I’m excited, tired, and a bit stressed. I haven’t packed a single thing. I’m going to get up in 5 hours, pack for my spinning weekend in White Lake with the spinning guild girls (+my mom cause she’s super-special) and pack for the two-day conference I’m heading to the minute I’m back from the spinning weekend. Damn! I need to focus a bit on better time management.

So, in the last few weeks, I’ve worked on the monster truck some. I finished the tires. They’re hilarious! They look like giant, floppy dumbbells. I’m still not finished. But, I choose to look at it this way: I’m closer than I was last week.

I also started a pair of socks. I don’t NEED more socks. I lost count at 30. Seriously right? Every couple of weeks, when I do laundry, I have enough hand-knit socks for an entire load. Can you imagine having enough wool socks for a whole load of laundry all to themselves?? I don’t care. I’ll never stop knitting socks. Maybe I should start making them for sale. There’s an idea.

I also made a bunch of baby things. My “client” always sends me pictures of things she likes on Etsy. I look at them and try to replicate those items the best I can. Let me know how I did.

Etsy links:

Boy’s Football Hat
Girl’s flower hat

Mine:

I think they turned out really perfect. I’m feeling very smug after making those. I used NO pattern. I’m not a crocheter but I just made these up as I was going. I think that makes me very smart, clever and creative. I’m totally tooting my own horn right now.

I also started (and finished except for sewing) a baby dino hat. It’s so freaking adorable, I’m not sure I can stand it. I got the pattern on Etsy. It was super-easy. I’ll post a picture when it’s all done.

For now, I must sleep. I’m pooped!

Have an awesome weekend everyone! I can’t wait for mine.

May 16, 2013May 16, 2013

Preparations

I booked a week off work again. It’s been lovely. But I didn’t do it really so that I could relax. I did it so I could prepare for my weekend guests. Ok. That’s not the only reason. But I wanted a few days to get some things done around here.

I honestly didn’t think it was possible to love home more than I did before. But, with every little thing I get done around here… I fall more and more in love with it. Being here makes my heart and soul happy.

I saw these when I went to get the mail the other day. Beautiful apple blossoms by the side of my driveway, full of dew from the cold mornings we’ve been having.

I turned the heat off because we’ve been having such nice weather. Then I got home on Monday morning after my night shift to 14 degrees Celsius. Yikes!

I honestly slept most of the day on Monday. Those three night shifts in a row really do a number on all of us. Fortunately for me, I had nothing planned for Monday. I even went to bed at a reasonable hour and managed a great sleep. Oh, and I worked on the monster truck. Unfortunately, I didn’t get as much done as I would have liked because I ran out of yarn. AGAIN.

I got to spend a big chunk of my day on Tuesday with my Mom. It was great. We hit this little basement pub for lunch. It’s a really cozy spot. I love the stone walls and the old church benches. I had my favorit – POUTINE!

Yesterday was full of crossing things off my to-do list. I took the old sewing machine out, hemmed, pressed and hung my new drapes. They really change the space – make it a tad more elegant.

I also tackled a few sticky projects. I got this antique dresser from my uncle Andre. Beautiful dresser but covered in little stickers from his then-young-daughter. I took out my Goo Gone and got all the stickers off. Now it looks beautiful! I also had this sticky trim stuff around my tub in the upstairs bathroom. It came off years ago but the glue remained. I’m sure you can imagine the stuff that stuck there. It was really gross. So, yesterday, I scraped at that too and put in a new sticky trim. Looks fab and I’m very proud of myself. Hahahahaha.

So, here we are. Finally. Pictures of the monster truck. It’s still not finished. But it’s close.

I still don’t like it. BUT, I’m guessing when it’s all put together and the bumpers, lights, mirrors and eyes are on, I will love it. AND, when I give it to Patrick and he loves it, it will all be worth it.

It’s a long weekend! I’m pretty excited to have people here. I’ve never been big on hosting – makes me go a little OCD. But, more and more, I realize that I love my space and I want to share it with people. So, this weekend will be full of family, food, maybe a bonfire and probably a little crafting 🙂 It’s going to be wonderful.

Have a happy long weekend everyone!

May 11, 2013May 11, 2013

Not Lost After All

I have to say that I’m pretty excited. I posted in February that I was sure I had left my Fiddlehead mittens in Lake Placid in December. I couldn’t find them anywhere. There was no doubt in my mind that I had left them in the Starbucks. BUT, I was putting away the scarves and mittens for the summer and found them at the very bottom of my basket. Yahoooo! I was so excited… I may have performed a little happy dance of some kind.

I got some weeding done of my giant flower bed. Thank you Mom for coming to help me! I think she helped motivate me for all of 22 minutes.

I also got in a little bit of cooking. This is Tropical Fruit Gazpacho from my new favorite site.

Have any of you every tried to break open a real and still whole coconut? Let me tell you! I’ll never do that again. In the recipe, it states to use the dull end of the knife. That didn’t work at all. So, I flipped my knife over and used the handle. That didn’t work. I took out my potato masher. That didn’t work. I ran down to the garage and got out a hammer. That didn’t work either. By now, Jacob was curious enough to come over and see what was going on. He took the hammer from me and flipped it over to the spikey part (nail remover thing) and gave it a good smash. It broke the shell. FINALLY! What a MESS. Coconut water all over the place. Bits of shell everywhere. If you ever make this gazpacho, get a coconut that’s already been removed from its shell and inner skin – trust me… it’s for your own good.

I also managed to take some quick pics of the merino/tussah silk blend I spoke of in my last post. I just love this color! I’ve had a difficult time staying away from it this week. BUT, I’m cleaning again. The house feels cluttered a bit. And I haven’t touched the monster truck. Sigh.

Forgive my not-great-pictures. You get the idea though. I’m going for a three-ply. This is the first of 3 bobbins. Please don’t ask me what I plan to make with this yarn once it’s finished. I have no idea. I just spin cause it’s fun. I get what I get. If I can then find something to make with it, bonus. Otherwise, I’m perfectly happy just looking at it and fondling it every once in a while.

I’ve been doing some driving this week but I can’t say that I’ve minded. I love how green everything is getting. All the farmers have been out tilling their fields and getting them ready for seeds. Everything is just so beautiful this time of year. The green is so vivid and new. And the weather! We’ve had stupendous weather this past week in my neck of the woods. It’s been gorgeous and sunny every day and cool and breezy every night. I don’t know if we’ll get another perfect week like this. Fingers crossed!

Have an awesome weekend everyone!

May 7, 2013May 7, 2013

Avoidance

I’m avoiding… the monster truck. In a big way.

I don’t know why I can’t just love this project. There are no pictures because I have been very unmotivated to photograph it. 😛

I haven’t touched any knitting/crocheting for at least the last 3 days. It’s probably because I’m mentally punishing myself for not having been finished the truck for little Pat’s 4th birthday party on April 22nd. I worked so hard before that. When I realized there was no chance in hell I would have it done on time, I kinda stuffed it in a bag and only work on it sometimes. I better put some good vibes in that piece before I hand it over to its little recipient. I don’t want it to be cursed! Yikes!

I did, however, manage to spin some. 🙂 A few of us, including my mom, went to the OHS vendor event on Friday evening. Even though I didn’t need more fiber, I had to get these braids because they were so absolutely yummy. It’s always about the color for me when it comes to fiber. I fall in love with the colors. Most of the time, I have no idea (or care) what the fiber is – alpaca, merino, pollworth, BFL, etc… As long as it’s pretty. So, I spun one bobin (of three) of this beautiful aqua merino (I think) while I sat on my deck late Sunday afternoon. The sun was out, the breeze was warm and the bugs weren’t out yet. Hahaha. Steve and I sat, chatted, had some drinks and I spun… It was heaven!

Here are other thing I wanted to take pictures of over the weekend.

I love coffee (and taking pictures of it). I also love going out for breakfast. I got to do that twice this weekend. There’s something romantic about going out for breakfast isn’t there? I don’t know. Am I crazy? I can make bacon, eggs, pancakes, french toast and coffee at home. But, for some reason, it’s always a million times better when I get to go out to do it. I’m sure the company I keep has something to do with it. 😉

Yes, my tulips are dead. I still find them strangely attractive. The color is darker and the way the petals have fallen makes them look like orchids.

White daisies are still my favorite.

Remember that website/blog I posted a link for the other day? Well, THEY HAVE AN APP!!!! And it’s FREE.

I installed it on my iPhone, signed in, picked out the recipies I wanted for tonight and hit the “shopping list” icon and voila! a list of stuff I needed to pick up at the grocery store. This app is the coolest thing I’ve seen for a phone since I discovered Shazam!

Then it crossed each item off my shopping list as I hit the little checkmark. How awesome is that??!!!

So, tonight I’m cooking. Chicken, spinnach and a fruit gazpacho. It’s going to be goooooood!

Tomorrow, I’m going to try to get some yard work done. The mower’s fixed as of yesterday. My mom’s going to come help me sort out my giant flower bed – not because I can’t do it alone but because I lack motivation. If I had the money, I would just build a garage over that flower bed so I wouldn’t have to weed it!

Then maybe we’ll hit the range for a little practice. If I’m going to compete at all this summer, I need to put some holes in some paper.

Have an awesome week everyone!