Inadequate Materials

Firstly, a big (belated) thank you to Glenda for this lovely award: My blog is a thing of beauty! I'm betting she wasn't thinking about how often I refer to poop incidents when she gave it to me... In accepting this award, I have to tell you five things about me, one of which must be about my particular craft. I'm a bit schizophrenic in my crafting and I actually have five crafts. So I'll tell you one thing about each. Sewing : A week ago, I had enough fabric in my sewing room to last me until five years after I die. This past week, my mum sent me another giant box full of beautiful fabric (thanks, Mum!). Despite this, I still somehow feel tempted to go to Fabricland next weekend and check out the sales... Knitting : I learned to knit when I was 7, took a break from it in my teens (when it really wasn't cool) and took it back up in my mid-20's. This year, I'm hoping to sell knitted toys at the Christmas craft sales. Crochet : It's easier than knitting a...

My stupid engine light is on again. I'm 90% sure it's just the same minor problem that set it off last summer, but the 10% of me that expects the car to suddenly blow up halfway down the highway won't let me skip taking it in. So now I have to try to work that around RB's therapy. I also have to work a dental appointment or two around therapy. Turns out, if you have a special needs kid out here who may not lay willingly in a dentist's chair with his mouth open for an exam, you have to do a 4-hour round-trip to see a pediatric dentist at the children's hospital who can put him under general anaesthetic. But first you have to do that same 4-hour trip for a "consultation". If it wasn't for the abundance of thrift stores in the city, I'd probably just give the kid a popsicle and a spoonful of tylenol, and pull all his teeth myself. *** That recent discussion Firstborn and I had on feline reproduction should've served as a warning of what was t...

One of the great things about blogging is that I've met a huge number of people who, like me, completely get the addictive, hypnotic allure of rummaging through other people's old junk. I am a thrifter. I came to it fairly late in life. At the age of 29, when I was pregnant with Firstborn and knew we'd soon be losing a good $50,000 a year in income, I decided it might be a good idea to try to figure out why the parking lots at all those consignment and thrift stores were always so chock-full. One trip to Value Village was all it took. And when we moved to Montreal, and the Village des Valeurs looked more like a really good day at Winners (at about an eighth of the price), there was no turning back. These days, I'm not picky. Garage sales, thrift stores and ebay are all great thrifting sources. I love hitting the big city for a good thrift. But my tiny town has its own little second-hand store, and when I have the time and freedom (ie. when Rosemary's Baby is home w...

I hope no one's feeling ignored by my absence from your blogs. I'm getting a little behind here, and this is the reason: My dining room ceiling is FINALLY sanded. Well, at least the first layer is. It's clear I'm going to have to slap another layer up there and sand that too before I can start the priming and painting. What's also clear is that the Captain is going to be buying me a new pair of shoes for leaving me to tackle this on my own. Expensive ones! Tonight, I'm going to scrub all the drywall dust off me, have a cup of tea and relax in front of the TV. Tomorrow, I'm going blog-hopping. See you all soon!

Gosh, there are just so many people to thank today, the only day in the next ten that I didn't have to set my alarm to go off at the crack of dawn. First, a big thanks to the Captain for drunk texting me at 1AM on the only night I've ever forgotten to turn off my phone. (Not something he makes a habit of, but still...) Thanks so much to Rosemary's Baby, who did sleep through the night, but then ruined it by jumping on me buck-naked at 6AM sharp. And a final thanks to my dog for finding the only 100 square foot spot in the house that still has carpet, and barfing all over it. Here's to Saturday mornings!

Finally, a break from the arctic temperatures! It's going to hit a balmy minus 3 (celsius) today! As my mother pointed out a week or so back, it's a poor show when it has to warm up so you can go out and make a snowman! But I'll be taking advantage and getting myself some much-needed fresh air this afternoon! Things are a little random here today. I have some thrifty finds to share with you in the near future, when I can get some pictures together. And tomorrow we hit the halfway point on the Captain's course. We're almost done! I'm debating what to do for Valentine's Day this year. Usually, if the Captain is away for a gift-giving holiday (not that we've ever put that much importance on the Hallmark Holidays), I'd buy myself a little cheap-and-cheerful trinket. At present, we've been trying to tighten the belt, so it seems a bit wasteful. And since I'm trying to literally tighten my own belt as well, making cupcakes or chocolates seems like ...

The older I get, the faster the time goes. It seems like it was only last week I was pushing Firstborn around in a stroller. Now he's in second grade, waiting for his first adult front tooth to come in. If things keep speeding along like this, I'll be raising hell at the old folks' home and needing a hip replacement before I know it. With this in mind, I've compiled a list of standards I like to keep in mind in my everyday life. I call it my Life's Too Short list. Life's too short to always cheap out : Frugality definitely has its place. I can't tell the difference between store brand and name brand spaghetti. I am very happy with the quality of my Joe Fresh cotton t-shirts, so paying triple for Banana Republic doesn't make sense to me. But there are some areas where saving money for the sake of it just adds irritation to my life. Shoes that make my feet hurt or ruin my knees are not worth the $20, $50 or $100 I saved by buying them. Pens that are so ch...

The New Year is officially one month old, so it's time to check in on how those resolutions are coming along. I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself, and I hope all of you out there are too! My resolution this year was just to keep it simple. Here's how I managed to work that into my life in January: Firstly, I opted to stay as close to home as possible. Since dropping the Captain off in the capital on January 4th, I have not set foot in a city at all . I did this because a trip to Booming Metropolis for me usually ends up looking like an episode of The Amazing Race , but without the beautiful backdrop. I tear around the city trying to squeeze in as many errands as I possibly can, spend hundreds of dollars, and return home with my blood pressure sky-high. As well, at this time of year, I have to worry about sliding right off the road on my way home. Staying local gives me cabin fever, no question. But it's much more relaxing. We have a grocery store, pharmacy, hardware ...