July 10, 2013

Random Wednesday

1. With my wool as my witness I meant to keep the good times rolling this week and totally nail another five days of blogging but I'm so close to the end of the book that I keep falling down that particular hole, and not really being able to climb out.  It could be a lot worse - I've experienced manuscript endings where it's almost impossible to climb into the hole and stay there even if I stood at the brink and threw myself in wholesale, so I'll take this.  Head down, working hard, it feels like I'm making a strong finish to a book I like a whole lot.

2. Knitting is happening here, although slowly, slowly. I'm knitting just enough to be sane, and I've been advised a few times in the last few days that I might want to up the dose.

(Yes. I totally screwed with the foot length so that both the heel and toe would be purple. Yes, I totally think that's normal. No. I don't know who they will fit anymore.)

I can't tell you how happy I would be to oblige.  I've started a list on my desk of all the things I'm going to knit in a few weeks when the book and rally are over. It's going to be a yarn party of epic proportions. It's going to be the kind of knitting party where if it wasn't a knitting party, someone would call the cops for a noise complaint. The kind of party where you find strangers asleep in your garden the next day. The kind of party where you have to keep telling your slightly berserk neighbour to keep putting his shirt back on and that you're not into bongs. The kind of party where the next day, when you return all the empties, you can buy groceries with all the money. That sort of a knitting party my friends, and I can't wait.

3. I have ice on my knees.  I'll tell you about the ride on Sunday tomorrow when my knees hurt less and my attitude is better. It rained. 

4. It rained on Monday too, and thanks so much for the emails and tweets of concern.  Yeah, it was wild.  Completely wild.  Around suppertime, the whole sky went black - like nighttime, and then the rain started, and Joe and I kept standing there looking at it saying over and over "I've never seen anything like it."  It turns out we were right, there had never been anything like it.  Never before.  In just about an hour, Toronto got 129mm of rain (that's about 5 inches, for my American friends.)  There's a great video here on the CBC if you want to see what happened.  Our street got off pretty lucky, I had a wet basement, but not a flooded one, and we've had issues with the phone and power, and we're still in the rolling blackout zone for today, because the power grid is too damaged to make enough right now.  One of the hydro stations was under about 7 metres (20 feet) of water.  Like most Torontonians (or at least the ones with a soul - don't get me started on the young, fit, healthy guy down the street - his A/C is blasting and he's not even home) we're conserving as much power as we can to try and make it all go around.  My sister's restaurant flooded, but just the downstairs, she's got ongoing power issues though, and my mum had water cascade in her side door and down to the basement, but not too much. Stoplights are still out, the subway is not quite all the way running again, some roads are still closed and it will be a while before Jen and I ride the Humber Trail again, on account of I'm not sure it's still there (the rail is the side of the bike trail in that shot) but overall, we were lucky. 

5. I've thought about going to the trail to look, but as long as the water is high and there's rain in the forecast, I'm not going anywhere near the place. Those flash floods scared the crap out of me.

6. It is this time of year again. We are inundated. Anybody have a really, really easy solution? They're Montmorency cherries, (those are sour ones) and the neighbours are stealing them, but not fast enough. 


7. Want some presents?  Sure you do.  Today's gifts are courtesy of Liz, who went into her stash to see how she could spread a little joy and good karma, and show you all how much she loves you, and look what she found!


Four skeins of Alp Natural Feza (10% Linen, 10% Silk, 40% Cotton, 40% Viscose 100g/230 yards)  They're going to live with Teresa L.


Two skeins of Araucania Ruca Multi (100% Sugar Cane 100g/263 yards each) that Liz will wing to Shelly W.


Anne M will get a nice package. Artyarns Handpaint Stripes 100% Merino,
Elsebeth Lavold - Designer's Choice Angora. Very pretty.


Cascade Eco Duo, Alpaca/merino - enough for Kristine R to make something really nice. (That looks like two different colours, but it's not.)


Cascade Yarns Pima Silk, and I think that Brooke B will be able to make a summer top.


Sally M will be enjoying Liz's gift of Lana Grossa Coccinella.


Someone who forgot to give me their name, but who's email starts with "harvest" is getting six balls of  Louisa Harding Jasmine  (Cotton/bamboo/silk)


Svetlana S, will be enjoying three skeins of  Madelinetosh Tosh DK. (I love this yarn to pieces.)


- and the last, but certainly not the least to enjoy Liz's generosity will be Jami C, who will make something that I will wish I had, from  Plymouth Yarns Mushishi.

I've emailed everyone who's name came up. Thanks so much to Liz for the Karmic Balancing gifts, and to everyone who has donated, is donating, or even wishes they could donate, but can't.  You've given me, Jen, Ken and Pato two amazing things. The ability to help other people, and the chance for us to experience something that never gets old.  When other people on the rally ask us how we're raising so much money, and how it's even possible, we get to look them in the eye and say "Knitters, man.  You don't know what they're like."

The look on their faces is worth falling off my bike for.

If you'd like to be included in the draws for the Karmic Balancing gifts, it's easy. Just make a donation of any amount (we know everybody does the best they can) to anyone on our little team of knitters.

Me
Jen
Ken
Pato

PS. I think I'm going to try and give away a gift or two every day now, instead of big clumps, it's a little easier for me to keep track of.

PPS. Our actual team leads this year are Andy and Brandon, and even though  they're not (yet)  knitters, they're really nice guys who have made an amazing commitment to the rally and its cause, and neither of them have made their fundraising goals yet - not for lack of trying. I'm going to give them a little shout out here and tell you they could use a little knitter love too. If you donate to them today, shoot me an email and let me know (StephanieATyarnharlotDOTca) and I'll include you for the presents.

Posted by Stephanie at July 10, 2013 1:25 PM