iPod + scarf

This is my new iPod (she doesn't yet have a name) nestled comfortably atop Lana's scarf. The latter is getting consistently longer and comfier and I'm very pleased with the results. I think that my sister will find it an excellent Christmas gift --it's certainly the best thing I've ever knitted, though I haven't knitted much. Many elaborate thank-yous to Lizzy for helping me hone my knitting skills and for showing me how to purl. You truly are the bomb, my friend!

Also, I wrote a satirical story about the hijinks-riddled purchase of my iPod from the Apple Store, and I will post it as soon as I think it worthy of public inspection. Look for it, coming soon!

an arrival

It came with the snow. My uncle brought it back from the Saskatchewan home of my recently deceased Great Grandmother, since her well-kept old sewing machine was promised me during her will distribution. It's mine! It has a pedal to make it work; no electricity is required. [My mother said this would be quite helpful if we needed to make clothes during a worldwide power shortage or nuclear apocalypse. I suppose she's right.] Everything is made of heavy iron and real wood. It came with all sorts of interesting extras, including an ancient-looking button-hole-maker (I have yet to figure out how that works). It's old and neat and in great condition.

I like it a lot. I'm very excited to try it out!

breakfast

Outside it's -18°C, inside it's delicious.

Today.

The sun is out despite the snow


as the city prepares itself for winter -


for Christmas.


I walk


and breath in the pine of the shivering spruce trees.


The air is visible


as the city throbs,


"Hello winter!


You're welcome here."

progress

It snowed like the dickens today. The first fall of the year. It heaps the November ground like so much cotton. It reminds me, like every snowfall, that I am Canadian and unafraid of the cold and the ice. I wore an interesting scarf.

I wanted to tell you how my plans for this month have been holding up. So far, mostly within the first snow-less weeks of November, I have been surprisingly productive.

I have,
- read four graphic novels (Hellboy Vol. 1, Beowulf, Batman: Year One, and V for Vendetta)
- gotten straight A's in social studies
- researched several universities
- made origami dragons, stars, cranes, a dog, a rooster, and a snail
- started knitting/pearling a pomegranite scarf (for Lana)
- begun cleaning my room (which has so far involved the ridding of a sizable bag of useless junk)
- got halfway through the tiresome Moby Dick, via audiobook
- drank half a box of Zen tea

I have yet to,
- start the patchwork pillows
- start Dawn by Octavia E. Butler
- start my panel for the mural mosaic
- purchase a silver iPod Classic
- spray paint two mannequin heads (for my masks)
- finish The Stand (King) and I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream (Ellison)
- bake ginger bread cookies

remembering

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, 1915

books, tea, licorice, dragons

I did it!

At long last, I creased and twisted and folded paper until it took the shape of a tiny dragon that will stand up on its own --an event which had been a long-term goal of mine. It was thrilling to watch my little square of paper finally take this lizard-y shape, which had only crumpled and slipped into unrecognizable messes for me before. This small but satisfying achievement makes me feel like I am actually capable of folding more difficult things, which is my rather bold motivation to try an even harder pattern: the stand-alone eagle. Wish me luck!

origami atmosphere: The Black Keys, green tea, Capricorn black licorice