Good Friends, Good Food, Good Times

My tummy is so full! We just returned from a birthday dinner - one shared by me and my friend Asami's son. Mind you, we are 33 years apart, but what does that matter? We met at a local Japanese restaurant where we had reserved a private tatami room - and I think that was the smartest thing we could have done. Between the 2 year old and the 5 year old, had we been in the restaurant proper something would have got knocked over and we would have annoyed the hell out of the other patrons.

What did we have? Collectively, shrimp and vegetable tempura, sushi rice, hibachi steaks, shrimp and halibut, yakitori, soba, miso soup, gyoza, dragon rolls, and assorted sushi. I didn't get to try the dragon roll myself, but it's on my list for next time. It is shrimp tempura wrapped in sushi rice and nori, and then thin slices of avocado are overlapped on top to resemble dragon scales.

Natsukashi!

Christmas is coming...

...WHEW...! Who knew you all could throw things through your monitors at me!?!?

No, I'm not talking about the stress and bad weather and horrible line ups to have pictures taken with Santa and the anxiety over gift-buying and the travel and people who have lost all sense of politeness and self-respect...

I had my first eggnog latte of the season this afternoon and it was sooo yummy. I know I can't indulge in eggnog as much as I would like - how can they fit so many calories in a half-cup of liquid?!? But, ever once in a while during this season I have an eggnog latte and I feel so happy and peaceful - regardless of whatever is going on around me.

Thursday Book Report

Today I finished listening to Junot Diaz' The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao:

I had never heard of Junot Diaz before listening to this book. One day when I was driving home from work I heard him interviewed on NPR and read part of the book. I was so piqued by the character of Oscar Wao - named so because his classmates teased him about being a Dominican Oscar Wilde - that I wanted to read it immediately. I found myself intermittently pausing the story, going to Wikipedia and looking up many of the real life characters and places mentioned in the story. I am sure Diaz, as a MIT professor, would be very pleased that some learning happened along with my enjoyment of his novel. Before reading this book all I could tell you about the Dominican Republic was that I knew it was on an island that was half Dominican Republic and half Haiti. The two actor/narrators of the book, Jonathan David and Staci Snell did a wonderful job - I think that this is a book that really lends itself to the audio experience. The book tells the story of multiple generations of Oscar's family and some his friends, in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, and New Jersey and Diaz does an amazing job of pulling all these people and places together.

WiP It Wednesday

I first saw Silk Garden Lite socks on Lolly's blog and knew right away that I wanted to try to knit a pair of my own. The funny thing about Silk Garden Lite and the way it is skeined - unless you have a swatch right in front of you, you don't really have a clear idea of all the colours involved. I started these socks on Sunday morning and am quite pleased at how far along they have come:



Now, I have to say that I chose this skein because of the lime green and charcoal grey (which I have yet to get to on the skein), having no clue that there was orange and purple involved as well! They are going to make very warm socks, however ;)

Happy Birthday to Me!

And the winner is... Shan! Who, oddly enough, was the first person to submit the correct answers. I guess the lottery picker (the site I used to pick the winner) liked you! If you will email me your mailing address, I will pop the package in the mail.

And, here is a somewhat birthday meme, stolen from Catherine:

30 years ago I...
... celebrated my 5th birthday. I was in Kindergarten, but I am afraid I don't remember it much beyond that. Except that may have been my birthday when I got a puppy and then it got hit by a car soon after.

20 years ago I...
... celebrated my 15th birthday. I was in grade 10 and I believe I had a sleep over party.

10 years ago I...
... celebrated my 25th birthday. I was in Japan and a bunch of my Japanese girlfriends went to a Mexican restaurant in Roppongi, flirted with the cute South African waiter, drank plenty of margaritas, then went to karaoke!

5 years ago I...
... celebrated my 30th birthday with my four-month-old baby girl and finally getting sleep because she had started sleeping through the night.

2 years ago I...
... celebrated my 33rd birthday. It wasn't particularly memorable other than my boss at that time bought me a fabulous cheesecake (which I much prefer to birthday cake).

1 year ago I...
... celebrated my 34th birthday. We went to Hibachi Steakhouse where we all were unsuccessful tried to catch shrimp in our mouths. It was my first time there and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

1 month ago I...
... was in Baltimore at Stitches with my friends.

1 week ago I...
... had a meltdown while on the phone with my mother because everything in my fridge was rotten or beyond its 'best by' date.

1 day ago I...
... annoyed my husband by rough-housing with my daughter. Hey! How was I supposed to know she would take a face plant into the carpet?

1 hour ago I ...
... volunteered in Willow's class.

And right now?
...trying to decide how I am going to hide the delicata squash into the mashed potatoes for dinner...

Happy Birthday to me!

Oh - and the correct answers:

1. Canadian.
2. Irving Layton
3. 35
4. I'd accept anything from paranormal romance to sci-fi to mystery
5. Canada, Japan, and USA

Three Things I Love

(the slightly soused version)

1. Flannel sheets
2. Bailey's Irish Cream (or any variants thereof)
3. The Muppet Show

I'm going into this birthday happy - I have always thought my odd years fared better than my even ones.

Keep those answers coming - so far only two people have sent in real answers...

Birthday Contest Set Up

First off, here is the prize:

Two skeins of Berroco Foliage in Cinnabar. It's very nice stuff to knit with - I made my Knitty Calorimetry out of it.

To win these lovelies, here is what you must do. Answer the following questions and DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENTS! Send your answers to me at jochibi AT yahoo DOT com, and let me know your name and blog address (if you have one). I will collect all the correct answers and make a random drawing on Tuesday (my actual birthday). Anyone who posts the answers to the comments will be disqualified.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, these questions should be easy for you... if not, you may have to dig a little.

1. What nationality am I?

2. To whom is my blog title a tribute?

3. How old am I turning on Tuesday? (hint: it's a multiple of two odd prime numbers)

4. What are my favourite books to read? (I'll allow some lassitude in this one)

5. What countries have I lived in?

All answers must be sent to my yahoo email by 5pm EST Tuesday, November 13th. Again, please do not put the answers in the comments - but please leave a note there saying you submitted your answers so I know to look for them.

Good luck!

Secret Finished Objects

You know, it is not nearly as satisfying when you actually finish something and can't show anyone a picture of it. I know that the person it is intended for has not made his/her appearance yet, but I still want it to be a surprise for the other people involved in this adventure. In any case, it is finished.

Next quick-o projects - a hat for Willow. I knit her a bright lime green one two years ago and it has mysteriously become much tighter and doesn't cover her ears anymore... She has requested a pink hat, so pink it will be.

Do My Eyes Deceive Me?

They kind of look like Jaywalkers, don't they? Sadly, no - I haven't tried those socks yet - these are just knock-offs I picked up at Sears for Willow.



BUT THAT ISN'T WHY I AM WRITING THIS POST!!!

What are those things on the socks? They kind of look like Cadbury Easter Eggs, don't they? You know, the kind of candy that it is a damn good thing has a very short season or I would be five times the size I am now? They are trying to pass them off as Christmas candy now! Omigod. I had to buy a couple - for empirical research, you see...

Yeah... that's the ticket.

The Willow Interview

As promised, here is my interview with Willow:

Q1: What is your favourite thing about your family? (from Nell)

W: You take me out trick-or-treating. You take me to the park down the street. And you say that you love me more than all the stars.

Q2: What is your favourite story book? (from cpurl17)

W: Okay... Sleepytime Tales (Jo: It's an anthology of Golden Books.) In Sleepytime Tales I like 'Baby Dear' because it has babies and how the baby grows up.

Q3: What is your Mom really good at? (from Tara)

W: Knitting! And loving me.

Q4: Do you know how to knit? If you don't, do you plan to learn? When? If you do know how, what do you like about it? And do you and your Mom share yarn and work on projects together? (from Holly)

W: Sort of. When I am five. Hey! I'm five now. I'm learning that I can knit half a scarf. I get the leftover yarn. We work on projects for my school so we can have a pizza party. (Jo: She is talking about the Boxtops for Education. Got any you want to contribute?)

Q5: Willow, how'd you get so darn cute?? And if you could spend a day with a celebrity of your choice (and do whatever you wanted), who would you hand out with and what would you do? (from Sarah)

W: (giggles)I was just made that way! Beethoven because I like the part when he goes, "Ba ba ba bum!" I would spend the day with him and we would go to the park.

Q6: Hey Willow - when you get to be an official grown-up what is the one thing you really want to do that you can't do now? (from Kemtee)

W: Knit and sew because I really want to knit and sew.

Q7: Hi Willow! Are you going to start up a yarn dyeing business when you grow up? (from Cristi)

W: What do you mean? (Jo explains) Write Y-E-S, Mom. Very much because but I can't do it right now. I won't use vinegar! No way, Jose!

Q8: Pete and Repeat were sitting on a fence. Pete fell off, who was left? (from Bezzie)

W: Heat? What was it? What was the joke? Oh! Repeat was on there...

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Hey people, my birthday is next week... and let's just say it is a number that can be divided by two odd numbers. I am going to have a short-term contest - I will probably put the contest up on Sunday and draw the winner on Tuesday... so stay tuned!

WiP It, Blogstalking!

Shh... This is two projects in one. The mittens (without thumbs because I have been lazy) are for Children in Common - and the other is a secret...



Ah, breakfast! Honestly, it took Weight Watchers kicking my behind to get me to eat breakfast regularly. Below is a typical weekday breakfast for me:

- 1 cup Fiber One Honey Nut Clusters cereal
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 cups extremely strong Starbucks Yukon coffee with French Vanilla creamer



...And don't talk to me until the coffee has been consumed. You will notice the milk is not in my cereal. I hate soggy cereal, so I pour the milk in a little bit at a time as I need it. When I am finished the cereal my bowl is dry and then I drink the remainder of my milk from the cup.

Like Willow's place mat? $1.79 at Target!

10 Songs That Sum Up Your Weekend

I found this meme on Music Memoirs and decided to give it a shot.

List 10 songs that sum up your weekend (or were on your weekend playlist) and one picture that relates back (oh, and if you feel like it, tell us why you picked the songs you did).

1. "Die Zauberflöte" (aka The Queen of the Night aria) from Mozart's 'Magic Flute'.
Willow has been on a Mozart kick lately and this plays on one of her CDs. I have loved this aria ever since I first heard it as a child watching the movie 'Amadeus.' And because of this song, I learned a new term this weekend: coloratura soprano.

2. "I've Been Working On the Railroad" - Laurie Berkner.
I know Laurie Berkner did not pen this song, but it is the version we sing. We were in Einstein Brothers on the weekend and there is a sign in the women's bathroom that says there is great acoustics in the bathroom... so we had to test this statement.

3. "Please Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want This Time" - The Smiths.
Want to know my definition of angst? Try sitting through 45 minutes of watching your child eat three-quarters of ONE HALF of a bagel!!!!

4. "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day.
Oddly enough, another one due to Willow. She loves Green Day and sings along whenever she hears them on the radio. Yes, some songs I have to edit a little...

5. "Soul Meets Body" - Death Cab For Cutie.
This song rumbled through my head all weekend and I kept finding myself humming it. It is one of those songs where I couldn't tell you more than 2 - 3 of the words in the lyrics strung together, but I know the whole melody.

6. "Chapel of Love" - The Dixie Cups
This song is here because I tricked my friend Carrie into singing it for me. Well, I think she wanted to sing it anyway - she isn't one easily coerced.

7. "Sunglasses At Night" - Corey Hart.
What can I say? It came on the radio and I was a Canadian teenager during the 1980s - so of course I had to sing along.

8. "Sweet Emotion" - Aerosmith
I watched (part of) 'Armageddon' on the weekend, and while I know that the Aerosmith song people usually associate with this movie is "Don't Want to Miss A Thing", I didn't get that far in the movie. I tried setting Willow up in the other room with Noggin, but she was more interested in 'Armageddon' so I had to turn it off before they got into space.

9. "All I Want Is You" - U2
Truly, one of my all-time favourite U2 songs. Andrew and I watched the Clive Owen movie "Greenfingers" this weekend and this song was on the soundtrack.

10. "Joy to the World" - Three Dog Night
Willow loves the chorus to this song so we had to sing it a few times over the weekend.

And for a picture....



A bullfrog!

Eulogy For Jo

Pre-script: Don't freak out, Mom. It's just Shan's writing assignment.

**********************************************************

"And you want to travel with her
You want to travel blind
And you know she will find you
For she's touched your perfect body with her mind"

- Leonard Cohen, 'Suzanne'

We are gathered here to remember Jo and to celebrate her life.

People knew her as a person full of contradictions. Most notably, she thrived on excitement and adventure, but yet was a devoted homebody who loved nothing more than a comfy spot on the sofa, knitting project in her lap, and a Baileys on the rocks within reach.

A precocious child, she was an old woman even as a little girl. Her paternal grandmother gave her a leather bound copy of Louisa May Alcott's _Little Women_ as a young child because she was such a 'little woman', all prim and proper. This gift sparked a love of long books and from that point forward Jo was rarely found without her nose in a book. This was not always a good thing; on a number of occasions her mother accused her of being anti-social because Jo would rather read alone in her room than interact with her family.

A competitive athlete who always played to win, she participated on many sports teams, including field hockey, soccer, volleyball, and softball. Through these adventures she sustained a number of injuries, including multiple concussions, a cracked pelvic bone, and most regrettably, torn cartilage in her knee which barred her from further competition. Later in life she grew to enjoy less competitive (and equally less injury-prone) sports such as cycling and swimming. Despite this love of sport, Jo struggled with her weight her entire life and became a firm believer in health and strength at any size.

She was a person who loved school and took joy in learning something new everyday. After graduating from high school, Jo had her pick of universities across Canada and the US, and chose the University of Victoria for its programs and location. She began her post-secondary career in Pre-Med but later changed majors and graduated with a degree in Applied Linguistics. During her sojourn at UVic, Jo wrote a great deal and had many pieces published in local publications and anthologies.

Her first job after university took her across the Pacific Ocean to live and work in Japan. She lived there for three years and it was then that she met (and married) her husband, Andrew. The two of them loved living in Japan and always dreamed of returning. They had their only child, Willow, a few years later after they had returned to the US and Andrew had graduated from law school. Willow was the brightest spark in Jo's heart and she loved her daughter more than all the stars in the sky.

In the late 90s Jo left her career in education to work for a biotech company. She thrived in her new job - the combination of detective work, political wranglings, and math made for exciting work. She always wanted her experience to be a lesson to other people - to not put your eggs in one basket when it comes to your education - because you never know where you will end up!

Jo was many things: a fierce competitor yet someone who learned to not wear her heart on her sleeve, a loving wife who occasionally threw writing instruments at her husband in frustration, an over-protective mama yet one who always urged her daughter to stand up for herself, someone who knew reason and still, inexplicably, would not heed it. She liked being a book not easily read.

Sunday Night Fly-By

I have to make this quick because the Treehouse of Horror comes on in a few minutes. Can someone please tell me why the Treehouse of Horror is always on *after* Halloween? I never got that - you would think that a show with the Simpsons' clout would make its Halloween show come on before or on Halloween.


On Thursday I plan to interview Willow for this blog, so I have an assignment for you. In the comments section, please leave a question that you would like me to ask Willow. She's a pretty smart kid, so fire away. Here is one of my favourite shots of me and Willow:

A November Garden

Fall has come upon us in a hurry - even as recently as last week I was too hot during the day and we broke down and turned the airconditioner on again. Not so now. Now we play the game of how cold it has to be before we turn on the heater - Andrew has already lost. He called me today from home and said, "Guess what - it finally got cold enough today for the heat to come on automatically!" (It is set on a sensor to turn on if the temperature goes below 60'F in the house.) Me: "Um, how did that happen? I turned the sensor off when we left yesterday." Him: "Oh yeah... I turned the heat on..." I love him, but he is a wimp when it comes to heat. He will wear long johns half the year if you would let him.

In any case, Willow and I were dogsitting today, and I decided to document my father-in-law's garden in November. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at what is still growing - and not to mention the lovely fall colours:























And I even found a sweet treat still lingering on their vines:



I tried to get a nice picture of Willow and Caddie, but neither one of them were cooperating:



Why are so many things still blooming in November? Well, we had an exceptionally warm October - I think some plants got tricked into thinking it was spring and started a second round of blooms. The vegetable garden is pretty much done for, but you can still find the odd bunch of cherry tomatoes and pepper (not the one above) that hasn't withered yet.

With Apologies to Shan

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The
Sesame Street Personality Quiz

Shan - I am still planning to do your meme. I was writing it out longhand and I left it in my desk at work. It will be posted Monday night! (Don't worry - no crapping out here - just accidental procrastination.)

Día de los Muertos

It's fitting that I should finally get around to doing this week's Blogstalking assignment on the Day of the Dead. This is not the oldest picture of me I have ever seen, but it is the oldest picture of me (in which I am clothed - my parents were big on the naked baby pictures) that I have:



This picture is of me and my paternal grandparents at my baptism - sometime in the early 70's. Let's just leave it there. My Gram is still alive and kicking, but my Grandpa died when I was scarcely 6 years old and I wish I remembered him better than I do. He was never a strong or healthy man in my lifetime and most of what I know of him comes second hand. I do know that he was a sweet and considerate man who would sit in the kitchen and watch the birds at the birdfeeder outside the window.

*****************************************************

And continuing on the grandparent tangent, my friend Carrie (of yesterday's Halloween costume fame) gave me a bag of wool that had belonged to her grandmother today. This batch is nine skeins of Melrose Classic Sport Yarn (acrylic, 50g, 150 yards) - it's very pretty and reminds me a lot of some Mexican Wave yarn I used to have:



This is Wendy Fancy Cotton - but I couldn't find a match for it anywhere online:



My father-in-law (the phantom gardener) has struck again. Earlier this week he came by and not only seeded the bare patches (with sand, soil, seed, and fertilizer) in our backyard, but also planted some bushes along the side of my house:



There are azaleas, rhododendrons, and mountain laurels here - all in shades of red and purple. But that is not all... this beauty was waiting for me in the back:



It may not look like much now, but if you recall back in May when I was taking pictures of all my father-in-law's lovely flowers, I had said that his Ben Morrison azalea was my favourite of all the ones he has. So what does he do? He goes and buys me one of my own! I can't wait until next spring so that I can see it in bloom. And yes, I have been watering them... and the seeded areas in the backyard. Andrew and I are such gardening/yardwork newbies - I am sure my father-in-law just wants to pull his hair out sometimes...

The Award-Winning Pinheads and a Petite Pocohantas (oh, and WIP it Wednesday, too!)

Don't we look cool?!?



We had a teambuilding event today where everyone in our department had to dress up and bowl for the afternoon, and there were prizes awarded for best individual costume, best team costume, best bowler, etc. This costume idea was the brainchild of my friend Carrie (the bowling ball in the front), who sewed and put together all of the pins and the bowling ball. And... we won for best team costume! Yeah - I'm the middle pin - just like in elementary school when I always had to sit in front on the bench because I was one of the shortest (if not *the* shortest) in class... We even had a orchestrated dance number set to the music from 2001: A Space Odyssey where Jackee (not pictured) bowled Carrie into us and we all fell down.

Earlier in the day my pin kept on listing to the side and I said to the group that I thought I might need a fluffer. Only my friend Raul got the joke, which is why I like him so much :)



Willow dressed up as Pocohantas this year, and her costume is handmade by Grandma (does she pass muster, Sarah?) She originally planned to be a cowgirl, but the Indian maiden costume was on the same pattern and as soon as she saw this she changed her mind. She designed the jack-o'lantern as well (although Daddy did the actual butchering).

I'm afraid I don't have much to show for the WiP front at the moment - I've been lying low since I finished Mr Greenjeans and trying to figure out what I would like to tackle next. I have this hat on the needles - it's a generic hat knit from Colinette Zanziba in Moss. The yarn is knitting up much nicer than I thought it might - it feels quite heavy but is smooth. The colour gradations are extremely subtle as well.

Oh - and I have signed up for NaBloPoMo, where you try and write one blog post every day for the month of November. Does that make you happy, Dad? You had better leave a comment, mister!

'Cause My Dad Bitched At Me For Not Posting Enough

What female superhero are you??? Catwoman You are the anti-hero. Now quite a hero but prone to heroic actions and a protector of abused women. Dark, sleek and full of feminine wiles, you steal your way into people's hearts. Meow!

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Yeah... that's me - sleek and full of feminine wiles...

(ETA - Scroll and highlight over the white text to read it - I don't know why it is being annoying.)

Cool Exchanges, Finished Objects, and Crappy Weeks

Without further ado...

I got the sweetest smelling package in the mail this week:



A few weeks ago, I left a comment on Marian's blog. She had been experimenting in dyeing wool with Koolaid, and I had some exotic flavours stashed away that I wasn't planning to use - so we organized a Koolaid for yarn swap. Honestly, I think I got the better deal of it and I am feeling a little guilty! Now why the sweet-smelling comment? Well, first of all, those lollipops (which Miss Priss has laid claim to) are maple-flavoured. Secondly, the yarn smells like koolaid... which in turn sort of smells like Froot Loop Cereal! Thank you, Marian - I can't wait to knit up the wool!

I also have a few finished objects this week - including my Mr. Greenjeans:



I'm quite pleased with it - I think I could have made a size smaller (I made the second-to-largest size), but it makes for a comfortable roomy sweater. Most people will have 3/4 length sleeves... but I am short... with short arms, so they are pretty much full-length on me. The only thing I want to fix right now is the button holes - they are a bit too big for my buttons so I am going to close them up a bit. I have three modifications - two intentional and one unintentional. The accidental one was that I forgot to switch to the smaller needles for the cabling section on the sleeve. The intentional mods were two buttons rather than one (for better closure) and I knit 4 extra rows wide on the button band. I knit it out of Lion Brand Wool-ease which blocks like crap (hence the bit of a ripple in the bottom of the button band), but cost me less than $14 to make and I can throw it in the wash whenever I feel like it!

I also finished these cuties this week:



Sorry, Cristi - I couldn't show off your sock blockers in the case because this picture is nearly life-sized - these socks are intended for someone 2 - 4 years old. I started this sock at Stitches and the nice people at Children In Common let me take it home to finish it (plus some other nice yarns to knit some stuff up for them. I don't care if the Malabrigo isn't for me - I just love the process of knitting with it!)

And lastly (and maybe I should have put this first) - sorry to be away for nearly a week. I had the week from hell between health problems, family health problems, stress at work, Andrew's car being in the shop, etc. Most nights I didn't even turn the computer on when I got home and I was fast asleep by 9pm.