The Ol' Bam Boo

Well, for me it's the new Bam Boo.

I was finally able to get my things and license plate from my car this past Monday. A sorry sight it was. Most of my stuff was still there and a whole ton of stuff that really creeped me out. Cloths, CD's etc. none of it mine. Depressing stuff. To cheer myself up after that little excursion, I'd planned to meet up with Gina at the LYS. It was just what I needed air conditioning someone to talk to and some good yarn therapy.

I came away with this. Six balls of Classic Elite Bam Boo in leaf.

And I'm making this. A little Summer wrap sweater with i-cord ties, Amy's take on the "Boob Holder" from Glampyre. I am having so much fun knitting this. Bam Boo is more difficult to work with than I expected, very splitty, but I love it and the pattern is as cute as can be. I was going to save it for vacation knitting but now I might be able to wear it on vacation instead.

And, I had a pleasant surprise from the insurance adjuster. Oh don't worry… the car is still a total right off… $6000 damage to a car I've had for several years and only paid $8000 for in the first place but they offered me more money than I was expecting for it due to the low kilometers. I should get the cheque towards the end of next week. So now I get to go car shopping. I am bowing to the fact that my best bet is to use the money from insurance as a down payment and accept the reality of car payments. It will allow me to get a slightly newer, safer car.

Go with the 'Fro…

So I picked the boy up from camp after work on Friday. A week of fun in the sun canoeing, swimming, doing archery…I swear he grew while he was gone. His hair grew too. The camp counsellors nicknamed him "Curly 'Fro Man" which I find amusing and a significant improvement over "Gasmask" which was his nickname 2 Summers ago (don't ask). He doesn't seem to mind, he told me, "The girls at camp seemed to really like my hair". It's hard not to smile at it, dark brown and ridiculously curly (I swear he never had hair this curly before) and he has green eyes and tiny freckles and after a week at camp, a killer tan. I missed him.

I had planned a relaxing week of knitting, dropping by the LYS, Raveling and of course working. Well, my two days off were consumed by dealing with the car. Still no news from the insurance company. I was waiting on the loaner for the start of the week so no trip to the LYS. I've done a bit of raveling… a bit of knitting too but the week was over before I knew it.

I finished my jay socks. I cast them off as ankle socks because they were so mismatched. I'll know better for next time.


I wanted to start a clapotis, seduced by the sheer number of them out there. I'm having trouble getting the pattern going but I think it's because I am a combination knitter that my stitches are wonky and I'm just not quite getting it. I am planning to take a series of knit what you want classes in the fall. May be I'll save clapotis for then.

The never ending wrap… well it's still never ending. I am trying to think of it as a value added project. The longer it takes to knit, the greater the entertainment value and lower the cost. Three balls of laceweight silk/mohair and a set of circulars x 4 years or more of knitting entertainment I guess it is good value for the money spent. Shut up out there, it's a positive spin OK! I show people and all they say is, "Well the yarn is really lovely." I know they are thinking, "Is she insane! At the rate she's going she'll be in her grave before she gets through the first ball".

And… did you know… my dog thinks she's a prOn star.

I can't believe how upset…

My car was stolen last night. My car was frickin' stolen out of my frickin' driveway. I am a single mom, I do not drive a nice car. I drive a crappy old '96 Plymouth Neon (but it's MY piece of crap and it gets me from point A to point B) and someone stole it! I have to take the boy to camp… today. I called the neighbors across the street (their window faces my driveway) and they didn't see anything, they did offer to drive the boy to camp. I am so upset… I can't even… I have no family here, I have to get to work, I have to pick the boy up from camp on Friday and get groceries and go to work and all the other stuff people do and my frickin' car is stolen. I called the police. Tomorrow I'll call insurance. AAAAHHHGH!!! Update July 16: I got a call at about 3:15 AM that the police had recovered my stolen vehicle and it was being towed to the impound lot. It had "sustained damage" and they had arrested 2 young men. They were using my car to prowl other cars, they took off when they saw the cops. The cops gave chase and eventually they got them. Not before the thieves hit the curb a couple of times and crashed my car into a tree. The constable who called me said the front axle is toast and my car is almost certainly a right off. The insurance company is paying for a loaner, I can pick it up tomorrow morning, while they look at the car and decide what it's worth. At least they caught the miscreants.

All That and More!

I was feeling all left out because friends right left and centre were joining Ravelry and I hadn't got my invite yet :-(. Joy of Joys! It showed up in my in-box Tuesday morning. I'm "Gingersnaps" on Ravelry and so far I am loving it!!! Great fun. Wonderful time sucker. I'm so excited.

We are the champions my friends…

a hard tackle

And they are! The boy's rugby team WON the city finals. It came down to a final match against the only other undefeated team in the league this season. Our other club team! Yep it was the old school boys (Sheilds in green) vs the football Dad's boys (Swords in white) and guess who won. I've never seen any of the boys play so hard, every try was hard fought to the bitter end and in the end the Shields only won by three points. It was great! Fun to watch and well played on both sides.

the line out… note intense look on the boy's face.

I went to watch a friend's son play baseball… no offence to my American friends but compared to watching rugby… it's like watching paint dry. There were tons of Mom's in the stands. I said, "You never see this many Mom's at the rugby games." to which she replied, "Of course you don't, they can't bear to watch their son's getting hurt."

the scrum

The boy already has designs on some classmates to get them signed up for next year.

hang onto the ball lads!

And school is out. YEAH!! No more rugby… no more school… nothing to worry about for 2 whole months! The boy's transition to Junior High did not go well. School this year was a total right off. Absences, issues, I hate to say bad…but young, inexperienced, stressed out, teachers who were not able to reach out to my son. I am hoping next year will be better.

I am very excited about the boy's psychologist. She specialises in issues surrounding anxiety, depression, LD kids, School refusal all the stuff we've been struggling with and our intake session went very well. Her philosophy is good, I felt very much at ease with her. She likens anxiety to a visitor, something you let in and what she does is teach kids how to shut the door. The boy has his first real session with her in just over a week, we have the Summer to get things going and by September I'm hoping for good things. I was really worried about the cost. My coverage for this sort of thing is limited. She told me to let her know if at any point it becomes a financial burden. She said we've accepted you as our clients, the treatment doesn't stop because you can't afford it. So that was reassuring.

Anyway, no knitting today, still working on the heinous mohair wrap. Self torture disguised as fun hobby. My best friend is coming Tuesday, 4 kids and 2 adults in a 750 sq. ft. house with one bathroom, we will need 2 things--good weather and lots of booze, The house is a shambles must work on that. HAPPY CANADA DAY!