Jason has a new love

My mum (Serena Martindale) gave Jason a bread machine for Christmas.... he loves it more than he loves me! We have already used it for 2 bread items in the last 24 hours!!!

Stay tuned... on Monday I get my loom and then I'll have an inanimate object to love!

Not for Micah and Lizzie to look at!

Still making Christmas prezzies!
MICAH AND LIZZIE CAN'T LOOK!!!!

For pics of Micah and Lizzie's Christmas pressies go here

Socks for Nana (3 down 4 to go)

My Nana gave me some money as a Christmas gift and so I decided to use it to join the Rocking Sock Club! This club sends me handpainted yarn and specially designed sock patterns every other month! (seriously guys, it's actually pretty cool!). So as a thank you I'm sending some socks to Nana knit with sock yarn donated by my mum and worked on (partially) during the flight from LA to Calgary. It's a pretty cool pattern called Lothlorein!

In other news I also finished my York and Lancaster Socks!

The Wars of the Roses were a series of dynastic civil wars between supporters of the rival houses of Lancaster and York, for the throne of England. The name "Wars of the Roses" is not thought to have been used during the time of the wars but has its origins in the badges associated with the two royal houses, the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster.  These socks were designed to represent each house, one being the red rose on a white background and the other, the white rose on a red background. The core of the socks have castle walls designed on them and little turrets at the top!

So this means I have 3 socks done (since the six sock post) although I started another pair (bad rowan) so I'm 3 for 7!

Things that are new

This weekend we have gotten a few new things....
2 new Succulents for the apartment

And some pretty little buttons so my beautiful shawl that Jason made me for Christmas can be buttoned at the front :)

Dutch Fishermen's Sweater To Be

A little before Christmas, Rowan gave me a book of patterns for Traditions Dutch Fishermen's Sweaters.  Then for Christmas, Serena gifted me yarn to make just such a sweater.  Needless to say, I am very excited by the prospect of making just such a sweater.  I've made some inquiries to the elder Vissers, as I would prefer to choose a sweater that has motifs from a fishing harbour where Vissers once sailed from.  I don't expect this to be a quick project, but I can't wait for the finished product.

Here's a photo of the raw materials (+16 more balls of yarn):

Did I mention that the yarn's colourway is Delft Heather? :D

Shawl and Duvet: Hurray!

For Christmas Branwen (my lil' sister) gave me some lovely red beads and some beautiful peach coloured yarn to make a shawl! Well, I finished this beauty today and now it is blocking. The colours are just perfect (the edging is even a little darker) and the shawl looks like it will be a great size!

The shawl design is called Aeolian and the motifs are supposed to resemble Joshua tree yuccas, agaves and cactus flowers. I think the peach yarn and red beads look just like some of the beautiful flowers of the deserts out here!

One of our gifts from Serena was a new duvet for our bed. We were in dire need of something as it is a little too cool here in the winter to sleep with only a sheet, and as such we've been forced to use our sleeping bag from camping as a comforter. The new duvet looks fantastic and we look forward to testing it out tonight. One very useful feature is that there are two different insides to the duvet, which are used to control how much thermal insulation it provides. Should be wonderful here in LA, where the "winter" nights are cool, but during the summer only a light sheet is needed. Also take a look at our snazzy new bedside table... now there is one on each side of the bed!

De-icing the plane

So our flight from Calgary to LA was an eventful one! We waited in long lines, went through regular customs checks AND secondary customs checks (Because apparently Jason is a terrorist), we got padded and prodded through security and our bags went through a serious strip search. After that ordeal we grabbed some lunch (last poutine and iced caps for a while) and then headed onto the plane. We had some awesome seats and got to watch the deicing fun! I want that job... seriously, spraying green and pink goo on planes? AWESOME!



If you look closely you can see the green wings on the other plane!


P.S.: Sock, say goodbye to Calgary.

Christmas Puzzle

For Christmas, Rowan and I received a puzzle from Bill. Rowan does not have an exceeding amount of patience for puzzles, so it was mostly up to me to get this finished before we left. If memory serves, we started the puzzle on Christmas day or perhaps the day after, and it was only just finished today. It is a 1500 peice puzzle and though I have not done too many jigsaw puzzles in my life, I would rate this one as very difficult. See for yourself:

Edit/PS: I should give credit where credit is due though: I did have help from all of the Martindales on and off throughout the course of the puzzle's construction. Often just a few pieces here and there, but sometimes they were pieces that had been eluding me for hours and hours :D

Look, look at my pretty sweater!

Look, look everybody, look at the beautiful sweater I got for Christmas!

Aaron, Meghan, Micah, and Lizzie bought me some lovely yarn for Christmas and with it I made a "Farmer's Market Cardigan". I love it!

The big pockets are fabulous and I love the way the collar looks beautiful both inside and outside.

The gray tweed is a beautifully soft blend of wool and alpaca and it keeps me warm even in the cold Calgary winter!

Thank you so very much for the fabulous present! I even have a few balls left so I can make some matching slippers or mittens! :)

Sleigh Bells Ring...

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,
In the lane, snow is glistening
A beautiful sight,
We're happy tonight.
Walking in a winter wonderland.

Santa stopped by the other day in a not-so-miniature sleigh and two not-so-tiny Clydesdales.

Boxing Day Quading

With the temperatures just around freezing, the sun shining bright, and some nice snow in the fields, Bill got out his quad. When offered the chance to ride, I couldn't pass it up and joined in the fun. This was the first time that I can recall driving a quad and it was a blast, particularly in the snow. I also tested out my new MEC sweat shirt and it performed wonderfully, blocking out most of the wind and keeping my body comfy and warm. The brain monster was also present to protect its source of nurishment.

Christmas at the Martindale's

Christmas! (Brainmonster version)

Christmas at the Martindale's has been very joyful and happy, and I'm sure there'll be more posts soon, but I figured I'd start out with the brain monster! RAWR! Serena knit this awesome hat for me... and I love it :D