snot fest

soooo...
I love my doctor, she's super kind and personal!
but I do NOT like GOING to the doctors
its such a time consuming blagh! and its like yes I know I'm sick and I hate taking drugs!!

soo...
its almost been 2 weeks now that I have been sick sick sick
I've tried almost sleeping all day.. 
I've tried going out halloween party dancing till the wee hours in the morning..
I've tried pouting...

so today? I look up home remedies!
here is what I've done just now!

chopped up garlic -> put in a bowl with boiled water. throw that towel over your head and wait to breathe in that wonderful garlic smell - it clears out your nose.... and your throat feels a lot better!
(heat kills viruses annnnnd bacteria!)
but then it seems your face smells like garlic..
then I ate the garlic..
and then I drank the water (no I didn't sweat in it.. or drip snot in it)
so.. now.. I smell like garlic annnnnnnd taste like garlic...
AND its halloween so at least I don't have to worry about vampires
**garlic helps big time in BOOOOOSTING your bodies ability to fight off grossness


I also drank warm water and salt..
ate pineapple (it helps kill sinus headaches)
I also drank tea with lemon and honey (but I always do this)
have been having endless soups
been drinking tea with ginger in it (its also antibacterial but it is ALSO anti-inflammatory!)
netipot yes I do this anyways as well... and doctors RAVE about it, as do I!

and when i go to bed (VERY SOON) I will put eucalyptus on my nose? cause apparently the smell will have me sleep like a wee little baby

its possible that if I'm not much better tomorrow...
THEN I will go to the doctor. 

The dog ate my knitting needles.

talentedty

a have a lot of extremely talented friends.
and this guy? my friend Tyler?
well.. I've been in awe of him for years
and because of this... I think you should be too!

he not only has skill
but a kind heart
and passion mania
for what he does

the other day i was clicking around on instagram looking at things tagged under 'Calgary'

and BAM! there was Tyler's art. getting praised by a passerby stranger.

SO COOL!

http://vimeo.com/52500890

k so on this first link I give you an amazing video of him, IN ACTION! WHooooooaAAaaaHhhhhh!!

and THIS is his website.
AMAZING! the birds and nature stuff is my favourite (obviously)
Ohhhh and now the boat 
ooooohh okay I pretty much have a reason for loving all of it

www.tylerhochhalter.com

I'm a proud friend. a proud proud friend.

a anxious friend... who wants Tyler art in my house

... impatience..... for yearrsssssss

notfairthatpplthatjustgotmarriedgetfirstdibs

homemade potato chips

"OP! grease fire!" 
says Aryk, whom was making homemade salt and vinegar potato chips
I turn myself around to see a giant blinding flame over the stove
I looked and thought that people know what to do when a fire strikes in the kitchen, so I watched
(I do not.. for I have just started to spend my time IN the kitchen.. so.. all this cooking and cooking causing fires and such is pretty foreign  to me)
apparently it is not only foreign to me.. but to Aryk as well.. for he turns on the fan above the the stove and POOF the fire is bigger
he runs off...
I run over to the flame because it now looks as though the flame is so big that it might catch the cabinets on fire... so I'm standing there holding this pot with a flame almost as big as I am
I'm watching the sleeve of my hoody smoking.. I ponder if this means that I might catch on fire... and if I do... yes I will stop drop and roll.. but where will I put this burning pot of fire while I do so?
Aryk is back from his running off and throws baking soda which then makes the fire go POOF into a bigger and scarier flame. He says "take it outside!" after a awkward exchange he runs up the stairs with the fire (fyi we live in a basement) and I start opening all the windows 
Aryk eventually comes down the stairs.
Our basement is full of smoke
the landladies smoke detector beeping 
but ours was not? (mental note : get that looked at!)


and now our ceiling has a very noticeable black circle on it...
so.. I'm thinking the house could have burnt down?
annnnd...

thats why we live here in the first place! Aryk's old household catching fire....

anyways.. I'm strangely calm (maybe its because I have been sick for over a week)
and Aryk informs me now that it is Baking POWDER not SODA that you put on a open flame.

I'm going to do a quick 'google' so I can now be informed. as well as you! 

tip one: animal lard or goose fat catches fire faster than cooking oil
tip two: turns out Aryk was right and it is baking soda that you use! but it only works for small fires and our was not small...
tip three: use a METAL lid, cause fire needs oxygen. NOT GLASS (which is what we have) for glass will shatter (thank goodness we didn't do that! more trauma that would have caused!)

we both knew not to put it in the sink or throw water on it :)

hmm.. I just read this: • Do Not Move the Pot or Carry It Outside - Throwing the pot outside might seem logical in the frenzy of the moment. But trying to move the pot might splash burning oil on you, your home, and anything outside.

so... all in all... the only thing that would have saved us... in the 'proper way' would have been a fire extinguisher or the metal lid. which we have neither
orrrr the fire department...

another website here says to throw a cooking sheet on the fire if the pot is small enough, it also tells me that if you throw salt AND baking soda on it (salt absorbs the grease and baking soda cuts out the oxygen) it also suggests a rung out tea towel to fit the size of the pot

hope you learned something! I sure have! 

Are you pregnant??!

I think this might be the only picture of my Halloween costume.. Everyone thought i was a naked pregnant woman.. But no.. I was a sumo wrestler.

so the videos of pigs won't let me write about why I did videos of pigs just now..
so I'll do a quick note on a DIFFERENT blog post!
I hope not tooooo many of you are confused by this


Aryk and I were talking about pet pigs
(okay I was... but Aryk was looking up many pig videos)

so I decided... I'd show you how precious they are!

though there seems to be arguments online from animal rescue people saying don't get pigs because there is already toooo many dogs and cats that are homeless.
sigh. 

can we get one?

a pom pom would perfect this..

as mentioned before (and I'm sure it will not be the last time..)

I am stubborn
and part of my being stubborn had to do with knitting (remember the mittens blogpost?)
well.. instead of mittens I made a hat!

and instead of following instructions
(for I have only made a rectangle.. )
(and no one has taught me anything besides THEE knit when i was in elementary school)
I decided I had enough skills and talents on how to make my own hat

without a pattern or anything to follow

I went out and bought needle things with the thing connecting them..
the kneedles were fat, and hard to stitch with..
and later on I had to switch it to using three needles?
of course I only have my two original needles and then the two fat connecter ones... so.. I used what I had..
so the hat is a little lop sided and.. large and un 'snug'

and so I'd randomly knit here... purl here... maybe purl twice..

k2, p6, k4, .. did I just knit? hmm I don't think so.. k4 more..

drop a stitch here (on purpose) annnd tralaa time has passed

but just when I was nearing the end I somehow dropped ALL of my stitches so.. I just picked up random ones and connected them and dropped them until they were all gone..

so...

thats..

what happened.....

and heeeeeeeerrreee it is!
hmm.. the quality of this photo isn't great.. I'll retake it later.

I think it looks like I have a honey comb on my head

"can we use that as part of a halloween costume??!" was Aryk's response..

did I learn my lesson?
follow directions?
no.

(k now that I look at the hat in the picture it could also look like I am wearing a pear on my head..)

CORRECTION! after I wrote this blog I took out some brown yarn.. made a pompom.. and then 'sowed' yarn with a knitting needle and the brown yarn along the bottom to make it tight! now its actually kinda actually hat like (photo does not do it justice)

fur hats

soooo.... I bought this yarn

and last night I had a dream about it! so I shall tell you.. and you can decide what this dream of mine means!

I dreamt that I was looking at the label of which the yarn comes wrapped in. The label was bizarre and it was informing me how the yarn wasn't made out of lambs wool.. and it wasn't made out of cat fur, or dog fur, or cow hair... etc. I mean it was a LONG list

it was kinda like the eco-friendly labels that tell you all the bad stuff that ISN'T in your natural food but IN the normal grocery store list.

but at the very end it informed me how the yarn was made out of...

MOOSE HAIR 

first of all : ew

and also.. WHAT?!!

I was upset in my dream (as I would be in real life) for I like moose... and I knew (somehow) that when they make moose hair yarn they HUNT DOWN the moose. I couldn't BELIEVE that I bought yarn in support of moose killings! 

and now I was in a situation.. do I use this yarn? for I already did the awful thing in purchasing it?

or do I throw it out? even though the moose got sacrificed for it?

could this dream be because I am a vegetarian that has kind of started to slowly fall off to the band wagon and eat bacon once in a while?

could it be a sign that whatever it is that I choose to knit it will not work out and it will be a WASTE OF YARN??

or... is it my subconscious telling me I need to save moose? 

my mother says...

My mother says "Kristen... WHAT are you doing standing on the table?!!"

 "I'm taking pictures of your gourds.. do you mind if I move your pumpkin?"

Mom carries on with her usual things while I carry on with mine...

its like she asks these questions.. and then remembers who it is that she is asking the question to.. and then shrugs cause its normal 

or maybe because she knows that if she tells me not to.. 

I'll do it anyways..

 I show mother the pictures.. she is thrilled! she loves gourds.. every 'fall season' since I remember mother has gone out and gotten little gourds and mini pumpkins.. she is a fall Autumn kinda gal. 
so really I stand on her kitchen table for her happiness.

so never stop someone from being bizarre! they just might surprise you with beauty.

this was found when I searched 'cute'

and boy oh boy.. isn't it??!

Oppppeennning windows lately!

Have a mentioned how much I love my landlady???!!!!!!!! I'm giddy now. She just talked to me for a hour about primates and Rwanda and and other Africa stories and even lent me a ton of conservation books!!! I feel a trip coming on!!! :)

running a daycare around here

exciting news folks!!
a week today..

I put coffee grounds in a old used soup can.. and I filled it up ALLLL the way and I also put a used toilet paper roll in there (a. to fill up space b. because it composts c. because remember I am finding ways to eliminate waste and be more resourceful - yes I know that you can recycle toilet paper rolls d. because you will be able to track WHERE the seed is that you planted! - not very useful for THIS time 'gardening' but I'm doing it so my memory will likely be more memory like)

ANYWAYS
I also put in a garlic seed. about a inch deep

TAH DAH!!

garlic in the tin. and the always sprouting green onion

a new parent I am!

(to be honest I really wasn't expecting it to work)

see people? 

living in a basement aint so lame after all is it?!

we can do all the excitement you normal folk do!

so yes... I am once again..
  a plant mother! 

hopefully the outcome will be better than the tomatoes..

-side story about the tomatoes... our sweet landlady brought us like... 30 tomatoes from her Dad's house to give to us because of OUR sad outcome. harhar.. but really.. thats sweet, cute and funny

AND

speaking of babies!

I'm going to be a Auntie :) my dear bestfriend/sister is with child.

so now we BOTH have babies!!

(shhhh! yes I know the difference! but this way I can feel like I'm mile-stoning with her!)

congrats from Kris10 to my lovely J9 annnd.. D3r3k (Derek)

 haha trying to make him feel number special too!

Fact: the day I planted my plant baby.. is the day I found out about Janine's human baby! ooo!

un-3D shapes are just so not fun

I know that I am impatient.
but here is a example I just noticed

yes. learning to knit.
made scarf.. know all the tricks (ha) (especially only owning 2 needles..)

and... NOW
I AM DETERMINED TO MAKE MITTENS!
(and impatient)
I'm trying but I do not know any of the lingo on these websites... k1 p2 is the only kinda things I understand..
now I'm peeved..
and impatient
and I don't want to make stupid things (squares or rectangles) 

grumble mumble grumble.. this is giving me forehead wrinkles

doesn't help either that I'm trying to do it the whole 'vintage' way instead of 'modern' with all these useful tools that makes your knitting this quick easy job!

must..

make..

mittens..

RIGHT NOW!!!

if I didn't live with anyone I would actually sit here until I was on a roll and could accomplish things 
but.. I know Aryk will be home from hockey soon... and he will thing (and not be incorrect) that I've been a couch potato.

must..
make..
mittens..

I seriously bet you I will be dreaming about knitting mittens all night
just like how ever since Aryk learned how to fish.. he's also taken up sleep talking
and ALWAYS about fish!
though the other night I got up to go pee.. and when I got back Aryk was warning me that there is another guy in the room.
sleep talk Aryk is confusing.. though I prefer when he sleep talks informs me how in love he is with me. 

thats it! 
tomorrow I am going out to purchase another needle (and that means two because I'm pretty sure you can't just buy one needle?)

perfect pear

I'm cheesy okay?

and plus it was a really good looking pear..

it IS in the family without a gap after all!

p.s exciting news!
after my Aunt had read my blog post about what a shame it is that none of my nannie's children continued the family woman tradition of knitting and charity work...

SHE SENT ME A TEXT INFORMING ME  THAT SHE DOES LOTS OF CHARITY WORK AND KNITS AND CROCHETS!!

thats it.. I need a leave of absence for a lengthy amount of time to go hand out in Vancouver with my kindred spirit Aunt! 

I also would like to apologize for my lack of knowledge that you knit, crochet AND charity fun times! geez kristen! get with the program!

you'll have to speak up.. I can't hear you

I had a very grandma type day (no.. I'm not being a ageist! I'm being futuristic on what I will be like as a  grandma which I think will very much so hit the stereotypes of.. grandmas... yes! the kind that makes ridiculous comments that is non filtered because NO ONE will tell me to mind my manners or whatever, I will also be the kind of grandma that bakes cookies and delightful things all the time, sitting in a rocking chair judging people as they walk by - especially on activities and looks of the youth. YES I WILL BE ALL THESE THINGS! I CAN'T WAIT)

anyways...

• ate oatmeal with raisins
• I drank tea and knit...
• drank tea and listened to a show on parenting advice in the background
• I also made stew with leftovers of vegetables in our fridge and lentils (dry lentils only have shelf life of 1 year fyi. but exciting because it is high in iron and protein)
• cuddled with the cats
• baked bread
• swept..
• do dishes by hand..
• did laundry
• and played solitaire..

mostly I did things avoiding the cold because I am fragile and don't want to get sick.. cause every autumn I seem to get the flu.

(okay I'm lying about the solitaire but I plan on REALLY living it up this evening and try to convince Aryk to do a game of DOUBLE solitaire with me!) (that is if we aren't too exhausted from our tour of the Mormon temple)
(okay I'm back from the mormon temple now.. and we are watching the presidential debate instead, and yes.. I'm still knitting)

its 8:30.. good grief! no wonder I'm so tired!

kindknitdeed

I've decided now that I live in a cold basement.. that its about time that I start knitting again

  (I haven't since my way youthful years of junior high when my nannie passed away)

BUT IT MUST BE DONE!! 

it will keep my fingers from freezing

annnnd..

my Nannie and my Great Grandma Bert BOTH would make stuff for the homeless and womans shelter 

(shame to my mother and aunt for not continuing on this family community service :) jk.)

But I!!!! (apparently)

have tons in common with my Nannie and Great Grandma..

  THEREFORE

I must continue on the kind knit deed!

but for now?

I'll be making testers of things... BEFORE giving them away for I want to give away something that will LAST and be holeless etc.

SO if you are willing to wear one of my handmade attempts of things.. 

such as a sock.. square... mitten... give me a shout! 

cause.. I'm sure I'll have a few lots of practice runs.

for.. without my Nannie around I have nothing but youtube teaching me what to do :( 

BUT happy times that I'm at least trying to do it! yay!

just keep swimming

so yes.. 

this blogpost kinda already has a bit of a known ending.

yes. beloved member of Aryk and I's basement family had passed away on Thanksgiving weekend.

I can't say it wasn't expected.. 

Fredrik the past little while has been slowing down on his rambunctiousness.. Usually he would bounce himself to the top of the water tank, crash his head into the corners of the glass, pick on Gail our Japanese Fighting fish, and playing hide and seek with Aryk and I. But the last while he would sit there.
attempt to swim to the tops of the waters and give up.
if he DID happen to move somewhere... it would be very slow.
and very unenthusiastic.

So Aryk and I did what we could. 
We ended up going to the pet store near our basement location and quizzed the people working there full of questions with major concerns about our frog.
Is it just old age? is he too cold? is he lonely?? DOES HE NEED A COMPANION?  

we found out he is bored.. and yes likely cold. (which we figured.. for the basement was getting colder,.. and we would put Fred in a separate bowl and put him by the mini heater and he would be all active and full of life again)

we ended up buying a MASSIVE tank (okay not that massive... but way different then the little one that can hold one fake aquarium plant) it even came with a fancy smancy water filter! oooooo!!
though we did also have to spend the big bucks and also buy a heater, gravel, a tree hide out, another hide out thing...

and then before transporting Gail and Fred into the new tank (you have to wait 24 hours to de-chlorine) I went out and bought 5 male assorted guppies (for Aryk, for his birthday was a few days after)

we were so excited and would stare mesmerized at our new fish tank, our new guppies, and how much fun Gail and Fred were having in their new home!! that is... until we realized that the filter is a safety hazard for Fredrik... He'd get sucked into it and his leg would get stuck and would struggle to have enough strength to push/swim himself away from it. We watched him helplessly struggle while being a cheerleading squad. Eventually I couldn't handle it. and was in great fear that we would watch his leg pop completely enough... and if you know me.. you would know that THAT (that that lol)

would be a traumatizing event! 

we also found that he would get pushed around in the currant of the filter and he would get swished and shoved about in the bushes so we rearranged the decoratives in the tank for him...

NOW it was a home! NOW it was safe!

Fred would swim about, and we'd play even more intense games of hide and seek with him for now he REALLY knew how to camouflage with the gravel and had so many little hiding places!

 (Aryk was way better at spotting Fred than I!)

a week later we left for 4 days to go to Kelowna to have thanksgiving dinner with his family..

MY DAD SAID THAT FISH DON'T NEED TO BE FED EVERY DAY SO THEY WOULD BE FINE! 

(not pointing any fingers of blame at anyone..)

but when we arrived to our basement sweet basement.

I said hi to the fish, looked for Fred.. couldn't find him, Fed the fish.. and carried on bringing stuff in.

Aryk found Fred..

in the filter.

a mushy booger looking blob.

and with his face down in the gravel.. one of our new guppies (and favourite) Spit. Aryk tried to bring him back to life. but no luck.

we went outside and dug a whole and placed them peacefully in the garden.

and then realized we could have brought split back to the petstore and got a new fish because they have 30 day warranty.

its ever so clear that nor Aryk or I have ability to take care of things.. Frog death, guppy death, 2 deaths of snails, 5 tomato plants dead and rejuvenated and deathed many times over the summer, and 2 cactus's at least I think it was two? maybe three... there is also a semi alive lemongrass plant..
not to mention... many many many many fruit flies.. 

to end this on a happy note..

CHECK OUT 

HOW ADORABLE THIS PHOTO IS

--->  

avoiding the compost bin

I am currently sitting here with the inside of banana peel covered all over my face.

I've decided that until the landlady attacks the compost bin.. I will not BE attacked by the compost bin.
aka.. when you open it.. there is THOUSANDS of bugs that shoot out at you now. I was fine (well not really, when there was a few hundred dancing about. But the last time I opened that thing I was itchy for hours after thinking I was covered in bugs.

SO! that saddens me.. SO! I'm finding uses for things that I would usually compost so that I don't feel bad about throwing it out (okay I still feel bad.. but not AS bad because I'm being resourceful)

so far?
orange peel candy - its good.. but not incredible. I also made orange syrup (yet to try it out though) 
lemon zest from lemons.. cause most recipes as for lemon zest. I also use leftover lemon to clean our sinks (works amazingly) annnnd the left left left over lemon I put in water which I then put in the microwave (it cleans your microwave easier and clears it from any smells)
okay okay zest from oranges and grapefruits too! (I just found out you can SAVE ZEST!  by putting it in the freezer! oh man..)
coffee grounds in my hair - because it brings out the natural highlights on brunettes
tea bags - SOOOO MANY USES! but i haven't done them yet.. I was saving them for too long and they as well started getting a collection of bugs swarming around - I might use it for a relaxing foot bath. or to naturally dye my hair. use it as a conditioner (it makes it shine and easier to manage)..


uhmm.. okay maybe I haven't done THAT much. 
YET!!
I would like to point out in this photo above that my hair is looking NORMAL! thats right! 3 weeks now or so of homemade shampoo! doubt i'll go back to shampoo. and I know it looks odd.. its bedhead okay?

Zucchini

We have TONS of zucchini in our house due to Aryks wonderful and amazing gardener Nana and our landlady who has things growing in her garden which she doesn't know about.

So for dinner tonight i decided to make something with zucchini before it goes bad and to waste.

Zucchini casserole?
 Allllllllright...

Cook rice (3/4 rice 1/3 water)
1 1/2 pound zucchini Annd a cup green onion (which I grow at home now!! You just put the ends of your store bought green onion in water and it starts growing rapidly! Quite amazing really) and chopped onion in a oiled up heated pan (I had it on medium heat) and let it soften up

Meanwhile get a cup and a half of slices tomatoes a cup of shredded cheddar cheese and toss it into the pan with the others once your zucchini looks softened
Add 1tsp garlic salt, basil .. Whatever seasonings you jolly well please

Annnnd plunk it in a casserole dish
Awwwh pooh. All this work and apparently we have no casserole dish! Very Kristen kinda day type happenin.. Event.

Eventually got it sorted! Only filled half the thing but whatever.
Throw a cup of cheese ontop

Oven 350 - cook 20 minutes- yum

And zucchini is sooooo good for you!
Low in calories, high in protein and fiber, high water content so it helps prevent you from dehydration, cancer fighter, high in vitamin c, folate, beta carotene!! Need I go on?
no! If you wish to know more do homework and look it up! Anyways yay zucchini and yay that it worked out!

karma also can make me chuckle

sooo..
this blog post isn't really about 'Hugging it out and being happy'
but.. It happened the other day when I was out walking the dogs and I let out a "HA!" 
THEREFORE I say.. it is blog worthy!
so lets get started!!

I was out walking the dogs

and I see this guy on his bike

and a woman walking a bunch of dogs

ONE of these dogs is a old fat hound dog

a low old man "wooooooocoughhackgrunooof"

this is me and my bike. look how peaceful and calm we look

slowly marching after the guy on his bike.. the guy on the bike starts trying to go faster on his bike, while this old man dog is getting terribly upset 

'what is this fast moving thing? is everyone safe? MUST PROTECT AND BARK AT MYSTERIOUS OBJECT!'

they are both now passing me at the intersection of the pathways

"SCAT!! SCAT!"  he screamed!
(haha) and other bad rude words being yelled at this poor floppy eared four legged cutie.
BUT THEN THE GUY ON THE BIKE PREPARES TO KICK THE DOG!
so I of course prepare myself to march over to protect this dog and inform the guy about how to behave around animals

but as he violently kicks..



he then falls dramatically off his bike onto the gravel/prickly bushes.

HA!

karma.. sometimes I just love it. 
the dog also was then at peace and slowly walked up the hill with me with a big grin on his face now exhausted on his way back to the owner.      :)

something I think that made me so pleased about this happening.. was about a year ago when my black dog Eddie was about 6 months old, we were out a walking minding our own business saying hi to strangers as they pass.
a little golden retriever puppy ran up to this old man. and the old man started screaming "CAN'T I WALK IN PEACE" and marched up to Edgrr whom was much more interested in everything but him. 
AND HIT MY DOG WITH HIS CANE!!!
Eddie yelped and slunk down

I have never experienced such anger as I did at that moment. And that cranky old man suuuure knew it. in fact he even lifted his cane to hit me! but I gave him a piece of my mind while strangers stood around doing nothing. and I fumed in anger for the rest of my walk!
luckily Eddie is not a angry dog after this. 
and fortunate that I have not seen this man or anyone like this again..

annnnnd i got to experience funny karma :)

people: learn how to act around dogs or any animal for this matter. 
I feel like this is a topic that should be included in Elementary schools with basic knowledge like 'stop drop and roll' when you are on fire.

Modern family

Both of these gave me real smirks and giggles. I hope you get those as well!

Fredrik the frog died. I'm to sorrow to blog.

you might think I'm cool..

but if you think that...

you would be terribly wrong.

and no. I'm not singing to myself!
the dogs are also with me...

and yes now that I watch this I:

• 1. appear to be more of a distracted driver than I thought.. my eyes are looking everywhere!
• 2. don't seem to know the words when i thought I did.. (maybe I'm just camera shy)
• 3. my bluegrass TWANG that I thought I had perfected isn't TWANGy enough
• 4. I seem to have NO SHAME!  (or because i get rave reviews on my putting myself out there in blog word... sigh)
• I thought I had more dance moves.. but it seems the frog face is popular..

Meountain time

Im soaking in the no job life
And doing this i took a solo day trip to the mountains
It snowed.
And i said to myself
"Why on earth did i just drive all this way to be near snow?"
But when i drove back to Calgary it snowed soon after.
...
I dont understand why i havent moved..