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Remember that luscious yarn I mentioned last week?
 Oatmeal hat
I bought this yarn after Adria requested a hat to match a scarf she ordered from Organic Lifestyle. Even though Adria’s birthday isn’t until Valentine’s Day, I finished the hat on Monday night, so I took it over with me to her house on Tuesday since we were hooking up for dinner and I was sure the hat was going to be way too big, so I wanted her to try it on before I wove in the ends. It turned out to be perfect just the way it was. Voila! Early b-day gift.
This yarn varies between roving-like, serious thickness to very tightly wound thinness, which makes for a beautifully varied texture.I originally planned to make this hat with cables but once I got going I could see it would be beautiful as just plain old stockinette stitch. It was a super quick knit. I think I had it finished in about 45 minutes to an hour.
I cast on 40 stitches with 10mm circulars, and worked K2 P2 ribbing for a few rounds, maybe 4 or 5 (I forget because I was just doing everything by eye). It probably would look just as nice as K1 P1 ribbing. The body of the hat is worked until its about 6 inches from the beginning, and then I began decreasing by K2tog every 6 stitches; knitting a round; then decreasing every 5 stitches and so on. By the round in which I was decreasing every 4 or 3 stitches (forget which one) I started decreasing every round until I had I think 5 stitches left. At that point I just pulled the yarn through those stitches and cinched it up tight, weaving in the ends.
Adria is totally thrilled. She calls it her oatmeal hat.
 Paperwhite flowers I’ve always wanted to try forcing some Paperwhite bulbs. I usually give my grandmother an Amaryllis for Christmas but this year I got her some Paperwhites, to be a little different. Then I went out and got myself some because I was really craving some bloomage during these dark days.
Now, for about a week and a half Chris and I have been detecting an ominous odour in the vacinity of Luna’s crate. Both of us were trying to figure out where on Earth the little devil had peed that we hadn’t found because our kitchen was progressively smelling more and more like a nursing home. We washed the floors several times, we washed her bed several times, we washed the tray inside her crate, pulled the crate away from the cabinets to see if anything had gotten underneath, cleaned there, and all to no avail. Last night I did it all again, and still there was this pee stench that hadn’t gone away one bit.
I employed my superpowered sniffer (I have a ridiculously sensitive nose, so much so that it’s often a curse) and set about really sniffing around the front of the kitchen, Luna’s “zone” as I like to call it, where we have an extended child safety gate set up so that we can keep her contained when we can’t watch her, without having to lock her up completely in her crate. Luna is only really allowed in two areas of the house so the only places that she could be peeing where her “zone” and the living room, but she is never in the living room without us.
I noted the scent was coming most strongly from the front of the kitchen, near the window…near my plants…near my…Paperwhite flowers?! I couldn’t believe it! Here are these gorgeous little white blooms which, when sniffed up close have a not unpleasant flowery fragrance, but from a distance their scent is musky and hangs in the air like ammonia. Paperwhites are in the Narcissus family, the same genus as daffodils, which are of course known for their distinctly pleasant scent.
 Paperwhite blossoms Chris immediately said they had to go when I told him I’d finally figured it out. But how could I throw these lovely flowers in the compost before they’re even finished blooming? I opted to take them to the office.
They survived the trip outdoors in the cold to work on the bus and I figured that surely the smell couldn’t be so bad that they wouldn’t be useful at least in brightening up the office. But it didn’t take long before they were ousted from the office as well. Now they live in the hallway with the photocopier.
Needless to say I don’t think I’ll be growing these guys again. Oh and Luna, we’re sorry we blamed you!
N.B.: The next day our VP came into the office asking if a drunk had been sleeping/peeing in the hallway where the photocopier is. NEVER AGAIN PAPERWHITES!!!
Over the Christmas break I was finally able to really buckle down and finish breathing new life into this old cabinet, which I wrote about originally well over a year ago. It’s been sitting in my basement in pieces waiting for some TLC, and now I can finally say it’s pretty much done. Or at least done what I can do with it.
 The old cabinet, with new life It’s still a complete mystery what the original purpose of this piece of furniture was. It’s got seven legal-size narrow drawers with two 3/4 inch holes on the front ends of each drawer’s base. There are seven more of these drawers that are wider, that have removable dividers in them to make each of those hold two legal-sized pages, again with the two holes. While on the surface you might think it seems obvious that this cabinet was made to hold documents but it seems to me like a seriously inefficient way to hold documents, so if that is indeed what it was meant for, then perhaps it was something that turned over its contents frequently. There are two larger drawers that are obviously set up for holding files (they have curious gaps in the drawer bases, and each of them has a wooden divider piece that I can’t for the life of me figure out how to put back inside).
 Many little drawers It reminds me of old cabinets I’ve seen that are designed to hold architect’s blue prints, but the drawers in this cabinet are far too small for such a purpose. It also reminds me of old cabinets meant to hold type at a printing shop, but again, not the right size and missing the small compartments within the drawers for this. It also has a sloped top, as if for writing on, but no ledge at the front on which to rest papers, although there is a pencil rest groove cross the top and a flat section with a backing that perhaps would hold ink bottles or writing instruments. The label holders are all copper and many of them have a greenish patina on them.
 Formerly used to hold tractor parts The cabinet came my way via Chris’s parents, who had been storing it in an old barn. Prior to that it had been kept by a family friend in his shop, where it was being used to store tractor parts (hence the screw holes in some of the smallest drawers, with faded impressions on the base). Needless to say it was filthy when I started.
I cleaned it first quite extensively with Murphey’s Oil Soap, which seemed to strip off a lot of old wax, underneath the grime. Then I used a product from Home Depot called Howard’s Restor-A-Finish, which helps blend in old scratches and restores the piece’s natural lustre. This does have a slight stain to it so be sure you choose one that more or less matches the original finish (in my case this was walnut). This product also requires you to work in a well-ventilated room so keep that in mind.
Finally I used Howard’s Feed-N-Wax product (also from Home Depot) to restore some of the natural oils in the finish and to give it a nice shine. This product contains beeswax and orange oil and was a pleasure to work with. I can continue to use it periodically to brighten up the finish and hopefully extend the life of this rather abused piece.
 More little drawers (centre divider is removable) Unfortunately the legs and frame that make up the base of this piece are quite damaged. I had a heck of a time figuring out what screws I could use to put the piece back together, and it’s a bit precarious (I of course misplaced the originals when I took the thing apart). The holes for the screws are pretty chewed up so I have to be careful the next time I move it. It is a piece that should stay put and not be moved often.
 Sloped top shelf, with pencil rest All in all I’m quite pleased with how it looks. Unfortunately I didn’t have the presence of mind to take any photos before I took it apart. I still want to get some nice paper to line the drawers with, something acid free that won’t further degrade the piece. This would allow me to use the drawers for stuff — maybe for holding sewing notions or knitting needles. There really isn’t a lot more I can think that it would work for storing.
If anyone out there can shed some light on the original purpose of this unique piece, I’m all ears!
No I’m not talking about the puppy, although all those adjectives could be easily used to describe her too. I’m talking here about some gorgeous new yarn that arrived in the mail today, destined to become a birthday gift for a certain Ecoholic.
 Handspun merino by Off the Hooks's Ashley Marcus in Alberta This handspun merino by Off the Hooks’s Ashley Marcus in Alberta is destined to become a hat, although I haven’t yet got a clue as to a pattern or needle size I’ll use. This yarn is easily categorized as super bulky, so I’ll have to think hard about it and do some more research. I only have a few weeks to figure it out but the yarn will no doubt knit up quickly so I’m sure it will come together. Suggestions are certainly welcome!
 Luna Puppydom is proving to be quite the challenge for all of us. While I’ve done the whole puppy thing before and had dogs all of my life, Chris hasn’t, and Luna is a whole different challenge than puppy Zeus. I got off light with him. Luna requires constant supervision and super-human patience. Chris and I have both flown off the handle at each other a couple of times over the last week or so out of frustration, but I think I’ve found some help that will be useful for all us (thanks Interwebs! You’ve come a long way since I did this last).
First of all, I’ve found a Podcast called Creative Dog Training, which features dozens of episodes that start right from how to pick your puppy to how to start working with him or her from the moment you get home. The fundamentals are laid down in the Respect 101 series, which is exactly where we’re having issues right now. There is a great episode about “puppy biting” that was music to my ears, and I’m sure will be for Chris too, as this is a major area of frustration for him. I’ve already picked up some tips that are in use now (eg. leaving a leash on while she’s roaming about loose, to allow us to a.) catch her more easily when we need to, b.) correct her more effectively when she doesn’t respond to commands or c.) wants to chase a certain very stressed out cat, not to mention many other no-nos. There is really helpful information on teaching the command gentle (which I did with Zeus but with limited effectiveness) and working to teach her to have a “soft mouth” (making high-pitched “ouch” responses to teeth on flesh, for example. Chris has taken this one up with gusto). All in all, it is all important information that will help us lay the ground work towards owning a well-adjusted and extraordinarily well-behaved dog, something we care very deeply about achieving.
The Podcasts are between 10 and 15 minutes on average, quite well edited, and very clear and easy to understand. Accompanying the Podcasts are some online resources, including a web-based class that costs only $10. Unfortunately that seems to be the only “class” they have posted so far. But they do have some trainer blogs, a discussion forum for asking questions, and they seem fairly active. The Podcast for sure is frequently updated. I think it will continue to be a helpful resource for us in this crazy new adventure.
 Is it just me or does this have "defiance" written all over it?
Well well well. It has been one heck of a week at la casa del Mulholland-Kebbel. And it’s only Wednesday! Where do I start? It’s kind of like we had a baby. A fury black one with razor sharp baby teeth and two speeds — full bore or all stop.
 Luna, our little lunatic World, meet Luna. She’s a Labrador Retriever / Saint Bernard mix, and she is just 7 weeks old. We brought her home on Friday, a little earlier than we expected but only because a course I was expecting to be in all weekend was canceled. So we brought her home the day we met her, figuring a whole weekend to settle her in was pretty valuable stuff. It’s been a flurry of activity around here with some serious adjustment going on. Chris and I are both sleep deprived, but encouraged by how quickly Luna is learning the ropes. She’s a smart little monkey.
 A little white toe action going on As you can see she’s all black but has a white diamond on her chest, a few white splashes on her back toes and a few white hairs on her chin and her bum. She also has a naturally stumpy tail, and was the only one in the litter born this way (everyone else had long tails). We figure this mitigates future coffee table clearing incidents. Not to mention it’s damn cute when she wiggles it.
 Stumpy tail alert  Way too much cute I’ve had a few emotional moments; it’s really hard adjusting to this new world of puppyhood after having such a chilled out old dog like Zeus. We still miss him terribly, especially as we try to teach this munchkin what she is and isn’t allowed to do, and boy is there a lot she isn’t allowed to do (eat toes, bite chair legs, chew on shoes, jump at leather sofas, chase kitties, etc. etc.). Zeus himself was hardly at all a typical puppy; he was so big and floppy and generally slow moving overall — not at all dumb or “slow” mind you — just more casual, less devious.
We’ve had all of 5 nights together and we’ve already had two with no crying after being locked in the crate. We’ve even already gone from going out every two hours to every three. Today we had a dog walker come for puppy visits for the first time, which will allow Chris and I to normalize our work schedules and hopefully feel a little more like humans in the near future. Yay!
Today was Luna’s first visit to the vet and she’s charming everyone she meets (threats to thieve her away were uttered). We have a little work to do in the car but so far I don’t think she’s having the same reaction to it that Zeus had (thank goodness!). It was apparent right away that he was very uncomfortable in the car but I didn’t know then what was going on, except that he was very unhappy and couldn’t relax. We’ll have to try some more tours to work at normalizing that experience for her.
As we get used to this little bundle of energy we’re sure to think often of our old guy and continue to miss him very much. But at the same time this is a new adventure. And already my favourite part is how she absolutely must be at my feet when I’m at home.
 The Sign Now that it’s well into the new year (isn’t it nearly already Chinese New Year for goodness sake?) I’ve realized I wanted to post about the fabulous gift we got for Chris’s parents and the Coboconk (Coby) cottage. The gift that disappeared into the Canada Post ether, or so we thought.
First – context. The Coby cottage is located at the end of a long gravel lane. They consistently were having trouble with people driving into their property who thought the road just continued that way. Then there was a handwritten “private” sign that just had to go. For Christmas, the Kebbel’s needed a proper cottage sign.
We looked around for a company who does custom signs and we found The Riverbend Sign Company, located in Apsley, Ontario. We placed our order, which involved adding a custom image of the Kebbel dock (with some improvising by the fabulous Judith of Riverbend, who added some sunset finesse that I just couldn’t capture in cold grey light of November with my camera).
 Mom & Dad Kebbel with their new sign The sign was ordered and shipped just in time for Christmas. Only problem was, it never arrived. The package was insured and all the address information was correct but, no sign. Poor Judith and I were running about, me in Toronto to the local post office, her in Apsley to her postmaster, but to no avail. We had investigations running at Canada Post that turned up nothing. The tracking information only stated that the package had been delivered (to Scarborough! We live in North York!). So Christmas came and went, and Mom and Dad Kebbel got a print of what the sign was supposed to look like, instead of the real thing. Judith and I resigned to file an insurance claim and start over.
And then low and behold, on December 29, I was outside in the backyard hanging up a new bird feeder I’d gotten for Christmas when Chris noticed me walking around the side of the house, so he went to the side door to let me in. And guess what was there, between the doors?
Dear Canada Post: We appreciate you delivering our package. We even appreciate that you opted to leave it somewhere you thought was safe. But maybe you could let us know about it next time?
We rarely use the side door in the winter, so it could have sat there for months without us knowing about it. Anyway, it all worked out. And if you ever need a sign, I think Judith at Riverbend is your woman. She is a darling and didn’t make me feel at all embarrassed about not checking my side entrance.
 Roasted Butternut Squash Soup I’ve had this lovely squash sitting in my fruit bowl on my counter for at least a month (I love how long squashes keep!) and I finally got around to doing something with it this week. I wanted to share this recipe because it’s so ridiculously simple and luxurious. And it’s been ages since I made it!
 Roasted whole butternut squash Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
- 1 medium to large butternut squash
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, chopped
- olive oil for sautéing
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
- salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat oven to 400°F. With a sharp knife, cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and stringy bits. Place cut side down in a baking dish and place uncovered in oven. Roast until squash is soft, testing with a toothpick through the skin in the thickest part (the neck).
- While the squash is roasting, prepare the onion and celery. In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the vegetables until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the cumin and cook for another 2 minutes.
- If the squash is ready, remove it from the oven and scoop out the flesh into the saucepan. If not, remove the vegetables from the heat and set aside until the squash is ready. After combining the squash and vegetables, add the stock. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until the texture is creamy and smooth. This can also be done in a blender, but allow the ingredients to cool beforehand. Reheat the soup after blending.
- Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Eat!
Serves four.
 Tiffany mittens I started these mittens back in May, of all months, and finished the right mitten all in one weekend at the cottage. But then I just never got around to knitting the second one, until after Christmas. I wanted a compact knitting project to take with me on our trip to Ottawa (not to mention I wanted to finish them while it was still winter). These are Tiffany, designed by Sabine Riefler for the Winter 2006 issue of Knitty.
It’s kind of been a goal of mine to finish up the various WIPs I have going in the knitting department before starting on anything new this year. While I haven’t exactly stuck to that, I do only have one other project long left unfinished, the Neimen sweater from Knitty Fall 2007. And that project is just not going anywhere. On the needles right now is a new work tote, destined for felting.
 Thumb detail I did these in Cascade 220 wool on 3mm needles. They’re a little snug around the width of my hand, especially in the thumb section, and the cuff is quite long and needs to be tucked deeply up my sleeve. But they are lovely showstoppers. It was one of the first major Fair Isle projects I’ve done, and so they were good practice for learning tension when doing colourwork. They were a little “bumpy” but the blocking sorted that out nicely.
 Cuff detail Now I’m all inspired to do more colourwork mittens, but I think I’ll do ones with shorter cuffs next time, as pretty as these are. I guess I really should address that slow-as-molasses sweater first though.
I know, I know, it’s only the first week of January; we’ve hardly even scratched the surface of winter yet, but it certainly feels like it’s been going on a while. We spent New Year’s Eve in Ottawa with our friends Bruce and Youngja, where it snowed constantly. It was lovely, and beautifully seasonal, but boy it sure makes me appreciate our (usually) mildish winters in Toronto (excluding of course the winters of 2007-08 and 2008-09; the jury is still out on this one).
 The drive to Ottawa, near Bancroft, Ontario. We took the scenic route on our way to Ottawa and we weren’t disappointed. It was so snowy the farther and farther north we got, we just had to stop and snap a few shots (and it was Chris’s turn to drive anyway).
 Winter foliage We spent New Year’s Eve by having an incredible dinner at the Black Cat Bistro where I indulged in a foie gras appetizer served on half of a salt-roasted pear with a fig chutney, quince jam and a mustard jelly. The flavours were unbelievable and so surprizingly delicious. Chris had a bison carpaccio served with slices of extra old cheddar that was also divine. My main was Lunenburg scallops perfectly seared with heirloom beets and carrots, in a delicate creamy vanilla salt sauce and garnished with orange zest. Chris had a pepper-crusted rare tuna steak served over spaghetti squash with shiitake mushrooms. For dessert, I had their sticky date bundt cake served with dulce de leche, crème fraiche and a slice of grapefruit, but I think Chris’s apple crumble infused with figs and rosemary, served with a dollop of vanilla sorbet was the Black Cat’s meow. Hungry yet?
After dinner we headed out to the Elmdale House Tavern to ring in the new year. That was an interesting spot. Definitely a local’s joint but the place oozed a gritty but endearing character. Oh and they had Beau’s Lug Tread Lager on tap so you can’t complain about that.
 Covered bridge in Wakefield, Quebec, on New Year's Day. On New Year’s Day we decided to take a bit of a tour of the countryside. Most things in the city were closed. We headed across the river to Gatineau and drove out to Wakefield, a little Quebec cottage community with a beautiful, pedestrian only covered bridge. Nothing was open there either, but we just trudged around in the snow, enjoying the scenery.
 Chris playing with the camera (and getting better?!)  Covered bridge (pedestrian only) in Wakefield, Quebec, on New Year's Day.  Youngja and her new toy.  Me and Youngja on NYE '09. Now we’re back to the usual schedule of life, work and winter. I’ve been feeling a bit blue the last few days. I’m chalking it up to the dark days and the frigid temps. Oh and the fact that I caught a cold on New Year’s Day which seems to have hunkered down for the count in my sinuses.
As far as any resolutions go, I guess I’ve only really fallen back to my usual list: eat healthier (ie: try once again, likely without success, to ignore my sweet tooth); exercise more/get back to the gym; and generally try to be the best “me” I can be. My wish for 2010 is really that it be a year full of joy and happiness. 2009 was a bit of a rough go at times, so it’s my hope that 2010 will bring more positivity and optimism. According to my NOW magazine horoscope it will:
Virgo Aug 23 | Sep 22 Scientific studies have proved what we all knew already: A person who’s only mildly interesting to you will probably become more attractive if you drink a couple of pints of beer. What if I told you, Virgo, that in 2010 you could regularly create the same effect without drinking the beer? I have it on good astrological authority that this will be the case. Due to fundamental shifts in your relationship with the life force, and having nothing to do with how much alcohol you consume, the entire world will often be at least 25 per cent more attractive to you than it ever was before.
 Big Digger Sweater I finished this sweater about a month ago but I didn’t want to post it online until it was gifted. It turned out pretty great except there is one little twisted stitch right in the front, a couple rows below the digger’s tracks. Boo. I didn’t even see it until I was photographing it. I guess that at least means it’s not that noticeable. This was made for my 16 month old nephew, in a 2-year old’s size, but I think it will fit him now.
I knitted this up in Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash. I really love the texture of Mission Falls wool, and it has this fabulous stretchiness which I think will help the sweater fit longer. But there are some drawbacks. I had to rip back the front stripes at one point because of some missed stitches, and trying to pick up the row of stitches after they’d been ripped back was a total nightmare. The plies in the yarn were separating and I had to trade them back and forth on needles several times before I got them tidy enough to start knitting again.
The pattern was from Handknits for Kids by Lucinda Guy, a book that’s full of lots of cute kids sweaters, hats, and small toys. But I discovered after finishing the first sleeve that I was running out of my main colour of yarn, even though I had bought the yardage noted in the pattern. I read on Ravelry that this seems to be a problem with the patterns in this book, so I recommend buying an extra ball of yarn for any of these patterns.
The other FO I’m posting today was not a Christmas gift, but a request from a coworker of my Mom’s named Brenda, who really wanted a hat like the Foliage hat I made for my Mom about a year ago. Here it is in Dream in Color’s Lipstick Lava (pattern from Knitty). I think it turned out quite well. In fact, so well I just might make another one with that same yarn, since I have half a ball left, and try adding some beads.
 Foliage hat I also finished the Hat fit for a Boyfriend on Christmas Eve, just for fun, but I have yet to grab a photo of that to post. I had to make that one extra big and extra deep for Chris’s giant head, and while it looks good I could certainly have added a few more rows before the decrease and it still wouldn’t have been too big.
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