**HAPPY NEW YEAR!!**

AND, if We can ALL *ignore* Our various bits of NASTY Weather, Natural Disasters, Higher Taxes, Losing Lottery Numbers, the Regular-Annoying-Minutia-of-Life-in-General, and OH, *any* Ginormous-Honking-Chunk-of-Celestial-Crap smacking THE PLANET...  then, We SHOULD be "GOOD"!

BTW, did I mention that My INCOME TAX FORM came in the MAIL Yesterday, and that I DIDN'T Win anything on Tonight's BIG LOTTERY Draw ...!!? -- Just an Observation...

However, THE CAR does now have a Swiffing-NEW WIPER BLADE!! WooHoo!



ANYWAY...

Myself and THE "BABIES" and The Rest of THE KIDS *HOPE* that ALL of YOU have a *JOYOUS* and SAFE NEW YEAR!!   **HUGS!!**

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How Much IS The Price of KNOWLEDGE?

$6.77

That's what it COST Me [Taxes included] to DISCOVER and LEARN, that Standard REFILL Wiper Blades are TOO WIDE for Our "Particular" Vehicle! [..Well, duh! Of course they are!..]

It ALL started Late this Afternoon - [His usual Time to DO Stuff] - when, FATHER, "decided" to have a "look" at that Passenger-side Wiper Blade that has been "not good" for a couple of Weeks now... He had REFILLS, but couldn't get them to "Fit" and wasn't able to "make" them fit, either.

-- REMEMBER - "Elderly", shaky Hand, possessing the "Patience" of a Squirrel on Meth! --

After almost an Hour of Him in the Cloudy, Damp COLD [actually, it's around 0C, but remember the Above] Weather, MOTHER hauled Him inside. Where, He's tried to EXPLAIN to Her about Stuff not fitting and, despite being Mechanically-inclined Herself, there was still a lack of "enlightenment" going on... And, the array of old Blades [from a previous Car], Refills, and Whatnot on the Kitchen Table resulted in more of a Hindrance than a Help!

BTW, I was Downstairs and missing most of this "excitement"....

However, when I did "surface", I took the SITUATION in hand and decided to just GO over to the nearby CANADIAN TIRE STORE. Granted, I've never had to DO this before... But, hey! "Wiper Blades"... how "hard" could it be...?!

Meanwhile, I'm losing Daylight - [I don't drive in the Dark...] - so, just threw on some clothes, grabbed my "purse stuff", and managed to get Green Lights all the way in the Rush Hour Traffic!

ahhh.... Blades, blades, and more blades... Refills... okay..?

Yes. BORED-YOUNG-AUTOMOTIVE-CLERK-GUY.... Show Him Yucky-Blade. Hmm... He's never seen that "TYPE".... [INSERT - Part where I have Laptop Earphone replacement "Flashback"!] - Shows Me Refills... I'm still wary about them... He asks about Year & Model...

- THANK YOU Part-Of-My-BRAIN-That-Actually-"Thinks"-For-Me! - as it controls My Hand to whip out Car Insurance Thing with INFO on it! BYAC-GUY checks His Computer, rambles off Price-Range...

ahhh.... Decisions, decisions, decisions... Refills? Or, go for the Much-More-Costly-Brand-Spanking-New-BLADE - for the Vehicle FATHER keeps talking about Replacing...!? [INSERT - Overwhelming URGE to bang Head on a Steering Wheel!]

I walked out - into the Darkening Evening - with REFILLS in Hand!

Made it back, Safely! Called the House from the Driveway, to say I had returned and would be
"piddling" with Purchase for a little while....

WHAT I've "LEARNED" to do NEXT Time -

• Remember to bring Flashlight - although, I'm sure, there was one IN the Car.
• EXAMINE Refill WIDTH against Blade-Bracket-Clip SIZE, whilst still AT Store.
• So, that it may be RETURNED, without being Opened and LENGTH "Adjusted".
• BUY A WHOLE NEW BLADE ASSEMBLY!

Meanwhile... RAIN - [as in mostly, "Freezing"] - is expected during most of the Day, Tomorrow. CAN'T use Wipers! FATHER is thinking on going to the CAR DEALERSHIP, in hopes that They have the PROPER MODEL REFILLS... Or, Blade...

THE MISSION - To *hope* that They DO and that We can get it Done BEFORE any Precipitation!!

...I'll have to GET up *Early*... crap....

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Queuing up for Bank-A-THON...

AT LEAST, that was what it FELT like after WAITING in Line for almost a Half Hour!!

Really..?

The BANKS have been CLOSED for 4 DAYS in this Country because of The Holidays.
It's "Pension" Cheque Day.
Too *many* People having to be doing Their ENTIRE Year's "banking", Today!
And, there are ONLY 2 TELLERS??!!

After, My TWO MINUTES of "business", MOTHER and I finished up with the remainder of Our TOUR of THE BIG MALL's post-Boxing-Day-Shopalypse Aftermath...

Found a lovely CHARCOAL Merino Hooded Cardigan-Wrap at THE GAP. Even with the Discounts, it was probably more than I should have been spending on Something that I don't know *when* I'll ever Wear... But, it really WAS nice, and I have a "thing" for Merino!

Meanwhile, there was still MORE "on sale" ORNAMENTS at THE BAY!

The BIRDS are MOTHER's and the GLASS BULBS are Mine!

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Procrastination 101

AS IN, *doing* OTHER Stuff...such as:

• Start on a DIFFERENT "Blanket" Project!
• Pack that Package I've promised to send off Tomorrow...
• WOW! Look at all those SPLIT ENDS! Where are My Scissors?
• Catch up on My "Reading".
• MUST Buy certain Stock - last Ex-Dividend Day of the Year!
• Be THANKFUL, that I DON'T Live ANYWHERE on the EAST COAST right Now!
• Catch up on My "Reading"...
• Change the Toilet Paper Roll.
• Hmm.. perhaps the Package can WAIT until Thursday..?

...Instead, of LOOKING for That *needed* YARN, so that I can BEGIN Working on LITTLE PRINCESS BIG-RED's Blanket! -- And, oh yeah... Come UP with a BLOOG *Subject* for TODAY!!

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Ask Me How COLD It Was Today...

HOW *COLD* WAS IT, AUNTIE SHAN??

Well, it was SO Cold, that My *New* BLUE CROCHET HOOK and BLUE YARN, *STAYED* BLUE!!!

SEE...

Shiny and Bright out.
-14C.
Windchill -24C.
Gusting 50km Winds!
So, of course, We went SHOPPING!

Decided to head over to TRAINYARDS. Figured that *most* of the BOXING DAY "Mayhem" would have settled out somewhat...? As it turned out, the Traffic had a "Saturday" feel to it. - First Stop, MICHAEL'S.

Where, I acquired the ABOVE. Actually, got 8 of those SMALL BALLS. They were "on sale" - if You can call it that - but, I still had Money left on My GIFT CARD... Also, I've yet to see THAT Colour [INDIGO] in the BIG BALLS...

After spending too much Time There, We decided to go Next Door to that new SAIL Store...
BIG Place.
Seriously CROWDED Place!
Cheery-Helpful STAFF though.
Didn't buy anything.
Barely survived Crazy-Parking-Lot-People...

Crossed over the Complex to make the Brain-Washed Pilgrimage to WALMART... Didn't buy anything There, EITHER... Not that there was Anything LEFT! Sooo glad that We avoided it, Yesterday. The STORE looked like it had been ATTACKED by LOCUST!

I actually spoke with a few SALES CLERKS - who survived - and asked if there had been some Store-Wide "Sale" to explain the ravaging of the Regular-Priced Items [as in 95% of the YARN!]...?
-- Apparently, it's was a Case of the Annual Boxing-Day-Bargain-Buying-EVERYTHING-**WITHIN**-REACH-And-Stuffing-Into-A-Cart-WITHOUT-LOOKING-AT-THE-PRICE-Feeding-Frenzy!!

As I mentioned, SOOOO GLAD I *MISSED* IT!!

Anyway, spent TOO long in There - got Side-Tracked by running into a "Neighbour" from a couple of Streets over from Us... Which, strangely enough, seems to always Happen whenever We're in a Rush... It's like She *knows*....

Had a couple of more Other Grocery Stops to make and had to get Home by SUNDOWN... I had forgotten My Regular EYEWEAR! Only had My Prescription SHADES on when We left... The Night-Blindness doesn't help, either! -- BUT, Buying YARN sure *does*!!

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Shopped 'til I BOXING DAY'd in!

HEY! *MARK* this one on a Calendar to Celebrate LATER! -- A *Perfect* SUNNY BOXING DAY!!

So, of course, I got up Late... I'm a "Zen-Shopper". NOT, one of those Camped-Out-For-A-Week-In-Front-Of-The-Local-MEGA-DEBT-BIG-BOX-SUPERSHOP-Hoping-To-Get-"STONES"-Tickets Types... I prefer to wait until the First and Second "Waves" of "THEM" have come and gone...

If I'm "meant" to BUY it, then it will still BE There! ...Ready to JUMP into My Arms, BEGGING Me to take it Home!

Anyway... FUTURE SHOP is only a 10-minute Walk away, as Driving there and TRYING to "Find" a Parking Spot would have taken LONGER! And, despite the -19C Windchill, it WAS Sunny, I haven't had to Shovel in almost a Week, and needed the Exercise... Also, by *not* using the Car, I had to LIMIT My Purchases to Whatever I could CARRY!

[ooooo! Evil "expensive" Thoughts...!]

I bundled up - with my *newly* Created COWL [in CHOCOLATE] that needed to be Field-Tested - and set forth...

Huh. The Store really ISN'T as Crowded as I would have expected! No doubt, due to increased Online Sales and the Fact that some of the Prices AREN'T really that Low! -- I took My Time to Browse. Grabbed another one of those 500Gb BACKUP DRIVES like "KYLIE", except in BLACK. The Price actually was *good* on that one!

Wandered some more... The DVD Prices didn't seem that "special"... Nothing exciting going on in the Computer Section either... Hmm... DIGITAL FRAMES... Actually, I *have* been wanting to get one of those for Years now... Might look COOL on My CRAFT SHOW Tables...?

Let's go have a Looksee, shall We?

So many to choose from... The "Technology" has improved. Not big on those 10-inch ones - might as well just use My LAPTOP! And the 7-inch is too small. -- BTW, seriously, What IS the deal with the hideous "Frames" on some of these Things?!

Eventually, I settled on the modestly Sale-Priced 8-inch SONY one. And, MET a most charming
"Contemporary" in the process!

-- The Aisle was empty and He was parking Himself whilst His *Techie*
"Partner" shopped. -- Meanwhile, I was enlightened with His favourable opinion on These Things and other informative Conversation ensued...




Alas, I had to take My leave, since OTHER Shopping awaited! -- I also put back the DRIVE. I really
don't need it at Present, but the FRAME is something that I have wanted for a while. And *both*,
isn't in THE BUDGET right Now.

Managed to Survive the TREK through the Parking Lots, past the Cinema, over to the STRIP MALL where the OLD NAVY is located. -- Wasn't so bad in There, either...

Anyhoo... FOUND a great Pair of BROWN Flannel-Lined Brush-Denim CARGO PANTS -- I had forgotten that I was in *need* of such! The heavier Pants that I currently have, are actually too Loose on Me! Also, picked up a few thinner "waffle" Henleys - [ASH-BROWN, TURQUOISE, LILAC-PINK] - There were also a couple of more Tops, but they weren't "on sale" or, really necessary...

Meanwhile, during My perusal of the sparse and well-picked-over "Clearance Section", I got to play "AUNTIE DRESS-UP" with a couple of younger-side 20-Somethings...

Apparently, Fashionista "Contestant" #1 was a lover of All-Clothes-BLACK, whilst Her BFF was attempting to overwhelm Her with Death-By-Colour! I believe that I managed to introduce Them both to the Concept of "CLASSIC accented with TREND"...

TRANSLATION - GIRL-IN-BLACK got to keep one BLACK [instead of the really dull GREY] Top. However, also HAD to take the Trendy CORAL one to "layer" with it! Which, would also go great with Something in a PALE BLUE later on...

Whatever, when I left Them, I believe *some* of My profound "Sage-ness" may have stuck...

And then, off to the CHECKOUT LINE I went... Oh, hey! Great Flannel Shirts over there... But, I'll LOSE My "place" in the quickly moving Queue... OH! Thank You, SHOPPING FAIRY! -- MOTHER just walked IN and has found Me!!

-- [ ELDERLY PARENTAL UNITS were to meet Me at THE MALL later with the CAR... ] --

Parked Her into My LINE-SLOT whilst I took a Minute to grab one of Those Shirts!

So. Absolutely *nothing* going on at THE MALL! However, FATHER did get His "Walk" in, and the opportunity to purchase His beloved "on sale" FRUITCAKE! -- [Pardon Me, *have* to "Cringe" for a second..] -- Well, at least I got to add on more STORE POINTS and get a Ride Home...


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

..ewww... GLITTER-"Pollen"!

IT. GETS. **EVERYWHERE**!!! -- Don't ask!!

SISTER had used this rather lovely Gift-Wrap PAPER - good quality, heavy, striped with GLITTER - to enclose the absolutely delicious Box of FERRERO Rondnoir Chocolates She had given Me... The SHINY shedding particles were as fine as Baking Soda! And, possessed Static-Cling Super Powers!

So, the GOOD Thing about the cellophane wrappings on the BOX, it prevented any Moisture from getting IN, and kept the GLITTER OUT!

The BAD Thing about the cellophane wrappings on the BOX, it attracted the GLITTER like a Magnet! I had to use DAMP paper towels to REMOVE it!

You know...
GLITTER in Nail Polish -- Fine.
GLITTER in Glue -- Okay.
SHINY BUGS in Tree Sap -- Yeah, I suppose, if it's a few Million Years Old.
However, feeling like I'm IN a bad Episode of "CSI: DisneyWorld" -- Not so pleasant. That Sparkly Powdered Crap is a pain to remove from My Finger Prints!

Anyway... Moral of this Complaint: Loose GLITTER - BAD.... CHOCOLATES - YUMMMM!!!

BTW, speaking of Sibling Gifts... Here's WHAT SISTER did with those ORNAMENTS that I gave Her...

She just Loves doing "Decor" VIGNETTES!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

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

YO! NICKY! ...Have You Been Pilfering Through My GIFT STASH..?!

AS, it will probably be LATE by the Time I Post THIS...

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!!**

Oh, and watch out for the 'DEER *DO*... Those Guys are worse than CANADA GEESE!

Okay. So. I'm in "Shock"... It was glaringly SUNNY Today! And, I *finally* received that
"Important Something" in My MAIL earlier! A big relief that was.

Then, spent most of the Afternoon sending out Holiday E-Mails -- I really don't send actual Cards out that often... Just *KNOW* that I think about ALL OF YOU!! ALL of the Time!!

BTW, FYI, that whole "Christmas Cards" thing, is a HALLMARK "Marketing" Ploy that's gone the Way of ELVIS! -- just saying...

And, since I appear to be stuck on this ICONIC "Commercial" Theme, Time now for a "KODAK Moment"... Here's a PIC of Those "MITTEN" PEOPLE that MAID-MARE made!

I don't know what She calls Them, but They're made from lovely VELOUR Mittens - the Arms are formed from the Thumb part. They also weigh a couple of POUNDS each! Inside is a BAG of sand or whatever..?

Well, I've EVE-y Things to do...

SO. KIDS... Behave. Be Safe. Be HAPPY! And, remember to Look UP when Shoulder Checking - FLYING SLEDS *have* the Right of Way!!


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

Reindeer Pre-Flight Check...

MAIL is like The LOTTERIES... You WIN some and You LOSE some....

Still WAITING on Something IMPORTANT to *Arrive*, which is a Week LATE! -- Not a Good Thing... However, We DID receive some GREAT Mail Today - the Christmas PARCEL from My BROTHER, "SGT.DOC" and His lovely New Wife, "MAID-MARE"!

The SANTA BROACH is one of M-M's Creations... There was also a couple of Her "Mitten" People for MOTHER [Pics of Those - Tomorrow]. Also, got a GIFT CARD for the Store where I get My FACTORY ENDS from... [*Happy Dance!*] -- Looking forward to *using* THAT!

Meanwhile, We ventured OUT Today... I had figured that it would be a tad less Hectic than what Tomorrow promises to be! Imagine My *surprise* to discover that I was CORRECT! -- COSTCO was actually almost "Civilized"!

SCARY!

From There, We headed to one of Our other Regular Grocery Haunts... Next door was a MARK'S WORK WAREHOUSE - I still needed the Proper LACES for My Boots. The temporary Ones I'm using at the moment are a bit too long, thin, slippery, and stretchy... I figured that THIS would be the Place to FIND exactly WHAT I was looking for.

And yes, the SHOPPING GODS were looking out for Me!

The STORE was near empty of Customers WHEN I first walked in - [They were later "transported" in FRONT of Me at the CHECKOUT!].... HELPFUL-YOUNG-GUY-SALES-CLERK escorted Me right to where I needed to be!

Ahh... choice, choice, choice.... However, none of THOSE hanging on The Racks were precisely *what* I wanted. Nuts! -- hold on... That Pair that's lying on the bottom of the Display, appears to be promising from a distance... doesn't look quite as Shiny as the Others... A CLOSER examination is in order.

YES!!

Having a CINDERELLA-BABY-BEAR Moment here! Proper Length, proper Thickness, proper Material, the ONLY ONE There!! -- ZEN-SHOPPING!

Why can't I pick WINNING LOTTERY NUMBERS this EASILY??!!

And, speaking of which... Later, when We got to THE MALL... I'm about to fill in My LOTTERY Sheet, when the nearby Apparently-Lonesome-MALL-SANTA walked over to "CHAT" Me up!

NOT SO LONG STORY SHORT - My Numbers DIDN'T come out This Evening! So much for that Good-Luck-SANTA-"Hug"! Seriously, the only Person who got "Lucky" was the "Loser" in the RED SUIT!

Serves Me right, I suppose... The Part where I never did get any CANDY from Him, should have been My *first* Clue! -- "Next" Time, I *USE* the LACES!! ...I've always been GOOD with KNOTS...

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

..oops!... Stuff-alanche!

ALL I HEARD was just a little muffled Sound from another Room...

Dismissing what was probably just one of My numerous "Bags" of haphazardly piled YARN, I continued with preparing The ELDERLY PARENTAL-UNITS for Their soon departing Grocery-Other-Errands-FATHER-Wants-To-Get-Out-Of-The-House-RUN... And, once gone, I was going to WRAP Their Christmas Presents.

Ahhh... "PLANNING" - What a Concept!

So. There's - or more accurately, WAS - this *Stack* of Decor MAGS, an assortment of PAPERS, old MAIL, the odd bit of Laundered Clothing, etc.... that had been quite STABLE for some time now. -- Hey! It all survived that 5.0 QUAKE we had several Months back!

However, *now*...?? -- Huh. All that FULL MOON SOLSTICE mojo really must be messing with The GRAVITY... Then again, whenever the Furnace kicks *on*!

Whatever. All I know is, it took Me a good 20 Minutes sorting it all out and disposing the DUST-BUNNY Corpses! -- As for Those GIFTS... They eventually got DONE!

Meanwhile, I have to get back to "Creating"...

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

**HAPPY SOLSTICE!!**

THE BAD NEWS - It's the "FIRST" Day of WINTER.

THE GOOD NEWS - The DAY "LIGHT" Hours will be Longer!!

However, *not* any less BORING! -- I knew there was a "Catch"....

So. I "Celebrated" SOLSTICE by doing as little as possible. Did a bit of Stock Market "Research" - as IF it actually "Helps"...?! And, worked on Finishing THIS...

It case You're wondering - as I'm sure You are - IT's "suppose" to be one of Those "COWL" Things... It FITS Me - albeit, SNUGLY! ...I sort of needed One anyway. So, I'll be putting it into Service.

Meanwhile, I'm still tweaking the DESIGN... Have to use My Regular YARN too. Make a bit wider...

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

And, What's on Your Door Step?

WOW! A Day of NO Shovelling!

But, I DID receive a variety of MAIL... LOOK what the SOLSTICE STORK delivered!

• "The PARCEL" from SISTER - The "Yarn" was *one* of My Gifts..
• A Bill - for all the Yarn that *I've* been buying of Late...
• Other Stuff.
• A wonderful ["The SNOW-STORM"...haha!] CARD from NANI-W! With a Handsome School Pic of Her Munchkin, LITTLE MR. "O", and a lovely Pair of Silver "Carousel" RHINO Earrings!

Ooooo!! THANK YOU!!


Anyway, it was also a Cyber-Day... Between the Holidays, Year-End, certain Places being Closed, there's lots to be DONE OnLine! And, I managed to throw in some CROCHETING, too...

I'm *Designing* "Something" for Myself... If IT works out, and if I can Price-Point IT properly, I "might" have a NEW *Product* for Next Season... We'll see...


Meanwhile.... My *last* Portion of ORIGINALS....

We continued Our second "Look" of the remaining Booths and touched base with a few of Our earlier Favourites that were still there... And, of course, made a few New Acquaintances! -- There was this rather fascinating GLASS BLOWER Chap... I never did get His Name...

Moving on... I had come across an interesting "previous" mention of THIS BOOTH and went IN SEARCH of IT!

THE RECYCLER - CHECK OUT GILBERT's Website at - http://www.therecycler.ca/

EVERYTHING is made from BICYCLE Parts! They specialize in "Custom" Work. The ultimate Gifts for any Cycling Fans!

My favourite - the CYCLOSAURUS! -- On the RIGHT...

Should I ever come into any "EXTRA" Money, I'm *seriously* thinking of having a RHINO made! It would be SO COOL!!

Anyhoo.... Looks like I'll be missing that TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE Tonight! There's a bit of Cloud Cover and I don't have an "accessible" Window facing the needed Direction for Viewing... oh well...

HAPPY SOLSTICE!!

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