yarn diet

I am obsessed with knitted cotton miters.


I have made twelve.

I am avoiding figuring out how many more I need to make. And to sew up.

The yarn has been discontinued (that is why I got it for such a great price), as I found out today when I went to buy more. I could order more of a reasonable substitute (at the risk of boring you, I used Butterfly 3 Aran weight, which is exactly the same as Tahki Cotton Classic II, except that the Cotton Classic II is much more expensive) but instead bought more of the same colours at the closeout sale price.

I will be using nine colours in total (I had planned to use lots more).

But I am happy.

And I have decided to go on a yarn diet. No new purchases for six months (that would be until December 30, or for the rest of 2007). Any new projects need to use yarn from my stash.

Putting it in writing means you'll hold me to it, OK?

but does it have that special odour?

My older son S. gets the photo credit here. J-dog looks decidedly unimpressed with I-dog.

S. and I have been hanging out a fair bit these last couple of days, as school is out. It's been fun. Nine year old boy humour can be a bit contagious though.

CBO Issues a Major Report on Medicare Advantage Plans--Pours More Fuel on the Private Fee For Service Fire

Yesterday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a very comprehensive report on Medicare Advantage plans.I found the following to be an especially important finding:"In 2007, CBO estimates the average payments to such plans [MA] is 12% above traditional FFS costs. The difference is larger for private fee-for-service plans: According to estimates by the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission

a father's love

We are in the middle of a brutal heat wave in Ottawa.

Our air conditioning unit has died. The earliest we can replace it is July 5th.

Last night, at 11:00pm, my spouse was in the kitchen, with the oven on, making granola bars. Our son had asked if he could bring them to his end of school party.

I think he could have been forgiven for insisting that a bag of Doritos would suffice.

He's a very good dad.

separated at birth?

We watched Curse of the Were-Rabbit this evening, as we hid in the basement from the heat. It struck me that our dog bears an uncanny resemblance to Gromit. They look a bit alike (Gromit is a beagle and J-dog is a mutt of uncertain parentage). In demeanour, intelligence and disposition, though, they are eerily similar.

"Mid-Atlantic Convergence"--The European Government-Run Health Care Systems Are Coming Our Way!

One of the themes I have often heard in international meetings on the topic of health insurance is the term, "Mid-Atlantic Convergence."That is, our system may be gravitating to look more like those in Europe and theirs maybe moving more toward ours.One of the people I often see at these meetings is Bill Boyles, publisher of Health Market Survey and Consumer-Driven Care.Today, I have asked Bill

i feel like celebrating

I was very, very tired this morning and went back to bed instead of going to yoga. We'd had a lovely but busy weekend and I woke up exhausted.

I was feeling a little guilty about hanging around in my pajamas until my friend D. asked me what I'd done this week end. Before I'd finished the list (S. had two friends over for a twenty-four hour play date, I walked with D. to the library, out to lunch and then to soccer. On Sunday, we went to the market. I had a physio appointment, we took the kids to the park and then S. and I went for a walk...), I realized exactly why it was that I was so tired.

I gave myself permission to stay in my pajamas until late in the afternoon.

I was in a very good mood this evening. My spouse took D. out to hear some jazz and my friend H. came over with her new dog. We walked S. over to his friend's house (yes, I know it's a school night, but it's almost the end of the year and the boys wanted to watch Doctor Who together) and then strolled a bit before heading back to my house.

It was then that I realized that I felt like celebrating.

We had local strawberries with whipped cream and a bottle of ice wine we had saved from our trip last fall to Niagara on the Lake. We drank the wine in champagne flutes, because that's what you do when you celebrate.

It is only now, as I sit at the computer that I stop to articulate my reasons for celebrating. And I realize that I have too many too count.

My lovely neighbourhood.

My dog's joy in going for a walk.

My son's pride as he held the leash, directed us to his friend's house and greeted the kids he knew along the way.

The way both my sons light up when they see me.

Friends and family who love me.

The fact that I am alive, pain free and able to go for a walk with a dear friend on a hot summer evening.

And aren't fresh strawberries and whipped cream a good reason to celebrate, in their own right?