happy spooky day

Just a quick little post to wish you all a happy Halloween. I will catch up with everyone later this weekend.

deconstruction

I was so happy to see all the comments flowing in for my giveaway; so let me announce the winner (drum roll). The winner is Traci (better known as "Mrs. French") of bliss. Traci is an amazing photographer and a wonderful person. I got so excited with the giveaway that I decided to draw a second winner to win a couple of skeins of some wonderful sock yarn from Apple Laine made here in Canada; and the winner of the yarn is Rachel of the times we are living in. Rachel has the coolest job in the world; she is an elk biologist. So, if the two winners could email me their address information, I can parcel off the goodies and send them on their way.

Are any of you suffering from attention deficit lately? I can't focus on anything. It might be the jitters that stay with me after a busy day at work, or trying to do too many different things....I can't seem to settle down. I have 'busy brain' and I keep pondering, analyzing ... everything. Have you noticed that we are in the process of deconstructing our existence: food, the economy, our lifestyles. I wonder if it is because we are trying to understand the 'whole' , so we break it down into 'pieces' as we try to make sense of our lifestyles and our societal ethics. Yeah I know...I really should stop thinking for a bit here, this all sounds so hippie/dippy. I have tried to express the positive side of deconstruction in my photo above - I call it the deconstruction of a branch...you see the whole, which is so beautiful and then you notice the parts that contribute to the whole and realize how important they are.

And ending on a very happy note... here I was spreading some good karma and what do you think happened to me? Well.....I got chocolate in the mail...yes, chocolate (that has to make you all believers in something)! Raphaelle of au coeur d'artycho was kind enough to send me some Seeds of Change chocolate JUST because I raved about it in a comment under her post. Honestly people, leaving a comment on someones blog is a good thing :) The reason you see a wrapper in the photo below is because the chocolate was devoured in no time. I blame the Babe for that. Check out Raphaelle's amazing shop artycho boutique, your little ones will thank you.

Happy weekend everyone!

in the spirit of good karma, here is a giveaway

I have been the recipient of many wonderful things lately. I won two giveaways, I have had several wonderful swap opportunities, and....I have been told I can start training again by the 'soft tissue guru'. So in the spirit of all that is great and fabulous, I am holding a 'giveaway'. I am not certain if someone would necessarily want to wear something I made - however, here are the rules and the goodies.

ONE person will be drawn from those who leave a little comment on this post, to win the three items featured above. There is a scarf - very simple knit - but made from a scrumptious, soft pink beaded yarn from Tilli Thomas; there are hand-knit socks with cute little flowers encircling the top of the leg; and, there are note cards created from some of my favorite photographs that I have taken. Both of the knits are made by yours truly with love. I will draw the name next Saturday, October 25, and announce the winner in my post on that day.

Also in the spirit of good Karma, I would like to mention a very lovely person - Tracy of Pink Purl. Tracy is an extremely talented individual and I have purchased jewelry and this wonderful purse (photo below) from her shop. Tracy's work is perfection - her handmade items are unique and she always puts a little something extra in my parcel for me to enjoy. I love buying 'handmade' and supporting artisans who put so much care and effort into the items they create. And...Tracy always gives me hugs in her emails and comments...how can you go wrong with that?



Have a lovely weekend and don't forget to leave me a comment for the giveaway draw.

...and so for these things I am thankful

We are celebrating our Thanksgiving this weekend here in Canada. Like many people, we will have a happy gathering of family and dear friends for a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. I believe that this year, more so than any other, I am trying to be more cognizant of the things I am thankful for. This week continued to be challenging at work - dealing with people terrified of losing everything - all these high emotions drain you and sometimes you absorb these fears because it is what you hear, all day. What is clear to me is that most of these people calling do not need me to give them any solutions - they just want someone to listen to them and offer an opportunity to voice their feelings. So in the spirit of 'voicing' I simply want to share some things I am grateful and thankful for on a daily basis.

I am thankful I have a beautiful family. Two handsome, wonderful sons, healthy parents happily retired in one of the most beautiful little corners of the world - Vancouver Island; my sister who I am very close to and who lives just ten minutes away; and, the Babe who is my greatest supporter in all my endeavors....and of course, Tencents, my naughty princess-kitty.

I am thankful to have a cozy, beautiful home that no one is taking away from me. Home truly is where the heart is and I know that whenever I travel for work, I always look forward to coming home.

I am grateful I live in a country where I have the freedom to be who I want and to achieve what I want. I am not restricted, I am not confined because I am a woman, and I have a thousand opportunities available to me.

I am thankful I am healthy and enjoy my life to the fullest - I have a good job, I can run, I can climb, I can knit...all these things make me who I am.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend - please take the time to quietly be thankful for something in your life this weekend.

****Please come visit my blog next weekend - I will have a SURPRISE*****

yawn

Honestly, I am at a loss of words this week. I just came back from New York yesterday where I was attending a financial oil and gas conference at a very large brokerage house that is now part of a very large bank. I am getting used to speaking with investors who are now no longer panicking and desperate but rather 'just desperate' - a huge improvement in sentiment ( I am being very sarcastic here).

Walking through the streets of New York in wonderful little shopping districts like SoHo, NoLiTa and the Meat Packing District I pondered life. I went inside all these wonderful little boutiques that sold socks for $90 and little t-shirts for $295. I could not bring myself to buy anything. There just seemed to be something obscene about paying $90 for socks when people are losing their life savings and their homes, and their jobs. Besides, I can knit my own socks :)

So I have decided that instead of trying to write something profound when the world has been turned a little upside down, I will play a game. I have been tagged by Tilly to name seven random things about myself - here goes

1. I am training for a marathon - I am injured right now (very bad shin splints) but I will push ahead
2. I am left handed
3. I despise pudding, creamed corn, tapioca, rice pudding, creme brulee, anything with that icky, creamy texture
4. I am allergic to bullsh*t
5. I love writing down lists of goals, dreams, objectives, tasks, you name it I will list it
6. My very favorite book of all times is 'Jitterbug Perfume' by Tom Robbins (the theme of the book is striving for immortality and perfume is featured heavily)
7. I am terrified of birds - especially seagulls

I am supposed to tag seven other people but I can't bring myself to do it today. It's nice to not have to actually make any decisions - and today is my 'I am not making any decisions day' - so definitely not a day I would go to Starbucks.