Okotoks 2011 Quilt Stroll -  Quilts - Cars - and Quilts for Cars!

And now for an amazing culinary feat...

Today is Day 1 of my annual mid November "week off". I generally use this as a week to begin my winter preparations. As in - wash the summer clothes and pack them away; bring out the winter wear (which was a bit easier this year, as it seems the winter jackets, mitts, hats,scarves and boots never made it downstairs last spring - which makes me wonder where the spring stuff went) and of course make soup. And soup ... and hopefully more soup.  

I found the video below on the Dinner With Julie (our local CBC celebrity chef) blog as I was searching for a tasty Christmas pudding recipe. I got myself a little sidetracked while looking up Wensleydale cheese which I had (in a moment of adventurous spirit) bought at the farmers market on the weekend. A quick Google search took me to Wikipedia. The Wensleydale was recommended with cranberries, and from there it was a quick jump to Christmas Cake and pudding... and you know how it goes...

But I ended up at Julie's (did I mention she has an ultra modern slow cooker give-away going on? Which of course I entered) and lo and behold here was an amazing video on "How to peel a head of garlic in less than 10 seconds".

 So ... what does one do when they have 6 loads of laundry in process, 27 pairs of sandals to give the nod or chuck for next year, a Dutch oven full of carrots,onions and curry bubbling on the burners, Inspector Lynley mystery blaring on the audio and a block of Wensleydale cheese looking for a purpose?

You stop and smell the garlic...


... and yes it does work. I tried it. It was amazing. And it was in less than 10 seconds. I counted.

Happy Wovember!

Now here's a month for those of us living in the Northern climes ... Wovember! A month in which we celebrate wool - wear wool - work with wool ... and generally tell woolley stories about wool.

For more information go to Wovember.com 

We Walk Sundays...

Most Sunday mornings, I can be found at the Reservoir near my house.I meet friends and we go walking. We call it our time to rebalance, replenish and get back in touch with nature and ourselves. We've trained for half marathons, 10K walks and the 60 KM Walk for the cure. We share recipes, knitting patterns, debate the pros and cons of  whatever has a pro and a con. We  commiserate and encourage. We laugh - alot.

This morning marks the beginning of our 3rd year of winter walking. It was sunny, crisp and bright. Ice has finally formed on the water - and the last sail boat was ready for dry dock.

Bike 101 all done...

My hands hurt (every single joint and digit) my elbows, knees, back, even my rib cage. After endless scrubbing, my nails are still encrusted with bike dirt and grease. I think my bike still works. I'll never begrudge my bike repair guy another nickle...

The Grey Goose - in bits

On Day 1 we pretty much worked on the rear end of the bike. I removed and reapplied my rear wheel at least 30 times. I was proficient. I removed the wheel, pulled off the tire, deflated - re-inflated the tube, and learned the difference between schaeder and presta valves. (Consequently I have gone to MEC to buy a few valve converters and a new tire pump) . We learned how to break our chains (on purpose) and how to use a nifty tool to put them back together (need to buy tool). I learned how to fix a flat and how to use those 2 little wrench things that look like beer cap flippers - and why I do need 2).

I did a "grease transfer" of the bike chain, gear sprockets, derailleurs, and the chain stay (that's CSI talk for all the greasy gritty sludgy crap on the bike was transferred to me). In the afternoon while everyone was replacing their brake cables, I was truing my rear wheel. Truing a wheel is an extremely zen type experience and once I got going with the little "tweek here" and just another little "tweek there" it was extremely difficult to stop.

 Day 2 - I was behind. At this point we were really getting into the knitty (oooops) nitty gritty. We pulled off the crankset (this almost killed me) disassembled the hub, removed, inspected, washed the ballbearings - degreased - regreased and reassembled.

By midday I was constantly 3 steps behind in a 2 step process. I was desperate for a Venti triple ANYTHING! I longed for Day 1 where my only worry was "did I put my tire tread on backwards?" But I persevered, and by the end of the day I was back on my bike with a "Basic Bicycle Mechanic Certificate" in hand .

Happily riding into the crisp autumn sunset with swirls of fallen frost laden leaves crunching under my tires...

Clunk-ity... clunk-ity ... aaahhh crap!

A little knitty video..

Here's a little knitting video kicking around Ravelry right now... perfect for this time of year when we switch out the cotton on our needles and are drawn to our thick fuzzy woolie projects..

Now for something different...

Tour De France - carry your own spare parts

As you all may or may not know, I've been riding my bike alot this summer - and I loved it. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my commute to work (via Schlecky - my bike's name) was decidedly quicker than walking (35 minutes) scootering (around 15 - 20 minutes depending on traffic) and carpool (same as scootering depending on traffic). So I've pretty much been pedaling to work since this year's Tour de France (or Fleece if you were a participant) in July.

I had planned a few bike rides with a friend in which she reminded me to bring a spare tire "just in case". Good idea. "I assume you know to change it?" I asked. "No, my husband usually does that..." "But he's not coming with us..." (Hmmm - an oversight on our part.)

A few weeks ago my tires were getting low, and administering a self-congratulatory pat on the back for actually having a bicycle pump, I promptly released all the air from the tire and now had a complete flat. The pump didn't have a "doo hickey" converter on it, so it was useless - now really - who knew?

So what is all this leading to? This weekend I'm taking a "Weekend Bike Repair Course" at the University  which "... leads you through a full bike tune up  and teaches you how to repair and maintain your bike."

Wish me luck - grannie-good-wrench here I come!