Reno Redux - or - Welcome to my Nightmare.
Pardon my mood. I am not a very happy camper right now and not fit for human company. I have one lonely and frayed nerve left. Please don't step on it if you want to live.

I am shell-shocked and feeling rather violated after three days of demolition and reconstruction in my house. There are clouds of dust and a mud trail from the front door up the carpeted stairs to the bathroom and back, accompanied by a continual sound-track of loud banging, crashing ceramics and screeching power tools. They’ve been ripping out my kitchen ceiling and my shower tiles (the bathroom is above the kitchen), repairing the ceiling and walls and retiling the shower.

The whole tiled shower wall was crumbling and the kitchen ceiling was caving in below it. There was horrendous water damage because there was no water barrier behind the tiles, just regular drywall, so the three walls around the tub and shower were completely rotten - like compost - disgusting.

The kitchen walls and ceiling have been peeling for years and we haven't done much about them because the bathroom had to be fixed first and then the kitchen ceiling and walls, or we'd just have to do it all again as water damage from upstairs trickled down. Blogger is not permitting me to load the pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it.


Basically, it means we have no shower for the week and during the day we have very little access to the one and only toilet in the house. Since we both are home during the day, this is not the best scenario. We are using my very gracious neighbour’s bathroom occasionally (often) this week, but it's still been a pain in the - well, you know. The house is filthy and covered in dust and grit and, despite some daily attempts to clean up, it really isn't going to get better until after the work is completed.

DH does not handle these things well - he hates having his personal space invaded and he hates to be left alone with workers in the house. I’m not particularly enjoying the process either, but it’s necessary and I am definitely looking forward to the results. Because then we can (finally) continue with scraping off the rest of the peeling paint in the house and refinishing the walls and painting the kitchen, and building a pantry and organizing the cupboards, etc., etc... and ultimately reclaiming the various spaces in our house that have become permanent staging areas for the interim storage of our stuff (gradually over the next many months – give us a break! We’ll need to recover from this part first).

This renovation is NOT about aesthetics, but I am allowing myself to ponder the colour scheme. The new shower area will be white tile (instead of the 80's "dusty rose"). I'll probably do more white and maybe a medium french blue in the kitchen, to go with the blue-&-white mottled Italian floor tiles (we did the floor in 2000, then stopped).
The good news is I am falling in love with my cute little house all over again. It may lack some space, but the individual rooms are a good size for this sort of house and with some TLC it will be quite charming... eventually.

Oh, yeah... I have been knitting. The condition of my home (and my nerves) are not conducive to any project work, so I've been scheming about some new design ideas and knitting swatches. Lots and lots of swatches. But there's nothing to show and tell yet.

I saw this quiz on Rochelle's blog and I had to try it right away:
Which Superhero are you?

You are Wonder Woman
You are a beautiful princess with great strength of character.

Your results:
Wonder Woman 80%
Superman 80%
Spider-Man 75%
Green Lantern 75%
Supergirl 70%
The Flash 60%
Robin 60%
Batman 55%
Iron Man 50%
Hulk 40%
Catwoman 30%

Hey!!! Cut that out. Stop laughing! Yes, I mean you!...
Okay, get it out of your system if you must.

Sheesh.

See there where it says it's a superhero PERSONALITY test. Nobody said anything about the physique.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test

So. Far. Behind.

To everybody who is waiting for a swap-package/contest-prize/blog-post/reply acknowledging your existence/query/
magnanimity (and perhaps a word or two about my knitting) - please please PLEASE accept my heartfelt humblest apologies and assurances that it's all still underway or on the way.

I am having a little trouble (*ahem* - understatement) digging out from the (literal and figurative) avalanche of obligations and the piles of debris (not to mention the basic life-supporting chores) that were dropped when I was sick and then compounded by the recent spate of concerts.

Soon, my friends. Soon.

Wow! Last night was intense. Terrific. A TKO - for the audience and for me! So I am happy, but hibernatory. I slept until 1:30 p.m. and my greatest ambition for the rest of the day is to sit in front of the TV and knit until my next nap... I hear my sofa calling me.
Three down - one to go. I get my life back after this week!

Announcement:(with my apologies for the very late notice)
If you are in the GTA and happen to be free tonight, I'd love to see you here! (psst: bring your knitting - and any Campanula socks you have made or are making)
You are invited to a 50th-Birthday Concert of
Compositions and Paintings by Jana Skarecky
Saturday, November 10, 2007, 8 p.m.
at Heliconian Hall, 35 Hazelton Ave., Toronto
(in Yorkville, just north of Bloor, east of University)
Admission $15
featuring a preview of voice-&-piano excerpts from her one-woman opera (a work-in-progress, with libretto by poet Di Brandt) about Emily Carr (with libretto by poet Di Brandt), Emily, the Way You Are, sung by Ramona Carmelly, with a cameo as “The Child Emily” by Juliana Colwell.

concert approximately 1 hour, to be followed by refreshments and a birthday party for the composer (cards only please!)

* EMILY, THE WAY YOU ARE, a new lyrical portrait of the boldly nonconformist visionary Canadian artist and writer Emily Carr, will premiere on Sunday April 20, 2008, at 1:30 p.m., with mezzo soprano Ramona Carmelly and The Talisker Players chamber ensemble at the McMichael Gallery Canadian Art Collection in Kleinburg, Ontario through the Canadian Music Centre's New Music in New Places program.

Lest we forget.

I have mentioned before that I used to keep Brunnhilde in my wallet. I found her in a newspaper many years ago. Sorry, I don't recall where, or who the cartoonist is - the series title was "Bent Offerings". She reminds me how very much I love what I'm doing.

Last night I sang a fun and frivolous program at a gala fundraiser celebrating the 20th anniversary of Hospice Thornhill. This is a very worthy, underfunded and underassisted thread of the social fabric. Our society is so deeply afraid of the whole idea of death that we go to great lengths in our denial, shunning this ubiquitous fact of life (which is, to the best of my knowledge, still a terminal condition) to the extent that in our haste to forget our own potential demise, precious little attention is paid to the needs of both the dying and those whose loved ones are dying. Except, that is, for the wonderful work and programs offered by hospices, their caregivers and volunteers. I was honoured to be a part of this wonderful event and I believe a lot of money was raised for this cause (I hope to find out later in the week).

I have two more concerts coming up whose subjects bear remembering (well, three actually, but one is a partially repeated program). One program for Holocaust Education Week is tomorrow night, then there's a concert with a preview of a lot of material from the Emily Carr project next Saturday, and another Holocaust Education program is early the next week. Both the Holocaust programs and the Emily Carr work contain vast amounts of contemporary music which is either brand new (composed for this event) or recent (mid-late 20th Century) and thus it's a lot new repertoire for me. I usually love this stuff - in one case, I actually chose the rep, so it's a self-inflicted challenge and I can't (shouldn't) complain! However, please induge me briefly - I need to get this out of my system.

It wouldn't be a problem, but I hadn't planned for a rather extended interruption in my learning curve (insert sound-effects of a major glitch here). I caught the nastiest flu and was out of commission from the last week of September for almost a month. Even after the first couple of weeks, when the worst of it was over and I slowly started to get better, I had absolutely no ability to focus, no concentration and no energy. About all I could do was sleep 14-16 hours a day to recover and watch a little TV when I was too tired to read. That whole missing month was supposed to be learning and practicing time, and I got nothing done. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Heck, I couldn't even knit a straight line, let alone grasp complicated new music.

For the past two weeks, with a few almost comically unpredictable lapses due to my lingering post-flu diminished stamina, I have been desperately scrambling to learn and rehearse all this new repertoire, dashing around the city and meeting with pianists, and altogether feeling quite pathetically overwhelmed by everything (except the aforementioned Thornhill Hospice gala, which was almost too much fun, comprised as it was of silly and fabulous musical theatre, some cabaret songs and "popera"). Adding insult to injury, all this frantic preparation for my current spate of musical engagements is even getting in the way of my knitting, the usual pressure valve and comforting soother of my frazzled soul (well, except for one day when I couldn't take it anymore and I played hookie to go and sit with Haley at Knitomatic and blissfully knit the day away).

So I decided to invite Brunnhilde back to visit here again. Because there's one thing I need to keep in mind when the going gets tough: No matter how difficult, hectic or stressful my musical life gets from time to time (and boy, it does!), I have to always remember that I am blessed to be doing something I love with my life and to be able to share it with others in meaningful ways.

P.S. for those folks seeking a summary of stitches: please stand by. There will be knitting content here eventually, sometime after the middle of the month. I hope. And if we can get the new camera battery to work, there might even be pictures!

I am enjoying the lovely fall weather so much - it is such terrific inspiration to knit wonderful wooly things!

I have been at a loss regarding what to do with a horded stash of beautiful Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran yarn in Wild Plum (410).
I picked up a whole bag (ten huge balls) of this stuff on major discount last winter (because it was a discontinued yarn). That's a veritable wealth of wool! At 175 yds per 100g ball, I have 1750 yards of luscious purpley tweed with flecks of green, pink and rust.

According to Yarndex, its jewel shades provide the perfect background for the small heathered, contrasting nubs in the tweedy effect. Its weight and texture also highlight cables and textured designs extremely well... As a singles contruction, it will break fairly easily if you pull at it, and it's a little rough to knit with, but it does make a nice sturdy garment. It also softens up nicely when washed.

Nothing seemed quite right for it, then a couple of days ago I was delving in the archives at Knitty and came across Ester from Spring 2007. Oddly, this design intrigued me when it came out, but as it was spring, my fancy turned more to other lighter fare in anticipation of summer and frankly I totally forgot about it.

Well, lo and behold, the yarn called for in Ester is Rowan's Scottish Tweed Aran, which is mighty similar to my Yorkshire Tweed Aran, and so off I went swatching merrily, and my swatch accidentally became this. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.. I am getting a good gauge match with the pattern's called for 4.5 mm needles. This is a very very fast knit and I was just zooming along here until the day before yesterday. I am just about to cast on at both sides for the upper part of the body - which will of course take longer as it is a lot wider. I am sort of stuck though, trying to decide which size to make it. For the width I cast on originally, there are three possible sizes and I'm not certain which one will work best for my personal body shape.

Given the interesting construction of this garment, I have an intuitive hunch that it's not just about size, but also about shape - and I want this to be both comfortable and flattering (is there anything as disheartening as whipping up a lovely sweater for yourself only to find that while it does indeed fit, it is not really fitting?). I think a visit to both Ravelry and the Ester KAL are in order to visit with others have made this up. Hopefully there will be some other Rubenesque figures for me to see how this thing shapes up.

Don't pay the Ransom! I escaped!

No, really, I wasn't really kidnapped. I've just been hostage to the lingering effects of the nasty flu that had me dazed, confused and vertically challenged (and from which I am still slowly recovering three and a half weeks later - ugh). Now I am SWAMPED with all the work that got delayed and piled up while I was sick. I have FOUR concerts coming up in early November and a load of NEW music to learn for them, lots of it contemporary artsy stuff, which is both rhythmically and melodically difficult to grasp. AAACK!!!

But don't feel sorry for me. I'm just thankful that my debilitating month-long bout with respiratory histrionics had the decency to situate itself in a period between important artistic engagements and not during the height of my upcoming concert season. All in all, if it had to come, this was a very considerate time for it to choose. Now let's all go and send some lovin' to the Yarn Harlot who is battling the mother of all colds as she heads out for speaking engagements in New Jersey and the annual pilgrimage to Rhinebeck. I feel her pain. Go on. Really. I'll wait here.

So I have done very little knitting since beginning to recover and I still haven't entered anything on Ravelry, though I accepted my personal invitation three whole weeks ago: I am MezzoDiva over there too, but there's nothing to see yet. I am alternately looking forward to and dreading cataloguing my overwhelming stash, among other things. It's very likely I will find more than a few things that will need to be destashed to a loving home... Sigh. So much yarn, so little time to knit.

And blogging has been, well, not so much on the to-do list either for the last few weeks. Heck - I haven't even had the time or energy to post my personal agenda for Socktoberfest 2007. So without further ado, here are my intentions for this wonderful month-long celebration of these amazingly addictive accessories that we make to provide warmth, style and comfort for our feet and the feet of those we love:

- Make a pair of sock that are for ME - and actually keep them this time. (What a concept!)

- Finish the Ravenclaw socks and gather all the extra goodies and mail out the package to my Hogwarts Sock Swap pal.

- Finish the pink socks for my friend Stella (these requested and promised a year ago - sheesh!)

- Develop a sequel to my surprisingly successful Campanula for the Cure campaign, ie: formulate a NEW sock design as a fundraiser for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer 2008 (because I am inexplicably insane enough to do it all again).

- Knit a pair of socks from the cuff down (for the first time ever)and graft the toes (because I really should do this at least once as an exercise). Hmmm... Okay - what with the current time constraints, this one might be a post-Socktoberfest project. But I'm stating it here anyway just to affirm my plan to do this in the not-too-distant future.
Okay. Now for the progress reports:

I did manage to finish a Campanula sock that I am making (gasp!) for myself. No, you can't have them. That's right. You heard me. These are MINE! Just keep your hands where I can see them and step slowly away from the Campanulas, Ma'am. Nice and easy... In the 15 or so months since I began knitting socks, I have made numerous pairs and I still have none just for me. So indulge me.

This was photographed by the marvelous Marla early last night at Knitomatic SnB (which I attended for the first time in a month, and got to see the lovely Lisa who is here visiting from her temporary work posting in Calgary and is the model for the other socks, pictured below). I completed another half pattern repeat and the twisted ribbing for the cuff last night, so all I need to do now is cast off and make another one. Despite photographic evidence to the contrary, it's actually a perfect fit. It's modelled here by the lovely Shelna whose feet are a half size longer and whose ankles and calves are much slimmer than mine are.

And here's the first of the socks I am making for the stellar Stella:


They are Cookie A's Pomatomus pattern, but worked from the toe up with short row tows and heels, and modifications including some gussett increases to compensate for the narrower gauge yarn on size ) (2 mm) needles. This is Regia 4-ply in a brilliant hot pink. Stella is a very outgoing and fun lady, and she requested pink, so she is getting PINK! If she wears these while biking at night she can probably skip the reflective gear.

Ahem: Warning! Spoiler Alert for Patonga Finnegan: If you don't want to see your forthcoming socks, please skip the rest of this post!

I also have a lovely (if I do say so myself) completed pair of Pomatomus to show you. My Hogwarts Sock Swap2 pal, Patonga Finnigan, is in Ravenclaw, so her house colors are blue and bronze (book) or blue and silver (movies), and though she expressed a slight preference for the movie colours, I just had to make these for her. This is a Koigu KPPPM multi (I lost the ball-band so I don't know the number) and I haven't seen anything else like it. With its interplay of blues with bronze, purple and teal and a hint of green, it is possibly the most beautiful colourway I have ever seen - and that's high praise indeed from a self-confessed Koigu addict.I must admit these were a challenge. I almost considered taking a remedial sock-spells elective, but it wouldn’t fit in my class schedule (I would have to drop potions because, unlike Hermione, I can’t be in two classes at the same time).

It wasn't that the pattern gave me trouble. Not at all. The sock spell worked almost too perfectly on the first sock. Then for some inexplicable reason, while whipping up the second sock my wand tension seemed to change dramatically. First it was much too loose and I actually ran out of yarn before the cuff, so I had to rip it back and start over. Then I must have overcompensated and held my wand much too tightly: I couldn’t even get the completed sock onto my foot (and since we are of a similar size I knew she wouldn’t either)... back to the pond.

Ultimately, after several attempts to adjust my wand tension, I believe I finally got it right. They fit me, so I think they will fit her nicely. Now I'm just waiting to receive a couple of things for her package (the muggle mail is SO unreliable), and then they'll be off to Patonga c/o her muggle alter-ego, Ellie) by Express Owl.

BTW - Ellie has a new Etsy shop for her fabulous hand dyed yarns. Go take a look. I bought some recently and it's absolutely gorgeous (and delivery was super speedy).

Well, I must say it's good to be back here in Blogland. I've missed you guys, though I have peaked in on occasion to see some lovely new Campanulas completed! I apologize for my prolonged absence, but it's been a heck of a ride here at casa MezzoDiva for the last three weeks.

First of all. I recovered very nicely, after the 2007 Weekend to End Breast Cancer, thank you! I was extremely stiff and sore for a couple of days, then I visited my friend Julie and she helped me do some assisted stretching (you can go further and therefore deeper with someone providing a little active resistance) and the next day I had a terrific massage (also with Julie - she's a R.M.T and she's great! If you're in the GTA, call her and book one and you'll know what I mean: 416-781-9355). After that I was pretty much okay.

I finally lost that one toenail. It stayed on for almost two weeks, long enough for the blistered skin underneath it to heal completely, then one day when I cleaned it and changed the bandaid it just popped right off. There's this cute little toenail-shaped area of bare skin where it was, soft normal skin and just a little tender. I am told the nail will now start to grow back. The wierdest thing is that I am wearing this fabulously navy blue nail polish, and now there's one blatantly bare toe. Maybe I should have gone with a subtler pedicure after the walk, but I was feeling powerful and that bold inky blue just spoke to me right then and I am wearing my bare toe with pride!

At the end of the following week (for those of you who don't follow the Jewish calendar) we began to celebrate the High Holidays: Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the holiest days in the Jewish Year, and that had me hopping busy with preparations and my synagogue gig (professional chamber choir). Sorry, but I just have to digress here and offer one of my favourite (albeit lame) jokes:

According to the Jewish Calendar, this year is 5768.
According to the Chinese calendar, this year is 4705.
That means for 1,063 years we went without Chinese Food.
Those were known as the Dark Ages.

In the following days I had to start catching up with everything that slid off my to-do list in the late summer. Confession: I would blame it on the WEBC, and it's true that I was rather pre-occuppied with that as it loomed closer, but to be honest things are always a bit lax around here in late summer. Maybe I never out grew the back-to-school anticipation, but I always slack off a bit in August (and that's what August is supposed to be like, isn't it?).

And though I didn't come down with that threatening chest cold right after the walk, I have a real nasty one now (sinus & chest) - I've been coughing up a lung for six days and my throat is so torn up I can't sing a note (as you might have guessed by now, the MezzoDiva moniker is for real - it's what I do - so this is not a trivial thing). Happily, I finally feel like I will be getting better from today on. Well, I should be vocally safe by mid-week, at least. I really hope so because I have an important rehearsal on Thursday and I'd like to get some practising in before then.

How sick was I? Well, let's just say that ALL the knitting I attempted in the last week, including a couple of things begun before I got sick, has now been reviewed, appropriately ridiculed and frogged. I even finally received my own long-awaited and coveted Ravelry invitation (!) and all I could manage was to log in and lurk apathetically for about five minutes.

So I have no knitting news to report and nothing to show off to you here. But I'm back!

The fight continues: 60 more in 2008

Congratulations! You did it! WOW! You stepped up and out on the street and made a real difference in the fight to end breast cancer. You were an invaluable part of the family of 5,521 participants who raised $17.3 million to support breast cancer research, clinical enhancements and continuation of the Survivorship program at Princess Margaret Hospital.

The Weekend to End Breast Cancer was a huge success for the fifth year in a row - thanks to dedicated people just like you. On behalf of the doctors, researchers, Board of Directors and other staff of Princess Margaret Hospital and The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, we deeply appreciate YOU for making The Weekend such a spectacular success. Because you committed to supporting breast cancer research, thousands of women and men throughout Toronto and Ontario will directly benefit from advancements like the rapid diagnosis pilot program, interoperative radiation clinical trial, the Breast Cancer Survivorship program and leading edge research done at The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at PMH lead by Dr. Tak Mak and his research team.

Of course, the fight does not end here. The funds our participants have helped raise over the last five years are phenomenal, but cancer is not a five-year problem. Research and cancer breakthroughs take time and money to support and realize The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation has long term goals that require long term funding so we hope you've signed up to keep fighting cancer in 2008! If you have friends who'd like to join you, please invite them to come on out for this amazing journey.

For a limited time, everyone can register for just $25. Make next year the next leg of this wonderful tradition in our community. Tell your friends and family to register for The 2008 Weekend to End Breast Cancer benefiting Princess Margaret Hospital!

Congratulations and thank you so very much for your important contribution to this record-breaking walk! You've made our community very proud.

Visit here for the news release about The Weekend.

Sincerely,

Paul Alofs
President & CEO
Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation

DH posted at I Think: It is time to put aside a few minutes to remember the innocents who were executed on this day in 2001 for the crime of being American, without trial or evidence or representation by counsel. My condolences to the families and friends of these victims, and to the world that has suffered the ongoing consequences of these crimes against humanity.

I couldn't say it any better.

At 5:30 am on Sunday, on my way to Day Two of the recent WEBC, I had the most amazing conversation with a cab driver. He asked me what all these people were doing and why and I explained to him that we were raising money and awareness to combat this scourge that is cancer. We discussed the Weekend and the PMH foundation and recent/imminent breakthroughs in research and treatment. We discussed the sad state of the world, the ubiquitous wars official and unofficial, and our society's all too pervasive culture of impotence, the prevailing impression cultivated by our conglomerate driven economic-political machine, that as individuals most of us are unable to make a difference, so we might as well just slog along as cogs in the system and try to buy ourselves as much consumer-happiness as we can grab to soothe our frustration, but without rocking the boat too much, and please - leave the world-altering decisions and actions to the big boys.

The driver asked many questions about what I was doing and after I told him how deeply moved I was to be a part of this endeavour, how incredibly empowering it was to contribute in even my small way to making this world a better place, he responded in the most profoundly thoughtful, and uncannily appropriate way. He said: "What a world could we make if instead of violence and hatred, all that anger and passion could be channelled into healing and helpful directions, to curing diseases and feeding the hungry and consoling the desolate."

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world: Indeed it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
(16 December 1901 – 15 November 1978)

Thank you for supporting me and the 2007 Toronto Weekend to End Breast Cancer. When the going got tough, your support kept me going.

This was an amazing experience! I am overwhelmed with emotion, spiritually soaring high and I really don't care that I hurt like hell, though I am hysterically amused by my attempts to climb 14 stairs to shower the previous two nights. DH threatened to video-cam my pathetic crawl up the stairs, but I said that if he did I would leave him - once I could move again.

Despite a brutal hill climb in High Park early on day one (staying there 2/3 of the way up was tempting, but not an option), minor heat stroke and sunburn (you know you’re too hot when the Gatorade actually tastes good!), and walking in the cold rain with a minor chest cold (got some hot herbal tea with honey from Starbucks en route), surprisingly few and minor blisters with potential imminent loss of one toenail (there's a blister under it), other body parts chaffing in places I cannot speak of, and every single muscle and joint aching and stiff with possible exception of one beside my right eyebrow… I am so incredibly glad that I did this I cannot describe the depth of my feelings.

I definitely did NOT do the whole 60km.

Some people do the whole 60km. Many people don't, and even experienced veterans of several previous years sometimes call a halt. I don't know precisely how far I went, but I estimate a total of about 45km. On day one I probably covered about 25km. We started with opening ceremonies shortly after dawn, leaving the CNE grounds by 7:15am. I was feeling pretty good until around 3:30pm I was overcome by extreme heat and my blood pressure was spiking (it crept up through the day, was up to 132/89 mid-day, 138/96 mid-afternoon…), so discretion being the better part of valour, I called it a day shortly before 4pm and got swept to the camp.

There are numerous bike patrols and sweep vans with crews that travel back and forth along the route cheering on the walkers and offering support and water refills and blister care, and if you need a break (or if you fall to far back at the end of either day), they will take you to the next pit-stop (or all the way to camp) where there are snacks and/or meals and water and Gatorade and toilets (incredibly good portables) as well as medical personnel, and all kinds of assistance and support.

On day two I probably did another 20km. I woke up around 4:30am with a cough and fighting a chest cold (but surprisingly limber after the first day, though tired). I suspect the extreme exertion of day one undermined my immunity, as I have noticed that in the past after some extreme bike rides or overdoing other workouts. Nevertheless, I was doing okay once I got warmed up and moving. I twisted my right knee mid-morning and went about another 5km unable to keep it in alignment, then I decided not to risk damaging it further and got swept about 2km to the lunch stop.

After lunch it was hard to get moving, but some bandages and stretching banished the blisters and stiffness and I started to feel pretty good. I actually surprised myself by almost finishing the last 14km, but I completely lost it at the last pit stop just south of the CN tower with 3km to go. I was suddenly unable to even cross about a one block distance to the refreshments tent to replenish my water bottle and I just sank onto the bench and wept. I got swept over to outside the Exhibition grounds and walked one last km in from the Princess Gates and through the closing site and the ceremonies.

The 2007 WEBC is over, but the fight continues.

This year, 5,521 walkers, the largest number in the event’s five year history, and several hundred wonderful volunteer crew and support people, participated AND raised more than $17.3 million for breast cancer research and care! The 6th annual Toronto Weekend to End Breast Cancer benefiting Princess Margaret Hospital is already planned for Sept. 5-7, 2008.

I have already registered for The Weekend to End Breast Cancer 2008 AND I am starting a team: "Knitters for Knockers!" Everyone is welcome: knitters and crocheters, weavers and spinners, and even those who are not fibre-fanatical (though we can’t promise not to attempt to lure you over to the yarn side). As we train through the year, we’ll probably set up a flexible buddy system so that faster walkers can go at their pace and slower ones at theirs, but everybody will have someone with them throughout training and the walk for both company and safety. I'll definitely be planning some extended yarn-crawls… downtown like last time but then also to the beaches, etc.

60 more in 2008!!!
If you want to join us in 2008, let me know!

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."
-- Anne Frank (12 June 1929 – early March 1945)

Day one is over. Please shoot me now.

Just crawled in the door fresh as day old fish.
Must now attempt to climb 14 stairs to shower.
Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow-ow …

Vow that next house will have full bath on main floor.
Too tired to write more now.
Love to you all.

XO – MezzoDiva

P.S. I have already registered for NEXT year :0
And I am starting a team: Knitters for Knockers!
If you want to join us in 2008, let me know!

Campanula for the Cure KAL!

(Don't worry! It's still summer, at least here in the northern hemisphere. I just fudged the date on this post - it was the only way to keep it sticky at the top in Blogger for a couple of months. For more recent posts, please scroll down.)

In the interest of raising awareness for this foot-related fundraiser (a sock pattern to sponsor a 60-km walkathon to help conquer cancer), I’ve started a Campanula for the Cure KAL!
Click here to be redirected to the post with details for the KAL about this sock pattern designed for the fight against cancer!

P.S. If you miss me here and you're wondering where I am this summer - please come visit the Campanula KAL. It's taking up a wee bit more of my time than expected. I hope to resume more regular knitting and blogging activities after Sept. 10th.

Walking my socks off!

The Weekend to End Breast Cancer 60-km walk is this weekend.

My training sucks lately. Really - I did a grand total of 15 miles in August. Ugh! That’s less than half of my mileage from way back in January, when we had snow and wind-chill feeling like -30C. But the extreme heat waves and humidity absolutely derailed my summer training plans. And in this last week we’re supposed to cut back and not do much. Hmmm... how do you cut back from zero?

I was really starting to panic about it last week, but after several days of growing apprehension, I examined the anxiety and realized it was simply fear of pain. Once I accepted the fact that I will experience some pain, probably during and definitely after the event, and that's okay, I will get through it, my anxiety level dropped significantly.

At least I can be happy that I covered well over 200 miles since mid-winter! I figure that I walked all day several days in a row when I was singing & traveling in Italy (1999) and I didn't train for all that walking. This can't be a lot worse.

Whatever happens to me this weekend, it's nothing compared to what hundreds of thousands of women face every year. And increasing numbers of men are being diagnosed with this disease as well. I am walking to show my solidarity with these men and women, to help raise awareness and to support the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.

So I am going for it. I'm just going to go and have fun sharing this experience with a few thousand like-minded persons. What's not to love?

I'll be in touch early next week - once I can move again.

P.S. If you will be in the GTA September 8-9, please come out to cheer me along the way. Though the location of Opening Ceremonies, Camp, and Closing Ceremonies will be announced well in advance of The Weekend to End Breast Cancer, the route will not be pre-announced. This is strictly a safety precaution as the route may have to change at the last minute due to traffic signal failures, broken water mains, or any other unforseen issues. Therefore, we do not announce the route.

There are however several cheering stations along the way where your friends and family can come and support you along the route of The Weekend to End Breast Cancer® benefiting Princess Margaret Hospital! Tell them to bring their BIG signs, smiling faces and happy cheers to the following sites:

DAY ONE: Saturday, September 8, 2007
Lambton Park: 9 am - 12 pm
4100 Dundas Street West. Street parking.

Rosethorn Junior School: 11 am - 2 pm
2 Remington Drive, SW corner at Rathburn Road.

Elm Park: 1 - 5 pm
SW corner of King and Elm Streets. Street parking.

CAMP: 4:30 pm - Downsview Park, 75 Carl Hall Road.

DAY TWO: Sunday, September 9, 2007
John Ross Robertson Elementary School: 9:30 - 11:30 am
130 Glengrove Avenue West, NE corner at Rosewell Ave.

Nesbitt Park: 12 - 3 pm
just south of Bayview Avenue. Street parking.

CLOSING CEREMONIES: Halls A & B, Direct Energy Centre Exhibition Grounds 4:30 pm
The ceremonies start at 4:30 pm, but feel free to come cheer the Walkers at anytime between 1:30 pm and 4 pm.

Note: These locations may change without notice if the route changes due to last minute detours.

The plot thickens...

Posted by: "Noreens Knit*che"
Mon Sep 3, 2007 6:29 am (PST)
"Ramona Carmelly" Spun a FINE Yarn in the below message:
To: ContinentalKnitters@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, July 15, 2007 7:58 AM
Subject: New Sock Pattern to help Conquer Cancer!
Ramona, Today IS Ad day, so don't worry, you're not being yelled at, however, in the future, please remember to prefix your subject with AD: Thanks, Noreen, List-Mom... who is going over to have a peek as soon as the coffee's done...

Ramona!!!
This (above) is the only reference I have ever made to Ramona's posting, and wonder who is playing games, posting in my name and supposedly visiting blogs. I've been away on our first vacation in four years (since DH's cancer, no less!) and was not even online August 31, Sept. 1, or Sept. 2. Evidently someone, perhaps cyber gremlins, is having fun at my expense. Ramona, I agree with your cause, I only mentioned ONCE, back in JULY about 'ad' day, (see above), and although it wasn't me who flamed you, I apologize for the little houligans who think this is fun and funny... Noreen

THANKS, NOREEN! And to everyone for being supportive, too! I appreciate all the kind words.

Patience is a Virtue. Forgiveness is Divine.

As posted to the Continental Knitters Yahoo Group:

Please accept my apology for posting this without the requisite AD preface. If anyone was truly offended, I am very sorry.

In my defense:

1. This was not a deliberate flouting of the rules. I was in the act of placing the "AD" preface (as well as another modification I wanted in the body of the message), but as I was composing the title, I pressed the "Enter" key instead of "Shift" key and the message was sent before I could complete editing.

2. I immediately attempted to retrieve the posting, but it didn't show up on the group site for quite a long time after this occurred. I was going to delete it as soon as it showed up, but I simply couldn't wait around any longer at the time. Then, to be honest, I then went on with my busy life and forgot to follow up on this.

3. I was rather hoping for some understanding, especially given that I am doing a tremendous amount of work and incurring personal costs for absolutely no personal gain. At no time do I see any of the funds donated, it all goes directly to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation. Furthermore I am providing a fun KAL and support to many knitters, as well as prizes which mostly come out of my own pocket. So please note, I am not soliciting customers for personal profit, but rather seeking like-minded knitters who want to join me and the 175 members of this KAL in knitting a lovely sock AND fighting cancer.

4. In fact, while I was composing this apology, I received another message from Noreen, to the effect that the group is STILL waiting for my apology. I received the first notice at 4:12pm, and this second notification at 4:27pm. I find this degree of impatience somewhat disturbing. If I hadn't happened to be both at my computer and online at the time, my IMMEDIATE apology might have come hours later, and still have been an immediate response.

Nevertheless, I had no desire to flout the rules of the group and therefore I sincerely apologize for that misdemeanor on my part.

Knitterly Regards,
Ramona Carmelly -aka- MezzoDiva the Operatic Knitaholic
designer & moderator: Campanula for the Cure KAL


From: Noreen's [mailto:noreply-comment@...]
Sent: September 2, 2007 4:12 PM
To: ramona.carmelly@...
Subject: [Sock it to me!] New comment
Noreen's has left a new comment on your post "Campanula for the Cure KAL!":
Ramona, your posting of same in the continental knitters yahell group was totally uncalled for, esp. inthat you blatantly disregarded the extremely simple rule of posting said as it obviously is, and AD or ADVERT.
The group is waiting for an apology.
The YarnWright

From: Noreen's [mailto:noreply-comment@...]
Sent: September 2, 2007 4:23 PM
To: mezzodiva@...
Subject: [CAMPANULA for the CURE knit-along]
Noreen's has left a new comment on your post "Welcome to our Campanula for the Cure KAL":
Continental Knitters yahellgroup is still waiting for your apology,
Ramona!
The YarnWright

As seen on a couple of my groups.
Finally - a rational explanation for my yarn-addiction.

A recent study indicated, that Yarn and thread gives off certain Pheromones that actually hypnotize women and cause them to purchase unreasonable amounts.

When stored in large quantities, in enclosed spaces, the Pheromones (in the yarn), cause memory loss and induce the nesting syndrome, (similar to the one squirrels save, before the onset of winter, i.e. the storing of food), therefore perpetuating their species and not having a population loss due to their kind being cut into pieces and mixed with others.

Sound tests have also revealed, that these yarns, emit a very high-pitched sound, heard only by a select few, a breed of women known as "loomers." When played backwards on an LP, the sounds are heard as chants, "buy me, loom me, and wind me into a ball".

In order to overcome the so called "feeding frenzy effect," that these yarns cause, one must wear a face mask when entering a storage facility and use ear plugs, to avoid being pulled into their grip. (One must laugh, however, at the sight of customers in a yarn store, with WW2 army gas masks and headphones!). Studies have also indicated, that aliens have inhabited the earth, helping to spread the effects, that these yarns have on the human population. They are called "YARN STORE CLERKS".

It's also been experienced, that these same Pheromones, cause a pathological need to hide these yarn purchases when taken home (or at least blend them into the existing stash.) When asked by a significant other if the yarn is new, the reply is, "Oh, I've had it for awhile."

Author Unknown

Addendum: What then would be the rationale for those of us who are, as one fiber-wag coined so aptly, "fiber cyber-shoppers"?
I am equally weak before the mesmeric effects of online fiber... just imagining the soft and squooshy yarn in my hands and seeing all the pretty pretty colours... oh, baby!... yes! Yes! YES!

I just had a makeover
What do you think of my new look?
I tried to be honest - it was just too svelte and that's not me.

They could offer a greater variety of bodytypes in the Simpsonize options. I had to download it and then widen it using Photoshop because the only zaftig bodytype it gave me was totally wrong.

I think it's a pretty good likeness. I might have to change the eyes, though. They're a bit too much like a deer caught in traffic.

OMG.
Gasp!
OMG.OMG.OMG!!!!
Yippee!
I feel just like Sally Field at the Oscars.