yoga with ktnz

This morning I did yoga for the first time in several weeks. Felt good. Michelle needs yoga. Thing is, now that I have kittens, my practice is not quite so serene and straightforward as it used to be. Because now I am joined on the mat by two creatures whose sole job seems to be to totally distract me from doing any yoga at all.



Plus they're adding an unwelcome, aggressive (even violent) element to my practice, by fighting with each other on my mat.



Momentary pause to regroup.



Another attack.



Later: Even when they stop fighting, they still distract me by clawing my mat, which is apparently the world's best cat-scratch surface, based on recent experience.



What?



Doing tadasana (mountain pose), one kitten takes the opportunity to use the mat as a cloaking device.









Yoga all done for the day, the boys stretch out gracefully. As if to say, Disruptive? Us?

ktnz in bxs

Cats love boxes. I know this from long experience. They love to sleep in boxes - usually the smaller the box, the better. So after I washed my brand new canning jars, I put the empty boxes on the floor for the kittens to play with. 15 minutes later, they were happily ensconced.



Baby Guy. He chose the biggest box.



Tear (the largest cat) in the smallest box.



A little while later I turned around to see that they were BOTH in the smallest box. Here Tear is grooming Baby Guy.



Whazzup?

canning jars

I love jars. I avoid plastic food containers like the plague (the phyto-estrogens they off-gas upset my hormone balance), and years ago I started using glass canning jars to store food instead. They can even be frozen, although once in a blue moon a jar will crack in the freezer if the contents expand too much while freezing. (To avoid this if you're going to try freezing food in glass yourself, don't fill the jars right to the top - leave about an inch of space for the food to expand.)

Lately I've been running out of jars everytime I cook something (usually soup) to put in the freezer; on Friday night I went to WalMart (I know, I know, but they have the best selection of canning jars) and bought three sizes: 250mL, 500mL and 1L, all wide-mouth.

Above is a picture of them put away in my pantry cupboard. Yay. Jars. I feel looked-after now.

yummy cupcakes

@YummyCupcakes is the username of someone I follow on Twitter. This post is not about her. But I liked the title. (And I like her. Worth following.)

This post is actually about cupcakes. Which I bought at a community bake sale on Friday. I didn't really need any cupcakes, but they were so pretty...

I ate them all for supper that night. (The one with the jelly beans, Smarties, sprinkles and rocket candies was the best. Really.)

for laurie

My BFF has been complaining that I haven't posted anything on this blog lately. Here you go, Laure.

This photo is a detail from a stained glass window in Elmwood Presbyterian Church. I was there earlier in the summer when my dad was guest preacher. All of their stained glass windows are amazing - very medieval-looking, full of rich, vibrant colours. This is a section of a window (below) that features an angel trying to shove flames into some guy's mouth. I should probably know the iconography, but don't. Whatever. The angel is pretty.

instrument of peace

A few months ago, when I had a difference of opinion with someone and I wanted to be reminded that the most important thing was not for me to be right, but for me to express love and contribute to life, not death (because death is bad... no, wait - maybe it's killing that's bad... and maybe I kind of felt like killing somebody at the time), I posted the words to the Prayer of St. Francis in my cubicle at work to remind me of the values I wanted to live by. Because I need a lot of reminding, sometimes.

A friend recently lent me a recording by Olivia Newton John, and what should I find on the album but a version of the Prayer of St. Francis that I'd never heard before. It's beautiful. I hope you like it.

yard sale-ing

Went out yard sale-ing with Laurie this morning. Both of us were mostly brain-dead from lack of sleep (unfortunately due to insomnia in both cases, not anything more exciting). We knew of some neighbourhood sales in Old South and Woodfield, and Laurie said there was a rummage sale at St. Peter's, too, so I let her set the agenda and basically just worked as a loot mule and chauffeur. (I'm teasing, Laurie.)

I didn't intend to buy anything because I'm experiencing a temporary dearth of monies in my bank account, but I couldn't resist these shoes at our first stop - on Elmwood Ave. in Old South. I'm not a shoe nut, but it's so rare for me to find yard sale shoes (never worn, either!) in my size that I couldn't resist. Plus they only cost a dollar. Enough said.

Not quite sure where I'm going to wear these "f*ck me" wedges that add at least five inches to my height, but anyhow...



At another house on Wortley Road I found a card box full of stamps. I need more stamps like I need a hole in the head, but anyhow...



After making the rounds of Old South (where I'm pretty sure Laurie bought stuff too, but I don't remember what), we headed to St. Peter's. The St. Pete's sale was pretty dismal - both in content and attendance - but I did find this gorgeous blue mug for 25 cents. Enough said.



They were also selling baked goods at St. Peter's, and I couldn't resist one of these cupcakes-in-a-cone. I'm not even PMS'ing, so don't ask. Anyhow, it looked pretty in my hand for the 30 seconds or so it took me to eat it.



Walking back to my car I glanced over at Laurie and decided to take a picture of her. Which I don't think I've ever done before, ever. Anyhow, she looked beautiful in the sunshine and I knew it would make a good picture, plus she wants pics of herself for some kind of nefarious purpose that I don't really feel entitled to discuss, so just enjoy this pic of my beautiful BFF.

(I just noticed there's a kind of white mark below her nose that kind of resembles a drip of snot... if she complains, I guess I'll PhotoShop the pic for her. Sorry, Laure.)



The neighbourhood yard sales in Woodfield were the best of the day. Early on I found two baskets (above and below) for $5 and $2. I need more baskets like I need a hole in the head, too, but anyhow...





Yeah, I have absolutely no idea what this thing is. It's some kind of carved wooden foot that's been fastened to this kind of stand, and there are these dowel-y things at the top... my mind hurts just looking at it. I asked the woman whose home it was sitting in front of what it was, and she said, "Honey, if I knew what it was it wouldn't be sitting there."

(If you think you know what it is, please let me know. I'm afraid I won't sleep well until this is settled. Shyeah right, I know - I probably won't sleep well after you tell me, either. Nevermind.)



Awesome house in Woodfield (which is full of awesome houses). I loved this window - it seems very European. There was a tiny little al fresco cafe set up in front of this house, and Laure and I might have stopped to rest if I hadn't bought an awesome table for my kitchen, and wanted to go pick it up and get home for a nap. Which didn't happen (the nap), but anyhow...



Found four palm fans at another house in Woodfield. These could come in handy in church sometime this summer. Except I'll probably forget to bring one with me to church. Sigh.



Picking up the table I bought for $5 from a friend of Laurie's who lives in Woodfield. The table wasn't even for sale, but I asked if she was interested in selling it, because I coveted it for my kitchen. Laurie and Margot were suitably amazed at my organizing skills when packing everything in my hatchback. Just saying.



The table in its new home - with my kitty preparedness items (cat basket and food bowls) underneath. I bought the basket in Woodfield for $1, BTW. I wish I could take a good picture of the top of the table, because it's been painted with this gorgeous sponged-blue effect. Anyhow. I love this table. The legs kind of smelled like cat pee when I wiped them off at home, so I'm hoping either 1. it's not really pee, or 2. my new kittens have no sense of smell.