Blame it on the World Cup

Here is the Toupie on top of the dresser with the picture of me at my first Christmas in the background. I had the lamb toy in the photo until I was about seven.

Recently, Toupie seems not to mind having his photo taken.

The World Cup

I admit to it: I'm deep in the throes of World Cup football. Not doing great on my picks; but I'm determined not to come in dead last in the standings like I did in '06.

I've also been totally ruined by going to Busboys and Poets at 14th and V this morning to watch Ghana vs Australia on the most lovely large screen with an amazing sound system. The players seemed so puny on my television by comparison. Highly recommend the Buckwheat pancakes with Agave syrup. Skip the ham.

Knitting

And I've been knitting. Watching sports is so conducive to knitting. You can put all your tension into the work at hand.

The second Ishbel is coming along nicely. I expect to be finished by Monday or Tuesday. Yarn Forward 27 came out this week. I printed the Willow shawl pattern and cast on last night. I've commited to completely the Diamonds and Chevrons stole during the World Cup, but I'm not feeling that right now. I think it's the Adagio yarn more than anything. Might frog and try in a lace weight instead of fingering.

I've definitely decided to cash in my stash of change for the Solitude purple wool. I'm thinking of Liz Lovick's cowl to go with my purple coat.

I'm attending a five-week Lojong class. The class and the readings are so incredibly deep. Last weekend I completed Level IV of the Heart of Warriorship. I will take Level V in July. I'm amazed how--despite my fatigue last weekend and sleeping a good deal of the time I was supposed to be practicing the meditation technique on Sunday--the training just seeps over into my daily practice and butresses me through the day. I'm taking Meditation in Everyday Life which starts at the end of the Lojong class and then a Mahamudra class in September. The refuge class will be in August but the dates haven't been announced yet and the actual refuge ceremony will be in September.

Movies

I've rented an ecclectic selection of DVD's this week. I'll review those next week.

Magazines

I stumbled on a good deal: a year subscription to Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal for $20 and treated myself. I'm really enjoying Vegetarian Times and Yoga Journal is always a treat. I have learned a lesson from last year. Don't subscribe to all the mags you want in the same month. They all need to be renewed in the same month. It was a duh moment for me. So now I'm spreading my renewals out.

Tumble

On the way to the doctor last week, tripped on an uneven bit of pavement and managed to remove a nice chunk of my epidermis just south of my right elbow. Our bodies have some awkward places. I used gauze instead of bandaids, which tend to stick to healing wounds making them painful to remove. But try wrapping your own elbow in a gauze bandage roll without making a pigs ear out of the process. Then try keeping the wrapping in place. Just as it was getting better, I accidently sprayed the wound with Icy Hot. I thought I'd picked up the can of Bentadine. Well, my arm felt like a swarm of bees were stinging it for two days, despite the good rinsing I gave it after discovering my error. I also realize this week that I have badly bruised the rest of the arm. OH well...It has meant a slow down in my knitting and carrying items isn't very pleasant, but the bee stinging sensation has abated and the wound is clean and healing nicely.

Books

My reading has been limited to the two books for the Lojong class.

The Days After and a new cowl

Treated myself to a third of a pound of Yurgicheffe coffee. Oh my. Kenya AA is still my all time favourite coffee variety, but this is a close second.

Below are more pictures of The Day After. The snowdrift that had piled up against the living room window is gone. I wandered out today to get a few supplies (like coffee). The streets (except for the piles of snow) are for the most part clear but tonight is supposed to be colder than the last two (the effect of the snow on the ground and the atmosphere), so I expect in the morning all those damp and wet places on the pavement will be ice.

The large snow covered item that looks like it's next to the buidling is actually the fir tree across the street shown close up in Saturday's post.

We had a few hours Monday morning without heat or hot water, but since 11am yesterday have been toasty and warm. I expect it was the result of everyone being at home instead of at work and the usual pre-holiday laundry washing bonanza. The snow on the hills across the street is sled scarred

I have spent the last three days rearranging my sleep schedule to watch the live broadcast of the start of the Kagyu Monlam led by His Holiness the Karmapa. I was truly expecting it to be a solo experience of watching a web broadcast of the teaching on A Letter to a Friend. Instead there was a chat room intended to report any broadcast difficulties that became a social arena where the online community chatted amongst themselves and with staff attending the Monlam in Bodh Gaya. What a difference it made being able to chat online to others. I now have new Facebook friends and a community of people with whom I have had a shared experience. It was amazing to see HHK live. Particularly to see him intervene in both English and Chinese making sure the translators chose the right words to convey the meaning of his teaching.

I had read the Letter to a Friend before and during the teaching and HHK illuminated and made the concepts real and applicable to everyday life and practice.

Because our online community (there were at times over 500 of us) was so lively and engaged, more of the Monlam teachings will be broadcast live between now and January 1. We had a special gift not shared by those English speakers in attendance at the monastery. In the interest of time, the HHK said there would be no translation of his talk on the environment. One of the online participants translated the main ideas from the Tibetan for us. The work that the Kagyu monasteries are doing to implement HHK’s guidelines is astounding. I failed to get the link to the environmental website for the monasteries but will post it when I do.

Between sleeping and web broadcasts, I have been knitting. I am working on another cowl in Knit Picks Worsted Bare. I continue to beaver away at my first legging (going to do the open heel tonight.) Piccys tomorrow.

Toupie has for the most part been very good with the topsy-turvy schedule of the past three days. It did help that the second teaching of the day started at our normal getting out of bed time, but we’re usually in bed for good by 9:00. He didn’t make too much of a fuss about getting up at 10:30 for three hours.

One news item struck me: Prince William spent the night out in an alley in London to draw attention to the plight of the homeless. Good on you! Although the news item didn’t mention security, I’m sure it was there. But as the charity campaigner who accompanied the prince pointed out, there was no shielding the prince from the cold of the night or the hardness of the ground.

The Cowl is Finished

Except for blocking and weaving in the ends. Click here to see the pictures and my comments on Ravelry. Will post pictures tomorrow.