Thinky Thoughts

I think a lot. This might be slightly obvious since I don't end up writing out as many thoughts as I have. Strangely, they only seem worth sharing at the time. I've toyed with the idea of carrying a notebook around with me at all times so I won't forget any thought, but between an umbrella, a gym bag and a bag of takeaway sushi, there's hardly room for a pen.

By the time I sit (read: collapse) down to write, most of my thoughts have fluttered away like so many frustrating insects. So here I am with a butterfly net equipped for catching errant thoughts, don't mind me while I coral them.

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I contemplate gathering up all the funds that I possess and taking off on some grand adventure. That desire hasn't changed in the last few weeks. There are a few problems with this idea, the major one I'm dealing with is fear. My parents have indirectly instilled in me a fear of having and knowing nothing. I live, perpetually thinking that everyone who sees me watches me and judges me. Although, that fact is probably neither here nor there. In any case, I've watched my parents "never talk about money in front of the children" and now I know the state of affairs. I do not want what they live with to be my lot. So, I started to work at the age of 16, constantly saving up to make sure I don't end up like my parents. But from time to time, a grand adventure seems worth the price.

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Books. They used to take up my entire existence. Food was something I did so I could go on reading books. My parents tried to enforce the rule of no books at the table; that would work for about the length of time it would take to voice that rule. My life has changed, and although reading doesn't take up as much of my leisure time, I'd like to think it still infuses my soul's cup of tea. I have a book in me somewhere, I would like to get it onto paper. Using this blog as writing practice makes me want to compose something more complex although probably a little less personal.

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I've discovered an interesting quirk of mine. I can cook and  bake. While I'm fairly confident of my skills, they only become evident when I am alone. Baked goods created anywhere in the vicinity of my parents or even the Handsome Lad tend to erupt into gloriously globular failures. There's probably something psychological about the whole things. However, the more tangible result of this would be that my pie crust contains half the required amount of butter and tastes like concrete (don't ask...).

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I have found that there are days where I couldn't care less if I get wet. Today happened to be one of those days. The top of the mountain was wreathed in mist, muting the vivid colours of autumn. It was if the world had been drenched in pastels. I would say watercolours but that just seems too obvious. It rained, and for the most part, the droplets were icy. But I had no umbrella and as I walked, I found that I rather enjoyed the sound of the rain on my slick, black hood.

There are more thoughts, but I thank you for reading these ones. Sometimes, I like to write without a general purpose; the ideas start to leave me be for a while after they have been transcribed.

For your troubles, weary mind wanderer, here is a song I currently enjoy.

Cookies and Colours

This morning I am proud to have completed two knitting projects in one weekend. Not pictured is the Montreal Canadiens striped scarf. But, over there in the picture you will find these delightfully Fetching wrist warmers. These went together so quickly that I could just sit down and make three more pairs. Although, with the weather getting chillier with every passing day, I think I'll have to take a step up to fingers.

I can't wear the matching hat yet, I'm still in denial and I am definitely not ready for the hat hair.

There was a point in my youth where all I would wear was black. Even though I am aware of the fact that many teenagers go through the black rebellious phase, I wonder now how I ever lived without colour. Colours are fantastic and they're everywhere. All too soon the world will turn to various hues of grey and it will remain thus at least until February of next year.

Friday brought with it some nasty weather. One could not walk five meters without being soaked through and umbrellas were useless wind-catchers. Just imagine, umbrellas turned into conical water-collecting devices by one devious gust of wind. To counter the nasty, rainy darkness, I got together with my trust Cookie Buddy and we baked up a fiercer storm than what took place out of doors.

  Oh my goodness, cookies and cupcakes everywhere. We ingested so much cookie dough that day that I'm surprised we didn't get stomach aches. From left to right we have cookies with either chocolate chips or a combination of white chocolate, dried cranberries and flax seed, following that we have coffee shortbread and finally, chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. 

And here I though people were only supposed to gain tons of weight around the holidays. Fortunately, we did not eat them all. Most of them were sold for charity and really, the company and the fun we had making all these sweets was better than the end results - but not by that much.

 

Happy Shoes

These are my new happy shoes; I have yet to take a picture of them on my own feet. Why are they happy shoes, you ask? Because I find it impossible to be even the least bit blue when wearing these shoes. I skip down the street, resisting the urge to do little dance steps. I really don't need to be that weird.

Good bye ankle and arch support, hello happy dance shoes.

Along side happy things I'm coming off a long weekend for Canadian Thanksgiving. Plied with delicious food I lost all motivation to work out for the rest of the week. Don't worry, I forced myself to get up at 5:30 this morning to get to my yoga class. Priorities, mine may be a little mixed up.

I'm taking great comfort in all the apples in my house right now. Piles and piles of apples, my friends, and all of them need to be eaten in some way. I made the following Cinnamon Crumble Apple Pie for Thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge hit. There's still more apples so I shall be making it again tonight.

Friday is going to be a cookie-baking day. Along with my cookie buddy (you'll meet her eventually), I shall be producing delectable treats. Which means I have to get off my lazy streak and research cookie recipes.

I'm having to constantly remind myself that I do, in fact, go to school and subsequently have readings to keep up with. Oh, Wether, how whiny you are and how such sentimentalities seem to drone on and on. This is a note for future societies: never let angsty young rich men get a hold of writing implements.

In writing news, I have opted to participate in this year's NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. If you have heard of it, good for you! If not, I'll just summarize by explaining that it is a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel over the whole of November. If you feel like spending even more time staring at an infuriatingly blank page then please, come join me. I have a few ideas floating around which I am hoping to better organize by the time writing begins.

It's still Fall in the City and I really want to get into the trees and capture all those great colours. Here's one for now. They say it will rain tomorrow. They tend to irritate me with these kind of predictions.

Step Out Your Door

Just because life is supposed to be fantastic doesn't mean it can't be difficult. I've been having a lot of difficult thoughts lately. Sometimes I just want to go back to the rock under which I spent my childhood and not deal with thoughts of career, life and ambitions.

I don't know what it is about me lately but I'm itching for an adventure of Hobbit-esque proportions. Futures filled with stable careers in architecture, various degree hunts, settling down and all that are not doing it for me. If you don't know me that well yet, I'll fill you in: I get bored of routine, really quickly. It tends to become a problem and leaves my bedroom floor piled with half-attempted hobbies.

To be completely honest, I'm even starting to doubt my desire to continue in the field of architecture. Yes, I know, I've been working toward this career since I graduated high school almost five years ago and and I even work in a firm (how dedicated to an idea can you get). Does this happen to many people?

Friends tell me that my life is far from boring and that I must be nuts to be super busy all the time. I don't feel busy, I feel like I'm in the most ornate of ruts ever constructed. This rut has a lot in it to distract me from the fact that it is, in fact, a long, deep depression in the Earth from which I would have a hard time extricating myself.

I'm not daunted by the idea that uprooting myself will cost money; money comes from working and I have a job that (contrary to what you might think) I do enjoy. It might be that I'm reacting to the onset of adulthood which I was all too eager to embrace.

I feel like I'm whining and that's what bothers me. All things considered there is nothing unpleasant about my existence or the entity that is myself. I do believe it was once written, in the voice of a wise wizard, that it's dangerous business, going out your door. Unfortunately for my sense of self-preservation, throwing caution to the wind and going off to explore seems to increase in appeal every day.

Night Frost

It's dark when I leave the house in the morning, and my clipped breaths cloud the air before me. I get to watch the sun rise - that's nice. The semester is already halfway over but I pay little mind to that. I'm more concerned by the fact that many of my activities will be over in a matter of weeks. There are only three classes left in both swing and belly dancing (think I dance enough?). Yoga and body works last barely to the end of semester.

There's a bonus to the Fall which resides in my oven. I get to bake, and bake, and in case I don't have enough sweets, bake some more. Canadian Thanksgiving takes place this coming weekend and although my family doesn't go into all those traditional foods I, at least, get to experiment.

The camera I carried with me today is not ideal for capturing the vivid colours of early Fall. It's happening gradually around the mountain on which rests my school.

Comfortingly, I have most of October to really dig into autumn photography. Ah, you would think I don't even have classes with work assigned to them.

I do, I swear. Academics would be appalled to discover at my lack of taking-seriously when it comes to assignments. I'm all about the fun.

That's why life is fantastic.