Adding to the jungle

Despite Dave's protests, I just can't pass up a good sale on plants....

My grocery store got in a bunch of 10" floor plants the other week, and while I wanted to buy one right away, I'm glad I waited... because by last grocery day, they were on for half price.

I'd planned to get nice pots for them, but my plans got rushed a little when the Croton (on the right) started dropping leaves like crazy. Even the Dieffenbachia was starting to look a little unhealthy...

...and no wonder, look at how root bound the poor thing was. A trip to Walmart for some inepensive resin pots...

Some leftover fish tank gravel for drainage (Seriously...why do we have so much fish tank gravel in house?) and...

... the Croton was instantly happier.

The dieffenbachia was harder to break up, but a butcher's knife managed to do the job eventually. The ones in the turquoise pots found a new home at Mom's, while I kept the red pots.

Oh...and since I was potting any way

I splurged a little on a terra cotta pot for my Passion flower. It's doing really well so I figured it deserved a good home.

Now... I just need to find a Christmas cactus...

Nothing to see here...

I have no pictures to post today, so I've stolen this shamelessly from The Ravell'd Sleeve.

Sweater Weather Challenge

1.  Favorite Candle Scent:  Cakes and Ale... I have a friend who owns a candle business and she made this scent for a local medival festival... it's the best thing ever.... smells like vanilla cake batter!

2.  Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate:  Hot Chocolate please. I'll have a cup of tea now and again, but I love a good chocolatey cup of HC... (and coffee is the devil).

3.  What Is the Best Fall Memory You Have?  Walking around the local fall fairs looking at the farm animals with my Dad when I was little. There was always a cup of hot apple cider and a bag of cotton candy involved.

4.  Best Fragrance for Fall:  Hmmm... anything cinnamon

5.  Favorite Thanksgiving Food:  Pumpkin pie!

6.  Most Worn Sweater:  Right now it's my Sherlock cardi.

7.  Football Games or Jumping in Leaves?  ILeaves all the way. This is a no-sports household and I love it.

8.  Favorite Fall Accessory:  Boots! (even better with fur!)

9.  Favorite Type of Pie:  IMince meat - I don't care if it's Christmas pie... it's the best pie ever!

10. What Is Fall Weather Like Where You Live?  Cool, but usually sunny. The rainy days are the kind where the cold gets right into your bones though.

11. Favorite Fall Makeup Trend:  I don't do much makeup so I don't pay much attention to fall.

12. What Song Really Gets You in the Fall Spirit?  Music doesn't really have a season to me

13. Pumpkin Spice - Worth the Hype?  Nope. I like pumpkin in my pie.. that's it.

14. Favorite Fall TV Show:  Downton Abbey! (Because I watch it on the Brit's schedule...yay internet!)

15. Favorite Fall New TV Show:  No idea. Downton is about the only new thing I've watched

16. Skinny Jeans or Leggings?  I like skinny jeans, but because I have a small waist but really wide hips, it's hard finding a pair that fits. Leggings are much more forgiving.

17. Combat Boots or Uggs?  Combat boots... I think Uggs are just....well ...ugh.

18. Halloween: Yay or Nay?  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

19. Fall Mornings or Fall Evenings?  Evenings.. doesn't matter the season.

20. Feelings About Black Friday:  Being Canadian, it's not really a thing here. I already think Christmas is far too commercialized, so I really don't buy into it.

21. Favorite Fall Traditions:  Hot apple cider and hikes along the escarpment.

22. Any New Traditions to Start?  I'd love to talk Dave into a yearly weekend get away in fall (since it's our anniversary)

23. Favorite Alcoholic Beverage for Fall:  A nice mulled cider with a shot of rum.

24. When Should the Holiday Season Start?  As in Christmas. December.

25. Who Do You Love to Spend the Fall With?  My cats! (Duh!)

Fur, baby!

I love fur... like really, really love it! I won't get into the ethical side of it, but I will say - faux fur has come such a long way... and fashion has really taken notice the last few seasons. And despite our little heatwave this week, winter is on its way and I just want to wrap myself in fluffy, scrumptious fur!

In fact I have been... at least when the cat will share....

I found this fabulous fur throw in the home section of my grocery store a few weeks ago... and Tux and I have been fighting over it ever since.

I was in need of a new pair of sturdy winter boots, and I found these at one of my favourite clearance sites

The tops can be worn up or folded down... of course I'm wearing them down to show off that fantastic fur lining (which is all the way through the boot!)

And In other fabulous furry footwear...

I'd been pining for these fur-lined Croc clogs for a few months now... and then a fur weeks ago,  I got an email... all Crocs on sale - half price! You didn't need to tell me twice! They arrived this week and while I don't even remotely need new shoes, I'm so glad I bought these.. sooooo comfortable!

Oh... and I have these boots I bought way back in the summer (I'm always thinking ahead..)

 .. and these ones too

(Just in case you were wondering, neither of those really count as "winter" boots like the first pair does... they aren't great for the snow... they are more like "cold weather boots")

I'm still waiting for this little fur-bearing  beauty to arrive...

.. its coming from one of those dicey sites in China, so the jury is out on whether it will match up on sizing... but it was ridiculously inexpensive, and If I don't like it, I have a few small people on my Christmas list who would love it.

And even though I have all these wonderful fur things, I keep thinking of other ways to incorporate fur into my wardrobe... I do need a new winter coat... I wonder if I can find one like Claire's on Outlander...

... probably not... oh well... a girl can dream...

Friday felines

"And you wonder why I barf on your stuff..."

Little finish, little start

I managed to finish up one project, albiet not one of the big ones.

Aneesha's Christmas sock are done! I wanted to ensure they'd be mismatched, so I started the second sock from the opposite end of the ball.. so the colour pattern on that one is backwards. I'm quite pleased with the result.

And while I should be working on one of the bigger projects now...

I just want to work on little ones. In this case.. ankle socks for Dave's Mom for Christmas. The yarn is some left over Collinette Jitterbug I stole off Mom years ago. I have two of those little cakes, and it should be just enough to squeak out some ankle socks for Dave's Mom (who's feet are even smaller than mine!)

I've got a couple other small things on my Christmas list, so I'm thinking I'll get them out of the way.. then I can focus on the bigger ones... yeah.. that might work....

Living in the jungle

Well, we haven't gotten a full frost yet, but it's been steadily cold enough that I brought all the remaining movable plants indoor. (though this week shot back up to summer temps). Dave keeps muttering about living in a jungle, but I quite like it. And besides, there's no guarantee it will last all winter.. we all know I could kill everything by then.

The Nasturtiums seem to be enjoying it

Just look at this pretty bloom

I do hope this one lasts for a while longer at least.

Over in the little faerie garden, the wooly thyme is doing something interesting

The ends of all the vines are throwing up these new tender sprouts... I guess it's happy.

The Kalanchoe isn't quite as happy as it was outside

The flowers are no longer the vibrant pink they were, but it's still blooming so I guess that's ok.

The mini rose has had a much tougher time

It came in the form of spider mites. I think I got rid of them, but by the time I was done, much of the plant was dead and brown. I cut it all back, and I'm hoping these few green stalks will flourish again.

Much to the cats' delight, the cat nip was brought in as well

Like the rose, it's seen better days (thanks to all the neighbourhood felines who came by for a nibble), but there's a fair bit of new growth in there too

Here's hoping it's going to be a very green winter.

Creeping green

Still can't seem to find my knitting groove... so I did the inevitable. I cast on for another project.

This is the almost completed yoke of a heavily modified version of Baby Ruched. I'm pretty much copying the modifications of Raveler Wychfingers. It's going to be a first birthday present for my coworker's little one. She's a California baby, so I wanted something light and fun and modern. I think this fits the bill.

I dove deep into the stash and came up with a skein of Sanguine Gryphon Eidos for it. I have no idea what the colourway is (it came from a kit that Mom got in a swap years ago, and there was no label), but it's a lovely deep green with lighter touches of yellow. That deep green has one downside though...

If I work with it too long, I start looking like I'm turning into the wicked witch of the west.  Sadly, I've had this problem with other Gryphon yarns too.  Not the end of the world, but this one is going to need a good long rinse before I send it off. No one wants a green baby!