Jananas

Miss Caitlin Jane gave me some lovely yarn last time we went out for lunch. That’s the awesome thing about knitting friends, over time yarn gets exchanged. We all buy (or get gifted) yarn that we mean to use, but never get around to. Eventually we see it and think ’so and so would like this’. It gets passed on. The end result is that the yarn is still loved.

Yes, so I am now the proud owner of another skein of sock yarn. I dislike knitting socks, but I quite like knitting shawls. I started the infamous Ravelry hunt to find a simple shawl pattern that I like. I eventually came cross the Lavalette (and yes I donated!). Its alternating sections of stockinette and openwork lace (a simple k2tog, yo repeat). In this yarn, I think that its a lovely and snuggly fall shawl.

Shawls in progress are hard to photograph. They’re a funny shape and they haven’t been blocked. So I drapped the fabric over my knee so that you could get an idea. The yellows/oranges/brows/greens make this the perfect autumn accessory. Plus, its a superwash merino so it can actually go in the washing machine (oh, how novel!).

I can’t wait to see the finished product! Thanks Caitlin.

In our quest for good root beer, I started googling home made root beer in Toronto. Turns out that two of our local breweries make their own! First up was the Granite Brewery at Mount Pleasant and Eglinton. Reason it was contender #1? Its on the way home from my parent’s place. Yup, I’m all about efficiency.

We stopped by mid-afternoon to try some out. Ordered two root beers and some food so that we didn’t look like total weirdos.

Here’s Jason drinking his fancy glass mug of root beer. We asked if they sell it so that we could take some home and the answer’s no. Apparently this is so home brew that it doesn’t last well when bottled (which is actually fairly common). Home brewed root beer is a class all on its own and doesn’t necessarily compare well to mass produced (even if its fancy bottled) root beer. Thankfully we had tried some before at Iron Hill Brewery in Delaware so we were better prepared to enjoy this one.

The root beer itself was well rounded and scrumptious. Ever eaten something that tasted so good that you didn’t want to eat/drink anything else afterward because it would ruin the taste? Yup, this root beer was that good. It was well rounded, managing to be creamy and smooth and slightly minty all at the same time (i.e. not flavours kicked in as an after taste). It wasn’t super carbonated (when compared to bottled root beer), but it had a nice creamy head to it. Overall, this was a big win. It was so good that I purposefully drank it slowly so that I could savor it, which is impressive because usually I’m a gulper.

And yes, this was so good that we might stop by again. Just for a root beer.

Today’s a gray Canadian winter day. So we wandered over to Black Dog Video and grabbed some movies. Because we’re all about root beer these days, we immediately snapped up two bottles of Boylan’s Root Beer. We’ve both had it before and adore it, so we thought that we’d add it into the mix.

They are a pretty amazing company. In fact, their grape soda is my favorite one thus far. From their website:

“The Boylan Bttlg. Co., founded in 1891, is honored to share very similar beginnings with the carbonated beverages of the same era that are now world-famous. But it is our differences of today of which we are most proud. For more than a century Boylan has formulated and produced, regardless of cost, only “authentic soda-pop”, unlike most bottlers in the country who have over the years compromised their original recipes and cut costs by switching to corn syrup and plastic bottles. Boylan still uses pure cane sugar which enhances the true flavor rather than leave a syrupy aftertaste and thick glass bottles to ensure freshness and proper levels of carbonation. Our in-house flavor formulations use the most expensive extracts and essences – and plenty of them. So whether you’re drinking a Boylan because you appreciate what is good and made right or just trying one for the first time, we thank you for supporting one of the oldest bottling companies and its authentic beverages of a bygone era.”

Now onto the Root Beer Review. First, Boylan only uses cane sugar – nothing artificial here. The soda itself is tasty and pleasing to drink. It has a creamy but not too sweet taste when you first take a sip. There’s a lovely and gentle mint aftertaste. It has the best of a root beer – sweet, creamy, and minty.

To put my review into context – I’ve restaurants to eat at specifically because they sell Boylan products. They are that good.

Miss Caitlin Jane passed the buck to me, re: Honest Scrap (aka the 10 things you don’t know about me). I’m not going to nominate anyone else as its a little too chain-letter-ish for my general tastes, but I thought that I’d at least fill my end of the bargain by sharing 10 things most people wouldn’t know about me with the world at large. In no particular order, here we go!

1. I bought my house less than a month after I turned 20. I’ve now lived here for 8 1/2 years. I’m a very permanent person and it wouldn’t be a stretch to call me a homebody.
2. I still don’t have my driver’s license. I grew up in Toronto and had easy access to the TTC so there wasn’t really an incentive to learn. Now its just sort of scary. In the past year I’ve taken my boating license and my SmartServe license. Maybe I’ll get around to it this year.
3. The first furniture I ever bought for myself was a set of three bookshelves (from PotteryBarn – I’m a quality sort of person) because I have a lot of books. I have all my textbooks from both degrees and even some from high school. I have books of my grandfather’s, books that we read in elementary school, business books, kids books, young adult fiction, fantasy, you name it. I’m running out of room and my solution is to buy more bookshelves.
4. I didn’t think I was a tattooed person until recently. Sometime last year I realized that I have something like 75+ hours of work. I think that part of the mental shift was getting visible work done. Being tattooed is strange. In the summer its visible and in your face. In the winter when I’m bundled up I’m just like anyone else at first glance.
5. I did so well on my GMAT that my score qualified for MENSA. I am a card carrying member of MENSA. I think that this is hilarious. Represent.
6. When I was in Grade One, my teacher thought that I might have learning disabilities. I just don’t suffer fools gladly and since I already knew how to add and subtract, I refused to do the classwork. Hence the worry. I still don’t suffer fools gladly, but I’m working on being more patient.
7. Falls is actually my middle name. There’s a family tradition to use old family surnames as middle names. Its why my dad’s middle name is Gray and my brother’s is Fraser.
8. I’m officially a United Empire Loyalist. I’m the third full general to be born in Canada and we have roots going back much farther than that (including united empire loyalists coming up out of the States in support of the monarchy and relatives who helped found Belleville, ON). My parents are both into genealogy. My dad’s had his family researched so much that we have everything from when relatives landed in North America. In fact, he’s even had a book written about it. My mom’s currently in the middle of doing the same thing for her side of the family. As part of my dad’s research he was able to prove that we are united empire loyalists, so he got us our official designations. Again, I think that this is pretty funny.
9. I don’t dye my hair. This is mostly because I don’t care enough to make the time (or spend the money) on the upkeep. And I think that bad dye jobs are terrible. And since I’m not willing to keep it up, I just don’t bother. I laugh when people (typically men) ask me if I do dye my hair. Given that I don’t have roots this always strikes me as a silly question… Good powers of observation there boys! Really, I just naturally have dark honey blonde hair and black, black eyebrows.
10. My second and third toes are partially webbed. On both feet. As are my brother’s and both my parents. I think that it makes me a better swimmer. I had all of my badges (up to lifesaving III) by the time I was 10. I eventually got my Bronze Cross and Medallion, but never got my Lifeguard certification. I didn’t want to have to be responsible for saving someone’s life. That’s scary and heavy stuff!

There, 10 things that you may or may not have known about me. Questions? Concerns?