Okay, so it's not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but right now, I'm kinda pissed at the local yarn shop, The Purple Purl. I'm not even sure why I'm bothering to link to them as that may only give them more business, while I've decided to never go there again.

The short version of my problem with them is that they wouldn't let me bring my dog in the store or even let me carry her because they are now considered a "cafe". Wow. A coffee maker you bought in Wal-Mart, tucked in the corner of your shop makes you a cafe. My beef with them is that not only did no one stop me when I first walked into the store and peruse for a good 3-4 minutes (it's not a big shop, by any means), there was also no indication anywhere on their door or front window that pets are not allowed, you know, like how other REAL businesses have them up. Also, there's no indication on their web site either, which would've been nice, but granted, that's not something you'd normally see on a website anyway.

Living in the downtown core now, finding yarn places is a bit of a bitch and without a car, it's even more of a hassle. And without a Metropass, wasting round-trip cash (and time!) when you're already low on funds just adds more fuel to the fire. I purposely didn't go to The Knit Cafe (which is technically a shorter streetcar ride) because I know pets are not allowed in any store that has food. Had I known pets weren't allowed in The Purple Purl, I would've left Bella at home, no hesitation, no big whoop. I only brought her because I thought she'd enjoy an outing. I could've left her outside for a few minutes, but it had also rained during the day and it was fairly gross and chilly to leave her there. And frankly, I would've done it, regardless of Bella's whimpering, but I chose not to, just to spite them.

I was planning to spend a good chunk of money on pricier wool yarns because I got a customer request for a specific kind of doggie sweater, but I'm taking my business elsewhere.

A few weeks ago, as the temperature outside was starting to dip, I decided to try knitting Bella a little sweater, following a pattern I found in one of my knitting books, Stitch 'n Bitch Nation. It turned out pretty nicely, but I wanted to see what other patterns were out there. Although that pattern wasn't overly difficult, it was a bit slow-going, so I looked online for free patterns, looking for something a little simpler. By the end of 3 or 4 days, I somehow had three different sweaters completed, each with their one unique little touches. I even attempted a couple of intarsia motifs for the first time and they turned out pretty nicely, too. For the curious, one was a snowflake and another sweater had a skull & crossbones. :)

One thing lead to another and I started looking into how Etsy.com works and just a little over a week ago, I opened my shop, Knick Knack Pack.

I wish I had thought of it sooner because within just four days of opening the store, I had three sales under my belt, two of which were custom requests (the skull & crossbones seems to be a popular look). I didn't make that much off the first couple of sales because I hadn't quite figured out the best ratio of sale price vs. fees vs. shipping/packing costs. Can you believe it actually costs MORE for me to ship within Canada than to ship an identical item to the U.S.? What the ...?!

Anyway, I think I've balanced out the numbers better now for future potential sales (one of which just happened again today!). I have to admit that although it's still in its humble beginnings, this is kind of exciting and empowering. :)

I am very pleased to know that so far I have had the good fortune to have seen two really good festival flicks: Dean Spanley and Gigantic. I won't even try to write reviews of them because frankly, I'm no good at that sort of thing, beyond saying "I just really liked it." A big highlight though was getting to meet and get autographs from Gigantic's first-time director Matt Aselton, and actor Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will Be Blood). Just so you know, I am going on record as saying that I think Paul Dano is an highly understated, underrated actor, whom I hope will be acting for many, many years to come, along with his co-star, another personal favourite of mine, the lovely Zooey Deschanel.

I still have a couple more movies to catch this week and even more to try and "rush", not to mention a couple more volunteer shifts. By the end of it all, I'm going to have to soak my sore feet and look into getting my worn-down sneakers replaced.

Again, no celeb sighting for today. But then again, I wasn't scheduled to volunteer today. Instead, I took the day off as an opportunity to finally go through the film listings online and figure out which ones I was going to watch using the first 6 of the 18 vouchers I'll be getting this year. After over 2 hours of scouring both the public listings and the "Press & Industry" listings, cross-referencing and laying it all out in my iCal, I took my list over the new box office setup at Dundas Square. I don't know what I was thinking, but it totally skipped my mind that there would be lineups galore. Good thing I really didn't have much planned today anyway. Also, the list I had in my pocket, as well as the mental notes in my head, were basically the pared down version of everything that seemed interesting to me. I don't think I'll be trading up for tickets after today. I always find that "rushing" movies is the better bet. As a movie-goer that'll be going solo most of the time, it's much more fun that way, too. :)