70 Days

and counting until the Bahrain Grand Prix first practice :-D

Why yes, my geek is showing. Bite me :-) I was wanting to go to the Autosport show at the NEC in a couple of weeks, but having checked out the tickets it's looking like a bridge too far money-wise - I want to take Dad, but at £30 a ticket each, plus train fare, plus travelling up and down to Stoke...and I want to buy some motorsport pictures for my empty walls...ouch. And I don't know if the Red Bulls are there either. McLaren are making a big effort apparently which I'd love to see, but I'm saving up for a new camera and that would be a big old chunk out of that. Maybe next year. I'll see what Dad thinks, but I think he'll baulk at the price too. I should perhaps save up for a trip to Thruxton...it's only a short hop away. Shame they don't have many races :-( or there's always Goodwood...but that's even more expensive...

Christmas was something of a quiet one, up at the parents' house for a week, it was just the three of us and the cat. It rather sucks being single this time of year, though it does cut down on the gift-giving stress :-) I spent most of the time eating, knitting and gawping at the TV. They've got SkyHD and a much bigger telly than me, so I had Eurosport and Motors TV on most of the time :-D

I have knitting to show you, and some crochet too, but it will have to be later as I need to go organise laundry and try and find room for the three boxes of books I brought back from Stoke with me. Hmmm. I may be some time.

~♥~

Interesting Times

Well, I'm moving.

Assuming my credit checks go through and nothing goes pear-shaped that is, *cross fingers* I'll be off down to Berkshire in a couple of weeks.

AAARGH.

I've started packing (slowly), I'm sorting out paperwork and forms and writing emails and shelling out the £££ and trying to work out what to do with utilities and bleargh. Head = Mince. I'm sure it will all work out in the end, but all I can see at the moment is OMG EXPENSE and OMG HOW THE FUCK AM I GOING TO FIT ALL THIS CRAP IN A VAN???

The wonderful Jules is sorting out transport - I've told him we're gonna need a BIG van. I'm leaving that one in his capable paws - if it won't all fit, guess who's going to have to do two runs? :-D (love ya chick!!!)

So it's all a bit epic here atm. I can't seem to get motivated to pack much, mainly because I'm full of cold and a headful of snot is not conducive to box-packing. However, I have made a small start and tomorrow will be a trip to the big B&Q on the way home for a sack truck and more storage boxes for the stash. I'm also going to run a cardboard box mission to Sainsbury's. I've even ordered some of those vac-pack bags off eBay for the bedlinen and clothes and what-have-yous.

It's going to be fun.

Anyway, last week was exhaustingly good. Went down to the parentals, ate cake, went to Fibre Flurry (very good), went house-hunting in Berks (successful on the 1st attempt, see disclaimer above *grin*), went to two Jane Thornley workshops in Glossop (great fun and AMAZING food and lovely yarn and Jane is adorable), went out with Jules in his new old Mini (it's so cute!), got given a very large toy sheep (thanks R, only you could think of that), got a new Golding (!!!) drop spindle off a Raveler and finally got my hot, sticky little mitts on the Alice Starmore books I've been jonesing after since January. Phew. Here's some pictures, and with that I'm away to pack another box before settling in with some knitting and the Brazilian Grand Prix.

My neighbours think I'm weird

I can't imagine why.



Hebridean dries on the line. Machine washed! Who knew?

As promised, the Artemis handspun:



It is IMPOSSIBLE to photograph properly.

The Texel singles:



and the batts and resulting yarn (a blend of Texel and Balwen):





Again, very hard to photograph.

Use your imagination.

Right, remember I was waiting on some Viking combs?
Well I'm not any more. Bit of an epic breakdown in communications, I cancelled the order and got in touch with Wingham Wool Work, purveyors of the Peter Teal-style English wool combs. There's a month wait, the website says. So I dropped them a wee email, and got back the fateful reply "Oh, we've one set in stock!"

My credit card nearly got singed, I got it out of my purse so damn fast.

MINE MINE MINE GIMME WANT NOW!!!1!1!!!1!

So they're on their way. I think it is fate. These are what I wanted originally, but the price defeated me somewhat. However, when I bought Genevieve the Ashford Joy, I had originally budgeted for a SpinOlution Mach II. Buying Genevieve instead meant I had enough for the proper combs. happydance

I learned Andean plying! Sandy showed us how to do it at the last Spin Saturday at Gourock - thanks Sandy! I even bodged myself a tool, as Kevin Rhodes is out of stock and Michael Williams doesn't seem to read his emails very often (and I HATE using the phone) the tool is better than your hand for a lot of singles, especially if you prefer having circulation in your fingers.

Here is my version:



Elegant, huh? Polystyrene and a knitting needle. Works a treat. I like Andean plying. Originally it was only used for the leftover singles, but I've been using it on the whole lot. It means the whole skein is plied the same in one go, rather than having a mini-leftover-lonely-skein at the end, and I can control the singles better it seems. Of course it means you don't have to carry a kate around with you too. It also means I'm not forever taking the flyer off Genevieve, which I prefer. All but one skein I've managed to fit on the standard Joy bobbin.

In other news I have been cooking:



sadly not home-grown, but Sainsbury's special offer :-)

and I am dreading next week. Monday there are "major" roadworks on the M8, and then on Thursday the Pope is coming for a visit. As I'm not a Catholic (though I can play one on TV, seven years of Catholic school you know) I won't be attending the Mass in the park (I hope it doesn't rain), but I would like to be able to get to work...Maybe the boss will let me work from home that day. They're going as far as closing a lane of the M77 to use as a bus park. Wow. It's going to be bedlam.

♥

Scurf and Sandals

Lots to catch up on! Here we go...

Tour de Fleece round-up

Well, the Tour is over for another year. I didn't particularly set myself a target, as I knew I would be working long shifts and I didn't want to set myself impossible challenges. It's too easy for me to start beating myself up over it when I don't make it! However, I am quite pleased with my efforts. I wanted to experiment and dig into the stash a little bit. I tried some raw fleece for the first time, I spun silk hankies (also a first for me) and successfully plied on a spindle. I used beads in plying for the first time and I also made a small dent in the stash :-) So all in all, a good Tour and my spinning has improved somewhat!

Scouring
Also as (sort-of) part of the Tour, I tried out the fermented suint method of scouring fleece. In a nutshell, you take a greasy fleece, soak it in soft water for a week and you end up with a viciously stinky natural soap solution. It works! So far, anyway...
I made my bath up with leftover BFL. After a week it had a distinct white scum on the top and smelled like an open sewer with a dead sheep in it. I fished out the fleece and gave it a thorough rinse. This was effectively scrap fleece when I started, but after this it looked like it might be salvageable. However, the main aim was to get the bath of FSM (makes me think of the Flying Spaghetti Monster) to experiment with.

I decided to test if I could get rid of scurf using the FSM. I threw in some Balwen, and left it for about 36 hours. I fished that out, rinsed it, then checked it for scurf. It was still there, but very clean - white scurf instead of brown :-) So I then rinsed the fleece with very hot water, to see if any of the scurf was actually lanolin. No dice. Finally I made up a very strong bath of washing soda. On dropping the fleece in, the water went almost black. I left it for about 5 minutes, turning it over halfway through and swooshing it about a bit. I then rinsed it with lots of clean water and finally with vinegar. Once it was dry I had a good look at it. Where the fleece was open and fairly well picked / teased, the scurf had gone. It was just lurking inside a few clumpy, compressed parts of the fleece. So...FSM and washing soda combined can shift scurf! Yay! If you want to try it, go careful with the soda - don't kill the wool or your hands! Rubber gloves STRONGLY recommended, and don't let the fleece sit too long in soda, it will weaken it.

Knitting and weaving progress
I have finished the Travelling Woman shawl! I need to block it, but I want to clean the dining room floor first. I also made a good chunk of progress on my Hap shawl, and I'm about ready to start sewing together the SAORI blanket.

Trip down south & Woolly Wormhead

I was down visiting the parental units over the weekend, and the car went to visit its family at the Mazda dealer for its annual checkup :-) I managed to find time to:
* make a large dent in Marks and Spencer's underwear department (a girl can only take so many saggy bras)
*score brownie points with my Dad by finding him soda farls and buying an entire shelf's worth (their local supermarket doesn't have them)
*finally find and purchase some cute sandals...
*...which meant I had to paint my toenails, for the first time in about 5 years...I had to buy polish!



*get my hair cut (by Mum, bless her) and get her to teach me a new, cute way of putting my hair up



*spend the day with mah best buddy Jules
*and meet Woolly Wormhead! Whee!

See?



That's Woolly and Jeanette, who owns the yarn shop.

We met up at Yarn Gathering in Stone, which is a smashing wee shop (yes I bought yarn. Bite me.) There were drinks and cakes and lots of hats to try on, and Woolly was answering questions and helping us work out yarn subs and the best way to wear a hat. It was really good fun, and I now have a few more patterns in my queue..."Dulcie" was amazing in that it suited everybody who tried it on. It's like a magic hat of flatteringness. Look! Even I don't look like a total dork in one:



Well, a bit of a dork maybe.

Saturday was spent trolling about the Staffordshire Moorlands with Jules, playing with the sat nav, listening to the Pet Shop Boys (that's just dated me...and I STILL know all the words to "It's a Sin") and visiting the Threshing Barn, where shopping occurred...naturally :-) I finally got a peg loom, and a small pin loom, similar to a Weave-It. I also got some lovely rainbow-dyed mohair, some Ryeland for adding to crazy batts, some dyes and a book. I also got some small samples of unusual fibres to try out. Jules gets special mention for following me around carrying all my purchases and not complaining :-) We also spotted the cutest little piglets you ever did see. I don't know what breed they were, I meant to ask but was overcome by wool fumes, but they were black with the cutest liddle pink wrinkly noses. I wants one. Jules took pictures, I of course left my camera at home. Duh.

Then finally on Monday I drove home, to a pile of mail and a laundry basket at bursting point. I did bring back another purchase though, I'd ordered online and had the parcel delivered to Mum and Dad's. Meet the new love of my life:



Henry, how I love thee. After borrowing one from the landlord, I had to have one of my very own. Revelation. If you're in the market for a new vacuum, may I suggest you get yourself a Henry.

You know you're getting old when you're excited about a new household appliance...

~*~

Ohai!

800 miles, three countries and 16 hours driving.

Yes folks, I went to Wonderwool!



I've not had much blogging time as I'm back at work - starting at 7am and not getting home till about 5.30pm means very little computer time at the moment. So this is a very short post! See ya later!

~*~

Mission Accomplished

The Christmas shopping? She is DONE. Got the 1205 train to Glasgow, and got the 1445 back. That's got to be some sort of record :-)

On the way back I did have a rather odd experience. This guy sat down opposite me and started chatting to me. "Uh-oh" I thought, "Nutter." Weeeeell, I'm not sure if he was. He was certainly odd. He was asking what I did for a living, so I told him I'd been made redundant, and we were talking a bit about the state of the world etc. He seemed really genuinely concerned, and wished me good luck in finding something. Then he was on about how "cut-throat" the corporate world is, and how I was beautiful (!!! boggle), but if I had to carry on in the cut-throat world and commuting and all that, that it would be a bad thing and a shame, and it would make me old and worn-out, and I had everything I needed already. And that "already" means exactly that, when I needed it it would be "all ready and waiting for me." He was very intense - I can normally "read" people very well, but this guy was impossible. His eyes burned while he was talking - like this was something he was really passionate about and that I needed to understand. It felt very much like he knew exactly what I am about. He kept saying things like "Why do you have to work?" and when I replied he was like, "But do you really need that? Do you need to work with the cut-throats for that?" As he got ready to leave I wished him all the best for the future, and he said something like he'd already had his future and he had left all his worries and responsibilities behind. He signed off by again wishing me the very best and shaking my hand. His hand was icy cold.

I'm beginning to wonder if I met a ghost.

~*~

I Wonder...

Why do women insist on wearing really high heels that they can't walk in? No problem if you CAN walk in them, but most can't. Please stop it before you break something.

While we're on the subject of shoes -

Why can't people take the labels off their new shoes?

Why do girls INSIST on wearing Uggs or knock-offs of same when they're all squooshed down and knackered and it looks like they're walking around on two broken ankles? It SQUICKS ME OUT.

Why do people who are obviously not well insist on not only coming into the office, but travelling by train? Extra points to the guy sitting next to me earlier this week who blew his nose and I SWEAR some landed on my face. Ewwwwww. Also extra points to the girl with the really wet sniff last week. It's a miracle her sinuses didn't implode.

Why do some women think they look great when they're either a) sporting a Jaffa-coloured tan or b) wearing so much badly-matched make-up that if they turn round too quick their face ends up on the back of their head?

Why do people stop in the middle of pavements with no warning, or change direction at the drop of a hat, then look at you like you're evil when you fall over them and curse at them?

How do people on trains develop the skill of expanding once they sit down? One of these days someone is going to get a knitting needle in the backside.

~*~

Arran

Mainly in pictures today.

On Friday, I went to Ardrossan (thanks Ange for the lift!) and got on this:



MV Caledonian Isles, to go here:



(I really must practice holding the camera level, dammit. My excuse is that it was rather breezy)

And this is (some of) what I saw:














In Other News

October 10th - Ayrshire Craft Fair at Troon. I'll be there, thanks to Ange's very kind invitation to share her stand for the day. I am looking forward to it immensely, but blogging may be a little sparse whilst I frantically craft a few pieces for your delectation (and hopefully purchase) :-D

~*~

I'm here, I'm here!

Oh god, that was fun. My computer decided to explode last week, but it has now been fixed and I'm slowly putting all my stuff back on to it. Gah. Actually it was overdue a rebuild, but it would have been nice not to have it inflicted on me. At least it sorted out my emails. I've also been away down south, visiting the parental units for their respective birthdays and then even further south to see my man who is in Essex at the moment. Which is a LOOOOOONG way from Ayrshire, believe me. I think I have corns on my backside from spending so long in the car.

Next time, I think I might have to catch a flight to Stansted. It will probably be cheaper!

All this gadding about and beating my PC with a brick means my house was ditched, I have a colossal amount of ironing to do, and there were dirty dishes sitting for a week before they got washed up. Housework avoidance? I haz it. My sink smells funny as well. Sort of like compost. Not much knitting was achieved either - I haven't figured how to knit and drive at the same time yet. However I did finish the Luna Moth shawl:



and as I seem to have gone into some sort of lace kick, I cast on for the Fountain Pen Shawl from IK, in Old Maiden Aunt laceweight.

I've done some sewing:



I maded a PINCUSHION! Yay me. I'm actually rather pleased.

I also did some Wardrobe Refashioning, more as an experiment than a serious attempt at something wearable. I turned this:



into this (along with hacking up the cream sweater)



which is not nearly as wonky as it looks. I'm not sure how practical a jersey skirt will be, but hey. Good practice.

I suffered my first sewing injury (warning - BLOOD!)



Them rotary cutters? They is SHARP lemme tell you. Ouch.

I found that Colchester has not one, but TWO fantastic haberdashers / fabric shop / yarn shops, so I am now skinted :-)

And finally I did some thrifting and scored a fantastic LK Bennett skirt and a madly funky top wich I may never wear but was too pretty to leave in the shop:



I haz teh Charity Shop love.

~*~

I iz still here

Nothing much to report to be honest. Things are quiet, some knitting has been finished (I'll have to come back later with the pictures) the cat is well, I still have a job (though for how much longer is anybody's guess, I am now officially past caring) and the weather is typically West Coast of Scotland in January - i.e. wet, very windy and flippin' freezing.

I finished off the sofa-snuggling blanket in Big Wool, based on the table mat pattern from the vintage needlecraft book. A 10-stitch knitted-on garter border really finished it off nicely even though it was a soul-sucking horror to work - not difficult, just very lengthy!

I finished off (again) the Sheepy Yoke sweater, in the Pure Sheep Breeds, which is deliciously warm but not exactly baby-soft, just so you know. I had to reknit the bottom considerably longer as I obviously cannot count or measure to any degree of accuracy whatsoever. I may add a bit to the sleeves yet as well. I think it shrunk in length ever so slightly when washed, which I didn't pick up on at the swatch stage. Live and learn. It's still very nice and went down well at Knit Night, though my fleece now smells faintly sheepy.

I've picked up the Must-Have Cardigan again, after a hiatus of about 4 months (!) Knit four rows then realised I'd had a major brainfart on one of the cables before putting it down and ended up ripping back to sort it out. So I knit four, ripped five, and I've now knit about eight rows so I'm finally ahead again after about four days. Sigh. I still love the yarn (New Lanark aran in Woodland) and the stitch definition is delicious so I guess I still have some enthusiasm for the project. Just hope it lasts as far as seaming it...

The cat left me a little present last week of something decidedly dead and disembowelled, no idea where he'd left it as I only discovered it once it was stuck to my right boot. Forunately I was still outside at the time chopping logs, rather than with my feet up in the house. It is also fortunate that I am not vegetarian and also am used to the cute little ways of cats, as I had to stand on one leg and scrape a bloody, furry, squelchy mass off my boot. How sweet.

Did y'all see the freight train at Stewarton in Ayrshire that derailed and turned into a fireball? Whew. Lucky driver to get out of that one. I'm just filled with joy at the thought of my daily commute though. There's quite a lot of bridges you know.

~*~

Grey

Oh my FSM. I am in the throes of Xmoose Knitting, and I had a nasty moment.

Dad's Sweater - coming on well, about to join sleeves and do scary bit. Grey.

Cabled Wrap for Mum - Big Wool, goes fast, 12mm needles, grey.

Woolly Hat for Uncle - Rowan Purelife Breeds, Steel Grey Suffolk, commuter knitting.

See a theme?

Hmmm?

Yeah. All my knitting matches the weather. Greygreygreygreygreygreygrey. I know it's "in" this season, but sheesh. I've spared you photographs, let the amazing colours damage your retinas.

No wonder I am hankering for a multicoloured stripey Noro Kureyon sweater for me. I understand the craving now. I think I may be going colourblind through lack of stimulation. I'll keep y'all posted.

In other news, I found a fiver at the station this morning. Yay me. If it's yours...tough. Finders keepers nah nah nah nah nah nah

~*~

Yuk.

I'm ill. I've dropped for what I fear is a right nasty cold. I can barely type even, and it must be affecting my ears as it's making me feel slightly nauseous but hungry at the same time, which is a neat trick. I even went back to bed this morning, which is unheard of. I'm really peeved about this. I've only been in the new job five minutes and this happens, all things considered its a miracle I'm still in a job. Just hope my boss is as understanding as he seems. He seems to be a genuinely nice guy for which I am eternally grateful. That's one thing I am lucky with, generally I've had really nice bosses through the years.

One thing I don't have is thoughtful fellow commuters. I'm certain I've picked this up on the train. There was a day last week where it seemed Every. Single. Person. was coughing and / or sneezing. Inconsiderate b@stards. I hate you all. If you're laid up, STAY AT HOME. We actually don't want to share your filthy germs thankyouverymuch. *sigh* there are times when I truly loathe humanity as a whole. Especially when they cough on me. I'm dreading winter. If we get another round of winter bugs, I'm seriously considering going into hibernation. Either that or driving to work...

~*~

Back in the Zone

Right, I'm finally back on Planet Earth, and not working, commuting or doing other boring stuff like cleaning. That's next :-(

So, I Knit London! Well, what a day. Totally worth the effort of driving down to Staffs and jumping a train from Derby. Had a great start - arriving at this:



That's St. Pancras, the first time I've been since it was remodelled, and I must say they've done a nice job of it. Feels like a proper station, with its huge clock and glass roof. Like a railway station should be.

I hopped on the Tube (after picking myself up off the floor in shock at the price of a return ticket) and moseyed down to Victoria, and after a slightly shaky start (went the wrong way) found my way to the Royal Horticultural Society's Halls. I knew I was in the right place when I spotted a Gingko biloba tree planted outside, and a small army of people in handknits and Ravelry T-shirts. Ah, yarn people. They were queuing :-)

And what joy was to be found within. Lovely people, good tea (but the greedy yarn people ate all the sandwiches, SOMEONE had no lunch) lots of lovely yarns to squish, and signs encouraging you to squish, a knitted sheep, a catwalk, lots of books, spinning, charity things, giant needles, swifts, spindles, needle cases, project bags...it goes on. You've seen what I bought already. More on that later.

And to top it all off, the High Priestess of knitterly goodness and humour, the Yarn Harlot herself. She's absolutely hilarious. If you get chance, go see her, she's fabulous. Bless her, she looked so utterly terrified I thought she was going to do a runner, we had a bit of a microphone scare and she's only just visible over the podium, but funny, intelligent, wry and thought-provoking. And she brought the sock :-) and the lovely Manon cardi which I must remember to queue in Ravelry. What was also fascinating was watching all the audience knitting whilst waiting. I discovered I love watching other people knit. Everyone knits differently. Every. Single. Person. I think that's fabulous.

So what did I buy? Well, you've seen it all, so here's a brief run-down of what its all for. The red Lace Silk will probably be a Swallowtail, or similar. The lilac cashmere is for Laminaria, when I feel brave enough. The Loaghtan is for a Hemlock blanket. Manos del Uruguay will probably be a Crofter's Cowl (link to Ravelry), and the fibre is for practising. I have no idea if its suitable for spinning as it is or not, but I've had a little play with it and it seems to draft reasonably well (get me, I sound like I know what I'm talking about) so I think it should work.

And now I need to stop for a little while with the yarn purchasing I think. I have enough, and there's a lot of, for want of a better term, crap. Squeeeky acrylics, novelty fluff and random ends. I need to shift it one way or another as it's starting to bug me. If I can either use it up or offload it, it won't be weighing on my mind, and if I stop buying for a little while I can afford some nicer stuff. I'm not declaring a yarn diet, if I see good yarn at a bargain price I'm certainly not going to walk away because of some self-imposed restriction. I'm just re-evaluating :-) So I've been browsing Ravelry for scrap patterns and afghans, and some I might even cart off to the charity shop just to be shut of it (a lot is stuff I've inherited from my family so its not like its cost me anything.) The last couple of months seem to have been expensive, what with having to get new clothes that fit me for the new job, buying season tickets and lampshades and curtain poles, not to mention travelling down to Staffs (two tanks of petrol per trip, ouch) and of course the IKL show, so I'm drawing my horns in a little to save for Christmas and for a sofa.

However I will make a small exception to my curbed consumerism to buy the new Spore computer game. Just because.

And now, if you'll excuse me, the landlord just delivered four dining chairs which need my gentle ministrations with a scrubby brush, polish and a darned good hoovering.

~*~

quick quick

just a quick picture-heavy post. Returned from the I Knit London show, here's a visual summary. A more reasoned post will follow when my brain has returned from its current orbit around Betelgeuse. :-)

I am Woman...Hear Me Roar

Or whimper, as the case may be. Quick catch-up, as I have been remiss with the blogging. Training course - complete, good, hard work, waiting to see how much has been retained. Good dinners. Marginally more clear on what I'm actually going to be doing for a living :-) and the training course only covers the techie part, which is not my first responsibility, the rest I have to figure out as I go. Won't be the first time.

Coming back was interesting to say the least. Virgin Trains from Euston to Glasgow Central at an unholy hour of the morning (06.44, ffs) No WiFi!!! WTF??? Anyway. Uneventful. Knitted quite a lot. Passed Lichfield, felt sad and wanted to get off. (Train didn't stop - probably a good thing, but in hindsight, shame it didn't) Went through Stafford without stopping, wanted to get off to see old workmates and my Mum and Dad. Nearly got off at Crewe, but thought, no, get home, car's stuck on railway car park all on its own, house could have blown away, best get back. Got to Preston.

You know how some days you're the windscreen, and other days you are the bug? This day, I was the bug. Crew changed, and we're still standing at the platform. Tannoy announcement - Flooding at Carnforth. Ah. Problem. Eventually, they terminated the train (sounds painful) and we were summarily turfed off. I went for a fag to consider my strategy, and got rained on. Heavily. Eventually, buses were announced. I damply pondered this. Trains were standing at every platform, confused passengers roamed aimlessly, some sat on suitcases, many glued to phones and cups of waiting room coffee. Bus was going to Lancaster. I considered some more. No trains going North, trains terminating at Lancaster...= bedlam there too. So, I did what any sensible girl does in this situation. I damply phoned my Dad. "Daaaaaaaad, what am I going to dooooooo?" He immediately suggested something that I had already thought about - jump a service back to Crewe, get picked up by him and write the day off as a loss re: travelling, spend the night there (Mum's cooking - excellent) and try again on the Friday. Excellent plan. Enquiries about services to Crewe met with blank expressions from the staff (admittedly, they were having a bad day) and eventually I found one myself. Back we went, I duly hauled my ass across Crewe station and was scooped up by Dad outside. To discover his car was terminally sick and we barely made it back to Stoke. *sigh* Car was dropped in at the garage to the inestimably marvelous Tony, and I settled down for an afternoon of Olympics, watching Dad fall asleep on the sofa, eating biscuits and having a very welcome visitor, if only briefly. Following morning, car fixed by Tony (fuel filter, very easy but seemed terminal at the time) I was ferried up to Crewe by Dad, who was treated to a huge cup of tea and a very large raspberry muffin for his trouble, he indulged in a bit of trainspotting and eventually I hopped onto the Glasgow train. Apart from sharing a carriage with a loudly exuberant African extended family, who had brought enough food, drink and luggage with them for a small army (including a suitcase full of mugs, jars of coffee and a very large Thermos)and who kept sitting on me (I nearly stabbed one with my needles when she sat on me again for the nth time, but they were my KnitPicks and they're expensive)I finally pulled into Glasgow ten minutes early, and very nearly kissed the platform in joy. A short wait, onto the local service, back to my station, car collected intact and started no problem (I love Japanese cars) and the house hadn't fallen down. In fact, it had improved. Not only have they tarmac-ed the road up to the house, the landlord had fixed my wonky laminate and re-set the front step which was wobbling alarmingly.

On the doormat, and delivered by the neighbours were some treats - my NCIS DVD's (Seasons 1 & 3), printer cartridges and my Tesco Clubcard points vouchers. So, I decided to go shopping. I bought some new work clothes (all my old trousers are too big, to the point of only being held up by my hips) and I also bought this:



so I can have this:



Porridge with blueberries, pumpkin seeds, sultanas, cinnamon, ginger and maple syrup. Lovely. I also treated myself to this:



I then realised that the lawn had grown to the point where I was expecting to find David Attenborough out there with a film crew, and there was no way my poor little mower was going to manage without some heavy-duty help. Its mainly the edges, suffice to say that there are Issues with my lawn. So, this morning, at 9.30 (on a Sunday, please note) I trooped up to B&Q and bought:



Yes, its a strimmer. Its only a little girly electric one - I was very tempted to get the big manly petrol one, but it would be a bit overkill, the lawn's bad, but not THAT bad, and it was taller than me. I probably wouldn't be able to start it anyway. So I spent a happy hour or so zapping about the very wet lawn edges. I discovered that strimming is Hard Work, makes your arms all achy, and you get grass in places you would not believe. I also realised that what my lawn really needs is digging up and starting again (Not going to happen) but it looks marginally better when you cut the edges and strim off the three foot high bits. If it will stay dry for a couple of days I may even manage to mow it. I felt quite smug at being the proud owner of a strimmer - "Look! I Am Woman Who Know How To Use Power Tools. Respect Me." However, I've decided that strimming is definitely a job for the boys. Too much like hard work and you get grass in your hair and green fingernails. I'll stick to knitting. Speaking of which - we have hats!





For the Mission to Seafarers.

~*~