Pensioners in the New Forest ...

I have a confession to make: I have not been entirely honest with you all. But I have good reason, I promise.

For some considerable time now we have been endeavouring to turn ourselves from City slickers into country bumpkins. However, I have not been blogging about it, because under the peculiar way that property is bought and sold in England, the whole process is riddled with such uncertainty that one dassent think it's going to happen until it does happen! In fact it is enough to turn even me, who am the least superstitious person I know, into a fully paid up member of the ladder-avoiding, salt-over-shoulder-chucking, no-way-are-we-having-13-at-the-table died-in-the-wool crazy brigade!

Which is why I haven't been blogging about it. And I'm still not gonna! Except to say, that when it eventually comes good, we will be in the beautiful New Forest. And that is where we are now, in a cottage we are renting for reasons that will be explained all in good time. We are sitting in the living area, with the french door to the garden which is backed by the woods with nothing but green and birdsong and fresh, fresh air - marvellous. Oh, and the occasional braying of the donkey. And the New Forest ponies. And the deer. I could get used to this. In fact I intend to!

We are here until Tuesday, so I have brought lots of knitting: my Kimono jacket, which needs just a bit of stitching to finish it in time to wear for the English summer, i.e., slightly warmer rain than winter. In April we were promised a 'barbecue summer', but no sign yet. Unless of course one thinks of the usual English barbecue summer, whereby you set it all up and just as it is ready, the heavens open and everyone makes a dash for indoors!! ;)

Also, my Niebling tablecloth, Dahlie (on the left below)and a jumper for my granddaughter, when she gets back from France, in two shades of denim (the stuff that comes off all over your fingers as you knit, so you look like an Ancient Briton covered in woad - yuk - but it looks so good when it's finished and improves as it fades in the wash that it's worth the suffering). And finally some socks that I am knitting for Molly of the Celtic Swan Forge, for her Great Handknit Sock Trade 2009, in exchange for some of her lovely needles.

What with all that, and the Saturday papers, and no landline, and no mobile 'phone reception, life doesn't get much better than this - except if it becomes permanent, which I cross my fingers it soon will - watch this space!!! ;)

Sorry there are no pix, both our cameras are sick and at the menders. But you can look at the links for lovely pix, instead.

following a new blog

found a new blog to follow - really floats my boat, so I'm sharing it in my links - 'wearing purple not dead yet ...'

The emerald isle ....

Having a wonderful time in Killarney, in somewhat changeable weather: rain, sun and snow, sometimes all at once. Snow still covers the mountain tops, while the gorse is beginning to bloom!

The main purpose of my visit, to see the wonderful Finn, has been more than satisfactory. Once again he has cut a tooth. He has three now, and each has been cut in my presence - must be special granny magic! ;)

He loves his bath:

And his food (waiting for dough balls in a local pizza restaurant):

His nan (wearing her emerald green cap shawl) loves him:

Father and son on Torc mountain:

We walked for three hours on Torc, the weather was fair, if blustery. There were goats with kids, frogspawn in the puddles, green shoots everywhere. Water flowed, gurgled, rushed, fell all around us, the sky was mostly blue and the air like the finest champagne. So more than three beautiful things. Life itself is beautiful sometimes - we do well to remember it.

oh b**her!!!***!!!

I am typing this very a.m., for me that is, sitting in my dressing gown quietly fuming while I wait for the utility floor to dry. Why? Because our American fridge is going to that great white goods home in the sky (although actually it was a very fetching stainless steel). On Tuesday we callously went shopping, leaving it home alone, so it blew a fuse, as we discovered when we went to store said shopping in its capacious interior. We replaced the fuse, and all seemed to be well, but the freezer was quietly defrosting all the while, as I discovered when I stepped up to my ankles in water in the dim light of early evening.

So we switched it off for a rest, poor soul, and next day the fridge-mending genius came round to minister unto. Hmm. He said the something-or-other had gone, and quoted a price to repair it which I cannot repeat here, because I would have to swear, and this is a family blog!!

Now this is particularly annoying at this time, because we are hoping to move to the country, and have been nursing all our white goods, and indeed a great many other things, on the basis that 'we'll get a new one for the new house'. Of course, in the present economic climate, this could go on for a very long time. Already we are having to kidglove the dryer, which is very testy. And we have to have a dryer here, because we can't hang washing on the twelfth floor of a tower block. And it has to be a cash-eating condenser monster because we don't have an outlet - so all the more reason for not buying before we go, blah, blah, blah!

So nothing for it but to ditch the big American and buy a little Brit!! Just to tide us over, until we know what we're doing, I mean where we're going, because I don't think we ever know what we're doing. This will cost us a quarter of what it will cost to repair the US monster.

So then the saga of putting the old fridge out for collection began. Which went like this: turn off the water supply (it had an icemaker and water fountain), disconnect without drowning myself again. Push out through utility door. ???!!!??? Utility door narrower than fridge. Hmm. Right said Fred, have to take the door off ... Which door though, kitchen or fridge (two doors)? Fridge then. Because a) they don't matter any more, and b) we won't have to put them back on - genius, eh? First door comes off without a problem, so can leave husband to it and get on with my blog, which is way overdue. 3 screws and we're done. Second door also only 3 screws, so no problem ... I continue blogging happily. An hour, many interesting words and some dozen spanners later, several large hammer blows sound from utility and door cedes. I stop blogging and go to the aid of husband, now huffing and puffing and in a muck sweat. Realise have to sever a pipe. Realise that this will cause a leak. Realise we will have to put plastic bags under fridge outside to catch any drips. Realise must move fridge back to get at plastic bags. Mutter, mutter, mutter (more words not suitable for family blog). Finally succeed in parking fridge, doors and all, on landing.

So that's why I'm up at the crack blogging. In an uncharacteristic bout of houseproud spring-cleaning, I have determined that all shall be pristine to make the new fridge feel at home. Thus here I am, having stripped and rinsed the Amtico, waiting for the utility floor to dry, so I can add floor dressing. And then go and have my bath. And then start my day, already knackered. Grrrrr ......

Rugby comes first!

No time to blog today, because I shall be knitting furiously while I watch the England:Italy 6 Nations match, with everything crossed! ;) (now that should be interesting, knitting with fingers crossed - I know sometimes they get that way when attempting something complex, but actually to knit that way, hmm - will report back later! ;))

They have never lost yet to Italy in a 6 Nations match, but the way they played in the autumn internationals ... still I live in hope of a good start to this year's competition.

More tomorrow.

PS.: the snow has cleared from here, but the forecast's a bit iffey still. I must say, I rather like the snow. It brings a hushed beauty to even the most ugly urban sprawl. Also it serves us humans with a well-timed reminder that we are not completely in control. I know that's a point of view that's likely to make me unpopular, but there you go! :)

'Swing low, sweet chariots ...'

Barbisnow

Now I know that there are people out there who often have snow. Real, heavy, long-lasting snow. Six months of the year type snow. Feet deep drifting snow. Still, this much snow in London really does seem worth mentioning. Never mind the moans and groans about insufficient gritting, buses not running, etc. I give you - The View from my Window in the heart of the City of London:



Pretty, isn't it? Even the dolphins seem impressed by their snow 'caps' and their frozen pond:



The bare tree branches take on a new beauty against the stark concrete outlines of the tower blocks, which are themselves edged with white icing:


Someone has built a pussy cat snowman, complete with twig tail, photographed here with Peter in his winter anorak, hoping I won't make him pose for too long in the still falling snow:

Daughter Kathy tells me grandson Luke, two years old, was unimpressed and preferred to return indoors to Thomas the tank engine. Imogen's daughter Ellie, two years seven months, however, was keen to play out for a little longer, until she decided it was altogether too cold. And my son Jos in Killarney was mocking us with bright sunshine! What a pity there's never much when I visit them.

But hey, the snow's great, I love it. Everything to its season! ;))

busy doing nothing ...

Spent the day running on slow, trying to catch up on my rest and laundry! The joy of idling in bed finishing my book - Parky, Michael Parkinson's autobiography. What a wonderful life he has had, what wonderful people he has met. Plus he comes from Yorkshire, so he's a good bloke anyway!

Today is Kathy's (my second daughter) birthday - Happy Birthday, Kathy!! I am always staggered to look back on the birthday of one of my children - much more than my own - and realise how far they, and I, have come since they were born. I recall the long and often difficult years I struggled to give them all a decent life and education. Now it's over to them, while I enjoy my place in the sun. Sometimes I still feel uncomfortable about the fact I am not tearing myself out of bed at silly o'clock to get children off to school and myself to work. Then I tell myself I've earned the right to relax, and take out my book or my knitting!

The upbringing I received implanted a permanent fear of idleness, of not doing enough, of not being useful. If I came home with full marks for a French test, I was admonished for 'not getting any marks for good handwriting', even though such were not available. Unqualified praise was deemed to risk spoiling a child, by making her big-headed. If you did well, it was taken as read. If you did badly, woe betide. Only now am I beginning to clear away all that corrosive fear, and give myself some credit for my achievements, not least of which, for me in any event, is my four beautiful children and their children. And they themselves have helped me in that, through their love. So once again, Happy Birthday, Kathy.

all good things ...

... come to an end! So now all grandchildren and parents have gone home, and I am left with as much time as I like to myself - so of course, I don't like! Human beings are so contrary, aren't they?

But I've had a great time, even if I am totally exhausted. Yesterday I was round the galleries with Finn's Irish grandfather, Dermot. He's an artist of no small talent, and came over with Jos and Lisa and Finn to see what's on show. Walking down New Bond Street, we were passing Sotheby's auction house. They were advertising viewing for their forthcoming sale of Impressionist paintings, and Dermot had the genial idea of going in for a look. Now I have been down New Bond Street past Sotheby's more times than I care to remember, and I would never have thought of going in.

But in we go, and first off the doorman is from Cahirceveen, so he and Dermot get to chatting like long lost brothers. Then we go round the viewing, and it's fantastic. Lots of unusual paintings, not the usual suspects at all. Bonnards that aren't 'Nude bathing', and Renoirs that aren't blowsy women. Plus lots of wonderful paintings from both well and lesser known Impressionists.

So the moral is? Sometimes it takes someone else to come along and shake one out of one's rut, make one do something different, to make the day. Thanks, Dermot. :)

'My Princess'

Well, here at long last: more progress on my Princess Shawl. She's obviously not looking her best, because she's not blocked. But in my eyes, she's beautiful - still I'm not being boastful, it's just that Sharon's design is so fantastic. I find knitting the border somehow much easier than the edging - how weird is that??
Sadly, the really zinging colour (Gossamer CashSilk - Viola) doesn't show up to well in my lousy photos, but believe me, it's gorgeous. The yarn is a little unforgiving, because the silk in it makes it quite slippy - so dropping stitches is a nightmare, but tinking is easy - swings and roundabouts, eh what?! ;)

Princess Shawl: detail (unblocked):


Princess Shawl so far, edging and border (unblocked):

This weekend I am looking forward to a positive grandchildren-fest!! I shall be looking after Ellie while her parents are moving house, but I shall also see baby Finn, because his family is coming over so that Dad Jos can help with the move. And to cap it all, I am taking Ellie to visit Luke and family on Sunday. I am so-o-o-o-o excited! Until then, knitting and reading.

In fact, I have finished reading The Tale of Genji. It was a big read, and has taken for ever!!! and I'm generally a quick reader. But it really takes a lot of getting to grips with, so I sent for The Tale of Genji: A Reader's Guide, by William J. Puette to help me understand it. In fact, I am so taken with it, and yet so unsure of what I have read, that I think I'm going to order the E.G. Seidensticker translation to help me get to grips with it!! How's that for dedication?

Finally, if my Princess is my first beautiful thing, my second is my grandkids, and my third is The Tale of Genji, where do I put President Obama?

Well, I'm old enough to remember Kennedy's inauguration, and the massive swell of hope that it brought with it. I was still at school then, and it inspired me and my generation (the oft-maligned sixties baby-boomers) with a new and fresh idealism that outlived his early death, as well as those of his brother Robert and of Martin Luther King. And I can honestly say, this is the first time since the dashing of all those hopes by the dismal seventies and the cynical eighties, that I feel the stirring of real promise for a better future. So I say to those in the United States of America, well done! Hopefully we in the UK will soon be given the chance to make the same choice. I and many like me, including my children, who have hitherto been disaffected from politics, maybe because of the withering of OUR sixties dreams, look forward to a new era when the President of the United States sets the tone for world leaders in looking for real solutions to the problems of inequality both within and beyond our western democracies. All hail to the chief ....

what Alastair Campbell and I have in common ...

Depression, that's what. And thank goodness he's come out about it, maybe he'll make it acceptable, if not downright fashionable. Then we can say goodbye to the 'sock' school of psychiatry (you just need to pull your socks up) and the 'curtain' school (just pull yourself together!) and the idea that depression is just another word for not feeling so good, so I won't bother going to work/cooking the supper/writing the essay/fill your own in here.

In spite of my best efforts then: the yoga, pilates, bone breathing, self-hypnosis, aromatherapy, CBT, counting my blessings, listing my virtues and achievements rather than my shortcomings, etc., etc., etc., even knitting (yep, it gets so bad that even knitting can't help), I have not been able to overcome my feelings of doom lately. Thanks to Alastair, however, i.e., after reading some of the recent spate of his interviews, and his refreshingly common sensical take on the subject, I have betaken myself to the doc to get some chemical help, not for the first time, I must admit.

Trouble is, when you're feeling truly depressed, you only need to look around you to feel that depression is the rational response to the awfulness of the world outside: fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Congo, to name but three. Pollution, energy crisis, world poverty, child labour, excessive consumption, credit crunch, knife crime - what's not to get depressed about?

And that's why I am trying out the 3 beautiful - or good -things idea. The idea being that if I can find three beautiful or good things each day, they will tot up to counteract the dreadful things served up each day by the news media, and remind me that for every horror there is a delight, and that by concentrating on, and where possible adding to, the delights, we may at least keep a balance, and thereby our sanity.

So here goes:

1) The election of Barack Obama! Although I am too old and not stupid enough to imagine he can put the world to rights overnight, or even ever, I do feel it's a step in the right direction. If the good people of the United States can get it right, there's hope in the world.

2) a wonderful bonfire night on Wednesday. Just a local get-together at Chipstead Rugby Club, with my daughter Kathy, her husband Andy and grandson Luke, but it was great fun, the bonfire was fantastic - 'big hot', Luke informed me - and the fireworks spectacular, although Luke was a bit taken aback - 'big bang, big bang', before he fell silent with a worried look on his face. But that soon gave way to his usual cheerful face when supper appeared!

3) I have finished Scarf from Jane Sowerby's Victorian Lace Today. Great news, as it is to be a Christmas present. I used Habu 2/10 Kusaki-Zome yarn from the fantastic 'I Knit' shop in Waterloo. This Aladdin's cave for knitters stocks the most amazing stuff, and also does knitting get-togethers. Haven't managed to get to one yet, but I will, I will. This is my first time knitting pure silk, and although it was fun, I 'druther' Shetland. But it's good for me to try something new.



This was also my first time using my new 4 mm Harmony Straight Needles. As soon as these came out, I bought a whole set in its own beautiful black damask roll. I am ecstatic about these needles; they rock, they roll, they do everything bar knit on their own when I am asleep (I am working on that). They are made of the same laminate as the circulars and the twin pins, and I would knit anything and everything with them, if I could, but sadly the straights are not (yet) made in the smaller sizes. BTW, I'm first in the queue, so get in line behind me!!

The presentee is a student, so I embellished the scarf with gold beads and shimmery pearl drops on the points - no hint of 'made by grandma' there then! ;) I just hope she'll think it's cool and it's fashionable and it rocks!!

Another good/beautiful thing is that I have reached point eight on the edging for my Princess, but that would be four, so you'll just have to wait!! ;))))

three beautiful things ...

At the weekend I read an article on surviving the stress of the financial panic which recommended, effectively, counting your blessings. It chimed with a decision I had already taken to write less about my sufferings, real or imagined, in my journal, and more about things that were good/had gone right/gave me pleasure, etc. The article cited a blog, three beautiful things, which I recommend. It definitely shows the way.

As I have no more knitting to show at present, I will simply cite 'three beautiful things'. In fact, I think I'll make this a habit, so here goes for the first time:

1. My grandchildren - always!
2. The lovely yellows of the horsechestnut foliage as it ages and dies.
3. The ever-changing clouds I see from my study window as I type.

Off to mind some grandchildren. May not be back before Sunday, so have a wonderful w/e, whoever, wherever you are! :)

climbing slowly ...

I think I may have turned a corner! I find myself able - indeed wanting - to do more and more. The knitting is still my therapy of choice, but I have repotted plants, tidying the balcony of dead leaves and detritus, and galvanised myself sufficiently to go to the library and find some amusing books. Instead of feeling totally destroyed by the financial mayhem reported on the news, I find myself amused in a slightly cynical, world-weary sort of way. Gradually I am gaining confidence that my children have the strength to deal with the problems it may cause them. For me, a result!

The knitting too is a definite result. I am halfway up the back of the Rowan Tank Top:

Here in close-up:

And here is the Princess swatch. It's not blocked, because it's still on the needle. But I can report that I am loving the knitting of it, and can't wait to tackle the real thing!

Clearly Voltaire was right: il faut cultiver son jardin!

struggling ... but still here

Things not going too well at the moment. Making some progress on swatching for my Princess, and also on the Rowan top. From time to time swatching from Barbara Walker Treasury just to see how the stitches work. Trying not to let things get on top of me. Am I the only one who is thoroughly depressed by the chaos in the financial world? And even more by the knowledge that much of it has been brought about by greed and selfishness. I fear for my children trying to raise my grandchildren in a world that cares nothing for anything except money. Or at least that's how it seems to me right now. So I try to keep my mind fixed on small pleasures like this:

I know there are those out there who might think this is just a cone of yarn, but it's not! It's a Princess in embryo - isn't she beautiful, already?

still not much about knitting ...

Two wonderful days with grandson Luke, who now talks, although I don't always follow what he's saying, and plays and is such a happy-go-lukey!! ;)



So not much knitting, nor pix. I have still to make up my Rowan bag, but have been busy finishing a shawl I started last year as mystery kal from Goddess Knits. The yarn is JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk, needles Addi-Turbo, and it fair bowls along. Thought it might make a nice Christmas for my eldest daughter. No photos yet, because on a circular needle it just looks like a multi-coloured heap. Will post when I finish it, which I hope will be over the w/e.



Trying hard not to let the news of financial institutions crashing down around the world affect my mood, but it's difficult to remain cheerful when I see my children struggling to keep roofs over their children's heads. The more so, when it is clear that much of the financial debacle is due to greed and mismanagement. At my age, recession/depression is nothing new, but it never gets any easier. So I knit, and sew, and assist wherever I can. Am I the only one who thinks the inhuman way in which humans have organised modern society is madness? Am I foolish to hope that by trying to bring beauty - through the knitting - and gentleness - through helping with the grandchildren - to a rotten world, I might make a small contribution to counter-acting its rottenness?



Another grandchild picture, to cheer myself up, if nothing else. And a picture of the tunic I knit for her, with elephant buttons - ellie, geddit? ;) Berger de France Caline - not my favourite type of yarn, but pretty colours and fully machine washable, which makes life easier for her working mum. I have a picture of her wearing it on my mobile, but haven't worked out how to get it into my computer. Watch this space ...

Rowan 30th Anniversary Workshop

I'd like to say, I had an absolutely fabulous w/e, and I did - eventually! The journey to Yorkshire from London was already proving horrible, taking much longer than usual because of a) roadworks, b) heavy traffic and c) even heavier rain. Then disaster struck, the clutch went as I was trying to change down coming out of the outside lane, and I had to coast onto the hard shoulder across three lanes and the slip road on to the M1 just north of Sheffield. Three hours later we were recovered to our destination, late, cold, grumpy, and (me) having missed the reception at the exhibition. :(

However, our wonderful landlord and landlady, Andy and Linda at the Castle View Country Guest House, were so welcoming, providing us with dinner at 9 pm, and looking after us all over the weekend, including an extra day while we waited for the car to be repaired at great expense (don't ask! P is still recovering, and I am having to accept that my birthday present this year was a clutch!!), that it more than made up for it!

As for the workshop, it was just fabulous. Just a couple of pictures for now, to provide a foretaste (I forgot to mention the other disaster, my camera broke, so I shall have to borrow Peter's to take pix of my work, but I did manage to take some of the workshop):

the pleasant land of counterpane ...

...which i am inhabiting post a (mercifully short) indisposition, the gorier details of which i will spare you, save to say that it came on very suddenly, involved an horrendous drive home, as i was away babysitting the gorgeous grandson at the time, and has forced me into a day of bedrest, because i 'came over all dizzy like'! so as you can see, i am experimenting with the blog, because i want the text to be wider and therefore shorter. however, being not v au fait, am not getting other things right. heighho, win some lose some, as they say. i do really need to get a grip on this blogging thing, but where to find the time? :(

managed to leave some knitting behind - again, I hear you cry! Well, this time it's not lost, just left at my daughter's. and i was feeling distinctly poorly. moreover, it is not the christmas present knitting, which is finished, but which cannot be displayed as yet, because of christmas present secrecy! so i shall now start on my mother's stole/scarf, whilst awaiting the return of the errant shawl. further enquiry of the Berlin authorities have revealed no sign of my lost bee fields shawl KAL, but as i have now got replacement yarn, will soon have that back on the needles. and i have a picture of the original, at a very early stage.

am somewhat disappointed, because i was supposed to be out with my eldest daughter and granddaughter, who rarely grace London because their lives in Dorset are so full. but Maddie was picking Jessie, who is about to celebrate her eighteenth birthday, up from a brief holiday with her stepgrandma at her house in France, up from the airport which is local to us, so they broke their journey with an o'n stay here. Jessie is gorgeous and clever, and i know i am biased, but after the party in 10 days time i shall have the photos to prove the former, and her marks - often 100% prove the latter. they are spending the day looking at art, in preparation for her interview for a famous university, fingers crossed. she doesn't knit, but you can't have everything, and she appreciates the knitting i do for her, so that's good enough for me.

son Jos managed to arrive and depart in my absence, ostensibly for his grandfather's 82nd birthday party, altho i do sometimes wonder!! and hopefully i should see the younger of my gorgeous granddaughters tomorrow, as she is coming up with her mum to go to an exhibition on recycling all being well. that's almost a full house, one way and another. in fact the long-suffering Peter thinks it's almost too much of a full house anyway you look at it. but i tell him having young people about keeps you young. and anyway, they're all so gorgeous, and yes, i know i'm biased, but ... ;) e.g., see above for picture of 'happy-go-Luke-y'!! :)

in any case, i must prepare for my PhD upgrade viva voce next tuesday. not sure whether the butterflies are excitement or terror, but am pleased neverthless to have got this far at long last.

and to cap this posting, some pictures of mother russia, at long last!!! :) as you can see, there not entirely your conventional pix - the first a cossack who just happened to be passing, the second a scots guard bandsman, just what you expect to see in Moscow, not! they were performing in a military tattoo, and when i tell you that the scots girls were in tartan trews - goodness knows what the Russians made of it all!! Finally, Marshall Zhukov, great hero of WWII, maybe??? Well, make of all that what you will. the rest next time!!! ;)

all my ducks in a row ... almost!

still a bit behind with myself, but getting there, so am posting this photo, which gives an idea of where i'm at! ;)

it's actually a picture of my stepdaughter's duck keeping her ducklings in order, but i couldn't resist it, because it reminds of my ghastly ex, who says things like 'we must get all our ducks in a row', or worse, 'are we all singing from the same hymnsheet?' - a-a-a-r-g-h!!!

no, i haven't disappeared, but i have been travelling ...

i guess anybody who was ever interested in my blog has given up on me. in fact, i guess i am a very bad blogger :(. they say you find time to do the things you really want to do. but that's not entirely true, unless you take it to its most extreme. fact is, there are things which the life i have chosen impels me to do, like keep me, my home and my husband's life running (and before anyone raises the question, yes, he does his share, indeed, these days, with me away so much, or lost in work, probably more than his fair ... i am married to a saint, Peter is indeed my rock, and i love him dearly. he would say, very dearly, with my penchant for spending ;) but that's another blog entirely), ie, with clean, ironed clothes, food, a tidy home etc. plus my commitment to my immediate family, which now includes: 4 children, 3 grandchildren, husband, mother, sister, nephew. then there is the wider family, many of whom live abroad. not forgetting friends, tho some of them must think i HAVE forgotten them lately. and i have hardly seen my lovely grandchildren, who are getting on getting bigger. Ellie's walking, talking and turned into a real live toddler while i was away, and Luke's not far behind.

then there's the PhD! and yes, that has been full-on lately. i have submitted 2 major pieces of work, a chapter plan, a time plan and a working bibliography, in two copies and am to be viva'd on 30th to determine if it is ok to continue to a PhD! so no small matter, then.

then there's the knitting. which i fit into the spaces and interstices of my life, eg, if watching tv or travelling on buses, tubes and trains, or cars when other people are driving - no, i don't think it's a good idea to knit and drive ;) having lost my beautiful bee fields KAL shawl half-knitted in September on the Berlin transport system somewhere (no, no sign of it returning, hope it's gone to a good home!), i have got as far as edging the secret Christmas present shawl i am knitting, mostly done while travelling. but why, o why can't i knit on the plane? :( it's so mean, just think what i could get done in those wasted hours, not just on the plane itself, but in the time between check-in and travel. anyone for an airport knitting sit-down demo??? with bamboo or plastic needles, of course.

travel. yes, that's the main reason i have not posted, in addition to the PhD i mean. and even then, it's involved the PhD, as i attended another conference in Munich for it, and then spent 5 days buried in an archive there. a very fruitful trip, workwise. and the chance to catch up with some friends, the very lovely Uli and Toby, who kindly offered me bed and board, and whose company and friendship made this archive trip much nicer than those where i skulk in a lonely cheap hotel room in the evenings. i also did manage an afternoon's sightseeing in Munich while waiting to catch my plane.

all you blogging fanatics out there, how do you find enough time to do it, while doing such interesting things? i mean i find my days just whizz by, and i do need 8 hours' sleep, or i just go under, vitamin pills or not. i guess it's just what happens, getting older.

anyway, that's enough for now. those of you who are still interested in my feeble efforts, i shall make every effort to blog some pictures of travel and knitting very soon. life permitting, of course! ;)

...getting back in the saddle ...

while i wait to see if lost property has found my knitting, i have started a christmas present - can't give many details, cos it's a secret, but it helps to alleviate the loss a bit. am using some lovely Lorna's Lace and a modified pattern from Victorian Lace Today. am also going to finish a multi-coloured jacket for my granddaughter. the cure, clearly, is more of the same!! ;)

sorry i've been silent for so long ...

... and i'm not going to say much now, because i've been travelling a lot, and am absolutely exhausted. however, will post tomorrow. but i will say, am in mourning, because i lost my knitting on a train!!! :(((( and i was halfway through a beautiful shawl. and now i shall have to buy new yarn and start over again, and i can't even be sure that if anyone finds it they will know what to do with it. so i can't say any more now, because i need to cry. :(((