Friends to visit

Had a lovely afternoon, yesterday, with 'Frin & Dyfrig.

We ate home made hot cross buns,

toasted crumpets with jam and played Devil Bunny hates the earth. This is a Cheapass game which, we decided, essentially works like a sort of complex multi-player Mancala. Not too bad once you get the hang of it. We followed this by watching Freeway, one of my favourite films. Essentially it's a sort of twisted Red Riding Hood for the modern age and stars Reece Witherspoon and Kiefer Sutherland. Well worth checking out - it's very funny in an extremely dark sort of way.

Once they had left, I wandered off into the woods with my camera and got these lovely shots:

which I'm rather proud of, before coming home and devouring pizza. A lovely day.

She's here!

I got a text this morning to tell me. My little niece Alexia was born at 5 past midnight weighing 4lb 2oz. About as minute as her sister, in other words! Not yet got any pictures, but will post as soon as I have. Very much looking forward to meeting her! Mother and baby are both doing ok.

Cambridge

It's official - I'm in love. With Cambridge, that is. What a beautiful city. (If unnervingly quiet). And it was shown off at its best with yesterday's weather. The glorious sunshine just enhanced all that gorgeous architecture.

On arrival, we pottered round the market - a foodie heaven. There was a stall with all manner of teas and coffees, another with herbs and spices etc etc. Given that we had the rest of the day left and a two hour coach journey, reluctantly, I had to resist all this temptation. So we popped into Indigo cafe and indulged in a very nice bacon toastie, followed by investigation of the two nearby bookshops in King Edward's passage.

Next, we went to The Sedgwick Museum, which describes itself as 'One of the World's Major Collections of Fossils'. It's not kidding. The place is absolutely chocka with them. The museum is named after Adam Sedgwick (1785 - 1873) who was responsible for improving the geological school at Cambridge by vastly expanding the existing collection and he founded the museum in 1841. There are some very cool skeletons there, including these two:

I apologise for the way I look in this photo. I wasn't feeling so well. Neither, I imagine, was the Irish Elk next to which I'm stood.

Given that it was so close, it was only natural that this was followed by a visit to Kings College Chapel. Which, frankly, is just astounding. Truly beautiful and full of all sorts of interesting details. As you can see from these photos:



Which are, respectively, the main chapel, the Lady chapel (including that fabulous glowing icon) and the lecturn (which is apparently something to do with Robert Hacomblen, Provost of the chapel from 1509 -1528).

Thereafter we wandered down towards the river at Trinity college:

We were hoping to go punting, but when we got to the place that was advertised as offering this, we discovered it was closed. Disappointed, we wandered further along, to discover that it wasn't possible to go much further along and so we doubled back into town. Once there, we were gently accosted by a very nice chap (whose name I've forgotten, sorry) from Scudamores who was selling chauffeured punts. Given that he said he would book us in as students (£2 cheaper than the adult price) I was very pleased. We had half an hour to kill, so went and grabbed some money and then had a quick drink at a nearby pub. (The Mitre, which was very nice and reasonably priced too. Very much recommended - it does real ales, single malt whiskies and decent cider.)

So, 2pm we begin our tour with our guide, Tom. Despite some difficulty when we were setting off, he warmed up nicely and enabled me to get some very pretty pictures. As you can see:

The above is the third replica of the wooden mathematical bridge, designed by a student of Isaac Newton. Apparently it is so called because the original was held together with no nuts or bolts. Impressive, huh?

And this is the Bridge of Sighs. Named after the famous one in Venice. They did tell me the reason, but I forgot to write it down. Sorry!

Clare College, the oldest college in Cambridge. Founded in 1338.

And this is Magdalene College, which was the last to admit women - in 1988! Not only that, but the students and dons walked around with black armbands when it finally happened in protest. Shocking lot.

There are lots more photos, but this blog post will be huge if I publish them all. So I'll leave you with this pretty shot:

Bits 'n' Pieces

So, yesterday I made this for dinner:

It's beef noodle soup (from One Pot Cooking by Sarah Edmonds) and it was in a bid to soothe my throat. And that plan worked in that, if you scald your throat then you don't really notice any other pain. This stuff gets very hot if you boil it. (10 out of 10 for observation, Allie, very clever). Yes, I know that's obvious and a child of three knows more than me, but I was so eager to eat it that I didn't do what I should have and either waited for it to cool a little or blow on it. Ah well, it was very nice. And there was enough for my tea and today's dinner, so I don't think that's too bad.

In other news, this lovely stuff arrived this morning:

Isn't it beautiful? I have no idea what I will make with it, but it feels lovely and soft and I can't believe how much nicer it looks in real life than it did in the eBay photo.

I also promised you a photo of Keziah's waistcoat in progress didn't I? Well, here it is:

I'm using the Sundown Stripes pattern from here:

http://www.knit-today.co.uk/latest_issue.html

And I'm desperately hoping that I don't run out of yarn. The pattern assures me that I can get away with using only two balls of Noro, but I'm not entirely convinced. Unfortunately I only have two balls and I can't find any more of the same dye lot on eBay. Now, it may be that if I can at least get it all done bar the frill that I might be able to get away with buying a different dyelot or even a complimentary plain yarn, but I'm panicking. Seriously panicking. Cross your fingers for me!

Tickets to Cambridge are now booked, so hopefully there should be some pretty photos for you tomorrow evening.

Cassoulet

Well, this is what I made yesterday. And it was yummy! Very expensive (it had duck, French garlic sausage in it and all sorts of bits and pieces), but nice none the less.

I also managed to make a significant start to Keziah's waistcoat (of which more later).

I singularly failed, however, to make any further progress on Alexia's jacket because a) I am a slack person b) I had to do the shopping for the above cassoulet and c) I was cleaning.

In other news, however, I am starting with yet another sore throat about which I am decidedly less than pleased. What sort of mean cosmic trick is that to play on anyone? I get a week off work and instead of being able to enjoy it to the full, I start feeling ill and grumpy. Most unfair.

As a result, I am now addicted to 'Relic Hunter', 'Mutant X' and 'Jake 2.0'. And I have joined far too many groups on Facebook. Oh well, at least I don't have to work, I suppose.

Alexia's Jacket

Well, I promised you a photo, and here it is. I finally finished that sleeve and have started making up. Being a person of a very low concentration span, I got a bit distracted and went off to do other things (namely, playing the piano followed by scrabble on the PC), so I've one sleeve to seam plus weaving in, blocking and sewing in a zip. But it actually looks vaguely jacket-like, so I'm pleased.

Too far away

It's at times like this that I really hate how far away I live from my friends and family. My littlest sister, Nat, is 33 weeks pregnant and has been showing the initial signs of pre-eclampsia for quite some time. I phoned her today to discover that she's in hospital and has been since Wednesday. She was admitted because her blood pressure was rising and there was an increasing amount of protein in her urine. So, as with Keziah, we're playing the waiting game. And, frankly, I'm worried, because anything could happen. The only fortunate thing is that I've got this coming week off work, so at least I can drop everything and visit should the need arise. In the meantime, I can phone her via the hospital's phone system. The price is scandalous, though - 39p/minute off-peak and 49p/minute peak times. It's going to cost me an absolute fortune. At least if I were in Leeds, I could just pop round, but that's more than a little bit difficult when you're stuck in North Surrey. (And fingers crossed that Alexia's not born on Sunday. I don't want an April Fool for a niece! ;) ). If you see this, please keep my sister and the little one in your thoughts. I'm very worried about them.

Harrumph

I want to be cross. I really do. Marc gave up cigarettes months ago, but every now and then he has one in a social setting. Tonight, he went off to see a BBC Radio 4 programme being recorded as he and I are wont to do.

On this particular occasion, he was late leaving work and consequently was put in the standby queue. While he was waiting outside (because he was hot), he was given a cigarette by none other than Stewart Lee. Well, really! How do you manage to be angry with someone when you're also really impressed? Grr.

Progress

The kitchen is actually still clean. I might just faint. When I got in from work I managed to: empty the airer, set off another load of washing, hang that out, wash up, dry up, clean surfaces, mop the floor, clean the bathroom (again - cats running around in the bath are a pain), put away the dry laundry and make http://www.pepperfool.com/recipes/soups/squash_chipotle_soup.html With the addition of a little cream once it had been blended, it actually turned out flipping gorgeous (if I do say so myself). Makes gallons too, which is quite handy for packed lunches.

I've nearly finished the EZ jacket. At least, before seaming, blocking and adding the zip. Just 30 or so more rows of the sleeve to go and, because of the decreases, it gets faster as you go. Seems I don't want it to end because, even though I could have pretty much completed it tonight, I stopped around 10.30. Ah well, be interesting to see how it turns out.

Very tired now. And so, as Pepys would have it, to bed.

Spring Forward

Gosh, I'm tired. Did anyone else forget that the clocks went forward, despite the numerous reminders on the radio etc? Lucky for me that I actually have things to do today, otherwise I might have been very late for work tomorrow.

My husband has just gone off on one of his little jaunts down the caves in Kent to pretend to be a warrior. Really. (Yes, I know). It's something he's been doing with his mates for the past 20 years or so. I'm just hoping it doesn't continue much past when he'll get his free bus pass. Yesterday's preparation involved hacking apart his chain mail and then creating new ties for it with dressing gown cord purchased from John Lewis. (I did point out to him that he could perfectly well make his own with a few lengths of yarn and even left out the instructions, but apparently unless I did it, he was going to purchase something. So he bought the cord.) It was most disconcerting having what looked like a medieval soldier wandering about the flat, I can tell you.

I managed a few more rows on the E. Z. jacket. For some reason I'm getting slower. Although it may have been because I didn't start it until about 8.30pm last night having spent most of the day cleaning the kitchen. I had been putting off cleaning the oven because there is no door to our kitchen and we have two very inquisitive kitties:





Gus

Nelson (to follow)

They really wouldn't have been above nosing about in oven cleaner. I didn't fancy having to explain that one to the vet. Or the R.S.P.C.A., come to that. This procrastination, in the name of animal welfare, however, had been going on too long. (We moved in on 3rd December 2005. This is the first time I've cleaned the oven. Thank God no one called Kim & Aggie, that's all I'm saying.) It took me four goes to even get it down to vaguely normal and I really ought to have another try today. The oven shelves had to be seen to be believed. After half an hours scrubbing I gave up and asked Marc to do it. I think my arms were about to fall off.

Anyway, even though there is not much progress on the jacket - at least my kitchen looks vaguely respectable. Which is just as well, because I've promised Marc a chocolate cake when he gets back from Chislehurst.

The first post

I've had this set up for quite a while, so I thought it was about time that I actually made an entry. The intention is, when I can get myself organized, to have photographs on here of my latest knitting projects and to otherwise just chatter on about whatever's going on in my life.

Knitting is something I was taught first, like many people, when I was small. My Mum taught my sister and I together which must have been tricky, given that my sister is left handed. But that's by the by. Anyway, I've knitted on and off since, but without anything more exciting than a doll's blanket (read: failed scarf) or a scarf. That is, until January of this year, when I finally managed to properly get the hang of it and really get going. It helped that our two cats have finally outgrown trying to eat all my yarn (they just munch on scraps now).

Currently on the needles, anyway, is a nearly completed jacket from Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitting Without Tears. (A fabulous book, which I highly recommend. Much demystifying, humour and all round helpfulness is to be found within.) Unfortunately I started to pick up and knit for the sleeves from the wrong side, but I have decided that the raised seams can just be a design feature as they look rather fetching. You will see what I mean once I have my pictures up (which are coming, I promise). Secondly, I'm making a top from one of the Debbie Bliss books for my impending niece. I just love her patterns and I've recently decided that I'm going to have to spend if I want decent yarns, so I'm making it in her Baby Cashmerino yarn, in teal, and it's gorgeous. Going ok, so far (fingers crossed). Again, photos will be up soon.

Tentatively, I've vaguely begun (two rows) a basketweave stitch baby blanket in Jaeger Chamonix for a friend, which I'm trying to design myself (ish - as much as one can design a blanket). I'm hoping that I have the stamina to complete it. I find such repetitive things a little on the tedious side. If all else fails, it may just have to be for a different baby.

And I'm on my second tension square for a gorgeous Noro waistcoat for my niece. Hopefully she won't decide that that's too itchy as well - especially considering the cost of Noro! If not, again, I suppose it can always go to someone else.