Domesticali

Poncho ponderings

I've been knitting away the evenings on a very cosy project - the Union Square Shawl from Weekend Knitting. And this time, I am striving to enjoy the process, not just anticipate the completion. But while I knit, thoughts niggle at me.

1. I am a child of the 70's. Should I even contemplate wearing a poncho?
2. The wool, though soft, sheds like anything. Is this a serious no-no in a garment designed to be flung on over other things?
3. Beige isn't really me. If Kristina knit it, I would think it was understated, classic and beautiful (just like her). But for me? It brings to mind porridge. I'm just not a beige girl.
4. Surely the fact that the yarn was super-duper cheap in the John Lewis sale should make up for its shortcomings in the colour department?
5. Poncho poncho poncho - it's one of those words which if repeated over and over again starts to look as if it is a word you just invented.
6. I am in love with the baby cable pattern. Not least because it gives the illusion that I know how to do cables, when in fact, I have no idea whatsoever!
7. I only have 3 balls left to knit. So near and yet so far.

Wrapping

Gift wrapping is one of my little pleasures. I almost get more of a kick at wrapping Christmas parcels than I do unwrapping them. I love the sense of anticipation and seeing them all in a beautiful heap.

So even though I have been wrapping empty boxes this week, I've been having a lot of fun doing it.

These are for the book shop window display, where our theme is recycling. Hence the book pages and re-used packaging paper. With some chenille from the scrap store thrown in to add colour.

One of our customers wanted to know if I had any bright ideas for eco-wrapping. So I offered to lend her my dummy packages for the local Carbon Cutters eco-Christmas event. And give her the link to the tutorial for making gift bows from magazine pages.

I was tempted to go the whole hog and offer to wrap parcels to order too, but the length of my own 'to do' list made me keep my lips shut. The shop Christmas window is due to go up on Sunday. I've been sewing snowflakes like there's no tomorrow.

And I have the rest of a cardboard fireplace to construct.  I think I may have missed my vocation, but vacancies for Santa's elves are few and far between.

A visitor

We had a very peaceful Saturday planned this week. The big boys were off for a day of car oggling (a belated birthday treat for Mark) and Johhny and I were all set for a day holed up, doing not much at all.

But we hadn't factored in an unannounced visit from a virtual stranger.

Barnaby -  the class travelling bear, and believe me, he's used to being shown a good time. Even at my most brazen, I couldn't quite allow "Barnaby spent most of the weekend on the sofa" to be our journal entry.

So out into the pouring rain we ventured, to treat Barnaby to a spot of lunch and a trip to the Museum of Modern Art. It's a  wet winter weekend standby for us, because they have an art trolley, where there's usually something on offer relating to one of the exhibitions.

I just hope bloody Barnaby appreciated it.

Meet the family

A long overdue introduction. The ginger chap on the left is Reggie. His original name. And the tabby girl on the right is Toast.

So, after several weeks of cat ownership, what can I tell you?

1. I thought we weren't going to be allowed to take them home at all when Johnny asked in a loud voice at the animal shelter 'Mummy, can you eat cat?'.
2. Naming by committee is a dangerous thing. Toast was half of the 'Marmalade and Toast' suggestion by Anne. I feel I will be explaining that name choice for some time...
3. Confronting a litter tray first thing in the morning is a real downer. They are now free to roam outside, but somehow still prefer the indoor facilities. I am on a mission to put an end to this.
4. They are camera shy. How did I not think to have screen-tested them before we adopted?! But then, I also failed to put 'as photographic props'  on the form where it asked why you wanted to re-home a cat.
5. The 'no cats on the beds when we are sleeping' rule lasted about ten seconds. I think I have pushover in cat runes tattooed on my forehead.
6. Reggie's favourite way of getting attention is to plonk his furry backside on top of the computer mouse. Evidently, being scratched with the left hand is not good enough. My keyboard is getting rather hairy.

Happy hallowe'en

It seems far too warm and sunny to be the last day of October. But yet it is. The pumpkins are ready.

Let the festivities commence.

Happy hallowe'en!

Hard shell

Yes, it HAS been quiet around here. I have had the gentlest of kind and friendly prods from some of you asking if all is well. Thank you, and yes, it is really, in the grand scheme of things.

Do you ever have a crisis of confidence? When suddenly you seem to loose sight of quite who you are or what you think or what is important to you. It happens to me every once in a while. And I look round at everyone else and think how sorted and together and assured they seem. How secure in their own skin. And I flounder about feeling out of my depth and over-exposed.

And like a turtle, I long for the security of my own shell. Where I can just read a book or loose myself in a film and not be required to have an opinion about anything at all. The good news is, I have been cracking along with my reading pile and have seen more films in the last fortnight than in the preceding 6 months. 

But at some point, you have to face up to sticking your neck back out. Because really, life is defined by interactions. Some wonderful and life affirming and others less so. But without them it's all a bit pointless. I would never make it as a hermit.

So, hello, waving from my shell and heading back to join the party. I was planning on bringing these walnuts to share.

But once I had hacked off the fibrous exteriors and broken the extremely hard shells open with a hammer (wearing latex gloves,  to protect from the yellow staining), I discovered that they tasted absolutely revolting.

And don't even get me started on the smell. I had to search my memory banks for what it reminded me of - now I think I have it. Bile. Nasty eh?