Flibbertygibbet

Om... Um... Happy 2008!

Usually I anticipate NYE with a slight sense of dread and I've learned that the best thing is not to have too great a sense of expectation.  As long as you know the company will be good, then everything else falls into place.  Lucy finagled us (moi and the Knitteroonies et al)  invitations to a house party, which involved giggling, bubbles, much hugging and kissing of lovely people at midnight, stroking of silk dresses, laughter, exhibition ballroom dancing, and the issuing and acceptance of a somewhat ridiculous challenge. Um...

You see, if I had any sense at all, I would keep my trap shut in the cold light of day.  Right, here we go then...It started when Paul, Lucy's boyfriend, accused me of having refused to go climbing with him and the rest of the boys, as it turns out that he'd heard about me doing various silly things in Australia many years ago.  I said that I'd love to learn to climb, indeed Lucy has already offered to teach me, but I'm just a bit, well, girly-terrified about it.  Not of the heights, as they thought, but more of the potential falling part. Somehow the escalated into me being goaded into giving it a go.  As long as Paul learned to knit. 

There was much discussion of which system climbing to use to adjudicate the level I'll have to achieve. French, apparently.  There was a similar amount of thought given to what Paul would have to knit.  Lucy suggested a 12ft scarf, muah-ha-ha-ha, and my contributions were "in rib, on 2.5mm needles in laceweight yarn"... This was revised to 5mm and aran weight.  The rib and the length stand.

Now from what I hear, Paul is too fragile today to emerge from bed today, so he may not have been entirely serious about this. However, I am. A bit worried, but serious nonetheless. The proposed completion date is August...

I've spent far too much time today watching silly old movies on tv when I should be working on a freelance job and moving furniture.  I'm determined that the studio, as it will be, should be set up by the end of the day today. 1st of January, and all that. I've also been spending far too much time on Ravelry where I found this.  Because I guess it's time to start untwisting my mangled back if I'm going to be hanging off climbing walls.  Om....

PS for a woman with a new camera - shocking lack of photos.  Will remedy that soon...

Making a list, checking it twice

So how was your Christmas?  Mine was the most subdued ever, which wasn't a bad thing and was the way that I planned it.  Just family and food, thoughtful presents which were mostly very grown up - posh moisturiser,  some requested knitting stuff, and some cash towards a 'big' pressie - which was procured today in a very good deal...looking forward to working out all the fun stuff that it does.  All the knitted presents went down well though my Dad's socks were clearly 2 inches too long, just as I had expected, and my mother was frankly bewildered - I'd asked her to measure the socks I made Dad for his 60th in July, and she told me, with the immortal words "A foot is a foot" that they were twelve inches from toe to heel. So I made him things that looked like they should have been dangling from the mantelpiece waiting to be filled by Santa rather adorning my father's feet. The surreal thing was that when we measured his old socks, depending on how you folded them, they measured either 10 or 12 inches... so I ripped them back on Boxing Day and fixed them.  I wrapped up my mum's cashmere scarf still on the needles and with the yarn attached so that I could check the length with her, and it did need another few rounds.  Then it was washed and blocked on the pulley clothes drier in the kitchen which worked a treat.

Back to my second home on Friday. On Saturday I went to Helen's to collect the furry monsters. Helen and Steve deserve much kudos for looking after the mogs as they were mostly antisocial (hiding under the floorboards, in the bathroom wall - gnurrgh, I do despair of them most of the time) apart from the 4am - 8am shift when they were ready to play... In hindsight - oh dear Lord, only in hindsight - it was funny trying to get Shrimpton in the cat cage, with Helen and I crawling under opposite sides of the bed to try to grab her, though I couldn't actually hold her for long enough to get her in the carrier before she starfished herself and craned back out.  Yes, I have the scars to prove it.  A grown woman is no match for an ornery cat, I have learned my lesson.  Luckily Steve suggested the pillowcase trick (Put cat in bag/pillowcase; resist temptation to tell cat that she's lucky she's not going to the river; put cat-in-bag in box; retrieve pillowcase later on once it's safe to put your hand back in there) which worked like a charm.  They seem to have forgiven me for two bouts of incarceration in the cat cages by now.  Well, almost.  Thank you again Helen for picking us up, minding the mogs and dropping us back - you're a star!

Today I went sale shopping, with a list and a friend to keep me sane in the sales madness.  I found everything I wanted, which was all housey stuff like a coffee pot, a colander, a calendar (but no coriander, which my shopping companion thought sounded like it should be the next thing on the list) and a camera.  Tomorrow I'll be looking for plates, a plant, and a plantain...

So what else has been going on?  Well, a little bit of mental stock taking and there's still a lot to be done.  2007 sort of passed in a blur, looking back.  I am much more excited about the thought of the new year, and 2008, than I was about Christmas this year.  Though it's normally Santa's speciality, I did decide that there are some lists to be made. Wishes, goals, things to do.  When I'm finished the lists I might mention some of them on here - just so people can chide harrass encourage me to complete them.  Mainly I'm going for the traditional favourites of happiness, health and wealth.  So what are you wishing for in 2008? Whatever it is, hope it comes to you in the very near future.  Have fun seeing in the new year, however the spirit takes you xxx