Old year's night

well what a year 2008 has been:

knitting- I've made my first adult garments, I've knitted 3 pairs of socks, I've tried bamboo, soya and cotton. I've made Christmas deccies which have been sent around the world (and received some gorgeous ones back) and washcloths for the kitchen (which are fantastic, really, no really). I've practised intarsia and my first "lace" patterned piece some socks for J2.

I've joined Ravelry, which is just brilliant, I'm in a Doctor Who swap and a Pratchgan-along. I've taken up crochet too.
I've been to a knitting show in Glasgow and saw the awesome knitted gingerbread house and have committed to make pieces for the next project, a fundraiser for the RNLI.

It's not all positive though: my yarn substitute for the advent tree was not a success (and is destined to become another scarf for J2) and my drop spindle languishes in the cupboard, untried and untested.

I've listened to some fabulous podcasts while I've knitted: Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase, Cast-On, Craftlit, Escapepod, Faery-knitting, Podcastle, Starship sofa, Sticks and String to name but a few. My mp3 player is a year old and is well used!

Football- we survived the PL last season, started this season well, lost our manager and are still surviving. I sometimes think that football is too stressful a sport and I should watch something less emotionally exhausting, like carpet bowls or shove ha'penny . D and J1 are going through the same with their team, so little consolation there.

Sport -I was entranced by the Olympics and by the tennis this year (cricket and rugby have not been so good) and am looking forward to 2012.

Learning -I have kept up with Spanish, learning 2 new tenses this year,but still struggle to remember my vocab.
I tried to learn some Arabic, but found it very hard. I was drained of energy after the summer.
I tried to learn some html programming, but was totally confused. Oh well.

.....and most importantly I have kept a blog since Feb. This is so enjoyable: I like reading other people's blogs from around the world, I love seeing other's amazing knitting projects, I've even won some posh yarn! I've found that it's helped shape my thinking processes, and given me back a bit of structure.
My concentration is so bad sometimes with ME that its hard to get into a good routine to improve my health, but in an odd way blogging is helping. I don't want to write about the condition as such as I find that very boring, but blogging about other stuff (politics, books, films, sports, travel etc) can be energising.

Well, it's been interesting, some new stuff, some good stuff, some old stuff & some cool stuff ........
so, here's to the Old Year, fare thee well, 2008 my friend, and 2009 beckons.....( To be fair it's already started in New Zealand and Australia!)

The Colour of Magic

my lovely in-laws got me a copy of this DVD for Christmas and I watched episode 1 last night.

The story has been amended slightly, but that's OK. There is more plot line given to how the librarian changed form and became an orang-utan, the monster of BelShamaroth is cut, Cohen the Barbarian does not appear, altho' someone else is identified as him.

Sean Astin plays Twoflower really well as the sweet innocent tourist and David Jason does a good turn as Rincewind (although I imagined him as younger and thinner.)

D enjoyed the talking sword Kring and I loved the luggage. Christopher Lee was excellent as Death.

Meanwhile I've been making progress with my second square for my Pratchgan, The Light Fantastic, which is episode 2 on the DVD. I did have a few problems with my intarsia and had to frog a bit. It's improved since I wound little bobbins of yarn to use for the different colours! Doh!

it's in the details

I hadn't noticed the cover of the Christmas Radio Times which had Wallace & Gromit as cover boys.

Gromit's knitting is a genuine piece of knitting, fine wool on cocktail sticks as tiny needles, made by senior prop maker Jane Kite. It's this attention to detail which makes Aardman animations so good.

Sharp eyed readers will be able to spot Feathers McGraw (The Wrong Trousers) peering in through the window, and Gwendolene (A Close Shave) as the fairy on the tree.

We had a jaunt to Durham yesterday to catch up with the family which was great fun. Mam & Dad were well and F & M were on good form.

D and J1 went to the football match and wished that they hadn't as the Toon was thumped 5-1 by Liverpool. The Reds were cheered off the pitch though as they had given a masterclass on brilliant football (well, they are league leaders at the moment).

Sunderland were pummeled 3-0 by Everton, but this is an improvement on last year's fixture when we were walloped 7-1!

The story of the day was unbelievable: Ricardo Fuller ( Stoke) was red-carded for slapping his own Captain. He was angry at Griffin for conceding a goal, and obviously felt that being sent off would help. Not.

Stoke have limited ability and their success this season has been down to their work ethic and strong commitment to the team. Hmm. Maybe the pressure is beginning to tell.

Sbragia is now Sunderland's manager and hopefully he can keep us up.

After the in-laws had gone home I spent some time on Ravelry updating my notebook: listing yarns in my stash, and bookmarking patterns. I haven't decided what to do with the lovely Manos del Uruguay from Courtney, it's such a gorgeous yarn I need to think carefully about what to do with it.

Top Bun!

Wallace & Gromit in "A Matter of Loaf and Death" was the funniest thing I've seen in ages, we were all howling laughing at this, Aardman animations at their best.

We were not alone as it won the ratings war pulling in 14.4 m viewers. I can't wait to see it again! Thankfully it's on BBC iplayer so we can see it over and over

D got me a lovely piece of Sheila Fleet jewelry, & the in-laws got me the DVD The Colour of Magic so I am a very happy bunny.


On Christmas Eve I knitted a new dishcloth for D, so he's a happy bunny too (what? he got books and video games as well, I'm not hardhearted!) and MIL was so impressed that I made one for her as well while watching "The Prisoner of Azkaban".

The Christmas Dr Who was very entertaining, David Morrissey was excellent as the other Doctor, and the story line was better than last years which was too camp for my taste.

Erin sent me some fab footy related stitch-markers to enhance my knitting experience while listening to the match. Sunderland got a goalless draw today, so a much needed point, Newcastle and Boro both got beat. Liverpool top the table with 42 points, West Brom are bottom with 15, the Toon are 12th with 22 points, only ahead of the Black Cats (at 14th with 22) on goal difference.

J1 is very happy with his bass amplifier and J2 with her nintendo ds lite. The turkey was fab, D's pudding and cake were tremendous, everything came together well for our dinner, so, a good Christmas had by one and all.

finally

the last tree deccie is done,(the bells) and is ready to go on the tree tomorrow.

The gingerbread house has been decorated by the kids and D has decorated the Christmas cake...we're having a white Christmas in spirit if not in fact!

The turkey has been collected, the in-laws are here, there's just some presents to wrap and the children's service to go to tonight.

Amidst all the gloom of the economic downturn and the war zones across the world, I hope that this is the season of peace and joy for everyone, whatever their colour or creed .

I hope that people seek out good things and turn from the bad and that the Light shines brightly in the darkness.

Merry Christmas, and peace and goodwill to all men.

the beautiful game

well, it is when you're winning!
amazingly enough both of our teams won this weekend, the Black Cats mauled the Tigers (Hull) 4-1, and the Toon trampled Tottenham 2-1 (I should get a job as a sportswriter!!).
( photos- Cisse being very cool, and Toon's N'Zogbia after scoring)
The league table is still incredibly tight, Wigan and Newcastle 11th & 12th with 22 points, Sunderland 13th with 21 and "The Richest Club in the World tm"- Man City at 18th with 18 points.
Traditionally the matches on Boxing Day, which is halfway through the season, give a clear indication of who will win and who goes down, but will it be so clear this year?
More managerial shenanigans, as Paul Ince is sacked by Blackburn who then appoint Sam Allardyce.

When not following the footie, I've been listening to " The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton, brilliantly read by Brenda Dayne on librivox.
It's a good story , even though I was so exasperated by the protagonist Newland Archer, I thought he didn't have the courage of his convictions and couldn't understand why Ellen and May loved him. (I thought he was a prat! His friend Ned Winsett is more interesting, and has a better moral code).
The themes of stability vs change, freedom vs social strictures, old Europe vs new America, public vs private morality are very well drawn. I'm enjoying listening to American literature and of course Brenda Dayne reads so well.

One last bell to make for the advent tree ( I was making cards yesterday) then I can cast on something else.... a sock a sweater a scarf.... ANYTHING!!

secret santa

my secret Santa from the Let's knit! forum sent me this lovely scarf and tree deccie. The scarf has a loop at one end to thread the other end through, making it snug and warm round my neck. I wore it for church this morning and very snug I was too. Thank you secret Santa!

There was also a lovely crocheted snowflake for the tree. I love all the handcrafted deccies that I've received, there's some very talented people out there!

I've nearly finished my deccies, there's one bell left to make for the advent tree and then I'm done . Woohoo! I'm desperate to cast on something else, a sweater or socks,anything! the kids are having a lot of fun putting the deccies on the advent tree though so it's been worthwhile.

my angel

the nativity play went well, even though we slept in and were 10 minutes late for final run through and J1 forgot his violin and had to text me to bring it down (doh!).

All the kids were fab and there were a lot of good young musicians. D and I were very proud of our two and impressed with all the kids, especially baby William who had a starring role as the Holy Child, and slept in his brother's arms (who played Joseph) throughout!

We decorated the house yesterday, J2 set to with the dyson before we started, so she was given the honour of trimming the tree herself ( she was thrilled!).

Of course I'm still in the process of knitting the advent deccies, this is the last batch: a Swedish straw goat, a

sugar plum, a polar bear (which I think looks like a guinea pig but the others don't agree with me , phew), a marzipan pig, and a pair of mittens. I've got a drum on the needles at the moment and have to make a broom for the snowman. There's a lot of detail in Alan Dart's designs which makes them special, but time consuming.

Football update: Newcastle managed to get a decent away win yesterday beating Portsmouth 3-0, and Chelsea joined the rest of the big four in only getting a draw, which means that Liverpool is top. It's very exciting this season, there is no clear leader, and the bottom half of the table is pretty close too, only 2 points separates Bolton at 11th with 20 points and Sunderland at 18th with 18 points. The richest club on the world (TM) , Man city is only above Sunderland on goal difference. Exciting stuff as we approach mid-season!

Our Ken

finally , a win for the Black Cats!

We beat West Brom 4-0 today, the first 2 goals were scored by Kenwyne Jones. Still no sign of a manager, but the 3 points were very welcome.

The story of the day had to be Hull taking on Liverpool at Anfield. the score was 2-2 and Phil brown was aggrieved that they didn't win and that one of Liverpool's goals should have been disallowed. I can sympathise so much. At Old Trafford last week it was looking like a goalless draw for us, but extra time went on and on till Man U scored. Sometimes it seems that the officials get intimidated to protect the big teams on their home turf. The table looks interesting though, it's not clear cut who's going to win the PL, or who is going to be relegated (well maybe West Brom will go, but the rest aren't certain.)

While listening to the football I was sewing white fun-fur to the bottom of a long white dress for J2's role as Gabriel tomorrow. I was covered in bits of white fluff! It looked like I had killed an angel or a goose (I hope it was a goose or I'm going to be in so much trouble!). Thankfully J1 is playing violin to accompany the little ones singing Little Donkey, so no need to make a costume for him, he just needs some clean jeans!

And I'm off to the Brunton theatre tonight to see the panto Sleeping Beauty (oh, no you're not!) with J2, her pal CR and her Mum. I love pantos. My first date with D, 23 years ago on 23rd Dec, was to see Snow White. Happy Days!

tree huggers

I've been enjoying practising some crochet by making these tree deccies from a pattern in Lets knit iss 13. I've learnt proper increasing and decreasing (rather than just guessing).

These two little cuties were off in the post yesterday to Courtney, my secret sister in the US.

I bought a copy of Debbie Stoller's " The Happy Hooker" a few weeks ago.

The diagrams for making the stitches are very clear and there's some great patterns for clothes, so I think I'll have plenty to do in 2009!.

I went to Woolybacks yesterday to have a natter with Ally and pick up some Sirdar Softie to make a cardi for me and a sweater for J2.

My yarn was in, but J2's wasn't, she had chosen the shade "meringue" which is an off white and it seems to be the most popular in the range. Oops!J2 is going to have to wait a while! I chose the darker blue and it should knit up really quickly. Speed is of the essence when I feel so cold.

Ally had some books in by Nicky Epstein and we were drooling over the amazing designs.

So much to knit (or crochet!), so little time!

thank you for the music

Thank you for the music,

the songs I'm singing

Thanks for all the joy they're bringing

Who can live without it, I ask in all honesty

What would life be?

Without a song or a dance what are we?

So I say thank you for the music

For giving it to me

Andersson & Ulvaeus

it was the school Christmas concert tonight, and it was wonderful. J1 played violin or tenor horn in the orchestra, the brass band, the wind band and the swing band as well as doing some stage management and J2 played trumpet in the orchestra, brass band and wind band. The wind band played a medley of ABBA tunes, there were some excerpts from Bugsy Malone which will be next years school production, there was a piper, soloists on piano and guitar.

It was tremendous and I'm so proud of all the children who took part especially my two.

goodies!

I got a lovely surprise from my "secret sister" today. Courtney sent me some gorgeous Manos del Uruguay yarn which feels wonderfully soft.

This will be delightful to knit or crochet with, it feels wonderful and the colours are beautiful. She's also given me some stitch markers so I may have to try a lace-type project, perhaps a simple stole or something. Thank you so much Courtney, you're a star!


I also got a box of candy from a fellow raveller, Ann.

I'd sent her a Dalek cookie kit and she sent me a ton of goodies in return. For a laugh, I've put them in a salad bowl, and we could use the choc fudge sauce as a dressing!


Chocolate is a bean, right? and some of the sweets are fruit flavoured so they could count towards the 5-a day, one of the lollipops is even cucumber flavour, wow!!

I hope Ann and her kids have as much fun with the dalek as we will with these!

Hey hey Mr Postman!

the first batch of cards was written, stamped and posted today!

I love doing the cards, the Christmas cd goes on, the address labels get printed, a large mug of coffee is beside me and away we go! I always start by doing the aunties and uncles and the airmail cards, then I do friends (I need a letter in each), then close family, then lastly local friends.

I never do a "newsletter" for everyone, it's as easy to cut & paste paragraphs to suit different people, as some people need more news about my kids and some less, and also it can be made much more personal. I've read some pretty dreadful newsletters from former work colleagues which run to 4 A4 pages going into minute detail about the health of their cats. TMI!! TMI!!

One friend did a brilliant letter which used the initial letters of each family member at the start of each sentence to give tiny snippets from the year, it was very witty and a delight to read (and didn't go into feline health isues!)

I need to make some cards too, although I'm not making as many this year, as I've been buying handmade cards from a local teenager who is trying to raise £1500 to fund her trip to Burundi next year through Mission International. I admire her determination and her crafting skills too.

The football was dreadful this weekend, Sunderland lost to Man U 1-0, in the dying seconds of the game, and the Toon managed to throw away a 2 goal lead to struggle to get a 2-2 draw! Good grief!

Christmas Fair

yesterday we went to the Church Christmas fair, which is always a good place to stock up on home made baking, decorations and for J2 to get little presents for her grandparents.

I also bought a knitted tea cosy, aran gloves, a peacock blue scarf for J2, and some baubles on dogwood stems.

I've made some more progress with my knitted decs, this is the second batch a Santa, a holly bauble, a satsuma and some toadstools.
Apparently fungi are traditional European deccies. (they grow in the pine forests, reindeer eat them and become intoxicated and dance around! who knew?).
My kids are enjoying putting a deccie each day on the little tree, and I have now got a lever arch file to put the deccies in. The Alan Dart pattern pack from Simply Knitting was really well put together, with a label for the box included as well as a calendar for the deccies. One day I will finish the knitted tree!!

I was delighted to get my Secret Santa parcel in the post today, its like being a kid again, I've squeezed the parcel, but I haven't opened it (nerves of steel, that's me!) .

since you've got to go

Keane, you better go now, go now ( before you see us cry)(with apologies to the Moody Blues)

Oh heck, the hard man of football has had enough and we are left rudderless two days before playing Man U.

Keane did a great job when we were at the foot of the championship, dragged us to the top of the table, got promotion as Champions, survived the first season of the Prem but now after 27 months, he's had enough.

Damn.Damn.Damn.

music to my ears...

...well the concert last night was fab. The first half was the schoolkids playing in the brass band, the second was The Scottish Co-op band who are phenomenal.
Our two kids really enjoyed their night and so did we!

I posted my Secret Santa parcel yesterday and now I need to get on with family shopping, wrapping and cards, order the turkey and put some carols on my mp3 player!

There is an inch of snow outside and I'm starting to feel festive (the brass concert is always a good start to the season!).

Brass monkey

'tis the season to be jolly, fallalalalalala

Our favourite brass monkey, the incomparable Charlie, will be leading the kids in a brass concert tonight, and thus begins the kids' week of gigs, they have so many I should print tour dates on their t-shirts!

The kids will play at High School 3 times, at various Christmas lights ceremonies, at old folks homes, Queen Margaret's Uni and at the Co-op for the Christmas shoppers. I'll be roadie as usual. What fun!!

Advent..

more than a calendar*, for me.

The countdown to Christmas has begun, the tree calendar is on the wall with chocolate in each pocket for my two kids. One year I spent ages in Jenners' toy department getting tiny toys (power balls, toy soldiers, crayons, magnetic bugs all kinds of things) to go in each pocket for J1. He was not impressed. So, for once I caved in to pester power and now they can have a small sweetie everyday.

This must be the 10th year that we've used this calendar and the kids love to see it go up. The full-on decorations won't go up till the 14th-ish. (I'm so mean!)

The knitted advent tree wont get finished this year (no, really?), so I'm using a small artificial tree to put the deccies on. The kids are taking turns, J1 gets odd numbered days and J2 gets even. Even the main tree is artificial, as we found out when J1 was small that he has an allergy to pine resin, which is not good for a violinist, so, I had to get him some special non-pine resin roisin for his bow. Thankfully this type of allergy is easily dealt with.

I love the build up to Christmas, I love hearing the kids practise their carols, I love seeing the Church nativity play, I love the feeling of hope and generosity in the air. Most people do seem to be kinder to others at this time of year, which is wonderful. It isn't the most important occasion, Easter is more serious and meaningful. Christmas is more about hope and promises, amazing acts of generosity and kindness.

*the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams has said that people have largely forgotten what Advent means and think of chocolate calendars instead of the coming of the Christ-child. He has a point.