Teen Spirit

My darling daughter J2 is 13 today, and has bouncing round from the wee small hours in her excitement.

It's understandable though, as in Scotland the cut-off point for yearly intakes is Feb 28th so she is always the youngest in her year, and we didn't opt to delay her start by a year (as some folks choose to do) as
a) she was ready to start and
b) she would have killed us!

So my fab kid is full of beans today, finally acheiving the awesome state of being a teenager. Though, I think in her head she's really 22 ...

And what does Teen Spirit smell like? Pretty good, as she spends a long time in the bathroom....

I might have to hide myself in the bathroom if I'm going to get my Milo socks done, or at least hide where I have no Facebook/ Farmville access.

Sock the first was finished today.. leaving me less than 5 days to finish sock the second- aarrgghh!

I thought I would finish no 1 on Monday, as there were only 12 rounds of pattern to do and then the toe.. but no, I managed to make a mess of a cable, didn't notice for a while, had to rip back and start again.
Then I got the toe wrong three times. You would wonder how really... I was blithely knitting away thinking  "how funny that the shaping is so different on this pattern" , then I checked. And found it wasn't. Rip back  no 1. Then I managed to shape on one side only.  Rip back 2.  then I dropped a stitch and didn't notice and couldn't recover it. Rip back no 3.

To be fair I can't blame this on Facebook, Farmville, getting stressed with the curling (The GB ladies have't made the semis), or too much gin (there's deliberately no tonic in the house!). I'm just an idiot. The Milo designer Cookie A is one smart cookie, sadly I'm not.

Shame the socks aren't finished though, as the snow is back and this first sock feels wonderful and warm. I'll have to put myself into purdah, or the bathroom, or something and crack on with no 2.

Ravelympics or not, I want the second sock! I need the second sock!

cables and curling

I've been gripped by the Winter Olympics, but not with the events that I expected! In the past I've always loved the figure skating, ice dance and the ski jumping but this time it's the curling and the luge/skeleton which is fascinating me, and D loves the snowboarding, especially the half pipe.

Curling is quite a popular sport in Scotland, but being an incomer (of 15 years, but I could be here 90 years and I would still be an incomer!), I've never played and didn't really understand the rules. I'm enjoying the BBC's coverage ,and the commentary explaining the rules and tactics. And it's good to knit along with, as it's more like chess on ice. It's a very thoughtful sport until the sweepers start sweeping like crazy.

My progress on the Milo socks has been slow and thoughtful too until I'd got the hang of the cable pattern.   It also got a bit easier when I suddenly remembered that I had a very fine cable needle which would help with the various cable patterns. (sigh... be prepared? not quite)

I've got the first leg done and I am about to start the heel flap. I'll not tackle anything while the skeleton comp is on, it's too mind-boggling to see people hurtling head first down an icy track on a thin metal sheet on runners! I'll stick to my knitting I think!

mysteries and enigmas

My Zen mp3 player has been buzzing with mysteries from many and varied periods of history while I've been getting the Milo sock underway.

I finished Hugo's Les Miserables the other day, and I'm glad I waited until I was (ahem) middle-aged before I listened to it.

I loved the way Hugo interspersed the story with essays on the Battle of Waterloo, the French Penal system, the sewers under Paris, and life in a convent and the barricades in Paris during the revolt of 1830. It was riveting.
I studied European History in the 19th century for A level History 30 years ago and I wish the teacher had read extracts from Hugo's work to gave a flavour of the revolt.

At the same time the story of Jean Valjean and the child Cosette is gradually unravelled by Marius and at the end Cosette learns her mother's name, though not her father's.

It is well worth listening to this classic rather than reading it, and I'm sure it will be one that I will revisit in 10 years time or so, as I'm sure I will gain an even greater appreciation of it.

When I finished this I turned to the latest chapter of "The Uninvited" read by Julie on Forgotten Classics- so from 1830 to the Roaring Twenties, and from history to a mysterious ghost story.
I like ghost stories, (but not modern horror stories) and the change of pace and tone was refreshing, so much so that I downloaded "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith set in Suffolk in the 1930's. (brilliantly narrated by Jenny Agutter) I know that I read this about 20 years ago, and had been gripped by the love story but hadn't really absorbed the literary stuff.

At the end, when Cassandra's father is writing again he is exploring the link between our enjoyment of puzzles and riddles with our attempts to understand the big questions such as the nature of God and the Universe.

Funnily enough, Julie had given a link to A History of the World in 100 Objects, a BBC podcast which is available on itunes for people outside the UK.
small beer?

The podcasts last about 10 minutes and are a fascinating insight into the development of writing, literature, and how that has shaped cultures. The objects include some of the earliest writing which is a record of payments of beer for state workers (I like that!) and some relics from the Indus valley which have symbols on them as yet undeciphered.

Hopefully some clever people will be able to puzzle out the meanings of the symbols of this long lost civilization.

An enigma the Indus valley

Meantime the patten on Milo is set and I'm finding it easier to follow the charts and feel much less puzzled!

it must be love, love, love

It's our 25th Valentine's day together, and D gave me flowers, wine, fancy choc and a sponge cake that he rustled up in between rugby matches yesterday. I feel totally loved and quite spoiled!

We always celebrate Valentine's, but we don't go overboard with the pressies, it's more about giving each other a special treat, rather than splashing the cash.

I gave him a copy of The Best Of Journey, which following the success of Glee and the theme song, "Don't Stop Believing", is having a bit of a revival. About time too!

When we were first courting, D made me a tape of his fave music and that was one of the tracks on it. Ah, the romance.

Vancouver 2010 has begun with a wonderful spectacular opening ceremony, and the Canadians did a wonderful tribute to the Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, who died earlier that day in training.

The Georgian team wore black armbands and received a standing ovation from the thousands packing the arena. I was in tears watching it. I hope the Georgian team does well.

I'm making slow progress on my Milo's, partly because I'm spending too much time playing Farmville, partly because the cable patterns are complex and partly because I had to change needles (the first dpns were a bit too slippery) , re-swatch, re-read the pattern, because I'd misunderstood it, and start again! OOPS!

However, it's back underway, I love the colour and I'll change my crops on Farmville so that they take up less time!! ( tsk tsk!  what a kid!).

The Olympics are great, I'm loving watching the coverage, which is good, because my footy team is not doing so well, we drew again at Portsmouth midweek! Gah!

Oh Mr Porter!

I watched the Superbowl last night (this must be the first time in 20 years that D and I have stayed up till 3am to watch the game live).

It was a tremendous spectacle, not least the fabulous run by Tracy Porter (New Orleans Saints) who foiled the Colts quarterback, Peyton Manning, caught his pass and pelted hell-for-leather 70 yards down the field to score a wonderful touchdown. (see the video here, at bottom of the page)

D and I were truly neutral watching the game, settled down with bottles of Budweiser and pretzels, just wanting to see a good game, and we did.

I managed to get Cerys (part 1) finished while watching, with only a little bit of tinking back when the action got a bit intense!

This has been put onto waste yarn until parts 2 and 3 are made, but that will after the Ravelympics!

I've enjoyed knitting this first lace project, the pattern is great and the yarn by Annikin Allis is lovely. I can see why people get addicted to making lace!

The football was a bit frustrating at the weekend- Sunderland only managed a home draw (and were lucky to get that), and we're now in the position that we need those teams below us in the table to do badly too.

I felt awful as I was cheering on Birmingham to beat Wolves on Sunday, as a win for Wolves would put them level with us. Wolves are managed by Mick McCarthy, a former Sunderland manager, but Birmingham has a former Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips, who at 36 still has the ability to come on as a sub and snatch a victory form the jaws of defeat- 2 great goals, 3 points for Brum and Sunderland less threatened by Wolves.

I was hoping that this season the spectre of relegation would not be hanging over us, but it seems to be approaching unless we can start winning again.

olympic training

I'm gearing up for my first ever entry into the Ravelympics: I'm choosing to make this funky pair of socks (Milo) designed by the incomparable Cookie A (in her book Sock Innovation)

I think I can make a pair of socks in 16 days, but this is a complex pattern with various patterns and will be a real challenge for me.

..and that's the point of the Ravelympics- to choose a project which is a bit of a stretch, but is possible to do and to make it during the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

I'm allowed to put the pattern, wool, needles and notions together before the start of the Winter Olympics , and to get in some training by swatching and practising the cables. But I can't cast on till the opening ceremony- in reality as that will be in the middle of Friday night for me (Vancouver is 8 hours behind the UK), I'll cast on sometime on Saturday!

In the meantime I'm pressing on with Cerys- I hope to get this first section of the blanket done before the weekend, then I'll break out the hot pink sock yarn that I've been saving for a special pair of socks and knit while I watch the skating highlights.... I can't wait!

bore draw

The most tedious game of football was played last night at the Stadium of Light, and we were grateful to get a point(0-0). Things are pretty bad when we can't beat Stoke at home.

I was following the match on the live text feed on the BBC and the commentators were in despair with boredom, begging for the match to end. sigh, and the season started so well too.

While I was following this match (I use the term loosely!) I was tinking away on Cerys.

I'd been doing so well last week, enjoying the progress that I was making, then I decided to throw a gin and tonic into the mix , or rather into me.

I was warned, oh I was warned, by fellow knitters tweeting at me to stop.

What a fool I was!
So I was tinking away the mistakes (tink= knit backwards) with a cup of tea besides me and if I break out the tonic water again, it will be with ice and a slice, but no gin!
I wish my team would play better then the gin would not be required!

So, three repeats of the first set of charts done, 1 point gained,  1 lesson learned.