Another new hat, and advents 21 and 22

 

The tale of how I came to be given a rather splendid birthday present of the Travellers Dye-ery Box is one for another day, but this is one of the seven yarns that were in it; Giddy Yarns Portugal. I was terrified most of the time I was knitting this that it was going to turn out too small (and when I looked at the project notes that others had made on Ravelry I was not alone it seems)  but in the event it wasn't, and after I had blocked it, using my hat blocker it had just the right amount of slouchiness as well. There's some of the wool left over and I hope there's enough to make some matching fingerless mitts. 

Advent Day 21 was Aslan's Sacrifice and the stitch marker was a tree. It came complete with a set of small plain rings which are useful for marking off pattern repeats on shawls, or decrease spots on hats. I used them in the Faro hat in fact. It was a day for opening the German advent too and I got a candle, which was one of my favourite scents - cool cotton. Smells like fereshly done laundry. The OH hates it; I often get  cotton reed diffusers for the house but I never use them in a room where he spends time. 

Day 22 - This one is The Statues are Freed and the stitch marker is a sweet little mushroom. 

I can't finish this post without noting that it's the last one of the year. Looking back it hasn't been the best one ever and sadly  if it  reinforced one of my hard won life lessons it was not to be too sanguine about next year, because low expectations are, I have found, the best insurance against disappointment.

However, we are lucky. We've not caught covid and we're vaccinated. We have a roof over our heads, friends, family, food in the fridge and fuel in the store. We don't live in fear of nature's tantrums (the occasional high wind excepted) nor do we live in an overly oppressive state or in the middle of a military conflict Compared to the vast majority of the world's population we're well ahead. And on a personal level the year had some high spots. We had some lovely walks, I completed my personal challenge of knitting my elder son a pair of socks a month, and I had a lovely time away in the  summer which I thoroughly enjoyed and which gave me some very happy memories to look back on, not least of which was seeing a live opera performance for the first time in far too long. And with luck and a following wind 2022 will be an improvement on 2021; we can only wait and see. 

Baking Subscription December - and Birthday Celebrations

The bake this month was Black Forest Gateau and I made it for the OH's birthday which was earlier this week.

It was huge. and even with son no 2 here it will take a while to get through.

It may be difficult to believe looking at it but it could do with a bit more cream. Also it should have had chocolate curls on the top which are conspicuous by their absence. This is not because sprinkling them over the top of the cake was a step too far but because I picked up the bag with them inside it and threw them into the warm cream to make the chocolate ganache before I realised that I should have picked up the other bag with chocolate bits, chips in that case, for the ganache. Oops! 

Obviously the birthday should have been celebrated in Toronto and we had booked a table for all of us at a North African Restaurant. We couldn't replicate that here although we did have fajitas cooked with some of the spices he got as a birthday gift. 

We also went to the cinema to see Dune. Apart from needing subtitles some of the time ( which is to do with our local cinema's sound system rather than the film itself apparently) and not being able to distinguish between various sets of armoured human figures who seemed to fight one another without much rhyme or reason I quite enjoyed it. It would probably have made more sense if I had read the book, but despite several tries in the past I've never got past the first 30 pages. 

And whoosh ...we're out the other side

Christmas is over, and although it wasn't the one we were expecting it was fine. Quiet, but then we're at the age where we like quiet really. Son no 2 was here and son no 1 Skyped, although the grandchildren were notable as always by their reluctance to engage.

Present opening took very little time. The OH and I had decided that 'going to Canada' was our present, and the main present for son no 2 had been sent to Glasgow and hadn't arrived by the time he came back to Orkney, although the courier was supposed to have delivered it before that. It has now been 'delivered', by which they mean left outside the door of his flat so we can only hope the next door neighbour took it in. Presents to and for Canada were still in Canada and Orkney respectively so it's a good thing we all know that Christmas isn't really all about the presents. The OH cooked Christmas lunch and son no 2 made sticky toffee pudding for dessert, which we ate several hours after lunch.

The TV 'offering' as we have all learned to describe it, was particularly bad this year and I haven't actually come across anyone who disagrees with that. As a result a jigsaw I was bought for my birthday and which has languished part done on hte diing room table for quite a long time finally got finished. 

It's beautiful but there's no denying it was a challenge. I will do it again, but probably not for  a while! 

It's Almost Christmas

 

Usually I put up a Christmassy picture on Christmas Eve; a wreath, a candle or a tree. Something a little different this year. 

A few months back in a weak moment when I was feeling very bleak I ordered a Christmas Eve Cast On box from an Indie dyer The Little Grey Girl. Fab website - have a gander)  It came a couple of days ago; a beautiful Nutcracker themed project bag with a skein of self striping wool and a contrasting mini skein. The clue to the intention is in the name; the idea is to cast on something new on Christmas Eve, when all the preparations for The Day have been made and you're just waiting. I doubt I'll do that, and when I cast on I won't be using the contrast mini skein with the self stripe either because it is too much of  a contrast for me. Which is not to say that it isn't a very beautiful colour and I shall use it in something else. 

Not different this year though - my thanks for reading, for responding, for occasionally getting in touch. Also not different - wherever you are and whatever your plans I wish you all a very happy Christmas.  

Sock Renovation - and More Advents!

Years ago when my boys were small I made each of them a Christmas stocking. Goodness knows why, I was never much of a sewer. I must have seen the idea in a magazine and once I had made one for the older one obviously there had to be another for the younger one when he came along. Son No 1 took his to Canada with him, and as far as I know it is still used. Son No 2's is kept here and is definitely still used.

Over the years they've suffered from a bit of wear and tear. There were a lot of sequins on them and they do tend to fall off after a while and for several years I've been saying that I must do something about it. I hadn't the heart last year when son no 2 couldn't even come here for Christmas but this year I did make a start. That was last week and it was a bigger job than I had anticipated so I only got one side done. However the two of us buckled down this week with the result that the sock is now rejuvenated. And gaudy. I remember my mother saying that 'Good taste didn't really count for anything when it came to Christmas decorations' which is a comfort in the circumstances. 

Anyway here is side 1, which I did on my own

and before and after pictures of side 2

Advents - Day 18 

Yarn is Peter Kills the Wolf, and the stitch marker is another enamelled cat this time with a rose. 

Day 19 

The gnome came form my German advent swap. The yarn is called Edmund is Rescued.The stitch marker is a cute little bee and there was a badge with the advent logo on it. 

Day 20 

The yarn is called Deep Magic and the stitch marker is a small bead of a semi precious stone. Not sure what it is other than pale green! 

Books to Read Poster No 32 and Advent Days 16 and 17

Let's do the book first. I borrowed the e-book version from the library  and listened to most of it at 1.5 x normal speed to get through it quicker. Here's the pic from the poster

It's a bit blurry, sorry. No prizes for guessing that the book was Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman,

In some ways this book is beyond criticism from me; this is partly because it's very very definitely a YA novel and I am therefore certainly not part of the demographic at which it's aimed. The other is that it's such an earnest, well meaning, and upon occasion subtle critique of the stupidity of classing people by the colour of their skin that it places itself almost above normal critical considerations. 

Blackman is good at the insidiousness of peer pressure when it comes to race relations, and also at the societal structures that ensure that every well meaning colour blind gesture just makes things worse. What she wasn't very good at was making her two main characters particularly likeable: the boy was surly and imperceptive and the girl was a silly chit with no understanding of how her world worked. The narrative also suffered because the author was trying too hard; using a dozen words where two would do, and using complicated ones where simpler ones would be better. Her attempts at original comparisons were pretty dire too. As far as I know this was her first published book and I daresay she has got better. I cannot however fault her ability to look the real horror of life in a highly segregated society in the eye and then put some of the nastier aspects of it into her book. The ending in particular - no spoilers - shocked, amazed and gratified. 

I'm sort of glad I read it even though I didn't particularly enjoy it. 

Advent day 16 included the German swap so there were three things to open

A lovely notebook. The stitch marker was an enamelled leaf and there was a matching enamelled pin. The yarn was a bright and pretty speckle called Spring Comes to Narnia. 

Day 17 brought my favourite stitch marker to date, a little bird perched on a twig and a beautiful if rather sombre grey green yarn called The Stone Table. It's really lovely, if you like that sort of thing, which I do. 

In other news son no 2 and the OH returned safely from Glasgow last night so I suppose the Christmas break has begun, and we need to fins ways to make it work and to enjoy it when it is going to be so different to what we were expecting. 

Bouncing Back, Winter Nails and Advents 14 and 15

On the surface we're startling to get over the disappointment of not going away and even as I type the OH is on his way back from Glasgow with Son No 2. It won't be the Christmas we planned but at least it is a step up from last year when son no 2 had to stay on his own in Tier 3 Glasgow which no-one was allowed to leave. 

I had my nails redone. I was sorry to see my Goth collection go, but it was time for something wintry and here they are. 

It's not easy to see but the blue background has sparkles in it. I'm very happy with them. 

Let's do a bit of an advent catch up. 

This is Day 14 and the yarn is called 'A Gift for Susan'. The stitch marker is an enamelled blue and white bead. The blue is splotches really but when I look at them  I can see all sorts of things in the shapes. A bit like a spherical Rorschach test. 

Day 15 brought yarn called - surprise, surprise - A Gift for Lucy and two silver leaf stitch markers which, as it happens, are already in a project which I cast on yesterday. 

Sadder than a Sad Thing

So there you go. New restrictions for travellers to Canada, and they mean we cant go and see Son No 1 and family for Christmas and New Year after all.

I really don't have the words for how crushingly disappointing this is. 

I'm trying hard to see a way I can make a positive of it, but failing miserably just now. Maybe something will occur. 

Meanwhile blog posts of any description are likely to be on hold for the forseeable. 

A Finished Hat, Advent Day 13 and an old TV Gem

 Ta-dah! The hat is finished. It was a quick knit and I'm very happy with it. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy knitting hats. 

It was a three packet unwrap today for the advents. Sewing up needles from the German advent swap, another green bead stitch marker and a very pretty blue white and mauve mini skein called A Present for Peter.

On the subject of there being nothing to watch on TV, after my moans yesterday I was delighted to come across a real blast from the past on YouTube later on; the first episode of a BBC drama series from years ago called The Fourth Arm. Known affectionately in my family and among some friends' as the Fifth Leg it was set during World War 2 and was about an SOE operation to blow up a V2 storage facility. It starred two of my favourite actors and sadly never came out on DVD. It was a joy to revisit it, and it stood up relatively well to the modern eye and ear.I can only hope that whoever it was who uploaded episode one can find and upload the rest of the series. 

Scrappy catch-up

 Yes, I've put up this picture before but it's here again, to represent the fact that I did manage my self inflicted (and I use the word advisedly) goal of knitting a pair of these socks for Christmas Day for every adult member of the family who will be gathered (hopefully) round the Christmas tree in Toronto. Five pairs of almost identical socks. It could have been a bit of a chore, but there again what else am I going to do while I'm sitting watching TV in the evening? The problem of actually finding anything worth watching is a subject to which I shall doubtless return but the latest Dr Who? - epic fail in this house. At least we stuck with it; there have been countless drama series recently where I've watched the first and sometimes even the second, episode and then given up because I just didn't care. 

Talking of Toronto there have ben several changes to the testing system for Canada in the past few weeks. It keeps us on our (anxious) toes. With omicron running rife we are anxious about failing the pre departure test to go, which would be hugely disappointing, but we're keeping ourselves to ourselves. We're both boosted and son no 2 gets boosted today and is under strict instructions to keep out of people's way as much as possible so we can only hope we'll be OK. 

We did LFTs the other day. Well the OH did; I failed miserable in my attempt to get any solution out of the bottle and into the testing device; another go this afternoon. I'm still inhaling Vick like someone addicted to eucalyptus, I exp0ect one day soon I'll look in the mirror and see a koala looking back at me. 

Son no 1 tells us there is snow in Toronto and the temperatures are very low. This does not fill me with joy as I am no good in very cold weather, unless all that is expected of me is to curl up in front of a fire with a good book. We are now frantically taking stock of thermals and gloves, hats and scarves. In this connection I have cast on a hat for son no 2 who generally doesn't wear them because 'they make my head itch'. Join the club and pull on a hat so your ears don't fall off from frostbite. It's just a basic beanie which I cast on on Friday and hope to get finished today. 

The photograph is really just to show off the daisy stitch marker from my advent because I only caught the very top in  the photo the other day! 

And so to recent advents

This was day 10 which included the German advent swap parcel; there are only nine of these spread throughout the month which is why there isn't one every day! The top mini-skein came from that. It's a lovely wool/silk mix and a gorgeous colour. Under that is the Giddy yarn mini, and it's Aslan. And oh look, I had forgotten I'd put the daisy stitch marker in that photo! Oh well. The day 10 stitch marker advent was actually two, a clear one and a pale amber one. 

Day 11 was yet another teal colour, this time splashed with purple, called Edmund's Betrayal , and the stitch marker is a very solid little silver cat. 

Today is Day 12 and at last we get a red! Christmas comes to Narnia is the name and the stitch marker is a companion to the one on Day 6; a white cat under a wisteria. Really pretty. 

More Trees and Advents 8 and 9

A friend sent us an Open before Christmas Christmas present. Possibly her choice was influenced by hearing that we were discussing whether or not to put up the tree. It was a beautiful garland of origami trees which we put up straight away. 

and which will now be an annual feature. It's really lovely, but then the person concerned has a genius for selecting presents. 

This was advent day 8. A Robin Leads the Way is the name of the yarn and the stitch marker was a pretty blue bead. 

And this is Day 9. There was an extra of two little stickers with the stitch marker which is a  little daisy and the yarn is Mr and Mrs Beaver. There's a schedule that tells you which chapter of the book the yarn relates to, for anyone who wants to read along as they open up the parcel each day. I don't do that because it's not long since I read all The Chronicles of Narnia for the Book Poster but I did look yesterday at the chapter for today. I guessed it would be one of two things; the beavers or marmalade roll. I'm a bit sad it wasn't marmalade roll to be honest. But hey'ho! 

The Tree. And Advents 1 and 7

We put the tree up last week. It was a bit early but we're planning to be away at Christmas so it was either put it up early and enjoy it for a while or don't put it up at all. My preference was for the latter, but as usual the OH's writ was the one that ran. 

Here we go 

My camera issues have now been sorted. A few weeks ago I had to abandon my lovely little Canon because it had run out of calendar. Who knew that was a thing? In practice this meant that, if I wanted my laptop to recognise the pictures and upload them I had to reset the date every time I took a photograph. Not every day, which would have been tedious but doable, but every time I switched it on. That got very old very quickly. I'd had it a long time, I'd taken some fabulous photos on it, it didn't owe me a penny, but I was used to it, and cross about the built in obsolescence and I didn't really want to have to learn to use another one. This probably accounts for the fact that, although I have been using one of the OH's cast offs which he did very generously give to me,. I wasn't that keen to learn how to use it and didn't take in the fact that it runs on a rechargeable battery pack that has a special charger. So that, last week, when I got the charge battery signal I had no idea what he was talking about when he started going on about 'packs' and 'flat chargers' Needless to say the charger was nowhere to be found, we had to order a new one, which didn't arrive until yesterday and several photographs were therefore marooned on the camera until such time as it would work again. 

Happily it is all now charged up, I used it this morning to take the photo of the tree and advent Day 7 and was able to upload the photo of advent day 1, along with several others. So here is today's 

Today being 7th it was an advent swap day and I had some hand made sweets from The Netherlands, not yet sampled. The stitch markers again would make lovely little ear-rings, being small silver leaves. And the yarn colour is 'Mr Tumnus is Arrested,' an intriguing mix of grey, green and red. I'm looking forward to seeing how it works up. 

And this is the delayed photo of Day 1; stitch holders from the swap, a bigger single silver leaf stitch marker  and the yarn was called 'Through the Wardrobe'. 

Elsewhere in a part of life that isn't all about opening small parcels and being joyful I have been having trouble with my ears, which is worrying in view of the fact that we're proposing to fly quite soon. I have therefore consulted a doctor with the result that I am now off to breathe in eucalyptus fumes, which I have to do on a frequent basis,  in the hope of clearing things up. Fortunately I like the smell of eucalyptus, although I suspect I will be heartily sick of it by the time we're done. 

Boosted! And Advents 5 and 6

Well yesterday was a very odd day. I had my Covid booster on Saturday; it was so busy, despite everyone being given an individual time to arrive, that the OH came to find me as I had disappeared into the hospital and not reappeared for almost an hour. Apparently a lot of people turn up when it's convenient for them and not when their appointment is,. which explains why the place was rammed when I arrived and practically empty by the time I left. They were also enforcing the 'sit down for 15 minutes before you leave afterwards' rule, which is the first time I've known that to happen. 

Anyway I had my booster and  all was fine until yesterday when I developed a very sore arm, fatigue and felt very cold.  The last two may be coincidental. I sleep very badly at the best of times so don't get enough sleep and it was a cold day. It did mean I had two useless arms though. My right arm is giving me  a lot of trouble, possibly because every time I rest it for a few days to help it get better, it starts feeling more or less OK and I start using it again, only for it to decide to protest. I blame the knitting on small circular needles, but who knows? anyway nothing was getting done yesterday that required lifting an arm any higher than just below shoulder level.

But enough of my aches and pains.Here's a picture of advent day 5 

I was a little bit disappointed with the yarn, colour The White Witch,  because to me it looked almost exactly the same as Day 4. Worked up it's more blue than Day 4, which is rather  greener and has more white in it, but it's still sad they had to come on adjacent days. I wasn't disappointed with the stitch marker though,                                                                                                                                                                                                         

And here is Day 6. I'd been waiting for 'Turkish Delight' to appear, and today was the day. As you can tell from the shadow on the photo it was sunny in Orkney this morning which means the wool looks a lot lighter in colour than it actually is. And in another colour coincidence the stitch marker was a similar colour to the yarn.. I loved todays SM, it may be my favourite so far. 

Books to Read Poster No 31 - and Advent Day 4

 

This was a double dip as it was also a Bedside Book - they're now down to just one which is a good feeling. Given the picture there are no prizes for guessing that the book was Hamlet. 

And yes, I have read it before, if studying it at school counts. I've also seen it several times on stage, including a very beautiful touring RSC production many years ago with Philip Franks as Hamlet, Maggie Steed as Gertrude, Tessa Peake Jones as Ophelia and the late lamented David Collings (the reason for going) as Polonius. No memory whatsoever of who played Claudius. 

Rather to my surprise I enjoyed reading it. I think mainly I was just blown away by the power and the ease and the sheer inventiveness of the language. There was a lot more politics in it than I remember, and quite long asides on the nature of theatre and how plays should be produced which were totally irrelevant to the main plot and which presumably are very pointed comments from Shakespeare aimed at someone, but we don't know who. As such I found them quite amusing although if ever included they must hold up the performance mightily,. 

Advent day 4 is upon us and voila

The stitch marker advent gave me the little silver cat playing with a ball.. The yarn today was called 'Always Winter and Never Christmas' and it tones beautifully with the stitch marker set that was today's packet in my privately arranged  advent swap with a knitter in Germany. I like the dangly stich markers so much that the OH has promised to look out some ear-ring findings so that they can be converted into ear rings. They will go very nicely with a little turquoise necklace I bought when we were in Devon. 

Advent Day 3

 

It's difficult to see the colour of the sparklies on the stitch markers but they're a peridot green with, if you you hold them right, a hint of blue in the centre. The yarn is called Tea with Mr Tumnus. 

In other news I am due for my Covid Booster tomorrow at noon and today we shall mostly be putting up the tree. It's a bit early, but  fingers crossed, we're not going to be here for half the month so we might as well make the most of it while we can. Actually I say 'put up', but it was assembled yesterday by the OH, who also put on the lights, so technically what we're doing today is decorating it. 

Pic tomorrow I expect, along with advent day 4. 

Advent Day 2

Yes, you did read that correctly, this is a blog post about my Day 2 advents because we are having camera issues which mean I cannot bring you the photo of my advent goodies from yesterday. I'll play catch up in due course. Meanwhile here is what I got in my Day 2 packets

I think I already mentioned that the yarn calendar is inspired by The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Yesterdays colour was 'Through the Wardrobe' and I have used it already - picture of that to come also when normal service is resumed. 

Today's colour is Lamppost in the Woods and fingers crossed I'll get that used up today. I won;t be able to keep up all the way until the 25th because we are going away for Christmas* and I'm not taking them with me - that will be something to look forward to when we get home. 

*Well I say we are gong away, it is of course Covid dependent.

The stitch marker is a beautifully enamelled tree, and the two co-ordinate really well, although that's a pure coincidence.