ProseKnitic – of Words und Wolle

As you can tell, I have been messing around with the blog appearance again. Never mind that the sidebars seem beyond repair in all themes or that this particular theme has no options whatsoever. (Meaning that I have to get creative and actually edit some php and css files myself. Not mentioning that the editor does not seem to be working nor remotely does anything resembling the archive function.

Ah well. Clean, simple. Lots of white and the Heidelberg pictures rather than my current garden. Please let me know in the comments what you think and what you find that is broken, I would really appreciate it.  For that matter, does anyone really check the blogs anymore as apposed to reading feeds?

In better use of my time, I hauled out the spinning wheel yesterday.

fine black singles

and tried spinning a bit of the black roving I received in the On-Going UK Swap.
Looked at some of the white shetland

unprepared locks

and combed at bit, spun it into singles, then plyed.

two ply shetalnd

it was happy to be fine

15 threads over a pound coin

and it is now washed and hanging. That small amount turned into 30 meters of two ply.

not for dogs

meanwhile, the grey fleece I washed last night is mostly dry

grey shetland

My choice of listening today has been Zombie Chronicles by James Melzer which you can find on his website or Podiobooks and The Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steven Miller. You can find it contained in the Saltation Podcast on Fireheart Foundry or available on iTunes. It will be out in hardcover from Baen this fall.

At almost 2200, it is dark enough that I need to bring in yarn and fleece.

Back home, I realized that I was nowhere near as coherent yesterday as I thought.

There is a reason why the written instructions (instructions? who reads pesky instructions) are very specific about not driving for 24 hours after anesthesia (legally impaired I think were the specific words).

Forgot to show you the progress on the Faery Ring Aran

ready to start bodice cabling

Other than driving home mid day and rescuing the dog – the only useful things I accomplished this morning were a stop at the library and a stop at the craft store (Lakenheath both).

TBR

in no particular order
Wormwood – Susan Wittig Albert
A Cedar Cove Christmas – Debbie Macomber (written soap opera)
Undead and Unworthy – Mary Janice Davidson. What am I doing with this book anyway? The last one in audio drove me insane!
Wings of Wrath- C.S. Friedman
The Language of Bees – Laurie R King
Three Bags Full – Leonie Swann (I skimmed through it in the original German. wanted to see how it was in translation).
odd girl out – Timothy Zahn (real scifi!)
Dark of Night – Suzanne Brockman (the next in the Troubleshooters series).

There is the Lotus Blossom Shawl

Lotus

complete with edging and bobbles.

details

I have to admit that blocking wires make all the difference in the world

Earlier this week I think I posted about a scarf variation of Lotus Blossom out of two balls of Regia Cotton Sock yarn on 4.00 needles with 48 stitches of pattern plus two stitches in garter at each edge.

almost two meters

It was an extremely fast knit, taking a bit of time over two days. With the lovely sunshine today, it was a perfect time to block and dry it in the sun.

the blossoms

the stem portion

Lotus Version II

It was completey dry by late afternoon. I am not pushing my luck and will leave it pinned for a couole of days, just in case.  I am going to do this one again, but with the blossoms on both ends next time…..

Audio

Good Omens -Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett

In the usual fashion of the cheap traveler, the shortest distance between Frankfurt and Budapest is via München. Yes, it takes longer. Yes, there is an additional take off and landing involved; but it saved almost 200€. I can buy a lot of yarn for 200€. For that matter, the savings are almost enough to pay this four day hotel bill.

This morning the DH dropped us (me en route to Budapest and the two (Ms Soprano and my college roomie) headed back to the States) off at the airport. Three passangers are cheaper by car as long as you have the kind, long suffering husband to do the drop off.

I didn’t bother with pictures either of or from Frankfurt. But München? Why not!

taking off from München

and then there is artistry

not exactly a crop circle

and smog, do not forget the smog. This is the clearest picture once we gained altitude. Ugly, huh?

yes, river and island

The Corvin is an unpretentious hotel, not fancy (be warned, there is music on their website)

kind of Motel 6

with apartment buildings

view from my balcony

and a nice little terrace where I am headed as soon as I post this entry

suppose they serve....?

Knitting

Thought you would appreciate this -

all but the edging....

and my plane knitting project is Fiddlestick’s Lotus Blossom Shawl in a lovely sock weight merino I purchased this January at Imagiknits (San Francisco). Starting yesterday afternoon, I have made excellent progress. 3.75mm needles do feel huge.

through row 111

stem detail

The shawl is knit from the top down (usual three stitch start) combining one pattern for the stems and a second for the blossoms on the bottom of the stems.

Audio Books

First I listened to Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell  Me….. before finishing Asimov’s Naked Sun. Then it was time to figure out what to hear next.

After listening to a few minutes of this and that – I settled for non-fiction. Pultizer Prize New York Times columnist Thomas L Friedman‘s Longitudes and Attitudes. This collection includes both selected column’s and diary records from the period shortly before and then after 11 Sept 2001. He is articulate and thought provoking even if you don’t subscribe to his politics.

You remember Phoenix, right?

It must be almost a month since I had it out, busy being distracted by other projects. It is now my reward knitting.

I looked at the cuff recommendations. Once I got over the error in the book (staring with 50 stitches for a 48 stitch cuff) I decided I didn’t like the recommended portion of the pattern anyway. I wanted something that I liked.

Taking a bit from the final of the four charts, and deciding that the cuffs were not going to match -

Phoenix head

which is almost impossible to see from your direction. But when I look at it from mine, it is just fine. 

As you also might have guessed, Scheherazade is on the needles again. Now that it needs to be completed in the next two weeks I don’t have much excuse……

Audio Books

Dime Store Magic – Kelley Armstrong

And no, I did not clean house, pick up or do laundry. Maybe tomorrow……

are kind of addicting.

I tackled Mermaid last fall on the Black Sea Cruise. Solo was up next (if you want to look at her whole line – go here). None of them are all that complicated or difficult, even allowing for knitting forever on size 3.00 mm needles. Garter stitch does get boring. But as one woman mentioned in a Ravelry Forum – “You don’t have to worry about running out of knitting while on your trip.”

I started Blues while in Egypt this past Dec, but lost interst in it after I returned home. Some how a summer vest just did not hold a lot of fascination while the inside temperatures were holding just a few degrees above freezing.

Pyramid

Is constructed by knitting from the outside in. Front and back as separate pieces are joined at the shoulders. I have to tack down the neck placket, then knit some i-cord around the neck for a finish.

shoulders sewn together

Stitches are then picked up along the sides and the sleeves are knit down in pattern

the first sleeve

leaving the whole thing looking like this at the present.

body + start of first sleeve

It doesn’t take that much concentration, but it does take some so that I remember to do the decrease at the far end of the row.
The good thing about this kind of construction is that the rows are longest at the beginning and it does get better.

Pagoda

Which leads me to Pagoda. I bought the kit in Demark, so that must have made it back when Ms Soprano was a toddler. It could have been as late as 1999, but I rather doubt that. In any case, the kit was well aged. So well aged, as it turned out, that the wool was a casualty in the 2003-2004 m*th invasion.
(the one that happened while I was downrange for 15 months and some people in my house didn’t understand some basics about closing up rooms, keeping doors closed and killing off weird flying things. Our house in Germany, like most, does not have screens.

Why am I telling you all of this? Silly me, while I was substituting yarn I looked at the pattern. Danish pattern. I can’t read Danish. But I can look at pictures and I can count rows when looking at other peoples pictures on Ravelry. First off, I finally realized that I don’t have to worry about the sleeve decreases for a while. The second was that I really didn’t have to knit this thing in three pieces and sew them together. Since I was already doing a yarn substitution, I could knit the most of it in one piece. Off I go with hardly a thought. Left front, back, right front. It works until half way up the garment at which point the fronts are finished and I only have the upper portion of the back. Knit from the outside in.

9xx is a freaking lot of stitches on a needle. It takes a long time to knit a row.  Listening to audiobooks is the only way to maintain sanity. (who am I kidding, this jacket is thousands of stitches, each and every flipping one of them a knit stitch. garter.)

this is only 8 rows with dozens to go....

Media

finished the new Nora Roberts, couple of hours to go on Callahan’s Key. Now – I can go on to Lois McMaster Bujold (more SciFi) or I can switch over to Simon Winchester and listen to Krakotoa.

OH! If you have not listened to The Takeover (Mur Lafferty) – go directly here at Podiobooks to get it. Unless of course you don’t like fun lyrics, have never dealt with office politics, or had the suspicion that some of the people with whom you work are a bit different.

All right, I will admit to stopping at Karstadt yesterday on my way to the SanAk.

I got some clown colored yarn……

messing around

I am also making progress on

Pyramid

as this is the front (back is just out of sight above)….

Listening to various Callahan’s Stories (collection downloaded from iTunes).

The day’s worth of lectures were not too bad and my mind is not completely numb.

I have to catch a train today to München (and sorry to those who get weird symbols instead of the actual umlaut. The link is for those who are interested the history and how the letters are managed in various computer languages.) I am wondering if this would work better if I went ahead and used the html Ä instead of Ä.

I can’t see the difference on my browser or computer, but then it is Swiss and I have it set to render properly.

I have purchased a few audio books from the Callahan series (go here if you want Spider Robinsons complete list in chronological order) and to Spider on the Web if you like music, stories and readings. A most quality broadcast).

Other than a change of clothes, my camer and some knitting – I have little I am taking along. No computer (no access while I am there) and hopefully no need to recharge the iPod. Suppose I pack a paperback just in case – Hostile Takeover by Swann (an omnibus). Or I could pull a couple of Tanya Huff’s Blood series off the shelf…..hummm.

Oh, this is the Bundeswehrs Chemical Medical Defense meeting. Troop kitchen, free room, nice people and an interesting agenda. What more could I want (and no, not bothering with a uniform since the normal requirement is Class A’s).  I will update on Thurs evening when I get back.

I agreed to contribute some old photos to a project and then had to dig through our photo cupboard in an attempt to locate anything appropriate.

I found pictures of the kids -

The Eldest - 1981

Ms Soprano - 1989

the Mole - 1993

and finally

Ms Copper - 1993

the last two were taken the day after Ms Copper joined the family as far as I can tell.

I found no early pictures of me in uniform (which was the original request). In fact, the earliest I can find dates from about 1982-83

fall 1982?

In fact, I have few pictures of me from anytime. Mostly there are pictures of the kids, scenery and the occasional shot of a house where we lived.

And knitting, one can not ignore the knitting and weaving. I might post a few old pictures of those over the next few days.

Meanwhile, I am making progress on this project.

progress

Believe it or not, the dark heavy stripes are three ridges (6 rows) wide and the white ones only two ridges (4 rows) wide. Up close, it didn’t quite look like the illustration, but the photo matches really well.

Audio

Listened to Mercedes Lackey – Valdemar Foundation then moved on to Kelley Armstrong – Women of the Otherworld (book 9)- Living with the Dead.

This week is the annual Medical Service Corps Officers conference in Garmisch. I am an “invited speaker.”  The bus leaves at 0730 in the morning and I return on Friday.  I know that there is Internet at the Library but probably limited opportunity to upload photos.  Hopefully I won’t be completely email and blogless for the week.

Ms Copper and ran errands. The compute toys we found were fine, but these were cheap (under $8) and are just for fun.

sandals

Weighing close to nothing, the soles are not at all padded. For something to show off socks, they will work quite well.

Have also started a new sweater for mindless knitting.

back

Garter stitch with the advantage that when you start with 382 stitches and work in; each succeeding row gets a bit easier. (double decreases at each corner every other row).

Any guesses as to the designer or pattern?

iTunes current put a number of the Hugo past winners and nominees on the audio book page. I downloaded the collection of Connie Willis short stories. Knowledge of quantum physics a help, but not necessary to enjoy the confusion.

There is something so fun, so appealing about all those bright and shiny dangles. Over the last year, I have collected quite a few and thought briefly about making my own.

I have jewels,

creatures

dragon flies and Loons

and abstract objects.

And then there are those that I use on a daily basis. They are really simple. They are thin and they have no dangles. There is nothing to get caught in that row, the one below or the one below that. No struggling with a yo increase next to a marker.

I buy another batch every time I place an order with The Loopy Ewe

Phoenix

Finally got to the armhole and 17 rows past it. Two views (with and without flash)

27 March - 165 rows

172 Rows - 27 March 09

Watching and listening

more CSI: Miami.
City of Fire – Ellis on audio.

Doors

Thank you all for leaving comments. Please (grin) keep it up at least through the 25th. I’ll put your name on list as many times as you comment before using the random number picker to grab 3-4 individuals to take those sock kits off my hands (and the roving if anyone would rather).

Today was a document reading day. There is not much I can do with my hands while reading. Ribbing is it. Ribbing I can do on auto pilot.

Kauni in shades of blue

Makes up for ripping out the edging I had on the unknown pattern shawl and redoing it with part of the edging from Evelyn Clark’s Heartland Shawl. Admittedly, it looks kind of ratty here.

finished with 10 meters to spare

Wicked Eyelet is drying

blocked

and Phoenix earned a couple more rows this evening.

10 rows into chart 3

Not bad at all

(CSI Season 8 on the laptop, one more episode before I crash?)

This morning at work, I was finishing up projects while collecting information for a briefing I have to do in a bit under 4 weeks.

This evening, I was finishing projects. It just seemed like the right thing to do – I found I needed to extend the one arm before setting it in

all but one sleeve

and after the second was seamed and completed – I have a sweater! Now, I have at least two daughters who might well want it. It is maybe a bit more their thing than mine. But it is so nice, soft and fuzzy. Perhaps if I knit it in hot pink and purple, Ms Copper would be interested.

Drops Cardigan

I made progress as well on the alcapa stripe, completing the middle section and am several rows into the second end.

Alpaca Striped Scarf

Books

Night and Day by Robert B Parker. Quick read, snappy dialog.

Arches

Birches

Spring is coming, there is a faint haze of green on the Birches near the Farnborough North Train Station. It is a different line than the one that I ordinarily take. No parking near, I met up with another knitter and we hiked to the station past interesting houses

House 1

House 2

On our way to Reading, we went a bit early so that I could see the two main yarn locations in town. There is a John Lewis of course. If you want Rowan or Debbie Bliss, you can always find it here. But much more fun is Jacksons which is one of those old fashioned stores that carries linens, uniforms, hats, gloves, household goods, foundation garments, sewing and dressmaking supplies. And it carries yarn. Not just some of the fancies, but pattern leaflets and shelfs stuffed with bag lots of yarn. Natural fibers packed in next to high quality acrylics there were some nice bargains which I resisted.

And then there is this interesting building

Town Hall etc

which houses the Town Hall, a theater, a gallery, a free museum, a nice (but slow) little café and a group of knitters/crocheters which get together on the second Sat(?). Of course, I didn’t get my camera out to grab a picture till every one was packing up.

packing up

Progress

Phoenix

Phoenix

Alpaca Striped Scarf

Alpaca

and Calypso with 3/19 repeats completed.

Calypso

Video

CSI:Miami Season 1. Borrowed from the Library.

There I was, minding my own business – I have the yarn – both the Brunswick

Hawaii color

and a ball of it and the mohair wound together.

mixed ball

I get to the split for the armholes, work up the back

most of the body

and then both sides. After binding off the shoulders,

shoulders complete

I realize that I am over halfway done with the sweater. Just sleeves and the collar to go.

Wicked Eyelet Vest

Continuing with the short attention span theme here (Phoenix and Scheherazade on hold for a couple of days)

I forgot to show you the yarn

Brunswick Yarn

and here is where I am on the vest

Wicked Eyelet

the best thing about both is that they are completely stash mining projects!

Audio

I have listened my way through the three Yasmine Galenorn books (Witchling, Changeling, and Darkling). This is another case where I think they are better in audio than in hard copy. Even with the helpful filler material, the second and third are not stand-a-lone and need to be read/heard in order. I pulled them from iTunes, they are also available from Audiobookstand….

Told you there was a hole in the ground. Right where our neighbor’s house used to stand. Might not be such a bad thing that I am not there to watch the destruction.

hole in the ground

Spent most of the day in various informal coordination meetings on the hospital casern.

Scheherazade

Made more progress

More progress

In fact, you can get a bit better idea of the length here.

shawl

Audio

Linda Greenlaw on the MP3 player. Fishermen’s Bend

The most snow in the last 18 years; a time period that predates my youngest two.

Yesterday, less than half the staff made it in to work. Today, most were there with all those who prefer more business like uniforms reverting to field dress in order to stay warm and to have on boots. The better with which to tromp through the snow drifts.

I had invited a number of friends over to dinner. Since three are iced in, not going to happen.

Out my office window

Viking Ship Sweater

Remember this project?

All three pieces

Here are the three main pieces. Down to cutting steeks, binding off shoulders, insetting sleeves, and knitting facings.

Audion Books

Finished up The Dirty Secrets Club by Meg Gardiner.
On Book 14 – Reunion in Death by J D Robb in the Eve Dallas Series.
Hard copy – Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedmann (or name quite similar).

It has been snowing here. A lot. You can hear about it on the radio, over the web. I am assuming as well on the TV (of which I don’t have one).

Most schools are shut down, as it appears, Sandhurst.

AMD on the other hand, well – most of the staff had made it in by partway through the day.

We went to work – the dog and I.

My entertainment came from cleaning out the in-box.

Hers from munch and crunch.

Audio Books

Finished Seduction in Death – J D Robb.
Ghost Stories on the car speakers…a nice collection of spooky stories ranging from the modern back to Edgar Allen Poe.

I had company for Sunday after the Mole caught the train toward Rochester.

Dog face

And we spent a quite day, the dog and I, listening to audio books while she snored, chewed bones and kept me company.

I spent most of the day knitting.

Scheherazade

There are six pairs of charts for each half. The first half has been done for a few days now. I started on the second half, pulling out the provisional cast on and starting the second half.

I now have the first pair of charts completed and a pile of scarf ….

second half - page 1

Viking Ship Sweater

The sleeves are done!

Completed Sleeves

Left Sleeve Dragon

Right Sleeve Dragon

Audio Books

Still listening to the Eve Dallas Series. There seemed to be a change in readers part way through the series. When I looked it up – Susan Erickson reads the series. I like her pacing and voices. Seduction in Death has a bit different in pacing, and many of the voices are different. No clue why.

There is the

Viking Ship Sweater

being almost done with the first sleeve. Other than the fact that the chart is much smaller than my eyes can see at the end of the day, I am making decent progress. (We will not mention that this sweater was started in Dec 07 now will we….

Left Sleeve

Trees

Completed, will start blocking tomorrow.

Trees

Audio Books

still working my way through Eve Dallas…..

Thank you for being so kind and looking at something other than knitting. For that, you have earned an update on the two knitting projects

Scheherazade

making a bit more progress

four charts

having finished up two of the six skeins (or is it eight?). Any way – there are six charts for each side with me being a few rows into the fifth chart.

Trees

Today just felt to warm for a lap full of wool, but I have started the V Neck and the trees are looking rather nice with the color changes in the yarn.

tree section

v-neck

I have calculated needing about 22 cm above the arms and am closing in on 10 cm.

Audio Books

and then there is the splurge on iTunes. The purchasing rules have changed again – with you actually have to be physically located in the country from which you are purchasing. Yes, I have a US credit card, but don’t live there. End result is that now have a number of books to synch that I am here in SF.

Finished Snow Fall at Hidden Lake – Susan Wiggs which is not too bad even if the main character spends entirely too much time being a Mary Sue. No one who achieves significant career accomplishments is that shallow or idiotic.

Which moved me along to Meg Gardiner’s The Dirty Secrets Club. Nothing like being in the city where a book is set.

Starting the journey home in the morning…..

or at least it seemed that way.

I dashed into work early to empty out all the work email, talk to a few people in the building and look at the long range schedule.

Picked up the Mole at Heathrow (plane was late, luggage was checked). Came home. Took him to Rochester (Kent, not New York) to get him settled in at school. Drove home.

Crashed.

I didn’t have enough energy to knit, sew, do laundry or even think about summer.

Audio Books

am working my way through the JD Robb series again in audio. Had Heather Graham’s The Dead Room going in the car. Ms Soprano had the opinion that the main character was too much of a “Mary Sue.” I am starting to get bored with four disks to go… have lots of other choices. Might just move on to a Linda Howard collection

The short bits – I managed to finish off Part I/II on my re-cert. According to the tutorial, Part II, the patient simulation, is supposed to take 1-2 hours. Right. Tomorrow.

Last year at this time I was out on the Atlantic Ocean underway to Brazil on the MSC Symphonia. I received a greeting from the terrific Argentinians with whom I celebrated Januca. Being with family is really nice

Freedom

The poster, bought in Berlin long before the Wall came down symbolizes to me much of what we should, as a people, be about.

Besides, of course, eating latkes -

Regular and Sweet Potato Latkes

goofing off -

The Mole

and lighting that first candle with the honors done by Ms Copper

Lighting that first candle

Hannukah Swap

I joined a swap started in the Ravely Jewish Fiberholics. Sent off my package to New Jersey several weeks ago (shall we mention forgetting to include the card, several buttons and the cocoa mix?). Mine arrived in the mail from State College PA a couple of weeks ago, and I have just been waiting for tonight to open it…

Swap Package

Swap Package

Viking Ship Sweater

Ms Copper and I were sitting there, having started the first season of CSI: NYC when I noticed that I had messed up the sleeve. Forgot to restart one side of the center border past the lower portion of the dragon’s neck. The good thing is that I had only to rip 10 rounds… the bad thing is that I had been marking off rows on the pattern with highlighter….

26 cm into the sleeve

picture was taken before the extra rows, rip and return……

All the best to you in this holiday season.

Sometimes it doesn’t take a whole lot to keep me amused. For example, I can easily spend an evening watching Galacticast while knitting. Casey is amazing – she certainly tops most current stars with her sense of the absurd and facial expressions. It seems like they took about a year hiatus – hoping to see more episodes soon. (Don’t worry, there is something here to offend everyone). What I really should have been doing today is working on my Family Medicine re-certification module. I am 75% of the way through the first part and have till Tues night to finish. Well, actually I have to the 31st to finish but we are leaving for Egypt on the 24th. I am not going to stay up all night on the 31st after returning late on New Year’s Eve in order to beat out the computer clock in Kansas.  Argh, I hate doing these, but will admit that I am learning. That and it takes my recert time from 7 years to 10. Not a bad deal at all. Procrastination is queen….

Viking Ship Sweater

Probably more important to most of you, my Viking Ship Sweater is out of the hold pile.  I wasn’t happy with the sleeve I had started. Using  KnitVisualizer which I have had for a while, I re-graphed the sleeve to adjust for my gauge and the increases.  This is the result -

I am much happier with the appearance. The only small change I might make for the second sleeve is to insert one row of knit in white before moving on to the cuff pattern. If I make some progress on my recert materials tomorrow, I might even be able to post the outside of the sleeve so that you can see the rest of the change…..

Audio

Continuing on with Heather Graham’s The Dead Room in the wagon.

Not being particularly pleased with the current schooling situation for the youngest two – Ms Copper will be heading back to boarding school in Germany after the first of the year.

Looking for a different choice for The Mole (he wants to stay in the UK), he and I were off to Rochester, Kent for an interview this afternoon.

Ignoring some of the other history of the town – I was more interested in St Catherine’s Hospital which is on Star Hill across the street from our destination.

St Catherine's Hospital

but one can not ignore the castle

obligatory plaque

Rochester Castle

The Keep

Rochester Castle

nor the cathedral and a history relating to Dickens I would suppose.

Heading home in the dark – we spent a quiet evening at home watching yet another DvD of CSI: since the kids are all out of school now for vacation.

The Surrey-Hampshire knitting meet up is normally at the White House Tavern (or is it pub?) in Guildford on about the second or third Sunday of the month.

From the sounds of it, there were going to be about half a dozen getting together today. And, like many other times, various other commitments got in the way. As a result, Ms Copper

and I were joined by just one other knitter. But MaryHenry brought with a brand new pattern book – Lerwick Lace by Sharon Miller. For the expert lace knitter it is both an education and a challenge. Miller includes not just a pattern, but the whole history of the shawl giving you insight into those who knit with the finest of handspun cobweb. Well beyond me, but I am looking forward to seeing this one develop over the next year.

It gets dark early, and the river is almost in flood from all the rains.

Guildford - along the river

Knitting

Since you saw a favorite pair of her shoes, I am sure you have no problems figuring out who has claimed this scarf.

Artesano Alpaca - Lovebird

(and I am skipping an extra run to Guildford and a run to Heathrow – being the Taxi Fahrer is not in my job description)

Audio and Visual

Ms Copper and I tried out The Office on DvD. Ick. However CSI: has us fascinated. iTunes doesn’t have all the seasons so next stop is the base library to see what we can borrow. Note – this is the original Las Vegas version.

Finished up all the library books, so it is back to audio.

When I was driving home today I noticed Canadian geese all over one of the playing fields instead of on the small lake.

No geese or swans

and if you look at bit closer you will understand why

iced over

At least none of them are dumb enough to have been frozen in place.

Knitting

Ms Copper has been eying my alpaca scarf for a couple of weeks now. She keeps commenting on it, and how nice it would be to have something similar. In a better color of course.

Then this nice person posted a swap on the UK Swap list and I went for this

Swap Yarn

which I started. (Would you believe she has perfected a forlorn, wanting look?) Especially since she has been ill for the last couple of days (confirmed today and started on antibiotics by the nice FP at Croughton), I could hardly turn her down.

Scarf start

Since we were at Croughton, we made the post office and library stops as well. I had also signed up for a Chanukah exchange. This package had just arrived ….

Exchange Package

I am waiting till the first night. Yes, I am going to wait. Really.

Reading

Raided the library shelves…
Lady Killer – Lisa Scottiline
Just Breathe – Susan Wiggs
The Yiddish Policemen’s Union – Michael Chabon
When Day Breaks – Mary Jane Clark
Running with the Demon – Terry Brooks
Heir to Sevenwaters – Juliet Marillier

This week at the Pentagon, LTG Ann Dunwoody was promoted to Gen. She is the first Four Star Female General. Amid all the pomp and circumstance and speeches – I think her comment is the best:

She later quipped: “There is no one more surprised than I – except my husband. And you know what they say: Behind every successful woman is an astonished man.”

Around the House

Modern Housing (Un) Solutions managed to actually get one of their repairmen by today. I know have an doorbell that works and an outside light that functions over the door.

Heat, well, that we still don’t have.

Knitting

Well, two more ridges on the Hanne Falkenberg Solo.

Reading

Secrets – Jude Deveraux. An ok, quick read but I refuse to agree that any woman can be that stupid or naive.
Chasing Darkness – Robert Crais. A good Elvis Cole novel with good dialog, great characters and less than the usual amount of violence.

out my work window

Podiobooks

I think that I have mentioned them before – Podiobooks that is. It had been a couple of weeks since I wandered past the site. Made my contributions to Discovered Country by Nora Fleischer, Dr Janeway’s Plague by John Farrell, Double Share by Nathan Lowell and How to Succeed in Evil by Patrick McLean.

Then, while wandering around (avoiding work you might say) I found that the Telegraph (telegraph.co.uk) is serializing a new book – Cordurouy Masions by Alexander McCall Smith. On-line only, one new episode per week in both audio and eBook format. For free.

Amazing what a full pot of coffee does for one.

Coffe Break

Says it all.

Met MaryHenry at Waterloo along with another fiber person. By circuitous route we got to Ally-Pally. [this sentence is now superfluous - I have pix!]

I didn’t buy all that much, considering what all was on sale. Now, this exhibition included knitting, craft, sewing, quilting, you name it supplies including all the major sewing machine brands with the latest and greatest  models.

My indulgences: some Wensleydale roving, enough Shetland 2ply lace for a pair of shawls and a Hanne Falkenberg kit for cruise knitting.

Train, couple of Tubes and a couple more trains took me back to Camberley.

Audio

The Monkey’s Raincoat – Robert Crais.
And then there is Griffin’s Daughter – by Leslie Ann Moore. again pulled from Podiobooks. If you like straight fantasy of the displaced orphan going off to find her heritage with the usual fight against evil thrown in, you will enjoy the story. It has the added advantage of not including either gratuitous violence/sex, or vampires. Proving once again that it is possible to tell a good tale that is fine for most ages.

It is rare to see interesting colored leaves here.

bright foliage

mostly it is just dark green fading to winter brown with nothing cheerful in between. This small tree is at the end of our road, on the way to the small lake, home of the adolescent Nile geese. (you might want to click and enlarge)

fluffy, heading for crumbs

Not yet with adult plumage, never the less, they are more than willing to go for bread crumbs. Unlike the adults who immediately start hunting in the water, this crew first sticks their heads up with mouths open. Sorry kids, I am not putting anything directly in your beaks.

Contest

About a dozen so far, anyone else want to join the random number generator list for either sock yarn or spinning fiber? Just leave a comment. I’ll run the numbers in the morning (which should be beyond everyone’s Monday, just in case there was any question of what I meant by “Monday”).

Knitting

a bit of progress on the sleeves…… First is complete down to the arm scythe, the second part way. Now, do I want to sew in the sleeve cap, sew up the sides and finish the sleeves in the round? Or do them at the same time flat so that I know they are the same length…. Hummmm

sleeve caps

Podiobooks

Well, I have hung Mark of the Druid and moved on to the next title. The story might be ok but this is a case where the author should have had someone else make the recording. Not all of us can read out loud that others might enjoy listening. The technical quality is good, it is the lack of expression of the reader). People who don’t want voices or emphasis might like this just fine.

On to How to Succeed in Evil by Patrick McLean. A funny romp through evil villains and super heroes. Well written and read, there is only the issue of it being too short.