Pieces of Eight

KraftyKoala tagged me with possibly the hardest meme I've ever done. I actually had to consider the topics and think about my answers. I think I took less time writing the exam essay that determined whether I would skip remedial English at University.

So here they are, my pieces of eight:

8 things I am looking forward to…..

1. My step-daughter having her son in August!!!
2. Ravelry Day UK!
3. Having a clean boat - the mess keeps me up at night.
4. Terminator Salvation. 'Nuff said.
5. Roxie learning to sit and stay.
6. Reading 50 books in one year.
   
7. More arts trails in Scotland.
8. Warm weather.

8 things I did yesterday…….

1. Got a bruise from having my blood drawn.
2. Took two naps.
   
3. Talked to my sister in California.
4. Soaked in the bath while reading "Knots and Crosses".
   
5. Bought £20 worth of treats. Nooooo, they're not spoiled...
   
6. Noticed that Roxie's "bits" are swollen. My puppy's first season.
   
7. Picked up my new toaster. I got the red one!
8. Made Milo stop humping Roxie's head... and the cat.

8 things I wish I could do…….

1. Sew! Like KraftyKoala, I have a machine, but lack the skills.
2. Play my cello well.
3. Have a Monica Geller-clean house. Oh, if only...
   
4. Keep chickens and bees.
5. Rid myself of my arachnophobia.
   
6. Take great photos. Minder has been a fabulous mentor.
7. Bake! I'd love to be able to make pie crust from scratch.
8. Still hit a High C. I was able to do it in my youth.

8 shows I watch……

1. The Big Bang Theory - I laugh so loudly that I frighten the dogs.
2. Grey's Anatomy - Especially worth it if you need a good cry.
3. Next Top Model - America's, Britain's, Canada's, whoever's!
4. Nothing to Declare - I'm hopelessly addicted to the stupidity.
5. Two and a Half Men - Best Ever? "Old Flame with a New Wick"
   
6. As Time Goes By - I know it's old, but I love it.
7. CSI - I only like the one in Vegas, the original and the best!
8. Ideal - Graham Duff is my hero.

I don't actually have eight bloggers to tag, so I tagged these six:
Pendle Stitches
Minder
Snake Surly
Brown Berry
MonkeyFeet
Meir Cats

And here are the rules in case you need them!

1. Mention the name of the person who tagged you.
2. Do the lists of 8.
3. Tag 8 bloggers of your choice.
4. Let them know that they have been tagged!

Play along if you like, even if you weren't tagged.

Have fun, kids!

Are You Spring-Flinging?!

This past weekend was a Bank Holiday weekend and Himmelbjerget "dragged" me to the Borders and Southwest coast of Scotland for two-days of visiting artists' studios and driving along the glorious, picturesque coast. And by "dragged" I mean she asked and I jumped at the chance!

Despite the rain, Saturday was lovely and I got to see the artist that was number one on my list - Amanda Simmons. She's a glass artist who lives and works in the small village of Corsock, near Castle Douglas. I bought one small vessel from her range of pieces that are cameo engraved on a diamond wheel lathe, but managed to resist one of her large platters that I really, really wanted. I was the very picture of restraint. I may not be so well-behaved if I get to go to Origin in London in October.

But the best day was Sunday.

On Sunday, we had beautiful weather and were rewarded with spectacular views on our drive along the coast. We ventured out to Port William to the studio of printmaker and painter Lisa Hooper. Oh my word! As well as getting to watch her demonstrate her newest technique of doing batik on paper (beautiful!) and viewing her wonderful prints and artwork (displayed along the walls of her gorgeous home), we had tea and homemade pastries in her kitchen served up by volunteers who'd made the cakes and the jam to spread on our freshly baked scones and gave us a tour of the garden and showed us the bee hives and chatted and entertained us before sending us, sated and happy, on our way back to England clutching our linocuts, notebooks and cards.

Were we Spring-Flinging? Yep.

Will we be next year? Yep.

Roxie Jessica Parker

My puppy is definitely a girly-girl.

She wears a pink diamante collar, she plays with a little pink rhino squeaky toy and right now she's laying on her belly on her little cushion watching Sex and the City.

Who knew that racy talk and Manolo Blahniks were her thing?!

That's my girl...

Absolutely Fabulous

Something terrific happened to me.

A couple of months ago, one of the women in my knitting group contacted The Knitter magazine and suggested our group for their gallery page. They were keen to feature us, apparently, and we submitted a shortlist of projects to be featured.

My AbFab throw by Colinette was one of the five accepted.

In this month's issue, on newsstands now, there is a photo of me and one of the throw I knitted. Amazing.

All of the projects look wonderful; the photographs really do the items justice.

It's such an honor to be chosen and to be featured alongside these fabulous knitters and exceptional women.

Well done, ladies. Well done.

Like Babette

Friday was Himmelbjerget's birthday and we were invited to celebrate with her and feast.

And feast we did.

I'm furious with myself for not bringing a camera and taking pictures of the gorgeous meal we had (and I mean gorgeous in both the American and the English sense).

Our first course was a delicious beetroot and apple soup, served with blinis, smoked salmon and soured cream. Yum! For mains, we had the most beautiful open-faced sandwiches, my favorite being the amazing Danish Blue cheese and Pear on artisan Rye. Sha-mon! It was all I could do not to pull the plate of sandwiches to me and tip the entire thing into my mouth. We finished off with Himmelberjet's meal with a decidedly moreish coffee-infused ganache-filled gateau. So, so lovely.

And all of this was eaten off of her wonderful Bing & Grondahl "Seagull" patterned dinnerware (apparently some it over one hundred years old!!).

Delicious food, much laughter, good friends and reasons to celebrate. Who could ask for more?

Happy Birthday, X!

You Must Read This

I happened upon a lovely blog the other day (in fact, the photo introducing this post is hers).

I found it just as she was giving away some wonderful old baking tins. The next time I checked in she had a fabulous contest where her readers had to guess what three truly gorgeous and wild pieces of antique silverware were - spectacular.

Today, she wrote what is probably the most beautiful and poignant post I've ever read. Ever.

You just have to read it for yourself.

And the Nominees Are...

I've been nominated for a Sisterhood award.

This is my first blogging award and I am spectacularly pleased and flattered to be nominated. I have to tell you that I feel much the same way the person who nominated me does about this last year: my life has changed dramatically - for the better - and I'm living more the kind of life I was expecting to live when we moved to a tiny little town in the northwest of England.

I haven't talked about it much, but it's been both a trying and an amazing twelve months and I'd complain, but the bad has only served to emphasize how good the good has been.

Sooooo.... On to the awards. The rules of the Sisterhood award are:

- Place the award logo on your blog
- Nominate 10 other blogs which show "Attitude and/or Gratitude"
- Link to the nominee [in] your blog post
- Comment on their blog that you have nominated them
- Share the love and link to the person who nominated you

I don't have 10 women to nominate, but I do have these women (and their blogs, in no particular order) to nominate:

Joli House - These two prolific and talented knitters are also really lovely, sweet, inviting people. I am always in awe of the beauty of their projects and I suffer from pure, unadulterated envy of Minder's photographic talent. She has inspired me to "forget" about the auto setting on my digiital SLR and learn to use it properly.

Himmelbjerget - Stuff the fact that Pendle Stitches already nominated her, I'm doing it again. To know here is to be mighty, mightily, heartily inspired. She's generous, kind and thoughtful; helpful, insightful and very, very funny. There are at least a dozen other reasons that I can cite, but it will have to suffice to say that in small ways, everyday, she inspires me and I am glad to be able to call her 'friend.'

Yarn Snob - Okay, so I don't actually know her. We "met" when we did a yarn transaction through Ravelry. She was lovely to message and seemed friendly and sweet. Then I saw her project page and I instantly hated her. And then loved her. And then hated her, and then, ultimately, loved her. Good god, stop the gorgeousness!! No, wait, don't. Don't stop. The world needs the gorgeousness.

Brownberry - I love the way she talks about her family and the world and the things that mean something to her. I love the way she stops by to comment on my blog and comments on you commenting on her blog. Again, this is a woman that I have not met in person and yet I cannot help feeling connected to her. Funny thing, the Internet.

Mimsie - Not only does her knitting prowess rule, but her day-to-day blog often leaves me in stitches. I adore the way her voice comes through in her posts and I like the fact that she blogs about being an ex-pat without it becoming an "us vs. them" blog (actually, I admire that in any ex-pat blog that can do it). I have to admit that I also like her blog because we come from the same place (even went to the same high school) and it's good - however transient - to have a connection with the place I come from.

And lastly, but absolutely not least, the lovely Pendle Stitches herself (who nominated me) - a gracious and genteel hostess (though that's as far as the gentility goes, which is a good thing), fabulous stitcher and friend extraordinaire. I admire anyone who can admit, out loud, that that Barton Grange lemon cheesecake is better than theirs (it's better than everybody's).

Ladies, thank you for letting me share your virtual and real lives.

Cheers!

Yarn Embargo

The husband is home for a few short weeks between assignments.

We decided to take this unexpected opportunity to make some long-overdue changes to the house.

For various reasons, it's a rather dovetailed process; one room has to be finished and cleared so that the next can be started.

It's also a process best served by having the rooms organized to move, rather than moved and then organized since I'd like the next room to be started almost immediately.

So today, while the husband looked after the fur-babies, I spent three-plus hours in our makeshift bedroom and finally finished stashing (though not photographing) my two drawers of yarn onto Ravelry.

Two drawers.

Two drawers of yarn may not seem like much, but, in stashing them, I discovered just how much yarn I have simply sitting in a drawer. Just sitting there! I also realized that I have a relatively large number of projects queued that I haven't started and that made me realize that I've been knitting for 3 and a half years and I have all of 19 projects to show for it and - I'll be honest with you - I really haven't knit many more projects than that because there are only three completed projects (the Hateful Sweater, krafty koala's Woolfest bunting and a fun-fur scarf) that aren't listed on my Projects page.

What in the hell have I been doing?! That is entirely too much yarn for the amount of knitting that I do or, rather, have done. Entirely too much.

So I made a decision: I am not allowed to purchase any more yarn for the foreseeable future. I need to knit projects from my queue and I need to use the yarn I have. If yarn comes my way by some other means, I will not hesitate to abscond with it, but my purchasing days (at least for awhile) are at an end.

I don't know how I'm going to do it...

More Good News and Bad News

The bad news: the jeans I was wearing smell like wee.

The good news: It wasn't my wee.

Well, not all of it.

It belonged to our loverly new puppy. Yes, folks, she's finally here.

Introducing Milo's little sister, Roxie:


Let the girly "sqeeee" noises begin. You may opt for the more manly "awww" if that makes you feel more comfortable.

Believe it or not, they are not only the same breed, but they are of the same parentage. Yup, same mom, same dad. Crazy, huh?

She's 20 weeks old and much shyer than Milo was when we got him, but she's already napped with the cat and tried to eat her weight in kibble at every meal.

Good times.

Licenced to Drive

After several long months and one very nerve-wracking drive, I am licenced to drive on a full UK driving licence (not a mere provisional one!).

It's about bloody time.

P.S.
I know that's not me and it's not a UK licence, but the picture was just too good to pass up.

44

From today he will no longer be the president-elect. No longer will we have to ask ourselves whether change is possible and whether or not we are ready for the future.

The future is here. Change and progress happen today.

Today Barack Hussein Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States of America.

I haven't been able to say this for eight years, but today I can say it. Finally, I can say it, "He is my president."

Climbing Trees

Today I went looking for Milo.

Mind you, he was in our back garden and he was supposed to be out doing his business, so I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary.

Maybe he'd finished and maybe he hadn't, but whatever he'd done he was doing something else now... he was climbing a tree.

That's right, my bloody dog was climbing a tree.

A frickin' tree!

He was about a quarter of the way up, just as cool as you please, looking over the fence into our neighbor's garden.

Crazy-ass dog.

Unfortunately, I freaked and called his name instead of running indoors and grabbing the camera, so there's no photo. Just the one of him doing what he's doing now.

Good grief.

Happy New Year!

Best Wishes for 2009.

Cheers!

I Think I'll Start Carrying Scooby Snacks

My Christmas shopping is all but done.

As of yesterday, I had one present left to buy (one left to make, but that's another story for another time) and I went into the town centre to get it.

The gift I was purchasing was for my nephew and he likes stuff from a particular shop, a shop that I don't particularly like. It's not the goods, it's the weird vibe I've gotten whenever I've been in there - something strange about the woman behind the counter, something I could never put my finger on.

Until yesterday.

She's married to a nutter.

After purchasing said gift, in an effort to extricate myself from the verbal clutches of the guy who owns the shop, I kept moving slowly towards the front door, desperately hoping he'd get the message that I desperately wished to leave.

He did not.

Or rather he did, but he couldn't let me leave.

He had something to tell me. I could see it all over his face.

In the middle of a different subject, he couldn't hold it in any longer and finally blurted out, "I had a black girlfriend."

[Me: uncomfortable silence]

He added, "You know, before I married his mother (indicating to his equally verbose son)." Then, "I used to help plait her hair."

What the fuck?! How do you respond to that? What did he want, a friggin' cookie?!

What I wanted to say that I was, "Good for YOU, honey!" or "On behalf of all Black women all over the world, let me say thank you for stopping at that one." But mostly I wanted to say, "If you touch me or my hair, you'll take back a nub."

Instead I said, "Mmm. Well, I gotta go."

If only I'd know it was coming, I'd have put a treat in my pocket for him before I left the house.

Maybe I should start carrying them around, you know, just in case.

Shut UP!!

I still cannot believe it.

Something fantastic happened to me today.

Let me start at the beginning...

I found Passementerie while on Etsy one day. I absolutely loved Courtney's designs and her aesthetic and I succumbed and purchased a pair of her stunning earrings.

Passementerie is, sadly, no longer on Etsy.

Happily, there is a website.

My purchase put me on her mailing list.

Her mailing list led me to her blog.

On her blog, the day after an electrifying and historic U.S. election, the lovely Passementerie decided to have a giveaway in honor of the day.

I am the lucky recipient.

That's right, I said that I am the unbelievably fortunate woman who will receive these!

I still cannot believe it.

Careful, my dears. She'll do a payment plan...

Changes

It's the early hours of the morning here.

I am a long way from home tonight, living in my adopted country, watching the most important U.S. election that I will probably experience in my lifetime.

Polls are closing on the East Coast and people in the Midwest and people on the West Coast are still voting.

My fingers are crossed.

My heart is in my mouth.

Forget that he's Black, forget what this will mean for history. Think only of what this election - what Barack Obama - will do for us (U.S.) as a country.

Change.

Change us, change our perception of what can and cannot be done, change the landscape of hope and determination for generations of people, change our global image, change the notion that we can't change.

Yes. We. Can.

I believe that.

Got My Mojo Working

For months now - and I mean months - I haven't been doing any knitting at all. At all. Meir Cats, et al asked me what I was working on and I was ashamed that I had no response to give, nothing to tell her or to show for nearly three years' worth of knitting experience and drawers full of yarn - bamboo, alpaca, laceweight, dk, sock club exclusives, limited edition colorways of artisan yarns, handspun, hand-dyed... it's all there, upstairs, tucked neatly away in the white, 6-drawer Swedish haven in which I store my myriad skeins of coveted fiber.

But there those skeins have remained, unwound and (seemingly) unloved. For months. Months.

I had projects stacked up in my own mental queue, but just couldn't find the motivation to work on or finish any of them.

Something changed.

I don't know if it was the weather (spring-y and bright, lifting some of my winter depression) or the new Stitch 'n Bitch I've been going to in Preston. Maybe the stars are aligned in more favorable positions or maybe I drank a magic potion when I thought I was drinking mere instant coffee. I don't know. And I'm not really certain that I care.

All I know is that in the past few weeks, rather than continuing to suffer through my creative drought, I've finished this:

This is my version of the Yarn Harlot's One Row Handspun scarf. I didn't have any handspun yarn, so I used Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Bobby Blue. This scarf was languishing in a pile, forlornly waiting for fringe before I rescued it, cut the fringe at S 'n B and added it that very night.
I am delighted with it. It's cozy and warm and long enough to wrap, but not so long that it gets in my way when I move around. I've worn it around the house a few times, just because I can. As pleased as I am to see the sun, I can already see myself smiling my way through a cold winter day wearing the color of a bright May sky wrapped deliciously around my neck.

Then I finished this:

A slightly smaller version of Leigh Radford's felted clutch from One Skein. This lovely bag had been sitting, sadly, gaped open at the bottom of a bag of knitting projects, waiting for seams and button embellishment.

It got this instead:

I think it's prefect.

The brooch is made by a group called Projekt, a skill development and job reaction program in an informal settlement (township) in Capetown, South Africa. The brooches are made with 1 mm and smaller crochet hooks and fine cotton. I bought it at Fibre + Clay in Knutsford. As you walk in the door, these are displayed on a dressmaker's dummy in a glorious array of color. This one instantly caught my eye and I could see it on the bag before I'd even purchased it.

Lovely.

He Doesn't Even Know She's Gone

Today, Milo and I had our last session with our trainer, whom we've been seeing for the past seven months.

She taught us everything we know about sit, wait, lie down, "hi daddy" and not chasing sheep.

She never scolded when Milo wee'd on the training room floor, occasionally let him play with her dog and she gave us the ball Milo likes best and the squeaker toy that gets his attention when he's wandered off too far.

It was her idea to castrate him and, still, he loved her to bits.

Every Tuesday morning, we would turn into the drive and Milo would go completely nuts in the back of the car. Between the sounds of the sheep, the crunch of the gravel and (what I'm guessing was) a decidedly doggy smell, he knew exactly where we were and he couldn't wait to get out.

When I finally released him from his captivity, he would run directly to her and launch himself in the air, knowing (instinctively, I'd like to think) that she would catch him.

From the very first day, he did exactly what she told him to do. Any work we did with her holding on to his lead never went quite as well as it could have (he was so comfortable with her that he wasn't all that fussed about me walking away). We would always resort to tying him to something else if we wanted to make progress.

Me? I thought she was brilliant. I liked her from the very first day that I spoke to her on the phone. After our session, I always came home more confident than when I left. She made me feel that I could have the well-behaved pup that I longed to have and showed me how to achieve that goal.

Milo is a naturally sweet dog, but he is a better behaved dog because of her.

I appreciated our talks and I appreciated the laughter. I'll miss that.

Today was our last day and I don't know what we're going to do without her.

Thank you - for your time and your patience, for your wisdom and your encouragement. Thank you for showing me the potential in my little doggy... and in myself.

Enjoy the wine and enjoy Spain.

Adios.

Tear-Shaped Happiness

I went to bed last night with the a sore tummy and the tell-tale beginnings of what I knew would prove to be a few days of... let's call it "discomfort."

I awoke this morning feeling much the same way and thought, "Hrumph, what an inauspicious start to my weekend." Okay, what I really thought was, "Feh!"

I was prepared to feel sorry for myself for at least 72 hours.

It's evening now and I'm feeling much, much better.

Is it because of the Paramol and Nurofen cocktail I've been using all day to nurse my pain? Nope.

Is it the fact that my Amy Butler Nolita knitting bag arrived by Parcel Force (at a ridiculously early hour) this morning? Uh-uh.

It's because of these:
(a lá Carrie Bradshaw) Ooh... Hello, Lover!

These lovely little darlings are my very own custom-made, one-of-a-kind earrings from the immensely talented and beautifully-natured Jennifer Morris.

Here's another view:
Aren't they gorgeous? I mean really, really gorgeous?!

I've been wearing them all day.

I am wearing them now.

They swing and sway gently as I move and, despite the size of the beads, are surprisingly light. I can hardly tell I'm wearing them.

They make me smile every time I catch my reflection.

Thank you, Jennifer, for making me so happy that I almost don't need the tablets.

You know, almost...

The One Where I Keep My Mouth Shut

At Morrisons:

Me: Can you please tell me where I can find the ice?

Store Clerk: Frozen ice?

Me (pauses for one beat, waits for it to sink in, when it doesn't): Yes.

You are so proud of me.

That took an immense amount of control for me not to fall out laughing, right there, in the store, with everyone watching.

To the poor boy who helped me, it's okay, sweetie, I've had that day.