Yeehaa - it's a Friday round-up!

Mmmmmm Lorna's Laces Shepherd and Sock in Vera and Lakeview. I adore this sock yarn above and beyond any other I've tried. Sadly GetKnitted only have very limited colours available at the moment - I do hope they are still going to keep on stocking it. I have a small LL stash which I would like to add to.
Lottie got a parcel in the post from Auntie T (other SIL) and inside was a pink rope/tugger mouse type thing. Lottie was happy - because the toy like this that we bought her (2 weeks ago) is now just a disembodied head.
I think the mouse type thing may be winning here.
Oh no it's the Border Terrier death grip of doom......bye-bye pink mouse type thingy! Seriously, though she loves this toy, she played with it all evening. She is thriving - driving me bald. She is a Jekyll and Hyde at the moment, one minute so sweet and friendly the next fly-by terrier nipping all over the shop.

I tidied my WIP pile yesterday, a few things got frogged, you know, those good idea at the time projects that get 50 rows done and the abandoned. I am trying to keep some semblance of order to what I have on the needles this year and feel happier now with what I have left to work on. Some sock progress - still no spinning - terrier puppy has put spinning on hiatus until she learns not to bite my feet as I treadle.

Went out to dinner the other night - J loves walking through Brighton in the dark and seeing the pier and Pavilion all lit up. Lots of music this week - he is doing really well and I am loving being able to play again. I read loads of Neil Gaiman's 'Neverwhere' - oooooo do I love that book? It's brilliant.

M has had a cold which he has kindly passed on to me *pooey* so apart from a dog walk this arvo I'm in for a quiet day.

Just a quickie

The Mistress of all that is Glittry, groomed and delicious (found here http://www.glittyknittykitty.co.uk/) sent me a birthday present - skull stitch markers made from bone! I love them.
I may end up putting them onto small sleeper earrings and wearing them - the red crystal beads really catch the light and are so pretty. Thank Glittrgirl ((hugs)).

M bought me a new clarinet. My existing one, is beautiful but old and in need of repair, which would cost soooooo much £ (it is an antique and is real ebony) the extent of work it needs means that it has been beyond playing for a long time and I've missed it. I started to learn when I was 10, played seriously for 6 years, messed about with it on and off for 4 years then abandoned it when I got married - around 20+ years ago. So after mentioning to M how I missed playing music he decided to buy me a replacement and guess what?? I can still play quite well - am a bit rusty remembering all the fingering and my sight reading needs a bit of work - but I am loving it.

Today J had his first music reading lesson (it's helping me to remember) he then asked could he play the clarinet, so I gave him a lesson - he did really well and has asked for another tomorrow - move over Squidward!

Am still very busy, don't know where the days go. Have hardly touched my new laptop - let alone install the software I've got for it, no spinning, little knitting and a smidge of reading - time is whizzing by - I'm loving it all.

The best present ever.....

is NOT this lovely CTH Supersock potluck in water that I bought with a birthday gift voucher...
nor is it the fact that Lottie zonked out yesterday evening we had a couple of peaceful hours.....
it is this present from M which he purchased whilst shopping yesterday! Please note the packet tells us this is 'delicious, appetizing and nourishing'. Please also note the useful serving suggestion though why you'd put a whole, living, unplucked chook in your soup is beyond me. Finally this wonderful concoction of dried goodness doesn't contain ANY cock/chicken products at all.

I intend to make this up a lunch time just to see what it's like - so todays menu is 'Cock Soup', the mind boggles.

(I wasn't going to post today - but this just couldn't wait!)

N.B - cock soup is very orange and very salty!!!!

Bobs n bits

I love books - as much as I love yarn. I bought these two a couple of weeks back and haven't yet had much of chance to look at either *sighs* live is a bit too busy right now. But I will savour the moment of anticipation with the knowledge that I will get the time I need eventually when life quietens down. I also have the knitting book M got me for my birthday and 3 new fiction novels to delve into - 2 Neil Gaiman and a new Trudi Canavan - sometimes SciFi/fantasy - just ticks the right boxes.
This I bought for M - we're not normally into to TV chefs (though we have been known to watch the F Word and Rick Stein now and then) but I have been loving this series on Channel 4. All the recipes tried so far have been amazing and the book is also really good reading with loads of interesting facts and info on veggie growing. Another thing that is escaping from me this year - the prep on the veggie patch - mayhap this weekend - after J's cousin has been for a long awaited sleepover. Think of me Friday night with a 9 year doofus and a 10 year dweebus hooning about!
Sunset the other night - ahhhh pretty!
Won't have time to post Yarn pR0n tomorrow and this isn't the best picture - but it'll have to do. CTH Super Sock Merino in Indian Summer. My taste in colour has been under going a massive shift recently toward shades like this. IRL it is so rich and vibrant it almost hums.

Have a quieter day today need to catch up with housework, laundry, ironing and other interesting stuff....NOT. But the sooner I get started the sooner it is over and done with - s0 I'm off to iron a pile the size of a small hummock.

Mix n match

Posh Yarn - sock yarn - aren't the colours amazing - colourway is Court, yarn is Lucia.
More Posh Yarn - so pretty - colourway Crow - yarn Helena. I have adored all members of the crow family for years. I think they are wonderfully entertaining and intelligent birds. I hate it when the local farmers shoot - the last couple of years we've only had Carrion Crows locally but this year the local Rook and Magpie communities have recovered and I for one am glad. I couldn't resist this yarn!
Anyone who knows me well, knows I hate Birthday cakes covered in that thick plasticy icing - gross! So this year the boys got me a Lemon Drizzle cake (a total fav) and customised it - aren't they sweet and of course skulls are always a good bet with me. J also got me a lovely skull bracelet and M got me some skull studs - wonderful.
Taken today - Lottie at 11 weeks and 3 days. She's growing and is such a lovely (naughty) girlie.

Right I'm off to get ready, meeting Sis for lunch today - mmmmmm garlic mushrooms!

In the words of Eeyore.......

"It's my birthday. The happiest day of the year."

The difference being is I'm NOT miserable!

Being well spoilt - lots and lots of luverly gifts - including some knitting software, a new laptop and a book on Scandanvian knitting *wheeeeeee*.

Happy birthday to any other 17th Feb - Aquarians - hope your day is as full of love as mine is/has been.

P.S am typing this now as I fully intend to get well ratted later in the day ;-D

R.I.P. Diego

diego 003
Originally uploaded by loobles2002

We know that male tarantulas don't live very long and yesterday Diego (who was originally Dolly) curled up and snuffed it. He was a Pink Zebra Beauty and the only tarantula we ever handled - he was handled as a spiderling and therefore accepting of the experience. It has been sad watching his fruitless search for sex - slowly getting thinner and weaker - but that is the nature of the beast. He was a great hunter and an entertaining spider and although I don' t love the spiders quite in the way I love the furry friends - I will miss him.

Pretties

Can't remember if I posted this or not? Anyway, isn't it pretty - tis my new art journal and I am loving it!
CTH Louet Gems in Foxy lady - the variation in the colours knits up so pretty and the colours are pretty true to life in this picture.
Ah bless - this must be one of the few quiet moments at Chez Lainch - it's sleeping!
Actually it was sun bathing. The giant tug/chew toy next to it, is a Dalmatian sized one which someone stole this week from Loobles toy stash.

Let's play catchup!

Ah little Lottie! She had her 2nd jabs on Saturday, so can go for a walk this weekend, her lead training is underway around the house. She has grown some - loves her grub and tea! Conkers has duffed her up and she is way more wary of him now (she was allowed to torment the cat at the breeders home - so we wanted her to get a kitty towsing to learn her place). Loobles is still grumpy - but walking them together will help and they are slowly being calmer around each other. Lottie can now sit, shake paws, take tidbits gently and is learning wait and down - she's a joy to train!

Hmmmm very little knitting. The above and below are a new sock design for a clog sock - very pretty IRL with a lace heels and little flower clusters on the leg and insteps. Yarn is CTH in 'peacock' colourway. 2nd sock is underway - but the colour is so dark I can't knit it at night and have little time for daytime knitting right now! 2nd pair of socks posted on SAM5 -

http://sockamonthkal5.blogspot.com/2008/02/heres-hedera-for-february.html

Other stuff.

J has now read (one after another) the complete Harry Potter series - he's listening (again) to number 1 on his Ipod. He's now started on 'Northen Lights' by Phillip Pullman - but there have been lots of days out, playing with friends and cousins and the puppy - so a few distractions! He is coming along in leaps and bounds with his maths, we have well and truly cracked fractions - only multiplying/dividing of them left to cover, he's got head around decimals and percentages too - I am impressed with hard he has been trying. This week he's been looking at Newton's Three Laws and Gravity and Relativity - good thing M understands all this science stuff!

We are looking to taking him to the local archery club as well as he has tried it at C-parcs everytime we've gone and really has a knack for it. He's still swimming every week too and last week expressed a desire to learn to snowboard (he needs to grow a bit 1st) - we are avid watchers of Ski Sunday and J is well taken with the idea of a snow holiday next year!!

We have been out and about a lot - lots of exciting fun stuff. Lots of art and making models with Sculpey - so very busy.

I am reading Neil Gaiman's - 'Stardust' ooooo I love his lyricism, really good story telling - am totally hooked and have asked for more of his books for my birthday later this month.

Spatchcocked Terrier

It has been a hard day in puppyville.
Lottie at about 11.00pm last night.
Don't be fooled - sweet it is not!

Y.P.F

Long time no yarn pR0n. These are just a couple of tasters of my yarn binge this week. The Manos is so soft and the colours glisten and shine with an iridescence that is sublime.

This is CTH merino sock yarn - mountain madness. It is much greener in reality. I'm not 'big' on green normally but am currently using their yarn for a new sock design in peacock and the depth of the greens really spoke to me, so when I saw this I couldn't resist it!

Anjelica competition

Anjelica Button needs a name for her new puppy - go to http://anjelicabutton.blogspot.com/ for details :-D

Puppy stops blogging!

No photo's, no knitting, no spinning, a little drawing (I did update Anjelica's blog today), very little reading.

Instead I have been slept upon, chewed, nibbled, jumped on, clawed and terrierised by a very active little Lottie. She is full of shit and I adore her.

I did make her a doggie sweater- she feels the cold - no piccies as getting her into it- is like a full blow WWF marathon!

Did order lots of wool and some books- so photo's when they get here - if Lottie-monster falls asleep.

A little bit more Lottie

We survived our first night of Lottie - she slept a lot during the evening.
Especially on me - look at that fat pink tummy! She was totally zonked out and relaxed - my arm went quite dead.
Her tail looks like it's been dipped in the ink pot!
She quite fell for cousin E. She clambered on her lap and went to sleep.

Lottie also achieived having a poo and doing her impression of a stamp-sure chicken and walking all over it - so at 00.30am I was washing puppy feet! She chased Conkers (who was most unimpressed) he quickly discovered the joy of holding the higher ground. She did numerous wees on her wee mat - good girl! Finally though - Loobles is not impressed with the upstart, we know this will take time, Loobles so far has either woofed mightily, growled menancingly or pretended 'it' just isn't there.

Wonder what today will hold for Lottie?

PS - blogger's spelling checker is fooked so it there are mistakes - blame blogger and not my abysmal spelling!

Welcome to Lottie

lottie1 009
Originally uploaded by loobles2002

Here is our latest baby - 9wk old Border Terrier bitch who at this moment is asleep on M. We picked her this morning - she's adorable!

Oh the bliss...

of a new mattress! We bought a new one on Monday - one of these memory foam jobbies. You can not know the bliss of waking up pain free in the morning - my hips are rejoicing as is my lower back. Our previous mattress was 7 years old - but it cost us a bomb when we bought it - all hand tied and fancy - it had become a lumpy nightmare of agony. The new one did take a couple of nights to get used to, I had to alter my sleeping position, but the last 2 nights have been totally blissful and I have had to be dragged out of bed in the morning!!!!

I also indulged in new memory foam pillows, another dose of comfort - I've not had a neck pain induced headache or any headache all week - that is unheard of.

We are in the throes of planning. One reason to get a puppy now is to get the destruction/house training over and done with before we re-do. Our first room to get a makeover will be J's - it needs it. We want to make easier for him to control his stuff and make it fresher and brighter. Next we are planning to totally rip out the bathroom and start again - no bath - but more of a wetroom. Then refloor upstairs completely including the staircase. Finally remodel the lounge - new furniture and decor and then our bedroom *sigh* we're doing it bit by bit and have allowed ourselves a year to complete it all.

In the meantime we are also debating about moving the veggie patch as we want to get rid of the the pool and move the veggies onto the lower lawn - which will give me more space and gets more sun.

So I am surrounded by decorating/DIY brochures and gardening books - no wonder there has been no time for knitting!