Bonko!

Look at my neat little paws and tail. Aren't I too cute for words?
The sun is glinting off my fur and whiskers and I am so much more lovely than you.

Oh yes! Adore the fluffiness of my belly. I am perfect and you know it!

Because it's so yummy...

Reggia Silk sock yarn. Pattern Monkey by Cookie - at Knitty.com.

Go and see......

http://potsofmike.blogspot.com/

New toy.

Meet my new best friend Lewis. Actually it's a Haldane Lewis which I won on eBay yesterday :=)

M and J went to Kent to collect it this morning and M has spent all afternoon spivving it up with lots of finishing wax. It's such a lovely thing, the wood is beautiful. It came with a lazy kate, 3 bobbins, a niddy noddy, The Ashford Book of Spinning and some fleece.

So now I just have to learn how to drive it hmmmmmmmmm therein could lie a problem I'm much better at learning if someone shows me - who knows if I Google I may find a video tuition - or perhaps a local spinner (Sussex, UK) may take pity on a dumb klutz like me.

Anyway, I am a happy bunny - I got this at such a good price for such a lovely machine.

Sods Law.

Sometimes you get weary, really weary. You know you've been doing too much, too often and your body cries "Sleep!" Well I've felt like that for a couple of days, so last night my body and I plumped for an early night.

Now, lets go back a bit. Firstly, yesterday I was gonna have a quiet restful day - pah - I had the fidgets and ended up doing loads. I didn't run though because I knew that I was too tired for that. I collapsed on the sofa, yawning at about 6.30ish, fighting to stay awake because that was too early to sleep. 8.00pm comes around, J's bedtime, he's complaining of tummy ache. So we send him to the loo, rub his tummy, give him a warm wheatbag, supply him with a lecture about his Anaconda eating habits (again - mayhap for the 100th time) and send him to bed. I struggle on manfully with a glass of wine until 8.45pm, apologise to M and go off to bed. I manage 3 pages of book. By 9.00pm I am sparko zzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

10.00pm my Mum comes home from a social. The dogs bark. She calls out, M answers that I'm in bed but up she comes anyway. I'm awake by now but laying doggo. She won a raffle prize of an electric food steamer which she wants to gift to us as we always steam (using a bamboo steamer) our veggies. That's so sweet, M thanks her, she goes. I wander in, zombie like, look briefly at steamer, kiss M, apologise for going back to bed and for snoring since 9.00pm *sigh*.

12.30am - J arrives. Tummy ache is worse. He's doubled over and crying and moaning. M and I do a bit of the good cop, bad cop thing to try and get a sensible answer as to where it hurts etc. It sounds like constipation (J has been prone to this in the past, it rings the right bells). Go down to kitchen, re-heat the wheat bag. Back upstairs, parenting stuff (you know - relax, it'll be all right, reassure, reassure). He can't go, offer Lacotolse - administer a small dose. Take him down to his room, tuck him in. Crawl back up the stairs, eyelids puffing and drooping...collapse zzzzzzz.

1.30am Hear downstairs toilet flush. Lay and listen...silence zzzzzzzz.

2.00am See light shine up the stairs, hear downstairs loo door slam. Lay and worry a bit. Get up and go see if it's J. It is. Talk to him through door, offer to wait til he's done, in case he needs me. Clear up downstairs loo. Re-heat wheatbag. Reassure, cuddle, settle. Find cat to make sure he's not shut in anyway. Go to the bathroom. Collapse, again, can't sleep. Listening, listening, dozing zzzzzz.

2.45am Bang! "Mum, Dad this is really serious!" (panic attack - imagining child shitting/vomitting blood) he's been ill again and managed to puke all over the downstairs bathroom floor whilst sitting on the loo. Thankfully, on one hand the floor is tiled - though he got both mats, on the other hand, it was a splatter bomb - walls, floors, pedestal - you name it, he got it. M manfully volunteers to clear up (gotta love him) I deal with a small boy, hunched on our loo with a bucket on his lap and in need of clean PJ's. The clean up took 45mins. I got boy settled, helped M, made tea. Went back to bed. Eventually we dozed off zzzzzzz.

4.10am I hear J up again. M goes to check it out. J feels better a bit, no longer feels sick. M comes back to bed, he zzzzzz. Me, I am so awake by now I can't sleep. I am lying there waiting for the next bout. The cat climbs on me purring and goes to sleep. The dog drops a fart bomb - that almost makes me throw up. I am awake. Last time I looked at the clock it was 5.30am.

Today, J is better, a bit weak and pale but essentially it's as if it has never happened. He has been given new rules about how he eats which I will enforce because Anaconda eating is going to stop. As for me it's as if I never had my early night. I ache, I am grumpy and I am even more tired.

I know it's not his fault, I'd never blame him in anyway. I blame sods law for this little beauty. Now I must away to wash PJ's and bathroom rugs etc and to look for some matchsticks to keep up eyelids up, at least until after tea tonight. I plan another early night tonight *sigh* I am wondering what will occur to fuck it up this time!

A little update.

Spider update - Coleman's moulted last night - oooooo he's really grown. He's still pumping himself up and is very still - I'm worried cos I just saw a live cricket in his tank - he obviously didn't want his last meal. Spiders after moult are vulnerable because they are soft, they shed their fangs and mouth lining and can't feed. A hungry cricket could nibble on a soft tarantula and cause some damage. The cricket is, unfortunately, underground (Coleman's buried himself in a little chamber to moult) the cricket is trying to enter this chamber *sigh*......I am loathe to disrupt the earth as he only moulted last night....I can only watch and wait I suppose.

Caught up with an old friend today - very nice we haven't chatted in a long time. It wasn't awkward at all and it felt as it always has.

2nd pirate hat almost complete - I made a bigger size - which is a better fit for me (shouts of 'big head' ring in my ears) so J has the 1st hat as his. He's happy. In fact he has spent today doing French vocab, reading 'The Further Adventures of Penrose the Mathematical Cat' and surfing around on Coolmath and BrainPop.

Went for a run - my knee is still dodgy - but managed a respectable 5 mins until pain stopped play - I find if I run little and often and stop as soon as any soreness occurs I can build up how long I run for. I've managed 4 mins yesterday so upping it a minute today was good.

House is tidy, laundry completed...just need to make a brew and feed the dog and I can fit in an hours knitting. So that's my plan for right now.

Knitting occurs *gasp*

Adapted from the Hello Yarns - Pirate Mitten pattern. Pirate wrist warmers with separate half length thumb. I can't bear to have my fingers encased so this was the perfect solution. I used two pattern repeats, a couple of stripes and 3 rows of rib on the hand. The thumbs were just worked straight in the checkerboard pattern for about 9 rows. I used the same yarn as the hat.
Oooooo more sockies - again adapted from others patterns. The maroon one is from Grumperina's pattern in IK spring called Roza's socks. I used a different heel and reduced the length so my stumpy legs got a good fit. Knitted in Lorna's Laces.

The other sock is an adaption of the Edelweiss Socks by Candace Eisner Strick in the winter Vogue Knitting (int). Another lovely pattern, knits up a dream - I adjusted dimensions for chubby legs and again changed the heel slightly. Knitted in Regia Bamboo. Both the mates for these are almost completed but I thought I'd post anyway just to show knitting does occur ;=)

I've also completed a bunny for the bunny KAL but not posted this yet.

Under construction is a lace wrap 75% completed and a lacy knitted camisole 10% completed. I now intend to knit a 2nd pirate hat for the boy, so plenty to keep me going.

Soundtrack to my life

Saw this at Suemoons blog http://knittiotherapy.typepad.com/ stole it ;=)

If your life was a movie what would the soundtrack be?

It works like this;

Open your music library - e.g. iTunes etc.
Put it on shuffle.
Press play.
For every question type the song that playing.
When you go to a new ? press next button.
Don't tell porkies and try to be cool.

Some are appropriate and some are just funny!

Opening credits - So Far Away - Staind

Waking up - One Last Chance - James Morrison

1st day at school - Click, Click, Boom - Saliva

Falling in love - Place for My Head - Linkin Park

Fight song - Man or Animal - Audioslave

Breaking up - Don't Forget Me - RHCP

Prom - Shiver - Coldplay

Life - When I'm Gone - Eminem

Mental breakdown - Seen it all - Korn

Driving - Last Remaining Light - Audioslave

Flashback - When I Come Around - Greenday

Getting back together - Tibet (A passage to....) - Tibet Project

Losing your virginity - Omega - Stone Sour (I peed my pants laughing when this came up for this one - you need to hear it - it's a political rant about life/society aimed at the US - great for losing your cherry to!)

Wedding - As You Are - Travis

Birth of child - Chop Suey - SOAD (system of a down) - another one that made me laugh!

Final battle - The Blowers Daughter - Damien Rice

Death scene - Invincible - Muse

End credits - The Days Have Turned - John Frusciante

Excellent!

Perfect, moi? NO!

What is it with perfection hmmmmm? Why do we crave it so? Perfect hair, perfect bodies, perfect parents, perfect lives? What is wrong with appreciating what we've got? In fact wouldn't it be great to celebrate our imperfections, the little things that make us different from the plastic perfect people.



I have a problem with people who aspire to perfection - or their warped ideas of perfection. Doesn't it get your goat when you see all these so called perfect bodies/looks, that women in particular are meant to emulate, and what are these models of perfection doing or what are they known for? Shaking their bits on TV, in music videos, splurging their bods in lads mags and shagging football players. Tragic, plastic, uninspired, insipid, and people aspire to 'achieve' that? Why? And why are we so scared of looking like we have lived? What is wrong with saggy bits, grey bits and wrinkles? Those people who are botoxed scare the shit out of me - I swear they are all escapees from Mdm Tussards! I like my lived in face, I fully intend in the fairly near future to embrace the grey in my hair, I like my laughter lines !



So, after that mini rant, I intend today to embrace my many imperfections with gusto and glee! They stop me from being a plastic-wannabe clone and allow me to be, well me.



I am chubbily curvy, with a body of a 40 year old c.section Mum - who has big thighs and legs and a fat arse. Today I also have a zit (a rare event - but hey - lets celebrate my big period induced zit -you can't miss it!)



I have a grumpy face and outlook - I can easily look like a bulldog that has swallowed a wasp. I sometimes even look that on purpose to stop weirdos from asking me to do surveys in the street - works a treat.



I am an arsehole. I can be loud, opinionated, bloody minded, stroppy.



I am intolerant of idiots. In fact I am intolerant of lots of things.



If I think I'm right, I'm like a terrier with a bone.



I am sarcastic.



I have a sharp tongue.



I have a caustic wit and love to use it - though often feel it is pearls before swine.



I swear like a trooper. I also fart, burp and hic-cup.



I like to wear unmatching underwear.

These, to be honest, are some of my imperfections. I have many more. But they prove beyond a doubt that I am not and never will be a plastic aspirational. I am sure that all this crap that our society deems as important is stunting creativity and individuality. People are scared to be real and our kids are growing with the weirdest ideals.

So, go on, make a list, Embrace all your imperfections........I dare you!

****SPIDER POST****

This is Tiny who is a Salmon Pink Bird Eater. Last week Tiny moulted and here he is all newly hairy and pink. This spider has the capacity to grow to about a span of 10" - hence the name chosen by J ;=)

Tiny made his moult web/mat right out in the open of his tank, in full view - we've never had this happen before. We awoke to find him sitting on this web - very still. He spent the whole day sitting. We made sure to kept quiet and as stealthy as possible each time we passed by and we subdued the lighting. Around 8.30 pm ish he flipped over and writhed about a bit and started his moult. It was very interesting to actually witness this so openly and closely. As you can see from the picture he has moulted safely - there are always some risks - but like so many animals that metamorphose they do it by instinct and it's an unstoppable process.

He has grown significantly in this moult and isn't much smaller than Humbug - but at the moment looks more spindly. He fed last night. He took the cricket with no preamble so was obviously hungry.

I use 'he' because as a juvenile spider we can't sex him yet - sexing spiders is not easy - without a good condition moulted skin and even then it's still not easy. As 3 of our spiders have turned out male, I find easier to refer to them all as 'him' - though as time goes on I am pretty sure Boris is now adult and Doris, but like many arboreal species she/he keeps the moult and decorates the web with it.

I'm pretty sure Colemans will moult fairly soon as he is normally a voracious eater and is currently ignoring all food that we've offered - his abdomen is so fat he looks like he will burst any second.

Diego soldiers on - following the route of all male tarantulas - he eats occasionally and spends his life clambering and tramping around looking for love.

Humbug - is an amazing creature - very rarely not in view and for a spider always appears to be doing something - digging, clambering - kind of spider housework - he's very active but is still juvenile so it's not the male thing. He and Boris/Doris are the most interesting spiders to watch.

Nearly a year ago.....

Connor aka Conkers McBonkers came to live with us - 9 months old, already twice rejected. mistreated and rescued by the CPL. Now he is a big, plush, black velvet panther in miniature, who prowls through the house looking for fun and mischief. He still occasionally hides away - if startled - under our bed, he still sometimes makes a nest in my yarn stash but most of the time he is friendly and loving and very much a part of our family. He took away our sadness at losing Busterboy and filled the gap.

I can't give enough respect and praise to Beverley who runs our local branch of the CPL (Cats Protection League) she and her workmates give so much - with very little help from the CPL main charity, they are self funded and rely on local support and fund raising. They always need people and donations - please if you love cats and can help them in way...do - thank you.

http://www.brightoncatsprotection.org.uk/contact/index.html

Pinkle Purr

Tattoo was the the mother of Pinkle Purr,

A little black nothing of feet and fur;

And by-and-by, when his eyes came through,

He saw his mother, the big Tattoo.

And all that he learned he learned from her.

"I'll ask my mother," says Pinkle Purr.

Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr,

A ridiculous kitten with silky fur.

And little black Pinkle grew and grew

Till he got as big as the big Tattoo.

And all that he did he did with her.

"Two friends together," says Pinkle Purr.

Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr,

An adventurous cat in a coat of fur.

And whenever he thought of a thing to do,

He didn't much bother about Tattoo,

For he knows it's nothing to do with her,

So "See you later," says Pinkle Purr.

Tattoo was the mother of Pinkle Purr,

An enormous leopard with coal-black fur.

A little brown kitten that's nearly new

Is now playing games with its big Tattoo......

And Pink looks lazily down at her:

"Dear little Tat," says Pinkle Purr.

A. A. Milne.

P.S - Thank you to J for the photo of Conkers - clever boy ;=)

Conkers McBonkers!

"Take that f*****g camera out of my face women or I'll bite your frickin nose off!"

Actually he was yawning after a long, long kip hidden in his box with the feather duster of desire. He looks fierce though.

Last week got away from me a bit - I did loads, achieved little, blinked and it was gone. This week might be going the same way.

Today someone has stolen outside. I am in the little cream house on the hill wrapped in a blankie of thick fog. All sound is muffled and even the house is quiet. J is reading, M is at work, Ma has gone on a mystery tour (mystery is how soon they get lost in this fog!), cats and dogs are kipping and it is QUIET! Scary! I love quiet and get so little of it that it has great novelty value.

I did some knitting, finished one mitten of the pirate pattern - adapted to suit my needs - finger freedom etc. Must cast on for the second one but have found I don't like dpns for Fair Isle stylie knitting - circs are so much better, so am giving my hands a dpn break for a couple of days. Mind you, found Trillians sock pattern on her blog http://katydidknits.blogspot.com
pattern pdf in side bar - Jack Sparrows Fav Socks - (can't get the hang of linking using url - it never works for me), anyhoo, this pattern is excellent and has queue jumped my 'to do' list - yay!

Have loads of stuff to get on with - but can't be asked to do any of it. So what's new?

J has been busy too. We signed up for a free trial of a kids educational site - he loves it. He's absorbing so much stuff, loving all the quizzes and activities. He's also well into reading at the moment, whenever I see him he has his nose in a book - both fact and fiction - no harm in that. What with skateboarding every spare minute, swimming as often as he can and general charging about - I have to ask - did I ever have that much energy? Must have - want it back!

Now really should shift my arspect and get on.....don't wanna....but *sigh* needs must and the boy wants the computer. Time for chores, soup making, no dog walking in this weather though - she's old and achy and her joints don't like the damp. Perhaps an indoors day - maybe some knitting time later?

Pirate Loulou reporting for duty.

I know, I'm silly! But I wasn't too sure about the previous model, very, very giggly! So I thought we'd go for the mad red eyed Noo-noo look and see if it worked better.
She is a daft old stick. She sat for ages with the hat on - hopeful of course of a biscuit. She is very guts motivated.

Ahhhh me hearties!

'We Call Them Pirates' from Hello Yarns.Here is the lurverly J modelling my new titfer! Two days knitting and look what I did. I normally avoid Fair Isle stylie knitting as it annoys me - but after mastering Continental knitting it was a doddle.
Not only was it a doddle - I didn't throw it once -but I actually was engrossed in and really enjoyed making it. I now have requests from M and J for their own - but I don't want to make another one straight off so they may have a little wait. I used Jaeger Matchmaker Merino in double knit - it knitted up very nicely. The hat needs to be blocked but I couldn't wait to take a picture of it.

Still VERY naughty at

40!

Had a brilliant birthday. So spoilt - lovely. Lots of yummy gifties - even though M had paid for our break at CenterParcs and bought me a new iPod, he hid little envelopes with clues for me to find until I had a £1 for every year of my life - each one was wrapped in a star with a special message for me. He also took me out to lunch and bought me a wonderful pendant and book that I wanted. J saved his pocket money and made me a voucher to buy two album downloads on iTunes - he made me a card from the animals as well. I had a lovely time wandering around the lanes, browsing and shopping, treated myself to some yummy perfume and body lotion - got some fudge from Roleys and just had fun.

I came home to a lurverly birthday cake with loads of candles.

Suemoon sent me choccie and sheepies.

M's older sister did me a posh dinner party - yummy!!

Z & co got me a knitting yarn voucher from my local LYS and a new camping toaster cos our one is useless - I almost cried with laughter when I open it - for me it was the funniest pressie of the day.

Ma gave me yarn money - hence previous yarn porn. M also had given yarn spending abilities.

We were jolly, tipsy and ............well you know - it rounded off the day to a high score of beyond excellent!

If this is what 40 means - then bring it on!!!

Guess what I knitted?

No prizes if you said "Socks!" Pair number one are plain with a twisted rib heel in Opal sock yarn (can't remember the colourway - but is was on sale last year at Get Knitted). I normally have a plain pair on the go as they are invaluable as travel knitting etc.

Finally, not a great piccie, but these Monkey by Cookie at Knitty http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter06/patterns.html . The yarn is the KnitPicks Merino sent to me by Tamara http://ladybean73.wordpress.com/. This yarn is lovely and soft with good bounce and these socks are destined for my walking boots and many camping trips this spring and summer. The Monkey pattern is brill and I look forward to knitting it again...soon!

Right all up to date...finally...so many posts in so many days *sigh*.

I need the weekend to recover. Some chance as I intend to PARTAY all weekend and in the words of Rowley Birken QC (fast show) "Get very, very drunk!" Cos that is the best way to see in the big 40!

Wish me fun and frolics all the way.

Yarn Pr0n - 1st for 2007!

A bumper load of yarn pR0n - with many recent additions not yet blogged about. First up is, freshly delivered today, Colinette Jitterbug in Castagna. I wasn't sure when I first saw this yarn online, but after seeing it knitting up at the weekend, I was converted. And it IS sock yarn and I DO lurve sock yarn.
Lornas Laces mmmmmmmmmmm more sock yarn in Tickled Pink - yummy, yummy, yummy goodness. Destined to be.....wait for it.....can you guess.....yep - socks!
This is berfday yarn from my Ma, purchased at the Knitting and Stitchcraft Show at the Brighton Centre at the weekend (I bought 2 balls of each). The grey one is Regia Bamboo (socks are already underway in this yarn) the multi is Regia Silk - yay more sockies!
Last but by no means least, another purchase from the weekend. This one is pure naughty indulgence - I present to you Hand Maiden 4 ply silk and cashmere is Sangria. This yarn is so yummy it is sinful. I have no plans for this yet other then to pet it and love it and secrete it into my stash and to revel in owning it for a while before it hits the needles.

I also got Vogue Knitting Winter - I feel a severe case of startitus in my near future as there is one pattern I adore and already have the yarn for. Lastly, got some new Brittany Birch 2.5mm sock needles - again I have a pattern in waiting that calls for this size which I can now start!

Handsup4homeed!

Jakob aged 9.
Peri aged almost 40.
Mike aged 45.

Heads up to Dani, Allie, Leo and Pearl at http://www.greenhousebythesea.blogspot.com for this wonderful idea.

The Gov in all its brilliance have decided to mess with something that isn't broken - just for a change. All home-edders in UK need to be aware and get ready to stand up and be counted. This idea is a brilliant way for the home-ed kids to put across their wishes too!

http://handsup4homeed.blogspot.com

Go on - make some hands, make a home-ed wish - let the dweebs hear our voices.

And there's more!

This Squirrel was so tame and bold. I know loads of peeps don't like em, call em vermin, but I love em!
Giant Redwoods. They have 14 of them in this one planting - all just over a 100 years old, so still babies but very impressive. We did a Ranger Ramble - the guy who took us made it very informative and we learnt loads about these amazing trees as well as loads of other stuff and he included a few Ray Mears moments - who knew that gorse flowers tasted like peapods!
Here is the brave little Roe Deer from my previous post - the green leaf emblem is on the patio doors, so you can see just how close he got!

Other News!

We got back to Brighton Friday afternoon and Friday evening heralded the arrival the the wonderfully sparkly Glittrgirl and the serene-but-funny Suemoon from the KnittyBoard to stay for the weekend. They bought us wonderful gifties (no piccies -sorry- remiss I know) I got sockies of rare beauty, a sushi bag of pinky glory for my sock knitting, yummy soap and a tres groovy knitting t-shirt. Glittr also supplied us with Sailor Jerry Rum - Ooooooo heaven in a glass and cocktail cuties for our drinks. We had a great weekend - good food, fun, knitting, a knitting and stitching show and plenty of booze. These two wonderful ladies are very good company and sitting around first thing Sat/Sun am in jammies knitting socks - was a treat :0) A BIG BOLD "Thank You!" to M for all his hard work. Me Darlin Man did everything this weekend - all cooking, cleaning, laundry, child minding, ironing, drink making and general host duties so I could be totally free to laze about and enjoy KnittyPal time - he is 1 in a million - I count my blessings daily - even when he drives me nuts. Without his work this weekend - I wouldn't have had as much fun!

Yarn pR0n piccies of Saturday purchases will follow later in the week - bamboo and silk sock yarn and .......wait for it....... silk and cashmere Handmaiden!

Catching up but not standing still.

We're home again, home again, jiggidy-jig. Had a great time. Did loads. Relaxed loads. Ate loads!
This is our view. We had many visits from Moorhens, Duckies, Thrushes, Blackbirds, Robins, Long-tailed Tits, Bunnies and Squirrels. We also had a Roe Deer come onto our patio and look through the glass door at us - his antlers were still covered in velvet and he appeared to really enjoy the duck dinner!
A very brief snowy moment - all gone by lunchtime but very cold for all that.