Bramblings

By Comparison

Tue, 21 May 2013 08:42:00 GMT

I was going to blog about the gardening I did at the weekend - a bit of weeding and a lot of cutting back of the Winter Jasmine. There is now a pile of WJ offcuts awaiting removal*, or something.

But there's been yet another series of bomb attacks in Iraq. No longer single incidents, multiple blow-ups now.

There's been a tornado in Oklahoma. In 'Tornado Alley' what should one expect, but . . .

And at least 21 miners are dead in a mine collapse in Indonesia. What price gold and copper now?

So anything I've been up to seems entirely trivial in comparison. As I used to say to the children, "LIfe isn't fair. That's why we live here and not in *insert one of the three places above*!"

Y'all have a good day now! However bad it may be, I doubt if it'll be as bad as the above.

*That could be the subject of another blog.

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:12:37 GMT

Short one today.

What's green and dangerous?

An angry lettuce.

Thanks to The Boy and His Dad.

I'm off to knit some more socks. Two finished, one well on the way & another just started this week, so far.

Y'all have a good day now!

Blow the Wind

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:25:51 GMT

Well there we are, it was windy here. In Shropshire, Wales*, and parts of Devon (Devon, I ask you, Southwest or where, ok, it was Dartmoor) it snowed! It's half-past May and there was snow in the country! In the southwest of the country, even! It's melted now. Usually around now I'm listening out for the screaming of swifts as they arrive from Africa. They didn't have a good year last year, not many insects. Let's hope 2014 is better for them, and us.

Today the winds have dropped and it's sunny again. Which is nice, and much more 'May-ish'.

*As if the Welsh farmers haven't had enough to contend with, what with late snow storms during lambing killing off their flocks and the cold spring holding back grass growth - farmers across the country who still have hay and silage left are shipping it to Wales, to the hill farmers, and other places where they have run out of fodder altogether. So that their animals have something to eat while the grass gets around to growing as the weather finally warms. 2012 was very dry, 2013 very wet, let's hope there is a summer in 2014 for their sakes too.

Y'all have a good day now!

The Wind Blew

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:52:20 GMT

It's been windy recently, still is. The Sou'wester has been flapping round the chimneys, whistling through the narrow gap round our bedroom window (because it was fastened open) and flipping the letter-box flap. This last is a bit of a nuisance. One is left thinking, "Is that someone at the door, or is it the wind?" Cos if it's the wind wanting to come in it can use the bedroom window, as usual. Last night, before we went to bed, H fixed the flap so it couldn't & bother us all night.

It's a Sou'wester cos that's the prevailing wind direction around here. Up Channel from straight across the Atlantic and so rain-laden. w00t! Ah well, the garden needed watering. S'pose I ought to get out & fertilise the bulbs. Now they've flowered they'll be building themselves up for next year, and I would like some flowers next year.

Oh, we get winds from other directions. Once we had a Southerly, direct from the Sahara, so say, and bearing Saharan sand - which it proceeded to drop everywhere. We get Easterlies. They are usually dry, freezing, & occur in the winter - think we had a lot through March & April, hence the prolonged winter. We get Northerlies too, they are also cold. But mainly we get sou'westerlies. It's the accompanying rain clouds which keep this island a green and pleasant land.

The title of this entry comes from a picture book we borrowed from the local library when the children were small. You can work out the plot for yourself, Dear Reader. Suffice it to say that a lot of people lost a lot of articles.

Y'all have a good day now!

As Promised

Sat, 04 May 2013 10:48:00 GMT

I said I'd let you know when our amaryllis flowered.

Two beautiful large blooms. Now we have to be extra careful with the blind, but it's well worth it.

Y'all have a good day now!

Oh Ah Woke Up This Mawnin'

Thu, 02 May 2013 06:46:53 GMT

It was early, and the sun was a-shining, no, not in through my window - that faces south, and lying there was getting too hot and uncomfortable, so I got up. Had breakfast & tried scanning my usual selection of blogs. Of course, it being before 7am, only the lass in Australia had updated. So I'll update this with a few trivia, then try again.

There is a spread which is euphemistically called "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter". Well I can, it isn't, so there!

Ooh! *notices banner heading is different, a bit 'Birthday Party'-ish* I wonder why?

Of course, I could always try updating myself with the News. Hmmmm.

There, I blogged the other day about the MMR vaccine & how measles has come back to bite us, here's a more detailed report. If you're interested, Dear Reader.

Yesterday, being the first of May, was, officially, the first day of Summer. As H said when this was mentioned, 'What happened to Spring?' Indeed, a quick view of the garden yesterday found daffodils and hyacinths both still in flower, and three tulips. Normally at this time of year the tulips are the only things out, apart from the wallflower, and they are beginning to look a bit faded. Still, we've had daffodils in bloom for over a month now - the same flowers - must be some kind of record. Wonder what Summer will be like, like if we'll have one at all? We're due something after last year's washout.

Right, things might have moved on a little in Cyberia. Y'all have a good day now!

May Day

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:43:44 GMT

It's the first of May. Spring is springing, somewhat slowly, there was a frost last night, but the year rolls on and it's now light til gone 8.30pm. What with it still being chilly-ish, I'll be wearing the woolly socks for a while yet.

With that in mind and after yesterday's entry, have a poem by Pablo Neruda

Mara Mori brought me 
a pair of socks 
which she knitted herself 
with her sheepherder’s hands, 
two socks as soft as rabbits. 
I slipped my feet into them
 as if they were two cases
 knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin, 
Violent socks, 
my feet were two fish made of wool, 
two long sharks
 sea blue, shot through 
by one golden thread,
 two immense blackbirds,
 two cannons, 
my feet were honored in this way
 by these heavenly socks. 
They were so handsome for the first time
 my feet seemed to me unacceptable 
like two decrepit firemen, 
firemen unworthy of that woven fire, 
of those glowing socks.
Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
 to save them somewhere as schoolboys 
keep fireflies,
 as learned men collect
 sacred texts,
 I resisted the mad impulse to put them
 in a golden cage and each day give them
 birdseed and pieces of pink melon. 
Like explorers in the jungle 
who hand over the very rare green deer
 to the spit and eat it with remorse,
 I stretched out my feet and pulled on
 the magnificent socks and then my shoes.
The moral of my ode is this: 
beauty is twice beauty
 and what is good is doubly good 
when it is a matter of two socks 
made of wool in winter.

Pablo Neruda. Trans. by Robert Bly.

Sockcess

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:28:15 GMT

Having completed The List (see yesterday's post) I can now show you some of the socks. Only eight of the eleven pairs I've knitted so far because I sent three pairs off to Mum early this month, while the weather was still cold, so she could get some wear from them this winter/spring.

So, in no particular order, these are - my socks - standard sock pattern, toe-up construction, stocking stitch, short-row heel, in Wendy Roam Fusion. See how you can knit interesting looking socks with very basic skilz!

Interlocking Leaves socks, also mine, also toe-up construction (w00t!), in Cygnet wool rich sock yarn, 75% wool, 25% nylon (as are the other plain colour socks). These illustrate one of the difficulties of internet shopping. I thought I was getting a reasonable shade of green yarn. They are actually darker than this.

More socks for me this time in Crazy Zauberball sock yarn 'Faint Glimmer'. I did try to start both socks at similar colour points in the yarn but this yarn appears to not have a regular colour-repeat sequence, so they are Fraternal socks. Besides which, at £10 per 100g, I was unwilling to waste yarn!

, in Chevron Stripe socks, in a self-striping yarn by Kaffe Fasset. This pattern goes to show that you don't have to stick to plain stripes with such yarn. Add in a few increases, decreases, & even some purls, & you can have stripes which bend - chevrons. I like the colours of these socks but wish I'd knitted the legs a bit longer. Top down construction. Ack! Grafting.

More socks for Mum, can't remember the manufacturer but the colourway is 'Hairdresser'. This is another example of a self-patterning yarn. Otherwise it's the ol' toe-up, short-row heel, stocking stitch construction.

And yet more socks for Mum, again can't remember yarn manufacturer, but this is yet another example of a kinda self-striping yarn. Top down construction, with flap & gusset heels. You wouldn't believe how long it can take to construct this kind of heel. Short-row heels I can turn in about 3/4 hour, while watching TV, used to be able to do them in thirty minutes.

Socks for my Sis, cable twists & lace bits alternating. The flap & gusset heels look enormous but actually fit nicely. This time a toe-up construction, w00t.

Socks for Sister-in-Law, lace pattern, toe-up. They are red, Sis's are pink - oh the joys of colour 'reproduction' I think they look quite good. Hope she does too.

More socks for SiL, very standard construction, Crazy Zauberball yarn in ''Tropical Fish", or something. Again, these are going to be Fraternal socks rather than a matching pair.

Since then I've knitted one and a bit pairs of socks for Sis and the foot of the other sock for SiL. Then Mum mentioned that our niece would like some more socks, if I'd like to knit some. Patterns already selected, I can feel another yarn buying coming on! As these are woolen socks I suppose I'd better hang on to them until next autumn, now that Spring really is springing & all. Thinx - can I remember which pair is for whom that long?

Ok, I'm off to do some more knitting. Y'all have a good day now!

The Joy of Snaps

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:36:30 GMT

  I’ve been knitting socks at the rate of about three pairs per fortnight for quite a while now. I wanted to show you some of them, what with having pictures in your blog being all the rage, & things. A while back I mentioned the faff involved in actually getting pictures from the camera to the blog. The process is actually more complicated, and goes something, like this . . .

Locate camera, which says that the batteries in it are dead.
Locate spare set of batteries, put into camera, which says that they are also dead.*
Locate battery tester, which says both sets are fully charged.*
Look at camera wondering what might be wrong in it.*
Polish the connecting bits. Reload batteries, it works, phew!*
Round up pairs of socks.
Find suitable background.
Arrange socks.
Try to photograph by ambient light – it’s late April & the room is south facing for goodness’ sake!*
Upload pictures to computer.*
Locate pictures.
Find that, H having uploaded them, I don’t have user privileges to do anything with them.
Duplicate pictures..
Sort, select, size & otherwise process them.
Upload pictures to host website.
Where’s ‘Fetch’ gone, it doesn’t appear to be on my toolbar.
Locate ‘Fetch’. Run it. Get told this copy is too old and you need a newer copy, which you download, then wonder how to install.
Get H to install it!*
Upload pictures to host site, eventually.
Leave for site to process them.
Access them, to make sure you can & to get url’s.
Post blog, complete with pictures.

  Aaaarrrggh!

  Actually I’m only part way through the list, which is why you’re reading this, if you are, Dear Reader, & not viewing the fruits of my labours. Are socks fruit?

Y'all have a good, & unfrustrating, day now!

*Many thanks to H for wrangling the camera, etc

Epidemic

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 09:47:25 GMT

There is a measles epidemic in the UK. Particularly in South Wales, Swansea to be precise. With S living in Cardiff I'm thankful I had him inoculated as a babe. While measles may have once been classified as a 'childhood illness' it can cause blindness, deafness and death. There has been one death recorded already this year.

So, with inoculation available, what's prompted the epidemic? Well, many years ago, at least 30, the NHS brought out the MMR, Measles/Mumps/Rubella, jab. Which sounded like a Good Thing. Get all three immunisations done in one go. Except that around twenty years ago some research was published indicating a possible link between the MMR jab and autism. Cue much heart searching among parents of tots. Should they get them immunised and risk autism? Or not have the jab and risk infection?

Now the government/NHS could have sorted things by offering the three inoculations separately, but they didn't. Ask them why, not me. Something about policy?

A lot of parents decided to not give their children the jab. Autism is not a Good Thing. Hence the epidemics now, among teenagers and younger.

Eventually research showed that there was no link between autism & the MMR jab. This was promulgated and more parents are having their babies vaccinated, but the government is doing a major catch-up programme with all those who weren't.

Which just goes to show, being a parent is never easy. Being pregnant and giving birth - they're a doddle compared with what comes later, for the rest of your life. But it's Worth It.

Y'all have a good day now!

It's Not Fair!

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:41:45 GMT

The times when our two came out with this line I'd reply, "Life isn't fair. That's why we live here and not in (insert name of latest disaster, in this case the Iran-Pakistan border or Sichuan)" They didn't appreciate it but the point remains Fair or not, we have it easy.

In the US and UK obesity is a growing problem, up to half the food available in this country is thrown away (Best Before & Sell By dates), and eight out of ten people worldwide go to bed hungry. If they have a bed, if they have a home. There is enough food produced worldwide for everyone - IF we are willing to share. And to stop fighting, etc.

More people than ever are reliant on Food Banks in this country. Worldwide more are starving. People are still dying of malaria, and far too many don't have access to safe water, or any water near where they live. Too many children die before their fifth birthday and, of those who survive, too many get only a year or two of schooling.

Most people in the world live on less than £1 (or $2) per day. Now there's a thought - how about trying to live on £1 a day for five days*. How much is a cup of coffee, or tea, out? I know, it depends on whether it's an independent cafe or a chain (Starbucks, £2+?) Don't know whether I'll be doing this, but I do know that I'm trying to take less for granted.

Y'all have a good, and thoughtful, day now!

*Interesting to see that nine of the top ten fundraisers are women!

Growing

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:58:58 GMT

We have an Amaryllis (Hippeastrum) we've had several. It grew, blossomed & went over a good few years back & the pot somehow gravitated to the kitchen windowsill. Don't ask, & anyhow I don't remember. More recently H started watering it & Lo, it put forth leaves, then a flower spike (unusual, generally they put forth the flower spike then only leaf up after flowering). So now I turn the pot so that the spike grows up straight, the bud is beginning to colour a little, but still has a long way to go in swelling before we get blossoms. I'll keep you posted.

Y'all have a good day now!

The Joy of Specs

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:08:21 GMT

Both H & I wear spectacles (eye glasses) for myopia. Being able to see clearly is a Very Good Thing. My current limit of clear vision is about 16", ie: not as far as this computer screen! This means that when we take our glasses off - for close work such as reading, writing, knitting, sewing, soldering, etc, we have to be careful where we put them. Careful that they don't fall over/down/get damaged and careful that we don't put them somewhere and, wandering off, forget quite where we put them, because without glasses we can't see far enough to find them easily, if at all. Some the joys of advancing middle age. Memory? What's that?

Back in the day when we had children living with us (8 years ago at least, how time flies) this wasn't such a problem. One would say to them, "I've lost my glasses, please would you have a quick look round for them?" They would, finding would occur and we'd be able to see again. As I said, this was at least eight years ago. These days the Aged Parents have to find other coping mechanisms - usually making sure we put them in the same place(s) each time. Fortunately we both have an additional pair of specs - got when our optician was doing a BOGOFF, so we aren't completely blinded . . . provided we can remember where we keep them!

Yesterday H managed to misplace his glasses between arriving home from Church and mid-afternoon. He got quite concerned and spent a lot of time looking around, under and behind things. Eventually he found his other pair, prescription sunglasses - not such a good idea for when it's getting dark, however . . .

At a convenient ad break in "Endeavour", sometimes ad breaks are a Good Thing, though not often, I paused the TV (also a Good Thing cos sometimes ad breaks aren't long enough, also not often) and went and had a look round myself. Finally found them, on a cupboard in the middle bedroom. Don't ask, we don't often go in there these days. H went off to work this morning able to see clearly & not in shades. Which was a great relief to him, actually to both of us. It's not nice being unable to see clearly, specially when you have to venture out. At home we can, generally, cope though TV watching is, more or less, out.

Which is about it, y'all have a good day now!

Milk-o!

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:38:05 GMT

This weekend we got, among other things, some milk. Half a gallon, four pints, £1. 25p per pint! In a big plastic container. The milkman delivers our milk in glass bottles, at around 70p per pint. Which is one reason why milk delivery rounds are becoming a thing of the past.

Now I don't know how much the supermarkets pay the farmers, but it is probably less than 25p per litre (1 3/4 pints). Which is one reason why so many dairy farms are going out of business too. Or they are diversifying into cheese, yoghurt &/or ice cream production.

I suppose this will all come back to bite us one day, when there are no more milk rounds and the supermarkets have us held to ransom?

I know Fair Trade has become popular recently. What price Fairly Traded milk?

Y'all have a good day now!

Gardening

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 23:35:49 GMT

What with the Spring a-springing and all, I went into the yard and had a good look at the garden - which is more than I've done in quite a while. The honeysuckle has taken over that end of the yard, it's rooted into a crack in the concrete. When I chop it back there'll be so much stuff I think I'll need to avail myself of the city Green Waste disposal service. Hmmmm. There are also a few grape hyacinths and forget-me-nots as well as the daffodils and hyacinths. Loads of dandelions too. I picked off all the flowers & binned them. More will really need to be done. There's also a primrose rooted through a crack into the concrete at this end of the yard. Nice.

So that will be my work cut out - chop back the honeysuckle, deal with any discovered snails, & generally tidy up. Y'all have a good day now!

For the Spring it is a-Springing

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:06:25 GMT

"You can see a skylark singing
and the bluebells, which are ringing, can be heard"

Today the sun is shining and the wind is blowing like mad, though from the south-west, not the east. It's a beautiful day. The Winter Jasmine still has blossom on it & the daffodils & hyacinths are all blowing in the yard - in the latter part of April, no less. Over the Rec the daffodils will be dancing and pussy-willow & lambs-tail catkins will be on trees in the copse. I think it's official, Spring is Sprung, and about time too!

I've been checking on others' blogs and they are all full of the joys, so it seems to be a country-wide, even hemisphere-wide phenomenon, though some in Canada are complaining of winter blues & think winter is well into overtime.

Think that's it for today. Y'all have a good day now!

from "Noise, by Pooh" written by A A Milne

Wednesday

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 06:27:33 GMT

I shouldn't try visiting central London today, it's going to be busy and even more congested than usual. Various opinions have been expressed about this, from "Quite right too" to "We're in a recession, for goodness sake, we don't have the money for all that!" They may have a point there, but there we are.

Big Ben and the Westminster Chimes will be turned off for the duration - so they won't be going 'Ding Dong' either. That song got to no2 in the charts this weekend - much to the disgust of a lot of people. Many of them wanted it at no1!

Right, that's it for today. Y'all have a good day now!

Aujourdui le soleil brillait*

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:43:25 GMT

  For the moment at least. This is pleasant cos it's been raining quite a bit recently, as it does when the wind veers sou'westerly & the temperature rises above 5°C. Also it is April.

  So this weekend I finished one sock, turned the heel of another and reached the heel of a third. I'm knitting that one, toe up of course, with a flap heel & gusset - what a faff! When you get to four inches (10cm) before the end of the foot start increasing for the gussets, 30-odd rows later make a note of where you are in the pattern & start on the actual heel. Ah well, not all socks work with short-row heels, & I want to mistress this flap & gusset construction thingy anyhow. These socks are for my sis, so they've long feet.

  In the absence of any simple-ish sock patterns I've decided to knit blanket squares while watching TV. That's fairly brainless knitting. After all, I have a large box of yarn left over from when I knit H a blanket. I quite like the idea of a rainbow coloured** blanket, but that would involve in investing in red, yellow & orange yarns & this is supposed to be a 'use up your oddments' exercise. I shall have a blanket for when it gets cold again next autumn, though not next week (could be, the way the weather is at present).

  It was very warm last night - even here, the second coldest place in the house. Or maybe the temperature was normal for mid-April & I'm just not accustomed to it?

  OK, I'm now wittering, so I shall stop. Y'all have a good day!

*Hey, it's been a long time since I did French. A very long time, & I wasn't all that hot with the spellings then!

**I am FED UP with having the spellcheck underline words which I have spelled correctly. American is a variant on English, NOT the other way around!

I just clicked on my 'location', as in the 'location' designator. Nope, not in any of those places.

More Socks

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:13:46 GMT

  I finished another pair of socks yesterday evening, the plain pair though knit in Opal Hobbies Sock Yarn, colourway Hairdresser, they don't look that plain. So now I'm looking for an easy-ish pattern, maybe with a bit of activity, for knitting while watching TV. I tried starting something last night, & came to grief - not because I wasn't paying attention to my knitting. So that will be frogged. Ah well.

  While on the fancy sock yarn, there are a lot of yarns around now which are space-dyed and, knit up to the correct gauge, will give you patterned socks - from stripes to mock fair-isle - for simple stocking stitch. Real no-brainers. I came across one yarn which, knitted to specs, yielded socks striped in the colours of the London Underground map (sorry, no link, you'll just have to imagine them. They looked good.) This kind of yarn is also ideal travel knitting, simple enough so you don't miss your stop, and you only have to carry one ball!

  Of course, just because you have fancy yarn you don't have to knit stocking stitch. I've a pair in a striped yarn I knit with panels of slanted stocking stitch & purl bits. They turned out to give a slightly chevron shaped stripe, which is more interesting. Yes, I know a picture is worth a thousand words, but see yesterday's blog for the faff with cameras.

  I shall continue looking for something suitable. Y'all have a good day now.

The Joy of Socks

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:18:02 GMT

While I remember ° ° ° ta daa!

A couple of months back I finally got round to finishing the pair of bedsocks I'd started knitting a looong time ago. With the enduring grip winter has had here they have been most welcome. I knit H a pair a while back, he's managed to misplace them, so occasionally wears a pair of day socks - more on which presently.

Hand knitted socks, as anyone who has worn some will tell you, are the thing. Being custom made they fit your feet and legs exactly. Thin feet? Wide feet? Thick ankles? Thin ankles? Thick calves? Thin calves? High instep? All can be accommodated. They also last a lot better than the shop bought kind. H has very hard skin on his heels, so shop socks wear through in a couple of days. His handknits are still going strong. Only trouble is it's too hot for them at his workplace. Too many of his colleagues are hot-house flowers!

The great thing about knitting socks is that knitting in the round you never have to purl, unless you want to. "But what about heels" you may ask. "Don't they require purling?" Nope, not if you knit afterthought heels. You just need to graft them to finish.

Many sock patterns exist, of varying levels of difficulty - eg: here. Most of them being knit cuff down. This involves casting on 64+ stitches, joining them into a round (without twisting), knit leg, turn heel, knit foot, decrease for the toe, Kitchener (graft) closed. Which is ok.

Actually I prefer to knit socks toe up. Cast on a few stitches (Eastern Cast On) knit toe, knit foot, turn heel, knit leg, knit cuff, cast off with a stretchy cast off - something I've recently learned. You then have two ends to sew in. Simples!

As the bedsocks were such a success I dug out my day socks & proceeded to wear them. But four pairs weren't enough to wear & have some still in the wash. I equipped myself with more yarn, & knitted more. Now I shall get round to giving you pictures - apparently that is the done thing in blogging these days - but not yet. It's all the faff about taking the picture (very little daylight even in mid April), the putting them on the computer, sizing them, uploading & finally linking. After all, I could turn several heels in that time!

So I knit one pair - very plain - from Wendy's Roam Fusion, & another pair in a leaf pattern in what looked, on the website, like a reasonable shade of green. On delivery this turned out to be so dark it was more like charcoal, but I knit them anyway. Considering experimenting with spare yarn & bleach, or Dyegone. Ah well.

I happened to mention to Mum that I'd been knitting socks & she mentioned that she could do with some more - only has three pairs & has lost one sock. So I invested in more yarn & knitted. I like to have two pairs of socks on the go at once, one pair with texturing, one pair plain. That way I can knit the textured pair in the afternoons and concentrate, & the plain pair while watching TV. Currently I've knitted four and a half pairs for Mum, posted three pairs off last Saturday. Now the weather will really change - probably from winter to summer, do not pass Spring, cos it's been like that.

Then I heard that my Sister-in-law would like some more handknitted socks, she only has three pairs as well, so I have nearly half a pair done for her. And there are my sister & her daughter - possibly whether they want them or not! So I shall be gainfully employed for a while yet. w00t!

Where do I find the sock yarn, and it has to be specifically sock yarn. Four ply/fingering weight, high twist spin, wool (75-80%) and nylon (20-25%). I've tried ordinary four ply wool & that just holes. Mind you, when I'm walking about my socks, even in sock yarn & reinforced a bit, hole under my heels & the balls of my feet. Apparently there is a way of knitting socks which finishes with the soles, but I've lost the link. Darn! Which is what I ought to do with my holed socks, I do sometimes.

And finally, I've found an excellent source of yarns from BaaRamEwe - a shop & mail order service in Yorkshire which specialises in British wool. You can even order yarn by sheep breed. They have a good selection, next day first-class mailing and excellent customer service.

Which is about it for now. Y'all have a good day!

The Weather*

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 07:22:31 GMT

So there we are. After what began to feel like an endless winter, the temperature ventures above 5C (so long since I've done much typing I've forgotten where the degree symbol is!) so it rains. Of course, the wind veering from East - out of freezing Scandinavia - to West - in off the Atlantic, has a lot to do with it too. Personally I prefer cold & dry.

Still, the Winter Jasmine is almost over, the hyacinths, which have been planted out from being indoor bulbs in previous years, are coming out, as are the crocuses and miniature daffodils. The yard is filling with yellow cheerfulness. But not yellow Cheerfulness as they were different kinds of daffs.

Y'all have a good day now!

*I'm British, of course I'll blog about the weather.

Seasons Greetings

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:45:04 GMT

I'm sure there's supposed to be an apostrophe somewhere in the title, just not sure where. Ideas anyone?

Just a quick note to wish you all, Dear Readers, all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

And to all who have been so patiently waiting, some fairies.

First the white and gold one,

Then the blue one, red one just behind.

Hope you think it's been worth the wait.

I suppose it's almost time to put the tree up. Maybe one of them can go on the top, we'll see.

Y'all have a good Christmas now!

Money, money, money

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 10:10:00 GMT

All this fuss about Greece, Italy & the Eurozone. Reminds me a bit of when, around the Millenium, we were encouraged to write to MPs and others about Third World Debt and getting some of it cancelled so that the countries could spend the money on infrastructure instead. That was done, debts were cancelled, some of them, and countries spent the money on their people - which is always a good thing.

So what now? Cancel Greece's debts? How to shore up the Eurozone? What about Italy?

Fairy Nuff

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:36:06 GMT

For those interested

file://localhost/Users/sharon/Desktop/gold%20fairy.JPG

file://localhost/Users/sharon/Desktop/gold
file://localhost/Users/sharon/Desktop/blue%20fairy.JPG%20fairy.JPG

file://localhost/Users/sharon/Desktop/blue%20fairy.JPG

Or perhaps not. How do I post photos, I've forgotten?

Y'all have a good day now!

Fair(y) wait

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:38:45 GMT

So I found the camera, eventually. The batteries were flat. Put them on to charge, found the spares - flat. Eventually H found a good set & i photoed the fairies. Then H downloaded the pictures somewhere on the shared hard disk. You have to wait for me to get the details from him.
The fairies aren't that wonderful so I hope you won't be disappointed, Dear Readers.
Other than that there isn't much to report.
Y'all have a good day now!