Year of ME, cont.

Hello Dear Readers,

This weekend we experienced some really nice, sunny weather.  Not so warm, but sunny enough to dry the sheets on the back porch!  I managed to get Patrick's done too Mom, while he was out cycling, you have to be quick though.

Chris and I took a walk near the Thames and I took the opportunity to try out my new camera a bit.  If you squint you can see some sailboats in the background by the shore, everyone was out enjoying the weather.

We even found some wooly friends near the Barnes Wetland Center,

Sheep!

Lovely brown and white wooley sheep!

I swear gov, this fleece just came off in my hand.  Shears? What, oh THESE shears.......how did they get there?

Today, in continuation of my year long celebration of ME for my 30th birthday, Chris and I took a trip the salon where I had gotten us gift certificates for Christmas.   Chris had a choice of 3 out of 5 treatments, and today had his hair cut by the very nice and lovely Fidel.  My certificate is more fixed, and I already  had the haircut last month.

This visit was supposed to be 15 scattered highlights, but I really wasn't sure what I wanted.  He was asking did I want to go a different color or really dark or different or what.  I'm not sure that I would keep them up so I asked for subtle highlighting. I should have taken a better before photo, but Chris was ready with his phone.

 

He mixed up his potions and applied the foils to my head very neatly, then cut Chris's hair while I waited.

I think in the end the result was more subtle than I intended, though Monica said she could tell it was lighter in the front than in the back.  Oh well, it was a good opportunity to try something out since on average each visit is only 10 pounds (about 15 dollars) and I had a nice time with the little head and neck massage before and the cup of tea and everything.  Perhaps tomorrow in the sunlight the lighter bit will shine through more.


Not too much else going on, I'm applying for a bunch of jobs now since my contract at the museum expires at the end of March, but I'm still hopeful that I'll find SOMETHING.  If not, I'm making plans to travel the UK more.  I'll keep you all posted.

Cheers.

Heather

Happy Birthday Chris!

Hello Dear Readers,

It's been too long since my last post, but exciting developments have happened since then.  For a Christmas/Birthday present Chris bought me a new camera! Of course he's not a great planner when it comes to gifts, and the worst at surprises, so he told me about it on the 11th of Feb, the day he ordered it....... it's fine, it arrived on Valentine's Day, the perfect halfway point for me between Christmas and my birthday, so it's kind of official.  He got me the Canon IXUS in BLUE!  Our old camera had a tiny screen, battery life problems, the CF reader on our computer was going, and it was just plain BIG.  The new one is a little smaller than an iPhone, perfect for me to slip into my pocket, even my skinny jeans, and take with me to shoot some blog photos to share with all of you.

 It did a great macro shot of the yarn I finished spinning this weekend:

And managed to capture really well in the low light of our office some before and after shots of this neat-o pattern I did for a pair of toddler's sweatpants out of a single t-shirt using just *3 seams*

Aren't they the cutest?  This pattern comes from Hammer and Thread, at this link.  I whipped up this pair in the morning before going to teach knitting, and a second pair when I got back.  Now I just need to find out if they are even close to fitting the toddlers I sew for....somewhere out there I'm sure there is a baby for them.

 The other significant event this weekend was Chris's birthday.  I've been planning a great surprise for a month now, and could barely contain myself, but I did a much better job than Chris with my camera.


Here he is, all unsuspecting on Saturday night. (Everyone was out of the house except us, so of course we stayed up late playing UpWords, which my friend Kat from Chicago gave me years and years ago and we still enjoy).

Sunday after I got home from teaching Knitting in the morning I asked him if he had eaten well and to shave and get dressed nice-ish.  He had no idea what was in store, but dutifully got on the 22 bus with me all the way to Piccadilly Circus.



As we walked down Shaftsbury avenue, past the Windmill street (of Judi Dench movie fame) and through the heart of the West End Theater district.  When he saw the sign for Thriller Live, he knew what was on! If you zoom in you can even see a smile on his face.

For those who don't know, Chris in his misspent youth applied his characteristic laser focus on learning everything there was about Michael Jackson, right down to his dance moves and I catch him doing Billie Jean in the kitchen to this day. Actually, dancing Billie Jean is part of how we met and got together, but that's another story....

After a fantastic show (most people tap their feet or sing along, Chris on the other hand was dancing along to the show......) we headed around the corner to Ed's Diner, a fantastic American 1950's style diner for a chocolate shake, cheeseburger (veggie for me) fries and onion rings, one of Chris's favorite meals.  The place was so cute, and they even had that jukebox system where the tables and booths had their own that you could put 20p in and dial up a song.  Great birthday? or Greatest Birthday Ever?  I'm glad I was able to capture it all on my new camera too.

As my birthday is coming up and Chris's is going down, the last bit of exciting news is that two of my best friends from High School, Adam and Melch (remember them from this post?) are coming to visit me on my birthday FROM L.A.!!  How cool is that?  Skippies visiting me is always something I daydream about, and since Jennifer and Amy's visits last year and this visit on my birthday those dreams have been coming true!  Not sure exactly what we'll be doing, but I know we'll be having fun and laughing so much it hurts. Hooray!

Snow Bunnie!

Hello Dear Readers,

Winter finally came to London dropping a whopping 2-4 inches of snow last night!  Chris's cousin Christiana came up from Guildford to collect some dresses we brought back from Cyprus for her.

I made some cracking good vegetarian lentil chilli and then a big bowl of popcorn for watching a movie. As we were watching, we realized there was snow falling outside!  This was our street at about 8 pm as viewed from the window in the upstairs bathroom roof.

 This morning our house looked like this, I could hear the snow melting off the roof though all night because our bed touches the outside roof wall.  Note the tiny snowman made by our neighbor on the gate plinth on the right.  The snow has been melting pretty steadily all day, but the sun never came out so there is a bit hanging around.

As usual I've been working on my projects from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, since I'm working from stash I'm largely limited to the smaller and therefore faster projects so I'm really churning them out.  I finished off this bunny from Cascade 220 I used for Patrick's rowing socks and a little bit of pink mohair, last seen in my now defunct Jem legwarmers.  Here he is posing on our still snowed over back porch, savoring the last of the wintery Sunday afternoon "sun".  Isn't he adorable?

 And here he is showing off one of the 1 hour projects, the knitted kerchief.  I'm really pleased with the way this turned out, using the same cottony recycled  yarn I made my mother's sweater out of, the last ball in fact.

  It looks pretty good around my neck for a spring/fall small neckerchief, or equally good around my head to keep my hear back and my head warm, or I should say "one's" head since I am planning on gifting most of these projects, in the spirit of the book.   I'm so glad I started this project as I've really enjoyed the challenge of sticking to patterns (mostly) and not improvising so much, as well as making things I might not ordinarily.  They are starting to pile up though, so if you see anything you like just give a shout out and you may find it in your mailbox :-).

In an effort to slow down my project making a little bit I've also started spinning some of the 70 g of lovely merino/tussah silk fiber my friend Toad gave me at our Knitting group Secret Santa swap.

Here is the whole shebang, laid out on my workspace.  Don't you just want to snuggle it and roll up in it?  I'm spinning it very finely and I think I will do a Navajo ply on it to give a lovely round lofty yarn.


Patrick and Calvin are fast asleep on the couch now "watching" the Six Nations rugby tournament, warming up to go to the pub at 11:30 to watch the Superbowl. Go Giants!  I'm letting my bread machine french bread cool before I put in flour for a pizza dough.  Just a lovely lazy snowy Sunday afternoon.

Cheers!

Last Weekend in January, Resolutions Going Strong

Hello Dear Readers,

I had the photos for this post set up on Monday, but somehow didn't get around to posting until today.  You may recall we painted the hallways and living room a few months ago, and this weekend I prepped the kitchen for painting which was enough to inspire Chris...

Who blew though the kitchen and onto the office with vigour.  It was so nice to see him happily absorbed in something, I'll have to think up more household tasks he'll enjoy, maybe laying down wood floors in the hall? He even painted the ceiling in the office, which is great if I'm going to end up working from home more, I can lean back in my chair and enjoy the white white ceiling.

I've continued apace with my New Years Resolution knitting, and finished the tea cozy from the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts, though mine is Cascade 220 and not cashmere.  Here it is being modelled on my teapot, though it's a bit snug.

I really like the look of the thermal pattern, I think it would be nice for a "cozy" human sweater.  The cozy came in handy as I had friends over for tea Sunday afternoon, part of my Year of Me campaign including spending more time with friends.  Have I mentioned the Year of Me?  I think I have, but it bears repeating, to myself and others, otherwise I (and they) might forget to spoil me this year.

I also blocked the Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, which was finished knitting a few weeks ago but languished in the blocking line, and being mohair it really needed it.  It is actually quite warm, and longer than I thought it would be based on the books photo.  I was considering lengthening the scarf, but I'm trying to stick more or less to the patterns, just for fun, just for a change.  My plan is to knit only from my existing stash (except possibly for a sweater for Chris), but I still have quite a few items lined up to make so I hope to be knitting well into March, if I'm careful.

I'm risking life and limb taking photos on our back deck as we are experiencing the cold snap weaving it's icy fingers across Europe.  I wore one layer of bamboo socks and then my alpaca knee high cable socks that I made in Germany to cycle to work today.  My fingers still feel like they are going to fall off when I cycle, but I nicked my brother's snowboarding salt heaters for my hands. Unfortunately I only have one pocket in my cycling coat on the left breast.  So I cycle with one hand on the bike and one on my breast..... I probably look like I'm having a heart attack, but it gets me home in the end!  

Chris's cousin is coming up this weekend which will be nice, and I'm working on Sunday.  I have 57 days to find a new job (my contract is up at the end of March) but I wouldn't mind being unemployed- just for a little bit - to get some rest!

Cheerio!

Cambridge again!

Hello Dear readers,

This weekend Chris and I went to Cambridge, our favorite place to relax and visit old friends.  We usually just hang out at Molly and George's place, but this time I wanted to go into the city and walk around a bit.  We had lunch in an old converted church (they do that here), then walked around window shopping and admiring the colleges.

We checked out Trinity College, with it's patron King Henry VIII I believe.  This one is famous for having had Issac Newton, among others.

And this apple tree out front supposedly came from a pip from THE apple tree in Newtons yard..... though a simple core sample would probably show that the tree isn't really that old.

Baby Katelyn has decided to skip crawling in favor of going straight to walking.  It's more exercise for her and for her mom.

but how can you say no to this face?

I think she's grown about 6 inches taller than when we saw her in October, and she eats as much as me now!  We had really good food when we were up there, and Saturday night Molly and George went out to dinner for George's birthday. As a birthday gift Chris and I volunteered to babysit Katelyn.  It consisted of listening to the baby monitor after she had gone to bed at 7:30, so Chris ordered a pizza and we watched Fresh Prince of Bel Air on TV.  It felt like we were a couple of teenagers on a babysitting date. I pity the pizza delivery guy though, when he came I was shushing him furiously (and had just put on a green face mask) because I didn't want the dog to bark and/or Katelyn to wake up!

Finally, I never walk away from Molly's place empty handed. This time Molly asked if I would be interested in her bread machine.  She had asked for it as a birthday present, but after many many tries and experimentation, she couldn't get the kind of loaves she wanted from it, and they don't have a lot of space in their house for something they can't use.  I took it with me all the way home on the train, tube and bus but it was worth it.  It is almost exactly like the machine I had and LOVED in college and graduate school, and I made two loaves in as many days.  For me the most tedious part of bread baking is kneading and rising, and the best part is the experimenting and eating, so a bread machine is great.  This one also has the jam setting, which will come in handy when my veg box sends me fruit that I'm just not that into.

All in all a very restful and happy trip.  So often I come back from travel just exhausted and have to go straight into work, but this was a good one.

Next week, some more of my finished New Years Resolution projects, which are waiting to be photographed.

Cheers

Old year project and new years resolution project #1

Hello Dear Readers,

What really keeps me from posting when I want to is poor lighting, which means I can't take photos of the things I want to share. It's usually dark when I get home, so if I don't take a picture on the weekend, it's too late. Fortunately I went in to work a little later today so I was able to take some snaps this morning.

This is the first project finished for my new years resolution to work my way through Last Minute Knitted Gifts, the Baby Hat.  I'm pleased with the way the cotton looks, and how it matches the original in the photo.  I'm trying hard to follow instructions, not an easy task for me but that's why it's a new years resolution.

I'm currently working on the light and airy scarf, it's beautiful in some blue mohair given to me by Icy when she left the knitting group.

I also snapped some photos with the self timer this morning of my Chickadee sweater that I've been working on off and on since Sept.  I finished before Christmas, but didn't get around to photos. Not sure how happy I am with it, it fits really nicely, but the colorwork seems to put people in mind of bad Christmas sweaters....though the birdies are really sweet.

  I also love the vintage buttons that I picked up at Prick Your Finger in Bethnel Green.  I cycled over there this weekend, 10 miles, along the river, through the city and out to the East side. It's so wonderful to be able to cycle anywhere, and have such views.  I went by  Big Ben, saw the London Eye, and went past St. Pauls, The Gherkin, and all the skylines.  Also went by the Tower bridge accidentally, but hey, getting lost is all part of the fun.

Still, it's been a fun knit, and nice to have a new sweater.  There is also a woman's sweater pattern in the Last Minute Gifts book which I will attempt to do with the white camel I got from my friend Lucy when she was in China.

The Christmas Gift that Kept on Giving......me a headache

Hello Dear Readers,

Here I am in sunny warm Cyprus!  I had intended this to be a blog intensive trip, full of photos of the fun stuff Chris and I were doing this time since he promised that we wouldn't do chores or see lots of relatives.  Well, he partially kept his promise in that I spent almost the first full week in bed (starting on Christmas Day) with a nasty, knock down cold courtesy of Chris.  According to his family, the cause of my cold was the change in weather in Cyprus, as it had just turned "cold" (14 C/ 60 F) when we got there. I pointed out that it was actually warmer than in England, which then changed the story to, "the drastic change in temperatures is what caused my illness."  I pointed out that Chris had the same bad cold a week before, but that didn't seem to make any difference, and people mused that traveling such a long distance in an airplane the day before probably also contributed to the cold.  So either it was the fact that it was cold in Cyprus, or much warmer than the UK, or traveling great distances, but not living with a sneezey coughing Chris that caused my illness.  Only by wrapping up warm and sweating it out could I recover, oh, or I could take antibiotics.  Sigh.  I think it was more tiring trying to explain basic biology principles than actually being sick.  I'm still stuffy and coughing, and seem to have pulled a small muscle in my chest with all the hacking, but I'm trying to cram in a few fun things now that I am vertical before we fly out tomorrow!

Before I got too ill, we were able to visit our friends Stavros and Margarita who have two little boys.  I love to make things for them, last year I did the sock monkeys and this year it was a dragon and a lamb.  For some reason Andreas was afraid of the lamb at first, but he took to it eventually with his usual good humour.  Somehow he seems to have skipped the terrible twos.  Here is his baby brother with the dragon I made him, lots of good sticky out parts for him to put in his mouth, which is exactly what I intended, along with some safety eyes that he can really get his teeth into.

Christmas day was a very quiet affair, as only myself, Chris, his mother and aunt and uncle were home (and I was in bed the whole day), but being Greek Orthodox Christmas isn't really celebrated, it's New Years (at midnight) that St. Basil comes and delivers gifts to children.  Chris's cousin and her boyfriend were here for New Years, and somehow we got into a discussion about traditional clothes.  Chris's aunt happened to have an old dance costume of one of her girls, which I immediatly put on and paraded about hte house in.  It's very comfortable I have to say, on a par with what I wore when I worked in Colonial Williamsburg.

 Further proof that I was born in the wrong era, I think, I make these outfits look so good!

New Years day we had the traditional lunch at his Aunt's house.  His sister's family was two ill to drive the 1.5 hours to come see us, so it was just the 7 of us.

L to R is Chris, his mother Nikki, Aunt Anna, Uncle Stephanos, Cousin Valando and her boyfriend Dolis.  I've been able to make good use of my Greek lessons this trip, though the fast paced, slang Cypriot dialect still gets the best of me most times.   Fortunately I've been able to use the time I wasn't comatose to finish up a sweater order that I got before I left. 

Yesterday we drove to the Capitol to see Chris's sister and her family.  His mother spent the whole day before cooking and buying food because she seems to think that the largest and capitol city in the island is a desert, devoid of food and, apparently, quality eggs.  It was a bit of a bust though as Odie is deep in his terrible twos stage, every item in the house is his, and you can't touch it or you get a whack with a plastic wrench.  When given a book as a gift from his great Aunt, he proceeded to tear the whole thing apart while his father watched and sighed "Oh dear, tsk tsk." Hmmm, someone really needed a nap, or perhaps everyone.  Not really endearing him to me yet, but I remember my brother was a little brat as a kid, so I'm hoping in 10-15 years he'll be fine.......

Today is our last full day, and it's sunny and warm.  I'm finishing up a job application (it's a never ending process in these austere times) and Chris is doing his annual servicing of his cousin's computer.  Afterwards we'll take a stroll on the new path by the sea and pick up a few groceries that we can't find in the UK.  Tomorrow it's back home to England, and snug in my own bed again!  I hope that Patrick has fufilled his promise to repaint the kitchen, we'll see....

Hope all my dear readers had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  I think I've slept enough this week to last me through the rest of my contract at the Museum, and feel refreshed and ready to tackle the new years resolutions I've made.

Cheers.