e-books by gum!

I've been on a fiction-reading binge, which is really quite a change from my normal diet of knitting books, knitting magazines and Frankie magazine. And Capital magazine. (Yes, many magazines in fact).

I have, in the last few months, read a whole 4 or 5 novels, and that's a lot for me.

The one I just finished was Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok, which was really good except for the breathtaking glossing over of how the heroine, her baby and her sweatshop-worker mother managed to survive while the former gained a medical degree and surgical training.

The two novels before that were a couple of ghost stories set in Alabama (or thereabouts) by RB Chesterton (which I enjoyed except they were quite match-matchy).

The one before that....actually I'll stop here.

Because the point of this post that I have decided it might  finally be worth getting an e-reader, now that I'm consuming a respectable amount of text-heavy product.

I know the Kindle is very popular, but I don't want to be tied into buying only from Amazon. I want to be able to support local booksellers and local writers.  I also want to be able to borrow e-books from our public libraries.

So I'm think I will get a Kobo. The boy said he'll get me one for my birthday, but seeing as he has just forked over way too much money to send us all off on holiday to Rarotonga, I would be fine with buying it myself.

And then I will check whether it's worth buying knitting magazines in e-format.

My eye, my stye and I

Not much to say (I just liked the title) - a dramatic swelling on the inner corner of my right eye, followed a night of unparalleled gunkiness...then it was all over.

Just extremely impressed at how quickly it came and went.

Post-election blahs

I am still a bit depressed today, that National are not only back in government, but won so decisively. It's not so much that I think Labour would have done a fantastic job, more that I hoped more people would have voted for the Greens - and that I really hate John Key's guts.

It's not personal - our lives have been pretty comfortable and this is unlikely to change because the election results - but because in my opinion the Greens were the only party that was willing to instigate big changes for the long-term good of the country.

Also, I've seen so much evidence of dirty dealings on the Nats' part that I don't understand why it hasn't affected their popularity. Like the fact the Judith Collins had to resign because of all her dodginess while she was Ministry of Justice, yet her electorate has put her right back into Parliament!

There's also the fact that evidently the vast majority of the NZ voting public seems to disagree with me.

Blah.

There's a lot going on right now

I was kinda excited at the thought that Scotland might vote for independence from the UK (seeing as so many clever people were or are from there). I don't know how well they would have got on without England, but now we'll never know.

And tomorrow is Election Day in NZ. Traditionally either my brother or myself would take our mum along to vote too, after giving her a brief run-down on the two major parties' philosophies (really quick, as our Cantonese doesn't allow for sophisticated political discussion, nor witty dissing of those I don't approve of).

I wasn't sure what we would do about helping mum vote this election, since I'm far more aware these days of the other parties. It turns out that our mum is quite content with how things have been going re: state of the nation, though that's not surprising since her focus is on the size of her superannuation payments and whether she's able to get free stuff from the government.

So if she votes National then I will not stand in her way (in fact I will drive to her house, pick her up and drive her around the corner to her polling booth. Then take her grocery shopping afterwards). Even though I disagree with her and even though she is not exactly well informed about the political goings on etc over the last few years. I figure, even with her narrowly focussed viewpoint, she is probably about as well informed as the majority of voters are anyway.

Also....we are going to Rarotonga for my birthday!! It won't be for a few weeks yet, and is only for 6 nights, but we're all looking forward to our first holiday (barring long weekends) since our trip to the UK back in 2011 or 2012 (I forget).

After that, I have to prepare for three days in Auckland for work, then getting TLM ready for her Brownie camp over Labour Weekend. It's all on!

Listening to Louise Nicholas

I knew I wasn't going to enjoy it one bit, but I needed to watch the dramatisation of Louise Nicholas' story. I felt like I owed it to her to sit through the entire, horrible series of events, that it was the least I could do. Because I wasn't any use to her at the time when she most needed to be believed - when that news broke years ago it was just background noise, only dimly acknowledged as something going on beyond the edges of what was going on in my life.

During that scene, when she retells what happened in that house with those disgusting examples of human beings - and policemen - my gut curdled. The anger kept me up all night and swamped my other feelings, which were of admiration at Nicholas' bravery in speaking up.

I'll never be able to understand why she couldn't run away when Scholum turned in his car to take her to that house, nor why she kept it a secret for so long, as though it was something that was wrong with her rather than something that was wrong with those men. But it doesn't make what they did to her any less despicable. And if I were a man then at some point I would probably have apologised for being one.

Nine

TLM turned 9 last week, and we held her birthday party in the weekend - at home. At our tiny little working man's cottage in which our living room also houses the dining table and the fridge (they're the overflow).

8 girls all in the house at once, making lots of squeaky noise and competing at who could perform the most entertaining death scene.

8 girls gobbling packets and packets of popcorn and marshmallows (and sundry other snacks).

It was a beautiful day (considering it's mid-winter) and we were supposed to have an outdoor picnic, but that didn't quite work out so we ended up with a floor completely covered in bits of popcorn, hand-made "smores", raspberry lemonade and hundred & thousands that fell of the fairy bread.

And I hadn't spent so much effort cleaning the house (both before and after the party) since last spring. Exhausting!

A hat plus two and a half sweaters

Just a check-in on my knitting progress...

This is not a skirt - it's the body of a stranded knit jumper

a cowl in Zealana heron

the back of a surf top for the boy. It is taking a LOT of yarn and time...

A short, barn-red cardigan for me

winter white

Have you seen those personal style books which show how certain colours - or shades of colours - can affect your look, depending on your skin tone?

Well, I have. And although I can usually see the difference when I compare the before and after photos, I don't  always find it very easy to apply to myself.

I've tried draping fabrics over my chest to see whether it's "my colour" or not, and a lot of the time I can't tell.

Not so with this cream coloured cowl/scarf I blogged about recently -

When I saw the photo of the finished product in Metropolitan Knits I felt an urgent desire to possess (i.e. knit) one just like it. When I found the cream merino cashmere yarn at the Knit World sale my fate was sealed.

But when I put it on one chilly morning before work, I realised that I had fallen for that old "it looked so great on the model" trick.

Not only is my neck far too short for such a wide cowl, but the colour somehow makes my face look...unwashed. One's hand knits should not make one look fat and dirty.

Then I took it off and replaced it with my multi-coloured shawl...

...and I looked SO much prettier. And cleaner.

Blood on the trampoline

Taking TLM to my mum's place this Sunday is going to be slightly awkward, because of something that happened last Sunday.

For some reason, my niece's best friend has accompanied her to mum's place most Sunday's for the last few months. She's not Chinese and perhaps finds it a novelty to spend time at an elderly Chinese lady's house and eat her food. 

The rest of us don't mind, though it's changed the dynamics between TLM and her cousin - and not just because TLM is more likely to get left out nowadays.

When the three of them go on the trampoline at the same time, it's damned likely that someone will get hurt.

I should have been on the alert a few weeks ago when they all got on there in the dark (post-dinner) and someone landed on her face. But TLM was - amazingly - not badly hurt.

Last Sunday, someone decided to do a handstand while they were on the trampoline. And TLM's face got in the way.

There was so much blood coming out of her nose and mouth. Once we'd got her cleaned up and calmed down enough for a good look, we found a split lip and a gash across her upper gum (right where she was growing two adult teeth).

I was quite angry and worried, but not comfortable with telling off someone is not my child - especially as I didn't see it happen so I couldn't be sure who was at fault. (The lesson here, I think, is that you don't stand behind someone unless they know you're there and you're both participating in some team-building exercise.)

About a week later, I am ready to stop being angry. But it would help a lot if  just this once, a certain person didn't accompany my brother's family to Sunday night dinner.

A couple of new knits

Recently I made a scarf and a pair of socks. Here they are:

The pattern is from Metropolitan Knits, and is suppose to have buttons at one end so that it can be worn like a cowl. I haven't gotten around to getting the buttons, but suspect that I don't have quite the swanlike neck that this kind of accessory is made for.

The yarn is a lovely soft merino and cashmere blend which I bought for $5 per ball at the recent KnitWorld sale.

It will keep my neck warm, once it actually gets cold enough for me to need one.

Speaking of colds, I am home with one right now. That's why I've got time to blog this...

These socks were a year in the making. Right after I started (and restarted) the first sock last June, I got bored with it and put it away. I only took it out again when I had to go to Auckland for work and wanted a small knitting project to take with me. And I finished the pair in five days.

Too bad they ended up too big for me - but they fit the boy's size 11 feet perfectly! The pattern is from Blendy Knits Socks.

In another universe I'm a tech guru...

Unless you've been reading this blog for a long time, or know me personally, you'll know that in another life (but in this universe) I worked in IT.

And that I wondered often how it is that I managed to spend about 15 years in IT without ever becoming one of those really useful people who can help when your computer stops behaving.

I mean, until recently I couldn't even work out how to get a DVD to play in our Playstation.

And yet, when it comes to my mum's Freeview television set-up, I am the guru.

My brother, who is no techie, can't fix it when my mum suddenly loses her picture.
My mum, obviously, can't fix it.
The boy probably could do it with his eyes closed, both arms lopped off at the shoulder and only one working leg. But he doesn't have to, because I have always been able to fix it.

To be honest, there are only three "fixes" in my box of tricks:

• press the input button in case someone tried to change channels with the wrong remote
• check that the Freeview box is on, in case someone tried to turn the telly on with the wrong remote
• turn the Freeview box off and on again, in case it's neither of the above.

But so far I have been able to get the telly going again every time. it does feel nice to be the guru in my mum's Freeview tv universe.

This year's TLM knit

I made this cardigan for TLM. It fits perfectly and looks great (if I may say so myself). Which just confirms my suspicion that kids make the best models. I used a Sirdar pattern (more details on Ravelry).

Elephant girl

This is what happens when you cut up an oversized sweatshirt for your imaginative daughter to wear, because her plaster cast prevents her from wearing her normal gear... (please excuse the poor photo quality - it was taken at night without a flash)

Flying off the flying fox

TLM has broken her wrist (well, not broken exactly because being a kid, her bone has sort of bent rather than cracked - but in effect it's a break).

It happened in the school playground, and I got the call while I was chatting to the members of the board at work (specifically, I was trying to explain that my eyes were pink because of allergies, not because they work me too hard).

Saved by the phone, only to be told that my darling was crying her eyes out in the school office. I was  very kindly given a lift to the school, where I picked her up and took her across the road to the A & E.

About three hours later we emerged into daylight again (just). TLM  has a plaster cast on her right (non-writing) arm which stretches nearly to her armpit. She can't get any of her clothes on over her right arm, so it's just as well it's not that cold at the moment.

The bummer is that she was going to play her first game of netball this weekend, and now she's only able to be a supporter for the next six weeks. Plus, she's got Brownie camp in a couple of weeks so I guess archery is going to be off her schedule.

A bach by the sea

We had a lovely time at Waitarere Beach, in a bach (seaside holiday home) big enough for two families of three.

Expecting foul weather, we packed warm clothes, raincoats and enough board games to hold a convention.

But there was plenty of sun, enough to allow trips to the beach itself, walks to the playgound, and outside play on the back lawn. TLM and her friend had a go too.

There were swelter-y moments which convinced me to forget about propriety and just roll up my jeans and sleeves and show the world my manly hiking shoes - just for the sake of getting some airflow about the limbs.

I have no photos, alas. Because we were all there to relax and I was just too relaxed to get out my phone and take any.

I did learn something though. I learned that if I leave my fully-charged phone on for two days without using it at all (except maybe twice to check the time), it will go utterly flat.

An experiment with pattern-printed yarn

I saw pictures of Naturally Loyal Pattern Prints yarn in the Knit World catalogue and decided it was time to try it out. I've been interested in the idea of pre-printed yarns ever since Sirdar Crofter came out. The pink edging is a completely different yarn though.

Unfortunately I am not meticulous enough to knit two mitts which are the same size as each other - but they do fit my wrists and one day I will remember to wear them whilst knitting or typing (as a defence against OOS).

So what do you think? Is it worth trying again with something bigger? (I'm thinking no)

Slightly more detail on Ravelry.

The yellow peril

I finished my Rosemary cardigan which is, in fact, mustard.

I'm quite please with it, apart from the fact that the top button has a tendency to undo itself. It's no biggie, but a bit annoying when it happens.

I've worn it a few times already, during our hot 'n' cold autumn, and people seem to like it as much as I do.

Long tops made of very thin fabric

There's something I have learned to look out for, and that's when I'm thinking of buying a tunic-length top in one of those lovely sheer print fabrics, to wear over jeans.

For Gawd's sake take a good walk around in it before you buy it! Because if it's a few centimetres too long, that super-drapey fabric will somehow work it's way into that area between your legs and become a camel-toe flag!

I made a shawl

When I told the boy that I was thinking of knitting a shawl, he muttered something about rocking chairs and walking sticks. No surprise there, since that would be the expected response from anyone who isn't a knitter (donnasoowho, I'm looking at you).

Maybe he thought I should be more productively spending my knitting time on his surf pullover.

But I started my shawl, and wasn't able to put down until it was all finished and needed nothing more than a blocking.

And now it's finished. For your information, I intend to wear it around me like a big scarf - not like an old-lady shawl (which only the young and hip, or the old and hip-replaced,  could get away with).

Slightly more detail on Ravelry.

Help - caterpillars are killing our swan plant!

This summer we got a much bigger swan plant than the one we had last year, then covered it in plastic mesh to discourage monarch butterflies from laying eggs on it until it was nice and big.

By the time I removed the mesh, the plant had doubled in size and - to my surprise - there was already a fat caterpillar there.

Not long after that caterpillar went through its cycle and left the nest, about a billion tiny new caterpillars appeared! (More like about 20 - but still a lot).

And now they have devastated our plant. I tried laying bits of pumpkin about because my hairdresser say they liked it, but that's had very little effect.

I just hope they'll hurry up and make like a chrysalis already, before every single leave is chomped.