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.

"It's easy" he said...

"...just press the top of the crack to turn it on or off, and press the bottom of the crack to get the disk out".

The boy has been trying to teach me how to use the new Playstation console, which he has hooked up to the telly so that we can play Blue Ray DVDs on it.

I'll freely admit that I'm not the geekiest person around, nor am I a total Luddite. What I am, is someone who suspects that someone is designing gear that makes us non-geeks look like utter fools.

Like, why the hell would you design a console with no visible buttons, unless it was clever enough to hear us tell it what to do?

Fingerless mitts for over-knitters and computer-bound folks

I made these for a work friend, who has OOS from too much computer use.

I'm always on the verge of OOS myself, because I spend all day on a computer and all my spare time knitting.  So I thought I'd make her these. She'll probably find them too warm though, because she lives in balmy Auckland.

The pattern is by kiwiyarns knits.

Relaxed

TLM knows how to relax, alright. As soon as she gets home, she takes off her socks and leaves them on the living room rug for as long as it takes for me or the boy to get sick of accidentally treading on them.

Sometimes it takes all evening. I just refuse to pick up other people's socks.

I guess I should be glad she has stopped taking off her leggings as well.

Is it that time of year/her life already?

Easter is a couple of months away, but - having looked at a couple of holiday accommodation websites - it seems that a lot of well-organised folk have already decided where they are going for the long Easter weekend.

At first it was looking quite desperate (bringing to mind our last-ditch attempt to book a weekend by the beach last summer, only to end up in a place absolutely miles away and with a terribly uncomfortable bed - though everything else about the place was fine).

But then I realised that it's just the places on one particular website which are all going fast. If I picked a less popular site there seemed to be more availability. So there is hope for fun in the sun with our favourite family-to-holiday-with.

The other thing I've been busy thinking about is the retirement village which my mum wants to move into. She's probably got in mind one of those one-two bedroom independent apartments which pretty much leave the resident up to their own devices (possibly even cooking odorous foods). She was looking at those a couple of years ago and very nearly went ahead (until a chance remark by a total stranger put her off).

What my brother and I have in mind is a serviced bedsit or smaller one-bedroom place which provides main meals and some housework, and is much closer to the communal areas. But they are much, much smaller ( and because they only have a kitchenette, there's no overhead thingy to whisk away the scent of salted fish and other "interesting" smells.)

It doesn't take much, but my mind is all full up with the above...

Something I whipped up in the holidays

One of the first things I did when I took time off before Christmas was to let TLM spend all day on her computer.

This wasn't because she'd been particularly good, but because I had an urge to sew and knew it was going to take me all day.

And this is what I ended up with -

I used one of the boy's unwanted business shirts to make the front and back yoke and the centre front, some chambray for the sides and some scarlet bias binding to go around the neck, armholes and hem. I used a Vogue sewing pattern to make this, and modified it so that I could life my arms up without also lifting up the dress to disrespectful heights. Please excuse the batwings...

Happy Valentines Day!

The boy is such a romantic, even after ....(I'm thinking...)...12 years together.

Last night he brought home a dozen long-stemmed pinky-orange roses (though one promptly beheaded itself while I was trying to get them into the vase), and a mystery present which he put in the fridge.

So I realised I had very little time to get him something back (eeek!)

Then, the universe helped me out. When I got to my lunchtime hair appointment, I was told (very apologetically) that my stylist was running 15 minutes late. Would that be a problem?

You bet it would! Well not really, except that I'd be late back to work. But I seized the opportunity to re-book for tomorrow afternoon instead - which meant that my lunch break was now free for present and card shopping.

So I got the boy a card that has a picture of a Star Wars storm trooper on the front and the words "Super Trooper". And for a present I got him a Hello Kitty Frankenstein - that's a Hello Kitty doll which is puce green and has bolts on the sides of her head. Super-cute in a geeky sort of way. Which he loved.

Love and kisses everyone.

p.s. the present in the fridge turned out to be a box of individually chosen designer chocs.

The Chinese patient goes back to the drawing board

My mother's shingles (which sounds like an interesting title for a novel, don't you think?) has caused us all much anguish and stress over the last few weeks.

First there was the pain, which must have been excruciating (though of course I can only guess) - bad enough that at one point I think my mum believed she was going to die from it.

There were multiple visits to doctors - to her GP and to after-hours doctors. They variously prescribed her four different medications to treat the pain:

One acted as a muscle super-relaxant and nerve sensitiser, so that she felt as though she could hardly stand and walk - and it hurt her feet when she did.

The next two, prescribed in unison, gave her the shakes (like Parkinsons on the proverbial speed) and pushed her blood pressure to scary heights. (One of the meds is called Tramadol - a more appropriate name would be Tremor-dol.) This lot put her in hospital for a few days.

The last was a cream which apparently works by distracting the nerves with red hot chilli pepper. My mum had to wash this off quick-smart because it made her feel like her skin was on fire.

So she's back on the plain-Jane paracetamol, which probably does little more than shave a wafer-thin edge off the pain.

Boy, is she grumpy.

Her last day of freedom

TLM's new school year starts tomorrow, so I took yesterday and today off work in order to get some last hurrahs in.

The forecast for these two days was not promising, but I'd fully expected it to rain and blow- because I am apparently The Weather Jonah.

However it's turned out nice and sunny in the afternoons, which means I could stop bitching about the crappy weather I always get when I take annual leave.

Yesterday we went to the local library for Captain Underpants books (for her) and knitting books (for me), followed by sushi at Yummy Sushi, a walk around the green bits and then a quick visit to see my mum in the hospital. (She went home shortly after our visit and is doing very well thank you very much for asking).

Today we drove out to Petone to visit a new art gallery which a friend of mine helped promote. It was full of great paintings, photos and ceramic art themed around the local wharf - and I would have bought some if I wasn't so stingy. That was followed by lunch at Beanie (great place, loved how they serve kids'  milkshakes in little half-pint milk bottles) with the friend, a walk along the Esplanade, and a visit to Chocolate Story (where I had to get us out of there quickly so as to limit our chocolate spend).

Then we looked and looked for the Holland Road Yarn Company, which for some reason is always hard to find. But of course it was closed - it's closed about 50% of the times I go there - which was really disappointing. I will probably just shop there online from now on because I only go there for the hard-to-get-elsewhere yarns, certainly not for the service.

I'm currently trying to repair a parasol which is a prop for an upcoming dance performance for Chinese New Year celebrations. Fortunately it's just a glue job, rather than one involving patience, thread and a pointy needle.

And then, before we know it, it'll be Tuesday evening and the end of the school holidays.

That was another one we didn't feel*

Yesterday afternoon TLM and I went out for a spontaneous walk-and-adventure - as in, we'd go somewhere on the coast for a walk to see what we would see.

We ended up at a local rocky beach - particularly handy because it has toilets (something you have to consider when you have a child whose bodily rhythms tend towards the late afternoon).

We spent an hour or so clambering about on the rocks. (Funny how a spot of rock-hopping can tire our your legs eh?) I was a bit nervous a lot of the time because I couldn't be sure TLM could handle some of those sharp rocks and steeps bits on her own. But I didn't want to cramp her style so I let her take the lead and go pretty much where she wanted.

Because I'd accidentally left my phone at home I eventually decided it was time to get home before the boy got worried.

On the drive home, I heard on the radio that there'd been a 6.2 earthquake in our part of the country. If the boy had known we were at the beach during the earthquake he probably would've assumed we'd been washed away in a mini-tsunami. eek!

**Of the three big shakes we've experienced since the start of 2013 I've only managed to actually "experience" one of them even though I was there at the time.

Yet more hats

This weekend I finished two hats which are for a friend of mine and her partner. One of them is made from stash yarn that she gave me, which I thought she'd appreciate -

She's going back to the Northern hemisphere soon, so hopefully they'll come in handy! I used the same pattern for both (Washington Square Hat from Metropolitan Knits) but they look really different eh?

In other news, TLM is very unhappy about starting her school holiday programme tomorrow. When I pressed her, she revealed that it's because there's a mean girl who is is horrible to her - a bully who hasn't hit TLM yet but keeps threatening to. So when I sign her in tomorrow I'll have to have a talk to the manager about keeping an eye on them. I'll also have to reinforce to TLM that she'll need to be assertive and clear about telling the caregivers when the mean girl gets out of line.

And last of all, my mum has the dreaded shingles - at 89! I've heard it's a terrible affliction to get even if you're in the flush of otherwise-best health. For someone like her it must be intolerable. And the pain meds actually make her feel worse, so it's back to the doctor's tomorrow.

The colour pinky-purple

We had a lovely long weekend at Castle Point, joined by some friends who are similarly inclined to play boardgames on rainy (or not-so rainy) days.

There was a day of summery sunshine which allowed our respective daughters to frolic in the sea, roll around in the soft grey sand, and run around until they fell over.

This was followed by a day too windy for sea frolics, but it did clear up around 6pm so we went for a second walk up to the lighthouse.

In between, we played lots of board games. One of the games was Lords of Waterdeep, which - when we play at home - I often win.The boy should not have said this out loud though, because for two consecutive evenings I came last. I can only put it down to either performance anxiety, or the fact that TLM was not playing (and therefore not backstabbing her daddy).

I took my knitting with me, a hat. It took far too long for me to finish it, because I was making up some of the instructions myself. It's finished at last though. More details here.

 And I also finished this super-cropped cardigan (just perfect for those days when the top half of your boobies are feeling a little cold, but the lower half is just fine). More details here.