Bristol, etc.

This weekend in Bristol was excellent! Sam and I set off immediately after work Friday on the coach and travelled to Bristol. During the usual 45 minute layover in scenic Birmingham (holla to G-rider), we called in at our favorite chippy/curry house, Salt ‘n’ Pepper, across the street from the National Express station for a lamb burger and chips with curry sauce, mmm nutritious. By the time we made it down to Bristol, we were ready for cup of tea with friends, which was not difficult to find. Sam went immediately into comedian mode as soon as we met Zan and Nath at the bus station in Bristol, and remained there for the entirety of the weekend. As with most funny people, Sam feeds off the laughter of the audience, and Nath happens to be one of those easily-tickled types who especially likes Sam’s sense of humor. A great pair. Zan, upon hearing me say only a few words, exclaimed “Augh! Your accent! You sound so English!” Dearie, dearie. I feared this would become apparent, though not so soon. I blame it on the reception job, and being a woman (highly adaptable creatures, we are). Zan, incidentally, has the cutest northern accent, harking from Carlisle, which is almost on the Scottish border. She apparently gets accused of picking up the west country accent when she goes back to Carlisle. So many accents in this blessed country.

But, as you can see from the pictures, we mostly just visited friends, chatted, did a little shopping, walked around the Cheddar Gorge (Will leading the way with map, naturally), driving through Cheddar (where they make the cheese), and more eating, chatting, etc. On Saturday evening, we met up with a different group of Sam’s University friends at a local pub (the gathering was going to be a housewarming until said house’s roof fell in under heavy rains, oops) whereupon I chatted with the lovely Nancy and Alex and tasted some Leffe beer, remembering how tasty white Belgian beers are. Mmm, sweet. Highly recommended.

Sunday we went to Cairn’s Road Baptist, which is a lovely little church. Very family-oriented but not too-much so, lots of life. And then Sunday dinner with the Myerscough family, with whom Sam spent many a Sunday during his Uni years, and how he kept from getting too skinny. The Myerscoughs are such a wonderful family. One of those who are always giving to the community and are pillars in their local church. They gave Sam and I The Five Love Languages for a wedding gift/ I needed a book to read on the bus, and it has been great. I have heard a lot about it, and heard the languages explained to me before, but the book is really good. I think already knew that Sam and I are both QT types who don’t dislike PT. Score. Looks like a problem-free marriage!

And now back again and 2 days finished in my 3rd to last week at work. Next (long) weekend, Northern Ireland! I’m so excited; and we get to take a ferry across the sea, wee! Will keep you posted.

Aunt Again!

Yay! Welcome to the Stu family, little Joshua Russell Stuart. Can't wait to meet him... in a month. At least he'll be less raisin-y by that time, hehe. And I can have some sort of little sweater vest knitted for him. I'm so excited, though. I wonder how Carson will be as a big brother? Judging from how much he liked to order Abby around when she still lived with them, and kick her when he thought no one was looking, I would have to say, he'll get an A+ in big brotherhood.

Its that time again...

Time to get waaaaayy overstimulated with possible knitting projects and I JUST CAN'T DO THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME WHYYYYY?? I know you were hoping for the Wheel of Morality, but as Mrs Kincaid would say TB (too bad).

Ahem. At right you see a swatch of Noro Iro number 57.

Beautiful Iro.
What to make with your spectrum?
I'm lost in wonder.
Anon.

I highly recommend this yarn. And this swatch doesn't do justice to the purples, pinks, and burgundies (-ys?) which also come out whilst knitting with its lovliness. But, I'm still working on getting the right project with it. Well, basically I've settled on a capelet. And I'm working on getting the style right. It will probably just be something basic, to showcase the colors.

Other than that... I'm getting a second wind to finish the Kyoto. Lots and lots of stockinette, but it'll be ok. I'll appreciate it when its finished. After that, perhaps something more complicated like this that I have googled and now ogled. And also, must learn to cable. Will hopefully get to do this over cups of tea & chat with Elise.

Ah, knitting. Or making things, I should say. Brings such pleasure. I've really enjoyed getting into cooking lately, as well. Sam and I are often left to our own devices with his mother and father's frantic schedules, and I'm really getting into the intuitive nature of things. Especially concerning curry-type elements. i.e. spices including but not limited to ginger powder, garum masala, coriander, turmeric. And also coconut, mmmmmm. So much fun, and I love that Sam loves to cook, too. We have much kitchen fun.

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In other news... this weekend included the purchase of Sam's and best man Chris's wedding suits and vests (waistcoats). Dark brown suits, gold waistcoats. A winning combination. Wait til you see them. We are going to look a fine wedding party, methinks. Especially with Dinah and Cammy as brideswomen.

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In other other news, John & J-Do with the aid of the plumber seem to have sorted out the ol' roots in the drainpipe causing toilet to overflow every now and then issue. Apparently its roots in the drainpipe. At right are photos that John took of culprit roots in typical photojournalisic form.

P.S. My consolations to Elise for the bad turn in the career of her supermodel girlfriend. Wait a minute, supermodels *gasp* on drugs?? Get outta town.

The driver on the bus says...

'A-up, me Duck.' That one I'm sure going to miss. As you, my cultured following, probably know, people from the Nottinghamshire and nearby area like to refer to each other as 'Duck', or 'Ducky'. Bus drivers most notoriously so, but maybe that's just because the majority of their speech every day is made up of greetings or goodbyes. Anyhow, there is one Number 4 Notts-to-Derby bus driver in particular who is always enjoying a morning cigarette at the stop just in front of my office, just when I walk by it in the morning. In about his mid- to late-fifties, wearing sunglasses and having combed, wavy 50's- dad style hair, he is just such a character in my everyday walking to work life. I'm always greeted with a 'Good mornin, me Duck.' I return it, and then there's usually a comment about the weather as I walk on by, and that's that. But its just one of those nice, familiar anytown English Midlands things. Always makes me smile.

Rookie Mistake

I can't believe it. In my fumbling excitement about being assigned my first Secret Pal, what do I do but send her an e-mail... from my non-secret account. Really sly. Ah, well, chances are it won't make a huge difference, unless we've been assigned each other and in which case... hopefully everyone is just having a good laugh. I think getting the goods one way or the other pretty much cancels out the secrecy or lack thereof. Don't you think Elise? Man... such a greenhorn.

Yay!

People! It's so exciting. England won the Ashes! Its been 18 years! It was really so much fun to watch today, with Sam and Martin and Sam's dad. I'm so happy I got to be here during it, and experience this unique piece of culture. Sam, Martin, and I went out for drinks tonight and after we left Martin at the bus stop, Sam and I just walked and talked about cricket for the entire 30 minutes it took to walk home. And it was so fun! I love sharing experiences and culture like this. It is such a wonderful part of life and relationships. Right, so that is all for the moment. Its off to bed, because I am sooooo tired.

P.S. I'm displeased that I did not get assigned my SP before bedtime. Will find out tomorrow, but then it'll be Sept 13, won't it? They said Sept 12!!!

The Questionairre

Ok, people, this post is Especially for my Secret Pal, so it might be boring for you if you are not him/her, but on the other hand, you might find it quite interesting!

Also, SP, don't worry when you see that my mailing address is not in England, even though I clearly am. I will be back beginning of November, and it is infinitely easier for you to send gifties to the address in the states for me to receive when I get back. As a result, if you want to postpone October's gift, if you are doing the 3 time installment plan, feel free, otherwise, I'll open it in Nov, or have my little brother open it and describe it to me, jubilant, over the phone! On to the questions...

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I must say I do avoid RH because it is not soft, but I think LB has some great lines! I've been meaning to make this with some colorful boucle' for a while now, incidentally... oh dear, jumping ahead on the questionarre! In general, I prefer natural fibers, especially wool & angora, and anything SOFT.

2. Do you spin? Crochet? No.

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) Cats make me sneeze & itch.

4. How long have you been knitting? 2 years.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I'm afraid not, but I might try to make an Amazon one up, I'll keep you posted.

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Lavender. Ginger comes in second.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth? YES. I like anything, really, as long as its NOT anise or white choco, ew.

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I like to consider cooking a DIY activity, and I love it! Other than that, I love sewing!

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD). This is always difficult to describe... but I love jazz, dixieland jazz, folk, random indie bands that aren't too dark, latin especially Rumba. If it helps, my two favorite online radio stations are Radioio Acoustic and Batanga Cubanismo. I'm easy, though.

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I love the autumnal palette, with the more than occasional burst of intense color. Greens, browns, reds, greys. Warm colors = happiness. I don't like purples, generally speaking.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have two dogs, Molly and Abby (known affectionately as Poopis) which live with my parents. I will be living with my parents again soon, after coming home from England, before my marriage on New Year's Eve and subsequent moving 2.1 miles down the road.

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) I aspire to be a loving wife, mother (eventually), and active member of God's kingdom working & interacting in any community I am in to encourage its life, love, & creativity. I aspire to always be active in supporting the needy in my prayers, monetarily, interactively.

13. What is/are your favourite yarn(s) to knit with? My favorite yarns are between worsted and chunky weight, fitting needles sized about US7 to about US11, although I have really enjoyed finer yarn for US5’s. I love anything soft.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? Acrylic. Novelty yarn with little sticky out shiny bits.

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession(s)? Can’t really think of anything.

16. What is/are your favourite item(s) to knit? Hats, mittens, gloves, baby sweaters.

17. What are you knitting right now? The Kyoto from Knitty.com is my current big project, but I am also working on a pair of convertible gloves, need to just finish up on a pair of angora mittens that need longer thumb sockets, and that’s about it.

18. What do you think about ponchos? Hmm... cute when done well (i.e. lightweight). I prefer smaller capelets, but I have not actually knitted one or worn one myself, although I appreciate them on others!

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular. I also like double-pointed for gloves/mittens.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? Not really bothered as long as they don’t make the yarn stick.

21. Are you a sock knitter? Not as such, although I have aspirations to become one, one day, if I can ever learn/try to learn short-rowing.

22. How did you learn to knit? My very gracious, talented friend Alexis taught a whole group of us so that we could meet, knit, and watch Adult Swim together every Sunday night.

25. What is your favorite holiday? Thanksgiving, then Christmas, and New Year’s will probably be my favorite after this one, because it will be my wedding anniversary, woo!

26. Is there anything you collect? Stamps! All shapes, colors, sizes. I love their tiny- ness.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? None.

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? Not in particular. But something about basic patterns would be great. I’m not a terribly advanced knitter and would love to learn, for example, how to cable.

29. Any patterns you have been coveting? Not really.

In the Peaks

Woot! Well, now that my sore haunches are returning to their usual state, I’ll show & tell about camping in the Peak District. I’ll try and let the pictures do most of the talking, but highlights in my opinion were:
1. The purple heather on the green hills!
2. Night nav with Will our fearless leader, which led us down a large rockslide with only one headlamp between us, oops.
2.a Us making it all the way back to tent on night nav safely until Will, in his selfless efforts to shed his headlamp light onto my path, took a 4 foot drop onto his back (he calculated that his backpack would break the fall, like a good scout) giving his shin a nasty scrape on the way down. (It wasn’t so much a highlight that he hurt himself, but it was quite exciting and you have to see the humor in it happening about 5 yards from the tent.)
3. Sheep. Up close and stupid, but with excellent woolly coats and chubby woolly bottoms.
4. Tinned corned beef sandwich.
5. Trekking across the peat bog. In the dry patches you can physically see the ground spring up after you step, and in the wetter patches, your boot sinks in, but comes up with barely any residual mud—the stuff is weirdly cohesive. And it feels really neat too.
6. Box of wine minus the box, i.e. bag of wine. “The taste of pure class”. (Sam) And guaranteed to make your night sleeping on the ground a lot more comfortable!
7. The view was pretty spectacular as well, I must say.

Overall: an excellent time had by all. I highly recommend the Peak District if you are in the area.