Stair rods, abomstrukkets, knitting and other oddities

The rain today, on the school run, was of biblical proportions. Now, sitting by the fire with the cats and my knitting (and a box of tissues) it is still raining - in stair rods.....

I only started using those words - stair rods - after I got to know Himself. I used them without realising their origin.  It was only after a few years of usage I actually investigated the meaning and discovered that stair rods are the little wooden or metal strips used to hold a carpet fast against the steps of a staircase. Today's rain is definitely stair-rodding it down - straight arrows of water directly downward.  (As an aside - I have just sneezed and startled the cat so much she went from a sleepy pile of fluff in to a rigid legged sharp backed hissing attack-cat, she has settled back down, albeit a little wary as she keeps one eye on me).

On the subjects of using words with out realising their true meanings - here is another one. As a child with an untidy room (still struggling with that demon) I would watch my mom stride in, despairing at the artfully arranged mess and say 'look at your room -'it looks like abomstrukket - tidy up now!'

I would dutifully shove all my toys and shoes and anything else on the floor under my bed or into my cupboards and my bedroom would look a little less like the fabled abomstrukket. For years and years I would accept and call any mess an abomstrukket without even questioning the meaning. Until when, as a teenager, my mom was still accusing my now even messier room as an abomstrukket, I actually registered what she was saying in her anguish at my 'nest', my 'den', my room. She was (and I am sure you will have already worked this out) she was saying.... 'your room looks like a-bomb-has-struck-it'......

My nose and throat are a little rough today, hence the tissue box and the cat-startling-sneeze. Definitely feeling sorry for myself. But, through the haze of coughing and nose blowing I actually heard Himself say to me, just take it easy today and knit with the cats by the fire - gasp - what a man! Who am I to refuse such a suggestion.

Playing (for medicinal purposes you understand) with a self striping ball of yarn. 

Making another (!) kerchief/shawlette.

Had fun making this lace pattern up - once you have the basics then it is just a matter of having a repeating pattern that fits in the number of stitches on your knitting pins. Easy! (said after several frogging sessions and a fair bit of knitting related cussing.....)

Before blocking.

Picture colour rather poor in this driech grey light and the flash just removes any last shreds of decent colour so just imagine the rich russetty hue of the shawlette and the vibrant cheer of the multicoloured ball of yarn.

Today day is tipping day - tipping us towards the weekend - enjoy your Wednesday and remember, when it rains - you can make your own sunshine :)

In which I waffle (a lot)

After the 'hurry up's and the 'get on's and the dashing about for the school run, I am home with just the radio, washing machine and two cats for company. The radio is a shade too loud but my mug of tea keeps me here.

A glance outside confirms that the weather hasn't improved since I sprinted from the car to the house. A menacing bruise-coloured cloud is still hanging just behind the wind-whipped trees. The seasons are moving on and our sporadic and brief summer seems to have slipped quietly out the back door while autumn has stormed in and taken centre stage.

It has been a funny year. In a not funny way.

I don't personally feel to achieved much. Surprisingly a number of friends and colleagues I have chatted to feel the same way. Hmmm - is just co-incidence or a weather induced melancholy or the world downturn? Who knows.

I couldn't bear it any longer - I had to turn the radio down to a less invasive level. An annoyingly condescending man was spouting on about aggressive take-over bids and how this would shake up the economy.
It went something like this - BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH  BLAH BLAH BLAH (ad infinitum)  blah blah blah blah..... That is better.

I am knitting again, at least this weather does bring out the crafter in me, I have almost finished the tea cosy I was making to learn how to decrease.....forgotten what type of decrease it was, my Mom did tell me! oops :)

I am also trying something else out - will show later.

I have just read back what I have written and realise what a waffling non-interesting post this is turning out to be. Will try harder.

I will share with you (coz it will make me feel better) some of our holiday. We had started off with a wonderful 8 days in Northumberland. The weather, although not non-stop sunshine, was enough to give us freckles and a warm honey-coloured glow. Then suddenly at the end of the week, rain and a change in the atmosphere on the campsite made us wonder whether to move on and discover a new delight for ourselves. Our personal idea of camping heaven is a field filled with nothing but wild flowers, trees and us.

I have to admit to not wanting to share our holiday freedom and space with other campers who prefer noisy and jolly party type get-aways. They obviously enjoy their time and I am fine with that, what I don't appreciate is when their holiday invades mine. As we paid up and left to explore further, the campsite owner apologised for the antics of the apparently unbooked and unexpected jolly camping party - I felt sorry for him, he was about to ask them to leave and he was only a little bloke.

We travelled up towards Edinburgh then across to Glasgow. As we drove through the rain sodden countryside the skies began to lighten as did our moods. It was like a whole new holiday.

After negotiating the busy roads of Glasgow and crossing the Erskine Bridge, Himself and I consulted a rather old map and discussed the route. We were about to come to a large spit of land - with lochs either side and the road split at the bottom and joined again at the top. Looking at the map (printed in the early 1980s) both roads were given equal status in size and quality. So we plumped for the one on the left, my reasoning it was nearer the sea and our destination and just because I rather fancied it......oops.


 The *wonderfully*winding*narrow*road was tacked lightly against the sheer cliff edge just above the dark and choppy loch waters. Himself gritted his teeth and clenched his hands till his knuckles went white as he drove us along a single width road whilst towing the caravan....... oops again.

I kept up a hopefully cheerful and happy commentary about the view and the fact the sun was shining and we were going up a lovely part of the countryside yadda yadda yadda and the boys did the same only theirs was interjected with -
Holy COW - have you seen the drop!
..and............ Wowser Dad - that was CLOSE!!!!
.......and.............
This is EX-CI-TING Dad can we do it again!?!?!? -

 and.........this is JUST LIKE a ROLLER COASTER!!!

(Gee thanks boys for the support and help)

Any hoo, after a rather steep downhill (cue hot brake smell)  then an equally steep climb (cue hot engine smell) I spotted a picnic stop which Himself quite happily pulled into. It was nearly 5pm and we were all starving so I turned the caravan into a chuck-wagon, Himself consulted his maps, the boys claimed a picnic bench and the dog rolled around in glee on the grass.

We sat and ate looking over Gare Loch and all the excitement and tension of the drive began to fade. In a mile or two we would be joining back onto the main road up at Garelochheid and we could carry on in a less 'fly by the seat of your pants' fashion. Phew.

On our return journey, after our holiday - we chose NOT to do this road, preferring the other one on the map which was a wide many-laned thing. Easier to drive but far far less fun and adventurous.

But life is like that - choose the unknown path and take what comes or choose the well trodden path and find nothing new.....................

Tuesday thoughts - bullet pointed....

• Did you see that woman knitting at Wimbledon? Well done her - more power to her knitting needles!

• This must have been the greyest, wettest, dullest most disappointing start to a summer E*V*E*R!. 
• Weather like this quashes all creativity.
• Need something cheerful to brighten my day and get my crafting groove back on......

• Fancy trying these out? I do.

Audrey Wilson at The Design Studio 

• Found this pattern (a free download on Ravelry), think I can feel a bit'o knittin' coming on!

1. Work stressful?
2. Kids impersonating a whirlwind?
3. Weather getting you down?
4. Vacuum cleaner on a sabbatical and carpet looking like it has done three rounds with Mike Tyson?

• If you have answered yes to 1, 2, 3 and/or 4 - this is the antidote you need :)

• Follow this link HERE  

•  So, going to join me? If you do, let me know and we can link up. 

• Ah, feeling better already.....just need to do something about the serious shortage of sunshine !

Bread, biscuits and walking

Did anyone else notice the rain? Oh, so it wasn't just me then......

Fed up with being cooped up again over the weekend due to the rather moist weather conditions, we set about baking.

I made bread - not as virtuous as it sounds! I have had a serious case of the wanties for a bread maker for ages and this year, for my birthday I received a rather tasty one.  Over the weekend our house had a delicious warm bready-scent tickling our taste buds.

Youngest fancied making scones but a quick foray into the baking cupboard revealed a grave deficiency of baking powder. We reached for a baking cook book and found ourselves a very tasty quick and easy biscuit  recipe. Youngest was soon at work, much dusting with flour and decorating of biscuits occurring.

He is taking after his mom (me!!) coz half way through the recipe he 'tweaked it' as he knows his dad and elder bro love raisins and sultanas in their biscuits so he hurled a huge handful in for them.
The were super yum!
So yummy that I have included the recipe below:
All butter cookies**

275g/10oz plain flour
90g/3 1/3oz caster sugar
10ml/2 tsp vanilla essence
200gm/7oz butter

• Mix flour and butter until looks like coarse breadcrumbs.
• Add sugar and vanilla and process until it forms a dough.
• At this point the recipe calls for the dough being rolled into a thick sausage and chilling for half an hour - trying telling that to an 11 year old......
• So we rolled little lumps into balls and flattened, then 'stamped' to make decorated biscuits.
• Bake at 200deg c/400deg f/gas mark 6. for 8 - 10 mins.
• Try to cool on a baking tray alternatively slap backs of hands as they sneak over to pinch still steaming hot biscuits.
• Scoff with copious amounts of tea as you watch the clouds clear and decide that now would be a good time to go for a quick walk.
• Don boots and grab camera and go!

Last few instructions are not necessary to make the biscuits - they were our optional extras!

We are lucky where we live, not far from our door is this wonderful spot. Not that you can see with all this lush growth but on the right of the spout is a cave, my two boys and a dog! Told you, you couldn't see them, you'd have to wait till winter before anything would be revealed.

The meadows were full of wild flowers and in the breeze the grass waved and undulated like huge sheets of water - it was cathartic to be able to get out - I think I was beginning to suffer cabin fever!

And suddenly it's Monday again- how does that happen?
How was your weekend?
Good?
Wet?
Productive?

Have yourselves a lovely day and may the sun shine where ever you are xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

oops nearly forgot ** All Butter cookies came from this book and it was on page 400.

Rain rain go away - I am beginning to rust!!

How wet is too wet? At what point do you decide that despite the several layers of waterproofs that the rain has seeped through and you would probably be drier in the bath??

Well, this walk certainly had me pondering these little quandaries - that and thinking dark thoughts at our walk leader (who I do dearly love but occasionally wish for a more gentle pursuit of the great outdoors on days like these...)

Yes we are standing on the footpath .....

I had rain running down my nose when I took this picture. It hadn't started out this wet I have to admit, it was quite cool and cloudy and we were well wrapped up but from out of nowhere (well ok, the clouds) came this torrential rain!

We were up in the hills and it was beautiful wild scenery with mysterious lochs and brooding rocks.  

The boys, in particular Eldest absolutely loved the wildness of it all, he strode out ahead, shouldering his haversack while I struggled with my stupid knee. 

We sheltered in the lee of a stone wall for a much wanted tea and managed to eat our lunch before it was dissolved by the rain. 

Time to return to the car - head back to the carry-van to dry off and have a steaming pot of tea and cake - yum!

All this divided York and Lancaster..." William Shakespeare, Richard III

What a grey day! Again! I know that we are all 'desperate' for rain and that we are under a hosepipe ban in parts of the country and I know, I know that the ground water is still low and all this rain is very necessary to raise the levels - but I-a-m-h-e-a-r-t-i-l-y-s-i-c-k of the ****** stuff - gah. When I grew up in Africa, rain was seen as a gift......

I have found that my crafting mojo is in a bit of a lull at the moment. Several have done projects languish on my desk. Each one has a fairly plausible excuse for its unfinished state but I feel quite uninspired to actually surmount these rather small blocks. Hmm - note to self - *get on with it!*

On the positive front, our feline family are handling each other's presence so so much better. My mom came up with a brilliant analogy. She calls their hissing and spitting 'The War of the Roses' Which appropriately enough has the red rose of Lancashire warring against the white rose of York for the English throne in the mid to late 1400s.

You may still be wondering at the connection here - so here goes, Lily (red) was born and bred in Lancashire and Pan (predominantly white) was found in a shed in Yorkshire. Brilliant!

But, unlike the war of the roses, our little furry dispute seems to be receding, with only the occasional spat.  I know that food and play is a great leveller and the tastiest treats and the most exciting games soon break down barriers.

Easter Break review in photos

Visiting......

...A vintage vehicle rally in Kirby Stephen.

Knitting.......

...my sky scarf and my first mitten on dpn needles

Walking................

....on high wild hills, over farm land, through isolated villages.

We celebrated Easter.....

.....with cheese rolling down a wet and windy hill...

                                   ....eating chocolate for breakfast!

I took inspiration from......

.....lichens on stone walls, carvings from ruined buildings, fungus on rotten trunks, flowers, stones and sky.

We had a lovely time, may be a little wet and a little cold at times, but these small discomforts were far outweighed by the beauty of the wilderness we camped in.

******************************

Again I have to say thank you for all your wonderful thoughts and kind words. We are really touched by the response - thank you very much xx

**In hushed tones**......

......Has winter arrived?

The tip of my nose confirms it...

My toes agree.

My fingers this morning, as I tried to open the hen's gate, were icy cold too.

The car's windscreen was frosty white.

Fingers of ice crept across the greenhouse glass.

The grass was crisp and crunchy.

And in all this cold crisp air, was the flash of orange from my Hamamelis (witch hazel).

Monday tomorrow. Not sure if I want this weekend to finish. Hey ho.

3♥ can you see it?

Earlier on in the year, we were out walking when I suddenly spotted this..............

Can you see it?   3♥

****************

The weather has been atrocious today but not proper winter weather - just wet and blustery.


A good excuse to lie in front of the fire and dream whiskery dreams.

A lovely reason to be cuddled to sleep without a care in the world

Oh what it is to be small and fluffy and to be loved. 


=^.,.^=♥

Counting down .... 8 (well -8.1°c!!)

Today's number is sponsored by the weather...............

-8.1°c,    

-8.1°c - yes, it really said that this morning, on our little thermometer in the kitchen.

It has a outdoor sensor which tell us how cold it is out there, we know it is cold but this little thing confirms with my feet and my nose that it really is that cold!  

Have.I.made.myself.clear.that I am and it is cold today! ....... Got that little rant out of my system.

*********************************************

I have always credited my chaotic journey through life as partially self-created and partially inherited...... I now have proof that it is all inherited.........courtesy of my mad family. 

I have below a slightly edited*** transcript of my Mom's last email to me, I shall let you decide for yourself.........

*********************************************

All the best laid plans of mice and men get messed up by the weather.

 

1. Outlet pipe of  kitchen sink frozen.(they live on second floor of block of flats with no easy access to side of their building)
2. Fetch hose pipe - hose pipe frozen. (hosepipe lives in the shed, was last seen in active duty during the height of summer)
3. Thaw out hose pipe in bath.  Connect to bath tap and Dad spends about 10 minutes spraying pipe bend outside under kitchen window while in freezing cold.
4. Finally clear.
5. Problem caused by ice forming on  an old satellite dish (not ours) then dripping down again onto the pipe.  Ice originally forms because the gutters are neither cleaned nor repaired in spite of reporting to the landlord -   again and again.
6. Brother comes over for a completely different reason and offers to lean out of the window and cut off the old satellite dish.
7. Which he does, successfully, and lets it crash down into the ditch. (a good thirty feet below)
8. Before my eyes, the inside waste pipe under the sink, (disconnected from outlet pipe) swings from the upright position to about ten past!!
9. The falling satellite dish has hit the pipe and cut it clean in two!
10. Now have outlet pipe hanging down outside, so water just pours down wall...............
11. Phone Landlord's wife and report the above numbers 1 to 5 (leaving out numbers 6 - 9!!!..........) then No. 10.!!!

 Ahem, clearing throat noises.  The truth, the almost whole truth and nothing, well almost nothing but the truth!!

 

***********************************

So, you see your honour, my apparent lack of any intelligent behaviour 

is not of my making, 

it is, I put to you - 

as a result of my family

I rest my case

*** edited so to remove any names of parties involved to help some way in preventing total shame!

30.11.10 Today - last day in November and it's a white out

Outside - sliding cars, slipping buses,  pedestrians precariously trudging.

Inside - crackling fire, steaming mugs of tea, computer humming, crochet hook inviting.

Outside - brilliant white and true sky blue.

Inside - warm and cosy.

Outside - brittle and sparkly, crunchy and slippery.

Inside - boys curled up on the settee - relieved of scholarly duties.

Outside - frozen ponds, fluffed up hens drinking from freshly warmed water.

..............................................................And it's only NOVEMBER!

Walking on the wild side tonight

A solitary drop hangs trembling on the edge of my hat. It quivers violently as a gust of icy air howls around the hill hitting us hard from the right. I briefly see the reflection of my eye in the droplet as it flies off. I blink, my eyes watering, my cheeks burning in the cold air, I pull my scarf tightly around my neck and chin.

I turn, not by swivelling my neck but twisting my whole body to the left. If I was just to turn my head, it would disappear into my hood. Skipping alongside me is Youngest. His coat slick wet, his fringe, peeping out below his hat is plastered to his forehead. He looks up, cheeky-grinned and shining-eyed. His face is happy but cold - I give him my scarf. He protests - but only a little as I wind around his head my beloved scarf. I can see his eyes beaming back at me. I hear a muffled thank you.

Ahead two figures bent forward, deep in conversation, battling the buffeting wind. More droplets falls off my hat into my eyes, I hunch my shoulders and pull my hat down hard hoping to reduce the raw surface area my cheeks provide.

Himself and Eldest reach the gate before we do and wait for us, I see that Eldest is wearing Himself's fleece hat and Himself has a head of dark wet curls. Each one glistening with sparkly mist droplets. He grins. Through the wet air and my wet eyelashes I see that grin and feel it's warmth.

The dog runs after the wind, chasing, chasing the scents carried along it's bitter trail. She is happy - her fur fluffed up in damp ridges and her tail held high. I whistle to call her back, the shrill piercing trill is ripped from my lips and fades across the hill. Somehow the dog hears and turns back instantly at a gallop - her face happy, her muzzle wide open with lolling tongue. A smell catches her and she stops hard to investigate. Then, dutifully as only a dog can be, continues back to her pack - us.

As we stride through the wet field the sun sinks below the heavily weighted clouds  leaving a blood orange slash along the horizon - warning us of the impending darkness. We speed up. 

A slight change in direction brings relief as the wind now behind, pushes rather than cuts through our bodies. We start the descent, that on a dry day would be glorious - but this evening we slip and slide our way down. 

The boys - run, slide, laugh and challenge each other to do more, to slide more, to run more. The dog lopes along as if the wind is biting her tail. Her nose to the ground, her paws more secure that our feeble human feet - she is enjoying every wild moment.

Below, the twinkling lights of the town beckon to us, inviting us back down out of the increasingly dark and wet evening. We accept, reluctantly, because, despite the conditions, despite the bitingly cold air, despite the encroaching night - we have been out walking and we have thoroughly enjoyed it.

Time to go home.