Oh I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside

We are halfway through the first week of our 3-week holiday in England and after all the dire predictions, and the news that it had been the wettest summer on record, we've had four of the most beautiful days I can remember in England, let alone at the seaside. For the first week we are staying at Swanage in Dorset, our traditional summer holiday spot. We first came the summer of 1991 when Evie was a baby and visited almost every year until 2003, although we almost always came in the autumn or spring when it's much cheaper.

Originally we were going to be sharing a house with David's brother Geoffrey and his family but they had to cancel their trip so we're rattling round in a rather bigger place than we are used to. It's up on the cliff overlooking the sea in one direction (there was a boat race on Saturday),



with a view to the beach and town in another.



Swanage has a very nice beach, with lovely sand (especially by British standards) but as you can see, it's very crowded this time of year, particularly down at the town end. The house we are renting is near the end of the line of houses up on the hill leading toward Ballard Down.

A Punch and Judy show is a must at the seaside in Britain.

As are bathing huts. One of these years we'll have to rent one of these while we are here.

Our first night we had fish & chips down by the water in town.

And the next day our first cream tea of the summer. For those unfortunate enough to have never had a cream tea, this involves a pot of tea (or coffee), scones, jam and clotted cream. As cream teas go this one was adequate. For a really excellent cream tea you need generous helpings of jam (usually strawberry) and cream and fresh, fluffy but solid scones. The serving of cream was generous, the jam less so, and the scones a little too crumbly and not as fresh as they could have been. Nevertheless as it was the first we've had in some time we enjoyed it very much.


Today we took a boat around Ballard Down to see the Pinnacle and Old Harry's rocks. Although we've been coming here for years for some reason we'd never done the boat rides. It was really interesting to see the bay from the water, and then to see the cliffs from the bottom. The down is chalk and originally (thousands/millions of years ago) connected with the Isle of Wight which, on a very clear day, you can see from here.



The rock on the far right is Old Harry, apparently named after a local pirate.

When we were finished we were feeling the need for another cream tea so we took advice, drove inland to Worth Matravers, and found this--

where we had this...

Out here...

looking at this...


Nice, huh?

Tomorrow we will probably brave the sea down at this end of the beach, where it's not so crowded. Although the weather's gorgeous and around 25C (77F) the water's not going to be warm. But it would be a little ridiculous to come to the seaside and not take at least a little dip, and I have a new bathing costume!

Am I Blue?

Or am I grey? (a before & after during post)

We have friends coming to visit this summer so I decided it was high time to get the guest room sorted out (I can't tell you how exciting it is to finally have a guest room).  Evie has visited a couple of times since we moved and at Christmas she practiced her hooping indoors - leading to walls that looked like this.

The result of a large black-and-white striped hoop being whirled around a fairly small space.

I'm thinking of decorating the room in black and white (oddly enough) but I didn't want to paint the walls plain white, and I thought a pale, silvery grey would go nicely. So I started looking at paint swatches, and paint company websites, and places like Pinterest - and I found it's really difficult to find a grey that's not too dark, or too blue or (shudder) "greige". Eventually I brought a bunch of swatches home from Home Depot, taped them up in the room and then started pulling off the ones I didn't like. I narrowed it down to two paints from Behr - Sterling and Burnished Metal - and after buying sample pots last Friday I painted large patches on the wall to compare:

After I'd done it I realised this wasn't the best wall to use because the light coming in from that side window was distorting the colour a bit (which is why I have a second patch of the BM on the left, closer to the light.

All through Friday and Saturday I kept popping back into the room to see the colours at different times of the day, and in artificial light, and I decided the Burnished Metal was just a little too dark. My only concern was whether the Sterling was going to turn out to be tinged with blue after all.

Sunday morning I made myself a large cup of coffee, put on Terry Pratchett's "Making Money", unscrewed the switch/plug plates, taped the room and started painting. I love painting - it's so zen. Especially with an audio book going. Terry Pratchett and Agatha Christie are my authors of choice for painting.

The Behr is pretty stinky in the can but the smell disappears as the paint dries and by the end I could hardly smell anything. After I'd done the cutting in I was getting very nervous about the colour, but I persevered.

I got all the way around the room but didn't have enough paint left to do the inside of the closet so I've had to leave it for now. I was still seeing pale blue, until I ripped down the masking tape - apparently it was casting enough of a shadow/reflection to tip the colour over. Once it was gone the paint was exactly what I'd wanted - a pale, pearly grey (I went for a satin finish for that little extra gleam).

I tipped the headboard sideways and leaned it against the wall so I could see the effect of the grey, black and white together and I think I'm going to be really happy with it.

Now I just have to decide whether to just get an extra quart to finish the inside of the closet or buy another gallon and do another coat all over. I could probably get away with one coat because it covers really well, but there are a few spots where I didn't have quite enough paint on the roller, and a few others where I had too much and there are some drips.  I won't have time to do anything with it until Friday at the earliest so I have a few days to look at it again and decide whether to be a perfectionist or whether OK is good enough.

Update: I've decided to be a perfectionist and I've bought a second can. Hopefully I can get on the second coat/paint the closet this weekend.

Where Did the Last Eight Months Go? And Other Pressing Questions

OK, slightly embarrassed about the gap since my last post. I'll blame it on busyness, some major knitting fails, and generally lack of gumption on my part.

So, not much knitting done since November last year. I did manage to get all my Christmas knitting done in time to hand it all out at Thanksgiving when I was in California.

The fuzzy neck-warmers for the girls were a big hit - as belts (they were very stretchy). I love the way kids repurpose things. I didn't mind, as long as they enjoyed them. The one with the pink button was Madie's and the orange was for Ally. Cedric (blue) and Lauren (grey) tried on their mustachioed neck-warmers and were adorable, although sadly I forgot to get pictures of any of them. I need to start wearing my camera around my neck so I don't forget it's there.  Anyway, everyone seemed to like their gifts.

Since then, I got all the pieces of Evie's coat knitted in January but when I came to sew it up none of them seemed to match each other. I'm afraid I stuffed the whole thing into a bag and then into the closet until I can steel myself to rip out the sleeves and reknit them.

But that's not the worst. I had a Citron shawl, in the lovely pink/white/green Zauberball wool I bought with my birthday money last year, about 3/4 done, and I left it on a train in Egypt. I wonder what whoever found it made of it - probably shrugged and threw it out the window. Tragedy!  At the Cairo airport on the way home I started a pair of soft red socks for David, to help console me for my loss - by the time I had turned the heel I realized I wasn't going to have enough of the first ball to finish the foot - so it has been languishing until I have the nerve to rip it out and start again.

In the meantime, since the weather has improved, I've started doing some things around the house. Firstly I've been getting things organized. When we moved we dumped all the boxes into the basement and slowly unpacked and put things away. However, we still have about 30 boxes full of mostly books and magazines to put away, and not enough bookcases to put them into. Over the past few months, every time we've needed a book that hadn't been unpacked yet we'd have to rummage through the boxes in the basement to try and find it so after a while we had books stacked (and sometimes not stacked) all over the floor and every flat surface. A couple of weeks ago I took a Sunday afternoon and tried to restore some order down there.  I've also been organizing my workroom - I love that we have a house big enough for each of us to have a home office/workroom, as well as a spare bedroom. If you come to visit us there will be no more sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor.

One of the benefits of clearing up the basement was finding things like framed pictures which had been packed with the books. I've finally managed to get some of them up on the walls and it makes things feel much more homey.  I decided I wanted to have all my St George's (I collect pictures of St George, weird I know) in the same color frames - previously they were in whatever frames I had to hand or could buy cheaply, so I have spraypainted most of them glossy black so they have a more unified look. I just have to decide where to put them now.

The ones on the right are postcards I've picked up here and there, the one on the left is a poster (about 18x24) I got at the Vatican Museum in Rome. I'm particularly fond of that one. I still have four or five postcards to get framed and once they are all up I'll get a picture of them together.

I've been doing a lot of shopping at the local thrift stores. I love them, although I do miss the atmosphere of the charity shops in England, with their little old lady volunteers, and the eclectic mix of shiny new stuff in the window graduating to the really weird old stuff at the very back.  I have bought several lamps for very good prices, since very few rooms in our new house have overhead lighting - it seems to be the trend in decorating at the moment. One lamp only needed a new shade, a couple of them needed some cosmetic work.  This one was an ugly mottled grey pewterish color, so I gave it a coat of Rustoleum's Heirloom White (the darling of DIYers on the web) and then, inspired by a lamp I saw on someone's blog (sorry I can't remember which one) I cut strips of a cheesecloth like fabric I had in my stash and laid them over the shade, tying it all together with a long strip. I like the way it's turned out (very shabby-chic) and have it on my nightstand now.

I got this little footstool at one of the thrift stores to use in the kitchen. It should be against the law for anyone over 6 feet tall to design kitchens meant for people 5'5" tall. I was going to paint it but after I'd sanded it I really liked the way it looked so I've just set it in the kitchen as it is. I'll probably paint it eventually but at the moment I'll give it a coat of something, polyurethane or finishing wax just to protect it and enjoy its rustic charm.

I've got all sorts of plans for decorating and refinishing furniture over the next few months so I'll try and keep the blog updated with my progress.  I've been stalking craft/decor/thrifting blogs over the last couple of months and they are incredibly inspirational.

Knitting Update September 2011

Finished Objects

I've been a very busy girl this month - I've finished the Crow Waltz shawl and the socks for mom, knit four scarves, three pairs of fingerless mitts, a little princess crown and an octopus.

I'm so pleased I've finally finished the Crow Waltz shawl. I didn't have enough pins to block it properly so eventually I may reblock it but at the moment I'm pretty happy with it.  Here's a picture of it blocking and I'll try and get one of me wearing it.

 I've been knitting fingerless mitts for a charity that distributes them to dialysis patients, although Evie tried on a pair and decided she wanted one. Since she's headed back to chilly Reading next week I'll give her the black pair and knit up some new ones to replace them. I was really tempted to keep the purple ones but I have some yarn left so I'll make a pair for myself next.

(Evie was the hand model for these.)

I finished the Monkey socks at campmeeting but, as I feared, they were too narrow for Mom's feet. I had my purple socks with me and they fit her much better so we did a swap, and I'm now the proud owner of the blue & green Monkeys.

I was working on my pink bamboo Shale scarf while at campmeeting and it garnered much interest and requests for similar scarves so when I'd finished mine:

 I made one for Noely:

 (she just got it in the mail and loved it so I've asked for a picture of it on her)

And then one for Mom:

 (Shh, I haven't sent it to her yet)

I've also knitted a little princess crown and a scarf for charities through Ravelry, which I don't have pictures of at the moment, and crocheted an octopus for Evie's friend Claire, in California, as a thank you for picking me up at the airport in July.  Apparently she loves octopi.

I think he's pretty cute

What's on the Needles

So, at the moment I'm knitting a lace cowl for myself out of the Debbie Bliss Andes I made my slouchy hat out of last year:

It's going pretty fast so I should have it done by the end of the weekend, if not earlier.

I've also started a coat for Evie out of Ella Rae Classic worsted wool in a dark red, held double, which will be felted down to make a kind of pirate-y coat. It's knit on big needles (8mm) so it's going pretty quick, but I won't be able to felt it until Evie comes home for Christmas (to make sure it fits), so I'm not in a hurry with this.  It's stockinette, so fairly mindless knitting and I can work on it while I watch TV, although I do have to be careful that I take up both strands in each stitch - I do have a tendency to miss one every so often.

And finally, I've managed to block the pink cardigan:

The empty living room is perfect for blocking at the moment. I've brought up the spare twin mattress and covered it and a throw rug with sheets.

If I can get the cowl done before the weekend I'm going to make a start on seaming the cardigan up.

Hibernating

Nothing at the moment!

New Stash

Apart from the new yarn for Evie's coat and the commissioned scarves I've been mostly knitting from my existing stash.  I did make one "retail therapy" purchase when I was having a very bad day, of some gorgeous Malabrigo sock yarn, with which I'm going to make a lace shawl.  The colourway is "Velvet Grapes" and the name of the shawl is "Candy Shoppe".

What I've Been Listening To

Lot's more Agatha Christie - it really is the perfect knitting listening, entertaining without being too demanding.  I've also been listening to a fair number of the divine Phryne (rhymes with briny) Fisher books by Kerry Greenwood, also very entertaining. I've just seen that the ABC in Australia (the books are set in Melbourne) are making a TV series, so I'll have to keep an eye out for that.

I've downloaded some more knitting podcasts - still working my way through the 150-odd KnitPicks episodes - but have discovered a few more that I enjoy, including "Never Not Knitting".

What I'm Reading

Again, not a lot, although I have discovered a fun knitting/mystery series at the library by Sally Goldenbaum, set in a little seaside town on the East Coast of the States (Massachusetts I think, they visit Boston a fair amount).  There do seem to be several knitting/mystery series but this is the one I've liked the best so far.

Knitting Update July 2011

Finished Objects

Hufflepuff Scarf - Oct 2010

Because in the Harry Potter World I'm a total 'Puff.

Felted Tote Bag - Feb 2011

I crocheted the tote but it ended up so enormous that I threw it in the washer on the hottest cycle and it felted down to this perfect size.

Lacy Summer Socks - June 2011

I started these on the coach trip in Europe at the end of May and finished them on the plane to California in the middle of June.  They are Cookie A's "Summer Sox" pattern and were so much fun to knit up.

Stashbusting Bags for the Kids

And some charity knitting

Recovery Buddies

Handmade Especially for You 

and a random alpaca hat for a homeless charity

I've also knit about 8 cotton dishcloths but haven't bothered to take pictures of them.

What's on the Needles

As of this moment I'm a couple of inches into a second sock for mom.

These are Cookie A's "Monkey" socks and are looking good in the self-striping wool I'm using.  I started these at Mom & Dad's in June and will hopefully finish them in time to give them to her for campmeeting in a couple of weeks.






I'm also knitting an "Old Shale Scarf" from bamboo sock yarn and I love the way the self-striping is creating the wavy pattern in the scarf.

Hibernating

I haven't worked on my pink alpaca cardigan since I finished knitting it in the winter.  It just needs blocking and sewing up but I just haven't found the initiative to do it yet.

I finally started the "Crow Waltz" shawl in my beautiful "Old Maiden Aunt" yarns in April.  I knitted up the lace border and then picked up the 200 odd stitches to make the body but several inches in realised I'd been doing something wrong and had to frog back to the border.  Since then I've been too demoralised to pick it back up again.  I think I will take this to California with me later this month and make it my campmeeting knitting.

New Stash

I got money for my birthday and the very next day went to Muse in St Helena and blew it all in one go.

The bright pink with a hint of green is Zauberball sock yarn and I've been coveting this colourway since the first time I saw it.  Initially I thought I'd make a pair of socks with it but then I saw a picture of it make up into a Citron shawl and due to the semicircular shape it looks a bit like watermelon so I think I'll go with that.

The other two skeins are Manos Serena, made of baby alpaca and cotton and I just couldn't resist them.  One is a solid purple and the other a variegated purple.  I'm not sure yet what I'll make of them yet but in the meantime I'll enjoy petting them.

So thanks to Lauren and Fin for the funds, and Maria R-B for her excellent enabling!

What I'm Listening To
Mostly I've been listening to books on CD lately, rather than music.  Right now I'm alternating between Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None", and William Gibson's "Spook Country".  I've also, belatedly, discovered knitting podcasts and have been working my way randomly through some of the ones I've found on iTunes. I particularly like the Knit Picks podcast as it's well produced and extremely informative and entertaining.

What I'm Reading
As I've been listening to books on CD I haven't done a lot of reading of actual books but at the moment I'm re-reading Laurie R. King's "The Language of Bees" before I read the sequel, "God of the Hive".

Koumpounophobia

Blog Fail

I should NEVER have so blithely declared that I'd post every day this month.  Sigh.

I have been so busy since we got back from Maryland (and consequently so tired) that I've been collapsing into bed at 9.00 most nights.

The news so far:

1. The sellers agreed to give us an escrow check for the ENTIRE amount of the re-roofing quote.  They originally countered with half, but our realtor, the awesome Phyllis, pointed out to them that there was an identical house in the next street over selling for £50,000 less and that if they wanted us to buy their house, rather than the cheaper one, they'd better offer some incentive, because the roof was a deal-buster.  The reason, by the way, that we were going for this house, rather than the cheaper one is that the cheaper one was a short-sale, and it can take 6-9 months to get an offer accepted on short-sales.  Also, the house we chose is move-in ready.  All we are waiting for now is the valuation for the mortgage lender, and a background check to make sure there are no liens on the property.
2. We've had contractors round our house here to give us quotes on some of the work that needs to be done to get it up to scratch for renting out.  There are a few things I can't do, like removing the old gas fire or replacing the toilet cistern (it's one of the old fashioned two piece toilets), and a lot of things I could do but which would take me much longer and much more effort, like fixing guttering and resealing the bathroom and kitchen.  So the contractors are going to do most of the repairs on the house, and I'm going to do all the painting and decorating.  We are getting a certain amount from the Conference towards the costs and I got a small tax rebate, so that will cover the contractors work, and the materials I'll need, with a little bit left over for emergencies and getting professional cleaners in at the end if necessary.
3. Evie has settled in really well at University, is getting on pretty well with her course, but has really found her true love in RUCAS (Reading University Circus Arts Society) and contact juggling.  If you've ever seen David Bowie in "Labyrinth" you'll know what contact juggling is.  If you haven't, this is the sort of thing...and she's getting really good at it.

The plan is still for David to go mid-March and for me to finish up with the house here and follow at the end of March.  If everything goes smoothly we'll be able to move into the new house shortly after I arrive (although we'll have to get a few pieces of furniture to tide us over until our shipment arrives).

Our House (fingers crossed)

We've put in an offer and it has been accepted.  The home inspection was this afternoon and it flagged up some issues with damp, the electrics and the roof, so our realtor is going to negotiate to see what she can get for us.

So, if everything goes according to plan, this will be ours on 22 March.

Isn't it preeeeeety?

If you're the praying sort, we'd really appreciate a mention or two.

On our way to owning a house in the USA

Very tired.  But pleased - we put the offer in on the house we want, should hear back tomorrow morning.  The house inspection is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

Had one "sort of" job interview - more a chat really - at the radio station.  They don't have anything right now but might by the time we get moved over, so I'll call them back when we are settled in.  Have another tomorrow morning at 8.30 - I am not my best at 8.30am, but I'll try and be coherent.  I'll need a lot of coffee  first.

Short & Sweet because I'm jetlagged

We've found a house to make an offer on.  I have two job interviews before we go home.  More anon.

"With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right"

We walked around some of the monuments in DC this afternoon and stayed for some time at the Lincoln Memorial.  On one inside wall of the memorial is the text of the Gettysburg address, and on the other the Second Inaugural Address.  Lincoln had such a spare, elegant, humble, nobility to the way he wrote. The Gettysburg address is very well known, but the Second Inaugural is actually even more powerful.

"At this second appearing to take the oath of the presidential office, there is less occasion for an extended address than there was at the first. Then a statement, somewhat in detail, of a course to be pursued, seemed fitting and proper. Now, at the expiration of four years, during which public declarations have been constantly called forth on every point and phase of the great contest which still absorbs the attention, and engrosses the energies [sic] of the nation, little that is new could be presented. The progress of our arms, upon which all else chiefly depends, is as well known to the public as to myself; and it is, I trust, reasonably satisfactory and encouraging to all. With high hope for the future, no prediction in regard to it is ventured.

On the occasion corresponding to this four years ago, all thoughts were anxiously directed to an impending civil war. All dreaded it--all sought to avert it. While the inaugural address was being delivered from this place, devoted altogether to saving the Union without war--seeking to dissol[v]e the Union, and divide effects, by negotiation. Both parties deprecated war; but one of them would make war rather than let the nation survive; and the other would accept war rather than let it perish. And the war came.

One eighth of the whole population were colored slaves, not distributed generally over the Union, but localized in the Southern part of it. These slaves constituted a peculiar and powerful interest. All knew that this interest was, somehow, the cause of the war. To strengthen, perpetuate, and extend this interest was the object for which the insurgents would rend the Union, even by war, while the government claimed no right to do more than to restrict the territorial enlargement of it. Neither party expected for the war, the magnitude, or the duration, which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the seat of other men's faces; but let us judge not that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered; that of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes. "Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!" If we shall suppose that American Slavery is one of those offences which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South, this terrible war, as the woe due to those by whom the offence came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a Living God always ascribe to Him? Fondly do we hope--fervently do we pray--that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said "the judgments of the Lord, are true and righteous altogether."

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan – to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

The Universe is Laughing at Me

After having blithely declared I would post every day this month, our internet connection promptly quit on us.

However, we are now ensconced in a Comfort Inn in Maryland (with free wireless) to spend a week in meetings and looking at houses so I'll be blogging about snow and house-hunting for a few days.

Now, I'm off to church, for the first time in over a year. Woohoo!

Knitting to Date

As I said yesterday, I haven't done as much knitting in the past few months but I thought I'd share what I have done.

I liked Evie's slouchy hat so much I made one for myself.

I also made a pair of socks for a Harry Potter sock swap, I made Gryffindor socks for her and she made Hufflepuff socks for me, although sadly mine haven't turned up yet.

At the request of the husband, I also made a winter scarf, in his favourite colour.  I tried to keep it interesting by trying out a new stitch pattern, but he complains that the holes let the wind in.  You can't make everybody happy.

All of the above were fairly quick knits, but I've had one project on the needles since August.  My parents sent me money for my birthday last summer because I wanted to buy the yarn to make myself a cardigan.  I chose a fairly straightforward pattern that is all garter stitch (knitting every row, no purling) because at the time I was still a beginner and it is knitted from side to side, instead of top to bottom or bottom up.  I think it's taken so long partly because I keep getting sidetracked by the smaller projects and partly because it's just a LOT of knitting.  I have had the sleeves on the needles for more than a month now, only knitting a few rows at a time.  I'm hoping blogging about it will give me the push to get it done!

 This is the back, the first piece I knitted, and the colour is actually somewhere between this one and the following one.  Neither is quite right.  Once it's done I'll have to take a photo outside and see if I can capture the colour better.

This is the back, one front, and the beginning of the second front.  I've since finished the second front and I'm working on the sleeves.

I'm knitting both sleeves at the same time so the stripes and increases are in the same place on both sleeves.  I just need to make a big effort and get these done (I'm about 1/4 of the way through these) and then I can seam it all up and do a crochet border around the neck and front opening, sew on buttons and I can finally wear it!

Fecund February

Fecund: Adjective: Producing or capable of producing an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertile. 


I've decided that to kick-start my blogging I'm going to post every day for a month.  As February is the next month, and is fortuitously also the shortest, I'm going to start tomorrow (well actually today, but you know what I mean).

A lot's been going on the past few months, but it has mostly involved boring, routine stuff.  My creative juices have been dry (or frozen, it's been so cold) - I haven't even been knitting much.  I'm hoping that by forcing myself to write something every day some of that creativity will start flowing, like the sap rising in spring (hence the title).