mumblings

Sooooo, I kind of went a bit AWOL there. Sorry for that – it’s been a difficult time but I won’t go into that. Instead it is time for a Saturday morning bullet post.

• Slipped discs. Part of my AWOL-ness is because pao has slipped a disc and it is dreadful pain. Another couple of friends who have had this have told me it is VERY VERY painful. Mostly pao has been going to work as much as he can as per doctor’s instructions but it is not good.
• Knitting. We went to C Wool in Broadstairs (more on that in another post with photos as it is a very very nice shop) on our wedding anniversary and I scored some half price Rowan Cashsoft Aran gifted me by pao and his nan. I’ve been knitting a February Lady – I love this pattern and have been glued to my needles.
• Knitting again. I knitted like mad and finished my Stormwater Shawl (pics to follow once I’ve blocked it)
• Baking/cooking. I’ve committed myself to make a friend’s daughter’s wedding cake. (Yes, I am a crazy lady) In order to do this, I’ve got to empty the freezers out to make room for the cupcake containers which are going to contain the wedding cakelets. My friend and I have been scouring ebay for a suitable stand and finally scored one this week for a reasonable price. Yay!
• Gardening (definitely needs a post of its own). There has been a lot of heat-sapping HOT sun (yes, HOT sun has been felt in the UK – now we all need a collective lie down due to accompanying humidity) which makes things grow like crazy so have been busy pinching out etc.
• Reading. pao and I are part of a book club and we are really Yes, Man by Danny Wallace this month. I haven’t actually started it yet because I’ve been distracted by The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson – that is one great book so far. pao has already read all three books in his Millennium trilogy. I’ve been reading it slowly, enjoying it but I’d better get on and read the book group book as pao will want it soon so he can read it in time.
• Kittens. It is very hard to take yourself seriously when you have kittens. Tamyra is extremely loving and will sit on your lap and purr at you for hours at a time. Sirius has been pouncing kung-fu style so it is hard to be too sad when that pair are around.

Any how, even though it is Saturday. I’m up early ready to get busy again.

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We had a mad amount of snow yesterday which was rather surprising as we aren’t often blessed with any snow at all. Twice in one year?! Wow. I think it was snowing because I’m starting my Knitting Olympics Challenge this weekend. I don’t have the stamina to stay awake until 1.45am to start my challenge project so I’ll leave you with some snow photos I took this morning on my way to work.

I like passing this pond – in the spring there are bluebells. It is so pretty with the snow around it.

I found this interesting pattern in the snow. I wasn’t sure what it was at first but I’ve concluded that it was a bird who had extended its wings.

Closer inspection of the surrounding area revealed some foot prints. The bird looked like it was slightly dragging its feet as it stepped.

I do love seeing leaves and snow.

Evidence of bunnies. Normally they are out and about and quite busy but they were staying in. I did see one bunny but he didn’t stick around the be photographed. I don’t blame him. It was quite cold.

Just the weather to curl up with a good book. pao’s reading the Wallander book. We’ve been watching the BBC series of Henning Mankel Wallander novels which are really good.

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I finished this at the weekend but hadn’t had a chance to take a photo of the finished pair so here it is. It is super soft and perfect for when it gets cold which is actually today. I have another set of clothes at work in case I ever get soaked. I set out this morning in summer clothes and it was clear by lunchtime that I was freezing so I changed into my spare set. pao was talking about putting the heating on so it must be chilly!

Anyway, I was so pleased that I finished the book Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke that I thought I’d do a book review of the 1006 page novel as I haven’t done a book review for a long time. It was an extremely heavy book so a little unwieldly in paperback but luckily I got used to the weightiness of it.

The novel starts with Mr Norrell who is determined to bring revival of magic in England. Before that it seemed like people were playing at magic so he wanted to bring back a proper appreciation and respect for magic. Norrell is keen to deny the history of fairy involvement in practicing magic it is unavoidable as one of his first acts of magic was to raise a woman from the dead and he calls on a fairy for help. The fairy demands the price of half of the rest of the woman’s life which Norrell agrees to. Norrell mistakes the fairy’s meaning and the fairy takes the woman to a far off place each night to dance in the place of Lost Hope with other lost souls.

Norrell soon acquired an apprentice, Jonathan Strange, and they started to do works of magic for the British government. Strange was asked to help Wellington in Spain and this is the start of the magicians split from each other. Soon fairy involvement cannot be denied and the story untangles and demonstrates Norrell’s folly.

I really enjoyed this book and it didn’t take me long to read despite it’s size. There were extensive footnotes which made it seem like an academic piece which made it all the more clever.

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Chris emailed me and mentioned the 24 hour readathon at the weekend which I couldn’t resist after my day of leisure on Saturday.

As I spent most of my reading time on Saturday at Leeds Castle then in a horizontal relaxed position in the evening, I only managed to read 2 books.

Book 1: Winter’s Child by Margaret Maron

This is another of Maron’s Judge Knott series. Deborah Knott has only been married to lovely sheriff’s deputy Dwight Bryant for a month when he gets a call from his young son Cal asking him to come and see him. When Dwight arrives the following morning, he discovers that his son’s mother Jonna has gone missing. What follows is an engaging mystery involving nostalgia and family intrigue when Cal is abducted by a mysterious female who everyone at first believes to be his mother.

Book 2: Hard Row by Margaret Maron

Following on from Winter’s Child, Deborah is now back at her job at the courthouse when body parts started appearing all over the county. Not one to ignore clues when they present themselves, Judge Knott helps them catch the killer whilst adjusting to life with Cal.

Ariel is very poorly at the moment despite the copious amounts of home cooking. Her fur has been falling out in clumps and she has tiny lesions from where she’s been scratching. The poor thing has a big chunk missing above her left eye and has lost even more fur since the weekend. The vet doesn’t think it is related to the thyroid condition so he’s going to do some blood tests as he thinks she also has an allergy and has something wrong with her ear. The poor thing is falling apart as her heart rate is too fast to count so she needs some TLC when she comes home again tonight.

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My grant application is almost ready to go! Yay! I did have to spend about 2 hours this evening after work trying to figure out what the finance people had done to my spreadsheet as I had write out all the amounts in terms of activities rather than persons, overheads, etc etc but I brought my lucky (well, only – bequeathed to me by a colleague who had left) calculator home.

It has been an odd day but the nicest thing happened when I was all anxious about what was going on with my spreadsheet in the research office – I got a surprise parcel from Kristi .

What a lovely surprise! Three books I’ve not read – I’m really looking forward to reading them all particularly the Cather’s as I’m probably going to write on her for my coursework essay. BUGLES! They are the best snack in the whole world not only because they are super tasty but because they can withstand the rigours of air travel. I can’t believe how well they survived the trip! The yarn is a particularly lovely Pagewood Farm sock yarn in the River Rock colourway. Pagewood Farm isn’t something I’ve come across before – the colours are beautiful and it is so soft! She even sent me one of her wonderful patterns – the Flatiron Clog Socks pattern which I have really wanted to try out

The package was really well-timed as I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed with work, study, eye problems, keeping my germs to myself lately so it really cheered me up particularly since I found a strange rash on my tummy this morning. The rash coupled with my eye trouble made me go and see the doctor who has advised me to put some cream on it but if the rash turns to pus then I have shingles and need some big tablets. Got to love those doctors!

Thank you so much, Kristi! You really know how to surprise a girl

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We had such a fun time at Minnesota State Fair that if I ever get invited I’d be back like a shot. In fact, if I were ever to do some scholarly research, I’d be thinking of excuses to go and visit some of the literature collections in the Midwest as I think that immigrant literatures might actually be what I’m going to write the thesis on

Can you believe that someone would make a grain picture of walleye? Eileen had mentioned walleye the day before so I had to sample walleye on a stick! For the untutored palate, it really is rather nice.

I wasn’t brave enough to try a Puff Daddy on a stick but Chris has a great photo of me trying to eat a corndog whilst pao was contemplating his hot dog. Not sure that I’d ever eat a corndog again but I’ll try anything once.

Jeanne did really well in the craft competition and won first prize for her socks. Here is a photo of Jeanne next to the prize socks. I think pao may have a better photo so go and nag him to show it to us!

I really liked this ripple blanket. (Now, now mrspao, you really really must not plot to knit a blanket like that before you knit some of that stash from the US even though the Cascade 220 on the getknitted site is taunting you…)

Yes, that really is a red ribbon on an artful display of wrenches.

That isn’t as strange as the case full of sock monkeys. That sock monkey chair at the back looks positively dangerous! This did not stop me from purchasing a sock monkey Christmas ornament the very next day though.

I was sneaky and snapped this photo of Chris with her beloved gluten free beer

And Michael is definitely out having fun again.

Hey, pao, don’t eat all those cookies – you won’t have room for more food on a stick.

Phew, Jeanne managed to wrestle those cookies away!

Jeanne kindly organised for us to go and see Garrison Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion in the evening. It was absolutely brilliant and it was really nice to come home and listen to it all over again and relive that balmy Minnesota evening in the Grandstand. Thank you so much for organising it, Jeanne! I have read Pontoon which I picked up at the airport in Boston and I’ve just started to read Lake Wobegon Days which we found in a hotel last year. I’m definitely going to have to get hold of more of his books as I am really enjoying them!

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Today’s literature seminar took me to Nebraska which is in the Midwest. We were looking at My Antonia by Willa Cather which is the memories of a Bohemian girl by her friend Jim Burden. It is quite an interesting book as you get a much broader picture of what it was like to be an immigrant family at the turn of the century than I have anywhere else. I smiled a lot because we talked a lot about the Scandanavian settlements in the Midwest and I thought of our trip to Stockholm with Eileen but more on that soon. Next week, we’re reading The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night by that famous son of St Paul, F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Do you like the tenuous link I’m now making to St Paul so I can plough right in and tell you about the Minnesota State Fair that we visited with Chris, Jeanne and Michael?

Oh my, Chris and Jeanne were not kidding when they talked about a vast amount of food on sticks that could be found at the Minnesota State Fair!

pao ploughed straight on in there and had what could have been a pork chop on a stick. Can you see Chris in the background? Can you believe that I was carded when buying him a beer?

Mmm… apples. That reminds me, it is almost apple festival time here in the UK soon!

Michael was soon making new friends.

Minnesotans are very creative souls. We were highly amused by the grain pictures.

This should have alerted me to the fact that Spam is quite the gourmet food in MN:

Now that is just wrong! But I really did like deep fried cheese curds – am I strange or what? They sound so wrong but tastes so good….

I’m just desperate to go and stick my nose into The Great Gatsby so you’ll have to excuse me – more about the fun we got up to at the fair tomorrow!

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Tuesday’s news knocked me a bit so I thought I’d share some wonderful kindnesses that I was going to post about in a little while but I thought it would be good to do it now. I have been very sad and tired and stressed out by persons unnamed over the last couple of days that it was a joy to think about wonderful friends. My friend Mrs B wrote a beautiful post about our friend Sue. Thank you so much for all your kind words about Sue – it really means a lot that you stopped and left me a comment.

I can happily report that Chris made it ok through her surgery and she looks really well. I promise, Minnesotans, I will get back to my adventures with you after today.

First up is this gift from Chris which she handed to me when we arrived at Jeanne’s. That yarn is so beautiful and I love the teeny tape measure. Chris sent the Charles de Lint novel in one of the yarn packages and I was mesmerised by the story so I will definitely be looking out for more novels by him I haven’t started Catnap yet as I’m really Lake Woebegon Days Thank you, Chris! I’m so glad you look so well after your op.

When we met up with Sarah, she handed me a wonderful box bag (already shown off in my favourite knitting spots) with these most wonderful handmade goodies inside. Sarah is such a talented lady – those stitch markers are gorgeous! I love the kitties! I love those mints and the glow in the dark sheep She hand dyed the yarn herself – isn’t it wonderful that it coordinates with the bag, too. She also gifted me some delicious tea when we went to Teavana in Boston which I have definitely made great inroads into. Thank you so much, Sarah!

I couldn’t believe it when I got home from the US to find a package from Carrie K waiting for me. I love Lorna’s Laces and the colour is perfect! The little book on felting is brilliant Thank you, Carrie K!

Frarochvia really knows how to cheer a girl up because this loveliness arrived on Tuesday not long after I got the news about Sue. She has just started her own Etsy shop and let me tell you this yarn is gorgeous. I love Green and Black’s chocolate so I’m going to eke it out. It couldn’t have arrived at a better time as I was feeling a bit low about my friend Sue and it gave me a reason to smile. Thank you, Fraro!

You guys are awesome!

Oh and I almost forgot! pao and I have a new nephew called Alex who was born on last week Sunday! Daniel has an older brother. Hello, Alex! I haven’t seen any photos of him yet but I am looking forward to seeing some

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I think the title sums me up nicely. Although there is a bit of geek thrown in for good measure. I’ve started learning XML but it turns out that I can’t find a notepad like item on my Mac (Text Edit is no good as it produces loads of rubbish in my coding) so the little bit of homework we were set may well have to wait until I’ve found a notepad substitute. (Unless anyone knows of a good XML parser anywhere… yes, I’ve tried the one on W3Schools!)

Anyhow, I digress.

The citizens of Minneapolis/St Paul are so incredibly lucky to have wonderful yarn shops with so much yarny goodness. Our best most nicest yarn shops here in the UK are over a couple of hours away and they don’t have such a huge range so it was like being in yarn heaven.

Jeanne and Michael picked us up on Saturday morning and moved us to our more stationery B&B in Cathedral Hill and our first stop on the way to Chris’ was at Three Kittens. I am sad to report there wasn’t even a cat in the shop, let alone three kittens but I had the promise of gorgeous Chaos and Mayhem to help me get over that pao and Michael quickly found themselves a comfortable chair whilst Jeanne and I browsed the numerous shelves. Jeanne is a very restrained woman coming out with not a skein but I managed to fill up a basket full of exciting goodies.

Such as this very Ophelia-like Alpaca Loop by Plymouth Yarn, Claudia’s Handpainted in the Antique Jeans colour, and Lush Angora by Classic Elite. All of these I could cuddle and cuddle!

I also acquired a very nice Lantern Moon needle case for my needle acquisitions in New York and some very nice Mountain Colours Bearfoot which is in this photo.

L-R: Maizy by Crystal Palace Yarns – not something I’ve tried before, Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Eureka, Fiesta Ballet in Carribbean – a nice soft alpaca and tencel mix, Reynolds Soft Sea Wool.

We didn’t really look at their huge needlework section but I can assure you that it was enormous, too! Soon, we were on our way to Chris’ to meet the most famous cats on the internet.

Michael really took his life into his own hands by sitting on Chaos’ cat tree.

I was bemused that he came and glared at me from under a chair. He’s definitely a one-woman cat.

Whereas Mayhem…

…was a great bundle of fun!

I could have happily sat on Chris’ floor and played with her for hours and hours but plans were afoot to corrupt us further.

First stop was Dreamhaven which pao had expressed a desire to visit. Now that was a dangerous place especially with Chris at your side

After that we stopped at what I would consider to be my dream bookshop: Uncle Hugo’s and Uncle Edgar’s. We could have spent hours in there because not only do they have an incredible range of books they have the most amazing second-hand section. We may or may not have bought a huge number of books which Chris had to ship back to us in the UK…

But then we were taken to Depth of Field which was another amazing yarn shop with a whole floor of clearance upstairs. Now Chris was in tow and whispering many encouraging and enabling words including smooshy, soft, pretty….. help, what’s a girl to do!

I think pao and Michael really liked this yarn shop since there was a connecting futon shop.

This is a painting of the front of the store in the rest room!

I had my first seminar on Winesburg, Ohio this evening. We only covered the stories Hands and Adventure in depth but the themes within them pervaded the rest of the stories. He calls his characters “grotesques” so he doesn’t really seem to have that much sympathy with them – weird! I’m now quite tired so am going to have a relaxing tea and knit in a mo!

Our US trip has inspired us to buy a filter coffee maker at the weekend so I have a lovely cup of coffee so I’m definitely signing up for Knitter’s Coffee Swap 4. Have I tempted anyone to come and visit yet?

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I survived my first set of lectures both on web technologies and for my English MA today. I am starting to think I must be completely bonkers to do both those things at the same time but I am so glad that I am.

I have thought for a while that intellectually I’m stagnating a bit and what I’m doing at the moment isn’t giving me any sense of what is going on outside of my little domain and I have been yearning for more. Yes, I could have gone on the internet and set myself little projects to work on and develop my skills but to be honest that is a lonely existence and I really enjoy being in lectures and having someone to ask about things. The web course is a real eye opener to some of the newest and emerging technologies. Even though CSS is old hat to a lot of people, it is new to me and I will get to learn a bit of Javascript which should help me rediscover my programming skills.

I completely love my MA programme. I’ve elected to do a course called American Modernism which covers Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Anderson, Dos Passos, and Cather. It is a period of time which I’m really quite interested in so I’m excited about rediscovering The Great Gatsby again – we touched on it in the introduction to the period and the course this afternoon and I just want to rush home and read it again as I’ve forgotten what happened and hints of it come back. We’re starting with Winesburg, Ohio next week which I read a long long time ago so it will be interesting to see how my opinions have changed (if I can remember my original opinions at all since I manically threw out all my undergrad notes the weekend before we moved house).

The final seminar of the evening was about textual criticism versus scholarship which was very interesting indeed. I guess I didn’t realise how much scope there was for errors to creep into a text particularly through the editing process. We learnt a lot about copyright and how publishers are managing to recopyright materials which are really rather old. I certainly have a lot to think about. We’re going to be pulling apart one of Emily Dickinson’s poems next time in about 4 weeks so that will be interesting.

We spent most of the weekend trying to rest up a bit but it turned out that we did lots of cleaning and tidying and pao built our bookcases.

I did manage to finish the socks I cast on when I arrived back in the UK. These were made out of a beautiful yarn called Shibui which I bought at Borealis Yarns when I was with Eileen. They are simple Garter Rib socks from the Charlene Schurch book except I made a plain heel rather than the fancy heel which is described in the book. Shibui is a dream to knit with and the socks whizzed right along.

And here I make a shocking announcement: I’m making pao some socks for his birthday in just under a month’s time. As I unpacked the swag from Minneapolis, my eye fell upon the yarn which Chris held and said was “smooshy” when we visited Depth of Field (more on that trip another day). It was none other than Soxx Appeal in red. It has elastic in it, I’ve knitted over a hundred rows and it fits over that pesky navicular bone – it is almost perfect. The only slight problem might be that I may not have enough as pao has enormous feet. I am knitting like mad when I am not doing other important things and weighing the skeins as I go along because I think I may just have enough yarn to finish both socks. Unfortunately, Soxx Appeal hasn’t reached this country yet so there might be an SOS if I don’t have enough to finish the first sock.

Fingers crossed!!!

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