December 2013

I'm going with (1). But it's all for gifts. Promise.

30/12/2013

Bleak Midwinter

Sorry to go a bit radio silent but I had a very stressful couple of days, followed by the usual Christmas busyness.

I don't know if you remember but last January I was complaining about getting puddle drenched. Well it's been getting worse. My only route home from work is over a railway bridge that now floods completely on one side every time it rains. According to the council they can't fix it yet because they are negotiating with the council to use the adjacent land. Thanks the council.

Anyway I have to paddle through the water, next to a busy road, after dark in order to walk the 30 more minutes to get home. The pavement is a couple of inches deep which means the road is even deeper. Also one in five car drivers are #&*$£%s who don't think twice about making waves bigger than they are.

So, twas the night before Christmas Eve when I had a particularly bad drenching. As I walked the last 30 minutes home the wind picked up and the rain came down and I found myself in the middle of a storm. Great.

You may also remember that last August I found I had developed enough super-strength to rip keys in the lock. You can guess what happened next can't you. I arrive home, insert my shiny new key in my four month old lock and... nothing. It won't turn, it won't come out. I try a little harder. Snap. To misquote John McClane 'how can the same stuff happen to the same gal twice'.

Now thanks to my frequent drenchings I have been avoiding carry my phone around in my pocket. Due to my previous adventure with technology and liquid and I wasn't keen to replace any more tech. Joy of joy I didn't have any cash either.

Luckily my previous experience of being almost locked out had persuaded me to carry a locksmith number with my keys at all times. I waddled squishily to a pay phone, called the freephone number and listened to the message that told me to call back in office hours. The call was then transferred to another line which played a message saying they were shut for the holidays. COME ON.

After multiple damp adventures I sought shelter in the Chinese Takeaway. They took pity on me and let me use the phone to call my parents (the only number I have committed to memory) for a rescue. Mum came out, despite the weather warnings and I finally got dry and warm.

(I did manage to find an emergency locksmith willing to work the next day so I wasn't stuck for too long, it just felt like it.)

I am going to buy so much Chinese food this year.

17/12/2013

Sneak Peak

It's been a hectic couple of weeks but I'm making progress on the stocking. I think it's going to be the first knitting project I've invented that uses a complete ball of yarn.

09/12/2013

It's Cold

Hibernation is actually starting to sound tempting.

Over the past few years I've had this desire to knit a Christmas stocking. Now I've made socks before (three whole ones) but there wasn't anything very special about them. I've also knitted curly ammonite fossils before. If I combine the two I should be able to build up a curly toed stocking for all my Christmas needs. This is going to be one of the biggest ODDknits I've ever made. Please bear with me.