Rubber Ducky, You're the One....

Sssssh! Can you keep a secret? I sneak off for baths! That’s right – I slope off at early hours of the morning when I waken early and can’t sleep, and submerge myself amongst bubbles with a book, a face mask and my glasses fogging up!

Why do I sneak off like that? Well, much as I love my children, the only way I can claim a little time for myself is to sneak down to the bath very early on a Sunday morning and spend an hour floating in bubbles. Then I get back into my pyjamas and sneak back into bed. If I don’t get the timing absolutely right, I end up with a 5 year old girl – screaming (literally) down the stairs into the bathroom, stripping as she runs until she jumps in with me.

I really don’t mind my little girl joining me in the bath, and playing games and splashing. It’s just that my baths are a quiet and relaxing time, and always, by the time she gets there, the water is starting to cool off and I have to stay for another half an hour in increasingly cold water playing boat, bubbles or whatever other game she invents!

Yesterday was a lovely spring day – which can only mean one thing – spring cleaning! We attacked the courtyard, pulling up weeds, tidying the pot plants and planning plantings in the big bed against the wall. All winter, the courtyard gets no sun, then around now it starts trapping the sun, and the old red bricks of the wall start preventing frosts. So this year, instead of grass, I’m going to plant tomatoes and lettuces (and maybe a cucumber) in the bed to catch the sun. The warmth of the wall means no frost there as well, so even a late frost shouldn’t get my tomatoes!

On the Seven Things Challenge:
IN:
Well, the shoes – obviously – 2 pairs of Birkis (pls see previous post to admire their beauty!);
1 apricot top from the Op shop, and 4 patterns from same;
1 boys summer hat and 2 tops for children (winter sale at local children’s wear shop);
Vogue Knitting and Creative Knitting;
1 skein Marion’s sock yarn;
My Sublime lay-by paid off (plus the stash bag gift and 2 balls cheap Jo Sharp DK);
My Lay-by from Local haberdasher paid off - 4 balls leaf green Patons, 2 Christmas presents and buttons for the squatty sidekicks;

In: 17 balls of yarn, 15 other items

OUT:
2 bags cot sheets, baby blankets and ancillary stuff for the child care centre
1 toy also for above
1 bag of clothes for Lifeline
1 breadmaker (running) needs new washer and probably loaf tin – ready for Lifeline
3 Patons patterns – to Taph!!!
9 bags of childrens gear listed on Ebay (not yet sold – finishes tomorrow)

Out: 17 bags of stuff!

That has to be in front, doesn’t it?
I’ve also organised pram, cot, portacot, car seat and so on to be listed in the classifieds – though that will be next week.

We also attacked the wine cellar – although that does not qualify as de-cluttering because we work out what needs to be drunk, but organising it did mean removing and re-organising all the half empty boxes, so maybe it qualifies – 5 empty boxes gone!

Further to a post from a while back, I have seen two movies this week I really enjoyed – for entirely different reasons.

We watched 300 the other night, and I was very impressed. It was stylised and stylish, used lots of CGI as an integral part of the look, told an old story well (even if it did takes some liberties with Herodotus), and I really enjoyed it. Deeper than it looks – lots of allegory and poetry mixed with the mythology. I can see that it wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it was mine – and considering some of the pap I’ve noticed recently, a huge step up!

The second was ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, also a non-Hollywood production. This is Spanish (the Spaniards are making some noteworthy films) and set in the era of the Spanish Civil War – gorgeous, interesting, phantasmagorical, surreal. In the words of Molly Meldrum ‘Do yourself a favour’. It was beautiful, but not great for complex knitting (subtitles!).

Knitting. Here is one repeat of the cable pattern from Juno’s collar.

I am enjoying it, but I can’t let my attention slip at all! Luckily, the pattern is written out, rather than charted (I’m not great at charts), and is a 16 row repeat over 38 stitches. I’m having trouble coping with the cable needle – which keeps trying to escape, especially on the cables at the very beginning of the rows – first stitch goes onto the cable needle! So far, I’ve only had to tink half a row (although I’m sure that will change).

I love the way the cables look, and I’m very proud of the 3D nature of the knitting, but I cannot see any way in which I am likely to become a FAST cable knitter. In one and a half hours last night I did one pattern repeat. 16 rows over 38 stitches- hour and a half! – even the monkey socks I could do 2 repeats at least! (11 rows over 60sts on DPNS)!

All tips on increasing speed and growing 3rd hand gratefully appreciated!

Why are there no films I want to watch?

It’s a hard row to hoe without wine, my friends! After a beautiful spring-like weekend – during the days of which I actually did not wear a jumper for the first time since, I think, last May, today is rather gloomy.

Juno grows slowly. You may have guessed by now that acres of rib – whether 2 x 2 or 1x1 - is not my favourite knitting diversion. But last night I reached the armpits at the back, and discovered that I may have unintentionally got gauge – a pity, as I was trying to get greater than gauge – larger needles, larger size.

I am not a tight knitter, nor am I particularly loose – but I was hoping for a bit more coverage – we shall see. Tonight it’s armholes ahoy as we reach for the neckline. I must say, I adore the way it looks – if it’s too tight when I finish I will be forced to lose 10 kilos, just to make sure I wear it!

As a defence mechanism against 2 noisy, housebound children, I buried myself in my collection of Interweave Knits (all 5 of them) and decided on my next 6 projects. I find that looking through knitting publications with my fingers in my ears whilst humming tunelessly allows me to ignore the sounds of mayhem and carnage which swirl around me. I can be deaf to all but the loudest screams and still hear the cry of a really hurt child – or a desperate request for assistance in getting to the toilet – with very little effort on my part.

Part of the reason Juno grew so well last night was the excellent movie we watched – ‘The World’s Fastest Indian’. I was a bit concerned it would be rather Boy’s Own, or Action oriented, but it was great. Wry, gentle humour with laugh out loud moments and Anthony Hopkins playing a charming old NZ codger. It was a great and I heartily recommend it for plain knitting.

I adore foreign films. My only problem is that subtitles force me to watch the screen all the time, so I can only make major progress on the plainest knitting. Most American/Hollywood films allow all sorts of knitting – not only is the dialogue generally loud, the plots are currently both banal and predictable and the so-called comedy films never make me laugh enough to lose row and stitch markers, or pattern sheets onto the floor.

It may seem odd to say it, but I think recent movies are really catering to a lower common denominator than I actually thought existed. I’m not even sure who these movies are aimed at. The comedy is not particularly funny, the action seems to consist entirely of CGI special effects, the characters are annoying and unsympathetic – to say nothing of being so two dimensional that I’ve seen Birthday cards with more rounded characters.

Plots are predictable, writing is drab or expletive laden (and don’t think I’m a prude, because my range of cursing has been known to make Marines blush – now, there’s an idea for a colourway – Blushing Marine, - red, Khaki, olive, sand and brown). Overall, they’re just dull, dull, dull. And unmemorable. I’ve often been caught being completely unable to remember whether or not I’ve actually seen a particular movie, until it starts. And sometimes not even then.

I don’t get to the movies much – 2 small children make that a venture I’m not brave enough for – and quite frankly, most recent movies I couldn’t be bothered to pay good money for. Even bad money.

What’s going on with Hollywood? The rest of the world is making great movies – think France, Spain and sometimes England (providing they don’t have to cater to too many ‘Stars’). Think of some of the really interesting stuff coming out of Japan, China, Korea and Hong Kong (can’t resist a good chop-socky – or anything with Jackie Chan – who does his own stunts instead of relying on CGI). I’m only likely to bestir myself otherwise for something from Pixar.

The rest of the world makes great movies and Hollywood does lame remakes. Or remakes fairly lame TV series. Or tries to please everyone and end up pleasing no-one with half a brain.

There are so many wonderful books in the world. So many great stories, so many wonderful actors and directors and writers. So how come there are no movies I want to watch?