Oh dear.....

Well, here I am, a little late and with almost too much news for a single post.
News of my demise has been greatly exaggerated - I have just been suffering from computer fatigue, due to assignments, required tutorial postings and general fighting and scrapping with administrators and bureaucrats. And then there were exams. Sigh.

I have however, been knitting ('I knit so I don't kill people' has become a mantra).
There has been knitting. Here is A Little Something (Sundara Silky Merino Aran - from a Ravelry de-stash):


A second Tempest (longer - in Somoko)


A Transverse Cardigan, in Classic Elite Renaissance (also from a Ravelry de-stash)

A Tea Leaves cardigan in Sanguine Gryphon Traveller. This may be my favourite cardigan yet. The pattern is lovely and the wool is gorgeous.


There is a bit of a selfish knitting theme going on here, partly because most of my cardigans and jumpers are too large on me this year (happy dance!) but also because it is comforting to be making oneself something pretty when wading through a pile of assignments. I have also been trying to shop heavily from my non-stash (as it is well known that I have NO STASH).

Partly this is motivated by the rather large quantity of - ahem - insulation which appears to live in our spare room (amongst other places), and partly because, while organising it, I discovered how much beautiful - ahem - insulation - I appear to possess. So I am using it, rather than merely patting it and admiring it.

I seem to have actually knitted more than I have acquired over the last few months. This is A Good Thing, especially with the Bendigo Wool and Sheep Show on the horizon, and the near certainty that I may acquire at least something knittable while I am there.

But it hasn't all been slaving over a hot computer and forcing the family to eat what ever I can throw together in 20 minutes.

No, no.


Just after Easter we escaped to Coles Bay for a wedding. The Accountant's God-daughter married her beau, in a most beautiful ceremony held practically on top of a mountain, overlooking Moulting Lagoon, the Swan River and across toward Swansea. Beautiful day, stunning bride and amazing location. Because of this, we had a lovely weekend away and the weather was perfect, as was the wedding. (I love a good wedding.)


My lovely Step-mother came with us, and looked after these two monsters while we attended the wedding, and the reception later.


After the stress of the assignments, and my practicuum (which was wonderful and exciting and took place in a 'challenging' school, with a very experienced teacher, and a fun and very lively class), we took a holiday. In fact, I actually truanted from my course for the final week. I made sure all assignments and tutorial work was done, packed the lightest text book for exam study and we headed off for two weeks in Fiji. I studied and knitted in a hammock, snorkelled every day, taught the Princes to snorkel, saw sharks and rays and lots of lovely fish and coral, kayaked and found 2 lost Fijian Crested Iguanas while knitting in my hammock.

The finding of the escaped iguanas then gave me an excuse for spending as much time in the hammock as possible. When people asked what I was doing, I could reply that I was looking for iguanas, with a perfectly straight face. I basically finished some Vesper socks (still have to put in afterthought heels), started some Duckies socks, and almost finished a Citron shawlette (hate that word).
The Citron would actually have been finished - had the Knitpicks cable not broken - grrrrrrrr!

So that's it really. You are up to date. Now I am on holiday (as much as a mother ever is!), the kids are back at school. The Princess still has her 4 Fijian beaded braids in and is resisting all attempts to remove them. Destructoboy is missing his splashes in the pool and unlimited access to pineapple and paw paw. The Accountant is missing the warmth and relaxation, and I am missing my hammock.It is the shortest day today, and utterly freezing. We had a hard frost this morning. Fiji seems very far away.

Excuse me, I need to go and knit something.......

Happy Again!

Thanks so much for your lovely comments - I'm back to my usual happy self now!

I will admit, though, that despite it looking terrible and chipped, I still have not been able to bring myself to remove my holiday nail varnish - because that would mean I was back to real life, where there is no point in wearing nail varnish because after a couple hours of normal wear and tear it looks awful.

A while ago, Bells posted a lovely, laughing wedding photo. So I thought (always being original) that I would do the same. The Accountant and I have been together for more than twenty years, and in a few weeks will have been living together for 20 years, but we only married in 2001.

We sort of eloped, in that we told noone, except the Accountant's sister, that we were getting married, just invited out parents (and step parents) for lunch, and after the main course, sprang on them the fact that the celebrant was due in 10 minutes, and we needed to get changed. We married in May, in the garden, under the oak tree. Our dog was there. A horse looked over the fence. It was informal and fun and cheap. Then we drank sparkling shiraz and ate cheesecake.

It also got us out of all the to-ing and fro-ing about who should be involved in the wedding and flower girls and bridesmaids and so on. I did buy a new outfit, since worn to other weddings. It was a lovely day, and one of the last photos of my Dad (He's the one laughing next to me.) The Accountant's sister was best person - she held the rings and bouquets and so on, and took some photos.

Knitting has been happening. The new jumper is up to the armholes, and I am loving the yarn and pattern and looking forward to wearing it. Children are back at school, life is happening in spite of me, and on Tuesday I finally got to see the third episode of Cranford and knitted while they were at school.

Life is full of small joys!