Monday Musings

Today is known as Blue Monday, according to theorists for many it is the most depressing day of the year.  I take issue with this theory as I for one would not choose a Monday. Monday is the start of a new week it should be a day that brings hope that the week ahead will be all it can be. Now Tuesday is an altogether different beast. What is the point of  Tuesday? It is neither the start, middle or end of anything. It is too far from the weekend to be like Thursday with it's tickle of frisson that the weekend is just around the corner. Nope, Tuesday is a non day, good for nothing and this year it will be Blue Tuesday for me.

The last few days here have been particularly blue of their own accord. Since Friday evening I have been floored by some nasty bug, so much so that my best friends have been, in no particular order, sock knitting, Lemsip and Audiobooks. I lost nearly all of Saturday racking up just 38 steps in 24 hours on my Fitbit, I was out of it. Every time I turned over in bed it felt like I had been hit by a monster truck. Luckily by Sunday I was able to sit up and I got stuck into one of my favourite sock patterns.

Knitting 

This is my progress on the socks. Not too bad for feeling so poorly. The pattern is Socks on a Plane a freebie on Ravelry. Not being a fan of cables this pattern is a surprise favourite of mine. It knits up so quickly using a 6 row repeat and simple short row heel.

The yarn I am using is Reliable Sock from RipplesCrafts. It is my go to sock yarn, hand dyed in gorgeous colours in Assynt which is in the North West of Scotland. 

Books

When I feel awful the last thing I want is anything too heavy or grizzly so at times like this I turn to lighter reads. This was one of those times so I chose A Holiday Yarn from my Audible wishlist. This is the 4th book in the Seaside Knitters series and Sally Goldenbaum's words are once again beautifully read by Julie Mcay. 

The story does have a murder or two in it but the setting of Sea Harbour and the knitters themselves with he wonderful food they share is like a balm to the soul. When listening I feel swept up in a warm and safe haven and I am looking forward to many more mysteries with the four knitting friends.

Half Way to February

We are now half way through the first month of the year and what a first 15 days it has been. Floods have wrecked homes and lives and for a while it seemed the rain would never stop. Every day it was just grey and wet.
Then came the shock of two men passing.
David Bowie was the epitome of a star. His ability to re-invent himself to suit the music tastes of the time was flawless. He could take a feeling, capture it and make it his own. From Major Tom to Dancing in the Street with Mick Jagger there was something for everyone. Even to the end the last photos of him showed a stylish man who gave nothing away that he was so ill. He will be sadly missed but his music will live on forever.
Whilst still reeling from the death of David we were hit with the passing also from cancer of the wonderful actor Alan Rickman. Although best known to younger folk as Severus Snape in the Harry Potter films this man was so much more. Through decades he has entertained us on stage and screen. The world of acting is so much poorer today.

Knitting

Moving forward this month I have a new MKAL to look forward to.

I love Susanna's patterns and will be looking forward to a new clue coming out each week. There is still time to sign up via Ravelry if you want to join in.
As it is a winter theme I have chosen to use Drops Lace yarn in a beautiful icy baby blue and silver lined blue beads.

I will keep you updated with my progress each week as the KAL continues.
The red jumper for my Mum is growing and I am almost at the place to put it aside and knit the sleeves.

Walking

My walking has slowed down this week as a cold has kept me mostly indoors. But as soon as I can I will get myself back out and get steps added to my journey.

Books

This week I finished  The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith, read by the actor Robert Glenister. This is the first in a series of novels written by JK Rowling using this pseudonym. It took me a while to get into the book but once I did I really started to care for the characters, especially Robin. I will definitely be looking for more of these.

Monday Musings

First Steps

Walking

Traditionally in January people make resolutions. One popular one is to join a gym and exercise more. Usually by the end of the month this has fallen by the wayside. This year rather than make such a commitment I have taken on a challenge. I discovered a Scottish website which aims to encourage folk to walk more. World Walking have a huge variety of virtual walks which you can take on as a solo walker, like me, or as part of a larger group. All you need to take part is a pedometer and the will to give it a go. I have chosen to do the North Coast 500, which is a 500 mile circular route from Inverness around the north coast of Scotland. Along each walk are key points to aim for. I have decided that to keep me totally motivated that each time I reach a key point I am allowed to purchase some yarn for my knitting. I am not allowed to purchase at any other time with 2 exceptions, Edinburgh Yarn Festival in March and if I need more to finish a project.

Knitting

Another first step I have taken this week is to cast on a jumper for my mum.

  The Firenze pattern is available for free on Ravelry and is essentially a male pattern. However I have already finished 2, one for DH and one for me, more about that later.

Saving

I have also taken the first steps in the savings challenge I mentioned last week and have kept up with the daily amount. It is easy to do at this this early stage but I know it will get harder as the year goes on. 

Books

A new book was started this week, War at the Edge of the World by Ian Ross. I am not normally the sort to want to read about Roman soldiers battling the Picts but DH was keen and surprisingly I am really enjoying it. The narrator is very good and the writing truly paints a picture in your head as to what is happening.

Finishes

Knitting

As I mentioned earlier I have already finished two jumpers in the Firenze pattern. The first, on the left, for DH and the second for me.

The pattern is one of the easiest I have ever knitted. The jumper is knitted more or less in one piece from the bottom up. Using  strands of yarn held together you knit the main body, put it aside then knit the sleeves. Once they are done you put them all on the one needle and knit the raglan yoke and neck. The only seaming is 8 stitches under each arm which is an absolute joy for someone like me who detests seaming.

The pattern is from Drops and I knitted his in the yarn suggested, Drops Alpaca in Petrol Mix and Drops Fabel in Blue Lagoon Print. For mine I once again used Drops Alpaca in Petrol Mix but this time used King Cole Zig Zag in Thistle from my stash as the 2nd yarn. Zig Zag is now discontinued so I wanted to get some of it used up. I find it amazing that 2 jumpers using the same base shade can look so different just by changing the accent.

Books

I have finished the first book in my Goodreads reading challenge. Not Dead Enough by Peter James was a gripping murder mystery set in Brighton. It had me hooked from the first chapter and all I wanted to do was stay up listening till the early hours to find out more and more. The twist at the end was a complete surprise and I am looking forward to listening to more of his books.

Coming Full Circle

Back when I was a wee girl one of my jobs at home was to clean mine and my Granddad's shoes. At the time I hated it. It seemed to take forever and I got all dirty from the shoe polish. As I grew up I  discovered all different tips and tricks to cut the time including using furniture polish to cheat my way to a shine. Also the shoe polish companies started bringing out more simple methods but in reality these just put a shine on and never really treated the leather or cleaned the shoes. Yesterday I dug out an unopened shoe kit and set about properly cleaning my one favourite pair of shoes. The minute I opened the tin of polish and took a sniff the memories came flooding back, oh how I loved that smell. 10 minutes and a bit of elbow grease later and my shoes, which are over 3 years old, looked almost new again. I had come full circle. The sense of satisfaction I felt was immense. Now I know I will have a new chore at least once a week but my shoes will thank me for it.

Talking about shoes and that pair in particular, I have always struggled to find shoes to fit. A broad foot meant that to get comfort for the toes I needed to take a size 7 when in reality my foot was really as I found out a 51/2. One day I was in Musselburgh with DH and we were in the Mobility shop. They had a selection of Cosyfeet shoes and I decided to try a pair on. I was overjoyed when my feet slipped easily into a lovely pair of black Mary Jane style shoes of the correct size for me. I baulked slightly at the price but here over 3 years on I have to say that they have been the most cost effective shoes I have ever bought. Still comfy, soles look good and believe me I have worn the nearly every day since purchase. I will be back for another pair soon.

Talking about feet as I seem to be doing. It is my left big toe which has given my my first problem of the year. I had the nail removed mid December and all was going well with the recovery until over the New Year holidays something felt amiss. I was lucky to get a emergency appointment at the doc's and so yesterday I trundled off to show my toe. Right enough the toe had become infected, so here I am in the first week of 2016 on a course of antibiotics. Not how I had envisioned my year to begin.

Getting to Grips with 2016

The festivities are all over for another year and now it is time for me to look forward to what I want from 2016.
As any one of you who knows me personally can attest I am about as far from being a domestic goddess as it gets. I try to keep up but with the hoarder husband and my yarn habit I will admit that I am fighting a losing battle. This year though I want to at least give a bash at getting it under control. I mentioned in my last post he 2 out 1 in for my yarn but I and DH seriously have to take a look at our clothing situation. Can you believe I am still wearing a couple of jumpers I bought from a store called What Everyone Wants back in the 1990's. I am sure I have more stuff from that era and it is time for it to go.
This is also the year I want to get my recycling habit sorted. For the last few months I have been trying really hard to get the stuff in the right bins and this year I will be re-doubling my efforts.
Another thing I want to do this year is sort out a savings plan that I can stick to. I want us to have some spare pennies to use to enjoy life with. The first thing I plan to do is get back to a Christmas savings plan with Park. I used to save for the vouchers but for some reason I stopped. This will be restarted this week. The second thing I plan to do is pop a regular amount of money in a jar. I spotted the 365 day savings challenge on FB and I have already begun. Also as a bonus this year has 366 days so an extra £3.66 will go in the kitty.

 It seems such an easy way to save.

The new year also brings lots of new series of our favourite TV shows. I am looking forward to the return of NCIS, Midsommer Murders, Silent Witness and many more. Sometimes there is nothing better than curling up with some easy knitting and a great TV show.
Talking of TV over the holiday season I got bored with the usual repeats and decided to go searching through Sky to see if anything caught my fancy. One which I thought I would try was Glee. Well where the heck was I when this was on? 4 episodes in and I was hooked. The storyline reminds me of Fame from way back in the 80's but the music is fantastic and if I am feeling a wee bit down watching an episode guarantees to cheer me up. I just hope Sky keep the box sets on long enough for me to watch them all.

New Year New Beginnings

May I wish everyone a happy and healthy 2016.

I have been very remiss at keeping this blog and I promise I will try my very best to post more this year.

Knitting

2015 was one of my very best years for churning out knitted projects. I managed to knit my way through 12.6 miles of yarn on various projects including jumpers, socks, shawls and new for me, fingerless mitts. I still have to block and photo some of the projects and when I do I will get the photos up here for you to peruse.

This year I am hopefully, starting as I mean to go on with a loose resolution to curb my "ooh shiny, must cast on" attitude. I say loose as my aim at this time is to stick to 5 projects a month or less. A jumper, socks, a shawl, fingerless mitts and my ongoing sock yarn blanket.

I also truly need to reduce the stash this year. I am beginning the year with 181,658 yards of yarn and whilst I know I simply cannot go all out "cold sheep" I feel that moderation is in order. I will be aiming for at least 2 out to 1 in. I will here and now confess that this will be hard in the months of Jan and Mar as already I have some new yarn for a jumper for my Mum to be added in and in March we have the wonderful Edinburgh Yarn Festival. It just means that in all the other months I will have to knit more and be frugal with purchasing.

Books 

I have set myself up with a Goodreads reading challenge of finishing 50 books this year. I am still plugging my way through the BBC Big Read list but I am also indulging my passion for crime novels with library downloads. I do not do much eye reading any more, preferring to listen to books on my laptop so i can knit at the same time. I find this combination of my hobbies most satisfying and I am sure it has speeded up my needles.

I am currently listening to a library book, Not Dead Enough by Peter James, this is a new author to me and so far I am enjoying both the story and the narrator.

Life

Things are quiet at the minute as it is the winter season at work and the weather is not great for going out gallivanting. I do hope however this year to share things I have been up to and places I have been. Where this will take me, who knows?, but hey, it will be an adventure.

I've Found It, I've Found Me!

Over the years as my friends and family will attest I have had many many hair colours. Everything from bleached white blonde to black with all hues in between. I have never been truly satisfied. I have spent well over 30 years looking for the one, the colour or shade which is truly me. Now at last, approaching 50 I have it. It is not a natural colour but importantly it is ME! It is my colour. My hair is now a gorgeous shade of purple!

You would not believe what finding this colour has done for me, for my confidence and for my general well-being. It has set me free! Free from self doubt, free from self criticism, free from constraints I had placed on myself to be what other people wanted me to be and not what I wanted or who I am.
I have at last found myself. I have found ME!