January flies by

Trip Recap

Well, two weeks ago I was blogging about going to London and it already feels like a long time ago! What a blast! A wonderful city, a terrific time, great travel mates. We got to do a lot (3 museums, 1 outdoor market, sightseeing, tube riding, partying and tea drinking) and talk a lot.


My partners in crime, one of whom insisted on wearing purple knickers [panties] in every photo. Here they are looking especially dignified at St. Martin in the Fields.



Probably one of the most amazing public art pieces I've ever seen was in Trafalgar Square. It is a sculpture called Alison Lapper Pregnant, a beautiful sculpture of a disabled woman who has no arms and shortened legs. It's breathtakingly striking and sits very high up, right in front of the National Gallery. It says a lot about the presence of someone with a disability in one of the most central squares in Britain.

Some more London scenes:


Golden sculpture of Springbok over the doorway of the South African Embassy.


Tiny cars on tiny streets.


Parliament buildings from a boat ride.

Knitting Updates

I'm late with the red scarf for the Red Scarf Project, but am hoping to get it done and send it in a bit late. I'm doing an Encore Worsted scarf (wool-acrylic) in a basketweave stitch. Like the pattern, the yarn no so much.

Working on Calorimetry for a friend in Araucania Atacama Alpaca. Coming along nicely, but scarf has to come first.

Also doing a hat in Noro Kureyon. It's kinda itchy, I'm thinking of lining it with fleece or something. Has anyone done that?

Pics to come in a post soon. Happy end of January!

London bound

I am very fortunate to be heading to London next weekend (MLK Day weekend) with two friends! One of them has a flat in London when she and her husband are not in Boston. So, we're going for a girls' weekend in London town! Should be real fun. Though I've visited the British Isles (Scotland, N. Ireland, Ireland), I've never been to England proper. So, this is my big chance! I'm very excited. Some visits to the V&A Museum, The Tate Modern and assorted palace type places are in order. We'll see how much we can cram into 4 days.


Holiday Gift



My DH gifted me with a wooden swift and ballwinder for Christmas. I needed to wind up some more skeins of the Misti Alpaca Chunky I've been using for the Irish Hiking Scarf and broke it out the other night. Of course, it took me a while to get the hang of it, complete with tangling, knotting and cursing. I thought it was a good time to do it -- the kids were in bed, DH wasn't feeling well and went to bed early. I had the dining room table to myself. But, little D. is known for never staying in bed once he goes to bed. Once he saw the setup in the dining room, he had to be a part of it. "This is cool!" he said. So, I let him do some ballwinding too. Cute picture follows.



Christmas tree dismantling techniques

We took the Christmas tree down the other day. As I'm sure you know, grabbing the tree and yanking it down the stairs (we live on a second floor) and out the door means lots of pine needles everywhere. So, DH found a new and interesting way to get the tree outside. He pruned every branch off and stuck them all in a trashcan.



Then, all you're left with is a pine trunk in the tree holder. Unscrew, take out the door and you are done! Here are DH and son C. showing Dad's handiwork:



Still life with stump. Just a suggestion for next year!