Milk and Roses

A friend just gave me a whole lot of roses from her garden. They are lovely and have a delicate smell. Between the two vases (teapots) is some milk.

That it is milk may not be obvious at first, but look closer. He was a gift from one of my students.

Angry worm

 

Lygon Street

Marigold Grafitti

It's very sad, but I'm going to have to move house now.

Because I can't get back in my front door.

Death?

Watching you

Ideas for Christmas ornament hanging

Saturday morning

 Saturday morning I had two cats and they had one human.

Saturday afternoon I had no cats and they had six humans.

pop quiz

When you find interesting mould in the fridge do you a) throw it away or b) take a picture of it and put it back to see how much it changes.

Brunswick Noses

Last day today.

Eggplant shawl

I finished the eggplant shawl a few weeks back and have been carrying it around ever since I blocked it to take a photo. Of course, by the time I got around to taking photos it no longer looked blocked and was all crumpled. I might try again.

Potentially visually offensive christmas gift.

I am pretty sure that my Great Aunt doesn't read my blog. Actually, I am pretty sure she doesn't even know it exists.

We are having a big family Christmas for the first time in many many years. The herd has been thinned over the years and I think we are down to about 16 (unless I bring home a waif or stray from dancing). To simplify the present giving process, everyone is paired up for a present swap so that, outside immediate family, there is only one gift to work out.

I have gone the teapot/teacosy combo for my great aunt. I went with a vintage pattern and tried for a daffodil colourway. The name of the yellow is, in fact, daffodil, but one of my friends commented on the virulent nature of the cosy.

I still have to make some leaves and block it, and I have decided to knit a garter lining because I am not sure it will be warm enough otherwise.

I like to think it is 'cheerful'.


Ravelry.

Robot

painting

Yr 10s

My Year 10s (I taught them year 11 Latin) surprised us with flowers and chocolates and a homemade card. I ate the chocolates before the photo, they were great.

Kids

I am going to miss my kids so much.

 One delightful cherub gave me this and it makes me ridiculously happy.

So this morning I did this, which just made me happier.

It was a fine day filled with tea cosy knitting, tea, and giving things a thorough tidy. It didn't involve any giving away of the cats because the lady who was supposed to come and pick them up today didn't.

Terrible post, do not look if easily offended

 My city cousin is staying with my parents in the country at the moment. Yesterday I got an email from her titled: "Greetings from your bedroom window!"

Which I thought was terrible.

Then tonight I get an email title "Weather report from the country!" I could see that there was a picture attached (but not what). I had been speaking to mum this evening after school and she mentioned that there had been torrential rain. I, always interested in the weather, opened the email with a great deal of interest.

And found this.

I laughed so hard I frightened the cats. I wonder if my cousin remembers the weather telling nut someone got one Christmas many years ago.

in the same place

It looks like it is that time of year again.
















Though maybe with fewer blossoms this year. Because of more rain?

New November

My year 12s have done their final exam and it is all over. I have had an awesome weekend filled with chores and getting things done and a pi shawl and Laura Marling (thanks Lis!). And one really unfortunate date.


Still, good things have come out of both the year 12 subject, like Stephen Fry's 'Language', and the date, like I know that I definitely don't want to go on another date with him.

Ends

A picture for my friends who hate weaving in ends. I was able to pretend that I found it therapeutic, most of the time.

I keep telling them they don't fit

Online Dating

Future Blog posts:

"Transferable skill sets, or: How teaching prepares you for going on three dates in one day."

"You said you were 39, but you look like my dad. No really."

"Self-obsessed woman-hater seeks sugar mama."

"What not to write in your first message."

"7 reasons you shouldn't be surprised that no one writes back."

"Sometimes 'Let's pay separately' means 'I like feeling independent', sometimes it means 'That was excruciating'. Here is 1 simple clue to help you guess which."

Thanks, mum

 Mum took some photos of the vest yesterday.

The day started cold and mucky, but picked up in the afternoon

This vest was super easy, but time consuming. Took me 6 months...

Duck Vest - Neverending

At first neverending because of the diamonds (easy but fiddly).















Then I knit the bodice, tried it on, a little too small. I went for the classic 'oh, blocking will Make It Right', and knit the borders.

But there was no denying that it looked ridiculous, so I ripped. That was nearly the end of me.

Lack of yarn meant that most of the added fabric went into bewb shaping (those being the major ... problem after all).

It is still a little small, but there is no more yarn. I think, after yesterday's heat, it will be finished blocking, so I might try wearing it this morning.

P.S. all the ends were woven in as I went (it took about 40 minutes to weave in ends on a row of diamonds) and all I have to do is cut off the bits you can see in the picture.

ravelled

Herbivore

The whole time I was knitting this yarn (and it started out as several projects before herbivore suited it) it was going to be for me. But then the colour was making me look a little jaundiced (or maybe that was just how I was feeling).

At any rate, I caught up with a friend whom it looks fabulous on and passed it along.

More cupcakes, more year twelves

Tomorrow is my last class with my year 12s. I don't think I have ever had such a demoralising, dispiriting year. I approached today's class with a mix of dread and relief. I have been counting down since 64 to go. I went to see a therapist in May who charged me a lot of money, told me I wouldn't make it to November and confirmed all the stereotypes I had about therapists. Silly bint.

I have been planning baking cupcakes for a class of 12s I don't teach, but hadn't really considered mine until this morning. I got the guilts about all the lovely kids in the class. And then I went to class and all the lovely kids had got together and bought me a present and it turns out the lovely kids out number the others 17 to 3. A kid who wasn't supposed to be at school today turned up for the class just for the gift giving. I wanted to cry and throw up and it all fell a bit flat and felt weird because I couldn't say thank you and I couldn't say 'I loved teaching you guys this year'.

And now I have to go to bed.

pity this busy monster, manunkind,

pity this busy monster, manunkind,

not. Progress is a comfortable disease:
your victim (death and life safely beyond)

plays with the bigness of his littleness
--- electrons deify one razorblade
into a mountainrange; lenses extend
unwish through curving wherewhen till unwish
returns on its unself.
A world of made
is not a world of born --- pity poor flesh

and trees, poor stars and stones, but never this
fine specimen of hypermagical

ultraomnipotence. We doctors know

a hopeless case if --- listen: there's a hell
of a good universe next door; let's go 

e e cummings.

Mis

How the cats think the holidays should be spent.

Little Red

To: Brunswick

Well, little lady, let me elucidate here.

The friend I was with asked if I'd started doing graffiti when she saw this.

Masala Chai

The chai at Birdman Eating is intense, but pretty.

Under Milkwood

Did I mention the ricotta hotcakes? With banana, coconut, vanilla bean syrup and honey yoghurt? Also, of all the chai I've tried in cafes, theirs is my favourite.

Under Milk Wood.

Lifting the blues

I am almost as scattered today as I was on the first weekend of the holidays, but not quite as exhausted and I am not coughing up nearly as much, erm, stuff.

I re-thought my approach to the holidays this time. Usually I feel like the holidays are my opportunity to do all the stuff I don't get time to do during term. I have all these Ideas about Things that I should be doing. This time my daily goals were a little more within my grasp.

#1 get out of bed at some stage
#2 drink tea
#3 read a book
#4 be open to the idea of going back to bed if I need to

This does mean that I have spent most of the week either in bed or sprawled on the couch. But then the trip to get a pedicure left me needing a nap, so I am more or less at peace with the laziness. Plus, even though I set the bar so ridiculously low, I still felt a sense of achievement when I got to the end of the day and had done those four things.

Today I found this post on 62cherry. For 12 days her goals were:
#1 One espresso
#2 Walk at least one way to/from school
#3 Call a friend to see how they are doing
#4 No chocolate, cakes or biscuits
#5 Get out of bed and start the day at 6am
#6 Schedule time to do some hand sewing
#7 Write my morning pages
#8 Write a blog post here & on mixtape
#9 Work on Issue 13
#10 Leave comments on blogs i like
#11 Only eat home cooked meals
#12 Have porridge & yoghurt each morning

I have 7 days left of the holidays. So, in the next 7 days I will aspire to:
#1 Read a book
#2 Drink at least four pots of tea a day (only two caffeinated)
#3 Practice the guitar
#4 Walk to Milkwood for a[nother] baugette
#5 Dry my hair in the sun
#6 Try a new recipe
#7 Scale back the original plan of going through all the cupboards and dividing everything into keep/ give away/ throw away (and actually doing those last two). Change it to 'throw away at least one thing from each cupboard'.

Stanley Park seawall

Milkwood

Oh the baguettes, oh the ricotta hotcakes, oh the ham and mushrooms on toast, oh the spending half my holidays eating there, oh the baguettes!

yellow