Introducing...

the Lone Star State socks!





I am so pleased with these socks, which I have designed for my Sockapalooza pal. And I have also finished them with two hours to spare to count for my July socks for Sock a Month 3. Woo hoo!

Pattern: my own, based on top-down with heel flap
Yarn: Angel Yarns Sock Yarn in Red, White and Blue
Needles: 2.5mm Addi DPNs

No surprise there, then...

You Are 24% Girly

You are a pretty hardcore tomboy, and a very free spirit. Gender roles be dammed, you like to do things your way.

How Girly Are You?

Interesting that I managed to get that high a percentage - could well have been the horror movie response...

Royal Mail

During the past week, three anniversary cards have arrived a day late to us and two birthday cards we have sent have arrived a day late. I assumed this was due to last week's postal strike (our anniversary was around that time) although the missed birthday card on the Thursday was pushing it, I felt.

However, yesterday I heard two things from an Aunt of mine that really take the biscuit. First of all, a thank you letter I sent in May arrived at her house on the 10th of July. She said it looked as if it had been dropped in every puddle from Cheshire to Oxfordshire and had not been franked (although she did say she wouldn't be re-using the stamp since it was too muddy). How's that for first class mail?

Secondly, she took an important letter last Monday that needed to be at its destination by Friday and handed it over at the Post Office counter and had it signed for. As it became apparant that it hadn't arrived, she went back to the Post Office and was told it would not be any further than Oxford, since there had been an unofficial strike in the town all week and post was not being collected. The counter staff had known about it on the Monday, but had been unable to tell her as it was unofficial. As she said, if she had known, she would have taken it across the county boundary to somewhere where there wasn't a strike.

And the Royal Mail wonder why we are all so disillusioned....

Soundtrack: Blackbird - The Beatles; Louisa on A Horse - Otway & Barratt; Australia - The Men They Couldn't Hang

It's Over...

What a brilliant ending to the Harry Potter series. Love, love, love reading a book with tears streaming down my face...

It's a woman thing, A would say.

I would just say it's a sign that you care enough about the characters...

Soundtrack: Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics; Move Mountains - Jesus Jones

Sockapalooza update

Last month I blogged about my Sockapalooza sock. After a week of consideration I did decide to start again with it. I haven't actually frogged the original yet, since it's very useful to have it to refer to, but here is version 2:










I didn't go for the turn down cuff in the end, but I did shorten it. I also made thinner stripes on the cuff, which I prefer, and added an additional navy stripe to ease the transition from cuff to foot - otherwise there was a red stripe followed immediately by the white instep and it jarred on me visually. I also changed the position of the gusset decreases so they didn't crash into the colour change on the seamless intarsia.

I won't tell you what I call these socks yet - I'd love it if someone, besides the knitting group who already know, was able to recognise what my inspiration for these socks was.

Soundtrack: Party Hard - Pulp; Land of Confusion - Genesis; Mi Bebe Masoquista - Fatboy Slim; Ready To Run - Dixie Chicks

Oldest Swinger in Town..

Last Saturday, A and I schlepped to Old Trafford to see Genesis. I have never paid so much for gig tickets and, based on how I felt when we went to go and see Duran Duran at th eMEN arena three years ago, I knew I needed a comfy seat - sadly the back can't cope with continued standing in one spot these days.

Combined with the beginings of an exhaustion migraine which resulted from sleeping for over 12 hours the night/morning before, I wasn't expected value for money.

Oh boy was I wrong. It was brilliant.

And A and I weren't the oldest swingers in town, by any stretch of the imagination. With the exception of a couple of 10 year olds, we were quite a bit younger than most of the rest of the audience. Funny sights included the most miserable pair of old gits I've ever seen attend a gig - they never stood up, clapped, sang, cheered - £65 is a hell of a lot of money to pay to be miserable, that's all I can say. Also spotted was a couple in matching padded country jackets (not barbours, but a style much associated with country ladies d'un certain age in both Oxfordshire and Chesire) who loved it but left about half-way through and a lovely lady of approximately 60, jiving away in her twinset and pearls clutching a cup of tea.

We saw Genesis 15 years ago at Roundhey Park, when they were promoting their last studio album with Phil Collins. Then they played stuff primarily from the 80s and the We Can't Dance album, but last week they played LOADS of early stuff. Class. I never thought I'd have the opportunties to hear Carpet Crawlers live. OK, it wasn't Gabriel, but it's still a stunner of a song...

Soundtrack: Abacab - Genesis; Mardy Bum - Arctic Monkeys; Making History - Clear; Debaser - The Pixies

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Haven't blogged this before, but now seems about right. L, mother of the gorgeous Anna has decided not to return to work. I have missed her this year, more than she could possibly know, which is mad in a way as we had only worked together for a year. But that's how it goes.

On the plus side however, K returned to work this week - hurrah! She looks better than any mother of a 5 month old baby has a right to, but I'll forgive her. Stand us side by side and the excess weight and bags under the eyes make it look like I'm Bruce's mum...