When I'm bad, I'm very ....

I've been off work on leave for the past week and I reckon that holiday mood, and my anticipated return to the rat race, have had a very, very bad affect on my stashalong psyche ... How else do I explain these:o) The cardigan is to be knitted at some point in the Trendsetter Tonalita yarn. The colourway is called Old World Neutrals and will be glorious for the coming autumn (hark at me having bypassed Spring and Summer ... probably best to as I know my current knitting pace!).

The Louisa Harding Kimono Angora I have had naughty dreams about for ages and the current Clearance Sale at Angel Yarns gave me all the excuse I needed (http://www.angelyarns.com/new.php). I plan to turn these beauties into Sorrel eventually and have purchased the matching Kimona Ribbon to match each colourway. I'm not sure how it happened (yeh, well am pleading the 5th amendment to MrB on this one!) but another 4 balls of Kimono Angora fell into the shopping basket to make Celandine for DD1 and a bargainous ball of SWT Tofutsies sock yarn managed to wend its way in there too! Fingers crossed its all still in stock and that a lovely BIG parcel is winging its way to me at the beginning of the week:)

Busy, busy, busy...

It's been a hectic day at the Blethers household - and overall pretty productive. DD1 is in the process of switching from glasses to contact lenses. She obviously has a stronger constitution than her mother as I almost gag at the prospect of anything smaller than an elbow going near mine! She had ONE put in and we had to stoat around Cardiff for an hour to see how things went. We spent the time mooching around charity shops - DD1 got a brand new top but I had no luck in the yarn department:( After coffee, the one-lensed cyclops and I returned to the opticians to have the lens removed again. Interestingly, the optician is unclear if DD1 will be able to tolerate lenses as her anti-inflammatories affect her eyes, with some minor irritation already present.

From there, we headed off to the Business School, Cardiff University for their Open Day. DD1 has applied to 3 local Universities and has been offered provisional places with each. She has to make her final preferences by the end of this month ...

Hair do's came next... So, 2 well coiffured Bletherettes then headed off to B&Q to buy some jungle like foliage to replace the huge Yucca plant that TJ, the black cat, used as his own personal convenience and its now looking more than a little worse than wear! The plant, not the cat!

DD2 since we came back from Egypt last year has been begging for homemade Chicken Maryland which she is convinced is an ancient Egyptian feast, a favourite of the pharaohs:) Bless her, it must be given that she ate it in an authentic local restaurant in Luxor, eh?? Madam got her wish - so we are all now lounging around, full to the gunnels!

Something to look forward to tomorrow morning - yarn delivery!! Whoopee! I found a card saying that the postman had tried to deliver a parcel this morning but was unable to get a reply. The blooming postie plays games with the 3 dogs - waggling things temptingly through the letter box to get the 3 scruffy mongrols to bark like the Hounds of the Baskervilles!! Anyway, we had ignored their pathetic 'Wuff' this morning as it didn't sound nearly loud enough to indicate postman games... BUT there is some beautiful Yorkshire Tweed Aran in Wild Plum from Janette's Rare Yarns (http://stores.ebay.com/Jannettes-Rare-Yarns) waiting to be collected from the depot in the morning. Have now to confess to DD1 that I managed to get outbid on eBay for a secondhand rat cage ... which sold for £2.70! Oh, the responsibility of having failed and have left her 2 rats living in overcrowded circumstances ... Better practice with the eBay trigger finger tonight!

It's official - I'm regal!

You are The Empress

Beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, luxury, dissipation.

The Empress is associated with Venus, the feminine planet, so it represents,
beauty, charm, pleasure, luxury, and delight. You may be good at home
decorating, art or anything to do with making things beautiful.

The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born. This is why her symbol is Venus, goddess of beautiful things as well as love. Even so, the Empress is more Demeter, goddess of abundance, then sensual Venus. She is the giver of Earthly gifts, yet at the same time, she can, in anger withhold, as Demeter did when her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped. In fury and grief, she kept the Earth barren till her child was returned to her.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I found this meme on Gilraen's blog (thank you!) and decided to have a go! What a boost to self esteem - I'm an empress! Wonder if that will make the kids listen more to my powerful words?? I can live in hope ... but am not holding my breath!

'Global' blethering!

Progressing ok with the Flickering Flames sock ... nearly down one as just have the toe to graft. DD1 didn't want the pattern to carry over the foot, which is a shame but certainly easier knitting!! I love the way the pattern develops and it works really well with this shade of yarn (Diploma Gold 4ply).

Talking of DD1, she subjected me to a tad of role reversal this past week. She texted me to say she'd booked appointments at the opticians for the entire Blether's gang:) Next, she'll be telling me to eat my greens ... wear a vest ... get enough sleep ...

Cruft's has been on TV this weekend and we've had a great time watching it. Well, more accurately, a great time watching Isla (the pup) watching her canine companions!! She sits at the end of our bed, glued to the 37" screen and we were convinced she was going to launch herself at the TV during the Flyball scenes ... If only she were as conscientious during the Obedience sets!!

I put a counter on my blog recently in attempt to reduce my technology phobia! What intriguing results! In the space of just over 10 days, I've become 'global' ... with visitors (by design or cyber error) from the UK, America, Australia, Sweden, Canada, Norway, Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland and Portugal!! Please feel free to say hello! I feel really humbled (and a tadge embarrassed!) that my blethering has been seen by so many and really must lead a more blog-worthy life:)

The flames are fanned...

Flickering Flames (pattern by Black Dog Knits, http://designsbyblackdog.blogspot.com/) is already on the needles as March's sock-a-month. As already mentioned (ok, mega-moaned/ranted about), all my knitting projects as fairly restricted until my dissertation is submitted. For that reason, and so that I retain sock-sanity, I plan to try to learn new techniques whilst producing each month's entry. This month's mini learning experience has been picot edging, which tops these socks. A word to the wise, especially if you knit to a fairly tight tension, metal pointy dpn's are a must when attempting to join the fold! Take it from the daftie that attempted it on beautiful, but bluntish, bamboo's... trying to knit the stitch on the needle with its original cast on was similar to knitting with 2 rolling pins:( The pattern is lovely and comprises of a fairly straightforward repeat. And the flames are now flickering ...

This Friday, I went out with friends for a meal to a Mongolian restaurant in Taff's Well - a small village on the outskirts of Cardiff. Now, for the life of me, I can't quite work out what the connection with South Wales and Genghis Khan is???? Honestly, I don't think I slept through the history lesson at school which explained any such link??? If anyone knows, please share! Regardless, what a fantastic meal! (Thank you, Anchor pub and Mongolian restaurant)