Thursday, September 27, 2007

Home and Away

So, there is this person who has been complaining about how boring her recently completed knitting project was, and what does she do? Casts on the fingerless mitts in garter stitch from "One Skein", that's what.

There is a logic. I have some red yarn spun from a Lambspun roving that is a lovely cheerful bright red, just perfect for locating people sunk deep in to snow drifts, or several yards away down a blizzard swept deck. But there is not enough of it to make a complete and pukka pair of mittens. The mitts are quick, quick, quick. If I am not too ashamed to drag them out at Coven this evening, they will be done by tomorrow.

garter fingerless

I am alternating with doing interminable rows on the lace shawl and trying very hard to finish the Lorna's Laces socks. That yarn is pretty but very fine, they are taking forever.

Tomorrow, I am off to York for a beady afternoon with friends. It is supposed to be a class, but really, we simply choose one of the tutor's designs and do it. There is precious little learning involved, but the company is good, and it does get me beading. I'm not making the time to do it otherwise, which is a shame. Given that I like doing it, and have a not insignificant stash of beads......

Then the DSM comes over from Preston and we will stay the night, going on to Masham on Saturday. Even without animals again, that is as always something to relish. I'll try to take lots of photos Anyway, the socks go with me for the outing and hopefully will make some progress.

And.....when I am back, I will have confessions to display (can you display confessions?) Total indulgence, extravagance, whatever.

Now. This is the view at the moment from our bedroom window.

elder bush

When we bought this house nearly nineteen years ago, we very quickly fell into the habit of breakfast in bed because this room gets the most light - sunlight - and had a view. In the years since, an elder tree has grown up as have some other trees, and obscured the outlook pretty much in summer. But there are compensations. Elder is a bird magnet, and we have a constant wildlife programme playing out there. This morning, we had robins, chaffinches, great tits, blue tits and best of all, a black cap - these are quite secretive, and although we hear them, we rarely actually see them. There was also a greater spotted woodpecker on the telegraph pole just out of shot. On other days, we have had wrens, coal tits, wood pigeons, blackbirds and even the occasional bullfinch, whilst the pole has hosted tree creepers. Sometimes goldfinches and on the very, very odd time, goldcrests. It is somewhat like being in the canopy with them, and we feel it as a real privilege.

And finally. It has started. Yesterday morning, I made my breakfast and took it upstairs as usual. Ate a bite of toast. Went to take a swig of tea. And found that I had brought the milk jug upstairs.

And yes, my tea was in the fridge.

Ah, well.......

3 comments:

beadlizard said...

Oh, so many birds I've never heard of! I'll have to look them up. We have some of those here, and I imagine the others are cousins of ours. Do you have anything like our scrub jays? Blue and noisy and charismatic?

We have a tree obscuring our view of the GG Bridge, which is silly, but it also provides shade and we decided we'd rather be comfortable than mesmerized.

Anonymous said...

"not insignificant stash of beads". Choke.....

Missed you last night.

Anonymous said...

It must be very interesting to have such a variety of birds to watch-ours are all common or garden-although we do have a talented pigeon. For his (must be a male) party piece he throws a piece of bread in the air, catches it on his back and parades up and down in front of his mate.Also one day there was a great squawking and hullabaloo -a sparrow hawk had a blackbird in its clutches on the lawn.R went out and it took fright It flew away and the blackbird hopped off into the hedge seemingly unharmed.