I've spent the day doing some very mundane tasks - a short Tesco shop, getting rid of Christmas day veggies that no one can face anymore, boiling up the turkey bones for soup tomorrow and emptying the bins...such is my exciting day!! I've been working away on my ripple blanket - it's still not looking right - I definitely lost count somewhere in row 1 and so subsequent rows were all askew - but hopefully I've sorted it...if I haven't I think I'll dismantle it (for the 3rd time) and think about a different blanket!!
Above is a shot of my Christmas berries. I bought these a long time ago, and every year when they emerge into the light, a little more paint has been lost and they're looking at little more tired - but as long as there are more berries than none I shall carry on hanging them off my dining room light!!
I also think of friends as the year draws to a close. My dear friend Zoe, who died two years ago, my aunt who died on Christmas day, my old friends, my work friends, my flickr friends, my new friends. Recently I re established contact with a very dear friend who I had met years ago when I was a Saturday girl at Laura Ashley, paying my way through university. She's had some success as as actress (she can be spotted in Bridget Jones and Sense & Sensibility!) and she and her house were featured in a glossy magazine; so I got in touch and she reminded me that despite all the years that have passed, there's too much history to ever forget our friendship.
And finally, back to decorations!! I've got to the stage where I want them to come down!!! - so, not a promise, but this may be the last of the decoration photos for this year!!
All my four are at their father's today - the eldest comes home tomorrow - she has A level exams in January and wants to revise. The younger three will return on New Year's Eve. Although I'm enjoying the peace and quiet, I do miss them - the days are always a little slower when they're not around.
Happy Birthday to Sally!! I work with Sally and a lot of the time wouldn't get through some of what I have to without having her to sound off at!! I work at an FE College as a literacy lecturer - and believe me, the acronyms, the paperwork, the evidence that we have to provide really does drive you potty. I was already getting my ALS muddled with my LSA's and at the end of term I suddenly discovered the new buzz word - ASL's!!!! - And this is just do with job titles - nothing to do with the students... directly... Can't show you what's in the present until Sally opens it -and I have a dreadful feeling she may already have been given it... But it looks sweet!!
I've started thinking about next year, what I would like to be different, how I can make things different. There are a lot of work changes coming up - I'm hoping for the better. Last term I had a 6 week secondment in a completely different role - and I've been led to understand that there may be some changes in my job role to put in place some of the work I was doing in the secondment. I've also been promised a place on a new higher education course - which would eventually lead my career down a different and quite exciting path - (think hotels and travel!!). But we shall see - the only thing that is a certainty in education is that change is constant.
In addition to my ripple blanket, I bought some Cathay wool in the John Lewis sale specifically for what I call, a 'handbag' project - no, not to make another bag, but a project that's small and so therefore easily transportable - so I can slip it in my bag and take it to work for during my lunch hour or the rare occasions when my students aren't in. It was such good value - about £2 a ball - alas, I would have bought hundreds -but the coffers are bare.
Thank you, Attic24, for reassuring my that my ripple blanket will come good!! Well, you asked to see the colours - but I couldn't manage to get a really realistic shot of the colours - the green here is slightly more green, and that pink is not quite so 'baby' pink. It's a mix of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK and Rowan pure wool DK - to be honest, as the blanket goes on, there will probably be more R than DB as the former is a whole £1 cheaper!! And I can already see that this blanket will need sooooooo much wool!! I want to introduce other colours into it - possibly some cyan toned blues..... Weather has got much colder here over the past couple of days. The water in my little raised town garden pond had completely frozen over - thank heavens I managed to remember to turn the fountain off a few days ago. I must remember to put some food in for the fish....
