Saturday randoms

Whilst everybody around me seems to be in a January declutter and diet mode, quietly suffering from alcohol withdrawal I am doing my usual thing: do as little housework I can get away with, eat more or less what I like and enjoy a glass of wine now and then. I have not made any New Years resolutions and I am not choosing a motto for the year. I have just licked my fingers clean of sticky cinnamon bun which I bought at Ikea earlier. I do need to loose weight of course but there is no point suffering unnecessarily and go cold turkey for a couple of weeks and then start woolfing food down again like there is no tomorrow. I am considering it a good day if I don't binge on a loaf of bread or a box of chocolates. 

After a long walk in the swamps this morning, lashed by rain, ice, snow and winds I was too lazy to make lunch and we decided to head over the Clyde to Ikea for a plate full of meatballs. The children love going out for food and Ikea is a favourite because it is cheap and cheerful and it is ok to be boisterous and slurp coca cola through a straw without drawing the attention of a waiter or the other eaters. We tested sofas just for fun and bought only two things in the big shop, an umbrella and one of those sticky roller things that is useful to remove cat hair from clothes. The children tried all the free samples in the food shop (pudding) and we bought coffee and frozen buns for later.

It has been rather stormy lately and I am glad Richard bolted our trampoline to the ground and removed the netting in autumn. Our neighbours trampoline is not where it used to be. There are quite a few roof slates scattered around the house and lots of recycling flying through the streets because it was recycling collection day when the storm was at its worst. We forgot to take our wheelie bin down but at least it has not been turned over in the winds. I don't think I have been properly warm since Tuesday because I cycle to work and walk the dog in all weather. It is terribly cumbersome to wear waterproofs for cycling but essential at the moment. When I get to work it is like peeling a (sweaty) onion. Sweating and being cold at the same time is unpleasant. I noticed on my walks that the daffodils are poking their shoots out of muddy soils and I bet it will be only a short while until the snowdrops start flowering. The days are getting longer in the evening, which is nice. Isn't it funny how after the shortest day the mornings continue to get darker for a while before the tide turns and the daylight starts sooner, too? I have to cycle the long way along the canal at the moment, rather than taking the short route through the woods because it is too dark just now when I go to work.

I haven't taken a single photograph for over a week. It has been too wet to take the camera outside and too gloomy to take photos inside. So, to add a bit of colour to this rambling unstructured post I have made a collage of all twelve pairs of socks I knitted last year. I don't think I am going to knit socks for a while now. I have knitted a hat which needs blocking so the lace pattern is more noticeable. I have been working on Annie's ripple crochet blanket most evenings. It is excessively boring and I hope I will finish sooner than later. I don't like the monotony of rows after rows of the same. I want to start knitting a blanket with my leftover sock wool. If you offered sock yarn leftovers to me, thank you, I will get in touch shortly. My idea is to knit squares of sorts, from the outside in I think and then knit the new squares on along the way. A bit like my hexagon blanket really, but square. There mustn't be a seam because if there is, I won't finish.

I am not sure what the new year will bring. Maybe I'll find a permanentish job. I looks like I am not going to start teacher training this year, there are just too many students who want to become science teachers and too few places to study. I have been interviewed for both my options but we have been told that they interview about three to four times as many candidates than they can offer a place to. That would be 25 places and 9 places respectively. Not that many considering students from all over Scotland apply. I have been turned down by my first choice already. Never mind. For the time being, I am enjoying my temporary post and I am pleased to contribute to the family budget for now.

The rain is battering against the windows again and it is time to put the fire on. I would love to have a wood stove and watch the flames licking the wood but the convenience of the gas fire is not to be underestimated, and it warms the living room, too. Have a lovely weekend. I hope the weather treats you better where you live! Cx