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

Comments

  1. That is a fantastic sock haul, I don't think you need any more socks anyway. I am hoping to master the DPN's this year. Happy weekend. Jo x

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  2. Good luck on the job front - I finally got a permanent job in November (after my year of no job, just a bit of supply work). It took me 3 attempts to get my place on teacher training as here and when I applied, it was 10 applicants per place. So frustrating. Then when I did finally get my place - on a new course - it was a total disaster with so many people quitting it nationwide - me included - and I wished I'd never got the place at all. Still, it's all working now at last!

    I'm not doing any sort of diets or decluttering or resolutions either. Life as normal for me! I also need to lose a few pounds, but I'm just trying to make better choices, eat slightly smaller portions and be more active - life is too short to give up the tasty foods!

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  3. I am only eating healthier and taking care due to ill health otherwise my attitude would be similar to your own. Good luck either getting a permanent job or getting a place teacher training, you might be one of the lucky ones. The news here is showing all sorts of weather problems in Scotland particularly damaging winds so fingers crossed all is well.

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  4. Hello! I love all your socks, but I think my favourite ones are the plain grey ones, I think probably because they look dense and cosy. I like the brown ones too. Our trampoline has been making its way round the garden, it's now impaled on the whirlygig, so I gues it can stay there for a while. It was recycling day here too on Friday and there was indeed many pieces of paper and card flying round the streets. More similarities: we have a gas fire, sometimes I hanker after a log burners, but as you say, the convienience of a gas fire is such an advantage, and it does the job. No resolutions here either, I don't think January is a good time for those! Better wait till the Spring.And another thing, the dark mornings seemed very noticeable this year, this was an interesting article ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-30549149 ). Sorry for the long comment, I should just have written my own blog post, mostly copying yours, apart from the lovely socks!

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  5. Lovely sock collage. I haven't taken any photographs recently either, the light inside is atrocious, and I don't want to take my camera outside in this wet weather! Note to self: take lots and lots of photographs next spring and summer to use during the winter. Funny you should mention log burning stoves; I have been daydreaming about having one, but like you, enjoy the convenience and warmth of the gas fire. X

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  6. We have had serious wind here too in Wales but not as much as you have further north. Hope it has dropped now. The wind makes our woodburner eat wood, no matter how you turn it down. Not a problem with gas!

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  7. Your socks are all so beautiful. You're really talented. I haven't been taking as many photos lately but I'm chalking it up to finally getting the hang of all the camera settings so I tend not to need to take millions of photos of the same item anymore. Not that I'm so good, mind you, just not as clueless about the settings. :) Your trip to IKEA sounds great, I'm envious of your easy access to one of their stores!

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  8. We really have been lucky here. Some of the local trampolines have gone on their travels though!

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  9. Your post has cheered me up, Christina. January is grim, isn't it, and not the time to give up on the odd glass of wine. I did this on January a couple of years ago and was miserable so now am trying just a bit more moderation and healthy eating instead of diet. Hot cross buns, our treat of the week, can't be that bad. Sock envy as usual - knitting a pair is one of my aims for the year.

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  10. I've not made any resolutions but have just been trying to move more and try and eat sensibly. The idea of a diet doesn't appeal at all - the moment I try and deny myself something, I just want it more. We're going out to lunch shortly with friends and I'm blowed if I'm ordering a salad!! We've had high winds here too but luckily nothing's been damaged. The socks look fab xx

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  11. Welcome January with your greyness, the wet, the storms funny how they always arrive on recycling day isn't it? We have had a flurry of snow but it has been dissolved by rain. Thank you for your lovely colourful post I needed it to brighten my weekend, hope you had a good one ;)

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  12. So lovely to see all of your socks from the year together! They look so great. I hope that whatever the year brings work, training and crafting wise it is all good and that you enjoy it. No resolutions, words, mottoes or challenges or diets for me either. Just keeping going and doing little things and concentrating on enjoying life and being alive more than anything else! xx

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  13. Lots and lots going on in everyday life isn't there? We have been chilly here, but sunny so that is nice. I love your sock pictures, you stuck it out with your sock goal last year which is very impressive. I need to lose a few pounds, exercise more, eat better and take better care of myself. But those are my thoughts everyday not just at the beginning of the New Year. Today my goal is to knit and crochet one more block for my blanket.

    Hugs to you,
    Meredith

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  14. I agree with you about how miserable it is to be sweating and cold at the same time. I love you sock photo collage! I laughed when I saw it because I recognize one of the yarns - Mind the Gap - as I have a pair of socks knit with it as well.

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  15. Love your socks, I can't knit only crochet, too clumsy to handle 2 needles. No resolutions here, just keep doing what is good for us. I keep remembering the line from the movie "Quartet" when the doctor at the old folks home wants people to quit smoking and Billy Connolly says " ....why? So they can live 5 days longer and then it'll probably rain.' So we just try to enjoy each day.

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  16. I like the brightly colored striped sock the best! I have never been to an Ikea - I had no idea that people go there just to eat dinner! Major props to you for riding your bike in the winter - my husband starts up school again tomorrow and so will be back on his bike. Though if it is 15 F like this morning, I may be nice and drive him.

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  17. I'm loving your hand knitted socks, such great colours! We lost the cover for our paper recycling bin in the storm. At least that was the only thing that was blown away. The winds were so strong, it could've been worse..We're not keen on diets either; just trying to eat sensibly,& cook food from scratch as often as possible. Exercise is walking up and down the hilly streets around here...Have a good week, and thanks again for visiting my blog. x

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  18. Hey Christina,
    I'm wearing your socks at this moment! I haven't taken any decent pics for a while because the weather is awful. I am hoping to get some wild seas this week though. I love random posts like this. Bad luck on the teacher training, but bravo on eating chocolate in January. I'm afraid I've joined the rank and file of abstinence, and I am hating every minute of it.
    Leanne xx

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  19. doing as little housework as possible, and eating cinnamon buns sounds like the perfect January to me x

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  20. I don't think our weather is quite as bad as yours. We're supposed to be getting snow later today but I'm not sure it will materialise at all. I'm with you as far as no new year's resolutions. Yes, I would love to lose weight but it will be gradual and I have no set time or amount for it. Any weight lost any time will be a bonus! I'm crocheting a straight Granny blanket while I trravel to and from work - necessary to be simple even if it is boring.

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Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

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