February.... ing

It is time for another ... ing post. February is galloping past and I already feel the pull of spring although I am sure there will be some more really cold days in between now and then. Richard, James, Alistair and Jack are away for a three day adventure and it is very quiet in the house with just two teenager for company. Quiet and tidy!

Swatching for a new jumper. I have enough yarn for two jumpers exactly. Both are fingering weight so more knitting with small needles... I was careful to get the gauge right for once because my last knitted jumper has never been worn. A combination of sloppy swatching and not quite reading the fitting instructions resulted in a gorgeous but too small jumper.... I was deluding myself it would work out ok all the way to cast off but of course it didn't.

Feeling happy with Alistair's current enthusiasm for reading. I remembered the other day that Sam used to really really love a series of books called Warrior Cats and I suggested to Alistair to read the first one when he was looking for "something to do". We read the prologue of book one together and he was instantly hooked. He was disappointed that we don't have the full series on our shelves but Kindle purchases are cheap and instant and all was good. On Friday evening, it was just the two of us. I had to work unfortunately and left Alistair to do "whatever he felt like" (within reason), assuming he would spend the two hours playing the Switch. When I finished, I found him curled up in front of the fire, reading. I felt surprisingly choked up.

Listening to "The Humans" by Matt Haig and to "Purple Hibiscus" by.... I am taking turns because I find Purple Hibiscus quite a challenging text and I need something a bit more lighthearted to balance things out.

Thinking about our summer holiday. Richard gets easily bored and would ideally like to bring work on holiday but I am not keen he does. Annie wants to do something "a bit different", but so far her suggestions are prohibitively expensive. James and Alistair are happy wherever we take them as long as there is an outdoor pool.

Looking at new coffee machines. Our current one makes lukewarm espresso without crema, which is not pleasant to drink. It is about 20 years old and Richard has already fixed it a number of times. Sam wants a bean to cup machine with lots of buttons and dials but Richard and I prefer something simple and small.

Feeling pleased to see Annie after her two day Scout subzero camp. It was not below zero but if you live in the West of Scotland, you'll know that the gale force winds were quite something. I worried rather more than necessary on Friday night because I could literally feel the house vibrate in the wind and I imagined being in a tent was not much fun and quite possibly not safe either. As it turned out, she had a good time and came back with a healthy glow on her cheeks.

Enjoying a (long) walk to the most local yarn shop in Sam's company. I needed a 3.25 mm interchangeable needle set. We stopped at the Northstar Cafe for coffee and cannoli. I told Sam that Richard and I used to go there when he was a tiny baby. It is quite unbelievable really that he is now a proper grown-up.

Casting on the first of two jumpers. I found the Matilda pattern on Ravelry.

Sewing ice cream soda blocks, one at a time and loving it.

Finding out that there is funding for another two years of work for me and hoping nothing goes wrong in between now and the end of my contract. Last time I was in this situation I ended up being made redundant, which was not fun.

Ordering school uniform items for the first time in about seven years and hopefully for the last time. We have been able to recycle all school clothes for James and Alistair from Annie and Sam but somehow, the largest polo shirts have gone missing and James has taken an unexpected stretch.

Looking forward to two days off next week!

Thanks for stopping by and saying hello. It is lovely to see new commenters here on the blog. Welcome to this small corner of the internet.