Being inspired is just seeing things differently

We spent the weekend on the Isle of Wight which we love-quiet, slow and sunny and we didn't see a Starbucks or a Weatherspoons all weekend. The thing about being away is you have the space to really look at the world around you. Doing the City and Guilds course with the wonderful Loraine McClean is that I am begining to understand that design is not necessarily about thinking up brilliant things but also seeing brilliant things around you and using them in your work. I really liked the colours in this rusty container I saw and the juxtaposition of these boats on the shore. When I saw this cliff face at the Needles I saw lace knitting-should I worry?

The husband does incredibly complexcomputer stuff for a living and compensates by refusing to read instructions in his spare time. This is a middle class Jewish boy version of macho behaviour. This is why it took years for him to grasp the concept of his IPod "What's my library?" "Playlist?" He now has completely got it and is obessing about playlists. But he has no fun music-no 'Sugar Sugar' by the Archies, no Motown, no Dolly. Essentially music to bop to whilst washing the floor or cleaning the kitchen.....but wait why would he need music to mop to he wouldn't know what a bloody mop was for!

He has kindly offered me the chance to use his download service and make my own playlist-however we will put it on in the car and after 2 tracks he will look like he is in the process of root canal surgery and we will have to turn it off and go back to male jazz wank.

We went to the most beautiful garden run by the National Trust. We got there before it opened and found ourselves waiting amongst a gaggle of other middle age couples-is this what we have become-I was somewhat cheered by the sight of the husband bending over obsessively looking for butterflies and bugs to photograph when he gets his new groovy camera which is currently still a fantasy. The Guardian is too blame for this one with their handouts of insects 2 weeks ago.

May be we should have gone to Glastonbury after all.

knitting for others and M&S bras

Slipper's for my friends daughter who is going through teenage angst, (who would want to be 13 again?) and wanted some home made slippers. They were dyed with Kool Ade, it's very scary how good it is at dying yarn the stuff is.

Hannah's I Pod and Camera cover-some of her friends found these hillarious but she loves them.

Who needs cocaine when you can buy a new bra that fits my less than delicate bosom for £14 at Marks and Spencer. The woman who increased the size range of bras at M&S deserves a sea view in the world to come. It is amazing how great a new bra makes me feel-breasts defying gravity and posture remarkably improved-as I say who needs drugs.

I have decided that the reason I love my knitting group so much is that knitters are incredibly nice people. We all get really enthused about knitting for others. It is this generosity of spirit that is so nice to be around.

I have now worked out photos on my latest computer-the husband's reject. For some reason that are all entitled the 'Acestar Solutions VAT form' I would ask the husband to sort it out but this gives him too good an opportunity to be sarcastic.

He is in pre new I Pod mode. He took over a year to really get his I Pod that I lovingly bought for him but now he is really into it. He is making play lists and down loading music with gay abandon. He is also a little put out as the daughter's I Pod has 40 times the memory of his. I give it 6 months max before we happen to go past the Apple shop on the way to John Lewis for coffee and just happen to go in...

shopping and my lovely readers

This is so cool-I have readers in the USA and Israel (that's the daughter), thank you for reading-you are members of a small but growing band of tasteful people.
Anyway, shopping-me and the husband just do not do shopping. Clothes shopping is simply depressing most of the clothes I see, if they fit would look simply hideous and why oh why do manufacturers think women of my size want to wear polyester-manutacturers women who have a body bigger than a size 10 need fabric that breathes.
I have found a catalogue/on line retailer who does well fitting cotton clothes that are long and wide enough -last week I checked how much I have bought from them-it is embarrassing. I hope they do not see me as some sort of mad retail stalker.
Anyway today we had to buy various household things including tiles. The husband is amazing he looks completely miserable if he ever has to spend more than £50. The poor chap trying to sell him tiles ended up feeling sorry for him as he painfully hands over his credit card. He can even make Hannah feel guilty something I cannot do.
We are now shopped out and he is lying on the bed recovering. This pain of shopping somehow dissipates in DIY stores and for some bizarre reason stationary shops weird but true. He actually gets all quivery at Staples.
My reaction to a good charity shop is to embrassing to be anything else but private

Life changes

It is looking really hopeful for my new job working in an Orthodox school doing one to one. Less status but less stress and more job satisfaction-although I was inevitably incredibly busy as a social worker I very often felt I was achieving essentially nil.
I am attempting let go-I must not tell my son to be careful with his money until he finds a job-that is up to him.
The daughter may be in a dodgy absorption centre on the outskirts of Tel Aviv with the majority of her property scattered around flats in Jerusalem but that is her problem and I have given her the scarf, jumper and blanket and now must accept whatever their fate is.
We have friends coming for Friday night and I am really looking forward to it. I realise I should invite more often cause it is so nice when I do. I wish the husband would give up the anti meat thing-I would love to simply roast a chicken.
Once again my work plans went down the toilet as I faced the mountain of ironing that accumulated-it is so annoying ironing is even more revolting in summer but you end up changing more often and doing more.
Discipline is needed.

Time management melt down

Tuesday morning is the time to work on my course work for the City and Guilds Knitting Design course. I know this is so as it is written into my weekly timetable. However it is now 11.32 am and I have managed to fill the morning booking British gas, ordering groceries, and a whole range of other quick to dos. I am weak and undisciplined! It is amazing how easy it is to while away time.
The discussion has been had with the son who took his impending financial responsibility really well. I am pleasantly surprised.
I now have 2 episodes of the West Wing to go and will probably go into some sort of withdrawl-I will resist the tempation to rent another series-it is a gold medal time waster and even puts emails to shame.
Work calls!

Big needles

Does anyone else have the need to occasionally get out the BIG needles? 12 rows and the band is done love it love it. I am making a bat wing jumper for Hannah's friend Ruthie. Hannah wants a specific pattern with a list of subtle though mathematically challenging changes in a specific yarn that does not quite match the pattern anyway. Ruthie pointed to a pattern said 'that one' and had a range of acceptable yarns. The bat wing is done in 2 pieces, front and back. So easy. A bit of easy knitting and my current obsession with watching the DVDs of the final series of the West Wing is keeping me sane while:
the husband threatens to buy a digital SLR to run around fields attempting to photograph butterflies. No chance of persuading him that yarn stores of the nation is a much more interesting topic.
The son has his final A level exam on Monday and has reguarly looked horribly stoned in the last 2 weeks. We intend making the July allowance his last-he is blissfully unaware that adult life beckons. We will announce this when he finishes exams.
The daughter got to Israel to find the UJIA had not booked her into an absorption centre and she is on the couch at a friend's flat-essentially homeless, 19 and overseas. She tells me that it is sunny and beautiful so thats OK then.
I say thank god for the comfort of the occasional 10mm needle project.

How to get over 100kg of luggage on to a plane and other life skills

Yes the daughter left home yesterday. She was a little deranged by the time we got to Heathrow which is apparently incredibly useful when checking in luggage. The allowance for Olem is 60 kilos. The first of her three bags was 50kg and they did not even question her. However this being El Al bags are x-rayed prior to check in and she was asked why she had china and a sewing machine in her bags. She was being met at the Airport by 2 friends and a friend's boyfriend who was roped in to help with the baggage-poor bloke.
Hannah told us that she would not cope if we fell apart and we managed to be remarkably calm` Having a really nice though airport priced lunch-it only got difficult at passport control where of course we met another family we know on their way to Israel. Hannah briefly asked if we would be able to come through with her but I figured even 2 Margoli women would not get away with that one. At the last minute she pushed a lovely letter she had written to both of us. Made me feel we have done ok by this child.
I spent last night with West Wing DVDs (my local Blockbusters being unbelievable cretins did not have "The Peep Show") and chocolate ice cream. I did not even knit. I believe the occasional night of complete sloth and nutritional kamakaze has great therapeutic value.
I do not worry too much about this child (her brother I worry). We bought her a camera from Argos-well her father paid and I ran around. It only took 5 photos before saying the memory was full. It turns out that cameras from Argos are sold without a memory card and you have to buy it separately. Apparently it says so on the web site and in the catalogue, however as we did not use a magnifying glass to read the web site we missed this piece of vital information. Hannah told the manager she knew she had no legal rights in this case but that she was very upset and should have gone to a reputable retailer like John Lewis. The thing is once she gets going SHE DOES NOT STOP. The manager offered her the memory card half price at £10, although it was not due to be sold at that price till next week. This almost stopped the torrent gushing from my daughters mouth but not quite so he gave her a £5 voucher that bought the price down to a fiver. She is good.
Back home her room is now my knitting space-all rearranged, tidy and actually dusted-not Hannah's forte. The spare room awaits knitters called to London

Gulp

The daughter could be making Aliyah (moving to Israel) in 8 days. I am in complete denial-I will be back to living with my cave dwelling husband and son. I am now on the waiting list for revellry which I hope will help. Hannah did child from hell from 12 to 16 inclusively and I now look back and laugh-it is amazing how time changes your perspective.
example-seeing my 14 year old storming down the road going to school in her huge clumpy shoes and long black coat looking like a skinny adolescent Darth Vader.
-tragic at the time as she was well into achieving most challenging pupil status at her incredibly hard to get into grammer school
Both my kids are incredibly stubborn and independant and very principled in their own way. I am grateful and proud as I do not think I would have coped with wimps. Hannah and the IDF will be interesting to watch.
This means I do get my knitting room back so not all bad!

The daughter is forgiven and hard core organisation

Knitting Organisation
I realised I have a huge amount of great patterns and other bits of knitting information. However I find it difficult to go through the piles of patterns and the magazines. So I am biting the bullet and making up folders, womens patterns in one place, socks another etc (so many sock patterns. How? Why?)
It is all taking much more time that I ever realised but I feel suitably noble.
Hannah has found her bag!
It was in the back of a cupboard at her work. Talking of bags we went to Sex and the City on Sat night. The theatre was full with about 10 men of which 2 looked heteroexual. Great fun, brainless and partly an extended advertiement for over priced hand bags but till enjoyable. Anyway who wants deep and meaningful all the time.
I then vaguely rediscovered youthful pursuits by escorting my child for Tapas and Sangria in Camden Town. I am amazed how many young women look completely and utterly miserable on their big night out. One feels like going up to them and recommending birkenstocks, tea and a good book. I am perfectly willing to run anyone's life who will let me and do the matchmaking