Winter wonderland and IT frustration

I make a habit of going into the West End every December to see the Christmas decorations. I figure that even though it is not my festival I might as well enjoy the transformation of the West end. After all the windows and decorations must cost a fortune and it is free to enjoy. Anyway I always end my Winterwonderland Tour at Trafalgar Square. Every year the people of Norway donate a Christmas tree in honour of the role the British military played in WW2. I think this is quite lovely and when I got there Lubavitch of Hendon had a Channukah Menorah in the Square-how cool.

Summary of decorations

Harrods- Wonderful I still can't work out how to place my pictures in the middle of the text but it is above. All based on Peter Pan

Fortnum and Mason-Sort of 3 d famous painting reproductions -may as well buy a tacky chocolate box and be domne with it.

Liberties-Big black and red thing with flowers too sylish and somewhat boring

Selfridges-Bit tacky-Katie Price as Christmas decorations

The street lights were great

This not being able to place my photos in the middle of my blog is not my only challenge, I tried to upload photos from my new phone and could not do it? Anyone know how to get photos from an HTC Smart to a computer-all hints gratefully accepted

Israel

I spent 10 days at Kibbutz Degana Aleph on the outskirts of Tiberius where my daughter now lives. (She is now based at the Army Base in Tiberius.) Tiberius is 200 m below sea level and is extremely hot. Yesterday to the relief of everyone it finally rained. There is a green hue for about 3 metres from the shoreline of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee). This is the area that was under water last year. Water conservation is a real issue in Israel. As a knitter it was amazing the bright light somewhat softened by the shorter days and the dryness of the environment .

The above photos were taken in and around the kibbutz and to me say knitting design.

It was an amazing trip Hannah was in a car at 5.30am to get to work on time from Baram and it is now a 15 minute bus ride. She is living in a old apartment building where all the tenants are young people. They all eat salad for breakfast and seem to have more of a lust for life than is the norm in England.

Back to my knitting design course

Thanks to the support of my lovely husband I am now back on my City and Guilds Knitting Design course. I feel really happy about this. I am going to Israel and am now thinking about taking a load of photos to use for design inspiration-the colours and textures of the Israeli landscape are so different to here.

I felt really sad when I gave this course up but Social Work left me drained and I was only capable of the most simple knitting. This is actually a dream come true.

coming out as a baker

I was liberated last weekend. I decided that my minimal Shabbat observance could decline even further as I wanted to watch the All Blacks. My friend who has Sky agreed to host in return for homemade muffins. Cranberry and banana muffins and chocolate brownies were duly baked. However other friends were also invited and my friends wife did not want these drunken blokes hanging around their home and I was called to say we were now meeting at the function room in a local pub. This is how I found myself with tupperware boxes full of baking in a room full of blokes. I felt really embarrassed and like some sort of walking stereotype. Then I thought I don't care I am a stereotype and baking is not a bad thing. Once they all got over their shock the baking went down really well. All these blokes obsessively kept track of football games as they watched the rugby. Do these men have no idea of just how important All Black games are and what do they obsess over for the few weeks they do not play football in summer?

I have by writing kept up my weekly write-if not slightly late. My knitting/crochet angst-when will the 140 squares in my blanket be finished-I am getting a tad bored and what do I take to knit to Israel next week-it is 30C in Jerusalem today and apparently even hotter in Tiberius where I will be staying with my daughter

Looking

I worked with a client on Sunday to sort out her room and I realised there is a link between knitting and my Lifestyle management business and that is looking. I work with clients to stop and really look at that room/wardrobe/office and think about how they want it to be and then we get on and do it. Good knitting is also about looking-how is that knitting on my needles? Is it what I really want-I now believe good knitters are often the knitters prepared to start again as many times as it takes to get knitting right.

I also walked to a friends house on Shabbat and made the decision to really look around me. I noticed a climbing plant with autumnal leaves that went from red to green across the plant-against the dark grey of the wet concrete it looked amazing and I saw amazing jumpers and blankets in my mind-it is about taking that time to see. I have made a decision to go and see art once a week in this time of minimal employment.

Tomorrow I want to see the London Underground designs and cameraless photography at the V&A and also to visit WhiteCube in Hoxton

more on this later....

Hats

At the risk of sounding over organised (well at least I can make use of this slightly weird aspect of my nature by turning it into a business) I went through my knitting records since 2006-a scary amount of socks and I do not even see myself as a sock knitter and 20 hats. But none for myself-I found myself needing to wear a hat to keep warm to go out one evening and my options were a New Zealand Possum beanie-great for hiking or skiing or a acrylic pink hat I bought in Jerusalem. That sounds great but the hat definitely isn't. How ridiculous. So my knitting pile got put aside to make 2 hats. I would include photos except I do not know how to get photos from my new phone yet. I struggle in an humiliating old lady way with these modern phones.

I like to knit one project at a time but I am weak So on the needles are:

-the Elizabeth Zimmerman Surprise Jacket-weird scary knitting in the extreme that I started out of curiosity and now struggle to stay curious about.

-the sock wool cushion cover-I am a little tired of those tiny stitches

-a big scarf I decided would go well with the fine black wool top I am yet to buy

-socks that have been a bus project for months and owing to London traffic jams are going really well.

-and my crocheted blanket that goes really well. The colour scheme came from a trip to the V & A. I aim to have one item on the needles by December

I have an acylic hat and photos

This is the lovely wool for my new bed cover-so far I have managed 2 rounds of the first crocheted square. I have difficulty facing the fact that it really is not happening. The pink walls and yellow dressing table are remnants of my daughter's teen years which I am really rather fond of.

This is part of the reason for the delay.This scarf and hat is for Becka a truly fabulous friend of my daughter who is gloriously loud and American. I adore her. She asked me to make her a scarf and hat. This is made from strands of machine knitting yarn I inherited when my friends mother died. I really like inheriting stuff that was valued and no one wants anymore and giving it a second life. I like the idea of this yarn from an attic in Kenton will now be around the neck of a young woman in Jerusalem.

Even more this makes me think about Nick Hornby's 'About a Boy' (trust me this will make sense) In this book Marcus, the boy, talks about how it used to only be him and his Mum and that we all need a circle of friends. People come and go from our circle and that's OK. Knitting is a wonderful way to be part of someones circle. What better way to tell a 22 year old that this 51 year old thinks she is pretty darn special.

This is the next cushion cover for the much beloved couch below. Sock wool is great for cushions covers. Also so much of this yarn is too nice to be hidden in my boots all winter.

This is the perfect knitting couch. It has it's own DAB radio and a floor to ceiling window looking out on the back garden. It is perfect on a cold rainy day with Radio 4 and a blanket. This was the cat's all time favourite place.

Anyway time to iron, Tesco order and rewrite my pitch and then when I have used up all avoidance options attempt a web site

Cat died, new job and knitting neurosis

I'm back. I went back to Social Work-bad bad idea and lost the plot to do anything. My G.P and I now agree that it is time to move on. As part of that I want to blog regularly and ask any readers who find this to haunt my dreams if I do not get to this blog weekly.

First the cat as this leads on to my second point. Izzy the most neurotic unfriendly 17 year old cat had to be put down on Sunday and my God do I miss her. We have had pets the last 20 years and the house seems very empty. I keep looking for her on the stairs in the morning and wondering where her food bowl has gone. Towards the end she was very messy. I cleaned the couches and cushions and Clive cleaned the vomit and poo on the floor. Now she has gone the 2 handmade cushions are back on my scruffy old couch in the backroom-the one designed for knitting. However 2 of the cushions need knitted cushion covers and I bought lovely cheap Texere yarn for a bed blanket. WHAT DO I DO FIRST? Why would I never even consider buying covers or a blanket.

Sadly I cannot knit all day and do need to make an income. I have decided to go with what I do well-that is being over organised.I have helped friends to sort out paperwork, edit and sort their wardrobe and arrange kitchens. I am now building this up as a business. I made this decision 2 weeks ago and already have 2 definite bookings and 3 more in discussion. I call it lifestyle management and will do all the jobs people do not have time to do from booking workmen to organising filing systems. I am about to enter the world of websites and business cards. I have a lovely sense of calm excitement about this one.

Are you all enjoying the leaf rain of Autumn? I saw brown and gold leaves on the dark grey pavement last night and sadly thought -I could knit that.

I am using my husband's computer to do this and he will feel really annoyed if I add photos to it so I will log off now and add photos next time