A weekend away

In all the excitement of William's arrival I didn't get around to posting about our weekend on the Bellarine Peninsula.

We stayed at a B&B in Wallington where the hostess was a little perplexed at our arrival. Despite having paid a deposit in December there was no booking for us. It eventually transpired that she had us booked in for another weekend. And was fully booked that weekend. Fortunately she was able to find somewhere else for another guest and we had somewhere to sleep.

The next day was cold, wet and blustery. We drove to Queenscliff for coffee and then on to Point Lonsdale to explore. Despite the weather it was a very pleasant drive around. I really liked the feel of the area and we spent a few hours poking around book shops. We went to the JAck rabbit Vineyard for lunch. Good food, great wine and a stunnung view across the bay of the from Geelong, the You Yangs to Melbourne.

That evening we returned to Barwon Heads for dinner. Barwon Heads is where Seachange was filmed and we had dinner at a restaurant attached to the Shack

The next day it was back to Melbourne for work and then home to Sydney. A great weekend though and a beautiful part of the world.

What do non-knitters do?

I've had a few aches in my thumb for a while now. I put it down to getting older and ignored it. On Monday afternoon though it got significantly worse and I could hardly move my hand at all. I went to see my physio the next day. A lovely man who was very pleased to see me. Hardly surprising as I have made a significant contribution to his retirement fund over the last six months.

It turns out that I have some sort of (unspecified) problem which may or may not be connected with previous tennis elbow / neck and shoulder problems. The immediate course of action is to rest the hand which means NO KNITTING for two weeks. I stamped my foot and pouted. Doesn't he realise I have a grandson arriving in three weeks? A grandson who will be sans handknitted (by me) garments? OK so he won't remember that, but I will. As my son and daughter in law live on the other side of the world this is the only way that I can feel even slightly involved with the Great Event and so I am feeling sort of bereft.

And of course the other problem is what do I do instead? How do you watch television without knitting? How do you pass bus and plane trips? What DO non-knitters do?

November roundup - late, as usual

So another month has come and gone. I was quite convinced that December was another six weeks away at least but no, here it is with all the attendant festive hoo-ha.

There has been knitting in November - another Damson, Feast for your Feet socks finished and sundry other projects started and, in some cases, finished. I can't show you because I still haven't replaced the lost camera. There has also been quite a lot of yarn acquisition. Well, if I'm going on a strict yarn diet next year then I need to be prepared. I can't show the yarn in because I still haven't replaced etc. etc. But there has been Wollmeise and some Knitabulous yarn.

I though you might like to see my brother's house. He lives not very many miles outside of London. This was the scene he woke to last week.

The cars are indeed Porsches. He lives next door to a Porsche dealer

How to get a flight to run on time

Earlier this month I took six flights in six days. Every flight - bar one - had problems including flight and baggage delays. One flight departure was delayed two hours! However, the last flight was problem free. We left on time with a minimum of hassle and arrived at the Sydney terminal over five minutes early!

I'm sure that it was purely coincidental that the airline CEO was on board.....

October Roundup

It's been a bit of an up and down month. Healthwise - definitely down. After an episode of excruciating tummy spasms it seems I have diverticulitis. I also managed to sprain my ankle which has been a nuisance and interfered with the physio I was having for my knee (same leg). I am now seeing a dietitian, and have a referral to a gastroenterologist. I am a bit grumpy about the diet I will now have to follow even though I am grateful that it is a very manageable condition and it could have been a whole lot worse!

Work has been challenging. We are very busy preparing to move offices and three of my team were terminated for breaching just about every policy you can think of. Great timing!

Last weekend we flew to Adelaide for a wedding. The wedding was held at Currency Creek. It was a very pretty venue, the bride looked lovely and everyone had a great time but there was just a bit too much Celine Dion for my liking. I can't show you photos because the next day I lost my camera.

On the knitting front there have been some finished objects (photos on the aforementioned lost camera) and some yarn acquisition. So not a lot out and quite lot in. I will update when I either get a new camera or resuscitate my old camera.

Busted!

In the interests of complete disclosure, there was actually more yarn purchased than admitted to earlier. I have owned up to them on my stash page in Ravelry but here is more from last month:

And whilst I am thinking about designating 2011 knit from stash year, this obviously excludes any purchases that might be anticipated on an overseas trip and any yarn that might be required to knit things for my grandson-in-the-making.

Ins and outs

So - last month there were two finished projects - Damson in Knitabulous Fifty - fifty.

And Los Monos Locos (Crazy Monkeys) in Fyberspates Dream sock yarn:

There was some yarn purchased. This from Posh yarns - a silk wool blend for a summer top:

And a final shipment from the very excellent Needlefood:

Sadly, Michelle is taking a break from dyeing yarn so I had to grab some before she shut up shop. There may have been other yarn purchased. I have been updating my stash on Ravelry with a view to (possibly) declaring 2011 knit from stash year.

In the meantime, I am of the view that it would be criminal not to take advantage of the strong Aussie dollar - we'll never have it so good again!