The House

I've been in my house for 18 months now and I will admit that whilst some progress has been made....it's been slow and I want to get more done!

The kitchen hasn't made much progress in months although I have had the sink unit reinstalled and a door hung - how nice it is to have a kitchen door! 

The hall cupboard no longer has a door (that one was used for the kitchen) so I have had some shelfs installed and created a small coat hanging/shoe storage area. 

I started stripping all the doors so now I have semi stripped doors all over the house! 

Last weekend I bought some new towels and things for the bathroom.....so now I know that I want to paint it grey and white to replace the hideous mustard colour that the previous owner left.

I love the "Chalk Town" pattern from Marks and Spencer so much that I also bought bedding the same!

Little Pip Acorn Cap

A spot more knitting has been done! That's 2 finished projects already this month.

This was a lovely pattern to knit - it's Little Pip's Acorn Cap from Kyrie Mead over on Ravelry. I bought the pattern last year some time but this was the first time I knit it up. I used Artesano yarn - 50% wool, 50% alpaca in a lovely dark orange colour. It's size 18 months to 6 years and made for the same little girl that I made the owlet sweater for. 

5 Years ago

5 years ago I sat in the cusp of the blog world.....then I took a dive in....

I can't believe that this little space has lasted 5 years. I am sure when I started out with that first post on the 28th of January 2007 that I thought I might keep it up for a few months. But no, 5 years has passed and this space has continued to be my journal, allowing me to record my wanderings and all the woollie that has taken place, but much more than that - it has allowed me to make connections with so many great people, to learn new skills, use my craft to spread hope (Craft Hope - pop on over - project 16 has just launched)  and has in many ways opened up the world to me (through the blogs of others!) So I just wanted to say a big thank you to all you blog writers and blog readers out there for the continued inspiration, the friendships made, the crafty swaps engaged in.....and the opportunity to remember what I was doing in any given month for the last 5 years! 

There have been some woollie and some wanderings going on this month.....I promise...

I made an Owlet sweater from Kate Davies' lovely pattern....in fact I made 2 from one 400g ball of yarn. It's much greener than it looks in these photos - early morning winter light however bright it might seem, is not that great for taking photos.

I bought the pattern just before Christmas and by the 29th of December I had finished an 18-month size sweater and a 6 month size sweater. They knit up so quickly and best of all as they are knitted in the round, minimal sewing up. I think it took almost as long to sew on the 32 buttons for eyes as it did to knit.

In other woollie our Wednesday night knitting group ran a knitting and crochet class at the DCA in Dundee on Sunday afternoon - 12 people went home with new skills! Good day all round. My photo was used to publicize the class (not a picture of me you'll be pleased to know, but a photo I took).

 It was funny to see it in leaflets and on posters!

Wanderings have not taken me far this month.....a trip to Edinburgh for dinner at L'Escargot Blanc to celebrate a friend's birthday - and a great meal was had - it was their mystery menu so you don't know what you are getting but it was a great 3 courses. We had crostini with poached pear and goats cheese as a starter; a speciality from Lyon for the main course - a pork gayette - sort of meatball made of pork meat and pork liver; followed by Ile Flottante (floating island) for dessert which is a minimally cooked meringue which floats on a bed of creme anglais - light and delicious.

I've taken trips to the beach, to knitting group in Newburgh, to Dollar Glen with the National Trust where I spent the day happily playing in the mud......but with glorious sunrises and sunsets from my window - it's been hard to drag myself out!

Beautiful Winter's Day

It's funny how people always say it rains a lot in Scotland (see the little YouTube video in my last post for a classic example). It's true it does rain quite often, but what often surprises people is that it tends to rain more in the summer than it does in the winter. Often in winter we have cold, bright and sunny days....the sort of days where you know you need to drag yourself outdoors into the cold to stare up at the bright blue sky and to soak up some much needed sun. 

Today was one of those days. So instead of staying indoors and stripping paint, I went out to for a walk to the beach with a friend. We were walking along the shore and the tide was high  so there wasn't a lot of beach to be seen but it was still lovely to be out. 

As we reached the point and turned south, I noticed 2 large birds of prey flying overhead. At first I thought buzzards, but then I realised that they were huge! Amazingly, it was a pair of sea (white-tailed) eagles. These are the 4th largest eagles in the world and used to live happily all over Scotland, but the were hunted to extinction in 1918. Since 1975 there has been a planned reintroduction project in Scotland, starting on the west coast, but since 2007 they have been reintroducing the birds to the east coast too. After some research, I think that these birds were released in 2009.

I have never seen one before so today was special! We stood and watched for around 20 minutes as they circled overhead and stood on the pine trees watching the horizon.

I was in awe of their majestic grace - just look at those wing tips!

New Year Resolutions

I don't often make New Year Resolutions....so taking the lead from Simple Lovely's lovely blog I have a few things I will try to do more of and a few things I'll try to do less of - oh and one formal resolution!

OK, lets start with the resolution - that one is to give up coca cola, diet coke, coke zero and to limit my intake of any other fizzy drinks full of sugar. I've moved over to sparkling water at work/home and soda water and lime when in the pub.

The things I'd like to do more of include: run; knit & craft; see friends; eat fruit & veg; DIY to get my house into shape; read more books; watch more films at the DCA cinema; hill-walking; raise more money so this is built in Dundee (that's a work thing but also something that will be amazing for Dundee); volunteer with the National Trust Conservation Volunteers.....

The things I'd like to do less of include: eating sugar/cakes/sweets; getting stressed;  buying clothes (I have many as my drawers will suggest - of course - this didn't last long as I managed to buy 2 tops yesterday - but that's it for a while!).

Must share this with you! A friend from work sent it to me and it's fab. We've been spending quite a lot of time thinking about Scotland's design heritage in recent weeks and Pringle is one of the best - 195 years of Pringle being celebrated in this cheeky little YouTube video....

2011 in Food

Touring the UK, France and Spain this year.........eating local produce, trying the local delicacies.....finding out that there are a few things I just cannot stand no matter how often I try them - coriander and celery being examples. Other things beginning with "C" I do love - cake! And I had some amazing cake in 2011.

Boy - France has good cake!

2012 - I want to learn to take better photos of food (one of my favourite things) and I plan to quit drinking coke! 2 days in.......hoping the headaches will disappear soon!

To 2012

2011 is almost over, a year full of ups and downs for me and I think most other people in the world. I hope that 2012 is positive, the politicians decide to stop acting like politicians and make the brave decisions necessary to support the world's economy and that all my friends and family have a positive, fun-filled and loving year!

Here's to health, happiness, friends and family! Happy New Year!

Now to end 2011 - here's a few photos of the destinations travelled to this year..... more images from 2011 to follow!

Oh Christmas Tree

The tree is decorated, I've finished work for the holidays....Christmas is a coming!

The tree is decorated and the lights are bright both inside and out!

Here's a few of my favourite decorations:

This little Inuit was bought at the shop of the Newfoundland and Labrador Craft Council in St Johns, Newfoundland - she and 2 of her sisters came home with me - there was a black felt one for my mum and an orange felt one for my friend Ally. They are beautifully made and I know I will always treasure mine.

The grumpy Christmas panda - made by me with pre-felt and needle felt.

Snoopy and Woodstock - my oldest decoration, given to me by my parents when I was a child. 

Hanukkah Santa - bought at the Christmas Market at the Jewish Museum in Berlin when I went to the Christmas Markets with my friend Allyson and drank gluwhein at 11am and felt a little merry!

And here's the natural Christmas lights from sunrise the other morning!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Chez Moi

I went to buy my Christmas tree yesterday - it was already netted when I bought it so it was only once I managed to get it in the stand (had to buy 2 of those and take the first one back as the trunk was too fat) that I realised I had a tree that was as wide as it was tall!

I didn't go out with the National Trust today but did do a little tree destruction at home - took quite a number of the branches off the tree just to neaten up it's shape a little.

I always love getting my Christmas decorations out of the boxes, but it was all the more special this year because this is the first time I have had a tree in my flat (well the first time in the flat that I bought last year - my first owned home) as I didn't have a tree last year (too much going on). So out came the box of decorations and with them many happy memories.....

The 3 moose on the tree, one I bought myself when I visited my aunt in New Hampshire, one my mum bought me when she visited my aunt in New Hampshire and one my relatives in Vermont (one of whom died this year) sent me......the Snoopy ornament I have had since I was a child, the Inuit I bought in Newfoundland, the many I've bought at German Christmas markets I visited with my parents or friends in Aachen, Cologne and Berlin, others from Freshly Blended's Annual Ornament Swap .....I am still in search of my "new" decoration for this year.

I love this traditional German decoration that my friend Mariana gave me - it's from Seiffen, a small town in eastern Germany famous for it's Christmas decorations (that have spawned many a cheap imitation).

Here's the mantelpiece - my parents gave me most of these decorations -  apart from the Danish tomten which I bought myself from the Danish Christmas shop 2 years ago. 

December

It's been a busy couple of weeks, working lots and lots trying to get a funding bid submitted. It finally got submitted last Wednesday (arrived 40 minutes before the deadline). Then this weekend friends arrived from London for 4 nights and that involved trips to Edinburgh and St Andrews, dinner with friends and a trip to the cinema.

Edinburgh at Christmas time always looks magical. The architecture is lit, the trees are sparkling and the German Christmas market is in full swing. 

 Princes Street Gardens

 National Galleries of Scotland

We had hot chocolate, gluwhein and warm pretzels and enjoyed the spirit of the holidays.

On Saturday night we went for dinner with friends - we had raclette followed by mulled wine cake and feuerzangenbowle (red wine, a sugar cone, rum and flames). 

Wandering on the beach at Tentsmuir on Sunday was bracing - blue skies and a chill wind certainly helped to blow the cobwebs away.

 Looks like we were on stilts!

After the walk we headed off to the cinema to see Martin Scorsese's Hugo - I loved it - my friend Karen thought it was a little long - I guess 2 hours for a children's movie is quite long, but it was beautifully shot. I would recommend it! It was a lovely way to pass a cold Sunday afternoon!