addictive personality

ok, as i promised Daisy (who is now knee-deep in snow), here is christmas time in Australia. this is my back garden (ignore washing line) and the sky above it at 11am this morning, at which time it was already 32 degress celsius. Tomorrow is going to be 40! happy new year indeed!


Stitch n Bitch was yesterday, and it was brilliant! Irene came and learnt to knit (you can see her wonderful progress here!), Jejune and her dotter were knitting voodoo wrist warmers and scarves respectively, Taphophile was turning skeins into balls and i spun all my nicely carded fibre into yarn! a good day was had by all, and we are now going to double the number of meetings we have since its so fun!

here are the results of a day at the wheel, basking in the sunshine (they were there for three seconds and were SO HOT when i picked them up again.)



i then plyed the two bobbins into skeins which are here. I am so proud. it's lucky i like knitting squigly thick-n-thin yarn because this way i can pretend its intentional! The caramel colour is the alpaca i bought in Tilba Tilba and is a mixture of 'Bethany' and 'Truffles' plyed with my trusty merino 3-ply, about 52 metres. The dark brown is also Tilba alpaca, "Bugalugs" plyed with brown sewing thread, 76 metres. The blue is some beautiful mohair that i accidently bought on christmas eve, plyed with blue sewing thread, 60 metres. SO IN LOVE! the mohair is absolutely divine... there are no words. i dont even care there is the odd (read: thousands) grass seed in it, this skein was made for strokin'. Bugalugs is also utterly gorgeous... is anyone else seeing that colour? (drools on self)

Also, just because i Really Needed some more sock yarn to tempt me (i have SSK in a Big Way at the moment, stupid ankle socks) i striped the merino bambino i got for christmas today. i just used food dye as described in Yarn magazine and it worked really well! pretty vinegar intensive process though. the skein on the left is a deep fuschia and peachy-yellow (not as primary as it looks here), the middle skein is patchy purple blue and pink (may need overdyeing, im not sure about the white bits) and the skein on the right is some of the hideous orange villawool being turned into stripey tiger socks (thanks Bea, great idea, i bow to your superior knowledge of wool)!

Going coastal tomorrow with the BFG for New Years, hope everyone has a great night, i may have some resoltions eventually (but i warn you, my resolutions tend to be self-benificial types)

ciao
Happy Spider
(Now with a spin in my tail :p)

Knitmas @ chez spider

Well, materialistic and all as it seems, im here to show you my haul. I must add at this point that i did amazingly well, and it was actually the first time i've been excited about christmas in, oh, 6 years? Plus in showing how smart my family was, isn't it indicative that i have smart genes?? that's what i thought.

Also, many thanks to everyone who wished me luck with the cousins - it was ok. i think i've relaxed into the realisation that until the average age of the girls is 20 instead of 16 i can expect to be excluded and openly ridiculed. they're 16! what do i expect? and lets be frank, i'm about the geekiest oldest cousin any of them could have, and having their parents say "spidey gets As you know" was never going to endear them to me. i think i'll just cool my heels until they are old enough to get into the bevvies and then family unity will occur.

So.. where to start?

Mystery gift from my boss that has been tickling my curiosity turned out to be this... yes that's right peeps, a giant box of yarn! sadly one of the few colours i cant wear is orange, but hopefully i can induce one of my SnBers to knit themselves a wrap or something... theres about 30 balls of orange villawool (the stuff on top) as well as some tweedy contrast and an already knit collar... any wool is good wool right?


Ok, so nice big dyepot from my mum and The Ball Winder from BFG (is he the love of my life or what??). i thought this was going to be my only gift from BFG, but then when we were at christmas day lunch with his parents he presented me with these gorgeous silver and cubic zirconia earrings... and miracle of miracles they arent too long!! (anyone who has tried to buy dangly earrings in the last year will understand my relief. i dont know about you, but earrings that get caught in my bra straps dont really appeal to me). they are a yellower green than i would usually gravitate towards but i actually really really like them (and who's going to argue with bling, really?). He likes them on me too which is a bonus :)

Also scored some really lovely earrings from my brother (who picked them out himself no less!). sorry if the pic is a tad scary/blair witch project, but i wanted to show you all how clever he was at matching my eye colour (ok so we have the same colour eyes, but still, a guy thinking about something like that is some sort of miracle). he also gave me some awesome suede shoes (i kinda have a collection of vintage shoes that dont fit) and these great bottles which i immediately put to good use.


Um, somehow i have deleted the picture of the Olga Berg handbag that BFGs brother and sister in law gave me, but i have a close up of the embroidery... it has these awesome ppockets inside that Sophie insisted were for my mobile phone, but i really know they are for my DPNs. And BFGs mother gave me this earring and pin set (it was so much effort getting my daddy to photograph my earlobes that i decided the Harden Bergia was the model of the moment).

I also received a little manicure set from my folks, as well as some white merino bambino for making self-striping sock yarn and a great bit storage tub with wheels (due to going over to the dark side* my stash has exploded). My cousins gave me a set of lip glosses, and i'm sure i'll use them at some point. if i've forgotten anything, i hope that noone notices or is offended. put it down to being stunned at my good fortune!

I'm just going to pop down what i gave people as a reference for myself (please ignore):
Mum - i heart cashmere scarf (she LOVES it)
Dad - 'Agatha Christie Crossword Book', 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night' and 'Orchids' (he's read noth the novels and we're going to do the crosswords tomorrow).
He who is stinky - Iggy Pop DVD and t-shirt that says 'I see dumb people' on the front (loved em both)
BFG - swim top, seafood cook book and fishing australia book
Cousin - gift voucher and c*****t scarf (she absolutely adored it and her mum tried to steal it from her! hoorah!)
BFGs Mum - 'Almost French' (she'd read it already, darn, must find receipt)
the brother and SIL (but not mine!!!) - Leunig book and scarf

ok, well i think that be it!
im now off to finally mend these bobbins so i actually have something to show for my spinning wheel when the girls come round on thursday (hint: i may have bought some dyed carded blue mohair fibre recently.....). have to say i havent been this excited about a getogether for yonks, jejune and her darling dotter, taphophile and newbie Irene are all coming around to eat up christmas leftovers and make good use of swifts and ball winders and the like. dont get me wrong, i love hanging out with my day-to-day friends, but theres something pretty special about knowing you all came from the same mother ship :) who else understands the joy of turning a heel?

hope your holiday was the best, santa brought what you wished for and your mums mango mousse is as good as mine :p

*the dark side being spinning, not crochet... spinning is SEDUCTIVE you see, unlike crochet :p

Mary Christmas

For all you knitters and fibre addicts out there, ToD and I have collaborated on some non-knitterly-discriminatory christmas carols (they really oughtn't be called carols since this discriminates against anyone not called carol, but thats an issue for next year). Top points if you manage to sing them along with the rest of the family without anyone noticing!

The 12 days of Knitmas

(To the tune of the twelve days of christmas. You know the drill, just insert "on the something day of knitmas my true love gave to me.." every verse)

Twelve thrummers thrumming
A pile of I-cord piping
Some clever decrease pleating
Nine point protectors,
Stitch markers marking,
A drop spindle spinning,
Six skeets a-fraying,
Five packs of pins,
Four alpaca herds,
Three DPNs,
Two fair-isle gloves,
And a ball-winder just for me!

Christmas Hell
(to the tune of Jingle Bells)

Verse 1
Counting down the days, crossing off my list
Knitting in a haze, massaging my wrists
Then the doorbell rings, makes me crack my knuckles
Relations make me cringe; I hate festive debacles

Chorus
Oh Christmas hell and dizzy spells
Fair isle makes me weep
Crochet turns me nauseous
And seams put me to sleep
HEY!
Christmas hell as knuckles swell
Grafting is the pits
I block and fray my life away;
God speed to all who knit!

Verse 2
And so the chaos dims, Grandpa has a doze
I controlled the urge to stuff turkey up his nose
I slip out of the house, the soberest by far
And spend a lovely Christmas night a-knitting in the car

Repeat chorus

And just a little hint... hope to post pics with a model soon

I have entitled this picture "twas the night before the night before the night before christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even a lace-weight cashmere scarf/shawl thing", but then i've never been very good at titles.

Mary Christmas to all and to all a good knit.

sticking the boot in

stampeding towards the deadline and i'm already ahead of myself (let us not speak of the cashmere scarf, stupid c*****t edging...)

These are the garden shoes from Simply Knitting Issue 7. I knit the 3-6 month size in Heirloom Alpaca 8ply (shade is lost to the ages, but looks like brown alpaca overdyed with blue, because there is some lovely toning). The fuzziness is so gorgeous, i could just eat them up! incidently this photo is in focus, they are just really fuzzy booties.

These are catching a lift with BFGs mother to the US in January to adorn the little footsies of the new grandson.

hope you're all winning with christmas!

what good are fat geese when you cant knit them?

Well, woke up today to a little present waiting on the kitchen table (is there anything nicer than packages?) Of course, i cast on straight away (bad spider). the needles on the dpn protectors are my normal 2.25mm dpns, the bamboo addi's are in the top left hand corner. they feel beautiful, but i wanted to try a pattern i've been mulling out for a while, and i felt i needed the smaller ones. Pleased to say that the protectors fit nearly all of my dpns with no chance of coming off (just in case any of you were considering buying a pair but concerned they wouldnt be useful for your other dpns).
They are very cleverly tapered inside, so they push the needles outwards, so the pressure is maintained on either side. Just to prove the point, it came with 5 3mm dpns, but fits 4 2.25mm just as well.
The socks are ankle socks, with seemingly random stripes of three colours (the tight ball of blue is the left over VBDBBD sock yarn which was dyed merino bambino, and the other two are patons dreamtime for those of you playing at home). I promise most faithfully to post my free pattern as soon as i am sure it will work :p. i am fairly confident (arent stripes fun?) but want to make sure... murphy's law being what it is :)

This is the c*****t scarf in all its dark glory. It's a simple sideways on a 10mm hook. just a chain of about 150 and then back and forth in double crochet (breaking off at the end of each row to create a fringe). at the end i threaded some black yarn through the gaps to create a slightly more stable fabric. It's quite nice i think, and i used up the Zhivago leftover from Gypsy's Shrug. And the black Zhivago was left over from some fingerless gloves for a friend of my mothers, so it cost me absolutely nothing (BFG debates this point, but as i spent no money on it in the last week, its free. and i was payed for the gloves).
I dont know my cousin well enough to know if she'll like it, but it's to supplement a gift voucher (i have always hated receiving vouchers, particularly for cd shops. its as though your relatives are saying "i have NO idea who you are, here's some money". i do like book vouchers, but its always a bit sad to sit there holding a piece of paper that you cant use for ages because the shops will be crazy. While all the younger kids are squealing over their train sets and things.) so to cut a long story short, this is to make the inevitable gift voucher less depressing.
the colour in the close up is pretty much spot on.

Oh and just to rub it all in:

that's me done but for a box of chocolates for my boss and one measly gift voucher (and the stupid scarf.. i will finish the ball, I WILL). the bootees i mentioned (which will take one evening) arent due til the 5th or so, so they dont count.

And yes, Narnia was not possible being that it hasnt opened yet! i forgot that my boss went to the premiere that was held by SC Ten because we advertise with them. silly spider. But my facial was lovely and i feel somewhat more prepared to be surrounded by raving beauties on saturday night.

Adios!

in brief

Well, celebrate with me! this is most of my christmas knitting complete! Still have the c*****t scarf and the cashmere scarf for my mum... but its pretty long as is, so i can just cast off when i get sick of it (though it would be nice to finish the ball...). and, jejune, i do use crochet for edgings and things as well. and i plan to make a round rag rug someday. the evilness of crochet is possibly directly linked to how bad i am at it, and how bad it looks in sweater form (honestly, did people in the 1970's care nothing for drape???).

Wheel update: currently clamped with the glue my builder uncle swears by, and so far appears to not have wiggly spokes. However, the wheel does nto spin smoothly... i think though for all beginner intents and purpose i can deal.

the apologies of the stinky brother are less than abject (ranging from "it was an accident" to "well, nothing i can do so... yeah"). It would be fair to say the men in my family are not good at the big S word (just like our esteemed PM). i can also assure you that it is 99.99% likely that my brother has not only not bought my christmas present yet but also not thought about it yet. i have been trying to get 'say it with flowers' changed to 'say it with yarn' but in retrospect, considering how often i have been given flowers in my life (2.5), this may not be completely helpful to my cause.

Day off tomorrow and am hopefully going to go see Narnia, as well as have a facial in the afternoon (did i mention i have 12 completely stunning cousins i will be subjected to on christmas eve?). OOh and i have a stupid thing my boss said to share. He took his son to see Narnia, and when i asked him how it was he said "you can tell it was the same director as lord of the rings, the way he put the archer character in there." I did try to explain the history of the books and may have used the words "classic literature" and possibly "the director isnt the same as the writer". Definately used the words "integral to the story, always has been" but he was undetered. he is the only person i know who doesnt know 'the lion, the witch and the wardrobe' is a book... even after he's been told several (thousand) times.

and my parents wonder why working all week makes me stressed... stupidity is SO exhausting.

Spin Dr

I have a tale for you guys.

Have you all noticed that puppies with really big paws grow up to be huge dogs? and when they are puppies, the tend to take up way more space than anyone would expect? Keep that mental image if you can.

The Scene:
The lounge room in Chez Spider. Piles of clean laundry on the carpet awaiting pickup from various family members. Several lounge chairs. Behind one chair, completely out of the way, a spinning wheel awaiting appraisal for clean-up and joint-oiling.

My brother has this tendency to walk around with his eyes closed when he has just gotten up. He wanders into the living room just as my taxi pulls up to take me to work. He picks up his laundry. He somehow trips over the space time continuum and walks right into my spinning wheel, knocks her over and treads on her.

If it wasnt so tragic it would have been HILARIOUS.

so, the very slightly wobbly wheel that didnt need to be dealt with straight away is now the ridiculously wobbly wheel that is giving me panic attacks. it is probably fixable... but it would be so much nicer if it didnt need to be.

In lighter news i have gotten halfway through the heel flap of sock the second, i can smell victory! (Has anyone else noticed that victory smells alot like wool?).

I did however, in a total lapse of concentration, start a crochet scarf for a christmas present. I'm not exactly sure why. lets face it, crochet is kind of evil. I did about 10 rows (its a sideways one with self-fringe) and then tossed it aside to pick up my socks and the sheer relief to be knitting again gave me a buzz. total high!

anyway, feel my spinning pain. oh, and did i mention only one week til christmas?

PS will give you guys some pics soon, just cant be bothered tonight. SO HOT! i'm dreaming of a white christmas alright...

All washed up

Ok, so as if the lure of christmas knitting wasnt enough to chain me to the couch....

I forgot i had a camera, so the dirty water is actually about the 5th rinse. at first it looked like it was soaking in TEA. It still feels a tad waxy/sticky but it could be soap that didnt rinse out (you know how that can happen?). it doesnt smell quite so much like a sheeps bathroom anymore, which has got to be a plus. I'm thinking it should be a hat.... on BIG needles so theres enough. or a scarf...? oh right, christmas knitting dammit.

Oh ok, so i'm putting off fixing the wheel because im afraid i'll be really crummy at it as soon as Jo isnt standing next to me keeping the wheel going (i assume the hand-eye-hand-foot-foot-FOOT coordination will get better.)

So, i guess the fleece was dirtier than i thought, because what was once an almost caramel coloured skein is now a snowy white that would make mary's lamb proud. And its SO soft, why didnt anyone tell me how soft it would be?

Jo says from the crimp its probably a merino fleece, and according to the Ashford book she lent me, this means i should be spinning laceweight to fingering (yeah, right. sure. right after i land on jupitor and get my choc-o-carrots watered.)

Ooh, am having such a crummy week. You know that PMS-ey 'so tired i'm going to cry' feeling. yep, thats the one. but im not PMSing so i dont know whats going on. all i know is that i want to jab my boss in the eye with a pointy stick. how dare he ignore me when i say i cant work??? im a casual employee, i say no to a shift and thats the end of the story!!

So today i tried another tack and asked if he thought i could do a half day instead (he doesnt believe in 'shifts', i'm there as long as the shop is open. it is a PAIN.) He did that man thing where he waits a long enough period of time and then changes the subject.

Ok, i appreciate that he is moving into a new house, but he is NEVER going to get carpet laid before christmas, and i resent having to spend 5 days at the shop. i dont need the money! what i really really need is a day off!! stupid men.

SO last night bought myself a christmas present. nobody was going to

think of this anyway, and i've wanted them for ages. should arrive friday or monday... oh and i forgot to tell you all! BFG won a ball winder for me on ebay!! hoorah! except he says im not allowed to play with it until christmas, and he wont even tell me if it arrives. stupid men.

think thats the lot. back to glueing bobbins i go.

like a record baby

Am so proud i am breaking the agreement with BFG (the one that reads: the first sign of insanity is posting more than once a day).
I MADE YARN!!!!!
Whheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is it all plyed and cuddley. It was firstly pretty overspun and curling back on itself, but i plyed it in the opposite direction with some merino 3-ply i bought at an op-shop last week and I'm pretty happy with the results.
Ok so it's dirty, it's greasy and a few grass-seeds got past me but its mine darn it!
My neighbour Jo was very helpful and told me that beginner yarns have 'character'. i agree. in fact i had some yarn just like it in my stash!
It's about 40metres so i might have to spin some more... as soon as i reglue the bobbins together, glue the wheel and get the rust out of the orifice..... but i dont care how much work is involved because I MADE YARN!

are you proud??

Also, here it is posing next to some Colourworks hand painted yarn ($6 per ball). not too shabby...


SO PROUD!!!

take christmas (please!)

Just to indicate how the last week has been i will quote myself. After nailing 90% of the christmas shopping with my mum, i climbed into the car and said "You know, i've been suprisingly on top of everything today and tomorrow!". I think i meant yesterday.
Sadly my mum laughed so hard she cried, and I nearly won the title of stupidist action for the day (she was winning because when we were at Target she a) selected a shaving kit without realising for a 13yr old boy and then b) tried to scan the price with the store wall-phone.)

I come from this really big Hungarian family. We meet up on Christmas Eve and eat lots of food and sometimes theres an Uncle being Santa and you have to sit on his knee. Of course, by that time of the evening everyone is a little tipsy and they feel the need to say things like "what a BIG girl you are" or the like. These days i just say "If santa wants his knee broken..." and that usually does the trick.
But anyway. On this side of the family I am the eldest of 12 cousins. i also happen to see the other 11 about, oh, once a year. so its extremely awkward. And this awkwardness is enhanced by my having an Aunt who is a She-Devil.
The She-Devil does not like me. She does not like my brother. She does not like my parents. I'm not exactly sure why. It might be because my parents dont like attachments like 'nana' 'unlce' or 'aunt' and so i refused point-blank to call her Aunty She-Devil. My dad says its probably because she is jealous that i do well at school. Or something.
Whatever the reason, every year she poisons it. Her kids cant help but be snide towards us, it's basic modeling. Last christmas was at our house and while BFG and I were at the same table as She-Devil she proceeded to remind everyone about the New Years party at their coast house. The one we werent invited to.
Does anyone else have a She-Devil?

In lighter news, i have nearly finished my christmas shopping. Mum is done (if i knit a bit faster), Dad is done, BFG is done, ToD is done (ditto with the knitting). I've sorted my cousins and even BFGs sister-in-law (ok, NOW i feel like an old married lady).
Sadly my brother is proving difficult. I have a partial gift. And I would like to get him some clothes (particularly boxer shorts. You know how elastic disintegrates in the clothes dryer? "Blue moon... you saw me standing alone...") but theres nothing that exciting about clothes. I could get him a graphic novel but.. meh. All the things he would like are things i dont condone, like smoking accessories. It's not like I'll get anything spectacular from him so maybe i shouldnt worry so much. and now he has the Girlfriend she's bound to get him something i cant compete with.
And im not knitting for him because he doesnt apprecciate it. Not to mention that I dont want IT to happen. I will not sink to that level.. at least not til next year.

Gypsy's 21st was on saturday night, and by the token that she put on the shrug soon as open the gift i think she might like it. She was the punkiest fairy i have every seen, and ever so slightly scary when brandishing the candle-lightery-thing. Happy Birthday Gypsy!!

Also, my Boss is moving into his new house this week so i get to work 5 days in a row. I said NO and he said YES and i lost. so i may not be posting for a while. due to exhaustion.

If anyone sees the Grinch, send him this-a-way.

PS. I'm going to my neighbours this afternoon so she can teach me to spin!! Yay! but i have to admit to slight concern as when the shafty bit spins, the bobbin spins too so the yarn doesnt twist or wrap around the spindle... no no i wont worry. i'll take it to a professional.

Ha ha. Hands up who thought i would never show a pic? I want to call it Fred, but BFG has a new nephew called Frederick and far be it for me to offend anyone (but i call EVERYTHING Fred!!). Any ideas?????

...shrugs nonchalantly...

ok, so i probably shouldnt post abou this, being that its a gift..
but gypsy knows what she's getting and i suspect she's camera shy so if i want a pic up, it will have to be with me in it. (just pretend im smiling, its been a long day)

Sorry it's a bit blurry, my mum hasnt figured out my camera yet. It's from the patons 'It's a wrap' book in Zhivago, with ribbed sleeves, thumb holes and diamond lace across the shoulders. Quite fun but i prefered it when i knit it with short sleeves. this is cuter though.

and nobody ask me to knit rib for a while, ok?

Ciao for now.

PS. anyone in the Canberra region - there is Patonyle at Lincraft for $4.99 instead of $5.99. Its sort of white, red, pink and yellow (will put a pic up tomorrow). Great for socks due to 80% wool, 20% nylon!

babble-icious

because i've been wanting to do a meme for a while, and crazy aunt purl put this out to everyone in the world and i dont want to be attacked by her cat.

TEN random things you might not know about me.
1. I eat way too much sugar, I could beat any ten-year-old hands down at lolly-scoffing.
2. I grew up on a farm and was a tomboy until the age of about 12.
3. I can spit 2 metres (see 2.)
4. I am really clucky, I love kids.
5. when i saw my first boyfriend coming i used to hide under the table. i grew out of it and him.
6. people tell me secrets. no idea why, they just do.
7. when i was a kid i got called 'Heidi the goat girl' due to goats on aforementioned farm.
8. i love stationary, when im stressed i buy pens (but only cause there isnt a yarn store at uni)
9. i blush. not easily, but quite spectacularly.
10. i can do a cartwheel.. but if i offer to do one for you i'm either a) babysitting you or b) drunk as a skunk (suprisingly, drunkeness doesnt seem to damage my ability to cartwheel, just my comprehension of when is a good time to do one)

NINE places I’ve visited
1. Paris (France)
2. Hungary
3. Britain
4. Germany
5. Byron Bay
6. Durras Lake
7. Tasmania (and everything in it)
8. Daydream Island
9. Hell (see: Working in Retail)

EIGHT ways to win my heart:
1. tell me silly jokes
2. think my dog is cool
3. rub my feet while we watch a girly movie
4. be proud of me
5. laugh at my jokes
6. cuddle me
7. try to be impressed by fibre crafts
8. stand up for me


SEVEN things I want to do before I die
1. get my drivers licence
2. sing at a karaoke bar
3. learn to touch-type properly
4. knit a sweater from yarn i spun myself
5. have babies (one of each)
6. learn to salsa
7. join a knitters guild

SIX things I’m afraid of
1. my country's government situation.
2. being in a brightly lit room at night with no curtains on the windows. anyone can see me and i cant tell!!! aaaarrrrrrgggghhh!
3. my mean ex-bf who hit me
4. getting to the end of my degree and realising i've wasted four years because i cant really teach at all.
5. my friends getting their hearts broken
6. people i love dying

FIVE things I don't like
1. bowling. it shits me up the wall. why why why???
2. smoking, and people who smoke up-wind of me.
3. the way nobody gives their seats to pregnant women on the bus anymore
4. really really pushy guys in bars who wont take a gentle hint.
5. hypocrites.

FOUR ways to turn me off
1. be patronising (to anybody)
2. forget my birthday
3. not say please, thankyou or sorry (listening Mr Howard?)
4. have bad breath

THREE Things I do everyday
1. knit (dur)
2. change my earrings four times
3. cuddle my doggy

TWO things that make me happy
1. the BFG
2. my puppy dog

ONE thing on my mind right now
1. how the heck im going to get my BRAND NEW SPINNING WHEEL to work. (pics as soon as i work the blasted thing out)

hows that for a long-winded announcement :p

tertiary relationships

Ah yes, the anniversary.
Friday night we drove to Batemen's and stayed in the comfort inn just near the turn-off. the room was really nice (all pink!) and i'm always very excited by mini-bars. not that we ate/drank anything from it, but it's entertaining nonetheless. it was absolutely pouring with rain all night, and we found a restaurant with big windows so we could watch the lighting.

Saturday morning was bright and sunny, and we had ducks just outside the windows (ducks are SO cool). BFG closed the window over night because the frogs were too loud (heh heh) but when he wasnt looking i opened it again. room service breakfast! nothing spectacular, but so exciting!! sadly the bell-boy (or whatever he is) didnt catch me in a towel, that would have really topped off the unreality of the situation.


At some point BFG wandered in and said (very 'goldilocks and the three bears') "someone's been knitting in MY bed!". Ah yes, guilty as charged. Felt particularly guilty when i found out BFG left all his fishing rods at home! at least i can knit in the car... and i dont smell like anchovies when i do it. usually.

We went to Mogo Zoo in the morning, and i must have had a lapse of concentration, because my camera shows no evidence of this... well, except for the short film of some bears. i wont tell you what these bears were doing. I'll just say that the bloke didnt really seem to have the logistics figured out, and the lady bear was thoroughly unimpressed. started filming before i realised what was going on, and then was so suprised i didnt stop it.
BFG was very sweet and patient and let me go window shopping in Mogo town. The antique shops were great! and he spoke not a word when i purchased this little cane handbag. it's 1920's and in awesome condition, i cant believe i got it for $10!

we drove on to Narooma, and checked in to our room (the little old lady was a tad confused, she had us down for tuesday). this room was soooo much nicer somehow. we had an actual balcony and proper milk and.. i dont know. it was cheaper and much nicer.
we went for a walk around the Narooma boardwalk and saw this octopus. he was so amazing, he kept swooping down on rocks and wrapping his tentacles all around it, and as he did he kept changing colour! was very hard to photograph, but this sort of shows the white bits (he's go entirely white) and the dark brown bits (his normal colour).

the boardwalk added to my fishing rod guilt, because every couple of metres it's set up with special rod stands and cleaning tables with taps. BFG was very impressed, but did not complain once.


We had another very nice dinner and drank champagne by the water, watching the tide.

Sunday morning, BFG proved himself worthy of sainthood, and took me into Tilba. why? Because i read somewhere that Tilba had an alpaca shop. Can anyone question why i am in love?Here lies my booty. i bought some alpaca wool because im still on a promise for that spinning wheel, 100g from 'Bug-u-lugs' (the really rich brown) and 100g blend of 'truffles' and 'bethany' (sort of caramel cream colour. they were $13 for 100g, which i thought was pretty darn good.
also bought a few balls of heirloom (saves on p&h is what i told BFG). the pale blue/grey is going to be a cable beanie for me next autumn, and the dark blue will be some booties for Frederick, the nephew of BFG who is probably allergic to sheeps wool.

We went on a charter boat in Narooma on sunday arvo, and saw old Narooma graveyard and all the oyster farms. somehow forgot i had a camera.... i may or may not have been thinking about the fabulous yarn i can spin with the alpaca fibre...

and then, sadly, we came home.

it was an absolutely brilliant weekend, and i have never eaten so much excellent food in my life! i am approximately 42,000 times heavier than i was on Friday.

ciao

PS. finished one sock!