Friday 5 for April 17: The Great Outdoors

This week’s Friday 5 answers:

  1. When did you last sleep in a tent?
    Last July, when I went camping with a group from C House.
  2. What comes to mind when you think about relieving yourself in the great outdoors?
    Er.  That’s a bit TMI, isn’t it?  But I spose… trees!
  3. Where’s the best place you ever went camping?
    I don’t know… I can’t choose.  I’ve camped in a lot of places.  Ross-on-Wye was always good.  But actually, Pevensey Bay last summer was nice – good location (right on the beach), good company, good facilities.
  4. What’s your favourite camp food?
    Marshmallows cooked on the camp fire. Nom!
  5. What’s your sleeping bag like?
    I have two actually: one is a “moonbag” that compresses down to be small & light and is the one I got for hiking, and the other one is a more normal sleeping bag – its blue with dashes of different colours (red, yellow, possibly green) on it.

Now I really want to go camping again!  I have the opportunity to go with the group from C House again in September and I’d really love to because it’s for a week, and I think to the New Forest.  But it’s right before M & E’s wedding, and I’m not sure that I’ll be able to afford it. *sigh*

Project 365, 22nd March – 4th April

I meant to post these weekly, but I’ve gone and slipped up already.  So here are another two week’s worth of Project 365 photos.  They’re also up at Flickr in my Project 365 ’09-10 set and in the Project 365 album for this year in the photo album here (you can see the great-big full size versions there).  This time I’m going to put the medium-size pics up here rather than the thumbnails and put some comments in as well.  Ideally I want the medium pics to link to pop-ups of the full size versions, but the plugin I’m using to integrate the blog with the photo album is being a bit temperamental about that.  But with a bit of luck that’s what I’ll get.  Here we go:
Continue reading “Project 365, 22nd March – 4th April”

Friday 5 for April 10: 5 Ws, Part 2

On the right day for a change, my answers for this week’s Friday 5:

  1. What’s something you know how to draw?
    Hahahaha, not much!  This is about the extent of my “talent”:

    Baa-naby!
    Baa-naby!
  2. Who’s someone you could get away with impersonating?
    Wow, um… I can’t think of anyone.  Maybe my Mum on the phone?
  3. Where’s the stapler?
    Oh lord, I don’t know.  It should be in the stationery drawer, but I think I have a stapler gremlin or something – I never seem to have a stapler with staples that fit in it.  I should have a two staplers, one mini one and one full size one (I used to have two mini ones, but I’m not sure what happened to the second one… probably the stapler gremlin at work again!) and staples for both, but can I ever find the right combination at any one time?  No, I cannot.  I end up using paperclips, or just folding the corners of the paper together!!
  4. Why will this be a great weekend?
    Because there will be Chinese takeaway, NOM (or at least, I hope there will) and new Dr Who OMG can’t wait!  And also Easter presents of some kind which will be nice too.  It’s E’s birthday as well.  Yay :-)  Now if only the weather was going to be nicer!
  5. When are you going to make that phone call you’ve been putting off?
    I don’t actually think there are any phone calls that I’ve been putting off.  Must remember to give Ally a call though.

Conquering entrelac

Or so far… not.  Heeeeelp!  I’ve been going backwards and forwards on the first half-inch (the setup triangles) of the entrelac sock pattern that is the second pair for this year’s Sock Knitter’s Pentathlon.  I was getting great big gappy gaps between the triangles and after I looked at this tutorial / pattern [Ravlink] for an entrelac scarf that someone on the mailing list recommended, I came to the conclusion that it was because of the extra two rows at the top of the triangles in the sock pattern – they didn’t ‘attach’ to the sock cuff.  (The triangles were made by knitting increasing short rows, using one more stitch from the cuff every time until you get to six.  I don’t think I can describe it any better than that, but the scarf tutorial has pictures.)  The scarf tutorial, which starts the short rows with knitting one stitch instead of two like the sock pattern, solves that problem.  So that’s what I’ve now done with those.

[thumb:1122:l:l=d:t=]Pattern: buttercupia: Noro Entrelac Socks. [Ravlink]
Yarn: Posh Yarn Emily in ‘Troubadour’.
Needles: 2.75mm DPNs
Ravelry Project Page: SKP09 Pair #2

However!  Now that I’ve done all the triangles, I’m a bit stumped.  I have to pick up stitches to start the rectangle / diamond section, and it says to work left to right.  But I’m not sure if I’m sposed to turn the work before I do that, or go “backwards” on the right side, or what.  Aaaaaaah, confusing!  I think I’m just going to have to experiment and see what happens.  I should have knitted a swatch first.  Oh well!!

Other than the entrelac socks, I’ve been doing some spinning, actually remembering to keep up with taking Project 365 photos (I’ll post those soon), and… um… also doing other stuff?  Oh, I know – I have new glasses which is great because now I can see what I’m typing (always helpful), and I’ve also been reading a fair bit.  In fact, I’m thinking of doing Dewey’s Read-a-thon, although I should probably make my mind up soon if I am going to join in.  If I do, I don’t think I’ll commit to the whole 24 hours because I don’t want to mess my sleeping patterns up again just as they seem to be improving, but I could do 12 hours easily.  I would say more, but it starts at 1pm BST (the site says GMT, but they mean current UK time by that, not actual GMT) and that would make my finishing time too late.  And in fact, since it’s just past 1am right now, I think I’d better go to bed and get some kip!  Night.

Friday 5 for April 3: More Questions about Food and Drink

Here we go, my answers for this week’s Friday 5:

  1. What is your favourite fizzy, bubbly drink?
    Pepsi!  Or Coca-cola as a second – I don’t like the diet versions (unfortunately!), and I’m not keen on the non-branded ones either.  They just don’t taste the same.  Picky, picky me.
  2. What is your favourite deep-fried food?
    Um.  I don’t really eat deep fried food.  Oh, except for crisps I spose.  So, crisps?  And sometimes chips, but not if they’re too greasy.
  3. What is your favourite hot beverage?
    Hot lemon squash.  Weird, I know, but I don’t drink tea or coffee, and although I do like hot chocolate I only have it as the occasional cold-weather treat.  It’s too thick / sweet for a regular drink for me.
  4. What is your favourite really messy food?
    Depends what you call messy!  Spag bol, maybe?  Or maybe tortilla chips and dip because you’re bound to get dip on you at some point.
  5. What is your favourite recipe for a blended or mixed beverage?
    Not really sure what this means!  Like a cocktail?  Or a smoothie?  If we’re talking alcoholic beverages, I like Archers, vodka and orange juice.  If not, then banana smoothies are probably my favourite.  The recipe for that when I make my own is one banana (chopped up into smallish pieces), either (a) a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or (b) a tablespoon or so of natural yoghurt (depends what I have), and about half a pint of milk… or maybe more than that, I’m not sure!  I generally go by ‘feel’.  Then I whizz it all together with the whizzing device.  Add a bit more milk if need be to taste, whizz again, etc.  Serve with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Nom!

In other news, an actual knitting post should be coming soon!  I’ve just cast on for the second SKP09 pattern, which is a pair of entrelac socks.  There’s a new challenge right there – I’m just about to start the actual entrelac part and it’s all very exciting.  And nerve wracking!  Photos will be forthcoming… assuming I can make it all work.