The end of 2006!!!!

Another year done!!

Well here we are at New Year’s Eve already! Hasn’t that gone fast!!!!!

So I thought today I’d tidy up a few loose ends on the blog and spend some time thinking about last year and getting ready for next!!!!

So, firstly a piccie of the finished Josephine as DSis is now its proud owner, and I can show it in public!












It is knitted using two strands of Cascade Eco, colour 9012 Chocolate twist on US 11 Boye interchangeable needles. The pattern is from knitty.com and can be found here. It was easy to knit, and I am really pleased with the finished article, as, I believe, is DSis!!!!!

I am also now making Rogue out of the rest of the yarn (only a single strand this time) – which will also be for DSis, as the yarn was bought for her Christmas gift, so it seems only fair. She has expressed a preference for a sleeveless version though, so I am currently working out a way of finishing of the armholes. I am thinking maybe a thin twisted cable border grafted/knitted on.

My first two projects in 2007 will be a pair of Opal socks from Sensational Knitted Socks. (A slip stitch rib body), which coincidentally will (hopefully) be my entry for January for the Sockamonth challenge at my forum home!!! I am also intending to knit Fetching in an alpaca mix, which I’ve been meaning to do for ages, but as I’m typing this and can’t move my fingers due to cold, am thinking sooner is better than later! So a nice small start to the New Year!
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So, plans for next year??? – Well true to form I don’t have any! – Will just play it by ear, and take it as it comes! Equally unsurprisingly I don’t have any New Year resolutions either – though I may try to think of some before the night’s out! I’d like to sort out my garden a bit, as it has become very neglected in the last couple of years. Mainly due to spring all but disappearing here in the deep South of England, and us moving from frost to heat wave in a matter of days. Consequently I move from “Doesn’t need it yet” to “Too hot to move” in the same space of time!!! This year I’d like to get over that minor hiccup!!!! Along that same vein, I’d like to get back to growing veg! I don’t know why it is that I managed to grow more when I was working than I do now I’m at home all the time, (I’m thinking laziness plays quite a factor here!), but again, I’d like to get around to giving myself a good talking to and sorting that out! That’ll do for plans, I wouldn’t want to scare myself!!!!


I have spent some time looking back over my blog from the last year! I have truly enjoyed writing it, and I hope you have enjoyed popping over to see what I’m up to! It’s a fabulous reference for weather, achievements and photos of the pooch!!! And I think I will enjoy looking back over it myself for many years to come! Without wanting to sound like an Oscar nominee, I’d just like to thank my blog and forum friends for encouraging me to try blogging, and also for the new things I have had a go at this year thanks to all your enabling encouragement. I have knitted my first lace shawl, my first sweaters in the round (YAY, I love them!) and made cheese!!! I feel honoured to be part of such a great support network and can’t wait to find out what you have in store for me next year!!!!!!

So all that remains is to wish a Happy, Healthy and Knitterly New Year, to each and every one of you and all your loved ones. I hope 2007 brings everything you wish for .

AND THE CHARITY TOTAL IS. . . . . . . . .

For my comment for charity post (see here) . . . . Drum Roll please. . . . . . . .

£42 from me, and £38 for M&D. A Total of £80 !!!!

Mine is higher because I pledged £5 for a special story from my sister and I wouldn't want to pledge that on behalf of my lovely parents (though I am sure they will match it!!!!!!!!!)

I am making the donation online on Wednesday. M&D have disappeared on hols for a short while so they will make theirs on their return.

I'd just like to say a very, very big thank you to everyone who commented. I have just read through them (again!) to count them, and some of them have truly brought tears to my eyes. I feel very privaledged to have such special blog friends. Thank you all for helping me do this for Christmas!

All done for another year!

Well that went quickly didn't it??



The family congregated at DSis's house in Bonny Scotland for Christmas this year, as it was the first year that DNphw had an inkling of what was going on!! - I arrived there on Christmas Eve, just in time for a haggis supper - yumm!!!



DNphw told me he had been a good boy, and that Santa would bring him a train, then he found out that I had brought the Polar Express DVD with me (my Christmas Eve tradition!!), and we hardly heard another peep out of him.!!! DSis read him to bed with "T'was the night before Christmas" and off he toddled, sleepy and excited, having left out his stocking for Santa, and also stockings for Grandma, Grandad and Auntie Noo!!!! (How lucky are we??)



He allowed us a lay in until nearly 9am the next morning - what an angel!!!! as his M&D had kept him upstairs in their room, and hadn't mentioned the CH word!!! We all went down together and his little face when he saw presents in his stocking was a picture. To be honest we needn't have bought anything other than the Gordon Engine for his train track (Gordon being one of Thomas' friends apparently!) as that was all he wanted, and it didn't leave his hands for two days!!!!!



Christmas was all lovely, and a normal over-indulging, tv watching, toy playing time was had by all. My cousin and her DP visited on Boxing Day, which was great as I hadn't seen her since March, and her DP brought my DNphw a sledge - well that won him some brownie points it must be said!!!!! (Especially as he proceeded to pull DNphw around the house on it!)

I must have been good too, as Santa brought me lots of goodies. . . . The lovely messenger bag has "Noo" felted onto it, which I thought was very clever! and the watch strap is hand made by DM. The complete book of Aunts is great, and the smoochie cushion was a god-send on the train journey home! I did also receive a large number of thermal underwear items, but they are already all in the wash (well let's face it I was in Scotland!!) OH and I have also been very lucky and received a two night away break mid -Jan in the Forest of Dean. Can't wait for that!! (It should also be said the OH has decided what my present is to be, but it is not practical to get it before we go away on the break, more on that when they arrive!)

It was all fabulous, but do you know the memory that keeps coming back to me as I think back on all the fun. . . ?? On my last day DSis and I took DNphw to the beach for a walk before I was subjected to 10 hours on a train (!) It was drizzling with rain, so the beach was empty and we played chase, and drew train tracks in the sand, and then for some reason (and with a well deserved reference to our DGM) we both broke into song (mostly from musicals!) and danced around on the sand doing heel kick's and being mad!!! - Our final rendition was "Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner". . . . . . . and when we had finished a little voice called

"Again, again, the London Bus" !!! Words were duly changed and we continued to dance on the sand . . . . . . . .

Such is the stuff of lifelong memories!!!!!

Merry Christmas from Newland's Corner

Well, we have not been walking too much this week. . . a) because it has been really foggy (and having a white-ish dog who runs off into the fog doesn't bode well for my state of nerves at this time of the year!) and b) because I have been a little busy putting finishing touches to "stuff". But today OH and I decided that we should get her out as she is going in kennels tomorrow for a couple of days while I visit my sister. So off we went, headlights on, and wrapped up to the gills!


Well, blow me down with a feather, when we got there the sun was out, and Christmas had surely come early. . . . . . .

(this first picture is worth clicking on to get the bigger version, as it is quite weird how the ice has settled on only one side of the branches!)

They are not the best photos in the world as they were only taken on my phone - amazingly it didn't occur to me to take a camera for a walk on a day when I can't see the end of my garden!!!!! But I think they convey how totally stunning the scene was, and how my darling OH and I just had to keep stopping to look in awe at the majesty and beauty that is nature.

I think these photos lead well into me wishing each and every one of you a wonderful holiday, filled with Love, Laughter and Peace.

I'll be back after Christmas!

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by Silvia, which is quite good because I don't have much to blog about this close to Christmas!!!!!


THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.”

I would say I'm not a very weird person, (although others would disagree) so this may take some time!

1 ) I love the rain!!!
2 ) If I don't fall asleep quickly when I go to bed, I change my position to lying flat on my belly with one hand cupping each hip bone. . . . . . I then wake up about 2 hours later with my back set and unable to move!!!!!
3 ) I love trad jazz (some would think that isn't weird, but as the average audience age at a gig appears to be about 95 , I can only deduce that it for someone at the tender age of 38, it is!)
4) Despite loving to laugh, I don't like a single comedy programme on TV!
5) I love to walk the dog, but I hate exercise! (you can tell I'm finding this hard now!)
6 ) I love eating wild game, and am happy to pluck, gutt, cook, eat - but could never have shot/killed it in the first place!!


OK I have to tag, 6 people to complete this meme!. . . . . (don't do it if you don't want to, I don't like these things to end up like chain letters!!!)

I choose:-
Terri:- Because she is quite new to blogging and I don't think she has been tagged yet.
Piglottie:- Because she doesn't strike me as weird so I want to know if I'm right or wrong.
Philo:- Because if anyone can come up with weird stuff, he can!!!!
Bex:- (sorry but the rest of you can't have link to that blog 'cos it's a private one, but I want to know if she knows she's as weird as I think she is!)
Yarnaddict: Because I wonder if any of your Norwegian ways could be construed as weird! (in the nicest possible way of course!), don't know if you'll get a chance to do this before you go home for Christmas, but at least you'll have plenty of time to think about it!

(I only had to tag 6, but if Helen and Diane fancy it then I'd like to know how weird you are too!!!)

(ETA: No-one noticed yesterday that I can't count to 6!! - Only 5 people tagged, so Helen - you're it too!!!!)

Perfectamundo!

Well, what can I say? The Panto was FAB!!!!

I haven't been to a pantomime since I was a very, very small girl, and it must be said that I was a little sceptical. I thought it would all be a bit "too" much!!! But as "The Fonz" was appearing I decided it was worth the risk, as you just don't get the oppotunity to see someone like that very often!

We went to the matinee because timing wise it worked better for us - There were loads of school trips in, so again I had a bit of an "Oh No" moment! - But I have to say I haven't laughed so hard in a long long time. Both OH and I had proper belly ache in the interval from laughing too much. The children made it special too - there was an awful lot of boo-ing, hissing and out and out screaming going on!! Henry Winkler was awesome! It was great to see someone with so much personality on the stage and although "The Fonz" was only another character for him, it was fun to see little bits of him come out througout the show - little sayings or movements, (or the infamous hip swivel!). It was COOL!!!! (And if anyone out there is as much of a sucker for accents as I am, then this man's voice is gorgeous!!!!) It must also be said that Bobby Davro did a sterling job of keeping the audience entertained. He played Smee, and obviously as a seasoned panto pro, his job was the in-filling when the sets were being changed, - songs, dance, jokes, and plenty of nonsense (including a variation on the Twelve days of Christmas and Supersoakers!!!). He did an excellent job of keeping the momentum up. Peter Pan was played by a young lady who is apparently on CBeebies - I hadn't heard of her, but she did really really well, as did the rest of the cast. They all worked really, really hard, and to say that they only had a 2 hour break before they had to do it all again. . . . . . .

I have to say that although I was a little sceptical, I would certainly make Panto a Christmas tradition in this house. Fabuloso!!!!

Seeing Double!

Spot's half brother came to play today !!! (It should be noted that this is the closest they have ever been to each other by choice!!! - Spot likes her own space!!!!!) We've had a lovely day together! - The weather this morning was atrocious, I would say raining cats and dogs but that would be silly! - but it was raining very very heavily!!! - Then at lunch time it stopped - it didn't get sunny or anything, but it did stop raining, so we took the opportunity to get out and exercise the hounds!!!! We had a ball! It was very wet and muddy, and they were a little over excited to say the least, but it was really beautiful out there! - I know it sounds silly, it was grey and cloudy and the mud was ankle deep, but it was really, really lovely! There are quite a few silver birch up at Newlands Corner where we walk, and they are obviously all leafless and wintry at the moment. Well it seemed like each and every branch and twig had a little raindrop hanging off the end, it was like they had decorated themselves with their very own christmas lights!!!!! - Magical!!!! I really wish I had thought to take the camera (well let's face it you wouldn't really on a day like today would you!), but you will just have to imagine it! Nature's own Oxford Street!!!!!!

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I have just noticed that this is my 100th post - Wow!!!! - Thanks to all who read my blog, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!

Not much happening at Noo's House!

I don't usually blog for the sake of it, but I know certain people get testy if they don't read a new post every now and again, so here we are!

It's the most beautiful Sunday morning here, the sun is shining, the sky is blue and there's (still) a thick frost on the lawn! The little birdies are clambering over my feeder - it looks like a scene from Snow White!!!!!

Obviously things are gaining momentum towards Christmas. I have a tree up, and will decorate it today - although I'm really liking it naked!! - it's a real tree ( my enviro friendly side loses out on this battle of conscience) and it's beautiful! It smells divine - my whole living room has taken on a nordic whiff!!!!!! (which makes a pleasant change from "Eau de Springer" !!)

On Wednesday I am taking OH to a panto for his Chrissie present! (he doesn't know but I doubt he'll read this so I think I'm safe!) We're going to the one in Wimbledon, Peter Pan, with none other than "The Fonz" as Captain Hook! - I'm very excited (am I supposed to be excited over his present -?? oh well!!) It should be good for a laugh, and you can't pass up the opportunity of seeing someone so great in a panto!!!!

So that about gets you up to date, hope you are all enjoying your journey towards Christmas. . . . I am !!!!

I Have Cheese!! (Possibly!)

Apparently I have to wait for a rind to form and then paint it in melted lard - I assume to stop it going mouldy! - I obviously can't taste it to see if it's any good, 'cos that'd ruin the rind, so just keeping fingers crossed and hoping it'll be OK!

Edited to add:- I should have put the link up for the instructions in case anyone else fancied having a go:- MrsL's Masterclasses

Just as well I don't have children

You have to be kidding Mum. . . . . . . .
What this side????? . . . . . .

Aww come on I feel silly. . . . . . .

Ooooops dropped it!!!!!. . .

. . . . . otherwise I would be imprisoned for humiliating them at all available opportunities!