Fishwife down the drain.

Well, not precisely the drain. The toilet cistern. I have been plumbing.

Now to put this into context our toilet, like many other things in this house, is old. As in vintage, though not antique. My best guess is that the toilet and bathroom suite was installed in 1948 so that makes it sixty years old. That's old for something that's in daily use. And like many old things, myself included, it gets cranky. You have to treat it with a little respect and go with its moods, like when it flushes itself at 3am. Sometimes it jams up and refuses to flush. Sometimes it burbles to itself. It always seems to sort itself out in the end.

It's never been quite happy though since our central heating engineer took it upon himself last year to change a washer or something. I could have told him that this was a step too far for the old Loo. Last time before that a plumber went near old Loo he told me I'd have to scrap it because some essential rubber widget had perished and that size of bit hadn't been manufactured for thirty years or more. I cut a new widget out of an Ikea mouse mat, fitted it and Loo went on quite happily for another seven years, until that engineer chap fiddled with his washers.

However last week we had a catastropic shut-down, as in Loo would not fill. Something wrong with the ballcock valve (?) I deduced, consulting my 1970's copy of The Readers Digest New DIY Manual. I rolled up my sleeves...

I've got one great failing in DIY though...I'm not good at the brute force bit. I've got small hands and anyway, I'm not keen on forcing old bits of things to move in case they self destruct. I did not want to apply the force necessary to take some of the very seized up parts apart. I did manage to get Loo working again, but only just. He kept relapsing. This was not good. I decided we had to get a plumber and told Hubby this. Hubby then pointed out we're skint as church mice and the big car is due its MOT this month. Argh!

So, when I came in from spinning Guild tonight and discovered that yet again Loo was not working I decided that since the choice was between spending the money I've been saving up for the kids Christmas pressies or jolly well fixing it, I was going to FIX it. Kill or cure. I got out the hammer....

...and I did what the Readers Digest had been telling me to do all along to it, which involved bashing out a split pin with the hammer, taking the entire brass ballcock mechanism apart (more brute force) and some serious work with a file. Then I reassembled everything, turned on the water again and held my breath.

And it all works. Perfectly. Not a mutter, not a murmer. Perfect. I was so pleased with myself I woke up the kids to tell them, and now I'm telling you lot. Round of applause, SVP!

Remembrance Poppy.

It's Remembrance Sunday this weekend, and if you haven't bought a poppy yet I thought this was a really lovely idea for knitters.

Knit a Poppy for Remembrance Day.

And the donation for the pattern goes to just the same place as if you dropped money into the usual collecting tin.

Actual Knitting Content.

As part of the tidy up of the lounge today I thought I'd look into the pile of project bags that live down the side of the sofa. Eeek. UFO Central! Here's my list, with % finished and probable fate of each.

1)Plain vanilla socks in Regia Kaffe Fassett . 95% finished, will complete this week.

2) Viveka in Rowan Soft Lux Amythyst. 25% done but really like this one so WIP.

3) Brigitta in Rowan Soft Tweed Twig. 35% complete. Not sure about this one. It may be working out small but I can't tell untill I get to the armholes.

4) Cold Weather Corset in Noro Iro. Not sure about this one either. It depends on whether the Brigeta above works out. If it doesn't then I'm going to swatch with the Iro and if that looks good I'll frog the Corset and knit Brigita in it instead.

5) Tahoe in purple DB Cathay. Hate this and it's heading for the frog pond. The Cathay is meant to be knitted at a looser than usual gauge then blocked to size. To me it just looks cheap and skanky, as if my gauge was off or I used the wrong yarn.

6) Kismet from Rowan mag No (???) , in khaki Linen Drape. I've finished 60% of this, as in the back and front but have laid it aside as it's a summer sweater. I'll definately finish this one. Linen Drape is gorgeous. I have to finish it anyway...it's not listed on Ravelry yet, so this is my chance to be the lead link picture, lol.

7) Forest Canopy in a heavy blue silk 2ply I bought at Woolfest from Knitwitches .




I like this and it was my holiday knitting (until I got the wheel) but I was having real trouble with it in the poor light of an evening campsite and rather put myself off it. It's looking lovely though and I'll get going again with it.

8) Silk Tweed Sweater in dark raspberry Summer Tweed. 60% done, as in the body is done up to the front neckline. I hate the neckline though and have reknitted it three times and it's still not right. I want a Summer Tweed sweater though and most of the rest of this is okay so I feel it's worth at least one more shot.

9) A single sock in something I really can't remember, except it was by The Natural Dye Studio. This is nice and I'll make a point of putting the other one in the car to knit on in these five minute slots when I'm waiting around for kids. When I've found the other ball of the yarn, of course.....


Actually, that's less than I thought. Trouble is I also want to knit a hat for Lad, a pair of socks for Princess and scarves for both Princess and my sister. By Christmas. And I'm not a fast knitter. What do you think of my chances of doing these and finishing at least one sweater for me by Christmas????? Bog all I suspect.

So plan is to get the yarn and patterns for the presents at least assembled, then I can use them as car knitting. A couple of nights usually suffices for a hat. The socks for Princess can be DK as they're just for bed socks. As for scarves well....DK there too. I'm not in the mood for fiddly things. And I've got plenty of odd balls of really nice alpaca DK yarns in the attic. Will use them.

Store Cupboard Challenge #2.

Told you I signed up for the Store Cupboard Challenge, yup? Well, I decided that a daily update of what I was eating that day would not exactly be exciting blogging so I'm just going to pop in and out with this topic when I had anything worth saying. Today, for instance, I decided not to buy puds, bread or snack food for the kids and do a biggish baking session instead. Out came the trusty Be-Ro book, ovens on (the cats like this because the fans blow hot air along the kitchen floor, brief pause to go and buy another battery for the kitchen scales (which I do use every day, but which give you no warning when they're going to conk out)





Have to say, the cats behave like a couple of over-excited toddlers when I start baking. Especially Oliver, but when Paws sees Oliver trying to get up onto the worksurface to investigate the crinkly packets and chase the eggs then naturally he thinks he's missing out and tries to get up too. The kitchen worksurface is the one place in the house they're really not supposed to go, of course, mainly because of the cooker hob being set into it but also for hygiene. So it does take a little time to persuade them of this. Then they go and sit on the dining table instead and watch the mighty Kenwood Chef in action, which is not a good idea either of course. Then when they sulk off onto the floor they get under my feet. I must have stood on Oliver half a dozen times today.



After all that it wasn't that exciting a baking session. I was trying to use up storecupboard items and have plenty of flour and other baking ingredients so I made Eve's Pudding, using some cooking apples that had been in the bowl for a looooong time, Rock Buns for the kids to use up some of the cheap dried fruit mountain that lurks on the top shelf of the larder and a loaf of corn bread made from a mix that I bought on impulse in Lidl. This last looks a bit suspect, have to say, but bread dough never looks that exciting in the early stages does it so there's hope for it yet.









Just a comment on the trusty Be-Ro book. I learned to bake from this book 40+ years ago and most of the basic recipies have hardly changed. Margarine, butter, sugar, salt, white flour, high calorie dried fruits, syrup, treacle and suet. Eeek. Why weren't the previous generations fat as pigs, eating that lot every day? Well, it's simple. Portion sizes. For example, the Rock Buns said "Makes 16". I dutifully did and as you can see they're not large. In fact they are more the size that modern shops nowadays sell as "snack size", where the implication is that you eat several to make a portion. If I went to the bakers round the corner and bought a Rock Bun it would be at least three times the size. As to other bakery items, a standard seven inch cake would be cut into eight slices, not the four that would seem reasonable now. And back in the '60s when I were a lass you only expected one scone or teacake or slice of cake with your drink when you went to visit somewhere. I can see my kids' faces if they were confronted by plates of home baking and only allowed one thing and that a tiny (in their eyes) one. Portion sizes have definately increased hugely since I was young, if the Be-Ro book is anything to go by.

Oho though, talking of cakes, I didn't show you the cake I made for Princess when she had her birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Be-Ro recipe, of course, and probably should serve about 50.



(Yes, there was something in the treasue chest. A pendant in the shape of an "M", for Princess M.)

Anyway...a small dent was made in the storecupboard ingredients, and to help things along we're having lamb steaks (from freezer), couscous (from sample packet that came free with a mag) and cauliflower cheese made woth freezer cheese and a cauliflower that was in need of using up. So a good day for shopping from the larder.

Deer Laydeez

Deer Lezlee and Saraa and de laydeez of de cat rescue place,




Dis is Baby here, da big hairy grey and whitez cat wot was wif you five weks ago.I promzed I wud write to yous after I waz in my neu hom for one month. Well it haz beens five weks but I haz beens buzy. Sorri. Wen I cam here ther waz one Mum, one Dad, one big Boy perzon and one smaler Girl perzon. I wuz scared off them al, ezpezialy the big Dad wif the louds talkings. I founds a litle hidy hol in the bukcas behind da sofa and I stayd ther for thre days wen da perzons were arond. I cam out wen no perzons wer arond to eat fud and do da other ting. I wuz scared dey might be mean perzons like my last familie. No one wuz mean to me and da Mum was speaking to me nice, soz I cam out. Shee gav me sardines. Now I lik all da perzons becase dey is not means. Dey all lik catz and even da little Girl is not means and stroks me nice. Da big Dad waz scarey but he iz nice really. Da Boy iz my seconds favirite perzon but Mum iz my bestest perzon. I likes dem all now. I goes and sitz wif dem and watch whats dey do and gives dem purzz.




Der is one udder catz here his name iz Oliver. He iz not mean either. He is litle and orange and he wantz to play all de time. He letz me shar his toilet and letz me shar his fud. We plaay lotz of gud games lik Chase and Pounce and Fight and Ball. He iz a pest and litle but he iz okay reely. He iz happy I came to lives wif him becase he mizzed hiz cat familee and hiz mummie and hiz sister. Now we iz palz. We sleps togethers on da bedz. There iz five bedz and too sofas and we cans slep on dem all. My best bed is wens Mum iz asleep. I sitz on da pilow and luvs her. I luv my Mum. I gives her big purrzz and licks and rubs my earz on her. She sayz she is crosz whens I wakes her up but she givez me cuddlez so she iz not crosz.

Da fud is gud and I am not boney anny morez. I am geting fatz. Mum combz ma fur wat I do nots lik but I am geting shiny so this is gud. Dere is lotz of cat fud wich is gud and dere is sardines and fishh and chiken som dayz, wich iz beter. I wud lik more chiken every day but Mum saz no. Cat fud every dayz. Iz okay. Iz plenty cat fud. I lik cat fud to.

Da perzons here is nots means so I wud lik to stay pleaz if dis is okay? Dey lik me and give me strokiez and play wif me and luv me. I luv dem to. Dey is nicerz dan ma last familiee. Dey say I am prettee and pet me. Dey is propers Cat Peoplez. Dey unnerstand catz. Dere is plentee to do and see and Oliver is ma pal. Dere is fud and dere is warm and nice softs beds. I luv dis home. I wants to stay here. Okay wif yous?

So tank you for finding me a nice familee. Giv my luv to da other catz at de rescue and wish dem az much luck wif geting a nice familee lik wot I have gotz.

Lots of luvs,

Paws.

PS. Dat is da one things dey do diffferents. Dey callz me Paws becuse of ma hairy paws. It iz a better name dan Baby, youse thinks?

Sunday.

Today was spent sitting in the side room of the Scottish Karate dojo in Dunfermline. (Princess was doing her first karate grading.) Dunfermline? Beautiful town, full of history (first capital of Scotland)and I used to live there forty years ago. I did intend to get there early enough to show Princess my old house, but in the event I spent too long at home getting the other one organised for rugby, and only had enough time to locate the nearest McDonalds for lunch and then get her there in time to do her paperwork and get her changed. She passed her grading nae bother, but I forgot to get a picture. Maybe next week when she's next got classes. She was very pleased with herself anyway and that makes it all worthwhile. I do think it's important for girls to do a physical sport, one that doesn't just involve pointing toes and smilling. A bit of body contact and possible pain in an activity is not a bad thing for girls. Gives them self-confidence.

Anyway, I got to sit around a lot and that means knitting time. Small projects, like socks. I realised recently that since I first learned to knit socks a couple of years back I've always had at least one sock on the needles. The current one is the second of a pair I'm knitting for Lad's Christmas, in one of the Regia Kaffe Fassett colourways, No.4256, Mirage Twilight. (Coincidentally on sale here.)Basic top down pattern from the Violet Green Sock Pattern Generator. Very reliable calculator, have to say. I use it a lot.

I've also decided that of all the basic sock yarns around, Regia and (less commonly) Trekking have to be my favorites. I've knitted a lot with Opal but it's just too fuzzy IMHO. I'm very sorely tempted to go and buy some more of that KF Regia, but I'm supposed to be on an economy drive at the moment and if I'm trying to cut back on the food bills I can hardly justify more sock yarn, really, not while I've got about fifteen pairs of socks worth in the Sock Box in the attic. Pah. But if you've not tried the Regia before then it's well worth a whirl, especially at that price. Lovely firm, warm, sprongy feel to it when knitted up. And the colours in the Fassett range are wonderful, of course.

Pictures when finished, which should not be long as I've only 24 rows of the second foot to go.

So given that I have no other worthwhile pictures I though you might like to see how the cats are getting on. These pictures were taken at the AM venue. In the morning they both go and sleep on opposite ends of Lad's unmade bed, where they can catch the morning sunbeams.



Paws looks like a skunk, doesn't he?



And Oliver looks like he's knitted from Kaffe Fassett sock yarn, lol.

Tough life, being a cat. Especially in this house. I want to come back as one of my own cats.

That time of year again.

It's that time of year again. Too early to reasonably start thinking and planning for Christmas (I just REFUSE to do this in any serious way till 1st December) and the memory of summer has drifted away into the mists of time. (Apart from the fact I still haven't got all the camping gear away.) Half term is past, Halloween is past....what do you do in November????

You feel skint, that's what. The holiday bills are finally paid, we've had three birthdays, two car MOTs and the C-lists are next, eek. Money. Not enough of. So steps must be taken to economise. Last year I joined Natalie's Store Cupboard Challenge, in which basically you try to live out of your larder, freezer and whatever else you have in store for a month and buy as little as possible. This has the twin advantages of (a) saving money and (b) clearing out all these odd tins, packets and little crunchy bags of frozen whatever you have in the freezer.

Just to show you the current state of my own larder yesterday (after tidying...!)





And of the same larder in 2007, just for comparison.....



Oh what a difference! (Not....)


So.....Natalie very kindly gives you a couple of days warning to get yourself prepared, even if it is only to go and see what's actually IN the cupboards and freezer. Interesting exercise. I found a lobster in the freezer. When did I buy that? (I know why...it had a Reduced to Clear £1.00 sticker on it.) There was a chicken, which I did know about and which is currently in the oven, four half full bags of frozen peas, four half full bags of Yorkshire Puddings, several chicken carcasses, a lot of blocks of unusual cheese and....well, lots of things. I like bargains and quite often have a trip down to Tesco in the evening when they reduce all the short codes produce.

Anyway, given that it's now NaBloPoMo the Store Cupboard Challenge is quite a useful even to be participating in at the same time, because if I run out of blogging inspiration I can always waffle about what I'm cooking today, no? So today we are having roast chicken, Yorkshire Puddings, baked potatoes, peas and gravey for dinner.

Have to tell you about the potatoes, btw. Last night I was putting the rubbish out when I discovered half a box of baking potatoes in my back garden. I assumed the local vandals had nicked them fromm the nearbye grocery shop but upon enquiry they had not come from there. So....well, I had two boxes of windfall apples pinched from the garden last week so I decided that the potatoes were the karmic balance taking effect and thus am not going to look a gift potato in the mouth, as were. The apples were only windfalls after all, destined for the compost bin. The only thing I regret is that the lads probably used them as missiles. Oh well, better a squidgy old apple being thrown at your window than a large spud.

Finally, to show you that I have not totally given up as a knitter, here is a link to a shop called Five Valley Fabrics. It has some amazingly good reductions in it's yarn section (and possibly other sections) at the moment Worth a browse.