Hectic

I always hate the term after Christmas. Busy, busy, with not a lot of respite. I am being awful at keeping up with my friends and my writing, in whatever form is non-existent. But I am still here! Just with work and a wedding, my time is flying by.

Speaking of weddings, lots of ours is now planned. Just waiting for the invites to be done by my brother's girlfriend and then off we go.

This is the song that will be played at our wedding:


I think it just sums up everything and you can't really go wrong with Pulp, can you?

More soon x

Books- 2010

I keep a book journal, where I list all of the books that I read in a year; it got to the point where I was buying books I'd already read and needed to keep track (oh, if only I'd done that with my yarn stash; I still haven't found the two skeins of Cherry Tree Hill Supersock merino in Java...) Anyway, I thought I would share some of my favourite books of this year, just in case you are interested. They may not be books released this year, but just ones I've enjoyed.

Knitting

Knitted Socks East and West

I'm slightly obsessed with Japan and Japanese culture and I am obsessed with knitting socks. This is gorgeous and I had to buy it; for less than £9 there are 29 patterns! All sorts of patterns are in here- lacy, thick, traditional Japanese. What I love about this is that Judy Sumner has named each pattern after some element of Japanese culture. I'm going to finish my 'vanilla' socks and then start the Tsunami socks. Almost like a Christmas present to me.



Fiction

The Secret Scripture- Sebastian Barry- This book is amazing. I can't tell you exactly why, only that Barry has captured the atmosphere of Ireland in the 40s and beyond perfectly. The story covers the time in which I have been researching and the ending, although not totally unexpected, was surprising enough to make me cry. And I don't cry when reading novels.

The Owl Killers- Karen Maitland- I read this on my second journey to Ireland of the year and found it completely un-put-down-able. The story of a group of religious women settling into a strange and scary 14th century England wouldn't have been my cup of tea had I seen it in a bookshop, but a good friend sent it to me and I just thought it was amazing.






Non-Fiction

The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister- Helena Whitbread- I'm going to 'fess up- this is my grandma's book. She found a diary that had huge parts in code. She decoded it and found an account of lesbianism in Regency England that is fascinating (and maybe not as racy as many people expect!) It also gives an insight into how women were expected to behave at this point in time.

Desperate Romantics- Franny Moyle- I loved the TV series, but I loved the book even more. It's interesting how the artists seem on screen compared to how they do in the book; for example, I thought Holman Hunt was much more sympathetic in this book and you find out much more about one of my artistic heroes, William Morris and actually, what a nice chap he was, even to Rossetti who stole his wife. I also liked the infomation the reader is given about the women involved in the Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood, which, with the exception of Lizzie Siddall and Annie Miller, is kind of glossed over in the adaptation. Also? Aidan Turner is on the cover and that's never a bad thing.

So, this year, I read 40 books. Not bad going, I reckon!

Wedding shawl help...

So, I want to knit a wedding shawl. The fabric of my dress (hopefully) will be this:

I want to knit a wrap/shawl to go with it. My options so far are these:

Cloisters Wrap
Tudor Wrap
Tolovana Shawl

What do you think? What yarn should I use? Hopefully it'll be a May wedding and I'd like to splash out a little on the yarn. What colour would you choose?

Thanks, Knitters! x

2010...

I am a terrible blogger (on this blog, anyway) I got distracted by my tea blog and by life in general. I make no apologies for this though- sometimes life gets in the way and that is a good thing!

So, what have I been up to? Well, I got engaged last week! We'll be getting married next May. So I'm planning a wedding.

I've travelled to Ireland twice and discovered a lot about my roots. I saw the house where my great-grandfather was born and I've visited his parents' and grandparents' grave. I've made new friends and discovered the joys of hot whiskey! I met a Yorkshireman and South African in a tiny pub in rural West Cork. I went to my first Mass, which was in Irish.

I got better this year. I'm no longer (for the time being, anyway) on any medication. I'm a happy and content person. I think that this may be due to the fact that I no longer work Fridays. I read interesting books and I'm having a go at writing my own, although that comes in fits and starts.

Knitting wise, I've made a plethora of socks and a couple of shawls. I've added bootees to my repertoire! I'm planning on knitting something for my wedding, I have a couple of ideas. I've been dyeing up a storm and am knitting some pretty cool socks at the moment.

I'm now looking to Christmas and the New Year. I hope to blog more frequently on this blog!

When the cat's away...

So, Benn is away on his annual cricket tour. Before he'd been gone 12 hours, the flat was a tip. And I burnt a baked potato. Today has been slightly more successful, although I really should tidy up. The weird thing is, although Benn will be back on Saturday, I won't actually see him til Sunday, as I'm at a wedding on the Saturday and staying over night. It feels very strange when Benn goes away, but I am getting better at it, especially as he has had to go away for courses regularly in the last year. Also, I feel much safer in this flat then I did in the previous one.

Anyway, speaking of weddings, I got the first half of the wedding present done.

The bride has requested something hand-stitched and I know she likes her kitchen, so tea towels it is! I'm doing two with this design, this one (which someone said reminds them of Kylie Minogue in Moulin Rouge) and another in which the fairy has dark hair. That one will be mostly reds, pinks and oranges. The pattern is part of the Fairies and Gnomes set from Sublime Stitching (I have a ton of these transfers, which I just whip out for occassions like this or boredom) I might actually do a few of these for my own kitchen.





I also got my fascinator type thingy, which is a headband with a peacock feather. Now, I am slightly superstitious, so I wouldn't wear it if I was getting married myself, but it matches the dress I've decided to wear.  Also, I finished the knitted leaving presents, which were well received (phew) and I wrote my review. Most of the marking got done too. Woo-hoo!

The last two weeks have been very interesting- my school has a link with a school out in Ghana and a party of teachers and students came over for a visit. I am now sorting out a really exciting project between the two schools, in which I teach African poetry and the teacher in Ghana teaches Victorian literature. We're hoping that our students will also email each other and forge links. Right now, 'Ghana' is a very distant idea for a lot of the kids at school, I'd like the project to be a more positive one, so that some members of the senior team realise what a valuable exercise it is.

School ends in a day and a half and I have to give my form up to a new teacher. Although I am excited to meet my new year 7 form, I will be sad to see my kids go. We all started on the same day in 2007 and I've watched them grow from being tiny, with their blazers and backpacks being too big, to confident young adults. It has been amazing. I hope I don't cry on Friday when we finish! We had a party at lunchtime last week and I spent a small fortune having special badges made for each member of the form.

However, onwards and upwards towards a brilliant summer break!

Things I need to accomplish by Friday next week...

So, it's the final weekend before the summer holidays start and I have a mountain of things to do before Friday (also- just worked my last 'full' Friday for at least a year! Woo!) In order to be able to chill out a bit, I need to do the following:

- finish the leaving present scarf
- finish reading, and review, 'Helen' by Maria Edgworth
- Embroider some tea towels as a wedding present
- mark some essays about 'The Crucible'
- create a scheme of work about African Literature (I'm going to be the English Department link with our partner school in Ghana... v exciting!)
- re-mark and file away media coursework
- clean out the rabbit
- buy a fascinator type thing
- update my tea blog

I am also, at this point, very, very tired and just getting through the day is hard, but I am trying to be enthusiastic- this week, I created TWO new schemes of work. Very pleased with myself, as hopefully it will mean that I will have a more organised year. If I'm honest, the hell of the last year at work has meant I haven't been as good at my job as I am capable of being. I want that to change; there are so many exciting  things I could be doing. Hopefully, going part time will help me get my positivity back.

Once I've finished the scarf, I have to knit something for a swap I'm participating in and I have to start thinking about my mum's 50th birthday present (I'm thinking a shawl- a big one to help her shoulders when her arthritis plays up. Any suggestions welcome. I'd like pretty too, if poss.)

Life is lovely when work doesn't get in the way...

So, remember that list of things I put up a few weeks ago? I failed miserably in the 'don't buy any books part', as I bought a book, The History of Tea at my favourite book shop in the world, Much Ado Books in lovely Alfriston. And I got sent a new book to review too. So that one's gone out the window... And I did get a new lipstick, but I won that courtesy of the Flake/Benefit giveaway.

Other than that, I'm sticking to the no new yarn/clothes thing really quite well.

We break up at the end of next week and I am so looking forward to it. I find that I am more relaxed mentally, but more active physically. For example, I have been making a real effort to exercise on a regular basis, even though I do pretty much loathe it. The loathing is beginning to subside a little bit, so who knows where that will lead? (To not having cankles and bingo-wings, hopefully...)

Also, I had a massive tidy up yesterday. People who know me well know that I am messy. Not intentionally so, I just have so many things on my mind at once that tidying seems to fall to the bottom of my to-do list. Anyway, now the way to my side of the bed is clear and it really is marvellous. However, give it a week or so and it'll be total chaos.

I've also found that, after months of hiatus, my baking mojo has come back with a vengeance. This weekend, I will be baking up cheese scones and possibly some oat-y, peanut-y biscuit-y things.

I've done all the major school related compulsory activities (one day was at work from 7.30am to 9.10pm and didn't get home til 9.45- that was with a lift; had it been by train I dread to think what time I would have got in) and so everything now is slightly more fun. Tomorrow, I teach a media studies lesson to the visiting Ghanaian students and on Friday, my form is having a tea party. It's all good.

I really like this time of the school year; you're glad that the end is nigh, that new classes and stationery are coming your way and best of all, you get a nice break from children. Except I do a week of summer school classes every year. Oh well, glutton for punishment and all that.

And then it's Ireland!