Mothlady

Clapotis!

First of all a correction to my last post. If I had gotten five Spring Breaks, we probably would have gone to the Bahamas. But as I got only three of them and a couple of guys with beer bottles, we stayed in a modest hotel in the countryside. While SO was swimming in the pool, I watched news on Katrina. We felt like we were on another planet, the contrast between our surroundings and those in New Orleans couldn't have been any bigger. And although we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday, our thoughts were with those affected by the hurricane.

We were hiking in a seemingly enchanted forest full of mushrooms and rocks.

A tiny Fly Agaric mushroom.

I think the correct term for this is 'glacial moraine'.

I did finish Clapotis while we were there, here it is fresh off the needles on the hotel room floor (at last the colours are right in this picture!).

Name: Clapotis Scarf

Designer: Kate Gilbert in knitty.com

Yarn: Just under 8 skeins of Noro Kureyon (100% wool, 100m per 50 gr skein, colour #148)

Needle Size: 5mm

Date Completed: August 30, 2005

General notes: The pattern was really fun to knit and although I was afraid Kureyon would be too scratchy for this project, I really like the result. I didn't bother to use any stitch markers as the pattern was fairly simple. The original 6 skeins that I bought were nowhere near enough and I had to buy two more (there's only about half a skein left). I'll probably iron the scarf lightly through a damp cloth to get rid of those curvy end corners.

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Today was a nice day, I worked for a few hours, knitted and watched telly. I'm finally doing the first sleeve on Eris, more pictures will follow next week.

We're back!

The world seems to have gone mad while we were away. For the life of me I cannot understand such acts as the London bombings.

We spent the week in a quiet little town by the seaside. The weather was very hot, but we stayed in a little cottage that was cool at all times. Bettina acted the part of the seasoned traveller and took little notice of the taxi and train journeys. She even seemed to recognize our dwelling as this was the third time in three years that we've been there. So, it was a week of sun, fun and relaxation for all.

We were woken up (well, at least Bettina and I did) very early in the mornings by the birds singing. The surroundings were great, rose bushes, cats, horses etc. We were so busy the whole week that I didn't have time to explore the old garden, but there were some lovely flowers.

Bettina loved the flora and fauna around us and spent most of the time on the window sill. By the end of the week sleep deprivation was taking its heavy toll.

During the week, we took a two hour cruise, met several old friends and even had time to go to a local spa. The Roman style hot tub felt like heaven, as I had some gigantic blisters in my feet by that time. Too much walking in hot weather, I suppose. I also had a facial and a massage at the spa, I couldn't pass an opportunity to pamper myself.

My holiday knitting project was Clapotis from Noro Kureyon. Here is how it looks in the spa, where I managed to knit a few rows before the massage.

I took the Clapotis everywhere with me and managed to knit quite a bit. Here I'm having a break in the woods.

The first dropped stitch can be seen up on the right side.

We came back on Monday, and on Tuesday I was supposed to get back to work, which proved to be fairly difficult as the hot weather continues. Anything above 25 degrees Celsius makes me a zombie when it comes to work, so my attempts have been a little half-hearted. It's much more fun to sit outside and knit the Clapotis.

But I have to get on with the work, as it's only this week and then we're off to another holiday. Yay! Holidays cost money, and speaking of money, look what happened as soon as we came back.

And soon after came this.

50 dollars turned into 3000 dollars and I got the money out. And guess what? The cash was on my Neteller account yesterday. 32Red has extremely fast payouts, I'm glad to say.

Psst! I want to use some of my casino winnings in something like this. Don't tell my SO, he probably wouldn't understand why I would like to go on a luxury cruise to, well, knit.

Pampering is good

Dad likes the new home very much, but on Monday I made an alarming discovery. I went to visit him and he told me there was something wrong with the medical alarm bracelet he was wearing. At first I thought it just wasn't functioning properly, but then I realized he was wearing it on his left hand. Now, my father had a stroke a couple of years ago, which caused aphasia and paralysis on the right side of the body. Yes, the right side. So, he had the bracelet on the wrong hand from Thursday until Monday. Okay, had there been an actual emergency he could have gotten help by just shouting, but I still don't like the idea that he spent the weekend without a way to get the nurses' attention at night. Especially when the nurses are in charge of two floors, so they might not have heard him holler.

On Sunday SO and I had a relaxing evening at the local spa, complete with sunshine, jacuzzis, artificial waves and poolside drinks. And today I had appointments with an osteopath and a hairdresser. It's always a treat to pamper oneself.

On the knitting front, I have completed the back of the blue jacket and begun the left front. I'll post pictures of them next time.

Did you read about the 40 million credit card numbers that were hacked? Well, apparently my MasterCard was one of them. The bank contacted me today and advised me to get a new card. But not to worry, naturally I get the new card for free and if any unauthorized purchases were made (and as far as I know, there weren't any), the bank and insurance companies would cover them. The only drawback is that it will take two weeks before I get a new card. But I don't use MC that much, so it's not a problem.

Despite the credit card thing this was a good day, so I want to end this post with something equally nice. This win in Cinema Casino is from the end of May. Click on the picture and take a look at the figures. A truly amazing win, isn't it?

 

Yes, it can really happen. I put down my last 40 dollars and got a royal flush. Believe me, anything's possible in casino land.