Guilt-free Indulgence

I am on a train going to Lomdon. I brought a manuscript to review. It has not printed properly. What's a girl to do but listen to an audiobook and knit?


-- Post From My iPhone

Spring

On blogs across the land, Spring has sprung, and beautiful photos abound.

Sadly, Nearest & Dearest & I are pigs, so our garden doesn't really look very nice. BUT. On my way across campus, I spied this:


Yes, these are just crappy photos taken with my phone, but still. Only 3 weeks and 1 day left of the term, about 5 weeks till I go to America, and when we get back, winter will most definitely be over! Yippee!

Temperament

I keep meaning to fill out a temperament questionnaire about Foxy for remembrances sake, and to give a flavour of what he is like. On one questionnaire (can't remember which) there is an item something like: In the bath, my child splashes vigorously. I think of it often at bath time, as the floor gets soaked. Foxy LOVES bath time, and enjoys playing peek-a-boo with whichever Mummy is out on the landing because our bathroom is that small. Last night the excitement got too much, and he actually FELL OUT OF THE BATH. I have not heard of this. The kid is hyper! Luckily, with a high positive mood behind all that energy.

Anyway, this last escapade lead me to dig out a questionnaire at work today. Here's my baby, in numbers:

Scoring is from 1=Not characteristic of my child to 5=Very characteristic of my child

1. Child tends to be shy 3
2. Child cries easily 2
3. Child likes to be with people 4
4. Child is always on the go 5
5. Child prefers playing with others rather than alone 4
6. Child tends to be somewhat emotional 2
7. When child moves about, she/he usually moves slowly 1
8. Child makes friends easily 5
9. Child is off and running as soon as she/he wakes up in the morning 4
10. Child finds people more stimulating than anything else 4
11. Child often fusses and cries 1
12. Child is very sociable 5
13. Child is very energetic 5
14. Child take a long time to warm up to strangers 2
15. Child gets upset easily 2
16. Child is something of a loner 1
17. Child prefers quiet, inactive games to more active ones 1
18. When alone, child feels isolated 3
19. Child reacts intensely when upset 3
20. Child is very friendly with strangers 4

-- Post From My iPhone

Odd Pleasures

I love it when Foxy falls asleep in a place that means I must sit and do nothing. Right now I dare not bump up the stairs into our house, so I shall sit on the stoop with podcast and knitting for company. Heavenly.


-- Post From My iPhone

Real Life

In the interests of honesty, I feel the need to share some pics of my office at this moment. Reflective of all aspects of life, sadly.


-- Post From My iPhone

Staggering

Foxy is finally up on his feet on a regular basis. e staggers like a drunk. It is TERRIBLY cute:

More socks

Love knitting socks with self-striping yarn. These ones are for me. Ha!


-- Post From My iPhone

Childcare Rant

May I? I went to a meeting of creche parents the other day. It wound me up. I think it comes down to the fact that I don't think childcare SHOULD be cheap! If you value your children, do you not think that those looking after them should be well paid, and have good working conditions? Honestly, I find the moaning intolerable.

I did enjoy watching my colleagues squirm when I suggested that the budget shortfall should be covered by increasing fees for higher-rate tax-payers. And people wonder why the students like me -- can you say Theory of Mind??

Puppet Show

I made a couple of New Year's Resolutions this year. One was to take more photos. I really need to start carrying around a decent camera. I forget, and so most of my photos are from my phone. Ah well.

So, these photos won't do justice to the event. Just so you know.

Last weekend we had friends down, and we had a grand time. Their 4-year-old daughter is a delight, and was very sweet with Foxy. We went to the Brighton museum where I have not been in years, and Nearest & Dearest and said 4-year-old put on a little Punch & Judy for us:



I know I must not wish away time, but I am looking forward to the golden era: 4-10 years old.

Knitting, Surfing, & Cookies

Due to the snow, my work week is now 2 rather than 4 days. Hence, today I planned to use Foxy's naps to do some work. Hmm...not appealing. Instead I find myself doing this:

OK, you can't make out the screen shot, but it's Amazon, and the books ain't academic. And see that red tin? It's filled with home-made choc chunk cookies. Nice.

Knitting update. Over the Christmas period and beyond, I made 3 scribble scarves from the original Mason-Dixon book. I made one in brown for my MIL, one is greeny-blue for my SIL (see Chrimbo post), and I have just finished one in cream for Foxy's last surviving great-grandparent, Gigi. It's easier to see the lacey-look with this one:

And here's what it looks like on (I know, I need to weave in those ends):

I think it will suit her perfectly, and so easy to post! I used Rowan kidsilk haze for the light fluffy stuff, and Debbie Bliss 100% silk for the heavier rows. I loved how quickly these knit up. Two evenings of telly, and voila.

2009 is going to be the year of the sock. I'm ready to move on from the Regia pattern, and learn some cabling and lace knitting in the process. I ordered a bunch of KnitPicks stuff over Christmas and Mum brought it back from California for me. What a treasure-trove! I ordered 6 different small circulars, and have come to the conclusion that wooden needles really don't suit me. I'm too tight for their stickiness. Loving the nickel-plated, and I like them SMALL. I'm working on a little ribbed pair for Foxy now on 2.25mm:

I love things made in his size. And I have enough yarn in this gorgeous colour-way for all 3 of us to have a pair. Cute or geeky, it's all good in my book.

Snow Day

We woke up this morning to this:


So exciting! So beautiful. We soon had confirmation that both our Universities were closed. Massive amounts of dancing in the kitchen. Foxy was excited too, but he didn't know why.

In the afternoon we trooped over to our local park.

It's an old fashioned Victorian park & I love it:

There were loads of kids and some parents sledding:


Can you make that out? Those boys are sledding with a BATH TUB. Awesome.

Back home, Nearest & Dearest introduced Foxy to another winter treat -- a fort:



We're crossing our fingers that tonight will bring more snow...