My Life in Flip Flops

The gentle art of gratitude*

2012-01-26T16:37:00.008+01:00

I'm sure like me you were brought up to say please and thank you and I'm sure like me you still do. For example after a meal with friends I'll always send a card or perhaps an email depending on who it is. I met up with an old friend last week for lunch and gave her a bottle of our olive oil, within a few days there was a lovely thank you card that I really appreciated. However I've had recently a few examples of total lack of gratitude.
So far this year I have posted off separately two hand knitted items and left another gift to be passed onto the recipient, I have heard nothing back from anyone. So I've begun to wonder if the gifts actually arrived and at the embarrassing stage of considering whether I should make contact, thus shaming the recipient into expressing some seemingly solicited appreciation or just keep quiet.
I'm not looking for a standing ovation, I don't need to be carried shoulder high round the village, but none of this is good enough.
On the other hand, and on the basis of two positive comments to each negative, my darling Amelia always makes a big effort whenever she receives a gift, this was her post Christmas thank youand I still have last years which was equally delightful.
Also I knitted this week a pair of fingerless gloves for Pam's Mum who is 95, currently not too well and likes to read in bed with gloves on to keep cosy. Pam provided me with a couple of balls of Rowan 4 ply soft, gorgeous yarn, I used slightly more than one 50g ball and could probably have managed with just one but I'd been asked to make the gloves nice and long, presumably to tuck into the sleeves of a nightie. When Pam collected them she thanked me and that evening sent me an email thanking me again and saying her Mum was delighted and was using the gloves straight away which was great to hear.
I give gifts that I think the recipient will enjoy and the giving is in many ways enough satisfaction but surely it doesn't take much, especially in this day and age, to make some acknowledgement. That's all I'm saying, my first rant of the year and by the way thank you for taking the time to read this.

*with apologies (and thanks) to Jane Brocket

Thank you Josiekitten

2012-01-22T13:34:00.001+01:00

Josiekitten started the year with a blog giveaway and I was one of the lucky two drawn for a prize. I didn't mind which yarn I received so it was a nice surprise both to find some chocolate in the box and also three balls of Louisa Harding Kimono Angora. I had suggested that if I didn't win any yarn JK might send me one of her gorgeous cats. Seems she wasn't up for that but the yarn is as soft and silky as a kittens ears. Do you want a closer look at this cuddly collection. It will make a beautiful scarf, I am thinking something light and lacy, can't wait to get started but as you know I am soldiering on with the jumper of barbed wire. It seems to get harsher and harsher or has fondling this delicious new yarn altered my perception. I have however started (and finished) the chocolate which was most satisfactory.

Goodness gracious

2012-01-19T11:39:00.000+01:00

Great balls of fibre.

I bought two of these cones of 'stuff' a while ago in a charity shop, they cost I think £1.50 each, the main reason I bought them, the colour is a nice brown tweedy mix. The total weight is over 2000 grams, there is no central paper or plastic cone, what you see is all knitable. I have absolutely no idea of the fibre content, it feels like string mixed with a bit of barbed wire yet I can break the thread easily, it doesn't smell at all sheepy but does have that oily feel that natural wool can have. Mr FF had been asking for a new everyday sweater and I toyed with the idea of ordering some yarn then I remembered that these two biggies were lurking in the stash department. I'm using a simple 4 ply raglan pattern, it's turning out quite big, its very heavy and unyielding to work with. I have to say it's hard going as the material is so harsh but I keep knitting and telling Mr FF that this will make a great outdoor, wind and waterproof jumper/tent. I'm the kind of girl who always finishes a book once started, completes one project before she starts the next but this time I have had to do a bit of soft double knitting now and then just to save my aching hands. Still the back is done, the front almost finished and the sleeves will be easier so lets just hope the jumper is wearable. Toughen up Mr FF, we are relying on you.

Big new year knitting post

2012-01-13T11:16:00.001+01:00

Seems ages since I showed you any knitting, it must be weeks because I really have lots.The men's socks from the broken needles eventually got finished, a Regia yarn the pattern I've used before is from Jane Brocket's The Gentle Art of Knitting and nicely meets my need for cables. Another little swing cardy again in Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo, this one for a new great niece Kitty born just before Christmas in London. Socks from the yarn, Preface, I bought at the Phildar shop in Reims. I like the colour Gouache very much but Phildar doesn't seem to be easily found in the UK. A scarf in a pure and quite old Shetland yarn I had in stock. The pattern is for a shawl but the fine yarn and smaller needles turned it into a scarf. Made in two halves and grafted together, I defy you to find the join.
Mr FF's Christmas socks are done, I used the pattern Country Socks from one of my Christmas books, Folk Socks by Nancy Bush, nice ribs with a bit of broken rib or is it mixed up moss stitch inbetween.
There is one more rather lovely item but it's a present so I can't show you until it's delivered and maybe you've had enough for now. Such a good start to the year, just call me Mrs Knitalot but what else can a girl do when her bottom seems to be welded to the sofa.

Wise words

2012-01-09T18:03:00.002+01:00

I've just been going through the Christmas cards before recycling them and I reread this message, it really makes me smile. So true though today I've managed a few hours in the much neglected garden, I wore my wellies.

Blackout

2012-01-05T13:47:00.004+01:00

During the big storms our power went off and stayed off for 30 hours. Dark days indeed.
On Tuesday morning we woke to very very windy weather, probably the worst we've experienced here and as I lay in bed listening to the tiles dancing I thought the whole roof would blow away. Mr FF brought out the camping gear, our little gas stove that had difficulty warming a pan of water, our lantern whose batteries had past their use by date and gave less light than a candle, his wind up torch and our battery radio. Thus we existed for a day and a half. We opened the doors of the stove and heated simple food and water on the fire, giving everything an interesting smoky flavour. I knitted by the light of two candles, stocking stitch was all I could manage, Mr FF read with his torch and we listened to a live football match on the radio, Tuesday was a long evening. Our bedroom was Baltic but a hot water bottle each and the torch within easy reach in case we needed to get out in the night saw us settled in.
Mr FF did have the benefit of his iPad but there wasn't that much left in the battery and he said he wanted to save that in case he needed to send an emergency email. I've never heard of one of those, I thought if we had an emergency we might use the phone or go out in the car so I found little comfort in the idea that we an email in hand.
Wednesday we decided to go out for the day, we managed showers as we had loads of hot water from the stove but without the pump there wasn't much flow and I found the top of my body warmed while my legs stayed cold. It was also dark in the cubicle but as I explained to Mr FF that wasn't a problem as I know my way round my body pretty well. Getting in and out of the shower was invigorating but at least we were clean while we traipsed round a few supermarkets that were quite chilly. We ended up in the cafe in Ikea, which was relatively cosy and a plate of meatballs and mashed potato cheered me up no end but then mashed potato is my happy food. We had to resist the temptation to snuggle down into a bed in one of the room sets, watched a bit of telly in another and came home late afternoon. We practically held our breath driving home in case the village was still in darkness, the first part had power but the middle of the village was off so we didn't have great hopes as we turned off the main road where the street lights were still off towards our house. Hurray, we had power, it had been on for about an hour when we go home. Last night was bliss, heat in more than one room, light, telly, internet, proper cooking. Driving along yesterday we'd seen so much destruction, lots of trees down, fences blown away, several garden greenhouses completely destroyed. We were lucky to escape any real damage, so grateful to have our power back and still have email to spare.

Santa's been

2011-12-29T18:05:00.006+01:00

I hope your Christmas was good and you are still relaxing and relishing all your gifts. You are probably wondering how Mr FF and I fared this year with our £5 Christmas stocking scheme. Well, I was hopeless, we were in Italy, when we came home the weather was awful and then I got listless so I really didn't find much for him. His selection included some sock yarn that I was given so that didn't eat into the £5, I just never got round to knitting the socks but Mr FF got the idea when he unwrapped that parcel, some chocolate and a jar of locally made Indian chutney. As I said I'd gone a bit listless. Mr FF on the other hand did really well, here's what I receivedFirstly this lovely little Filofax mini, which he intended to label my iPad2 knowing my feelings about that gadget and my love of tangible paper items. It's so pretty, Italian leather, with pockets and places,I've already ordered a diary and address pages to pop in.

This very pretty silver plated toast rack, I love toast racks and already have quiet a few, this one is so sweet, perfect for a lady enjoying a light breakfast.

A pair of silver (coloured) candle holders, I don't have any square candles but managed to force these in for demonstration purposes.
Finally four charity shop books, which I actually had a hand in selecting, 4 for them all, splendid value. I couldn't be happier with my gifts and since I underspent on Mr FF and get the yarn back to knit his socks I'm a winner all round.

Christmas happy

2011-12-24T15:05:00.011+01:00

Just a few festive things that make me happy in the midst of all the madnessMr FF decorated the outside tree without being asked
Our card from Amelia, the face is a print of her foot, the antlers her little fingers
My Christmas eco friendly washing up liquid, a gift from those lovely people at Method Mark Cavendish, my favourite Giro and Tour de France cyclist picked up the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. I'd like to think it was my vote that decided it but he won by a huge majority, hurray for cycling.
We've been down to Yorkshire to deliver presents and spent some time with family, the wrapping and writing are done, the halls are decked as much as they're going to be and now it's time to relax, I have lots of yarn and a roaring fire, what more do I need.

Have a wonderful peaceful Christmas

Three cats tales

2011-12-14T22:17:00.008+01:00

I adore cats, we've always had at least one and sometimes three but after we lost Cleo a couple of years ago we decided that it wouldn't be fair to keep cats and spend long periods away from them in Italy, which was our plan for retirement. There are always feral cats round our house in Lazio and when we are there we are happy to feed them. This summer word must have got round, we started off feeding one and ended up at most having 7 cats come round for dinner. They were all in good condition and friendly, obviously doing the rounds, so I bought dried food regularly and sometimes cooked extra pasta which was always well received. Before we left most of the cats had moved on and we were only seeing two kittens and their mother, but it was heartbreaking to part after we'd spent so many weeks enjoying their company. The little ones sometimes slept on a folded up padded garden chair, a comfy and safe place, but we had to put that away for the winter. So My FF constructed a bed for them in the wood store beside our outdoor pizza oven using some of the old carpet from the bedroom. He introduced them to the new place by posting them into it and actually went out late at night with a torch to make sure they were tucked in, they were. We left food in the garage to that Mario could feed them when he called to check the house and have heard that they are still around and doing well, in fact our neighbours who feed them when they are at their holiday house sent us a photograph recently which made us both happy and sad. Part of me hopes they'll still be there next year when we go back, part of me wants them to find a better home.
Then while we were at my brother's on our way back from Italy, he told us that four cats had turned up at the farm, two Siamese and two black and whites, all healthy and obviously all recently neutered as their fur hadn't grown back on the operation site. I saw them about, beautiful healthy creatures but quite timid. I know that there are organisations that round up feral cats, have them doctored and release them again but I can't understand how expensive pedigree Siamese cats could become feral. So I was delighted to receive this belated birthday gift from Pam, a knit your own cat book. It made me smile, I'd love a window cill full of kitties, at least those I wouldn't have to worry about when I was away.

Busted

2011-12-08T09:49:00.002+01:00

The second day of our drive home from Italy was long and stressful. Mr FF, Yorkshire through and through was reluctant to pay the road tolls so we spent a lot of time travelling through villages averaging 40 mph until he agreed that we were getting no where and he was devastated at having to fork out 37 euro to use the Mont Blanc tunnel spectacular as it was. We hadn't booked accommodation for that evening as we had quite an ambitious schedule but we pressed on to Reims our intended stop and arrived around 9.30 pm. Driving round looking for a hotel, Mr FF stopped the car right in the town centre and told me to go and ask the way to the Holiday Inn Express. I panicked and in my haste to get out whilst trying to switch my brain from Italian to schoolgirl French I stood on my knitting and snapped two of my precious Knitpro needles. I only had one spare with me. In the end Mr FF had to go and get directions as I was far too emotional, the Holiday Inn Express was dire and we couldn't get anything to eat except a plate of sandwiches. Miserable at the thought of not being able to knit for the next three days and all that travelling still to do I went on line that night and found Shiela who kindly posted a new set of Knitpros to my brother's house, they arrived safely next day and I can't thank her enough for helping me out.

It wasn't all bad in Reims however, we had a decent breakfast, a walk round the Christmas market and later I found a Phildar shop, bought a pair of metal 2.5 dps and used one of them to keep me going through the tunnel and up to Yorkshire. I also found this lovely sock yarn, sometimes life is fair.

Welcome home

2011-12-05T13:31:00.006+01:00

Phew. That journey home was exhausting and our time back in Scotland has been hectic. We left Lazio on the Sunday, had an overnight near Genoa that was brilliant and included a delicious meal with our hosts, their family and friends that in true Italian style was full of conversation and laughter. After a long drive we had a night in Reims, two nights with my brother in Yorkshire and got back to Scotland on Thursday.

Saturday we were at Joanne's wedding, a gorgeous event and a long overdue get together with my old work colleagues. Yesterday I had a stall at a local craft market which was a great success though the hall was baltic as the doors were kept open to encourage the punters in.
Today I am hoping to return to some sort of normality, domestic duties, knitting and of course a bit more regular blogging. It must be a sign of old age that I don't bounce back so well but there is nothing planned for a while and looking out of the window we won't be venturing far. Lazio seems a long way off, we are missing our Italian outdoor lifestyle and wondering when we will return.

Quick update

2011-11-22T08:51:00.004+01:00

Lets skip the usual excuses for lack of posts from Italy so that I can tell you how things are going. Slowly, exhaustingly, dustily. We hope to paint the second bedroom this week, return the fixtures and fittings to the room, clean the house and leave for Scotland early on Sunday morning. I'd rather hoped we would get to the stage of all those home make over programmes when the interesting accessories are sourced and added to dress the room, I shall be lucky if we get the wardrobe reassembled, next time maybe.
The olives are picked, 103 kilos that produced 22 litres of oil. I did most of the pickimg by hand, I'll tell you about that later.
Seems a long time since we were frazzled by the heat, eating gelato with Amelia or imagining we had so much time. We've been in Italy almost four months and it has been brilliant, we are constantly told now well we look and Mr FF is mantaining his much admired Italian haircut. Not looking forward to all the work still to do before we leave, all the packing, the goodbyes and back home the preparation for Christmas but I am lookimg forward to Joanne's wedding a few days after we return. As if to prepare us its raining today, the first cool wet day we've had but no doubt scraping the old carpet adhesive off the floor tiles will keep me warm (and filthy). La dolce vita contnues.

Buon Compleanno

2011-11-01T11:29:00.003+01:00

Over the last few years I've had a few overseas birthdays, one in Palm Springs, my 60th in The Dordogne, but this my first birthday in Italy though my 63rd in total No presents and just a couple of cards but I am having a wonderful time, currently sitting out on the terrace under sunshine and blue skies, what could be better.

We returned to our house last Wednesday to find that as promised the second bedroom had been replastered, the electrical conduits installed and the room was very tidy if very dusty. Since them Mr FF and I have painted the room, the skirtings are being reinstalled and we should be putting the furniture back in there soon so that we can move in and start stripping put the main bedroom for the same treatment.

Despite all the work, upheaval and dust I am delighted to be back in Italy. The weather is lovely, gentle sunny days and cooler nights when we light the woodburner and cosy up. There is a real feeling of autumn, the colours are beautiful, all around us we here the chatter of people picking their olives and the little mill in the village is working constantly to produce another years supply of oil. I don't usually enjoy this change of season but there is a very positive feeling here, crops are harvested for a winter that won't last too long and its still warm enough for breakfast outside. What more could a birthday girl ask for.

I was knitting honest

2011-10-25T15:14:00.006+01:00

Despite taking enough yarn to open a shop with me to Italy I did very little knitting, even during the three days of travelling I hardly picked up the double pins. So it is embarrassing to admit that during the 10 weeks we were away I produced only these, three pairs of socks, the top two in patterns I have used before the lower is new to me Hedgerow by Jane Cochran. This pattern was very pleasing, easy to memorise and I particularly like the way the rib continues down the heel. I'm putting the variation of colour in the photographs down to the fact one was taken in Italy one in Scotland.Since being home I've made another little wrap cardigan, this one to take back to Lazio for Giulia, new daughter of Angelo and Francesca. It's knitted in an Opal sock yarn white with flecks of colour.
Since I left the massive stock of yarn in our house in Italy along with my favourite KnitPro needles and as I'm only taking out one pair of socks when we fly back tomorrow there is a big incentive to make more for the drive home which may not be till the end of November. Who knows what the weather will be like then.

Happy Birthday Amelia

2011-10-21T08:16:00.002+01:00

Amelia is two today, Happy Birthday darling girl. We loved having you with us in Italy, as much as you loved pasta, helping to keep the place tidy, more pasta with your great uncle, chilling out with Daddy, the media attention at our local bar, staying up late to eat pizza in the restaurant, cafe society, beach life, getting into the freezer to cool down and thank you so much for wearing your little flip flop dress for me.

Love those cupcakes

2011-10-18T14:54:00.007+01:00

Liz of the above named blog had a giveaway recently that I read whilst in Italy and it really made me miss proper cakes. We have a well used teapot in the house with a regular supply of Yorkshire teabags and while we enjoy various pastries, croissants, little choux buns or panettone with our coffee a good cup of tea calls for a decent sponge with butter icing. I was fortunate enough to be selected in the draw and yesterday this lovely book and card arrived. Lots of deliciousness, I intend setting myself up with the right equipment, which is listed for each recipe, to take out to Italy with the book so that I never again have cupcake withdrawal.
Thank you Liz, this could be a life saver, we can probably stay even longer next time.

At last a few snaps

2011-10-14T16:22:00.005+01:00

Obviously I have lots of photographs to show you but I wont bombard you with them all at once, for now here are three that I call the good the bad and the ugly, in that orderLiving the dream with varnish from Nails Inc. I don't remember the colour and I left the bottle in Italy
A wild fire that raged for a week on the hillside behind our house. Helicopters with water buckets and planes that scoop from the sea were a constant presence and did a brilliant job in a very tricky location
Our second bedroom, carpet up, several layers of wallpaper and one of paint being stripped, we didn't leave it like this honest.

We did have a set back when we returned to Scotland, found our wood burner was smoking badly when we tried to light it. I am already the colour of a kipper, for a day or so I smelt like one too. Yesterday we managed to clear a blockage in the flue accessed through the inside of the stove, getting filthy in the process but it fixed the problem. Home three days now, Mr FF almost has the boiler installed and I've done a little tidying in the garden, which has been overtaken by weeds over the last 10 weeks. I suppose its not possible to have a transient lifestyle and a beautiful garden but please don't make me choose just yet.

Its not over

2011-10-10T12:37:00.000+01:00

Remember me, I'm the one who used to blog quite regularly and often about my dream of long trips to Italy. Well the dream came true, we've been here for almost 10 weeks, it has been wonderful but I have totally neglected my blog, probably because it is such a pain typing on the iPad and far to complex for me to load photographs.
Well I should be able to put that right soon as we fly home on Wednesday, we are leaving our car in Lazio and will return in a couple of weeks to do some decorating and drive it back. The weather is still exceptionally lovely, we both had a post lunch snooze on the terrace earlier. Mr FF is now upstairs knocking hell out of the soon to to be replastered -allegedly while we are in Scotland but I wont hold my breath-bedroom walls. He is cutting out channels for the conduit so the room can be rewired when we return, again allegedly.
Lots things have happened, our lovely week in Puglia, a completely unexpected tax bill that was supposed to be sorted today, we have heard nothing, an equally unexpected storm that destroyed our tv and our neighbour's computer before any plugs could be pulled, only 3 days that have had rain, maybe a but much pasta, a Judith Chalmers shade of tan, I won't go on.
So I'm trying to find warm clothes for the journey home, we left early August and didn't expect to stay so long. Of course as far as the locals are concerned the temperatures may still be in the 20s but summer is over, the beach bars and rows of sunbeds disappeared weeks ago, ice cream stocks are being run down and in some places gone completely and the dress code is fleeces, winter coats and scarves except for us because we still find it warm and we dont have any of those items here. These people need to go to Scotland with me, then they'd know what cold is I am not going to like it.

Still living the flip flop dream

2011-09-21T10:55:00.003+01:00

We are still here in Lazio although on Saturday we will drive down to Puglia for a week, I'm looking forward to renting someone else's house while ours is occupied by paying guests. We've had great times with our various visitors, nice to be out and about doing touristy things, but now we have settled down to domestic duties, Mr FF is cracking on with his log store and i have so much work to do to restore this house from our personal domain back to a holiday let.
We hope to visit our trullo next week and make some sort of decision about its future, I rather hope we don't fall in love with the ruin and Puglia all over again.
We had a terrific storm here that woke us about 4 on Monday morning, sheet lighting that illuminated most of southern Lazio, scary fork lightning, thunder that rattled the windows and then heavy rain. Usually I enjoy a good storm but being halfway up the mountain made me quite worried. The next couple of days were cooler and fresher but the blue sky and sun are back now and i think I've worn my flip flops for almost 7 weeks none stop, how will I ever fit into proper shoes again. Not something I plan to worry about for a while, when we return from Puglia we will stay here for another 10 days or so because we want to strip the 2 main bedrooms of wallpaper, take up the carpets and get the walls replastered. Then we might leave our car here, fly home for a couple of weeks hopefully to finish off the boiler installation (which I'd almost forgotten about), then fly back here to decorate the bedrooms and drive the car home. I have to say Mr FF has taken very well to retirement, he seems to be keeping us both occupied.

Lazing

2011-09-08T16:17:00.005+01:00

I havent posted for ages, been far too busy being lazy.
We had a fantastic time with Amelia and her parents, they were all delightful company and we did lots of happy things together like spending a day on the beach, being invited to friends for lunch, going out in the evening for pizza and eating lots of ice cream on a daily basis. Amelia was totally accommodating, as long as she got a good breakfast nice and early she fitted in with our plans and charmed every italian man she met, both with her gorgeous eyes and her huge appetite for pasta. You will have to wait to wait for the photos.
The house seemed very empty when they left last Friday, we expected our friends Roger and Christine to arrive the following Tuesday and got all prepared only for them to have their flight cancelled with 12 hours notice when Italy called a general strike. No airport workers, no public transport, no refuse collection, the country fell silent for a day. Fortunately R and C have rebooked for next week so fingers crossed.
So we havent done much since a garden visit to Ninfa last Sunday. I usually doris the house in the mornings, take it easy during th heat of the day and then potter in the garden early evening. Ive weeded a whole border that was very overgrown and done some pruning. Mr FF has made progress with his log store and this afternoon got out his beloved concrete mixer to lay the foundations, this is no slap dash construction I can tell you.
The weather is still wonderful though not the fierce heat we experienced when we arrived so sleeping is easier. Its hard to believe we have been here almost a month, still havent had enough of Lazio but I might admit to the odd craving for fish and chips. We went down to the local pescheria this morning and bought 2 unknown creatures for dinmer, lets hope they do the trick.

Amelia is on her way

2011-08-26T07:03:00.004+01:00

In a couple of hours we will leave for the airport to collect Amelia and her family. Everything is ready for them and we are so excited if a little concerned about how they will all cope with the heat. Every day seems just a little bit hotter and it's difficult to keep the house cool, 29 degrees in the hall when we went to bed last night. I'm not complaining through, loving the sweltering days with heat that almost knocks you over when you step out of the air conditioned car, loving the morning freshness when I get up around 6.30 and wander outside still in my nightie, loving the balmy evenings sitting out under millions of stars.
Mr FF has purchased some blogging app that he says will enable me to load photos, plus some device that will enable me to get them off my camera. Whether I will have the patience to learn how to use them is another matter altogether. I have finished my first pair of socks, never realised before now much yarn and nedles could raise your temperature, a few rows had me in a complete lather.
Must shower and dress, busy day ahead and be nice to wear something other than my usual shorts and a camisole.

So hot

2011-08-21T11:04:00.005+01:00

A week has flown by, it's now 2 weeks since we left home. The weather is amazing, we wake up early to see the sun come up and it shines all day long. Yesterday the temperature reached 38 deg and it is apparently much hotter in Rome, no wonder half the population has moved out for the summer. According to our neighbours down the road who just arrived from the city this morning the forecast is for even warmer weather tomorrow which will continue throughout August. Phew.
Our friend Franco came out from Ostia briefly on Friday, we also invited his English neighbour who has been in Italy for 40 years but she refuses to leave the house until the temperature drops.
Mr FF and I have however found a bit of respite from the heat, we inflated the paddling pool we brought out for Amelia's visit and find that we can both fit in and lie down quite comfortably, though whether there is room for Amelia too is debatable.
The iPad is now almost fully functioning, I don't like it any more that I did when it wasn't working properly but I do like it better than nothing.
Finally, and you must have been wondering when this was going to happen, Mr FF has started a little project to coincide with the reopening of the builders yard tomorrow after the August holiday. He is building a log store for our winter fuel. This has involved moving some blocks left over from a previous project, taking out an old tree stump and putting the pick axe through an irrigation pipe before he starts the build. He is only working early morning and I'm not complaining as he brings me a mug of tea and I lay in bed reading for a while. Be nice to find out what all those lovely boys down at the builders yard did during the holiday, I'm sure we will be there very soon.
OK I hear the sound of hosepipe in paddling pool, must dash

IT and me in Italy

2011-08-13T16:58:00.004+01:00

Not liking the iPad one little bit. We had big problems once we got to Lazio, purchased a mini sim which we were told would be operational at midnight but once we inserted it most things stopped working, in fact we still can't send email tho we can receive. Eventually yesterday we went back to the shop, found some one who pressed several buttons and at least we are getting some kind of action. No idea how to load photos to my blog, hate the fact I, a proficient touch typist am forced to hover and peck at the letters, hate this business of tapping at the screen which seems quite hit and miss. Surprisingly the machine didn't come with any instructions at all and since we couldn't get on line for help we have been very much working on trial and error Rant over.
We are now relaxing into the holiday, fully recovered from the journey and loving the sunny outdoor life. Apart from chasing round sorting out our IT problems which does make a change from chasing round the builders yards, or sitting in the local outlet village using their free wifi, we've not been far. However tonight there is an event in the village Nettare Divino where we will be able to follow a route through the old streets stopping off at various points to sample local products with a strong emphasis on the wine. There will also be music in the square and many visitors from Rome who have holiday houses in the area will mix with the locals to create a magical atmosphere.
I found the 3 day journey down here a bit stressful so I didn't do much knitting, now its far too hot which is a pity as I've brought enough yarn to open a shop, almost a week since we left home and only 50g consumed.
Mr FF seems to be relaxing at last, he did wash the car today but probably as a way of cooling down. He went to the local barber and had a very brutal haircut, which looks great and will certainly last him the 6 weeks or so we are here.
I am saddened to hear about all the problems in the UK, it is big news over here and does our reputation no good at all. Certainly in this little part of Lazio there is wonderful community spirit, great respect for others and I know that tonight all generations will be out in the streets, no one will be drunk and everyone will be courteous and welcoming. Enjoy the rest of the weekend, I hope to be back blogging soon iPad permitting

Bonjour

2011-08-08T07:02:00.004+01:00

How lovely to wake up at our beautiful b and b in France.

The drive to the tunnel was good, the tunnel itself fast, efficient and not at all scary.

Today we drive to Austria.

The man gave up on the boiler at 7.30 Saturday evening, it was not finished, nothing like despite all that work - there is a lesson there let's hope it has been learnt because the build up to this trip has been terrible.

Do you hear the jangle of my nerves

2011-08-06T16:35:00.002+01:00

OK, 24 hours to

finish packing

eat

sleep

drive 450 miles to the tunnel

and relax
Oh yes and just that bloomin boiler to fix, this is where we are now and the engineer just isn't giving up.

Three days and counting

2011-08-04T09:04:00.002+01:00

I suppose we are getting there, I had foolishly imagined that since Mr FF and I are both retired we might prepare for our trip to Italy in a slightly more relaxed way. Mr FF is still networking the house and has explained to me that being able to plug in a computer in the spare bedroom will add to the value of the house, pity the stress of all the mess and inaccessibility of bedrooms has greatly reduced my life expectancy. The boiler is still sitting in the garage when it should be in the cupboard off the hall, I'm assured it's just (a very over-used word in our house) a little job. On the bright side, I've had fun trying on my holiday clothes, cropped trousers, little t shirts, what fun, I have my wardrobe now sorted with a case for the car and a holdall for our two overnight stops. I've also got my knitting bag packed, another great pleasure, I'll need plenty of sock knitting for the journey with the emphasis on cotton blends. I've photocopied a few patterns that won't be too difficult to cope as we tootle along. I also finished another swing cardigan for Amelia this one in Sirdar Snuggly baby bamboo, 80% bamboo and 20% wool. The colour is Jellybaby, discontinued and a great bargain from Knitwell Online. I've posted it off to Yorkshire though she shouldn't need it when she comes to visit us in Lazio.And finally this has arrived, an iPad2 complete with red leather cover, my early birthday present to Mr FF and hopefully a way of us keeping in touch.
The relatives arrive later today, Mr FF is out tomorrow and just that boiler to fix.

One week

2011-07-31T14:35:00.008+01:00

This time next week we will be driving down to the south coast to take the Eurotunnel to Calais. Hopefully the 16.30 that will allow us time to drive beyond Lille for our first overnight stop on our way to Italy. We haven't booked our channel crossing back, we can in theory stay out there for 7 weeks, whether we will is a different matter.
Things are tense in the pre holiday build up, Mr FF is trying to get the boiler back into position and fully working herewhile I fret about my garden and greenhouse. Our house will be occupied by our cleaning cousins while we are away but their watering skills are not the best. The weather this last week has been so glorious that there has been much muttering on my part along the lines of 'I don't see why we have to drive for 3 days when its so lovely here', 'this garden is so much nicer that the one in Italy', 'all my orchids might be dead when we come back'. Call me ungrateful I probably am but I really would like a few things to happen in the next 7 days.I want my miniature sunflowers to open I want my marmande tomatoes to ripenI want to eat some of my beautiful borlotti beans, grown from Italian seed in the greenhouse and I'd like someone to tell me what exactly I need for 7 weeks and pack everything neatly for me. We've already unearthed far too many household items to take out to our holiday house, plus Amelia and her parents are coming to Lazio for a week and we are taking a car seat and various other items to save them weight on the flight. It's going to be an interesting week but in 7 days time we shall be past caring and possibly even in the queue for the tunnel.

Knitting now

2011-07-26T11:25:00.000+01:00

I have been knitting but had to wait until these socks, in Regia cotton/wool arrived on the Isle of Wight, the island where time stands still, a birthday present for Rose. The very effective pattern is Waving Lace by Evelyn A Clark from Favourite Socks, which is turning out to be my favourite sock book.I've also made these Retro Rib socks again by Evelyn A Clark from the same book and I've already used several other patterns, it is a great book. This is some cheap yarn I bought in Lidl, not good enough to knit socks for sale I'll keep these myself for everyday wear.I also made this blanket which is a pale lemon shade intending to enter it into the village show next month. The pattern is from the website of the Linus project and all entries will be passed on to the charity after the show. Unfortunately there was a fault with the yarn that I didn't notice until I was blocking the blanket, it goes thin in the middle and whilst it is a perfectly acceptable item that will get passed onto the charity I don't want it to be my show entry, I have a reputation to maintain. So I wrote to the manufacturers, Coates Crafts in Holmfirth, and they kindly sent me two replacement balls plus a £10 gift voucher, can't get better service than that and the charity will benefit as I have already made another blanket which will be put into the show. Bit of a hurried post today, I haven't had time to block this second blanket, the battle for control of the only computer in the house continues and I have the upper hand only briefly.

Spammers - get a life

2011-07-20T16:54:00.003+01:00

I was extremely put out the other morning when I checked the comments on my blog and found that one of them linked to a filthy site. I naively imagined that the name ***porn was a reference to a yearning for yarn and very angry that it related to my writing about and photographs of Amelia my great niece. It seemed fairly genuine, the author had taken the trouble to compliment me on my knitting but obviously not to read the post as he/she said I had a cute kid, I don't have any kids. In my innocence I clicked on the link as I always like to reciprocate comments. I was disgusted and I admit confused as to how it is possible to get into certain positions and at the same time display so much of the human anatomy. My first impulse was to tell them that they were not welcome on my site but I decided not to respond. I was able to delete the comment (forever) and while I was at it I deleted the Boycott American Women one that appeared some time ago and had prompted Gigibird to post that she likes Geoff Boycott, that's the spirit. Mr FF read the comment about all American women being fat, lazy, unable to cook, cheats etc and muttered 'same here mate' which made me smile because I know he doesn't mean it. This Boycott guy is apparently posting on blog after blog regardless of it's content and if other commenters make fun of him he can become quite abusive, that's scary and a dreadful waste of his little life.
I then went onto to Blogger and had a look in my comments section where it is possible to view the spam that has been intercepted. Firstly may I say I had no idea that the proprietors of escort agencies from Mexico to the Ukraine are so interested in a pensioner's knitting/gardening blog. The absolute bollocks that people are trying to post onto my blog is amazing, questions about acne, do I know a good dentist, the usual male part amplification and unlock your phone offers. What an absolute waste of time, the whole world is aware that these are spam and I say hats off to the people at Blogger who have them sorted. There are nearly 200 in my spam section, if you have the time you should check yours, contemplate the mad world we live in and wonder what all the freaks used to do before we had the internet. Can I also say to those of you who do post lovely comments thank you, you are sane, intelligent, responsible people not out to mess with my computer or shock me and I appreciate every word.

Picture from Google Images

Post blog note - following the sensible comment from Debs I have taken out certain words that could attract the nutters, hence the rather coy references. Hope it works and thanks Debs

No longer tied

2011-07-15T15:21:00.000+01:00

Mr FF seems to be adapting well to a life without work though he still spends a large amount of time in front of the computer. As we are currently sharing one machine he is restricting my time on line and it's often a contest in the mornings to see who can get logged on first. I did have a little pang of regret about it all myself when I was hanging up his shirts and I remembered what a lovely collection of silk ties he has. Mr FF was always well turned out for business and partial to a colourful and interesting tie. I enjoyed buying them for him at Christmas and birthdays or just as a memento of a trip abroad. This one by Moschino I bought him for Valentine's day
The bottom one is Tommy Hilfiger the other his Braveheart tie for when he was representing Scotland over the borderThese two we bought in Madrid at the museum shop The green one from the TinTin shop in Brussels and I don't remember where I bought the grey Snoopy one.
Now he's dressing in jeans and t shirts, all those business suits pushed to the back of the wardrobe and talk of a lengthy visit to Italy. I don't know what will happen to the ties, and please don't suggest that I cut them up to make a patchwork, I still haven't finished the one I started three years ago.

Free time

2011-07-09T11:03:00.010+01:00

So the first week of unemployment has gone very well. Mr FF is gradually sorting out his home office, though I see little increase in space yet. I have my eye on some of his filing cabinets for my knitting patterns. He had to return some of his executive toys on Tuesday, fancy phone, lap top etc plus lots of files so after a brief visit to his ex-office in Co Durham we travelled on to Yorkshire and spent a couple of days with friends and family, a chance to catch up without the need to rush back for work. We had a delicious meal with Roger and Christine though our real intention was of course to visit their gorgeous black cat Panther, you can read about him here, now 16 he is still very sprightly.
Then onto my brother's for a couple of nights. We were fortunate that Amelia came for the day and we had plenty of time with her. I had just finished this little swing cardy, knitted in Sublime organic cotton the pattern is from Easy Kids Knits by Claire Montgomerie. Both Amelia and I were delighted with the result, it was easy to knit as the yoke is in one piece, less stitching up, and the front band is knitted with the body. Maybe the colour, borage, wasn't the best for a day on the farm but Amelia insisted on wearing it and it is machine washable. I plan to knit her another in a more serviceable colour and as this is only the second size I can use the same pattern for years to come. I'm not the only one making for Amelia, how do you like her motor. This was made for her by another of her great aunt's father, just from waste materials, old pram wheels and the like. It really is wonderful, beautifully constructed with a loud horn, old lamps and can be connected to a battery so the motor really works, Amelia is a bit young at present for driving and is helped round by Grandad. The number plate WAS 1M comes from the maker's respect for the Pakistani Wasim Akram regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket.
Mr FF commented on Tuesday that it felt like Saturday, I did explain that when you don't work every day is a Saturday maybe I should perhaps have suggested he needed to finish clearing his office and then he'd feel more settled but I think quite rightly he's already got the idea that he now has all the time in the world.

No longer required

2011-07-04T09:57:00.004+01:00

Something quite major has been in the air of a week or so and I can now reveal that Mr FF has officially finished work. That's about all I can reveal, there has been so much negotiation and secrecy around this event, all contained in an 8 page legal agreement, that I began to wonder if he didn't work undercover for M15 rather than a small construction business. His last day was 30 June, Friday was his first day out of work and today he embarks on his first full week of freedom. As you can see he seems to be keeping himself occupied, I think he was sleeping with the cushion over his head to keep the sun off his face, there again maybe he was a spy. So far with the tennis finals, the start of the Tour de France and the onset of some really hot weather he has been struggling with the life/life balance. There is talk of a lengthy trip to Italy, we are off down to Yorkshire this week to spend time with family and there are plenty of things on my list of jobs an out of work engineer can do around the home.

Saturday's Sit and Knit

2011-06-30T08:13:00.001+01:00

I was looking forward to my sit and knit session at the village market, no selling pressure just time to knit and chat and it was great fun.
Pam made me a very lovely sign and I took a selection of wool, needles and a few books with patterns for squares as inspiration though we were only knitting simple garter stitch on the day.
This was probably the last village fair as the support from local people has been poor and it was very quiet on Saturday. This a great shame as the event offers a good community get together with local stalls, children's corner, tombola, a cafe, cookery demonstration and all in a good cause, this one was raising funds for Cancer Research. I already had a few squares on the needles in case people wanted to pick them up and just knit a row or two but some of my beginners actually wanted to learn cast on first. My star pupil was 10 year old Amy who had already visited the face painting department, she did a great job, so good to see young people showing an interest. I had quite a few experienced knitters, including some of the stall holders who sat and made whilst selling and people who took their knitting with them while they walked round the fair. We didn't produce enough squares for a blanket on the day but I'll keep making them and a few locals who took away needles and wool to keep going have delivered squares to my house and taken more supplies. There was also talk about starting a village Stitch and Bitch group, I'm all for that. As a bonus one of the stall holders pulled out late on Friday so I was asked to take some socks to put on a shared stall, on my behalf Lesley and Nan sold about £50 worth for me.

Garden inspiration

2011-06-26T09:25:00.001+01:00

In the week Mr FF and I travelled down to Penrith, he for meetings me for a trip out. We spent some time at the lovely Larch Cottage Nurseries, a place that used to be a regular coffee stop for us until we discovered the delights of a proper truckers cafe that we've been using for the last few years. Anyway we decided to renew our acquaintance, the place had changed quite a lot since our last visit and was as ever absolutely delightful.It really is an inspirational place, full of little secret areas, lots of statuary, this massive fountain made me smile, plants, pots and a lovely cafe where we sat looking out on to the immaculately kept landscaped grounds. Mr FF took a liking to the alligator/crocodile you can see peeking round the end of the bridge till I told him it was almost £3,000. I did quite a lot of sighing and wishing my own garden was more to this standard, though when I got home I was pleased to realise that it is very interesting and well stocked, just not so many ornaments. Even better stocked now because I had a good rummage in the bargain bucket and got all these plants for 50p each.

Knitting now

2011-06-22T08:47:00.001+01:00

I'm pleased I'm not the only one who doesn't like seaming up their knitting, Kate at Haunted Yarns posted recently in a similar vein. I finished knitting Jake from Rowan Junior by Kim Hargreaves a while ago but left the pieces lying around which I produced another pair of socks before tackling the stitching, which is quite disgraceful really as it's such a small garment.I used Sirdar Juicy DK colour Denim rather than the All Seasons Cotton recommended so there was some adjustment to make but it's turned out fine. I enjoyed the pattern very much, the 80% bamboo 20% cotton yarn is soft and silky, quite splity and tended to unravel when I was sewing but I'd definitely use it again.
The jumper is on it's way down to Yorkshire for Daniel who was born a couple of weeks ago, a new brother for Phoebe my adorable virtual niece, actually no relation at all. Phoebe is already a wearer of my hand knits, in fact last time she came to visit she asked me to teach her to knit and I sent her home with large wooden needles and some wool. I believe she's still practising though has her hands rather full at the moment. I had nice note back from Mum when I emailed to say I had a jumper for Daniel that I wanted to put on my blog and asking permission to include a photo of the baby. I quote Thank you so much for knitting for him - your knitting is just divine - I have kept Phoebe's little crossover cardi you knitted her as a baby - it's in her Keepsake box, it's just exquisite. That is so rewarding, I'm delighted the family like my knitting, but really my achievement is nothing compared to these two gorgeous children.

Plain speaking not

2011-06-16T19:01:00.005+01:00

I've been trying all week to take some decent photographs of the adult woodpecker and the fledgling that have been visiting the feeders. The adult usually arrives first, calls the little one over and proceeds to pop food into it's beak. Since this is the best I could do here are pictures of my herbaceous border that they are able to admire from the feeding station.
I was reading this morning on Yarnstorm's post that Jane cannot stand the expression 'going forward' and she gives a link to an article in The Independent that includes 100 banned cliches, going forward being top of the list. I too detest these inane phrases having spent many years working in occupational psychology where they are rife, 'touch base' was top of my hate list. So I was a bit surprised today when I went to tell Mr FF that I thought the baby bird had finally grasped the idea of feeding itself, the little one is 'peck enabled' I said, where the hell did that come from.

Home from the fair

2011-06-11T18:23:00.001+01:00

I don't know why I get so over excited about selling my knitting, I just do and now I'm home from the craft fair I am tired and emotional, well maybe not too much of the latter but still a bit wound up. The craft fair was open from 11 am till 4 pm, the longest event I've ever done and gosh it really did feel long though I managed quite a bit of knitting whilst sitting behind my stall. Nothing really happened until around 1, I sold about £60 worth of work in total which was fine and bought some delicious home made soaps from another stallholder and a necklace from Lesley, who had the table next to me and was great company.
As I mentioned the craft fair was part of a weekend music festival, quite a few of the stalls were music related and the front of the large function room was used for an open mic event where anyone could get up to sing and play. I wasn't looking forward to this but it was surprisingly good in parts, helped to pass the time and probably brought more people in. Then there was a song writing competition where musicians were able to perform their own pieces. This absolutely blew me away, such beautiful moving songs, it was a privilege to be in the midst of such creative people. I already have great admiration for makers but this was a timely reminder that writers are wonderful crafters too. I'm quite pleased I don't have any more sales planned though I am running a Sit and Knit event at our village market in a couple of weeks where I hope beginners and experienced knitters will help to produce squares for a charity blanket. Tonight I plan to chill out with a ready meal, a glass of wine and maybe some knitting that isn't destined to be sold.

Knitting now

2011-06-06T11:26:00.009+01:00

I haven't blogged about my knitting lately, not because I haven't been doing any I've done lots but it's all a bit samey. I have a stall at a craft fair on Saturday, this is part of a local music festival and a bit of a new venture for me as previously I've only sold at our village market. This coming fair seems a bit more serious, for a start it's a much longer event, practically all day, apart from Lesley of Silver Raindrops Jewellery I won't know anyone and I'm not convinced June is the best time for selling socks.Here's my bag of items ready to go. As well as lots of plain socks in various sizes and colours I also have a few scarves and I've made a variety of fingerless gloves simply because I was asked for these at my last sale. These are my own invention, simply a tube of 64 stitches, with a small thumb. I'll make a few more pairs before the weekend and that's me ready for business. As I said it's all a bit dull but once the sale is over I have a new baby to knit for, a blanket to make for the village show and the socks I'm wearing today have developed a hole but I hope there might be a pair left over for me on Saturday.

I don't do vintage (very often)

2011-05-30T13:27:00.001+01:00

Given the choice I'd live in a completely minimalist house looking out onto the ocean, flat roofs, lots of glass, clear surfaces and clean lines. I'm not a great one for clutter, I like plain white crockery, white linen, sometimes I turn a bit queasy when I go into a Cath Kidston shop, but I have been charmed by a couple of older items lately. Firstly I found this lovely old knitting pamphlet (I like that word) in a charity shop for 50p. It has some strange patterns for knitted ladies knickers B in the above photo, men's underpants both half and full length that decency prevents me from showing, a little bed jacket (C) that I quite fancy as a summer cardigan, great sock patterns, including footlets (G) and knee caps (H) and some sweet baby clothes. The book has been well used, it's practically falling to pieces but I like the fact it has served it's purpose and survived for a long time, probably from around 1950.Next my second cousin, after some heavy hints, has given me this lovely old patchwork quilt that belonged to her cousin's mother and it possibly about 80 years old. You may know I have aspirations to make a patchwork, I did get started about 3 years ago but never got very far. My cousin didn't seem to think it had any great value because it had some marks, she even suggested cutting off the border that is slightly faded. Perish the thought, I've given it a gentle wash and the colours have come up well, it really doesn't bother me that it's marked, that is to be expected of something so old and a sign of good use. I love the different shapes, squares, hexagons, oblongs, triangles, and I think the colours and mix of patterns are well thought out. It's currently on the old cast iron bed that was my grans and which Mr FF renovated with a new base and mattress some years ago.
Neither of these items fits my minimalist image, but I do like them and until I move into the glass and chrome structure I am enjoying having them around.

I'm not paranoid but

2011-05-27T09:44:00.000+01:00

The other morning I answered the home phone to a recorded message allegedly from my credit card company saying that there had been unauthorised use of my card and I needed to press 2 to be put through to the fraud department. I assumed it was a scam as I often get calls saying that there is a virus on my computer, that I should log on and follow some instructions to get rid of it, yeah right. (The last time we got one of these virus scam calls we asked the caller if he could give us a 12 digit log on code and answer some security questions, he hung up shortly after that.) While I was wondering what to do the next part of recorded message said it was urgent that I call them on an 0845 number. I put the phone down and checked the contact numbers for the company on their website, they were all 0885. Later I mentioned this to Mr FF who said he'd had a similar recorded call ages ago to verify a genuine overseas use of his card and that it probably was OK.If I hadn't that same morning finished this book I might not have been so suspicious but having read this fast paced insight into the world of hackers who infiltrate police and government computers and use social engineering to commit murder, a book full of bluff and double bluff, I might not have been so concerned. The phone rang again later and this time Mr FF answered, went through the button pushing process and eventually got a real person, who he passed to me. This person listed the last 5 transactions on my card, two for about £1,000, one for £450 and 2 for less than £20. The last 2 were mine (obviously) and had been accepted, the others which had fortunately been declined by the credit card company were definitely not mine. The call centre person offered to cancel my card and send me a new one within 5 working days but again I wasn't sure if this was genuine so I said I'd prefer to call the credit company rather than act on a call that I couldn't verify. He was pleasant enough and suggested I ring the customer care number on the back of my card.
So I made my own call, got through to the fraud department again, went through some security questions was given exactly the same information and again the offer of cancelling my existing card immediately and waiting for a new one, which this time I agreed to. Bad enough that some scum has used my credit card details, the attempted purchases were for a UK mail order fashion company, a UK printing company and some organisation in India, but even worse that I felt I couldn't trust the person who phoned to help me. I really don't want to feel that they are all out to get me, it was a good book though.

The good and simple life

2011-05-23T15:21:00.001+01:00

We had lots of fun with my brother and sister in law, though it was the first time they had visited Italy and the first time abroad for my brother, they completely launched themselves into the experience and were enthusiastic about everything. We did the tourist trip to Rome on the train, went to the beach, walked round local towns, ate out in the village and visited friends. One morning I'd been up a while and around 8 am asked at their bedroom door if they were awake thinking to take them a cup of tea. When there was no reply I imagined our trip to Rome had exhausted them so I was very surprised when the turned up at the back door at around 9 am looking slightly hot. They'd got up at 6 and taken a walk down to the village and then up the mountainside to the little chapel that sits just below the summit. They'd spent a long time looking up at the chapel from our terrace, decided they just had to go and had a wonderful walk.
After they left of course we were into the decorating, Mr FF had the new wallpaper steamer in action straight away. It was very satisfying to peel off great sheets of the old paper but as expected the wall underneath wasn't good so we had the whole room replastered with a rough texture to which we applied two coats of white paintI'm don't know whether I like it or not, all the open plan downstairs of the house is a very rough white painted plaster that looks perfect but in a little bedroom I'm not convinced. It didn't help that we only finished the room at 9 pm on the Sunday, leaving less than 12 hours to clean the house (which was extremely dusty), eat, pack, sleep, close up and drive to Rome for our flight. I didn't really get chance to dress the room and the beds weren't made up so I'll add the finishing touches next time we go out and then decide. This was another major improvement to the property and pleasing as it was to get this done, it's the little things around the house that really make me happy.Hanging my solar lantern in the garden, it works so well with all that sun.
Picking a few wild flowers and herbs from the roadside using a little drinks bottle as a vase. You can see the texture of the downstairs wall here.Seeing that one of the shrubs I've been carefully pruning and tending these last few years is finally flowering well.Having a garden bonfire, these are banned in high summer so it was good to get rid of some debris now. I am so easily pleased and I am always pleased to be in Italy, roll on the next visit.

My best Giro ever

2011-05-18T12:14:00.001+01:00

We've been home from Italy since Monday after much fun and much work, strangely today I feel completely exhausted. Mr FF has gone off for meetings and I don't plan to do much except catch up with the latest stage of the Giro d'Italia.
I'd been really looking forward to seeing the race come through our little village and following events on Italian television so I was devastated when a young rider, Wouter Weylandt, only 26 was killed on a fast descent on the third day of the race. The following day the riders did not race, the whole field rode the route in respectful silence with spectators applauding solemnly or holding up tributes to Wouter, his race number was constantly on display. Teams rode together taking turns to lead until the team mates of fallen rider went to the front and crossed the finishing line first with their arms round each other, many in tears. The next day the team withdrew from the race as did the best friend of the lost rider leaving me to ponder what huge risks these boys take for their sport.Our house is up on the mountainside, so we had to drive down to the lower more modern part where the giro was coming through towards the end of the days racing. Our village had done a great job of welcoming the giro and no one was allowed to stand in front of the police car even our local stone merchant, the Marmi Man as we call him, had put up banners and flags. First we had a breakaway of five riders (I am the over excited woman in the orange t shirt) and shortly after the rest of the field came through tightly packed together, it was like a colourful river of lycra sweeping round the corner, so beautiful.
Mr FF then said that we probably had time to drive to the end of the stage and catch them again. We found the perfect position just past the finish line,seeing the stage winner Francisco Ventoso as he slowed down over the line, the maglia rosa, the overall race leader, and the rest of the field who not only rode past us fairly slowly but then turned round and came back as they cooled down. Mr FF says I was delirious with delight, we sawthe live television broadcast stand and the presentations on the podium, a perfect afternoon for this giro groupie and our best viewings ever.
Yesterday back home I watched the stage in English which makes life much easier and was delighted to see British sprinter Mark Cavendish take the stage.
I'll tell you about the fun we had with my brother and sister in law and the hard work we had decorating another day, as I said I am really feeling tired today, knitting, telly and coffee are needed.

Off we go again

2011-04-30T09:34:00.000+01:00

I hardly know whether I'm coming or going, after the excitement of the beautiful wedding yesterday I spent most of the time thinking Friday was Saturday and feeling exhausted by the emotion of it all.
In actual fact I am going, tomorrow we are off to Italy for two weeks. I am particularly happy about this because 2 hours after we leave my brother and his wife are flying out from Yorkshire and staying with us for 5 days. My brother has never been abroad before, this is my gift for his 60th birthday which he celebrated in January. He's had to make arrangements for people to look after the farm and go through the process of getting a passport, which is much more complicated than it used to be requiring lots of information and attendance at an interview. Anyway all the arrangements are made and providing our flight isn't delayed, we leave at 6.30 am, we should have time to pick up our hire car, drive from the little Rome airport to the big one and find them in arrivals.
The greenhouse is sorted, tomatoes are planted in their grow bags, the automatic watering system should be working, sweet peas are planted out and of course my toe nails have their first of coat of varnish this year. On the every so slightly down side a couple of things are bothering me. First the weather forecast isn't great with the probability of rain but that could be an excuse to light the stove. Second Mr FF has ordered to be delivered to our house in Lazio a steam wallpaper stripper, the intention being that when my family leave we get stuck into some bedroom decoration. He also mentioned the other day that he'd been speaking to our holiday insurance company and discovered that men are not covered for accidents during holiday home diy, only women. He said when he questioned this the company said it was because women take less risks and therefore have less accidents, which sounds a bit suspicious to me.
So if you don't hear from me for a while I shall be doing touristy things with the family or up a ladder steaming, literally.

A West Highland Easter Birthday Fling

2011-04-26T10:06:00.001+01:00

Helen was 50 last month and we'd already celebrated with lunch and gifts but Easter Saturday was her official birthday party held in the village hall near the family holiday home on the West Coast that I've written about before (scroll down a bit I couldn't get the page exactly). Such a long way for everyone to travel, from our house it is a good four hours drive, from London it's an epic journey but so many people made the effort. Speaking to Malcolm, Helen's husband, he said it was a wonderful feeling to have filled the local area with their friends, to know that all the available accommodation was booked by them. We stayed in the lovely Arisaig House, a beautiful old property with glorious gardens and walks down to the beach. We left it a bit late to book, when we received our invitation last October there was the offer of camping by the village hall and that seemed a good idea. Wrong, the logistics of dressing for a party in a tent were impossible, most of the teenagers were camping and while the party might finish at a reasonable hour there was no guarantee that the kids wouldn't keep going, so hotel it was. Our blue room wasn't the biggest, it was the last one available, but it was very pretty and comfortable. I like a bathroom with clear glazing, privacy permitting, though by the time I took this picture we had managed to steam up the window. The view was down to a field full of sheep and the loch.
The village hall also located right on the water's edge was full to bursting, mountains of food, fizz, music and dancing. After we'd eaten there was a band and Malcolm in his kilt got up and played a solo dedicated to Helen on his sax, something he said he hadn't done since their wedding over 20 years. He then sang and played along with the band as the dancing began. After a break the ceilidh band arrived and as always in Scotland that is a signal for everyone to be up and on the floor. White sergeants were dashed, willow was stripped, all the energetic favourites that get everyone moving, young and old.Finally there was a disco, with a strong 70s theme. A coach had been arranged to deliver and collect 40+ guests staying locally but since I don't really drink I was happy to drive. We left just after midnight offering to take some children back to the hotel as they were looking a bit exhausted but they refused to leave, worried they might miss something.
Next day it was open house at Helen's. After breakfast at the hotel, delicious kippers from Mallaig, we arrived at the loch house to find dozens of people tucking into bacon rolls and most people looking surprisingly perky. After a quick coffee and more chat we left for home about mid day.The journey back was long and we both felt a bit jaded, in fact I still do, so we stopped off briefly and shared a bag of chips, just what we needed to keep us going.A fantastic party in a most beautiful part of Scotland, happy birthday Helen and thanks to all the family who worked so hard to make it so special for us all.

Taking pictures

2011-04-21T10:26:00.001+01:00

Our friend Shelagh, an artist and more importantly one half of the parentage of Peaches the adorable cat, has a photo journal here on Blipfoto.com. This Edinburgh based website allows members to publish one photograph per day, the image must have been taken on the day it is uploaded. I have the site on my favourites and check it regularly. If you click on the logo top right it will take you to the index, roll over the pictures and they suddenly come to life, click on them to enlarge. You are free to browse all the entries though I think you have to sign up to be able to comment. Shelagh called round recently to show me the blipcards she's had made through the site, lots of her wonderful photographs reproduced business card size with her web address and contact details on the reverse, all packed into a beautiful black box. We had them all spread out on the kitchen worktop accompanied by many oohs and aahs and I was generously offered three to keep. What a decision, I eventually went for these three garden themed ones as they remind me of our lovely visits to feed Peaches up at the cottage. I'm quite jealous of the cards and fantasising now about having my own showing various pairs of socks or even my stash of sock yarn, there would certainly be plenty of variations. Shelagh was busy planning who would get which of her cards, one for the person who'd given her the tin that features, one for the person who loves the mahjong tiles, but I'd probably keep my sock cards in the box and during quiet moments take them out like a miser counting his gold.

Village Fair

2011-04-16T17:20:00.009+01:00

It was the first village market of the year today, except now it's a village fair with more emphasis on raising money for charity and held less frequently. I think we were all a bit apprehensive about how the event would go, the time had been changed to the afternoon and there was an admission charge that went directly to the nominated charity this first one for CHAS, the Children's Hospice Association ScotlandI helped prepare the village hall yesterday, Pam and I had fun decorating the windows in a suitably spring/Easter way. I shared a stall with Hannah who also lives in the village and as you can see is an excellent baker. Gazing onto all her cakes for 2.5 hours certainly gave me an appetite. I took a good selection of socks though I only sold a couple of pairs and one pair of gloves, I didn't mind too much as I am desperate for socks myself and I had the feeling that with the warmer weather there wouldn't be so much demand for cosy feet. I had a good time though, met some interesting people including members of the band who played throughout the afternoon adding much to the atmosphere. Terrible picture, I apologise. Mr FF and I got chatting to a couple of the players who took us out to the car park to meet their fantastic ginger cat, Fleetwood, who has his own blog page and is a regular at music events. He's called Fleetwood because that's where he comes from and not because of the other band. At the next fair in June I'm running a Knit and Sit session where beginners can have a go at knitting and those with experience can help knit squares for a charity blanket. Be interesting to see how that goes.

Man shopping

2011-04-11T10:58:00.000+01:00

No I haven't been internet shopping for a new husband but I wanted to tell you how funny Mr FF's idea of provision shopping is. When I was working I used to buy our food either during my lunch hour or after work so that we didn't have to spend precious weekends at the shops. In those days Mr FF's only visits to the shops were to buy wine though I did finally train him to pick up some tins of cat food when he was at the supermarket rather than come home with just a few bottles of plonk. Now that I'm retired I normally do a big shop every seven to ten days and Mr FF, who works from home, supplements this by collecting fresh items on his way back from any meetings. Even if I haven't asked him to buy anything he still tends to call in at his favourite shops if he's passing, these being Lidl, Aldi and Costco where he acts totally on his own initiative. He believes that anything from these places is a complete bargain though I did make him take back a really horrible jogging suit he once bought for Amelia. The spontaneous food purchases can be quite odd, I do the cooking so I often have to use my imagination to incorporate them into our meals. He surprised me once with 6 tubes of anchovy paste, obviously on special offer, that I was able to use in pasta sauce and the like but I did end up giving some away, rather diluting his bargain. Recently a really cheap fruit pie deeply sprinkled with sugar didn't go down too well and he can over purchase on bacon at times.

On Friday his purchases were an aubergine, some parsnips, potatoes and dried pasta, all perfectly usable though not at the same time. Nothing ever gets wasted and I don't want to discourage him, in fact I enjoy unpacking his reusable jute bag but one day he will defeat my cooking repertoire I'm sure, probably soon after he reads this post.

Plants and pests and pessimism

2011-04-05T17:05:00.003+01:00

I've been working hard in the garden during the recent sunny weather, its so tidy that I am running out of weeds to uproot. We live in the hills so face a constant battle against the elements and everything happens a little later than the rest of the country. For example we bought this rhododendron a while back, it's called Christmas Cheer and should flower in January, it will be out soon. I'd been longing for my daffodils to open but we've had such strong winds that most of the ones in the back garden are now in the prone position. I wish they would spring up again but it isn't going to happen, such a pity. I managed to get slightly ahead with these tulips by keeping them in the greenhouse otherwise they wouldn't be flowering for a week or two yet. Not only is the climate against me but I also have the destructive forces of the local wildlife to contend with. Last autumn, and the autumn before, (the triumph of hope over experience - Samuel Johnson), I planted over 100 crocus bulbs. Straight away quite a lot were dug up and eaten but now that the remainder have emerged and started to flower they have been consumed too. I don't know what is doing it, I've thought pheasant, squirrels or blackbirds but it is truly annoying. Every time I go out I find more empty holes and cast aside stalks, it's the actual bulb that is being eaten. I had a zinc pot full of flowering crocus on the window cill beside the front door, the other morning I found it had been pulled down onto the ground, the contents emptied out and every single bulb, probably a couple of dozen, eaten.Now that practically all the crocus have gone, the blighter has been investigating my tulips, obviously not quite as tasty because this one is only half eaten. A glass half full person might say it's only some cheap bulbs, could be worse, could be your hellebores, but I'm a glass half empty girl and I don't like it. It's so disappointing, I'd have been better just putting the bulbs straight onto the bird table. I garden organically to encourage wildlife and help the planet, I feed the birds regularly and that's the thanks I get.

Where do you keep yours

2011-03-31T15:23:00.001+01:00

JosieKitten is taking part in Knitting and Crochet Blog Week and doing a great job, I'm very impressed. I wasn't aware of this event or I might not have joined in but there again I am prone to idleness so this counts as my contribution. I loved JK's stash revelations, admired her storage and accessories and she got me thinking how different my own arrangements are. I'm not one for exposing my stash, mostly it's hidden away until I take all the yarn out for a bit of adoration and project fantasy but I do like to make a feature of some items. So my needles live in a vase, that I think I found in Sainsbury'sand I display some choice yarns on top of an old laundry hamper that is of course full of wool. More stash in the box in the hall and finally a rather chaotic department at the bottom of the airing cupboard. I did see an interesting post about someone who kept their craft supplies in a set of old suitcases, practical and portable.I have these two vintage pieces of luggage, I particularly like the tweed Antler case that I fancy would make excellent stash storage, but then again do I want to encourage myself to buy even more yarn.

Expiry Date

2011-03-24T18:30:00.008+01:00

I don't take a blind bit of notice of expiry dates. I use my common sense and don't eat things that are obviously on the turn but if I have something that is well past its best by date I have been known to simply peel off that bit of the label and continue as normal. I remember hearing John Humphrys on Radio 4's Breakfast programme one day discussing this subject and saying that yoghurt was no good till it was weeks past it's expiry date and just about blowing the lid of the carton. I agree.

So I was amused to see in the local diy/garden centre this week that some perennials (and there is possibly a clue in the name) had been reduced from £2.99 to 50p because they had reached their best before date. How can plants about to spring into action and looking perfectly healthy possibly have a limited shelf life. Naturally I snapped them up and they are doing fine in the greenhouse. I have however seen a few signs that winter has now reached it's expiry date. We've had real spring weather that has done me the world of good and I can report that my favourite sheep are back in the field behind our houseI have a word with them most days. My favourite hellebore is flowering again, gorgeousand my favourite husband (so far still within his shelf life) has had his first bonfire of the season.

Scream if you want to go faster

2011-03-18T12:35:00.007+01:00

It's a gloriously sunny day, there are just a few patches of snow remaining on the hills, washing is on the line, spring is definitely coming but somehow it just isn't exciting me as it should. It's always a long wait for us here, everyone else sees the arrival of spring bulbs well before we do, I usually don't mind but this year it just doesn't seem right.

I have lovely bulbs flowering inside and out, my orchids are putting on a wonderful display, the little cyclamen I've had for years is doing it's best, but nothing quite hits the spot.

I've started sowing seeds, my sweet peas are up and some tomatoes, I have potting to do and a small bed near the front door to renovate.

I'm wearing new socks and have another pair on the needles, which match very well with the lacy scarf I didn't knit and my knitting bag.

Plenty of things to keep me occupied, lots to admire but the usual anticipation just isn't there, I'm not sure if it isn't all the sadness in the world at present that's impacting on me. So many people going through such terrible times and I have much to be grateful for, lots of plans, a birthday party, possibly a visit from a friend overseas, another market stall and best of all a trip to Italy when the Giro passes through our village. That's it, I'm off to give myself a good talking to, then get some soil under my finger nails. Have a lovely spring weekend, I plan to.

Grizzly weather

2011-03-11T14:02:00.006+01:00

At the end of last year we received a lovely calender from our friends in Canada. Mr FF and I both agreed we were looking forward to March, gorgeous black bears in a blizzard. I didn't expect when I turned to this month that we'd soon be having our own version of the British Columbia weather.Yes more snow. Pam and Andrew are coming for dinner tonight but instead to attending to the duck I've been clearing the drive, bound to give me an appetite.

The forecast for the weekend is more snow, Mr FF is of course planning a trip up to Perthshire on Sunday with his walking chums and an early flight on Monday. We've been there before haven't we, I shall be knitting my much needed new socks in front of the stove.
Enjoy your weekend, with or without snow, with or without bears.

I'm a cobbler's kid

2011-03-03T17:31:00.006+01:00

Actually I'm not you probably know I'm a farmer's daughter but I am quite badly shod* at the moment. My FF has a very nice selection of hand knit socks in his drawer but I'm down to just two pairs of my own knits having worn out quite a lot of pairs recently. But apart from a bit of half hearted darning am I remedying this, no I've just finished these a plain knit pair in Opal for my April market that I might claim if they don't sell,

and these Diagonal Cross-rib socks another pattern from Favourite Socks by Interweave. They came out quite small, probably a man's 7 or 8 but I didn't have any more Regia Stretch to make them bigger. That's two great patterns this book has provided and there are lots more I want to try.
I collected two of my library reservations today, really lovely books that cost me 50p each to reserve. I particularly like the Knitted Gifts, it has some great ideas like felted oven gloves but before embarking on anything like that I should stock up on socks, just basic plain everyday socks, I can create the perfect pair later.

*"The cobbler's bairns are aye the worst shod" : this Scots saying (the cobbler's kids have the worst shoes) means that someone with a particular skill or trade is often the worst at applying it at home.

I've always been a borrower

2011-02-25T19:16:00.001+01:00

I truly fell in love with books soon after I started school. Our teacher used to read to us every afternoon, I remember Little Grey Rabbit and Beatrix Potter's tales but Black Beauty by Anna Sewell is the one that got me completely hooked. Books became requested at birthdays and Christmas with the Famous Five and the Secret Seven featuring largely.
In the 1960s there was no public library in our area, my senior school had a collection of very old books that was never added to and in our village the vicar's wife kindly allowed locals to borrow her books simply by calling round on a Friday teatime to make a selection, mainly from a large number of historical novels.

I remember my delight as a teenager when a purpose built library opened in my local town, I signed up straight away and as I've moved around I've always had library membership. Working in Edinburgh I had access to an amazing choice of local authority lending, from the cavernous central library within walking distance of my office to a wonderful little neighbourhood library just round the corner that I visited several times a week. When I finished work it really wasn't feasible to keep borrowing and taking books back without a lengthy car journey so eventually I stopped. I have lots of books in the house, cookery, gardening, knitting of course and I had before I retired built up a selection of paperbacks mainly sourced from charity shops. I read and return these but I've noticed this year that all the prices seem to have increased. Where I could find 50p novels they are now probably £1.50 or more and some shops are pricing their books individually, based on who knows what. Personally I think this is a bad idea, I know I can afford to pay the asking price for a book but at 50p each I'd happily take a handful risking authors I didn't recognise and often finding some real treasures.
So with all the talk of library closures due to local authority budget cuts and despite there not being (currently) any threatened library loss in our area I decided I needed to show my support by using a library again. Our nearest one is part of a new leisure complex and about 25 minutes drive away but I can combine visits with a big shop. I went in to sign up earlier this week and even though I don't live in the Council area I was welcomed and quickly enrolled so that I could withdraw books immediately. I'm pleased to report that the place was buzzing, not just borrowers but lots of people using the computers and a children's after school reading session taking place. Back home and pleased with my selection I went on line to browse the catalogue and have reserved three knitting books that will come from other branches, excellent.

I hope you love and use your local library and that it isn't under threat, I know there are huge and varied demands on limited public spending at the moment but the provision of access to knowledge and literature surely should never be considered as dispensable.

Other people's knitting

2011-02-21T18:58:00.001+01:00

After a couple of good days in the garden last week generally tidying and willing the snowdrops to start flowering, I woke up to this on Saturday morning.
What is a girl to do but knit. Pam started this little cardigan in Patons 4 ply cotton. The colour is grape and the pattern is Mimi from Pipsqueaks by Kim Hargraves. Halfway up the back Pam decided she didn't like knitting 4 ply, I think its probably my favourite so I was happy to take over. The safety pins up the front are to mark the positions for the buttons which I don't have, there is no separate front or neck band. So back to sock knitting for a while, though I do enjoy making things for the little ones so I might start something woolly for Amelia soon, especially if the weather stays like this. While I'm waiting for my own bulbs to begin their display I treated myself to a bunch of British grown daffs, I just couldn't wait any longer.

Amore (love in the Italian language)

2011-02-16T12:43:00.004+01:00

You know Mr FF and I don't do Valentines, I just looked back at my post last year when Mr FF was more concerned about the state of his much loved car then he was about creating any romance. However, this year I did knit him a pair of Valentine socks in Regia world colour, I got the idea ages ago from Josiekitten. They are of course the colours of the Italian flag and he seems very pleased with them, I heard him on the phone telling a business colleague about his gift. Usually I can manage to knit him socks whilst sitting beside him, he never notices what I'm doing, but these were far too obvious and had to be made in complete secrecy. Now I'm not sure which he loves best, me, his car or Italy.

Let me leave you with a belated Valentine's gift, one of my favourite Italian songs, I love Italy too.

It's raining wool

2011-02-12T14:09:00.001+01:00

The little cardigan is finished, knitted in Patons merino dk which was a pleasure to use, it turned out slightly smaller than the pattern but a few adjustments sorted that and took just 200 g. I love cables and there was just the right amount here, it will be finished with a zip up the front when Pam has taken it off to the nearest haberdashers to find a suitable one, hopefully she will stitch it in. I've said before that I don't like sewing up my knitting but since I mastered mattress stitch it suddenly seems much easier and gives a really good result.See now neat this side seam is, well neat compared to my usual efforts.

As Pam provided the yarn this project made no difference to the stash calculations, however I received this week as gift a lovely bag of yarn from someone who knew I could use it.300 g of Sunbeam St Ives 4ply, a yarn I've found previously in charity shops, great for socks with 75% wool content, probably enough for 3 pairs in a manly shade of grey with flecks of various other colours in there.300 g of Stylecraft pure wool dk, made in Scotland and a lovely pinky purple that I'm sure will suit Amelia.
Finally, and my favourite 450 g of Wensleydale Longwool 4 ply from the Sheep Shop in Leyburn, spun in Yorkshire, a pretty peachy shade that would probably make a couple of gorgeous shawls or scarves or maybe something pretty for me. There is even a woven sheepy label to stitch into the finished article.

All great quality yarns, not a scrap of acrylic and because I didn't buy them myself no guilt involved at all. My lovely self perpetuating stash, I'm such a lucky girl.

Speaking up (aka Time for a Rant)

2011-02-05T18:15:00.003+01:00

It's been a fairly quiet week, a time when enthusiasm for the New Year New Me has faded but still too early for real signs of spring. The weather has been horrible, a sprinkling of snow, high winds and torrential rain. Lots of time spent knitting in front of the stove interspersed with a bit of dorissing including my infrequent duty of knocking down the cobwebs in the double height atrium using the step ladder and a feather duster on the end of a long cane, so that's the spring cleaning done.

Mr FF and I have both agreed that this year we are not taking any nonsense (except from each other of course), that we won't support unfairness, bad practice or business that doesn't provide good service and that we will give credit where it is deserved. For example

We are still without central heating, or indeed a boiler, and coping really well. When our 20 year old, usually reliable and fuel efficient boiler started to leak water just before Christmas. Mr FF in something of a panic because of all the problems caused by the very cold weather ordered a new condensing boiler that we put into the store until our plumber could connect it up. However because of the condensing function our existing flue arrangement won't work and Mr FF received such appalling customer service from the manufacturers, basically they didn't have a clue what we should do in our slightly more complex than usual situation, that after 4 weeks he sent the bloomin thing back and got a full refund. We had such bad reports about this new and enforced type of boiler (apparently you need permission to use a non-condensing one) that we are looking at alternatives, including the possibility of an air source heat pump that would be so eco friendly but not necessarily suitable for our current system. It would mean that we could no longer operate the back boiler on our stove that provides so much hot water and runs the radiator in the hall. It's either an expensive environmental system or an infrequently used conventional boiler and stick with our lovely stove and back boiler. Apart from in really cold weather, we never use the central heating, we have the stove burning 24 hours a day, Mr FF has a small thermostatically controlled electric oil filled radiator in his office and we have one in our bedroom if required. Otherwise we are using our own calories and wool jumpers each to keep us toasty.

This week Mr FF received by email a ticket for a business event he is attending in a few weeks. The ticket was an A4 sheet, black background with a white image of some structure, venue details and the ticket number. Mr FF replied saying it would probably use all the ink in his printer, to which the company running the event responded that they would happily print it out for him and post it. At this stage I suggested that he needed to get his message across a bit stronger, that the whole ethos was wrong and so he did, not only suggesting that the expectation of each delegate producing an ink heavy paper ticket was wrong, but that emailing such a thing in large scale format was wasteful. The ticket was a 2 Mb file, sent to a minimum 200 delegates and stored on sender and recipients systems and possibly also backed up, this could amount to 1600 Mb (equivalent to 50,000 average size letters), half of which may be stored in specially built data warehousing that uses energy to build and maintain. He received a reply thanking him for pointing all this out, the company had not previously considered the impact on the environment and they would be taking it on board. They also agreed that since delegates had already enrolled for the event there was no need at all for tickets and that they could simply provide identification at the registration.

I walked out of TK Maxx sticking my intended purchase on the nearest rail because there was a queue of about 10 people and only one till open, such a place doesn't deserve my money.

I've written to thank a mail order firm that provided me with a (1/3rd) more expensive item at the same price when the sale article I ordered was out of stock, despatching it by special delivery again at no extra cost so that I received it next day. The lovely cardigan is back to full price now, I paid £69 for my grey one.

I had a call from a guy saying our Sky box warranty had run out and he could renew it over the phone for us taking either the full amount or setting up installments. I asked him what we usually did, he said last year we paid the full amount. I then explained that we'd never had a Sky warranty, that we consider warranties a complete rip off and that he wasn't telling the truth, he was soon off the phone. I know call centre people have to make a living but blatant dishonesty surely isn't the way, his friendly confident tone could easily mislead people.

A friend once told me that sometimes getting your message across can be like throwing mud at a wall, you throw an awful lot and not much sticks, but a little bit of it does. I intend to throw lots this year.

This weekend I've mostly been good

2011-01-30T12:56:00.002+01:00

What a nice weekend, so far -

I took a bag of stuff to the charity shops and brought nothing back.

I made my marmalade, 12 jars now in stock.

I enjoyed a film evening at Pam's when we watched the funny and visually delicious Heartbreaker, starring the fortunate Vanessa Paradis. She made me want to move to Monaco, buy a beautiful silk dressing gown, lose a lot of weight and take up with Johnny Depp, actually I've always wanted to do the latter, OK the latter two, and I do have a silk dressing gown that is quite glam but a size 14 not 6.I finished another pair of Regia socks for the market stall (there is a clue to my downfall behind the sock). Mr FF spotted them, liked them very much and asked if he could have them, I do have enough of this yarn because I got quite a few orders for this colour combination so he could be lucky.
I took possession of 8 balls of Merino.Note no mention of purchase (yet) as this is a commission to knit the Smiling Jacket from Louisa Harding's Miss Bea's Rainy Day. Such a great little pattern book that I've used quite a lot, I'm currently on a campaign to get the kids I know into hand knits so there could be more. Amelia by the way was apparently delighted with her little cardigan, showing it off and hugging it round her, bless.
Finally, own up time. I've failed in my stash reduction efforts because Kemps decided to reduce their organic cotton and I bought 8 balls for £1.50 each. I did think when I placed the online order that I might use up more sock wool before the parcel arrived, but oh no efficient as ever it was here in a flash.The colour is borage which I had imagined from the website would be bluer than it is but still a really nice shade. So now the scores are Stash 5 Jen 4 (we are talking 100 gs here), must try harder, must knit faster, must stop speaking too soon.

Stash 1 Jen 2

2011-01-25T16:21:00.002+01:00

Could this be the year that I use more yarn than I buy, certainly doing well so far. I completed my first socks of 2011 in Italy and now have these. The pattern is from one of my Christmas presents (could this also be the year I keep mentioning the C word) Favourite Socks from Interweave. The yarn is Aruncania Ranco Multi which I've used before to knit plain socks. I think the yarn works better with some pattern and this Undulating Rib by Ann Budd was just what I was looking for, interesting and easy to memorise.I have bought just one ball of sock wool this year, I can't show you because it's a surprise. I count this as a huge success and feel it justifies my scathing comments on other blogs where chums have already started their stash enhancement. I'm having another market stall just before Easter which is spurring me on to knit socks, already cast on the next pair not that I need much encouragement, and hopefully will reduce my considerable store of sock wool, until I weaken that is.

Knitting now, well not now, it's finished

2011-01-20T10:47:00.001+01:00

I mentioned a while back that I was knitting Amelia a little cardigan from Debbie Bliss's Family Knits book. A tiny garment really but it has taken me ages, I had to force myself to finish it with the reward that once the main knitting was done I could start a sock. But when the knitting was finished I was really not much more than halfway there as all the ends had to be stitched in, don't you just hate that job. I sat through El Cid and one of the Indiana Jones films whilst sewing in the same way that I'll watch mundane telly while I do the ironing, that's how bad it was and how long it took. Finally done, I can't say I enjoyed working on this but it is very pretty, lets hope Amelia appreciates it. It was originally intended for her birthday last October, then moved on to a Christmas gift but now I'm just grateful she hasn't grown into a teenager while I've been stalling. Luckily it is size 2 to 3 years and she is about 16 months.

I seemed to forget when I embarked on this project that I'm not that keen on colour work.It's a long time since I made this Kaffe Fassett cardigan from a Rowan magazine, I do recall now that I had to force myself to knit at least a couple of rows every day. I think the euphoria of finishing it and truly loving it wiped away all memories of the toil involved. Now I'm going back to socks, socks that only need two ends sewing in, one top one bottom, yarn that can change colour all by itself. Hallelujah for the inventors of double pointed needles and self patterning wool.

Christmas past Christmas presents

2011-01-15T11:49:00.001+01:00

Christmas is long gone and this will be my last festive post for a long time, honest, but I thought you might be wondering how Mr FF and I managed our £5 gift exchange this year since we hardly got out because of the snow.

I only gave Mr FF two gifts but they were both very well received, a pair of socks I knitted from some charity shop wool that wasn't particularly interesting so I added a bit of cable to a rib pattern and a cd of songs in Italian we have both been enjoying so maybe a bit more of the language will penetrate.Mr FF did surprisingly well, giving me a couple of charity shop paperbacks, from our village market a handmade candle, some delicous dark chocolate drops that are really meant for cooking but are being munched, a handful of vanilla scented tea lights and finally a little Converse boot charm. I also wanted to show you the two gorgeous tea towels I received from my friend Barb in the USA, though we have never met she knows me so well and has a wonderful knack of sending just the right thing, in the past a lovely sock pattern book and now these. I don't know if she realised how partial I am to a pretty tea towel, these are crackers and so me, thanks Barb.The snow has finally gone and the rain has arrived but it's nice to be able to look out onto green instead of white and anticipate spring though I have been thinking about next Christmas and how I should get organised, knit more gifts and try to spend the whole of my £5 budget next time.

Presepe

2011-01-10T10:17:00.001+01:00

Our part of Italy didn't seem to be big on outside Christmas decorations in the way that we are in the UK, we did see lights at some houses and the odd decorated tree but one of the main focuses at this time is the presepe, the traditional nativity display that might also depict other scenes. The church presepe in our village was for such a small place very impressive with a circular walk round the old streets passing various scenes, not only Jesus in the manger but traditional village life with relevant passages from the bible.You can imagine my excitement when I came upon this scene, women producing yarn, carding, spinning and winding. I wanted to pull up a chair get out my sock knitting and join in. This represents words from Proverbs 31 about the virtuous wife, you can find a translation here.All the models in this and every other display were beautifully dressed in traditional clothes, the women wearing beautiful hand knitted shawls, the socks also hand knitted and the shoe is the ciocia,traditional footwear in the area, the local people proudly refer to themselves as the ciociari. A neighbour told me that she had been involved in setting up the scenes and that many of the vintage clothes were hers.New mothers with their babies, the washer women hanging out lovely old socksit was delightful.

Speaking to a friend in Rome she said that the Christmas tree is a very recent addition to Italian festive decorations but that every house has always had its own little presepe. She then left the room briefly and returned with a package that contained a very special gift for us, our own little presepe that sat on our mantle piece throughout our visit to remind us of the real meaning of Christmas and how included our Italian friends make us feel.

My year so far

2011-01-06T15:58:00.004+01:00

We got home yesterday afternoon, back to the snow and slush though fortunately the house with its leaky boiler had been fine. The only damage happened when the coal man had delivered unexpectedly, slid down the drive into one of the gate pillars and completely demolished it, he kindly left a note asking us to contact him.

So the trip to Italy far exceeded my expectations, I didn't imagine the weather would be quite so good, bright sunny days with hardly any rain. The stove worked brilliantly, we lit it when we arrived, even though it was around 10.30 pm, and kept it going the whole time we were there. We bought a large rug to place in front of the stove and reduce the expanse of chilly ceramic tiles, how cosy we were.

We didn't really do any work at the house apart from the relaxing kind, Mr FF chopping wood and me pottering in the garden. We had several trips out that I will tell you about later, visited and were visited by friends, received many gifts of food and drink and saw in the New Year in the village. A table of 14 in the local restaurant, we enjoyed a huge dinner with live music and dancing as did other Italian families including of course small (and completely well behaved)children. Champagne was served at midnight as the whole valley erupted with fireworks, we have never seen anything like it. Around 1 am we ate cotechino, a type of sausage accompanied by lentils, a traditional New Years dish that will bring us good fortune. We left around 2.30 am despite pleas from the kitchen staff that we stay as they would soon be serving croissants, local biscuits, chocolate and other treats. 2011 so far has been full of good times and kindness. Not a lot of knitting though, I only produced one pair of socks in Italy, my buon anno socks that I hope will return to Italy with me before too long.

Italy

2010-12-29T18:54:00.006+01:00

WE ARE IN ITALY, THERE IS NO SNOW, THE HOUSE IS WARM, WE ATE LUNCH OUTSIDE. TODAY I ASK NO MORE. HAPPY NEW YEAR

My Christmas list

2010-12-24T10:51:00.001+01:00

Christmas shopping for Mr FF - total failure we both agreed it was far too cold to walk the streets Gourmet meal planning - total failure we have settled for a chickenHouse decorations - half hearted attempt, mainly cards and a few candles

Having enough - complete success including a functioning boiler

Happy Christmas everyone

In the bleak first day of winter

2010-12-21T16:34:00.002+01:00

Today the solstice marks the first day of astronomical winter and the shortest day of the year for the Northern Hemisphere, since the lowest recorded temperature in our little road during this cold spell is minus 15 it doesn't bode well.
Mr FF went down to Yorkshire at the weekend and though his journey home took twice the normal time he got back safe and sound, presents had been exchanged, office event attended and relax. I stayed home hoping the boiler man would arrive with the awaited spare part but he had emergencies to attend to. Our boiler is still working but not the automatic function, so this morning as usual I got up to switch the heating on whilst admiring the ice patterns on the inside of our bedroom window. Unfortunately there was a large pool of water on the boiler cupboard floor, we still have the heating working and Mr FF is hoping to investigate today. It doesn't look good and the nice boiler man is busy until at least Thursday. Hey ho, there are many people in worse situations, a neighbour has now run out of oil and the first possible delivery date in 06 January 2011, we are not living in Heathrow Airport or queuing for hours in the hope of catching a train, we are fine if a little concerned about going to Italy after Christmas.Apart from walking down into the village at the weekend to collect the papers that are left at the village hall and regularly clearing the drive, I have been no where. Which is a pity as I've rediscovered the pleasure of wearing the chullo that Mr FF brought me back from Peru many years ago. I look a complete ticket in it I admit but wearing it makes me extremely happy which will surprise a lot of people who know that I would never ever wear one of those silly paper hats from a Christmas cracker.

Hope you are waiting for Santa somewhere warm and cosy, not long now.

He's going to find out who's naughty and nice

2010-12-13T09:40:00.001+01:00

Mr FF was out with his walking group yesterday. He told me such a fib when he got home. Firstly he said that he saw Santa get off a bus which obviously wasn't true because we all know that Santa travels on a sleigh drawn by reindeer. He then said that Santa had a fag before selling the Big Issue outside the Co-op, which again can't be true because at this time of year Santa is beyond busy supervising his elves as they finish and pack gifts.

Mr FF better watch out or his stocking will be empty on Christmas morning, in fact it probably will be as I haven't been out for ages to trawl round for the usual £5 worth of interesting and unusual gifts - I mean Santa hasn't had time.

Me the snow and the sofa

2010-12-07T16:21:00.006+01:00

We had so much more snow yesterday that central Scotland came to a complete standstill with motorways gridlocked, public transport cancelled and schools closed.This afternoon more than 24 hours later there are still over 1000 vehicles in the Strathclyde (our) region trapped in the snow. So I'm grateful that Mr FF and I are home and safe even though our central heating boiler broke down yesterday and its minus 10 outside. The boiler repair man is on his way, the stove is lit and I am wearing three layers, the middle one of which is cashmere so I'm fine though getting out from under the duvet this morning was a challenge with ice on the inside of our double glazed windows.

I've continued to keep the drive clear mainly because I love clearing the snow, and not for the benefit of Mr FF who is banned from going out. He was toying with the idea of a meeting in Glasgow tonight but someone more sensible has cancelled it. Besides though our drive is clear the road out of our little development looks like this.

Once I've cleared the snow, topped up the bird feeders and brought in more fuel I've been welded to the sofa with this beside me

I'm knitting a little fair isle cardy from Debbie Bliss's Family Knits. I'm not totally enamoured with the Patons Diploma Gold 4 ply I selected, the strands have a bad habit of welding themselves together as I twist them rather like mohair which doesn't make for smooth knitting. All my Christmas sock and glove orders are finished so the pressure is off, I just need to get out and deliver them when I can prise myself away from the stove.

PS at 21.34. The lovely boiler man came, said we needed a new part but managed to get the old part working for now. The house is warm, the conservatory is back above freezing, I am reduced to 2 jumpers, good boiler man.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

2010-12-03T12:31:00.007+01:00

Have you seen this Steve Martin film, it's one of my favourites, about a man struggling through the snow to get home for Thanksgiving accompanied by a slobby John Candy with whom he is forced to share hotel bedrooms and various modes of transport.

This week Mr FF seems to have been living in his own version, it goes like this.

Mr FF was due to fly to Bratislava on Monday, the arrangement was that his boss would travel up from the north east of England, I would drive Mr FF to the motorway where they would meet up and both go off for meetings before travelling to Edinburgh airport for the flight. Mr FF would fly home later in the week via a meeting in London and I would collect him from Edinburgh airport on Thursday evening. His boss would fly back to Edinburgh on Friday and drive home to Co Durham.

By Sunday looking at the snow and the forecast it was obvious to me that I wouldn't be driving anywhere on Monday but Mr FF said we'd wait and see. On Monday morning he decided to get the bus to our local town and ask his boss to collect him, a little bit out of his way but needs must. I suggested Mr FF phone his boss to see if he was on time but Mr FF dismissed this saying he'd have heard if there was a problem, he set off in winter gear with his luggage to walk the mile to the bus stop. A little while later he was home, his boss hadn't been able to get the car out of the drive and was now on the train. So Mr FF dug out our drive and our little road and drove to the airport, which wasn't a big problem except that en route he got a message to say his flight was cancelled and when I'd checked on the net the airport was closed. When I spoke to him he was being turned away from the airport car park which was impassable. At this stage a lesser (more sensible) man would have given up, oh no, Mr FF said he was going to go into the airport to see if there were any other flights and he asked me to check on line for alternatives. The quickest route I could find took about 12.5 hours and there was still the minor detail of the airport being closed so he came home and his boss got another train back again, the Bratislava trip was off.

The snow kept falling, the airport remained closed but Mr FF booked himself on a flight on Wednesday to go down to London returning Thursday using the last leg of his Bratislava flights. Again he went to the airport, again it was closed, actually it has been closed all week only opening late last night. Might have been logical to come home but Mr FF left his car at the airport, got a bus into Edinburgh and found a train to London. The train left at 10.30, he had an interesting interlude when about 8 Geordie ladies boarded at Newcastle travelling to York who plied him with a giant home baked corned beef pie, plus wine, vodka, chocolate covered strawberries and the like. Unfortunately just before Doncaster the train broke down, the passengers were decanted onto the platform and told there'd be another one shortly. The next train was already full but eventually Mr FF found one that delivered him to Kings Cross at 7.30 that evening.

Unfortunately because of the weather his meeting had been cancelled. I spoke to him that night and said I was worried about him getting home on Thursday, he said it would be no problem as he'd already checked in on line, I did mention that he'd also need to get the **** airport open. Thursday he received a text message to say his flight had been brought forward by a couple of hours, he said the airline was probably consolidating flights but I said I couldn't imagine that would happen as Edinburgh airport was still closed. I'm not 100% sure what happened over the next half day but I received a message to say that he had misread the text and his flight had actually been changed from Thursday to Friday, it was 7.30 at night and could I find him somewhere to stay.

Have you heard the joke about the man who has to take a lorry load of bricks from the north to London. He gets to the big city, stops the vehicle and asks a passer by 'is this London' 'yes' is the reply 'OK' he says 'where do you want these bricks'. Hotel, London, hello. I did eventually get him into a Premier Inn after some heated discussion between us during which he complained about the price.

So Mr FF is due to fly home this afternoon, I've cleared our drive every day, I've kept the stove lit and we are well stocked with provisions even though I haven't been out for a week. The milkman has delivered, the coal man too, haven't seen the postie for a week and it's snowing.

I hope you and yours are where you want to be this weekend. I need to get that man to retire.

Post blog note @ 18.12 He is now home and managed to pick up some fresh veggies on the way. Phew.

Where have I been

2010-11-29T14:31:00.010+01:00

I've totally neglected my blog and my life for a whole week. I started last Monday with a slight cold, nothing major, bit of a sore throat and a snuffle, I imagined I'd shake it off in a few days. On Thursday I popped out for a bit of provision shopping and got chilled to the marrow scraping ice off the car, I've barely been warm since. That evening I wore 3 wool jumpers, my pashmina and covered myself in a blanket, still cold, and my health deteriorated rapidly. I lost my appetite, OK not necessarily bad thing that I can no longer drink tea, coffee or wine, had no energy, coughed, spluttered. I won't go on about it all save to say that I haven't felt like doing anything apart from flick through a magazine or two, sip hot blackcurrant cordial and moan, Mr FF said it was worse than a bad attack of man flu.

So I haven't visited many blogs and done precious little knitting, which is a pity as I was enjoying producing these.

My first pair of knee socks, a Christmas order that I was a bit concerned about on several fronts. Firstly Julie, my customer, selected a Opal yarn from my stash but I wondered if 100g would be enough for a pair of ladies knee socks. I spoke to Christine at A Fine Yarn in Darlington both to get her advice and also ask if she had any of the wool in stock just in case. She said I probably would need more but that it was no longer produced. However Christine did have the brilliant idea of looking on Ravelry to see if anyone had it in their stash and sure enough they did. I contacted two knitters who had the yarn, both replied and I bought 6 balls from Nic at www.talesfromtheplain.blogspot.com at a very reasonable price. Just as well because one sock took about 56 g. Secondly though I used my standard sock pattern for the lower part I knew I'd need more stitches at the cuff and I wasn't sure how to tackle the leg shaping. Reading various patterns I devised a back decrease either side of two constant stitches so that the shaping is central on the heel, it seems to have worked well.The second sock would be finished if I hadn't been struck down, but I am on the mend now, I should be back on the caffeine and alcohol very soon unless I consider this a pre Christmas detox and stick to fruit juice a big longer.

Last shopping day before Christmas

2010-11-20T16:50:00.008+01:00

Today saw my last stall this year at our village market, which was a couple of hours longer than the usual morning event. Like most of the traders there I hoped people would be doing lots of Christmas shopping and besides the usual range of socks I'd topped up my stock of fingerless gloves and scarves with this in mind. My friend Ann joined me on the stall with the recycled accessories her daughter makes, brooches, bags etc from vintage fabrics and felted jumpers.

I always find it quite difficult to display my knitting attractively and to a certain extent it's pointless as people constantly pick up and feel the items. In fact today one little girl got quite excited sniffing the wool, which I totally appreciated. Another good day of sales, I took just under £100 with another £20 of orders to make before Christmas. I spent almost as much as I took, buying some pretty jewellery, the Swarovski crystals and pearls as a gift, the turquoise and onyx I might be a bit reluctant to give away. I also got some handmade toiletries, some lovely prints, this is crab apples and fly agaric fungi, a silk bag and some charity cards. It's really nice to support your fellow crafters, shop locally and tick a few items off the Christmas list. Now I'm exhausted, far too tired to start knitting orders. There is talk that the market won't run next year because of lack of local support which would be such a shame as it's a great community get together as well as an environmental thing to do. Besides, I've still got socks left and sod's law the scarf I worked late last night finishing didn't sell.

Be careful what you wish for

2010-11-14T10:22:00.002+01:00

I mentioned yesterday that I wouldn't mind a bit of rain to check out my new mac, this is what we woke to this morning.

I thought it was thawing, now I'm not so sure.

Oh dear, when cosmic ordering goes wrong.

Shopping, of the recycling kind

2010-11-13T12:39:00.001+01:00

Out for provisions this week I also popped into the local charity shop, I always buy, read and return their books, I picked up a couple more I couldn't resist a bit more pressed glass, this pretty sugar and cream set came complete with a little tray all for £1.75. But my star buy was this for £19.99Fair enough a reasonable mac you might say but look inside its vintage
It needs a good press, the belt is missing, I'd never use it anyway, likewise it probably had a hood at one stage but it has more fastening arrangements that I will ever need and a nice swingy back with a button tab. What a happy girl I am, hoping it might rain a bit this weekend but only on me I don't want to dampen your fun.

Time for a rant

2010-11-07T13:40:00.007+01:00

After my exhausting social spree I am back to being myself which is obvious as I'm ranting.

Last week Mr FF attended a conference on UK Renewables, on and off shore wind systems, wave and tidal energy. I am not a huge fan of the wind farms dotted around our hills, Scotland has the largest in the UK, and looking at the infrastructure involved to construct these places I do wonder if they are sustainable. But I try to be a green person and keep an open mind so I was interested to hear about the conference.

Mr FF came home with a goody bag of glossy brochures and various corporate gifts. OK pens I can accept as useful but I feel the calendar proclaiming a greener tomorrow (though not stating that it was printed on recyclable paper) has limited appeal.

I don't think I'd want to spend a month looking at any of these photographs. But what really got me cross was this

a foam rubber model of a wind turbine. Now tell me what possible use this has apart from landfill that was probably imported from the other side of the world. A conference that proclaims the benefits of renewable energy and pays no heed to sustainability makes me think the whole event was a big business jamboree. You and I can keep sorting our recyclable products, composting our waste, saving energy but until the big guys take on board the needs of the environment rather than their own profit margins we will never save the world. When I was working I tried to get my office to use recycled paper but they didn't like it any more than they cared about the environment. And they couldn't stop using the ghastly coffee machine that produced more plastic waste than it did drinkable beverages. . Just don't get me started on the number of Christmas gift brochures included with this weekend's papers that all went straight into the recycle bin.

Feeling my age

2010-11-01T15:38:00.005+01:00

I don't mind growing old, generally I like to model myself on a combination of Dame Edna Everage and Tina Turner but its my birthday today and I am really feeling those 62 years. Actually I've probably been out and about too much, since Wednesday I've been to Edinburgh, to visit my family in Yorkshire, to York, to Glasgow for a dinner dance and had a tour round Loch Lomond. I've spent an awful lot of time travelling and not enough time with the people I care about. I did catch up with my great niece Amelia for a few hours. It was her first birthday recently and wisely she celebrated with two cakes, one made by her Mum and this one from her nursery. Amelia is absolutely adorable, I wish I could have stayed with her longer.
Today I'm taking it easy at home, the stove if lit and knitting is calling, I have nothing planned this week until a girlie lunch on Thursday, hopefully I shall be feeling a bit younger by then.

You can't always get what you want

2010-10-25T09:39:00.003+01:00

Mr FF was in Ireland on business last week and came back with a very funny story - in the early hours of Saturday but I still laughed.

On his second morning in the hotel he asked the waitress if he could have kippers for breakfast, they weren't on the menu but he'd seen someone else order them the day before. The waitress, whose first language wasn't English, went off and returned quite quickly with his coffee and a cereal bowl full of CAPERS. Mr FF was a bit confused at first but then pointed out that he was expecting a meal of smoked herring and not a dish of pickled buds in brine that is more of an ingredient, though he did congratulate the girl on her ingenuity and speed in finding something as obscure as capers.

The hotel didn't have any kippers and whilst he might have said in a Fawlty Towers way I'm an engineer and I want my kippers now, I expect he made do with a bit of toast.

Autumn

2010-10-20T11:50:00.006+01:00

The autumn leaves are stunning this year, we've had lots of bright sunny days that display the changing colours perfectly. Mr FF and I spent the weekend chopping down and logging an unwanted tree in the garden, makes me feel so smug that the tree was a little cutting, filled the garden nicely until it got too large and now the wood is seasoning to keep us warm some future winter.

Lovely as all this is, somehow I can't settle into the season, you might think a girl who woke to this view from her bedroom window would be up and out there. I should be clearing the tomatoes plants out of the greenhouse, planting bulbs, making my Christmas cake, enjoying lighting the stove in the afternoon, snuggling up, knitting, all those things but I'm so restless. All I'm doing is sweeping up the fallen leaves to add to the compost and trying to keep the garden going just a big longer.

The season may be changing but I'm not adapting, I'm still in summer mode. Chatting to Mr FF yesterday we discovered we'd both been thinking about Palm Springs and how fantastic it would be to spend a couple of winter months there. If only. I must stop dreaming of flip flop days and come to terms with the fact I'm wearing socks and two woolly jumpers, but oh those golden sandals and painted toe nails speak to me more than a mountain of crispy fallen leaves ever will.

Knitting now (not a lot)

2010-10-14T14:55:00.010+01:00

During and since our holiday my knitting seems to have really been badly neglected, which isn't good because I had planned to make several gifts and also start stocking up with gloves and scarves for my last market stall of the year in November. I shared a stall at the market just before we went away and did quite well, sold about £50 worth of items and got a couple of orders.

One finished item I have to show you is this little cardigan for Amelia's birthday, its from the Patons book Sugar and Spice. I knitted her a cotton version for the summer and Amelia's Mum was delighted so I hope she'll like this pure wool version. I also planned to knit her a fair isle cardy, I haven't started that and her birthday is next week.

I also made a pair of socks in Wendy Happy, a predominantly bamboo yarn but this is a Christmas present. The little cardigan to be sent to London is finished but not sewn up, probably because that's the part I really don't like.I got two orders for fingerless gloves from the market, I've made one glove so far which I think might be a bit big and I've started a pair of large socks for the next market as I never seem to have enough variety of sizes, I was asked for an 11 last time.

Not good is it, odd items, things to put together, I just don't know what's happened. I'm usually so strict with myself about finishing one item before starting the next, though I relax this rule to accommodate travel knitting hence the odd sock. Mr FF is out tonight, I'm telling myself I'll settle down to finish the cardigan and start the next sock or glove. I just hope I do.

Out and about

2010-10-09T10:11:00.001+01:00

On one of our several non-working days Mr FF and I took a trip into the mountains above Subiaco. We were actually searching for a studio that had been designed by the father of one of Mr FF's architect friends, we think we found the location up a steep bumpy track but the entrance gate was locked. However we had a wonderful drive through the area that is home to a Benedictine community in the monasteries of Santa Scolastica and San Benedetto the latter housing Sacro Speco the cave where St Benedict lived as a hermit before forming the community. The monks offers hospitality and education to visitors, with accommodation for over 100 people, a restaurant, bar, library and a shop selling products like soap, jams and liqueurs. The area was pleasantly busy with people visiting the monastries, walking and cycling up the mountain. We drove up higher to the little town of Jenne, home to about 500 people it is perched on a plateau in the Parco Naturale Regionale Monti Simbruini with magnificent views all round and startling drops down into the valley below.

Such a treat for us to be out discovering our local area, there was a very spiritual atomosphere, calm and welcoming, definitely a place I'd like to visit again to spend more time discovering.

All done

2010-10-05T13:09:00.001+01:00

We are home from Italy and finally the stove is finished, I can't tell you what a relief and delight that is.

We arrived at the airport in good time and began negotiations to get our extra large package into the hold. Firstly the check in girl said that we should have booked it in as sports equipment, probably because that costs more, and when we explained that it was a chimney flue she looked baffled. Eventually she took us down to the outsize luggage department who agreed it could fly but the package was too big to go onto the conveyor belt and therefore through the Xray machine. We had to take it somewhere else to be hand searched which was obviously too much effort because the man had a quick look and said it was OK. So far so good.

Did I mention that in my carry on case I had four cast iron replacement legs weighing 6.5 kilos for the stove. Of course I got pulled up at security, firstly they decided to check my liquids, a nail varnish and a lip balm, then they asked me about the stove legs. Again looks of incredulity, they said we probably couldn't take them on board but after consultation agreed that we could providing I took them out of my case and didn't put them in the overhead locker, fair enough they would certainly have knocked someone out if they fell. When we got on the plane we were in the emergency exit seats where you are not allowed to put anything on the floor so I called the stewardess and again explained about the stove legs. She said she thought we couldn't take them on board and went off to speak to the captain. She returned and said that the captain would keep them on the flight deck and we could reclaim them when we landed. Result. The whole crew turned out to see us when we disembarked and were delighted when we told them we also had 5 metres of flexible flue in the hold. Good old Ryanair, after all I've said about you, thank you so much.

A few days of work, interspersed with trips to the beach and sadly trips to the tax office and bank, and the job was done. We had to lift the stove back off the hearth, which I didn't like, Mr FF assumed his regular position up the chimney for a whilewe wrapped the flexible flue in rock wool for insulationand then pushed it up from the room. I held it in position while Mr FF went onto the roof to secure it, not a nice sensation as I had to stand on tip toes right inside the chimney with all that weight but I managed. We did some more plastering to the wall, painted and connected the air intake. We didn't actually need the replacement legs as Mr FF was able to adjust the wobbly one, it seemed to have been overpacked. He phoned the suppliers and offered to take the second set back, I refused to run the gambit of Italian security so we will bring them home next time we travel by car.

We lit the stove 7 days after we arrived and it worked beautifully, as a bonus we chopped up and burnt the wooden case and pallet that it had arrived in, the heat filtered nicely through the house and kept us cosy. Not a trace of smoke after all those years of being kippered by the open fire, wonderful.

Our Italian friends who came to look were full of admiration, someone asked if it had been worth the effort, it really has been hard work and at the moment there are still some bad memories to fade but they will.

the eagle has landed

2010-09-22T16:51:00.002+01:00

WE ARE HERE, THE FLUE IS HERE THE CAST IRON LEGSS ARE HERE. WE HAVE BEEN TO THE BEACH, EATEN ICE CTREAM, THE SUN IS OUT. NOW JUST A BIT OF INSTALLATION UP THE CHIMNEY

Packing for the holiday

2010-09-16T13:40:00.000+01:00

First of all don't read this if you work for Ryanair, it's of absolutely no interest to you, truly.

I wish this could be a light-hearted little post about my minimal wardrobe and holiday knitting, it isn't. You remember last time we were at our house in Italy, a couple of months ago, we had problems connecting the newly installed wood burning stove to the newly installed flue liner. We left the house with lots of metal pipe fitted in the chimney, the hearth and stove in position and nothing working. Back home Mr FF did some investigation and decided we needed a flexible flue, a product that is manufactured in Italy but not readily available there, we did make enquiries during our last visit. The cost of having a flue delivered back to Italy from the UK was enormous so Mr FF spoke to Ryanair about the possibility of taking one on a flight and they said that provided the item complied with their dimensions for hold luggage we could pay up and check in what liked. He ordered the product and explained to the suppliers his intention asking them if they could pack it to the approved dimensions. The said they would but they didn't and this arrived, large yes but also wide.

I'm starting to feel a bit ill just writing about this.

Mr FF then suggested he repack the flue and put it in the bag he uses to take his bicycle on flights, he also suggested that he book it in as a bike but I thought we needed to be honest and not risk rejection. So he decided to source a suitable box and in Edinburgh we found a bike box that we intended to cut down to the required dimensions. At the weekend we attempted to recoil the flue, though it is flexible there is a limit to how must stress it will take and it was just too wide to fit into the box. It's now bubble wrapped again and in the bike bag, its huge and quite heavy because also in the bag are four new legs for the stove. It didn't sit level on the completely level marble hearth and the manufacturers sent us a new set of legs that we need to fit though I'd much prefer to bung a bit of something under the wobbly leg and get on with my life. We are parking our car at the airport so that if we are not allowed to check in the monster bag we can leave it in the car for two weeks. Our flight is at 6.30 on Sunday morning, I am worried, very worried, about getting the bag on the plane, getting it into the hire car at the other end and stuffing the bloomin flue down the chimney if we get it to the house. I can't even think about what knitting I want to take.

Knitting now

2010-09-11T23:14:00.007+01:00

A month has passed during which the additions to the yarn stash have exceeded the deductions once again. I've made a few pairs of socks and I a hat for my market stall next Saturday plus these for Mr FF's birthday which was towards the end of August but I've just got round to telling you.

The pattern is Jules by Kate and I admit I stole the idea of knitting them from Snoopydog. I used a Regia yarn, the pattern and colours gave the effect of knitting tartan which was very pleasing and look how well they match his new birthday slippers.

Meantime quite a lot of girly shades of yarn have arrived and I suddenly find I need to get knitting for my great niece Amelia's first birthday at the end of October and also for the new daughter of a friend, that's three little garments I plan to produce. Quite feasible for a retired woman you might think but we are off to Italy next Sunday for two weeks and I prefer to take sock knitting in my carry on luggage rather than risk having anything too precious ripped off my needles at the airport. Luckily the weather forecast for the coming week is dire so I won't be in the garden, I may be in front of the stove watching daytime television with my needles smouldering.

Inside, outside, no contest

2010-09-04T09:16:00.002+01:00

Mr FF went down to Manchester yesterday for meetings and after some deliberation, 3 hours each way car journey v day in the garden, I decided to do the decent thing and go with him, especially as I knew he had an early start and would be finished in the afternoon so we could call in at The Lake District on our way back.

We were up before 6 am, quick showers and away, we stopped off at one of his favourite truck stops for coffee and bacon rolls en route and made good time. I hadn't been sure what to do with myself while Mr FF was busy and eventually asked him to drop me off at the Trafford Centre which wasn't too far from his first appointment. Big mistake, I'm not a fan of shopping malls at the best of times, I much prefer to be outdoors, and this one was an ornate shrine to consumerism. All the usual high street shops, nothing whatsoever individual, lots of fast food outlets with the one redeeming place, Carluccio's an Italian deli and restaurant where I had an excellent coffee and bought this tea towel. The lovely sales girl also gave me a couple of postcards and a carrier bag with the same design.

I was soon bored and spent quite a while sitting waiting inside as there was nothing but car parking outside, though I did pick up the makings of a picnic so that we could get straight to the Lakes. Mr FF collected me up around 2 and we were in the National Park in less than 1.5 hours, where we found the perfect spot. A National Trust property with parkland right down to Lake Windermere that was full of people enjoying the sunshine in a very British way. Picnics, folding chairs, blankets were in abundance and every possible game was taking place, cricket, football, frisbee, canoes and kayaks were on the water finding their way round the swimmers and splashers, it was a delight to see so many people making their own entertainment in such a gentile way. I had my book Mr FF had the paper and we soaked in the sun, took a stroll along the lakeside and watched the fun. I did overhear a mother tell her little girl not to venture into the bushes as a very large squirrel lived there, I looked but I couldn't see it.

Late afternoon we went to one of our favourite Lakeland tea shops for a good brew and cakes sitting outside by the river. We know how to enjoy ourselves and it doesn't involve multi million pound buildings full of statues, fountains and run of the mill shops, just beautiful scenery, good fresh air and massive slices of carrot cake.

The Borders ... brum brum

2010-08-30T08:53:00.002+01:00

Although we don't officially live in the Scottish Borders, we are within spitting distance of this very beautiful and peaceful part of the world, gorgeous scenery and wide open spaces. Well the quiet of the countryside what disturbed somewhat at the weekend by this lot. This is trialling an activity enjoyed by our our friends Carol and Alistair who take their little car all over the UK to drive it up and down hills. There is only one event of this type held in Scotland each year, in The Borders, so seemed a good idea to take a look and give them some support. Apparently it's not about speed, the aim is to drive as far as possible over a rough twisty uphill route without stopping or hitting the marker posts. To help each driver there is a passenger in the car who moves their weight around to get the best possible traction on each wheel. The further a driver gets up a section the lower the score, the one with the lowest score of the day is the winner.It certainly didn't look like a comfortable ride with the passenger often hanging out of the car or bouncing up and down to maintain momentum. Fortunately it was a nice sunny day, ground conditions were good for the drivers and it was warm enough for the supporters to stand around. As an ex fell runner there is a part of me that thinks running up and down the hills would be safer and healthier but each to their own. We enjoyed finding out about this type of event, previously we'd known very little about it except that Carol and Alistair keep a special vehicle under cover at their house and take it away on a trailer at weekends.

On the way home we noticed that one of the border villages was holding its annual show so we stopped off for a look and of course tea and home made cakes for less than the price of a high street coffee. The show was a much bigger event than our ours, this village has amenities like a shop, garage and a horticultural society so the standards particularly in the flower and produce sections were high. But it was the children's entries that amused me, I love the garden on a tin lid class and the winner of the vegetable animal was inspirational, an marrow octopus inside a pirate's treasure chest with grapes for jewels. Brilliant, what a nice day out.

Sweet sweet peas

2010-08-27T16:23:00.005+01:00

Sweet peas are just about my favourite garden flower, the range of colours, intensive perfume and growability all meet my requirements. Over the years I've experimented with various mixes, bought individual seeds from specialist nurseries and taken pot luck with supermarket bargains. This time I think I've just about reached perfection with a Thompson and Morgan selection, Heirloom Bicolour Mixed which was a new introduction on special offer at £1.99 for 25 seeds. Despite being neglected for a month while I was on holiday, my plants did well and began flowering in early July before they got very tall. The colours are perfect, a pleasing balance of dark purply blue, white and pink with a strong perfume. They are still flowering amazingly well, I cut at least one posy every day and there are no signs of a let up, they'll definitely be on my seed list again next year.

Show time

2010-08-23T09:52:00.003+01:00

It was our village flower show on Saturday, that is not just for flowers but lots of other lovely things. Usually we are in Italy in August so I get someone to put my entry in for me but this year it was nice to be able to attend. We are a small village so the show isn't a big event, but very much a local thing and not to a dauntingly high standard so everyone can feel comfortable taking part.
I put in 3 tomatoes, which though I thought looked really beautiful didn't win anything. They probably weren't even considered as they didn't have stalks, one had dropped off before the show so I made them all the same, there are strict rules about these things I know. Mr FF said I should have pointed out that they were the organic Italian stalkless variety, they were indeed grown from seed I brought home with me. I also put in a pair of socks and the necklace I made a while ago, the socks got a first prize and won me 30p the necklace a third and 10pPam had been up to pick flowers from my garden for her entries, and managed to borrow my cup and saucer for the arrangement in a tea cup, she did really well with two first prizes.I'm wondering if there shouldn't be a special class next year for flowers from Jen's garden arranged in one of Jen's cups as well as for the stalkless tomatoes.

Such lovely things to look admire some puddings with obvious Masterchef influence, lots of children's classes, this one for a room in a shoe box (complete with pets), a tombola, raffle, word competition and home baked teas. A really pleasant afternoon. a good walk down to the village hall and back, tea with delicious home made cakes and a great change to meet up with all the talented growers and bakers and makers who live in our little village.

Hello campers

2010-08-19T08:50:00.001+01:00

My tent arrived on Monday but it was wet and quite late so I left it until Tuesday to take a closer look. Mr Positive, sorry Mr FF, did mention that once I took it out of the bag I wouldn't get it back in again, hmm, tempting then to keep it tidy and never use it - not. I thought about pitching in the front room, right in front of the wide screen telly, but the sun came out so the back lawn it was.

It took me about 30 minutes, including some googling, to work out where the poles went but after that it was fairly simply and next time will be a doddle. I put down a rug, some cushions and a little stool to take a clock, the camping lantern that we use during power cuts and my glasses. I slept on a camping mat with my pillow and our summer weight duvet, I also kept my socks on. My only concern was that as I hadn't used the guy ropes just the pegs the thing might blow down in the night and I wouldn't be able to unzip myself to get out. It did turn extremely windy but was never totally dark and I knew exactly where the handles on the zips were.

Certainly not wild camping, I was within spitting distance of our open bedroom window and I didn't need to take the kitchen sink with me as that wasn't far away either.So how was it, fine. It wasn't exactly the dream of a balmy evening when the sun hardly sets, the wind was battering the trees all night but I was cozy and warm in my little secret space. It was exciting to think about waking up outdoors, a little noisy when the birds starting feeding at the nearby table, a bit cold first thing and definitely something I want to do again. There was a nice notice on the doors into the lounge when crawled out next morning but sadly the offer didn't apply to me.

Tread softly

2010-08-16T09:14:00.003+01:00

Oh dear poor Mr FF isn't getting a very good press this month, after the working holiday debacle we had another disagreement on Friday. We called in at B&Q a large and pretty boring diy hypermarket, Mr FF needed some wood filler and a look at the chain saws because his won't start. My enthusiasm for browsing power tools soon ran out and I wandered off to the gardening department. The outdoor section was having an end of season sale with lots of furniture reduced and then I came across the camping section. I've never camped, I've done lots of outdoor activities, long distance walking, fell running, cycling etc but I've either stayed in youth hostels or come home. However, I have always had a totally irrational desire to sleep in the garden and lately come to the conclusion that I'd like a little tent to do this. We already have good quality sleeping bags and camping mats. I found a four man tent greatly reduced and rushed back to the power tools section to tell Mr FF that I'd found what I wanted for under £20, the beauty pictured above. He came to look at it with me and immediately put a downer on the whole idea for various reasons

it would be too heavy to carry in a rucksack - I wasn't intending to do a long hike and then pitch up in the middle of nowhere, I want to camp in the garden

it was a four man tent and probably too big - see 1 above, a 4 man was cheaper than a 2 man and I like space

if I wanted to camp on a ledge the tent was rather high and exposed, it might not be stable - see 1 above, our garden is flat in places with no exposed ledges

it would take up space to store - we are currently storing masses of things we never use, like a chest of drawers we've had probably 35+ years and not used for the past 20, the drawers don't open, its empty, its taking much more space than a dismantled tent ever would

I wouldn't be able to stand up in the tent - I don't want to stand up I just want to sleep in it as I may have mentioned

By this time I got the message that he definitely didn't want me to have a tent and (sulkily I admit) I said OK forget it. We drove home in silence while I thought over the whole disheartening episode. I'm 61, I don't need any ones permission to spend £20, I wanted a tent not a 60" plasma tv, not a ludicrously expensive designer handbag, not a sports car, just a cheap tent. When we got home I told him how disappointed I was and eventually that evening I went on line and reserved the tent from the shop, Mr FF is to collect it later today when he goes into town for a meeting. Maybe I won't ever use it, maybe I'll use it once and hate it but surely better to try and fail. I hope I never tread on anyone's dreams and that in future I fulfill my own without having to justify them.

HAD I the heavens’ embroidered cloths,

Enwrought with golden and silver light,

The blue and the dim and the dark cloths

Of night and light and the half light,

I would spread the cloths under your feet:

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

W.B. Yeats (1865–1939) "He Wishes For the Cloths of Heaven"

A bit more yarn etc

2010-08-11T14:36:00.002+01:00

Sometimes I don't understand how it is that I keep knitting socks and the yarn stash doesn't get any smaller. Let's check the balance sheet. In the out column I made these, a wool/cotton mix by Opal that looking back on my blog I bought in Darlington in September 2008. I really like them and the fact I've managed to produce a matching pair with not much waste.

In the in column I just added 4 more 100 g skeins,

Araucania Ranco Multy is beautiful shades. The label says this yarn is hand dyed in Chile using traditional methods and providing opportunities, jobs and hope, I like that. I couldn't decide whether the yarn needed a pattern or not, so I went for a plain pair letting the colours speak for themselves. They can go into the market stall stock, I'll attach the makers label so that whoever buys them can feel good about the purchase too. Finally I found this reduced to £4.99 in TK Maxx. Lots of lovely patterns, a nice fair isle cardy that would suit Amelia, a gorgeous aran cardy that would suit me and doubtless nothing in the stash that meets the yarn requirements.

Off your trolley*

2010-08-07T18:12:00.002+01:00

I went shopping with Pam earlier this week, in the good way that involved coffee and cakes, egging each other to try on clothes and buy things, not that either of us needs much encouragement. We talked about how we'd like to dress inappropriately for our age and unnerved the sales assistant in the department store where we tried on wedding hats and fascinators that we agreed would be good to wear at breakfast if we ever went on a cruise together.I came home with this, a shopping trolley and I think a very beautiful one too. It was reduced, I had to buy it and use it straight away. It has easy velcro fastenings, press studs at the top to increase the size, a smaller department at the back and will pack flat. It was so handy walking down the High Street, not just for purchases but for my mac and if I'd had my brolly that would have gone in too. We'd been having a discussion about our capacious and well packed handbags, how our shoulders got achy and we always carried far more than we needed. Pam's solution was to look for a smaller handbag, mine to buy the trolley.

It received a luke warm reception from Mr FF when I got it home and the only comment has been 'is that it's permanent place' as it currently stands in the hall mainly so that I can admire it every time I pass. Actually I'd quite like to fill it with yarn - shopping and knitting every girl's dream.

I'm already a bag lady, I try not to take plastic carriers at checkouts and have many many shopping bags, Cath Kidston, Lulu Guinness, Boden, as well as a big collection of supermarket bags for life, they make em I buy em. There's something of a foreign holiday feel about pulling a bag along behind you that lifts my spirits or maybe its just the beautiful colours and the chunky little wheels. Pam has made me promise not to start using the trolley as a walking aid as I get older, ie, pushing it in front of me like a wheeled zimmer frame, no chance I'm sticking with the trolley dolly image for a long time yet.

*Off your trolley - a slang expression for someone who doesn't act rationally and appears slightly mad, sounds good to me.

Think on Mr FF

2010-08-03T13:50:00.000+01:00

Last week Mr FF sent an email to one of our Italian friends, an engineer who lives in the next village, apologising that we hadn't seen him during our 3 week stay in our house. He explained that we only got to Angelo's village once, to visit the bank, and that we had been busy beyond belief while we were at the house. At the weekend we got a reply, Mr FF thought I had written it until I explained that I don't know how to forge emails

I'm sorry again that you have not yet fully grasped our lifestyle! Italian lifestyle! Fun, fun, sun, and not just work! This is life! You English?? Yuo have won some war while most of us, but then .....................
Joke, greetings also to Jenny that she must work in a beautiful country.. for you!!!!
Many Greetings from Angelo and Francesca
P.S. Next mounth we'll be in Normandia and Bretagna and Svizzera and Parigi for Holiday!

Actually I couldn't have put it better myself. We are going to Italy for two weeks in September, Mr FF promises we will have some holiday but then he's arranging to take out all sorts of flexible flues and chimney fixings and I'm not convinced. We deserve a holiday, we need to stop using this, the cement mixer that lives in the basement of our house and create this that lives in the depths of my imagination.

Socks assorted

2010-07-29T18:56:00.005+01:00

I didn't knit as much on holiday as I expected, I took an awful lot of yarn but I just didn't seem to get the needles out in the car that often and only managed two pairs of socks during the four weeks we were away.These are Tidal Wave, a pattern I've used quite a lot, in a Regia bamboo/wool mix. Having travelled to Italy and back they are now in Yorkshire, I sent them to my sister in law as part of her birthday parcel.

These are again Regia, 75% wool in a standard pattern with some ribbing which seemed to suit the colour.
Since I got home I made these Fools Rush In. As the yarn is plain I wanted to add a little pattern but not too much, I enjoyed knitting them and am really pleased with the result.

I need to get stocked up with socks again as I'm having a stall at the September village market and another one in November. I've sold four more pairs since and because of the market in May but I'm not sure about the next event. I went down to the July market as a purchaser rather than a seller and it was very quiet. A lady had a stall selling baby clothes and only sold one pair of bootees. She asked me if I thought she was over pricing her items, far from it as she was selling pretty little cardies for £5. I told her I charge £15 for my socks and that she shouldn't under sell her work but I could see she was very disheartened. Such a pity, maybe baby clothes is a limited market or maybe I was very lucky to get such a good response to my first effort. I just hope people start Christmas shopping early and I get some more sales otherwise my whole family will be receiving socks, but then they do anyway.

France - fleetingly

2010-07-22T15:14:00.001+01:00

When we travelled out to Italy we spent our first night in Strasbourg, in France but close to the German border. We booked all our overnight stops before we left and after the midnight ferry from Dover we could easily have been at the hotel by 9 am. To pass a little time we stopped off in Metz to view the new Pompidou Centre, a stunningly modern building that we had to admire from the outside as it didn't open until 11. I don't recall what time we were there but it was probably around 8 and we didn't have much inclination to walk around anyway. We managed to find a lovely little shop selling good coffee and fresh pastries that made us feel better and we reached our hotel around midday. They kindly let us into the room and we slept for a few hours before we took a walk round the city centre, a UNESCO World Heritage site and very nice too.
On our return journey we stopped off again in France for our last night, this time in the Lorraine at this gorgeous chambre d'hote in a very well kept village (view from our bedroom window). Such a treat after our exhausting/frustrating time in Italy to be surrounded by calm clean whiteness. My French isn't great, its over 40 years since I studied for and failed my French O Level exam, and I constantly lapsed into Italian but I did managed to communicate with Madame who booked us into an excellent restaurant for the evening. We enjoyed a delicious communal breakfast next morning with a couple oddly enough from Strasbourg and a Belgian couple. Madame was almost as excited as me about our plans for the rest of the morning.
Making our way back to the ferry we popped into Belgium to catch a stage of the Tour de France, something that has been a long term ambition. The tour is amazing, so much bigger than our beloved Giro d'Italia and we only had to wait about half an hour before the excitement really began. First came a breakaway group with about four minutes lead and then the rest of the raceWe'd have liked to have followed the riders and seen them again but we had to catch the ferry. I've been watching the tour on tv since we got home and while I get to see much more and hear lots of information you can't beat being there. It's just not the same in cold wet Scotland seeing the guys whizz through gorgeous scenery usually in scorching sunshine and I know I'll feel bereft when they ride into Paris on Sunday and its all over for another year.

That blasted bank

2010-07-18T09:41:00.001+01:00

I mentioned that we'd had yet another encounter with our bloomin Italian bank

Through our own ignorance we hadn't realised or been made aware when we registered the four year lease (that lasted 3 years) for our corporate let that we actually had to register the contract and pay the fee every year. In fact we discovered recently that we could have registered the whole four years at the outset and received a discount but we believed registration was, like for a birth or a marriage, something you did once. Eventually we received a demand for the other 3 years registration fee, plus penalty charges plus administration costs. Our Scottish/Italian solicitor spoke to the authorities for us and it was agreed that we could pay the demands when we went out to Italy and an appointment was made for us to visit the tax office on the Tuesday morning at 10.30 to give them copies of the receipts and sign everything off. Even though the contract finished early, it lasted 3 years and one month, we actually had to pay 4 years registration (plus penalty etc) and we also had to pay an additional fee to cancel the contract early.

As you can imagine we weren't in the best of humours when we went to the bank, the branch situated just by the tax office, to make the payment but we were in good time, unusual for us as Mr FF mentioned. Spoke too soon, things started to go pear shaped straight away. I got stuck in security system that lets you through the first door then holds you in a perspex box for a while before releasing the second door to let you into the bank. After I waved frantically for a while the manager, whose sole duty for that day seemed to be to release trapped customers, let me in as he did for several others.There was a big queue and only one position open, actually there was only one position full stop with a very busy teller. There was also a woman banker wandering around who the whole time we were in there did nothing except strut about her too high heels and her too tight jeans looking over the teller's shoulder and down her nose at us.

We got the payment forms, there's never a remittance advice with a demand, its down to you to go to the bank, find and complete the right one with your tax code and various other details. When it was our turn we presented the four documents for payment, plenty of stamping of the various copies and tapping on the computer. Mr FF then offered his debit card, it wasn't acceptable, he got out the cheque book, that wasn't acceptable either, only cash was the reply. Mr FF asked how he could get the cash, the total bill came to almost 3,000 euros and the teller pointed us to the cash machine next to him. Yes it does seem odd hat you are in a bank, you have to use a machine to get money to give back to the bank. Mr FF asked how much cash we could get out in one day and the answer was I believe 750 euro. Mr FF then asked how we could pay the bill to be told it was impossible. So began the frustration, we explained that we had to be at the tax office with receipts in half an hour, that this was a branch of our own bank, that we had enough funds in our account, that we wanted to pay a government bill, how could any of it be a scam. Mr FF asked the teller to contact our own branch in Rome and we sat down to wait. Our bank said they couldn't release funds as they didn't have a copy of our signatures on computer (and obviously the various documents on file we've signed there over the years there didn't count at all). Mr FF produced our passports pointing to our signatures but these were simply waved away by Mrs tight jeans. We started to plead, we phoned our solicitor in Edinburgh and she spoke to the bank to try to get some action, we were sent to the back of the queue again. Mr FF got extremely agitated and started pacing, I think the bankers considered that a result. I was tempted to lay across the seats in the style of people in airports whose flights are delayed. After an hour or so Mr FF went to speak to the manager/door monitor and eventually he agreed to phone the bank in Rome again who said they would send a fax to authorise our payment, this latter action itself took another hour, we could have driven there and back quicker. We waited and waited, Mr FF pacing me glaring until finally we were called back to the counter and the transaction took place, with no sign at all of the awaited fax.

We were in the bank 3 hours, we were 2.5 hours late getting to the tax office and ready to face some old dragon who would refuse to see us though our solicitor had promised to phone and explain the delay. Ms Lancia turned out to be a charming and beautiful young girl wearing colourful cropped trousers who greeted us like long lost friends and wasn't at all cross that we were late. We showed her the documents, she agreed that it was very unfair that we had to pay a full years fee when the lease only lasted for one month and that we also had to pay because the lease was cancelled, she processed all the paperwork and told us we were finished.

I won't go into detail about our next visit to the bank for a new cheque book, which must be collected in person and cannot be posted. We asked for 30 cheques but after speaking with the manager we were only allowed 10 cheques because we already have some unused ones. We did manage to put our signatures onto the system for future use but never fathomed out why our statements and other information are sent to our Scottish address but our credit card is delivered to Italy. We'd really like to move our bank account but have a sneaking suspicion that it would be far too complicated, probably involving blood and DNA samples, a full interrogation and at least one overnight stay.

Our precious time off

2010-07-14T10:40:00.005+01:00

I'm still feeling quite peeved that we did little apart from work during the 3 weeks we were at our house in Italy, especially as the weather since we got home hasn't been good. Most of the UK is sweltering under a heatwave, we've had temperatures of around 14 degrees, rising one day to 18. Maybe I need to dwell a bit more on the times we weren't working, just a short post then.

Our neighbours, Mario and Lina, took us to an awards ceremony in a nearby town. This was by invitation only and most of the piazza was cordoned off, the uninvited leaning against the barriers watching proceedings, the locals hanging out of their windows to do the sameThe format seemed to follow that of the Oscars, all the ladies received a goody bag with makeup and a bracelet, there was meal, a beautiful hostess and entertainment.A rather aged fire eater, a contortionist who balanced lighted candelabra on every available surface whilst twisting herself into unusual shapes and a bathing beauty contest. Young and very thin girls wearing extremely small bikinis paraded in the night air and had the obligatory interview where they expressed a desire to become criminal psychologists whilst fighting for world peace, well that was my interpretation anyway. The awards seemed to be for business and community achievements and were still going on when we left around midnight.

Another evening we took Lina and Mario to a food and drink event in one of our local restaurants. We paid 15 euro each for a glass (that we got to take home) which entitled us to sample from the various stands. We then moved onto the roof terrace where the restaurant and a local catering college provided us with dinner. It was great to be out in the village, seeing people we knew, making new friends, admiring the view and enjoying the atmosphere. As so often happens in Italy there were generations out together, from young babies asleep in pushchairs to old folks and I have to say despite the abundance of alcohol not one person was drunk or in any way objectionable. I wonder why the hell we didn't get out more.

Home from the heat and dust

2010-07-09T09:20:00.002+01:00

We got back to Scotland at 5 am on Wednesday after the long drive from Dover but I've been feeling the road travellers equivalent of jet lag so forgive me that I've only just got round to posting.

Well that was some trip, I won't grace the 4 weeks we've been away by saying holiday, it certainly wasn't that. A half day trip to the designer outlet and to eat lunch beside the lake on our wedding anniversary, one coffee out, taken standing at the Autogrill counter, one ice cream, a couple of nights out with our neighbours and a visit to our friend in Rome, no I don't think that qualifies as 4 weeks holiday. So what did we do the rest of the time, you may well ask. The day after we arrived at the house, having been on the road for 3 days, the dust sheets came out and they stayed in position until the day before we left.Mr FF started knocking out the existing fireplace straight away, cue the beginning of the dust, ready for the arrival of the wood burning stove due sometime the same day. We ordered and paid for the stove in the UK several weeks before we left with strict instructions that it was to be at the house the day after we arrived, Monday. Of course it didn't come and then we received a phone call from the Italian shippers in Milan to say that it would come on Thursday and that we would have to unload it from the lorry ourselves or pay another £50 for a mechanical lift. We explained that the cast iron stove weighs about 200 kilos, that we had paid the extra, that we were both in our 60s, that lifting it would be a health and safety issue etc. After several more stressful conversations our UK providers paid again for off load. The Italian shippers then said that if we wanted the stove before we left Italy we would have to pay another £70 for express delivery. Things got very heated then and eventually the stove arrived about 10 days late which made preparing the hearth and flue for something you hadn't seen with minimal information quite difficult. The drivers dropped the stove at the end of the garden for us, the jack wouldn't travel across the lawn so Mr FF stripped off the doors and as many of the internal parts as possible to reduce the weight and devised a system of rollers, think slaves building the pyramids, to get the stove through the garden to the bottom of the steps where it sat for several days while we stressed about getting it to the top.

We ordered a lovely piece of marble for the hearth and when this was oh so carefully delivered by the guys who had made it, we asked them ever so nicely if they would help us. Help us, they grabbed the stove and between them had it up the steps in a flash, a quick beer each, hand shakes and many thanks for us and they were gone. From there Mr FF and I eventually shimmied the stove into the house and finally with planks onto the hearth.

Mr FF spent a lot of his holiday up the chimney where he put in a new tube to connect to the stoveor on the roof where he took the old chimney cap off and fitted a lovely cowl, almost as good as a disco ball on a sunny day.

We worked so hard to get this stove installed but everything was against us, the hassle with the delivery, sourcing fittings and working with different systems took so much time, in fact the day before we left we didn't stop and sit down for our meal until almost 11 pm.Here we are with less than 18 hours left, during which time we had to finish the work, eat, sleep, pack and clean the house ready for paying guests who were coming in that evening. We eventually got the stove into position but not connected, no great problem as it won't be needed for a while and looked presentable enough but disappointing none the less. So much hard work and while we were working on the fireplace the local joiner fitted new double glazed windows and external doors adding to the general chaos and mess. The house looked brilliant when we left, well anything was going to be an improvement on 3 weeks of dust and rubble. Some resentment on my part that we didn't benefit from all the work but in many ways I was ready to leave as it hadn't been much fun. That's the work related rant over, I still have to rant about our latest encounter with the bank and tell you about the good times we had, I just wanted to get all that off my nicely tanned chest.

It was 40 years ago today

2010-06-20T08:18:00.002+01:00

Who were that skinny couple, of yes I remember it was me and Mr FF tying the knot at the registry office in Middlesbrough 20 June 1970. I thought it was really romantic that we got married beside the college where Mr FF was an engineering student.My parents were at the time totally against Mr FF and I being together, especially as I had moved up to Middlesbrough to be with him so we only told a few friends and family what was happening and just got married. It took my family 6 months to come round but they eventually accepted what we had done and we were back to normal.We didn't have a photographer but friends who had taken snaps gave us copies, which I lovingly keep in an old photo sleeve and constantly mislay. My wedding ring cost £7 and my dress about the same, I still have the former though the pattern is all worn away, I have no idea what happened to the dress but I am certain I couldn't get into it now, I weighed 8 stone 3 lbs and I was 21.

I don't regret any of it, a wedding arranged in 3 weeks and over in a flash, a marriage that seems to be lasting forever.

Flip flop days in sight

2010-06-10T09:46:00.001+01:00

Well that's it. We are off later today to catch the round about midnight ferry from Dover. Our aged cousins are arrived after we've left and leaving before we return, it just seemed too mean not to allow them back into the house as this is the only holiday they get, if you call visiting the supermarkets, cleaning and moving my things about a holiday. Actually that does sound a bit like what I shall be doing in Italy plus the DIY.
I've treated myself to these lovely new gold flip flops, Havaianas from Brazil which were considerably more expensive that the rubbish I usually wear, or indeed the free with a magazine ones I current use. The reviews were great, they look lovely, they feel comfy so I'll put them through their paces over the next month. I hope I can get on line while we are away to catch up with you all. I have set up a post to appear on 20 June which will be our ruby wedding anniversary, some never before published photographs of our wedding 40 years ago. We won't be making a big fuss about the date, we certainly didn't at the time, probably still be working on the house. I just wish I'd asked for a pair of ruby flip flops to wear on our special day, might have clashed with the nail varnish though.