St Lucia

Well, we went to St Lucia, and had a fabulous time!
Only downfall was when we flew back to London. The worst winter in 50 years meant we were stuck at Gatwick airport. Our flight from St Lucia was delayed 4 hours, which meant we 'just' missed our flight to Edinburgh. We re-booked our Gatwick - Edinburgh flight, but that was cancelled as the runway was closed due to snow. BA (eventually) put us up at Gatwick, and we flew up to Edinburgh 24 hours later. Not what you want a couple of days before Christmas, when you've only done half your shopping:-).

St Lucia

Last month I won a holiday to St Lucia at an evening organised by the St Lucia Tourist Board.
G and I are going there on Sunday for two weeks. I can't wait, but it means no time for Christmas shopping, so lots done online, and a few hand-knitted gifts.

Cancun

1
Originally uploaded by Wendy W00

We went to Cancun in September and had such a great time

Happy Birthday

It's my Father-in-law's birthday today. We went for a lovely meal in Fabio's in Corstorphine last night. The service was a little slow but the food was excellent. The restaurant was really busy. It was the same last year when we went there for G's 40th birthday meal. We gave F-I-L a digital photo frame. He seemed rather taken with ours when he visited us earlier this year. My mum and I bought him the exact same birthday card. Pity they both said happy 65th, as it's his 70th! Quite a compliment as he doesn't look 65, never mind 70:-) I blame G. If if had signed the card instead of leaving me to buy the card, present and wrap it, an embarrassing situation could have been avoided. Will I be able to forget it? Not on your Nelly!

Gary Barlow

I managed to get Gary Barlow's autobiography from the library.

I'm really enjoying it.
Highlights so far:

• The day their first album was released was the same day his bedroom furniture arrived from MFI
• "Among the fan letters were a lot of naked pictures, but some were more off-beat. I had one fan, Ilona in Germany, who was a policewoman. She used to send me pictures of herself taking part in riots. She's be all dressed up in combat gear with truncheon hitting people - that freaked me out". I thought it hilarious (sorry Gary) - I think it was a job application for his personal security officer LOL.
• When he signed his first publishing deal, his advance was £150,000. Nigel Martin -Smith made him put the entire advance in a NatWest Money Market account and wouldn't let him touch any of the money - in fact to draw out money Gary needed Nigel's signature. Gary would go to the cashpoint and put in his card just to stare at the balance.

I'm 40% of the way through, and it's really just the start of them hitting the big time, so I can't wait to read the rest of it

Royal Highland Show

G & I went to the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston and had a great day.

We grazed our way around Lidl (the most freebies), Co-op, ASDA and the food hall. Lots of the same kind of foods -

• Oatcakes
• Honey
• Whisky
• Strawberries
• Sausages
• Dips
• Cheese (OMG I have never had as much cheese)

As well as all the food we saw

Alpacas

Goats

Take That!

Take That were amazing in Glasgow last night.

Knitting in Public

It was World-Wide Knitting in Public day today. Actually it was one of World-Wide Knitting in Public days. It is on this weekend, and next Saturday & Sunday.

There was an event in Edinburgh. Supposed to be at the Scott Monument in Princes Street. I intended to drive half way, then either get the train or bus. There are massive road works in Princes Street, and I didn't fancy walking far as I would need to carry my bag, knitting and a chair:-). Although it was quite bright, there were some ominous-looking clouds.

I drove to Edinburgh Park train station - no parking right outside, but I could see a retail park on the other side of the railway. Slight problem in that, although it was about 100 yards away, I had to drive over a mile to get there. By the time I did that, and parked the car, I missed the train. Grrrrr.
So then I drove to the nearby by park 'n' ride (bus). I parked easily (it's in the title LOL), and went to wait on the bus. I was under shelter, wearing my sunglasses, and I went to check the times of the bus which involved leaving the shelter, to discover it had started raining heavily.

I called a guy who was at the Scott monument (probably less than three miles as the crow flies), and he said it was dry there. Nevertheless I knew it wouldn't be for long, so I decided to drive into the centre. I managed to park close to Double Dutch (the alternative venue should it have rained), and spent a pleasant afternoon knitting and eating.

It took me about 90 minutes to get to Double Dutch by the time I went via the train and bus stations, and only around 40 minute to get home.

I meant to take pictures, but I forgot.. Still there's always next weekend!

Troon

Having a lovely afternoon in Troon. Sun is shining (but it's a bit windy). Just had game of crazy golf where G thrashed me. Of course I blame the wind, the course, the fact I haven't been playing golf since I was wee, etc., etc. Nothing to do with the fact I was cr*p! Just had an Irn Bru ice cream float - not as good as I remember from childhood but maybe that's because I improvised with Mr Whippy ice cream.:)

I can blog from my phone

And I want a goat:-)

It's a small world

I was on Ravelry this week, looking for a skirt pattern. I found this pattern by Gudrun Johnston. She was born and raised in Shetland, met her American husband in Edinburgh, and they now live in the States. On her blog I read about the Owl sweater which led me to Kate's blog. Kate is a designer living in Edinburgh, and on her blog she has photos of said Owl Sweater. One was of someone called Wendy, from Philadelphia. I looked on Ravelry for Wendy, and found her blog. I could hardly believe it when the current post showed a picture of, and post about, Ysolda Teague
I met Ysolda last year in Edinburgh, and here she was, in Philly. Ysolda is another designer, based in Edinburgh, but when I read her blog, it appears she's on a mini-tour of the States, publicising her book.

Last night I went to a stitch 'n' bitch at K1 Yarns in Edinburgh, where Ysolda worked part time before she went on her book tour.

I feel I've gone full circle in only 24 hours. It is a small world, and you can't hide, especially if you're on Ravelry LOL.

I don't know if I'll knit the Owl sweater, but I had a great time reading all the blogs I've mentioned. I will probably do Gudrun's skirt though.

Obsessed with Knitting

OK, it's official - I am becoming obsessed with knitting.
Next week will be a busy one, knit-wise. G will probably be going to Amsterdam, so that means:
Monday - Falkirk knitting group
Tuesday - Stirling Knitting Bee
Wednesday - City Knitty (Elephant House, Edinburgh)
Thursday - K1 Yarns (Edinburgh)
Friday - hmm, why are there no knitting groups on a Friday in Central Scotland?

It's just as well we are going away this weekend, as there is a knitting thing at John Lewis in Glasgow on Saturday, and I think it's City Knitty at Double Dutch on Sunday.

I'm working on a top-down top in 4-ply cotton, worked on 3.25mm needles. I've been working on it for about two weeks, and it's taking forever. Note to self - don't do skinny yarn on skinny needles. Will have to get the champagne out when I finish the first ball. An announcement in the Times should occur when I finish the thing!

Spring has Sprung

The big house is open to the Public, and is free of charge.

It is only a few minutes from the town centre, and hosts various events throughout the year, including Race For Life and Big in Falkirk.

I love it when the daffodils are in bloom, as it really feels like winter is ending

Mum

Mum was taken into hospital yesterday

Severe anaphylactic shock, low blood pressure, high blood sugar.

She called an ambulance, and they took her into the local A&E.