Tuesday Ten

Ten things I love this week

1. Sleeping with the windows open. Yesterday morning when I woke up I heard some huffing outside and when I went to look at what it was, it was a hot air balloon, right overhead. Not unusual around here but it still makes me cheerful seeing them - and I wouldn't have heard it with the windows shut.

2. Barbecues. Especially those kebabs my grumpy butcher does. Yum.

3. The point in the evening when it becomes cooler and I'm sitting indoors and get the cool breeze around my feet, like now.

4. My airy classroom, with all the windows open and the doors propped wide and the trees and shrubs in the thicket shading the windows: it's like some sort of colonial paradise (except on Thursdays, which is the day they cut the grass on the field; I know this because it is also duty day and I have had to do damage control on several pairs of shoes after tramping through damp grass cuttings in them).

5. Light knitting. Nothing big, heavy or hot. Like the shawl I want to start, or little sleeves, or cowls.

6. Light mornings. So much easier to get up early when it's been light for hours: I don't feel like I am missing out on any sleep at all.

7. ZUMBA! There's no right or left in Zumba - there is only FLAVOUR! There is no extra charge for singing! And basically, you can dance around making a fool of yourself and getting a great workout and NOBODY CARES! Not even me, as long as I don't catch sight of myself in the mirror....

8. Ice cream maker. I had been holding out on buying one of these until I could afford one of the mega posh ones with the built in freezing device but the freeze-the-bowl ones were on special in Robert Dyas at the weekend and I couldn't resist. Perfect for low-fat frozen treats. So far I have made lemon curd frozen yogurt, and toffee Malteser. Awesome.

9. Amazing plants. We have 2 courgettes, 4 tomatoes and a cucumber in the garden, plus some thyme and parsley coming up from seed. One of the tomatoes already has flowers on it! And the lilies we planted 4 years ago are really going for it this year. I may even feel confident enough to plant them out of their pot for next year. I can't wait for them to flower.
Next stop: get rid of the shed and plant pumpkins and beetroot.

10. Mooing reverberatingly at random stuff like balloons. Mr Z added this one while I wasn't looking. I don't do this, but he does seem to enjoy it, when he's not playing his current favourite thing, Red Dead Redemption. He is slightly obsessed with his new horse.


Something I do NOT like today is falling over in front of my neighbour because I was too busy looking in my bag for my keys and tripped over my own feet. Skinned knee a-go-go. I hate falling over in high heels because I feel like people are judging me..."Shouldn't wear the shoes if you can't walk in them!" I can, as long as I am not trying to locate something in my bag at the same time. Honest.

I got up early today to shower before work and had enough time to pick up the collar on the Hey Teach, which is now done! So only the sleeves and buttons bands to go. And since the sleeves can be done on DPNs in the round, I have now freed up my 5mm tips for the Chinook shawl. Dilemma: finish cardigan or start shawl?