Sunday Selfie

I took this one immediately after landing on Monday. By this point I'd been awake for 19 hours so I don't think I have done a bad job of looking chipper.

I was, at the same time, hoping to see the end of Sleeping With The Enemy while the plane taxied to the gate. I was thwarted, of course.

Weekend WIP

Slightly horrified to realise I've now been knitting this since March, but this weekend I have made some good progress with it and have finished the front.

I have been putting this off because the sleeves are large, bell-like affairs and the thought of it just left me cold; but then I reflected that they don't have a pattern past the first part of the cuff, so they will at least be quite straightforward to knit when I get there, even if I am doing them two at a time, in the round, alternating from two skeins, or some such craziness.

I tried it one and I think it will be long enough, although it is difficult to tell until the back has been finished and the two sides joined. I think I will probably do that and knit the neckband before I move on to the sleeves. It's a lovely fit on the body.

Weeknote, 4/11

I am full of regret that I only wheel these out when I need to make up blog posts at the end of the year. I do so enjoy reading back over them. It's like keeping a proper diary.

Knitting:
I've put a good couple of inches on the angora jumper today. Expect pictures and an update tomorrow. I've also been browsing shawl pictures, thinking I should probably get on with knitting up that gradient kit into a scarf for Mother Hand if I want to get it done for Christmas. I might make her a Spice Market. I did enjoy that pattern.

Going to:

• Mainly home, on Monday. We spent Sunday driving to LA and then travelling back to London and then from London to Bristol, during which journey I wore my amazing new ski jacket and slept, soundly. 
• A history lecture on witchcraft, with local legend Ronald Hutton, history lecturer at Bristol uni. He was very entertaining and I learned some good new facts, such as 93% of those accused of witchcraft in Iceland were men. And I only briefly fell asleep once, which wasn't bad, considering I was clearly still jetlagged. 
• Bikram followed by infernal inferno pilates, directly afterwards. On Friday night. Regrets, I had them. 

Learning:
About witchcraft, as above.
Not to have coffee with the people that are protesting your school founder day, no matter how well you got on with them when they came to run a workshop at the school. It will get awkward.

Obsessed with:
Staying awake past 8.30pm - mostly managed it, except for Thursday, when I fell asleep on the sofa immediately after getting in from parents' evening and had to be woken up and sent to bed.

Entertained by:
Taking pictures. I had a black and white picture challenge tossed my way on Facebook so I have been taking a lot of pictures and fiddling with them in editing.
Big Little Lies. I binge watched the entire first series on my flights to and from the US. The notion of putting box sets on the entertainment system is genius.

Feeling:
I've found the jetlag interesting. I thought it would make me tired in the mornings but it has just made me very tired at night, which would be lunchtime Vegas time. Bit weird.
A bit frantic. We undoubtedly had to fit a week's worth of work into three teaching days. I went into school at midday after the special service on Friday and worked until nearly 5pm. And I've worked today, in spite of my resolution to keep weekends clear. Next week should be easier, though. Theoretically.

Strictly: My Dance of the Night

Tough competition this week. I loved Alexander's dance, and the Charleston; but in the end I had to choose this one. No, it wasn't the best; no, it wasn't technically that great, I imagine. But, it was the one I wanted to watch again immediately. The (presumably) unintentional fall at the end had me crying with laughter, even though I usually find Anton quite irritating. Saturday evening variety entertainment at its best.

Fave Friday

I love a good pair of hoop earrings and these are my faves. I bought them in Prague when I went with Party Jo, in 2010. She bought the same pair so I don't usually wear them when we are going out together. We have quite similar tastes in some ways, even though I think she likes classic neutrals and I like clownish brights; once we turned up to dinner wearing basically the same outfit, down to wicker handbag, which was odd.

Anyway, I digress. They're garnet of course, because Prague. Good size, keep their shine and not too heavy.

Throwback Thursday

Something a little different this week. I'm throwing back to 1993 and sharing my diary entry for this date of that year. I haven't actually looked at it yet so I am hoping it won't be anything too embarrassing.

Back to school today. They've started building work under the New Hall - we have to go miles round to get to the main school (1). Latin was good - I'd learnt all my noun endings but the test isn't til Friday! Swimming was good - lifesaving. And in pottery Mr B-D LIKED my idea!!! I got some new penfriends too from IYS - details on paper (2). Caroline says she's definitely going to Havant now - hurrah!! (3). Wrote loads of letters - 4 - to Martina and Lena, my old penfriends, the Russian girl, and one of my news penfriends. Grandad came over. After he was gone, Mona's (4) mate Alix came over and we watched the tape he made of their Hallowe'en pub crawl. I was on it! In the beginning and at the end. At the end, Alix was saying to me, "Are you high?" and I said, "I'm very low actually" because I was lying on the floor!! (5)

Not too awful.

Notes:
1. This ended up being a good thing because they were building us a brand new sixth form centre. 15 year old me was not impressed, though.

2. Those old enough might remember this service, where you sent away your name and address and got penfriends back. This clutch were girls my age from Hong Kong, Singapore and Greece - the latter two I remember writing to for some time - and a slightly older boy from America, who never replied, according to my notes. Kraig Brocious, you owe me a letter.
No idea who 'the Russian girl' is, by the way.

3. ie college, as opposed to staying on at sixth form. I spent a lot of time with Caroline while we were at school but I chat a lot of shit about her in my diary. Frenemies, clearly. She ended up staying on and she was one of my squad all through sixth form.

4. Mona was a French student at the university who lodged with us for two years.

5. My level of humour has not improved, you'll note.

Today I wish I was...

...relaxing in a hammock on the balcony of a palatial hotel, somewhere semi-tropical (southern Italy would do), under a shady tree (guess this would have to be in a pot), sipping pink gin and tonic, one foot draped lazily over the edge so I can rock myself backwards and forwards, reading a dreadfully trashy magazine and feeling no guilt about it not being a book on the Tudors, in between nail and facial appointments, preparing for a long nap.

The bliss of having nothing to do and nowhere to be is a luxury that seems long absent, in spite of my last holiday having finished only two days ago.

At least Friday is a special day with no teaching, so after tomorrow's marathon (why did I volunteer to do an assembly?! Why is there a parents' evening already?) I can rest up a bit.

Also, the air is crisp and the nights are dark and I can sense the arrival of Christmas. And Nablopomo. Expect to be hearing a lot from me over the next four weeks.