Journaling January

Good Morning! I trust you had a good weekend. My son was treated to the delights of Treasure Island, a pantomime performed by our local AmDram. It could not have been more perfect for his first panto experience - pirates everywhere (including him) and lots of swashbuckling and 'he's behind you's'! As soon as they asked for 'helpers' from the audience, he was up like a shot on that stage and didn't want to leave ... perhaps I have a budding actor in the making!

Well I don't know about you, but I have a really dreadful memory! They say your brain goes to mush once you've had a child, but how long can you use that excuse when your child is nearly 5? Is it permenant, I wonder? Mine certainly seems to be. Because of this I have started putting together a monthly 'journal'. It's simply one page from a large sketch pad (the stuff which has really good quality paper - you can get from any artist supply shop) and the idea is really just to record what we did that month.




Apart from printing out pictures (just on ordinary paper), I've put little lists in there e.g. 'This month I have mostly been ...' and 'This month we have mostly been ...', plus tickets and any souvenirs from trips outs. I think one page is probably just enough, although of course it could spread to the back when we're a bit more active in the summer months. I'm hoping this will give quite a nice record of all the things we've done in the year which we can all look back on in years to come. At the end of the year I will find some way of binding the pages together and creating a nice front and back cover, probably out of card with a fabric covering.





Meanwhile, my Rachel Allen book (Home Cooking) has been in use again. These wonderful flapjacks were rustled up yesterday and are doubly decilious because, of course, flapjacks are healthy, aren't they? Especially when covered with 'proper' dark chocolate. I have cut them up fairly small, so I think one little piece a day won't do any harm (ahem!).


Well I'm ploughing on with the back of my cardi. Can't say it's that scintillating, just straight forward stocking stitch, although it is growing fairly quickly. It's funny because up until a few months ago, I would never dare attempt anything other than stocking stitch, but now a little bit of cabling and my knitting world has opened up!



I also have another knitting project on the go - one that, I admit, has been on the needles for a long time - it's an aran weight poncho, knitted on a circular needle - again, something I've never done before. There must be over 600 hundred stitches on there by now because you add 2 on every second row. I think it will be quite nice when it's finished - if and when it's finished - boring old stocking stitch again!






I've never had a poncho before. It's one of those items of clothing that you don't see very often but if you do, and it's worn right, it can look great. I used to work with a guy who always wore a poncho - a proper, Mexican poncho - which, looking back, is quite a statement, isn't it? I'll leave you with that thought.