I'm a woman coming of age.
Of the age where one needs or already has reading glasses.
You've all seen my "normal" running around all day and be merry glasses, my beloved pair of Theo glasses, but I also wear reading glasses when knitting or typing away at the computer.
That is - if I remember to put them on.
Lately I noticed that my eyesight is getting worse again. I'm far sighted, always been, with some extra twist of having a prism (prism refers to a displacement of the image through the lens, and is used to treat muscular imbalance or other conditions - my depth perception is down the drain...).
This also means that bi-focals are out of the question. And so are lenses.

So - glasses have been my foe and friend since I turned seven. It was discovered in school, I could read best when basicaly moving into the back wall of the class. Every change in weather would turn me into a very sick child with the worst headaches. Glasses fixed this! Still headaches are a tell-tale sign my eyesight is getting worse.

I learned to love glasses!
I always check out designs, I like them unusual.

These are cute, I live the delicate design of the upper frame:

Design Betsey Johnson Eyewear

The hearts won me over!


Design Betsey Johnson Eyewear

I love oval frames. My next one might be something in grey or blue.

I am many

Listening to Middle Eastern music on BBC3's internet radio.
Drinking mint tea from my Hamburg mug.

And showing off one of my treasures.
Yes, it's real, it's heavy and it's wonderful.
I bought it many years ago in Sana'a. It is a bridal headdress.

The price for a life taken

14 months and a day after my oldest friend was brutally murdered by her husband he has been sentenced to 7 years.

The knife she was killed with broke into three pieces.

7 years.

It leaves me speechless.
While the self-defence argument was dismissed the judge lowered the initial 9 years sentence to 7 years, because of the fact that he has been depressed and was distressed by the ongoing divorce.

7 years.
7 years for a life.

It feels like a slap in the face all over again.
I can only hope for karma.

"Neon-Victorian"

The above title is actually a bit of a conversation between my husband and me.
We spent yesterday in one of the two capitals this country has to offer. More the seat of the government than the official capital - go google it ;-)

So, we strolled here, we strolled there and we strolled to our favourite cosmetic store to stock up on some essentials. Like shaving cream for the barb wire my husband sports instead of a beard. A massage bar for my poor RSI-plagued shoulders. And some more essentials.
Then we went for more essentials: LUNCH! A wonderful Indonesian mixed plate, with the tahoe being my favourite. It's sort of like tofu, which I dislike, but better. Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't like it.

What did we do after lunch? Ah - we strolled down to ABC and raided the shop. We got a discount card after we learnt they are not only for students. Oh, there goes my money...
They are the only store carrying not only a large amount of English books, but also magazines. So the latest Interweave Knits is now in my possession as well as finally, after waiting for ages and being in awe:


OF course I started leafing through the pages on the way back and showing some favourites to Dear Husband. Who was impressed. And asked if I could do something like this.
"Yeah", I said, "but in different colours. You see, they are all rather mute and neutral. I'd like them to be brighter."
"Ah!", he said, "Neo-Victorian."
"No! More Neon-Victorian."

Because, you know, I like things different.

We stocked up on coffee - we support a little coffee shop selling a nice assortment of tea and coffee, including specials like Jamaica Blue Mountain. I might be living in the land down under, the only land really down under, but I haven't been to one of THOSE coffee shops at all. How shocking! How different ;-)

We sat in the sun with coffee and fresh mint tea and talked before we headed back home.

Talking about different - not only am I listening to Bronski Beat (hands up those who still know them. Hands even higher up if you can name one of their other band names. And stand up if you can name the song where the female singer had a lower voice than the male singer), this sort of left me speechless.
Because to me it's beautiful:


And I have no clue who photographed the ice queens, but it's a lovely shot.


by Patrizio di Renzo

Lace - and someone get them a coffee or tea to warm them up.

On the knitting front: finished a neckscarf version of the Josephinentuch today and added tassels to it. Very 80s. Must have come from listening to Bronski Beat.
No picture, maybe tomorrow
Have started a real version of the same pattern out of Fyberspates BFL in the most gorgeous lake colours. It reminds me of pictures I've seen of the well at Holywell, Wales.
I plan to knit nad crochet more shawls and wear them instead of coats and jackets. Do you hear me, weather???

Oh - and if you hear me sneezing - it's hay fever, not a cold. Which is a sign it's spring alright.

Siuil go doras agus ealaigh liom

Go n-eirigh an bóthar leat
Go mbéadh an ghaoth go bhrách ag do chúl
Go lonraíodh an ghrían go te ar d'aghaidh
Go dtitfeadh an bháisteach go bog ar do ghoirt
Agus go dtí go mbúailimís le chéile arís
Go gcoinnófeadh Dia i mbos A láimhe thú



Yes, there still is at least one snake in Ireland ;-)

I am Warrior - Monica Richards

Anatu
Ariadne
Rhiannon
Diana
Kali Ma
Inanna
Ishtar
Branwen

I am Warrior!


I weave my own web.
I follow the strings of fate.

Pixie Queen of the Berries!

Monday.
Indeed.
Stormy, sometimes rainy.
Infection where the wisdom tooth once was. Antibiotics. Argh - but oh well.

Elvis has left the building. I got tired of it. So I cut it off. The next step is to grow it an inch and dye it red. The question just is which red.

Something to match Ishbel and the never intended to be matching roll rim beret? The beret was there first, the yarn is handspun apart from the rolled rim, that is some leftover pink yarn I had. But Ishbel and the beret get along nicely, so who am I to complain ;-)



Or break up a blossoming friendship?
And yes - Ishbel is still not blocked. So she was worn unblocked. So, sue me!



And the eye shadow matches! Ha!

A nice and relaxing weekend.
I finished my Ishbel and love her to bits and pieces already! Pictures to come!
The yarn came from Jeni, a sparkle in jummy berries. An absolute dream to knit. I had no problems with pattern or yarn and still have some leftovers. It will become something different...I have an idea.

Now I'm finishing a couple of UFOs - like a shawl, a black and pink sweater, a merino tunic...you get the picture ;-) I have more yarn on the way and have been approached by a colleague (once you change team and meet lots new people things happen) about knitting her a vest. Against payment. We choose the yarn together and it's been ordered, it's not a problem...just the pattern is in Polish. By the end of this my knitting-Polish should be at least advanced beginner. I can't find the pattern online, it was in a Polish version of the magazine Diana, Summer 2008 I think.
And since I just couldn't order her yarn I ordered myself some cotton, in the hopes that summer comes at one point. Or at least even spring.

So I could get out my short sleeved shirts. Wear my knitted tops. Cotton, not wool. Wiggle my toes in sandals, not thick socks. Wear a shawl against the chill - NOT A RAINCOAT. I can't stand the look of that thing anymore, argh!

I wish I could wear something like this:



After a long absence I rediscovered by love for (cotton) scarves. Back in the 80s (go ahead and snicker, that's fine) and 90s they were a constant part of my wardrobe. Like the towel in Hitchhiker's Guide - never leave home without it.
Then came the first real job and somehow all of them disappeared! I had such a lovely purple one, a present from my sister...gone. All of them. And for some strange reason none of the shops carried any. Bandanas yes, the real thin cotton scarves - not a chance in hell and high places.
I started knitting scarves like this:



and this:



and this:



Then I found the first cotton scarf in a shop...and fell in love all over again.

Some dream of sheep.
I dream of cotton scarves.

Good night :-)

Go ask Alice

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all


Go ask Alice
When shes ten feet tall

Alice is too tall

And if you go chasing rabbits

Hop the Rock

And you know your going to fall

Tell them the hookah-Smoking caterpillar

Caterpillar pin
has given you the call

Call Alice when she was just small

Alice in Wonderland

When the men on the chess board get up and tell you where to go

Natural Chess

And you just have some kind of mushroom

Mushroom Pin

And your mind is moving slow

Go ask Alice

I think she'll know

When logic and proportion

Have fallen four feet

Falling Alice Earrings

And the white knight's talking backwards

Smoky Knights - Blanket Kit

And the Red Queen Says off with her head

Off with her head

Remember what the dormouse said

Remember...



Feed your head

Feed your head

The Final Truth - Lunatic Soul lyrics

Inspired by a song I have on constant repeat tonight.

The Final Truth

So easy to forget
Remove from consciousness
All instances
That used to be significant
I never thought those things
Would have such meaning
Until he asked me to
Give them back

What will survive of me
A cardboard box with thoughts inside


Roses Keepsake Box

What will survive of me
My little escapes from real life
What will survive
And what will I take
To the land of endless ones

If I sever the past
It will be so dark here…

We want to be loved
Loved for what we are


Love Letters From Afar

We want to be saved
But our final truth depends on time


So what will survive of me
A cardboard box with thoughts inside


HOLDING LOVE

What will survive of me
My little escapes from real life
What will survive
And what will I take
To the land of endless ones

If I sever the past
It will be so dark here…

When I met The Ferryman
He smiled to me
Could swear I saw this smile before
“You have to choose” – he said
“And then you may return
You’ll get another chance to revive
If you decide to keep
Your memories from the past

Remembrance
By all else, you must be forgotten
If you let me take your mind
If you let me take your soul
In their hearts you’ll stay forever
Your choice

The time is now
At the crossroads of your afterlife
The part of you must be lost
Make up your mind
Choose the side
Pick the card

Le Diable
Throw the coin from your mouth

Time is the coin of your life
Cause the time is now
I’m calling you again
Let's see what color
Your rising sun will have this time”

Rising Sun

The end of the tunnel

New things - and now it is finally trying to get spring. And with spring new things come!

New job, finally, gratefully! Relieved.
This doesn't mean the company is out of the woods, we are still very much out of a lot of money, but I now have a position I feel appreciated in. Something I love doing. It's going to be a lot of work, first learning new things (but hey, it's spring) and then then applying knowledge.

After two years of misery I'm beginning to see the light. Damn, what a long winter!
For me it's a relief, though I was too tired to celebrate the end of a depressive period and the start of something new on Friday. After I was done at the hair dresser we went out for a nice dinner and then called it a day.

So - new hair. Okay - almost. Still the Elvis, but for the first time ever in my existence I have been sitting at the hair dresser with foils in my hair!

Wet and combed it looks like this:



And ruffled like I usually wear it it looks like this:


The colour is a dark brown, almost black, just not as harsh. I love it. I love how it tones down and balances the Elvis, so I don't expect to have issues with my hair in my new position.

I haven't felt creative lately, though I played with some Fimo.
I'm a nightmare at spinning (too tense, so a drop spindle is more drop than spindle), but I have been doing some mindless knitting and some free forming. The latter is my Ravelry project for the Folklore and Fairy Tales spring-along. The subject we chose was the myth of Blodeuwedd, a Welsh legend about a woman created out of flowers and turned into an owl after a betrayal. I knew this legend before the project was chosen - hey, I do love Celtic legend and lore, so this one is right up my alley. The Welsh have a wonderful collection of story and history...and so has Cornwall. Fascinating.

So, I started to free form crochet an owl, with oak buttons as eyes and a log button as beek. Now I need to crochet plenty of little flowers to adorn the owl's body with. The whole thing will be turned into a pendant and worn. Of course, why would I make it otherwise?

My Ishel is only two pattern repeats away from being finished, yet concentrating on the pattern seems impossible to me. As I said, I'm mindless-knitting at the moment, a shawl made out of leftovers and some handspun. Will look nice with jeans once done.

And that's what I am now...done.
But only for today.