The Ramblings. Down and Even Further Down....

I haven't posted to The Blog like I promised.  I have been feeling really low.  It doesn't happen to me very often, I am essentially "The glass is half full" sort of girl, but this week and last I have been dragging my heels and not wanting to do anything.  I have emails from friends (sorry Shelagh and Lynne) that I need to respond to, comments from readers of The Blog that I haven't answered (very rude of me) and I have essentially just come home and flopped in front of whatever was on the tele.  Don't know why, it is just how it is for now.  I know it will pass (it always does) but, just right now, I have managed to fall into the pothole and I'm just struggling a little to get myself out.

Knitting of course has been affected.  Here is the evidence of a pretty meagre haul:

I have completed the third repeat of The Hanami.  I still love this pattern and the alpaca yarn is so, so soft.  I'm not good at memorising pattern repeats, so have to keep on concentrating on the pattern, but otherwise it is a straightforward, enjoyable knit.

I have finished the second Feather and Fan sock.  They look absolutely fantastic, the STR yarn is great in this pattern and they are an easy knit for good results.  But, they don't fit me or The Girl so it made them harder to complete.  Mmmmmm I wonder if this is when the current low mood began to appear......

A second Ovation Scarf with beads - this one for me.  A good quick knit that is very feminine and pretty.  As you can see, it has been a while since the poor spinning wheel has enjoyed some use.

And now for Something Completely Different...

A few weekends ago, we ventured into Victoria, passing through the small town of Holbrook in NSW to get there and back.  Nothing very interesting in that.  But, they continue the famous Australian theme of large tourist attractions.  I am thinking here of Australia's Big Things (keep your mind out of the gutter, at least for now...). Holbrook's is slightly different because it is real.  Behold, The Submarine:

We thought this was lovely (but strange) for a few reasons.  Primarily, I suppose, is that Holbrook is about 250 kms from the ocean.  We didn't check for any very large dams nearby :) 

The other slightly odd thing was they seemed to us to have a fixation with things below the waist.  Behold:

And:

And:

Just sayin.

The Girl had another good tournament last weekend.  She began 46 of 56 competitors in a strong field and finished equal 14th.  She won her rating division and collected some $$.  She was happy.  We have lots and lots of photos from our trip to beautiful Sydney which I will put up soon.  For now, a taste of what is to come:

Enough for Now...

Comments

[juliet]

Hey missus you are allowed low batteries now and then, just think how busy life is and then it is all pretty obvious that sometimes we just hit empty. So I hope you re-charge soon and are feeling good. I am loving the Hanami - that is really pretty (so are the socks, they look like a bed of flowering annuals). Well done that girl at the chess and yes I would be somewhat bemused by Holbrook too.... Don't forget to let me know whenever you want some Twilleys freedom yarn sent.

[Barbara-Kay]

Glad to hear from you. Congrats to the girl!

Send the socks (they are wool?) to someplace like Children in Common (CIC).http://countrywool.tripod.com/freepatterns/csocks.htm They send socks to orphanages in Russia that have an average temperature of 40 F inside. Someone will fit every size, so all socks are appreciated.

[samantha]

Life does have its ups and downs, but it is hard getting through a down patch. Try not to pressure yourself, just take one day at a time. Your knitting however, doesn't look like it has suffered to me! I dream of being so prolific with my projects, but then I am a procrastinator!

[dawn]

It seems your knitting is going well. I'd just go along until you feel better. I find exercise helps (walking is what I do) and I try not to eat or drink too many sweet things, I think they exacerbate the problem.

Your shawl is looking great, I'm off to look at the pattern!

And as for the preponderance of phallic symbols, look at the statue's hands!

[Shelagh]

You are alive!! and breathing!! Good. Glad to see you're making some progress on the Hanami. I'm almost done the 4th repeat of the first chart. ;>)

Speaking of phallic symbols - have you had a good look at the top part of your wheel peeking out from under the Ovation scarf? (just sayin')

It's nice to see your pic of the green grass. All I see here is WHITE snow.

Miss you.
Shelagh