Snow, Ice and bits and pieces

The weather where I live is usually quite mild. Here in Liverpool we don't tend to get the harsh weather that the rest of the country suffers - until last week!

Very picturesque.

Over the Christmas holidays we had watched 'The Proposal' - the latest Sandra Bullock comedy.

It was great - I really enjoyed it. It was largely set in Alaska, and I noticed a significant number and variety of woolly sweaters - Alaska seems a good place to live to get the most out of your knitting projects.

The novelty of the snow wore off after a few hours, when everything turned to ice (maybe I won't move to Alaska just yet!). Eve was thrilled - school was closed. Even the university was closed. I was supposed to be getting everyone back to school and work, but instead they remained under my feet!

Eve was very disappointed this Sunday when a message was posted on the school website saying that her year had to return to school on Monday, but the other years could remain at home.

So I decided to make her some cakes for when she got home - to cheer her up.

I had planned to prepare a little party for her, but the ice but a stop to that. I had walked with Eve to school in the morning, to keep her company. However on the way back home, without Eve to link arms with, I managed to slip right over and ended up lying in a heap on the pavement, swearing profusely.

Fortunately, nothing is broken, but I do have a rather bruised behind and I am far too stiff and aching to do any housework for a few days! So Eve's little party was reduced to a few cakes - but she appreciated it anyway.

Sitting feeling sorry for myself yesterday afternoon, I made a lavender filled heart for Eve's wardrobe.

The pattern is from the February issue of 'Simply Knitting' magazine.

I also made a pink lacy mat.

It is actually a snowflake pattern from MYpicot. I had made one at Christmas time but it was too big as a tree decoration. This one I made in 4ply cotton and it is approximately 20 cm wide. It makes a nice mat to sit under a bowl or something.

I always find that when I'm busy I can always find time to make something completely trivial. Before Christmas I knitted 24 little squares (about 2.5 cm square) using oddments of 4 ply yarn and sewed a button to each. I used them as tags for the advent calendar. Since Christmas I have turned the squares into a length of bunting. It is now hanging in the porch, over the entrance to the hallway. Silly but it's the little details that make all the difference.

Finally for now, I have received my study material for my next Open University course. I always get excited when a new course begins - I love the discipline, I love learning new things and I love the challenge. This is my 16th course with the OU. It is called Our Dynamic Planet: Earth and Life. Nobody else in the house is excited about the topic, but I think it's wonderful. Must go now and start working through my study books - the course doesn't officially start until 6th February - but why wait?