Tea and cakes and things I like

Nope, not a real one, a virtual one.
I’m moving site.
You can now find me at www.teaandcakes.net
There’s a good bit of work to be done over at the new place, but I hope to have it all sorted soon enough, and it’s just aesthetics really, the content is all there and it’s where I will be posting from now on.
Sorry for the inconvenience.

An almost finished piece! The straps still need to be sewed in place, but I don’t feel like doing that right now.

The bag half way through. Not very pretty. Sort of a big shapeless sack on circular needles.

Then, however, I finished it. Here is is, strap and all, ready for felting. It looks quite nice here - the yarn is really lovely - Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran - really strong colours and good stitch definition. However, as it was destined for felting the stitches were a little loose.

I washed the bag and strap on a 60 degree wash twice - the second time didn’t make any difference really. I was hoping it would shrink down a wee bit more, but I’m happy with it anyway.

The picture’s a bit out of focus, sorry about that, but you get the general idea.

What with job changes, college assignments in, and agenerally busy work schedule, I’ve been neglecting my knitting.
I only have one work in progress, and it’s this hat, which is an important one and I want to get it finished, just haven’t had much knitting time recently. I’m hoping posting it up will make me carry on with it.

So, at the moment I’m studying Brain and Behaviour, with the Open university. It’s great, and very interesting and all, but I am one for leaving my assignments until the last minute.
As I was looking up the effect that opiates have on the mesolimbic dopamine neurons, I came across this sentence in relation to cocaine:

“Spider monkeys with a history of intravenous self-administration…”

Yeah, spider monkeys: the advertising sales reps of the animal kingdom. Lying around in their flash suits, talking nonsense all day.

Good thing those scientists found them, that’s all I can say.

I don’t usually write serious type posts, I am, quite literally, more about the tea and cakes and knitting and the like.
A few things have disturbed me recently though, and I want to get my thoughts out. I’m not massively coherent at the moment. I don’t necessarily present good arguments. Mainly because some stuff I’m so incredulous of that I’m just incapable of it. Anyway, read, don’t read, I don’t mind. I just wanted it out of my head.
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I occasionally have to go through the toll booth on the M50. Like tonight, for example.
On the journey out I was fine - I went through a cashier lane, handed over the money, and drove on. All was good.
The journey back was a slightly different story.
I decided to go through the lane where you throw your fee into a bucket thingy.
I’m not very good at throwing. I throw like a girl. I know that I am a girl, so that’s going to be the case, but I mean that I really throw like a girl. Now, I’ve been stuck behind people who have missed the bucket throwing their coins over, and they’ve had to face the shame of getting out of the car and picking up the money while everyone behind is beeping at them.
I don’t ever want to be that person.
Approaching the booth I swerve to the right, to get the car as close as possible to the bucket, without actually scraping the car.
So far, so good.
I put the window down as far as I can go.
Everything’s going to plan.
I start with my arm held high, coins gripped loosely (so I don’t drop them, but so they don’t stick to my hand).
I bring my arm downwards rapidly, releasing the coins as I go.
I hit my hand on the basket.
It hurts.
I drive off, pretending everything is fine.

It’s quite clear that I never won any tennis tournaments not because I’m just not that good, don’t really like running, and prefer the whole ‘tea and cucumber sandwiches’ (or pimms and strawberries) element of the game to actually playing it, but because my mum never drugged the other competitors. Just think, I could have been a star.

This is the breakfast of a girl who has just got herself a new job.
A nice big cup of hot tea, a very chocolaty chocolate croissant, and an innocent smoothie (strawberry and banana) because I ate very, very badly yesterday, and feel I should have some fruit.
Mmmmmm.