Taking over the world...

... one potato at a time:



Kerrs potatoes are rather yummy, and their quality control yields rather quaint specimens:



Matthew & I are going away tomorrow to stay in a fort on Alderney for a week. Sadly my Alderney womble (providing I didn't actually give her to a charity shop) is languishing in a box somewhere in Manchester, and so cannot come for a fun-packed name-sake photo-shoot. I'm sure she'll live.

Note to self:

Once was forgivable. You were in a rush. You were cold. You had what you thought was an ankle length skirt on and so no one would know. Oh, how those two few inches betrayed you!

But a second time! To wear these tights:



with these socks:



and - the horror! - this skirt:



can never be repeated. You have been warned.

Addendum: this combination is not much better:

Fin.

Well. It's done. Today I finally handed in my thesis. It was one of the most incredibly stressful handing-ins I've ever had. I think it was only the fact that I'd only eaten an advent calendar chocolate that stopped me throwing up. It was *even more* stressful than when I handed in my dissertation for my BA.

Let me remind you of circumstances surrounding the handing in of my undergrad dissertation:

It was due in at 4pm. By 3pm I'd just about finished proof-reading it ('sod it, chapter three doesn't really need a conclusion', etc.) and ran down the road to get the bus to university. At this point, believe it or not, I was cutting it fine. A cab drove past and I flagged it down; the driver said she was on her way to another job, but I must've looked desperate enough for her to take me with her anyway. So we collected her other passenger, and she dropped me off at the library. Which was full. I managed to find some girl I randomly knew and convince her to surrender her computer so I could print the dissertation out. At 3:55pm I ran across campus, burst into the office, and begged the secretary to do me a favour and bind the dissertation for me.

At which point she said that the deadline had been put back to 5pm - didn't I know?

(no, I bloody well didn't).

Now, bearing in mind that I could also hand my thesis in tomorrow if the worst came to the worst, I'm at a loss to explain why today was so awful. I mean, I was nervous before I stupidly bound both copies of the conclusion into the same thesis (we have to hand in two copies). Luckily the bindery staff were very nice and able to help me salvage it.

I'm just glad I decided to double check before I handed it in.

And I can't even have my end-of-thesis knitting'n'spinning party (when I say 'party' I mean me knitting the 20 stitches I'll be allowed to do per day and maybe getting started on some pre-drafting, while hoping that I don't get pain) since ol' muggins here agreed to do a completely voluntary translation for the completely voluntary Latin reading group tomorrow. Excuse me, I have 2 pages of Latin to translate.

Wish List

I like handmade things, I like second-hand things, I like functional things that I can use... but above all I like not getting stuff just for the sake of it.

However, I have been asked by more than one person for a wish list, and so here is a suggestion of things that I would actually like to buy in the future, so you can pretty much guarantee that I'd a) like them b) want them c) use them d) buy them myself if you gave me money. Of course, I also like surprises! :)

Since this is a rather non-fangled wish list, I would suggest that should you wish to get me anything on this list (except the stuff at the bottom) you check with Matthew that it's still 'available' so to speak, as I won't necessarily know what I'm getting, and won't be crossing things off this list (but check back for edits just in case).

Bigger/ one off things (check with Matthew)

~ New arms please!

~ Bobbins. No, not a Mancunian phrase for a load of old tat: I do actually need a further three bobbins for my spinning wheel. At the moment once I finish with the one bobbin I have I wind the yarn off onto an empty toilet roll... sadly this winding action is actually one of the main causes of spinning-pain, and so more bobbins would alleviate it. I would like an extra three, but they don't need to be bought as a set, or even at the same time. I would require Haldane LEWIS (double-drive) bobbins, preferably in stained since they'd match my wheel. (NOTE: Haldane don't appear to make these anymore - le sigh).

~ I would like to get some voice recognition software sooner rather than later. If you wish to contribute then please liase with me, rather than Matthew, as I haven't decided which package to go with yet.

~ In order to install the VR software I will need a new computer chip thing - I have no idea what this is, so please ask Matthew.

~ Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth is missing from my shelves!

~ Stephanie Pearl-McPhee (aka The Yarn Harlot)'s At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much (this is her first book; I have her second book but don't want to read it until I've read the first!).

~ Any Mancs who happen to be near the lovely Unicorn, I'd love one of the 'Make Do and Mend' bags if they have the mini ones (I've got a biggun in that style).

'Repeat' items - no need to check with anyone

~ One can never have enough knee-high/ over-knee stripey socks. Seriously. Never. Just make sure that the cuff is nice and stretchy: you won't believe the number of long sock makers who merely extend the length of the sock, rather than account for the fact the cuff will need to go over a calf/ thigh instead of an ankle.

~ In a similar vein, I love 16" STIRRUP legwarmers from this ebay seller. Usually you can get them for £4 with free postage. I wear them as sleeves, and so any colours you think I'd like are fine.

~ If you happen to be in a cheap antiques fair or flea market then I love old ornate keys (no, I don't mean variations on a chubb).

~ I also love ornate boxes/ trunks. (Minimum dimensions of 12"x8"x6" mean that they can be used to put stuff in, rather than just being stuff themselves).


(yes, there are missing links; I'll edit them in soon!)