You can't take the sky from me

We had a frosty start to the day with fog bumbling around, patches here, patches there, but in the fairly immediate vicinity of my hoose in the middle of the day it was sunny and clear, though still cold. So I went for a walk. I tend to forget how close we are to the edge of town, but actually it's only a few minutes walk to where it suddenly stops being a housing estate (and it's almost comical how sudden it is) and starts being rural.

The light was beautiful and the sky amazing. The fog was still billowing around in the distance all the time.

 Birds taking off - I loved the way they swooped around. 

I'd only intended to go out for a quick half-hour in the fresh air but I was enjoying it so much and seeing so much that I just kept walking and was out for over an hour in the end.

Slightly wonky horizon on that one but I like it anyway (and am too tired to sort it in a picture editor).

As well as the big skies I was taken with the little things too - gloriously lush moss on a fence-post..

beautiful neutrals..

 a hedge covered in lichen ..

 and in a bit closer:

 Looking back along the road as I headed back home, still sunshine and blue skies..

..and then suddenly the fog rolled over again - still beautiful but in an eerie way!

Optimism

I'm not a pessimist. Neither am I an optimist really - to me that suggests some kind of insanely positive extravert (which I most definitely am not), thinking that everything will be fantastic. But mostly I think things will work out more or less okay.  I don't have high expectations of them, so my expectations are relatively easily met. I'm like Hobbes wishing for a sandwich.  So I suppose I'm a cautious optimist. Or a realistic one.

I didn't have high expectations of January, in fact I had uncharacteristically pessimistic low expectations*, but so far it's going just fine.

The weather is mild, meaning mostly it's grey and wet - the usual dreich January in many ways. But it's so mild that I've been pottering round in the garden, very belatedly planting bulbs. I've been able to get out in the fresh air, walking, running, whatever.  Yes, it's been windy and rainy but the wind hasn't been the cold kind that cuts through you so it's been invigorating more than anything.

I bought myself some tulips and freesias and they're in vases on my kitchen window catching any random rays that appear and brightening things up.

Who could be anything but happy with sunlight shining through tulips, even if it's only for a few minutes?

I love the texture and delicate patterns on the petals.

I also bought a Filofax.  I suppose it was Natalie talking about hers on her blog sometime before Christmas that put it in my mind. I always carry a diary around with me and usually a notebook for my many lists and, having not thought about Filofaxes in years, it began to occur to me that perhaps a diary and notebook in one might be a good idea. I had a non-Filofax personal organiser years ago (it was a Citroen one actually, a freebie when dad bought a car I think), of the standard ('personal') size which was too big for my current needs. But a pocket one is only marginally bigger than the diary I had last year and possibly more practical, though less aesthetically pleasing - and was reduced in Sainsburys, so that was handy. We shall see how I get on with it. I am an inveterate writer of lists, partly because I'm more likely to remember something once I've written it down, regardless of whether I actually refer to the list or not, so this appeals to the way I do things.

Also keeping me sane is one of my Christmas presents from My Beloved - a DAB Radio which I keep permanently tuned to Classic FM, sitting on my bedside table. I can retreat up there with my knitting and happily listen to music while downstairs everyone else is killing orcs, jumping through portals, watching the CBeebies pantomime for the 500th time on iplayer and so forth. It's my little shrine to peace and quiet. Murder mysteries set in the 1920s are obviously an absolutely vital part of 'peace and quiet'...  Oooh, and look at my sock! Coming along nicely, heel turned, though it doesn't look it there, and it's the home straight now.  Woohoo!

* Based on experience - it's always a month that I find hard work.

Beginnings

I may loathe January but spending New Year with my parents, besides being fun, means that My Beloved and I can abandon the kids to my parents (or vice versa, depending on your point of view) and walk the trail around the village. A lot of people do this on New Year's Day, some take the clockwise route, some anti-clockwise. We chose clockwise, omitting the lower half of the route which, like last year, was under water, and off we set through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier. Also sheep.

It was a beautiful day this year, with only occasional very light showers, and the light was beautiful.

. 

There's not much to say really, the pictures speak for themselves. This bit was particularly boggy, having been partly churned up by grazing animals. Apparently there was an alternative route avoiding this bit, but we were too busy looking at our feet I think and missed the turning for it. Ah well, we managed!

This was about halfway round probably, high above the village, and looking further up. It was pretty cold and breezy at this point and we stopped for a snack:

I hadn't noticed until just now that the wrapper says 'Enjoy Your New Day' - thanks Tunnocks, I did!

Crossing the burn as we started to head back downhill. In summery circumstances I'd be very tempted to stick my feet in the water at this point, but not with snow on the ground I don't think. I have paddled in a glacial lake though (bottom of the Briksdal glacier in Norway, many years ago).

Funnily enough the worst bit of the walk was plodding back along Main Street. I wore my snow boats as they've a waterproof foot part and are padded above. They're very comfortable on uneven ground - bog, heather, grass, any of it - but really uncomfortable on hard surfaces such as tarmac or pavement. But then we were back, and in front of the fire - bliss.

It was a lovely and invigorating start to the year, and a good reminder of what a beautiful country Scotland can be, and how great it is to be out in the fresh air. As long as you're appropriately attired! So I've decided that fresh air is one of the answers to the January blues. Well, it's worth a try!

Another January beginning was that I cast on my second orange sock (I did in fact spend the remainder of 2012 after my last post winding the orange Clan into a ball on a spurtle while eating shortbread and drinking whisky, thus hitting all the cliché targets in one). As I should have finished both socks by now I'm spending every spare moment trying to catch up. I've got onto turning the heel now and once that's done it should be pretty quick. And a good thing too as I'm quite keen to get on to Jan/Feb of Project Rainbow...

Hogmanay

 Invigorating!

I really should be wearing my slippers. We're at my parents' house and the floor downstairs is concrete under the carpet. The picture above is from yesterday when we were on our way here. It looks worse than it was actually - it rained most of the way and was only sleety snow at Drumochter, the most chilly and exposed bit of the journey. But on the way I saw deer, coming further downhill due to the snow, and lots of pheasants.

 Today. Chilly.

Christmas turned out quite frenetic in the end.  No matter how organised you are (not that I was) this can happen. No point worrying about it, though obviously I did, because I wouldn't be me if I didn't. We had an untraditional Christmas really. Although my Beloved and I like roasts, though not turkey, the kids don't really, and my mother-in-law (vegetarian) was coming over for Christmas Day, so we had homemade pizza instead. Everybody chose their favourite toppings, it was all quite quick and easy and there's minimal washing-up, so all in all it was ideal.  And delicious. Mmm pizza...

I made a mincemeat traybake from the Be-Ro cookbook, rather than than mince pies and it came out really well except that I baked it in a silicone 'tin' and I always forget that silicone doesn't conduct heat in the same way so the pastry didn't crisp up properly - oh noes, soggy bottom! Still tasted nice, but I must remember to use a tin next time.

And now it's Hogmanay. I spent some time this afternoon winding some Yarn Yard Clan into a ball. On a spurtle as I'd left my nostepinne at home. I couldn't have been more of a Scottish cliché if I'd been eating shortbread and drinking whisky, which I'm planning to do shortly of course.  The yellow Clan is for the next stage of Project Rainbow, though actually I've only finished half of 'orange' - a single lonely sock. I'll cast its mate on shortly but thought it'd be nice to have the gloriously sunny buttercup Clan ready to go in dreich January. I'm not really a fan of New Year as a celebration, never have been. It's all so arbitrary. And has the distinct disadvantage of ringing in January, my least favourite month, but when I'm feeling Januaryish I'll look at that yellow and forget it all!  I don't have very much (65g) so it's going to be the main colour in a thin stripy scarf, and I'll use up various leftovers from socks and other small projects, including 'red' and orange', as the contrasting stripes. In my head it looks fantastic!

Well, happy new January everybody - my Kiwi friends are already waking up with a hangover, my USian friends are probably eating lunch and I'm off for a glass of whisky with my parents and my Beloved!

Oh frabjous day, callooh callay!

My sock turned up! I finally got back to the last place I'd definitely had it and there it was, camouflaging itself. The problem, as I think you can see, is that I managed to leave it in the one place where it was hardest to spot. I have a talent for doing things like that.

 Front of project bag, visible.

Ooops, bag gets flipped over, instant chameleon! 

And it was tucked almost behind a cushion so it's no wonder my friend didn't spot it when she looked for it. So yay, back to the sock. I'm supposed to be done by the end of the month but I'm still only on the first sock - better get a wiggle on then..



The trouble with December of course is that's full of social occasions, like the school Christmas disco:

at which I helped out, doing the chocolate fountain and managed to splash chocolate all down the front of my hoody.

This has been a loooooong day - I'm off to bed!

Lurgies

Well, it's traditional isn't it? What's December without a scratchy throat and a cough? Even the Boy, usually superhealthy, has a cough.  To add to that this week I have an infected eyelid, something called blepharitis - though apparently that's just an inflamed eyelid, but the pharmacist reckoned mine was infected. Lovely. There's nothing like having a red, grotesquely swollen eyelid is there? I've looked like Rudolph would look if he were painted by Georges Braque or possibly Picasso. But the magic ointment is working and I'm looking more normal again, although I can't wear my contact lenses 'til I've finished the medication so I'm wearing my glasses full-time for the first time in ages. Which is frustrating. I just don't see as well with glasses.

The weather however has been cold but aesthetically pleasing:

 Clear skies

 Favourite Tree

 Favourite line of trees (bottom of the field that Favourite Tree stands in)

 Frosty

 Still some colour in the garden.

 More frosty

Frosty lupin leaves - this is one of my favourites!

In other news, I've lost my knitting - that is, the orange sock. Fortunately it was in a small project bag so I've only lost a half-knitted sock, a set of dpns and I think a notebook, so it could be worse, but I'm still quite gutted. I'm hoping it might turn up at the hall Miss M does her dancing classes in because I definitely had it with me when she was there for their Christmas party.

Our Christmas tree is up and Cat1 hasn't tried to climb it yet though he's lurked underneath it in a suspicious manner a couple of times.  He's doing that right now in fact.

I have written my Christmas card list, which is good, though I can't remember where I put the actual cards so writing them might be tricky, which is bad. Being inherently fairly optimistic though, I'm hopeful they might actually get posted on time.  This would be a first.

Things, Stuff, Things and Stuff

Oooh, I managed twenty-five days out of thirty for the November Blogging  - I'm quite proud of that! Towards the end of the month I just ran out of steam, especially as we had more on. Miss Mouse had her gymnastics display last week (went well),  and she's been doing an extra dance class for the last few weeks in the run up to her dance exams. Not because she's rubbish, naturally she's brilliant *rolls eyes*, but she needed to practise the cheer stuff with the bigger girls who go on a Thursday. Or something.

Anyway, I'm a glorified taxi driver at the moment. Except this morning when it was very icy and I made the kids walk to school. Actually they seemed fairly happy to, until the Boy slipped and fell on his bum. 

I was sure the car would get down our road, I just wasn't certain it'd get back up again. We've only had a very light sprinkling of snow and actually it mostly thawed again during the daylight hours yesterday but it's been very frosty at night so the snow and the slushy bits that were left were frozen solid. The road was fine a couple of hours later, just not at school run time which at the moment is pretty much just after sunrise.

The kids had their revenge - when they got out of school this afternoon they reminded me that I'd said we could go to the swimming-pool. I'd completely forgotten of course. I can't say I was enthusiastic at the thought but we went and had a very quick swim and it was lovely! We had the pool to ourselves initially and the pool was slightly warmer than usual - usually it's bit on the chilly side, especially if you're 'swimming' with children, i.e. mostly standing around in the water.  

But enough chilly stuff! Here's some bunting!  I've been meaning to make some for Miss M's room but never got round to it, and my mother-in-law saw this bunting when she was out somewhere and bought it, so there we are, the perfect cheerful thing for a little girl's bedroom:

Miss M loves it. Her room is very small and not all that warm and Miss M is not keen on going to bed at the best of times so anything that makes her happy to be in her bedroom is a good thing!


Project Rainbow: don't ask. Still on the first sock...

Plan for tomorrow: Bake Christmas cake. Should have done it weeks ago.