I find myself with just 2 weeks of classes left at school which includes 3 tests and 1 massive project!
Then the joy of study week, the blasted Economics exam would fall on the very first day of the exam period, fortunately not till the afternoon, if it had been 8am I don't think I would have coped at all.

I caught some of Insiders on ABC, and how scary is this, I actually knew what they where on about when they had a chart on screen talking about deficit and GDP. I can't believe I know that! Or that I can actually relate it to something in Real Life. Weird.

Writing a blog post is just another attempt to put off studying for Economics, I really don't like Economics. I'll be glad when it's all over, however I would have liked the exam to be on the very last day giving me a bit more time to revise.

On the other hand Bus Info Systems is shaping up to be my star subject, Distinction on my first assignment and then a High Distinction on my first test! I've got one test and the big project to go (and no exam another reason I love it!) so I'd like to give it more time to keep my good streak going.
I've unofficially decided (as my mind never seems to stay made up)to stay for an extra year and squeeze in a second degree, probably no surprises here, computing. Alas I fear (or should I say know) for a degree in computing at some point there is programming. Yuck.

My life at the moment is a major explosion of recipes and knitting patterns, possibly as I subconsciously seek to occupy myself with things other than school work. We had Curry in a Hurry the other day, every time I eat it I can't wait to eat it again. So nice, I'd also like to do the Irish Cream Tiramisu again.
Since I am kind of in the mood for something sweet, Instant Chocolate Mousse or the Holiday Hot Cake with Eggnog Cream would also be nice. I love steamed puddings haven't had one in years, and I just so happen to have a bottle of Advocaat lurking about in my cupboard. A lot of obscure liqueurs lurk in my cupboards.
There's just something very retro about them all, and cocktails in general and I love that! It's like cookbook's from the 60's and 70's, it's like looking at another world!
Most excellent!

Onwards and upwards! Or maybe that should be downwards?

***EDIT***Had to add the latest photo!



***End Edit!***

After handing in an assignment yesterday lunchtime I was able to go home and get stuck in to my knitting, I had Happy Days in the DVD player and I just knitted merrily away.

This is where I got up to last night by the end of Midsummer Murders...just two pattern repeats to go and then the final rib and casting off! So working down to the hand is perhaps the description I want? Or working up to it?
Mine is the one and only project for the Slinky Arm warmers pattern on the Rav. Which I am disappointed about as I would have loved to have seen other people's of this design. I may have to Google and see what turns up.
As Miss Stash said to me it is kind of an obscure book, roller derby themed knit book is not going to be as wide spread as say a SNB one. (Of which I am still waiting to hear more about the next one!)

Heres a couple of lovely shots of me actually modeling the arm warmer, the first allows you to admire the fab colour changes and the second will hopefully give you a close up of the "clover" pattern!

And does it ever feel good on! Really lovely, I can not stop raving about this yarn! I'm actually wondering (not in this colour though) how it would do for Intolerable Cruelty?

A hasty photo!

I was so enthused I had to take a photo and post it as soon as possible, I am so in love with this pattern. Although I think my hasty slightly average photo skills perhaps do not really do it justice and Ravelry does it less always cutting off the right of my photo's!
You think I would have learned to not put things in the center of the picture and more to the left.
This is Moda Vera Picchio in "Bark", as you can see it goes from green to light grey to what looked like blue last night but this morning in natural light looks like a darker grey? But having completly changed my mind again this is so the colourway I am seeking out again for Ondine.

A photo or two, and just maybe a blog post!

I have finally taken some photos of my knitting that has had most of my devoted attention, the fact that it's finished or almost finished should be the giveaway!

Anyway to start a mug I bought this afternoon in the supermarket I saw it and couldn't resist, it's called according to it's bar code sticker Merlin Cat.


These are my first pair of socks! Long time readers will be familiar with my many single socks and for once I knitted a pair! These where basic tube socks so no heel, and knitted up in no time in a thickish yarn.


This is my current project on the needles, the Easy Access Legwarmers from Knockdown Knits, almost finished the second one. Now all I need is to shop for suitable buttons!

This is the headband from Knockdown Knits in Moda Vera Picchio in the colourway "Fusion" at the time I got it I could only find one ball in this colour way. Katt told me today at the knitting coven that they have more in again in this colour so I'll have to pop in next week and try and get some more to make Ondine with.

And as for the Moda Vera Picchio in "Bark" I bought originally to make Ondine with after I could find no more in Fusion I have decided to use it instead to make a pair of Slinky Arm Socks and a pair of Slinky Leg Socks from Knockdown Knits. (4 projects so far from the book!)

Still to come I need to invest in some more Moda Vera Picchio in "Fusion" so I can finally knit Ondine and some black 4ply to make the Gothic Temptress socks! But not until after the Slinky Socks are done!
It's my new stash policy, only buy yarn for projects I am intending to start right away! Second step is finishing some of my many WIP's, third step is actually finding what's in my stash and trying to find uses for it.
I have managed so far to knit up straight away the last round of yarn I bought for specific projects and am using up some yarn I unearthed from my stash to make gloves for Miss Stash so I feel I have got off to a good start with my new approach.

This has been hard as I was in my local yarn store to buy a set of double points and was quite tempted by some 20ply they had in. I could think of at least 2 projects I wanted to do in this. Although the Patons Kalidascope was seriously tempting as an alternative for Ondine as well.
Alas my queue on Ravelry just gets longer, mostly with arm warmers. I love arm warmers! And a lot are in about 10ply so I'm shopping round for a 10ply yarn with good colour choices to keep me occupied as well.

Could it be?

I have finally got the result for my Economics assignment, 3 out of 5! Yeah!
And it appears much to our delight Miss Stash and I on our group project for Bus Info Sys, we may have a distinction! I told Miss Stash my best work was done under pressure yet she doubted me.

Fortunately most of my bag contents has dried out, my pattern magazine is slightly wibbly from where it got wet and then dried out but that's really neither here nor there. I'm planning to take the hat out to the knitting coven tomorrow, we're having Mexican! OMG yumtastic!
And while the hat is in that fiddly decrease stage, and I do need to think about where the decreases should be, but aside from that it's safe to knit while talking.

Things are going well at the moment, add to it my excitement on discovering an illusion knit pattern is now available as a free Ravelry download! It used to be in a book I am sure of it, but I'm non too fussed what happened with the book because I know have the pattern!
It's a pair of arm warmers with an illusion of an x-ray. Very uber cool! Or at least I think so. I love Illusion knitting, my only piece to date is the Alien Illusion scarf from the first SNB book but I am very keen to knit up the one from Son of SNB as well, something else I think is uber cool, the video here on the US Pole Federation just sums it up even more. One day I aspire to be half as bendy and strong as that!

Miss Stash whipped up Jamie Oliver's Pot-Roast Meatloaf from his last book Ministry of Food. And it was absolutely delicious! Very yummy! I helped supervise the sauce while it was simmering and spooned it around the meatloaf before replacing it in the oven. Just the minor jobs.

I'd like to report about what I have cooked recently which hasn't really been anything remotely interesting, although stay tuned for I am so my mother informs me having a crock-pot day. Miss Stash will bring her little 3.5L one over to our mothers, I'll bring my 6.5L (my 5.5L is already at my mothers) and we will set them up and have a big cooking day.
No idea what we are making yet for our grand cook-up but I am hoping to make at least one batch of chili.

Because I was out yesterday I found myself having to dash home in the rain, I now have my bag and it's entire contents laid out in an effort to dry it, fortunately overnight it has got rather dryer but it included my Sorbet hat I was working on.

Apparently I am the last person in the world to know that there is a new Anticraft up. I need to go away and think what else I could fashion the patterns into for everyday wear.
Never mind hte merkin what I'd really like is a Murloc!

Click click clickety click!

Well still very much on the needles are a number of things but my time is being divided between a beret made with Moda Vera Sorbet for me, a pair of Beer Gloves from Son of SNB in Cleckheaton Tweed for Miss Stash and a garter stitch wrap out of ye olde Caressa 7ply for my mother.

People keep asking about my Vintage Hues scarf I was knitting, it's almost done, but I just need to go back and undo the last pattern repeat and do it again. Those are the four most "active" projects at the moment.

I'm on the search for a suitably priced sub for SWTC Karoke, and I am wondering if the new Kaleidoscope from Cleckheaton will do the trick? It seems to be a similar ply, and colour number 6 on the website seems to be just the colour I'm after for my project! Quick search online reveals a general price of about $5.50 to $5.95 a ball, much better then the Karoke which I found on one Aussie site for $18 a ball!

Which brings me to my next thought, and a question to all my fellow knitters out there, do you as a knitter like getting knitted gifts???

I ask because I was thinking most of my knitting is 95% for me, there is a odd assortment of things left over in the 5% mainly for charity with the odd requested item for my mother (currently a wrap because I keep hearing about how much she needs one sitting up in the evnings) or in an odd twist of fate something for Miss Stash who actually does knit quite a lot for herself as well.

And I think personally giving another knitter something knitted is like giving a crossword fan a book of crosswords that have already been done. I will admit sometimes I have seen things other knitters have knitted and I have just had to have it!

I finished the square! Yesterday afternoon, and am now in a sea of indecision. I would like to make a new pair of socks, then there are the yoga socks I'd like to try and of course I should take my Peacock scarf back to the last garter stitch row and re-do the pattern bit...

Today is Mock Lasagne day in the crock-pot, the recipe comes from the Crockpot-Lovers group on the Ravelry. And I'm hoping if it doesn't get all cold and rainy again this afternoon it may do so tomorrow as I am keen to make the Gingerbread Latte from the Year of Crockpotting.

Ticket's for Pink's Australian tour went on sale last Friday and apparently they only sold 10 over the counter before they ran out due to all the online and phone sales! People had been queuing since 5:30 in the morning to try and buy tickets. You'd be disappointed after all that time. Unfortunately the nearest Pink is getting to me is Melbourne so I wasn't rushing to get a ticket, a trip interstate moves it from a luxury to a dream!
I have had to content myself with Pink - Live at Wembley on DVD, it's the I'm Not Dead tour. That will be the DWC and my new Friday night viewing I think for the next couple of weeks, sometimes we have Cher on her Farewell tour. Which is also pretty exciting, but I may need to get some Madonna to balance it all out.
But tonight is Dirty Dancing night!

What's that smell???

I tried a new experiment in the slow cooker today, my mother had grand plans as I have just recently bought Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food and have been unable to talk about it till now since I was giving Miss Stash a copy for her birthday.

The plan was we'd make the Chicken and Leek Stroganoff from MoF, well it only feeds two so first we were going to multiply it to go round 6 (my grandparents are up visiting hence the mad desire of my mother's to cook something from the new book, or more to the point to get me to cook something from the new book). This plan gets changed into chicken and leek stroganoff in the slow cooker. Only we don't have a recpie for a chicken stroganoff in the slow cooker, so we adapt a beef one.
It tasted alright. Can't say it looked very appealing. But there is a success story here, I made at long last the Totally Chocolate Choc-Chip Cookies from Nigella Express. I've just finished eating one as I type this. OMG! So, so very good! I will be making another batch to pop in the freezer, perfect in a time of crisis, also some chilli. Chilli is always good.

Some things didn't make the baking rotation today like Date Gingerbread and Raspberry Scones. But there still on the ever growing list of things to make.

But the big question is, is it really okay to get high off doing yoga? I understand endorphins get released while doing exercise, but after a session of yoga I feel like I'm floating on air!
Speaking of fun workout's, how do you fancy busting a move with Mr Burlesque?

Note to self practise wearing high heels! Dammit if Mr Burlesque can, surely I can!

It strikes again!

Now I am having technical issues, technology is defying me now! Blah! I brought my knitting to school and have promptly not done any. I have been chatting, investigating services and browsing through the local bookshop, which excitingly also sells normal books.

They even had some cookbooks I have had my eye on for some time. This could be dangerous! Actually I might have to go back and see if they stock any knitting, probably not but worth an excuse to rebrowse.

Miss Stash and I have been discussing the prospect of chilli in the slow cooker, this is a win-win situation. Everybody loves Chilli!!!
The Cheeseburger Soup is a must! I am adding the ingredients to my shopping list for when I next go. If I'm real keen I may take a picture of it to proudly display here on my blog!

OMG! So many good things, so little time!

I know I was talking about using my slow cooker more often, and after working my way through the Year of Crockpotting blog I have more ideas than I know what to do with.
Things on the top of the list are the Cheeseburger Soup and Chai Lattes, things I either like the sound of or like but can't afford to buy all the time. There also things I think I will find myself attempting to eat my way through alone, I fear Cheeseburger Soup would be seen as an affront on gastronomy by those I usually cook for.

There is a whole pile of others I printed out ready to compile shopping lists and plan when to make them, more than I'll mention here at this time.

My square seems to be stuck at 10 1/2 inches??? How does this happen I measured it, 10 1/2 inches, knit some more measure again, 10 1/2 inches????
I have a sneaking suspicion the world is conspiring against me of late, could my knitting be further proof???

Burn For Me!

Blah! No surprises who got themselves sunburnt, teach me to leave the house without my hat. Thinking of it after as I started to feel a bit warm and off on my merry way, was a fraction too late.

I finally am coming to a close to the organisational red tape for my new adventure, wandering from office to office, and needing to confirm who I am, what I'm doing, setting accounts up and getting my timetable sorted has been tedious but not exactly difficult I must admit.
The hard part's obviously still to come, but of my 4 subjects this semester, only three of them require me to sit a final exam!

Joining so many other knitters, I am also knitting a square, well one under way at the moment. It is quite meditative so I may find myself glad of knitting more as I get going into the treacherous land of economics. Blah!

The search is on for slow cooker recipes, I have some tried and true ones I am going to use. But there are a few new ones I'd like to test. While it doesn't seem quite fully like slow cooker weather I'll admit, I know I associate it with more cold weather cooking, but I quite often have time of a morning but not of an afternoon or early evening to whip stuff up for my dinner. Watch this space for my experiments!

Guess Who?

Guess who is starting at University next week???

9/2/2009 Edit - After much confusion and clarfication, it's not next week, next week will require only one day. One day which I am waiting to be notified about. So it will be the week after next!

I'm it!

Mrs DrWho tagged me, so here we go, six quirky but boring things about me! I can only name 6?

Rules
Link to the person who tagged you.
Mention the rules.
Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself.
Tag six other bloggers by linking to them.
Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that let’s them know they’ve been tagged.

1. Most of my clothing I own is black. I like to think of it as my urban camouflage and wouldn't dream of life without it.

2. I have an unyielding passion for themed food, my house is crammed with cookie cutters, chocolate moulds, fancy cake pans and kitschy ice cube trays (Bailey's bottle shaped ice anyone?)

3. When I grew up I desperately wanted to be an Egyptologist. I blame Agatha Christie entirely for this passion! Alas I fear a wonderful academic career will never be mine and besides I've seen what the helpers on Time Team endure. I'm trying to picture me a) doing that labour and b) doing it happily in a desert under the hot, hot, hot sun. Oh the heat!

4. Two of my fave things to do as a child was dress-up's and "playing ladies", the first involved a box of assorted off cast clothing (my fave piece being a sort of purple embroidered blouse) and the second was my Nana letting me get the fine china out and make afternoon tea to eat off it. These are two things that have carried over into my grown up life that I still love to do.

5. There is no denying it, I am a bag lady. I am always on the look-out for the more slightly unusual looking bags.

6. Matt Hardy lives on my computer desk! Next to a mini beanie pirate, vampire and white tiger.

I'll tag Lady Deathwatch, Spinning Goth, Metal and Knit and Msfortuknit and anyone else who's interested!

12 Days of Christmas Darkside Style

My dream Christmas theme is sandwiched somewhere between Nightmare Before Christmas and a Las Vegas casino. Well actually that's my year round dream decor. Glitz, glamour and above all gaudy with a touch of the sinister thrown in.

I completed my Christmas shopping for the immediate family today, everybody else on my gift list will be sorted out sometime before Christmas Eve or after Boxing Day. The family's presents all came from stores that gift wrapped, yeah one less job for me to do.

I've had a full on cooking binge, with a drinkies night on Friday night. May I say I can recommend highly the Poinsettia from Nigella Christmas (also in the Nigella Christmas Feast in the latest Australian Women's Weekly). Also from Nigella Christmas, the Chilli Cheese Crostini is wonderful with the Mexicana flavoured Dorito's, it's a little bland without anything highly flavoured to dollop it on. And the Peanut Butter Cups are wonderful, but then I am mad about Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and this is as close to home made version as you can get.
I also made the Wasabi Crab Cakes, or Not-Wasabi Crab Cakes, I substituted English mustard for the wasabi as Nigella suggested (no one likes wasabi according to my mother), and lemon juice for the rice wine vinegar. Then instead of frying them, my mother thought we should bake them, they kind of came out dry, and not at all crispy and I really didn't like the flavour the mustard gave them.

I made the Cocktail Sausages from Express, they were an absolute winner, think chipolata's in a honey-soy marinade. One I am not pleased with is the Party Popcorn from Express, the popcorn popped alright and then I tried to make up the buttery spice mix to pour over. I ended up with what reminded me in appearance and smell of curry paste.
Tried remaking it, just mixing the dried spice mix up and shoggiling like mad, but most of it sat at the bottom. Oh well shelved till a future date when I have patience to fiddle with it some.
Also from Express and what I do like is Curry in a Hurry, what I didn't like was the chicken cacciatore.

My new addition to my Christmas decoration line up is a jaunty looking tiger wearing a Santa hat. I like tigers and I like hats. It's win-win. I haven't got my tree out, put none of my cards up, aside from the tiger I am still in two minds as to whether I shall have Christmas at my house or not this year. Tinsel on anything, decorations hung on the tree are all fair game as far as the Daft White Cat is concerned, so too any fresh flowers or potted plants I try to keep.

The only thing safe is the tree itself and the string of lights I have on it. Maybe the DWC likes a minimalist Christmas theme?

Tomorrow we are having another knitting coven meeting, I am in two minds about going, I could go, or I could stay home and start constructing a reasonably sized bunker for the DWC and I to lurk in.
The now infamous scarf, will once again get an outing if I go out. Will it be done by New Year, possibly, if I can make the time to sit long enough to work on it. Fortunately I think my search is over, turned my entire home upside down in search of my "good" black skirt which I adore, asked my mother twice if I'd left it at her house at all, no no no, so searching again through all my clothes, when you own as much black as I do finding a particular piece is like seeking a needle in a haystack. My mother found it at her house.
Then there was the now complete searches for Christmas decorations and for my copy of Forever Summer.

Anyway my final thought on Christmas Twisted Sister Part 1 and Part 2.

The scarf is almost finished, thanks to Lady Deathwatch I have an idea on a shrug to start, it looks simple enough for even me to complete in a timely fashion, i.e. for when the warm weather well and truly starts here in my part of the world.

As most people are aware it's December, yes it's that time of year again. Good will to all mankind and all that other baloney. Bah! Is all I have to say to that. Bah!

However despite saying that, I have been putting the carols on, flicking through my ever growing pile of Christmas magazines and books, it grows every year.
As much as I despise this time of year, as much as I loathe it with every fibre of my being, I can not resist the opportunity for cooking too much food.
Food is just one of my major obsessions, of which I have many, long time readers will be familiar with my others.
New to this year's menus, I tried Christmas Chocolate Biscuits, Cranberry and White Chocolate Cookies both from the new Nigella Christmas. And at long last I made the Maple Pepper Pecans from Nigella Express. One minor substitution I swapped out the cayenne for paprika in the pecans to road test them at that level, and I'm really not sure how other people feel about really hot things.
But they've passed my Mother's test, she was sampling them in the kitchen while no one was looking.

There's still a whole plethora of things from Nigella Christmas I'm keen to try and a number of them have made it onto lists, the Cranberry Studded Mincemeat (after the Vanilla Rhubarb mincemeat from Feast was vetoed by my mother, not enough people in the family can eat rhubarb, the fact I like it is beside the point) and Christmas Wreaths look like goers.
But the tried and tested Apricot and Almond White Christmas is back again this year, I love both apricots and almonds, and well I like some White Christmas, it's kind of like fruit cake, it can be hard to find a good one.

A reliable source (my Mother, so always right) informs me Nigella's Express was on the ABC last night! I missed it but with any luck my father has recorded it, we think last night was the first episode. I'm hoping so, I have been eagerly anticipating this series, I have seen little snippets courtesy of You Tube.

Shrugging off my problems

I need some advice, I want to knit up a cardigan for when the warmer weather gets here if at all or better yet a shrug (smaller thing to knit). All my jumpers are a tad warm to be a light cover up.

I'm going to poke through Ravelry, and look through my wrappy/shawly pattern books as I know they have shrugs as well in them. But anything anyone's knitted, not to complex, the quicker the better, and can recommend I am all ears (and eyes).

The Day After The Night Before

"The Shoveler is hammered!"
- The Shoveler, Mystery Men


I was out to a wedding yesterday, an old friend I've known for 28 years. But I guess over the later years I haven't seen as much of am as I used to, which meant I hadn't got a chance to meet his fiance and now wife till the wedding yesterday.

It was a really lovely ceremony, even I a jaded cynic, can not deny that. The dress was gorgeous, the girl in it turned out to be lovely as well! One of the page boys was over excited and rushed off to the front of the church soon as the bridal party arrived with his ring cushion and had to be retrieved and taken back to wait.

Now the important part of any wedding, the reception, a chance to have a drink or three. It was held at the Cataract Bistro, the very modern looking building adjacent to the TRC Hotel. Food was lovely, I had a slow roasted tomato, boccacini and basil tart with onion jam to start, the other popular choice seemed to be the Chicken Salad which Miss Stash had.
I don't care what she says though, my tart was so the best starter on that menu!

Main I had the rolled chicken breast stuffed with Persian feta and sun dried tomato on a Parmesan risotto cake I think it was meant to be. The chicken had been wrapped in bacon, but I disassembled mine cause I really don't like that much bacon looking at me. Blerch!
Other mains included fish (trevalla or trevally? trevalla I think?) which was one of my mother's favourites, and steak which the men at our table all seemed to order....

Dessert was a berry merangue or steamed pudding, the merangue seemed to be the popular choice all round, waitresses were dashing round the room with armfuls of plates with the merangues on them. It was delicious, my one complaint my crispy outside fell off, and when I tried to spoon it up completly disintergrated, so mostly I ate a giant marshmallowy mound topped with berry cream. Yum!

Drank quite a bit of wine during the evening, I was sozzled by the end of the night I will admit, but I had a fantastic time, and better still didn't publicly shame anyone. I was in a warm wine induced fuzz, so I didn't I have the motivation to do or say anything outrageous.
I wasn't allowed to buy a funny weddding card. Oh well, I guess that will still be a surprise, when they open the cards and the one from me isn't a funny one.

Of course there were the obligatory speeches, and they where all a reasonable length and funny. They get my stamp of approval.
The bridal waltz, they'd rehearsed leading up to the wedding, but not in the wedding clothes. So there we are a roomful of people watching the bridal waltz, collective agreement they look lovely and are lovely. Then rip! Yes the groom had stood on the dress, a collective ohhhhhhh!
I spoke to him after the waltz, I and I think everyone else he spoke to after the waltz, heard about the dress incident, he was kind of wound up and telling everybody about it.
Priceless!

Also had the chance to talk to a couple of people I haven't seen in forever, we all went to primary school with the groom. One of them's now married with four kids, the eldest was 8 and the youngest is 8 months. And the two inbetween, 5 and 3, I think. And it occurs to me now, while I asked how old they all where I didn't ask her if they where girls or boys, I know the first one was a girl.

Well I did say this was the day after in my title, well I woke up at 5:30 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep, an hour of my muttering, changing sides of the bed and rearranging the covers, the Daft White Cat had had enough. He left the room.
But he was back 15 mins later, obviously thought up a way to annoy me, charged in, jumped up on the chair by the window and pulled the curtain back flooding the room with light.
I conceded defeat and the bed.

Wide awake and restless on a Sunday morning. Write a blog post, hmmm, hasn't taken long? Now what? Maybe make some breakfast, yes, I'm starving, I haven't eaten since last night.
There's always knitting, I have become a one-project woman, and it has worked, well sort of. I have only one project I'm focusing on, but now I kind of resent it, so progress is just as slow as if I was doing 20 projects. Blah!

I'm wildly excited, do you all know why??? Take a look here!

And I'm not looking here, cause this is just depressing when you check details.

more cat pictures

Preferably without pickle, onion and mustard! Oh and make mine a double one!!!