Vintageme

Scary pattern books..

2006-04-17T08:57:00.000+01:00

Just looking at a site with Lanna Grossa patterns and noticed a man's one.It has captions like "soon the mountains will call" ..Goat Peter will be off again I guess.The patterns were just plain bizzare .I find many European patterns just ghastly but a cardigan on Trendsetter that looked like fronds of sea-weed was the abolute end.Mum loves weird sea-themes but she had hysterics. She always found Noro's books very weird too..cables, cables everywhere and not a space to spare.The designers like Debbie Bliss , Jane Ellison etc got it right. It is too busy to cope with huge chunks of cables. Sadly for a Noro-nut Mum almost hates the summer yarns. Daria is like string and only Hanna Silk saves itself except that it bobbles when you knit it because one side is tighter than the other.Pavi yarns are going to stock "Trendsetter" soon some of which are beyond hatred but they have some gorgeous angora . I see myself trying to persuade Mum to knit a Brigitte Bardot type sweater ...I know I could if I could stop drawing and knitting minis. As you can share your blog I might add Mum's name ...then she can wax lyrical about knitting and all the crazies on U.K.H.K who don't believe I am me can guess if they visit which one of us it is ..clue if her latest book on R.F.K gets into the post it's Mum if Martin Sheen creeps in it is me. I am trying hard to enjoy the new series of "West-Wing" but it's like a Kennedy stalwart trying to love L.B.J I guess .Granny is visited , friends too so today is our day for a Turkey dinner and a knit . As Mum is doing a Che needlepoint cushion cover I'll have to see if I can graph out R.F.K then our cushions can have a bit of a fight .She could knit an "All the way with R.F.K " jacket but these days it is so open to mis-interpretation.She was planning on doing a Che jacket at some stage and has a bag of red yarn collecting ..be warned .

Fishy Fingers for Mum..

2006-04-15T20:22:00.000+01:00

Mum wants to embroider this on a cushion as it tickles her so much.We can't decide if it is D.K or not but no matter the kid captured Dad's teeth to perfection .She has two half-done fabric collages of photos of me that are cute but she keeps knitting.

This entered the country in 1962 !

2006-04-15T19:27:00.000+01:00

Mum was at school at the time and had no idea the little cutie would marry her..yes folks it is a boy and my Dad .I don't think expressions are allowed on passports now so he'd have been thrown out as a terrorist I suspect .Happy Easter Dad!

Happy Easter Mum.

2006-04-13T19:54:00.000+01:00

Insert for my book

2006-04-13T19:49:00.000+01:00

One of the lucky finds at the art-shop selling up was a large quantity of gold ink .

Latest book-cover and..

2006-04-13T12:19:00.000+01:00

Happy Easter to anyone who drops by.

Labels,elitism ,racism etc.

2006-04-10T09:17:00.000+01:00

On our trip to town Friday a perfectly intelligent lady in the L.Y.S expressed surprise that Dad couldn't sing "Oh but he's black all black people can sing" .Mum won't get cross with people who she knows are just ignorant not hateful.She laughed and said something along the lines of "Oh he can't play Cricket either ".Many an embarresed landlord of a pub in their courting days would try to strike up the cricket conversation.
Then yesterday she went to bed fuming after searching a few blogs linked to those she reads and likes and found a comment that suggested said blogger thought of himself as "one who inherits silverware and doesn't have to buy it" .It appeared he'd gone off a designer because the peasants were wearing his clothes..and this an American .It made us think just why youths want labels ,which we dislike, as long as those attitudes remain they are begging, shouting "I am as good as you ".It is so very sad because it does not work they just despise you more .I have news for the guy we buy stainless steel so I guess that sets us firmly in the blue-collar class and proud to be so .Dad might wear a white shirt and yet both my grandads were "Blue-collar" one an electrician ,one a postman..does that make me less of a person?

Meet Lima Bear

2006-04-07T17:24:00.000+01:00

Off to town to meet Dad...I popped to the bookshop and Mum to the yarn shop .Then after meeting Dad we walked past the Fair Trade shop where we found Miss Bean ..a real alpaca cutie for only £8.00s.She is really soft so will be next to me and my very grubby Skunk Harriet tonight.I am going to make her some clothes..under her snuggly she has a little nappy !

Stephen Fry..

2006-04-05T18:36:00.000+01:00

As a favourite blogger of mine mentioned Stephen Fry I thought I'd talk about his episode of "Who do You Think You Are " ( famous people search out their roots) . As the said blogger is American he might never see the programme. This particular series had some of Mum's favourites such as Sheila Hancock but she was fairly bored by her episode ( hard to say why) .She sat in total silence during his until I knew she'd break when he started to cry .It was so very moving especially when he found the neglected graveyard in Slovakia .He has a brain the size of a house but never comes across as smug .I love reading "Paperweight "at the moment and watching him as Jeeves . I also have the treats of "Delve Special"and "Saturday Night Fry".

"THe Motor-cycle Diaries"

2006-04-04T13:40:00.000+01:00

I borrowed Holly's blog as she works on her essay. I think it is not a great idea to watch films of favourite books.This must have been hard watching for anyone who wasn't deeply interested in Che's life.I think an awful lot of his ironic , sometimes cruel wit was missing. An awful lot of humorous moments too , mostly to do with the squits !It was beautifully photographed but the scenery was a bit monotonous .It was still a far better film than most releases which bore us to death.The film that surprises me most times is "Thirteen Days" aside from Kevin Costner's almighty liberties with Kenny O'Donnell's life it is riveting. I think it is Bruce Goddwood's performance because every time I sit wondering how it is going to turn out .Watching any film with French or Spanish sounds very intense ..asking for a cheese sandwich sounds like a major tragedy .I have to leave the book on Holly's desk now ...I know she'll read it .

How to really shock your Mum...

2006-04-02T18:12:00.000+01:00

Come home with a Goth boyfriend ?.no !.. a 66 year old one ?( Martin Sheen is taken)..worse...HONEST !Make a dent in her account at T.K Maxx's clearance.I got a lace work cardigan in shell pink ( nearly as shocking to Mum as the 66 year old) , a red and white 1950's style polka-dot dress , a really cute 1920's looking top in wine and cream fine -knit, an Edina Ronay cotton fair-isle in spring colours , a lilac ruffled ballet cardigan and a handbag that is shaped like a Chinese take-away box in dark blue brocade and all with what she spends on wool in a month.I think it's the shock of not having to knit any of the cardigans for me that sent her to sleep ..that and menopause causing excessive kipping.I also got her a mad Bunny mug for Easter .I just love how they give it away during second mark-downs.She only wants to knit Kaffe shawls really so it's fair and is beginning to look at sock patterns for herself .I am not keen on trousers at all and she loves them .I am so sick of seeing jeans, jeans and more jeans and that hideous belly gap.I love Hobbs but with only one income and Mum and Dad paying for Home-education it's not gonna happen! Hoping to get a weekend job in the bookshop soon .

April's new coat..

2006-04-01T19:51:00.000+01:00

Boucle wool with a fine chenille border .I must make her a bonnet to match .

Friday in town..

2006-04-01T08:01:00.000+01:00

The usual trip to town to meet Dad at his office yesterday.We had to pop into the yarn dept. of John Lewis which has gone all neat and boring. All the yarn is lined up against a wall and it just lacks interest .They stock few brands but Mum picked up three skeins of Debbie Bliss's silk which isn't that impressive .It's to go into her Kaffe shawl with lots of other fibres.I looked at the fabric but that too is boring mostly seems to be for bridal outfits. We then did the drag around M&S for the weekly shop which we are delighted to say they will deliver .We both hate it and it takes ages choosing a till so as not to get the really, really chatty girl or the miserable ones. Mum loves to chat but the items have to be packed at super-speed and all in different bags depending on if they need refrigeration etc.We escaped to the second-hand bookshop where Mum got a book on silk-ribbon work which she thinks she likes but isn't really sure.We then popped into the other L.Y.S where a miniature Dachshund came in with it's owner in a mobility scooter..love at first sight .Lily, the cute one , had a little pink sweater and a necklace not something Mum likes as a rule but I think she's ready to knit her a coat and beret set ! Her poor owner was very kind and put up with the rush to coo over Lily and the staff sorted her yarn requirements .We then discussed persuading the manager to stock Paris Mohair but he said Mum would be the only buyer so he couldn't .We understand that but it is a shame , all these towns like Burford with interesting yarn shops and Reading can't support one.Dad treated us to a meal at "Wagamama"and we came home to the usual Friday evening which means Mum falls asleep on the sofa and I made a coat for April which I'll post later.We rented "The Motor-cycle Diaries" for Mum so have to keep her awake for two hours at least today .She has been reluctant to let us buy it until she knows if it meets standards as that is her all time favourite non-fiction book .She will watch anything about R.F.K because she really has to but Che ..well he seems special .The P.B.S documentary on R.F.K is so good she is happy with that until they do the decent thing and make a whole series on his life and times. Mum the only Quaker who stood and thanked God the day Che was sent to Cuba for re-burial !!

April's seaside dress..

2006-03-31T09:45:00.000+01:00

After Mum went to bed I made this ..she has to go at least two hours before me .So she hadn't seen it ..I had a similar outfit so she laughed .

April's dress

2006-03-30T19:01:00.000+01:00

Made with Jaegar alpaca 4ply.

How to make a really terrible documentary.

2006-03-30T08:47:00.000+01:00

A kind friend recorded a documentary about "The Kennedys" for Mum as we have few extra channels.He got this one in a package and never watches it normally .It started well in that it had a young presenter who looked like Mark Steele ( that would have been good!) .That was the good bit after that with the help of the enormous heaps of old film footage it introduced us, badly, to the Joe/Rose generation .Anyone without any prior knowledge would not have learnt much .It seemed to fast forward to J.F.K's election with the odd suggestion that he was "riddled" with a disease that will remain un-mentionable but because if he had been he'd have been pock-marked like some old Venitian aristocrat .He was a very sick man but with addison's disease .I dare say his morals weren't likely to please his wife .We then go through the oft tried can you shoot 3 bullets out of a rifle in 5 minutes etc. They proved you could but like to leave a doubt that L.H.O could .Lots of stuff about Monroe that was beyond laughable , not that we don't have sympathy for the poor woman.Some wit suggested if they had killed all the women J.F.K had affairs with and laid them end to end ...blah,blah.It seems the beasties did it with a hose-pipe ..I won't tell you where. Then we have the best bit of all a seance at which a bit of plastic points to M.M ( it's name) tells us it was murdered by some bloke called ..b-o-b-b-...guess the last one .So handy she was on-line that day .We then fast forward to 1968 and the only bit of film they seemed to have was R.F.K's thank-you speech after The California Primary ( you have to hear him say "we are a ruthless country" by mistake .Not to lighten what is a horrible few moments of film but then come the conspiracy nuts again. Mum is convinced his murder was a conspiracy if only by the anbulance service who took 23 minutes to get to a head -shooting victim.At least a chance to use all that chaotic footage of people running around in total panic .We don't stop there ...poor Ted gets the Chappaquidick was a conspiracy treatment ..all to frighten him out of running for the White-House ( heck I'd have lived in a bunker for the rest of my life if I was him).All in all with a bit of footage and a wobbly camera , a holiday in L.A you too can make documentaries worthy of showing on a channel that thousands watch ..goddness knows why?

April MacDrey..

2006-03-29T18:10:00.000+01:00

The photo features my beloved Cyril Squirrel .This week I knitted him a wife and this baby .I don't need a pattern so am quite pleased .I just have to brush April with a suede brush .

Inside my Mother's Day card..

2006-03-26T18:57:00.000+01:00

I drew these "ages of Holly" and Mum says she loves them more than her pressie.......yes folks I often wore a Sailor suit !

Garden Cushions..

2006-03-25T12:51:00.000Z

Mum got a lovely embroidery book in Oxfam yesterday .I'd like to do the ne with little cabbages.

Ist birthday insert

2006-03-22T10:27:00.000Z

Christmas book insert

2006-03-22T10:10:00.000Z

V&A knitting site..

2006-03-19T09:09:00.000Z

Is always a disappointment as I expected a large gallery of knitwear from designers but at least today I looked at the pictures sent by the public and found a gorgeous cheeky Hare and the cutest little fair-isle bag for a child .I think also a Prudence mapstone bag which is lovely .I am not sure I'd ever go the whole hog and wear any large free-form item but bags are great.I fell in love with some needle-felted alpacas yesterday and some bunnies from "Fiber Trends" but don't know if I'll have time .Mum would love a little alpaca ,she has a sweet finger-puppet one from Bolivia .If you do a Google images search for needle-felting there are some really cute snowmwn and a St. Nicholas who is adorable .

We all have fathers ...

2006-03-18T21:48:00.000Z

Luckily they don't make us wear matching clothes ..still jumpers or not I'm sure she'd have preferred to keep and cherish him .A little chat maybe about how she'd like a mini-skirt and a nice cheesecloth shirt ?

Or let's try the infamous "Mac"..

2006-03-18T19:19:00.000Z

as previously mentioned trying to look at my favourite make-up is no better ..the rap is played at volumes so loud I am deaf when I stagger out whilst drippier assisstants chat to their friends about who they ********* last night .It is fairly expensive and yet has no class at all in this environment .Then enjoy a walk through the perfumery where Mum will have to tell the assistant which Guerlain perfumes came out when and a little bit of the company story as they go red .Ask what the top-notes are etc and blankness stares back.If anyone here watched "Love-Soup" the two stupid girls in that compare well. At least the lack of staff means we can go home smelling of "Joy" .Mum just found that the Boston based company "Fresh" has left Reading and she is heart-broken as their perfumes did not induce head-aches.Yesterday we walked through yarns while the poor lady who Mum knows well was training a new girl..things were not going well she had never knitted ,didn't understand how sheep fleece ended-up looking like string ..Diana has some work on her hands there .She was young ,attractive ( if you like sticks) maybe advertising for a knitter would have helped.

Last art-shop sells up ..

2006-03-18T19:13:00.000Z

here in Reading town centre .This is so sad ..luckily they had a 50% sale so I got lots of paper , sketch books and gold inks and nibs .This makes the town even more boring and although Hobbycraft has an art section it is not a great place to shop.It is ugly , looks like a warehouse , small children run up and down the isles ,then wail then go to the upper floor so they can make more more noise whilst drippy parents take no notice as they coo over plastic flowers .At least in "Art-Worker" there would be students ,old-folks who painted and PEACE !

Country's most boring Mall...

2006-03-17T12:17:00.000Z

I grant I havn't been to them all but this one is just horrible.The side you can see is mostly junk food with loud music blaring .There is a boring "Vue" cinema complex full of people who eats buckets of popcorn and sometimes throw up behind you ..then the shops..clothes,clothes,clothes ..not much else .What I wouldn't give for a good art shop ,a small bead shop ,a craft shop ,a French baker .At Christmas they add huge plastic Santas just to help with the aesthetics .The rest of the town looks scrappy now .Yet we have The Thames and some famous buildings ..a few knocked down .What do you all think of these grey concrete boxes? H.R.H Prince Ch...........ahem Holly.

The Wherethehellarewes..

2006-03-17T08:33:00.000Z

A small tribe of people who live in Mum's workroom that Dad invented years ago .No-one has ever seen one yet but we are sure they carry off pens to use as spears and we hope they like to eat moths. It is a small room and houses my old school work along with Mum's yarns and all the material she hopes to make into quilts much inspired by Janet Bolton.My new scrap-booking is joining it all ...as Mum was born in New Zealand she likes to think they have little Maori carvings on their houses .

Sea-themes

2006-03-16T21:46:00.000Z

More joy from Lakeland.....

2006-03-16T16:55:00.000Z

How to get shot on public transport courtesy of Lakeland plastics..

2006-03-16T16:19:00.000Z

carry the handy plastic Banana guard in your pocket ..yes folks look on page 13 of that "useful" catalogue .It might impress a girlfriend I suppose but an armed Policeman with a wary eye should never see one tucked away .Those who can't see it ..it is 25cms with a bend 3/4s of the way in stiff yellow plastic and costs £5.50...save your money and possibly your life.

No name on the bag post..

2006-03-16T10:14:00.000Z

It's Kaffe's "Roman Glass" ..it is Mum's dream to knit a jacket in this pattern but fears she'd go nuts .He says it is easy but he would the man is a genius .She tried ,cast off and made it up as a bag .I think she has so many projects she just doesn't have the time. She is knitting a lovely "Jewelled Stripe " shawl between stuff for me . She just got some Noro "Aurora" in a sale so is all set to make me another jacket ,cardigan thing ...she hates patterns.

2006-03-15T18:36:00.000Z

Favourite coat..

2006-03-15T18:26:00.000Z

Mum got some super-chunky Cashmerino from "Coldspring" so I am hoping for another with a different neck-line maybe?

My latest bookcover...

2006-03-15T11:24:00.000Z

hoping it looks just a bit like me ..oh the life of glamour you can lead on paper !

I find Mum's knitting so ...

2006-03-15T11:20:00.000Z

interesting a subject !

Look at the sign..

2006-03-15T11:14:00.000Z

Mum has a compromised sense of humour ..she is hoping the Borhka is coming in for Quakers anyday now.

Lily says..

2006-03-15T11:04:00.000Z

"get me out of here "...mum's stashing is a bit untidy .

Favourite eating place...

2006-03-15T11:01:00.000Z

Gorgeous noodles and ginger chicken ..sigh!

New book insert for "The Golden Years"

2006-03-14T19:17:00.000Z

Cast off please Mum....

2006-03-14T18:55:00.000Z

Those circs could damage a girl..besides you know it is your coat .

Ist episode series 7.."The West-Wing"

2006-03-11T10:42:00.000Z

The fears of some fans that the quality of the material would be losing it's sparkle will be completely un-founded if the rest of the series lives up to this episode. There was plenty of energy from the new actors ( Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda) as the Democratic and Republican Presidential contenders. The quality of the late John Spencer's performance serves to emphasise what a great talent we have lost. It gave me more insight into the political machine at work despite all the books I have read on the 1960 campaign .Technology has changed but the inevitable human interactions , rivalries etc remain the same. I look forward to more and inclusion of humour as in Leo's re-action to being told his grandson might not be photo-genic enough to join him on the campaign. If looks were and are so important Nixon could never have stood for any office ( maybe a good thing ..ho-hum) and maybe not even Carter. I don't care what they look like as long as they have integrity and a brain .

My latest project..

2006-03-09T16:12:00.000Z

A bib for my first little "Hunny" ..sewn,embroidered,applique .I designed it myself so Mum thinks I should do seasonal ones now.

Muffy goes to bed

2006-03-09T14:46:00.000Z

See the girls in their cute undies by the washing line....I still love them and sometimes get outfits for them on E:Bay.

Muffy for Hazel

2006-03-09T14:39:00.000Z

Muffy is American and very expensive .When I was three Mum and Dad took me to Chelsea to get her and some outfits ( they cost £20.00s a set ) .It was my birthday and the toyshop was very small and very posh ! There is a site on E:Bay if you type her in that does her but the company changed her to make her cheaper and ruined her quite a bit.She has a friend called Hoppy Vanderhare who Mum loves more .

A must read..rushing to bookshop.......

2006-03-08T18:14:00.000Z

Just reviewed by Richard and Judy ..sounds perfect for Mum.It is called "March" by Geraldine Brooks and is the story of Louisa May Alcott's father as Mr March ( i.e the father in Little Women ). So we have anti-slavers ,Transcendentalists ,The American Civil War all in one book.It is hard to find anything inspiring for her these days as she has eye problems and hates to read .I read to her a lot but we have a stack of William Kennedy novels half read . I know she'll stop knitting for this one so my Mother's Day gift is sorted out .

J.F.K quote...

2006-03-08T15:09:00.000Z

When asked his favourite piece of music "Hail to the Chief has a nice ring to it" ..not sure if it was before or after election.

A huge favourite is his reply to Bobby's many letters to him in The Pacific ..along the lines of that they were all the more interesting for being un-readable. Some now say R.F.K had dyslexia...some say J.F.K but we doubt that he was a speed reader .The family letters to each are full of wit and irony ..J.F.K is said to have reported negotiations with Khruschev as like "with dad , all take and no give" .It is something to watch that cheeky face give speeches off the cuff in perfect sentances to deliver written ones with great authority and then have to hear and watch the guy in that position now bumble through .....it really is scary.

Hooray for "Bobbins" of Whitby

2006-03-08T13:03:00.000Z

A kind fellow knitter sent Mum the pattern booklet for Colinette's "Madame Butterfly " coat .It is made with "Fandango" and "Prism".Mum phoned "Bobbins" as she has found they are a good supplier of "Fandango" .The lady went through lots of colours then Mum explained I was a tad browner than would suit some colours.She went to a lot of trouble and they decided on "windfall" which I love .It is knitting up really fast but the weather is now warm and wet ! I hope I get to wear it before next Winter.It is very much more "me" than a lot of the more modern patterns. I like a bit of swish and swagger ...then Mum can get that "Romeo and Juliet " Kaffe coat started ...right Mum ?

Film review time again..

2006-03-08T08:06:00.000Z

There was the most un-speakable horror on T.V Sunday but as it had Martin Sheen in I watched it ...a stupid sucked back in time story in which they don't succeed in preventing Pearl Harbour .
Mum and I have a knit spot to co-incide with the afternoon Channel 5 movie and they have an obsession with films about preventing J.F.K's assassination. In the "best" of the bunch a reluctant scientist sends one guy back who is mis-taken for Oswald so arrested , another person goes back is hit by a car ends up in hospital only to get up and try to reach Dealy Plaza in time.....anyhow to cut a long story short no end of characters go back and change nothing ..no I lie the main character's brother does not die in Vietnam .Do not even enquire why cos it is a film that is so awful we hardly take it in.

I shall now do a review of one of Mum's favourites which it will not surprise you to know is called "R.F.K"......and stars the son of Coronation Street's Ken Barlow ( or rather the actor ) .This was a bit odd she thought but now ranks his performance as just below Stephen Culp's in "Thirteen Days" .On first viewing she almost hated it but that is understandable it is far too big a subject for one film .What Linus roache is good at is catching a shadow of the man and his intonation and frailness compared to J.F.K's seemingly healthy ,confident appearance .The use of lots of original film patches in quite well and helps give a better feel of the era.
The mental crisis that followed his brother's murder is done by J.F.K popping up and his talking to him .A lot of critics complain about this device but we can't see how else to do thoughts on screen .He voices R.F.K's doubts about some of their policies and his own role in pursuing the Mafia and possibly un-leashing the forces that led to his brother's death.
It is the famous speech after Martin Luther King's murder that is most moving and so well done .Linus Roache must be very good at accents .The actor who plays L.B.J does a wonderful job portraying the hostility and ,biased as we are ,his feeling he had a right to patronise R.F.K no longer "little brother" to The President .
The end is perfectly and movingly done and I knew would set off floods of tears .....the funeral train cuts to his campaign train and his hand waves out to the mass of people running after it ..no-where near the mass who stood hours on a blazing June day along the tracks to pay respect to him and his family.A small figure with rolled-up pants walks his dog "Freckles" on a California beach and fades into histiory ( as clever as the shadows on the wall at the end of "Thirteen Days" .

Miniature Knits and other things..

2006-03-08T07:59:00.000Z

As someone left a kind message about my new miniature knits I thought I'd discuss the concept.Mum loves miniatures of lots of things , her favourite illustrator Nicola Bayley does glorious miniatures .She helps me make items for my shop run by a squirrel with an awful lot in common with Arkwright of "Open all Hours" .A tray of tiny "Fimo" pies etc coming out of the oven is a wonderful site.I loved the "Sylvanian Families" as a child rather than dolls in my doll's house . I now have some velveteen mice who I really love and some Badgers I made from mohair.I am a no pattern person and prefer to cast on and shape as I go .I think an awful lot of people adore miniture items.I guess that is why books like "The Borrowers" are so popular .

My latest minis..

2006-03-06T19:24:00.000Z

Baby shawl,bonnet and mittens..booties already attached to a new book-cover .All in angora 4ply.

Bit of a mess?

2006-03-06T18:53:00.000Z

Some blogger just scared the pants off me saying blogger won't load scanned pics..this is scanned so I can breathe again..Mum's workroom is a tad messy .

Appeal for stock cubes ...help those in need..

2006-03-05T21:08:00.000Z

Poor Mum just read THE R.F.K memorial site and much as she adores the guy gets annoyed everytime by the really weird contributions ...leave some of your estate ( huh? we live in a small terrace ..I need it when the old folks pass on ) .Then her favourite is your "stock "..she is in the mood to shove two chicken stock cubes in the post .Now considering his constituents in N.Y were not all rich and some of them must remember him with affection it hurts her a lot.They also have a video at a mere $100.00s ...she can't afford that unless she stops knitting and that keeps her sane..ish .She is tempted to ask if a nice fluffy scarf would do but thinks the Children's action corps in his name might have a more realistic idea of what supporters can manage.

"Do not be scary"

2006-03-05T08:52:00.000Z

Mes amis ...learnt Spanish so can only guess at the spelling ! Anyhow that is a quote from Gerard in the wonderful comedy "Love and Sex" .If anyone wonders about David go look at Franklin's site and eerrrrhemmmm all will be revealed . Holly who kept a book about the original Olympics under her bed for the illustrations until Mum found it and I heard squeals of laughter ..the drawings were not good ...well it was a Dorling Kindersley one for school !

Support Franklin..

2006-03-04T23:02:00.000Z

Bit cold in Michelangelo's studio no? Well now Dad insists we add Gertrudis from "Like Water for Chocolate" as some equal opportunities thingy ..huh! All the time it's ladies' bosoms everywhere when do we get a look in I ask you ?..........although the poor guy isn't much of a treat is he ?
Holly stood under him at the age of three( a copy in The British Museum) b.t.w as he is in Florence ..poor Flo. ( Holly's Mum).

My first Loopa and Mum...

2006-03-04T20:36:00.000Z

Poor Mum had a major panic-attack yesterday luckily half way along our street so made it home before she passed out.She throws up when she comes round,sweats and then goes cold as ice .I stand by with water and a blanket but can't get too close or she'll get hemmed in ....so today I made myself a loopa with her Silky-chic ,windsong and something fluffy ! I also gave her and Dad pooter lessons so need a holiday .The loopa too two hours and I hope to make Mum one tomorrow..sorry it's a terrible picture but I have to use the scanner .

2006-03-04T18:24:00.000Z

http://www.fiestayarns.com/

http://www.woollyworkshop.co.uk/

Friday in our town..

2006-03-03T18:56:00.000Z

We had various things to buy today so I went off to get sketching pencils leaving Mum to browse the magazines .I came back to find her in stitches over the mother's day issue of "Knitting" .It is awful except for Tess's capelet which I half own already ...Mum got some "Decor" in a sale and added other shimmer, glitter yarns.It is much admired in town .We then had a look at the "Per Una" knits ..I liked one that looked a bit like it was knitted in a Point-Five with glitter ...until I tried it on .Mum was horrified at the poor quality and people complain about the price of yarns. It is not my usual taste so she is so pleased I think she is going to knit me one as soon possible. She then trotted off to one of our two L.Y.S's where she was horrified again by the hideous new yarns. I think "Wendy" call anything with a bit of fluff "Party" .She isn't keen on the new Rowan yarns , likes the Debbie Bliss and the new soft cotton that is either Patons or Sirdar .It looks good quality and has a lovely rich red .As we were walking to town we found an old sign high on a wall for a now closed carpet shop as Mum had her "Fandango" coat on she told me to take her photo only to see a man rolling up ( in a nice way ..he thought it appropriate) .Then we went to M and S for the big food shop , not having a car we get it delivered and very good they are too. Anyhow the delightful asian girl on the till asked in her heavy Glaswegian accent if Mum fostered children .Mum looked puzzled and asked why as I was the only "child" with her .She sort of nodded and winked and said well she's ( here's where we thought she'd say Black ) ... " eeerrr very pretty ".That made Mum laugh as she said "so are you" .She still isn't sure if she meant she can't be yours looking how you do ..Mum said I should have said Denzal Washington had a liason with me just to think how far he could go in a role married to an older , funny looking woman.I am sooooooo glad she didn't as she has a warped sense of humour.The poor girl on The Chinese bag and shawl stand talked to her as my "granny" and when told "no mum" could not apologise enough even though Mum just laughs .Whilst in the L.Y.S we were suddenly thrown off our feet by rap music at a volume un-heard of on earth ..it is like "Grace Bros." so we looked around to see a twit on a mobile phone wearing the most ghastly nylon Chave hat which we were tempted to ram over her head. We sighed and left ...thank-goodness it was quiet at Dad's office if a bit stuffy .

Can't live without it..

2006-03-02T21:52:00.000Z

http://youknitwhat.blogspot.com/

Mum has some" fine photos "I could sneak you ...yes of her work.

quaker artists and writers

2006-03-02T20:04:00.000Z

www.quaker.org/fqa/pastartists.html

Alpaca glitter..

2006-03-02T18:50:00.000Z

Mum just got a skein of Cherry Tree Hill's "Alpaca Glitter" from Gill at "Woolly Workshop" ..her fingers are twitching now as she has too many W.I.Ps to start using it .She also got some "Halo" by Tess in gorgeous purples that she is going to combine with another yarn to knit me a tank-top.

Check out a few new authors.....

2006-03-02T18:47:00.000Z

http://www.sandracisneros.com

http://www.Isabelallende.com

I'll try to add some at least once a week.

"Oh no "( say it in a Ruth from The Archers voice)

2006-03-02T08:48:00.000Z

Not "Pride and Prejudice again...just heard on the radio 4 news that it won an award as book with the best ending...please guys read outside of that small ,white ,middle England ,old ,boring ,romance stuff. There are so many great authors you can't keep reading that stuff ( are you all sitting in empire-line dresses) read Isabel Allende ,Willa Cather ,Sandra Cisneros anything ...Alice Walker ..there is a World of literature out there demand it ! Unless all readers were brought up to really think English lit. is best I got news for you . Then shock yourselves to the ends of your nerves and follow it up with Edward Said's "Culture and Imperialsim" ............will you ever be able to like any of her characters again .I just can't think that book stays on top ..it is an insult to women to think we can't move on or an indictment of the National curriculum ? No wonder kids growing up in council flats maybe in inner-city areas find a good book hard to find ( Jacqueline Wilson you are excused with my blessing ..now she is good ).

Sorry Mum...

2006-03-01T21:38:00.000Z

All those R.F.K in E.K.Y ...that's Eastern Kentucky ..not Kansas...uuuuummmhhhhhh I can FEEL the interest ..it's great read all about it .He cared you believe it or not so what ? ...Ted cares ..hey it was Happy Birthday in Feb. according to my mailbox so "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you , happy birthday to a big brave guy ..74 and many more to come" Holly and angie xx

New chapter dividers

2006-03-01T20:18:00.000Z

click on any pictures on site to enlarge

West wing character profiles.....by Mum

2006-03-01T19:20:00.000Z

I agree with Holly about all the characters but Leo was my favourite by far .I think that dedicated 95% loyalty must be very frustrating for families ( Dave Powers ...Kenny O'Donnell etc all the "Camelot" loyalists and friends gave all they could and maybe that is what is needed for a President to function well). My other favourite was Josh but his quick exit nearing the election campaign was a little hard to swallow.I can much more understand the "I'd take the bullet" loyalty . I detest the First lady too .I can't even begin to list the repulsive women ..but I'll have a go !
1) Ainsley ..partly just for being Republican .
2) Zoe ,The President's youngest daughter ..she is just irritating and seems dim about her family responsibility.
3) Mandy ..awful voice , pushy , bossy, screechy .
4) Amy ..too awful for words ( a voice from hell ) thinks she can speak for the first lady .

Lovely ladies

1) Mrs Laningham ..heart of gold as dedicated as J.F.K's Mrs Lincoln of whom it is reported he said "If I told her I'd just cut off Jackie's head" she'd have said "That's lovely Mr.President " and found him a box to put it in .
2) C.J ..gutsy without being masculine and has a great sense of humour .
3) Debbie ...what can I say ..played by Lily Tomlin and I like her clothes as much as her .
4)Donna..sweet , loyal ,efficient and takes a lot of ribbing from Josh that is irritating .
5) Margaret ..not sure why except that all the secretaries keep their bosses work together etc ...reminds me of R.F.K saying "women in a campaign do all the work the men just gossip "

Favourite scenes ...The President having a go at the woman from the radio station for homophobic nuts ..he hoists her on her own petard .Too brilliant for words !
Mrs Laningham's funeral and after when The President has the Cathedral sealed so he can tell God what he thinks of him out loud ..wonderful stuff.

The three assassination attempt episodes are too moving ....and so well done.

The burial at Arlington of a Korean War veteran Toby find's has died wearing the coat he gave to charity( he was homeless)I cry to the point of sobbing and gasping for air when Toby flinches at the sound of the Gun-salute.

The secret -service agent assigned to C.J after she gets death threat E:mails ...he dies during a hold-up at a corner store ..the music playing is Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" .....it makes me nearly scream with rage at the gun laws or lack of them ..Arnie /Heston and your dammned like make that more possible than it is here and that is bad enough .

Least favourite is the over-done kidnapping of Zoe ..just too much and although Martin does a fantastic job .The First lady seems to blame him for making difficult decisions that all Presidents have to make ..when it suits her she loves her position and it isn't a picnic after all ...she should have left him if she wasn't going to support him before then...."Goodnight Mrs Kennedy wherever you are " is reported to have been said of Jackie ..same applies to Abaigail in spades.

More Vintage ..mostly just a few decades old ..

2006-02-28T19:20:00.000Z

http://www.enokiworld.com/

Mum found some gorgeous Bill Gibb on this site ..she can only ogle not buy it but it looked like an early Kaffe .As he has no e:mail addy she mailed Brandon Mably but never had an acknowledgement ..not really surprised about that but she was dying to know if it was Kaffe's design.It should be re-produced if the rights don't belong to Mr.Gibb's estate.

Most delicious yarns ever..

2006-02-28T18:55:00.000Z

http://www.fiestayarns.com/

I don't think the patterns do it justice.It is really hard to get so we have only had small packs of sample amounts ...but look at those colours and the idea of 100 % silk chenille.

May contain Nuts

2006-02-28T17:26:00.000Z

Mum just thought of a name for our little house "May contain Nuts" ..she wants to put it up but I've warned her I'll leave .

West wing character profiles.

2006-02-28T15:03:00.000Z

Well gathering together my opinions on all my favorite characters (not in alphabetical order, that just wouldn't really be me, a little to errr ?...) for the first time . Just seeing how it goes and whilst I know that some visitors to my sight will know the characters will already have their opinions ! These are mine :
We'll start with the president shall we? As commander in chief I suppose he's the most important. Although President Bartlett would be a fantastic President and he's clearly one of my favorites being played by the lovely Martin Sheen . But it has to be admitted that President Bartlett would not make for scintillating company of an evening . And yet in presenting what The West Wing is all about, "An alternative to what we've got." as the actor himself puts it. He's' a shining example of real intellect and just a smattering of real fun( the "monthly meeting of the tight arse club" always cracks me up) .
But, and, here I find myself bringing in a character who is really one of my absolute least favorites - he seems more than a little ill suited to his wife Abigail. She's' a very forceful character, perhaps a little too much so, as rather than showing a strong female figure I ended up feeling she was putting her oar in a little bit to much. She's just the first lady and she seems to expect a lot of say in government matters for someone who wasn't elected and who isn't a white house staffer. She's not much off a comfort to him at a time in his life when normally you would think that help and support is what you would be able to expect from friends and family. I'm afraid that as a rule I don't really like the trend in some (sorry folkies) mainly American films to make women stronger characters than men rather than aim at a level playing field. This doesn't make heaps of sense to me. However there are lots of great female characters in "The West Wing" and I'm particularly fond of C.J. As she has that greatest of qualities a fantastic sense of humour! Gosh I must sound like I'm always laughing! But I have to say I adore laughing, addicted to the sound off a sense of humour ! Its really good when you have The West Wing with its scripts and humour.More to come....

Freckle on a sledge..

2006-02-27T12:40:00.000Z

At the front in case you can't recognise adorableness on overdrive .Why wasn't he kid-napped by a family who'd have pushed him to run a children's home , be a teacher , be the most adorable U.S olympic skier EVER .....but what we would have missed ?...ah well .I blame the nut who thought of putting explosives into metal cases and firing them at high velocity .Oh and so many "intelligent" lads are getting them here so they can look macho..sorry blokey you are a weak , stupid , pathetic moron ..the metal thing is the working end of your deeds so "glorious" as they are .

"Crisis"

2006-02-27T11:27:00.000Z

This a a documentary of the attempt to enrol two students in the University of Alabama in 1963 .Okay let us face it they were black and it was Alabama but it makes me so crazy ,insane with anger ...I'm black too b.t.w in case your eye-sight is terrible.
Mum loves this one as there seems little actual footage of R.F.K and as he was Attorney General he is in it more than J.F.K. It has an intro. I shall skip that sets the scene using music for The South and for The North ......Civil War had finished right ?
It starts with R.F K having breakfast at home ( we now know Mrs Kennedy was in bed as her pregnancy was tiring her ..not so surprising bless her) .Anyhow he is so cute spending time getting Kerry ( about 4/5 ish) to drink her milk ( "one for Granma,one for Ena ( nanny) ..this goes on until the proudest smile beems back at him ..getting a tad bored by then ). Kids seem to be getting up , going out of the window by then .He leaves for work kissing the girls and nearly falling over the ones who hopped out coming back in the door. We also see Gov Wallace at home in a Mansion that makes "Hickory Hill" look homely and small ( well it is homely). I am biased here because a feel a bit queasy . The A.G enters his huge office and he looks smallish,fragile and terribly shy .He can be a little hard to understand but talks to staff including the lovely Burke Marshall .They have this huge problem as the last integration of "Ole Miss" resulted in deaths. Robert was a hard worker and a great law-enforcer but you can feel his moral and ethical questioning of himself, state-law and Federal law .It must have been weird for a moral man with a huge heart to understand the hatred in The South. He sends his deputy Nicholas Katzenbach in person to confront The Governor who will try to block the students entrance . Just try to imagine how they feel .....they are wonderful , forced to be brave or carry on living as third class citizens. The main strategy is to make Wallace look a fool , a nuisance and a breaker of Federal law .It works but there will be so much more , so many miles , so many deaths along the way to some semblance of decency . At one time three of R.F.K's children run past ( one of his sweetest points ..at my Dad's office family is something that is out of place and Hoover hated it ..okay R.F.K was the boss but still it upset some stuffed shirts) . Kerry wants his attention and starts pulling his arm when he is on the phone so he lets her speak to Nick ...Mum and I turn to mush as she looks like a miniature Ethel and is such a sweetie. ...getting her to give the phone back is not so easy and the little one goes off ringing her hands and mumbling . She is now a human-rights lawyer I think . Anyhow it is more about watching R.F.K to try to get a handle on him than the story but you all need to watch it if you know little about the times or the administration. As a footnote I will mention that Wallace was later shot , crippled and became an integrationist but it is hard to imagine forgiving him .

Should Mum join the Yahoo R.F.K clubs?

2006-02-27T11:19:00.000Z

She did thinking they might talk politics , about his life ,would he have been a great President ?etc .She stayed as long as flesh and blood could stand ..it had every nut in the book but best of all THEY ALL SEEMED TO BE REPUBLICANS !
There was one who stood looking at his house so they said ( he wasn't in since about ...June 1968) .There was another when it went up for sale who swore they'd buy it ....it costs the deficit of a small country ...they discussed how "Hott" he was ...now excuse us hot has one t but not in loony-land and okay he was the most adorable child EVER ...a freckle on legs ..he was was kind of cute and watching him in docs........ I want to cut his fl...... hair if he keeps playing with it .What is it with these people ? Holly.... the rude word goes with his hair-tones and has nothing to do with sex b.t.w

Favourite yarns shops ..

2006-02-27T10:20:00.000Z

This from and by Mum ...I am typing up my essay on art and emotion ....Angie here . There are certain yarn shops that shall go un-named where you get a snappy answer or are obviously a pest .On the other hand there is http://www.woollyworkshop .co.uk for a start that is run by Gil and has lots of lovely yarns including Tess's beautiful yarns .The latest I bought is a gorgeous aubergine thick and thin slub .This is my favourite colour-scheme next to sea and petrol greens. I loved Silk-Garden but they never did the perfect colour combination for me.
I also love to talk to the girls at Colinette who know their colours and understand I prefer many of the older yarns ..."lasso" is a horror but D.K chenille was gorgeous.
The ladies at Knit 2 Tog are always helpful and really know their stock and the two shops that are twinned one being in Burford are always helpful. Kangaroo too are very good and some of the E;Bay sellers like Janette ,Pat( Patacke's Place),June at "Colourspun" and Sue at "Colourquest " are wonderful ..joined now by Lorraine who sends free ( a great attraction) .What stops me ordering more is only finances and a huge stash .If I worked I'd spend every penny on yarn but wouldn't have the time to knit so what would be the point ?

Hardly any skeins..

2006-02-26T21:58:00.000Z

When Mum hit the sales in January there were hardly any skeins .I was so pleased because I get to unwind the mess she makes and those are the easy ones.To my utter horror two skeins of Colinette's "silky -chic " arrived yesterday. The World's worst ever yarn to wind .Mum hated it for a while but bits of fluff blown in by the winds have invaded her brain and she can accept that it is nylon because "it is pretty" .......oh dear she has never said that I horrified her by calling Barbie
"pwettie" ..she let me have her muttering a bit but I was three .She says "beautiful" ,"exquisite" ,"lovely" etc. Next thing you know she'll like pink ..not deep pink,dark pink but washed out pink that ( sorry caucasian folkies) that all the little blonde girls at the shopping centre are dressed in . Holly.

Love me or your knitting ?

2006-02-26T18:15:00.000Z

As another blogger hit the nail on the head so to speak about circumcision ( it is not necessary ) I thought my mother does a lot worse when taking pictures ( of course this isn't real( as in I don't have half a head) and isn't both painful, humiliating and archane ). It reminded me of the wonderful Mark Steele lecture on Cromwell ( someone once said it cured Charles Ist's stutter ...and that was a stuttering comedian ) . When the king was being tried the knob fell off his cane and rolled to the floor .He was used to people rushing to pick up everything so I bet even the hardened Puritans had to sit on their hands .Anyhow he stared and waited and waited ,I looked at Mum who shifted a bit in her seat as we'd been discussing R.F.K's inability to pick up his own clothes ( a new secretary is reported to have left because of it ..mind you why was he taking them off ? ) . Anyhow the poor King was born into a system that told him he was God's representative /ordained by God etc .......blah ,blah( he should have chosen a healthier speciman the poor guy had porfiria and was as big as a peanut ) .Anyhow re-trained to work making cards saying all Christmas puddings are evil is my solution .The Queen would have ben a tricky one , a few sneaked out "help" cards ,too many home to France or a Spanish friend ...she was so small she could have been kept in a mouse cage ..be-heading ?....NO...it is disgusting ....oh well she got to be a right royal Queen Mum ( or is that King Mum..King's mum ..that ruddy woman and so forth) and we still have the tax costly nuisances.

Selling one ball?

2006-02-26T17:50:00.000Z

I never get those odd balls for sale on E:Bay ...left over from a project .I saw a silk-garden today ..now mum would put it in her best fig-scented box and use it later or make a scarf .We have seen fairly well-off looking customers haggle with the assistant over patterns hoping to get a baby pattern down to one ball of yarn . Have more tiny babies maybe ?......it is too,too sick to suggest "smoke more during pregnancy " .

"Kennedy"

2006-02-26T11:33:00.000Z

This is a T.V mini-series made by Brits ( please thank us with small gifts of "Fiesta Yarns") .Martin Sheen plays J.F.K this time and possibly well again but I know less about him .The sets are good although quite a lot are back-drops .R.F.K is played by the rather large John Shea ( brilliant in "Missing") and I guess he is quite good .The brotherly concern/love thing is well done . The lady who plays Jackie is really good ,Ethel just doesn't seem kooky enough , Joan must be there somewhere .The Joe is very good too although comes across as Victor Meldrew .I have to say I'd have put the real Kennedy kids in care as I honestly think they were abused in a way .We forget so many of you guys don't know them well so we can't say if you will get enough from this to have any real understanding of the family and times. The appointing "his kid brother" as Attornery General is done very well but someone is missing ( John Seiganthaler) . The Civil-Rights crisis is better watched in the documentary "Crisis" and tons of books but will give you some idea .If Hoover was as barking as he is in this I not only pity the Kennedy family but America. The actor relishes it all and his disgust at R.F.K's sporty ,chilled attitudes....I mean the man pinned up drawings by his kids for God's sake ...shocking isn't it ? ( they are adorable,wonderful, joyful ) .It is good entertainment and can be moving ,for some reason they play "Onward Christian soldiers " as they leave for The Armoury and Mum sobs ( don't think Brits they are off to watch Arsenal play at home). Buy it and see.

"The Missles of October"

2006-02-26T11:22:00.000Z

Martin plays R.F.K ..strangely ..possibly well but I've seen too much post '63 footage of the man to see him doing a good job ( note there is a picture of R.F.K at a meeting in L.B.J's White House that says it all ..he left and an even smaller shyer man inhabited his body ) .I think he must have read all the stuff Mum read then played him as he comes across in some of the books ....a bit too lively by far ( who cares he is cute) .J.F.K is played well by William Devane we think but the most outstanding thing about this is that it gives the Russian point of view ,sadly not the Cuban one but it is a start .I think it is from the tapes so the dialogue must be accurate and thank-goodness Jackie doesn't solve it all by making Clam Chowder ( had she seen a kitchen ?) .This happens in "Jackie ,Ethel and Joan " ..very good of her I reckon. It is very theatrical and might be a filmed play ,the clothes are very 1970's .I'd say run to your store and buy it and enjoy the idea of a President with a brain .

" When The Bough Breaks "

2006-02-26T11:03:00.000Z

This a Martin Sheen film not to watch .Luckily we buy most really cheap on E:Bay or it would be a crime in more ways than one .The basic story is a bad copy of "Silence of The Lambs" Dad tells me ( mum is VERY sqeamish so wouldn't know) . Martin plays a Houston Police Captain but the star is a woman we havn't heard of trying to look like Jodie Foster .We don't blame her ,the cast just the director and scriptwriter , craft-service table . There is a collection of severed hands that even Mum can look at now as they look so plastic .It does have a storyline but with so many un-explained loose ends it just beggers belief. Why should I care ,Martin looks great and Robert Knepper is in it playing a character whose job seems to be as Butler to the Captain so Mum is happyish .She has decided her sudden skinny pin-up thing is because she has put on weight so likes to see thin people or something ..true the guy has intelligent eyes .Then she is a real "Jewish" mama and wants to feed people so that is explained. The woman smokes so much that they all died of passive smoking two years later . The men have a repellent habit of sucking something and spitting it into plastic cups ..Dad says tobacco ,Mum Cocoa beans ( one track mind) and I have no idea except it is horrible.The woman (as were the times..shoulder -pads etc) outsmarts everyone and solves the crime and as stupid as they always are goes to the psycho's house alone just so he can nearly kill her , if only he had . Do not spend your money on it folks and if you do sell it on E:Bay .

Sunday Morning

2006-02-26T09:59:00.000Z

Having dragged myself up at the ghastly hour of 10am ( I know the time will appear as if we were in Burkina Faso ) ...I think I fell in love with the bank of clocks in "West-Wing" ...I was supposed to be going to the cinema with a friend but it is soooooooooooooo cold ( for the U.K) and I am going to stay and draw , knit and no way can I persuade Emily to do that we have grown apart to say the least .She had to be begged not to bring the in-articulate heap of spots she goes out with as he'd spend all his time on his mobile .I fear I only know one young man I like where we live and he had to leave school when his father died to help run his parent's shop .He put on weight and smells of fat ( well it is a Fish and Chip shop ) we used to pass glances at each other.I am going to have to ask if I can attend The Mosque ( stopped laughing yet? ) as all the hottie's where we live do .I think I'd stand out a bit as a woman , sadly .The boys at The Meeting House are all geeks and soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo boring going on about their Quaker roots .I guess romance can wait unless Mrs Sheen runs off with the milkman .So my first love will have to remain Mum ...I nearly got chatted up at dad's office by something that peers out of one eye and must be on a starvation diet .The Sikh boy who was so good-looking at Primary school ( I was at school until 8 ...bullied so Mum pulled me out) spends all his time skate-boarding under the underpass that looks like the bridges in East L.A and I expect the police to arrive and shoot everyone ..his trousers are falling off ..could buy him braces but I might have to tell him Mum thought he was a girl for years ! Happy sewing,knitting , scrapping ..no not like that you on a certain knitting site with seemingly no name but a mind like a sewer ....was anyone baptised ,named "Anonymous" .....Holly .

Links to some knitting nut...

2006-02-25T23:33:00.000Z

http://angiesstuff.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk
http://angiesstufftwo.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk

What to believe in "Holy" books....

2006-02-25T22:43:00.000Z

Mum's stash of Kennedy books became irrestible to me last year so I read a lot ..talking of driving I am sure I read that I read Senator John F.Kennedy used to drive really , really slow so as not to hit any animals in the road ( other members used to try to leave early so as not to get stuck behind him). I also read Bobby drove like a demon ( hoping velocity kept the sperm count down maybe?) and now that R.F.K junior says he eats roadkill ?Too weird ...I mean eating Deer you already hit is fine by me not if you aim at the poor fools..Moose will help by throwing themselves at your car ( hope he has a freezer as he only has six kids) .It is environmetally friendly not to waste I guess ?...I am not saying I believe any of it for gospel mind you .I just found J.F.K so adorable after that ....then Bobby's friend hits a dog and he walks three streets to find the owner.Your doorbell rings and The Attornery General is standing holding a dead dog ...a soap all on their own ...........now Bobby there was this guy down South ..lived in a big old Mansion maybe Nick Katzenbach could have been persuaded ( threatened ,cajoled?) to aim his car a little off ..after John Seiganthaler was hit by a lead pipe he'd have had a bit of double vision ..no?

Ted Kennedy alerts ...what a way to put it....

2006-02-25T22:26:00.000Z

My dear Mum sent them to MY mailbox because it used to be quiet . Her mailbox is full of E:Bay bids etc . Anyhow I don't think there is any danger he'll offer me a lift so I shall remove him.If he did I'd just say "Yes..heck I can't swim but we'll go slow cos I want to know all about that Elephant picture at London Zoo around 1939 and how you recovered and forgave Bobby for not protecting you" .I trust the old duffer ..hell he is one of the best things in The Senate .I loved his face pulling on "The Daily Show" ..if I was him I'd wear full body armour and have a nervous tick .....he is a brave guy . So Mum I'll set up another mail-box for you and Teddy ( God he must hate that worse than "Bobby" ) so you can read what he is doing but you know you don't have time really all that wool is shouting too loud.

More sites..

2006-02-25T21:33:00.000Z

http://www.isabelallende.com

http://www.riverkeeper.org

I'll find out how to line them along the side and get them to stay ....and if I don't I shall post the little blighters again and again on and off ...

Run your mouse over ...how unkind !

2006-02-25T20:53:00.000Z

Stacking children for beginners ..by the time he had ten his legs were 6inches under the lawn ...anyhow to be serious folks...I added loads of sites next to Dad and me ..they keep popping off unless you run your mouse over .I guess it is for pooter experts ..not me that is for sure !

Favourite Sites..mums,mine and Dad's to follow

2006-02-25T19:12:00.000Z

http://speaktruthtopower.org/

http://www.moxiefirecracker.com

http://www.vintagetextile.com

http://www.rfkmemorial.org

http://www.rfkchildren.org/

http://www.rfksa.org/

http://www.appalshop.org/kennedy/index.html

http://www.colinette.com/

http://www.paviyarns.com/

Blogs I read..

2006-02-25T19:01:00.000Z

http://colinknits.blogspot.com/

http://yellowfrogblogspot.com/

http://woollywormhead.blogspot.com/

http://seahorseclaire.blogspot.com/

http://desperatemousewife.blogspot.com/

http://queerjoe.blogspot.com/

http://twofishknitting.blogspot.com/

The little village of Cutting Sprout

2006-02-25T14:31:00.000Z

This is the start of a cartoon I hope to continue one day ..A small village is inhabited by various oddities such as Mrs Moonie ( once Tutankhamun...Mrs Nito once a californian man hit by a stack of Brussels Sprouts and turned into an idiot). Cutting Sprout is stuck in a W.W.11 time-warp and is a bit like Miss Marple's Village ( Joan Hickson). They live by selling Moonie's treasures on E:Bay and running a W.I stall and a small shop .Mrs Moonies "Mummy" Neffie ( guess who?) visits with conical hat boxes and is a pain.Mrs Moonie is a gin-soak and her mother a terrible snob. They have a bit of a thing about the local lecherous Vicar who reciprocates in the case of Nito .A designer friend run's "Hathor's Hats" .There were terrible murders at The Arbathnot-nuts house which Moonie and Nito tried to sell after Mr.A-N fled.Only the blood won't clean up which is odd as he hadn't done anything to his wife they just ran off with the W.I funds. ...........to be cont.

Off to sea?

2006-02-25T13:23:00.000Z

Mum gets everything in sales ..this dress and then a straw boater ..she took me to see Great-Granny in London who said "You spoiling that chile ,soon grow out a em yar know " and other stuff I had no idea about ..never have caught on to full-blown Bajun on loud-speakers .Gran worked cutting sugar-cane from 9 so Mum kind of understood but she hardly ever does it right until one day back in London and me in my best "Persian Poppies" Gran said "That a lovely ting ,keep the chile nice and warm" EUREKA !!!! someone in our family appreciates knitwear .I don't have 8 siblings but we do pass my clothes on to amongst other places The Lakota Sioux reservation and mum's friend's kids who could destroy a dress in about 2 minutes flat . Mine that stayed are now quilts or waiting to become so .

Snow and slopes..

2006-02-25T13:19:00.000Z

Explain to my beloved Hoppy Vanderhare about snow and slopes please .....anyone else have Hoppy ?

mental two

2006-02-25T13:14:00.000Z

Kaffe Fassett might have bludgeoned mum to death after this disaster but she cut it up/down /around etc and it is a passable sweater without the badly gone wrong water-lily.

Mum's mental moment

2006-02-25T13:05:00.000Z

Isn't this the most horrible thing ever ..and Mousewife worries about a scarf going wrong ...luckily the social services have put an exclusion zone round it and an alarm goes off if Mum tries to get me into it .

Embarrasing Christmas 2

2006-02-25T12:53:00.000Z

Only kid in town who had to play "Carl Larsson"

I hate my mother..

2006-02-25T12:13:00.000Z

She saw a girl in town with Colinette falls and said "Oh gorgeous , if only I was young enough" ...now a Rachel Riley loving girl is never going to do it right Mum ? I don't want to look like your scrap-bag ...how am I going to get a man to take me to Cannes looking like that ....still talking? ....... "yes" ...good except she has that far-away in love look "Kojak" gets as soon as his lollipop comes out.

"It was only a building"

2006-02-25T10:27:00.000Z

To which Mum falls over screaming "IT WAS ONLY A F********* BUIlDING" ...well Mum does swear but not that often.I had said this about the Mosque in Baghdad and Mum agrees as she says your spiritual belief resides in your heart and soul. What do Islamic factions have against each other ? I know Protestants hated Catholics ,vice-versa etc but it makes no sense at all ! Although Mum is no fan of Consevatives as long as they control the likes of "The Monday Club" she copes as it is a Democracy ( listen up now Tony ..we want it to stay that way ) .Mum then tried to remember about "The Golden Temple" all the mass of murders etc but gave up sighed and left me to look it up.No wonder Quakers have no sacred sites ..she worked where William Penn first worshipped and has a soft spot for it but she says although blowing up the building would be a shame it is not going to make her kill anyone. Then in "Kojak" he says to a member of the bomb-squad " Remember buildings are replacable" ..very relevant Theo old boy ..Mum smiles again .

Thank goodness I was born in 1989 !

2006-02-25T09:44:00.000Z

Friday is my favourite day.I finish studying so "hard" and we shop then go to Dad's office to meet him.It is like re-leasing a prisoner ..except one who tries to drag papers with him! Then it is a take-away cos Mum hasn't been at home to cook and we have two great Chinese T/aways near us. We listen to "The News Quiz" and then last night Mum was really tired so she stayed up with me...sounds weird.She goes to bed about 9pm most Fridays. I was watching the worst things about the 1980s and she was roaring with laughter. She was a punk so the groups made her laugh more than most except Boy George because she really likes him ( not his music that much ..just him). The soaps she never got into but her Mum-in-law was an addict and she was telling me why she hated those U.S ones about God-awful rich families she loathes ,rich oil families ( can you think of any ...cough....Tree? Hedge ? no won't come to me). Dad plays his guitar hooked up to ear-phones and wires and wander past staring at Mum rolling around .The Ricky Gervais turns up and Dad was at school with him ...I turn over quickly as it wasn't a match made in Heaven . Next Mum all but collapses with mirth when Prince Charles can't find the words "Well I love her that is why I am marrying her" ..sub-text we are all barking and need new blood).Prince Edward was un-speakable but not a lot of Quakers love royals ..ask Charles 1st he'd tell you if he had a head. Then the wonderful foam rubber Reagan turns up ...Mum again half sobbing for the loss of Presidents with a brain ( even after Dallas J.F.K must have had more ...I know that is sick but Mum won't mind as she has a black sense of humour). Then there was white rap..dudes ..don't even try for a start it is HIDEOUS ..men who think women are plastic tarts ,bad taste,violence , homophobia, the worst most disgusting music in the World next to Mongolian thoat-singing ( apologies to Mongolia...at least it doesn't have offensive lyrics!). I have seen little of the dreaded Thatcher ( mercifully) and it as bad as Mum and Dad have said ..but her son ..inbred hill- billies would have been repelled .Mum calls the hideous character in "Prison- Break " "Rat-bag" and now she reckons Mark Thatcher is his brother after a liason with ...oh I don't know ..the actor says "T-Bag" is the result of his father sleeping with his half-witted sister". It makes you appreciate being born in 1989 ...now I await the full horror of the 90's.

Giving awards for acting ..there's a thought.

2006-02-24T09:44:00.000Z

Someone ,possibly Barry Norman once said that a guy called Brad Douriff should get an oscar if only they were given for acting ( we now know who he is but we don't watch much he is in a lot of horror ) .This year it is possible that Mum's little pin-up will be nominated for an Emmy but it is much more likely that the actor in the same series who is the handsome one ( looks like a thug to us) will be.We do not watch this series as one episode was so slow and boring we fell off the sofa..to say nothing of having to listen to White-Spremacist propaganda .I thought "24" was slow and preposterous until this one .Still we wish the guy luck as he has worked hard for years and done some really good stuff.

The Oscars..

2006-02-24T09:34:00.000Z

We used to have The B.B.C as our home page and oh how we miss it..we changed to Yahoo when we joined the clubs .I laugh like a drain sometimes at news headlines which mean nothing but sound odd.Today was about "swagging" and the Oscars ( which we can't stand to watch ) .I presume this is about the outfits which might this year just be swags .Mum and me should start a campaign to ban the gap between tops and trousers if Woman's Hour hadn't already .It looks gross and must be so uncomforable.Some really gorgeous couture would not go amiss .Judi Dench looks lovely ,Meryl Streep too when we see clips .I dare say there might even be an actress who ( unlike last week's awards) looks like she eats and her shoulder bones don't stick-out and make me cringe .Lauren Bacall Bev mentioned and Mum loves her as a major contributor and supporter of some candidate back in 1968 ...she was lovely .My all time heroine is Dolores Del Rio ....if only my hair would straighten !

Mum's Seahorse address book

2006-02-24T09:28:00.000Z

You can't beat pens and paper ...so Mum bought this to put all the phone numbers and urls of her yarn shop favs .It is perfect in being the correct colours and her favourite little sea-horses.

George Clooney

2006-02-23T19:54:00.000Z

Mum has never been a fan ,she liked him and certainly identified with the wonderful episode of E.R about his alcoholic father ..it was really brilliant.Anyhow she likes him an awful lot more now ..we have had a bio. of Ed.Murrow for years .She just heard his interview on Channel 4 news and all she can say is "Thank-you George keep speaking up " .