I've started knitting!

Favourite Colour Swap Info!

2007-02-21T09:26:00.000+11:00

Favorite Color Swap Questionnaire

1. What are your top three favorite colors?
Red, Green, Blue

2. What crafts do you really enjoy?
Knitting

3. What products do you really covet?
Anything natural, but plain old sheep's wool is my fave

4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favorite crafty things?
Walking my dogs, soccer, jogging and writing

5. Is there anything you collect?
Books, stationery, elephants

6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol?
Aquarius/Sheep

7.What are your favorite scents/smells?
Lavender, vanilla

?types of music and/or bands?
Jazz, contemporary

?authors?
all kinds, Ellie Wiesel, Aussie authors

?animals?
Dogs, elephants, tigers, lions

?places to shop?
Long shopping strips with lots of factory outlets, malls

?season?
Summer

?yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies?
All of the above, beads, paper, ribbons etc

?candies or goodies?
Junior mints

8. Do you have any wish lists?
Amazon

9. Are you allergic to anything?
Nothing that interferes with this!

10. Do you have any pets? What are they?
Toby a very bossy spoodle and Elvis the handsome looking schnauzer

11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- anything that would be helpful in finding you little gifts that you will really enjoy.
I just started back at school so anything school related would be great!

Surprise!

2007-02-19T12:02:00.000+11:00

Yes, I started this on Monday, but didn't get around to finishing it because I wanted to post photographs of all the beautiful present I received. This was delayed due to my wearing of said presents, and also school which requires this little thing called 'homework'!

Pretend it's Monday....

I had the best birthday ever yesterday! Well, really it started on Saturday when my brother and his girlfriend came to visit. We had a bbq and they gave me some DVDs. It was great to catch up on how they are going with work, their pets and stuff in general. I'm proud of Mel who survived the tunnel, despite her fear - she was sleeping both ways!

Then yesterday I got a cool, green iPod nano from Nick, together with the Nike+ kit so I can get back to running, tickets to Viraki and a new t-shirt. We spent the morning walking the dogs - it was great to finally have a breeze after our recent hot spell!

My sister called and we had a good chat. She is promising to sign me up for a subscription to Yarn magazine, which I haven't got around to doing yet.

My Mum, Dad and Nan came over for lunch, bringing more great gifts (a mini maglite, more reading material and chocolates). Nick bbq'd again and we had a wonderful lunch in airconditioned comfort! We ate cheese and cheesecake and it was so relaxing! Nicole dropped by with another t-shirt and stationery for school.

But, the real surprise was yet to come. Nick took me out to dinner, where we were met by Randall and Mich who were in on it all along! We filled ourselves with Greek food, and there was a surprise cake. I felt so special! R + M had also got me some cool iPod accessories so I was also set to go running this morning.

Normally I am sad when my birthday is over, but not this time! I felt the best I had in ages yesterday. There is heaps to look forward to with school and all that running with the new techno gear.

Nick is soooo sweet. Here is a picture of the back of the iPod. The message is a reference to Veronica Mars, my favourite TV show. Fans will know that I mean!

Back to School

2007-02-17T13:02:00.000+11:00

Yes, I went back to school this week so my knitting has been little and blog updating non-existant!

Dogs are well, homework a plenty and back to that lovely asset of every city, public trains-port!

Hope everyone is well.

More dog photos

2007-02-06T09:48:00.002+11:00

Yesterday, Kim commented on how big the dogs have gotten. I thought that you might like to see what was under all that hair! Yes, two skinny (but growing) seven month old dogs. I finally got around to fixing their 'day bed' and went with a beach theme. Too bad the bed doesn't look like that today. It is slightly more ripped and I am trying to get up the motivation to fix it again.

This is a photo of Elvis being very cute. He is often like that, and I feel sorry for him a lot of the time because Toby is soooo bossy. Every now and then Elvis steals the show, and this was one of those times.

In view of Project Spectrum 2.0, I have whipped up a newsboy hat from Stitch and Bitch Nation. I will finish sewing together today, just the peak to go, and post pictures soon. I think that I will also tackle a grey scarf and my very boring twist top is blue so I will see if I can finish that before the two months are up.

Life Delays

2007-01-18T08:40:00.000+11:00

Well, blogging was rolling along until life got in the way - I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Those one or two things that mean you really can't get to what you would like to be doing. Anyway, the last few weeks have been like that!

Here are some pics of Toby and Elvis, pre hair cut. I will give you the post hair cut pics tomorrow. It seems the hair cut came at a good time as it has been pretty hot here and I'm sure the dogs are much more comfortable now.

I have also been knitting away, I have not been going as fast as I would like, but that's life! No pics as at the moment it is just boring stocking stitch!

Yesterday I put together the colorimetry above from Knitty for Mich. She has been busy knitting away for all of her family for the upcoming cold weather holiday. I was worried that she wouldn't get around to taking care of herself, so I thought that this would at least assist. If she (by the miracle of time machines) does manage to whip up something for herself, she will have two ear warming items to take with her!

My time has also been filled with sewing, more pics later.

Back to Normal

2007-01-07T18:55:00.000+11:00

The long weekends are over, I am healthy again, everything is back to normal.

Toby and Elvis were walked in the (little) rain there was this morning which turned out just great for them. The rain kept everyone else off the trail and allowed Toby and Elvis to walk most of the way lead free. A big treat for them. They were well behaved, especially Toby who has a tendency to want to be the boss! I'm sure they would be ok walking off the lead with normal trail traffic, but I would hate for them to scare a small child, or get tangled in the wheels of one of the exceptionally fast moving bicycles.

I caught up with Anna this afternoon, it was good to get out of the house and just generally run over what has been happening in her life over the last few days as my own has been very boring. We stopped for coffee at the Bookshop Cafe, where the cappacino foam is as dense as ice cream and peaked like mountains - yummy! The also have a great selection of danishes!

Other exciting news is that the pink jacket is back. The lovely BF gave me a great pink, zip up top a couple of Christmases ago and it has been missing for well over a year (I reckon). When searching for my visor this morning, I checked the golf bag. no visor, but there was the pink jacket. I have turned the house upside down on at least four separate occasions looking for this, and embarrassingly have played golf between losing it and finding it! I was so excited I called in the BF to check it out before removing in. He later commented that the excitement in my voice lead him to believe that he was about to witness a once in a lifetime event, rather than just seeing my crumpled jacket in the bottom of the golf bag. I told him that he should be happy that I love a present he gave me so much!

The beloved pink jacket is back!!

I know, you're all saying what's so special about this. Well, I guess nothing. Except when you are running out the door and you think, I'll just grab my pink jacket and you can't find it!!

Hot Hot Hot

2007-01-06T20:54:00.000+11:00

Well, today is the fifth day over 30 degrees here and we decided it was time that the dogs got some relief. We took them down to Brighton today for a bit of cooling off. Here's the results!

My health is progress - I was well enough to take the dogs to the beach, but spent the rest of the day on the couch. I am feeling better though.

This final shot for today is of Melbourne, taken from the Brighton Beach.

No real knitting progress to report, I have given myself a break from the TwistTop and frogged a sock (and have nearly finished knitting up the 'noodles').

Day 6

2007-01-05T10:23:00.000+11:00

No, not of 2007, but of my mysterious illness knocking the stuffing out of me. At this rate, I will need another economy packet of pain killers!

Not much news to report. I did pour another ball of Zhivago into the TwistTop last night. It really is very boring. Just plain old stocking stitch. At least I have finally reached the decreases for the arm holes. But then it is just another 12 cm of plain old (boring) stocking stitch. I am trying to appreciate how lovely it will be when finished. Yes, I should keep this in the front of my mind!

I do, however, provide this completely ripped off pictures which is undoubtedly infringing my sis's copyright. Well, it would be except for the comment she posted yesterday! Anyway, here is the tea cosy in use - yea!

Wishing that Day 7 does not eventuate!

Yours in Illness,

Tea Cosy Home Located

2007-01-04T12:37:00.000+11:00

The tea cosy modelled so lovely by the BF has found a new home. Yes, I gave it to my Mum and Dad as Dad is always complaining that my tea pot keeps tea hotter than his!

I hope this rectifies the problem for you Dad!!

Hanging in there

2007-01-03T10:25:00.000+11:00

It might be hard to believe, but I am still sick. This morning I dragged myself to the pharmacy to get more medication, but there just doesn't seem to be anything I can do for my throat. Oh well, bed rest is it I guess.

The good news is that today my mum and sister are coming to visit. I was supposed to go there, but in my current state I am more than a little reluctant to drive. Anyway, there should be here in an hour or so. No offense guys, but I am not even going to bother attempting to clean up for you. The little walk to the pharmacy has wiped my out!

The other good news is that the bejewelled scarf is just a handful of rows from completion.

I have also been making my way through the books sis lent me (she goes home on Friday so I should finish them by then). I know you have all probably well versed in the Yarn Harlot and Elizabeth Zimmermann, but these are new to me.

I was remarkably surprised by the similarities of the two books. I am almost finished 'The Secret Life of a Knitter' and I have to say that I can totally related to stories about stashes (and I have only been knitting for a little over 6 months!) and finding mistakes in the fourth row and a meter of knitting! I have also laugh (out loud) and cried at hearing some of the stories towards the end - I don't want to give anything away, my Mum hasn't read this yet.

'Knitting without Tears' was a practical, down to earth knitting guide with some very useful tips. I have now finished this book (and think that I will have to get my own copy some day). There were times when I thought that I had already read a section but it turns out that Yarn Harlot had been discussing such things in her book. These include making knitting your own - everyone's style is different, cutting (I don't get this at all!!) a jumper to put sleeves in and how easy knitting is, if you want to do it! I did also have a chuckle at a couple of statements, such as Ms Zimmermann likes to put button holes on both sides of the cardigan so boys and girls can wear them (no boys wear cardigans anymore and who cares what side the buttons are on!) and also that she is lucky enough to own a 'thinking woman's wash- machine'!

I give both books 5 mittens out of 5 mittens!

Quick dog update - still no walk, but both behaving very well except for a new hole developing in the backyard. I am sure that I will one day curse this as I run out in the dark, just as rain starts to fall and I trip and almost break something. Until then, I am grateful that they are being so patient with their sickly owners!

BF modeling the Yarn Magazine tea cosy I finished about a month ago after the MagNation knitting nite.

Welcome 2007

2007-01-01T19:37:00.001+11:00

Well, 1 January 2007 has come and gone (sort of) and I feel worse than yesterday. True, the eyes are a little better (thanks to some nasty eye drops) but my head, throat, neck and back are worse. Thanks to the BF for all of his kind care.

In my pain killer induced periods of normality, I have produced 42 inches of bejewelled scarf. I note that my fellow knit-alongers are fairing better healthwise - get well soon Lolly. Sorry I am far too lazy to add any pictures today. (Some (Ging) would say that this is no different from usual.) But - my new year's resolution is to add more blog pictures, and even though this is a bad start, you can all be the judge of how I manage this.

Doggie update, both Toby and Elvis are doing well but have been deprived of a walk for the last two days due to owner illness. They were very well behaved last night, even though the neighbours were partying in their backyard and we had some very local fireworks. I am hoping to be well enough to at least get them down to the park tomorrow.

News just in - siren just passed by the house and Toby is howling along!

Hope everyone else had a happy and safe new year's eve. I look forward to reading all of your blogs this year.

Blah...NYE

2006-12-31T17:35:00.000+11:00

Well in true 2006 form, I am too sick to consider sending this year off with my friends.

I woke up this morning with a sore head, back, nose and my eye partially shut. After waiting for an hour and a half at a weekend clinic, I have been diagnosed with a cold and an eye infection. I really just look like someone biffed me in the eye. No photos, its just too gross!

Anyway, I have called in sick to the party and will now spend a miserable evening at home (listening to my neightbours having the party of the century). I refuse to watch the Sydney fireworks on TV. My only comfort is that I can now fit inches of knitting into NYE and watch all of the DVDs I haven't got around to watching yet.

Don't let my bad mood dampen your spirits!

Happy 2007.

Bye 2006

2006-12-30T17:42:00.000+11:00

Well, I have been busy these past few days trying to finish off those projects which have been hanging around a wee bit long. I have had limited success!

The pair of sox for BF can't be finished because I can't find the pattern - I will rectify this soon. The jacket wrap is almost finished, just a little of both sleeves to do and then make up. Since I began in May, I have made 3 scarfs (one for ISE), a tea cosy, a beanie (stocking cap or hat), a jumper and one sock! Not too bad, but I have heaps more things in mind for the new year.

Speaking of the new year, I have signed up for *Bejewelled* and my pattern arrived in my inbox yesterday. This starts on 1 Jan, and I have been good enough not to purchase new yarn, but to use some I purchased from the back room of the store at the Bendigo Mills. It's a mint green color and feels really nice and soft!

I don't have much planned for NYE. It should be a quiet one with a few friends, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate. I personally am looking forward to 2007, as 2006 hasn't been the best of years for me. But as always, I am looking on the brighter side and have already decided that 2007 will be better.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T21:14:00.000+11:00

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

We had a terriffic day today. First we spent the day with family, eating lovely food and sharing presents. It was a cold Christmas day here, just perfect for the roast mum prepared. We even had snow on our hills!

I am happy to report that everyone was well pleased with the presents they received, and there were some great surprises among them.

After an extended lunch, we headed home to walk our favourite dogs, Toby and Elvis. It was cool and not many people were out, so we had a ball (so did the dogs!).

Anyway, if everyone else's day was half as great as mine, then we are all very, very happy people.

Best wishes for 2007.

MagNation Knitting

2006-12-15T17:11:00.000+11:00

Yes, that's Elvis peering in through the window!

Well Mich and I headed off to MagNation Knitting last night. It was a fancy affair with wine and sushi being served (I can't believe people preferred coffee!), not to mention packed with knitters. Mich and I felt a little out of sorts as everyone seemed to know everyone already, but we persisted. Best of all, on the purchase of the lastest Yarn Magazine we got a freeie of enough Paton's Jet yarn and needles to make ourselves a tea cosy!

I can report that our Christmas tree has taken pride of place in our lounge room, complete with presents. Who would have thought that the BF would be so picky about decorating it! He only wanted one color of tinsel and seemed to have set ideas where things should go! Anyway, it looks great for a Coles special. PS we decided this year to go with the plastic fantastic due to the lack of water in Melbourne this year. I am pleased to announce that I managed to get one without 'fake' spruce smell, which reminded me of way too much aftershave and made me feel sick!

Well, just a week left of work for everyone before Christmas with Christmas parties a plenty. In case I don't blog again before Christmas may you all have a very Merry, Safe and Happy Christmas.

Blogger Back

2006-12-07T12:38:00.000+11:00

Yes, I am the first to admit that I have been an exceptionally lazy blogger of late. Not that I will bore you with the amazing amount of stuff goin' on, except for my little New Zealand jaunt! That's right, I got so fed up with life in Oz that I just took off for a bit of R&R.

Well, the south island of NZ is just fantastic. There are photo ops around every corner. Just to name a little of what I did (photos coming I promise) I will start with heli hiking the Fox Glacier, walking a track in the Mount Aspiring National Park for a birds' eye view of the Rob Roy Glacier, checking out Milford Sound (and the incredible drive there including the Homer Tunnel!), jet boating the Shotover Canyon and Paragliding over Queenstown.

Here's me (with Pius the Pilot) over Queenstown.

So now that I am home it's time to gear up for Christmas. I was cleaver and began writing my cards before I went away, so now all I have to do is drop them in the post. I think that I have my shopping sorted, well by that I mean I know what I am getting, I just need to go and do it. Oh, and mum and I are going to sort out what food we will prepare, but I should have that under control as well. All that's left for me to do is hang the lights and get a tree!

Dog update - after spending the past few weeks at Bro's (really with Mum and Dad doing all the hard work for me) the little pups have come of age and are currently at the vets. I bet BF and I pick up two very sorry little doggies tonight! Other than that we are pleased to announce that Elvis has outgrown his baby collar and has moved onto a big dog collar!

Ok, after a blogging drought, I think that I am finally up to speed. I will attempt to check in with you again this week!

It won't happen overnight, but it did happen overnight!

2006-10-13T21:47:00.000+10:00

Yes, the two things we call pups are quickly turning into dogs. Overnight Elvis has changed in appearance - he no longer has the cute puppy face, but is now growing a fully-fledged beard (as all good schnauzers should have!). Also, the two have taken to swimming in the creek on our daily walk. It started yesterday, with Toby getting his feet wet and Elvis lying in the flowing water and was complete today when toby dog paddled about, closely followed by Elvis.

The two dogs have also graduated to off lead walking on the path that runs through Ashburton. I do have to put them back on the lead as we head into Glen Iris - the sign says so - but also because if I don't they will both jump in the creek much before I wan them to. Elvis was even dog paddling in the drink bowl in Ferndale Park.

Tonight N and I shared a great dinner at Chocolate Buddha at Fed Square followed by dessert at Mecca on Southbank. It was a fun night out, complete with a visit from Maddie, the three minute angel.

N is off to work tomorrow, so I am going to tidy up some chores and hopefully we can take young Toby and Elvis to the beach on Sunday! It should be fun!

Fifteen reasons to be nervous...

2006-10-12T08:33:00.000+10:00

After somewhat miraculously obtaining a booking for four in Jamie Oliver's FIFTEEN resturaunt in October, I have cause to feel just a little nervous. Breaking news on page nine of the Herald Sun reports that Fifteen kicked out food reviewer Stephen Downes.

This in it self is not cause for concern (Downes has been banned from a number of Melbourne resturants for his overly critical reviews), but Hughsey shouted the Nova team to lunch yesterday and complained of the excessive prices and small meals.

I guess there is potential for our experience to be top notch, as we have having a six course tasting menu, while Hughsey and the gang all selected from an a la carte menu. He did point out that the whole deal set him back $350 for five people for lunch. We have been quoted a set price, but after Hughsey's info, you can bet that will grow quickly with the addition of drinks.

Desperately seeking sleep...

2006-10-11T13:43:00.000+10:00

Ok, I admit that I have been blog-lazy lately. But seeing my sister's Massive Page Update, I have been inspired. I have been so inspired that I have even updated the Book Review. PS, Blogger has a nasty little secret which I only discovered yesterday. As a paranoid blogger, I moderate the comments on my pages. But, when these are emailed to me and I attempt to post them using my Mac, suddenly the comments are lost! But yesterday I was lucky enough to have a few moments on Dad's PC and posted all off the comments regarding my posts. I will have to visit Dad more often!

First things first, yes I am sleep deprived as the naughty little puppies seem to be turning into night owls. Last night was by far the worst with Toby being banished to the laundry and Elvis remaining outside. So, first thing this morning, the three of us headed out for a 4k jog. Elvis cracked it a couple of times, but other than that we survived. I am off to school tonight, so N has promised a similar treatment at 6pm!

What else has been going on? Hmm, let's see. Got my uni application in, and has been confirmed by post. Now all I have to do is wait for an interview. Managed to find Dad his latest text book for a great price - just call me the broker! Bollywood lesson have been filmed for David and Kim's 9am on channel 10. Entertained to the max last Thursday - left everyone very tired on Friday! Booked awesome trip to New Zealand - I have done my bit by securing tickets, N now has to schedule bungy jumping for me - oh and jet boat riding!

Ok, I think that I have updated you all sufficiently. But wait, most important of all - the scarf exchange. I have been informed that mine is on the way. I have almost finished and will have it in the post by Friday! I did most of my knitting in the Grampians before an audience including a wallaby, echnida, kookaburra and a host of tiny little birds with blue hoods. Sorry, I am not much of a bird watcher!

Losers all round

2006-10-03T09:35:00.000+10:00

Well the grand finals have been run and won - or so to speak. I was on the Sydney bandwagon - I even took E to the grand final parade in the city. How unfortunate that they should go down by a lone point!! I am the first to admit that I don't follow rugby league, but I would have preferred Melbourne over the Broncos, however it was not to be! What was a winner was our grand final bbq! It was a great day, ended up being a close match and N bbqed perfectly! Thanks to all who provided salads etc.

Sunday was a quieter day - I slept in before delivering E home safely. I also fixed up Dad's new computer, but will have to put the finishing touches on it tomorrow. I forgot to hook up his email - thank goodness he is not an email junkie like me or he would have noticed by now.

Knitting progress = slow, but I had better get going. I have been kind enough (if I do say so myself) to forward a postcard to my knitee. Also, I received an email from my ISE partner and things are going nicely.

Toby and Elvis update - they are now officially outside dogs. The first night was purely because they refused to come in at 11pm when I was dead tired and so now they have made their bed and can lie in it - all night long. Last night there was a bit of barking form Toby, hopefully that will calm down tonight.

Anything else to report? Ah yes, Nan's 70th birthday was enjoyed by all - especially Nan! A new shipment of second hand books arrived today, so keep an eye on my book reviews as it includes some of my high school favorites. Also, I finally submitted my application for the writing course. I will spend tomorrow night being filmed for David and Kim , so watch out for Christi's segment next week!

Line of Communication Open Again?

2006-09-26T21:02:00.000+10:00

Well, now that Mum and Dad have returned from sunny Sydney, my sister might have time to 1)Call me and 2)Update her blog. I have been left completely in the dark for the entire week!!

Luckily Mum filled me in on some stuff at Nan's 70th brithday bash (well more of a gathering really!) Seems that Meg and Craig are doing just fine and the little Pierre is as cute as ever. The weather was good, zoo was fun and Dad even remembered to carry his mobile phone at all times!

In the meantime, I have visited the Veg Nirvana Cafe for dinner and will have E's company for another few days. We have a few things planned like seeing more of the city, stopping for yum cha, and maybe another hot choc stop in Cambers.

PS dog update - Max has returned home (all more settled), Elvis is still sooking - this time about getting brushed and Toby is causing more trouble than ever in the garden!

Weekend nearly over...

2006-09-24T17:43:00.000+10:00

Well, it's been an action packed few days. Little Max and E have come to stay while Mum and Dad holiday with M. I have visited the museum, Healesville Sanctuary, shopped for some awesome bargains and nearly got blown away at the St Kilda Markets.

Finally today the rain has clearly so that we could take Toby and Elvis down to the park and kick the soccer ball around. The love it down there, even though today there were a little naughty. They have discovered a particular area of the park and continually bolt over there. We also discovered they like children, as when the kids turned up, the dogs took off!

Max is not as friendly as Elvis and Toby had hoped. In his defense, he has been a pampered pouch, living alone and inside. We are taking it in turns to be inside.

Have done little knitting, but have managed to finish another book and update my blog. Have also managed to get my powerbook operating as a TV, and managed to find an electronic program guide which works really well. Thanks Hague. I will shortly be purchasing the rest of my media centre!

I promise to knit more tonight and I babysit J and R - that is if my new book doesn't get in the way!

Rewind...

2006-09-20T09:18:00.001+10:00

Ok - I guess I need to update you on the last few days.

Sunday
Pretty slow day - we started with some gardening and I met S for lunch. I took Toby and Elvis with me - see above! Both the puppies were well behaved and sat nicely under the table while we had lunch.

N and I spent the afternoon making pasta for Mum, Dad and E who were coming over for dinner. We couldn't let Toby inside because he just got too excited!!!

Monday
Exciting news, the Bollywood story was filmed today. I think that all you will see are my feet! (I wish I had taken the time to put nail polish on!!) It was a pretty intense two hours of dancing. Toby, Elvis and I went walking and bumped into P who happened to be driving past - it was good to catch up.

The afternoon I spent with N, J and O. Little J was so funny - he was quite keen on the pups when he was inside and they were out. But once outside, all he wanted to do was to stand in the fenced off area of the yard. Smart kid!

As if I didn't have enough dancing in the morning, I BodyJammed in the evening followed by more Bollywood dancing. I even had enough energy to add a few rows to my new jacket!

Tuesday
Golf Day!

It was a beautiful day yesterday - 30 degrees in September! R and I hit the golf course for some much need practice. I was ok considering I haven't touched clubs for about a year.

N and I took the dogs down to the park with the soccer ball. Not only did we have a great time, it tired the dogs out completely! We had a delicious dinner of tuna steak, mushrooms and asparagus, before I finished off one bootie for A whose baby boy is due in a couple of weeks.

It's the weekend!

2006-09-16T19:34:00.000+10:00

Today began like all my other weekends - sleep in followed by BodyJam with M. BodyJam was lots of fun today, as we have already learnt the moves so we can just get on with dancing. Today we stopped by Ruby for breakfast - the egg and bacon muffin looks great.

N and I put the ikea shelves together today. The look quite good (for ikea furniture!) except that through all of the assembling, N and I had different thoughts on where the shelf would go! Anyway, that's sorted so all that is left to do is fill the shelves!

Finally, N decided that it was a great day and we should spend it at St Kilda. There were a few others out and about so it was quite good down there. We stopped by Hunter Gather, Readings and a few other shops before strolling on to the tapas bar for an early dinner. How disappointed we were to find it bursting at the seams! Never fear, we headed to Big Mouth and started our own tapas bar. N was in charge of the drinks, a citrus cocktail for me (yum) and I ordered the food. We had chorizo, paprika fries, Turkish bread with homemade dip, calamari and saganaki. It was so good I have include pictures from both sides of the table!

Quick dog update - both doing well. Toby is a bit of a bossy boots and we need to careful supervise meals times, otherwise Elvis will end up looking like a bag of bones!

Second semi in the AFL tonight - Go Doggies (No, I am not selling out on the Cats, I am simply supporting the last remaining Victorian team which happens to came for west of this great city of Melbourne!)

Nerd Fest 2006

2006-09-15T21:59:00.000+10:00

Last night was dinner at R and M's place which was so much fun. I have to admit that it did turn into Nerd Fest 2006 with M and I discussing bootie patterns and yarn, and later in the evening R demonstrating his home media centre including 2 computers, 2 x-boxes, a giant 'switch', digital set top box and universal remote, the entire system including more than 700 gig of memory. This sent N and I quickly to adding up the total gig in our place, and we fell way short. For those interested, it is somewhere in the order of 120 gig, including 2 ipods on which the memory is useless when it comes to videos etc.

Anyway, apart from Nerd Fest, M and I enjoyed some sparkling, and we all devoured wonderful Indian food from around the corner. The onion bhajis were so good, they have been dubbed 'KFC for vegetarians'! The evening finished with Heaven ice cream and the bar certainly has been set for N and I to host a great meal.

Well, no knitting progress as R has inspired my to set up my own nerd centre, so all my free time today has been swallowed by net surfing for set-ups and prices. Gotta love Static Ice!

So rounding out my day was so much needed housework and a visit to N2 and J2 this afternoon. As always, little O was a gem!

Progressing nicely...

2006-09-14T17:25:00.000+10:00

Well, due to no dog walking, I managed to put two balls of Inca into my new jacket. The pattern is progressing nicely, even if I did have to wrestle it from Toby's jaw. So much for the dogs being a little off color yesterday after their shots, they were as perky as ever - it was me who was off color!!

Good news! I am making my doco debut in the Bollywood Dance Off Story to be screened before an audience of 10 billion people. Unfortunately no Aussies - unless they are living/traveling in Asia at the time. I need to dig out my very best Indian clothes and stack on the jewelry for the shoot. I can't wait. It's on Monday and I'll let you know how it goes!

The dogs are growing at an alarming rate and I will post more pictures soon.

Success!

2006-09-13T11:38:00.000+10:00

Well, I can report that yesterday's attempt of allowing young R2 to see the ducks, play on the playground and take Toby and Elvis to the vet was a success. R2 was very well behaved - many compliments from the Vet- as were the dogs.

Must report that Toby was much braver than Elvis - Toby took his shot like a man, while Elvis squealled terribly. N was disappointed to hear that 'his' dog was not the bravest! Good news is that there will be no more shots for about 12 months. Bad news, desesxing just before Christmas. Sorry guys, but it has to be done.

No formal exercise yesterday (I missed M2 so much, we did email though!) but pushing R2 up the hill whlst controlling two dogs seemed to be enough. Walking the dogs is off the menu for a couple of days, Vet's orders.

Finally, on to knitting. No scarf progess, but I have until November. Inca jumper has been restarted, due to my counting error. As N pointed out, no one would have noticed, but in my usual style, I want it to be perfect!

Dance Fest!

2006-09-12T14:04:00.000+10:00

No post yesterday due to extreme exhaustion! I did the BodyJam express class at 5:45 with M, and then we headed off to Bollywood Dancing at 7:30. New news, I have signed up for some doco - well, I will be doing the Bollywood class while the doco people are there. The good news is that it won't be shown in Australia, only to 10 billion people in Asia. At least I get a copy. More details to follow!

Today I am attempting the challenge of walking two year old R2, Toby and Elvis to the ducks. I am allowing twice the time so it should be ok. Today is Vet day, and the puppies get their shots. Hopefully they won't be too sooky to walk home.

On the knitting front, I have began a Jacket Wrap in Inca. It's from the Paton's Inca book and is classified as an easy knit. I'll let you know...

Free running!

2006-09-10T17:11:00.000+10:00

Well, the weekend is almost over and I am watching the last game of AFL for the weekend. I have spent the day waiting for my new desk to be delivered, but to no avail. Hopefully it will be here soon.

I started my Sunday by walking Toby and Elvis. N helped out and we were soon on our way to the ovals near the creek. For the first time we let Toby and Elvis off the lead and they were surprisingly well behaved. They followed us around the oval and responded to all of our calls. I think this may be a way to avoid two walks a day, as the dogs were exhausted when we got home.

Oh, good news. I have received a reply from Julie, who I am knitting for in the ISE. It's so much fun getting all these emails. I put about 2 hours into the scarf today, but have decided that it doesn't quite look right so I will start again. Oh well!

Saturday...

2006-09-10T10:43:00.000+10:00

Well, I didn't get a chance to post yesterday as it turned out o be quite busy. First up was a walk with Elvis and Toby down to the creek. We met Lucy the corgi who was much better behaved than most dogs down there.

The walk was followed by BodyJam. The first half of which was very good, as we consolidated on last week's routine. However, the second half was a completely different story! M2 and I laughed most of the way through as we tried to get our arms and legs moving in unison! After, we stopped for coffee with R, and I'm pleased to say that R has made the BIG decision, so we had lots to discuss. Also discovered that M2 is a knitter, so I will pass some of my patterns to her.

A spot of shopping, and N and I were off to N2 and J's for dinner. Dinner was wonderful, and a good night had by all. The highlight was J2 copying my Bollywood and Disco moves! He will be a star!!

Rain delay

2006-09-08T20:09:00.000+10:00

Well, here it is, p.m. on Friday and I didn't get a chance to fit in a second doggie walk because it's raining now. Therefore, although I have plenty of time for knitting, Toby and Elvis are going nuts right now so little knitting is getting done.

Spent the afternoon playing with two and half year old J2 and chatting with N2. Even though I was there for hours, I bet we still have heaps to talk about over dinner tomorrow night - especially if J2 has any thing to do with it.

Must sign off for today, tomorrow is BodyJam and I can't wait!

Just beginning...

2006-09-08T09:58:00.000+10:00

Well, the scarf is now a massive 5 centimetres long (2 inches for those of you in the States!). I managed to add several rows last night after Toby and Elvis were fast alseep. I now know that if I want to get anywhere with my knitting, I have to dedicate enough time for two walk with the dogs.

My friend B visited yesterday, it was good to catch up. We are going to have a craft afternoon on Monday - after a trip to the local craft store (yea!) - B is considering knitting, but may just stick to her cross-stitch.

Have already managed the first walk of the day, so it should be a good knitting night!

P.S. I got a second message from my secret knitter! It's so exciting!!

Exchange

2006-09-07T20:10:00.000+10:00

So, here I am. About to knit a scarf for a complete stranger. Yes, I joined the International Scarf Exchange 3 after and my sister, Meg, intorduced me to the joys of knitting blogs.

I will post pictures of the scarf when it has grown enough to photgraph. That sounds easier that it actually is. That's because I have two new puppies dogs, both only 11 weeks old. Toby is a spoodle (cocker spaniel/poodle) and Elvis is a schnauzer.

I have already been contacted by my secret knitter, and he/she sounds delightful! All I know is that my secret pal is from Southern USA.