It's that time of year again when sane people bow down to commercialism in the name of some Middle Eastern legend about a baby and some livestock.

If, like me, you can't bear the thought of more toiletries/chocolates/other small not very useful items given in the "spirit of Xmas" or because "it's the thought that counts", take this opportunity to make Xmas matter by giving a Gift 4 Good. If it was the thought that really counted, people would put more thought into it instead of buying something arb that fitted into a price range. I don't plan to get gifts this year (other than for immediate family), instead I'll give a donation to a charity and you can all share in the karma points :).

Here are some awesome tips to green your Xmas from urbansprout. I especially like the one about buying an indigenous tree instead of a plastic tree and planting it in a pot. Also, make homemade decorations instead of buying more tinsel and other crappy plastic junk every year. Jesse has some lovely little chocolate things in her Etsy shop. Here's her tutorial for making your own decorations. You could use any cute fabric or doilies. How about getting kids to print things with potatoes and fabric paint? I remember doing that in art class in school :). You could also make them and give them as gifts. The lovely bamboo scarf I have is available from Gifts with a Conscience, as well as other locally-made gifts. Her policy is to only sell things that benefit someone directly. Check out the cute little African angels.

I'm totally thinking of getting one of these DIY vege gardens. I think that will be the next plan after the chickens. Here's some delicious fair trade coffee (Ethiopian Sidamo ftw).

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In other news, holiday planning progresses. I've booked my appointment for a Visa, I just hope my unabridged marriage certificate arrives before then. My marriage officer assures me he's on it but I think going into Home Affairs with a loaded shotgun might help to speed things along. I can't believe it's just over 2 weeks until we leave, it seemed so unreal and far away when we started planning it. Things I still need to get: Visa, gloves, parkajacketthing, International Drivers Permits. Things I still need to make: my scarf (nearly finished), scarf and hat for Phleep, hat for Mark. I have other Xmas knitting to do but that can be done in Germany (I hope to get some knitting done on the flight). So excited!

Hmm, long time no post. I just don't seem to be in the mood for posting lately, I'll often start typing a post and then think "meh, no one wants to read this arb crap". But here's an updatey post anyway :).

My lovely husband bought me a spinning wheel for my birthday! It's a second-hand Ashford Traditional Double-drive (if that means anything to you :P). I'm very excited, I can't wait to start spinning my lovely alpaca and merino rovings that I have. Also, there's a large demand for second-hand wheels so if I don't take to it I can sell it on. P is always surprised by the market for knitting stuff :). My cats are enjoying the wheel, of course anything I bring into the house is a cat toy. Also, Scroob sent me some delicious Camelspin! It's the best yarn ever.

Tickets to Germany are booked and paid for. We're also staying a night in Amsterdam, I'm really keen to see the van Gogh museum. Thank you to all those who contributed to the Honeymoon Fund, I think P sent out thank you emails last night. If you didn't get one and should've then please let us know. It was so hectic that I wouldn't be surprised if some of the cards got misplaced.  There are some wedding pics up at my Flickr stream, we have more that we need to upload.

Now that I'm married I think my biological clock has started to tick. Obviously it was just waiting for the wedding since for the past few years I've been non-committal on the having babies issue. Yes, they're cute and sweet and cuddly but they take up time and money that could be spent on other things like travel and knitting. Also, you don't get any sleep or time to read and there's screaming and tantrums and vomit and then they hit teenagerdom and it's a whole new batch of horrors. Having spent time with P's mum recently I'm beginning to see the reason for having kids. She said that she'd always wanted kids so that she wouldn't be alone when she was old and I think that now that she's a widow it's even more true. I know that statistically I will outlive P and I don't want to be the lonely widow aunt with 39 cats (well, the cat part isn't so bad). At any rate, babies are beginning to not look so bad. The cuteness of Scroob's baby isn't helping at all :P. I think I need to babysit more to reawaken me to the horrors of babies/small children. I think a few good tantrums and vomits will help me see reason and tell my clock to stfu :).

I'm dying of hayfever at the moment too, which is making me a very grumpy panda. I'm not looking forward to the weekend away SCA event next month, the venue is full of flowers and grass and I usually spend the entire time sniffling in the hall. I need a bubble. I also need to finish sewing all my new garb (Saxon, v boring but easy and comfortable until I know what I want to do).

See, a very boring post :P.

An update since I haven't posted in a bajillion years. Still alive, people (esp egadfly  :P).

Wedding plans

Coming along nicely. Shawl is finished and blocking. Dress is kinda halfway made (pattern is graded and mockup fits), need to do some work on Phleep's waistcoat this weekend. Still need to get the table herb things but that can wait until a few days before the event.

We are expecting a full compliment of Anastasiadisesesesseseses for the wedding. I think Phleep will be very chuffed to have all the siblings there, when we first started to plan we didn't think anyone would come. My sister is moving in with her boyfriend for the week that P's sister and bf are there so the house will be less crowded. I'm a bit nevous of the reception. I don't deal well with huge parties and lots of people and I can't go hide in the kitchen like I usually do. We'll see how it goes, I guess. There are plans to do Xmas in Germany if the honeymoon funds allows it, otherwise somewhere local.


Work

The new (since my last post) job is going well. I have more responsibility and a very varied portfolio. I'm learning a lot and it's not boring. Hopefully I will be over the backlog soon and able to get into a good routine. I can see this job expanding as we open more offices around Africa.

Social

Saw District 9 recently. Not quite sure how I feel about it (which seems to be the general mood, people watch it and then have to think about it for some time before forming an opinion). I might blog about it, I might not. I think I've said before that others' opinions of movies don't matter to me and don't affect my enjoyment/opinion of a movie, so I don't think anyone else will care what I think about it. Suffice it to say that it's really hard to watch if you're a white Saffer. I'm still a bit depressed about it.

This weekend is the hen/stag party extravaganza. I know zoezebra (get better soon!) is kidnapping me for an afternoon of outdoorsy fun on Saturday (must remember to dose with hayfever meds before leaving the house). Phleep is booked all weekend for various things that I think he will like. The exact details are a sekrit :P. My house-building thing is next Saturday, I'm really looking forward to it. It will be hard work and I might die, but I think it will be very rewarding.

Also, Storm in a G Cup is the best bra shop in the world! At last, no more tears when looking for bras that support and fit and don't look matronly :). There's a _whole drawer_ of lacy bras in my size. I'm so taking Phleep there after the wedding to buy me that teal silky lacey one. Mmmm, teal. They're a bit pricey but the service is excellent and they do all repairs and alterations for free.

That's about it, really. Must update the knit blog as soon as I've taken pics of all my recent FOs (shawl, Phleep's gloves, my rasta hat, my alpaca gloves). I haven't knitted much lately, I think I'm a bit burned out after the shawl. Also, my wrist is a bit sore but since I haven't been knitting I think that's probably the cold. Spring is here! The weather is chilly, the sun is shining and my nose is snurfly.

Got this lovely piece of poetry in some spam for Viagra just now, had to share :). I'm just wondering what a "costly elephant's rope" is, or if I actually want to know. Also, "his car of precious"? Obviously Gollum's fallen on hard times and is working as a spam copy-writer. The randomness of this poetry pretty much sets the theme for this blog entry.

Device of the costly elephant's rope, was adorned is kesava
who is inconceivable. Hence, it is absurd roars. As soon
as they heard that loud peal, dhrishtadyumna auditors assenting
to this truth, he then gave me thus, he rose into the sky
on his car of precious.

In other news, Phleep leaves soon for the UK. He will be away for three weeks but I am consoling myself with the thought of all the delicious yarns he's bringing back for me (currently sitting at 15 skeins). I plan to eat nothing but beans and eggs on toast while he's away, haha! I will also install methane energy converters in a bid to save money in the lean times to come. I'm not sure the cats will appreciate it, though.

I also plan to fill the time with learning to spin on my shiny new drop spindle. As soon as zoezebra gets her ass back from Wales she'll teach me to use the damn thing. Lookout world, phear my lumpy yarnz!

Here's a very funny article on Hayibo about the A-team resurrection: http://www.hayibo.com/articles/view/1005

We went to see Watchmen on Sunday night. I'm not sure if it wowed me or not, but then I wasn't particularly wowed by the graphic novel (I can hear some of you gasping incredulously from here). Maybe I came along on the comic scene too late and am jaded by all the other stuff I've read to appreciate the new ideas put forth in it. Don't get me wrong, it's a good story (even if I totally figured out the "villain" halfway through. I'm bad like that, it's a curse) but it didn't rock my world. Rorschach's pretty cool though.

Speaking of non world-rocking, I agree a bit with some online sentiments that NG is slightly over-rated. Yes, I enjoy his stuff, it's interesting and well-written, but I don't think he's the literary Messiah some people think he is. I don't particularly like American Gods, Anansi Boys was ok and The Graveyard Book was a fun read (I'm sure others with more literary credentials than I will go on about the Jungle Book comparisons and all and all), but none of these made me wet myself. China Miéville, otoh, can do no wrong (otooh, The Peoples Republic of China sucks ass and the SA govt sucks China's ass). His books, all of them, blow my mind. Maybe it's just preference, ymmv. I must read them again, if I can get through reading Watchmen for the second time (it's sooo long).

If Ysolda Teague ever shows up at my door, I'm leaving Phleep. Just FYI. And no, it's not just because she bears a resemblance to ScarJo (who supports D&G, who used fur in their latest show, woe! she's totally off my "will leave Phleep for" list, although I will probably still go watch all her movies), her knitting patterns are pretty awesome too.

And that's about it. I'm glad Autumn is finally here, I can snuggle under my blankie again! And make stew!  Mmmm, stew.

The latest in the Pandora is an Evil Genius series: I was giving my canary*, Ringo, clean water the other day. This necessitated me taking his cage down and putting it on a table. I went to the kitchen to fill up the container and I heard his "danger, danger Will Robinson" cheep**, so I rushed back into the room to discover that Pandora had opened the flap-down door and had got her finger stuck in the bars of the door!!! She was hanging by her hand, meowing pathetically. I freed her and said "bad girl! I hope your toe falls off!"*** It's the fairly standard bird-cage door that stays shut with a bent piece of the top bar. She obviously saw me open it and thought "ah-ha!". Luckily she got her hand stuck otherwise Ringo would be no more. He might have escaped (and been eaten) if she hadn't been by the door, though. I will have to be more careful in the future, she's pretty evil and cunning, that one. Recently all his tail feather disappeared (either fell out or were pulled out) and I wonder if Pandora didn't catch his tail through the bars as he was eating. She has long, thin legs. The tail feathers have grown back now, he seems no worse for wear. Good thing they're not prone to heart-attacks!

Phleep and I have been together 9 years now. It seems like a really long time but sometimes I still have to remind myself that I have a boyfriend. People have commented that we're still really lovey-dovey like a new couple, and that we hug and kiss alot. I dunno, it's hard to be objective, we still seem to be happy and love each other dearly. He loves the cats and puts up with my luxury yarn habits :).

Today is Friday, and I am very glad about that. Tonight I will bake green tea biscuits for the Japanese-themed SCA event tomorrow. I will also work on Baby Scroob's jersey (only the sleeves to go!) and watch terrible TV. I might practice recorder a little as I'm feeling somewhat insecure about my lack of practice. I mentioned to a friend's bf (who's in a band) that I play recorder and he said he might ask me to come play with them. Eeep!

Next week will be my first Pilates class. As a complete Pilates-noob I have to take 4 private classes before I can be allowed to mingle with those more experienced people in a group class. I hope it's fun, I don't mind things being difficult as long as they're fun. Once I've learned the moves, I'll join the class with Jesse and she's promised to peer-pressure me into actually going and not being a lazy-ass. It helps that it's a few blocks from our street :P.

Also, I want to learn to spin on the drop-spindle. This is a direct result of me falling in love with Posh Yarns but being unable to buy anything from the directly and having to resort to buying second hand from people on Ravelry. The site goes live every two weeks with what they've dyed that fortnight and it's usually a mad scrum to get anything. Things are sold out in like 5 minutes :(. So, I will be buying roving on Etsy and making my own, dammit. I've already ordered some camel and cashmere, and Zoe has a giant bag of alpaca that I'm going to mooch :). I will start spinning classes in March, as soon as my lovely Ashford drop spindle arrives from New Zealand. Severe yarn-geek. I also intend to comb Puff and spin Puff-yarn :P.

It's the Community Chest Carnival soon. Can anyone say "poffertjies"? Dutch stall, here I come! And saris, one can never have too many.


* he's a Gloster Fancy and has a really cute Beatles haircut. I need to find a new female for him as the old one died of a foot infection :(. You can only paid a Corona (one with the hairdo) with a Consort (plain head) otherwise the babies could come out bald!

** birds have a language, with different cheeps for different things. This one is quite distinctive and means "omg, I thought I saw a putty-tat and it's trying to eat me!!"

*** I didn't mean it, even if she is more evil than Puff (who is merely naughty and bitey, not calculatingly evil like Miss Pandora Moriarty)

So, that was Xmas, was it? It certainly didn't feel like Xmas. I don't know if it was the fact that everyone's po' at the moment, or the fact that I'm not taking any holiday time over Xmas, but I just didn't have that same feeling this year that I usually have. Ah, well, we all grow up sometime I suppose.

Panda and I went for Xmas-eve sushi (our local was closed, so we went to Sake House* in Claremont), then came home and opened his gift to me (us): the collector's edition Star Trek: The Next Generation (all 7 seasons on 49 dvds with loads of extras). It is made of win. We've watched the first 3 dvds so far. I have reached the height of geekdom: admiring knitted sweaters in a cheesy sf show** :P. I do love the Trek, though. Mmm, Picard. And Data (he's fully functional, you know).

The day itself was ok, had a big lunch at my aunt's place with a total of 16 family members. There were no fights (for a change!), I didn't overeat too badly (although I did make too much trifle, which was a bit heavy on the sherry or so I'm told), and I got to see everyone. It was pleasant, except for pretty much every single person asking me when P and I are getting married and having kids. Argh. The Xmas is the coolest (weather-wise) that I can remember, it's raining at the moment. Damn climate change, interfering with my laundry schedule.

My yarn from everymoment arrived (via red-headed glamazonian courier in lime-green and turquoise sequinned high heels). It's so lovely, but I'm struggling to find a pattern that will suit it.

Here are some adorable pictures of Puff (warning: the high levels of cute may cause eyeballs to bleed).

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Also, here is a recipe for rice salad. I am posting it here as I have received lots of compliments from people who might like to make it themselves. I haven't given quantities, use as much of each ingredient as you like. The end ratio of rice to veg should be 1:1.

Rice rice baby

- cooked brown rice
- mushrooms
- red peppers
- green peppers
- onion (red or brown)
- can of whole kernel corn
- garlic
- soya sauce

Chop your veges. Fry onion and garlic until tender, then add peppers and fry until tender. Add mushrooms and fry until tender. When all the veges are done to your liking, add the rice and fry it all together. Then add soya sauce and mix well. Ta da! You can also add cashews to this, or lentils to make it a complete meal.

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* quite pricey compared to our local, not as tasty but a much greater variety. Almost too much variety. It was ok for a treat, but probably won't go there again unless for a special occasion.

** it's a good thing I'm not in Starfleet:

*alarms ringing, lights flashing*
Redshirt: Captain, the Borg are attacking, there's a Klingon Bird of Prey decloaking off the port bow and the holodeck has malfunctioned causing fictional characters to swarm the lower decks!
Me: Is that a C4F or a Cr4L I see on your sweater?
Enterprise: *asplode*

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Edit: a good reason to get your pets microchipped.

Does anyone know of someone (moderately decent, non cat-eating) who is looking for a feline companion? We currently have the sweetest black female in the stray ward, so loving (just like my Possum). She's adult and not spayed, possibly preg but that can be fixed at spaying. I will throw in a spay for free. She's so sweet that I don't want to send her to the SPCA, she will get really depressed in those small cages. When I walk up to the cage she chirps and rolls over to show me how fluffy her tummy is. If I didn't have 3 already I'd take her.

Also, we have a range of tiny kittens who are being bottle-fed at the moment and will be ready for homes in about 5 weeks. Three stripey tabbies (gender unknown) and a tiny ginger (probably male).

I am going to start a cat-blog for adoption purposes, but the doctors will only keep them here for a week so it would need pretty immediate action. There are too many kittens, but the more I can save from euthanasia the better.

Email me at firstfallen at gmail dot com.

It's really important to remember when you've had beetroot (or, in this case, drunk beetroot juice). Kidneys don't just rupture spontaneously.

Also, your usually-reserved friends present a whole different side of themselves after drinking (perhaps a little too much) expensive whisky :P. I'm not naming names, what happens at the whisky festival stays at the whisky festival.

Tonight, dancing hosses! I hope I don't fall asleep.

We went to see Tropic Thunder last weekend. It might be the most awesome movie I've seen in a while. I'm not saying it's a good movie, or that I would buy it on DVD to rewatch, but it's damn enjoyable. I did get the feeling that it wasn't really "scripted", per se, but more of a general guideline, like "ok, guys, in this scene we need this and this to happen, go!" and then the actors all came up with lines of the top of their heads. If you don't like Ben Stiller and Jack Black, don't go see this. It's halfway between Zoolander and Nacho Libre, I guess.

RD Jr is just awesome as the black dude who's really an Australian in disguise ("I know who I am, I'm the dude playing a dude disguised as another dude"). Ben Stiller basically is Zoolander with a Rambo complex. Look out for Tom Cruise as Les Grossman, he totally steals the movie. He's absolutely hilarious (and I think he made up most of his own dialogue off the bat). Also, see if you can spot all the other film references (lots of war movies, Chaplin).

I seem to have developed RSI in my left wrist from too much knitting. I'm assuming it's from knitting as that's when I first noticed the pain. Time to cut down on my knitting :( and stock up on Ibuprofen. I'll go to the doc if it doesn't get better, apparently surgery is sometimes required. Add the sore wrist (typing makes it sore too) to my recent minor head-surgery and huge work stress and you can guess how happy I am with life at the moment. I feel like I need lots of chocolate mousse, but that's not really fitting in with my trying-not-to-be-so-damn-fat plan.

Finally done! All uploaded now, go look. I think this is the best picture I took all holiday. It just sums up the English so well. 

Really stressed at the moment. Big SCA event this weekend (bleh....), exams this month and lots of work pressure. I have finished one of my Xmas knitting projects, though :).Now just 4 more to go.

Last weekend was Cara's birthday party. I bought her a pinata and I filled it with sweets. I think the best bit of the party was when Jo (perhaps Duncan?) was swinging wildly with a wooden plank and Hendrik dived to drag his son out of harm's way. I hope there are pics somewhere.