8000 Words?

Edited to add: Since my sister had some trouble working out how the title related to the entry, if "a picture is worth a thousand words", I figured 8 pictures would do quite well as an entry on their own. Two sunrises (different days), three pictures I took at Cronulla, one alpaca beanie I crocheted for K, my only gardenia bloom thus far and my new watch. I could quite easily expand on that and reach the aforementioned total of 8000 words but I am too tired.

Sunrise & Sunset

Another pretty sunrise, although my photos don't do it justice. It is quite fascinating, the way the colours streak the sky and change so quickly. I know I must look a bit odd out on my balcony early in the morning, snapping photos but it's such a nice way to start the day.






Mum and my sister came over on Friday night to watch the Footy and have dinner with me, we had a rather lacklustre quiche and a not-very-tasty salad, mum brought a rice dish over and I had some left over combination chow mein in the fridge. My sister bought me a lovely bunch of roses, just a small bunch but they are pretty and I couldn't resist getting a few shots and showing them off here They're really gorgeous, I love the orange and pink combination, particularly in roses.

What seems to us a sunset, is a sunrise in another land - I was so sad to hear Jane McGrath passed away today, although I can't say I was surprised. I guess it was just a matter of time before we heard this news, no matter how much I wished it wouldn't come. I hope we are not too far away from a cure.

In other news, I have been at mum's place and I brought my yarn winder and swift with me, now I just need to find somewhere to set them up here (I really don't enjoy setting them up and then having to pack them away again but if I have to do it, I suppose I'll cope). I brought some yarn with me, also, and hopefully I'll be able to get some crocheting done this week. Don't ask me what I am going to crochet - I haven't a clue! There are a few patterns I'd like to try but I don't seem to be having much luck with patterns at the moment. I can't seem to find a crochet pattern for a baby shawl similar in design to the Pineapple Circular Shawl - I really did love how that one turned out but I don't want to do the same one to end up in the same family.

SP12 - Ready, Set, Go!

There was an absolutely beautiful sunrise yesterday morning - made all the more beautiful by the fact that I haven't seen a nice sunrise for quite a few mornings.

It was a nice way to start the morning!


Here is the Chrysanthemum Tea Shawl, not the best photo - I was trying to watch Game 2 of the State of Origin while I was taking these photos (my boys did well!) and really, my attention was on the TV.

There's a slightly bigger version here, I like how the second round of leaves came out. I wasn't sure if they would fade into the rest of the shawl since they didn't have the open centre to come out of but I think they stand out enough.

I used roughly 8 and a half balls of the Lincraft "Romance" (185m per ball = about 1572.5m total) and I am not sure how it will block, assuming of course that I have a surface big enough to pin it out on (apart from my bed) because of the high percentage of acrylic in the yarn (80% acrylic, 20% mohair). I'm very happy with it - now what do I do with it?

I received another postcard from Finland yesterday - Finnish people must particularly enjoy postcrossing, I think. I also had a request from someone in France who really, really wants a postcard from Sydney and hasn't received one. I haven't had one from France, either, so that will work out nicely. I must buy some more postcards and get a few off in the mail...

I received the details for my Spoilee and sent an e-mail last night, had a reply this morning. I'm really not sure where to go with gifts for this person yet but after a few more conversations, I might have a better idea. I do have a few ideas, I'm just not sure if they're good ones...

That's it from me, time to get ready for work.

Some Photos

There wasn't a sunrise to see yesterday - although it did turn into a beautiful day, the morning was such a pea-souper, the sun wasn't visible for a good few hours. This morning, I took a photo or two and sat on the balcony for a while. I'll go back out there and finish my coffee in a minute.

I got my lamps on Wednesday and I put them together - I will never understand why everything has to come in as many pieces as possible and why the instructions are so often wrong!

It looks a lot nicer than the photo shows - that's the floor lamp and there's a smaller matching table lamp on the buffet as well. I do like the shadow it casts when it's on. Adds a bit of interest to an otherwise extremely boring and blank bit of wall.


This is my bedroom, or part of my bedroom - my china cabinet and tallboy are against the wall opposite the bed and the wardrobe is opposite the window. I am still waiting for my bedside tables:

Yes, my bedroom lamps are just existing, unplugged, on the tallboy. They do look different in the photo but they are exactly the same. The photos are of my mum's "aunty" (her cousin, actually), my mum when she was quite young and my grandparents.


And this is what I saw this morning, not really a sunrise (just after) but still as pretty to see. I really do enjoy sitting out there in the mornings.

Now, on to some crochet-related content - I finished the edging on the fleece blanket, just my standard shell border, which I quite like and think it's an effective edging. I did two double-crochets for each blanket-stitch around and then the shell, so it gives it a nice dense sort of look.

The other thing I did was I made a beanie using the alpaca silk I bought to try - I didn't think I'd have enough yarn to do anything else but it looks as if I might've been able to squeeze something a bit fancier out of it since I didn't use that much for the beanie. I used this pattern for the Lacy Shells Hat (I wanted a more interesting stitch) and the result is a bit like an old-fashioned cloche hat (or a baby bonnet but I prefer not to use that comparison). Anyway, as I have some left over, I might try an actual baby hat or something little I can include with the fleece blanket. I don't know yet...

I'll take some photos once I have the ends all tidied up.

Nothing Important

I missed the sunrise this morning, since I got out of bed at 6:30 instead of 5:30 but I think I can be forgiven, as this dreadful cold is still lingering. I do feel much better and I'll be back at work tomorrow (I enjoyed sleeping in)...

I started crocheting a square yesterday - the flower square I used for my floral baby rug but this time I am doing the squares in one colour, it reduces the ends to be woven in from 6 to 2 for each square (not including the edging and crocheting them together) which has to be a Good Thing and it looks quite nice all in white anyway. I'm using the Lincraft "Romance" yarn which is acrylic and mohair. It went well and hardly took any time at all except I made a small mistake on the leaf round and this yarn is just impossible to undo. I'll try again a bit later but I think I'll end up breaking the yarn if I tug at it any more. We shall see.

My good friend Lorna, whose granddaughter was the recipient of the Pineapple Circular Shawl, has let me know her grandson and his wife are expecting a baby and this time, it's going to be a girl (after 4 great-grandsons, this is happy news indeed). I toyed with the idea of making PCS in pink but I'd like this baby to have something unique - I just can't think of what! I was going to make another floral rug (hence the square practice yesterday) but I don't think it's dainty enough...what I'd really like is another pattern like the PCS with different stitches - maybe just a different border (even though I do love those pineapples). I wonder if I can look through my stitch-guides and come up with something myself? Probably not but I'll look anyway. It's worth thinking about.

At the moment, I'm doing a very simple shell border on a pink fleece blanket with a little bunny embroidered in one corner and it's turning out quite nicely so far...

I was going to pick up my lamps and my microwave tomorrow but mum has just phoned me and she suggests we go this afternoon and get them, so I don't have to worry about getting them tomorrow (not that it makes much difference but I am sure after work I will just want to come home and relax). My bedside tables won't be ready for me to pick up until the 23rd which is a bit annoying but there's not much I can do about it...

I spent my day yesterday watching "A Room With A View" and "Pride & Prejudice" (yes, the BBC version that someone I know despises) so I'm not sure what I'm going to watch today. I think I'll go with something funny because I could use a laugh or two...

Someone else I know posted about the mint slice she made a little while ago and when I was shopping last week, I had the good fortune to stumble on the mint slice mix on sale so of course I bought it but I haven't felt as if it would be worth making while I can't taste (what a waste of a good mint slice that would be). I wonder if I can taste it well enough today or if I should wait a bit longer?

Another Day Dawns

As if I wasn't sleep-deprived enough, I was awake with the sparrows at 5:49am. This is odd for me when you also consider that I didn't actually fall asleep until after 1am, thanks (in part) to my next-door-neighbour who was holding some kind of dance party in her apartment until the wee hours of the morning. Some of the music I didn't mind (and I could hear it all very clearly in my bedroom) but the techno remix of "She's Like The Wind" was a bit strange...

To be honest, I didn't mind the music and chatter (except when it was competing with my Elvis and BeeGees CDs earlier), it made me feel less like I was living in a tomb and I liked knowing there were a few people awake nearby, just in case someone decided to break in to my apartment and steal all my china, or the place went up in flames etc. All of a sudden, why I'm not sleeping (dance party aside) becomes obvious!

Anyway, because I woke up at 5:49, I decided to stay up and I had my coffee on the balcony and watched the sun rise again. The photos really don't do it justice. Hopefully tonight I'll nod off without any trouble and get back in to my routine - I've only got a week before I have to go back to work.










The earliest pictures, when it was still mostly dark came out blurry which is funny because I thought it was my vision that was blurry and I couldn't see the camera screen clearly...In some of the photos (the last in particular), you might be able to make out Centrepoint Tower and a few of the City buildings. At night when the view is all sparkling with lights, it's really beautiful.

What A Beautiful Morning

Well, most things have been done. I'm all moved in and getting settled, I still have a few things to do and quite a lot to take over and organise. I am having a lot of trouble sleeping, because there are different sounds to get used to - creaks and drips and what-have-you but I think I'm getting better. It only took me about an hour to fall asleep last night (and I only woke up once) as opposed to the four hours it took me on Monday night and the countless times I woke up.

My sister and I originally planned on going into town for the Dawn Service yesterday (ANZAC Day) but then we scratched that idea because my sister has been sick this week, so we thought we might go in for the march instead...we didn't end up doing either but we did manage to go and watch the game between the Dragons & the Roosters and I was so pleased the Dragons won. I despise the Roosters and I couldn't think of anything worse than going in to watch them win but, as luck would have it, they were soundly thrashed and I was delighted! I did have a feeling the Dragons would win and I'm happy I got to see it all live.

I keep the blinds in my bedroom open at night (otherwise it's pitch black) and this morning, I woke up to a beautiful sunrise:

It's the first time I've seen the sunrise because I have been sleeping in (thanks to not falling asleep until just before the sun rises!) and it really made me feel very happy this morning.

I haven't got my phone or internet connected yet, not until the 1st of May (Thursday) but once that's done I'll be able to update more frequently.

As far as crocheting goes, I haven't done any for ages - all my yarn and hooks are still here and my patterns are all over there but I'm going to try and get them moved over the next few days and then I have a few projects in mind.