A good life

Back to work again, but actually feel rested. It's a very different experience from last year when we had so many things to prepare for and complete during this term that it almost drove the leadership team into the ground and at each others' throats. A horrible time, best forgotten!

J and I worked much of the weekend turning the deck from a winter sanctuary for the tender plants in the collection into a summer habitat for people. I shall be spending most of my Summer here:



or here:



with occasional trips here for lunch:



There's some interesting discussion on AK list at the moment about what is a reasonable amount to spend on a hobby.
When I first learned to knit (30 odd years ago in the 60’s and 70’s) my knitting mentors used scratchy wools or more fashionable acrylics and that’s what I used too because that was what was around and no one spent much money on yarn – knitting, in my family at least, was still utilitarian. I got into knitting in a big way in the 80’s and spent comparatively large amounts of my unmarried wages on funky mohairs and crunchy cotton mixes. I discovered Patricia Roberts and then Kaffe Fassett and I was undone! I remember coming back from a business trip to London in the mid 80s, having found a late night yarn store in Covent Garden and having spent about a week’s wages on enough variegated thick and thin wool yarn to knit a long sleeved sweater for my then much less ample bod. I can still remember the pleasure I got from that whole experience. For me, knitting is about the process as much as the finished object. I think that’s why I don’t mind having several projects on the go at once and I like to keep my stash in a mix of clear polythene boxes in the storage room and a woven African basket by my sofa. I love to see the yarn; I love the choosing of yarn, the colours and textures. I prefer to use wooden needles because of the feel and the way yarn looks against them when on the needles. I guess, I’m trying to say that I spend what I can afford to on my hobby. I’m blessed that my current lifestyle and salary can support my interest in yarn, but the pleasure I get from a well-chosen project far outweighs the actual cost of the components and I certainly don’t knit now as may mum and nana used to, because it was a cheaper alternative to buying clothes. I agree with Rosie (whose Koigu Oriental Jacket is just fabulous and is on my wish list for when I’m ready to tackle a project of that scale), for me it’s priceless, it’s pleasure, it’s creativity, it’s art.

J and I are very fortunate in that we are, in his words, 'Boring b**t**ds' these days and don't go out drinking, partying any more, we don't smoke or stick our money up our noses. We buy yarn, plants and he collects maritime memorabillia. We're happy!