Friday, July 21, 2017

I’ve got a little, tiny green tomato on one of my tomato plants on the doorstep! How’s that for exciting?

I got on well with the Polliwog yesterday, first sleeve finished, sewn bind-off completed – I didn’t even have to look up the technique. I’ve made a good start on picking up stitches for the second sleeve, but I discovered at the close of play yesterday that I am doing it wrong.

I thought I wanted 90 stitches. I only need 6o, so I’ll have to double back. Over-confidence bred of the successful sewn bind-off.

The decision about What Comes Next now looms. Marie Wallin’s Lovage, I think.

Carol: Orla's shawl is the Paton's pattern designed by "Mrs Hunter of Unst" to which KD devotes a chapter in her Haps book. I knit it for Orla's grandmother Rachel many years ago. In Ravelry, it goes by a slightly different name -- but I've forgotten what. (One of you told me.) Once you find it, I think it's a free pattern. 

Money

For many years I kept accounts with Quicken. I even wrote a book about it. Then I upgraded to a faster computer and found that, although it would load the program, it refused to import the data. Intuit, by then, had deserted the UK. I struggled, and then sort of gave up.

Then at some point I moved on from that computer to my husband’s laptop – it won’t even load the Quicken disk. Microsoft Money has also deserted the UK, and the homegrown program once provided by Sage seems also to have melted away. It was a bit kludgy. Sage and Intuit still offer small business software. Maybe Microsoft does, too -- who knows?

Google’ing seems to show that nothing else in the personal finance line is available here in the UK. People use apps on their telephones – but I am not that advanced with mobile telephony, and anyway what I want is an overview, over all the various accounts we have squirrelled here and there, of what is actually happening. I’ve got plenty of money just now – don’t worry. But incomings will now be reduced, as pensions are cut; and outgoings, although lower, won’t be that much lower. As I say, I need an overview.


Yesterday I gave up, and went back to the computer mentioned above which will load Quicken but refuses to import data (too late now, anyway) – and started again from the beginning. It’s going to take more than a bit of doing, but I feel wonderfully invigorated by having made the start.

8 comments:

  1. I think maybe the pattern for Orla's shawl is here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/shetland-shawl-8. I found it my typing "jean's knitting Mrs Hunter of Unst" and got links to several of your blog posts about the progress of the shawl, plus the ravelry link. Isn't google amazing? (Assuming it's the right pattern!)

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    1. Oh, well done! That's it, all right. And Inagree, isn't Google clever?

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    2. Yes that's it. If you look in the comments I added the links to the easier to read online versions The Cloud Drift Shawl which is the same pattern http://www.knitting-and.com/knitting/patterns/baby/cloud-drift.html hosted by the wonderful Sarah Bradbury in Australia.

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    3. Thank you Jean. I've been admiring that shawl ever since you posted Orla's pic. I have found the pattern, both versions, thanks to kayT and Judith. Google came up with a collection of photos from your blog. Clicking on a few photos took be back to 2009 when you attended a wedding in Connecticut. Fun stuff. I only started following you 3 or 4 years ago. As a solid fan of yours now, I found this quite enjoyable.

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  2. There is something called Pocketsmith, available in over 230 countries, or so they say. I used, Quicken, then Ibank, then gave up and download into an Excel spreadsheet.

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  3. I agree with getting excited about small tomatoes - just watch them grow!! Re Quicken etc - technology is moving faster than my brain at this point. At 80+ one needs help but even the helpers are being outpaced.

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  4. Anonymous10:04 PM

    Jean, my husband uses Mint.com for an overview on where money comes from and where it goes. (The slice of the pie devoted to knitting and books is a bit shocking, even to me!). I wonder if that would help you.

    Barbara M. In NH

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  5. Mint is online you may not want to use that but many do. I tried it but didn't like it. There is a program called moneydance that I tried years ago and it seems to be better now. Just looking at their website. I may try it again. It does import all your quicken data btw.

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