We’re not leaving until tomorrow.

I spent a successful couple of hours yesterday getting to grips with financial paper work. Everything went completely haywire over Christmas, and then January was devoted to the 2009-10 income tax with the result that the current-financial-stuff-to-be-processed pile reached previously unknown heights. It’s still pretty big.

C. gave her two daughters an enduring power of attorney years ago, and it has now been activated. I don’t know how you do that; might be interesting to ask. We have given one to Alexander and the thought of his fastidious horror at the mess in here when I have my stroke is enough to inspire me to carry on with the job.

Mary Lou found Setsuko Torii’s book for me at Knit-Purl, and I have ordered it. She also found it at the mighty Lacis but their website made me feel that California is a long way from the rest of the world; dealing with us seemed difficult for them. So now all I have to do is look forward to receiving it.

RtB progresses. Knitting only one-quarter of the circumference at a time gives a delicious feeling of rapid progress. I finished the top mitred square for the right-hand side, and am nearly finished with the subsequent dark stripe. I completely forgot my own insight, and started it on the wrong side of the jacket, which was where I was when I finished the square. The result of course was a broken line of purl bumps on the right side.

I can’t see any way around this difficulty (which will recur) other than adding or subtracting a row. I’m using a circular needle, but if I push everything along and start the new colour from the other end, I’ll get st st, won’t I?

Matt’s sock yarn is holding up nicely – there’s plenty for one further stripe and then the i-cord edging throughout. I am nearly finished with the second skein of greenery-yallery, however. Winding those babies is tough – the skeins are so big that towards the end of the winding one’s hand aches from stretching to hold the ball. I’m sure you know the experience. But one more wind will finish the job.

Kristie (comment yesterday), I don’t really know who this jacket is for. I think I started it for the challenge of the pattern and to use up some yarn.

The Six Nations rugby season is upon us – this is relevant. Scotland are doing particularly badly. We have lost to France and Wales so far. At some point in March we will play the annual match-of-matches, against England. That one has a trophy of its own, the Calcutta Cup.

We won in 2000, after a 10-year dearth. I knit the cup into Kirsty Miles’s christening shawl. We won again in ’06 (sweater for Alexander) and ’08 (sweater for Ketki), and last year the match ended in a draw (hat for James-the-younger). This year I have promised the Little Boys a sweater each if Scotland wins. It’s a safe bet that I won't be called on to honour the promise.

The game will be played in London and I don’t think Scotland have won there since before the war – you will notice that all the victories just mentioned happened in even-numbered years. But I enjoy thinking about it – will we have the same design in two different yarns? The same yarn but two different designs? Identical sweaters? Two completely different ones? I will buy the yarn from Posh.

But it won’t happen.