Greek Helen is meant to be with us this evening. And central Scotland (=us) is meant to be having a serious storm, indeed is pretty wet and windy already. My considerable experience of life suggests that forecast storms rarely turn out to be quite as bad as forecast, and anyway this one seems to be forecast to be worse in the west (=Glasgow & Loch Fyne). Helen’s husband David is a worrier after my own heart, and will keep me informed through the day.

If I’m not here tomorrow, it ought to mean that Helen is here. She emailed yesterday to say that she would do the ironing, as long as she was allowed to cross it off the list. Alas, she would have to enlist Rumpelstiltskin to get her through that pile, and it isn’t on the list anyway – it seems like cheating to include normal, non-December things that have to be done all the time. Cook lunch. Wash up. But it was a kind thought. We are greatly blessed in all four of our children.

Little to report on the knitting front. I’ve started the crown decreases for the red beanie – finish this evening, perhaps. Zite showed me a red scarf pattern this morning – never mind the pattern, a scarf in madelinetosh scarlet would light up the winter all right. Thot for next year.

And I meant to say, a propos the little Brownstone, that mixing madelinetosh yarn from various sources seems to work fine. Dye lot really doesn’t matter. That sweater has all three of my purchases – the first sleeve gets about to the elbow with the yarn originally ordered from Amsterdam for Thomas-the-Elder’s sweater. Then it switches to that odd, unplyed yarn from Happy Knits, and finally back to the original sort, this time from Jimmy Bean. The Knitting Police could find the demarcation lines, but I am perfectly happy with the result. Irregularities are all subsumed, to my eye, in the delicious not-quite-uniformity of the dye.

Zite also led me this morning to a video of Arne & Carlos at home. You can see it on their website. They are older than they might at first appear, I am sorry to have to tell you. I went there hoping for some hint of sweater designs from them, but there is nothing. I have formed the tentative intention of a funky Norwegian design for the 2012 Calcutta Cup sweater. I ought to be able to do it myself, anyway. First win your rugby match.

Non-knit

When I was distinctly young, I remember (I think) that Civil War veterans, one or two, still turned out for Memorial Day parades. Now Pearl Harbor survivors are getting pretty rare. Three whole separate centuries are involved here, counting me, the observer, in the 21st.