It's stormy in Edinburgh this morning. It's recycle day for cardboard and plastic. I put our contribution out, briefly, and a few minutes later retrieved it from all over the square. If I'm lucky, I can rush out when I hear the lorry.

There is very little else to report.

Knitting went well. The 17^th diamond is done, and another five rows will finish off the 17^th repeat (of the centre of the Unst Bridal Shawl). The yarn bra's have arrived, for keeping front and back separate when I start knitting the borders Fleegle-fashion. That is, turning at the end of each round and knitting back the other way with a different ball of yarn – garter stitch in the round. The borders are only 136 rows deep and Sharon has charted every row. That sounds pretty manageable to a Princess-survivor.

I also had a good day with the restored Quicken, tidying piles of paper from hither and yon and finding financial titbits which needed to be entered. There is still a huge backlog of receipts to be entered before I can say that my affairs are in order.

I wandered about the internet just now, looking for something to tell you about, without much success. The Twist Collective hasn't put up a spring issue yet. Knitty has (with fewer patterns than usual, surely?), but there's nothing from Franklin, who's taking a break. There's an utterly first-rate article by Donna Druchunas about how to read a Japanese knitting pattern. There's an interest it would be worth reverting to. I did once manage the Japanese instructions for an ear-flap hat.

And I learn from Knitty that Arne and Carlos have a new book out, "Knit-and-Crochet Garden". When will they give us a sweater book? I think I have all their work, and indeed I have knit some of their Christmas tree ornaments in my day. It would be silly to buy this one, although that reflection won't necessarily stop me from doing it.