Oh, Skeindalous! Oh, Ron! I think you have probably sold me the Tokyo Shawl. After all, if I keep on knitting steadily forward as at present, I will (I think) be clear of present responsibilities by the end of February or so. That's not too far away. I do want to attempt a Fair Isle vest, and start the Queen Ring, but...

A substantial number of the Tokyo-shawl-knitters on Ravelry, write about it in Japanese. That's an added inducement, if one were needed.

But there's also the annual danger that Scotland might win the Calcutta Cup and I'd have to knit a commemorative sweater – or two, this time, for the little boys. It's not terribly likely to happen, as the match will be played in London, and Scotland haven't won there since Late Forty-Eight (not an historical statement, you can look it up if you're interested, but a quotation from Guys and Dolls). But Scotland have been playing with a new spring in their step recently, and England haven't been all that sharp, so it's possible.

The match is on March 11 – too late, I hope, to incorporate the cup in either of my current projects. Hellie, an Englishwoman, wouldn't want it in her bridal veil anyway, but Archie, at a rugby-loving school, might not mind having it in a very inconspicuous place such as one of those reverse-side hems.

Yesterday went well – another two scallops on the edging of the Bridal Shawl, without further disaster. That hole from Thursday evening is still there, still mysterious, and still, apparently, secure. I finished the third skein (of 12) on Archie's sweater. I did wind another – the fifth – and will continue to alternate it with the fourth. The trouble with the fourth is that, although the colour is fine, there isn't as much undyed near-white as elsewhere, the quality that gives a madelinetosh fabric such wonderful life.

Non-knit

I did get my order in yesterday for a new Resident's Parking Permit – I'm sure I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't promised you guys. The to-do list is every bit as long, but for a moment or two, less terrifying. If we get the Disabled Parking Badge we applied for earlier this week, we will no longer need to pay the hefty annual fee for Resident's Parking.

But today I leave the to-do list behind and go walking. I got a letter from the dr yesterday saying that my bone density isn't too bad, I don't need to go back to taking those weekly pills, but I should eat calcium and go in for “weight-bearing exercise”. Does that mean walking? I bought myself some Dunsyre Blue cheese, for the calcium.