I’m sorry about yesterday. A social engagement in the morning meant that the day’s strength had to be spent on tidying the sitting room. It looks much better.

Lying in bed this morning, worrying about the day, I decided that I need to resort to that old end-of-year list-making, instead of just knocking off the most urgent job each time and considering that a day’s work.

My sister phoned in the evening. Two interesting things: she didn’t seem to know what the phrase “bed-blocking” means. She’s a doctor, and has seen our parents through end-of-life. Things must indeed be different in the US. And, secondly, although she worked for Hillary in her (my sister’s) high-flying days, and admired her, she’s almost as unhappy about the current choice as I am.

While I’m there: I was distressed, in the third debate, by Hillary’s repeated references to how Osama bin Laden had been "brought to justice". That’s wasn't justice, lady. That was summary execution, or assassination, if you prefer. It sent me back, yesterday, to Wikipedia on the Nuremberg Trials. Stalin and Churchill and Roosevelt had been talking for months, before the war in Europe ended, about what to do with the Nazi leaders, and summary execution was high among the possibilities they discussed. I’m glad they chose as they did.

Not everyone was convicted at the Trials, and, among those who were, not everyone was hanged. They were being tried for war crimes, not just for losing. It’s all pretty distressing – I loathe capital punishment – but the Allies were trying to let justice be seen to be done. Hillary wouldn’t remember.

Knitting

The Uncia has been pretty stressful, too. Shandy, I wish you were here to sweat it through with me. Somebody said that Chart H, the final one, was the worst of all. I sailed through the first 16 rows or so, not bad at all, especially since the repeat was shorter than in earlier charts. Then…!

370, with those Make-1’s next to YO’s in the previous row. I got through that, more or less, with the help of your comment. 371 went pretty well, although there was a bit of trouble at the end – two stitches missing in the final repeat, which would be the first repeat of 372.

But then 372 turned out to be the first wrong-side row with action of its own more exciting than K or P or slip-one. I discovered that on Thursday evening, 371 having been my only achievement of the day. I put the knitting aside in horror. Things went better yesterday. I did three rows, got those missing stitches re-inserted, and at the end – 374 – all was well, the stitches presenting themselves to be knitted or purled as required.

375 doesn’t look bad at all. But at the moment, I have abandoned all thought of five-rows-a-day. Inching forward is all my ambition.