Saturday, November 30, 2019

Dies Atra


Not a great day, but I got some things done: my morning exercises, and a digging around in the blog archives to find out all I could about pocket squares. And a Tesco order, arriving Monday.

In the early months of 2015 I was doing a lot of other things besides knitting pocket squares, so there was a lot of digging to be done. Someone wrote a short story once – could it even have been Graham Greene? – that starts a life history with the funeral, and works backwards. The blog-reading had something of that effect – my husband getting stronger and more bad-tempered. Myself so much stronger than am I now.

I was impressed with how helpful and supportive all four of my children were. How unappreciated, I fear.

And oh! that was when Perdita came to live here. How we loved each other before this awful other cat came!


That's Paradox, yesterday.

Now I’ll go spend one last evening with the Dathan hap, and another episode of The Crown. I do agree, FugueStateKnits, that borders-inward is the way to knit. That delicious illusion, as the stitch count decreases, that you are knitting faster and faster! Amedro has some patterns where there is no centre square – you just go on knitting inwards until there is nothing left. I don’t think it would work with the Dathan (why not?) but it’s a happy thought.

Non-knit

I got as far as the butcher today: I have to go out on Saturday, to get the Financial Times. And I thought, as I hobbled along, that everybody else must be as bored with this election as I am. Less than two weeks to go – the lampposts completely innocent of posters, no notices in anybody’s windows. One would not know that it was happening.

I’m reading “The Golden Fleece” and quite enjoying it.

10 comments:

  1. "Quite enjoying it!" She clearly had a lovely time researching it, and I consider her very brave putting her "beginnerish" efforts into pictures, and I am sure she is a lot better now - I would hate to see some of my early work on display. It arrived as I was in convalescent mode, and was just right, with no bad errors to upset my calm. A keeper.

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  2. Anonymous8:16 PM

    Maybe Paradox should go live with Archie. I think they both would prefer to be only cats, and Paradox already knows him.

    Beverly in NJ.

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  3. Alas for this plan — Archie would be happy to adopt Perdita, whom he loves. Paradox with all that fur and prettiness and endearing ways is simply too good to be true.

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  4. Anonymous9:49 PM

    Martin Amis’s “Time’s Arrow” went backwards through - if I remember rightly - a Nazi doctor’s life

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  5. I'm currently reading a book about the medieval wool trade. I'm learning a lot. I have adopted your method for these dull November days - fifteen minutes of Duolingo German, a chapter of "The Charterhouse of Parma" in the original French. I find it helps one to feel some sense of achievement.

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  6. Anonymous10:44 PM

    It is usually possibe to rehome a cat who has proved incompatible with the original feline resident. While I agree that organising it within the family enables you to keep in touch,your vet could probably help you find Paradox a new home and would not be at all surprised at such a request because it's not uncommon for even cat sisters to tutn out to be "unfriends" in adulthood. If you felt it would benefit Perdita........

    I love your plans for December's knitting. My dog is finally old enough not to be interested in knitting, not so our cat at 20 months. My productivity is down (but reading time is up),

    JennyS

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  7. I did buy Golden Fleece, but haven’t started it yet. I needed something good and escapist, and went for the Wych Tree.

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  8. Anonymous12:35 PM

    There are people who are really good at providing clever captions for cat contortions. This photo of Paradox would certainly provide great inspiration! So sorry that their incompatibility disturbs the calm in your household. Chloe

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    Replies
    1. Those curled up back paws just slay me with cute.

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  9. I'm plugging away at The Golden Fleece. I have too many reads right now during Advent, but I LOVE reading about British wool.

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