A Tale of Two Raglans

Does having two different raglan tops on the needles at the same time mean that I have some sort of problem?




I like to think otherwise. I love top down raglans - they are the ultimate in brainless comfort knitting, and I've never once had to frog one due to fit issues.

The black project in the above picture is nearing completion now - it's a cardigan in the super-bulky Cleckheaton Tempo that I rashly bought way back when I just started knitting. It's not the nicest yarn in the world, but it takes up a lot of room in my stash (you know, the whole super-bulky thing) and I want to use it up. At least the project is going quickly - if I really sink the effort in today, I might even be able to finish it by this evening.

The green project is a raglan style shrug that I'm making out of my Sanguine Gryphon Kypria yarn. I'm not using a pattern, but I've seen other garments constructed in much the same way. It's basically a top down raglan knitted without any front. I started it because, having finished the shawl I was working on, I need another portable project to take to uni. And I am always, always looking for non-sock uses for my sock yarns (that said, autumn is making itself known, so I really should knit some warm socks as well).




In other news, I've been eating a lot of museli (note also the gratuitous fish-bowl shot). I've started making my own, and I really don't know why it took me so long to get around to it. I've always loved museli, but the varieties that you can buy in the shops tend to be either hideously expensive or full of ingredients I don't particularly like (dried apple - urgh, it's like sour rubber!). And making your own is so ridiculously easy.

I used a mixture of oats, sunflower seeds, chopped pecans, flaked almonds, and sesame seeds for my base (that's more or less in descending order of quantities). Then I made a mixture of honey (warmed a little so it mixes easier), vegetable oil, and a wee bit of vanilla essence and cinnamon, and stirred it through the dry mixture. Then I tossed it all onto some trays and put them in a moderate oven until the mixture was toasted and crunchy. When it was cool I added some chopped dried dates and some sultanas. Gorgeous. I encourage everyone else to try it too. I haven't given quantities here because I didn't even use a recipe for this - I just did my usual trick of reading a bunch of them online to glean the basic rules, and then winging it. Anyway, for me to give a recipe would be against the point of the exercise - it's all about making up your own version, with ingredients that suit you! Go and try it!

And finally, I got tagged by the lovely Cadence to produce seven random facts about myself, so here we go:

Seven weird things about Anna:

1. I don't drink coffee, and have only tried it about three times in my entire life. I'm not really sold on the taste (though I'll concede that the smell is heavenly), and I am weirdly impervious to caffeine, so I don't drink it for pick-me-up purposes either.
2. I have been bitten by a member of an endangered species (an orangutan in Malaysia, when I was about 13)
3. I can't whistle, and have only succeeded in clicking my fingers once in my whole life.
4. I am hopelessly hooked on sweets, but could probably give up chocolate without too much angst (pop culture would have you believe that I fail at womanhood for this reason).
   
5. I was born without wisdom teeth.
   
6. I love science fiction/fantasy. I was indoctrinated quite young by my parents - they made me watch a delightful British series from the late 1970s called Blake's 7 (which hardly any Australians these days have even heard of), and I've been hooked ever since.
7. I am a huge bird nerd, and can identify a great many Australian species from just a quick glance (and even by their calls in some cases).
   

I always feel weird tagging people - if anyone else wants to do this, they can feel free (just say I tagged you - nobody will ever know, it'll be our little secret!).

Christmas and the Usual December Mayhem

Whew! Long time, no post. Bad Anna - I've been trying to do the blogging-type-thing more regularly, but the last few weeks have been chaotic. I've been working A Lot over the last few weeks, and when your work day is nine and a half hours long, and you only get to sit down for half an hour the whole time, you tend to come home too tired to even think straight, let alone write blog posts. Especially when you're having to deal with Christmas shoppers....

My own Christmas shopping was fairly limited. I don't tend to go into a mad gift frenzy this time of year. I tend to make things for most people, and only buy a few things for immediate family and sometimes close friends, which really doesn't take that long because I actually think about what I'm going to get them beforehand, rather than just aimlessly trawling the shops and getting depressed by the rampant consumerism and the stress all around. That sounds bitter, but it isn't really. I really like this time of year because I enjoy making people things and giving gifts - I really enjoy it. What makes me sad is the fact that so many people don't seem to enjoy it; they seem to get so bummed out by the feeling of obligation to get gifts for everyone that it sucks the joy out of the whole thing. That's one of the reasons that I like making things for people - I would much rather stay at home, relax, make up a few batches of biscuits to give to friends and enjoy the process of doing something for them than traipse sadly around department stores.

So, long story short, most friends and coworkers got baked goods this year. Though there was a little spot of Christmas knitting. I acquired a present or two for my brother, but by Christmas Eve there weren't that many presents for him under the (hastily erected) tree, and I thought I should rectify the situation. So I spent a rather delightful Christmas Eve night watching Watchmen, eating grilled cheese on toast and knitting a hat for the brother:




(I did have a picture of him wearing it, but he'd just gotten off of an international flight and I thought it would be uncharitable to post pictures of his jet-lagged self on the internet. Maybe later)

The info: Turn a Square by Jared Flood, knitted on 5.5mm double-pointed needles, out of a bit over half a ball of Rowan Pure Wool Aran, and scraps of Cleckheaton Merino Supreme and Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12ply.

The commentary: This was a really great, simply pattern, and was wonderfully quick as well (I hurried it along a little by using heavier weight yarn than called for and casting on fewer stitches). Given my love of raglan style pullovers, I'm actually quite amazed that it took me this long to try the decrease style out in a hat, especially given the fact that I've in the past had quite a bit of trouble with crown shaping. At any rate, I'm definitely glad I did try it - I think I see more of these hats in my future...

The hat aside, the rest of Christmas was a good bit of fun. The aforementioned brother arrived back from Canada on Christmas morning, and bestowed some gifts that he'd acquired over there. My father was particularly enamoured with these slippers:




Not long after, we all sat down to a lovely lunch. Nowadays we don't really tend to do the Christmas roast - too often the Australian weather doesn't really lend itself to such a thing, and when there are only two carnivores in the family, there's not that much call for excessive amounts of meat anyway. So instead we were traditional in the Australian sense and had a barbeque! Behold, our fine spread:



Lamb skewers, roast potatoes, salad, and some lovely cheese and cornbread kebabs with grilled vegetables... Yum. For dessert, we had almond biscuits and ice-cream with this sauce. I have been eating the sauce leftovers today, scooped into my mouth with whole pecans. Yes, I know this will clog my arteries faster than you can say 'saturated fats' - don't care! So a good time was definitely had by all.

In other news, despite work grinding me into the ground, I have been doing some knitting. I have a nearly completed hat and a half completed cardigan on the needles - both my own designs. So stay tuned for those in the near future.

Lastly, on a sadder note, we unfortunately ended up celebrating Christmas with one less family member present than on the previous year. While he had battled on for quite some time, determined to keep sleeping all over my knitting and getting under my feet while I baked for as long as he possibly could, a little under two weeks ago Alex my poor old man cat was just not doing well, so I took him off for his final trip to the vet. We had hoped that he'd last long enough to see my brother at Christmas, but alas it was not to be, and in some ways it's probably better that way - it would possibly have been ever sadder for my brother to see him as he was by the end. I was a bit of a soggy mess at the time - the cat and I had been a duo ever since I was six years old - but really, it was a happy ending. He was nearly 20 years old - he'd had a long life, and a happy one, and he had a merciful end when it was time, with someone who loved him by his side: we should all be so lucky. I, umm, have something in my eyes.... so I'll just leave it at this: Goodbye old man cat - I'll never ever forget you.




So as not to end on such a maudlin note: I generally find the phrase 'Seasons Greetings' to be somewhat irritating, so I don't really want to employ it here, but to everyone who's celebrating at this time of year - for whatever occasion or reason - I hope you have a really wonderful time!

Procratination, pullovers, and cupcakes.

So, I should probably be writing my essay, but that's all right. All work and no play makes Anna a gibbering idiot, so it's really in everybody's best interests that I take a blog break, right? Besides, this is my reward for reaching 3500 words. When I get to 3750, I get to knit some more of my sleeve. It would be nice if I could work without lame forms of bribery, but oh well - the main thing, after all, is that the essay gets written.

Anyway, so what to write about in this delicious guilty pleasure of a blog post? Well, the wedding last week went off without a hitch (there's some kind of moronic pun there, I'm sure, but I'm choosing to ignore it). The weather was lovely, and everyone had a wonderful time. And I managed to brave two forms of public transport on a Spring Racing Carnival weekend and arrive with the cupcakes and shortbread still intact!




Since it was a wedding and all, I was well behaved and went in for nice pastel colours. Such restraint! I was very pleased with how they came out though, for all that I did have a momentary freak out when it occurred to me that I'd presented them to my friend without having eaten one for quality control first! What if they'd tasted like rancid baboon or something? Though I'm happy to report that they didn't... Also, my friend made some delicious spinach and feta muffins that I could have happily eaten all day. I have every intention of trying them in the immediate future - and the recipe is here, for all who are interested.


In other news, I've been very much enjoying my freedom from Sylvi knitting! I am still coming to terms with the fact that I Don't Have To Knit The Coat Anymore. Unfortunately, as much as I'd like to take advantage of this new found freedom with a million new projects, each more seasonally inappropriate than the last (it was 29 degrees today... ho hum), uni is not permissive on this front. I am hanging out for Monday. After that the essay will be in and I can knit merrily away to my heart's content. While, um, revising for my exams. Yay law school! Oh well.

I have been working on my Gathered Pullover though - you always need a bribery project (see above) when essay writing.




This one is now perfect for brain-exploded-essay-diversion because the only part that requires actual thought (i.e. those shiny nice cables that you see above) has been completed. Now it's just knitting sleeves in the round - hurrah! And I still really love the colour.

Anyway, I think that's all the time I can justify spending on a blog break. Back to the essay. I leave you all with tomatoes. I put them on my jumper to stop them getting bruised in my bag on my way back from the shops, and they just looked too cute to ignore.




Please let my odd obsession with foodstuffs slide. I think it's a product of the essay...
(that's a blatant lie, but it's a good excuse for the moment, and I'm sticking to it)

Where Anna is a Bad Melbournian

I am now merrily halfway through the mid-semester break, and am happy to report that I have not gotten all that much done. Oh well - what are you going to do? I'm catching up on sleep, eating lots of vegetables, and doing lots of knitting, and that's what's important, right?

Today was a good example of all of this. Today, for those not in the know, was AFL Grand Final Day. For non-antipodean readers, the AFL Grand Final is arguably the biggest sporting event of the year in this country. It's definitely a huge deal in Melbourne, at any rate. And delightfully, this year I had no idea who was even playing until work yesterday. And it's currently 10:46pm, and I still have no idea who won. I'm wondering how long I'll be able to stave off finding out. I have to work tomorrow, which I think will be the downfall of this particular plan, but that will still be a pretty good effort, given the saturation level of coverage that this event always receives.

Anyway, while everyone else was watching the football, I was spending my day as follows:




I did some knitting on my latest project. It's a Gathered Pullover in Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light in 'Blue Glasnys'. I've been wanting to make this one for ages and ages, and now I'm finally getting around to it. Like most everyone else who has made this one, I'm adding waist shaping, but that's the only mod I have in mind thus far. I'm happy with how it's going - the fabric that the yarn is making on the 4.5mm needles is really nice, and just look at that colour! I was a little unsure about this yarn for this project originally, as I was worried that it might not have the best stitch definition for the cabled section, but after examining some other people's projects on Ravelry, I'm cautiously optimistic.




On non craft related fronts, I also hit up Bunnings Warehouse and got a shiny new bucket, and some more tomato plants for the garden (they were stupidly cheap, and the solitary plant I have at the moment needs company!). I know that I look like some kind of deranged elf wannabe in the photo, but in my defense, it was raining. However, this excuse then begs the question of why I was trying to wash towels on such a day... I just can't win...




It also occurred to me that despite the fact that I not infrequently mention food around here, I had never before made reference to this particular love of mine. See that substance up there in the picture? The one that looks like oddly anaemic butter? That, my friends, is goat butter. And I could happily eat it all day long. You use it just like normal butter - I spread it all over crusty bread - but it has a subtle but distinct goats cheesey flavour to it. Mild, but definitely there. I love it, so very much. Hurrah for Queen Victoria Market for keeping me supplied with such wonders. It's not even prohibitively expensive.

And thus concludes the tale of how Anna was a Bad Melbournian. However, I would also like to make mention of the fact that I also finished the back of my Sylvi today. Yes, I will make this coat if it kills me. I considered doing more today, but after grinding my way through the rest of the back cabling, negotiating raglan seaming for the first time didn't sound too appealing. Tomorrow perhaps. But I am progressing!

Reasons for Neglect, Part One

Poor little blog - how you've been languishing! Alas, I have not been running long on time over the last couple of weeks, as is evident by the way in which things have basically ground to a halt on the craft front. Well, perhaps not a complete halt, but I haven't had nearly as much time to do things as I might have liked, and even less time to blog about what I have been doing.

Anyway, there are two things that I am overdue to blog about. Firstly, the knitting that I've been doing, and secondly, the trip to Tasmania that I've probably been blathering about. Rather than do an enormous Post of Doom that covers both, I decided that it would be more sensible to tackle them one at a time.

So. Tassie.

Months and months ago, Rebecca and I hatched a cunning plan to pay a visit to Tasmania. More specifically, she was coming down to visit from the US and had plans to adventure around down there, and since I had never been before, it was decided that it should be a joint endeavour. Anyway, weekend before last, our evil plan came to fruition!




I packed sensibly. Warm things because it would be cold, and readables because I have a healthy respect for Murphy's Law whenever I fly domestic in this country, and a good book on hand usually serves you rather well. I got into Hobart early in the evening, and met up with Rebecca - definitely a surreal experience after corresponding online for so long. We drove into the city and found our hotel, and then went in search of sustenance. What was found was rather delicious Indian food, including some garlic naan that put me in a good mood for the rest of the evening, just by being as hot and tasty and garlicky as it was.

Saturday morning was spent roaming around Salamanca Market.




I often find markets a little anti-climactic when I've heard as much about them as I had about this one, but thankfully I was far from disappointed. There were lots of fun things to look at, and plenty of tasty things to sample (given the fact that I am a total garbage guts and all, this second point was a rather substantial bonus - I am never bored when there's food involved). I bought some lovely tea from these people - I bought a rather obscene amount of it, actually, because I'd been given orders to fill from friends in Melbourne! Oh, and somewhere along the way I also acquired a cosy new jacket, a pretty coloured dress, and two rather delightful donuts. There was also yarn from The Spindle Tree, though I only bought a tiny amount - more to mark the trip than anything else, as I'm really trying to cut down on buying more until I've used the copious amount that I have. Also my bag was too full of tea.

The afternoon was spent sipping hot apple tea and knitting with all of the lovely ladies from the Hobart SnB group - it was lovely and cosy and fun, and I'm very grateful to them for organising an extra meet so that we could gatecrash, as we both had a lovely time.

On Sunday we stocked up on provisions (i.e. cheese, biscuits, fruit, and the all important beer) and ventured out to Freycinet National Park so that we could do the Wineglass Bay walk that everyone kept recommending to us. We picnicked with the wallabies before venturing out, and then we spent a good couple of hours tramping around the truly lovely landscape - if only my bastard of a camera hadn't run out of battery in Salamanca the day before! In lieu of photographic evidence, you'll all have to either google around for a bit, or just take my word on the fact that it was gorgeous. So there!

Monday was the day that we had to leave, but we crammed plenty into it anyway. We had the breakfast to end all breakfasts at the Jackman & McRoss Bakery - seriously, I was happy for hours just from eating it. Thus fortified, we drove to the top of Mt Wellington, and subsequently froze our arses off - man, but that wind was FREEZING! I couldn't feel my hands after about fifteen seconds of standing in it - really made you remember that Antarctica was the next country over! After we'd gotten back down and defrosted, we lunched and looked around the shops for a while (we found the spice shop to end all spice shops!). And then it was off to the airport to return our car and head back to Melbourne. My plane was delayed by over two hours, so I ended up being very glad that I had my knitting with me - I got home tired, wet, cold, and cranky.

Despite the end, a thoroughly awesome weekend was had! I ate a lot of food, saw a lot of awesome stuff, and did it in great company - what more do you want really? And Rebecca gets special bonus points for spending four days in my company without throttling me - the girl definitely has a strong constitution! Oh, and she gave me yarn, which is always a bonus! Pictures when there's natural light to be had. In the meantime, here is us back in Salamanca - the very last photo before my camera battery gave out:




Hurrah for Tassie adventures! Oh, and kindly note all of the fine knitwear visible in this shot...

In our next (not so) thrilling installment, I shall blather about the knitting I've been doing. Stay tuned, loyal blog readers...

Miscellany!

Behold: lots of miscellaneous things that don't really justify a blog post on their own. And also lots of me showing off my new camera:


This was my birthday present to myself! Three tasty skeins of Sanguine Gryphon yarn. Three skeins of 'Free Range' (100% organic wool, DK weight) in the 'Green Jungle-fowl' colourway, to be exact. I love it. It's absolutely gorgeous, and it makes me happy. This was the first time I'd ever handled organic yarn, so I don't really have much basis for comparison, but I can say that this stuff feels absolutely beautiful...


My favourite dip in all the world - spicy hummus from Queen Victoria Market (please don't ask me what stall, because I can never remember the number). It comes with fresh parsley and dried chilli sprinkled on top, and is nothing short of the best hummus in the universe. The fact that I actually buy it is testimony to the awesomeness of this dip. As cluey readers might have begun to suspect, I am usually the type of person who likes to make their own stuff where possible, and my home-made hummus is perfectly fine. Problem is that it's not as nice as this stuff. Not even close. Magic dip!


I tried my hand at felting for the first time. Or rather, it was the first time that I actually tried to go about it scientifically - I am guilty of once maliciously throwing a particularly hated handknit jumper into the washing machine just to see what would happen...

Anyway, this has turned out quite well. It didn't shrink as much as I was expecting, and the strap is a little too long, but that's easily fixable. It's not too far off being finished - now I just want to add a couple of buttons to make it closable, and put some kind of decoration on the front (the jury is still out on what kind). So basically, we're up to the fun part, having progressed from both the drudgy endless part and the soapy soggy part.

Also, in the background of the above shot is a Wisp that I'm working on, with the goal being simply to keep my hands busy during lecture recordings while getting rid of some hateful mohair that I bought in a fit of madness a few months back. I'm actually pleased with how it's coming along, though I'll likely end up trying to fob it off onto somebody else, because mohair is really not my thing...


And here is a birthday card that I made on the weekend for my aunt's 50th. Because I'm one of those people who can never quite bring themselves to fork out $5 for a shop bought card. I do of course like making cards of course, but, um, yeah, tight-arsery weighs in here too. It would be a filthy lie to suggest otherwise...

Anyway, I'm off to the iron. My poor Terra had a very unfortunate run in with some hot wax today, so I'm using all the tricks in my arsenal to try and salvage the poor sleeve in question. I'll be rather sad if I can't get the wax out - I love this one to pieces, and wear it all the time... Wish us both luck!

Malevolent dinner!

Well, Ravelry is down for maintenance and I need something to do while I give my hands a rest from sock knitting, so I figured I'd do a somewhat uneventful update...

True to my word, I've started on some socks with my lovely Live 2 Knit yarn:

This is a sock of firsts for me in many ways, so how well it will work out is a little up in the air. First time not knitting socks on dpns, first time using Magic Loop, first time I've tried colour work in a sock, and first sock I've ever knitted from my own pattern. So I guess we'll see. I still love the colours, but it's occurred to me now that this sock could be interpreted as a little bit, erm, Olympics-style patriotic (green and gold, anyone?). Oh well, there are worse things.

*sigh* There's so much knitting I want to do before I go away, but not nearly enough time to do it all when I consider all of the other things I need to do before leaving. I've wrangled the law faculty re: my enrolment for next semester (they were being difficult), and I've already pencilled in all of the people I need to see before I leave, but there's still buckets to do. Meh. The knitting will be here when I get back.


The weather over the last while has been archetypal Melbourne weather. Last Thursday - I was wearing a woollen jumper, hat and scarf out and still shivering. The Thursday before that - it was in the mid thirties and I was in a mere singlet top and still sweating. I suppose I should look on the bright side - at least I'm getting wear out of the jumpers I knitted so late in the year...


Hopefully I'll finish something interesting before I leave.
In the meantime, I leave you all with a picture of the Evil Avocado of Doom!

Is it obvious from looking at this that my parents never told me not to play with my food?

Pretty good, eh?

A constructive day...

I'm having one of those glorious days when I feel constructive. Only problem is that now it's evening and I've just eaten, which means I'm feeling too full and sluggish to actually do things. So what do we do? We make lists, and plan things, and feel constructive that way, that's what!

There's lots of knitting things I've got lined up at the moment. I don't have a lot of money right now, so I'm trying to burn through the not-insubstantial stash instead of gallivanting around the yarn shops and making merry with my meagre funds. All of the things I've got lined up in my brain are things I can make with yarn I already have. Especially after Friday (Clegs sale + Anna being owed a belated birthday present by certain parties = yarn acquisition).

Behold the ill gotten gains:




I got a whole bunch of 100% wool (12 balls odd?), some lurvely green merino/silk yarn (6 balls), and a single merry ball of grey Patonyle. Very nice indeed. And I know what I'm going to do with it all!

(eeew, but now I'm dissatisfied, because the above picture gives the heinously false impression that I might have bought pink yarn... the very idea... It's actually more of a pinky purple. I definitely do not do the colour pink)

Oh, and on the note of yarn sales, I'm finally using some poor languishing yarn that I've had kicking around since the Cleg's Boxing Day sale... It's been hanging around for so long because it's... mohair. And I don't do mohair. I honestly have no idea why I keep buying it. It just really isn't my thing. I don't like fluffy (or not in my yarn, anyway... it's forgivable in small animals). It's not something that features in my wardrobe with any great frequency. But, for some reason I bought it, so now I'm using it, and it's actually pleasing me for some inexplicable reason. I'm making a Simple Yet Effective shawl using it and some black fake mohair that somehow found its way into my possession as well. And, well, it's pleasing me! It's fun to pat, it's rainbow and black, and very relaxing to knit.

That said, I don't know if it will ever make it out of my front door. Fuzzy (and stripey rainbow fuzzy at that) isn't something I think I can pull off. Maybe it might work if I was small and cute and had pigtails. But the fact remains that I am nearly six feet tall, frown a lot, and generally can't pull off cute to save my life. I don't think that fuzzy is something that's going to happen. But you never know, do you?

Wow, that was a tangent. Anyway, the knitting list is as follows:

• Finish my poor languishing alpaca cardigan, while it's still winter and alpaca remains a valid wardrobe choice - all it needs is it's zip put in, and a little crochet (whimpers in fear) to fix up the neckline
• Finish my Woodland shawl (over 2/3 of the way through now)
• Finish the garter mitts I've been making for Richard's birthday (which, Anna you lazy bum, was on May 13th... get off your arse and knit, dammit! It will take you all of two measly hours to finish)
• Make the lining for that poor bag that's been kicking around my study for the last six months - it'll take all of five minutes once I finally get out the sewing machine and get down to it
• Either rip or finish that crazy, abnormally coloured cable jumper that's hiding half-finished in my bedroom... before it evolves into something living and tries to gnaw my leg off while I sleep

And once I've done these things (or at least enough of them to justify starting new stuff), there's other stuff on the agenda (because I am now organised enough to have plans for my stash yarn!):

• Make a Tempting with the awesome cables mod I saw on Ravelry out of my beautiful, shiny, lovely, verging on edible Naturally Me yarn
• Some Endpaper Mitts in my grey/black Patonyle
• A Luna Moth shawl in my Naturally Merino et Soie yarn
• A top down raglan with some self-designed colourwork with all of that 8ply wool
• Socks! I don't care what kind, but I want warm feet and have the yarn with which to attain this goal!
• A vest (something with a cable, I dunno, I'll make something up) out of that maroon acrylic/wool blend that lives near my bookshelf

There are other plans too, though most of them are either things that I need to buy more yarn for (I want a Noro shrug, but that will unfortunately need to wait until I have more money, as right now I have all of one skein of the yarn that I want to make it from), or uses for yarn that I have that haven't quite coagulated (hehe, yeah, that's definitely the correct word) into projects in my head yet.

Hmmm, I should probably conclude this post now. But at least it's here to motivate me. Now that the "Internet" has heard my plans, I need to follow through and do them.

(I have this weird mental thing where I think of the "Internet" as being like another person who will judge me if I procrastinate... well, whatever works, I suppose, though I think that all this really does is reflect just how technologically backwards I am)

And now I must go and write stuff. I've decided (in non-knitting related constructive thought) that I'm going to submit an entry to the Melbourne Uni creative writing anthology publication this year, and since it's full of people who can actually write, I'll need to lift my game and put in some effort if I even want the slightest piddling chance of making the cut... and even then I'm not getting my hopes up - I suspect that these things only publish people who have a much better command of the English language then me.

(Back to my original paragraph... at least I did constructive things earlier... I went into uni, studied diligently for a few hours, returned library books, made a hairdressers appointment, etc. And at least lunch was lovely and a half... my favourite spicy hommus from Queen Victoria market, turkish bread, some lovely fresh dates... man I love dates, washed down with a glass of rather nice Cabernet Merlot. If all lunches could be so good, I would be a happy Anna indeed).

Oh my, I am very brackety indeed today, am I not?