Minus 5 deg celsius to be precise . Still its cosy in our wee home . Lots of knitting and spinning going on just now , some may be gifts , some is mine , all mine! Haha!
Finished knitting the beret from Ysolda's book Saturday Treats , using some very lovely handspun yarn that Secret Santa gave to me about 2 years ago . Its a leafy green colour so perfect for the leaf beret .
Have started a kidsilk haze scarf too , with some beads , but this one will probably be a gift , as will the handspun yarn I made with some lovely fibre from Easyknits called Plum Pie .
Had a particularly lovely time last week , went down to Basingstoke to visit my DH who works there now . With the exception of some dreadful train journeys' , had a great time going into London to visit the Pre-Raphaelite exhibition at the Tate Modern . Wonderful exhibition with seven different rooms each under a different heading , relating to what the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood were doing at that specific time . It took me two hours to go round everything , my feet were aching but I did not want to leave . Sadly it finishes on January 13th , so won't get another chance to see it again .
On Thursday I took a very pleasant and short train journey to Winchester , ancient capital of England . Such a beautiful medieval city , full of interesting nooks and crannies and the market was in full flow when I arrived . I headed to the nearby Cathedral to have a look inside and see if I could find Jane Austens' grave . A tour had just started so I joined in , and the docent was very knowledgeable and interesting . Its such a beautiful sacred space , and not only did I see Jane Austens' grave , I found some PRB designed stained glass windows in the Epiphany Chapel! (Edward Burne-Jones to be exact) I must say the Winchester Bible gave me shivers down my spine , here was a handwritten document made over 800 years ago , beautifully done and , even with my limited latin, I could understand . Who was this talented scribe?
Jane Austens' grave inside Winchester Cathedral
Crypt of Winchester Cathedral which floods at certain times of year - with Antony Gormley scuplture
Coffee in the Refectory
Friday saw me take my youngest to the Yule night at West Kilbride , a half hour drive down the Ayrshire coast from Gourock . My friend Ange has kindly offered to feed us too , so after dinner we headed out into the frosty evening to the Santa parade , then Thom and Callum played with their light sabres (cheap nasty ones on sale in the street) , while Ange and I popped into the shops . All of them had drinks and nibbles , and very tasty it was too . At Old Maiden Aunt - Liliths beautiful studio , we stopped for a while , chatting to our friends Gwen and Rhiannon and Ziggy the dog . Poor Ziggy disgraced himself by relieveing himself by the big suitcase in the studio, Ooops!
Karie , Elaine , Lynette and their partners all came down from Glasgow for the evening , and it was great fun . The "boys" (big and small) and Lesley chatted about Star Wars , while much mulled wine and tasty baked cookies and cakes were consumed. Fabulous! Karie even brought her Danish cakes.
Saturday , we took the kids into Glasgow to see the lights , visit Forbidden Planet (boy heaven!) and have some Pizza . It was mobbed , but we did what we went up to do , somehow the boys got early "gifts" at forbidden planet - Dr Who figures and a James Bond book . A bemused German chap asked about Dr Who , apparently they have just started showing it on German TV.
My two crossword buddies and I went back into Glasgow on Monday , a bit more civilised , coffee at Tinderbox in Princes Square while the school choir was singing , a look around the Continental Market down by St Enoch Square , a bit of Christmas shopping and a bit more eating .
I guess Christmas has begun!
