Wibbo's Words

Purple rules OK

Liz and I met up in town yesterday to exchange Christmas presents and have a long, leisurely lunch. We had a great time even though the weather was really awful; rain, rain and more rain, and we both got very soggy round the edges. Liz gave me lovely presents (she's definitely up there in the Top Rank of Present Givers....) including yarn and this fab pair of purple socks.

They're knitted in Opal Magic in colour 1015 and there's even a length of matching yarn attached to the label, just in case. The yarn in the corner is Classic Two, colour Tropical Berries, from Kaalund Yarns; there's a staggering 356 metres in the ball. Isn't it gorgeous?

More Christmas treats

Met my friend Gavin for our Christmas day out. First stop was the British Museum where we saw Samuel Palmer: Vision and Landscape.

This is Cornfield by Moonlight, with the Evening Star, a watercolour painted in 1830. His watercolours and drawings were wonderful; the oil paintings and etchings less so.

After feasting our eyes, we did the other sort of feasting at Tas in Bloomsbury. Delicious food!

Happiness on a plate

Nick, a designer friend gave me good chocolate and a Cath Kidston plate for Christmas, beautifully wrapped in shiny purple paper. The arrangement looks so pretty that I've managed to leave the chocolate untouched over Christmas but this state of affairs isn't likely to last much longer...

The picture says it all.....

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr de Mille

There's been lots of frantic activity lately at Wibbo Towers; projects and swatches to meet two different crochet book deadlines are now almost finished, thank goodness. I can't post pictures of any of the finished projects (the publishers wouldn't like that!), but here's a quick glimpse of one of them. I usually slip stitch blocks together with a crochet hook which gives a really neat finish with little ridges forming between the blocks. I wanted a flatter effect this time, so I stitched the blocks together instead. Joining them this way took a lot longer, but I'm pleased with the result. Lights, camera, action!

Top Ten

One of my favourite London places, the Gherkin,

came second in a recent poll of modern UK buildings. I think the Gherkin's such a brilliant addition to the London skyline and it comes only just below the Great Court at the British Museum in my Top Ten list of gorgeous buildings.

The official poll results:

1. Eden Project, Cornwall

2. 30 St Mary Axe (the Gherkin), London

3. McLaren Technology Centre, Woking, Surrey

4. Great Court, British Museum, London

5. Gateshead Millennium Bridge

6. Cardiff Millennium Stadium

7. Millennium Bridge, London

8. Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh

9. Selfridges, Birmingham

10. Tate Modern, London

It's cold today

Brrrr, it's chicken soup weather. Here's the soup bubbling away on the stove.

Chicken thighs, onions, carrots, leeks, parsnips and a couple of spuds cooking with garlic, flat-leaved parsley, thyme and an organic stock cube. Smells nice and it's almost ready to eat.....

Nice piece of kit

Collected my package from the sorting office this morning.

It's a Monster iCable from here. Now I can connect my iPod to the stereo system  in the living room; but first I'll have to negotiate the tangle of cable spaghetti lurking on the floor.....

On my iPod this week, I've been mainly listening to the Loud Playlist. Lots of loud music from oldies-but-goodies such as Free, Wishbone Ash, Cream, Pink Floyd, Gary Moore, Roxy Music and U2 with a sprinkling of newer sounds.

Easily pleased

Flossie, like most cats, is easily pleased. Regular food and naps, lots of cuddles, a clean litter tray plus the best (and warmest) seat in the house.

Life wouldn't be complete without her favourite toys, a Kitty Hoots Trout Tease (sadly now a retired design) and a sucked-to-death pink EEEKs mouse, both from Fat Cat Inc.

Rant

Don't you just hate it when the postie pushes a sorry-you're-out-please-collect-the-package-from-the-sorting-office card through your door without ringing the doorbell first to see if you're at home? And you are at home. Hmmm.....

On a happier note, some parcels did make it through my front door this week. This is a box of rather lovely yarn from Yarn Forward in Canada.

Lopi, Light Lopi, nice sparkly stuff made by Lang and some different DK yarns; all destined for work projects, so not much in the way of purple!

This year, Amazon have supplied Christmas presents from me to myself. I usually buy myself a treat or two at this time of year after I've finished shopping for everyone else's presents; it might be yarn, books, music or whatever takes my fancy. This year's treats are series 1 and 2 of The West Wing on DVD and the first volume of John Eliot Gardiner's Bach Cantatas.

Streatham's looking really Christmassy with new decorations this year. They look much nicer in real life....