Fir too big?

Maybe I'd got carried away with yesterday's festive knitting fun, but for some reason I caved in to the kids' request to go out and buy a Christmas tree today. We don't usually do that until much later in December.

Is there an expression along the lines of 'bitten off more than you can chew' pertaining to buying Christmas trees? I feared that's what we'd done as we wrangled the monster fir off the car roof and in through the front door. I guess that's just what happens when you tree-shop at an any-size-the-same-price outfit - it's so tempting to try and really get your money's worth.

Thankfully we'd invested in a proper tree stand last year, so we didn't have to spend two hours precariously balancing a nine foot tree in a too-small bucket stuffed with bricks. We did have to buy an extra string of lights, though, so that the illuminations didn't stop halfway up.

Anyway, here it is all decorated. What d'you think? You have to admit it does spruce up our living room - does it make you pine to be with us?

Stocking up

I'm on a re-skilling roll! Skating yesterday, and this morning I took a knitting class at the wool shop in Altamont. There were about eight of us sitting round for two and half hours with our needles. We were all very quiet - concentrating much too hard for chatting.

I've ended up with this little thing. Yes, it's a somewhat pointless object, but I learnt all sorts of useful code-cracking skills making it (I now understand what 'knit two together from the back' means, for example, and how to do elementary Fair Isle).

Any knitters out there who would like to make a very tiny stocking (as a subtle hint to loved ones not to expect too many presents this Christmas?), you can find the pattern for it (and other silly but nice things) here.

Skating round the issues?

I took my first skating lesson today. I know now what it's like to be the recipient of full-on US-style positivity - 'Good jaaab!' (for falling over correctly) and 'You're some of the best beginners I've ever taught!' (gawd bless you, lady, but I wouldn't want to meet the worst).

But, the upshot is I can now skate backwards (a little bit, and v-e-r-y slowly) and have slightly more sense of how skating works. Tune in over the next five weeks for progress updates.

And tonight I'm feeling pleasantly full and mildly sloshed (which nicely anaesthetises the aches and pains acquired earlier) after a book group meeting. After all, if you're discussing a book about famine you might as well appreciate the refreshments. Or something like that.

The Frogman cometh

The other day we opened the cover of the swimming pool in order to chuck in a winter chlorine boost, and were shocked to discover this:


No, not the frogman (he came along later). The surprise was the unexpectedly low water level. This was not good. Where had the rest of it gone?

It could only mean one thing - we needed an expensive visit from our maintenance guy. And we thought the pool was a hole in the ground you threw money into just in the summer.

So the guy duly turned up today, donned his extra-thick wetsuit and plunged into what remained of our icey-cold water (38-40 degF he reckoned). He found four leaks in the vinyl pool lining (small ones, but significant enough) and managed to get them sealed before his fingers froze off.

I think if I ever decide to be a pool guy I'll be one in Florida.

One fine day

The Man needed the car for work today, leaving me stranded at home. I wanted to get to a post office - what to do? I hung my head in gloom. And saw my feet. Which gave me an idea.

It was a lovely walk to the post office - cold air, bright sunshine. Not the nearest PO as the crow flies, but to get there would have involved either a round-the-houses, up-hill-and-down-dale detour or a hair-raising hike along a dual carriageway. Instead I stomped on beyond the library and into our nearest town, where there is also an excellent cafe, so that was all good. And on the way home I ran into a school-mom-friend and stopped for a chat, and that was good too. Simple pleasures.

The Girl is fit as a fiddle again and was glad to get back to school today to see her friends. Here she is in demure schoolGirl mode.

Ad Nauseam

Still not much to report regarding snow, but that other sure sign of winter has arrived chez nous: the Girl kicked off the chucking up season this morning and had to spend the day at home. She seems to be fine now, and I'm just hoping we're not in for a repeat of last year (refer to pretty much every other day last winter if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Meanwhile the Boy has brought home his school photos. Here he is all twinkly in his individual shot, looking rather suspiciously pleased about something. And surprise surprise, in his class photo he's right there on the front row, eyes closed and gurning. Lovely job.

Super-sized weekend

I mentioned back on Tuesday that it felt like Friday had come early. Well, that being so we've just had the longest weekend ever: the kids have even had today off, on top of the regular Thanksgiving holiday.

The highlight of the day was a visit to the ice-rink, together with one of the Girl's classmates. I was very impressed that the Girl had managed to remember most of the techniques she'd learnt during her skating lessons last season, despite the many months that have passed since then.

Other than that, I did a bit of caulking of minor cracks around the outside of the house. I'm hoping now that when the snow finally comes, then melts, it won't all run directly into our basement.