Number Two

I have to be honest and admit to a photo-fail on this one! I was in such a flap about my first day of teaching today that I forgot to take my camera with me, and 10 came and went ridiculously fast as I was teaching statistics to 28 6-7 year olds. However, I figured it is better late than never and so I took this as soon as I got home!

It is fairly reminiscent of my day actually. Lots of stories and colours and tiny stickers that make the kids disproportionately happy when they see them on their work. I loved most of my day, and it was so nice to have a chance to teach in my own way, which is a lot less loud and growly than I was forced to be on placements. There were a few minor admin blunders when I forgot to send an absence through, and then forgot I was supposed to be co-teaching fitness at 10.15 and blithely continued on in class until a flood of other children poured in and sat down wondering why I was doing fitness inside and sitting down. But nothing too major for a complete beginner! It was a scary, scary thing to close the classroom door behind me and have all those children waiting on me to be a teacher.

Lazy or what?

But at least I got out of bed to take the photo!

Actually I have quite a lot, relatively speaking, to do today. The knitting group is coming here tonight and I need to do more baking (I made chocolate afghans so far, cheese scones to come) and vacuum the house.

Any of these take your fancy?

Hi there my knit-a-long friend. Here are some of the patterns I am keen to try and are big enough to keep us busy for a wee while without being too tricky. This jacket, this scarf, this nice shawl,

this wee top, and this cardigan (I saw that you have this one in your queue. I have this pattern at home. Ahem. Hint about loaning it to you. Ahem).

I (gasp!) have teaching work tomorrow! So, I will definitely shoot something for our project at 10, but won't be able to upload it until after school hours...so don't wait up : )

Number One

Mmm. Homemade granola. Could have done a dressing gown photo today, but why rush? I'm sure it will be possible later in the week : )

Edited to add recipe (I should point out that I had to ask my lovely friend Angela for the ins and outs of making granola):

Right, so basically you mix together the following and toast it in the oven (180c?) until it's golden, stirring occasionally....

rolled oats

chopped nuts (I used cashews)

sesame and pumpkin seeds

coconut

dash of vanilla

raw sugar (soft sugar is ok too but doesn't melt as well)

honey (thank you bees).

A healthy start

Predictably perhaps, a breakfast shot. I'll try to avoid too many of these because I eat the same breakfast every day, so it'll become tiresome rather quickly. I love that I've put the newspaper there like I actually read it. I do attempt the headlines at least, which is probably dangerous, as I'm sure I end up with quite a skewed perspective on the news...

A Wholesome Weekend

Cameron and I went to his parents place in Katikati for the weekend, needed to escape Auckland for a bit and it was really nice. Thought you might like some photos...

Thou shalt not covet thy in-laws wools...



There was some knitting. I am making my first pair of socks. Mainly because I needed a brain-awakening project but I didn't want to bother with winding up balls of wool, and this sock wool was already in a nice, neat ball and has been sitting in my stash making me feel bad for a while now. Time to use it. I got this far into the sock, and realised it looked bloody tiny! Will it ever fit my (un-manicured) foot?

Yes. It does. Very stretchy wool and stitch pattern. Socks are quite fun to make so far. Although I am ignoring the instructions for 'turning the heel' until I have to do it.

Feeling sepia

Finished my hat today, except that I think I need to block it. As usual, I failed to follow the instructions properly and found that I had made twice as many stitches during the increase row. But if I hadn't, I don't see how it would have qualified as "slouchy" - it's pretty much a beanie as it is (this may or may not have to do with my ridiculously tight cast-on row).

Anyhow, it covers my ears and that's good enough for me.

Tim's in Berlin on a field trip for the next couple of days. And I am becoming beyond lazy - how does one stay motivated to get up in the morning when each day feels like the previous one? Today, despite having looked forward to it for a week, I couldn't even force myself out the door for a pilates class. I told myself it was because it was snowing (hardly).

The truth is, I'm feeling shades of brown and grey right now.