Monday meanderings

This weekend has been full of stuff to Blog about but I don't think there's a hope in hell of crafting anything that flows so you're pretty much going to get the ol' bullet point ramble, okay?

• After I spent Saturday morning murdering what seemed like a few thousand coffeebush seedlings, Nadie arrived at lunchtime and after curried veggie soup and homemade bread, there was the baking of bikkies [ cookies ] while we settled down to await the arrival of Val . I exercised supreme self control and didn't immediately dive head first into HP and the Deathly Hallows that Nadie had brought up with her. See. I WAS brought up correctly, all other evidence to the contrary notwithstanding.


• Caramel obliged with some purring and chin nuzzles to be duly videoed for her real mum in Melbourne who is currently not well and in need of some positive news about her baby's relocation.


• The lovely Val arrived mid afternoon with a CD from Meow aka Connie. Some time ago Meow asked all her blogging buddies to suggest favourite songs and she compiled an mp3 album with absolutely HOURS AND HOURS of eclectic music choices. In the interests of saving her postage, I suggested that she pass mine along to Val. I figured that way we would finally get around to meeting. Cunning, yes? I'm currently listening to it... some familiar stuff to revisit, some new to discover. After that it it will be back to one of the David Hobson CDs from Alice. I will confess that my contribution [ Sara Evans: Born To Fly ] is a favourite clogging song. It's the track playing at the moment and my mind is half on what I'm typing and at the same time I'm mentally cueing the dance. Multi tasker, c'est moi.
• It seemed like Val had barely arrived before she looked at the time, nearly had a heart attack and had to depart. We will definitely need a longer visit next time.
• As well as the CD I scored a gorgeous little handmade book from Val. She knows of my love of all things Japanese so she used a ginko punch on the cover. Little did she realise that my quilt that's in the current issue of Down Under Quilts is called GINKO. I think I'll be writing some of my favourite quotes into it.


• Nadie was terribly tired so I packed her off to bed for a nap when Val left. The fact that there was HP sitting on the coffee table had absolutely nothing to do with my insistence that she needed to rest. Nothing at all. I did put HP down when she resurfaced for tea and only picked him up again when I went to bed around midnight. Needless to say at that time of night, and after a rotten night's sleep the night before, I didn't get terribly far.


• Potter reading resumed when David got me up at the crack of dawn and continued until DD surfaced late morning. After lunch we went into town for shopping and coffee and to see Nadie back off to Melbourne so I got back to reading at about 5 pm and finished the book at 10 pm. One does have to stop for dinner and a modicum of housework occasionally.


• Nadie's comments [ spoiler free ] are what I would've written if she hadn't done it first.


• Milked Rosie again this morning and got about half a litre this time . I'm pretty sure there's more there but she'd had enough, so I'll have another go tomorrow. At this stage until she actually kids in four weeks, she really only needs milking about once a week assuming the person milking knows what they're doing, whereas I'm still learning. It's so not like milking a cow! For those of you that commented on the disturbing colour of the first lot, you can rest assured that today's output was a pale lemon colour rather than radioactive yellow.


• Nearly didn't go dancing this morning at Fryerstown because I was feeling a bit creaky from gardening and woodcutting but then the meds kicked in so off I trundled. At least it was a way to warm up. Clogging tonight at Daylesford will probably require a top up of pharmaceuticals ... and for those that don't know, the run to Daylesford is 45 km each way over the spine of the Central Highlands over frequently foggy, winding, narrow country roads - glorious in daylight but a bit hairy at night.


• It was bloody cold this morning. 1 degree when I went outside to feed the girls and retreated in very quickly. Minus 2.9 overnight. Very odd too. We got rain late yesterday and yet there was a heavy frost. Not here so much but I could see silver all the way up to and along the highway.


• finished object [ apart from weaving in the ends ] - a variation on a [no longer available] seamless top down baby raglan from Knitting OnTheNet, 4.5mm needles, 4 strands of laceweight held together [ handyed in Landscape 'sasparilla' over vintage dusty pink laceweight to produce a heathery purple/mauve ] Usually I put buttonholes in both bands until I know the sex of the baby but this is so obviously a girly one that I didn't bother this time.
• What colour buttons do you think? White? Navy? Purple?