FOrama!

I finally finished my Gatsby Girl! It only took a few hours to seam the sleeves to the body and do the crochet and buttons at the neck edge, and it looks very good! I do think its a little short in the body, so I'm thinking about picking out the cast on edge and adding an inch or two. I have the extra yarn. However, that's a lot of work, so I think I'll wear it a few times!



I also thought I'd get around to posting pictures of a few other things. This is a little vest knit in Handmaiden Stretto! I knit it in one piece from the back, over the shoulders and down the front again. I knit the front a bit longer than the back, and then made them match up by gathering the side seam around the chest area. I quite like it, but you know, its a bit hot here for wearing.



Here's the scarf I was making with my last skein of Noro Kureyon and some Wool of the Andes. It will match the mitts I made with the first skein of Noro (although I think they're in storage, so it will be a few years before I get to wear them together). I will be wearing this in the snows of Canada in only a few days.



And, since I realised that I had never posted a picture of it, this is my finished Olympic sweater!

All project details are on Ravelry!

Feminism relies on us all

I've been trolling around the internet a lot lately, looking for inspiration, and I don't know what else. This article is amazing, and I'm thinking about grabbing the book when I'm back in a place with book stores.

I'm also really enjoying the Inspiration Project.

Where do you turn to for inspiration?

13 Questions

Um, I'm tired, but I haven't posted in a while, so here's a meme...

1. Childhood ambition?

Architect

2. Best/worst weather (choose one)?

Best: Cool, crisp fall day with a bit of a breeze, and a few clouds in the sky, but sunny.

3. Favorite food?

So many... right now, its probably popcorn, or these cranberry pumpkin crisps I bought last time I was in Canada

4. Current book?

I just finished reading the Inheritance of Loss (Kieran Desai)... and I'm not sure what I'll read next.

5. Guilty pleasure?

Magazines - not tabloids or People, but things like Glamour, Marie Claire, knitting or other crafts, travel, house design... I'll read almost anything, but I feel guilty buying them because of all of the paper.

6. One quirk?

Oh, I have tonnes, but... I find it really hard to skim through magazines. I usually read them straight through without skipping anything. Thus, I dislike magazines that stick the ends of stories in the back, as it forces me to jump around to finish the story and see the end before I get there...

7. Something you’ve never done that most people have:

Broken a bone? I guess I don't really know what most people do.

8. Favorite drink:

Chai latte

9. Oddest job you’ve had:

I was once hired to paint corals at a horse farm. And although I didn't get paid for it, I once tarred the outside of the basement of a house we were building.

10. Last song you listened to (on purpose, not on the radio):

Cupid's Revenge

11. Cities/towns/villages you’ve lived in, in chronological order:

(I'm leaving out the multiple moves between places, and only listing the first time I lived in a place) Moose Jaw, SK; Wainwright, AB; Calgary, AB; small town at the southern tip of Lago Majore, Italy; Annemasse, France; Jericho; Ottawa, ON; Khartoum, Sudan

12. Teenage ambition?

Um, to get married and have kids (at one point)

13. Movie you’d most like to be a character in:

The Golden Compass

Mission Possible

(also known as 'better late than never')



So, I signed up for Mission Possible ages ago, and then never got around to posting my twelve goals for the year.

1. long socks in Mountain Colours Barefoot, stalled a year ago by the loss of a needle (finish ribbing on two socks)
2. Souvenir Scarf (graft two pieces together, block)
3. Baby surprise jacket (purchased yarn for several, need to make at least one) finished!
4. Icarus Shawl ETA:I have been working on this! 20/06/08
5. Samus cardigan (rework to fit me or gift)
6. my own scarf finished!
7. Gatsby Girl (sew arms to body, crochet neck edging, add buttons) hopefully in time to wear in March! finished! on time too!
8. Colourwork Vest (finish or frog)
9. baby blanket and the box of grandma's acrylic (?)
10. make a top that fits from some of my extensive bamboo yarn collection
11. finish spinning the orange roving from Rhinebeck 2005 and knit something from it
12. catalog and organise stash!

Tired

I got home last night from a four-day work trip, and somehow I'm tired to the bone. I had big plans to go to a friend's party last night, but instead I was in bed by nine, and I slept almost 12 hours! (After subtracting the time spent petting an anxious Spooky cat) I have a very relaxing day planned, starting with a bath, late lunch with friends and a massage! (Have I mentioned that I love the Thai massage place here? Cause I do!) At some point, I do need to do some grocery shopping and good stuff like that, but for now, not so much.

Good weekends...

make for poor blog posts. At least while I'm in the midst of it.

It's Saturday morning, and I've already had a lovely dinner with friends, a day spent wandering around the pyramids and other archaeological sites, and a night dancing on a rooftop under the stars. So, today I'm a little tired, a little achy. I'm going to work out my issues at the Thai massage this afternoon, and then I have a baby shower for a friend! I'm not really done my portion of the planning, so that has to happen at some point. And, I really should go to work, as tomorrow will be crazy preparing for a work trip starting Monday. Somehow, I don't see that happening.

Anyway, I have been knitting, and I've even finished something...



The gift for the baby shower this afternoon!

Project Specs:
Pattern: EZs Baby Surprise Jacket from The Opinionated Knitter
Yarn: Dale of Norway Svale, a cotton, silk and viscose blend
Needle: 3.00mm bamboo straights
Modifications: I slip stitched around the neckline to add short ties, as I don't have any suitable buttons in my stash, and there is a definite lack of crafting supplies here. I did the buttonholes though, in case they're needed at a later date.
Total project time: 1 week, or thereabouts
Notes: I had to restart this project 3 or 4 times, as I seem to be incapable of making the double decreases line up. I ended up having to use markers, which upped the work a bit (knit to stitch before marker, slip stitch, drop marker, k2tog, psso, move stitch back to left needle, replace maker, move stitch back to right needle, continue knitting...) but my decreases (and later increases) all line up. I was frustrated, and also running out of time, which was why I decided to knit on when I realized I was knitting across only 89 stitches (look at the left hand front near the edging). Now that it's done, I can see that I would be much happier had I fixed that, but it needs to be gifted now.

Internet-less

P1230001
Originally uploaded by knitter_tara.

I had big plans for blogging/ravelry/facebook this weekend, and then the internet went down... So, I'm stealth blogging this from work just to say that I'm still alive and kicking, even if my computer is essentially useless to me right now...

Happy February all!

Life

I haven't been posting as much lately, because I've been working quite a bit. We've been having renovations done at my building, mostly on the weekends, to limit the disruption, and a staff member has to be there at all times while the contractors are in the building. So, in an office of only four people, with at least one person absent at any given time, the people who were around spent a lot of time at the office. So, tonight I've been relaxing on my couch, catching up on my blogs and reading some new ones! First, I've been going through some of the finalists from the Canadian Blog Awards. And, there's the Make-My-Day bloggers meme thing. I've found Juno's and Dr. Steph's lists, and have enjoyed them so much that I will continue to look for others. I could also make up my own list, or do any of the other new memes I saw, but today seems to be more about reading than writing. I also saw the blog for the 52 Projects book, and I'm quite interested. I may have to order a copy for myself. I have been looking at ways to get creative.

I haven't seen a new movie in ages (I did just watch The Kingdom on DVD), but I look forward to seeing this one! I have both of the books, and found them to be quite engaging.

Hmmm, I suppose I should go to bed.

Stash!

So, I think I've got all of my stash (well, at least the vast majority of it) photographed, entered into ravelry and organised into four bins! Yay!



Bin 1 - animal fibres and mixes



Bin 2 - the rest of the animal fibres, including all animal fibre sock yarn



Bin 3 - non-animal fibres



Bin 4 - My 'Grandma's acrylic' stash - all of the yarn I've kept that I got from my Grandma, that I don't really know what to do with...

Since I don't have many oppourtunities for yarn shopping here, by the time I can buy new yarn, I will have hopefully made more space in the bins. And, I will someday need to decide what to do with Bin 4...

Squariness

Squares knit for J's blanket project. Individual pictures on my flicker page (yes, I know only two of them actually have a heart motif, but the pinky-purply-yellow seemed appropriate, for some reason).

They're in a colleague's suitcase on their way back to Canada right now. As of Monday, they'll be in the mail on their way to J. I actually have one more on the needles, but I don't see much chance as far as getting it back by the deadline... As you can see, one was sent with the ends not woven in.

I'm most curious to see how the felted one works, if at all. It was a felted swatch that I cut up, just to see. However, I realized just before I sent it that it is not actually square (measuring 5" by 5 1/4"). Sorry J! The other ones are also only square-like, but they are much closer to the 5 by 5" measurements.

Welcome...

... to the Sudan Ethnographic Museum.



I joined up with F, A, M and B as we attached ourselves to a tour organised by the Acropole Hotel here in Khartoum. We were able to visit, in addition to the Ethnographic Museum, the Republican and National Museums as well. I thought I'd add a few pictures of some traditional handicrafts (forgive the blurriness, it was the best I could do with low light, no tripod and a layer of glass between me and the objects), namely, handspinning (with cotton) and embroidery!









I'm at work this weekend, so this isn't really current, but I had written it a while ago and never gotten around to posting it... More daily life soon!

Healthy Eating

So, one of the many things I'm working on right now is eating a little bit better than I have been. It's really not that difficult when my eating habits included mostly packaged food when I did eat. So, the bits that I'm working on right now are

• Drink more water
• Eat regularly
• Eat more fruit and vegetables

Well, I'm working on the vegetables. The main items available here are tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini (if oddly pale), green peppers (which are pretty darn hot for a bell type), eggplant, cabbage, potatoes, and lots of varieties of onions. I can get mushrooms and other colours of peppers at a pretty high mark up, but I'm willing to pay when necessary.

But, the issue I'm having is my protein, iron and B12 intake. I tend to eat a semi-vegetarian diet at home, mostly because I find cooking meat for one to be more work than its worth. I do get eggs, and occasionally, tuna, and dairy products. But, since I only get full fat dairy products, and eggs are not exactly low fat. (Oh, and I have a supply of bacon, but that's not exactly a staple!)

So, I'm on the lookout for good vegetarian recipes. If you happen to have any suggestions, please send them in. I promise to then amuse you all as I try to recreate them here with somewhat limited supplies. (Although I can get more things than I really expected!)

Green Day - Working Class Hero

Mention of Darfur

PS On my satellite here, MTV actually plays videos, much the same way that Much Music used to!

WIPs

Voila! I super quick knit, this is my new neck warmer knit in Rowan Cocoon. I started it over Christmas, and after a few times ripping to figure out the shaping, it's (almost) done!



All I have left to do is find some buttons and sew them on to keep it in place. When I'm done cleaning out the office, I'll see what I have, but I may have to order something.



On-going work on the linen cardigan. I'm actually blocking things in the photo here, just to see how things are going. I need to reknit the sleeve cap, but things look good otherwise. Only two more pieces to go, and some seaming, and I can actually wear this.



Slip-stitch edging on the body.



A close-up of the sleeve fabric, knit on 5mm needles for a more open quality.

Not meant to be

So, this is needle number three of ten from the two sets of Brittany Birch needles:



See it, there on the right side? Thankfully they were sets of five. I have two (different) projects, each on three needles, and I'm sharing the last needle between them. Hopefully it will hold until I can order some more needles that don't break when I throw them into my purse (because that's how my socks are most often transported)!

Actually, I'm not at all happy with the knitting that's on them either!



You can see the beginning of pooling here, and it only gets worse farther on (yes, I've actually knit quite a bit more, even though I know it will be frogged because its the only portable project I have right now...)

After frogging tries one and two of a sock on 2mm needles with this yarn (Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock, have probably forever lost the colourway to my crazy cleaner who likes to throw everything out... although I admit that yarn labels, either on the table or possibly the floor because of the cat and/or fan do look a bit like garbage), I tried a pair of 2.25mm needles I received from my grandma's needle stash, but the stainless steel(!) smelled bad. I found the Brittany needles, and started on them, but my gauge is incredibly loose on these things (largely because I'm holding them gently since they're pretty fragile)! I was too large for my foot with 60 stitches, and I felt that the fabric was too loose to be good for a sock anyway.

So, I decided to make fingerless gloves, with a girly ruffle at the end, with the slip stitch pattern I'd devised for the first incarnation of the sock.

But, its not helping. To the frogpond they go!



We have a holiday tomorrow (it's Muslim New Year!), so I'm going to use the time to finish organizing my stash (which is all hanging out in the living room right now - I estimate this is 3 (maybe 3.5) large tubs once organised) since my roommate gets back tomorrow night, and continue organising my office so I can eventually work in there.

I'll close with a picture of my charming cat!

Doesn't she look thrilled? I was trying to take a picture of her without flash (as it's the only way to photograph open eyes) but she moves so much this is one of the few clear ones... Good thing I have a digital camera! (you can see an almost FO in the left corner... next time)

New Year’s Resolutions

I have been planning a post about resolutions, but it’s been a little slow in coming. There was a serious event here in Khartoum very early on New Year’s Day, and life has been sort of turned upside down. I’m actually on restricted movement (which means I can’t travel around town without use of the armored vehicle), which is getting old quite quickly. I haven’t been anywhere other than work since I got home from New Year’s Eve.

First, this year has been a year of incredible change. I look back at the eight months I spent studying Arabic, much of the time with a teacher whose teaching style did not work for me. Then there was the boy, which is still in a state of uncertainty. In the end, I wouldn’t change the time we spent together, but I still often miss him so much I feel it in my body. Then there was the whole move to Sudan, which has been tumultuous, what with a dramatic departure of my predecessor, a car accident, and then a lot of time in charge of the office when I wasn’t out of the office. Well then. I thought it would take ages to sum up this year, but I suppose that’s really about it.

As far as knitting goes, I can’t actually remember any FOs. Well, there were sock pal socks and a pair for me. That’s literally all I can think of that I actually finished. See above.

Now, I’m not one for making resolutions. The simple act of making any sort of commitment to myself about anything makes me instantly want to break it. It’s a pretty sure way not to end up doing something, really.

But, I’ve been sort of feeling for a little bit now that life is sort of getting away from me in a way, or maybe that its living me instead of the other way around. Mostly its in the little things, like realizing that I’ve sat down at the tv and/or computer after work and been sucked in until its time to go to bed or realizing that its time to go home but I haven’t eaten or taken any sort of a break (again in front of the computer). It’s not a work/life balance issue in terms of time, as I do tend to leave work at a reasonable hour and leave work at the office as much as possible. It’s more of an issue with how I go about using the time I have available to me.

So, I resolve to do the best I can to live the life I want to live, to focus on making myself happy and to be present as much as possible. There are a whole bunch of areas that I want to work on (skin, eating, organising, knitting, exercise, spirituality...), but I want to take it slowly, so the main result of my resolution will be that every week or so, I will write a post about one of the many things I'm working on. There will also be a new link on the right hand side to this post so I can keep looking back and reminding myself why this is important.

And, here are a handful of posts I want to keep handy for inspiration:

• Crazy Aunt Purl
• Concateknit
• Femiknit Mafia: here and here
• Mamacate
• Purling Dervish
• f.pea
• Making Things

One Love Challenge

World on Fire - Sarah McLachlan

Another day in captivity

This is the view I see as I sit on my couch (again) and putter away on the computer. (Well, the picture wasn't taken today, but its still the same scene.) (Here's some music to go with, I like the first song)



I have been working on my resolutions post, but am in kind of a foul mood today. I understand the reasoning for the travel restrictions, but it doesn't make me any happier. And, a rib in my upper right back is out, and I have no idea what I'm going to do to get it back in without my dear chiropractor! Even though I've started putting my resolutions into practice, the unveiling, which should hopefully then encourage me to keep them, will have to wait.

Instead, I've found YouTube!



This has some beautiful video of the northern part of Sudan, which I wrote about in my Meroe post.

And, a few random links:

• Medieval Arab Cooking?
• Another horrible incident, and people in need of help. I will send what I can when I get to where I can...
• Mmm, good food and good writing about it too...
• And on the acquisitiveness front (which I'm working on reducing...): I want this, and these... And this (scroll down) makes me so jealous!
  

Holiday Traditions

...late but not forgotten.



I finally got around to baking the shortbread cookies my family has made for Christmas for as long as I can remember. They're simple, and so good. I bought the butter before Christmas, but what with travel, hosting my first ever Christmas dinner (and roasting my first turkey), and helping to organise and host an official event for over 200 people, the baking kind of fell by the wayside.

Mom's Shortbread
1 lb butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp almond extract

Cream all ingredients together slowly (a hand mixer or food processor is very useful for this) until light and fluffy. Drop teaspoons of dough onto a baking sheet, top with slivered almonds or sprinkles, and bake in a 325degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until lightly browned.



Tonight, I put out the butter to soften when I got home. After a bowl of cereal (yes, I still eat like I'm in university half the time), I mixed up the batter and spooned out the cookies.



We've always done sheets with almonds and with sprinkles, but I've always liked the sprinkles best, so I ignored the almonds today.

It's best to turn on the fan and open a window when baking in a gas oven (especially when the last thing in there was a turkey, and the oven hasn't been cleaned of turkey juice yet).



Mmm... heaven!



(The tea is actually homemade chai, with whole cardamom, peppercorns and cloves, fresh ginger, cinnamon bark, and ground nutmeg and allspice brewed with black tea, strained, and then thickened with milk and a little sugar.)

Sanctions on Sudan...

...and what they mean to me.

Although this is just a tiny, insignificant portion of the whole sanctions issue, its interesting to think about how it affects the individuals within a country.

So, I was reading the internets, when I found this post on Rabbitch, which I followed to this post, and I thought, "I have to spare some cash for that!" So I clicked on the Paypal button, forgetting for a moment that I would soon see this:

Error 3028. You have accessed your account from a sanctioned country. Per international sanctions regulations, you are not authorized to access the PayPal system. For more information about your PayPal account status, contact complianceverifications@paypal.com.

(Except in a box with a pretty graphic, I couldn't figure out how to take a screenshot, not that I spent much time trying.)

Luckily (at least from the perspective of providing funds for Phoebe), I can access PayPal from work, as the internet seems to believe that I'm no longer in Sudan at that point, but most people don't have that option. Now it may seem kind of trivial, the lack of PayPal, but the same thing happens whenever I try to use a credit card on-line. You cannot use a credit card in Sudan, not even to purchase a plane ticket or pay for a hotel room (yet there are several hotels where rooms cost in the 200USD-a-night-and-above price range, which is astounding on many levels). There are bank machines, but you can only use them if you happen to have an account at that particular bank. And my bank in Canada cannot transfer funds to a bank account in Sudan (which is kind of inconvenient, since I still get paid in Canada). It brings the idea of a cash economy to a whole new level.

Anyway, just some food for thought today.

ETA I'm not saying I don't think the sanctions should be there, I'm just letting people know how it affects individuals living here, not just the officials/companies targeted by the sanctions.

This is a good overview, if a bit dated. The effects of the sanctions are being felt more now, as evidenced by Sudan's efforts to begin holding its reserves in Euros.

Happy New Year

I've actually been thinking quite a while about this New Year's Day post. I don't usually make resolutions, as I do amazingly well at breaking the tiniest goal I set for myself. It almost seems counterproductive to make resolutions when that's almost a sure way to get me to break them.

But, this year, I most definitely have things I want to strive for, and I think I would like to use the blog to motivate myself. Its not like I'm doing that much knitting these days, so this will be something else to write about.

So, I've been planning a post for New Year's, and I've got it sketched out in my head. Then, life got crazy. As its known to do. And I haven't had enough sleep, and I'm working today. So, the post may have to wait a bit. But, I'm excited to report that I still made time to wash my face, and enjoy a latte while working this morning, which feeds nicely into those soon-to-be announced resolutions!

My best to you and yours for the new year!

footy

Ok, so I think I finally have time to do this night justice, even though it happened so long ago.

As with most of the world outside North America, football is a really big deal in Sudan. When we heard that the championship cup was going to be played in Omdurman, the city right across the river from Khartoum, we decided we had to go. E, D (taking the photo) and I crossed over around 6pm, and had some really good pizza before we made our way to the stadium. We sat in the expensive area (tickets were $30USD) so we had actual seats, as opposed to the other areas with bench seating.

The stadium is divided in half, with each half reserved for supporters of one team (including separate entrances), with police enforcing the division. D is a lifelong Al-Hilal fan, so we were sitting in the blue and white section. As you can see, someone thought my shirt was a little too close to the Merrikh red, and insisted that I wear a hat.





The game was really interesting to watch, and so were the stands. The style of play was very exuberant, with similarities to a Latin American game more so than the more structured European game. Both teams were more likely to boot and chase than to use chains of passes to move the ball up the field.

As for the crowd, people really supported their teams! The Al-Hilal side had people (like 100) climbing the light standards to get a better view! (We were trading possible headlines upon the event of a collapse, but everyone lived to see another day.) Every goal involved confetti and burning newspaper (!) on the side of the scoring team. The crowd seemed almost alive with emotion, chanting for players, and against the opposing team and their coaches!



There were more police at this event than I've ever seen in one place before (this is only a small proportion, but I've obviously lived a quiet life as far as the law is concerned). We didn't stick around to see what happened next, but it was a great night!

So, apparently the knitting revolution hasn't hit Jordan yet...

Overheard at the Mecca Mall in Amman: "Heeyaka, wow!" (Literal translation: "Knitting, wow!") I was working on my neck warmer in Rowan Cocoon while drinking some exquisite drinking chocolate at the Cioconat Lounge before engaging in a little retail therapy. This was my last day in Jordan on a little break over the holidays.

There's actually not that much to report, as I didn't do a lot other than reading and sleeping. Very little knitting happened, along with some visiting, walking and that's about it.



Here I am, wearing a sweater! (Which, hasn't happened since I was in Canada in October, since Khartoum is still reaching 30 degrees most days.)



And here I am, on a very short day trip to Petra, wearing a sweater, jacket and scarf! (I'm sorry for the crazy contrast, but I couldn't figure out how to tone down my pasty white face. Yes, I am doing well with the hat and the sunscreen, why do you ask?)



And finally, the famous rose rock of Petra.

Good night!

Merry Christmas!

I'm supposed to be packing for my trip, so I can get to bed (since my flight leaves at a ridiculous time tomorrow morning), but instead I'm uploading photos, all because I finally pulled everything out from my Christmas box! Yay! There's something amazing about getting a package in the mail, especially when you're very far away, and knowing that your family loves you. Especially when you can then draw it out over a month by first opening the boxes (and eating the chocolate and biscotti before they melt/go bad). Then, a few weeks later, I took the box home from work. Now, I've unpacked everything (and I got the Tom Bihn bag I have loved ever since I saw Steph's at Rhinebeck. I'm saving all of the wrapped packages until Christmas, when I've had a few days of relaxing and can really enjoy it.

Anyway, I wish everyone a happy holiday!

Brain Dump

OK, first things first, the cards are in the mail (if you sent me your address (I'm looking at you, Sarah! :)) I know they will be late for actual Christmas, but, you know, it happens.

While this may not be that exciting, I need to gather together all of the little links and ideas that I've got floating around.

- I like the idea of these little slippers. In the almost complete absence of wearing knit items in my life right now, these are one thing I might actually use! They would protect my feet from the incredible dust everywhere (and clean the floor for me at the same time.) I can't find the location of the mods for larger feet (should be somewhere here) but will edit this when I do.

- Very cute pattern (as I recall, since my internet is slow and I can't open the links right now)

- I love this! I can't believe I missed it before, but I'm sure I've earned a couple of badges (to be added to the blog on a day with a slightly faster internet connection, which is never Friday)

- Funniest thing I've seen in a while! I wonder if I can get a Canadian politician sometime soon? And I wonder what Mr. Harper's response would be?

- The new Knitty is out! My first favourites are dahlia, square cake & stardust, partly because they are two of the things I could get some use out of here. But there are definitely tonnes of nice accessories. Which I'll get right to making as soon as I have any conceivable need! ;)

- I saw a pattern for a large weekend back with black and white tapestry pattern, knit if wool and felted, but I forgot to write down the URL. This is my reminder to look for the pattern when I get a minute.

- Another very fun pattern!

- And a few interesting websites I wanted to keep handy!

I don't know how much of a chance I'll get to post over the next week or so. I'm cooking a turkey for 15 guests tonight, I'll have to go to work tomorrow to wrap up loose ends, and then I'm off for a change of scenery for a few days over Christmas. But, I have tonnes of pictures and random stuff, so if I find an internet connection, it could be good. Anyway, Happy Holidays to all, whatever you may celebrate!

I'm not dead

I've just been travelling. I'm have a number of posts I've been working on, so hopefully I can finish some of those up shortly. That might make this space slightly more interesting.

Anyway, Happy Holidays, and Eid Mubarak, if I don't see you sooner!

Friday

Friday is the general holiday in Northern Sudan, and in an effort to actually have a life outside of work, I try not to work today. It doesn't always work, and if I'm really lucky, I get Saturday too, but generally Fridays are my day to relax. I actually sleep in as long as I want (except when I get an emergency phone call from someone who's flying in on Monday and doesn't have their visa yet and wants to know if you can do something) and then laze around. I make a huge bowl of latte with my stovetop espresso maker and milk frother and read, watch movies or whatever.

This morning, I dumped out bin #1 of my stash

and photographed it (with excellent assistance from Ms. Spooky)

for ravelry. Now, as I sit in the living room uploading photos to flickr on wireless internet, I'm watching Fight Club on dvd and watching the planes land (the airport is right in the middle of the city, and my place is kind of loud because of it. But, its mine.)

Later today, I am apparently going on a bit of a tour around town. We'll see what they decide to show us. And tonight, there's a low-key do at a colleagues house. So, its pretty normal, except the traffic, the dust, the heat... I'll leave it at that.

Meroë

The drive to Meroë takes about two and a half hours from Khartoum, even though its only 100km. The road is only two lanes, and is in mild disrepair.

Wikipedia has more actual information, and might be a good start for anyone who's interested in learning more.



We actually started out at a nearby archaeological site, the Royal City, where a team led by a ROM archaeologist is excavating. We got a tour of the site and saw lots of rocks (which was actually pretty cool, although my pictures are not that exciting.) They haven't done any reconstruction, so it really is a ruin, and you have to imagine what it once was like.

There was lots of wildlife around, stone





and otherwise. Besides the floppy-eared goats, there were a variety of amazingly coloured birds that I didn't manage to photograph, donkeys, and even a camel! (The 'foreigners' had come, so by the time we were getting ready to leave, there were several people selling stuff and a man offering camel rides right beside our vehicles.)



After the Royal City, we drove across the desert to the pyramids. Although they're smaller than the pyramids at Giza (the other pyramids I've seen), they're also older (erected between 300BC and 300AD) and there are more of them, organised on three hills.



(We weren't supposed to be climbing on them... whoops!)



And the view from the top of the hill (not the top of the pyramid).

And now its gone...

I have been knitting, and here's the proof:



I started working on a sock in some Lorna's Laces a while ago to deal with some long stretches in the car on a road trip (to the pyramids, which I still haven't posted about...) I love the colours in the ball, but the foot really wasn't working for me.



I don't know what it is, but I pretty much always have a striping effect when I'm using multicolour yarn. And I really don't like how it was working up.



The colour combination on the heel is much better.



So, I switched up the stitch pattern on the leg. (Its a simple, alternating slip stitch pattern.) Much better! Unfortunately, after ripping back once to lengthen the foot a bit, it is still too small. What I think they could really use is a slightly larger needle (I was using 2mm), but I didn't have one with me (since been found, and added to my Ravelry needle count). Frogging ensued, and I now have nothing more than a toe. Its not like I need them any time soon, so I will just keep working on them.

Favourites

A few things I've noticed on-line (since I haven't gotten the football pics yet):

The Sunrise Circle Jacket: I didn't find it that flattering until I found this picture on Kate Gilbert's blog.

Also by Kate: I love these mitts! Don't ask me what I'd do with mitts here, but apparently Canada is expecting a harsh winter, and I will be coming home at some point.

I haven't listened to this yet, but it looks interesting.

Its not much, but I was in a conference for the past couple of days, so I haven't been on the internet much.