The boot

When I was teaching, on a bad day I would fantasise about what I would like to do to the kids: stick a leg out and trip up the ones racing through corridors and completely ignoring instructions; let a door slam back into the faces of those who regularly did the same to me. And I'd imagine the blood spurting out.

On a really bad day I'd fantasise about torture, including the boot. I can't remember the name of my favourite, where you whip someone with a whip made of silk so that it's pleasurable at first, but keep going and keep going until the skin begin to peel off in strips ...

This picture is of the most modern torture implement known to woman. I decided to get used to using one to save wasting time unpicking. Huh! Every time I slipped it on a needle (Lantern Moon circular), it slipped off again, diving to hide under my legs, or rolling around the floor pursued by a cat. If I tried to be firm, it positively squirted onto the floor. Then, sufficiently subdued to stay in place, it stretched the stitch after it to brobdignagian proportions. More practice? Yeah. Now it tangled itself up in the wool.

So I took it and put it on the table in disgrace and went on without it: after all, I've managed all these years. Guess what? The first row I lost my place in the pattern and was well into unpicking when I realised it was just the centre stitch.

Maybe I just need one of a different design?

This picture is of the Parisienne shawl which is resting while my eyes discover, and the Kiri shawl in Jamieson and Smith's 2-ply which I have begun in the interim. I don't know how far the yarn will go - haven't been able to discover the yardage - so I wanted to knit something where I could just stop when the yarn was used up. The lace books are out again as I plan my first 'own' shawl.

I clearly need to buy some more non-mohair lace yarn. Son Gareth has set me up with an e-bay account (he's a fanatic) and tells me I have to check every day. I did find some last night, but didn't know the brand - the writing on the bands looked either Russsian or Greek. And therefore, of course, I couldn't look up the yardage. Come the end of the month I'll have to have an experiment.

Yesterday's visit to the gym reminded me how nice it is to feel all sort of loose inside your clothes, so I'm keen about today. Dog-walking might be affected by the weather: we had downpours during the night, so everywhere is going to be very wet. I keep forgetting, too, that it's half term, so there are more people about. Fancy forgetting half term!