ho- hum

i am in a spot of indecision- i am applying for a job which means i will have to leave my other two teachign commitments. The problem is that the new job is more money, and a good step on the academic ladder- but i feel guilty about leaving the other two jobs, even though they were both nice and very understanding about the reasons i might have to leave. still, it has left me with an uneasy feeling.

i went to yoga this morning, and left early to come into work- but even that didnt make me feel much better and i have a day of meetings about the sodding desks and typing to look forward too.

on the up side wto of my favourite people in the workd are comming for dinner tonight- so i get to do "glory cooking" as i love the fuss i get for cooking for other people.

back holiday weekend

1st- big news- DAVID PASSED HIS DRIVING TEST! yay- go team Jones! so proud of him, i thought we were going to be paying for lessons forever.

to give you an idea of where i am at with my shrug top, i meansured it- so far 10 inches! yay- but i have found that by switching to bamboo needles, the traction stops the wool falling off the tips quite so fast- result is less dropped stitches. woooohooooo.

i am in the process of getting the knitting groups listed on knitchicks.com and s n b- so will get a link up here when they turn out.

david went to reading music festival- and at the grand old age of 24 was about the oldest there! hahaha. it was a boys day out, with his brother and mate, so i stayed home and tidies shoe mountain with the help of my friend yvonne. this is good therepy tidying, i got rid of 3 pairs of ugle black shoes, and in giving them to the charity shop get to feel all warm and fuzzy! then yvonne made me dinner, and i packed off home to watch csi in my jammies. fell asleep before david came home, what a great wife i am!

today we are spending the day packing- woohoo, and trying to use beeswax to polish up an old writing buero i bought on friday for the new house. then in the evening- off to the bandstand for the final live free gig of the year- an abba tribute! sounds naff, but we are goging to take a picnic and just relax with each other as the sun goes down.

radio silence

sorry for being quiet the last few days, i have been v busy, and havnt even looked at my emails which is strange for me.

i have been buying things for the new house, i spent over 100 quid in b & q, which i didnt even think was possible! but i got some very beautiful lightfittings, and the much wanted wall paper. i then got the tiles for the bathroom and kitchen- so things are sorted on that front.

i have also had a cyst in my eye and have been looking like the non too distant cousin of the walking dead, i wish herion chic was fashionable, then i could do the fat version!

knitting club this week was great, again, i am amazed by how nice people i hardly know can be. it was held at phillipas house, and she has finished her scarf and started on a ribbed hat. kim is still scarf striped tastic, tom is making squares, and glad has made a fab furry thing. i am still making the shrug, and expect i still will be for a few weeks yet!

i have ordered the new stitch n'bitch design journal, and will give you the verdict when it turns up!

what harry potter house would i be?

GRYFFINDOR!You scored 20% Slytherin, 16% Ravenclaw, 64% Gryffindor, and 40% Hufflepuff!

You might belong in Gryffindor,Where dwell the brave at heart,Their daring, nerve, and chivalrySet Gryffindors apart.Gryffindors are known for their courage, audacity, and devotion to what is good and honest.

Link: The Sorting Hat Test written by leeannslytherin on Ok Cupid

ok, so its only kiddy fun- but im glad i wasnt in the mean house!

haha

packing

afternoon. i am covered in all sorts of dust and grime and crap from trying to sort out when i need to trake with me when I move. i have discovered that packing is too stages,

1- sort out all the rubbish
2- jam it in boxes.

i am still at stage one- and i am having a good time stuffing things in bags for the charity shop beofre i am plagued with doubt and end up reclaiming it. so if you live in the portsmouth area and wounder why the charity shops are so naff, its becuase all the stuff is still at my house!

regarding the Friendly Fire chapter I ahve done 9000 words now (yippeee) so that is on target and should get finsihed around the end of august. I also have a shed load of teaching to plan for next term, alculding my OWN UNIT on war and memory. this may not sound like much to you, but being asked to teaching you own thing is a big deal and it has made me smile all weekend.

if you get bored try these two, they are my fav blogs: www.pretendingsanity.com & www.glampyre.com

typing

i have to say, i know i am lucky as i dont have to sell ice creames, wipe bums or be a waitress for a living, but somtimes I get fed up with sitting indoors typing. it has been really getting to my this last week, and Im not sure if I am running out of steam OR if the topic (the friendly fire in the 1991 Gulf War) is a bit depressing. maybe, it could be a bit of both.

yesterday was a-level results day for the students I teach, and I have to say that only two of them did themselves justice. they are all such bright nice kids, but dont do exams so well- we will have to work on it for their A2 year!

In addition to that, it is raining a lot, and i have a whole back room full of boxes to move with, although it is too early to pack yet!

Knitting group

Last night was so much fun! (but I have realised I am a knitting nerd and there is no way back!) There 5 of us in total. A lady called Glad, who was amking a fuzzy fun fur type scarf, Tom who is queen of knitting, making strange red squares, Kim making her chunky scarf, Phillipa marking a demin style scarf and me!

I am still doing the shrug, but I had a disaster when I bugger up a row, had to frog it and then went all wrong. BUT TOM came to the rescue, and put it back on the needles so it wasnt a total disaster.

He also tried to teach me how to crochet- which I suspect is harder than it looks. Still not a bad start to the group.

I think next week we are going to do posters and have it in a public place so more people can come.....

shrug and a newbie

i have done about 2 inches of the shrug, and I have to say I am very pleased with how it is going- the ribbing looks great becasue the colours of the wool are changing and the whole thing is great! i hope i still like it as much whan I am finished.

i was working on it yesterday at my new firend Kims house, and teaching her how to knit at the same time. in one afternoon she learnt, cast on, cast off, knit, decreases and increases! what a star! and she is making a stripy scarf for her house mate (shhhhh.... a supprise bday pressie!)

this is the girl that started the stitch and bitch and is a real star! so i will let you know how that meeting goes tonight, i am hoping to met lots of nice people and get lots of nice inspiration!

in the mean time, cast you ever over badgerbadgerbadger.com and find the LOTR one, so so so funny.

knitting

wohooo- my friend kim has started a mini stitch n bitch at her house, we meet for the 1st time on Wednesday, so I have started a new project in honour of the event.
I am making the Sirdar "wash n wear," with the blueish mexican wave double knit wool. I love this stuff- it sort of changes colour as you go, and has shades of pink and green. plus, it is really soft, so will aviod ichy summer knitting issues.
What i really like about this pattern, is that you knit up a ribbed square, then the sewing makes it into a top! it is so pretty.

bought a house!

Yay! David and I have actually managed to buy a house! it is a two bed in Portsmouth will a nice garden and a tree!! I am v excited, only now we will have to spend some dosh on an oven and so on!

So that is a weight off......

I have also done about 4000 words on my last draft chapter, which is great as it means I should be finished by the end of August before teachign starts again. I am glad to be getting the drafts finsihed but I hate editing like mad- so the next year will be tough.

Also, my friend Kim is hosting Portsmouth 1st ever Stitch and Bitch- so if you are in the area drop me a line and I will give you the address, which I am hoping will take my mind of my lack of funding for the PhD again next year. I got the letter from the AHRC on Saturday, saying that my project wasnt within thier remit. Bastards! So if anyone is feeling benevolant and wants to give me some free money then please go ahead!

state of play

we are hopefully putting in an offer on a house tomorrow that is being done by a builder, so we get to choose what we would like in the house.

I like this kitchen: http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/category/category.jsp?tb=&CATID=8400003

and this wallpaper:http://www.focusdiy.co.uk/stry/hc040901&bklist=scat,3,,colour

(although the one i like has pink lillies on it) dont worry folks- this will be on one wall only.

in the spare room i am also thiknking of building some square storgae space to put my wool on. kinda like this one: craftster.org/blog/ index.php?m=200501

am going to 2 birthday parties this weekend, and will blag a camera from my friend so will have lots of photos!!!!

plan for today

I am a lucky girl! Here is my plan for today which is like most other days.


Get up and have a bubble bath.
Eat some bix and feed animals.
Do a bit of tidying up.
Type chapter 5 for about 3 hours.
Have some lunch.
Type again until my brain goes squish.
Sit in the sun and knit.
Potter about and maybe read or play with cats.
Think about cooking dinner
Cook dinner
David get home and spend rest of evening annoying him.

I really get to work writing at my own pace and although it is lonely, I do love getting the words down. I also like being able to look like a totaly slob and still really be working. yay my job.

caption game.......

house stuff again

the less and less yoga and knitting i do to try and keep up with house buying, i am noticing the more and more mental i get.

is this the lack or om knitknit, or just the process of buying a house?

Anyway, I am going in this morning to put an offer on the one I like. David liked it loads until my dad came to see it and pointed out ist "needed a lot of work." Like, new rendering, a new front and back door, a new stair case, the bathroom wall moving, new coving, a window replaced, a new kitchen, new carpets and the usual decorating.

I know it needs all this but dont seem to worried. i am just looking forward to having a non rental place that we can paint!

and dont even ask about the garden!

Angel

There is a painting by Klee called Angelus Novus. It shows an angel who seems about to move away from something he stares at. His eyes are wide, his mouth is open, his wings are spread. This is how the angel of history must look. His face is turned toward the past. Where a chain of events appears before us, he sees on single catastrophe, which keeps piling wreckage upon wreckage and hurls it at his feet. The angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise and has got caught in his wings; it is so strong that the angel can no longer close them. This storm drives him irresistibly into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows toward the sky. What we call progress is this storm.

House hunting

So yesterday I was am emotional wreck! I went to see 4 houses and HATED 3 and LOVED 1, which is a bummer as it was a teensy bit too expensive.

I am distracting myself today with the on-going office situation, and then will knit and not go to yoga as we are looking at houses!

I am also trying to organise events fot og Post Grad forum, so any, any ideas kids let me know......

less about knitting and more about moving

We spent most of yesterday sat in the hypermarket cafe with my parents having the financial stuff about mortgages explained to us..... ouch.

now i am going to spend most of today not at the gym so-i-get-thin but in fact looking at houses, so we can make sure ours is a fair price and there is nothin better out there.

I am still knitting my free form black thing- and on firday when I get my spanking new camera (hint david) I am planning a whole post of knitting fest pictures!

WOOOOHOOOO!

Trying to stay sane

Is taking on a whole new meaning! I have found out that the meanies are taking away all PG office space at the university- so instead we have to "hot desk" and who ever gets in first gets a desk.

AND where am I supposed to out my books?
AND where am I supposed to see students?
AND how will I ever get any bloody work done????

I do understand there is a crush on space- but we all pay at LEAST £1000 a year to do our courses and we are treated like dirt! I think the least they could manage is to find us a dart and damn corner to call our own.

GRRRRRRRR

Cats

How funny is this?!
Can anyone think of a caption?

Cleaning

So, the estate agents are coming to day to vie the house. I am tempted not to clean, so they might make it cheeper. Would that work? The other side of me wants to make it really really clean to show what a proper grown up I am.

Hummm.

CSI was on the other night, and without giving it away, someone got killed! (one of the main people I mean- not one of the usual dead ones!) DAMN I just dont know if Ginge can manage on his own!

I also have to go to the bank today to "discuss" my student loans. It seems like today I am doing all the yuck stuff. So I guess I may as well clean!

Do you remember the first time?

So this is what it feels like to get my act together and start a blog! I have been meaning to do this for a while, although I'm not too sure where this drive to share my world comes from, I suppose I will have to see if anyone is out there.

I'm a 24 year old PhD student at the University of Southampton. This is my academic site:

http://www.history.soton.ac.uk/jones.htm

When I'm not thinking about the Gulf war I am generally found annoying my husband by buying way too much wool, or teasing my two cats. David and I have been married for two years- he works in IT for BT, and is always supprised at my ability to refuse to ever leave uni! The cats which make up the rest of my small family are called Broc, who is a rescue cat, and a kitten called small cat. (who isn't small anymore) We also have fish- but they're job is just to look pretty.

I teach the undergrads at uni and the 18 year olds at college- this is all in the fantastic and absorbing subject of history, which I love!

I also love: yoga, csi TV show, buying buttons, reading other peoples blogs, gardening, bitching about having to type, photographs and my friends. AND wool, (or yarn as I am told I should call it) I am also dyslexia and dyspraxic, so if you find a spelling mistake- please don't tell me, I know I cant spell already!

I am in tumoil this week as our landlady is selling our house, and we are looking into buying it..... Scary! Will let you know how it proceeds.

Let me know if there is anyone out there.