a new old discovery

So my mum’s in town. As usual, she’s taken us by a quiet storm… the calm before. Truth be told, as I get older, I feel the need to be near her again. As how I was when I was between the ages of six to ohh... thirteen? Then the teenage and early adult years were years of denial that I wasn’t anything like her. Ah… all lies, lies, lies!

But I digress.

As I was saying, it’s kind of fun having mum around, even though my beloved and I now spend half the time we would normally spend together. And that’s hard too, but I love them both, but in different ways (obviously!). What mum has (re)taught me is knitting! And now it’s addictive – perhaps it is the fact that once you learn the basic technique, you can basically see the fruition of your work unravel (ha! ha!) before you eyes. Yes, the times of instant gratification, but more importantly being able to touch a finished product with my own hands. Oh, I’m a long way from done, but as I see the ball of red slowly turning into a *reasonable* scarf-like thing, it’s amazing. And yeah… the addictive click-clacking of my 5mm needles.

Did I mention that I’ve had six unsuccessful attempts before finally settling into a fairly comfortable routine? This was mainly due to the fact that I started on a ridiculously funky, hairy wool learning how to 4K-4P (for those uninitiated non-knit-talkers, that’s 4 knit, 4 purl). I finally spat the dummy and started on plain chilli red wool, doing 4K-4P. Started off well enough, but then I thought I could watch telly and count at the same time (no, being an accountant does not help). And about ten rows into my beautiful knitting, I discovered a stitch quietly unraveling itself halfway down. I had missed a stitch!!! Imagine my horror, not to mention the wasted three hours of my life and I wasn’t even five inches through! So I did the only thing that had to be done, I unraveled the damn thing…for the fourth time. Desperate times called for desperate measures and I dumbed down my pattern, performing only the knitting stitches.

There is surely some moral to this story – JUST GIVE UP, I hear some say! But I refuse to, and perhaps it’s my stubbornness that makes me persevere – but most of all, I think it is the bonding that I felt I’ve lost during the last few years with my mum, and I’m discovering that through knitting again. For that, I am thankful. Who knew a pair of needles and two dollar wools was what was needed to do the trick? J

D r u n k I t

I recently turned another year older (bleah!), and my beloved took me to Mr. Mathis’ Taxi Dining Room for a sumptuous dinner to celebrate (yay!). Who said he didn’t have a romantic bone in his body (me!)? Okay, so I take it back, but it was always in jest. Anyway, it’s doesn’t bode well to indulge me too often. With my bovine nature, I tend to get excessive, obsessive and well… fat!

Anyway, it was lovely, he had planned it all… this is my boy who never thinks too much about tomorrows – that by the way, is one of the things I love about him. Spontaneity, which I utterly lack. There only needs to be one in the relationship. I can’t imagine if we both were; we’d be constantly living life as if we had something stuck up our bum!

The biggest surprise of the day was when my beloved pulled out two bottles of 1999 Vintage Cristal from his car boot. He had asked me a year ago what I would like when I graduated from my CA, and I replied “Drink champagne, preferably Cristal!” (back to that bovine nature I mentioned).

Only one of the most beautifully balanced champagne in the world, every drop was elegant and stylish. Bollinger and Moet, eat your heart out! We paired it with only eating seafood all night. There were sushi, garfish, scallops, the works. Truly a night worth remembering! And it wasn’t just the food or the beautiful champagne; it was also about a kept promise.

I can’t wait to get stuck into the next bottle!

Autumn in Melbourne

Crispy air,
Wind caressing hair,
Singing birds,
The sound of shuffling feet amongst gold leaves,
What a glorious morning.