December already

I have been busy.
Work mostly, and a lot of knitting.
To put it very nicely these are interesting days in the financial sector.
So I think we all run as fast as we can and do our damnedest to prove our worth.
Last week I went to Oslo. I had not been there since I was a child and it was my first visit to our office there.
Of course on one of the few days when it's really important that you look professional and tidy you wake up just that bit too late to a home without electricity.
(I will have to figure out how to make coffee with only candles and a lighter at my disposal.)
So if it had not been for the mirror in the airport bathroom I would have arrived with mascara in funny places.
There was not much to be done about the cat hair, and next time I have to lint-roll clothes in the dark, I should probably chose not to wear a black woolen dress.
There is something incredibly marvelous about having breakfast (warm rolls with cheese, orange juice and coffee) with a view to morning sunshine in a blue sky above white clouds. I will have to bring my camera next time.
And then approaching Gardermoen with a view to a snow covered landscape looking like something out of a fairytale.
It completely evened out the less than perfect start to the day.

I can barely believe it's December already.
We had snow here in the end of November. Actual snow that stayed on the ground and rooftops for more than a few hours.
I like snow. It's pretty and in addition to its sparkly prettiness it serves as a layer of insulation up here in our little home under the roof.
The cats are happy that their stupid human has finally understood the importance of turning on the radiators.
But my camera refuses to talk to my computer.
So instead of roasting cat boys we have the pair sleeping on their bench in front of the french doors. Before the drafty season started.

I'm almost done with the Henry scarf.
The sewn bind'off is however driving me completely mad. Or is at least trying to.
I'll probably have to get mildly drunk if I'm to find the courage to attempt it again. The ribbed pullover is very nearly done. But I'm having second thoughts.
So I've cast on for a Hemlock Ring Blanket for my favourite colleague.
And a Lily sweater for myself.
And a Bainbridge scarf for lovely ex-colleague.
Laurenz would like to request that all yarn always be sent wrapped in paper:

Bird bath

It has been raining today. Enough for big puddles to remain in the gutter and the holes in the streets.
And waiting for the bus home I enjoyed watching a pair of pigeons bathing joyfully in the puddle by the bus stop. They were completely drenched in water, and looked happy and calm and playful and unusually charming, considering they are big city pigeons.
Suddenly a car came racing and the pigeons rose like little wet, feathery cannon balls. And one hit a young man right in the crotch.
I hadn't seen him coming either.
And I don't know which were more startled, the poor bird or the poor birdstopper.
And now I cannot help wondering how he must have tried to explain the big, wet splash of water with "You see, this big wet pigeon came zooming at me....".

For lack of pigeon photos, here's Laurenz, the Master Snoozer

And Vincent's paw.

Laurenz and his big butt - and the fetchings

I wanted to wrap up the fetchings for Katrine, so that I can deliver them tonight.
But this is what I found.


Laurenz seems rather intent they get to smell like cat butt.

I know he's not a huge fan of Katrine, but this is taking his dislike a bit too far.
Or maybe he just likes the feel of alpaca and silk against his nether regions.

Bad lightning, bagged milk, and big blue eyes

This is really mostly for Linnea.

Sadly there will (most likely) not be any disco light in the laundry room.
It was just an excited, hurried not-very-good cell-phone-photo in bad lightning.
But I will get to use it.
And I still cannot wait.
They're still working on it, but I hope that come this weekend laundry can be done - not in the shower, not at the laundromat, but in the basement laundry room.

The bagged milk is ecological, and not non-fat. (I hate non-fat milk.)
And the bag works wonderfully. Surprisingly so.
I bought it because it was the only eco-milk in the store, and of course the bag itself made me laugh with wonder. And squish it. Gleefully.
It seems to close itself almost as if by magic, and the bottom is shaped so that even the last bit of milk is enough to keep it nicely upright.
(Milk never lasts long enough to go sour here.)
And the bag is made from nice environment friendly .... something chalky and some polymer-thingy. I'm sure it is explained here.
Very clever.
And since I'm easily entertained I giggle just looking at it.
And the yogurt was delicious!

This morning brought snow! It didn't last long but it was there.
But sometimes you just don't want to leave your nice and warm bed in the morning.
Not because of the weather, but because of this:

Mmmm, wool

Sleeping cat. In wool destined to become the City Coat from Domiknitrix.
The rest of the City Coat that is. I already have a finished sleeve. Somewhere.
And the ring of trouble.

Sleepycat

I love watching Laurenz sleep.

He would prefer I didn't.

The waiting room

Today I will not leave the house.
Not until I have received my care package from Apple.
I called Apple on Tuesday.
I told them about my problem and what I had so far done to fix it.
And I told them about my suspicion that the trouble is caused by a recent security update not working with a recent iTunes update on OS X 10.3.9.
My intuition. Not valid proof, just .... intuition.
(The iTunes update makes it impossible to verify Permissions in Disk Utility on 10.3.9 - and that's a known problem.)
And now there's an OS X 10.4. upgrade on its way by courier, and it should be here today.
They regretted they could not deliver it sooner.
During my 8 years as a Mac-lover I've only had reason to contact them twice.
The first time because I had spilled wine into the keyboard of my then 4 years old iBook and needed a replacement, as the spacebar and the n had stopped working.
It was with me within two days.
I was prepared for some sniggering because of the age of the iBook and the wine, but it never came.
I was also prepared for it to cost a small fortune, but it didn't.

I would never dare fiddling with the roots if I had a PC.
(Actually I would never even dare go on the internet with a PC, I see too much trouble with worms and Trojan horses and .... germs amongst my PC-using friends).
Not to mention all the fun you can have with Windows Vista.
I have never had a Mac freeze on me until now.
At work I have a visit from Dr. Watson at least once a day.
I have never had a Mac refusing to restart either. Not until now .....
Or ask me to restart it. In the middle of something important.
I have never had to search for a driver.
This may be why the PowerBook is breaking my heart.
But it is also why I still love and trust it.
Oh, and I have never bought the AppleCare. I have thought about it, but never actually gotten around to doing it.
Still they give outstanding and very caring service.
Just a few reasons for my hearting Apple.
And now I'm all dressed and ready to run down and hug the courier once he gets here.
I may get some knitting done, while I wait.
And ponder my back-up procedure in the future.

And because there's more to life than reading and writing, knitting and waiting, I also have a very secret project to play with.
Involving this:


And sorting through the old photos I found one of kitten Laurenz.
When he was a wee one still living with his sister and the rest of his big cat family.
And was called Lorentin.
"Who's a cheeky little monkey?"

Very pretty kitty

I don't know why, but this chair is the cats' favourite place for throwing up.
It's also good for napping, and for looking pretty, but there's a reason it has two removable, washable covers.

Oatmeal biscuits (Hello Grandma!)

I seem to be on a crackers and biscuits roll these days.
Most likely there is still a lingering hand to mouth impulse connected to a certain degree of stress, and as I am no longer smoking, that means munching on something.
And that something may as well be just somewhat healthy and rich in fiber.
The crackers recipe needs some perfecting still, but in the back of my grandmother's cooking book I found her recipe for oatmeal biscuits.
And I remember and loved her oatmeal biscuits.
They are not as sweet as the ones you buy.
But they are better. In my humble very biased opinion.
And they're square! Nearly.

And I love my cheap blue tea cups from IKEA.
Mostly because of the large saucer-turned-plate, leaving plenty of room for something to eat while easily being held in one hand.
And the colour. Of course.

I am as bad at writing out recipes as my grandmother was, but here it is:
Oatmeal biscuits
250 g butter (I used half butter half margarine, for lack of butter)
2 dl milk or water (I couldn't decide so I used half of each)
- melt butter and add water and milk.
Mix:
6 dl oatmeal
7 dl flour
2 teaspoons baking ammonia aka salt of hartshorn (baking ammonia gives crispness and lightness and during baking it smells as if a fox just took a pee in the kitchen - if not available, or not appealing, substitute with 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda, it's almost as good and not stinky)
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt.
Add the still warm butter/milk/water and quickly gather into a soft dough, which feels funny and warm and very delightful between your fingers.
Divide in two and roll first part out directly on to the baking sheet, cut into squares and prick with fork or similar.
Bake 15 minutes at 200 degrees (celcius!)
And then you do the same with the second part.
Depending on the size of the squares you cut (genius!) and how many you eat before counting, you should get anywhere between 60 and 80 biscuits.
Good sized biscuits, that is, plus some odd looking side biscuits, you had better eat first.
I'm not sure if they would not benefit from a bit more sugar and maybe some vanilla and perhaps even some ground almonds, ... or orange zest and a bit of cinnamon, ... or raisins ... just for the days when the sweet tooth is on the prowl.
It takes little more than half an hour - a bit longer if you forget you have biscuits in the oven.

But Laurenz is only happy to eat the burned ones.

Kitty pi in the sun

The kitty pi has been largely ignored since its first, and only, day of Being of Interest.
In spite of costly wool and not very comfortable knitting with incredibly large needles.

But being placed in a sunny spot it has finally returned to the list of Best Places to Take a Nap.

Sleeping beauty

From evening stockings to bed socks

I love Knitting Vintage Socks, and I love the local library for letting me borrow it.
Having finished the Evening Stockings I have moved with the clock and started on the Bed Socks.
Soft, soft, black alpaca.
I love them already
And Laurenz looooves alpaca.
Mmmmm, alpaca.

Laurenz loves Vigdis

Vigdis in progress is perfect for snuggling