touch wood and torchwood

I’ve had a tense and stressful week, and not been sleeping well. I was hoping that we would exchange contracts on the flat last Friday, but it seemed the buyer’s solicitor still had some queries for the Estate Management Board regarding works due to be done to the fences. I chased both the agent and my solicitor up on Tuesday, and they’d done nothing about it, so I decided to get on top of it and went over to the EMB office in person.

Turns out 1. The fence work they have been querying will cost the buyers £104 over the year (which I had said I would leave up to £2k to cover!!) and 2. The so-called roof works they had queried, when I actually checked the letter they had cited it from, were due to be done on 2 different blocks but not mine (they were done on mine 4 years ago, so I wondered why they needed doing again!). If either their solicitor, or mine, had ever bothered actually reading the letter properly, they would have known this. So the flat sale has been held up since mid-December because of this. Fools, I am surrounded by fools!

So after finally getting that sorted on Wednesday, and arranging for the relevant letters to be sent out, I’m still waiting for something to happen. I think even though her solicitor now knows the facts from me, they will be waiting for the official letter from the EMB to confirm this before going ahead. I bloody hope that’s all anyway – I will be utterly screwed if this sale falls through!

I’ve been doing some flat-hunting online, but until I get the exchange done, so I can raise some money on the basis of it, there’s not much constructive I can do – I really don’t want to start packing yet as I fear the Fuckyou Fairy will shit all over me if I dare to do anything so presumptuous.

On a lighter note, I had Carlos & Yvonne over for dinner on Wednesday as it was the first episode of series 2 of Torchwood, and we all love a bit of Cap’n Jack. I cooked a most awesome beef rendang and we stuffed outselves stupid first, and cracked open lots of plonk with it. I love that beef rendang recipe as you seem to be able to do almost anything with it and it still tastes yummy. The first time I made it I had no fresh spices, no ginger (pretty much the main ingredient!) and used a lemon instead of a lime – and it was still lovely! This time I had most of the ingredients (though still powdered not fresh ginger) and added a sliced green pepper, and it was fab again. I think next time I’ll try adding some peanuts and see how it comes out as a satay-type dish.

Yvonne brought her mittens over that I’d made her for Xmas, so I was also able to take some pics finally:

Mitten front

Mitten palm

Carlos playing mitten puppets - my arms aren't that hairy!

If I can remember exactly what I did, I’ll post it – it was based on a fingerless glove pattern I’d seen somewhere, but I wanted to make mittens so basically I just carried the pattern up to the top. I really like the way they turned out, and love the colours in the wool – Cascade 220 paints – and now want a pair for me!

Carlos put in a request ages ago for some black mittens with a skull on – I’ll have to get cracking on those, and have been fiddling with graph paper and stuff to try & come up with something simple that I like. Also hoping I have black & white yarn in stash as no budget for new stuff at the mo!

I’ve also started making a Leaf Lace Shawl (just for me!) from the Kauni I got a while back – I thought the autumnal colours would look lovely as leaves, and it’s turning out OK. I’m glad I finally figured out how to use lifelines though – thanks to knittinghelp.com and the amazingly clear video instructions! I’ll post pics when it’s looking a bit more like it might be something, rather than just a brown blob, like it is now.

cider insider insides

OK, so am not even going to try covering the month since I last posted – lots happened, and some didn’t.

But! I went to the lovely Bruno’s Xmas party on Friday night, and as he is obsessed with not getting red wine on his beige carpet, but wanted to do a mulled xmassy drink, I did a bit of thinking in my head and came up with the recipe below. And luckily, it turned out YUMMY!  The idea behind this was largely self-preservation on my part, as he was threatening to make mulled BEER, which sounded minging, and also I’m not a big cider fan (too many teenage memories), so I wanted a spiced cider that was appley and boozey, but not really that cidery.

hot spiced cider recipe:

8 cloves
1/2 teaspoon allspice
2 cinnamon sticks
juice of half a lemon
half a jar of honey (ish)
carton of apple juice (clear or cloudy)
bottle of cider
bottle of rum (light or dark depending on how sensitive about carpets you are lol, I prefer good old captain morgans)

get a masseeev pan and gently/slowly warm the cider, apple juice and rum with the spices. try and keep the drink in the proportions 1 part rum to 2 parts cider & 1 part apple juice, diluting the flavour with water if it gets too strong.

not so much with the knitting

phew – a busy few days chez pie. I got the flat on the market last week, and though there have been a fair few phonecalls to/from the agent, the one viewing I had then got cancelled, which was a bit of an arse. The agent reckon it will be rescheduled though, just down to a busy property investor type being, er… busy, apparently. It is quite weird seeing my home up on the web though – here. Apparently according to friends who’ve seen the pics, it’s also quite weird to be able to see the floor, for once. Not that I’m messy or anything

Friday I went down to Brighton to spend the day with Amber, and bless her she drove me about to every inch of the place that I demanded. I now have a much better picture in my head of where I’m aiming to live, which is helpful beyond belief. Yay Amber! It was such good fun, we were able to split up the driving about & pointing at stuff bits with coffees and cake-snacks so it was all good Not so much with the leisurely though, as her Tiaan is 19mths old and very much into the running/climbing and so on. She even had a proper face-down on the floor proper tantrum in the kitchen, which was hilarious, she will be an actress for sure. She also educated me in the proper way to eat fromage frais:

Apparently the only correct way to do it is to get your whole fist into the pot and cram handfuls into your mouth. If you can cover as much of your face with it as possible, preferably reaching at least the eyebrows, this is also good. And running those hands through your hair afterwards, Something About Mary style, makes it even more fun for Mummy. She’s an absolute treasure, really looking forward to living nearer and seeing more of her (and her parents of course!).

Then an oceanful of excitement on Saturday as my Kauni (birthday present from my sis) finally arrived – warning, this bit is long & picturey! I ordered EP & ES from Wollsucht, and I honestly ordered the smallest amounts of each available (270 & 210g), but now I’ve seen it, I fear a Sisyphean task is ahead of me to get it all wound. It’s actually rough as a badger’s arse, way more so than I thought it would be, but I knitted a swatch and washed it, then soaked it in some water with hair conditioner in it and it’s come out much softer, though I’m glad I have it earmarked for a bag, rather than anything I’ll be wearing next to my skin.

I started with the winding lastnight – in the absence of anything resembling a swift or ballwinder or husband, or any of that helpful stuff, here’s what I use:

Yep – it’s a laundry dryer thingy, Necessity being the evil twin of Invention. Actually, it works pretty well – and I can adjust the height so I can either stand up and wind whilst watching tv or do it sitting down having a lovely cup of tea.

The colours are lovely, the ES being a denimy blue with grey, and not as variegated as the EP, and I actually think my plans for this may change slightly, involving a shawl rather than a mix with the EP. Not sure yet.

The EP though, I am blown away by, the colours are GORgeous – all rich and autumnal, makes me think of conkers & falling leaves. The colours come out totally differently with/without flash, and I am no great photographer, but I don’t mind, as it meant I got to look at it for longer

I’ve wound 3 balls so far, some of each, and still have loads left to do

I think after the housework I have to do this afternoon, the box set of Pride & Prejudice (BBC version) might have to come out to accompany an afternoon’s winding, as if I don’t get it done today it will be tidied into the cupboard for flatviewingness and probably end up getting all tangled or something horrible like that.

So I’d better get on with it!