Friday, November 03, 2006

Warning: Contains Ranting and Raving, With a Good Measure of Whingeing


Firstly, I have a cold and that makes me extremely grouchy. The OH, inconsiderately (I think) actually left the house to do some socialising a couple of weeks ago, and has been ill since around three or four days after. What with my being so healthy and fit, and hardly ever seeing anyone actually in the flesh and all that, I smugly thought I hadn't caught it. But now it's got me. And it's only November. Great. It's only a cold but it messes things up. I have been eating piles of home-made chocolate biscuits and other such delights, and doing no exercise. That's what I can't stand, no exercise. That's why I'm grouchy. Well, partly why. The other thing is.....

My Funnel Neck. It was all going very well indeed. Every time I tried it on it seemed great. Until it came to reserving the stitches for the sleeves. It seems the portion for the body (from neck to underarm) doesn't have enough increases, but the arm section does. Of course, what I should do is rip back a long way and start putting in more increases for the body portion. But how many more and can I be bothered? I can't tell you how much I detest knitting the same bit again. Not as much as I hate being ill, but I won't bend your ears about that again. Or you may never come back. I could wing it and just have a jumper stretched very tightly across the chest. Oh, I shall put it to one side and come back to it when I'm in a better mood.

The only knitting I have left now is the Edwardian Stole and Nick's socks (which go back to April). Good thing I'm not knitting him a huge cardi, then, like Poshyarns did for her DH. So, I have no knitting that I want to do and no yarn waiting in the sidelines (no, honestly) except for some Noro Blossom but I don't know what I'm going to do with that. I could do with making a pair of socks but I'm too skint to get the yarn. I could have spent the money I raised on eBay on some yarn instead of my haircut but then I'd be even grumpier. Thank heavens you don't have to live with me!


On the skint front, our Music Distribution company is really doing well. It's only been going for just short of a year, but already we are doing the distribution for over one-hundred record labels. But you know what it's like when you start up a business - at the beginning there's no money to spare. We're hoping we'll soon be at the point where the business is paying for our monthly outgoings in entirety, never mind having any extra to spend. It's not too bad. When we have a fire going in the burner, a little child to hug and make us laugh, home-made biscuits, a cheap (ish) bottle of wine etc. etc. I think all the other bits are really not what makes us happy. Though I would like extra money for yarn. Of course. But one day when I'm rolling in it, I'll be far too busy to knit (not really - it's either knit or eat biscuits).

And actually, it really is never far from my mind that a large proportion of the world's population really don't have any of the real comforts of home like we do. I mean the really bare basics. I'll never forget a photo I saw a while ago, of some Pakistani earthquake refugees trudging through the mountain snow with their children carried on their backs. But the children didn't even have shoes or blankets. No shoes. In the snow. I remember having a bad day and then, in the midst of my crying to a friend, saying "oh, how could I feel sorry for myself" and telling her about the photo I'd seen. And with the best of intentions, she replied, "well, Darling, you're walking barefoot through the wilderness of life". And I thought, "no, not really", although I appreciated the sentiment. And it brought me back to my senses.

14 comments:

  1. Too true, that last bit. Most of us (especially those of us websurfing on our own computers during lunchbreak) are far, far luckier than we realise, and there's no guarantee our luck will last. Cherish every day.

    I sort of share your guilt about biscuits and lack of exercise: a cold has been stalking me since Sunday. I didn't go to the gym today AND I had a sausage and mug of hot chocolate for lunch. Doesn't help, the inside of my forehead still feels like setting concrete :-(

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  2. It's bad enough ever having to undo knitting but even more difficult when you're not sure how you'll re-do it. I'm sure when your cold is a bit better and you can exercise again, you'll be more decisive about it and more positive about everything.

    Your stove looks lovely to curl up in front of!

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  3. some days are just so. they'll pass. yes, we are in a better place than most. thanks for reminding me as well. I had a bit of a "poor me" moment this week as well.

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  4. Lovely pictures, especially the biscuits :-)

    I hope that you start to feel better soon.

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  5. Alice, I hope you feel better soon. Make sure you drink lots of water and get lots of vitamin c! Those biscuits look yummy, too. :)

    I hope you can figure out the jumper situation - I wish I could help you.

    We all have it better than a lot of people, but as long as you do something to help, then you shouldn't feel bad about it.

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  6. I know what you mean Alice - I've just ended up with 2 odd sized mitts and don't know how I've done it, and I was hopeing to have lovely snug hands round the bonfire tonight! Ah well.
    Fires are a godsend for making you feel better and I whole heartedly agree with the fire, hugs, biscuits and wine!
    Get well soon!

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  7. Forgat to congratulate you on the business success. Most businesses don't generate any surplus at all in the first year so it sounds as if yours is going really well.

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  8. Don't know what happened to my first post. Sorry about the sweater but perhaps it's a good thing you discovered the problem early. Hope you're feeling better.

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  9. Oh dear, sending virtual hugs and comfort... I hate being ill, I find it very inconvenient and it makes me really grumpy too.

    I bet you will be exercising again in a few days, in the mean time enjoy the biscuits and wine and just wrap yourself up and browse some knitting books or something. You will feel better about the sweater when you are feeling a bit more up again.

    Sounds like the business is going great, having your own business is such very hard work in the first couple of years but it is such a great feeling to be working for yourself.

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  10. I agree with your sentiments wholeheartedly. I've decided my new years resolution is to consume less, although I'm actually starting now (let's watch me crack over the Christmas period!) Just to test myself, I ventured into the newsagents today, and even though new issues of some of my fav food mags were in, I proudly left empty handed. How many recipes does one girl need, anyhow?

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  11. Good post. I'm felling rather sorry for myself today so it is good to get some perspective on things. Hope your cold is better soon.

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  12. I'm sorry to hear you don't feel well. It really does make everything feel worse than it actually is. The fire and biscuits are perfect medicine, though, as is the knowledge that you are doing something you love (the business) and are becoming successful at it. I hope that jumper behaves itself soon!

    It will be Thanksgiving here in a few weeks, and it reminds me how blessed we are to have such a nice dinner when so many others go hungry...I've been collecting the nonperishables for the giveaway baskets, and it seems so small when so many are needy, but every little bit helps, I hope.

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  13. I feel your pain- I just knit the first 3 inches of a sweater 4 times. And I have to frog it yet again.

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  14. yeah.. pretty profound to think of how bad other people are living right this very minute...

    I have a hard time getting that out of my mind and I saw a lot of it in egypt.

    So I say, amen sistah.

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