Holiday

We've had a lovely summer holiday although dominated by home worries which thankfully have much lessened now.

But there was lots of this


there were balloons over us nearly every weekend

lots of these


lots of this



and this



and this

Active holidays - or not

What I'm doing on my holiday



Continuing the theme of cable socks in plain yarn, this is Aknita's lovely p/hop pattern Hopsox ...thank you Joy.I knitted them in Skeins 50/50 Silk/Wool colour Mocha, on a 2.5mm circular needle and adapted the pattern slightly to toe-up, short row heel.





And you can see I modified the pattern further to make the cable centre over the front of the foot and I wish I hadn't. I shall knit them again as they were meant to be.

Not the Tour de France

We were just enjoying a quiet coffee and croissant in the square when lots - and I mean lots - of cyclists began arriving. According to the gendarme who was making a half-hearted attempt to divert the traffic, there were going to be more than five thousand (that's 5,000!!) cyclists passing through Chinon that day.

It was great fun and all very entertaining as more and more of them squashed into the narrow streets.


And then the musicians arrived along with a very tall dancer! He kept trying to spray the cyclists faces - with water I presume. Goodness knows how he kept his balance on these cobbles.




There was an amazing range of ages but they all looked very fit.

That was a lovely hot sunny day - not quite as perfect for kite flying as this one was .
In fact the weather over the last two weeks has been windier than I can ever remember in Summer - and cooler too. And wetter. But not as cold, wet and windy as back home by all accounts.

But more importantly I've knitted the second Cleopatra sock and started - in fact finished the first sock - of that lovely Rivendell pattern from Janel Laidman. It's available singly and also in her book - The Eclectic Sole. I've ordered this but not had a confirmation and I think it's reprinting. I hope it'll be waiting for me when we get home, it sounds very exciting.

The thing is I decided I wanted to knit it toe-up in my usual fashion with the clever pattern superimposed....
I wanted the ribbing to start in a graduated fashion...
That works ok. And I love the colour of the Jitterbug - I think it's called Wasabi Squeeze. And I'm happy with the heel...
Although I think next time I would introduce the ribbing on the back of the leg in a graduated way like at the toe. And do a couple of inches before starting the diamonds. But it was going well. I made it longer to use up exactly half the yarn.
But, and it's a big but, I've not managed to re-work the main pattern motif so that it looks the same knitted in the opposite direction.

See

It's all wrong.


I shall have to wait until I have more time at home to sort out how to do it. If I can. I'm under such pressure to do holiday things atm and it's definitely not the sort of thing I can get my head round when I'm constantly being asked if I'll be much longer.

Lace knitting photos next time...one finished shawl and another I'm test-knitting. It's all very exciting!!

And just a glimpse of the sunflower fields that seemed to be all around us when we first arrived. Aren't they lovely?

sunflowers2, originally uploaded by tigerlily598k.

They're usually coming to an end in mid July but this year they were planted later because of the cold spell earlier in the year and so we have seen them at their best!




I have to give a sad update on our baby dormice who didn't survive. The skylarks - well I don't really know. The next time we looked at the nest, several days later there were no babies there. I know they fledge really quickly, so I hope that's what happened.

Not for the Squeamish

Good news regarding my laptop! The second repairer we took it to said that there was nothing actually wrong with it and it was just the power adapter that was faulty. He had a new universal adapter that worked just fine with my lappy,and he just charged us the cost of the adapter - 40Euros.

Definitely a shop we shall use again and such a helpful man (boy actually).

Of couse we feel we should go back to complain to the first shop where they told us it was unrepairable and charged a whopping minimum charge of 25Euros as well. And sold us a usb printer cable that we didn't need once my laptop was repaired. We shouldn't have had to pay any of it but I'm not sure my French is up to that sort of argument...and we are supposed to be on holiday.

Not that you'd know it from the weather. I can't remember ever being here at this time of year and had so much rain - so frequent and heavy that the river has flooded at several places. And big scary thunderstorms because it's warm. And the warmth and dampness have brought far more mosquitoes than usual, making it very difficult to enjoy our outside evening drinks. We're not ones to be beaten by a few insects and the citronella is working very well.

Other things like the warmth too.



We saw this on the little track outside our gates a few days ago. It was basking in the sun and slow from its winter hibernation when a fouine (a stone-martin - they're all around in this area) started attacking it. Unfortunately the fouine ran off leaving us to deal with this wounded viper. The men did it.


And the warm wet weather has brought another pest that we've never seen here before. Ticks. We've had experience of two of these now. One was attached to Harry's tummy and the other we found later on Michael's arm. We took Harry to the pharmacy expcting that they could get it out for us, but we were told that as he was a baby and the tick was so small, a doctor was needed to be sure it was all removed. OK, it was very quick and Harry didn't seem to mind. The doctor put vaseline on it for two or three minutes which stopped the tick breathing and then he just twisted and pulled and out it came. We just had to watch and make sure it didn't become inflamed because that would be a sign of infection and would need antibiotics but he is fine.

We decided we could remove Michael's ourselves....

But it wouldn't be a holiday in the Loire valley without some of this
It's the chateau at Langeais.

And we're ready for an ice cream (or something)



And knitting has been happening. Of course! You didn't think I could be on holiday and not knit.... I've been test knitting a stole for Laura at FiberDreams. Pictures next time. Hopefully tomorrow. When she says so.

And I'm in the midle of another Colinette Boogie-Woogie slipover. Actually I don't think you've seen a picture of the first on I made in colour Castagna, the same as the pattern illustration. Picture when I get home. And this one is colour 68 - Mist. It's Jitterbug, Colinette's sock yarn, lovely to knit with and a fantastic drape.



Another Sunday six o'clock sale at Posh Yarns has gone with another complete failure to purchase anything at all!!! It's months and months now since I've managed to buy anything; I know I only have a slim chance here with dial-up but I'm usually at home where my broadband is pdq. What I really really wanted was some Eva laceweight Apple that I saw (and missed ) about a couple of months ago.

I. Must. Get. Faster. Broadband.

I need something calming now ....

Proper Holiday Weather

At last we seem to be having a settled spell of "proper" holiday weather and about time too! And tonight all the meal preparation has been done in advance so we can sit and enjoy the evening sunshine. We're having the confit of duck with green lentils that I'd prepared for last night's meal but didn't eat as we were furthering the Entente Cordiale having aperitifs with our neighbours; the time flew by until it was too late to eat at all!

First some new FOs.
This is my favourite





Anne Hanson's Morning Glory Wrap from Knitspot. It is as yet unblocked as I don't have my blockin wires here but I couldn't wait to show you. I'll rephoto when it's blocked.

I used three skeins of Posh Yarns Eva 4ply in Turquoise, 4.5mm needles and 55 stitches instead of 64. I did an extra repeat of the hem edging and less Purse Mesh Stitch on one side and two repeats less of the MorningGlory pattern because thats when my yarn ran out. It measures 62" x 14".

It is more open that the original which is done with DK and I think I shall make another in this because I really like it.

And this - for Rachel
Eloise from Jane Ellison's Noro Knits. It is waiting for a knitted flower and some buttons! Oh yes - and blocking. I used seven balls of Noro Blossom shade #5 and 5mm needles so it knitted up very quickly .
I decided that I liked it better with the knit side as the right side rather than as in the Noro book that has the purl side outside.

Moles - soon to be no more.....

We declared a truce this summer with the army of moles in our garden and instead of trying to get rid of them, I've been using my energy to make use of the lovely soil in each mole hill and to minimise the plant damage they could cause.

That was ok until I saw this


It was reassuringly expensive and comes with a money back guarantee if not satisfied . We deciphered the French instructions and are going to have one last try. We've got just a few days of holiday to decide if it works......I hesitate to say exactly what is its modus operandi, but I'm sure it's more humane than putting thorny rose cuttings in their runs.

(Almost Too) Hot Holiday

No.....I don't mean the weather. It's not much better here than the weather in England, maybe a little warmer and a little less wet but definitely not the Summer weather we're used to.

No....it was the house that very nearly went up in flames last Friday. We'd only been outside for about twenty minutes and we came back in to the house full of smoke and the curtain smouldering red. This actually burst into flames as Michael ripped it down and threw it outside. You know those little plastic "collars" that are fitted on some candle lightbulbs? Well one of these had become slightly mis-shapen over the years, was too close to the light bulb and had started to melt and eventually began to burn the nearby curtain. We had a very lucky escape as another few minutes and the curtain would have set alight and then the whole house would have gone too. A lucky escape but a very unsettling experience.


The sparkly flashings in my eye have got much better and in fact I rarely see them now so that's one worry made less. My blood pressure....well it went down from the real high at the hospital although it's still a lot higher than usual but at least I'm not obsessively checking it every half hour or so; in fact the last two weeks I've had very painful sinusitis so maybe that would cause my bp to be up so I'm not checking it at all until I actually feel completely well.

My French medical vocabularly has increased quite spectacularly this holiday and is still doing so with dentistry terms being added after DH's filling fell out and was ignored until he needed an urgent dental appointment for a nasty abcess....painkillers, antibiotics and mouth wash....

Thanks to Piglottie, Christina, Knitting's Nice, Probably Jane and gilraen for your comments and well wishes. They're much appreciated.

But look - we have been doing some "normal" holiday things as well!!

These are pictures of the nearby little town of Langeais and its chateau.





I shall have some finished items to show you next time but for now here is the start of "Florence" fromRowan Classic Art. When the yarn I'd ordered from Angel Yarns arrived I had to start it straight away.

I's the first "shrug" I've knitted and I'm having trouble believing that my rectangular piece of knitting will look anything like the picture in the book but it will soon be finished and then I'll know!

The colour is "Tang" which is much more limey green than the photo shows.


And let me leave you with this lovely field of wild flowers

Lots of these have appeared this year by the fieldful around us. I can't imagine they are completely wild but they are very pretty and what I'd like is some of the seeds to make my own patch. I've bought wild flower seed packets in the past but with no results like these.

A little bit of knitting and a hospital trip

Two new wips.

First my Fiddlehead Scarf bought as a kit -yarn and pattern- from Morehouse Farm

This is such a fun knit and I'm really loving it!! And it knits up amazingly quickly. I'm using super smooth Addi lace 3.25mm

And my Morning Glory Wrap from Anne Hanson at Knit Spot in Posh Yarn Eva 4ply- Turquoise
a slower knit needing a bit more concentration but very satisfying.

I know Morning Glory should be more purply/lavender but I like all things green atm.


One new finished Montego Bay Scarf. This time knitted in Sea Wool from Handmaiden, colour Pinata.

And another one in Seasilk started and finished over the weekend but no picture - Rachel has taken it home with her!

The Montego Bays really fitted the bill when I needed something relaxing to knit last weekend. I kept having flashing arcs in my already not A1 eye and after a telephone consultation with the hospital at home I worried for the weekend and then went to our local hospital in France on Monday. To cut a long story short my eye is ok, I was able to see an opthalmic consultant that same day and there is no retinal tear and as long as it doesn't get worse there's no need to worry. Of course I am still worrying and not least because as in all hospitals they did my bp and it was sky-high and just before we came away for holiday my bp medication had been reduced to zero. I'm going to keep my eye on it and if it doesn't begin to go down as the stresses decrease I'll phone the surgery at home and see if I ought to restart the tablets.

This is so far not a relaxing holiday.


And I must reply to your comments and questions about my Handsome Triangle shawl - Piglottie ,the Piece of Beauty Silk de la Mer yarn I used was easier than The Yarn Yard's to work with as it was quite a bit thicker so altogether it provided light relief from MS3. Christina thank you for your concern for DD - she's recovered well with rest and tlc! and the pattern wasn't at all hard and -Arianwen - in fact was a very easy one to follow from the charts in Victorian Lace Today. No less enjoyable for that! There are lots of others that I would love to make in that book but I agree, Probably Jane they are all lovely. And Queen of the Froggers the Fyberspates silk is gorgeous yarn and I'm sure your shawl will look lovely.

RHS and Weeds

We are very lucky in England having the Royal Horticultural Society that amongst its many services offers an excellent advisory service to members including email identification of plants. Kate is a member so when we found that mysterious bed of unknown plants we took lots of photos and sent them to their botanists for identification. Unfortunately, as time went by I became more and more convinced that what we'd got was a tenacious weed that needed to be destroyed at all costs so I set about removing every single one.

Yesterday we had our reply from the RHS......

They can't be absolutely certain of the exact species without seeing the flowers and fruit but are sure it's a poppy and probably Papaver Rhoeas - the common wild poppy that you see in France in fields and hedgerows everywhere in Summer.

This is one of my favourite wild flowers and we have spent years trying to get it to grow in our garden. We love them.

So last night I had to search through the pile of weeds waiting to be composted or burnt to retrieve the best looking ones and now they are replanted in almost their original spot. Poppies don't like to be moved and I must say, they don't look great but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

How stupid of me...why ever didn't I wait for that reply??

I'm glad we didn't eat the leaves thinking they were dandelion greens that do indeed make a nice salad. (Thanks for the comment Girl With Pointy Sticks). Poppy leaves can have a very different effect I think.

I'm ashamed to show you this photo.....but if you look carefully you can see a flower forming.


What a pity.

French Garden

Our holiday weather is as nice as we've ever had it at Easter and of course everything has that gorgeous freshness of Spring. The leaves on all the big trees are opening so fast you can almost see the leaf buds burstng. It really is such an exhilerating and uplifting time.

The area I began to clear last year where the builder had dumped piles of rubble and rocks has covered itself beautifully with a carpet of wild flowers.




And although there is no sign of any bluebells, at least the wild garlic I planted is beginning to establish.


The floor of the wood is a mass of little wild violets and the scent is almost intoxicating at times - if I'd known how lovely they were going to be I would have tried to clear some of the leaves last winter. Next year perhaps.

I'm considering digging up a few and planting them near the garlic, I think there's enough clear ground for them and the white and blue together would be lovely.


We've had two of our big Scots pine trees cut down while we were at home and there are at least another six that will have to go. They've got some bark beetle disease which completely destroys the bark and kills the tree and spreads very easily so the only hope is to get rid of the diseased ones and hope the rest are ok.

So we've been doing lots of this...


And this....


And do you like the start of my olive grove? There are a total of three of these little olive trees, all with flower buds so I'm hopeful that they will fruit.



I'm not allowed more until we know how these get on. I don't really care about the olives themselves but I love the silvery leaves and the symbolism of the olive tree - peace with its leaves and joy with its golden oil - so if they can survive the winter I shall be very pleased.