Extemes in the mail

This is the wristwarmer I started while visiting family in Atherton, QLD. I'm halfway through the second one and have been wondering whether I should give them to a friend whose birthday is coming up this weekend. This is a somewhat familiar dilemma: my desire to give a special gift takes priority over my desire to own yummy knitted stuff myself. After ruminating on this for a couple of days, I've decided to keep them for me, and buy my friend a good book. Feels like a good decision... (Here's me peeking into the neighbour's yard!)


The next issue is whether the black mohair (I'm knitting these with a strand of DK and a strand of mohair per colour) will go the distance. I should have divided it into two equal balls before I started, but oh well. Perhaps I will just leave it out, once it runs out, and then I'll have slightly mismatched wristwarmers made entirely with yarn from my stash, which will still feel quite satisfying, I believe...

And look what I've got in my hot little (fuzzy) hands - the premiere issue of mix tape zine! (And note the dishes done! But I confess, not by me, by a friend - thanx Jane!)

I've been reading the blogs of the editors, Nichola and Justine, saw that they were putting it together, and decided to buy it. I love that it's so local - they're both based in Melbourne - and combines craft / life with kids / recipes / enviro stuff. Haven't read it all yet - I'm savouring it! Nichola and Justine met up through blogland, found out they lived near each other, and became fast friends. I think that is so cool - so cool when the internet helps forge local connections, rather than perpetuating global loneliness...

Talk about extremes - on the same day I received this delicious zine, I also got hit with a speeding ticket! Didn't know whether to wriggle excitedly or swear and moan... Haven't paid the ticket yet. I have to psych up for these things. It's particularly galling, because... here's the saga! I was clocked 8km over the limit at 5am while I was heading to the airport a couple of weeks ago (to head up north). $138 for that, thankyou, come again! I knew I was speeding, but I was following my cousin, who had half of our luggage in her car, and I knew that if we got split up, it was going to be tricky finding her again at the airport. So she's hooning along, and it was all I could do to stick on her tail. Meanwhile, I'm still trying to wake up! My lesson is, next time, get my Mum, who was with me in the car, to ring her to ask if she could slow down a little. And now that I've copped this fine, I bloody hope she has too!!! (Just kidding, Kelli... well, half-kidding!)