Back to normal.

After the glitz and glamour of the past wee while, things have gone back to what passes as normal in Mog Towers. A horrid cold and general feeling of post wedding flatness has caused an outbreak of domesticity and comfort food.

A trip to the Arbroath Charity shops unearthed a strange machine which has come to be known as the cookie pooper. The results are small but very tasty indeed and they may be the cutest biscuits I've ever made.

There has been dyeing and knitting too - a stripey pair of socks, the shades of spring sunlight in the garden and in progress, a Baktus scarf made from onion dyed handspun Blue Faced Leicester. The colour is less vibrant than usual on account of the mordant being copper rather than the usual alum but I am enjoying the subtle shifts of colour.

We've been wed.

Tom and Lara's wedding sped by in a blur of kilts and cake. The speeches were heartfelt, not to mention bilingual, the weather was kind and my shoes didn't hurt at all. I had a great time getting to know Tom's new family and hope they enjoyed meeting mine. Heaps of singing and dancing, including my mother doing the twist, a sight that will live with me forever.

Best of all was seeing the bride and groom having the time of their lives.

It's all a bit anti-climactic now so thankfully my chum Rangercraig came up trumps with bags full of nettles and tansy for me to dye with. The kitchen smells like a woodland gone foosty and the dyed fleece is pale but interesting. I have no plans other than to spin it and see what it would like to turn into.

A golden transfomation

As I mentioned in my last post, I do have some clever chums. None more clever than Sylvia the jeweller who makes the most wonderful things. So, as the countdown to a major birthday loomed, I asked her to make me a ring as my present to myself for turning forty. It reminds me of one christmas when under our tree was a present labelled " To Mum. Love Mum. "

The materials for my ring were special - my grandmother's wedding ring and another diamond ring provided the gold, along with a key charm that had been given to my mother for her twenty first birthday. I helped with the design and the stone setter was the man who set Lady Di's engagement ring. Though, come to think about it, that didn't turn out too well.

My ring turned out beautifully and it reminds me of the sea, just as I'd hoped it would. It might sound like an odd thing to say about an inanimate object but it already feels like a friend. I love knowing that it has been made from objects belonging to my mum and her mother and that it was made by someone who knows me well.

Tonight finds me sitting on the sofa with a full face of make up on and wearing high heels with my jeans. I'm practising being smart for my brother and Lara's wedding tomorrow. Believe me, I need the practise. In Lara, Tom has picked just the right partner for him. A real other half. I wish them lots of love and happiness.

In praise of clever friends and new cookers.

There are many things I don't know about but luckily I have a selection of friends who can help me fill the gaps. Want to spin dog hair? Ask Julie. Not sure if a mushroom is edible? Check with Anne. Medieval history and recipe advice? Grahame every time. Sometimes it feels like I live in a small country surrounded by experts. It is a very nice feeling.

Take last night, a visit to Perth Concert Hall to hear music by Gorecki and Szymanowski. My knowledge of classical music is so limited it could be written in big letters on the back of a very small concert programme. Just as well then that our chum for the evening was Haworth, who had the knowledge to lead me through the performance and recommend further listening. Glorious music and a timely reminder to broaden my horizons some more.

On a more prosiac note, this week saw us take delivery of a new cooker. The old one had holes where there shouldn't be holes and an oven door that didn't shut. No souffles for us. The new one is a thing of wonder. There is a light inside the oven so that you can lie on the floor, accompanied by a puzzled cat and watch the sponges rise. Our first meal with the new cooker was cheese on toast, follwed by an orgy of baking. I made madeleines which were eaten outside in the sunshine with Marianne ( sewing and painting advice ). Most of us were on our best behaviour.

Dangerous tomato

It's been a quiet old week here in Mog Towers. I have been slumped over a pair of circular needles trying to finish off Archie's jumper before the summer arrives and renders it obsolete. Heavy work, and I don't just mean the short rows. A whole man sized pile of yarn is hard on the wrists. It fits and is liked which makes up for the pain and swearing that accompanied the knitting of it.

My other main achievement this week was making enough lasagne of the veggie variety to feed about twenty people. I started off making a big pot of puy lentil and tomato sauce only to be attacked by a tube of tomato puree. Dangerous things tomatoes.

Just a little green.....

It is feeling wonderfully springy around Mog Towers. I've been joining in with Lolly's Project Spectrum again this year and currently the colour theme is green. We have a lot of green going on. Green shoots and green fingers. The ladybirds are waking up, the gardening gloves have been dusted off, their fingers checked for errant spiders and it is nearly warm enough to sit and knit outside. As long as you wear three pairs of socks and a balaklava that is.

I've been spinning green for Project Spectrum, trying to gather up the colours of spring into a few hundred grams of yarn. Some purple and lilac have sneaked in too in honour of the crocus flowers who are one of the first blooms to make me smile each year.

Sorry Burglars.

There has been little blog activity in the last wee while on account of my not being here. The lad and I left Magnus in the tender care of Sylvia and went off to look after other people's pets instead. I didn't like to mention it in adavance in case I have a following of blog reading burlgars.

Jazz the dog and Leo the snake belong to friends of ours lucky enough to be going on holiday and thus in need of animal sitters. We had a lovely time in a house filled with books, sunlight and learning. Our holiday home is conveniently situated between a railway line and the sea which allows the guest to hear both the sounds of waves and the 3.30 to Aberdeen. It was remarkably peaceful for a house normally occupied by two grown ups and three rambunctious boys.

The dog played football and went for walks along the beach. The snake writhed around a bit. One sticky moment came when I went to the freezer to get some emergency bread and found a plastic bag next to the ice cream tubs. It was filled with mice ( rats? I didn't stick around to tell the difference ) and chicks. Cold, hard and dead just waiting to be defrosted for Leo's tea. As a wise friend later said, that could almost put you off ice cream. Almost.