Visitor in the night.

Well it's finally arrived. I looked out of the window this morning and there it was. It wasn't there last night when I went to bed, I'm pretty sure of that.

SNOW!!!!

It's typical that it snowed the day after my niece flew back to Wellington (NZ) from the UK. She always seems to miss it! (Sorry Jenn!!!).

Now I'm not much of a big fan of weather as my job forces me to be out in it. Hearing stories of trucks blown over on the M6 last week couldn't help but put the wind up me (no pun intended). But a judicious smattering of snow on a weekend I can handle; as long as it's gone by the time I set out on Tuesday and it isn't replaced by anything worse!

I'm aware that to those of you in the States and Canada and various other parts of the world what we have barely counts as snowfall, but I guess it's all relative. I've been watching a series thats just started on channel5 called "Ice Road Truckers" and nothing on earth would induce me to do THAT however well paid it is! I'm just a wuss when it comes to weather, and not ashamed to admit it.

I've been doing exciting things with my new laptop again. Yesterday I connected it to my TV and watched "The Wonderful World Of Albert Kahn" over the BBC iplayer, but on my TV screen. I need to get the sound sorted out as that's still coming through the laptop speakers but I think I have the hardware to do that lying around somewhere. I'm so chuffed that it's working.

I also spent money yesterday on knitty things. Not a huge expenditure though; from the Oxfam shop I bought Patricia Roberts' "Variations" (sans dust jacket) and from the Kirkwood Hospice Shop the "Traditional Sweater Book". The pair of them for under a fiver! They will be added to my collection of books that I look at pictures in but never use. In actual fact some of the patterns in the Patricia Roberts book are quite nice once you get past the intarsia decoration. I like the two jumpers on the page in the photo above (I'd give the leggings a miss nowadays though I'm told they're fashionable again!!!). There are some beautiful ganseys in the other book and a lovely shetland shawl pattern too. I may even try Fair Isle one day; though it doesn't do anything for me yet. Never say never!

I've also completed another pair of socks. Bog standard free Opal pattern on 2.25mm circulars in Opal undyed which I dyed myself. The colour is a bit insistent so it's ideal for socks as I won't see much of them. They're looking a bit flobby as I wore them before I took the picture.

I fancy starting something a bit more challenging but I'm not sure what yet. I bought some yarn from Texere before Christmas to make the "Brushed Lace Cardigan" from the Winter issue of IK but I fear it may be bit too hairy for the lace pattern. The dark gray is what I bought and the bluey gray is from the stash. I was going to do just one or two repeats of the lighter colour rater than the number of stripes in the original. Any suggestions welcome.