Merry Christmas. Hope you all had a great one.

We're just back from home (Scotland) and I'm catching up. Finished the scarf for my sister in time, photos to follow. The hat and gloves for my old roommate went a bit missing in the post (major panic) but turned up after a week so all's well. I didn't get my mum's hot water bottle cover done but that can be a Mother's Day pressie instead so no need to worry.

During my "catching up" I came across this meme and thought I would complete it too:

4 jobs I have had
Customer Assistant, Boots the Chemist
Research Assistant, University of St Andrews
Junior Demonstrator, University of Oxford
Process Chemist (current job)

4 films I could watch over and over
Roman Holiday
The Goonies
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (with Johnny Depp)
The Lady Vanishes (the old version)
And so many more, they change from year to year.


4 places I have lived (apart from where I live now)
Canterbury, England
Fife, Scotland
Oxford, England
North Hertfordshire (Baldock and Royston)

4 TV shows I love
CSI (original version)
Everyone Loves Raymond
Scrubs
Green Wing
(do I have to stop at 4 - Father Ted, Blackadder, CSI Miami, Law & Order Criminal Minds, Sex & the City etc, etc...)

4 places I have been on holiday
Florida
Dublin
Paris
Malta

4 websites I visit daily
Google
BBC
my bank's website
Rowan forum

4 favourite foods
crisps (M&S Beef and Onion-yum!)
raspberries and blueberries
steak pie - especially the puff pastry
cheese (5 counties, edam, brie, good vintage cheddar, oh and there must be wine)

4 places I would rather be
By the sea
Culzean country park
Scotland
Cornwall

4 people I am tagging
Don't know anyone well enough but please do it yourselves and leave me a comment so I can read yours.

Knitting and other progress

I am still alive. Just a bit busy, what with the run up to Christmas and all the nasty bugs that I keep catching. I've finished the 2nd glove for my old roommate's Christmas so just need to finish sewing up the first glove and I can get that posted this week. The knitting of my sister's scarf is done just the crocheting to do (learn!). No photos though, sorry.
Other than that I got a new toy when my parents came to visit. A sewing machine! May not seem very exciting to most people but considering I was banned (yes that's right banned) from the sewing machines at high school this is a major step forward for me and involved much bravery. So far I've been practicing on random bits of material and learning to wind bobbins and thread the needle but this weekend I was finally brave enough to sew a proper thing. I took up my jeans. And here's the proof.



The first attempt was a bit wonky - especially as I'd never used a free arm or gone round the way before - so after that had been unpicked I started again and all was well.

The productive weekend continued today and we put up our Christmas tree. It's our first real tree. My parents always had a real tree but hubbie's folks didn't and we've had a plastic tree the past few years as we were living in rented places. We nearly didn't get a real one as we head home for Christmas but we decided a real one for 2 weeks before Christmas was worth it even if we come back to a pile of needles. And it'll only be our carpet that's full of needles, no landlord to worry about. Anyway, we're dead chuffed, it's such a nice tree and sits perfectly in our room.

We put our new nativity set out too. It's a bit worrying though. Either the makers got confused and thought Joseph was a shepherd or it's a very PC version of the nativity and Mary is a single parent. And yes I know, Jesus shouldn't be out yet (Dad's already pointed this out) but as we won't be here Christmas eve/Christmas day I thought it was better he arrived earlier than not at all!

I also had my first reflexology session this weekend. It had been a present from hubbie for my birthday but as I was waiting on conventional medicine to sort my whiplash out I didn't book it. The voucher was due to run out in January so off I went to the complementary health centre. I have to say the reflexology was great but then I do love having my feet rubbed. It seemed to drain my sinuses and relieve my sciatica. The reflexologist even picked up on my funny ears and low blood sugar problems even though I hadn't mentioned them. I think I was having a bit of a healing crisis this afternoon though (sinuses painful, back spasming, headache and soooooo tired) but I feel so much better already. Think I might be tempted to try it again.