Weekend sum up

I didn't do everything on the list I posted Friday. But most of it.

• Finish my Amy Butler's High Street Messenger Bag

It's finished!!! I'll post more about it when I have taken pictures of it... I'm very happy with the way it came out and can already see myself making more of these... (I just need to practise sewing in zippers first!)

• Clean the apartment from a bit of the clutter I have lying around, dust and vacuum

Check! The place looked wonderful when our friends came over Saturday night.

• Come up with a menu for our dinner with guests Saturday night

Boyfriend took care of this. He had all the ideas for the main course and I only decided on the dessert. 'Cause that's my chore. Always. :)

• Prepare and cook dinner for 6 (+1)

Boyfriend did the cooking while I cleaned most of the apartment. He's so much better at cooking than I am.

• Do yoga for an hour

Well, that one didn't happen until this morning. I set my alarm for 5.40am and ten minutes later I was at it. I was sooooo stiff this morning. I don't know how many sun salutations I did before feeling more relaxed in my legs and shoulders. I did the program we did at the ashram I visited this summer. Felt good not having to use my imagination that early in the morning...

JumJum (my morning cat) couldn't keep from watching me doing my asanas. He walked around and around me, sat on a box of books on my left side, sat on the floor on my right side, walked around some more, sat on the mat down by my feet, and ended it all by lying on my stomach while I did my final relaxation... A purring cat on the stomach actually makes for better relaxation. :)

• Buy 5.5mm/US9 DPNs for a new lacy project

I bought the DPNs. I started the project. It's a lacy cardigan knit from the center back and out. From a book I bought last week; Sticka romantiskt, modernt och kvinnligt by Lene Holme Samsoe. It's a Norwegian book translated into Swedish. I don't know if it comes in English. The title means "Romantic, modern and feminine knits". Sort of. Well, anyways, I fell in love with this lacy cardigan and bought yarn for it when being out of town (a white mohair and silk blend from Alessandra). I casted on Friday night. And frogged after three rows. I casted on again. And frogged after five rows. I casted on again. And frogged after three rows again. I casted on a fourth time and knit 15 rows. This all took me 3½ hours...

Yesterday I wasn't happy with the look of the lace. Even though I had shifted stitches on my DPNs I could see clear ladders in my knitting. I decided to try knitting on two circulars for the first time. I casted on and knit three rows before frogging. I casted on again and knit ten rows before having a cat incident in my lap resulting in five dropped stitches and a very frustrated Anna. I put the knitting on the table, got up, picked out a book and returned to the cough... Will give this knitting another couple of attempts before giving up...

I guess it wouldn't be as fiddly and strange to knit if it weren't for the small amount of stitches you start out with (8), the very thin yarn (laceweight) and the, in comparison, big needles...

• Eat chocolate

I did eat chocolate. We live dangerously close to a wonderful chocolaterie. Instead of baking something for Saturday night and our guests, I bought a box of chocolate. A couple of pieces were left over 'til Sunday, but they're not in the box anymore... I love the Raspberry, the Lime, the Passionfruit, and the pure dark chocolate praline.

• Decide about my own birthday and how I want to celebrate it

I've decided what I want to do. Now I just have to see if any of my friends are up for it as well. Interested? Ask, and I'll give you date, time and address. International guests are more than welcome! :)

• Read another one of the books from my parents' storage room

Yesterday, after the knitting frustration, I picked up Bummer Summer by Ann M. Martin. Not as good as I remembered it to be... Guess I've grown up a bit since I was a pre-teen. The whole story actually had me feeling irritated. It's so naive. And it simplifies a tough situation too easily. And then I also reacted on some of the "politics" in it and how non-Swedish the girl's family is portraited. Hmmm... I wonder if I'll react the same to more of the "books from back then"...

• Sleep

I slept well this weekend. As we say in Sweden: I slept like a log. (Do North Americans and British people sleep like logs too?)

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There are two things on the list I didn't do; photograph WIPs and get EssJay's gift in the mail... That will happen though. Hopefully soon.