Had a brilliant driving lesson yesterday, everything was pretty smooth. I did stall the car, but I know why (had a car up my arse, and then another car pulled out in front of me and then just stopped there. I stopped nicely but then tried to get started in a hurry and … stalled). I’m hoping that by the end of August, we’ll have started doing new things, as I’m starting to feel more and more comfortable with things like braking, turning left and right at junctions and roundabouts big and small. I even picked my own route home at the end of the lesson. I really love my lessons, I haven’t had an upsetting one yet, though there have been incidents obviously. I can’t wait to get a car, I’m really looking forward to it. I watch traffic all the time now, when I’m on a bus, or crossing the road. I wish I could have more lessons but it’s not really practical at the moment.
Am coming along with Gigi. I’ve started decreasing for the waist, and it was coming along luvverly, until a fellow traveller decided to fall asleep next to me. He snored, he wobbled, his head fell forwards and backwards…very off-putting so I’ve put it away for the day.
Have taken a colleague’s advice and went to the allotment to cut back some of the excess foliage on my tomatoes. Unfortunately, it might be a bit too late. A lot of the beef tomatoes I was growing have fallen prey to a brown stain, which affects part of the stem too. I cut away as much as possible, making sure I gave the rest of the tomatoes some sunny room, but it was a shame, throwing away lovely big tomatoes. At least they were still green, so it wasn’t as if I’d been planning on picking them any time soon. Still…
Have finally finished the sleeves on Gigi. I had to go back quite a way on the first sleeve, as I’d lost count of how many rows I’d done. Finished the second sleeve tonight, so I’m ready to cast on for the body (worked in the round, so I’ll be commuter-friendly, no long needles poking anyone sitting next to me).
Oh, in addition to the fab old knitting patterns, I also received a brand new knitting book, The Knitter’s Handbook. My ex-colleague got it for me for a pound, which makes me very happy (not that I paid, but it’s still nice to hear of someone getting a bargain). J gave me a crafts book once, which was also a real bargain. All that information for less than the cost of a magazine – and longer lasting.
Haven’t blogged about the new job yet, and won’t for a while, not until I get comfortable there. That might take a little while, longer than any job I’ve had since the Co-op, and that turned out to be very friendly in the end. I just can’t see that happening here, especially with my attitude at the moment. Latest bugbear – they won’t give staff time off to donate blood. And for those who know who I work for, consider the irony… Sometimes it’s more than money you need to give. I can stuff a fiver in every collecting tin I see, but if people need O positive blood, I think they’d rather have that than cash. It’s a bit petty, I know (on both my side, and the Organisation’s) but still, it irks.
ETA : I did get the time off in the end, but only after I’d sent an e-mail outlining how I was going to make up the hour in 10 minute increments. Petty on my part, no doubt.
I had my first tomato ! A cherry tomato from the hanging basket, and very tomato-y it tasted too. I’m hoping the sun will hold out for another week, but after seeing the weather warnings (rain, and lots of it) I don’t think the tomatoes at the allotment are going to be red for at least a week.
Just finished reading “One Good Turn” by Kate Atkinson. Oh so good ! It’s quite frustrating, as there are a number of interwoven stories and your brain leaps ahead, trying to connect the characters. The end is brilliant but one thing niggles me. The last line of the book is the second phone call. When was the first phone call made ? I can understand it was made, and it makes you want to read the whole story again, but surely there should be a little clue ? Maybe I’ll have a look if anyone discusses this on the internet.
Today I received a bag full of knitting patterns from an ex-colleague. Some of them date back to 1962 ! They’re actually quite wearable except for a few of the 80s ones. What happened to knitting in the 80s ? It looks like it was all shoulder pads and mohair and geometric colour schemes. My ex-boss pointed out the socks with individual toes, which I am so tempted to make. They’d be horrible for wearing inside shoes, but I could wear them about the house, pretending I’m being photographed for a feature in “Jackie” circa 1978. Oh goodness, I could even make each toe a separate colour !
And back to reality… I got hit by another car in my driving lesson yesterday. I’ve never been in a car accident before, it was less intense than I thought. The other driver was very apologetic and my instructor was fine, not blaming me. Still, a horrible thing to happen. We then got caught up behind a lo-o-o-o-ng trail of taxis, on their way back to London after giving some children a trip to the seaside. I imagine it was a charity event, and they looked very cheerful, all the taxis were decorated. I got a chance to practice stopping and starting, cruising at very slow speeds, all valuable lessons for if I ever travel in London.
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Stupid weather. As if the rain wasn’t enough, it’s been really gusty today and I’ve just seen my mini greenhouse collapsed, blown over by the wind. All the pots were upside down except for two of the chilli plants. The oregano and chives are gone, the cauliflowers too, and the celery is no longer. Damnit ! I suppose I was leaving it a bit late to plant some of them out in the allotment, but still, it’s a pain after all these weeks of growing. We’ll see if the chilli survives, but as it’s still windy, I’ve no doubt the whole thing may topple over again. Stupid weather.
Much better driving lesson today, I was allowed to do right turns again, the really difficult roundabout near me and 40 mph along a bit of new road. And all because I had my trainers on. See, I knew the last lesson was all down to impractical shoes.
Tomatoes are coming along lovely. The plants are really thick, so much so that I can’t tell if there are weeds underneath. The Tumbler variety is ahead of the others, presumably because it’s a cherry tomato plant, and doesn’t have so far to grow. If the rain ever stops, it would be nice to see some of the tomatoes changing colour. Can tomatoes get too much water ? I know they need a lot, but how much is too much ? If I’d known we were going to get this much rain, I would have planted my watercress !
