Generally Gemma

Introspective

There are times when I don't blog because I am not really in the right frame of mind. Not miserable as such but just thinky. I tend to dwell and the thoughts aren't always those that I think would be right on here, a place where I try and present the lighter side of my life, the side that I would want to read rather than the moaning and introspection that I am sometimes given over to. Most of the times I am able to push the little niggles of day to day to the back of my mind and carry on regardless and be happy about it, but sometimes the Dementors set in and there is no way I am able to sit down and write without it all coming out wrong and so I don't post.

It's strange that I should have felt that way these past few days as it followed a blissful long weekend. Although perhaps that is why, nice weather and good company were snatched away in a trice it seemed! Mummy came over to England for a few days for a pre-Christmas visit, bringing the sunshine of Spain with her. Two times in one year! Which considering the woman hasn't left Spain for about five years is a pretty considerable achievement. It's lovely having her here, not just because she spoils me rotten but to actually spend time with her where I spend my life brings all the separate strings of my life together in one place.

We did a lot of shopping. Mainly for Christmas. I have a new tree, six foot. A false one, I know, a heinous crime but necessary I feel to rid myself of the dread of not finding the right sort of real one. She also bought me a lot of new brights and balls to dress it with, going from a four foot tree to a six foot requires an awful lot of new stuff, doesn't it? Especially as G has put his foot down and demanded a real tree, just a small one so there will be two trees worth of brights needed. She also brought me all the goodies I need from home for a proper Christmas.

You see although G and I have been together for nearly five years we have never spent a Christmas in our own house, in fact we have never spent a Christmas together! I normally fly off to the pleasant climes of Spain where as he traipses off to the wilds of Wales. However, over the Summer we decided that we had better bite the bullet and rather than play favourites we are spending it alone, in our delicious house with our two trees and food all of our own.

Trying to blend two sets of traditions is proving interesting though, a fair bit of compromising is taking place, hence the two trees. There are some necessaries for both of us, cranberry sauce for him, mushy peas for me and there will hopefully be some new traditions that we build that are just ours. Not sure what they will be though. I imagine they come as they will, I don't think anyone sits down and says, right, that will become a tradition? Or do they?

So, anyway. Hopefully I've chased the Dementors away for a while and I will be settled and serene over this jolly festive period. Pictures will be taken of the new brights and prettiness that has been arriving through my door the last few days. Some even from some fellow bloggers, you know who you are! Just need to wait for some light and a free weekend without any pesky family!

Oh yes. The picture at the top is the family home in Spain. M had some aerial pictures and brought me the cd over when she came. Another thread of my life settling into place, Spain home and blog. (The green pool at the top isn't ours I hasten to point out. Some people have no consideration for those who want pretty pictures! :-) )

Knittingversary

I was having a think on my walk home today and I realised it is about a year since I started knitting! In that time I haven't really churned out a huge amount of items. I started to wonder if I could really call myself a knitter when I haven't created a jumper or a cardigan. I've a few scarves to my name, a pair of gloves, a few hats, a couple of pairs of socks. Can you claim to be something when you aren't prolific at it. I'm not sure.

Then I thought some more, I decided that knitting for me isn't so much about the finished product it is about the doing. I like having something to do when I am watching television, something to do whilst chatting with G, something to occupy my time and fingers with on lengthly train journeys and commutes. I don't think I ever intended to be the type that turned out fair isle by the mile or jumpers by the dozen. I believe I just wanted to be proficient at it. I suppose that is why I like socks.

Nice and compact. They take up very little space and yet they are satisfying. I'm not a quick knitter, I plod along at an alarmingly slow pace until I near the end and then I sprint to the finish staying up till all hours to graft a toe just so it can be done. They are the ultimate in travel knitting. Have sock will travel.

I adore the variety of the wool that is available for them too. This self stripping stuff is simply the stuff of dreams. The perfect Anne of Green Gables knitting because you never know what is around the next bend in the road. The colours are shocking and most unlike my wardrobe which mainly consists of black and more black. I like walking to work and looking down and seeing a flash of brightness on my ankle, a glimmer of cheerful sunlight on a grey morning. The satisfaction of pulling them on and knowing they are all my own work.

Catching up

 

It feels like I've been playing catch up for the last 18 months but to start with lets do catch up of the last few weeks. This pleasant chap above is Melvin, he was my Halloween pumpkin this year. I have come late to this seasonal treat and last year was the first year I did one. We aren't really big on Halloween here in England, and whilst I am not sure if I really ever want Trick or Treaters banging on my door a glowing pumpkin is a more than welcome addition.

This is Melvin on the left and Paul on the right. I have this childlike habit of having to name everything. When we were little everything used to be Fred, I never really knew why. Last year's pumpkin was Fred and this year somehow Melvin called to me. G carved Paul, his very first effort in this area. He is called Paul because he is poor, Poor Poor Paul because he was jealous of Melvin's sideburns.

The the weekend after Halloween we had a wedding to go to. Good friends of our from G's school. And as all you ladies out there will know a wedding doesn't simply just happen even if you are just a guest. So there were weekends of hen parties, shopping and beautifying all of which means that I haven't felt as though I have had a proper weekend for weeks.

I'm not complaining though. 18 months ago G and I were going through a bit of a dry spell friend wise. G was back at college studying for his teaching degree which meant a distinct lack of finances and at twenty something if you don't have the cash then the friends seem to fall by the wayside. Either that or we just didn't have very good friends to start with! We have been really lucky with his school and college though. We seem to have found a new circle. A group that are on our wavelength, what an awful phrase! But I can't think of any other way to describe it. We are all at a similar stage in our lives, grown-ups but not quite believing that we are there yet. I still get flashes at restaurants when we are out when I wonder when they are going to throw us out for being young. The same thing happened at the wedding. We were checking in at the hotel and I kept expecting some to laugh and say don't be silly where are your parents! It was a gorgeous lovely day. Lots of tears during the ceremony, the hope and the belief at weddings always overwhelms me. That and the idea that I am special enough to them to be there and share it. Awesome, awe inspiring. Lots of tears during the speeches too, although that may have been more the wine than the emotion that tipped me over the edge!

It was also the first wedding that G and I had been to where we both knew the couple in question and a fair amount of the guests. It felt like we belonged, like we had finally caught up to a place in life where we were meant to be. Not quite students and not quite adults, but definitely on the cusp of it.

Much like these two. On the edge of a whole new life together. Congratulations Kerry and Giles.

I'm here!

I'm here, I'm alive. I have just been terribly busy and trying to adjust to the whole dark when I get home from work thing.

I have pumpkin pictures, pictures of a friends wedding, pictures of stash purchasing. So, I have been thinking of you my poor little neglected blog. If only in spirit.

In the meantime. Daddy this is for you. I will be cracking one open at the train station later which is where I experience sunset these days.

Miss you, love you and thinking of you as always.