What we were up to lately

I fell behind, and I thought I would like to catch up, recording every single step, but it would be far more realistic to just jump in where we are.  These are highlights from the last couple of days.

At the moment we are still in Still Bay, a small town about 4 hours east of Cape Town, in the Western Cape.    Last Friday we went to see the eels being fed.  We did not know that we would be allowed to feed them ourselves, and that the children and I would get a chance to stroke them. They are very curious creatures, with an undeserved bad reputation after "The Little Mermaid".  Stroking them was like stroking something between velvet and Jello; they are not slimy at all, and very soft.  I never thought I'd say so, but they were actually sweet - they appeared to like it when we stroked them.  We thought so, anyway.

The pond with the eels was right next to a museum, where we visited an old schoolroom or Farm School.  The lady in the room explained how one teacher would teach children ranging between the ages of first and eight grade.  When she asked Jean if he would have like a school like that, he said no.  I am assuming he wanted to tell her that he is in a school like that, and that he does not see the need to go to a different one.  Jacques and the lady then had a long discussion about education and vehemently agreed about everything.

The afternoon, we drove to an even littler town, an hour away, Gouritzmond.

While it looks cold in the pictures, there was no wind and we were very comfortable on the beach.  The sea was very rough, and tossed them around for a bit before they wanted to get out. (The life guards were on their posts).  We were visiting my aunt and uncle, who were waiting for us on a bench when we got out of the water.  My cousin was waiting with them, her twins are on their way to eight grade next year.  How is it that the children grow bigger but we stay young?

 A hot outside shower after the sea roughed us up - a device my aunt thought up and had custom build last year.  It attaches to a clothes hanger, so you can hang it in a tree.

Then you go inside the "braaikamer" or barbecue room, where great uncle has already made a fire, to warm yourself.
I am completely honest when I say that there has only been two or three days where we have not eaten something from a grill, and every time the fire is started with wood.

 Have you heard about Cape Fruit?  It is not a rumor. A land of milk and honey, please come and visit to see for yourselves!

My aunt and uncle lived in France for ten years, two of their children were born there.  She taught me about good cheese and olives when I was a little girl.  Almost every time I eat an olive, I think of her, and how she told me:  you may not like it today, but one day you will love it.  She was right about that and many other things, too.  What a blessing to get to sit in her kitchen again, and to hug her hello and goodbye once more.

 Saturday - another perfect day on the beach.  Christian is building a dam with his cousin who was born almost exactly a year before him.

All eight of them, grandchildren from one grandmother, trying to build a dam on the beach.  The ocean won, in the end.

And last, but only chronologically: my youngest niece, born in October.  Just look at those eyes, she is so awake and aware!

And that is it, for now.  This week we will go and visit friends in Aston Bay, and then start our long trek north, to Tsumeb.

Trans Atlantic Beanie (Large - fits most boys)

I cast on after leaving Washington, and I cast off two hours before we reached Johannesburg.  The yarn is alpaca. I have never knit with alpaca before, and I love it.  I am using this beanie to measure the heads of future recipients of hats - most men will need about one inch more before the decrease, and I may cast on a few more stitches, but they all at least say they love it.  Soft, and light, and neutral.

The pictures were taken this afternoon in the front yard of the house that I lived in as a child.  I think I have mastered the internet connection now, it is a bit dodgy and spotty, and you have to compress pictures or your provider just throws his toys out of the cot and refuses to play.  It is better if you have an ADSL connection, but where my brother lives (he bought the house from my mom), 3G is all that is available.  It took me 10 minutes just to get onto my blog.  Jacques mentioned that the internet in the US is like the weather in South Africa.  You do not think about it, because it is almost perfect.  I will try to put up some more tomorrow.

I forgot how much South Africa looks like Africa.  Growing up in South Africa, you think it is not really Africa. But it is. (I am humming "I am I said" by Neil Diamond... ) It is good to be home.  I am hugging my loved ones, and the air is so clear and fresh and perfect, I feel almost guilty.

If I manage to actually post this tonight, I will link up with Ginny.  More soon!

How about another one?

I am knitting, among other things, another Henley with striped sleeves, similar to the one I knit for Jean earlier this year.  I knit Charlie a sweater when he was one, and now that he is two, he needs another one.  I love this pattern.  The stripe pattern is not exactly the same as the previous sweater, and I think I am going to stripe only one sleeve, since it is fourteen days before we leave and I have some other knitting to do, too.  (One child will not be allowed any luggage; his suitcase will contain yarn and needles.)

I am now also sewing little things, like this little pouch.  It is surprisingly stylish, and also surprisingly small.  When I started out I thought it would be big enough for a ball of yarn, but, alas, I think I could fit a couple of stitch markers in there.  The idea was from  Last Minute Fabric Gifts.

This bag is less stylish, but very useful.  I wish I could claim the idea, but I saw something similar in Crochet Today!

A little heap of blue fluff, so soft and sweet.  It is one of the Woolly Wormhead Designs, a hat for a newborn.

Was his head ever that small?

The weather is beautiful, with blue skies and cool temperatures most days of the week.  We are slowly getting everything in place; I even got my new camera today.  (And a laptop.  So that I can show you South Africa and Namibia, soon!)

The camera is a Canon T3i, with a 18 - 135mm lens.  I had a Canon EOS 350D before, so it is very similar, but I love that it can take better pictures in lower light, and I love the ability to get a little bit closer than I could with my 18 - 55mm lens.  I still have to study it a little more, but all the pictures in this post came straight from the camera and I am happy with them. (Usually I color correct the images.  Jacques did the new header.)  I shot in manual mode, but I think the camera adjusts exposure automatically even in manual mode.  Those who care about this probably know more than I, so I shall stop rambling now, I just wanted to talk about my new camera for a bit.

As it is still Wednesday, I join Ginny for yarn along, and I can even contribute to the book reading part this week.  I have listened to Hertzog while sewing. Moses Herzog is such a likable, tragic, flawed man.  I suspect the book will not have a comforting resolution, but I love it anyway.

Nature study: Pond life (and death)

Yesterday we went to the park, and saw a Great Egret.  It stood in the pond on one leg, and I made the very old joke: "Look, it has only one leg!"  Then it flew out of the water onto the bank, and we saw that it had only one leg.  For several minutes it sat motionless, staring intently at the water.  My friend did some quick research on her iPhone, and read in a hushed tone that they catch fish by spearing them with their bills.  The Egret then proceeded to spear a fish, about 6 inches long, with its bill. After shaking the fish, it swallowed it whole.  Moments later it flew to the other side of the pond, leaving a single feather floating in the water.

Nou's ons vyf!

Woensdag, 7 November, omtrent so 5 uur:

(Op die foto lyk Martiens se bo-lip vir my soos Pa s'n) 

"Is ons vier, Mamma? More ons gaan gonna be vyf?" (Ek weet, dis verskriklik, almal sal moet help on hulle sinsbou reg te kry!)

Donderdag, 8 November, 3h00:

Die Armykoek is klaar!

9h30:

'n Nuwe tradisie: sedert ons in Amerika is, eet ons wafels of plaatkoekies met stroop, room en aarbeie vir ontbyt as iemand verjaar.

Die Koek:

Martinus se kant was die Amerikaners.  Die tenk lyk meer soos 'n Sherman, en die soldate se wapens lyk meer soos die Amerikaners se wapens. Vat Jean se woord daarvoor.

Christian was die Duitsers.  Hy weet hulle was die bad guys, hy gee gewoonlik nie om om die bad guy te wees nie. "Dis net 'n game, Mamma! Dis nie real life nie!"  Die tenk aan hierdie kant lyk glo meer soos 'n Tiger.

12h00:  Kersies blaas

Gister was daar baie vriende hier, en omtrent 15 kinders om die koek te help opeet, maar Donderdag het ons net die familie en close vriende genooi.  Meeste kon nie kom nie.

 Martinus was baie versigtig om nie per ongeluk sy kersies uit te blaas terwyl ons sing nie.

Na die foto het ek sy hare gesny.  Kam sou seker ook gehelp het.

Donderdag, 8 November, omtrent so 5 uur:

Ek weet hulle is myne en ek behoort dit nie self te sê nie, maar hulle is darem maar verskriklik mooi.

"Nou's ons vyf, Mamma! Kyk, ons is nou so tall!"  Martinus het die hele dag geloop en kyk waar hy nou kan bykom, waar hy die vorige dag nie kon bykom nie.  

Nou ja, nou is dit ook afgehandel.  Sien julle oor 3 weke!

(A short account of our boys' birthday on Thursday, for family and friends who could not be with us.  The words really do not say much more than the pictures.)

Why so gray, today?

I do not really have time to blog, but then, if I don't, I fear that my family will forget us, or think that we have forgotten them.  We have not. I am thinking about what to knit for who 90% of the time.

Three weeks ago I posted about the Halloween hopes - most of it got done.  The boys looked very knightly, but I was still attaching buttons as we were driving to a friends' house to celebrate with them, so I did not take pictures on the night. Melva was a lady, but that is a whole different story for a different day.

 Martinus is modeling one of the three suits I made.  I made shields and swords too, with cardboard, duck tape and spray paint.  The night was worth it, I felt as if I had written my finals and it went well, and Jacques could say "Is it just me or are the (k)nights getting shorter?" several times.

In the end, I used the Modern Chaine Maille as inspiration only.  After following the pattern, I ended up with something that did not look like the picture in the book.  (You can see it over here.) Not at all, and if you look at the other projects on ravelry, they all have the same problem:  The yoke is too deep. And the V is too deep.

I tried to stay calm, frogged  lot of knitting, and eventually used the EZ formula to knit a bottom up sweater.  I feel quite happy with the final product.  One day I might write down exactly what I did on ravelry...

The suits of armor are from this book.

I finished the Linden Caps! I love it, but Martinus complained that he does not want to wear trousers on his head. I also finished a simple beanie, with a pretty aggressive looking sheep in duplicate stitch on the front, mostly to see if the pattern is true to size.  Thank goodness, it is. That beanie is meant for a 2-4 year old, and he will be 5 tomorrow.  I guess we should stop calling them "the babies", now?

I am joining Ginny, as I do on most Wednesdays.

How much is too much?

I cast on the lace shawl.  After reading the pattern for Rue, I felt in over my head. I signed up for a lace knitting class by Laura Nelkin at craftsy.com, and am knitting Clarus.  At the moment, I feel very confident.  Since putting in a life line, I have not had to go back even once, isn't it ironic?  Just knowing that it would not be the end of the world if I made a mistake, has made it possible for me to focus on what I should do, just row for row.  The Sparrow Linen yarn is beautiful, even if it feels like rope.  They say washing will render it "handkerchief soft".

This is just a gauge swatch for the Abigail Cardi, that I want to knit for a friend, and for myself, if all works out well.
It is in Stroll Tonal, I love the colors.  As you will soon see, I will have to wait a while before I cast on, I do not have enough needles free...

This was a mistake.  Some yarn was left over after I finished the Basketball Jersey, and then I cast on a Henley Sweater, adapted to be a cardigan,  for Christian.  I did not knit a gauge swatch, so the sweater on the left will be Jean's, and I had to start again with the sweater on the right, for Christian.  And then I had to buy some more yarn, of course...

 In the mean time, Halloween is upon us, and while I sympathize completely with those who do not want to participate, we do.  'Cause I get to knit Chain Maille for three boys.  If all goes according to plan, I will also crochet helmets. Ha.  (What? I have two weeks, I can easily manage that.)

And then there is my bright honey cowl that is a nightmare to photograph.
How wide do I want it?  They say you should use two whole skeins, but then, they sell the skeins...

The Linden Caps. (The title is plural, which is a bit confusing.  It is only one hat.)  I have a feeling that I am going to run out of yarn.  And if I buy one more skein, then there will be left over, and it might be enough for a beanie, and then it might be just not enough, and I will have to buy one more - so maybe I should just save on shipping and buy three? I love the pattern and the yarn, it is a beautiful hat.

And of course, the Park Street Cardi.  I am done with the lower part of the body - it is knit from the bottom up - and the right front panel.  I had to sit down and make notes to stay on track, but even the short rows worked out fine.  This has to be perfect, I am taking my time, and so far I have not made one mistake. I think. Considering that you have to slip every first stitch purl-wise, that is more impressive than lace knitting!

Thank you for not asking about the reading.  Clearly, I am not reading at the moment. Now I will knit one sleeve while I look at all the different projects linked to Ginny's Yarn Along, where I am sure to find some with even more hay on their forks!