Too much of a good thing: All the books I ever wanted to read

Last Saturday night I discovered I could reserve books online at my local library. And that they were no longer charging any fees to do so. So I decided to take the opportunity to reserve all the books I could never find at the library because they were always out (like anything by Jodi Picoult) or were located at another branch. I may have gone a little overboard.

By Sunday morning I had an email telling me that 2 of the books were available for collection. I went in and picked them up - a Jodi Picoutl (Vanishing Acts) and 'Pretties' by Scott Westerfeld, the second book in a fantastic trilogy about a futuristic society recovering after the Rusties (that's us) have destroyed the world with a man-made oil bacteria and beautiful white orchid that has become a weed, preventing the growth of other plants. It's kind of an updated Brave New World written for teenagers and it is fantastic.

I finished 'Pretties' on Sunday.

By Sunday evening I had another email from the library. A further 14(!) of my reservations were available for collection, including the 3rd book in the Scott Westerfeld series. Monday morning I had an email, advising me that 2 more books were available for collection.

I finished a mystery-thriller by Jonathan Kellerman (Devils Waltz) that I had borrowed from the library before these reservations, and began 'Vanishing Acts'. I was too late to collect any books from the library (which closes at 6pm on Mondays) but was able to return my 2 completed books.

Today I logged into my email to discover there are now another 2 books waiting for me! I can go to the library tonight (as it is open until 9pm) but how am I going to face the librarian picking up 18 books? Even worse, how am I going to carry them all home on the tram? And read them by all by the due date? I can only keep the books that someone else has reserved for 3 weeks.

And there are still another 12 books on my reservation list that haven't even come in!

I feel a little like I do when I have over-indulged buying excessive amounts of yarn and am facing the credit card, or have eaten an entire block of dark Lindt chocolate on my own. A little sick.

There can be too much of a good thing.

Edited to add:
I went to the library tonight and nearly died of embarrassment. I sorted through all the books that arrived and divided them into two piles. I took out 9 of them and then asked the librarian to return the other 9 to the stacks. I also cancelled all my other reserves in the queue. A total of 12 books over the next 3 weeks may be almost manageable.

Cashmere Island ZigZag modular scarf

Isn't this blog so much better with pretty pictures! I've finally worked out how to use the new camera and have got myself organised enought to blog from home where I can upload photos (I can only send words and a few hyperlinks when I blog remotely).

Above is the ZigZag modular scarf I am making out of the Noro Cashmere Island yarn I acquired in May. It's the project I drag around in my work bag and occasionally knit a few rows on. I love the pattern and yarn but it has been a very slow knit, always being put aside for another more pressing project or book to read on the crowded tram.

Stash acquisitions and even some knitting

I've been doing a bit too much comfort shopping, acquiring new stash. Highlights include:

Black Bunny Fibers DK 'Pop Rocks'

Zara Baby Print

Naturally Merino Cashmere

Lots of 8ply/DK wool in a variety of colours bought at the Clegs sale.

This bright orange is for a beanie for my friend Phill. Phill is a volunteer with Victoria’s State Emergency Service. Amongst other things, he goes out on the coldest, windiest, wettest nights of the year to help clear trees which are blocking the road or have fallen onto people’s homes. And he doesn’t earn a cent for this community work. So when he asked for a beanie in SES colours, of course I was happy to contribute what I could.

A half-knitted SES hat
(note I am using the new stitch markers I received from knitingjo in the Australian Ravelry swap)

Swap stash

Thank-you to knittingjo for this lovely package I came home to as part of the Ravelry Australian Knitters' 'We've got you covered swap). The most gorgeous fingerless mitts in my favourite colours (purple and pink), some really cute handmade stitch markets in a handy little tin, Grignasco Bambi Merino 4ply yarn, and a new sci-fi book to dive into (great for all my public transport travel).



Funnily enough, I ended up having knitingjo as my downstream partner also. My attempts to replicate some Star Fleet issue mitts turned out a bit wonky - must have been a problem with the power couplings. Still, a fun knit. I'm a bit nervous as she hasn't yet posted that she has received her package yet - hopefully it made it safely to her.

OMG - Photos!

Fingerless mitts and hot water bottle cover knitted for the Aussie "We've got you covered" Ravelry swap. I still intend to try and incorporate a Star Trek theme somewhere - I've charted the Starfleet logo.

The mitts were a really easy and fun quick knit, very cosy and a great stash-busting project - I will definitely make a pair for myself. As for all the colours - my partner said she liked lots of bright colours all mixed together and I've tried to oblige.

ANZ rewards for stupidity

I'm very conscientious about paying off my credit card on time, mainly because interest rates on the card are now over 20% - more than twice that of home loan rates and nearly 3 times what the banks will pay depositors parking their money in a term deposit.

I keep on thinking I should change, especially as ANZ Rewards just aren't what they used to be.  We now have to spend $1.50 to get one point (it used to be 1:1).  And one has to wonder about a bank that can't event do basic mathematics.

For 2,660 points, you can get a $20 Myer or David Jones gift card.
For 13,320 points, you can get a $100 Myer or David Jones gift card.
For 13,300 points you can get 5 X $20 Myer or David Jones gift cards

OK, it's only 20 points but that's an extra $30 on the charge.

Do they think their customers are as dumb as they would like them to be?

Believe it or not, this is a massive improvement on their previous "offer" where one could save over 100 points by cashing in for two $50 gift cards instead of one $100 one.

It's also a bit of a scam given that you have to charge close to $20,000 on your card to earn a $100 gift card.

20-year school reunion

A few weeks ago I went to my 20 year school reunion. Aside from the girls I came with and who I have met up with regularly a couple of times a year, I only recognised a handful of people.  I didn't even recognise many of their names.  Yet there they were in the Year 12 photos, so I know I must have worked and studied alongside them for four years.

Then there were the stuck-up bitches that I did remember - and can report that they still are.

As one friend said, the reunion proved that we had kept up with whom we wanted to keep up with and once every 20 years was more than enough time in regards to the others.

Yet that wasn't quite true either.

I've lost touch with some lovely people who didn't attend the reunion, and there were others I would have been fascinated to see where they have got to.  The internet tells me that Catherine got her well deserved doctorate and has worked in several major universities but now she seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.  My friend Preethi has also vanished after moving to LA with her husband and doing a fellowship at UCLA.  And what of those girls who would never rock the earth but are the sort of people who ensure it keeps on turning.  What are they doing now?  Where are Michelle and Sarah now?

Many of the girls had their babies in tow or pictures of young kids on hand.  For the most part , girls in our year partnered later in life and had children in their late 20s and 30s.

I was very disappointed to learn that the school brain - we were all smart but she was on another planet compared to the rest of us and was the person we all thought would win a Nobel Prize and change the world - who did attend the reunion, was now working in HR.  What a waste of her talents.  Yet another girl who I had always dismissed as being very silly had clearly found her feet and was in a job managing a department of 70 people!

The most tragic stories belong to a former classmate who committed suicide a couple of years after graduation, and one who had ad either a stroke or some kind of acquired brain injury and was now confined to a wheelchair.

Most of us, however, had muddled through life with some degree of success in academia, careers and/or family.  We didn't all achieve what we had set out to do - but most of us have had a pretty interesting journey along the way.

Good health, so-so knitting, bad blogging

Health
My insulin levels have dropped from 40+ (very very bad) to 6 (very very good) over the past 4 months.  I guess there is something in that resistance training. 

Knitting
My favourite four-year old rejected the Cash Island hat on the basis that he has plenty of hats, much to his parents' horror.  Got to love the honesty of kids!  I'm trying to work out if it is worth unravelling.  The ZigZag scarf in the same yarn is progressing nicely.  I alternate between knitting it and reading on the trams.  So far, reading is winning.

The official recipient of the pink merino supreme wool hat didn't turn up to the final sessions of our group.  I ended up donating it to another girl whose sister is going through chemotherapy.  I then felt obliged to knit another hat for the girl who missed out on her kris kingal gift - she is a red head, so pink wasn't suitable.  I have made a nice browny tweed beanie out of Cleckheaton Country Silk.  Both J and another male friend are eyeing it and she didn't sound too thrilled about brown, so the question is, can I be bothered knitting a third hat in green.

I've started a nice brightly striped hot water bottle cosy for my Aussie Knitters' swap pal using 8-ply yearn from my stash!  Yay.  I still want to do something Star-Trekkie but am not sure what exactly.

I have been admirably restrained during the Clegs 10% off all yarn sale.  I bought an extra ball of the brown Cleckheaton Country Silk (to make a second beanie) and two balls of Naturally ME merino/cashmere in green.  I won't mention any purchases that may or may not have been made at the Tapestry Craft sale that may or may not have involved 30 balls of discontinued black merino supreme wool...

Blogging
I haven't been doing too much of this.  Still having trouble uploading photos.  But that's no excuse for not writing.

Exercise
Now that the Big Girls' Group is over, I need to ensure I keep effective exercise up.  I'm walking with the girls once a week and trying to get to the gym 2-3 times.  I did a BodyStep class last week which was pretty full on; I did half of it off the step but at least I kept moving.  I've bought a fit ball and pumped it up; now to exercise properly on that!

Some completed projects (knitting and otherwise...)

Well all my resolutions to sit down at home and upload photos onto my blog were thwarted by Blogger last night , which steadfastly refused to accept any pictures.  So until I can get myself organised and Blogger in a cooperative mood, myself, the bots and anyone who stumbles onto this site is stuck with mere words.

Projects completed:

The Patchwork Scarf - which has also been given to its new owner, only six weeks after her birthday.  I have photos of both the scarf and the approximately 5 million yarn ends that had to be sewn in - fortunately this could be done while watching several episodes of Star Trek Voyager.

A 2X2 ribbed hat in pale pink Merino Supremo (80 stitches, 5mm needles).  This is a gift for one of the other girls in the program at Royal Women's Hospital.  It's all drawing to a close this week and we are doing a "Kris Kringle" style gift giving ceremony tonight.  We had to choose a gift costing $10 and explain why we chose it for that person.  I was lucky; my nominee sometimes wears a pale pink top and the very first time I saw it, I thought "I have some yarn exactly that colour in my stash".  The Merino Supremo usually retails for $7.95/ball but I obtained mine for half-price as the yarn is being discontinued (I don't know why; it is so soft and luscious to knit with).  Anyway, I had exactly two balls plus a few scraps of pink Merino Supremo and I've noticed that nearly everyone has a use for a woolly beanie at some stage.  My nominee also catches a lot of public transport and we are heading into winter now.

We had an "unofficial" gift-exchange on the weekend.  One of the girls organised an Intimo lingerie party on the weekend with a consultant who specifically caters for larger sizes.  I ended up buying a matching pewter-coloured bra and undies set.  Plus received a free pair of beige - or honey as they call it - knickers.  I was really sceptical as to whether there would be anything in my size but they seem to go in for vanity sizing  - everything is cut at least one size bigger than is usual - I wasn't even the largest size.

A few of us had also cleared out our wardrobes of anything that was either too big or too small or that we just didn't wear but was still in good condition.  One girl had a huge suitcase full of clothes in sizes 14-26 due to a hormonal condition that led her on a roller-coaster experience of body sizes.  I brought a regular shopping bag full of mostly unworn clothes, all too big, and some still with tags.  I wasn't expecting to bring anything home but ended up with a jacket, 2 jumpers, a cardigan, a couple of tops, 2 skirts and some pants.  Many were in styles I would never have considered buying for myself but were quite flattering.  It wasn't until I was trying on item after item of clothes in sizes 16-20 which fit me - and had to discard several lovely tops that were just way too big for me now, that it finally dawned on me that I must have lost some fat (I won't say weight as there has not been much movement there).  I had already noticed that more than half the clothes I had bought recently at the MySize sale were a little on the large side but it wasn't until this weekend that I appreciated that I really and truly was a "new" size (albeit one that would be considered way too large for comfort by most but who cares).

I had my "end of program" blood tests also this weekend and am really curious to know whether they will show any improvements.  I've decided I won't be too fazed whatever the numbers are because, after all, they are just numbers, and I feel so much fitter and healthier anyway.  I was just very relieved I didn't have to do a glucose tolerance test for diabetes (where you drink a huge revolting sugar drink and have blood taken over a three hour period to see how your body responds to it).

I wrote some feedback on the program but am not sure whether I will post it on this blog.  Overall it's been great but I could see a couple of places for improvement; while most of the staff were fantastic and focussed on empowering us so we could take responsibility for our own health and work towards being as happy and healthy and active as we can, a session with one of the doctors who focussed only the negativities of being overweight without any of the information that I know is out there about the benefits of making small incremental changes was very depressing and negative.  Rather than inspiring us to make positive changes, we then had to (again) fight against the "there's no point even trying; I can't loose 40kg" feelings that exacerbated many of our weight issues in the first place.  I still haven't lost that 40kg but I know I am much healthier and more active now than at the start of the program.  Which was actually the point.

Trekkie knitting

I am so excited.  My partner for the 3rd Australian knitters swap is a genuine Trekkie.  In her "information about myself blurb" she talks about knitting her way through 5 years worth of Farscape over an eight week period (while waiting for her son to be born).  And that she thinks Captain James T Kirk is a hot spunk.

I have twice now knitted my way through 5 years worth of Babylon Five watched over a very short period.  I think I've been granted a kindred spirit.

So I've been downloading Star Trek graphics and am considering how to turn them into knitting charts.  I know this is one partner I can make the perfect knitted gift for without spending a lot of dosh.

I really enjoyed the first Aussie Knit swap; with the second I think neither myself not my recipient was overly-enthused with what we received (I still have to rid my house of the novelty yarn sent with the crocheted bag) and I was umm-ing and ah-ing about whether to join swap number three.

I'm glad I did.  If I can work out a decent pattern of a communicator or the Star Fleet insignia, I will put it up for other fans to play with.

And we will all be very very happy.

In the beginning... there was an original and thought-provoking novel

I heard New Zealand author Bernard Beckett being interviewed on ABC National radio about his novel, Genesis, and knew I had to read it.  I have always loved good, speculative "what if" science fiction that forces us to explore who we are in a universal sense of the word.  And this sounded like an excellent example.

I was not disappointed.  The nearest comparison I can make is John Wyndham or Ursula le Guin.  I don't want to write what it is about because I could not do justice to the story, nor do I wish to give away any of the twists and turns.  This blurb is as good an introduction as any.

Genesis is a thriller that asks the big questions: What is it to be human? What makes a soul?

I am not surprised that the novel won the Young Adult Category in the 2007 NZ Post Book Awards for Children & Young Adults. In 2008 it deservedly made publishing history when the UK publisher Quercus Books offered the largest advance ever put forward for a young adult novel in New Zealand. I am delighted that the novel, also published in Australia, is to be released in the UK as two separate editions: adult and young adult, and is also to be published in the US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Canada, and Finland. 

It deserves a wide audience.

Temptation

Aussie dollar hits 24-year high

The rising Aussie has doubled in value against the US dollar in seven years, consistently defying expectations of a levelling off....

The Age, 19 May 2008, 12.02pm

Plus

Knitting New Scarves: 27 Distinctly Modern Designs

Including FREE international shipping

The Book Depository, UK

I hate eczema

I don't know whether it is the chemicals on the machine washable wool, a slight cold or the change in the weather but my eczema has broken out again.  This time only on my right hand, on the thumb and three middle fingers.

I have lost so much skin that my thumb surface is cracked and bleeding.

After trying a range of expensive over-the-counter and prescription creams I have discovered that the best treatment is the relatively cheap (less than $10 for a 375ml pump bottle) Vaseline Intensive Care aloe vera replenishing moisturiser.  It has so few active ingredients that even the supermarkets can sell it.

J is insisting that I put aside my knitting until my hands heal, which is a sensible suggestion.  However I am a knitter and not always sensible.  I have put on bandaids and discovered that knitting with the expensive cashmere blend yarn is not aggravating my hands.

I knew there was a good reason I should buy it.

Knitting butter

Now I know what other knitters mean when they say cashmere is like butter.  Noro Cash Island is 30% cashmere and it is the softest yarn I have ever encountered.  Knitting it is like sinking your fingers into rich, high quality butter.  Minus the greasy oily feel.

There is very little stitch definition - I suspect cable and lace stitches would be lost in this yarn.  I'm also interested to see how hard wearing - or not - the fabric turns out to be.

I tried knitting the Head Huggers Spiral Knit Cap as I thought it would showcase the colour changes of this yarn.  I should have followed my instincts that said that casting on 30 stitches was simply too few to make an adult-sized hat.  I can just squeeze the hat over my head, but it is really child sized.  I am also far from impressed by the look of the asymmetrical join.  I will be passing this hat onto my favourite four-year-old who will not appreciate the yummy expensive goodness of this yarn but will hopefully enjoying wearing it in all its soft glory.  At least I only used up one ball of yarn!  (Pictures to be added later)

If I knit this style again, I will probably cast on about 45-50 stitches and knit about 100 rows.  I'll use a provisional cast-on and join using the Kitchener stitch.

My next use of this yarn will be for the ZigZag modular scarf.

Materialism gone mad

No pretty pictures today but lots of links (I'm blogging remotely).

I'm still working my way through the patchwork scarf.  It looks great but I'm dreading weaving all the ends in.

As usual, I am acquiring yarn faster than I can knit it.  I obtained 5 lovely skeins of Noro Cashmere Island in the purples/greens/greys/black colourway from www.yarnandfiber.com  A strong Australian dollar combined with free international shipping made this one bargain I couldn't resist.  And then I couldn't resist buying 5 skeins of a royal blue/purple Noro Cash Iroha that were on sale on eBay.  Damn Ravelry and all the users who point out all the yarn bargains.

Last week I went to Sydney for work, so of course I had to visit Tapestry Craft and see it in its yummy tempting best.  I managed to keep my purchases to a mere 2 balls of purple Zara (are we seeing a colour theme here?)  It turned out that I could buy the same yarn, even in the same colour, for $2 less a ball in Melbourne (at Clegs) but I met the lovely beckar who's on Ravelry.  One must be polite - and at least this is one souvenir I am confident of using.  Or at least petting and looking at  with pleasure.

Speaking of Clegs, I went in to buy some 4.5mm circulars (40cm and 80cm) for the Noro yarns and somehow a few balls of Cleckheaton Machine Wash in discontinued colours (pinks, blues, greens and brown) fell into my shopping basket.  They were only $2.50/ball.  And I really have to knit another jumper for my favourite four-year-old boy.

I had just resolved to STOP SHOPPING when news broke of a 30%-off clearance sale at MySize.  I forwarded the news to all my size 14-26 friends but unfortunately they hadn't cleared out the store by the time I arrived.  I found my favourite hot pink tops reduced to $15.95 each (from $50) - so I bought all 4 in my size); 2 black dresses that were 80% off and actually fitted me, and an assortment of other pink, black and purple tops.  In the end I spent $221 and bought 11 items.  They were genuine bargains and clothes which I would actually wear (in fact I'm wearing one of the new pink tops today) and I did resist buying some other items that I wanted but didn't need.

At home I decided it was time to toss out all my old clothes that were so scungy that I didn't even wear them as 'slobbing around the house clothes'.  It felt so good to bundle them up in bags and replace them with lovely comfy new clothes.

On Ravelry I received a message from another knitter who wanted to trade for the 11 balls of Merino Spun that I bought earlier this year and then regretted, because although it was a great bargain, it was far too bulky for a jumper for me.  I'm getting 4 100-gram skeins and hand-dyed DK yarn in return.  At the very least it will take up less space.  And I am more likely to actually use the yarn.

I'm dreaming of a white May...

Believe it or not, this photo was taken at noon in suburban Melbourne, Australia on Friday 2 May 2008. It's hailstones, not snow, from a fairly severe thunderstorm. Being Melbourne, within an hour the sun was shining brightly and the hail had mostly melted away.

Learning to trust my own instincts

One of the reasons that I am doing a special healthy living program at the Royal Women's Hospital is that I tick a lot of boxes for potential health problems as far as the medical profession is concerned - particularly Type 2 diabetes and its associated complications .  I am significantly overweight, my mother died young (58) of a diabetes-related heart attack, her mother (who was underweight but had a cholesterol reading of 12) died suddenly of a heart attack (in her early 70s), my dad's mother died young (58) of breast cancer and I am hoping to have children despite being over 35.

Yet - and this is the good thing - I appear to have relatively few indications of physical health problems.  Both my blood sugar and cholesterol levels are well within the normal range, I have no problems exercising regularly and, as far as can be seen, I appear to be ovulating normally.  The only signs of potential problems on the horizon are elevated insulin levels which indicate a very early step on the way to diabetes - but one which can be still nipped in the bud with proper diet and exercise.

Last week I attended a seminar on Type 2 diabetes and heard about some very interesting research from overseas.  A group of people who were considered at high risk of developing Type 2 diabetes (like me) were encouraged to undertake some lifestyle changes.  Of those who did the following, none developed diabetes (compared to nearly half of a control group).

• Lost 5% of body weight (from whatever point they were at - it made no difference if they were 80 or 100 or 200kg to start with)
• Exercised moderately for 30 minutes a day; it could be in 3, 10-minute lots (say from walking to and from the public transport between home and work)
• Ate at least 15 grams of fibre (2 fruit, 5 vegetables plus wholemeal grain bread each day does this easily)
• Obtained less than 30% of their daily calories from fat and less than 10% of them from saturated fats

Without knowing about this research I did all the previous last year.  And I haven't developed diabetes either.

I'm also willing to bet my insulin levels are back under control as I've been feeling healthier and more energetic since starting the program and beginning simple weight resistance training (with 600 ml water bottles) - but I have to wait another month for the confirming blood tests.

I have to learn to listen to myself and trust my own instincts.  I obviously know what is best for me.

Doing this program has been so positive - although not necessarily in the ways I expected.  I haven't lost anywhere near the amount of weight I hoped to but I've made other, less tangible but still important gains.

I may never see size 12 again, others may continue to judge me on my appearance, but I know I am much healthier and smarter than I ever gave myself credit for.  Understanding this and accepting myself for who I am his probably the most important lesson of all.

Patchwork scarf

I'm knitting the ZigZag scarf pattern from Iris Schrier's Modular Knits book. It's great fun. I’m using a different colour for each segment. It’s a great stash-busting exercise. The actual pattern is very easy, only knit stitch, yet far more interesting than a regular garter-stitch scarf.

I'm a bit under the weather, so I need this sort of brain-dead project.

Gob-smacked

I just about passed out in shock yesterday when I was perusing the 'Nuts for Noro' forums in Ravelry, where people were discussing what to do with one skein of Noro (something I have often pondered).

heathermione from Texas had written:

I've made about 5 hats using the Noro Ribbed Hat pattern from MargB. It's a really simple pattern, and it looks pretty amazing in Noro Silk Garden. I've actually gotten an entire hat from a single skein of Silk Garden, as well (though a little more than a skein makes a longer hat with a wider roll-up brim, and so makes a toastier hat).

Nearly every time I wear one, I am asked to knit another!

The message was posted on 12 January this year, my birthday. What a lovely belated present to stumble upon!

The closest 'bricks and mortar' yarn store to home, Sunspun, recently announced that it was selling Noro Kureyon at a new low-price of $12.95 - this is definitely the lowest price I've seen in a non-online store in Melbourne - glad someone is finally passing on the benefits of our record high Australian dollar.

Then I foolishly started searching online. Kureyon s available for US$7.90 at http://www.yarnandfiber.com - even with shipping added it still works out at well under AUD$10/ball.

Then I discovered Noro Cashmere Island. It's 30% cashmere, 60% wool, 10% nylon and available in amazing colourways (I'm very partial to colourway 6 in purples, greens, grey and black) and works out at 'only' AUD$15/ball including shipping from the US.

Yarnandfibre offer free international shipping on many items - including, as I discovered - Noro yarn. I couldn't resist - I put in for five skeins of Noro Cashmere Island. With free shipping is comes out at about AUD $12/ball - cheaper than Kureyon in Australia.


No wonder we addicts call it Noro-crack!

The only problem is working out how I can afford to take advantage of such great bargains, given the mortgage, food and petrol have all sky-rocketed over the past 2 years. Last night it cost $65 to fill the petrol tank of our car, a Toyota Corolla. It wasn't so long ago that we couldn't squeeze more than $35 into it.

When in doubt, knit a hat

Yeah, I've been a bit slack with the blogging but I'm back now.  I just kind of lost my mojo for a bit. 

When in doubt, I knit a hat.  I did one in a forest green 50:50 Panda Woollable yarn.  Top down in the round, plain stocking stitch except for a ribbed brim; 120 stitches, 8ply yarn, 3.75mm needles. I don't normally knit something with that much acrylic in it but the lovely shade of green was perfect for a work colleague and it was only $1.50/ball.  Normally I regret these "bargain" buys but not this time.  I'm now knitting a ribbed beanie out of the same yarn.

I've put my name in for the 3rd Australian knitters swap on Ravelry; judging by what everyone (including me) is asking for, I'll probably be making fingerless gloves or mitts.  Whoo!   I received a pretty pink and blue crocheted bag in the last swap - pictures may eventually come.  It was stuffed full of fun-fur style yarn which isn't exactly my thing.  Nearly every single person (including myself) is posting that they don't like novelty yarn or acrylic on the swap forums, so I think I will pass the yarn onto the local op shop.  Maybe they can get a few cents for it. Or maybe, like everyone else I know, they will sigh and wonder where they can pass it onto.

I'm a bit addicted to the Australian Ravelry swap board; it's a way of being materialistic without spending too much money (although postage can be a killer).  I obtained Iris Schreier's Modular Knits in return for a bag full of 8-ply pink and white yarn (12 totally unused balls).  I was doubly-glad to do the swap as it has patterns for doing all those cool multi-directional scarves.  Yes, there are patterns on the net (although sadly one of the best ones for the short-row ribbed diagonal scarf disappeared with MagKnits' demise - I managed to grab a cached copy before it disappeared entirely into a cyberspace black hole) - but it's not the same as a nice solid book.

The whole demise of MagKnits has reinforced the importance of printing out patterns on the net because they can quite literally disappear in a puff of cyberspace. I had saved the PDF of  The Top 5: The Best of Interweave Knits Readers' Choice Awards but hadn't got any further in the process with one of my new friends that I met through a health program I am doing kindly presented me with a full-colour printed out copy.  I was quite gob-smacked by her thoughtfulness.

This health program I am doing is probably the best thing I have done in a long time.  I am definitely improving my fitness, losing a couple of kilos and hopefully am improving my insulin levels.  I've also met some really lovely people that I would probably otherwise have never interacted with.  It is also putting my own health issues in perspective.  Most of my problems can be solved with diet and exercise and some commonly-prescribed low-risk medications. I am fundamentally healthy and my body basically works how it should.  For many other people, it's a lot harder.  We are also all learning from each other how to better navigate system to get the medical and other care we need and are entitled to.