We were in Ireland for a few days. After arriving at Cork we drove straight to Killarney to our guesthouse Fairview. We were so friendly received. Beautiful room. Great breakfast (full Irish) served by Tommie, who wears a bow tie even at 8 in the morning. We did the Ring of Kerry and because it is off season we enjoyed it practically alone. That was great. We did not see any puffins, or whales, or dolphins, because it was not their season too. That was not so great, but a good reason for coming back. As if you need a reason to go back to Ireland.  We went to Dingle and we did Valentia Island (three times because of the wrong direction and a ferry that didn’t go). On our way back we stayed in Cork (not again) and we finished in Kinsale. We had, by the way, very fine weather.

Now, it is waiting for spring to come. We have had enough winter. For years, if you ask me.

If you happen to live in the Netherlands, you should go to the new production of the National Ballet: Don Quichot. It’s wow and wow and if you want to see all the possibilities of the body, this is your chance. Of course, winning an Olympic medal is a tour de force, but it is only a few minutes. These dancers give their top performance for a whole evening. Smiling.They make you think it’s party time whole evening. Enjoy.

I joined Team Pootje Over on Ravelry and I obliged to finish as much WIP’s (work in progress that does not seem to get finished) as we get gold medals. I so hope my aims are overambitious. I did met the first gold medal. Here’s my Ravelympic gold medal in Wip Dancing…

It looks rather drab on the tailor’s dummy, but wearing it I was quite happy with it… I also finished the January Mystery Sock named Gansey Girl by Debbie O’Neill. I really choose the wrong yarn, but so glad this project is out of my system.

In the mean time there is lots of sadness. My best friend has breast cancer. That makes me mad. An operation is performed and she gets an infection. Back to hospital. That makes me even madder/sadder. I don’t want my best friend to have pain. There is nothing I can do. How fragile we are.

So funny, the pun is gone in English… this cake is made from a recipe of a monastery in Bologna (in 1994 published in Tip Culinair, a Dutch culinary magazine that doesn’t exist anymore) and it’s a hell of a lot of work to make it. The Dutch expression ‘monnikenwerk’ (monk’s work, meaning a lot of work) is therefore appropriate. The topping of mixed dried fruit is 24 hours soaked in black tea with orange juice and cinnamon. The cake itself is made from honey, butter, chocolate, almonds, raisins, applesauce and spices. You have to cook it a long time in the oven and it is really, really special. Usually. I hadn’t been baking for a long time, so the cake could have been smoother and softer. But it was so relaxing to do, that I decide to do it more often. And, it makes nice pictures, don’t you think?

Guess what we are eating tonight? A wrap with sauerkraut, cheese and pumpkin seeds with a salad with tofu and a dressing from lentils. Isn’t that animal friendly and environmentally safe?
The John Adams Institute (of which I am a longterm satisfied member) organized a lecture by Jonathan Safran Foer based on his new book ‘Eating Animals’. No novel, but a story about why we could better stop eating animals, pardon meat. An infonovel.  Before the lecture I didn’t plan to buy the book and didn’t plan to eat just vegetarian. But Foer is a charming, convincing, honest, inspiring, humorous, wise man and a gifted storyteller.

So that’s why I will buy the book and that’s why we are eating the wraps and salad tonight. So, along Foer’s lines: today we are vegetarians and may be tomorrow. But that is what we will decide for tomorrow.

Well, first of all: let’s make 2010 a great and challenging knitting year with lots of fun! Hope you had as fine a turn of the year as I had with lots of good friends, good food and champagne!

New year’s day started with launching a knitalong for the Dutch Yahoo Sokkenbreilijst. I promised Zjanette/Culinette warm slippers and I wrote out a kind of pattern so that everybody/anybody can knit them. You can find the pattern (Dutch/English) on my pattern page.

And I finished socks for DH. He put them on for a picture and I haven’t seen them since. Yes, that’s the same man who didn’t want knitted socks.

With one foot in the new year I started another sock on a Sock Knitters Anonymous theme for December. She and she donated leftovers Opal 1290 to me, because I once knitted my second socks ever with them and gave them away. I loved the sweet colours of this yarn. The Victorian Swag socks show off these colours perfectly, as you can see.

And though I did not intend to join the SKA mystery sock for January, as soon as I saw the first photo’s coming I was rummaging for yarn and for beads in my stash . Well, it is a bit tricky combination Ewa’s yarn with beads but I’ll see how I succeed. Clue 1 is finished.

Tomorrow works starts. In the renovated building. I start with a class Development Psychology. Yes, that’s reality.