Friday Frenzy

I love to barter/swap/trade: before now, I've traded tarot readings for reflexology treatments (can we say 'fab-u-lous' ?), scented handmade candles and melts, and I've traded my own handmade soap for tarot decks. Recently I traded a tarot reading for some bath & beauty goodies, all the way from sunny Florida; Celeste, who must be one of the very, very rare people without an online selling site of some sort, also known as The Soap Pedaler, sent me a super box of yummy-smelling stuff:




I'm using the Linden soap right now: small, tight bubbly lather, and again, a great fragrance; Mini-Diva already snitched the organic peppermint lip balm; and I think the Lavender & Rose shampoo and conditioner are really great: the shampoo is harder to lather than the commercial stuff I'm used to, but the conditioner feels lovely and goopy, yet rinses out easily, leaving a fantastic scent that really hangs on, so that you get whiffs of it all day. Thanks, Celeste.

I have completed the front of the SoD2,which I feel is not bad going:



It's actually charcoal grey, not that blue-ish as it looks; but it's about to pour down, so the light today is dodgy. As proven by the also-rubbish photo of my Harebell Stitch lace scarf, which I've made as a Xmas present for our neighbor, Su, using a steel blue shade of Kidsilk Haze on 5mm needles:








































I know knitting a scarf for a woman who wears flip-flops in the winter snow might seem a bit odd, but it's just her shade, and very light and fine, and thus may fool her into thinking it's not actually for warmth ...

Now I have to go run round and do lots of things - not least of which is the reading for Celeste - plus, housework; go to school for a scheduled talk with Mini-Diva's teacher, which could be interesting given that the Ofsted report sent home yesterday shows the school has dropped a grade, down to a mere 3; cook dinner, because it's Friday; collect Destructo Boy from his friend's house after tea; buy tickets for tonight's fireworks .... as long as it isn't raining: memories of last year's debacle are still all too clear, and even the promise of hot spiced cider is not enough to get me out in that again.

All Hallows Eve

Saturday the kids went to a neighbor's Hallowe'en party: one as a witch, one as a pirate; both with make-up on. The party ended with them trick-or-treating in our street with all the other kids - they looked great and had a lovely time.

They drew faces on their pumpkins which DH then carved:












Yesterday I spent a quiet evening as DH had gone to work, so just an informal small ritual of candles and wine, remembering those close to me who have gone. I completed the Harebell Stitch scarf, so will be washing and blocking that today, and will be able to leave the SoD2 out 'in public' since DH is away: just as well that will speed things up, as my friend Mimi points out there are only 55 knitting days til Xmas ....

Quite a few of my friends are doing NaNoWriMo, amongst whom are Ania, Alison, Kristina, Lori, Sara: the best of luck to you: perhaps I might have joined you, had I been able to think of a plot ......