KFC has teamed up with Susan G Komen in quite the most revolting PINK CRAP NONSENSE I have ever seen.

I mean it's not like Obesity is linked to cancer, and the recurrence of cancer. Oh no. Not at all.

So why, in the name of everything that's holy and secular, did Susan G Komen team up with a fast food joint to raise money?

Laurie, at Not Just About Cancer brought this to my attention.

It's another reason to ignore all the pink cr*p out there, and just give directly to your favourite cancer charity.

On that note....

I am doing both the 5km Race for Life and the 10km Macmillan Fun Run this year. I shall end all posts until June with a shameless plea to donate: because if you can manage £2, which is, I believe, the minimum allowed, and all of you do that, well, that'll get me to my target no problem! The Race for Life money goes towards Cancer Research, and the Fun Run money goes to Macmillan Cancer Support. The former charity is all about scientific research, the latter about living with cancer, and making life a bit easier for people affected by cancer.

xxx

This is Leanna (with her Mummy), in her Tulip Cardigan.  And she is gorgeous.  I went to visit two Saturdays ago, and had a lovely time.  Leanna's big sister Mia decided I was lovely and gradually worked her way closer and closer to me during dinner, until she was finally practically on top of me when we reached the grape course.

This last weekend involved an awful lot of running about, rugby, rugby alumni dinners, trying to raise money for the Brownies, and generally being exhausting.  I've since had two days at a conference, and am back at work on the morrow.

I'm also trying to work out if I still want to maintain this blog.  I like reading, but I rarely comment, and I am writing much more in my paper journal again.  Possibly a reaction to spending all day on a computer at work.  There may be  more knitted objects this weekend, if I can possibly assemble my knitting olympics sweater, and also photograph socks and scarfs.

We shall see.

xxx

Or I should stop cycling while it's snowing.

I am revving up for the Knitting Olympics.  I am going to knit myself a sweater.  This is a stretch.  I have not knit myself something so large for some years, and, the last sweater I knitted for Mum, took months.

It was when The Welshman asked what, apart from socks, I had knitted for myself in the past year, and I came out with 'a hat' that I knew something needed to be done.

But first, my old history tutor has had a baby daughter, so she needs a hat.  'Scuse me.

xxx

Hmmm.  All I am knitting is for other people: and most of that for people who read this.  Still, they've mostly seen what I'm up to, so no huge secrecy here.

This is the Lily of the Valley Scarf from Nancy Bush's Knitted Lace of Estonia.  It is nearly done, and needs to be blocked.

This is Rowan Big Wool on Large Needles being a scarf for my old Flatmate Chris

These are Lenore Socks from my Sock Club kit in 2008 (or was it 2007?).  The description caused Much Mirth at last weekend's dinner party.

Branching Out.  Finally.  Brynne knitted one of these for me many, many years ago: I think she only had John at that point, and now she has Pete and Kate as well.  So, I am now knitting one for a friend.

Things I must do

• Write Census cheque, collect cheque from Guide Leader, send whole lot off with forms. Collecting cheque from Guide leader postponed
• Sort out a letter from CHQ re CRB checks for the account changing malarkey
• Volunteer for the trip on the Golden Hinde, also to do camping with Brownies (since I got my Guide Holiday Module, I am now keen to do another module of the Holiday Licence, and hoping I can stick with the old scheme).
• Pay for a City Hall drinks evening, work out what I'm supposed to wear for another City Hall drinks Evening  No one seems to know which uniform we are supposed to be in, argh.
• Sort out the romper, the dress, the bag
• Snowdon plans
• Go and see 'Daisy Pulls It Off' on Saturday, and then have another yummy dinner party at the Welshman's (this time without hormonally assisted standing in the middle of the bedroom sobbing my eyes out because I have no idea what to wear, because that was, simply, wearing).
• Write letters to Japanese Exchange, Em's Mum.
• Email former colleague about visiting her new baby.
• Collect bank statement from Em's old flat
• Update SQL 2005 on two of the work servers to SP3 (yes, I know, I know, these are the last two).
• Pack up scarf to mail to Sara
• Tidy the flat a little

OK.  10 minutes before I must leave to go to Brownies, I haven't got my uniform on, and I think supper's ready.

xxx

Szyja Waisbrod, who died in Kupczynce, Poland, in 1942, and all victims of The Holocaust, and the mass genocides of Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia and Darfur.

Light a Candle in their memory.  Talk about it.  Stop it happening again.

• Two Brownies cleaning their teeth for their Brownie Skills badges, using oversized travel toothbrushes.
• A martini glass filled with Glenfiddich, topped off with an ice-pole.
• A merger between teams mid-Trivial Pursuit.
• The President of the rugby club attempting a 'scottish' ceilidh (yup, we did Circassian Circle, Boston Tea Party, Strip The Willow, Gay Gordons and American Square Dance. So authentic.).
• A sparrow thinking it was a humming bird, hovering to get some nuts out of a net.  And failing rather, falling into the hedge, and looking very surprised.
• Two of the more excitable American members of the rugby club ditto, with each other.
• A French-Canadian member of the rugby club eating haggis, with one of those Scottish Jock hats and sunglasses.
• The lads playing touch rugby with rather fetching panda-bear hats.
• The market trader informing the world that the Long Johns were coming OFF in the near future, because his balls were roasting.
• My Mummy eating liver at the Club, supping Champagne (but only a glass) and putting the entire world plus David Cameron and Boris Johnson's hair to rights.

Oh yeah.  I'm doing the race for life thingy again this year.  A friend asked if I'd do it with her, and it's really hard to say no!  Please sponsor me?

Do not feed the Guiders anything other than chocolate (Tawny Owl failed to offer us a drink, and I was too polite to ask, so Have just scarfed down a pint of squash).

Term = Planned.

Awesome.

Now, all I need is a book about endangered animals that's suitable for 6 year olds with no attention span.  Any suggestions?

xxx

Already done:

• Emails
• Thank you note to publishers for flowers (very pretty, but delivered while I was out and it took a while for me to get to collect them, what with Christmas)
• Buy present for Mum's birthday
• Buy letter rack
• Bag up socks, trousers, book and gliders to give to parents this evening
• Photographed paternal socks  

Things yet to do:

• Plan trip to 4 peaks (or, possibly, several different trips) in order to climb them Planning begun.
• Find unwanted pillowcases
• List Christmas Cards received so that I don't inadvertently miss anyone this year
• Wrap a different present for Mum's birthday
• Find out how to dry feathers, work out what to do with the duck down and pheasant down Seems that I'll need to wash them in case of mites.  Hmmm.  I shall leave them outside until it's a little warmer.
• Make duck pie with The Welshman (who was round yesterday plucking duck and pheasant in my kitchen). He's ill, so that's not going to happen tonight.  I must also put the pheasant in the freezer....
• Brownies Accounts
• Post Letters (n.b. find stamp)  Can't find stamps!  ARGH!
• Book tickets for trip to Buckingham Palace Garden for Mum
• Sharpen Brownie Pencils Most of them broke, I'll have to go shopping.
• Acquire Denise Knitting Needle Kit points in size 12mm, cast on scarf for former flatmate from long ago
• Finish cardigan for former colleague's baby First arm pretty much done.
• Continue with romper suit
• Make soup
• Sign books and bung in envelopes
• Make chilli con carne to freeze
• Skim read book in order to add to introduction someone else is writing.
  

Considering I wasn't up before noon, and then spent an hour soaking in a bath, I have achieved enough to warrant more coffee

2009's final kick involved two hard-to-read messages from absent friends, and the period pains that I described to my Mother as 'enthusiastic' and to my friends who were in the room by, essentially, looking whey-faced and taking as much codeine as I deemed safe.  It was painful.  Matters were helped by Dozydormouse producing a sort of gel-hotpack thingy, and also by being allowed to hog the comfy chair, but I really wanted to be all snuggled up in bed rather than inflicting myself on other people.  Matters were greatly improved after midnight and I was all snuggled up on an airmattress.  Somehow, I slept through everyone getting up, making breakfast, setting off the smoke detector and eating breakfast.  It's an exhausting business, this being full of cramps.

2010 eventually started several hours late, with a text message from someone that I haven't seen for well over two years (and whose number was no longer in my phone, and I'm not sure I ever want to see him ever again because he was a bit peculiar, even by my standards), and a text from The Welshman (which came through twice - he's since phoned to check I'm OK and sent a very pretty picture of the Christmas Lights in Bath.  For someone who apparently isn't "The One" and who doesn't think he's in love with me, he's very attentive) and then some porridge and proper coffee.

Then there was a very long bath, Dr Who (I cried.  Lotsly), and now Gavin and Stacey.  I'm turning the heel on my Father's second sock (and then he wants some DK weight socks to go in his wellies), tucked up on the sofa in my jammies, with knitted socks from the very first Sockapalooza I took part in on my feet, surrounded by books and magazines and I'm beginning to revive a bit.

I've also had some of my Mum's Christmas cake.  It is mostly dried apricot.

xxx

• Return paternal trousers that are too long (new pair ordered)
• Now that camera and cord are in the same place, post photo of Mum in New Sweater
• Thank you letters
• Return Library books (both mine, and Great Dane Puppy's.  Further complicated by fact that we use different Libraries)
• Brownies Accounts
• Brownies Sixes Need to know when some are wanting to move up before doing final writeup
• Invite New Brownies
• Organise a walk with The Welshman to try out my New Boots
• Break in said New Boots
• Apologise to new downstairs neighbour for noise involved No noise involved
• Laundry (lots)
• Tidy away presents, and get rid of some other books In progress
• Sort out knitting magazines, dispose of some Or just reorganise shelving?
• Put laundry away In progress
• Go to work for next two days
• New Year's Eve Party
• Organise when to take Stuff to the Guide Loft (not as much stuff as I had originally thought, but still quite enough).
• Finish that tablecloth before 2011
• Move onto assembling lots of sewing things (rompers, a dress, a skirt)
• Source new computer speakers for Dad for Father's Day before I forget
• Worry about Mum's birthday presents (part are hidden in a wardrobe)
• Go to bed at a sensible hour
• Sort out distributing The Book
• Tidy sitting room
• Tidy bedroom
• Blog just a bit more...

xxx