Who would you do?

After reading a strange, onesided exchange on twitter this morning, i decided I'd follow it up. The exchange between @neilhimself and@traveleish was regarding This Poll . It got me to wondering what a similar list for UK birds(and anglophiles) would be like, some would be the same, I'd guess, but there'd be some culturally significant differences, based on what I've seen when the question has come up on forums

Unlikely blokes you'd do:

1. Eddie Izzard- in or out of drag
2. Alan Rickman
3. Hugh Laurie
4. Stewart Lee
5. David Baddiell
6. Sam Elliott
7. Phill Jupitus
8. Bill Bailey
9. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack
10. Philip Glenister
11. Marco Pierre White
12. Neil Gaiman
13. Adrian Chiles

I'm sure theres more, suggestions welcome! ;)

Blokes your SO thinks you'd do , but actually, no thanks:

1. Russell Brand
2. David Walliams
3. Russell Crowe
4. Tom Cruise
5. Frank Skinner (on the basis he's the one another bloke would think of if he was thinking 'unlikely'
6. Jonathan Ross
7. David Beckham
8.Gary Lineker
9. any member of Duran Duran
10. Damon Albarn

Changes!

As you can probably see from my etsy feed, things have been moving along! I've added dyed commercial yarns to my lineup and things are really warming up, I was really surprised how many people want sock yarn- I've even got return customers!

Well, that was weird!

Yesterday has to count as the most surreal Boxing day ever, as usual we all congregate at mum's. usually she has been so busy faffing about that the guests have to pitch in with the cooking - but this year there was a twist. Not only had mum invited her partner's mother in law, sister in law and brother in law (not as odd as it seems, both mum and Pete are widowed and have known each other for years) without saying anything until we got there, due to her collapsed shoulder Mum had taken industrial amounts of narcotic painkillers, so we were in the position of arriving at 1.30, with lunch due at 3, nothing actually prepared apart fro the roast , and 3 extra guests , taking the total bodies to 14! Mum was doing everything at half speed and apparently didn't give a monkey's about how the meal was actually going to get on the table.
My OH only goes visiting grudgingly(that includes his own family ) and only talks to people he knows, when they talk to him(no I wasn't aware of the social phobia when i met him) so he just sat blankly in the conservatory, playing with ella so he didn't have to mix (did I also mention he says he won't help out when someone's invited him - I know , he's a real charmer -no?)
We did eat eventually, though it had to be stretched a bit and all the workers had to eat off their laps

Ahh christmas!!!

Why do we do it? I've spent the last 6 weeks making gifts, scraping money together and buying more 'stuff' yet again -admittedly less than last year, which has required some invention, but 'stuff' nonetheless.
We've argued, burnt the candle at both ends(well I have) gotten horribly stressed and for what? To get that slightly underwhelmed feeling and the sense of despair that only parents know when faced with the ineffable mystery of toy packaging , how to get the damn things out of it, and what to do with the cardboard and twiddly wire mountain afterwards when the bin men don't come for a week and don't take more than one bag on the side.
don't get me wrong, I enjoy christmas, especially (as this year) when theres a noob in the family, you can't beat the look on the face of a littlie who's just old enough to understand that this is a special, different kind of day, I also enjoy all the rituals of christmas dinner, the peeling of brussel sprouts, the miles of tinfoil, the multiple 'accompaniments' that threaten to take over, and the traditions that every family forms for themselves. For us it's home made cranberry sauce, bacon and chestnuts in the sprouts, the clearing of every surface in the kitchen to make pork pies, mix stuffing, chop veggies and the way the table miraculously reappears from under the projects it's used for for the rest of the year (our standard dining routine is a folding camping table in the lounge for the kids, laps for us) and is transformed by cloths and crackers, flowers and napkins and dishes full of the additions that are so necessary to Christmas Dinner.
I shall probably end today with a toast to all the other harassed mums out there who will finally be able to put their feet up, examine their own gifts in peace and quiet and watchy trashy TV in the knowledge that the children are asleep, there is no need to cook tomorrow, because there is ample grazing in the fridge and it's 365 days until the next one!
Merry Christmas One and All!
Lisa XXX

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Have I any wool? Rather more than 3 bags full! this is the tip of the iceberg, 4 more in the loft and a dorset fleece still to wash
- as you can see, Ella thinks I have a wheel just for her to play with lol

.

is it really that long?

I can't believe its been so long since my last post, dunno what happened really -the window of time I hoped for when Amy went to nursery hasn't materialised because Ella decided that 71/2 months was a good time to start standing up, and 9 months was reasonable for walking, so instead of a just cruising baby, I now have someone who can climb stairs, and get from one place to another in the blink of an eye. I've been burning the midnight oil with the spinning so no time to do any digital stuff, and now I'm knee deep in chrissie presents that need finishing. I really wish i could get things done in the daytime, but nigel is an expert at derailing any plans I have, so much so that I don't tell him what my to do list is, because I can guarantee that he'll find a million and one things that must be done by both of us instead - I'm even dependent on him for transport :(. Enough moaning anyhoo.
I was totally cheered up by taking my spins to Heath yesterday, he's got the most stupendous christmas decs up in the shop -strings and strings of huge pompoms! there's even one as big as my head lol! A good reaction to my new stuff as well, plus some more sales so it's all good! I've got a few things to put on etsy soon, along with a project or two using my own and others recycled/repurposed bits and bobs - ooh and i'm on ravelry too!

Back Home!!!

Wow! we've just got back from our holiday after the most hellish journey imaginable, it should have been 31/2 hours drive, but roadworks on the south circular,M25 and the M1 added another 3 hours, we were all absolutely whacked and nigel and I still had to pull the caravan onto the drive and unpack the essential items (including a huge bin bag full of washing.....) . I was hoping to have some wonderful photos to show you all , but a water bottle accident at Legoland put paid to that - the only photo on my card will be a view of heathrow and windsor castle, taken by thomas shortly before he shoved the camera into my bag instead of giving it to me :( .
The London part of the trip was exhausting but great, oddly for people born and brought up in the countryside, Nigel and I love the bustle of cities, the only bone of contention is him not liking museums- he truly has the attention span of a goldfish lol! This time we revisited the science museum, now the the launchpad has been reworked- it's superb, great fun for the kids, and then spent most of yesterday at Tate Modern - I introduced the kids to surrealism, which is difficult, they related much better to the pop art rooms, and to the installations(Philip related a bit too well to Daniel Ortega's 'Skins' so we had to beat a hasty retreat - oops!).
anyway I'll finish raving about that tomorrow!
night night!