Been quiet again. Been depressed again. Another death in the (extended) family. Generally feeling like I am always scrambling just to keep afloat. No progress on the things that I really want to do because I'm too busy doing laundry or catching up on sleep. I am taking another day off from work and hope I can warp the inkle loom before the siren call of ironing gets too compelling. I wish I could be one of those housewives who really didn't care. I know one who would rather read than clean and does so, and her house was past my pigstye level. There's a point when I can't stand how dirty the kitchen floor is, to use an example.That point comes a lot later than it used to but it still comes. The Bear could care less, but then he's a bear.

FO: socks. I'm going to start summer socks from Lana Grossa Cotton Fun. I discovered I had bought the same colour Regia cotton in both 50 gm and 100 gm balls. Maybe the Bear and I can have matching socks? The cardigan is a dead end. It was Bendigo Ready-spin of their "Rustic" red tweed. It's generally not very soft wool and the basket weave pattern emphasizes the edges and it was just too scratchy for the intended recipient. As soon as I manage to contact her to ask about a substitute (I will offer the alpaca and some other yarn from the stash) I'll start again. The Bear has managed to lose the jumper I knit him last. He claims he can't find it in the house; I am convinced he took it with him the China last December and it didn't come home with him. Gosh, I'll have to knit him another. The Rustic would suit him. I just wound off a bobbin of EL that I had spun & plied fine and I am over the moon with the results. I know you're not supposed to make handspun look as perfect as commercial yarn but this is pretty damn close, and considering it's a longwool taken from raw locks to fine yarn, I find this infinitely more satisfying than spinning some boring merino. It will make super straps for hard wearing purposes when dyed and woven on the inkle.

Spring is threatening to start early and I have paperwhites out already and the wattle is blooming. This prompted me to almost finish the pear tree's reduction in size but I need somebody taller to finish the plumcot so the possums don't eat all the leaves off it like they did last year.I pulled some weeds. planted 4 new strawberry plants, and some sweetpeas in the big terracotta pot. I bought pea seed and spinach seedlings and will dig out my lettuce seed and try and get them in the ground maybe tomorrow, although the work may come back to bite me tomorrow with sore muscles. I generally only care about my fruit and veggie garden and don't grow flowers except some spring bulbs and a few things in pots. I have raised beds for all the veggies. My fruit trees are: apricot, pear (packham), plumcot, and 3 plums, all late season. I also have raspberry vines, and logan-, boysen- and sylvanberry canes. The last are an Aussie cross of blackberries and boysenberries and are very vigorous. In December we are drowning in berries. My jam is known on 2 continents; I sell the excess at work and donate the money to charity.