Lots of news

The reason for my prolonged absence may be blamed on the very poor internet connection in South Africa. Two people can't be online at the same time else the whole thing conks out. So unfortunately for me, the Rockstar's work commitments win every time and I have to step down...anyway, the Rockstar is out! YEAH! Blog update time.

First, knitting updates. I felt so bad about my Ziggy socks which remained unfinished and finally sat down to finish the last sock. I was at the heel, so it was quick knitting. Why I never finished it, I'll never know, but I'm glad I did. They look great! The colours are so bright and vibrant and I don't care that the two socks don't match. I love them!





Initially, I wasn't sure how much of the Noro sock yarn I would need, and bought two skeins. But i've only used one! Bonus! So I might use the other for a bright shawl...just need to find a nice pattern. I'll have to trawl the Ravelry pattern pages. Unfortunately for me, I don't have web access at work AT ALL! So any form of time-wasting isn't possible. ( Though I think some others have been given privileged access.)

I also finished another set of Fetchings. I found an ok yarn at Woolworld. It's called Tweed-so really it green with some flecks of different colours. But I've come to like it a lot. I bought enough yarn to make a scarf for the Hypno study, which starts tomorrow. That reminds me, I have to print the pattern. And if I come out all weird on the other side, I'll expect you'll to tell me! Ha! Anyway, back to the fetchings. The pics aren't the best due to night photography. I finished them late at night and they had to be handed over the next morning so I had no other time to take proper pics.



The vintage knit is progressing well, though sidetracked for a while. It will have to sit on the sidelines a bit longer while I participate in the study. But I think that I will still set time aside to work on it as well. I really need to take some updated shots. Maybe tomorrow. I've also started a quick crochet project. It's a mesh shopping bag made from the gifted Sugar and Cream. I'm using the green for the base and handles and white for the body. Pics to follow as soon as there is significant progress ( or a finished product).

In South African news, things have literally been hotting up this week. Temperatures have hit the 35+ mark and the city is boiling. Don't get me wrong, sun and heat is nice, but too much is too much. Cape Town has a very dry hot summer and the sun beats down. Even at 5 in the afternoon, it still has a sting to it. The unfortunate thing about the heat, is that any grassy patch become dry and yellow. And that has meant a total of 77 fires this week. Smoke is still hanging on the skyline and everyday a different field has burnt down-mostly due to reckless drivers who throw their cigarettes out of the car window. Yesterday was a particularly exciting day. We witnessed a fire run wild in a span of minutes. It started out as a small fire next to a major high way. Our building in the city is quite high up and give great views across the city. Hence us seeing the fire. Well, next thing we knew, we could see massive flames, licking up trees, fueled by the wind which suddenly changed direction, blowing the fire towards houses. By that stage, the whole city was enveloped in a fog of smoke and we couldn't see a thing. I was really worried for those homes. The helicopter was called out, flying overhead repeatedly with water to dowse the flames. They eventually killed the fire and thankfully the houses were saved, but by mere inches. Apparently owners were guarding their homes with hose-pipes. Here are a few very bad pics of said event though you could probably see better pics if you google it.
The first is of the start of the fire-it escalated very quickly after this, filling the air with smoke. Note the houses on the right- still far away.

The second pic shows the aftermath.

Note the area around the houses.
While this may not look as bad as the California fires, it is right in the city and on the mountain, which is covered in hundreds of species of Fynbos.

Anyway, life in Africa continues ( just). My only saving grace is having a job. The Rockstar is about to murder his own parents-it's called Cabin Fever!

And one last shot of Cape Town from the office. Straight ahead, right above the roof of the building in front, is the Castle.
I still love the Castle. It's magical at night.


Anyway, I'm off to knit....see ya!