I took cartographer's advice, and let the hairdresser have at it.

Result:

( Back to butch... )

I have booked a haircut, but have no idea what I want to do with it. Please make suggestions.

This is what I feel like on the inside on good days: riding along on the back of the Christmas Goat of life in a jaunty outfit.

The reality today is far more depressed, spotty and bad tempered. I need a haircut and some red boots.

November could mostly be described as "aaaaaaaaaiiiieeeeeeeeeeeee, work!", combined with "so dark, I give up, staying in bed", some quite amazing bad-temperedness and despair, and brightened up with a couple of nice things like a person having a BABY (hoooray!).

Last weekend saw a complete turn around of humour, and I can only put it down to Advent. It's Advent, so it is time to get Christmassy, and I just love Christmas. When I was sent away to school, going home for Christmas was the idea that made it bearable. I would amass gifts and large lumps of cakes and puddings made by my granny to pack up in the weeks leading up to the holidays. When the case was crammed with baking and presents, it was almost time to go home.

I've made the cake, the pudding and the mincemeat, and they can all sit and "mature" (soak in booze) for the next couple of weeks. I also made mince pies, as it is important to test the mincemeat, right? Thankfully, the burst of energy carried over to cleaning up afterwards AND into the office this week. Work is still a bit of a shitstorm, but I'm still here, so that's something (whether it's a good thing or a bad thing is up for debate).

The change in the weather from unrelenting rain, floods, apocalypse and greymess to reasonably dry, small amounts of greyness and the odd patch of sunshine was also helpful. It's cold, but that just means I can wear the handknits, and be nice and cosy. Today's knit is a grey garter-stitch cardigan with a sideways knit construction. I've been asked to write up the pattern for it, but I'm not sure about size grading. When I graded it up to make one for my mum I simply estimated how much bigger she is than me, and where to adjust shaping for the differences in figure. It might be a project for over the Christmas break, if I were to miraculously run out of other projects. My problem is a lack of time to execute all my ideas.

ANYWAY, I am not dead from bad temperedness, or despair, and I have a new stripey rug from Ikea which I bought to stave off the general hatred of everything. How can you hate the world when it contains cheerful stripes and mincepies and jumpers and new babies? (The other bits can piss off though).

I have Managing Successful Projects with PRINCE2.  It smells like a geography textbook, and looks like it might bore me to death.

I was just thinking I'd like some slouchy grey sleeve/arm warmer thingies, and then I remembered that I have some in a drawer.

I have been overtaken by the knitting love.  My ravelry queue overfloweth.  At the moment I've got some kilt hose on the needles, and a patchwork blanket in the works (it's my filler project that I work on in fits and starts.  The hexagons get boring).  I have all sorts of plans for Christmas knitting, and am thinking of a cute tweed rib/cable tunic with a scoop neck.

I just want to go home, make a pot of coffee, and churn out some socks and the odd jumper.  I'm into my tweed again, enjoying wool, dreaming of lovely shoulder shaping.  The Brooklyn Tweed crush is getting silly. 

A new office means a new commute, and this time it's a 20 minute cycle.  The route along the quays is reasonably flat, and a short enough distance, but slightly death-y due to a dearth of cycle lanes.  More pressing though, is the style issue.  These days, I like to look a bit more put together at work - suits, skirts, nice shoes, "outfits" in general.  Sadly, outfits, cycling, staying dry and not dying don't seem to go together that well. 

Looking at Cycle Chic, the common element in all the outfits featured appears to be not wearing a helmet, raincoat, or anything reflective.  Upside: you look nice!  Downside: everyone nags you because you are not wearing a helmet.  Also, you are probably wet and cold.

Currently I am sporting a blue Patagonia anorak and a fetching red and silver helmet (it matches my bike!) while cycling. I am not chic in it; I look unrelentingly sensible.  I would like to at least look cute, but retain the same level of not cold, wet, or nagged to death.  Give me suggestions!  What do you wear on your bike?