All I want for x-mas...

... is apparently to be dependent on public transport.

You know, when I was a little girl, I always wished that Santa Claus would bring me a pony for Christmas. Little did I know that what I *really* wanted all these years was a burnt out car.

But guess what? That's what I got!

My poor little car burnt out a few days before Xmas. Spectacularly. There was police, and the firebrigade, and neighbours in their pyjamas and dressing gowns (yours truly included). There were explosions, and there were flames high enough to burn part of our neighbour's conifer hedge down.

What all this boils (or rather, burns) down to is that now I have no car and have to battle around with the insurance company. Lovely.

Life is busy at the moment. There is the car-less existence, which means that it takes me a lot longer than usually go get from A to B, there is work, there is house DIY, there is the fact that next week we will have a friend staying over, which translates into clean-the-house-top-to-bottom, and then there is that article that I need to get ready for, oh, only the 16th of this month, so I can submit it to be considered for publication. I'm also still aiming for a March deadline with the PhD, so that's not really an endlessly long way off.

With all this happening, knitting and spinning has been minimal. I am continuing to work on both, but progress is slow. At least I have finished the little hat (Umbilical cord hat from SNB) to go with the baby booties:

All in all, I am pleased with it, and I can see why people like knitting for babies - it's so quick! Still, baby Felix is born by now, so I have decided that rather than knit a baby cardigan, or force myself to finish the little knitted bunny that I am working on in a hurry (will be a present for another pregnant friend instead), I might just buy something in Monsoon to add to the gift.

My next project will definitely be to knit the Side-Way Ribs cardigan from Knitscene. I have *almost* completed spinning the yarn for it, so I am holding off showing the yarn until then. It's my first handspun that I have spun with a specific project in mind, so I'm rather excited. Hopefully it will turn out the way I am hoping it will...

And last but not least, the lovely Mia from Way Past My Bedtime, who I had the pleasure of spoiling during Secret Pal 6, has sent me a little parcel. Look at that gorgeous scarf:

Isn't it wonderful? And I love the little bag as well. Thank you so much Mia, I'm thrilled with your lovely gift. How thoughtful of you to send me something in return. :-)