beginnings

The 1. day of a new year has always been very special for me. Since this is the start of a fresh still untouched year I tend to get introvert and very thoughtful - not bad thoughtful just thinking of what my hopes and anticipations are for the next year. For me the 1. seems better to do this on than the last day of the year just because on the last day you still have the expectations of going to a big party, be ott-happy, have the best fireworks and after all it's still the holiday vacation. And let's face it: even though all these seasonal traditions and gatherings are nice they come with so much expectation and weird traditions and unfulfilled hopes of how things "should" be.... It can get a bit crammed in one meagre vacation. but the new year has none of those strings attached in my book (except that it's still the christmas holiday..) - it's just fresh and crisp like frost bitten air.

These are NOT new year resolutions because I think of those as quite negative and that they are meant for you to shift lifestyle or habits in one go. No can do!
Instead I make mental notes on what i would like to use all this new time to and work towards doing.

- This last year I have worked towards doing more of what I want and to not be such a people pleaser. It's going ok but I would like to develop it further. Like not feeling quilty when I put my foot gently down . (I don't want to do the opposite either just a golden in-between)

- I would like to blog more often and regularly. A big problem for me here is that I havn't automatised using flickr yet. But practise makes perfect - just better would be nice also ;)

- Be more healthy! Since I have big trouble remember to eat it is my goal to get a regular rythm to my day, eating about every 3 hours to avoid getting low bloodsugar, exercise more in fresh air or the swimming pool. And eat less sugar and more fibre full, whole foods. And get enough water (I actually do allright on these ones if just I could remember to eat and drink regularly). Do yoga and meditation (my mind races along and worns me out even though my body is not moving)

- be better at nuture friendships

- exercise brain more


Chistmas was pretty good for me this year. I've gotton loads of amazing gifts and almost none need to be exchanged. You will se pictures later cause it's dark out and no good for taking pictures.

Spending the christmas days with my family was very nice (stressing offcourse but way less than expected) I loved seeing everybody again. My uncle spend chrsitmas eve with us this year (the most important day of christmas in Denmark). I was quite scared of him when I was yonger but surprice, surprice he is actually very sweet and has loads of humour. After he actually believed that I made the shawl I gave my mum he humbly asked if i would knit him something? Yes, I would like to knit you something, uncle! You said something scarf-y and stripe-y. I think I can do that.... also in time for your birthday!
My grandmother (mums mum) and her sister came also. Two very different and both nice ladies. My granny is getting alzheimers so thats a bit tought but I actually enjoy telling her all the family news over and over. She get's so happy every time she hears them. Her sister is amazing she's been travelling in Africa as a nurse from the 50´s to the mid-80´s (i believe) has no housband or children but has seen and experienced so much and is just the bubbliest woman evah! She has friends all over the world, has been to moscow in the 60´s lived in paris, slept in a tent with an other little lady in a roadside in Tanzania and sooooo much more. I must have gotten my travelling fever from her. We have many talks on where to go and how there might be and hers and my travelling stories.

Please let me know if you're making your "New Year mental notes" also or just New Year resolutions if you don't have the same problems labelling them as i do.


GODT NYTÅR!

I finished my Tour

I'm just giving you the pictures for now as bf and I are going out for a gig - dinosaur jr. - right now.
More tomorrow! Yet again I'm sorry for the tilted pictures... tilt your head as well, please ;)


My Tour de France FO!!!! Thank you ladies it was wonderful and very much fun. Except for the scandalous tour.... You guys made it worth watching anyways!

Maggie Tweed

Confused and disappointed

I can't tell you how confused and disappointed I am. Just before going to bed I wanted to read the latest news on the tv and they said short and straight that Rabobank has excluted Michael Rasmussen from the Tour and the team as well.
He has been lying about his wereabouts in june. Michael has said that he had been in Mexico all of june (but not telling UCI until it was too late) but an Italian commentator has claimed that he has been training with Michael on the 13th and 14th. On this basis Rabobank excluted him.

Michael is known to be exctremely meticulous so this is all a bit mysterious but he still has been clear in ALL of his doping tests during his entire career. I guess the American principle about being innocent until proven otherwise is only American and not European....

I find the whole business very weird but I guess his career is over. I feel bad for the rest of the team especially Thomas Dekker who is young and upcomming and has done a very good job on the team and of course for Tom Boogerd I guess he didn't want his last tour turning out this way.
It's very late over here as the whole shebang started at 11 pm and now it's 1.15 am. I have a lot of opinions on the case but it's too late for me to write in english - and propably danish as well I won't test it ;) Maybe you will here them later or maybe I will show you the progress on my sweater instead, we'll see...

As my knitting concerns I havn't been lieing (or however you spell it :)) about anything! I am really about to sew the thing up which scares the c..p out of me ;) But I, myself, will do it somehow during the next few days!

I'm glad this all happened just after the mountain stages because they really are my biggest interest. I was a bit disappointed when Michael began going after the yellow jersey instead of the dotted on - it even came to the point where I talked myself out of cheering on someone else. I guess now I have to to continue watching. Even though I find Contador very interesting and look forward to follow him next year it couldn't be him because I have just been cheering against him and the mountain stages is over anyways. So,

GO CADEL - Yay for stearing clear of terrible accidents which have been hard on the Aussies. - I must admit that I propably wouldn't have heard about you otherwise. I absolutely wish you the best in the race and I think you have been doing wonderfully so far!
And of course I still wote for Thor Hushovd in the green jersey!

Going for supplies

For some time I've known that my row gauge is off, looser. Even though I expected to have to buy extra yarn I decided just to knit on and see how far my primary purchase would last. Hopefully that is quite an easy way of adding extra lenght to the sweater since I'm a bit tall (177 cm or 5,10 i think). Well the little expriment brought me to the raglan decreases on the second sleeve. But since I also need yarn for a small collar and the sewing up it's not too bad having to buy an extra ball... anyways, the yarn is very nice so I'm probably able to do something with it.

I took Finished Sleevey with me to the city and we went exploring on a french trip...both types ;)

First we couldn't agree on where to go but after meeting a nice friend things got a bit better


We got the agenda set; first go buy extra yarn, then look around different yarn shops. This took some time but was very nice and relaxed. We did notice a chik baby sweater Zimmermann surprice style but the back was different - I like Elisabeth's better!

We then got hungry and went to eat french savoury pancakes or galettes as they are called in Bretagne. Yummy, mine was with jambon et fromage and of course accompanied with an Orangina!

Finished Sleevey doesn't eat meet and dairy so she just enjoyed the nice weather and the mild breeze.
Afterwards it was time for some knitting since only Finished Sleevey had joined me and Unfinished Sleevey had stayed at home I had to introduce a new UFO - coachella
The meeting went very well and Unfinished Sleevey fell asleep on the back of my bike while I drank a cafe au lait and knitted on coachella and enjoying Copenhagen on a summers day.


End of story

p.s I will try to scan some pictures of the french castle I gave bf for his birthday s there is only good ones in the brochures he got.

Go Michael Go GO Go!

He did it! He absolutely did it (again)!!!!!




This picture is from last year, taken by Lars Rønbøg. Tomorrow we won't see him in the polka dot jersey - because he will be in yellow....

As the danish commentators noted it was like a Kinder egg with 3 surprices in one, the stage, the polka dot jersey and the yellow jersey. Well done my Captain!

My sweater is also coming along and i've started on the last sleeve so soon I will be on to my first blocking and then seeming... heh, let's hope that goes well ;)




On another note we had a birthday at my appartment yesterday. My bf turned 31! Congratulations, Love! And guess what I gave him... In the spirit of celebrating France during Le Tour, how could I resist? I had to give him A FRENCH CASTLE WITH VINYARD! The website is only in danish though, but it's called Chateau de Haux and is situated in Bordeaux. He has only got a small share...

Whoohoo, what a day! I can't believe it! I may have screamed and danced ALOT today! And used to many exclamation marks!

Sprinting towards the mountains

This is how far I've come on my KAL project. The back and the front without button holes were done some months ago! Then I stalled....and stalled..... And then came Le Tour and now I'm back in the saddle, so to speak.

Being a climber I never thought that sprinting stages could be very exciting but how was I wrong! We've had everything from crashes over belgian triumph to McEwan's incredible win on that first stage. And then yesterday, during a thunderstorm here in Copenhagen, Thunder Thor sprinted from everybody with 66 km/h!!! I switched channel on the tv at that moment so I could se it on a norvegian channel and boy oh boy were the commentators over the moon with excitement. Congratulations Thor, well done!

Even though the media in Denmark think of CSC to be the Danish team because of Bjarne Riis (executive manager, I think or maybe he's actually the owner???). I don't know if you remembers but he won the tour once and have recently admitted that he won illegally. He's been permitted to deliver the yellow shirt back. He's staying away from the tour this year apparantly to spare the team for all the fuss that he would have produced. Well, he's never really been on of my favourites, when Bjarne rode Richard Virenque was my favourite.

I'm just giving you a closer look on the sweater pieces. I forgot to rotate the picture, so to get the full experience pleace tilt your head a bit ;)

It's a Maggie Tweed kit from Kim Hargreaves, knitted in Rowan felted tweed in the colour dragon.

Oh yeah, apparantley Michael Rasmussen had a minor crash yesterday and he was afraid that a finger was broken - luckily it was just a surface wound, nothing bad!

Little miss Polkadot

Summer always provides some major sport activities and over the years i have discovered that even though one does NOT enjoy competing activites it is possible to generally enjoy watching other people compete!
This summer has so far provided some great sport watching tennis time with French Open and Wimbledon!

But now it's time for a change: Le Tour de France

The best thing about watching sport on tv instead of practice sport is off course the knitting so I've signed up for the KAL for this event. During the race will the wonderful hostesses provide indispensable information about france, the race, the jerseys, the teams (both knitting and biking), the route AND the food!!!

I will be joining the polka dot team because I have a mountain to climb...my first sweater! It's a "Maggie tweed" kit from Kim Hargreaves I got from my parents for Christmas. (I have started on it, though, but if I finish this I will continue in the race to earn my mountain points with several smaller "mountains")

This is, however, not the only reason for this team:

1) The Polka dot shirt has always been my favorite even though green is my favorite colour. I has that Brigitte Bardot factor.
2) Michael Rasmussen - as a fellow Dane I must support OUR team! My special nickname for him is "the white muscle" as he is very pale and has a lot of white muscle fibers, I'm sure..
3) And last but not least: when I ride my bike I'm always slow and could therefore never be on the yellow or green team, but uphill then I'm FIRE! :)

Thank you, you lovely ladies and bonne chance tout les tricoteurs ;)