Christmas has caught up with me. We are leaving for Scandinavia next week (and it is rumoured to be very cold), we are heading for North-East Scotland this week (and it's rumoured to be almost as cold) and somewhere in between these two trips I have to finish David's sweater (because places are rumoured to be cold), do some Christmas baking, sort out some work things, make smart decisions about what clothes to pack, and get the last few Christmas cards sent. And suddenly I thought it would be a great idea to cast on a cowl for my partner because the weather is taking a cold turn (and MooncalfMakes sounds very persuasive). Thankfully I have talked myself away from that particular ledge of insanity.
Yesterday I was given an early Christmas present by a visiting hand-knitted pirate (her visit was a present in itself, actually): 18 antique buttons made of dark chocolate. The box itself is gorgeous and obviously I shall use it to store my non-chocolate vintage button finds once I have finished the chocolate ones. Yesterday I also spent a really lovely evening dining out with some of my closest friends here in Glasgow. That calmed those pre-Christmas nerves a bit.
Thank heavens I'm not actually in charge of anything important such as, you know, Christmas food.
Now, Anna asked what my cultural highlights of the Noughties were. That question made me waste copious amount of time on YouTube tracking down beloved songs and film trailers.
One of the first songs that sprung to mind was "It Takes a Fool To Remain Sane" by The Ark, a Swedish glampop band fronted by the fluently-gendered(?) Ola Salo (appropriately enough, the son of a preacher man). Not my favourite Ark song (possibly this one?), but it is the song which kick-started a decade-long affinity for the band (which is a great live band).
Four more songs: Betchadupa: My Army Of Birds & Gulls. I am weak when faced with vaguely psychedelic pop from New Zealand - especially if someone called "Finn" is involved. Liam Finn's disbanded band came into their own with this song. The Delays: Valentine. One of the great lost singles of the '00s and a perfect pop song. Elbow: Leaders of the Free World. One of the very few good things to come out of the second Iraq war. Franz Ferdinand: Darts of Pleasure. Not the reason why I moved to Glasgow, but the first Franz Ferdinand album is the sound of Glasgow.