2008: A Year of Reading (Or Not)

I hate admitting this, but I did not read that many books in 2008. One memorable year I easily made it through 100 books. This year I think I struggled to read more than twenty-five books. I have my reasons for this sudden shift in reading habits - an irritating inability to concentrate (thanks to a certain health issue) and my new-found love of knitting which took up much of my spare time. Two books left their marks on me, though. Cormac McCarthy's apocalyptic The Road was raw, bleak and.. superb. McCarthy's language usage was extraordinary: both his sentence structures and his word choices were deliberately pared down to the bare bones. Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was exuberant, by comparison. Initially I found it difficult to get into Clarke's dry, if wordy, prose but after 200-odd pages I was thoroughly enjoying her tale of a Regency Britain which felt very recognisable and odd at the same time. A book which transcended its genre and its tools.

I saw even fewer films in 2008 than I read books(!) and the only film I would single out was released four years ago. Yes, really. However, Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou was a very good film and I was sad that I missed seeing it on the big screen.

Let's just skip music except to say that Alaska in Winter's "Dance Party in the Balkans" with its lo-fi, organic/gypsy electronica was the soundtrack to my year. Oh, and song of my year? The Phoenix Foundation's Damn the River (from 2006!).

At least I've knitted a lot in 2008, eh?

Season's Greetings

Merry Christmas! Glædelig jul!

That's me, Christmas 1980. I got a little bike for my doll and also an ace jigsaw, if I remember correctly.

This year I hope to find some wool and a few books under the tree. Mostly I hope to have a very peaceful and relaxing Yuletide with my loved ones. I hope the same for you (bar the wool unless you're a knitter).

Comfort Reading

The last Christmas present has been wrapped (Misty Garden by Jo Sharp in Rowan Damask), I have had a lovely pre-Christmas get-together with friends and I 'just' need to pack my bag now. Yes, that was a slightly hysterical 'just' there. Christmas stress has finally set in and I'm getting slightly frayed at the edges. What do you mean that I 'just* need to pack? Don't you understand how that means I need to find matching socks, clothes that match and a suitable knitting project?!

Thankfully I have enough time to sit down and think to myself: "Yes, TS Eliot has wonderful sentence structures" which automatically means I am less stressed.

The child wonders at the Christmas Tree: Let him continue in the spirit of wonder At the Feast as an event not accepted as a pretext; So that the glittering rapture, the amazement Of the first-remembered Christmas Tree, So that the surprises, delight in new possessions (Each one with its peculiar and exciting smell), The expectation of the goose or turkey And the expected awe on its appearance, So that the reverence and the gaiety May not be forgotten in later experience, In the bored habituation, the fatigue, the tedium, The awareness of death, the consciousness of failure, Or in the piety of the convert Which may be tainted with a self-conceit Displeasing to God and disrespectful to the children

Eliot's "The Cultivation of Christmas Trees" is rather obscure as Eliot poems go. It is a continuation of the mystical-religious poetry he wrote in the mid-1930s to late 1940s - the poetry that hardly ever gets anthologised and only occasionally gets taught. I am not a religious person myself, but I derive much comfort from Eliot's poetry (both the heady early Modernist period and the mystical late years).

Today it was a pleasure and a respite to sit down with "The Cultivation of Christmas Trees" and just let myself drift into the convoluted-ness of it all. A pleasure.

Oh, and happy birthday to my mother who is ever-young. I don't know how she does it but I suspect she must have a portrait hidden away in the attic..

The Waiting Game

The other day our Xbox 360 started flashing red lights at us. So now I'm waiting for a UPS carrier to come and pick up the Xbox, ship it across to Germany and hopefully fix the faulty components. Other Half has been petting his new acquired copy of Fable 2 in a very forlorn way ever since the console went boo-boo on him. I hate waiting around for service-people, by the way. This morning I have been ripping back a scarf and knitting a bit on a jumper.

Remember, I mentioned working on the Lush and Lacy Cardigan? Well, I finished the back wondering if I would ever wear something that feminine. Then I started the sleeves and decided that ruffled sleeves were not my style and thus opted for plain sleeves. Although I followed the pattern (sans the ruffle), the sleeve didn't fit me. I would need to recalculate the sleeve cap, frog half the back to redo the shaping and .. it wasn't going to happen with a cardigan I wasn't even sure I was ever going to wear. The Lush and Lacy Pattern is henceforth relegated to my plastic folder (since it's my second time trying to make it and it's clearly not happening).

So now I'm knitting a top down jumper of my own design which I know I will wear. It has an interesting neckline which I hope I'll be able to pull off making. It is inspired by two things: a certain Betty Jackson coat (I just love her strong, bold lines) and 1930s fashion.

Seeing as Christmas is upon us, let's look at "Stuff Ms Karie Would Really Like, but Which She Probably Won't Find Under Her Tree" (sounds catchy, doesn't it?): + Trellick Skirt kit + A necklace by crazy for ruthie. I met her at a craft fair and was blown away by her design and craftmanship. Ruth's Etsy shop's full of pretties, but it's her more personal, graphic necklaces that I really love. + Scottish Printed Books by Antony Kamm. + The Modern Recess Dress (although I would change the buttons and the buckle). + A bag of Aran Troon Tweed in Violet. I have just swatched this yarn and it is delish. And I only have one ball. Boo.

Still no UPS carrier bloke. Time for more coffee and maybe a little mince pie..

Christmas Time (Almost)

I smell like a smoked sausage. Sunday afternoon was spent outside in our garden carolling, eating mince-pies, drinking mulled wine and huddling in front of little wood burners. It was very, very enjoyable and I hope it will turn into a tradition as it was a good way to celebrate Winter solstice begin the Christmas holidays. I was asked by some of my Scottish friends how Danes celebrate Christmas.

The most important difference is the actual date: we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve. Most of December 24 will consist of preparing food, watching From All of Us (dubbed into Danish), attending church and then around 6pm sit down for the traditional meal. Obviously the meal will differ slightly from family to family, but we usually have roasted pork with crackling, roasted duck with prune and apple stuffing, caramelised potatoes, boiled potatoes, gravy, stewed red cabbage and halved apples with redcurrant jelly. David is a huge fan of the Danish Christmas dessert: ris ala mande: it is basically cold rice pudding mixed with vanilla-infused whipped cream and chopped almonds. It is served with hot cherry sauce. The pudding has a tiny game attatched to it: You put in one whole almond and whoever finds the almond gets a special present. After the meal people gather around the decorated Christmas tree, the (real!) candles are lit and you dance around it singing a mixture of psalms, traditional folk songs and a few recent Christmas songs. One of my personal favourites is the psalm Julen Har Bragt Velsignet Bud (Christmas Has Brought Us Blessed News). And then it is time for presents.

I think one of the biggest cultural differences for me is how the time up to Christmas is spent. In Denmark I was used to people gathering to bake or make candy together. You'd get together with friends or family to make decorations out of paper, branches and clay. The four Sundays leading up to Christmas would be marked by lighting candles and exchanging small presents. I have marked these traditions, of course, but it feels a bit odd when you are the only one excited by weaving Christmas hearts (such as the ones you can see in the photo of our tree), thinking about baking (which I actually didn't manage this year) or marking the Christmas Sundays. I have delighted in following the Christmas advent calender aimed at Danes living abroad, mind.

Tomorrow's blog will be all about knitting. Consider yourself warned. For now, let me leave you with a collection of the worst Christmas songs ever created. Enjoy.

It Was (Not) A Very Good Year

I'm sitting here being a touch introspective and thinking back upon the year that is almost over and done with. 2008 wasn't really the best year I've ever had. Yes, I met some lovely people this year. I found myself a new creative outlet. I had a very, very enjoyable summer holiday in Scandinavia. But all in all, this wasn't a very good year. Too many problems, too much hassle, too many worries and so forth.

So, here's hoping for a much better 2009. And since BBC4's doing another round of programming with me in mind (i.e. an entire weekend's worth of swing music!) here's Frank Sinatra singing "It Was a Very Good Year" (from Sinatra at the Sands (1966) - a classic album with Count Basie's Orchestra).