Tracks, Trails and Tribulations.

Let's be frank: I am a process knitter. When I choose to knit something I go for patterns that will a) challenge me, b) make me count every single stitch and c) see me collapse into a broken heap at some point. And so I enjoy knitting lace shawls even if I rarely wear them. My current pet peeve/project is Evelyn C. Clark's Heartland Shawl (link goes to another knitter's version). I've nicknamed my version "Tracks and Trails" to reflect the patterns used. I am about halfway through the repeats of the second lace charts and I'm yet to find my rhythm. Usually I have my 'collapse into a broken heap' moment fairly early on and then I come out on the other side to work the stitches in a fairly fluent manner. But this? I still need to shut out the world and count, count, count. I'm using Design.club.dk's Duo merino in a petrol colourway. And I'm not sure about this yarn either as it compares unfavourably to other fingering weight merinos I've used. It is splitty and rather stiff.

Could this be the project that will make me become a project knitter instead? Seeing as my other project is an actual wearable garment - the ubiquitous February Lady Sweater in nice, tweedy Scottish organic wool - I fear this might just be the case. Will I ever knit another lace shawl? Ask me once I've completed the Heartland/Tracks & Trails shawl.

Holyrood Letter

And so my brief liaison with Scottish politics continues today with a letter asking me for my vote in the Scottish Labour Party leadership face-off. Seeing as I am not a member of Scottish Labour, receiving an actual, real ballot is slightly .. surprising.

It reminds me that I am an expat. I know my Danish Parliament/Folketing. I know exactly who I will be voting for come election time (for, lo, I retain my general election voting rights in Denmark). Scotland? I'm not able to vote in the British general elections, but I will be voting come next Scottish parliamentary election. The Scots have fewer parties than the Danes, but that does not make it any easier to decide. Au contraire. Thankfully it seems as though I will have some time to figure things out as the next election is about three years away. I have adjusted to the fact that I am now living "elsewhere".

And, no, I don't think I'll be casting my vote in the Scottish Labour leadership face-off. I can't think of any good reasons to do so.

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From the Guardian

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A few days after the initial memory loss, I went to my doctor. He told me I had transient global amnesia, brought on by a combination of events. Just before I lost my memory, I was extremely stressed. I was anxious about my third-year exams. I had also just split up with a boyfriend, and I'd had a nasty stomach virus followed by tonsillitis. I felt physically and emotionally overwhelmed. The doctor explained that my body could no longer handle the strain, so my brain had closed down its "episodic" part, which is linked to emotional memories, times and events.

This little snippet reminded me how the mind is a funky place, indeed.

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Oh No, We're Represented by Leona Lewis

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I don't know about you, but I think it is decidedly odd to see marathon runners on Tiananmen Square. The sight underlined why I think these Olympics have left me feeling uncomfortable whenever I have caught some coverage.  Witnessing the British media mysteria surrounding these Olympics Games has made me decide to be out of Great Britain during the 2012 Games. I mean, the British media is now touting the British handball teams as potential gold medallists despite their team being made up of netball rejects and people (of Scandinavian ancestry) who have played handball for at least three years..

And the entire, erm, complexity of describing Great Britain as a nation is no more evident than knowing the Mayor of London is in Beijing representing his city's (and nation's) 2012 Games. I would be hard-pressed to explain how Boris Johnson ended up as London Mayor, let alone as a politician representing Great Britain. I'd pay good money to see him saunter down a Glaswegian street..

I think word of the day shall be: bemusement.

PS. It's been quiet around Fourth Ed. but I've been working behind the scenes. I'm still looking for a solution to a few issues, but I'm happy with the changes I've been making (and hopefully you will not have noticed any of them).