Back to school.

This morning I learnt how to make 'Catties Tails'. This is the Doric for French Knitting.

In my day, long, long ago, we had a cotton reel with nails in and wound the wool round the nails, looped over, and eventually a woollen tube appeared. What you did with it then was anyones guess. I never did find out.

Whether it is health and safety or just plain recycling or what we now have is these amazing alternatives to the cotton reel and nails.

We had toilet roll inner with taped on lollipop sticks. When I say we, this was our tutor Isobel, me, and four primary school pupils. We will draw a veil over my efforts at Cattie Tails. The kids soon picked it up and were away.

I concentrated on encouragement, praise and extending the language skills. Mine also.

Because I had Polish children who spoke Doric....... The girls spoke English so beautifully, people from Poland speak so clearly and crisply. To then hear a word that was pure Doric, totally threw me!

Another way to do Cattie Tails.

We ladies, the Knitting Nancies, adjourned to the Internet Cafe in the town, for coffee. The picture shows it newly opened some time back. A community run cafe and meeting place.

The cappuccino was one of the best I have ever had. I love it when the beans are freshly ground. Are you listening Santa?

When I returned home it was to find that B&Q had finally delivered seven internal doors for our joiner to replace from the awful 70s Sapele ones we have downstairs. Upstairs will have to wait. But shock horror they have to be painted or varnished, three coats of, before being installed. I have no idea what to do with them. I know what I dont want, which the Dawn Patroller has suggested, that each one be painted different colour. Does he really want to live in a place that looks like a Day Nursery?

My water colour equipment has been delivered.

It took me the best part of an hour to unpack it all. Peeling off the wrappers on fiddly bits of paint pans and brushes, I was so exhausted by the time I had finished and brain dead, I just packed it all up into my bag to take to the art class tomorrow morning.

And to be honest - its all a bit scary.

Back to school then.