The adventures of Yakbat

First of all, here are the rest of January's pictures in Slideshow form

I've been a bit too successful with my New Years' resolutions this year and now I'm too busy. I'm always meaning to learn Spanish and to do more stuff with my hands. I bought wool for knitting more than 2 years ago and it has lain in a cupboard ever since.

So this year I've got cracking with my Spanish. I've been doing it on Duolingo and it's pretty good. I have a 30 day streak going and I can now say quite a lot of things in Spanish. Only a few of them are things that I would want to say but I'm hoping that will iron itself out over time. Meantime, anyway, I can have a conversation about whether I read much at work, or if anyone else does. Does El Senor Perez? Well it seems he does. He reads mucho at work and also he writes in his office. On his escritorio. Good for him. Con un boligrafo. Si! I kid you not. 

I got caught up briefly in climbing up the Duolingo  Leaderboard - but actually I'm playing the long game here. A little and often does the trick.

Meanwhile, I have been knitting! One of the hurdles to my getting started has been an impatience with trying to figure out how to follow a knitting pattern. I'd rather learn by experience. So this was my first experience.

Ahah! The pattern said use 4mm needles - not 10mm ones! An easy mistake to make. So I unravelled the whole lot and started again with 4mm needles.

But then, having managed the decrease fairly well the first time round in order to "shape the crown". (For you non-knitters, that phrase means shape the crown.), I was listening to something the second time around as I shaped my crown and I made a mistake and then I had to rip a few rows back, and  capture the stitches before they unmade themselves. Oh my God. Imagine if your baby ran away and as you were running after it, it turned itself back into a sperm and an egg! That's what actually happens! And knitting's supposed to be good for stress!

The size was better the 2nd time around but still a bit large and I've been told on Facebook that I'm a "slack knitter". Harumph.

Here's what we wound up with.

For the eagle-eyed amongst you, yes it is two different colours. Yes I ran out of wool. See learning by experience - you learn so much! All at once! Much better than simply getting things right the first time.

Surprisingly, the orders haven't been flooding  in. Maybe I'll have a prize draw. Also in that prize draw will be an ill-advised rice cooker that I bought, a pink soda syphon and our last hoover which worked but needed its filter washed between every single usage. That's no use to me. I'm a lazy bastard.

"But what about running?" I'm starting to hear you protest. "I thought this was a running blog?" Yes, Yes, we're getting to that.

First of all I want to say I've been working a lot as well.

And on top of all that, I've been locked in a life and death Steps Challenge with Mike Lynch since November or so last year. At first he beat me easily every week until I realised you can record steps just walking about with your Garmin - it doesn't have to be recording. Then I started to catch up. But we've been swapping the lead - and he's been piling on the pressure at times. I had always scoffed at this Steps nonsense but now that I'm tuned into steps and have started wearing my Garmin most of the time I realise just how much I don't move when I'm working. 

Okay, so, running. Well, we've been making the best of running around Edinburgh, and it hasn't been too bad. I spent a lot of my childhood just inventing things to do because I lived in the middle of nowhere, and it's much like that. All you need is to be a bit of a fantasist. Peter has been chasing the birds since the butterflies are fast asleep in their pyjamas.

I had my Covid Vaccine the other week there and despite a half fear that I would be altered on a genetic level somewhat akin to Jeff Goldblum turning into Brundlefly. (I could be Yakbat!) I seem to be okay.

I will leave you with some February Pictures

I think these painted stones were a primary class's contribution to remembrance day. They've been left out on the street.

Today at Duddingston.