A while since I blogged for various reasons. Mark's father's died last week, after a long battle with Parkinsons. Though his death was not unexpected, it was nevertheless a huge preoccupation and something to come to terms with in several ways. Although we've led a charmed life, with all four parents there for us until recently, the death of both our fathers in the last two years makes me realise that there's a kind of snowball effect. The events of the last week rolled up with those of June 2004 and at quiet times I found myself in reflective mode.

The funeral, yesterday, was an effective closure and I'm ready to move on, to get on with things and to get busy.

So, what have I been up to? Well, having bought a couple of balls of red alpaca at the Knitting and Stitching show last week, I felt the need to do a little therapeutic knitting. The colour and texture are perfect for that - it's soft and cosy, and I do like a little red here and there! The Smoke Ring I knitted last year was a fun project and rather than tackle a new lace pattern, I thought I'd boost my confidence a bit first by rediscovering this one. I have been amazed at how easily it has come back to me and I find myself hardly referring to the chart at all. Have whizzed through this in no time at all and feel really pleased with my progress. Though I've still got the teeny tiny totes to knit in the next nine weeks (seven down, five to go - notice I'm not using the C word) and Mark's socks are three quarters done, a little change was needed and has worked a treat.