New year, new workplace, new cast on!

I hope you all had a very Happy New Year celebration! We had a very nice time here, Thomas made very nice food (Porter steak with roasted root vegetables), we played some board games, and then had chocolate fondue for desert. My sister and her boyfriend, and Thomas' youngest brother were here, so it wasn't a very big party, but still a very perfect evening. We watched some fireworks through the window, and had a sip of champagne at the stroke of midnight.

Yesterday I started work in yet another place (this is my seventh placement since May!), which seemed really nice. It's a bit smaller than the places I've been to before, but that doesn't really matter. And the woman I'm working with in the lab is also a knitter! Talk about match made in heaven :). The commute is a bit longer, but since it's a much better road to drive, I don't loose any time compared to the last two places. And yes, i drive myself, because the only public transportation that is available to this tiny place arrives more than an hour earlier than I need to be there. So I think it's worth it to drive myself, even though I do feel like an environmental criminal. Plus, it's insanely expensive with gas although I will get some monye back on my taxes because I do the driving for work).

Anyway, I couldn't help myself, but cast on for another shawl this Monday. I picked the Gordischer Knoten pattern, and I've started it with my Lace yarn from Ullcentrum on Öland that I told you about last time. I do NOT like this yarn! It is a bit thick and thin, and VERY tough and scratchy. Plus, the stitch definition leaves a lot to be desired. I think I'll hang int here for a little bit longer though, as I would love to block it and see how it turns out. I'm not sure if I'll ever use it though, so I think I'll have to find a recipient who likes scratchy wool (Lovisa, perhaps?). It all depends on whether I think it gets pretty enough to give away though, but if it doesn't I don't think I'll frog it anyway. I just don't want to work with this wool again! And I shudder to think that I've got another skein, in a gorgeoud blue colour. It's a shame that I don't enjoy the yarn, as I really could need a black shawl, and the other skein is so beautiful too. Well, maybe I'll just gift them away.

I've been working on this shawl a bit at work, since the pattern isn't that complicated, but I think I just need to start something else as I don't particularly enjoy this one. Preferably a sweater or something like that, with lots of stockinette! I'll just have to go through my queue and see what jumps out at me. 

Today is a national holiday in Sweden (the day is called the Epiphany, and apparently we're celebrating the day when the three wise men arrived to give gifts to Jesus), which is why I'm writing to you in the middle of the day (well, actually it's 10 in the morning). It's nice to have a day off in the middle of the week, and today I'm going to the movies with my friend Klara, who is home from Liverpool over the Holidays. We're going to see the new Narnia movie, which will be fun!

Oh, and speaking of movies, did I tell you that me and my sister went to see the latest Harry Potter movie right before Christmas? I really enjoy those movies, even though the books are of course much better. I actually found that I'd forgotten a lot about the last book, so right now I'm re-reading all of the Potter books. Why can't our world be like that?! Why isn't there magic?! I also want to go to Hogwarts and learn magic, and go to Hogsmeade and drink Butterbear and ride a broomstick and... Yeah, you get where I'm going. There aren't that many books that you actually wish were real (at least not if you're a horror fan like me), but these ones are some of them.

Ok, enough rambling. I'll go and have some breakfast I think, and start the day!

/ Jenny