Another pretty good day. Still grey -- it would be nice to see the sun � but still very easy, as winters go. I got around the garden. Kirsten, I�m sure I wouldn�t be walking if the weather were anything like yours. I don't care for cold, and I'm scared to death of slippery. And, yes, it�s wonderful how good it makes you feel to plant a seed and see it come up. I think I will be able to eat a very modest green side-salad from my salad factory soon � two kinds of lettuce and some rocket.

 

My computer did one of those maddening �updates� when I turned it off last night � and now, it won�t load Freecell. That�s more of a New Year�s resolution than I feel entirely ready for.

 

Knitting went well. I�ve done the arithmetic, counted and re-counted the stitches, placed the steek for the v-neck opening, finished the decreases at the sides. I�m relying a lot on your Rylan pattern, Mary Lou, for which I am daily grateful. I have come to a decision, too. If Scotland win the Calcutta Cup again this year, I will knit J�s leg-warmers with a �22�. If not, they�ll be �21� as promised.

 

The history of the cup, as you relate it from the Antiques Road Show is much as I have heard it, Shandy, melted-down rupees and all, except that I thought it was England v. Scotland, even in India, rather than England v. The Rest of the World. Once they got the cup back here, it was England and Scotland from then on. I drive past the field where it was first contested on my way to Waitrose. They still play rugby there.

 

The knitting news from the outside world is that Arnall-Culliford is closing down, at least for the moment. Jen is ill. They�re having a sale � I haven�t looked. The last thing in the world I need is more yarn, and there isn�t really room for more books. This is sad news, though. I hope things turn for the better for them soon.