Just Because

Well just because I don't blog for ages and ages and ages it doesn't mean that I'm not around - I am and I'm still reading lots of blogs and knitting a bit as well. Just not as much as I used to do when we were in the UK. Life here is very different and so busy I hardly have time to think. All to do with the fact that the boys start school at 7.30am and 8.00am - shops open at 10.00am and then I have to pick one up at 12.00 and one at 2.00 etc etc - I won't moan, but suffice it to say my time is not often my own.

However I have a couple of little photos to share. I recently knitted a lovely lovely little scarf / shawl thing for a friend of mine - it was a Mulberry Kit from Colinette. I didn't do it in the blue I did it in the white and it was gorgeous - however I have to say it was much more difficult to knit than I thought it would be. It was the first time I have knit with that very fine mohair yarn and it was tricky I have to say. Still the end results were gorgeous. I have got the blue version to knit myself but that will have to be done after I've finished quite a few other things I've got sitting on my needles at the moment.

Anway, pictures of Mulberry - here they be




I also have a nice picture of a sock that I knitted when we make the long journey up Jebel Shams. That's a big mountain no that far from us in Oman. Well we thought it wasn't that far but it was actually three hours each way - bit of a long journey to go up a hill, see a view eat a spot of lunch and then come home again - still it was pleasant and I got plenty of sock knitting done. This is just a plain old sock in Colinette Jitterbug - oh I've just realised this has turned into a bit of a Colinette post !!!



And here - just because I can - a picture of Oscar in his Grump's glasses - how cute does he look !!!




Lastly - a couple of weekends ago James and I went to Dubai on our own without children and I have to say it was amazing. It was the first time that we have been away without the children since we had Jacob - so nearly 7 years - oh to have a hotel room all to yourself and be able to watch adult telly and then have breakfast in bed - well it was wonderful. Whilst we were there we visited the alleged largest sweet shop in the world - I have to say it was like coming home !!! just a fabulous place - so if you ever find yourself in Dubai - visit Candylicious opposite the very large aquarium in Dubai Mall - wonderful !

Sigh of Relief

Well - all's well that ends well as they say. James wasn't made redundant after all - his company found a job for him and kept him on. It means he is doing something rather different from what he was employed to do, but hey he's got a job and he's very happy. And so am I !

Knitting has been taking place. I have knitted a lovely red All Seasons Cotton Feather and Fan baby blanket with the idea of trying to sell some little items at the Christmas Fairs that take place here later in the year. I have big plans but as usual they aren't really amounting to much !! Still I shall keep on trying and we'll see what happens.

I am currently knitting a Mulberry Wrap, which is a kit from Colinette. I am doing one in Alabaster Moon and one in Pale Sapphire. They are beautifully soft but rather more fiddly to do than I had anticipated - as is normal I had put a rather too tight deadline on completing these little items - I wanted them both done by 15 July - however I am just about half way through the first one - no chance !!! On top of that I have decided to try to knit a Clapotis for a friend of mine that is leaving. I hummed and hawed rather too long over the choice of yarn and eventually decided on the Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran - she only wears black so it had to be in black. I am hoping to get the yarn tomorrow so I can get started - do you think it is possible to knit a Clapotis in 10 Days ?!!! I hope so - I think I may have sore hands by then !!

The reason that everything has to be finished by 15 July is because that is when we go on holiday - we are off to Bali for 6 weeks and I can't wait. DH is coming with us and staying for 3 weeks and then he comes home and we stay down with friends for the rest of the stay - I am so looking forward to the break. It is so hot here right now and we really can't go out unless we are going swimming - shopping and general life is just so tiring and hard work - so it will be lovely to go somewhere where we will be able to sit outside more and go for walks - and it will be green which will be a lovely change. I have been to Bali before many moons ago when I travelled around Indonesia for 2 months with a friend, but we were young and we only stayed on Bali for 4 days because we thought it was just too touristy !! I am sure we will be pleased of that this time around with two small children to entertain priorities change somewhat !

So I am going to take knitting with me but it probably isn't going to be the felted Christmas stockings I am planning for those Christmas fairs - not sure what to take - Mulberry Wraps ? Socks ? cotton baby blankets ? No idea really - hopefully I'll have time to knit - it would be dreadful if I didn't !

Ta ta all

Life is Poo

Well it is - really - sometimes just poo. My DH has been made redundant through no fault of his own. He left a nice secure job on the promise of lots of interesting work with another company and the work never materialised - he sat around being bored for six months and has now been made redundant. I am quite bitter about it to be honest. I feel we were conned into moving when it wasn't really necessary.

Anyway - to cheer myself up I did this little Meme thing. You go to Google and type in "unfortunately (and then your name)" - don't forget the inverted commas and then you post your favourite results - so mine are as follows;

Unfortunately, Becky is unable to complete the race

Unfortunately, Becky, in her state, can't get into the loft. Well, she can. But you have to give her a damn good shove from below

Unfortunately, Becky’s husband, Herb, wasn't quite as enthusiastic. “His harsh words were, ‘Have you lost your mind?

unfortunately, Becky, unlike Christine, was strong-willed and self-assertive

unfortunately Becky suffers from surprise nose bleeding disease

Unfortunately, Becky! does not integrate a spam filter and lacks index search

Unfortunately, Becky offers no assistance sealing the deal at the end of the night

Over and out !

Getting to Know you - getting to know all about you !

Just a little Christmas fun - have a go if you like !

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper - this year I am doing brown paper with lots of lovely coloured ribbons and baggage tags with the photo of the recipient on them - I hope it works out - I love wrapping !!

2. Real tree or Artificial? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a real tree and we always did in the UK - the biggest we could manage - sadly here to get a real tree is a nightmare - you have to order it - the cost hundreds of pounds and the only arrive on 23 Dec - no good for us I'm afraid.

3. When do you put up the tree? The first weekend of December earlier if I can get away with it !

4. When do you take the tree down? We don't have a certain date that we always take the tree down by - sometime in the new year when it feels right usually does for us.

5. Do you like eggnog? I have never tried the stuff so I have no idea.

6. Favourite gift received as a child? probably my Walkman - I wanted it desperately and was convinced I wasn't getting it so I was so delighted when I opened it up.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother and my brother in law - men are so tough !

8. Easiest person to buy for? My two boys they just love most things.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes - three ! A ceramic one and two playmobil ones they are great for the children.


10. Mail or email Christmas cards. E:mail - it is much easier for us here in Oman.


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Gosh - can't remember - there have been some doozies !!!

12. Favourite Christmas Movie? Love Actually - makes me cry and laugh every time I see it - infact I might watch it later !

13. When do you start shopping? about the middle of November I would say.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No I don't think so.

15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Everything ! I love food too much !

16. Lights on the tree? As many as my husband will let me put on !

17. Favourite Christmas song? Santa Baby by Ertha Kitt - just fab !

18, Travel at Christmas or stay home? Well since we live half way round the world from all our family we do a bit of both. Some years we travel home and some years we stay here - this year we are staying here - doesn't feel all that Christmassy though sadly !

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? No - I always forget them - still I remember the most important one - Rudolf - where would Santa be without his red nose ?!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel - we have the same one every year and I still love it.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Trying to get everyone in the Christmas mood when it is 26 degrees outside and there is not a scrap of Christmas decoration up.

23. Favourite ornament theme or color? Red all the way for me.

24. Favourite for Christmas dinner? Goose - we are doing it this year but my oven is totally unreliable so I am not sure how it's going to turn out.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new tennis racquet, some clothes and as always as much wool as is humanly possible !

I hope you have got to know me a bit better from that - please do have a go and let me know I'd love to know your answers too.

Ta ta

The Big Read Meme

I stole this from Little Lixie - I'm sure she won't mind ! Looked like fun to me. Have a go if you feel like it.

These am the rules

- Look at the list and bold those you have read.
- Italicise the books you LOVE.
- Post your list so we can try and track down these people who’ve only read 6 and
force books upon them.


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - Awful bilge.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible Bits of it.
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare Bits of.
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh S
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis About 3 books of the set.
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville S
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo **

Well I hope that works - I feel like I have read quite a lot of the list, but there are lots more I can still read. I don't seem to get the time to do much reading at the moment. I am part of a book club here in lovely Muscat and I only manage to read that book plus maybe one more in the month - children will do that to you I suppose. I can't wait for the day until I can read a book in a day again !! not that I am wishing my time away with the children I'm really not, but I do miss reading as much as I used to - still that time will come again I guess.

Fair but not so Lovely

I was just sitting here on my sofa thinking and what I was thinking about was this



Over here in the Middle East there is a huge array of skin lightening products available, much the same I guess as we have fake tan in the UK. Even the big brands such as Lancome, Clinique etc do them. Only here these products are marketed so overtly it is untrue - the ad above we actually have on TV here and we marvel every time we see it how they can get away with so blatently saying that if you lighten your skin you will get the job you want - just amazing. Why should it be so that if you have light skin you will get all that you wish for in life. I totally understand the philosophy behind it - if you have fair skin it means that you don't have to work out in the fields - that you are too rich to have to work at all and should be waited on hand and foot at every available opportunity - trust me, there is plenty of that attitude here - but do people really believe that if you have fair skin you will get the job you want ? I don't know - do you ?

I shall try to be back later with actual knitting content.

Evenin' All

So it has been a lovely day for me today. Jacob was off school sick all last week - a lovely vomiting bug that is going round school, I have never seen him so ill. Anyway as a result I was pretty worn out by the end of the week and I decided that today was a ME day. I love a ME day !

I took Oscar to school with me this morning - which he just loves, he was so excited to get into the car I could hardly strap him in ! We then went for a coffee at Starbucks with a friend - very civilised ! I came home and did some knitting, which I will post about tomorrow when I have taken some photos and then I went to pamper city.

First up a pedicure, lovely red toes are now mine all mine. Then a little coffee and book session, followed by a reflexology massage and an Indian Head Massage, by the best lady in Muscat - Anne at Essence Spa. I love this place and I love Anne - I have tried many many spa's over the years and had many different treatments and I have to say that I think that Anne is the best I have ever come across. The first time I had an Indian Head Massage with her I think I went into a sort of deep hypnotherapy state - it was almost trance like - just amazing. Since I have problems with my ears - I try to go and see Anne every month or so. Since a fabulous Head Massage is only 10 OMR it doesn't break the bank - thank goodness. Thoughts were running through my head whilst Anne massaged me - mainly revolving around how relaxed I felt, but also moments of stress "What if Anne ever leaves ?". What would I do ? track her down across continents ? you know what I might consider it - she is that good and makes me feel that relaxed. So if you are ever in Muscat make your way to Essence Spa and have an Indian Head Massage with Anne - you won't regret it - you might regret passing out on the bed and waking yourself up snoring and drooling, but regret the massage - never !!!!

Of course the day did not continue in this vein - I had to take Jacob to swimming lessons this afternoon - which is not too much of a chore, but always a rush - ho hum - on the plus side we got a phone call from my Mother in Law this evening to say that they are going to come out for a short visit - how lovely we say - when ? - Day After Tomorrow !!!!!! Agggggggghhhhh I've got some preparation to do !

Ta ta

Just Because

Well just because I don't blog for ages and ages and ages it doesn't mean that I'm not around - I am and I'm still reading lots of blogs and knitting a bit as well. Just not as much as I used to do when we were in the UK. Life here is very different and so busy I hardly have time to think. All to do with the fact that the boys start school at 7.30am and 8.00am - shops open at 10.00am and then I have to pick one up at 12.00 and one at 2.00 etc etc - I won't moan, but suffice it to say my time is not often my own.

However I have a couple of little photos to share. I recently knitted a lovely lovely little scarf / shawl thing for a friend of mine - it was a Mulberry Kit from Colinette. I didn't do it in the blue I did it in the white and it was gorgeous - however I have to say it was much more difficult to knit than I thought it would be. It was the first time I have knit with that very fine mohair yarn and it was tricky I have to say. Still the end results were gorgeous. I have got the blue version to knit myself but that will have to be done after I've finished quite a few other things I've got sitting on my needles at the moment.

Anway, pictures of Mulberry - here they be




I also have a nice picture of a sock that I knitted when we make the long journey up Jebel Shams. That's a big mountain no that far from us in Oman. Well we thought it wasn't that far but it was actually three hours each way - bit of a long journey to go up a hill, see a view eat a spot of lunch and then come home again - still it was pleasant and I got plenty of sock knitting done. This is just a plain old sock in Colinette Jitterbug - oh I've just realised this has turned into a bit of a Colinette post !!!



And here - just because I can - a picture of Oscar in his Grump's glasses - how cute does he look !!!




Lastly - a couple of weekends ago James and I went to Dubai on our own without children and I have to say it was amazing. It was the first time that we have been away without the children since we had Jacob - so nearly 7 years - oh to have a hotel room all to yourself and be able to watch adult telly and then have breakfast in bed - well it was wonderful. Whilst we were there we visited the alleged largest sweet shop in the world - I have to say it was like coming home !!! just a fabulous place - so if you ever find yourself in Dubai - visit Candylicious opposite the very large aquarium in Dubai Mall - wonderful !

Sigh of Relief

Well - all's well that ends well as they say. James wasn't made redundant after all - his company found a job for him and kept him on. It means he is doing something rather different from what he was employed to do, but hey he's got a job and he's very happy. And so am I !

Knitting has been taking place. I have knitted a lovely red All Seasons Cotton Feather and Fan baby blanket with the idea of trying to sell some little items at the Christmas Fairs that take place here later in the year. I have big plans but as usual they aren't really amounting to much !! Still I shall keep on trying and we'll see what happens.

I am currently knitting a Mulberry Wrap, which is a kit from Colinette. I am doing one in Alabaster Moon and one in Pale Sapphire. They are beautifully soft but rather more fiddly to do than I had anticipated - as is normal I had put a rather too tight deadline on completing these little items - I wanted them both done by 15 July - however I am just about half way through the first one - no chance !!! On top of that I have decided to try to knit a Clapotis for a friend of mine that is leaving. I hummed and hawed rather too long over the choice of yarn and eventually decided on the Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk Aran - she only wears black so it had to be in black. I am hoping to get the yarn tomorrow so I can get started - do you think it is possible to knit a Clapotis in 10 Days ?!!! I hope so - I think I may have sore hands by then !!

The reason that everything has to be finished by 15 July is because that is when we go on holiday - we are off to Bali for 6 weeks and I can't wait. DH is coming with us and staying for 3 weeks and then he comes home and we stay down with friends for the rest of the stay - I am so looking forward to the break. It is so hot here right now and we really can't go out unless we are going swimming - shopping and general life is just so tiring and hard work - so it will be lovely to go somewhere where we will be able to sit outside more and go for walks - and it will be green which will be a lovely change. I have been to Bali before many moons ago when I travelled around Indonesia for 2 months with a friend, but we were young and we only stayed on Bali for 4 days because we thought it was just too touristy !! I am sure we will be pleased of that this time around with two small children to entertain priorities change somewhat !

So I am going to take knitting with me but it probably isn't going to be the felted Christmas stockings I am planning for those Christmas fairs - not sure what to take - Mulberry Wraps ? Socks ? cotton baby blankets ? No idea really - hopefully I'll have time to knit - it would be dreadful if I didn't !

Ta ta all

Life is Poo

Well it is - really - sometimes just poo. My DH has been made redundant through no fault of his own. He left a nice secure job on the promise of lots of interesting work with another company and the work never materialised - he sat around being bored for six months and has now been made redundant. I am quite bitter about it to be honest. I feel we were conned into moving when it wasn't really necessary.

Anyway - to cheer myself up I did this little Meme thing. You go to Google and type in "unfortunately (and then your name)" - don't forget the inverted commas and then you post your favourite results - so mine are as follows;

Unfortunately, Becky is unable to complete the race

Unfortunately, Becky, in her state, can't get into the loft. Well, she can. But you have to give her a damn good shove from below

Unfortunately, Becky’s husband, Herb, wasn't quite as enthusiastic. “His harsh words were, ‘Have you lost your mind?

unfortunately, Becky, unlike Christine, was strong-willed and self-assertive

unfortunately Becky suffers from surprise nose bleeding disease

Unfortunately, Becky! does not integrate a spam filter and lacks index search

Unfortunately, Becky offers no assistance sealing the deal at the end of the night

Over and out !

Getting to Know you - getting to know all about you !

Just a little Christmas fun - have a go if you like !

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper - this year I am doing brown paper with lots of lovely coloured ribbons and baggage tags with the photo of the recipient on them - I hope it works out - I love wrapping !!

2. Real tree or Artificial? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to have a real tree and we always did in the UK - the biggest we could manage - sadly here to get a real tree is a nightmare - you have to order it - the cost hundreds of pounds and the only arrive on 23 Dec - no good for us I'm afraid.

3. When do you put up the tree? The first weekend of December earlier if I can get away with it !

4. When do you take the tree down? We don't have a certain date that we always take the tree down by - sometime in the new year when it feels right usually does for us.

5. Do you like eggnog? I have never tried the stuff so I have no idea.

6. Favourite gift received as a child? probably my Walkman - I wanted it desperately and was convinced I wasn't getting it so I was so delighted when I opened it up.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My brother and my brother in law - men are so tough !

8. Easiest person to buy for? My two boys they just love most things.

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes - three ! A ceramic one and two playmobil ones they are great for the children.


10. Mail or email Christmas cards. E:mail - it is much easier for us here in Oman.


11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Gosh - can't remember - there have been some doozies !!!

12. Favourite Christmas Movie? Love Actually - makes me cry and laugh every time I see it - infact I might watch it later !

13. When do you start shopping? about the middle of November I would say.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No I don't think so.

15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Everything ! I love food too much !

16. Lights on the tree? As many as my husband will let me put on !

17. Favourite Christmas song? Santa Baby by Ertha Kitt - just fab !

18, Travel at Christmas or stay home? Well since we live half way round the world from all our family we do a bit of both. Some years we travel home and some years we stay here - this year we are staying here - doesn't feel all that Christmassy though sadly !

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? No - I always forget them - still I remember the most important one - Rudolf - where would Santa be without his red nose ?!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Angel - we have the same one every year and I still love it.

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Trying to get everyone in the Christmas mood when it is 26 degrees outside and there is not a scrap of Christmas decoration up.

23. Favourite ornament theme or color? Red all the way for me.

24. Favourite for Christmas dinner? Goose - we are doing it this year but my oven is totally unreliable so I am not sure how it's going to turn out.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? A new tennis racquet, some clothes and as always as much wool as is humanly possible !

I hope you have got to know me a bit better from that - please do have a go and let me know I'd love to know your answers too.

Ta ta

The Big Read Meme

I stole this from Little Lixie - I'm sure she won't mind ! Looked like fun to me. Have a go if you feel like it.

These am the rules

- Look at the list and bold those you have read.
- Italicise the books you LOVE.
- Post your list so we can try and track down these people who’ve only read 6 and
force books upon them.


1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling - Awful bilge.
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible Bits of it.
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare Bits of.
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh S
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis About 3 books of the set.
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones’ Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville S
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo **

Well I hope that works - I feel like I have read quite a lot of the list, but there are lots more I can still read. I don't seem to get the time to do much reading at the moment. I am part of a book club here in lovely Muscat and I only manage to read that book plus maybe one more in the month - children will do that to you I suppose. I can't wait for the day until I can read a book in a day again !! not that I am wishing my time away with the children I'm really not, but I do miss reading as much as I used to - still that time will come again I guess.

Fair but not so Lovely

I was just sitting here on my sofa thinking and what I was thinking about was this



Over here in the Middle East there is a huge array of skin lightening products available, much the same I guess as we have fake tan in the UK. Even the big brands such as Lancome, Clinique etc do them. Only here these products are marketed so overtly it is untrue - the ad above we actually have on TV here and we marvel every time we see it how they can get away with so blatently saying that if you lighten your skin you will get the job you want - just amazing. Why should it be so that if you have light skin you will get all that you wish for in life. I totally understand the philosophy behind it - if you have fair skin it means that you don't have to work out in the fields - that you are too rich to have to work at all and should be waited on hand and foot at every available opportunity - trust me, there is plenty of that attitude here - but do people really believe that if you have fair skin you will get the job you want ? I don't know - do you ?

I shall try to be back later with actual knitting content.

Evenin' All

So it has been a lovely day for me today. Jacob was off school sick all last week - a lovely vomiting bug that is going round school, I have never seen him so ill. Anyway as a result I was pretty worn out by the end of the week and I decided that today was a ME day. I love a ME day !

I took Oscar to school with me this morning - which he just loves, he was so excited to get into the car I could hardly strap him in ! We then went for a coffee at Starbucks with a friend - very civilised ! I came home and did some knitting, which I will post about tomorrow when I have taken some photos and then I went to pamper city.

First up a pedicure, lovely red toes are now mine all mine. Then a little coffee and book session, followed by a reflexology massage and an Indian Head Massage, by the best lady in Muscat - Anne at Essence Spa. I love this place and I love Anne - I have tried many many spa's over the years and had many different treatments and I have to say that I think that Anne is the best I have ever come across. The first time I had an Indian Head Massage with her I think I went into a sort of deep hypnotherapy state - it was almost trance like - just amazing. Since I have problems with my ears - I try to go and see Anne every month or so. Since a fabulous Head Massage is only 10 OMR it doesn't break the bank - thank goodness. Thoughts were running through my head whilst Anne massaged me - mainly revolving around how relaxed I felt, but also moments of stress "What if Anne ever leaves ?". What would I do ? track her down across continents ? you know what I might consider it - she is that good and makes me feel that relaxed. So if you are ever in Muscat make your way to Essence Spa and have an Indian Head Massage with Anne - you won't regret it - you might regret passing out on the bed and waking yourself up snoring and drooling, but regret the massage - never !!!!

Of course the day did not continue in this vein - I had to take Jacob to swimming lessons this afternoon - which is not too much of a chore, but always a rush - ho hum - on the plus side we got a phone call from my Mother in Law this evening to say that they are going to come out for a short visit - how lovely we say - when ? - Day After Tomorrow !!!!!! Agggggggghhhhh I've got some preparation to do !

Ta ta