Thursday 15 October 2015

Life's Too Short.......

I happened to mention on Facebook that, in my opinion, life's just too short for lace knitting, and a friend suggested I make a blog post out of it. (Always on the lookout for blog fodder.)

Just a quick word about lace knitting though. Yes, it looks lovely and, having done quite a bit myself over the years, the sense of accomplishment when you make something is great, but really! It's a right faff. I recently purchased some lovely denim blue, cotton yarn to make a sort of drapey sleeveless cardi, and failed to notice on the pattern that most of the garment has intricate holes in it. That would be lace knitting. Not only that, it's to be knitted all in one piece, which means there are 235 stitches on a round needle. With the slip stitching and yarn over-ing, it takes about five minutes to knit one single line, and if you make a mistake (as I did more than once), it's very difficult to pick up a stitch or otherwise remedy the situation. No lie- I pulled the damn thing out and started over four times before realising that I already hated the thing too much to ever wear it. As I said, life's too short.....

It's also too short for -

- making the beds every day. Unless you're trying to sell your house and have nosy parkers prospective buyers trailing through every day, or have a constant stream of house guests, what's the point? OK, I do make my son's as he somehow manages to kick every sheet, blanket or duvet off every night and is a hopeless tucker-inner.

- ironing sheets and underwear. In fact, do people still iron underwear? I iron quite a lot of things including pillow cases, but if I can catch the sheets as the dryer stops, they're usually perfectly fine to put on a bed. Again, I don't have a lot of people traipsing through my house on a regular basis.

- stuffing mushrooms and other fiddly food things. Author Shirley Conran is credited with this one and she's right. I mean, if stuffing mushrooms is your thing then knock yourself out, but don't kill yourself about it if you have other things to do. Ditto making all your food from scratch.

- matching underwear. Actually, if I'm honest, I'm not the best person to speak on the subject of underwear since some of my stuff is older than my kids, but...... the only way I would ever have matching underwear is if I bought the whole lot in one color. Actually, scratch that. Most of mine is now a washed-too-often shade of gray anyway.

- answering phone calls when you don't recognise the number. I don't know anyone in Atlanta, North Carolina or Idaho, so if a number from there comes up on my phone, it doesn't get answered. I don't have time to listen to the inevitable sales spiel and I'm not mean enough simply to put the phone down on people, so I leave it. My motto is "If it's important, they'll leave a message."

 Lifestyle guru and beauty blogger Lily Pebbles, (who I'd never heard of) has her "life's too short" opinion on a t-shirt, although I really don't get it -

\
I quite like celery.



9 comments:

  1. You lost me with that explanation about lace knitting which just goes to prove that life really is too short for it!

    I'm not good at matching underwear either. I like to wear black knickers under jeans or dark trousers but then a pale-coloured bra under a white shirt or T-shirt - so I become mismatched quite often.

    Yes, celery is good, especially in soups.

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  2. I do not iron sheets. I do not iron pyjamas. I have never ironed a piece of underwear in my life.

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  3. I was proof-reading a document with someone the other day, and we were debating various grammatical points. When it came to e.g., or eg., or even eg with no dot at all, I said "life is too short for dots". Do you agree, I wonder?

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  4. Just threw a whole load of celery, carrots and potatoes into a soup pan Trish!

    Iota - What really, really, really bothers me is when people use eg. and ie. inter-changeably. I have been known to say "Id est" does not mean "for example". What a pedant.

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  5. I always fancied trying some lace knitting and now you've put me right off! it doesn't take much.
    I admit I make my bed every morning but only cos I have a posh new duvet with matching pillows and I like admiring it when it's all nice and shipshape. But I've never ironed a sheet, or stuffed a mushroom. I do own some matching underwear but the matching pieces are often separated from their mates. And if your name is unknown caller and you really really want to talk to me, please leave a message.

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  6. Hey, hey! You DO know someone in North Carolina...kinda. But odds are good, it's not me calling you; since I don't have your number and I'm not a stalker.

    But yes, life is much to short for everything on this list. Particularly, the ironing pieces.

    And as to celery? I know why she thinks life is too short for it - because she has a husband like mine who masticates it SOOOOO loud that you want to seriously harm him...but instead just put a household ban on the stuff.

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  7. I don't think I have ever had matching underwear, let alone ironed it.

    I do know someone who irons sheets. All I can say is that they exist in a constant state of stress, and that says it all really.

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  8. I confess to occasionally ironing sheets and stuffing mushrooms. Only for me though, because I like them - everyone else can have creased sheets, and they're indifferent to mushrooms anyway.

    Our phone does blocking numbers, which is great. At least, it is when I can remember how to do it. Life is definitely too short to speak to sales people.

    Making beds and matching underwear? What are those things?

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  9. Lifes too short for ironing most things. As for underwear...... never!
    Lacy patterns ..... only if its for a very special baby and has no more than 90 stitches on the needle!
    However, anything that gives immense pleasure is worth the effort.

    The older I get the more I think..... if I don't like it, don't want to do it or feel uncomfortable about it..... don't do it!

    Maggie x

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