It's soooo cold at the moment! It snowed on Sunday! And the icy biting wind has not gone away. It howls down the London streets with malicious abandon, making my nose run and showing how rubbish smart city clothes are at anything other than being presentable in meetings (viz, comfort, warmth, lack of ironing requirements).

There are also soooo many things that I want to knit! Just seen these amazing mittens on the blogsphere, which are also here on Ravelry. And I rattled off some more baby bootees for the newest small person generated by a work colleague. They are so quick and easy and cute - I think it was 2.5hrs all in, including knitting the icord laces. In fact, so quick there are no pics, but they are the same as these:


Anyway, I braved the cold on Sunday and went for a shooting lesson. I've not picked up my gun since last season, which hardly seems a minute ago, so I was clearly rubbish out of practice and couldn't shoot a barn door at the start of the session. But, it improved, and practice makes consistency, so by the end I was starting to feel that I was hitting clays by technique and intention rather than pure luck, which has been my style to date. It's all to do with mounting the gun correctly (quit sniggering in the back), ie fitting it into your shoulder in such a way that you can look straight along the barrels at the thing you are trying to shoot. Sounds easy, non? Well, for rifle shooting yes, when you have all the time in the world and a pretty static target, but for game shooting you actually start the mount as the target comes into view, so you only get a few seconds to arrange your gun, aim and shoot. Today, having had the gun in the right place, I have the beginnings of a bruise forming on my cheek, and of course my arms are going to be killing me tomorrow - not used to holding something so heavy up for so long!

The Man, bless him, came with me to this lesson as it was one of his buddies giving it, and having frozen himself in the morning playing football in the snow, defrosted in the bath afterwards, then had to stand for another hour looking like a schoolboy whose mummy had forgotten to pick him up, hopping from leg to leg with his nose getting redder and redder. Aw. I shall have to persuade him to purchase a Proper Country Jacket and (worse) wear it!

Finally, try the Noodle Soup Oracle for some supper ideas.