knitting neels

I wab struck down in the pribe of by youth wib a cold. But I’m feeling much better tonight, thankfully, and my typing (and sinuses) has returned to normal 😀 On Tuesday I was pretending I wasn’t sick. On Wednesday I nearly cried when I asked my dad to get me some Benilyn (you know when you’re all limp and weepy). Today, I must have blown the equivalent of the Nile into a roll of kitchen towel and snoozed and snoozed and snoozed. I wouldn’t have cared … heck, I might have even rejoiced in getting to stay and knit in bed … but I had to play in a bursary competition tonight (ie money prize – e2,000). If you win a competition, you get to play your programme in the bursary competition at the end of the Feis. I don’t think I ever concentrated so hard on being well. It seems to have mostly worked. I didn’t win, though. Usually for a bursary competition, there’s just a winner and no second or third places. I’ve never seen it done otherwise. But tonight, the adjudicator singled me out as nearly-nearly-won, second-place.

Now I have no problem not winning. The money would have been nice but that’s the way things go. What bothers me is that if you’re going to say something like you NEARLY won, please tell me why I didn’t! She said really nice things about my playing but it’s not much good to me in a way if I don’t know why I didn’t do it for her. It’s a lot like the last night I played, when the adjudicator said I was the best of the group but gave the prize to some other guy. I just don’t understand. The problem with these competitions is that it’s just one person’s opinion at the end of it all. She seemed to really love her Chopin and Bach – the guy who won played Bach. Maybe she just doesn’t dig Beethoven as much as I do, in which case, I was never going to win. You can see how these things can drive a person crazy. Sometimes I just want to throw my music at them and say, for Christ’s sake, what more do you want? But I don’t. I have a packet of Rolos on the way home instead.

Ah, yes, there was knitting today. I have started another Fruit Pastille sock but this time it’s in chevron! Or to put it simply – another Jaywalker 🙂 It’s turning out fantastic. Two words for you: simple pleasure. I have also reached the underarm for my first Thermal sleeve. All I have to do is knit the sleeve cap and I’ll be on to the second one.

I’m travelling down to Galway tomorrow to visit with Alb. I love visiting Alb because it means I get to do all the things I love all together! I get to spend time with him, knit loads on the journey and when he’s watching football, visit Yarn (totally the best wool shop in the West), and sample the fun cuisine like Charcoal Grill (turkish kebabs… best. ever.) and Couch Potatoes (everything served with a baked spud. fab.). I need to pick up some more of that Kilcara Tweed to finish off that blue raglan from a million years ago. Who knows what else I’ll emerge with 😀

Pictures tomorrow! But for now, I’m off to bed.