Its quite bright outside at around lunchtime on the Friday, but the weather forecast has promised rain all weekend. Therefore, as staying in would be grey and miserable and working in the garden cold and wet, perhaps a trip to Capernwray is on the cards.

Capernwray is a great scuba diving venue for training and for those of us that like to keep our diving current through the winter. I couldnt afford a foreign scuba diving holiday this autumn and I dont suppose one after Christmas will be possible either! So once or more a month we try to visit the old slate quarry for a couple of usually chilly dives to keep our diving equipment and scuba skills in order.

This time last year I recall that it was so cold that our dry suits actually stuck to the ground. The water from the dive was freezing as we took our equipment off after the first dive. I think we only did one dive that day!

I want to try out my new twin 7 litre twin set as well. This gear is what I will be diving with along with a 7 litre sideslung. This gives me a total of 21 litres of gas and will allow me to do a number of different types of diving that after a lot of thought, closely match my current profile of dive types:

1. Using 14 litres of back gas (air) and perhaps 50% in the side slung – I can carry out 30 – 40 metre dives (e.g. the planned Scapa Flow trip next year) of reasonable length with moderate accelerated deco stops.

2. Using the side slung on the first dive I can dive two sport dives off a day boat – for example to the Farnes where normally two single cylinders are used.

3. For single dives I have a comfortable, balanced and safe set up that does not weigh a tonne (like my old twin 12s!)

So this weekend looks like some fine scuba diving training in the rain and a chance to have a look at the Suunto Vyper Air Dive Computer in the Capernwary shop that I fancy buying!

The Crone, being without a car, is walking to and from work. Tonight is a horrible night. Cold, dark, and pouring with rain. The Crone, who is wearing a purple wool/silk twin set with little margin for shrinkage, decided that she couldn’t afford to get soaked and so broke her 20 minute journey at Vidalia, which has an excellent bar man, bar menu and, well, bar.

Settling herself on her barstool the Crone ordered a glass of Spanish white wine (delicious) and was offered the dinner menu by the barman ” Oh no” she replied “I’m really only here to dry out a little” With which he looked askance at the wine glass, but wisely said no more.

The Crone is half thinking of going round to Tom and Mike’s for Wednesday night dinner–they’re having cassoulet. But given her propensity for an unfortunate turn of phrase she’s decided to stay home.

 ”Want another plate?”

“Oh, you know me, I can never pass up sausage…”

Voila l’hiver est bientôt de retour, vous avez envie d’être couverte avec une couleur plutôt colorée que sombre. N’hésitez pas et cliquez sur ce lien pour acheter ce gilet et ce débardeur en taille M. Ces deux articles ne sont pas vendus séparément.

Vous pouvez l’acheter ici ou me contacter unefillequiaimelesrobes@googlemail.com

Autunno caldo a Soratte Outlet Shopping con le nuove aperture:

Twin-Set, Pancaldi 1888, Lanificio di Tollegno

Milano, 14 settembre 2009 – Si arricchisce l’offerta retail al Soratte Outlet Shopping che riscrive l’esperienza d’acquisto. All’Outlet a nord di Roma entro il 15 ottobre 2009 sono previste le aperture dei punti vendita di importanti marchi come Twin-Set, Pancaldi 1888, Lanificio di Tollegno, che vanno ad aggiungersi alle recenti inaugurazioni dei negozi Kelémata e Pompea.

“Il fatto che nel primo anno di attività del Centro – coinciso con un periodo difficile di congiuntura economica – importanti player del mondo retail abbiano deciso di aderire al nostro progetto aprendo nuovi punti vendita all’interno di Soratte Outlet Shopping, rappresenta per noi un segnale importante di fiducia e di riconoscimento da parte dei clienti che hanno individuato, non solo nelle caratteristiche del centro, ma anche nella nostra capacità di gestione e commercializzazione responsabile, validi punti di forza”, commenta Corina Grandia Muñoz, amministratore delegato di Stores Development.

L’elenco completo dei punti vendita è disponibile sul sito: www.soratteoutlet.it

Soratte Outlet Shopping è stato studiato per offrire la massima comodità ai clienti e garantire la migliore visibilità di ogni singolo negozio. Strategicamente ubicato in una area geografica densamente abitata – nord della regione Lazio, Umbria e sud regione Toscana – ma non ancora caratterizzata dalla presenza di questa tipologia commerciale. In località Sant’Oreste (A1 uscita Ponzano Romano-Soratte) l’Outlet si integra armonicamente con il territorio circostante; estrema attenzione è stata infatti posta all’impatto e alla sostenibilità del progetto nel pieno rispetto delle particolari caratteristiche ambientali della riserva naturale del Monte Soratte.

Hi Folks.

Just back from a whirlwind tour of the East Coast of the U.S. and still a bit jet-lagged. But I wanted to jump on RealDelia for a moment to say hello and let you know that I’m back in action. I’ll post tomorrow about some thoughts I had about my home country while on vacation. But given that millions of children the world over return to school this week, I thought I’d post on that time-honored topic: back to school jitters.

We all know that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling you get when you go back to school following a long summer vacation. You wonder what your new classroom will look like, whether your friends will have changed at all, and if you’ll get that part in the school play.

But it isn’t just kids who get the jitters. Parents get them too. A colleague of mine over at Politics Daily, Michelle Brafman, has even coined a term for this phenomenon. She calls it Placement Anxiety Disorder. It encompasses “all that stuff parents worry about when confronted with the reality that another school year is about to begin: is this teacher a good fit for my child? Will the class jell?” Or in my case: do I really have to pack another school lunch?

I’m having these jitters in spades this year because my son is starting a new school tomorrow. And – as with so many things once you’re a parent – he’s fine and I’m a wreck.

Why is it that anything to do with our children’s schools brings out our inner 15-year-old?

Take clothing. I don’t think I’ve agonized so much over what to wear to an event in the past five years. And by “event,” allow me to clarify that I’m talking about the five minutes it takes to deposit my son at the front gate of his new school, at which point he will no doubt distance himself from my clinging arms as fast as he possibly can. It’s not like anyone knows who I am, so why should I possibly care what I wear? (Especially given that, for the past three years, I’ve shown up at most drop-offs in some version of my pajamas?)

Still, for the last week or so I’ve repeatedly stewed over the *right* outfit for this occasion. Will a jacket look too professional? A tee-shirt too casual? A skirt too severe?

I finally settled on a white cable-knit sweater set -  I believe that “twin set” is the technical term – that my mother gave me when I was back in the States. I guess I figued that, when in doubt, it’s always a plus to look like you’ve just returned from Centre Court at Wimbledon. (Sadly – according to Wikipedia, at least – the twin set denotes “frumpiness” or “conservatism.” Darn.)

But clothes, of course, are just a reflection of a deeper set of anxieties about fitting in. When I first moved to London three years ago and enrolled my son in his previous school, I gazed at the sea of unfamiliar faces and wondered how on earth I’d ever cut it in this new crowd. The answer turned out to be joining the PTA, which conferred an instant legitimacy.

This time, I’ve decided – for the moment, at least – to eschew all voluntary parental activities and just stay on the sidelines and watch. My hope is that at one of the zillion parent events scheduled this Fall, some poor soul will pick me out of the crowd and say “Hey, that new girl, she’s not so bad.”

I just hope that when, as and if that does happen, I’m wearing the right shoes…

Image: Back to School 2008 004 by Tom H. Jones via Flickr under a Creative Commons License

Twin-set original dos anos 60, comprado há muuito tempo. Na foto não dá pra ver, mas bordei a frente do cardigan interinha com vidrilhos. Ficou com um brilho discreto e lindo!

Saia de lojinha da Teodoro Sampaio – R$8

Meia-calça Marisa – R$12

Sapatilha Moleca – R$20

Gargantilha com carpa, da 25 de Março – R$5

TOTAL – R$45