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Alison Hawke

Alison Hawke

Cocoa for health

BBC News: Cocoa nutrient for 'lethal ills'. A nutrient in cocoa called epicatechin appears to lower the risk of four common killer diseases, work suggests. Among the Kuna people of Panama, who can drink up to 40 cups of cocoa per week, rates of stroke, heart disease, cancer

Seraphim: Nearing the finish line

18 rows to go on the Seraphim shawl! I am a lace chart convert now, especially since I can see how it matches up to the knitting. Still have to check which symbol is ssk and which is k2tog, but apart from that I'm sold. It's

Bitten by the lace bug

Thanks for your encouraging comments about my lacewreck, I have recovered but there's a lifeline going in every fourth row till the end. I love my lifeline! Started the third chart and the third skein of yarn, don't think I'll be needing the fourth.

Genetic handedness

BBC News: Gene for left-handedness is found. Scientists have discovered the first gene which appears to increase the odds of being left-handed. The Oxford University-led team believe carrying the gene may also slightly raise the risk of developing psychotic mental illness such as schizophrenia. The gene, LRRTM1,

Lacewreck

More of a fender bender than a total wreck, but disappointing nonetheless. I had 40 rows to go on my Seraphim shawl when I made a mistake. The fix looked almost passable, and I thought I could live with it, but it didn't look right. When I tried

FO: Pumpkin hat

For some light relief from the shawl, I made a pumpkin. This project has been waiting around for a couple of years. The yarn is soft but splits easily and it makes for a nice weathered pumpkin look. I made the smallest size which used less than one ball of

The Beast of Dartmoor

BBC News: Mystery surrounds 'big cat' photo. A photograph of an animal taken on Dartmoor is "almost certainly" not a big cat, according to a local expert. The picture was taken by falconer Martin Whitley, who stumbled across the creature by accident near Hound Tor. The

Vegas, baby!

We flew back from Las Vegas on Wednesday night, it was a fantastic trip! Hubby found a non-gambling hotel just off the Strip, and the weather was around 37C/100F all week. The first surprise was a Friday excursion to the Grand Canyon. A coach took us to Boulder

Wedding anniversary

Hubby and I will be out of town for a week starting Thursday. Every three years we go and see Phantom of the Opera for our wedding anniversary. He plans the whole trip and I find out our destination at the airport. One of our wedding presents was front row

My cat, let me show you it...

Have you found Kittenwar? A monstrous time-suck if ever there was one, but my cat Quantum is doing well so far. She's a lot bigger these days. For cats looking at cats looking at cats ad infinitum, hit the Infinite cat project, they're up to

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