Looks just like the bad guys in 'A Bug's Life', huh? Of course, when I say little, it was actually rather larger than the size of grasshopper I'm used to seeing in the garden.

I'd say an inch and a half long maybe? Pretty chunky, really. Now I'm wondering what it's been eating to reach that size, and exactly what it thinks it will be eating from here on in? In other words, is this friend or foe? Will it eat other pest-type-things, or munch my lovely plants? All I remember from 'A Bug's Life' is them nicking the ants stores of food!

More research needed... It certainly posed for long enough.

See, the socks themselves were really straightforward, but those toes got a bit fiddly...

A closer look. A little like gloves, getting the joins between toes without holes was difficult, and I've got to say I cheated a bit by stitching up some of them afterwards when I sewed in the ends. The yarn is Knit Picks Imagination in a colourway called munchkin!

To be honest, although the yarn is beautifully soft there's a really noticeable difference between the two balls. And having worn them today, the fabric is a little thick even for between my toes (which do naturally have gaps between them anyway!). The reviews of the yarn on Ravelry suggest that they will felt really easily, which is a worry. Guess I'll find out! I think I might keep them for lazy winter weekends with slippers. Chalk them up as an interesting experiment, but I probably won't be churning out loads of them!

On the way into work, I pulled up at the lights in Rottingdean as normal and someone else pulled up along side. I mostly ignore other people, but the guy commented on my bike. I'm riding my Long Haul Trucker now (must blog that!!), and Surly's aren't that common over here. It was a guy who I've seen off and on around there for the last year, year and a half maybe, always on a bike (Surly Big Dummy normally, great for cargo and passengers) normally with 2 kids, one on the back and one in a trailer. Last Friday he didn't have the kids with him, and he was on a single-speed instead. Made him quite a lot faster, if I'm honest!

He chatted to me the rest of the way along the undercliff (I was struggling with keeping up, so not sure I made much sense back!) and it turns out that he works for Sustrans. And that although the undercliff is supposed to be offlimits to bikes (which is silly, it's the best bikelane Brighton has) as long as you're using it to commute apparently there's a really old rule that means you're ok on it. And that my new bike is quite noticeable to those who know bikes, and parking it on a very visible corner in the middle of Brighton gets it noticed quite a lot!

I love the random conversations you can have on the way in. Not every day, obviously. But just occasionally.

Then in the evening I took a look at the weather and decided the beach way home would be nasty. Such a hot, sunny Friday night, everyone and their dog would be down there, and the cycle lane is not a lot of fun when that happens. So I switched routes. I crawled up Elm Grove (1 mile, 7% climb, buses, parked cars all the way up the side, nasty) all for the payback of using the route across the back of Woodingdean. It's either a byway or a bridlepath I think, definitely as offroad as I get.

As you can see, no people up here. This is quite a smooth bit, there's lots of ruts and flint lumps in it, quite fun riding, particularly on a bike with a rack and pannier on the back! The scenery is so totally different from the coastal route I normally use.

Not bad really. And unlike the road up here, this stays more or less level the whole way, comes out at the top of Woodingdean and gives me just a big downhill home. Makes up for that long, slow, drag up Elm Grove anyway!

That there is 500g of fruit. I know the white currant has far out-performed the red, but it's a much happier-looking plant! Still, what to do with 500g of currants? Make a mixed-currant jelly, of course!

I got the River Cottage Handbook No.2 - Preserves for Christmas last year (I think - might have been birthday - sorry!) so I went with the recipe for red currant jelly. I was tempted to make the currant shrub instead, but maybe next year.

I strained my currants after boiling them using this nifty little straining setup I found on my lunch hour, and then it was just (ha!) a case of boiling the juice with sugar until the setting point was reached. I didn't get a huge amount, I'll admit. Just the one jar. And did it set?

We'll find out when we open it!

We started with a plain, slightly grey bath found via freecycle and then pulled out of a skip. Before I posted a photo of it I'd used up the tail end of a can of Ford Wedgewood Blue car paint on the top bit of it, which eventually I figured would be all you see. Next job was to level it up,  because our concrete definitely isn't anywhere near level. The bath is actually sitting on a piece of wood, the frame is not really load bearing. It's more for stability and eventually holding the cladding. My Gorgeous Girlfriend did most of the work on that, I just held bits in place occasionally. She's ever so good at humouring me!

That didn't leave me too long to work out a costume, and to be honest, as 3.5 miles is the furthest I'd run since starting up again, I wasn't altogether sure how far I'd get. I had a quick think about most of the heroines I could, and most of them have long hair, wear knee-high (or higher) boots, and lots of lycra.

Fortunately, wikipedia does have a list of superheroines which turns out to be pretty much any female character in a comic. So I trawled through that until I hit Tank Girl, and decided I could throw together an outfit that came close and was still reasonable to run in. To be honest, I mostly concentrated on the headgear and a few accessories. I run in a pair of camo shorts (Harlot Houlihan bike shorts) anyway! Naturally, suitable hats have been available everywhere all winter long, so now it's 'warm' they are nowhere to be found. In the end I settled for a woolly earflap hat that sort of came close. 

Forgive the slightly ropey shot - I had to take it myself after the run! I had the horns anyway, they are one of my favourite dressing up items, and swimming goggles just about met the requirement. I found some of my more weird dangly earrings (fish skeleton one side, ankh the other) and a couple of necklaces, and finished off with my cycling gloves and random bracelets. With more time I should have added some "I love tanks" tattoos maybe, or the odd kangaroo! 

Hardly anyone turned up without a costume. There were some awesome ones too. And there was a 500m kids dash, which meant there were loads of really cute little superheroes running around everywhere! Little kids really do love running, given half a chance. 

I'm really pleased to say that I ran the whole way! Finished in 66 minutes, 22 seconds. Slow but steady. This is actually the first time I've ever run that far in one go. Sounds strange given that I've completed a marathon, but when I did that I was using a run-walk method, so I only ever ran for 6 minutes at a time. I'm dead chuffed. I learned a few more things too - don't turn up too early, don't take your coat off until you have to, take food for after (I did, it was good)... Oh, and try not to miss the medals at the end. I thought I didn't mind, but I did and ended up walking back a fair way to pick one up. D'oh!

This has given me a bit of a push on the mileage front, and some confidence that I can do it too. So that's all good. And now I have a PB to beat at 10km! Watch out for next year...