Buster Makes Himself At Home

Buster is here again for the weekend and has lost no time in settling in. As usual he is glued to me and the only way I got to take this photos was to slide out from under him whilst he was asleep. The minute I took the photo he was up and following me around as per usual. This means that very little knitting will get done over the weekend.

I have knitted one side of the first piece of the striped knitting. Then it will be a bit like the second sock syndrome as I have to knit another piece exactly the same! For some reason I am just not enjoying this sweater. I am determined to finish it though as if I put it down altogether then it will never get finished. I now limit myself to a couple of projects at any one time otherwise I get overwhelmed with WIP and don't finish anything.

I have started the James C Brett Marble chunky. The pattern I have chosen is definitely a vintage pattern as I first knitted it when I was 15. I think that I have made it two or three times over the years but haven't made one during the last 10 years so it is time for another one. I have decided to move back to raglan sleeve decreasing as I find that they fit so much better, Perhaps that is one reason I am so slow with he striped sweater as it has dropped shoulders.

I got an e mail yesterday from my niece's friend that I made the duck hats for at Christmas. She said that her daughter has tantrums if they try to put any other hat on. She only wants to wear the duck hat. Now whilst I am flattered that she likes my hat I am slightly worried that I have turned a small child into a bit of a diva. I replied suggesting that over the summer months that they "lose" the hat. I have offered to make her another hat for next winter without a duck on it.

I don't suppose that I will get much knitting done this weekend. Buster is an attention seeker so I have to wait until he falls asleep around about 10pm to get anything done at all.

Mei Mei Fits Just Right

I am quite pleased with the way that the Mei Mei bolero has turned out although I think I would prefer it if I had not used such chunky wool. It's a pity in the photos that the Patons Mooonbeam just looks a lumpy cream as in the ball is it s mix of cream and white with the odd fleck of blue with a subtle touch of lurex wound through it. You have to be up very close to actually see the lurex though. I am going to re-do the button tab though. It is too wide and too long. The buttons should fit very close together and not so far apart that they can slant and drop one front lower than the other.This was only apparent when I tried it so so I will amend it tonight.

I am still not in the mood for the stripy knitting but I did manage to force myself into doing two more stripes last night and am now up to the neck shaping. The back and front are worked alike so it must have a scooped neckline back and front.

I have just come back from some food shopping at Tesco and my knees are no longer speaking to me. I think Buster is coming tomorrow so I wanted to make sure that I could rest tomorrow and try to walk him a bit on Saturday. This might not happen as I am going to the Islington Mill for a knit out. I won't be going to the Bolton Knit Out this week as it takes me too long on public transport and my knees will probably be sore from going out on the Saturday.

I am going to start a bit of mindless chunky stocking stitch knitting tonight. I had some red James C Brett Marble chunky in my stash but was a ball short to knit any of my patterns so I have ordered another ball when I ordered the replacement crochet hook. The wool is variegated so it won't matter that it is a different dye number. I just hope that the colour is reasonably similar when it arrives. I will try to tempt myself into finishing the striped jumper piece before I start the chunky. It will be like the sweetie that your mother used to give to you after she gave you a spoonful of medicine.

Mei Mei Is Finished

I have finished the Mei Mei. It has taken 10 balls of Patons Moonglow Winter White which although thicker than the wool recommended for the pattern has turned out quite well. I have added a little extra length to the bolero as being fuller figured anything that reaches the bust line and then stops is guaranteed to stick out at the front. I need to block it out before I give it a photo shoot as the bottom curves of the bolero are pulling slightly and could do with a good wetting and pinning to stretch out the edges to make it hang correctly. Some balls look whiter than others so I am glad that I chose to crochet it instead of the knitting as I think it would have looked more stripy in knitting as it changed from ball to ball.

I don't know if you can see but I sew my buttons to each end of a small tab instead of trying to connect them with a chain or elastic as suggested on the pattern. If I do it this way then I have a choice of wearing the bolero with the buttons or without. As the buttons are threaded through holes in the pattern stitch it looks equally as good worn either way.

I have placed an order for a replacement hook. The hook was a lightweight acrylic hook and I am not going to name where it came from as I am quite hard on my hooks and I was trying to force the hook through a tight chain when it broke. It snapped across the thumb rest so I don't know my own strength. I have been crocheting with this brand for a long time and nothing like this has happened to me before so I will just put it down to accidental damage.

I have added 3 photos from the Crochet Today magazine that I got yesterday. The first cardigan is unmistakably a Doris Chan design and is worked from the neck down. The cabled bag is by Kim Kotary and although it is nice I think that if I made it I would alter the handles and would line it with fabric to stop it stretching.

My great grand daughters love dressing up so I may make the pixie dress and fairy wings as they love new dressing up clothes. You can't really see but in the centre of the picture is a fairy wand and a tiara with shiny buttons, ribbons and sequins attached. I could perhaps make them and put them away until Christmas. I know it sounds a long time away but I could possibly be having my knee op in the middle of the year which could delay things.I should at least buy the right wool for the dress and the cotton and wire for the wings so if I am housebound whilst I recover I can crochet the time away.

I rang the hospital today to speak to the pre op sister who has been on holiday for the last 12 days. It is a good job that I did as no-one had followed up my notes whilst she was away so I hadn't been put back on the waiting list. As this is a similar situation to what happened to me before my spinal op I was more aware of what could go wrong this time. I am now going back on the waiting list but of course I will get added to the bottom so I will be a month behind when I should have had the op. I am thinking more May or June for the first knee replacement now. If I had not rung up I could have waiting a long time for them to call me about my op. With my spinal op they said 4 months on the waiting list and when 4 months had gone by I rang up to see how near to the top of the list I was only to find out that they had forgotten to add me! It could only happen to me. I told this to the sister when I rang this morning and said now do you see why I am so nervous?

I am still trying to drum up enthusiasm for returning to the ice cream coloured sweater knitting. I think that I am going to have to force myself to knit a bit each evening but start another project. If I don't then I am in danger of stopping making anything at all. I will finish it in time but my heart just isn't really in it. I think it's because it is so stripy and I don't want to look like a mint choc coloured deckchair.

The Circle of Friends Award

As I mentioned yesterday I have been awarded two awards on other people's blogs. The first one is the Circle of Friends award given to me by Belinda (Queen Bealicious) of the Crochet Therapy blog. I have included a link to her blog in my blog title. She has such a lovely sense of humour dealing with all the stuff that life seems to throw at her.In her words "This is awarded to the blogs that bring a smile to your face, or just make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside"

I am supposed to pick out 5 people to award this to but it is too hard for me to choose only 5 so I am going to be different and award it to all of you. You all bring a smile to my face with every comment that you post on my blog so are very deserving of this award. Please feel free to add it to your blog as I have nominated you all.

Thank you Cat for your Sunshine award. Unfortunately I can't find my way to your blog so look forward to you leaving me the link to it and then I can follow it. I clicked on your name in the comments and it told me that your profile wasn't available for some reason. I will try again soon.

Today is a very droopy day. After months of not sleeping I think the pills have kicked in and I not only slept until 11 am today I managed to sleep through 2 of the bins being emptied and one of them is the recycling bin. That wagon makes enough noise to waken the dead so I don't understand how I didn't hear all the crashing of bottles and tins.It is now 4pm and I haven't even washed the dishes or done anything.

Yesterday I decided to take a break from my ice cream knitting and started knitting a cardigan with some Patons Moonglow. I thought that a bit of plain knitting would be OK for my TV watching. I knitted 4 balls into a shortie cardigan from the Fitted Knits book. I realized that my wool was thinner than the one on the pattern and so started the X large size. It is knitted from the neck down and when it was large enough for me to try on I realized that is would barely fit my size 8 niece. As she is not into thick knits of any kind I decided to undo it. I have restarted it with the Mei Mei jacket from Doris Chan Everyday Crochet book. My wool is too thick for this pattern so I am making a smaller size. Somehow I managed to break one of my crochet hooks in half during last night's crochet. I have never done that before.This morning when I looked at the crochet one of the balls is a lighter colour than the rest but I am not undoing it again. I just hope that once it has been washed a couple of times then the colour difference will not be so apparent.

My copy of Crochet Today arrived in the post. My sister in law got me a subscription to it as a Christmas present and this is the 2nd copy. I must say that I am a little disappointed with it as it is all Grandma Chic. In other words full of Granny Squared afghans and doilies. I am surprised that it has scarves and woolly hats when it is a March/April edition and people are usually thinking more of Spring and Summer wear and not winter scarves. I know that the weather is still going to be cold for a while but as a lot of people crochet slowly they need more time to prepare for summer. There is a very lacy cardigan by Doris Chan that is more decorative than warm so that is more in keeping with the Spring/Summer theme. I will try to post some photos of the magazine tomorrow.

Buster Has Gone Home

My fur grandson has gone home again. It was touch and go on the Sunday whether he went home or stayed another day as the snow came down thick and fast on Sunday morning. It was a bit of a shock as I had got up at 4am for Buster's bathroom break and there was no snow but when we got up for breakfast at 7.30 am the world had turned white. My son rang to see what the weather was like at home and decided to cut their weekend break short and make their way home. They said that the weather was far worse where they had gone.

I really enjoy Buster coming for the weekend and am always sad to see him go home but realistically I can't keep him. I managed to walk him on the Saturday afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed being out in the woodland with him but once I got home I was like an old woman of ninety wincing about with my knees. Hopefully by this time next year I will be able to walk, if not better, at least not in as much pain. The strange thing is although my knees pain me so much I am better if I keep trying to walk about a bit. Perhaps just not as long as the walk that I took Buster on.

The snow has disappeared and this morning is lovely and sunny. Still cold and frosty but still it's nice to see the sun.

I managed to take a couple of fuzzy photos of my Kaftan cardigan. My niece came on Saturday and not only did my hair roots for me she cut a couple of inches off the bottom. My hair had grown over long and straggly. I should have asked her to take a couple of photos of me in the cardigan but by the time I remembered I was sitting with hair dye on and I didn't want to drip dye on my new cardigan. I am quite pleased with the fit of it and when I tried it on this morning and it is very warm.

The mint chocolate ice cream coloured sweater is progressing slowly. I wasn't able to do much over the weekend as Buster always wants to try to sit on my knee or failing that he wants me to sit on the sofa so he can sleep with his head in my lap. Neither position is good for knitting. My son says that I spoil him but that is allowed. He gets the same pampering and spoiling that any non fur grand child would get if I had any small ones. My son forgets that his grandparents used to spoil him when he was small and it hasn't seemed to have done him any harm.

My blog has been given a couple of awards from fellow bloggers Cat and Bealicious. I am so technophobic that I am crap at passing these on but I will endeavour to try to pass them on tomorrow. Thanks ladies for your kindness.

Colour Change

I have had a change of colour with my knitting. The lilac shade turned out to be more white than lilac and I felt it was rather insipid for my taste plus not enough of a contrast with the white. I unravelled the lilac and added some taupe cotton ribbon that I had in stash. The effect is now more stripy than I would have wished. I have christened it my chocolate mint ice cream sweater. I will carry on with it as I am sure that if I don't like it when it is finished someone else will.

Buster arrived yesterday afternoon and lost no time in making himself comfy. First on the small sofa as you can see and later int he evening he settled on the larger sofa but only after I went and sat with him. He is always quite clingy when he first arrives and then settles down the day after. He is not too keen on my sitting in my usual spot on the recliner chair as he can't fit on it with me, although he does try. He seems to think that he is a tiny lap dog. He is only ever happy when he is sprawled all over me. When I go to bed he has to lie as close as he can to me with his head tucked underneath my neck. At home he sleeps in his basket downstairs but with me he follows wherever I go.My son says that I spoil him but a little TLC every now and again doesn't do him any harm. He likes attention and I have the time to give it to him. He is really good though. He woke me up when he wanted to go outside for his bathroom duties. My son wakes up at 4am to go to work and lets the dogs out then so Buster's body clock said 4 am was time for a wee. I don't mind though. I would rather he woke me than have an accident.

My knees are not too bad this morning so I am hoping that I can take Buster out for a walk later. I haven't got his lead but I don't live near any main roads and he will walk at heel when asked to so I have no worries as we walk mainly in woodland and he will enjoy a splash about in the stream. As long as I can find a stick to throw then he will be happy. I don't take a ball as they bounce down the hills and into the undergrowth and we finish up losing it.

I don't suppose I will get much knitting done today but who cares. I have got Buster to keep me company.

Guess Who Is Coming For The Weekend?

My fur baby Buster is coming for the weekend. In fact he is coming for this weekend and next weekend. I just hope that my knees behave so I can take him out for a walk this time. Last time I looked after him he could not understand why we weren't going out for a walk. I felt so guilty as he kept looking through the window and sighing loudly. I am hoping that with my stronger pain killers I will, at least, be able to walk him tomorrow. He will be OK today as my son will have walked him before he arrives here this afternoon.

The Kaftan cardigan is finished and washed although it's still a little damp so any photos of me wearing it will have to be on another day. I need to reposition one of the buttons though as it is slightly off and is making the band pucker. I think that I have fallen in love with raglan sleeves again. I am short and squat and I hadn't realized how much drop shoulders or set in sleeves added bulk to my shoulders. When I tried the cardigan on before washing it fitted me perfectly. Sorry Bev it won't be coming your way ;)

I spent last night pattern searching. That took up most of the evening as I do tend to get sidetracked when I am browsing. A little while ago my friend Sue gave me the lilac and pale green cotton. While browsing in the wool that I got given to me I found 5 balls of white Linen Look. As there was not enough in either colour to make anything except a baby cardigan I found this pattern so am going to try to make it. I do hope that it doesn't look too obviously striped as I can do without any added width. I will have to adapt the pattern as I am a ball short of the white but have more of the colours. I will not make such a long ribbing nor will I made a doubled neckband. I can make up the overall length by knitting a couple more stripes that the pattern suggests. I doubt if I will be knitting much over the weekend as Buster likes a lot of attention so it's knit a couple of stitches, throw a ball, knit a couple more, throw it again. Still I will be glad of the company.I wish that I was fit enough to keep him on a full time basis as before. Maybe one day when my knees are fully fixed. Until then he is in good hands back with my son and daughter in law.

I woke up to snow again this morning. There is not much on the ground but the sky looks full of snow so I expect that we will have more snow to come. I think that the poor spiky plant will not survive this winter. It is looking decidedly brown and droopy. I just hope that it will revive in the spring. I think that I should have over wintered it in the garage out of the frost and snow but I just could not lift the planter.I am not much of a gardener as you have probably guessed from the state of my garden. I did use to try but since my spinal and knee troubles it has reverted back to nature a bit. I do manage to mow the lawn in the summer but that is about it.

Almost Finished

I am on the last bit of knitting for the Kaftan cardigan. I just have the buttonhole band and the neckband to knit. As you can see from the second photo the cardigan will need a good washing once it is finished, The wool had been stored for some considerable time before it was given to me and so the cardigan has dirty stripes all over it. I am sure that it is only dust that has marked it and it will hopefully come out once it is washed.

Once this is finished I really must get around to making the She ball mohair challenge. I think that I will have to try to continue with what I started as it is proving impossible to unravel. I am crocheting with it and that glues together far more than knitting.

The weather is once again dull and dismal and I didn't want to leave my bed this morning.I am sleeping much better since I changed my prescription in fact I think that I am sleeping too much.

I have been leaving my central heating on all of the time but on a low setting and I find this is better for my arthritis than the house getting too cold and then too hot. I got my gas bill today and that was a bit of a shock. Luckily I was over £100 in credit from my last bill so although that has been used up I am not in debt. Whew. I hope that the weather gets warmer soon and then I can turn it off altogether once again.This is one of the main worries about living on a limited income.It's not the lack of money for luxuries that bothers me it's the paying utility bills like the gas, electric and phone.

Shrove Tuesday

It's Shrove Tuesday today or in other words Pancake Day. As I am such a rubbish pancake maker so I chose the easy route of 'ready made just add water and shake' this year. My ex husband was a whizz at the pancakes. Not much of a cook but pancakes were his speciality. When he left my son took over the pancake reins. I was about to say that they were both expert tossers but somehow that sounds rather rude! I have never had strong wrists and I think the knack to pancake tossing is strong wrists and a firm steady flip. I made a couple of pancakes for lunch but mine stuck to the pan and I had to prise them loose with a spatula so I finished up with broken wrinkly pancakes. They tasted good though sprinkled with sugar and drizzled with lemon juice. Not as good as the homemade variety but I can keep the rest of the mix in the fridge and have more tonight. I think saying the mix makes 6 pancakes was rather over optimistic as the amount that they said per pancake was less than the size of a saucer no matter how much I tried to spread it about in the pan!

It felt so good to get to the Kings Arms for a knit and natter last night. I hadn't realized just how much I had missed going. Once the weather gets better and the nights get lighter I must try to make more of an effort to get there.

The amaryllis flowers are starting to close up and die now but there is a third shoot starting up from the bottom so it is indeed the Christmas gift that keeps on giving. I will look forward to yet more flowers on my kitchen window sill.

I woke up to snow this morning but thankfully it was just a light dusting and has now melted. I am starting to sleep better. I still wake up in the night but manage to go straight back to sleep instead of tossing and turning for ages as I did before. The downside is that I am sleeping much later than I ususally do but at least I feel better. I think it is a combination of things that is making me feel better but whatever it is I am glad not to be feeling the way that I did.

I rang the hospital yesterday just to confirm that I am once again back on the waiting list for the op but the lady who dealt with me on Friday is off for a week's holiday. No-one else seemed to know anything about it. I will write myself a note to ring next Monday to double check. This is how I slipped through the net last time. Although I informed them and my GP faxed details to them they forgot to put me back on the list so I am understandably nervous this time.

My knitting is still progressing slowly. I have now got about half way up the first sleeve. I am still thinking what to make with the She mohair for the Knitting Noras challenge.I did start something last night but am not altogether happy with it but cannot undo it as it seems to have welded itself together as it is fine mohair.I might just have to run with the first idea that I had otherwise I will have to waste the wool that I have already worked with.

I looked at my calendar today and realized that yesterday was the anniversary of the start of this blog. Happy belated third birthday to my blog.

Ready To Go

The bags are packed and ready to go. I am lucky enough to get the offer of a lift from my niece to the Kings Arms Knit Club tonight. Marie will hopefully be there tonight and as she works near by the Big Issue in Manchester she has offered to drop in the hats and scarves that I have made for the homeless. I haven't finished making them but I am taking a wee break just for now. It is an ongoing project so I will return to it from time to time and just keep the hats until I can get them delivered to the Big Issue. I haven't, as yet, made any gloves so maybe that will be something that I can make next.

The Kaftan knitting has moved on a bit. I now have a back and two fronts knitted. I don't think that i will be taking a sleeve with me to the Knit Club as I will probably go wrong as I am knitting and nattering,. I haven't been for such a long time that I am sure there is a lot to catch up on. I will take something simple with me.

Today is miserable, dull and rainy and so I plugged in my SAD light. I can't tell as yet whether it is the lamp, the usually better weather or the anti depressants but I am feeling better. Perhaps it is a combination of all three.

Next door's cat Oscar has come in out of the rain. He has settled upstairs somewhere but no doubt I will disturb him when I go up for a shower shortly. He is a nervous cat and even though he knows me well he still jumps a mile if I go anywhere near him. He only allows me to stroke and pet him if I am feeding him.

I am looking forward to going out tonight. Being in the company of other people always lifts my spirits and the Kings Arms knitters are usually a lively bunch.I have put a link to the photos that Rachael has posted showing some of the members of the Knit Club. Click on the blog title.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day to everyone. A special Valentine wish to Bev and her husband who celebrate their Ruby wedding today. How romantic is that getting married on Valentines Day. I hope that you both have a happy and romantic day.

The reversible hat didn't shrink in the wash or in the dryer. I should maybe have tried putting it in the washing machine but I was scared of it felting as I wasn't sure if it was all mohair or not. I have made a smaller version. It is still doubled but as both sides are the same colour it is a little hard to see. I was given 5 x 25 gram balls of Listers Shalimar which is fluffy but mostly acrylic with just a bit of mohair. I also made a matching scarf. Although I am modelling the hat it isn't for me it is another hat and scarf destined for the Big Issue homeless.

I am back to my knitting again and have started the second front of the cream Kaftan cardigan. I think that I might try to finish this off before I start anything else off. It all depends on how my wrists and the back of my neck fare tonight. I might just have to work a couple of hours on it and then swap to some crocheting.

Reversible Crochet Earflap Hat

I decided to give the wrists a break from the knitting last night and crocheted this reversible hat. I am not sure that a homeless person will appreciate it being in mohair or the rather unmanly colours but as I am working with the yarn that I got donated I am making the best of what I have got. The wool was some kind of mohair or mohair substitute. It was unlabelled and in part balls so I can't give you a clue to what it is.

To make it just choose a top down crochet beanie pattern that is appropriate to the thickness of the wool that you are working with. Try it on and then add ear flaps on either side. I try it on at this stage to ascertain where the position of them should be. In this case it was 8 UK trebles and 2 plain rows and then one decrease row to make the ones on this hat. Make another beanie in the same manner in a different colour. Pin them together, one inside the other, with the wrong sides facing and then work a couple of rows of UK double crochet all around the edge going through the edges of both hats to link them together. I finished them off with a crocheted chain with tassels to fasten.

The hat came out a bit on the large side and as it needed washing I have hand washed it but put it in the dryer to try and shrink it in a little. If it is mohair then hopefully it will felt and shrink a little making it an ultra warm hat. I always forget when I am trying on hats to remove the hair clip that sits on top of my head so whilst the hat fits me when I am wearing the clip it tends to fall over my eyes when my hair is down. I must remember to take out my hair clip when I am making hats in future unless they are for me.

I hope that those of you who are in relationships get at least a Valentines Card tomorrow and hopefully some flowers. I won't be looking for any cards this year, As far as I know I don't have any admirers, known or unknown, and as my aunts have long passed away no one in the family to send them to me. When I was a teenager I always got a couple of cards. I found out much later that it was my two unmarried aunts who didn't want me to feel left out on Valentine's Day as they presumable did when they were girls.

My plans for today are few. Just a bit of food shopping and then settle down with my knitting once again. Last night, before I settled down to a night of CSI, I watched 'Fools Rush In' DVD with Matthew Perry and Salma Hayek. A suitably romantic comedy for Valentine's weekend. I still have a few loaned DVD's to watch so if there is nothing exciting on TV a couple of those will be on tonight's agenda.

Back On The List

I am once again back on the hospital waiting list. I got the all clear from the GP this morning which means that the antibiotics worked and my water runneth clear. I phoned the Pre op nurse with the good news but of course she wanted official confirmation so I had to ring the GP back and get him to fax the test results over to her.

I am still progressing slowly with the knitting, I have finished off a front. I am getting a little crochet crazy so have the urge to pick up a hook once again. Knitting makes my wrist and fingers ache so I find it best to alternate the wrist actions from time to time and switch from knitting to crochet and visa versa. I will probably have a look in the donated wool bags and see if there is anything suitable for crochet. A lot of the wool is textured and loopy which makes it almost impossible to crochet with so that will have to be knitted up. I am sure I can find something in there that isn't mohair or textured.

The morning was bright and sunny once again so that is lifting my spirits. I hope that it means that it is going to be a nice weekend. I don't have anything planned except a bit of food shopping but as it's Valentines Day on Sunday there is always the unlikely event of my getting a card although as I don't have any gentleman admirers in the offing I think that is highly unlikely. My ex husband was never the romantic type and although I did get a card he gave it reluctantly as he knew that his life would not be worth living if he forgot ;) If I was lucky he took me out somewhere for a meal but never on the actual day unless it fell on a weekend.

I think that I will put my feet up and settle down to a bit of hat crochet this afternoon although I still have to decide what to make with that ball of pink She mohair. The Knitting Noras are having a sort of competition as to who can make the best or the quirkiest item with one ball of this mohair. I keep thinking about it but as yet have not settled on anything. I keep hoping that inspirations will strike me soon as it is our Knit Out on the 28th of this month.

I need to go and change the channel now on the TV as I cannot stand Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen and I think that the programme where they have to buy someone a house gift is scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as styling programmes go. I still have some unseen DVD's that my niece lent to me so I might just settle down with one of those.

I spoke too soon about the weather. It has now started raining!

The Sun Is Shining

For the last two days I have woken up to sunshine. No I haven't been using my SAD light this is the natural God given sunshine. it's amazing how the sun lifts my mood. The minute that I walk into the bathroom first thing in the morning and see the sunshine streaming through the window my mood is so good. It doesn't matter what the day has to throw at me I don't care - not if the sun is shining. I am looking forward to the day when I can throw open the patio doors once again and sit outside with my breakfast.

The amaryllis continues to bloom. I took these photos in the electric light last night as the bulb seems to come to life after dark. The colours were so beautiful when I came into the kitchen this morning. Sunshine and an amaryllis flowering. The day can't get any better.

I have still not got my body in tune with my mind yet. I am now noticing that the housework needs doing which is a big improvement but my body is a little slow at responding with the cleaning. Slowly but surely I will get there. One day soon I will be in sync again. I have stripped the bed this morning and will change the bed and clean the bedroom and bathroom so that is a start on my cleaning regime.I don't want Kim and Aggie coming in and holding up their hands in horror. They would do at the state of my kitchen floor. I haven't yet got the enthusiasm for a couple of months worth of ironing as yet! Yes I know that proves that I have too many clothes if I don't miss what is in the ironing basket!

I am progressing with my knitting slowly but surely. It seems years since I made a raglan sleeve for myself and I had to stop and think out how to work out the lacy pattern as I shaped. At least it proves that my brain is still functioning in some respects. Now I am re-knitting a pattern that I last knitted in the late 70's or early 80's it takes me back in time to the last time that I knitted it. I can remember that I knitted it in pale blue. It's funny how our taste in colours changes. My mother used to despair when I was a teenager as everything I wore was dark. I had a passion for dark olive greens and purples (purple still lingers on) She would point out dresses in pretty summery colours and I would find the one drab dress on the rack.I think I was into grunge long before it became fashion.

Thankfully my taste changed and I went into the brighter colours eventually. My favourite colours are the dark jewel colours but if pushed I am torn between red and purple as my favourite colour. One colour that I never wore was pink but since my colouring has changed with age I find that I quite like myself in pink shades.

Time to push on with the chores or I will be bedding less tonight when I go to bed. First of all though it is Loose Women on TV and a cup of coffee.

SAD Light

I have bought a SAD light in an effort to combat these dull dreary mornings when the sun doesn't shine. My niece went to Argos to pick one up for me. I have used it this morning. It is quite a small lamp but it does give off a bright light. Only time will tell if it works or whether I am the SAD person for buying it. As I paid for half of it with a gift voucher that I received for Christmas I won't feel too bad if it doesn't work. Roll on summer. I always feel better when the sun shines and I can sit outdoors.

I have taken the last of my antibiotics and am off to the GP to give another sample for testing. I hope that this one is OK and I am back on the waiting list again. I just hope that this feeling of well being doesn't disappear now that the medication has finished. I still think that I had an infection after my last operation despite the hospital saying I didn't. I hope that the excessive swelling in my knees doesn't come back again. It has been nice to be able to have more mobility and be able to bend my knees more.

I have started knitting with the vintage Kaftan yarn. Kaftan was a yarn that I used to sell and dates back from the late 70's or 80's. It was donated by a man whose late wife was a knitter but like me had a stash at times bigger than her needles.I had equally vintage patterns in my stash and decided on a cardigan pattern instead of a sweater as if I am running out of wool then I can always have short sleeves. It has been ages since I knitted anything lacy and so I have to keep count of my rows as these days I can't seem to follow patterns by eye as I used to in the past. Too many years of crocheting I suppose. I am having a little break from the hats and scarves although no doubt I will get bored with the knitting and sneak in a couple more crochet hats before I hand them in at the end of the month.

The amaryllis now has 3 flowers and a bud. The second lot of flowers seem a bit darker coloured than the first set. It is a lovely cheerful sight on my kitchen window bottom to greet me each morning when I am making my breakfast or washing the dishes.

My neighbour brought and installed my new PC monitor. I have been borrowing his since my monitor decided to keep switching itself off in the middle of doing things. He has got me a reconditioned Dell so fingers crossed that it stays working as long as the PC does. My printer is now having one of it's moments and refusing to print or let me change the ink cartridge. I will just have to manage without a printer for now as I can't afford any more expenses for a couple of months.