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.

Camera shy squirrels

I think my squirrels have been reading my blog. They paid their usual visit this morning, announcing their presence by coming right up to the patio windows but the minute I aimed my camera at them they disappeared across the garden and over the fence. Once they realised that I had put down the camera they both came back to chatter at me. I went to get the camera again and whoosh they had gone again. A pity because they were looking really cute this morning.

Instead I have 2 photos of my slow progress on the sleeveless top. There is something about ribbing, It takes longer to knit than plain. I have managed to sit on my sofa today for the first time since my operation. It is still rather low but I can knit a lot better than on a chair with arms. I discovered though that leather is very cold to sit on and had to find a throw. I will definitely have to make some crochet throws for the winter. I can't stand having a chilly bottom and back!

Speaking of winter I had a letter from the council tax saying that after my visit from their officer (she came unannounced just after my op) they found out that I had been paying too much council tax and they have reduced it. They can't, of course for some small printed gobbledygook reason, refund me any of the overpaid money from the last 2 years and advised me that in future I should inform them of any changes in my circumstances. I have always done things to the letter and every year they have had copies of bank statements and pensions so how can I have been not telling them of changes in circumstances. Just when I was thinking I would have a wee bit more money per month in the same post came my gas bill and despite the fact that I am £76 in credit over the summer months they have hiked up my monthly payments by £20 a month to cover the increased use over the winter months and the price rise of the gas. No wonder people are leaving the country for warmer climes.

I haven't been out for a walk today. I can't seem to be bothered unless the weather is nice (ha ha) or I need something from the shops. I seem to be incapable of walking up to the village without popping into some shop or another and I then spend money on something that I really didn't need. For the sake of economy I only venture anywhere near M&S or Iceland if I have run out of something. I won't walk in the Clough without Buster it's too lonely in there to be alone. My son says I can't have him back until I am fit enough to walk him properly and I must admit that I am not ready to walk him every day just yet. I miss him, of course, but I can't face the daily trudge of his walks just yet. Maybe in another few weeks.