What is going on? I am really confused now

It doesn't take a lot to confuse me. I am a simple soul at heart but the letter I got today from Hope Hospital has me really scratching my head. I got a letter with an appointment to attend Mr Oxborrow's Complex Spinal clinic on September 24th. Who is he? I have a vague recollection that he might be the anaesthetist I was supposed to see 3 months ago when I had my pre-op tests done but as he was off I saw another person. I could be wrong though and it could be yet another surgeon that they are foisting me onto. Of course as it is Saturday I will now have to wait until Monday to find out what is going on now. To say I am not amused is putting it lightly. Here I am waiting for a call for an operation and there they are giving me an appointment for September! Getting the letter on a Saturday when I can't phone until Monday isn't helping either.

I have made a crochet flower which I have sewn onto a pin. It can either be used as a shawl pin, decoration for the shawl or even for the hat that Lisa has said she will crochet from the chenille left overs. As you can see there is still plenty left on the cone. The shawl is still drying and I will do a damage control look at it later to see if any more loops have emerged and see if I can darn them in if they look too bad,

I picked up my sock knitting last night and am now on the straight foot bit. It feels very slow going after crocheting so much lately. That's the only trouble with crochet. Projects grow so fast that it is difficult to go back to knitting on small needles and fine wool again.

It is raining once again. I was going to go to Bury market to get a few veggies, fruit and some meat or fish but keep putting it off because of the weather. I will have a shower and decide what to do later. I need to buy some proper food as I have been living from the freezer for the last few days and it is not doing me (or my diet) any good at all.

Flying fingers for April

We finally got to the Clarks Craft Wool shop in Ramsbottom today but not without incident. When my niece went to the car this morning she had a flat tyre. That made us an hour late setting off for the shop. It must be the curse of the family as I have a slow puncture and have to keep pumping the tyre up until my son can get here to change the tyre for me. I must say that today I was disappointed with the shop. We had very little to choose from in the amounts that we wanted. My niece was going to buy some Sirdar Blur but they didn't have enough in any colour. I was looking for some more of the Elle 4ply that I had made the khaki crochet socks with and they didn't have any of it anywhere. The only wool they had that was sockish was some Regia but I didn't like any of the 3 colours that they had so decided to leave it. Last time we went up they had a few balls of Opal sock wool but this time none to be found. I wish there was another decent wool shop without having to travel miles to find it.

Both of my niece's have chosen black. I have posted photos of the wool with the intended projects. My Niece Kath who lives in London is having the jacket but this time with a closer crochet stitch . She liked the jacket from Fabulous Flirty Crochet by Katherine Lee that I made for her at Christmas (exact to the pattern) but as her office is rather cold she would like one a bit more substantial this time. The yarn is Patons Diploma DK the same yarn that I used for her ribbed sweater 100% acrylic but good quality. It is lovely to work with. My Niece Vic arrived with a knitted cardigan pattern but decided to change her mind once she saw the crochet sweater in the Doris Chan Everyday Crochet book. She has chosen Sirdar Click DK for hers 70% acrylic 30% wool. She doesn't want the contrast trim though. I have kept the magazine as it also has a pair of socks with individual toes that she would like but she will have to order some 4ply for those when she orders the Blur online. I will probably make her the knitted cardigan if she gets some wool later although it has a thick wide tie at the waist that I will ammend as we both agreed it looked a little clumsy for the lacy cardigan. I will be taking it easy for a few weeks after my operation so I imagine I will be doing a fair bit of knit and crochet then.

Linda found a wonderful site ( see a couple of posts ago) for some very reasonably priced wool from Lanarkshire but unfortunately they don't do 4ply. When I go to the next Bolton Knit Out I will get the balls of wool for Anna's new soakers.

My socks have progressed. I had hoped to have them finished today but I started on housework when I came back from Ramsbottom. I also walked the dog twice so it didn't leave much time for my knitting. Last night I hand wrote out the 3 pattern rows and after that I raced along with hopefully no more mistakes. There was something about the way they were written on the pattern that I kept reading wrong. I am still on the first ball of wool so will get another pair out of the wool if Imake the legs a wee bit shorter. I will find another lacy pattern for the second pair that will fit in with the stitches otherwise I will be muddling up which socks are a pair.

I have just had an e mail from Rose (My new Life in Romania) saying she is planning a visit to the UK in May. I hope I will be able to meet up with her for a coffee as she will be staying about 8 miles from me but it all depends on the date for my operation. If she arrives before it then I can meet her but if she arrives after then I won't be able to drive unless she can travel to nearer to me for a meet.

I will try to put in an hour or so with the socks as I want to finish them off before starting the girl's crochet. I am resisting starting another project before I at least finish one pair of socks. Sorry brown random socks (or Tiger socks as my friend christened them) but you are on the back burner of WIP once again! Maybe when I have my op and am looking for new projects the Tiger socks will get finished.

Rubber Band Day

Today I am off to join the seated exercise class once again. We get to twang long red rubber bands to exercise arms and legs whilst seated on our chairs. Not exactly taxing but if it helps with mobility then I am all for it. At least it is in a class and we have a laugh unlike when I tried the gym where everyone was so intent on doing their own thing it made the whole atmosphere quite unfriendly. I will never be a gym bunny. I lack the enthusiasm. If it's not fun then I don't do it and pedalling a bike to no-where will never be fun to me! I used to see the same people there pounding away on the treadmill for hours. I can understand joggers who get to view the scenery but people on treadmills facing a boring cream wall is all rather sad to me. They do have soundless TV's showing 4 different channels and I could never understand that bit either until someone said that they bring headphones so they can listen to which channel they want. No-one ever told me that bit but I did say they weren't particularly friendly.

My sock knitting has hit another stop. I now have 2 more orders for those doubled Peruvian styled helmets. One with embroidery and one without. I have knitted one piece and half of the second piece of the man's plain helmet. I decided to knit them now even though they are not getting picked up until the 29th. Hopefully this time I will remember to photograph them before they go. I would rather finish them early and then maybe I can back to my socks.

My sister in law phoned with an invite to a Thai dinner in Manchester on the 16th in celebration of my brother's 70th birthday. I have no idea what to buy for his birthday I will have to enlist the help of my nieces for some ideas.

I must try to get back to the stall on Bury Market and see if they still have any of the bargain random chunky left that I have been using for the helmets. It is really nice yarn to knit with but seems to be a job lot and he didn't have a lot left last time I went up. I have never heard of the brand before (James C Brett Marble Chunky 200 gram balls) but it has worked up lovely and soft with a random colouring. He only opens the stall on certain days to I will have to try to get up there on the right day. (Today isn't one of them)

Buster had his walk this morning but no doubt he will want another one when I get back from class. Someone has straightened the drunken carved owl up but he seems to have now lost his beak. Poor soul. You can just see it to the left of the photo of Buster on the bridge. The small carved throne is to the right.

Spring has arrived to my front garden. The crocus and daffodils are pushing their way through. I hope they survive the onslaught of wind, rain and the neighbour's kids. Once again Blogger won't post my photos with this blog. I will try separately.