Clickety Click Go The Needles

As I was so pleased with the way that my Sirdar Mega chunky jacket had turned out I wanted to order some more of the same yarn from Kemps. Unfortunately they only had a green and a brown fleck left and neither of them are my colours. I chose instead another Sirdar super chunky called Big Softee in a pale denim blue which was reduced to 99p a ball. I also ordered another 99p pattern as it is very plain and I have some other thick but textured yarn in my stash that needs a very plain pattern. I ordered a couple of patterns with my last order. One of which I will use for this blue yarn.

A couple of months ago I ordered some of this pale pink Sirdar Softee to make a baby jacket. As the yarn is now reduced to 69p a ball in this colour I decided to get some more and make something for myself instead. I am not usually a lover of such pale colours but I have a pattern that has cables on it so that should give a bit of interest to the paleness. This 2nd lot is a different dye lot but I cannot see any colour difference and I am used to colour matching from when I had the shop. As long as you don't mix dye lots mid piece and can complete each full piece out of one dye number it is not usually noticeable. It is when you join on a ball mid sleeve that you can get that distinct line across that is noticeable.

The steam mop hasn't arrived yet but it has been sent by Royal Mail and they always take longer than the independent carriers. Another day that I don't have to mop the kitchen and bathroom floors. Maybe tomorrow it will arrive and then I can't put the mopping off any longer.

I have been knitting on the last front of my niece's jacket but I will need another ball of wool for the bands. I rang the Yarn Barn in Shaw, where my niece bought the wool from, and they kindly offered to put a ball in the post if I paid the postage. I will be grateful for that as I don't want to put my niece to the trouble of going all the way up there for another ball. I will push on as far as I can tonight with the part ball that I have and then hope that the last ball arrives in a day or so. Luckily they still had the same dye lot in stock. I would recommend calling in the Yarn Barn if ever you are in Shaw. It is a lovely well stocked shop that stocks from inexpensive to middle of the range branded right up to the more expensive. Something to suit all pockets and tastes.

Today is lovely and sunny but we still have that wind that takes the edge off the warmth. I had a lot to do today so I wouldn't have had the time to sit out and knit anyway. I scooted up the village and did some shopping from a variety of local shops. I had forgotten to charge up the mobility scooter from the last time I used it so it was a very slow, heart in the mouth, journey as I was praying that it wouldn't run out of power before I got home. On the last bit of the hill it was going slower and slower and so I was muttering under my breath, come on girl you can do it. Slowly but surely I got up the hill and into the garage where Pearl is now plugged in and charging up ready for my next shopping trip. She is a good little workhorse. I had bags tucked everywhere. I was like a galleon in full sale on the way home.

Farmers Market

Today I went to the Farmers Market that comes to the precinct every now and again. I say I went but actually I should have said that we went. Buster has got so used to my taking him out with me when I go out on the scooter that when I set off this morning I had only got the first kerb when I heard him start to bark. He then set the 2 dogs off next door so there was a barking contest going on. I waited for a few minutes to see if he stopped barking but he didn't so I had to go back and get him.

He was leaping about and wagging his tail when I opened the door so I didn't have the heart to shout at him. He behaved very well considering that I had to put him on his lead. He didn't even growl when everyone wanted to pat him in the market. He just lapped up all of the attention. I think I have created a Prima Donna dog. (Or whatever the male equivalent of a Diva is called)

My son and daughter in law came to get him and they said I had spoiled him and they are not getting a scooter for him to walk beside ;-). He went off quite happily although he had to get a leg up into the back of the estate car. He pretends that he can't jump in.

I bought some lamb from the market for my freezer. It tastes so much better than the lamb from a supermarket. You can tell that it is really fresh. I gave my son a piece of lamb that they call a Lamb Henry. It's a sort of small joint with a bone in it. Not the leg or the shoulder. It doesn't have a lot of meat on it but there should be enough for the both of them. I don't know which part of the lamb it comes from but I cooked my last one in the oven like a leg of lamb and it was lovely and tender.

I also bought some gorgeous French bread. I couldn't get to the stall on my scooter thanks to the idiotic way that they had arranged the stalls in a circle around the fountain, They had put stalls across the entrance to the fountain so the only way in was across the water channel for the fountain which had a lip on either side and a channel of water that my scooter wheels could have got stuck down. I complained to one of the community staff and he kindly told the bread guy that I wanted some bread. I got service to my scooter by a handsome young man with a sexy French accent so it was almost worth not being able to get to half of the stalls. I gave my son a cheese bread that smelt absolutely heavenly. I said to him that the bread doesn't keep well as they make it without all the preservatives and he said don't worry this bread will be gone before I go to bed. I was a bit of pig myself as I have eaten a whole French stick (with a little help from Buster) Both the bread and the lamb cost more than they would have in a shop but I don't mind splashing out now and again on something that tastes so great. I have lamb chops and chump chops in my freezer to last me for a couple of weeks.

Sorry that the picture of the crochet is so dark but I took it in the electric light. The cardigan now almost has two sleeves.I haven't been able to do any today as we have been out to the market, done 4 loads of washing, and played ball in the garden all afternoon. Normal service has now returned to my household. I do love having Buster here but he does take a lot of time and create lots of cleaning for me. All the washing is the bedding, throws and cushions and covers that have finished up in the washer. I still have his bed to wash yet so I hope that it is fine tomorrow. I have left the floor mopping and the hoovering until tomorrow.

I am feeling better today. I even put make up on and did my hair. I think that it's a combination of a lot of things. Getting out and about and chatting to people is a lot of it, I hadn't realised just how isolated I had become before I got the scooter. All being well I should get to Knit Club tomorrow night so more people to chat to. The only way is up!

The Streets Are Not Paved With Gold

The streets are definitely not paved with gold. Well not the ones near me. They are paved with pot holes, tree roots on the surface, kerb edgings about 4" high and cars parked on the pavements so near to the wall that I can't get through, After Buster and I had been for a short walk/drive I decided to test out the scooter all the way to the shops. I think that I should get a high visibility jacket,a louder horn and perhaps a big flag as Beverooni suggested and just drive on the road. I felt like every bone had been shaken up inside my body and I discovered that if I hit a kerb on an angle I almost tip out of my seat. I was great though once I got to the shopping precinct. I was able to go into a lot of the shops, the doctors to pick up my prescription and also the pharmacy to get it filled. Oh the feeling of freedom.

I tried on my waterproofs from my dog walking days and I could only squeeze into them without any trousers or sweater underneath (which is not much good in the winter) so I have been searching online for a new set. I toyed with the idea of bright yellow or bright orange but as they are for men in my size they didn't come with a hood. I have settled therefore for a boring black set. Not very exciting it's true but flimsy enough to be folded and stored in the basket for sudden downpours. I refuse to buy one of those cape efforts. Not only are they very expensive they cover the scooter as well as me so not very easy to do any shopping as I would have to keep climbing out of it. I had to be rescued by a nice young man at one stage when my scooter hit a kerb and almost tipped me over. I wouldn't have minded so much but it was at a proper crossing point that supposedly had lowered kerbs. I won't be crossing over the road at that point again.

Buster has got quite used to walking with the scooter now especially now since I have mastered how to crawl along instead of zooming and leaving him behind. He is not impressed with my writing this blog as you can see. He wanted me to play ball with him so I distracted him with a treat. He is now trying to lick every last trace of the treat from his front legs whilst giving me soulful looks in between.

The shawl is almost finished. The ball that I used must have been at least a 200 gram ball of 4ply as I only have one row of picot edging to crochet and there is still a lot on the ball. As you can see because of my boo boo it has come out huge compared to the pattern. I have resisted trying it on until it really finished. It will be interesting to see how it looks with my big size mistake. It will certainly wind around my neck a few times. It is a cross between a long scarf and a shawl.

Thank you everyone for your kind words about my best friend Pearl. I feel so much better just going out and about even for a short time. The lad from next door was fascinated with it and has christened it my granny mobile and wants to help me to customise it. Says that I need 'cool' stickers on it. He wanted to race me up to the shops.

My bag for the back of the seat should arrive tomorrow so I will be able to shop for a few more things next time. I keep looking at Pearl and wondering if I could crochet a bag to fit just here - or maybe just there. By the time I have finished with it it will be festooned with crochet bags and pouches on every available hanging space. I saw a sort of cushion affair in one of the disability books that had long side pieces that went over each chair arm like saddle bags. Almost like the things that you can keep the TV remote in on your armchair so you don't lose it. Needless to say I am already thinking that I could make something to store my waterproofs in pockets hanging on the chair arms on either side of me so that they are always with me and not taking up valuable shopping space in my basket. Whirr Whirr, My mind is whirring. I must settle down to finish the shawl/scarf tonight as I haven't picked up a hook all day. I will settle back down again once the novelty of Pearl has settled down and Buster has gone back home again.

My New Best Friend Pearl

This is my new best friend. I got fed up of waiting for my son to get me a scooter so I rang up the Mobility shop and they had this second hand one brought in at the weekend. Apparently it's previous owner had it from new for 3 months but decided that it didn't go fast enough for him (typical male) and traded it for a larger one. I would have liked a larger one if I am honest but they cost so much money and this was half the price that it was when new so I jumped at the chance to buy it. I had rung the mobility shop a couple of times but what they had in was too expensive. I will call her Pearl as that is the name of the model. It's a Pearl 4 wheeled scooter by Sunrise Medical. I will however have to think of ways to attach a shopping bag on the back of the seat as there is no way I can shop with such a tiny basket on the front. I can feel the customisation feeling washing over me. Time to get creative methinks. For the time being I shall be a bag lady with shopping swinging from the chair arms and the handle bars as I wobble down the road. I know that I can go out shopping every day but if I had to buy washing powder and other large items then the basket would be full before I started with any food.

My son is angry with me because I bought a scooter when if I had waited I could probably have got one a lot cheaper from his friend. What he doesn't realise is that I have been waiting for quite a number of weeks for one and the longer I wait the more stir crazy I am getting. Having to ask neighbours to post parcels for me and get me a loaf of bread is embarrassing. Now I can nip up the shops and do things for myself. I can't go far as it only has a range of 10-15 miles. The reason for the difference is that if I lived on the flat I would probably get 15 miles per charge but as I live on hills then it is more likely to be only 10 or so. As long as I can get to the village shops, the Post Office,the doctors and Tesco then I will be happy.

I went out on my maiden voyage today with Buster running along behind. I gave up on the lead as he kept running in front of the wheels and I was scared of running him over. I soon found out that he can't run at 4mph and I had to keep stopping and going slow whilst he caught up. I haven't quit learned to control the acceleration yet.I also discovered that a lot of the pavements around here don't have sloping ramps and I had to keep reversing to find a driveway and use the road a lot more than I would have liked. I will try a different route tomorrow. I found that I could have got through the stiles into the park but I couldn't get up the kerb that led to the gates. That's the problem with living in older streets. They just don't cater for wheelchairs or scooters. Plus the streets are so narrow that cars are parked half on the pavements and I can't get through and so have to go on the road which is a bit scary.

With all the excitement of today I haven't done any crochet. I have made a boob with my shawl but I am leaving it and making the other side to match. I misread the pattern and only decreased on one side of the side piece of the shawl instead of at both sides so I now have a much longer side piece than the pattern. I have enough wool to make the second side the same size so I will carry one. It has turned out a bit deeper than I would have liked it to be. I am still in search of the perfect crochet neckerchief type shawlette. With everyone that I make I am getting nearer to getting it right. I am glad that I used stash wool as I hope to get it perfect when I use my new wools.