Eek It's Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve and I still have loads to do. I could do with time standing still for a day to give me time to finish off everything. I have crocheted all of the pieces of my Sister in Law's sweater but still got to stitch everything together. I have started a short sleeved cardigan for my Niece's Mother in Law and praying that I can finish that in time. The buttons are now stitched on my niece's cardigan so that is one thing finished.

My great grand daughters knitted jackets will not even get started nor will I have time to finish off their crochet jackets. They are not their Christmas presents so I am not too bothered if they get them in a couple of weeks. They will be the next on the hook and needles after Christmas.

As you can see my vintage patterns arrived from The Vintage Knitting Lady. The grey knitted Patons patterns are replacements for ones that I had and lent out. This time I won't be lending them out as I have lost so many patterns this way. I made a lot of them for my relatives and my son so they must be at least 42 yrs old. Some of the other patterns are a bit newer than that but are out of print now. The doll patterns are again mostly replacements for ones that I had previously. The ones in the bottom photo I made long before I married and the Lavenda pattern is one that I made for my own doll when I was just a child. So many memories are tied up in these patterns.

I must get on today as I could also do with running the vacuum cleaner around the house and flicking a duster about. Steady Jan you will be accused of turning house proud once again. I decided long ago that life is too short to waste it on housework so I only do the essentials and am certainly not Mrs Neat freak. My ex will probably call tomorrow and hold his hands up in despair whilst his partner wrinkles up her nose. I have told them not to call as with the bad weather I haven't been able to get them any presents this year but they will probably call just the same.

Can I take this opportunity to wish everyone a very Happy Christmas. I hope that you spend it with your loved ones and have a great family Christmas. I don't bother about the presents given to me although I do get a lot of pleasure from giving gifts especially hand made ones. To me it shows that I care enough about my family and friends to give them my time and effort. I hope that they see it this way. I think that they do as they always ask me to make them something instead of buying a present.

Thanks to everyone for your welcome support over this last year. I do appreciate each and every one of you and I will catch up with your blogs once Christmas is over.

I am off to stitch up a sweater now so Happy Christmas one and all. xxxxx

Flowering Cherry Tree

The Flowering Cherry tree in my front garden is in bloom and is lifting my spirits just to see it. It is such a pretty tree but unfortunately the blooms are so delicate that the first bit of wind that we have blows the blossoms off the tree. The whole street then looks like there has been a wedding and it is littered with confetti. Next door has also got a flowering cherry but hers is a different variety with darker blossom. It also appears to be a bit hardier than mine when the wind blows. The gardener is coming on Thursday and is starting with the front garden. As she is so busy it will take her a few visits of an hour at a time to get the back garden into shape. I decided to start with the front as that is the bit that people see when they are walking past and also the bit that I can see from my front window.

I haven't got a lot more crochet done. Hardly surprising after yesterday's news. I haven't finished Charlie's sweater off as the collar and placket for the buttons has the contrast colour on it and as I am using an oddment from my stash for this I want to see how the ball is working out with Finlay's sweater first. They should both be finished before the Christening on Sunday.

My GP phoned me yesterday afternoon. He has been in touch with the hospital and has had a row with them over the way they have treated me. He said that they backed down when he said that he had faxed over enough evidence that I was fit for surgery on February 12th and what more did they want. I had left him a copy of the letter and he said to them, like I had, that it just says they require notification from him. Which he gave them. The letter does not state that they required, in addition, a letter. He said I am to phone him back if I don't hear back from the hospital in a couple of days and he will ring them again. He is a lovely GP and was just as angry as me over what has happened. He told them that it was ridiculous for an operation to be cancelled and not just postponed for something like a simple water infection that was cleared up in a week with antibiotics. He said that if my operation date had been in a week then he could have understood it but as they were saying that the proposed ooperation date was up to 15 weeks away then he did not see the logic in cancelling my operation date. He said he had never heard of any other hospital having this policy.Postponement yes but cancellation no. It's good to have the GP on my side. I feel a bit better now. Watch this space. I will give the hospital a few days to get back to me and if they don't then I will take it further.

Today is quite warm but not a lot of sun. I am taking a chance on the weather and puffing some washing outside to dry. I do like it when I can dry clothes, towels and bedding outdoors. Besides which it saves on electricity when I don't have to use the tumble dryer. I do hate washing drooping about the house on racks drying. I had to do that when I was young and my son was small and vowed never again. The only thing that I allow in the house now to dry is when I am blocking out my knitting and crochet.

It Could Only Happen To Me

As my regular readers know I have been waiting for a letter from the hospital telling me when I am going in for my operation. This morning I decided to give the specialist's secretary a ring to find out how far I was from being sent for. She then informed me that I wasn't even on the list!! You remember when I had the water infection and got taken off the list well apparently after my antibiotics and the all clear results faxed to the hospital I wasn't put back on the list.

When I asked why not she said we have been waiting for a confirmation letter from your GP saying that you are fit enough for the operation. When the all clear results were faxed to the hospital I asked if that was all they needed and they said that it was. I have a letter that says they needed notification of this. Today she tells me that notification means a letter from the GP. I said well if this is the case then why doesn't it say so on my letter?

The secretary is now saying that they can only put me back on the list once they have received this letter and it will be dated as from when they receive it. I was furious. I said it's not fair to put me back at the bottom of the list for something that isn't my fault. If I had been told in February that I also needed a GP's letter then I would have got him to send one Instead I was reassured by the pre op sister that I would be put back on the list now that she had received the all clear test results.

This is exactly the same scenario that happened to me before my spinal operation. They lost me completely in the system and I had to get my MP involved before I was reinstated on the list.

I went to the surgery to see the GP but he wasn't in until later this afternoon. I have left him an urgent note about what has happened and the phone numbers of my specialist's secretary so see if he can influence them I am not blaming my GP. He faxed the information across when I asked him to and at no point was he told that it wasn't sufficient for their needs.

It's a good job that I phoned this morning or I would have been waiting forever for the operation date. I am not going to lie down quietly about this. If they put me back at the bottom of the operation list then I am going to formally complain as this is the second time this has happened to me at the same hospital.

I am still crocheting the first of the boy's sweaters and will hopefully get them done before the christening on Sunday and then it will be all hands to the hook to finish off the Mother Of The Bride Lacy Duster.

I had to get some more blood tests done today and the practise nurse took my blood pressure and it was sky high. I told the nurse what had happened today and she said no wonder your pressure is high. Just go home, rest and take it easy. I have got my chair and my pouffe to put my legs up ready to sit down and do a bit more crochet.