Almost Finished

I have almost finished the first Blue Curacao shawl. I say the first as there will be enough wool left to make two shawls. As they are for gifts for different friends then Sylvia knows then they won't bump into each other whilst wearing them.

I have a couple of rows left to do on it so it is bigger than the photos that I took yesterday. Then I have to wet block it out so hopefully there will be some finished photos tomorrow.

My neighbour came to walk Buster yesterday but he refused to go with her. He got quite excited at the word walk but then wanted me to go as well. I feel sorry for him but I really can't take him out for a walk. The woodland is very uneven and quite slippy in parts so I am afraid d of slipping and falling even if I can manage to walk the distance. He has now de squeakered his new ball but I have managed to fish out the squeaker with the aid of a crochet hook and put it back for the moment although I know he will push it back into the ball by the end of today. It's amazing what other uses there is for crochet hooks. In the old days hairdressers used to pull strands of hair through plastic bags with a crochet hook to put streaks in ladies hair. Surgeons use fine hooks when doing varicose vein operations but I dread to think how they use them - the mind boggles..

Early this morning when I let Buster out into the garden it was snowing! Big flakes but thankfully they melted as they hit the ground. I am watching the TV news and lots of places have had lots of snow especially Scotland and Ireland. Awful weather when it is supposed to be Spring. Lots of teenagers injured and one killed in a coach crash in Lanarkshire. Lots of people stuck in their cars as the snow blizzards hit so suddenly.I do hope that the snow doesn't make it down to Manchester.

What a great day!

I had a wonderful birthday. Quite the best one I can remember in a very long time. Not because of the presents (which were very useful welcome ones) but the fact I had family and friends around me most of the day. For someone who spends 90% of her time alone (well apart from the dog) it was a day to remember.

First visitors were my brother and his wife who bought me a lovely warm hooded coat (pictured right on the photo) who stayed for about an hour. Next came my friend Caroline with her son who bought me the Sock Book pictured plus the chocolates and a bunch of flowers. Her husband couldn't quite believe that anyone would want a sock book as a present but I did and it was most gratefully received. I will certainly be making use of it once the Christmas knitting/crochet is out of the way. Whilst my friend was here my niece arrived with my present of some walking boots and then to fill up the house my son, his wife and their dog arrived. They bought me a much needed set of waterproofs for my dog walking (pictured left on the photo). They then took the two dogs out for a walk which freed me up from the second walk of the day. Much as I love Buster I was glad of the break. Everyone stayed for a couple of hours.

I ran Caroline home as she had gleaned some hanging files for my filing cabinet. She rescued them from the discarded pile at her work. They had updated the filing system so they were obsolete to them. They were only too glad of her taking them away and I was overjoyed to receive them for free. I will have quite a bit of work to do this week filing my personal stuff in one drawer and all my knit and crochet patterns in the other 3 drawers. Well what else does one use a filing cabinet for?

I am off now to sample my chocolates and have a drink to toast my Birthday and finish off a perfect day. I just hope Kevin's aran sleeve doesn't have too many mistakes if I have more than one drink!

Domiknitrix

My niece has bought a new knitting book called Domiknitrix (Whip your knitting into shape) by Jennifer Stafford and feel sure I would love to knit and wear this hat whilst walking the dog. Too scary do you think?

I am still slowly crocheting the black silk shawl but had a bit of a glitch and had to rip a full ball back so that kind of upset me a bit and have only just re crocheted the ball again. I went to the Cafe Nero on sunday to meet the Knitting Noras (famous as an article about us has appeared in a Knitting magazine) but only managed to crochet 3 rows in between chatting and having to go across the road to McDonalds to use the loo. Shame on you Cafe Nero only having one loo and it was out of order. Not many ladies at the club this week but I suppose the sun lured many away. I can't say much as I didn't go to the last meeting myself.

I have now got 3 grow houses and my little seeds are starting to emerge. I feel quite maternal when they poke their little heads out of the compost. My broad beans and lettuce have now been put into individual pots and are about 6" high now. I am quite a novice at all this veggie growing so it is very much trial and error and I read up a lot on the internet.

My crochet and knitting has taken a back seat as I am pottering in the garden in between walking the dog and my knit and crochet is only done in the evenings if I can stay awake! Today I need to drag my leaf hoover out of the garage and try to get rid of all the cherry tree blossom that is decorating the street like confetti making me quite unpopular with the neighbours. Hurts my back like hell but has to be done.

I am just watching Loose Women on tv and they are chatting about people getting refused operations on the NHS if they are smokers or obese. I should know as I have been refused a major back operation for the last 3yrs as my specialist says at 14st I am too heavy for him to operate. I have lost weight as I had gone up to 16st 8lbs from 11st when I first had the back problems and stopped doing anything but he is adamant no op unless I am 12.7lbs or less. Even my doctor who has tried to help me with the last stone or so says he can't see what the problem is as I do water aerobics, walk the dog twice a day, garden and keep as fit as my back pain will allow. My ex husband's step daughter has had a similar operation (different surgeon) and she weighs 19st!

I am off to walk the dog again for the second time. People said when I adopted him that the weight would fall off me but after 10 weeks I am still waiting for an ounce to drop off!

15 minutes of fame (part two)

Update on my 15 mins of fame ( see previous blogs) my water aerobics instructress today presented me with one of the "hard to get a hold of " leaflets. The leisure centre probably didn't do a re-print in case my face scared the kids! If anyone is following this blog and sees the above photo and laughs - well all I can say is I am glad I amused your day. I have no idea why the photographer had to choose a photo of me with my eyes shut and I also have no idea what I was finding so amusing at the time. Before you ask - no they don't have mirrors on the walls so I hadn't caught sight of myself in a swimsuit!

Today I went to Lidl as I had heard they had some yarn on sale. It was very basic acrylic DK as you would probably guess but I thought it was good value for the money and bought some red, white and blue (very patriotic!) and some grey random cotton for yet another pair of socks for the dog walking ( for me that is the dog doesn't fancy home made socks). They had some cotton that looked rather like 4ply but I didn't buy any of that as I could not think what I would use it for. I did a bit more on 4 needles welly sock for son (previous blog) but I did divert onto a pair of 2 needle boot socks for myself and am positively racing along with those. I would imagine though that I shall have to be very neat on the seaming of them or them could prove to be a very uncomfortable pair of socks even with another pair underneath! I shall let you know once they are finished and modelled on a long dog walk.

The dog is turning out to be part otter. Once he gets his feet in the stream with his stick he is proving very difficult to get out again. He will play Pooh sticks all day without getting bored. Even the exciting prospect of passing dogs doesn't distract him from his water!

My books turned up from Amazon today and at first glance I am very impressed. Candy Tots and Candy Babes by Candi Jenson. If you are a baby crocheter who likes the unusual then take a look on Amazon uk. Unfortunately you can't see the designs inside the books ( always a minus on the site I think I am sure they would sell more books if they gave a taster of contents) I suspect they will be US crochet terms and yarn but I feel sure that with a bit of tension swatching I will be able to improvise. There are some very cute garments, funky hats and gorgeous animal type baby bootees. I feel the urge to get the hook out but really must stick to the boot socks as I really need them. I will let you now when I have really read the book later tonight.

Fifteen minutes of fame

Andy Warhol once said everyone has their 15 minutes of fame. I had mine the other day when I was told I had featured on a programme for the local leisure centre advertising water aerobics and also on a poster in the foyer! I asked my friend to pick up a leaflet for me (I use the nearer pool) but they had run out of them and taken the poster down! Guess there is no point on my having an autograph session under the poster then (smile). I will have to find something else to be famous about. As long as I never become infamous!

I finished the 4 piece doll outfit as you can see. It is supposed to be a 5 piece outfit but I have run out of yarn for the doll's dress sleeves ( maybe it could be sleeveless?)

I found a web site today called Loop - d - loop and it featured some really openwork shrugs. If anyone would be prepared to buy anything like that maybe I could make my fortune crocheting something similar. More holes than a colander! I suppose if I was a designer then maybe people might pay a small fortune for any of my garments as it is I guess I will just stay with giving my modest efforts away as per usual.

I am still waiting for more benefits of my dog walking. No weight lost yet which amazes me as I thought that was the missing part of my attempts at dieting. I attributed weight loss failure to my lack of exercise. I even had diet pills from the doctor and even with a low fat diet nothing happened. I lost 3 stones without much effort but this last stone has defeated all attempts. It did start to move when I was given Lipotrim but I was so ill I lost the will to live. They don't tell you that you are constantly cold,feel sick all the time, have no energy and lose all your friends because you have such chronic halitosis. Plus the clinic was full of people who had gained all the weight back again once they tried to resume any form of normal eating and were on their 2nd attempts. Not exactly an incentive chatting to them!

The power of negotiation

Yesterday I received a phone call from the C.I.S regarding my bathroom claim ( see previous blog) and they have now decided to give me an ex gratia payment which is roughly 3 times the amount first offered. Just shows folks it pays to be firm and ask for what you think is a fair amount. I am now awaiting a quote for a new bathroom and all being well I will be able to have the bathroom back to normal soon.(Well hopefully better than normal as I want a few extras in the new one)

The crocheting and knitting has taken rather a back seat lately but the dog is settling down into some kind of a routine and although I have far less time than before at least the day flies by and I am no longer as bored as I have been of late. Plus the fact that the exercise is hopefully helping to strengthen my back muscles. I can't improve the spine, only my eventual surgery can hopefully do that, but maybe if the muscles get stronger I won't be in such intense daily pain. At the moment some days I can cope with the pain (with the help of the painkillers) but some days I have to drag myself to walk the dog wincing at every step. But hey no pain no gain. I have had the dog for 2 weeks now and I think the good days outweigh the bad.

The knitting and crocheting in progress is doll clothes at the moment as I am awaiting a set of 4 needles to be delivered so I can start one of the baby hats from the Itty Bitty Hat Book, There is one particular hat that is like an upturned flower and I really want to make one each for my 2 step great grand daughters. I have been knitting and crocheting small garments in the hope of dwindling my stash of yarn but of course usually the things I want to make I have all the wrong colours for so I finish up buying yet more yarn!

I am hopefully buying a new pc shortly as this one is rather geriatric. I might have broadband but it's more like a rubber band with this one. By the time the web site has opened I have forgotten what I was looking at it for! It would help if I got some ink for the printer as well. I am a bit technophobic really. I never did master how to programme the video and as for DVD well I just haven't bothered with one of those! It takes me all my time to set the alarm clock to the right time. Technology passes me by.