belated thanks, ravelling in it, and foodie friends.

I just wanted to say a belated thanks to my step-dad Bill, who came up to visit with my mum last weekend and washed both our cars and cut the grass. I am ashamed to say that mine hadn't been done since he did it last visit in May. Gulp!

I am having fun on ravelry. I now have 17 "friends" and have uploaded several of my finished projects, books, stashed yarns and queued some patterns I would like to make. AND, a friend and I have started a group called The Coconut Lodge, for all things Booshy, and we have 7 members! One thing I have noticed from putting up pics of my stash is that there is a lot of blue/green there. I need to add some colour desperately.

Less than a week until Sock Wars now. I have 3 possible yarns now. If my victim is female I'm sticking with the Natural Dye Studio BFL sock yarn

If my victim is male, I'm going with garnstudio Fabel
And if either of them are allergic to wool, I have some Rowan Bamboo Soft.
I have 3.25cm DPNs AND Addi circulars, so I'm all set. Let battle commence!!!

I have given up on The Angel Makers. When I bought it I thought it was going to be witchy and a bit supernatural but it has turned into a saga of a woman who gets beaten up by her fiance. No thanks! So I have abandoned it and gone for something I know I will like, Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice. Its the 5th in the Vampire Chronicles.

Last night we had a couple of friends round for dinner. We hadn't seen them since January. A very nice evening was had by all and my tuna fish pie went down very well. Heather brought some runner beans picked from her garden that day, and they were lovely with it. Colin bought some Stinking Bishop cheese, and I'm afraid it tasted to me like a cowpat, (not that I've ever tasted a cowpat! I came close once but that's another story) so I had some of the goat's cheese and the smoked Lancashire. Colin did a fancy starter of Ciabatta with Asparagus and Poached Egg, mmmm, delish!

On Tuesday we go to Manchester to see the radiotherapy team at Christie's. We should find out when Colin's treatment starts and for how long. Wish us luck.

Ravelry name

Hooray, I got on ravelry yesterday!!!

My username is ElectroGirl

Wow, that is one scary black hole of a place, several hours have just vanished without a trace!! I think I shall have to limit myself, but at the moment it is a HUGE novelty. There are some great resources for seeing what other people have made with yarns you may have in your stash, and also pics of things people have made from patterns you have made. 'Citin'!!!

Oh, and we need people for a Mighty Boosh ravelry group, so leave me a comment with your ravelry name if you are interested.

Podcasts

Oooo, two posts today!!

You may remember I treated myself to a little iPod nano a couple of weeks ago. I'm not a big music listener, but one thing I have discovered is PODCASTS. I really like listening to Jonathan Ross on a Saturday morning but as we usually go into town then, I only catch bits of it in the car on the way there and back. By downloading the podcast i can listen to it whenever I like and each new episode is automatically downloaded when I open iTunes. I have done the same with Russell Brand. You don't get any of the music (this is probably something to do with copyright laws and stuff) but you get all the chat in between. Russell has about 1hr 15min a week of him rambling on about a load of old twaddle. I think I might give the Chris Moyles one a whirl too.

Apart from radio shows there is a world of ordinary people doing their own free podcast recordings. You can search for anything and find someone has done a podcast on it, knitting, diabetes, reiki, anything you want. I can't vouch for the quality of any of this stuff though. You don't need to have an iPod to listen either, you can just download iTunes (which is free) and listen through your computer. Give it a whirl!

Can you tell what it is yet?

This is (was) my secret project. (Click to enlarge) I have confessed to the "victim" what i was doing and that it won't be in time for her birthday. (And that is despite the postal strike). It is going to take me a lot longer than I thought, and will be interrupted by Sock Wars anyway. So I'm going to send an alternative gift, and keep hold of this myself for now. Phew, I didn't realise you needed 18 stitch markers either. Luckily, thanks to Blossom who sent me 6 in my birthday surprise package, I did have enough in the right size. They are a bit of a mixture though. (BTW if anyone is still trying to figure it out, it is a Clapotis.)

I have just got gauge for Sock Wars in Garnstudio Fabel too, so if my victim is a man I will use that because it is blues/greens and greys. Not sure a man would want Shades of Grapefruit to be honest!

519 ahead of me for ravelry, I reckon I might just get on this evening!!! Now I just have to think of a cool name. A friend is going to start a Mighty Boosh group on there, so if you are interested leave me a comment, we need a couple more people to be able to set it up.

Secret projects

The secret project is a little bit ambitious. It would mean knitting like a demon for a few days, and that is not the best idea with my hands. So a little reassessment is in order. I will complete what I have started but not for the deadline I had intended. A new (smaller) secret project will be underway tomorrow. Watch this space.

1167 ahead of me now, that's about 2 days away!!!!

Swatching for Sock Wars!, sheep and secret projects

Woohoo, a week and a half to Sock Wars, and I'm in!! The artillery has been posted and the tools of the trade are 3.25mm DPNs and yarn to get a gauge of 25st x 34rows over 10cm. I swatched this this morning and guess what, got gauge first go, brilliant. I have had this yarn for about a year and never got round to using it, so it is perfect. I got it from Natural Dye Studio on ebay. It is their BFL sock yarn if anyone is struggling to find yarn for Sock Wars. I think this was called Sunbeam or Sunrise or something but i think I would call it Fruit Salad (after the chewy sweets) or Shades of Grapefruit. (The darker orange is quite pinky really like in a pink grapefruit.)

I just hope i can part with them when the time comes!

Another woohoo..........only 1876 people ahead of me for ravelry now! I could be on within the week at this rate.

I am working on a secret project too but there are tight time considerations so I'll see how i go, I don't want to overdo it with the hands.

I also have an order for some sheep stitch markers so I'm off to have lunch and get on with those this afternoon.

New socks & good news

Just a quick post to show off my finished Widdershins. They've only taken about 4 months to do !!!! (Click pics for HUGE close-ups!)

A bit tight to get on cos i cast off a bit too tightly, but they are lovely and fluffy to wear. So that's another one off the WIP list, I shall have to find something to fill the gaps!!

Also great news for Colin on Friday. We went to see the consultant and he confirmed that the tumour was completely removed with a good margin around it. He will still have the radiotherapy but that is "just in case". Hopefully after that is done, it will just be check-ups on a regular basis. Fingers crossed we can be relaxing in time for Christmas.

FLIC is finished!!!!

Woweee, I have a Finished Object, the first one in months. I started the Fabulous Lace Cardigan months ago before my enforced knitting ban, and it only needed a sleeve finished, sewing up and then the collar doing. So because my thumb and finger haven't been too bad lately i decided to do a little bit of knitting and finish it. Here is the result........... It still needs to be blocked, to make it a little longer, and uncurl the back of the collar, but I think its fab. If i had perfect fingers I'd make loads of these in different colours, but alas, I need to keep it nice and slow. What I'm really pleased about too is that I took my time over the sewing up and managed to do invisible joins! And its the first time I have done set-in sleeves which took a bit of working out to sew in, but once i got it, they turned out great.

I can now take this off my WIPs and plans list, hurrah!! I have Widdershins from knitty.com on the go, to keep me occupied until Sock Wars.

Oh, the details............
Pattern - Fabulous Lace Inset Cardigan from sweaterbabe.com
Yarn - Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Bulky in Lipstick Red, an absolute bargain at £2 a skein from ebay seller Oregon Trail , as it was a colour that they weren't happy with!!! I love it!
Needles - 8mm (and 7mm for part of collar)
Buttons - from ebay

Kites aloft! & FLIC

Today we went down to the Chester Kite Festival. When we got there it was blowing a gale and there were loads of kites flying like mad. This isn't a great picture, but the big orange one is a giant octopus. (Click to enlarge)
I particularly liked this dinosaur one
We had a bacon roll and decided to get a new kite, so we bought a stunt kite. However, you have to set it up with the right length lines before you can fly it and because it was so windy we decided to do that at home later. I wanted to get a kite into the air though so I got one of those little pocket ones that don't have any sticks, and managed to get flying briefly. There was going to be a display of stunt kiting, but suddenly the wind completely dropped and the kites could hardly get up off the ground so it was a bit disappointing. Ah well, we can have a bit of fun at the park one day this week.

On the knitting front, I have decided to do a little bit here and there, and test out my thumb. If it gets sore I will stop. So this evening I have done a bit more on my Fabulous Lace Inset Cardigan. I have sewed the shoulder seams and made a start on the collar. After that is done it is just a case of sewing the rest up, blocking, and its finished. Shouldn't take too long. I think I may need it as the weather has turned a bit chilly over the past week.

Nano, and a short update

Thank you to everyone who has sent their best wishes for Colin, it is very much appreciated. We have both been blown away by the messages we have received from friends and aquaintances far and wide. Colin's arm seems to be recovering well, we have to go back to the consultant next Friday for the results and a check-up. But he is not in any pain and is his usual self, apart from not doing any work. We have been into the offices a couple of times this week but nothing too strenuous. I have postponed my op for the time being until after Christmas, it just doesn't seem important under the circumstances.

Looky what I treated myself to today. Of course it is for my Reiki buiness - ahem!! Luckily it can run off the speakers that Colin has for his Creative Zen so i can use it during Reiki treatments rather than lug a CD player around all the time. That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it! Its tiny!! So far I have 2 albums on it, hee hee.

Here is a card I made this week for a friend's 50th, notice the subtle use of the number 50!! He is an Everton fan obviously and I used the name of his own business as the sponsor on the shirt. (Click pic to enlarge) And here is my poor old doggie looking a bit old these days. He is struggling to stay on his feet and seems to trip over fresh air.

My ravelry invite is getting nearer, this is the state of play at the moment.

You signed up on August 4, 2007
You are #22998 on the list.
6756 people are ahead of you in line.
11832 people are behind you in line.
46% of the list has been invited so far.

a difficult post to write

This is a difficult post to write, not least because my husband, family & some of my friends read this blog. However, everyone who needs to know the following in person has been told, so hopefully there will be no surprises.........

Last Wednesday we went for an appointment to get some results on a biopsy that my husband Colin had taken from a lump on his forearm. Unfortunately it wasn't the news we wanted and it was confirmed as a soft tissue sarcoma. We couldn't believe it, and the consultant couldn't believe it as he said that most of these lumps turn out to be nothing but a fatty deposit.

However, Colin went in to hospital on Thursday morning and the offending article was removed that afternoon. We are waiting on the results of what it actually was and whether they managed to completly remove it, although they were very confident that they had. He will still require 6 weeks of daily radiotherapy for "mopping up" any cells that may have been left behind. That doesn't start until the wound has healed though as they don't want the new healthy cells destroyed in the process.

I would like to thank 2 people in particular........firstly Colin's elder brother Niall who flew over from Ireland and arrived at the hospital on Thursday unexpectedly. We had no idea he was coming but it was lovely because I think I would have been a bit lost otherwise. We do not have any family locally and just to have him around and staying at the house with me while Colin was in hospital was a great help. Also as the hospital was 25 miles away, he drove which gave me a break from driving myself.

Secondly I'd like to thank my mum who spent a total of 16 hours on a coach here and back in the space of 56 hours just to support us after Niall left. Thanks Mum, especially for doing ALL my ironing!!

I'd also like to say thanks to all the friends who have sent us best wishes and offers of help, it is all very much appreciated.

The state of play is that we get the results of the pathology next Friday (28th). And possibly the stitches come out then too. In about 6 weeks time the radiotherapy starts at Christie's in Manchester and if all goes well that should be over by Christmas. As far as it goes, there is no chemotherapy involved, but there will be lots of follow up appointments to keep an eye on things for the foreseeable future.

Colin is absolutely fine in himself. He didn't feel ill before and he doesn't feel ill now. He is not even in any pain from the op. And he has a really positive attitude which can only help. But he IS going to slow down a bit. He has cancelled any work he had on (he is a self employed psychologist) and is just going to finish a couple of reports which need writing up over the next month or so. But hopefully all will be back to normal in the new year.

I am doing my best too, but I have the odd "moment"!! I think you have to let these things out now and again, its best not to keep them completely bottled up. But as far as it goes, things are looking good.

It was hard to know whether to blog about this or not, but Colin was fine with it, he hasn't held back from telling everyone the full story, he says its best to just get it all out in the open. I was going to try to write some arty post about dark clouds and light on the horizon, but that's not my style, so this is what you get. I know you will all wish us the best, and I thank you in advance.

Knitting fun.

This is the book I ordered from greenmetropolis. It still had its original price of £8.99 on it and was in perfect condition for £3.75! Looks like fun! I also got my two Reiki books but they are over on my other blog . Not a lot else to report today.

Sock wars, reiki & vampires.

Well it is happening again........SOCK WARS!!! I missed out last year but have signed up for this year, hopefully my hands will be healed by then. I'll have a good 2 weeks recovery time. The details are here and you sign up here. Come on you lot, you know you want to!!!

Boo hiss, bad postie!! No amazon books yet, and no business cards either. I did get a copy of Reiki news magazine on Saturday though. I have been wondering whether to get a subscription from the USA but wanted to see a copy first. Someone on ebay was selling a copy from 2005 so I bought it. Coincidentally there was an article in it called Reiki and knitting!! Anyway it was pretty good so I think I will probably get a subscription. There are a couple of back issues I wouldn't mind reading too.

I eventually finished Sandstorm last night. It was a good read, a bit of a supernatural slant and supposition about the city under the sand protected by the queen of Sheba. I have just started Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan. Yeah, yeah, I know its a kid's book but who cares as long as you enjoy it! And its got vampires in it.

Hooked on Art

As much as I enjoy getting emails, there is nothing like the anticipation of waiting for the postman, especially when you know there are things on their way. My postman comes around about the time I leave for work. Sometimes he gets to the house and posts the stuff through the door, sometimes I catch him in the street and he hands me the post through the car window, and sometimes I don't see him at all and I have to wait all day until I get home. And sometimes he just doesn't come at all.

This morning he managed to beat me to it and two packages landed on the mat. The first contained a set of pretty crochet hooks that I ordered from eBay a couple of days ago. Aren't they nice? I think they will encourage me to have another go at the crochet. The sizes range from 2mm to 8mm so something for every thickness of yarn there.

I was nosing through etsy the other day for pictures of ATCs (artist trading cards) because I thought I might have a go at making some. However, the standard is very high, and I'm not very artistic. Anyway during my search I found this seller who had listings for ACEOs ('Art Cards, Editions and Originals') which are the same size as ATCs - 3.5in x 2.5in, but are miniature prints of larger art works. I thought that her work was beautiful and decided to order one of her pictures. I chose this one:

It is called Night Ride. It is #15 of a limited edition of 50. The colours are more vibrant in real life. Anyway, enclosed with it was this one as a free gift!! It is a new design of hers called Dream by the River and it is #1! How lucky am I? I'm just trying to work out how to leave feedback on etsy as I want to say how pleased I am with them.

I forgot to post a picture of my final set of bookmarks from the swapbot swap, here they are, from SweetJewels. The moon one is lovely and colourful.

I am now waiting for the lovely postie to bring me some Reiki business cards from Vistaprint, some books from Amazon and another book from greenmetropolis.

Last night we went to the pub quiz with Mel & Stu (who are so loved up, ahhh cute) and Phil. These are all people I used to work with in the bookshop about 5 years ago. In the shop we had a mediaeval crypt, so we were going to call ourselves Tales from the Crypt, but then Stu suggested Snails from the Crypt because it used to be REALLY slow in the shop on a Sunday. So that was our team name. We got 35 out of 50 which was joint 4th and we won a box of Jaffa Cakes!!

Crochet - away!!!!!!

My attempt at crochet. The first row is a real bu**er, I don't think I like it. And it takes AGES! I was using very thin wool (sock wool) and a small hook (3.5mm) I suppose. And it still made my finger hurt, the thumb wasn't too bad. The instructions are hard to understand too. I don't know, I can't decide. I'll give it another go later.

I have gone over to the Dark Side!!!

I just wondered if it would be easier to do, what with my thumb and finger. I'm having a read through at the moment, it only arrived yesterday. I have a couple of hooks already from doing a bit of edging on my knitting, and I'm sure I can find a few odds and ends of yarn around somewhere - ahem! I have crocheted some granny squares in the past, but that is about my limit really, oh and the flap on my mum's felted bag.
Ulgh, I've got so many things i want to do, and I'm not getting round to any of them, sigh!!

Dee Reiki

Check out my other blog here

I am The Master

On Friday morning the two books we ordered from the Book Depository arrived. Colin has already started his but I am still getting through Sandstorm, so I can't read mine yet. We also bought another 4 between us today. We were in town, and because it is a Sunday there is a small market in the townhall square. The paperback bookstall does 2 for £5, so a tenner later we happily walked away with two Stephen Kings for himself, and two Phil Rickmans for me. What is it about the allure of books for us? We have LOADS already and yet the chance of going to Borders or Waterstone's or anywhere that sells books is just irresistable. It's like an addiction to cigarettes or something. But why??

I also had my Reader's Delight exchange book arrive Saturday morning. It is not a book I would choose at all. I am going to try it, but I'm wondering if perhaps it might be something my mum would like, even though she is not a big reader and prefers biographies. I'll see. It came with some cute sheepie notepaper, and was from GrannySmith.
Yesterday I became a Reiki Master! I went off for my training, and am now qualified to practice as a Reiki Master and also attune others. That is going to take some practice though as the attunements are quite complicated. I'll have to follow the manual for a bit. I don't envisage that I will do a lot of that side of it, but i do now feel qualified to offer treatments on a more professional basis. We'll see how it goes. I'll maybe get some business cards done with the address of the offices on them. I will need to get insurance first though, don't want anyone falling off my couch and suing me!!!

Last night we arranged to meet a couple of friend's in the local pub. When we got there we found them at the back shouting at each other. Not having a row, but trying to be heard over the noise. The pub had some really old footage of horse racing on the big screen and customers were betting on the horses for 50p a go. It was all very loud so we stayed for one, and i went back and got my car (don't panic, I don't drink - ever!)and we went a bit further afield to the pub where my knitting club meet. It was much quieter and more civilised. We are going to get together again on Thursday and do the pub quiz, which should be fun. Haven't been to the quiz for ages. We'll have to think up a good team name in the meantime, any suggestions?

So Big Brother came to an end on Friday night. I was kind of leaning towards Ziggy or Liam near the end but it was always going to be either the twins or Brian. And the show wasn't even over before Davina was gining details of next years auditions. Will it never end???

Thanks for all the encouragement about the writing BTW. Much appreciated. I just hope I can pull it off!

Tree

When we were on our walk on Monday we came across this oak tree, and I just happened to have my camera with me for a change. It's incredible that it is still alive with such a huge hole through the middle of it, but it seems to be flourishing.

I think I can incorporate this into my story somehow. I have begun reading back over it, to get my head around the story again. And do you know, it isn't half bad. For those of you who don't know, I had a mad writing fortnight about 18 months ago, following the principle of NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and the book that accompanies it "No Plot, No Problem" except that I didn't do it online through NaNoWriMo because I did it in February!! I managed to write 25,000 words of a children's novel in that time, then got writer's block, and made the fatal mistake of stopping. I haven't written another word of it since. The two people I have allowed to read it have said it is really good and that i should finish it. Last week in the Saturday Times, there was a competition to submit a children's novel by a first time writer, with a chance to be published by Chicken House. The deadline is November. Hmmmm, could I finish by then????

Postponed

My op has been postponed until 28th September, so another no-knitting month ahead. To be honest, I am getting used to it but will be happy to do some when I eventually can. I can't wait to use the Opal Neon that Blossom sent me for my birthday. I am not in as much discomfort as i was so i think the rest has done it good but I still can't bend my left thumb or right little finger.

Back at work today after the week off. The phones seem to be working fine. I was in late though because i had to wait for our new mattress to be delivered. We don't have the bed to put it on yet though, that is still being made. We went out and bought some new quilt covers and sheets in Next on Sunday though. We are going down from a super king size bed to a normal double. I do like my big bed but I think we will have a bit more room in the bedroom when we get rid of it.

Yesterday we ended up going for a walk near the river on the English/Welsh border at Holt/Farndon. Holt is in Wales and Farndon is in England and they are separated by the bridge over the Dee. Pincess Diana's ex-butler Paul Burrell had a shop in Farndon but we noticed yesterday that he has moved across the bridge into Holt. As it was bank holiday the little cafe in Farndon was closed so we headed back towards Chester and somehow seemed to drift off course and end up at Borders for a Starbuck's. Hmmm, now how could that have happened?? We had a good old mooch around the books but managed to escape empty handed, only to come home and order the books we almost bought from The Book Depository instead, saving ourselves about £5 in the process. Colin is getting the new Thomas Eidson and I spotted an interesting novel called The Angel Makers. Not that I NEED any more books!!!!

I am going to do my Reiki Master level on Saturday. I will then feel qualified to treat people officially. I'm still getting great results on my distance healing, my step-dad had a backache for a couple of weeks and when i sent the Reiki it was better the next day. Spooky!!

A poorly titled post!

Blimey, a whole ten days without blogging. You'll all be abandoning me!

Well my new computer is now up and running. Lovely and fast although it does sound as if it is doing something in the background all the time. Maybe it is, who am i to say how the magic works? I got a new keyboard and mouse too which i am getting used to. I keep hitting 2 keys at once.

We have had a week off from the office so hopefully it will still be in one piece when we get back on Tuesday. We haven't been away, just "pottering". On Monday afternoon we popped up to the zoo, and were very priviledged to see one of the Red Pandas

(not my photo) on the ground for a change. They are usually asleep at the top of a very tall tree. And I don't know how they managed it because we thought the 2 panda's were sisters, but one of them has produced some babies which can just about be seen as blurs on a video monitor near the enclosure. These are maybe my second favourites after the orangutans.

On Tuesday we went to the cinema in the afternoon. Quite odd really, I kept thinking I'd forgotten to have my dinner! Anyway, we saw The Bourne Ultimatum. A great action film, non-stop. I will have to try a Robert Ludlum book at some point. I reckon Matt Damon might be able to play the part of Shane "Scarecrow" Schofield if they ever get round to making the film of Ice Station. Oooo I've just looked, and Hugh Jackman has been suggested on the Matthew Reilly website. Good choice.

I am currently reading Sandstorm by James Rollins. A good old adventure story concerning strange artifacts and goings on in the Oman desert. Pretty good. Similar to Matthew Reilly but not quite so break-neck. I am also still reading Various Haunts of Men but it got a bit dull so I left it to one side for a bit.

You will never guess what came in the post last week................

Oh yes, the infamous Galm Rock Ski Suit Socks have returned home at last. They've only been away for 6 months!!! They did return with a free pattern book though, which was a nice gesture on the part of Simply Knitting. Unfortunately it was all baby patterns, so no good for me but I may be able to use some of the stitch patterns in something else.

This morning we went to the Wirral Food & Drink Festival. It was very similar to the Chester one but was held on a farm in a big field. I got to have my second Hog Roast bap of the year which was delicious. We bought a few odds and sods including some big halibut steaks which we polished off for dinner this evening.

I had my second lot of bookmarks from the swap-bot swap.

These were from Violette. Just one more to come now, and a book from the CTnY bookswap. I was wondering whether to do a disposable camera swap. You get a camera, take photos of various things and then send it to your partner to get processed. So you don't know what pictures you are going to get until you process the film. Hmmm, I'll think about it a bit more, the closing date isn't until Saturday.

Anyway, back to the last week. On Wednesday Colin's brother Niall came over from Ireland for a quick visit, and also to sort out the office phone system which hasn't been quite right since it was put in. He was in the office for the best part of a day but it is now working fine and i know how to transfer and get back calls without losing people!! Always a bonus! He headed back to Ireland on Friday. We did go out on Thursday night to the fish restaurant The Foxcote Inn. Delicious!

Saturday was our usual trip into town and then today was the food festival. So that about brings us up to date. Now to think of a good title for this post. That's the bit I'm poor at. Oh, okay, I know.......

Fenina

I have managed to upload the picture of Fenina, in the end by taking a photo of the photo!! This is a pic of her when I first started sponsoring her, she was 6 then and is now 8.

At last, the wait is over.....

Ok everyone, check out THEARTOFIT. It's well worth a look, and well worth the long wait. Go Nina, go Nina, go Nina. Wooohoooo!

(PS. This post has now got pics.)

Yesterday when I got home I had a package from Denmark. It was from one of my swap partners in the bookmark swap. She only had to send 2 bookmarks but she had sent a shop bought one, FOUR handmade ones and a handmade booklet of a Hans Christian Anderson story to go with the shop bookmark. The HCA bookmark is one of those magnetic ones that goes over the page.


I gave her a 5 rating and a heart for going the extra mile. I felt a bit bad that the ones I sent to my partners weren't as good but I have had 2 ratings and one of them even gave me a heart!!

Op date, Nia, & Nina

I had a call this morning from the treatment centre. They have given me an appointment for my op, 29th August. I'm not sure if they are doing one or both together, I'll wait for the letter with all the details. Think i'd better call my Reiki teacher and get some advice on whether it is still ok to do the Master level with bandages on!

The barbeque yesterday was good. Met some nice people. There was a woman there who is going to be running classes in the Nia Technique. She has just trained in it and was very enthusiastic. Its an exercise class involving a bit of yoga, martial arts, and dance. It sounds quite interesting so i told her I might give it a go and to let me know through Mandy when it is starting. I can go once and see if it is for me anyway.

Apparently, according to the comments on my last post, Nina's blog is imminent.........watch this space!!!

No pics today, my computers gone away....

(Note: Now edited to add pics. Couldn't get the scanner to work at home for the pic of Fenina!)

I found this blog today, a great idea. Try to change something small for the good of the environment every day and then keep it as a permanent change, so that you are gradually becoming a greener person.

On Thursday I went for my appointment with the orthopaedic surgeon. I found the hospital (not my local one) with the help of the TomTom (GPS). Its a new treatment centre so it was all clean and sparkly, and they claim MRSA-free. I was shown through on time and saw the surgeon who agreed that surgery was the solution. On both. So I was basically then given a pre-op assessment, loads of medical questions, MRSA swabs taken to make sure i didn't bring it in with me, blood tests, wee test, heart trace, blood pressure, weight, height, blah, blah, blah. They were going to give me a date there and then but by the time all that was done the office had closed so i am waiting for an appointment in the post. It all seemed very efficient and i got the impression i wouldn't be waiting that long. I've got a feeling I might just be doing my Reiki Master level in bandages after all.

It is now Saturday and I have had birthday cards in the post every day since Wednesday. I think the last one came today as it was from my step-aunt which is always the last one i get. So I had a total of 11 cards this year, not too bad. On Wednesday afternoon I had a huge plant delivered from the florist from my mum. Its called a Tulip of Thailand.

My step-sister sent me some essential oil infused heat pads for my hands, they smell gorgeous.

I put T's Boosh head in the back of my car. It's the nearest I'll get to a Boosh Van but there you go, I can show my fan status off to other drivers.

And I had a card from my friend Mark who I know from when i worked in the path lab in Bangor between 1991 and 1996. He has eventually got onto the internet so I can now email him. We will probably be in touch a lot more now as it is so much easier. And he is threatening a blog too, which should be good. (Come on Nina, you have to start yours before he does!!) Mark and I did a creative writing evening course back in 1995 and have both threatened to write a book since. I think I have made the most progress with my 25,000 words but neither of us has finished anything.

The footie season has started! Colin is a long time Leeds United fan from since he was about 4 and now that they have slipped down into League 1 they are playing at Tranmere Rovers on the Wirral today. So he has gone up with a friend to see them for the first time ever. I think he's a bit excited but he didn't show it, hahah. Growing up in Ireland he used to pretend he was Billy Bremner (cos he's a redhead) and those were the days before football went all commercial and replica shirts weren't available. But his mum, who was the perfect housewife, made a big number 4 and sewed it onto the back of a white T-shirt for him. How cute is that?

Tomorrow we are going to Mandy's for her son Tom's 18th birthday. These are the family that we usually spend Boxing Day with. Although a lot of Tom's friends are going to be there, he said he also wanted some adults there too and asked us!!! Hmmm.

I have my new computer, but I am writing this on Colin's because mine isn't connected to the internet yet. Some kind of network thing isn't working yet, so we have to wait for the IT guy to sort it out. It looks pretty cool though, and all my files appear to have been transferred over from the old one. I think I should have enough hard drive space now with 320Gb!!!!!. The old one had 60 I think and I'd only used half of that!!

Right, I'm off to write to the little girl I sponsor in Nigeria. I decided to do it after watching Live8 in 2005. I do it through ActionAid, and have had several messages from her during the 2 years i have been sponsoring her. She is 8 years old, and very cute. I'll try to scan in a picture.

It's my birthday and I'll knit if I want to.....

Well no I won't actually cos I'm not allowed but I wish I could cos I got some knitting goodies I want to use NOW!

This was my CTnY Summer Birthday Surprise package from Blossom (I had guessed right!).

Some Opal Neon sock yarn in wonderful shades of purple, blue and green. I just want to start knitting it RIGHT NOW!! There was also a rosette kit, some Heaven chocolate, a lovely card and these stitch markers which are gorgeous.

Thank you Blossom. It's lovely when a complete stranger sends you such wonderful things. I hope my partner likes what I am going to send to them.

Here is the Mika CD from my mum. She also sent some money, choccie and some fancy shampoo!

Colin got me this lovely card that looks a bit like Podge! And the My Chemical Romance CD. He is also getting me a spanking new computer, which will be ready on Friday.

And look what T sent!! Hee hee heee heeeeeeee!! Made by her own fair hand. It's fabulous, dahhhling!

Colin took me out for a meal last night cos he will be a bit late home this evening. This is what we had and we went to Moules a Go Go...........

King Prawns for Colin, and Red Pepper Hummus for me,

Rissotto for Colin & Sea Bass for me,

followed by Rhubarb & Ginger sponge with cream shared between the 2 of us. Yummy!!!!

Today I have the day off so I am going up for a mooch around Borders and have a lovely frothey decaff cappucino. Ahhhh, and the sun is shining too, couldn't be better.

14697 people are ahead of you in line!!

Another little parcel was waiting for me this morning when I got into the office. It was from T, who has sent me a lovely birthday card and a little present which is very squishy, but I'm not opening it till tomorrow. Aren't birthdays fun, the anticipation is the best bit!

I have added my name to the invite list for ravelry. When I go to check where I am on the list this is the message I get..........

You signed up on August 4, 2007
You are #22998 on the list.
14697 people are ahead of you in line.
654 people are behind you in line.
34% of the list has been invited so far

I think I will have a long wait as they are inviting about 300 people a day. Fine by me though, because hopefully by the time mine comes through I will have had my op and my hands will be back in full working order ready to upload all my knitting projects and get on with them. I am off to the treatment centre for my assessment on Thursday afternoon.

I finished Salem's Lot last night. I was warned that it was very scary but I didn't think it was too bad. I don't think I would like to watch the film though. I have picked up The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill to read next but I also got The Artist's Way in the post yesterday so am hoping to work my way through that in the coming weeks too. It was recommended to me by my physio actually.

Swapping Monkeys

Ooo, I had a mystery parcel arrive on Saturday. It was my CTnY Summer Birthday Surprise package. I opened the outer envelope, and inside were several little parcels wrapped in tissue paper. Can't wait till Wednesday to open them. I will post pics then. I think I know who it is from, because there was a postcode on the envelope, but I'll wait to see if I am right.

There was also a package from my mum, which contained the Mika CD. Not going to listen to it until Wednesday either! Aren't I good?

I sent off a book to my partner in the Reader's Delight bookswap on Thursday, but I haven't heard whether they have received it or not. As this is my first swap, I don't know if you get an email when they acknowledge receipt of it or not. I put in a couple of my sheep stitch markers and a notebook and a bookmark too. I now have the names and addresses of my bookmark swap partners, 2 in the US and one in Australia. I wonder who is going to be sending to me. I managed to find some bookmarks in town on Saturday and I've made the handmade ones already so I'm ready to send those off too. I also have to wrap up the things I have for my Summer Birthday Surprise partner, and that has to go off soon.

I have just heard The Arctic Monkeys on the radio which reminded me of a band featured in Q magazine this month. They are a tribute band called The Antarctic Monkeys. But they are also a support band called something else, and they are the support act for........... The Antarctic Monkeys. In other words, they support themselves! That way people going to see them as The Antarctic Monkeys see them as themselves too so they get a bit of promotion. What a good idea.

Poor old Podge!

My poor old dog. His back legs are getting a bit weak and wobbly, and he keeps falling down the stairs and making me scream as he lands in an upside down heap at the bottom. Two days ago I screamed AND burst into tears. He just gets up and walks away! Anyway if this is what he does when we are in the house, how many times does he do it when we are not there?

The solution? Colin went to Argos yesterday and bought a stair gate. The dog is not happy. Usually at night he comes up with us and sleeps on the floor beside Colin's side of the bed. Last night we shut the stair gate and he couldn't come up. For at least an hour he prowled back and forth, back and forth, from the bottom step out into the dining room (where his feet clippity clop on the laminate floor) and back like a caged jaguar at the zoo. I think he eventually jumped onto the sofa in the living room and slept. We already bought a carpet runner for the dining room because he started to slip while he was eating his dinner, until all 4 legs were splayed out under him and he couldn't get up cos it was too slippery. Bless him! I have left him at home today sulking cos he can't go up and lie on the bed all day.

We have started thinking about a Christmas meal for the people who use The Consulting Rooms. We are probably going to go to moules a go-go. We have been before and the food is great.

I have now joined a third swap on swap-bot. I am in the CTnY's summer birthday surprise and reader's delight bookswap and yesterday I joined a bookmark swap where you send 1 handmade and 1 shop bought bookmark to your partner. I am ready to post off the first two swaps, and am waiting for a package to arrive for my birthday next week. The third one hasn't been allocated yet but I have made my bookmarks already. For the bookswap I am sending this book, which I really enjoyed. And I'll put in a little something extra too!

Films, TV, books etc

I have now had 3 sessions at the physio where she has done ultrasound on my little finger. Results? No change. I have one more session before I go for my assessment at the ortho's. But the physio seems to think I will have to have the op on both my thumb and finger. They don't do both at the same time though. I'm hoping they don't do it the last week in August cos I'm doing my Reiki Master level on 1st September and it wouldn't really do to turn up with one hand swathed in bandages.

Charley is OUT!!!! Hurrah!!! Trouble is the house has gone a bit quiet now. Maybe she should have stayed in. Ah we are so fickle. New housemates not really floating my boat either.

Something very rare happened in our house on Saturday. I did some tidying!!! Major tidying of the bedroom. All the dusty shoes came out from under the bed, all the old bags came out from where they had been stuffed in the wardrobe. All the cr*p on top of the drawers is gone (apart from the 50 or so books that constitute my "to be read" pile.) So after that we decided to get a new bed. Our current one is an IKEA bigger than kingsize and is rather big. We are going for a normal double so we will have a bit more room around the bed rather than in it. We are getting it from the same place we got our other bedroom furniture so it will match. They make them up from scratch and stain them too. Just have to find a good mattress now.

My alliums came out finally, and the bees absolutely love them. They are very tall though and all the rain has mostly flattened them to the ground, which is a shame.





Harry Potter now seems like a distant memory. I've just got the the middle of Salem's Lot and it is getting a bit scary. The vampires in it are the nasty type, not the suave, sophisticated types from the Anne Rice books. The book was written in 1975, and it is good not to have the presence of computers and mobile phones. However, it seems every single character smokes!

Talking of spooky things, I have become a recent convert to Supernatural.



I started watching part way through Series 2 but didn't really know the backstory, so I bought the full set of series 1 DVDs which I am trying to plough through. I like it because it is a bit X-file-y which was my favourite programme for the whole of its 9 series. I think Dean Winchester may replace Fox Mulder in my affections. (Wink to Colin who is convinced I only watch TV programmes where I fancy one of the characters - and he's probably right, but that doesn't explain why I watch Corrie!!) There are some great in-jokes like the episode which stars Linda Blair. At the end, Dean says to Sam, "Did she look familiar? I really fancy some pea soup right now."

Last week there was a lot of hype about Heroes so we watched it. Can't say it really grabbed me, it was a bit of a cross between X-men and 4400, both of which I like. I'm not sure if it is going to draw me in but I'll give it another episode or two. Watched The DaVinci Code on Saturday night and it was okay but the book was better.

I sound like a complete TV addict - probably true, but look at the weather!!!

Daemons

A friend just pointed me towards the website for The Golden Compass film based on the His Dark Materials books by Phillip Pullman. I can't wait for this film. On the site you can find out what your daemon is like. I can't seem to get it to embed in this blog, but mine is an osprey. Have a go!

Addiction

65%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?

Free Online Dating from Mingle²

Hmm, that's a bit worrying!!

Quick thumb update

I have an appointment for a pre-op assessment on 9th August, eek! A day after my birthday :o(

HP, art, thumb, floods

Last Wednesday we took advantage of Orange Wednesdays and went off to see Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. Hopefully I am not spoiling anything as I am assuming that most poeople have now read this book (although that is a huge assumption to make!). The film was good, and the 2 hours 10 minutes flew past, but I'm afraid there were some omissions which just brought back "Winkiegate" all over again. By "Winkiegate" I am referring to the fact that although the house-elf Winkie was an integral part of the book HP & the Goblet of Fire, she was completely omitted from the corresponding film! So, some of the omissions from this film included:

Tonks' hair was not pink and didn't change colour; Although only Luna and Harry could see the Thestrals, no one mentioned this fact when they all jumped on them to fly to the Ministry of magic; There was no portrait of Mrs Black in the hallway of Grimauld Place screaming abuse; and although Kreacher was there, his part in the book wasn't covered in the film. There were others which I can't remember now, because I've read the new HP since.

So, go and see the film, but be prepared to come out saying "Where was the bit where.....?"

(I currently have Radio 2 on in work, and they have been trailing a programme about the songs of Noel Coward. I think a much funnier and popular programme would be "the Songs of Noel Fielding" - "crouton, crouton, crunchy friends in a liquid broth", "I am electro boy, I am electro girl"!! Genius!)

Well we had an interesting time on Friday. We had arranged to go and visit a friend near Reading for the weekend. As he was going to be working all day Friday we thought we would take our time going down and take A-roads instead of just hurtling down the motorways. So off we went in the rain. After stopping for some lunch we headed on down towards Redditch and Stratford. Well, you know what the weather was like. The puddles got larger, the roads got wetter, the traffic got slower, and we ended up in a VERY slow moving queue, while watching the water outside the car getting higher. And we were heading downhill. Not good, when there are floods you really want to be going uphill. In the end we turned round, and abandoned the trip. I had visions of the car floating away and us wading through waist deep water with our bags over our heads. All I could think about was that there were no floods north of us so that was the direction to go in. So after a seven and a half hours round trip we ended up back where we started, at home. And what a good job we did, because all the places flooded on the news were exactly the places we were heading towards. I am very sorry for all the people who have been flooded but am also very relieved that we didn't get caught in it. It was a shame we didn't get to see Dave though.

Of course it did mean that we were home on Saturday morning so Colin went off to do the weekly shop as usual at 7am. He went to Tesco where you had to spend £50 to get Harry Potter for a fiver. So he got one. Then on his way back, he popped into Morrisons just to see how much they were selling it for, and it was £4.99 with no minimum spend so he got another copy so we wouldn't have to fight over it. We spent the weekend racing each other until we both finished it yesterday, with me winning by a couple of hours.

There was some time off of HP though. Sunday morning we decided to go out for breakfast because we would have if we'd been away. We went down to the Blue Moon cafe by the river in town, and had two cooked breakfasts. Phew, I didn't half enjoy it, I could have eaten another one straight after. Then we went to B&Q for some boards for the loft, and after went to a garden centre on the Wirral where the National Exhibition of Wildlife Art was on display. We bought these two.

They are very nicely framed too. We can't have them for a couple of weeks as they are still on display, but then they are ours. Ah, I wish I was that good at drawing.

Well yesterday I went off to physio. The physio I saw was very nice and easy to talk to. She didn't yank my thumb back but gently stretched it to its limit. She thinks that the little finger may respond to an injection but the thumb will probably need surgery. I have now been referred on , (although I do have to go back to see her a couple more times in the meantime,) to be assessed for the next stages. So another appointment to wait for.

Well I think that's everything caught up.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - done!

Phew, 600 pages in 3 days, what a marathon, but its all done and dusted now. I'll say no more, don't want to spoil anything!

Nothingness, books & swaparama

Do you have one of those phases where absolutely nothing happens, and you just plod along one day to the next? My mum phoned on Sunday and I had nothing to say about the previous week! The only things I had to say she already knew from reading this!

I finished The Cold Moon on Saturday and then hummed and haw-ed about my Harry Potter dilemma. I had a go at Fantastic Stories by Terry Jones but didn't think they were fantastic at all. A bit pointless actually. So I'm afraid I fell for the lure of Tunnels. During breaks for eating and a bit of "dropping off" I managed to get through half of it on Sunday and am now about two thirds through. Well on target for finishing before Saturday. I should get a bit of time to read it tomorrow as I am off work to wait for the cavity wall men to come and insulate us. They are going to do the loft too as apparently we have to have 26cm and we only have 6. Its all part of some council scheme to save energy. Hopefully it'll warm us up in the winter cos our bathroom is absolutely freezing.

So Tunnels is okay, not earth-shattering but an interesting concept, a whole other world beneath us that we don't know about.

I have also been swapping away on readitswapit. I have 3 swaps on the go at the moment. Its funny how it goes in waves, nothing for months and then 3 in one go. Just like buses!

Oh, my alliums are out now but I haven't been able to get out and take a picture in between downpours. Isn't it getting on your nerves?

And gawd help us, but Charley has escaped nominations AGAIN this week. Typical that we managed to get her out last week only to have her sent straight back in thinking the whole world loves her and that it was all done for her. I would really like to know how she developed her opinion of herself, its all like water off a duck's back. I thought last night's naked nominations were quite amusing though, and Brian just gets funnier every day. So, Jerry or Nicky, Jerry or Nicky, hhhmmmmmm????????

Literary Limbo!!

I am currently in a literary limbo. I have a book on the go, still The Cold Moon by Jeffery Deaver. It is trundling along nicely, and I should get a bit more read this afternoon, as I am not at work (but then again, there IS ironing I could be doing, sigh!). But what do I do if I finish it? Is it worth starting another book, or do I wait for Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. It is still a week away, but if I get caught mid-book, Colin will jump in and read it first and then he'll know what happens before me!! It is going to be very difficult as it is, to not find out what happens before I read it, cos somewhere someone is going to mention it, aren't they?

I shall also be bumping HP up the TBR pile, and recklessly discarding everything else once it is here in my hot little hands. This is my list of books "to be read", and not all of them are registered on here either. And what did I go and do last night? I suggested we go to Borders "just for a Starbucks" but of course it didn't end there. I came home with a "buy one get one half price".

The first one was "Tunnels", which is rumoured to be the Next Big Thing in kid's fiction. I almost didn't buy it because I don't want to be disappointed if I don't enjoy it after all the hype. The other one was "Grave Doubts" by Elizabeth Corley which sounds good. I don't read a lot of UK set thrillers, but I was drawn to this one.

I'm getting fed up with Simply Knitting magazine. I have sent a couple of emails now about my competition socks and have had no reply, and I want them back!! I can't seem to get any response. I did have an email at least 6 weeks ago saying they were all being returned, but I haven't had mine, and Sweet Camden Lass hasn't had hers either. Gggrrrrrr!

I want doesn't get!

I want to KNIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaarrrggghhhh!!!

I haven't really been that bothered for the last few weeks, but all of a sudden I want to knit, badly. I want something to do while I'm watching TV. I want the satisfaction of making something with my own hands and wearing it. I want to buy lovely yarn but I can't justify buying it if I can't do anything with it. My two boxes of yarn sit mocking me in the corner of the spare bedroom. The cats on my knitting bag are grinning at me maliciously.

How much longer am I going to have to wait????????? Sigh!!!

Oooo, gotta tell you this! Spoke to my mum yesterday and she told me that when I'd been writing the entry about our adventure on the rocks in Cornwall, they had been out with friends telling them exactly the same story, at almost exactly the same time. She said they hadn't even thought about what happened for years. Spooky!!! (Cue doo-doo doo-doo music!!)