Beach and celebration

As Colin is going over to Manchester for a course this weekend, we decided to take Thursday and Friday off. Today we are just pottering and doing bits and pieces but yesterday we decided to take The Gorgeous One on a little outing. We jumped in the car and headed up to West Kirby on the Wirral and here is where Charlie got his first experience of sand.




Not sure what he makes of it really but he was quite interested in some horse droppings on the beach!










There were lots of other dogs around and he managed to get on with all of them. Here he is saying hello to a couple of larger dogs. He was also quite taken with a rather attractive lady jogger and set off running to heel with her for a few metres until we managed to get his attention back to us.





And here he is trying not to have his lead put back on when it was time to go home.











I am getting through my Argosy scarf but the second skein is a bit different in colour to the first, I guess that's a risk you take with hand-dyed yarns. There is a darker blue in the second skein but i don't think it would be that noticeable when wearing it because there are so many other colours there. It is about 70% done so will be in time to be a present I think.

This morning I received some yarn that i ordered from a German seller on ebay. I had seen this seller mentioned on another blog but now I don't know where it was.

This cost me about a fiver including postage from this seller. It is 50% wool, 20% merino, 20% acrylic and 10% viscose. The colours are darker than on the ebay photo and also a bit redder than this photo. The colourway is called Celebration.







It is quite unusual because it is 5 strands of very fine yarn and it hasn't been plied together so you are effectively knitting with 5 strands held together.





It is a bit like the single strands of the DMC embroidery cottons But the resulting swatch is so amazingly soft. I'm not sure what it will be like trying to knit a whole pair of socks with 5 strands but hey, I'll give it a go sometime.





My Mighty Boosh series 3 DVD arrived yesterday at last. I have also now got Cesar Millan's second book "Be the Pack Leader" which I am trying to read along with the Matthew Reilly, and knitting and keeping an eye on the dog. Huh, multitasking!! Over the weekend i'm going to sort out my printed off knitting patterns into a ring binder cos at the moment they are scattered all over the place.

I have done another 2 reiki treatment over the past week, but you can read about that here. Well, off to do a bit more of the scarf before lunch.

Holey gusset

I have just treated my first Reiki client and it seemed to go ok. You can read about it here.

The dog trainer came round on Monday evening and of course The Gorgeous One performed almost perfectly for her. We did some "clicker" training with him, and he did what he was asked when he was getting a treat for it. But I think he is pretty smart and knows when he isn't going to get a treat. So he was naughty again yesterday!!

I started a pair of toe-up socks using a mixture of this pattern and this pattern but was getting holes when I did the gusset increases so I frogged back and did them again using this method and they are really good. No holes. I am using my Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock yarn in Jungle Stripe (purple & green), yummy colours.

I'm off for a coffee with a fellow bookcrosser this afternoon. I haven't seen her for about a year I think so that will be good.

Lots of bits and pieces.

The Gorgeous One is very cute, and I have to accept that he is only less than 4 months old, but he can try my patience. We are going to watch a puppy training class this evening, (we can't take Charlie because she is fully booked but we are welcome to go and watch), to see if we can pick up any tips. I have been watching The Dog Whisperer on Sky. Wow, Cesar Millan is amazing. The trouble is I have been trying to copy what he does and expect miracles to happen, and it just don't work like that. I obviously haven't mastered the art of being "calm-assertive". And Charlie certainly hasn't mastered the art of "calm-submissive", not by a long chalk. I even bought and read Cesar's book cover to cover, but unfortunately it isn't a "how to" book at all. It is a very interesting and absorbing read though.

I think I have worked out how to add video to a post, so hopefully this will work.

I haven't heard anything from the hospital about a reschedule for my hands yet. On the blood sugar front, things are going well, I am seeing a psychologist who makes a lot of sense so I'll stick with him for a bit longer.

We had friends visiting briefly at the weekend. Dave who was Colin's best man and Huw who was an usher. They both trained as Clinical Psychologists with Colin. Dave came up from Reading and Huw from Exeter just to have a meal, stay overnight and jump back on a train at 9.30am the next day, a little bit worse for wear after a few drinkiepoos. Dave was absolutely chuffed when we offered him one of our spare Mighty Boosh tickets, so either he or we have to find one other now. And its still 10 months off.

Supernatural is back on ITV2. I have the episode recorded but haven't got around to watching it yet. Can't wait though, I have to see what happens to Dean after his deal at the crossroads to get Sam back.

On the knitting side of things, I am just decreasing the toe on my second Monkey sock. So hopefully there will be pics in my next post. The colours have pooled differently in each sock which is interesting as both balls are the same dye lot. I really like the pattern though and am just starting to get it in my head now that I have almost finished. But that means another pair may be on the cards and will hopefully grow quicker. I have some Lorna's Laces in pruple and green that I am going to use for my next pair of socks, which I may just do plain toe-up.

Well I have 2 bookings for Reiki tretments coming up. The first is a friend of Colin's who suffers with MS. I was supposed to see her on the day that Colin went in for his operation back in September and we have only just got around to rearranging. The second is a friend who is going to have a treatment to see what it is like and then maybe book some sessions as gifts for her mum and sister. Ooo, I'm a bit nervous but I'll be fine once I get going. Wish me luck!

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.

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!!

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!

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!!

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!!!

Dangerous waters

We are all moaning about the rain, and how it is unusual, and is it climate change? etc. Don't get me wrong, climate change is very real and I totally believe it is happening. But to have rain in July isn't unusual. After all, it is Wimbledon fortnight and it is very rare that there is no rain during Wimbledon. And two years ago I was on holiday in Cornwall for the first week in July and it rained every day, so it's nothing new.

I do feel terribly sorry for all the people affected by the floods. Seeing your house up to the windows in water must be so upsetting, or seeing your car swept away. In a slightly related subject I got to thinking about the time I could have been swept away by water.

I was probably about 8 or 9 and was on holiday in Cornwall with my mum and step-dad. We were at a beach called Trebarwith Strand, which had rocks that you could climb onto and sit on. We sat on the same spot each day. When the tide was out you could climb down to the sandy beach and play in the rock pools, and as the tide gradually came in, you moved up and sat on the rocks again. On this particular day we were sat watching the tide coming up higher and higher, when all of a sudden there was a huge wave that crashed up and reached where we were sitting. Everyone jumped up and grabbed all their stuff as another wave came up even higher. We had to squeeze under an overhang to crawl along the rocks and around the corner. When the rocks get wet they get extremely slippy and someone actually started to slide. If anyone had gone into the water that would have been it. My step-dad was quite a hero that day because he caught hold of the woman who was sliding and dragged her back up. Thankfully there were no casualties and we all managed to get round the corner and off the rocks.

A bit later in the evening the tide had come up so high that the water was crashing up higher than where we had been sitting. We can only think that on that day it was a spring tide when the water goes out and comes in much higher. Something to do with the moon.

To answer a couple of recent comments......I do like vampire books, especially the Anne Rice ones. She makes being a vampire sound very attractive, I mean the immortality bit of it, not the having to drink blood on a nightly basis. I have tried the Reiki on my thumb a couple of times. I wonder whether it hasn't been effective because you need 2 hands to do it properly. Anyway, when I am trained, I could attune Colin as a level 1 and then he could do my hand for me!! No suggestions for Nina's blogname, come on get your thinking caps on.

Physio, reiki & books

It seems my thumb has been assessed by the orthopaedic triage system and they have decided to send me to see the physiotherapy department. They will then assess it and see if they can deal with it, but if they think I will still need to see the orthopaedic surgeons, then there is a 3 to 4 month wait!! Can I go that long without knitting?? That's nearly Christmas!! I'll see what they say at physio on 23rd July and then decide what to do. I hope they don't start pulling it about and bending it cos that is going to HURT!!

I have decided to spend some of my backpay on getting my Reiki Master level. I will then feel as if I am fully qualified and able to charge for my services. Not that I will probably do a lot, but at least I'll have it done. I have just spoken to Yvonne, my Reiki Master and I have booked for 1st September. One of the girls I did the level 2 with is going on the same day so that will be good. A couple of weeks after that one of Colin's colleagues is running a workshop called "How to Charge What You are Worth" which I'm going to be helping out on, so i can pick up some tips!

I finished reading The High Lord at the weekend. It is the final story about Sonea, a slum girl who discovers by accident that she has magical abilities, and is trained by the magician's guild. In this book she has to help save the city of Imardin from attackers and has to also work out where her loyalties lie with regard to the high lord, Akkarrin. There is a welcome return for many of the characters of the previous books and the storyline is good and partly left open if the author were to consider another sequel.

I have now moved onto the latest Lincoln Rhyme book by Jeffery Deaver, The Cold Moon. What fascinates me is all the forensic stuff that goes on in these books, and also how the author comes up with such interesting ways to murder his victims. I have read all the previous books in the series and from what I've read so far, this one is going to be just as good. I swapped a Patricia Cornwell on readitswapit last week and got Salem's Lot by Stephen King in return, which I didn't realise was a vampire story. If I'd known that I would have got a copy sooner. I think that will be next on my list to read, and I've also got 5 of the Anne Rice ones to read too. I do like a good vampire story.

Hair, parents, dress, footie & a bit of knitty stuff.

Cripes, where did that week go?? Actually I have been pretty busy.

Last Monday I had my twice yearly(!!) haircut. This is what I look like now, much tidier but the more I look at it, the more it looks like a child's haircut. I really can't make my mind up if I like it or not! It was supposed to look a bit like Michelle on Corrie but longer, but obviously she wears a lot of make-up and is very glam, and has stylists doing hers all day so yours never looks like that does it?


The picture was taken while my parents were up here visiting from Southampton. Here they are.................


We went for a bit of a walk along the river and took our sandwiches. While they were here we also went to Cheshire Oaks outlet village, where my step-dad bought a pair of walking shoes, and then we also got him a set of headphones for his laptop. I must say he is doing very well with the computer seeing as 5 months ago he'd never touched one in his life. Both of them had an hour of Reiki, and were very enthusiastic about it.

Before they arrived on Thursday morning, we had Paul from two doors up round for the Champion's League Final on Wednesday evening. He is a season ticket holder at Anfield, and has this thing that we are his lucky mascots for Champions League games because he watched them here when they won 2 years ago. Unfortunately we didn't help this time round.

While we were at Cheshire Oaks I saw some boots that Colin might like, (he wasn't with us cos he had to work), so yesterday the 2 of us went back up to have a look at them. He didn't get them but I ended up coming home with this..................


which I will wear to a "do" I am going to in July. Just have to get some shoes, which I hate cos I have pixie feet (UK 2.5!!!!!!) and can't get any to fit.

I got the new Simply Knitting mag on Thursday, and confirmed that I hadn't won the sock knitting competition. I wasn't that impressed with the winners, but appreciate the effort that went into them. However, on page 69.............


were my sheep!!!

A couple of weeks ago I joined the Crafty Threads n Yarns forum, and I have joined up for the Surprise Summer birthday swap. I have been given a partner to send something to on their birthday, so I just have to put a package together. I have done these things before on the bookcrossing uk group, and it can be quite fun. You never know what you are going to get.

Great news for Chris who I met on the Burton Manor knitting day. She has been offered two slots at the college to run two courses. Hopefully we are meeting up on Friday so she can tell me all about it. At least there will now be a course I want to spend my voucher on.

I'm still suffering with my thumb, and am not promising anyone anything for Christmas, it all depends on if it improves. I am just going to try to finish what I have OTN and see what happens next.