Dandelion cardigan, finished

 It's been well over a year in the making, but at last it's finished!

Lady Mademoiselle Dandelion Cardigan by Along Avec Anna

Knitted using Drops Nord in the colour number 07

I raided my button stash and came up with this colourful arrangement and I like it :-)

Someone asked me about the pattern last time I posted about this, the name is at the top of this post and you can find the paid for pattern on Ravelry.

I'm still determined to get some more projects finished before I start anything new but I just haven't got the inclination to do much of anything right now.

Covid fatigue has hit me, I didn't feel it whilst I had Covid but this last week it has been an effort to do anything at all, I feel so sluggish , my taste is coming back a little but I still can't smell anything.  

 On top of that we have reached another stage with mum.  I started going up again this week and it seems that she has deteriorated a little more, she couldn't even get to a standing position let alone walk this week but, to cut a very long story short, the doctor and the Occupational Therapist decided that a spell in respite would be helpful not only for us but for mum too.  She will go on Tuesday for two weeks and be assessed again towards the end of those two weeks.  She understands when you tell her but has forgotten again the next day so it's going to be hard but it's getting to the stage where she is not safe at home, she had a fall again the week before last, luckily she didn't suffer any injury, this time.

On top of feeling so tired this week I've been straight back into my turn on the caring rota and dealing with all the phone calls to do with arranging respite, the memory clinic assessment, OT assessment, doctors as well as cancelling / re-arranging some appointment that mum had in the next couple of weeks.  I feel totally drained with it all, so forgive me if I don't visit or comment on you blogs for a while, I'm going to take these next two weeks to re-charge my batteries and hopefully find some energy from somewhere.

See you soon

Edited...And just to add to everything going on, we got up this morning to find that Marks car had been stolen during the night, his tools, job files everything, gone! 

Sigh

-X- 

Isolation, almost over

My ten day isolation is almost up, they tell you to count from the fist day you felt unwell but as I didn't feel too bad I started counting from when my positive result came back as that was the day that I thought it was a cold, which means that my last day is tomorrow.

I must admit that I've not missed going out at all, I could easily become a hermit I think, lol

Jenny and Stevie did the food shop for me last week and Mark has gone this morning, I've saved a fortune as people only bring whats on a list, and I haven't missed shopping in the least, it's not my favourite thing to do at the best of times.

I still feel very stuffy, especially when I first get up but that clears as the day goes on, my cough is still there, not too bad but from what I've read it can hang around a while.  NHS test and trace have called me every couple of days, (very nice of them, ha, ha) and apparently you only have to carry on isolating after the ten days if you are sneezing, have a runny nose or diarrhea, I have none of these so normal life for me can resume from Monday.  Although, I still plan on wearing a mask when I'm around mum and at Jenny's when I pick Oliver up, just to be on the safe side.

It's been like having a bad cold, I did have a funny head a few day's, not a headache more like a vertigo feeling, paracetamol usually took that off .  I started to paint the kitchen just before all this happened and I've managed to finish that by doing a bit each day so you can tell that I got it mild, thank goodness.  I didn't loose my sense of taste or smell until last weekend, It was Sunday when I noticed it.  It really is the weirdest thing, I can't smell anything at all and all food tastes the same, it is really peculiar.

The girls sent me a couple of care packages.  I love Tea Pigs tea so will be saving that until my taste and smell return.  I haven't started the book yet but it sounds good, I let you know.

And this one arrived this week, I'm going to save the bath salts, bath melts and hand gel until I can smell, it would be a waste not to smell them wouldn't it!

Other than slowly painting the kitchen I've been filling my time knitting on my cardigan, (almost finished) and watching The Handmaids Tale on Amazon Prime.  I didn't watch this when it was on TV, I somehow didn't think it would be my thing, but I am enjoying binge watching now.

The weather has been lovely for a few days and after Mark came back from the supermarket this morning we've spent a couple of hours tidying the garden up, lots of things to cut back and leaves to get up, the green bin is full, I think we perhaps have one more collection before they stop for this year so wanted to make the most of that.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend

-X-

A Friday finish

Autumn Dream by Cottage Garden Samplings 

The Songbird's Garden Series # 11

Stitched on 36 count Vintage Country Mocha using the called for Weeks Dye threads

I found the frame in a charity shop early in the Summer, It's not very often you come across square frames and I knew it would be the perfect size for this piece.  Although, I would like opinions on the colour, it's brighter than I first thought, do you think it's too bright? should I paint it and distress it?  If I paint it, what colour would you suggest?  

At the moment the stitching is just pinned, not laced so that If I do need to paint the frame It won't be a problem.   Here's a close shot of the frame, I'd love to know what you think.

It was this cute little pumpkin house that first drew me to the chart,

and of course that Tufted Titmouse

The piece wasn't without it's problems to stitch, those Bittersweets look lovely but were a bit of a pain to stitch, I miscounted, a lot, some I ripped out and stitched again, others were fudged, the piece is so fluid I don't think you can tell.

Isolating update

Thank you to everyone that sent get well wishes on my last post to my daughter to Joanne, she is doing ok, she did have a bit of a melt down a couple of nights ago, more to do with panicking than Covid but when she called 111 they said she could go to the walk in centre and get checked out.  She was there until the early hours but they did an x-ray on her lungs and blood test, all came back fine so that put her mind at rest.  She still has no sense of taste or smell and it still coughing but that should get better day by day.  Her husband's test came back inconclusive and he has been fine, as are the children.

There is another woman who Joanne works with who tested positive the day after she did, so more than likely one passed it to the other, but which one it was is anyone's guess! 

I'd been in contact with Joanne for a couple of hours the Friday she tested positive, (I hadn't seen her all week, isn't that just sod's law!), so I've been doing a lateral flow test for a week because of going to mums.  I got up with a sore-ish throat on Tuesday and Wednesday my nose was blocked, although my LFT had been negative Stevie suggested I get a PCR test done, again because of going to mums, so on Wednesday afternoon I did and I got a text yesterday to say my test was positive for Covid.  So now I have to isolate for ten days.

I feel like I've got a cold, I'm sneezing and my nose is bunged up, I have got a cough, sort of a bark, not all the time though, and today it's better than it was yesterday, and it's not as bad as Joanne's cough.

I haven't had a temperature nor have I had a headache, I have felt lethargic today, just like you would if you had a cold, in fact, if it hadn't been for me having to go to mums most days I wouldn't have done a test and I've have just said I'd got a cold.   

I haven't been going anywhere except for food shopping, I haven't been meeting up with friends or going anywhere that's crowded, I even gave our first stitching meet up a miss a couple of weeks ago because I didn't want to be in close contact with people I hadn't seen in almost two years and have refused to go for a meal with some friends recently too because I just wouldn't feel comfortable, and I still wear a mask and sanitise when out, so the only place I could have got it is from Joanne visiting for those couple of hours last Friday.  She feels really bad about it and keeps saying sorry but she had been testing for work and was showing negative all week, so how was she to know?  

  I am thankful though that the symptoms I'm having are mild.

We decided that It's best if Mark stays in Glasgow this weekend as it would be difficult to keep separate in home and It wouldn't  be good if he took it back and past it around the job!

I've got plenty of paracetamol, tissues and tea to keep me going and of course I've got crafty things to keep me occupied, I just need to find something good to watch on TV and I'll be sorted.

I hope you all have a good weekend, and if you are out and about stay safe, it's still out there!

-X-

April, sunshine with a chance of sleet and snow

 Well it was all change with the weather after the lovely sunny Easter weekend, it turned bloomin freezing!  We had sleet and some snow one day, enough to cover the grass and cold enough so that it stayed most of the day.  Although yesterday started off bright and sunny by afternoon it had yet again turned to sleet and then rain, ditto this afternoon. 

I did manage to get out for a walk around Haden Hill park yesterday though before the weather turned, there are some more little paths to explore now that the ground has dried up.  

Just look at all the wild garlic.  I shall have to remember to go back and see it in flower.

I also saw a Treecreeper bird,  unfortunately I only had my phone with me to take a photo and I couldn't get close enough, I stood and watched him for ages though and if anyone noticed me standing staring up at a tree they must have thought I was out on day release, lol.

Everything's looking a lot greener since the last time I went for a walk here, It's surprising how much better a walk around green space makes you feel isn't it.

I'm still not feeling inclined to stitch at the moment, I did start another PS Santa but found myself getting irritated with it, so that was abandoned in favour of knitting on my jumper.  I've been watching Keeping Faith on catch-up recently and knitting round and round is perfect tv knitting.  I am almost at the point where I start the bottom ribbing, just got to double check how long I want it to be.

I haven't tried it on yet but I think it will fit, I don't like snug fitting jumpers or tops so I'm hoping there will be a bit of room in it.

I've really struggled again this week.  On Easter Sunday I woke up to the room spinning and feeling nauseous, this happened a couple of times, I got up but ended up going back to bed for a while.  It passed but happened again on Monday.  I've had a tension migraine and not felt good all week.  After a visit to the doctor she told me that the vertigo I experienced was most likely a side effect of the covid vaccine I'd had the week before.  I had really struggled with the decision to have the vaccine and in the end bowed to pressure, now I wish I'd just followed my instinct.  I won't be having the second one.  I said this to my doctor and she said that quite a few people that she'd seen had said that they wouldn't be having the second one either.  I feel better now that I've made that decision, I just wish that I'd not been swayed in the first place.  

-X-

Making the most of the sunshine

The weather has taken a turn for the better and the outdoor work has begun.  Mark turned over the boarders a few weeks ago and last week I bagged up the rest of the leaves so it's looking pretty tidy out there at the moment.  The grass hasn't had it's first cut yet, I'm hoping that It will be good for another couple of weeks

The large pieris is in flower so should turn red in the next week or two.  After it has done it's thing this year we are going to cut it back, it's over six feet tall now and almost as wide, I just hope we don't damage it in the process.

The camellia has loads of buds, hopefully now the sunshine has made an appearance, so will the flowers.

Yesterday was beautiful so instead of the local park I took Bonnie to Witley Court, It's one of my favourite places and I've shared many photos of before, here and here, if your interested.

Yesterday there was an Easter trail for the kids so we packed a picnic and went off for the day.

On Saturday I went for my Covid vaccination.  I don't mind saying that I've ummed and ahhed about having this vaccine for a while.  I said to Mark that I'd quite happily stay at home for the duration, but we know that not realistically an option.  They say that no one will be forced to have it, but with all the talk of green cards and not being able to travel we are, sort of.

I was dreading having any of the side effects people have mentioned, although, Mark didn't have a single one I knew in my mind that I would.  I had the injection early Saturday morning, It did sting for a few minutes after but then I was fine all day.  Just before I went up to bed I got the chills, much like when you are coming down with a cold, but felt ok, then in early hours I woke up and was boiling hot, I got up for a drink and took some paracetamol, I felt really awful but went back to sleep ok and woke up fine.  I was ok again all day but by 7pm I was so tired I had to go to bed. I've been back to my normal self yesterday and today, although the injection site is quite sore to touch and a little bit red.

It's been another beautiful day here, I haven't been anywhere today, I've had a play date with my new sewing machine, Tuesday is the only full day I get to do what I want to do without interruptions. 

The clocks went forward on Saturday so now we have lighter nights, I have to confess that I'm not a fan of lighter nights, I much prefer it to get dark earlier, then I know it's time to stop, there is a tendency to keep going if it's light and before you know it it's bed time 😂

I hope you have been enjoying the sunshine anyway, I think the rest of the week is predicted to be much of the same.

-X-

One year on

I've had a break from stitching this past week, instead I decided to cast on the Flax Light sweater, (or jumper as we call them here in the UK).

I'd already got the drops Nord yarn in stash so the only outlay was some small circular needles.

I'm enjoying it so far and it's easy enough to knit on while I'm re-watching Line of Duty.

Mark got my Easter decorations down from the loft on Saturday so everything looks very Spring like around here now.

Mark groaned when I came back from Asda on Saturday and presented him with my latest bunny addition 🐇🐇🐇

Isn't she cute? Anything that makes me smile at the moment is welcome.

I've decided she is a girl bunny, too cute to be a boy!

I put a few things on my mantle but I do have other bits around, I'll show more next time.

 Well, It was twelve months ago today that the UK went into lockdown and the office I worked at closed like all offices around the country.  We thought it would only be for a few weeks and yet here we still are. 

You will probably know if you have been a visitor here for a while that it was during the first lockdown that I was made redundant.  The way it was gone about was not very nice and people where not who I thought they were.  I'm only in contact with the other woman who worked on reception with me, we text or message each other occasionally if we have something to say, other than that I am not in contact with anyone who I worked with, and that's how I want it.

I don't mind admitting that I was gutted when I lost my job, I've cried, quite a lot, over the last year, I would never have thought being made redundant would have such an effect on a person, it's only a job after all, there are worse things in the world.  But it has affected me in ways I didn't expect, not only did I loose my job I also lost my routine and a purpose to my days, it affected my moods, my confidence and took away my feeling of independence.  We are lucky, my wage was never depended on, it was extra but it was there if needed and it was something I had earned so, yes it did take away my independence.  

I've been struggling a lot these last couple of weeks, I know it's a phase and it will pass but at the same time I know that I'm not the same person I was twelve months ago.  Hopefully along with the Spring flowers a better mood will take over.

I see coffee shops in town getting ready for re-opening on April 12th although the rest of the high street looks apocalyptic, so many places have shut their doors for good, lets hope in time it can recover.

Sorry to end with a moan, but i'm just feeling moany at the moment.

Take care

-X-

19th December - Well that's Christmas Day cancelled then

 So Boris has cancelled Christmas this year.  Before his announcement our Christmas day had already been cancelled.  My youngest daughter, Stevie, and her fiance, Darren had invited us to have Christmas dinner with them this year as it was their first Christmas in their new home.  But, Stevie called last night to tell us that Darren had tested positive for Covid.

He isn't too bad with it, thank goodness and Stevie is not showing any symptoms, although she has been for a test today, I doubt the results will be back for a couple of days though, fingers crossed she will be able to avoid getting it too.

So Christmas day will be a little different.  Stevie had already ordered the food and was due to pick it up on Tuesday evening.  We will now pick that order up and cook Christmas dinner and then do a doorstep meal delivery to them.

I daresay the new rules have scuppered a lot of plans for people, there really does seem no end to it, at this rate there will be no jobs, shops or business left, It's all very worrying.  

To think that in the Springtime we all thought this would be over by Christmas! (yeah, they though that about WWII)

I'll be consoling myself with stitching and knitting seeing as we can't meet up, how about you?

Speaking of knitting.  I am still working away on my (not so strictly) socks.  I'm on the foot part on both of them so the end is in sight!

I've decided these will be for Mark as they look a bit manly and I want a pretty pair :-)

He has tried them and they do fit.

So, here are today's beautiful minis, love them all ❤

Tomorrow I plan on making up Jacobs stocking, so, if you hear cussing it will be me 😬

Take care, see you tomorrow

-X-

Sneaking in before the end of November

 I've been telling myself to write a blog post for a couple of week's but just couldn't drum up enough enthusiasm for it.  But as we are fast approaching December I  thought I better before It all becomes overwhelming, or should I say, more overwhelming than it is now.

You'll be pleased to know that I'm not going to go on and on about all the happenings of the last few weeks, I'll stick to just one piece of stitching for now.

 I finished the November Calendar Girl and she has been gracing the mantle all this month.

One more to go and I've completed a whole year of Calendar Girls.  (December is all stitched, I'll share that next time once I've fully finished her)

I've decided to do Blogmas again this year, just a short blog post each day throughout December.

 I have some wonderful advents to open from December 1st and would like to share all the lovely goodies with you.  Unfortunately there will be no Christmas markets to visit this year because of 'The Virus' but we are still hoping to do some festive things in the lead up to Christmas, If Boris allows.

We had booked to go away to Wales from Boxing Day until January 2nd  but with the announcements of the new  Covid tiers on Thursday we have had to cancel.  I'm so disappointed, I was really looking forward to a week away and a change of scenery.  If you have read my previous posts you will know that I was made redundant back in July and to be honest I'm still struggling to come to terms with that.  I know that may sound a bit dramatic, but on top of everything else that going on with the Covid situation I haven't been feeling the best either in myself or about myself lately and this little holiday was something I was really looking forward to.  My birthday is over Christmas so it was going to be a nice birthday treat too.  I have spoken to the people who own the place we were staying in and if the situation changes at any time between now and a few days before Christmas they are going to contact me.  I can't see it changing, but you never know.

Covid needs to do one now so we can get back to a normal way of living!

 I hope you will pop by to see me during my daily December posts 🎄

See you soon

-X-