We Made It

Well, we made it to the end of October, and hence Blogtoberfest. It does feel like it's been a close run thing. As I've been getting better, slowly, Ron of course manages to pull both quad muscles at softball. He is not a happy chappy to say the least-he's never a good patient as he hates being sick or out of commission. Lying around doing nothing (ie getting better) is not his cup of tea.

My plan for tomorrow is keeping cool (we've been getting some 30+C weather), doing minimal housework, and some reading, knitting and/or stitching.

To finish up, here's a photo of Caitlin dressed up for her Brownies disco-in case you don't realise, she's dressed up as Doctor Who-complete with sonic screwdriver and Tardis.

Just Another Day

So, only one more day left of Blogtoberfest. Just as well, really, as some days really aren't that interesting to blog about. Like today, for example. I had a better night (hooray), got kids to school, read some, slept some, did some housework, etc, etc. Just watching some Harry Potter on TV now before bed and hopefully another better night's sleep. I have been feeling better-still having coughing fits and some congestion, but definitely less than before.

Here's a picture of the paddock next door-those cows had better get eating-the grass it up to their knees.

Blogtoberfest Day 29-No Inspirational Title Available

Look, a knitting picture! It's my sock progress, or lack thereof. I've picked it up this evening for a while, but it hasn't seen much action in the last few days. It's knit using Bendigo Harmony (or actually Heirloom Breeze-which is exactly the same thing) which is an 8 ply wool/cotton/Lycra blend.

I had another ordinary night-my throat and muscles are getting pretty sore now at times which isn't helping. I had another quiet day at home (no socialising or crafting for me) and I think I am getting better slowly, but it's very frustrating. Still, I got to have some reading time. I will play tomorrow by ear (or chest?) but I don't have to go out-Caitlin does have a Brownie "disco" but that is later so Ron can take her if need be. I'm hoping to feel well enough to watch Caitlin play softball on Saturday, but again Ron can go solo if necessary.

I am going to knit for a while longer (luckily I am up to the foot where I can knit around and around with no brain power required) before some medicine and another try at some proper sleep. Only two more posts to go in Blogtoberfest!

Now With Added Photos

Look, a photo! Actually two of them. It's our Hawthorn tree (I think so anyway-I did some searching on the web last time it flowered) and our ornamental cherry tree. Spring is definitely here-it was warm today, and should be 36°C on Sunday.

Otherwise-quite a good night sleep wise. Had some more sleep once I had got the kids off to school and had breakfast, coughed up a lung and had some more medicine. Had a quiet afternoon. I'm finding that towards the end of the day I'm getting the tickle thing in the throat which sucks, but generally I am getting better-slowly.

Tomorrow I would usually spend the morning at the primary school helping with the newsletter, and then going to knitting in the afternoon. I have a feeling that I may have to give both a miss, as they are both social events and involve quite a bit of chatting which seems to irritate my cough...... Luckily I can stay at home and read or knit or stitch.

I'm Over It

As in, I'm so over this cough/virus thing, not as in, I'm feeling so much better. I had another night of limited sleep, and decided to visit the doctor (starting to feel like a second home, unfortunately). The good news is, I have no infections. The bad news is, I have no infections. All the symptoms are the virus, so I have to wait it out-rest, fluids, coughing. Oh, and as the "productive" part of the cough clears, I may possibly end up with a dry cough that lingers for a few weeks. Let's hope not. The cough seems to be heading towards that now, with that kind of "tickle" that sets off a spasm of coughing. Sorry that this post seems to be all about the cough, but at the moment that's my life-how long since I took some Sudafed (for the congestion-just to add to the fun), how long since I coughed, trying not to talk too much as that seems to make me cough.

I did make it to Caitlin's school performance-it went very well, and she did a great job. Ron took some photos at the matinee, but I don't have the energy to download them now-maybe tomorrow.

Nearly at the end of Blogtoberfest-I'm pretty impressed at my effort. Unfortunately, there's been too much sickness, and not enough crafting lately, but let's hope that changes soon-for all our sakes!

Exciting Life & Times

Today's wrap up:

• got kids (both-yay!) off to school
• rang dentist to change root canal appointment to next Wednesday
  
• had nap-still poorly, but improving slowly
• revived, lunched, washed clothes
• knit on sock-turned heel, picked up gusset stitches, am now well onto foot, but still no pictures-while listening to podcasts/audiobooks
• did emergency food run to IGA
  
• swept floors and cooked tea
• ate tea and did dishes (Ron to school council meeting)
• watched Top Gear and then Ashes to Ashes while unpicking unsuccessful green choices on stitching, and then a little on Christmas Ornament
• read blogs & emails
• bedtime

Tomorrow's possible agenda

• proper food shopping in morning
• if feeling poorly/unmotivated this could be done in afternoon
• Ron to go to Caitlin's matinee performance of school play at lunchtime-he'll then work from home in pm so he can go to softball practice
• will need early dinner as evening performance is at 6.30 until 7.45-Luke and I will go to this one
• maybe even take a photo of something, somewhere for the blog
  

And the cough goes on........

Even less to report today than yesterday. Had a less than stellar night-lots of coughing and congestion, and not much less sleep (for both me & Ron). After some sleep this morning, I am improved, but not, I fear, enough for the root canal. Caitlin is definitely much better (I can tell because she is back to her usual chatty self). Luke & Ron both seemed to have avoided any illness thus far. I've spent this evening watching Australian Idol (I got sucked in a couple of weeks ago when James Morrison was a guest) and am now watching Rove-my excuse is that I am too sick to change the channel. I'm hoping to feel better tomorrow so I can get caught up a bit around here-Ron has been holding the fort while I've been unwell, but there's a always things that need doing. And of course, it would be nice to feel well enough to knit or stitch....

Cough, cough

That's as good as the sound effects get on this blog. This post is a bit late, but having naps when unwell puts my body clock out, somewhat. (I figure that it's still Saturday night) Can I just say that the coughing is getting old very quickly. Fingers crossed it clears up soon, otherwise the root canal will have to be delayed. Other news:Caitlin's softball team drew-she did well apparently and got a couple of runs, no-one else is sick and Caitlin seems just about totally well (finally), I finished the heel flap on my sock, and I think (third time lucky) that I have found a green thread that I am happy with for my stitching. That's all for now-here's hoping I get a decent night's sleep.

I Didn't Post Yesterday Because....

......I was sick. I suppose it was on the cards, but I'm not thrilled. Caitlin didn't go to school Thursday or today. She is on the mend, but they had a four hour hike today, and we figured that would have been too much after being sick since last Saturday. Hopefully, she will be well enough for softball tomorrow morning. I'm still not feeling great-sore throat, ears, head, and a....well.......productive cough. I'm hoping it clears up quickly-mainly, before next Tuesday (aka "D" Day-Dentist Day) as my tooth still hurts and I want to get the root canal over with.

On a brighter note, I started my second sock, and am up to knitting the heel flap. This weekend is hopefully fairly quiet, with only Caitlin's softball (if she's well enough), and Luke has a scout thing on Saturday.

Well, that's it for today-I'll just finish watching the James Bond movie and then head to bed.

News

Good News:

• Caitlin slept through the night
• Ron is home
• I did the food shopping, and went to library and Spotlight

Not-So-Good News:

• Caitlin was still not well enough for school
• my tooth has been hurting more/more often
• I'm not sure if Caitlin will be well enough to go to school tomorrow
• I didn't cast on my new sock
• I'm worn out from the "personal counselling" with Caitlin-she can be a real worrier

I'm not making any predictions for tomorrow-they just end up biting me on the you-know-what. Oh, and the photo is one of the roses from Ron-they are opening up nicely.

Back to the Doctor

Well, it was option 2, with a night of little sleep thrown in. After I went to bed, tried to get to sleep, gave up and took dome Panadol, went back to bed and got an hour's sleep.........Caitlin woke me at around 1am with very nasty ear pain. Some Panadol and time later with no improvement, and a very upset girl, I rang the 24hr medical helpline to check what I should be doing. Giving her some ibuprofen and a hot pack seemed to help enough that she (& I) could get to sleep-after 3am. I got up to make sure Luke was up and moving before heading back to bed while Caitlin was still sleeping. Fast forward to a doctors appointment at 3pm, and we have ear infections, so antibiotics are picked up. We will see how she is in the morning before deciding on school or not. Let's hope for a better night tonight.

Ron is hopefully home by 3pm tomorrow-I still have shopping, library and Spotlight on my to-do list.

On other news-I finished a sock. Given that it is an 8 ply, ankle sock that needed only the toe shaping & grafting to do, this may actually not be such a huge achievement, but it's still done. Casting on second sock tomorrow. I might even take a picture of the finished sock. The action never ends around here.......

The Post Without The Mini-Series

A bit late with this post-I've just been watching "The 39 Steps" on ABC IView (I love IView-especially since we get it unmetered with our ISP). A most enjoyable adventure movie with nice sets and an even nicer leading man.

Since it's a bit late, I won't write a long post-nothing too eventful happened today, but then I was going to reminisce about Australian historical TV shows and mini-series but I'll leave that for another day. Bet you can't wait. So-today:

• Caitlin stayed home-now the virus has moved to her ears and she's developed a cough-I'm hoping for improvement after tonight's sleep.
• Ron had a rough day with a gastro attack, but now seems on the mend. He won't be home until Wednesday afternoon.
• It was sunny and warm.
• I had a phone call from a friend from Melbourne (we've been friends for....31 years) and we are hopefully catching up for coffee here in Adelaide in a couple of weeks time.

Tomorrow-depending on Caitlin, possibly grocery shopping and the library (newest Terry Pratchett book is on hold)-was going to pop into Spotlight for some knitting yarn (cotton) on sale but the sale doesn't start until Wednesday. Or, it could be a doctors visit, and a visit to the local IGA for emergency items. I'm hoping for the first list of options, for all our sakes. Speaking of our local IGA (it is fairly new-we had no supermarket), the picture above is a coffee in my new favourite mug, picked up there-for less than $3.

Sunny Sunday

Ah, the sunshine! And 25°C tomorrow (although we do get 5°C overnight). The chooks (Copper and Ginger) both enjoyed the warmer, drier weather with a nice dirt bath.



I've got a picture of my new start, "Tend Your Garden' by Prairie Schooler. I was not really happy with the lack of contrast between the two greens. The second picture shows more stitching but with a lighter green. I think it looks better.



I am hoping that tonight I can finish up a sock, and start another, so that I have some "pick up, put down" knitting.

I'm not sure if Caitlin will be going to school tomorrow-we will see how she progresses. Ron has pretty much finished the setting up he needs to do, but still has to train someone, and hasn't yet sorted any new flights.

Off to sort out dinner-beef casserole from slow cooker, served with mashed potatoes-yum!

50 Years

This evening we had a BBQ tea at my in-laws house to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. Their children had been prepared to organise a bigger event back in the local hall of the area where they had lived most of their married life with friends and family, but the in-laws requested something much smaller, for their immediate family only. As there are five children, and many grand children, this is still not that "small". Only Ron and three of the grandchildren couldn't make it. It was the usual relaxed and jovial evening, culminating in a lovely black forest cake being cut by the happy couple, and a speech by Dad which, as usual, contained a "story" (Dad has a never ending supply of stories). This one told of a neighbour who had a theory that you couldn't win an argument with your wife, and apparently once tried and ended up with the full milking bucket tipped over his head. Here's a couple of photos from the evening :the cake, and the speech.





I think I need to stop making plans. Caitlin woke me last night at 2am to say that her throat was very sore. I put her back to bed with some Panadol, and the next morning contacted her coach to say she was ill, and managed to actually get a doctors appointment on a Saturday morning. I figured that it was a viral thing, but if I didn't take her to the doctor, it would end up being tonsillitis or something and then I would have great trouble to find a doctor on a Sunday. I was right (about it being viral) and after she put herself to bed in the afternoon and slept for several hours, she felt somewhat better. I think she will be better by Monday.

Poor Ron was disappointed at missing the celebrations. The reason he is over in Perth is to help with an office move, and the actual move happens at the weekend to inconvenience the least number of people. He sent me a text a few hours ago saying that things weren't going well and that it was going to be a long night. He hopes that he can finish up sometime on Monday and maybe catch a flight later that day.

We do not have any plans to go anywhere tomorrow, so we will have a quiet day, and maybe we will even get some sunshine. I am not going to be holding my breath, though.

Another Plan

My stitching plan seems to be working fairly well, although I didn't get as much done during the school holidays. I made a new start yesterday-not the one with the fabric problems. I'll take a photo when I've got a bit more progress. I'm currently stitching with two shades of green, and I'm not sure that there's enough contrast. I'll do a bit more before I decide if it's OK or not.

The other plan I am referring to would be, of course, a plan for my knitting. Now this is not as detailed a plan. I tend to have several projects on the needles, as some need more concentration, and some are better for travel or times when concentration isn't possible. Now that summer is (allegedly) here or arriving soon, the heat is another thing to take into account. Items like blankets and woolly jumpers and cardigans are no fun to knit in the heat, even in front of the air conditioner. An ideal knitting project for the heat is socks. They can be as simple or complicated as you like. I've decided to participate in the Southern Summer of Socks. I have two pairs of socks already on the needles that I want to finish (both have practically one sock finished) and then I would like to knit another two pairs. So that's the plan-I will also work on other WIPs that aren't socks.

Further news on the Dalek washcloth-Caitlin received a thank you note from her friend at Brownies tonight, as well as a photo of her with the cloth. Her mum told me she just loves it-she's a 7yo Dalek fan!

I think a hot chocolate is in order before I head to bed in preparation for a fresh morning watching the summer sport of softball (with my coat, scarf & fingerless mitts).

A comment on my Blogtoberfest effore so far: I haven't missed a day (except for the scheduled post that didn't work, and that was totally not my fault). So far, so good.

Look What I Got

This is what got delivered to knitting group this afternoon for me. Long-stemmed roses from Ron-no "special" day today-just that he misses me-aw! The added bonus is that he supplied some photo fodder for the blog. They are safely in water now.

It's official-I am done with winter. This cold, grey, dreary, rainy weather needs to stop. We need spring. We might get some nice weather next week, but I'm thinking that the coat, scarf & mitts will be needed for the first softball game on Saturday.

I gathered some threads up for a couple of new projects I want to start soon. Maybe even tonight. We'll see-I should also put a thread or two into the Christmas ornament I've got going.

Tomorrow will be an "at home" day excepting for ferrying kids to and from Brownies & Scouts. I also need to go shopping for food for Ron's parents 50th wedding anniversary BBQ on Saturday. Let's hope the weather is better than today......

The Boring Post

I have no pictures. I have no craft progress. I have little news.

It rained (a lot) last night, and one of our gutters got blocked, so I got Luke to climb the ladder and clear it (there's got to be some side benefits to being the grown-up).

I went to the dentist. I have an appointment for Tuesday week for the first stage of the root canal. I could have had an earlier appointment, but only if I sacrificed my knitting group (i.e. went on a Thursday), which was not on. The dentist was very nice, and explained things well.

Caitlin went to her birthday party, but as the birthday girl didn't open her presents at the party, we are unsure of the reception of the Dalek washcloth.

I have hit a snag with my stitching. One of my new starts has been delayed due to the fact that piece of fabric I thought would fit the design is, in fact, too small. I don't have anything else in my stash to suit (which is hard to believe) and since browsing online, I am more confused than ever. Tomorrow will be busy (morning at school and afternoon at knitting) so I won't get to any stitching until tomorrow evening.

I have done some investigation into the matter of scheduling posts, and have found that it is not me that is the problem, but Blogger. It is a "known issue" and may be fixed eventually.

So, a quite dull post and well done if you made it to the end. I am thinking that heading to bed with a book might me a good idea........

When is a Root Canal......

........not a root canal? When it's a root canal consultation. That's what I've got tomorrow, so in one way it's good news, as I have to get Caitlin to and from a birthday party after school tomorrow, and Ron is in Perth. In another way it's bad news, because it will be longer until I get the tooth fixed.

It has been very windy and rainy here-we've had over an inch here in the last 24 hours with more to come. It's also been quite cool (max 13°C) so when it does heat up it will be a shock to the system. {also-do you see the degree symbol there? Luke taught me how to do that the other day-you can teach an old dog new tricks!}

The Dalek washcloth is finished. I hadn't sewn in the ends when I took the picture, but there was some rare sunshine, so I snapped a photo while I could.

I have to say that I am not terribly fond of bobbles. I think they are the equivalent of french knots in embroidery-they are not as neat and uniform as I would like.

I also finished my 5 hrs (actually I have no idea how long I actually stitched-it was very stoppy/starty over quite a while) on my Mystery Quaker Sampler. I didn't take a "before" picture, but I did the motif on the right hand side.


Before I get to choose my next project to work on, I have to do some mending. Because of the wintry weather, it's too cold for Caitlin to wear her shorts, and since she has a hole in her winter trousers, I get to patch them up. There's no point buying new ones as who knows how much taller she'll be in 6 months time-that's if I could actually find any in the shops..........(because we all know that the warmer months start in July).

Day 12-Blogtoberfest

Well, reality went fairly well today. Ron made it to Perth safe and sound, kids made it to and from school safe and sound, and I made it to the dentist and had my filling. I popped into the craft shop afterwards and had a good browse. I also picked up a bit of stitching fabric, some threads, and a hank (skein?) of yarn. I will have to take a picture tomorrow when there's better light.

I also finished the Dalek washcloth, and a photo of that will have to wait for tomorrow also-once I've sewn in the ends. I got very little craft done at the weekend, so it was good to get this finished several days before it was needed.

We had great weather at the weekend-we went for walks at Victor Harbor on the Saturday, and found some rock pools at Lady Bay on Sunday. Our unit at Normanville was just over the sand dunes to the beach which was nice for a stroll.




That's just a few of the shots we took over the weekend. Sad to say, but in the family shot I am not standing in a hole-I think Ron might be as he is still taller than Luke.

I am off to hit the sack shortly-tomorrow is fairly quiet-I shouldn't have to go further than down to the main street.

We're Back

Just a quick post-we're back, had lovely weather and a great time. Tomorrow is a severe reality check with Ron heading to Perth for 9 days for work, the kids heading back to school, and me heading to the dentist. My scheduled post didn't seem to work-I will need to investigate what happened (or didn't) there. More details (hopefully) tomorrow, but for now, a picture from the weekend.

Ta Da!

Hopefully this post will magically appear on the 10th of October with me being nowhere near a computer. Meanwhile we will be somewhere else, enjoying some quality family time (or not!). This weekend is somewhat of a sacrifice for Ron as it is Bathurst and one of his favourite times of the year. I have the camera, so there should be lots of reminiscing to be done when we arrive home. For now, here's a random shot taken quite a few years ago.




See you tomorrow.

Get, Ready, Set,..............

Well, we are pretty much packed. Good grief-it's a pain packing for a couple of days-you take as much as you do for a couple of weeks. It's been added to that we have to take our own linen & towels. Here's the most important luggage:

This contains all the crafting, books, and a couple of DVDs. Hopefully, another post will appear tomorrow-nothing extensive, but it will be interesting to see if it works. See you i another couple of days.

What To Pack?

Today-food shopping, knitting at knitting group, thinking about projects I can take on weekend away. Also, we had power, which was much appreciated. I have also done some investigation, and found that I will be able to schedule a post for Saturday. I just have to click on the link that says "Post Options" and it will be easy as falling off a log ( as they say-I will take their word for it).

So, packing tomorrow. I have food for dinner and breakfast. I have snacks. I will (and the kids will do their own) pack some clothes & bedding. Then there is the all important craft packing. Several years ago I discovered that I could knit when I was a passenger in a car. I cannot read or stitch without getting headaches or carsick. I therefore need a fairly simple knitting project for the car travelling-Ron will do most of the driving. Something a little more complicated can be taken for night time, as well as stitching if the mood takes me. I might have to pack my desk lamp-lighting can often be unsuitable for craftwork. I have made a good start on the Dalek wash cloth, and that will be my first choice for the car also. I'm thinking I might pack another washcloth/dishcloth pattern and yarn as a back up, as well as my WIP Hey Teach which I have no pictures of, but am mostly finished the back. Stitching-wise I'm not sure yet, but maybe a couple of Christmas ornaments? I will see what takes my fancy tomorrow. And of course I'll throw in a crossword book, and a novel or two...........

No pictures today, but I'll have to come up with some inspiration tomorrow as I'll have to write two posts.

Best Laid Plans Part 2

So......those plans I made yesterday?
Let me go through today's happenings in order. I got up at around 3am to take some Panadol (this is good news as far as I can tell-sore tooth=nerves still alive=better chance for root canal to work). Woke again around 6.30am when Caitlin came in to tell us that the power was off. This was lucky for Ron as this is around the time he gets up for work. Phone call to ETSA (electricity company) that power should be restored around 8am. At around 9.30am we still have no power and recorded message now says that power should be back my 4.30pm....... Take Caitlin to softball practice-do not go food shopping as we have no power. Go home and boil kettle in caravan (gas stove) for coffee-shops down main street (we are in a busy tourist town) are mostly closed, including shop that makes good coffee. Yet another recorded message tells us that we have an underground fault in our area, and the estimated time for power is now 2.15pm. Lunch is sandwiches, and hooray for the caravan stove for my coffee. We receive a phone call from ETSA at around 1pm to say that they are still trying to find where the fault is exactly underground and that generators will start between 1.30-2pm to give us power. At 2.45pm we are back! A quick check of the freezer brings relief that I do not have to have a frantic cook up of all the meat in the freezer (the only thing that seemed affected was a loaf of bread....). Luckily this has happened on a coldish (max 15C) spring day and not in summer. Fast forward through washing, coffee made inside the house, some internet (including booking accommodation for the weekend away), plugging the cordless phone back in, making dinner, dishes, watching Spicks and Specs to around 9pm when..........the power went out. We figured that they had maybe found the fault and had to turn off the generators to "plug" the proper power back in (see my superior understanding of how this all works). My plan to light lots of candles to make the power come back on more quickly (like how if you get something out to read when waiting for the bus it makes the bus turn up earlier) did not actually work for half an hour or so. The photo above is me with my candle, knitting the dalek washcloth.
Looking at my plans for today, I did get most things done except for that food shopping. I did pick up a few more things from the local supermarket but I'll grab some more things on the way back from knitting & library tomorrow afternoon.

I have days where I don't go online, but not being able to go online when you want to feels totally different and really shows you how much it is the first place we go to for information & contact with the world outside your direct neighbourhood.

We have booked a unit/villa (I am not sure of the difference and when booking accommodation was suitably confused) down on the Fleurieu Peninsula for Friday and Saturday nights, so I should only miss blogging on Saturday. We will go for a bush walk, maybe see a whale (or have they left already?), and all manner of things. Now that I have made the booking, the next big question will be............what stitching & knitting will I take? Tune in tomorrow to see the answer!

Best Laid Plans

That's what this picture represents-my best laid plans that didn't happen (yet). My plans today were

• food shopping mostly not done-this will get done tomorrow when Caitlin has softball practice
• washing done for today
• knitting dalek washcloth the picture above shows how far I've got-sunshine in the garden=weeding and such, and then visitors arrived-hopefully I can make a start shortly

Tomorrow, therefore, will include:

• Caitlin to softball practice in morning
  
• food shopping-see above
• more weeding/gardening if weather permits
• some knitting/stitching
• booking somewhere to stay for Fri/Sat night

as well as all the usual.

Round (and round) the garden

I did no actual gardening today, but decided to take the camera out around the garden while it is still green here and take a few snaps. It's been so wet here that our local reservoir is full and they've been letting excess water back into a river (sadly not the Murray). I am sure that when we get some finer/warmer weather everything will dry off, and the wetness and greenness will seem a distant memory.





There's a selection of flowers, including my last dutch iris, my vegie seedlings (Roma tomato, basil, chives) and Copper (a very curious chook who wanted to know what I was doing and did it involve anything edible).

Tomorrow-food shopping, washing (scout camp went well, but as with any camp=washing), knitting a dalek washcloth (Caitlin has a friend from Brownie's that is a big Dr Who fan as well, so this will be part of the gift-pretty sure it will be unique).

Cindy-I wanted to leave a comment on your blog, but it wouldn't accept it. Any ideas what I was doing wrong? I just wanted to say that perhaps rolling hills would look nice on the cardigan( or maybe a fox stalking....or maybe that would traumatise the poor child).

Day 4

So it's day 4 and I've run out of catchy post titles already. Luckily with Blogtoberfest I can use the day number when inspiration fails me.
Sunday summary:

• Daylight saving started-most clocks changed-still need to change mobile phone time
• washing done
• some weeding done
• grand prix watched
• craft photos taken

All in all, a quiet day, but that's how I like my Sundays. The photos are not great-it was either too dark inside, or too glarey outside. First is my progress on The Drawn Thread's "Sampler Gameboard"-stitched with DMC on some natural linen of some kind. This is a long time WIP so most details are sketchy in my mind........


I even took some photos of one of my knitting projects. The colours are not at all accurate-it's a much darker green/purple/blue combination (called Vineyard). It's the "Forest Canopy Shawl" in a hand dyed 8ply wool that I picked up at the local Spinners & Weavers Market Day earlier this year.




Tomorrow is a public holiday here, so Ron has a day off work, and we have nothing particular planned except collecting Luke from his camp.

Shopping Score

We survived shopping. I am not one who looks forward to shopping for the sake of it. I do not say "Let's go shopping!" as a rule, but we needed things. As is usually the way, we found some of what we were looking for, didn't find some of what we were looking for, and even found something we weren't looking for.

The one thing I "found" but didn't even know it existed, is this:



It's a (sideways-thanks to Blogger) ticket to a talk & book signing by one of my favourite authors, Diana Gabaldon, at my local library (sorry that the picture is so dark, but it's laminated, and it's very dark & gloomy here today). It's the only one she's doing in the state-I don't really know why it's going to held there rather than anywhere else, but I'm not complaining. I'm going to be doing some rereading of her books (although I have the first three on audio book so I can craft at the same time) so I will be up-to-date when I get the new book.

Tomorrow is a free day, and hopefully better weather so I can spend some time in the garden, before stitching or knitting whilst watching the Japanese Formula 1 Race. Maybe I'll take some craft photos as well-maybe......

The Whole Tooth

Well, it's been a busy day, but Luke is at scout camp, and I visited the dentist. You need to use your imagination to feel how exhausting arriving at that state can be, but I feel worn out now. The prognosis for my tooth was that a deep filling I had about 5-6 years ago (and I did not know that it was so big or deep) has finally caused the infection (well I think it caused it-I have literature to read-the dentist-thought it was a bad enough experience? -it now comes with homework) or whatever (see above comment for my lack of ability to explain what the dentist told me) which, in a nutshell, means that I can (a) have a root canal, (b) have the tooth extracted or (c) ignore the discomfort until an abcess forms and I am in agony and the nerves die and then have the tooth removed. I am going with option (a) so an appointment with a specialist has been made (for after the school holidays). If anyone has any horror stories regarding root canals, please keep them to yourself. If it's going to be awful, well, it's going to be awful, and I don't need 1 1/2 weeks of worry to add to it. I am happy to be ignorant in this instance. I also need a filling, and that delight will also be after the school holidays-two days before the specialist appointment. Luckily both places have craft shops nearby to bribe distract me after the event. And who knew that there were root canal specialists? (obviously not me) Is there so much variation in root canals that these specialists find it fascinating? I have to say that drilling out root canals day after day would not make me bound out of bed each day-but perhaps I'll change my mind when we get the bill...........

Again, I have no photos of my exciting day (and for that you should thank me!), but trawling through my pictures, I found one that I haven't posted. It's Caitlin's softball team (who won last season). Training has started for the new season, and I think that there's only three or four players from last season in the team (it's under 12s-mixed).



Ron may be playing this year as well-quite a few of the dads of last season's team have joined together with some younger lads who have outgrown the U16's to make up a team. They have yet to find out if there will be a second division for them to play in, or whether they will join the A grade. It should be very interesting and lots of fun.

I am going to do a bit more surfing of the web (does anyone say that anymore?) and then get to bed because we have a day of shopping tomorrow-I feel exhausted just thinking about it.

Blogtoberfest

I have signed up for "Blogtoberfest" - there's a link in the sidebar, but basically it's a commitment to post at least once a day for every day of the month of October. Can I do it? Who knows? The worst that will happen is that I don't. We may be going away for a couple of days at the end of the school holidays, and although I've read blogs where the blogger writes a blog in advance and somehow sets a timer to release the post at a set time, I'm not sure I have the capability with this blog.

We've nearly finished the first week of holidays, and Luke is off tomorrow for a 3 day scout camp in preparation for the Jamboree in January. I took Caitlin & a couple of her friends to the movies on Monday-it was her belated birthday outing. Because her birthday is in the middle of term, there are no new kids movies released, as the new releases are kept for the school holidays. We went to see "Up" which was lovely. I do enjoy the kids movies that have something for the adults too. Saturday we are heading to the "city" to hit the shops. There is much shopping we need to get done-shoes, clothes, knitting, softball mitt, jewellery,......... Poor Luke will miss out-unfortunately for Ron, he will not.

Craft-wise I haven't really stitched or knitted much since the holidays have started-what routine I had seems to have gone out the window. I need to take some pictures of the progress I have made, but because I have nothing to show, and it's night time and therefore a bad time to be taking pictures, I will show a picture of a project I am planning on starting soon. It is quite large (as usual with most of my stitching projects)-"Marriage of the Minds" by The Drawn Thread. The quote comes from a Shakespeare sonnet (and it has featured somewhere in a book I have read sometime in the last year-but I cannot work out which one-I read quite a lot.....).




Speaking of reading, I love my libraries (I belong to two). Caitlin & I have visited both this week, and we have quite a large & varied selection of books, DVDs and audio books now. I have also quite a few books on my hold list, including Sock Innovation or here for a non-Ravelry link.

I had better head to bed-tomorrow's exciting schedule includes: getting a 13yo boy to pack for camp, going to dentist for sore tooth examination (me), and writing another riveting post for the blog-the fun never ends ;)