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I'm having a few technical difficulties, but I'll be back soon. 

Mea Culpa - I Have Shopped

I didn't post yesterday because my laptop keys weren't co-operating. So many keys were acting up that I was driven daft(er). So, from yesterday...

I dropped off some stuff at the charity shop. I was really worried because I'm not walking well at all, but, by a stroke of luck, I snagged a place right opposite the entrance. Not only that, but I reversed almost perfectly into the space next to another car first time. I was so thrilled, I took a picture.

There were a few bags, and a very kind gentleman helped me with them, but getting in, a quick look at the bric a brac and then out just about finished me off. 

Other news from yesterday is more yarn arrived. I picked up some bits from Temu, which I need to stop doing, and it included some yarn. 

It looks weird and wonderful, I really didn't need it, and it's probably the first thing I will pick up after Easter to knit myself a scarf. Or at least, I'll try to knit a scarf but the yarn looks complicated. My only excuse is that I bought it before I started sorting out my yarn stash and I'd been longing for it for a while. 

Today we called into visit the crows, who were all very enthusiastic. It was a really beautiful morning and I've completely failed to get any pics. I'll have to have another go some other time.

My room is still a heap, almost literally. I spent some time sorting through some stuff, and I feel that I have to make choices. I've quite a few sewing projects stashed and I wanted to do them and still want to do them. However I'm not sure when I'll be able to get to them. I have finite time and I need to make choices. I've decided to choose knitting and writing (when the keyboard finally co-operates). 

It's hard letting go of some of the projects, because I know that I would have enjoyed them if I ever got around to them. That's the thing. I would see something online, buy it, really want to start it, something would happen, I'd get distracted, I'd see something online, buy it, really want to start it... I'm making deliberate choices and I'm not trying to get everything done straight away. It's proving quite hard. 

I start with - am I going to keep it? If so, it's getting shoved into storage or bags until I can have space to find a decent home, or until I've worked through more of my stash. If I'm not going to keep it, I ask myself if I think it will sell. I'll have a few things to put on eBay on Monday. Then if I don't think that it'll sell, I ask myself if it is fit to donate. That goes into a separate bag. I throw out the rest. 

It's hard making some of the choices. As I reduce the mounds, I expect that I'll find duplicates of stuff and get rid of more things. I'm finding it exhausting, though. 

In other news, bear is going out clubbing tonight. He's been out late and overnight for parties, but this is the first time he's headed into Leeds with a group of his friends. I promised that I wouldn't wait up, but I don't think that I'll settle until he gets home. I'm being ridiculous, of course. Bear is a sensible lad and knows that he can call on me and DH any time in the unlikely event that he runs into a problem. I hope that he has a blast.

Hugs and good health to all. 

Frustrating Day and Signs of Insanity

Our lovely plumber came out this morning and prodded our boiler. It turns out the boiler was fine. The problem was that the gas meter had stopped working and so no gas was reaching the boiler. Lovely plumber couldn't touch it, but he spoke to my energy supplier, Octopus, on my behalf and they agreed to come out 'within four hours'. This was around 11.30am.

What I didn't notice was the email from Octopus and they needed answers to the questions in it before they logged the order. They needed to know if there were pets, if the could park, would they need a ladder etc etc etc. I didn't notice it until around 3pm, so I answered it and then rang their (actually quite pleasant) customer service. I then got another email from their customer service asking for a picture of the meter, followed by another email from the works supervisor asking for a picture of the meter, followed by a phone call confirming that the call was booked followed by a call from the man mending the meter letting me know he was on his way followed by yet another email requesting that I let them know when it was sorted.

It was a lot.

It felt very bitty because I couldn't settle to anything, not even knitting, as I felt that I could be broken off at any time. I didn't even want to make anything to eat, just in case I was disturbed. It was all very frustrating. Still, we now have a new meter as the battery in the old meter had given up. Apparently they only last 10-15 years. The heating is back on and I could wash up without boiling a kettle, so I'm happy. 

I'm making no plans for tomorrow, just in case.

I also got some seeds. I don't need any more seeds. I absolutely do not need more seeds. But these are herbs, and they can be transitioned outside. 

They're called seed mats and you just place them on soil as is, cover them with a sprinkle of soil, keep them watered and they should be fine. I got parsley, basil, coriander, mint, chives and rocket. I think I'll start off with one mat of parsley and see how I go - if I can find space on the dratted windowsills! I've still got loads of chilli seeds, and I'm planting them even if it is late. 

I just hope I don't kill them off. 

Now it's time for an early night in a nice, warm house. 

Hugs and good health to all. 

Yarn, Yarn, Yarn, Yarn, Yarn, Yarn...

And yet no pics of yarn - I'm slipping!

I managed to get through to my plumber today. He's an absolute sweetheart and a safe tradesman. He explains what he's doing, is clear about pricing, and will call if he's running late. And he can come tomorrow morning. It's not too bad. Apart from boiling a kettle to wash the dishes, it's been fine. 

It's been a funny sort of week. I was planning to leave the house super early Tuesday morning because I wanted to drop off donations at a charity shop, and I can't walk very far at all so I'd have to park close, which means leaving the house at the first chirp of the sparrow to make sure that I got a parking space. However I didn't get to sleep until 5am Tuesday morning and I decided that I probably wasn't in a good place to drive. I decided to go today instead. I didn't go today as I was trying to get through to the plumber, and as he's coming tomorrow, it looks like I'll get to the charity shop Friday if nothing else happens. I am not convinced I'll get out of the house on Friday, but who knows. Something may actually go to plan. 

My bedroom is a pit, an absolute disaster, mainly marked by a huge heap of bags for life filled with knitting projects. I bought some things from Temu. They're basically hanging storage. I'll treat taking a pic from there the same was as I do taking a pic from Amazon - I'll give an attribution and a link (and I don't profit from links on here). I hope that's fair play.

Yarn organiser

They were a bit of a pain to set up and they're not exactly exquisitely made, but as long as I'm not opening and shutting them all of the time, they'll do. I've filled three. I've barely made a dent. 

There's a lot of yarn, but there are also so many half finished projects. I'd forgotten about a few of them, including the blanket with yarn that had yak wool as part of it's fibre content. I want to knit this stuff. I got this yarn and started these projects because they called to me. They're still calling to me now. I want to get this stuff finished and done. I want stuff out of the bags for life and into sweaters, scarves, blankets, curtains and jackets. I feel like I could sit and binge knit, just to get some space cleared. 

However I'd already decided that, as I fail at giving things up, I was going to spend Lent, which starts today, knitting for Mission to Seafarers. Most of my mother's family had connections with the sea. Some were Royal Navy, including my insane great uncle who learned how to eat mangoes in Palestine during shore leave during WWII, and the brother of my great grandfather who ran whiskey to the USA during Prohibition. Uncle was a ship's engineer for nearly twenty years. I know how much the Mission to Seafarers can mean to sailors in a strange port. I've got loads of yarn, including that sent by a lovely friend who is no longer with us, so I thought I should set to it. 

This is the religious bit and you can skip to the next paragraph if you prefer. My understanding of the Bible, and I'm not claiming to be any sort of authority, is that if you promise something then you should follow through, even if you didn't have to promise in the first place. I may not have promised in front of a panel of bishops, but I feel that I have to follow through. I feel a little frustrated, but it's not exactly a huge hardship and the yarn will still be diminished. It just won't be the projects that are currently calling. Regardless, I worked on this today, which will be donated. Besides, it's forty days, not years and decades. I'll get stuck into the outstanding stuff soon enough. 

While I was rummaging, I filled two black binbags full of rubbish and another bag for donations. I'm looking at a few craft projects and considering my options. Do I really want to take the time to eg stitch a cross stitch when I could be knitting (more relaxing) or writing (more energising). I could even be doing useful stuff like housework!

Once the plumber has been tomorrow, I plan to return to finish clearing and sorting stuff in my bedroom. Due to the way the light falls and the narrow windowsills, my bedroom is perfect for a chilli nursery and I've got a load of seeds that I can sow, even if it's a bit late. Once that is done, and I've moved some furniture around in the living room, I can get on with things. I've even got some herb seeds to plant as well, although I plan for those to go outside fairly soon. 

I don't have a brilliant track record at following plans through, but I'm hoping that the urge to plant chilli seeds will keep me going through any hiccups. I'll share how things go.

Hugs and good health to all. 

Sort of Normal

My usual February brain-switch-off seems to have been delayed until March. Hopefully I'll get an early night tonight (my sleep has been all over the place) and be back and with it tomorrow. 

I have to be somewhat with it as the boiler stopped working this evening so we have no central heating. The shower runs on electric, so that's not affected, and we have electric heaters in DH and bear's rooms and in the study, so we certainly won't freeze, but I'm a little annoyed. I'll call the plumber tomorrow.

I have also knitted the shawl. It will be perfect for the car. 

It's a good size but lightweight and warm. Close up it looks like this.

The knitting came out looking great, but it was horrible to knit and I'm sort of glad that it's over. 

Bear is having a tough time with his course work. DH and I are keeping a safe distance and letting him get on with stuff. Even if we understood it, we aren't allowed to help him with it. 

The chilli seedlings seem kind of stuck, so I'm hoping I haven't got things too wrong.

Hugs and good health to all. 

 

The Yarn is Winning

It's been another quiet day here. I'm feeling a little under the weather and achy, so I thought I would work on knitting, particularly that fancy yarn. 

It's a struggle for supremacy, a battle to see who's will can prevail. The yarn is winning. I cast on, knitted and unravelled five times! FIVE!

I tried all sorts of cast-on methods. I've used the cable cast on plenty of times, like this scarf that I plan to donate. This was a cable cast on.

It's a nice, neat, unremarkably start to a piece of knitting. With this stupid yarn, it's an incitement to riot. 

In the end, I cast on three stitches and started a triangular shawl. I want one for the car anyway. I have a blanket over my lap (that I knitted) and a warm hat (that I knitted) so a shawl around my shoulders would be a great addition. I think that I have enough yarn to make a really good sized shawl, and I've made a start. 

I'll see how much I can do before the start of Lent. After that, all knitting will be for the Seafarers' Mission (crises permitting). 

Tonight's dinner was the now traditional one with sausage, frozen potato chips, peas and gravy. The men really enjoy those chips/fries/product-type-things - products by Lamb Weston like these ziggy seasoned fries. The price that they have as their base price is £3.00 to £3.30, but I think that's the price that they have the sale from. I've seen them as low as £1.65, but I suspect that's not common. They're currently in a sale which is 8 items for £10 which isn't a bad price, but I haven't much room in my freezer. It's tempting to work out how to tetris more into the freezer as the sale ends on 9th March, but I have a suspicion that this sale comes around a lot. If the price is 8 bags for £10, or £1.25 each, and each bag will do two meals, then it's getting close to the price of non-bargain fresh and normal potatoes. As it is, the men enjoy them so much, and I certainly can't duplicate their fancy cuts, that it may be almost worth paying full price (though it would make me cry).

I need another freezer. 

Hugs and good health to all.