Staggering Through

Wherethejourneytakesme - I am getting lots of practice changing lanes at that roundabout. We can meet up on a reservation and swap maps.

I have a humungous and ongoing headache but had to come on here to boast about bear. He got a good student award today (sort of, it's complicated), and I am so, so proud of him. It's not about how bright he is, because that is largely a matter of chance although he has always wanted to learn more stuff. It's about his attitude. That is entirely from him. So proud.

Hugs to all

Not as Planned

I dropped bear off at school, dived down to Tesco, filled up with petrol and realised that I didn't have my house keys on me. Bear had taken them with him into school. I may have used harsh language. I hadn't got my knitting on me, but I did have a circular needle, so I decided that I was going to relax, picked up some inexpensive yarn from Aldi and started a blanket while sat in a park until it was time to pick bear up.

There was a really sad accident in the centre of Heckmondwike, which involved a lot of police cars and ambulances. The main issue was the poor lady who was badly hurt. As a minor aside, I had some interesting three point turns to make, backed into a hedge (red is, against all odds, undamaged) and had to make a massive detour to get bear home which took more time than expected. So we rang a taxi while dragging everything together for the hospital and got to reception with (no exaggeration) four minutes to spare. The appointment went well, but it was too long to be worth taking bear back to school as we wouldn't get there before the end of the school day.

I drove us to the parents' evening, where bear got a very good report. All the teachers said that he had a great attitude to learning. That is better than good scores at this stage of the game (and he had a few), in my opinion. Sadly there was discussion about the exams that will be in three years time. The pressure won't let up now for years.

Wherethejourneytakesme - I've got rid of my P plates now, so you just have to keep an eye out for a purple Citroen either in the wrong lane, the wrong gear or both, and yes, there is so much water around. I was taught it was okay to shift from fourth to second, which has been a real help in the approach to some roundabouts.

Sharon - I haven't been tested properly with snow yet, and I'm really hoping that it will be okay. Fortunately all the roads I am likely to take are gritted and well travelled, so keeping fingers crossed. I think half the problem is that we are so unused to snow that we never know how to treat it here.

Hugs to all.

Trudging through Tuesday

Today I turned correctly into a one-way street and saw a red car coming straight at me. This bewildered me as it is a route I take a lot, past Aldi, and it's quite hard to go the wrong way down this particular one way street, but after my experience in Brighouse (I admit nothing), I have every sympathy. They got into the right part of the road and all was well.

I am really just passing through. Bear had his drama group which meant that we didn't get home until 6.30pm, around two and a half hours later than normal. It meant I got some knitting done in the car while waiting, until it got too dark, but I would rather have been at home. We had some uninspired ready made pancakes from Morrisons. I may have another go next week.

It will be next week as tomorrow is parents' evening, a friend of DH is visiting Thursday to Monday with associated separate dinners and upheaval to routine and then next Tuesday and probably Wednesday is also drama club with associated late nights and scratch dinners. Hopefully I will remember next week and have healthy, home made stuff ready.

I'm trying to work out the best plan of action for tomorrow. I will be taking the kids into school and dropping them off by 8.00. I need to fill up with petrol and then could do with going home, sticking in a load of washing, having a quick clear around and then out to the tip and on to pick up bear by 11.30am at the latest for his (not serious) hospital appointment. It isn't until 1pm, but I need to allow for traffic and to get bear into the hospital by public transport (parking is horrific and bear can't walk far) and then find the correct department. Then, if we are not too late out, I take bear back to school, then pick him up for around 3.30pm and drive for around thirty minutes to home where we catch our breath and dive out again around 6pm to get to parents evening for 6.45pm. I may even need to leave a little earlier as we will be in the middle of rush hour traffic. The lovely, lovely student support manager has said that if we are likely to be late away from the hospital then we can just come back for parents' evening. I'll let you know how I get on with that.

I am feeling very sleepy and I wonder if there is snow on the way that has been missed in the forecast or whether I'm just tired. If it is snow, I shall follow everyone's advice. Jill - I've got into the habit of using gears to reduce speed in a few places on my usual routes, as it seems to give a better drive, especially going down a hill. I think I subconsciously picked up a few habits from father who did a lot of things which are considered old fashioned now, but seem to make sense in tough conditions. I shall try and make it a more conscious thing.

Writing stuff - my reply to this week's writing challenge is here.

Hugs to all.

Another Monday

I had a false alarm. When I woke up, the view from my window looked like this...

... and the snow kept coming as I got dressed, got bear fed, naff raffed around and generally avoided looking out of the window. I watched a YouTube video about how to drive in snow, and as the voice over talked about braking straight (in West Yorkshire!), the dashcam showed the approach to a junction - and a car that had slid off the road. I wasn't reassured. However, just as I had finished knocking all the snow off Red (on the right), bear got a text from his pal who said that their dad was taking them in. I was extremely relieved.

It wasn't bad, like some places have had it, and the snow soon turned to rain. When I went to collect bear, the roads were running with water as the snow was melting and the ground was still full of water, so the melt had nowhere to go. It is very unnerving driving next to what is normally a gutter but was now a small stream that was spilling out into the road. And we are nowhere near the worst affected areas. I know how lucky we are, and I was still planning a variety of routes to make sure that we would be okay. I will be glad when this stretch of weather ends.

I will eventually get around to taking a pic of the scarf I knitted up and finished this weekend. I finished a project!!! The blanket I'm trying to finish is too big for the car now so I've started the hats to send to charity that I'm doing in Lent. I broke open the 400g ball of aran and found that I had torn the pattern on the inside, which looked like a really intriguing wrap. I shall investigate the other ball bands later.

Writing stuff - this week's writing challenge is here. 

Hugs to all 

Not a Bad Day

I decided I needed a drive out to stretch my wheels. It wasn't the most sensible decision I've ever made, as the car was wobbling as I drove as the wind was so strong and I went past a lot of water running down the sides of the roads and off the hills. I even had what seemed like a small stream running over the road. Unfortunately, I only realised when the car in front kicked up a lot of spray and I was going 50mph so I didn't have much chance to approach with caution. I was fine. I may or may not have shouted 'Geronimo', I am making no comment.

I still can't work out why, when I have no issues going out in unpleasant weather, when I'll head up random roads and try new places, why am I still so scared of motorways? I went to two farm shops today. The first had an extremely narrow entrance and exit and while it's a good thing that my dash cam doesn't record sound as I used some harsh words, I was fine. I made some mistakes, didn't ding the car and generally was okay. I wouldn't have a problem going there again, or tackling the awkward turns, or steep hills, or the weird junction. The thought of a motorway, however, is incredibly daunting.

I wasn't taken with the first farm shop which was very arty with lots of jars of olives and fancy bits. I always find these places a little overpriced. The second was what I think of as a working farm shop, with concrete floors, local veg, discount tins of peas, and meat that look like it's from a proper butcher. That and a range of pies and tarts that don't look like supermarket pies but are old fashioned and homely. I picked up some gooseberry jam as I don't see that very often, and my grandmother used to make it a lot.

I wish I had know about this place a few years ago. It's not very far from us, it's on a bus route (and actually very near a route to bear's school) and there is a play barn and a little playground. There is also an emu. I didn't get good photos, and will try again later, but here you are.

I kept a safe distance, as I was fairly sure it was an emu (I've seen ostriches on local farms as well, but not near here) and I know about the Emu War.

I'll probably nip in more regularly now as it is only a few hundred yards out of my way if I go a particular route, and the veg looked really good.

Tonight I tried the gluten free meatloaf but with beef mince rather than turkey. It was okay. The men enjoyed it, but I wasn't so sure. Next time I may add curry powder and mango chutney.

This afternoon and evening we hung out watching YouTube videos and chilling. It was a lovely, calm, gentle time where we chatted, connected and relaxed. We plan to do that again tomorrow.

Hugs to all.

Made it to Friday

Bear had a hospital appointment this morning. We were ridiculously early, but they saw us which meant we were out before we were supposed to go in. It all went well, and a follow up was booked. Bear was awesome, but he is still bored. His pal came round today, and I left them to it when I took some rubbish to the tip. He's doing okay and had some homemade soup for dinner. It looks like that is a meal that will keep being a winner.

I messed up on the complicated roundabout. I used a different approach, became bewildered, was rudely cut off and ended up headed towards Bradford before I knew what was happening, and no-one drives in Bradford if they can help it. I managed to get back in track, and I'll have another go next time I'm heading that way.

I've been naffraffing about shawls and old style knitting and for all those knitters out there who are adventurous and like a free pattern, here are some books on Project Gutenberg with really old knitting patterns and instructions - Project Gutenberg. It's a place that is worth a browse as it is full of free books that are out of copyright. It may not have the latest thriller, and some of the history and social commentary may not be appropriate for today's views, but there are books by authors like Jules Verne and Mark Twain, shelves on mythology and crafts and even forestry. I think I will be having a browse this evening.

Hugs to all.

Nearly the End of the Week

I still haven't managed to get all the burned on chocolate off the base of the soup maker. However it's working now, and I suppose it's reassuring that it cuts out when it is over heating rather than bursting into flame. I'll just have to keep scrubbing. The manual is very clear that cleaners shouldn't be added to the jug, but I may put some cola in and leave it for a while. Everyone had soup made in a pan tonight, but I used a recipe from the soupmaker, so I suppose I'm keeping to the spirit of the dratted machine.

I am so full of cold, aches and pains and I slept very badly last night. I was barely fit to drive to finally drop off bear's blazer and pick up a few things (I forgot a load of stuff as well). I will be very glad when this weather comes to an end.

Bear and pals are bored, bored, bored, I'm letting them be bored. It isn't the end of the world, and I think it is actually good for them to have a little down time. I wish I was bored. Our black wheelie bin has gone completely missing, and is probably now in the Isle of Wight, and I'm not sure where bear's school uniform has gone.

For those who knit, Marriners Yarns have some free patterns for those who subscribe to their newsletter. I looked. I really shouldn't have looked, but I did. Downloads may have happened, but I'm admitting nothing.

Writing stuff - Finally got to a book review that I have been sitting on for a while, which you can find here.

Hugs to all.

Another Blazer Fail

I forgot to take the blazer in again. I have to take it in tomorrow for it to have a chance to be cleaned - and it needs to be cleaned.

Wherethejourneytakesme - the soupmaker was from Amazon, and it's less than a week old. If I can't get it going again, I can send it back. DH is very attached to the soupmaker, though, and is hopeful that it just overheated with chocolate goop covering the element. Otherwise I will be getting a replacement.

The weather has been kind here. It's rained a little and been generally unpleasant, but nothing out of the ordinary. Bear and his pals have been feeling bored. Unfortunately, as they are suffering from some physical ailments, I can't really get them lifting and carrying, which is always a good way to prevent boredom.

Bear has a music lesson around lunchtime tomorrow, and I may send him and his pal out again into town. I may even give them a lift, though that spoils the fun, I think, for them.

Hugs to all.

Soup Fail

I tried making the chocolate soup as described on the site. You add in 200ml double cream, 200ml milk, 200g milk chocolate, 300g of dark chocolate, 600ml water and the juice of 2 oranges. It broke the maker. There was a smell of burning and now it refuses to turn on again.

We finished it off in the microwave, and, to be honest, I left bear and DH to it. I think the chocolate sunk to the bottom and caked onto the element. Darn.

DH has requested, though, that if this one is completely burned out and unsalvageable then we get a replacement. The soups have definitely been a success. I will have a think, because I'm not holding out much hope of resurrecting this particular maker. It is definitely a lot easier than a pan and a blender, but the maker does cost a lot, especially if I have to pay full price for one.

Bear is also keen on keeping the soup maker, but was distracted today as he went into town without me but with one of his pals. This friend is a little older, so I wasn't so stressed, and they were fine - of course. I think it's a little while before I'm comfortable with bear going by himself, but he's getting older and it doesn't help him if he doesn't get chances to be independent.

I shall go away and rethink what I shall be cooking tomorrow. I may have another go at the meatloaf, as that went well.

Writing stuff - my response to this week's writing challenge is here.

Hugs to all.

Weather

We have been so lucky here, but the weather is still getting me down. I drove out to take bear's blazer to the cleaners and the car rocked with the wind. As it was, the buttons on the blazer were loose so I brought it back and will take it in tomorrow after resewing the buttons.

The soup maker is going well. We've had three meals out of it so far. We had the butternut squash, chilli and coconut, that was a little spicy for me, followed by the chickpea and chorizo which bear didn't like and tonight we had blackbean and sweet potato, which I thought fell a little flat. Next time I think I will soften things before I set it off. DH thoroughly enjoyed it, though, and would like it again soon, please. We got the outdated model, which explains the inexpensive price, so we may have to soften or saute food before setting it off. It's still a help. Tomorrow we are having chocolate and orange soup for dessert. I'll share how that goes!

Writing stuff - this week's challenge here.

Hugs to all.

Finally the End of the Week

This week seems to have been very long, and I'm not exactly sure why. As I type this, I am nodding off, even though it is only tea time. I'm just tired.

The soup maker arrived today. I got this model (though at a slightly lower price). I am looking forward to having a play. I am relying on it for lunches next week for half term. The attraction for me is that I can bung things in, come back, pour it out and then press the self clean button. It will hopefully provide decent nutrition for the men, and, if I make a decent quantity, I can start stashing spare portions in the freezer again. I can have reduced salt stock cubes, fresh veggies, and generally some decent nutrition, while taking the option to use up leftovers. The instructions are simple. Cut up ingredients into small pieces. Precook meat and defrost frozen veg (which can be done in a microwave). Add stock. Push button. Come back later and serve. I can rummage around on the internet for recipes or use my own. The soup cooker maker, Drew & Cole, have a lot of recipes on their website here and I plan to take advantage for inspiration. I shall share any triumphs.

(I also admit that one of the biggest attractions is that I won't be cleaning splatter marks off the walls after blending my usual soups. It's all contained.)

I would like to apologise to anyone who saw me trying to park at Lidl this afternoon. It really wasn't suitable for anyone of a sensitive disposition. I went three times around before I got an angle, and the car park wasn't that busy. I wasn't much better at Morrisons for bear's pick up. On the other hand, I navigated past IKEA and the incredibly complicated roundabout without issue. As I become more confident and more aware, I'm noticing someone stuck in the wrong lane roughly every other journey. I sympathise with them deeply. If you use what3words.com (I'm still getting the hang of it), the address is ///trails.flute.beside or you can look up the postcode WF17 9DT and you can get an overview of what the roads are like on Google Maps. If you get into the wrong lane you could be zipping along to Wakefield or Bradford, or on the motorway to Hull or Manchester instead of navigating between Huddersfield and Leeds. If you have a clear idea of the road you need to be on and pay attention to the road markings, you have a fighting chance, but it's desperately easy to end up in the wrong lane and having to zip around again. To be honest, last time I got it wrong I ended up accepting my fate and heading towards Bradford until I could turn off.

I am off to study soup recipes now, with a view to making lots and lots and lots of soup over the next few days.

Hugs to all.

Not a Bad Day

I bought the yarn! I bought 1200g of aran yarn (which turned out to be 25% wool) for £15. I plan to use the aran yarn for hats to knit over Lent. I'm planning on using this pattern here - it is amazing! It is a basic knitted hat, which gives the pattern for premies, babys, children, women and men in seven different yarn weights!

I also bought the teapot that Wherethejourneytakesme got, for the lovely tea that I was gifted. It is perfect for me, and it was nice to have an excuse to drive a little out of the way to Sainsburys in Dewsbury. Next time I may go to Sainsburys in Halifax, as I believe that it is massive!

I need to learn to take better pics.

It's been a day of internet pages. For dinner we had gluten free turkey meatloaf, from here, which I originally found on Reddit. It's incredibly healthy, with low fat turkey mince, ground almonds and lots of garlic, but I think next time I may add a few extra flavours. DH and bear loved it, though, and would like it again soon, please, if I don't mind. I had to convert it from US to English measures, though, and I think it could have done with some more ground almonds. I used this site here, which is normally epic and includes stuff like calculating your weight on other planets, but I think the 1/3 of a cup of ground almonds equalling 30g may have been a little light.

I accidentally bought double the amount of turkey mince needed. I can remember somewhere seeing a recipe which had a crumble topping which included readymade stuffing mix and I can't seem to remember where I saw it. It may just end up cooked with onions and gravy and served with mash.

Now I am going to settle down and get on with more writing stuff.

Hugs to all.

Nothing Much

I thought things would be easier after January, but I feel very much that I am trudging through February, and making a bad job of it as well.

It hasn't been so bad during the school run. There have been some showers of sleet and hail, but nothing that stuck, although visibility was sometimes an issue. I know I am so lucky compared to others, some just a few hundred yards away. I took some rubbish to the tip this afternoon, and the road was clean. The flood had washed so much away.

I am at a low ebb, and I let my guard down. I've ordered an inexpensive soupmaker. I saw on Wherethejourneytakesme blog that there were a surprising amount of soup resources around. I shall have to experiment.

I think I will crack on with sorting out my files tonight. I have an ever growing file named GOK - Goodness Only Knows - and I found some knitting patterns I had forgotten.

Writing stuff - response to this week's writing challenge is here.

Hugs to all

I Have Some Work to Do

My lovely, awesome brother has recovered the data from my old laptop and sent it over. Today I downloaded all 1.21gb and now I am going to settle down, review what's there, what I need to keep and better ways to save it. I had it all on the desktop. Awesome brother does things with computers, so is mildly baffled that I have made such a mess of saving stuff, but says he finds much worse when he works on helpdesks. At least I know where the start button is.

I didn't have to drive this morning. Bear's pal's dad took them in (thank you thank you thank you!!!) and the streets were dry in the afternoon, but they looked scoured and I passed a house near us that had sandbags in place. I know there were still flood warnings not far from here. In fact, I took a photo a while back of Kirkstall Abbey and that is in the zone of 'flooding is expected - immediate action required' on the government website

Kirkstall Abbey is by the River Aire and all the rainwater will still be coming down off the headwaters in the hills. Personally, we got off incredibly lightly and I am grateful.

Tomorrow is looking potentially slightly snowy. Bear's pal's dad takes them in on a Tuesday so I only need to worry about the run in the afternoon. I'm sure it will be fine. 

Now I need to get off and sort through all the junk from the old laptop, delete what I need to, reorganise stuff so that I have a chance of finding it again, and generally remind myself of what's available.

Writing stuff - this week's writing challenge is here.

Hugs to all. 

Scary Weather

Wherethejourneytakesme - I have a bad track record of finishing things, but I am unlikely to make a sweater from it, as bear has claimed it for a blanket. To be honest, I was worrying about washing it anyway, so I'm not too stressed.

I haven't left the house to take pics, but I have seen enough on Facebook. The ring road, my nemesis, is now flooded and closed to traffic. I have to get across there tomorrow for the school run. Also, snow is threatened. I am unenthusiastic.

And I am also grateful that I'm not in the position of the poor people flooded out. It takes months for homes to dry out. And we are nowhere nearly as affected as places like Hebden Bridge and Mytholmroyd. I have driven in some of the places shown in this link to the BBC. It must be heartbreaking. When I visited Hebden bridge a week ago, lots of the little shops had gone, partly because of the effects of the last flood. 

Hugs and good vibes to all, especially to those affected by the storm. 

Nearly Not a Fail.

Wherethejourneytakesme - thanks for the heads up about the Music Festival. I'll keep an eye out. I've subscribed to a few of the local email newsletters, which will also help. The Mikado is being put on at Batley Town Hall at the end of April/beginning of May and it costs less than £20 for both bear and I! It would cost more for pizza for us.

I dived into Aldi again today and passed the temptation of the yarn

It's not a brilliant picture, as I was trying to avoid other shoppers, and it leaves a load out. And I walked past it afterwards! I didn't put any in my trolley. Unfortunately when I went around the corner there was another pile and I couldn't resist 1200g of royal blue chenille type yarn that was perfect for the pattern I wanted. And looking back, I should have picked up some of the aran as it would have been ideal for making hats to send off to the charity at £4.99 for 400g. As a bonus, the chenille type yarn had been marked down, so instead of the £4.99 for a pack of 4 100g balls, they rang up as £1.99 each, so I got 1200g of yarn for £5.97. It was a complete bargain! (also completely unnecessary at this time but we can skip past that)

I'm not happy with my driving yesterday. I couldn't get fast enough on the ring road. I had tried to avoid it when I put the route into the satnav, but I think bear chose the faster route which took me on the main roads. I was so stressed, and sometimes barely reaching 50 in a 60 zone at rush hour. I am painfully aware that this makes me a hazard, and I was struggling so much. I need to crack this. I will not be trying tomorrow, however as the weather forecast is for tough conditions and I'm sending good vibes for those in the most affected places, especially Jill.

Hugs to all. 

Getting Back to Normal

By the time I had dropped bear and pal off at school, worked out what extra groceries were needed, picked them up, got home, sorted some washing and a few chores, caught up with some work, dived out and tried a new route to pick up (I sincerely apologise to the driver behind me at the awkward junction, I am so sorry), got bear home and changed, it was time to go out.

Bear had heard about excerpts of some Gilbert and Sullivan being performed at Yeadon Town Hall via his amazing music tutor. I had a few issues finding parking, but we scuttled in to the hall in the nick of time.

It was amazing. It is an amateur company but it sounded so awesome that it was hard to believe. There were great costumes, an orchestra and it was so much fun. Bear loved it. I was a little worried, as it is something completely new to him, but he couldn't get enough of it.

I admit I may have made a mistake. I took him into the bar with me. He is thirteen. I'm not sure about the ages. Though it wasn't exactly a den of iniquity. Bear brought the average age down by about thirty years, and there wasn't much drunkeness or debauchery. He had a blackcurrant and I had a diet cola, then went off to sit in a quiet corner.

I picked up a flyer for some more amateur Gilbert and Sullivan at Batley Town Hall in April, so we may get to see some more.

There were a few issues getting away from Yeadon (there was a one way system, and I don't really know the area), but now we are home and bear is still thrilled with it.

Wherethejourneytakesme - yes, I remember that, and I had to choose one of either music, drama or art and I chose the one I was least bad at as I was unimpressive at all of them. They haven't asked for that at bear's school, but they have said that you could only choose one of Graphics, Resistant Materials or Food Tech because of the amount of coursework, which is reasonable enough, I suppose. I am still not exactly sure what Resistant Materials involves as bear has made a perspex phone stand and not much else, but I don't think they cover sewing. Graphics is like computer graphics, I think. as bear says that he is learning Photoshop in this part of the course. I am deeply relieved that Food Tech hasn't been considered, but I'm confident that bear will make up for it in other ways.

I really need to remember to take pics.

Hugs to all.

Not Quiet

Wherethejourneytakesme - you had to say it, didn't you?

I dropped bear and pal off at school and headed to Tesco in a vague state of panic. I had just remembered that DH has some friends coming from abroad and I wanted to get some goodies for them as they are staying in an AirBnB. However I not feeling at my best as I am up against the clock on a few things, so while there is tea, coffee, biscuits and cake, I am hoping that they are the right sorts. Then I went to drop off my brother's laptop. He wasn't there. I had arranged to call in, but the email letting me know that things had changed had gone to my spam folder. It isn't a huge amount out of my way, but I tried to find a different way back and only just kept on course. I managed to get some bits done before DH came home at lunchtime and we hung out together for the first time in a few weeks then I went and picked up bear and pal.

I needed to get sandwich makings, and didn't dare when I was waiting for the kids as I only just got there in time and I didn't want to miss them, so I called in at the Co-op on the way back and did an amazing feat of parking - accidentally of course! I managed to reverse park into a spot quite nicely, but only just worked out the distance and stopped literally two inches from the building behind. I honestly couldn't believe my eyes! And of course it was on a slope so I had to nail the hill start when I left, but I do so many hill starts at traffic lights and such that it wasn't really an issue.

After I dropped bear's pal off, we got home and had a bite to eat before heading out. DH let me drive (bless him), and I know the short cuts, but we got bogged down in traffic and were a few minutes late for bear's options evening.

For those not familiar with the English system, all kids are supposed to sit their exams (tests) called GCSEs at 16. The results of these influence whether you go on to do that subject further, and are the things that you show employers for your first jobs. If all goes according to plan, bear should sit 10 GCSEs, which is quite a workload, but possible. This evening was to help chose the subjects he wanted to do for GCSE, and he has four to choose in addition to the compulsory English Lit, English Language, Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. It looks like he is going to get his choices, but we will see. The teachers seemed pleased with him, which was very nice to hear.

Then we came home and I managed to show DH a different route from the one he knows because I have been driving these routes for nearly a year and have a low boredom threshold and get lost a lot. This means I know a lot of different ways between home and bear's school and all the different shops along the way.

And now I am going to collapse into bed as tomorrow is looking complicated as well.

Hugs to all.

Some Witterings

I sort of love it when there is nothing significant to write about. It means there are no disasters. I'll take that.

Also, headache continues.

Sharon - When it comes to faith, or lack of faith, I think that some people are awesome, some people are dreadful, most people come somewhere in between and whichever box you tick under Religion on a census has very little to do with it. I think you are awesome.

Hugs to all.

It's Still Only Tuesday!

I have a walloping headache and the grumps. I am somewhat dissatisfied with myself. Although I still have residual smugness from not buying the yarn, it's not lasting.

Today, as I was distracting myself from everything I should be doing, I googled for free hat patterns. I didn't go to my normal places for free patterns, and I'm quite glad. I want to do something for Lent. I am something of a fail as a Christian, and I have the willpower of a kitten with a feather duster, so giving up something is unlikely to be successful, but I thought I could do something. One thing I thought of was perhaps knitting hats or similar for the homeless, which is in line with Matthew 25:36 - I was naked and you clothed me.

I found this (non-Christian) site, Knit for Peace, which sponsors knitters for peace (ie women from divided communities knitting together) and which also sends knitted goods to places where they are needed. There are patterns on there, which seem awesome, suggestions, and even a raffle. I had a quick look and as far as I can tell they are registered and up to date with the Charity Commission, so I thought I would sort out yarn and get started in Lent (26 February this year). I thought it worth sharing. If I ever manage to get anything sent off (at the moment, managing anything seems a distant dream), I'll share.

Writing stuff - my response to this week's writing challenge here

Hugs to all.

I Didn't Buy It!

I called in at Aldi today and there was a huge pile of yarn of all sorts. I was looking at the fluffy yarn, but the Aran looked like great value and there was a ton of chenille type stuff and some really fine yarn that I suppose is sock yarn. It was all at Aldi's prices, so £4.99 for 400g of Aran yarn. It's only acrylic, but that serves many purposes. The online link is here for those interested. There is lots of lovely craft stuff, all very tempting, but it's not a permanent stock thing, it's one of those 'when its gone, its gone' marketing ploys to make you rush in to buying just in case, but the yarn does keep turning up on a regular basis.

I didn't buy any.

To be fair, I did put some in my trolley, but I put it back. This was particularly hard as I finally found a pattern for a sweater/wrap that I bought around 1990, wore to shreds and have never been able to replace. It needs chunky yarn that is listed as being for 6mm needles, and I managed to not find any in all the Aldi goodies, although some came close. I shall celebrate my restraint by pushing on with the blanket that I need to get finished for Friday.

(I may also do some browsing for the perfect yarn for the sweater in question)

Writing stuff - This week's writing challenge is here.

Hugs to all.

Slightly optimistic

Today was better. Bear had a wonderful day out with his auntie which included a trip to a cat cafe. It sounds awesome. Then he hung out with his pal this afternoon and generally is a lot better. I'm still keeping a close eye on him.

Justjill - I'll remind bear, as he has read Animal Farm. I don't know how much he understood, but we can chat about it all. I think he has also read 1984. There are worse things, though those are two depressing books.

Today has been a knitting day, as I have a project for friends that needs to be finished by next Friday and it's quite a big blanket. I've been watching YouTube videos and generally practising my calm.

Hugs to all