NEW FLEECE DUVET COVER NABBED

Penny, daughter, has bought her Dad a new fleece tartan duvet cover as he feels the cold.

The testers have found it to be satisfactory, each one has now tried it. lol

Have a good weekend

Briony

x

 

 

SUCH KINDNESS

 As you know, I'm always on about going out for our coffee's.

It's usually the 'Sunshine Cafe' or 'Waitrose'.

The ladies behind the counter in Waitrose coffee shop are such a lovely bunch and know us well from our frequent visits.

I went shopping this morning to Waitrose without Tom and the ladies enquired after him.

I sadly had to tell them that he probably wouldn't be coming any more as he is unable to walk far without getting really out of breath.  

They were so sorry but made me my cappuccino and I went and sat down with it.

I hadn't been there long when one of them came over with a huge bouquet of flowers to cheer us both up.

I get a lot of stick for going to Waitrose as there are cheaper shops, but where else would you get that kind of treatment. 

 Not in Tesco or Asda I'm sure.

All of the staff are so helpful and nothing is too much for them.  No rush to pack and pay and a nice quiet atmosphere to shop, to me it's worth paying a little more.

THE MOUNTAIN

 I've not been posting as my mind has not been in the right place recently but Tom found this poem this morning and we thought it was appropriate to our situation right now.

If the mountain seems too big today

then climb a hill instead;

If morning brings you sadness

it’s okay to stay in bed.

If the day ahead feels heavy and your plans feel like a curse,

There’s no shame in rearranging,

don’t make yourself feel worse.

If a shower stings like needles

and a bath feels like you’ll drown;

If you haven’t washed your hair for days,

don’t throw away your crown!

A day is not a lifetime.

A rest is not defeat.

Don’t think of it as failure,

Just a quiet, kind retreat.

It’s okay to take a moment

From an anxious, fractured mind.

The world will not stop turning

While you get realigned!

The mountain will still be there

When you want to try again

You can climb it in your own time,

Just love yourself till then!

Laura Ding-Edwards

 

CROCHET CHRISTMAS STAR

 In between making my throw and crochet spinners I cam across this lovely star here 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nli_cuLjr_c&t=231s

It is a bit tricky but I wouldn't say it was difficult.

You need a  selection of  DK colours and size 4 hook.

A few sequins  and I added some gold thread around the edge and you have a lovely star for the tree or window.

The sun is out and we are going to attempt to get out for a coffee.

Yesterday was a 'Battle Ship Grey' kind of day and we stayed in all day.

Penny came in to do her electrifying hoovering and so we are all nice and clean.

Tomorrow is McDonald's day and again we hope Tom will be well enough to meet Matt (son) for the favourite meal of the week. lol

Briony

x

THINGS ARE BETTER.

 Glad to say that things have improved here thank goodness.

We have managed to get Tom into the car and out on a couple of occasions and he feels better for it.

Taking each day as it comes and making the most of it is the answer, find something that you enjoy doing and relax.   We both like out jigsaws and reading and my crochet is a boon in taking my thoughts away from any negativity that may creep in.

I'm still working my way through the various sized squares for my latest throw.

Below are what I have already made.

I am making the 2 medium blue one's at the moment.

Have made the 3 small blue.

So that will leave me with just 9 small squares to make.

It's been a long haul but it really is lovely and I know I won't want to use it when it's finished in case it gets covered in cat hair. lol

Thought this was funny.

Penny (daughter) comes in once a week for a good hoover through.

Look at her hair, caught in the draught from the hoover, lol

I

LIKE A TREE

 We are still just about managing here.

It's like Piccadilly Circus sometimes with the various medical people calling for Tom

Not sure if he will venture out again as he is so short of breath, but who knows, if the weather is okay and he feels better we may get him out for a coffee.

Over the past months I've had time to think a lot about life and have decided that we stand alone in life.

  No matter how many helpers or family we have, in the end it's up to the individual to stand strong.

This made me think that we are like a trees.

We must stand strong in all weathers and battle everything that's thrown at us just like the tree does.

Then we must leaf or flower up to deal with the next season.

Meanwhile these little monkeys couldn't care less, but they bring such joy to each day.

NEW CAT LITTER MAT

 The cat litter tray is hidden in the bathroom behind the bath out of sight.

I have black and white floor tiles in the bathroom and they were constantly covered with sawdust and bits of litter where they were carrying it out on their feet after they had done the business.

Whilst standing in the queue at the pet shop the other day I got chatting to a lady about the mess they make and she told me about a mat that you could buy.

You place it in front of the litter tray and when they step out onto it the holes in the mat take some of the litter off making far less mess to clear up.

I was a bit skeptical over whether it would work and it wasn't cheap but to my surprise it does.

It opens up and you can shake the dust etc back into the tray, fully washable it's brilliant.

Job done.

Briony

x

CROCHET SPINNERS

 Recently I came across' Crochet Spinners' on this lovely blog

https://lindacraftycorner.blogspot.com/

And so to take a break from the throw I thought I'd have a go.

Here's the start of one

Nice little stack.

Pulled open with a lot of interest from Polly.   I have to finish it but isn't it pretty.

These can be used in the garden or in the home, of course not too good in the rain you would have to keep an eye on the weather in the Summer and bring them in.

No 2 Spinner in the making.

I can see me making several of these.

WHERE ARE THEY ALL TODAY

 Where are they all today.  Well, scattered all about as usual acting as though they own the place. lol

Rowan is under the wicker chair with casual crossed legs.

Mummy Polly is slightly annoyed to have the camera pointing at her.

Willow is putting her left foot in before she shakes it all about.

There is the favourite box for the moment in the background.

And here's Princess in her usual spot under my duvet.

She stays there most days only coming down to use the tray and eat.

She them waits for me to come up each night and we spend the night together.

You may think this is cute but she only has to see a hand appear from under the bed covers and she's there like a shot rubbing her head for a tickle.

This happens all night and can get a bit much, lol

UPSETTING DAY YESTERDAY and NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK

Yesterday was a horrible day.

We had call from Francesco the Respiratory nurse to talk about 'End of Life Plan'

We knew that it was something that needed to be sorted out even if it's not imminent but never the less it was harrowing to say the least.

Normally a Hospice would be the place of choice to get the very best help but in these days of Covid and the possibility of another Lockdown it would mean that we would be unable to visit Tom should he be in there for respite care or end of life. 

So we have opted for the home.

I'm sure you can imagine how upsetting this was to discuss and sort out but it's done and dusted now and in the meantime we carry on hopefully for a lot longer.

I'd like to say a big thankyou to all who have read and commented on the last post, it's nice to know that you understand and enjoy reading my posts, even the not so cheerful one's.

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On a more uplifting note the cats are not a happy bunch at the moment.

 Out next door neighbours thank goodness are like us and love the foxes and birds.

They leave a washing up bowl full of water on the wall for the seagulls who love nothing better than to have a lovely bath.

They also put out cat biscuits twice a day and we have crows, seagulls, magpies and jays visiting every day.

But, these biscuits are a beacon for all of the cats in the area. We are getting cats visiting the wall that I have never seen before.

As you might guess this is not to the liking of our five.

Here's a lovely tabby that I have never seen before and Rupert spotted him through the leaves on our stairs

.

Luckily he doesn't seem to mind as long as they do not enter the garden and just to make sure he places himself on the top step and sits watching the hole in the gate and keeping cavey.

In case you are wondering what 'cavey' means here is the explanation.

It's properly spelt "cave", which is Latin for "Beware!" It is British public-schoolboy slang (n.b. that in Britain "public schools" are actually expensive private schools). While the class did something illicit, one boy would watch and would hiss "Cave" to his classmates when he spotted a "beak" (teacher) coming. I don't know if it is used any more, now that Latin is almost extinct in public schools.

Briony

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