Rainy Days

Honestly, I just don't know where the time goes to? It's been almost 3 weeks already since my last post and I haven't got anywhere near as much done as planned. Not helped by having to be driven home by my boss from work the day I went back to work after being off from my asthma attack. I only lasted a few hours. It was not good. I knew I wasn't right but just couldn't believe how long it was taking to get back to normal. I was seeing the doc anyway the following day and she was great. So now on stronger steroid nasal spray and stronger antihistamines. They have made a difference thankfully and I actually managed to stay at work the last 2 weeks. I've been exhausted after, not surprisingly. I've also bought an air purifier for home - basically if it helps even slightly it will be worth it. I'm still on max asthma & hayfever meds and it would be so nice to reduce them..........

++++STR sock kit spoiler alert++++

My STR kit was late this time as it got held in San Francisco for no apparent reason for 5 days. How annoying is that? So I had to avoid blogland till mine arrived as I so hate spoilers. Luckily mine was one of the first to arrive in the UK after its vacation in SF and it is just wonderful. I love it, love the pattern and the colours are just so bright and cheery. I would say summery but with all the flooding going on in the UK its feeling far from summery!

I even managed to finish my rude Monsoon socks before the new kit arrived and am so pleased with them. I've even tested them out in trainers and they were very comfy indeed. I thought they may be a little loose for trainers and become house socks (which I would have been most pleased about) but they were perfect and oh so cushy. I am so pleased I joined the club. It has been so worth it ;)

Whilst hunting for a replacement DPN that DH broke on hol I stumbled across a great find - a site in the US offering free international shipping for orders over $35 that don't contain heavy items like mags and books. I was hunting for a supplier that had all the Crystal Bamboo DPNs I needed that didn't charge extortionate shipping costs. So to find one that had a free shipping offer was truly amazing. I placed my order and got an email a few hours later to say the items in stock had been shipped the the OOS items would be shipped as soon as they arrive. I knew not all the items were available but had expected the order to be held until ready. So to hear part of my order was on its way was just well, the most amazing and unexpected customer service. The fab store concerned is The Yarn and Fiber Company and they have lots of lovely goodies to tempt us with. The needles arrived the same day as the STR kit turned up. Oh it was such a good day that day ;)

Until now I didn't even know Crystal Palace made 9" bamboo straights but as soon as I saw them knew I had to have some for the lace shrug I'm making so very little progress on. I thought the lace would be easier and I was right, it just slides off these needles. They're an unusual length but perfect for this project. I still hate knitting lace though and only time will tell if this shrug ever gets the back finished, never mind the rest of it!

Foxglove has progressed a little - the knitting has all been finished, its pressed and the sleeve heads are sew in. Its starting to look lovely and actually a lot easier to visualise what sort of edging would be best now its starting to resemble something wearable. It never ceases to surprise me that all these flat bits of knitting can become a real garment......

Even though Thunder tried laying on it to stop me working on it I have another FO. Yup my Crochet Bag is finished and is gorgeous. I thought I wouldn't be using it quite yet, but its actually perfect for this rainy weather. I used 2 shades of Big Wool and one of Point 5.

Kitsch has been perfect for this lousy weather too and finally I have a photo of me wearing her. She is fabulous. Even if I do say so myself ;)

I've been destashing quite a bit of sock yarn on Ebay and I'm quite pleased as I knew I'd never use it. I'm too much in love with my STR to spend hours on a standard sock yarn. I know, I'm such a terrible yarn snob ;)



Here's a photo of my purchases from my last Get Knitted trip I mentioned last post. I love the Rectangular Shawl pattern and the Blue Sky Alpaca Handspun Organic Cotton is such a fantastic yarn. Of course the yarn isn't for the pattern, in fact I've no idea what its for yet. But I just had to have it!

I've bought no other yarn supplies though I went to both the House of Fraser and John Lewis sales. Except for some Rowan buttons that were 10p each at HoF. There was nothing else that screamed 'buy me' so I didn't. Quite good really.

Poor Chilli was recovering really well from having his toe bitten off by Roo. I'd been putting tea tree oil on it which he does not like one bit but is good for him so thats that. Due to his wound we couldn't let him have his sandbath for about 10 days and boy did he miss it. When we finally put it back he wouldn't stop going in and out of it for ages. Bless ;) But now the wound has swollen up. Possibly from sand! So we went to the vets and now he's on antibiobtics for 3 weeks. Hopefully it is an infection, as it will need to be amputated if it doesn't go down. The vet did think they're might be a bit of bone protruding thats causing the trouble........but fingers crossed the meds work. After Chilli nearly died twice when being neuteured, anything involving surgery is a huge risk for him :(

Roo got a very good talking too and isn't allowed anywhere near Chilli's cage. We're now letting Chilli out first so that he gets tired and lays down away from the front of the cage whilst Roo and Roxy are out.

We've now got an oven that works! It wasn't the cheapest of repairs not helped by the repair man managing to break both the lamp and the lamp cover. Of course they would deny all knowledge so I ordered it online only to find the lamp blew as soon as DH put it in. So another is on the way. Amazing how much these 2 little items cost too. Expecially when you compare it to STR ;)

The car insurance saga is settled and I got some vouchers which I spent on a PSP game, Ratchet & Clank which I'm now quite addicted too. The hours that can be wasted on game playing is unreal. But its fun while it lasts ;)

I know I keep saying it but I really will try and sort some of my holiday photos out......

Things Not Going To Plan

As soon as I'd published my last post I realised I hadn't said thank you to everyone for their lovely comments after Custard died. I tried to thank everyone individually, but in case I missed anyone they were lovely and much appreciated.

I've been trying to play catch up with emails (over 300) and blogs (100+) and am failing miserably. I use Google Reader for posts but it just seems to remind me how behind I am......this hasn't been helped by having to change broadband provider. The service from Virgin has been awful for the last few months since they became Virgin Media and using the internet has become a painfully slow process. I'm on ADSL Max but am lucky if I get a download speed of 200/300 which is just crazy especially as my profile is 4000. Apologies for the geeky speak but it will make total sense if you're that way inclined ;)

The big downside to changing broadband providers is that I used the same ISP email address as my main email addy since the days of dial-up. And that is a lot of years and several hundred accounts need to be changed. Fun huh! I haven't used the email address for months as I realised the nightmare it would be getting everything changed over and signed up for a Google Mail address which I've been changing everything to as I go. That unfortunately still leaves over 100 accounts to be changed. Yes I know, I use the internet A LOT! You live and learn though and I would never use an ISP email address as my main email addy again.

Back to the knitting which has been rather strange. I've been working almost non-stop on Foxglove and am now on the 2nd sleeve. Usually I get bored and pick up a sock or something for variety but nope, I seem to able to just work continually on it. When I actually get the time to knit for long that is.......

Knitting and well absolutely everything has been brought to a halt by a bad asthma attack that started on Monday. By Tuesday I was climbing the walls and unable to get a doctors appointment. It was very scary and just awful. DH was about to take me to A&E when finally I spoke to my doctor who said the locum doctor would see me as an emergency. So now I'm on steroids plus maxed out on antihistamines, preventers, relievers, nasal spray. Good job we don't smoke, I'm sure I'd explode!

So that ruined this week as i've been unable to do a thing. I'm also a ghastly yellow colour and have red eyes from lack of sleep. Trust me, it is not attractive. Not that I particularly care as I'm too intent on breathing, but really, it surprises me each time I look in the mirror. Perhaps I'll just give it up. The mirror that is!

Of course when I saw the locum doctor she said just make sure you get added as an emergency patient. Yeah right, try getting past those darned receptionists..........I won't leave it so long if it happens again thats for sure. But its never been so bad before and never in warm weather. As it all my allergies and intolerances weren't bad enough now I seem to have allergic asthma triggered by weather changes. I think a visit to the asthma clinic is in order ;(

I haven't mentioned much about my hospital visits and referrals for allergies and anaemia because its never ending. But I have found the most wonderful consultant for my anaemia who is just brilliant. I have to have regular blood tests and visits to check everything is ok so not much to report. She did say that my tongue issues aren't because of the anaemia and was surprised the allergy specialist said it might be. So thats still an unknown and still affects me but not as bad.

I did manage a trip to Get Knitted the weekend before my asthma attack where I just had to buy 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpaca Organic Cotton as it refused to let me go without it! You wouldn't think it was cotton it is so amazingly soft. Plus another of their patterns. I did have a look at the latest copy of Yarn Forward. It did nothing for me so didn't bother getting it.

My Rowan membership renewal kit arrived and I'm rather impressed. The waistcoat pattern isn't for me but I'll definitely try the shawl. I really will actually finish one one day, and maybe using a thicker yarn might help me reach that goal ;)

The only other knitting related goodie I've had is 101 One Skein Wonders which I've been coveting for ages. I wasn't disapointed and it is a fab book, definitely a must have book in the knitters library. For anyone that has the book and not downloaded the errata you can do so from here. There are several patterns I want to make. And probably will once I've decided what border to use on Foxglove. Looks like it will much more of a challenge than I'd anticipated....

As promised here's a pic of my lovely Lorna's Laces Happy Valley sock that I knitted most of on my sunbed on holiday. She's so lovely. Eventually her sibling will arrive ;)

And a pic of Thunder showing what he thought of my plans to make a new bag. Yes, sitting right on the yarn always works. Nope, Thunder isn't jealous, not at all.

So no holiday pics yet I'm afraid. Hopefully if nothing else happens they'll be in my next post. Fingers crossed eh?

Spoke too soon. The oven broke last night. Cold indian for dinner anyone? Doh!

Could it get any worse? Oh yes, Roo bit Chilli's paw through the cage and wouldn't let go. Looks like he's bitten part if it off....... Oh man.