Family and stuff
Re-discovering Radio
I’m becoming a big fan of BBC Radio 4 Extra — although why they renamed it from Radio 7, I don’t know. Every Saturday morning whilst drinking my first cup of coffee, I browse through all of the available comedy programmes in the BBC iPlayer app and list those that I want listen to. Then every time I sit down to knit, on goes the iPad and in go the ear plugs. I’m re-discovering old classics like Tony Hancock and Jimmy Clitheroe (I have a vague memory of loving “The Clitheroe Kid” on TV when I was little). And although…
Rain, Rain, Go Away
It’s hard to believe that it’s June here. It looks (and feels) more like November! Apart from a few sunny days last week (well before the extended Bank Holiday, of course), it’s done nothing but rain for the past few months. So all I can really do is look at the garden from a window rather than actually spending any time in it. Fortunately, the plants seem to be enjoying the constant wet weather and are doing quite well (albeit looking a little bedraggled at times). Meanwhile, I spotted up seed pots on clearance at Tesco two weeks ago. 24p…
Battling Snails
One of the downsides of gardening in an urban concrete yard is the constant battle against snails. The damage they can wreak is heartbreaking. Like the time that K transplanted his cherished carrot seedlings to a larger pot outside and, the very next morning, all that was left was a clump of bare 1 inch high stems. You name it — I’ve tried it. I’ve planted garlic around high risk plants and I’ve run a snail pub (note: they don’t like lager). I have got snail hunting down to a fine art but I seem to have SAS snails around…
Gardening
To say that we have a garden at the rear of our house might give you the wrong idea. What we actually have is a 20 foot by 10 foot walled, concrete, yard — which is fairly traditional for 100 year old, urban, terraced houses in the UK. However, I haven’t let the lack of grass & soil deter me as I love container gardening. In fact, I think grass is nothing but one big chore — especially if you have a 60ft plus lawn as I did in one of my previous gardens. Mowing that every week in summer…
More Seeds
Shopping in Tesco yesterday and spotted that their seed pots (previously 74p) were reduced to 24p each. Well, I couldn’t walk past and leave them on the shelf at that price, now could I? So I’ve now got tomato, sweet pea and coriander seeds germinating on the bedroom window ledge.
Still Pretty Good
K is now into his second month of almost no pain!
We did have a hiccup 2 weeks ago when the stomach pain returned with a vengeance. I thought he’d have to go right back to just one lesson in school each day but just as we were going to start that routine all over again, the pain suddenly stopped again.
He still has back pain but it’s not too bad & after having it for almost 5 years, he’s well used to coping with it. In fact, he felt so good last week that he joined in the PE lesson last week — a double lesson of team athletics.
K Update
Shhh! Don’t say anything out loud but K hasn’t had any prolonged bouts of abdominal pain for about 4 weeks now!
We’ve had periods like this before but nothing this long for about a year or so. He’s back at school full time and is even starting to ask if he can go to the odd after-school club.
Oh Dear… More Denim!
R is putting on weight — which, given that he as spent years trying to put weight on, he is actually rather pleased about. On the down(ish) side, I’ve now been handed yet another pair of virtually unworn jeans. Unlike the last two batches, these aren’t blue. They’re black and very soft.
Not A Good Day…
K has been really bad today. š The pain is so severe that he can’t even walk slowly across a room without help and he is constantly tired. Even going out in the wheelchair isn’t an option as the slightest bump or uneven piece of ground causes yet more pain.
What I’m Working On…
I’ve got 3 projects on the go at the moment: Navy Blue Cabled Cardigan Developing my own pattern for this. Currently about half-way through the first (left) side. So far, so good. Branching Out Scarf Like I really need another scarf! But I love this pattern. The last time I made it, I used a Kaffe Fasser cream silk/kid mohair mix. The final scarf looked wonderful but I couldn’t bear it against my skin for more than 5 minutes. So it ended up being sent to a charity shop (hey — you try frogging mohair!). Then I came across 90gm…
