For best results view blog in Firefox or Safari

All pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them

Tuesday 31 May 2011

Oooooh!

I went to guild today - that's the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers for those of you who don't craft!

We had our annual competition and I entered Mandala.



I won!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Friday 27 May 2011

What I've been up to

Hmmmm, it's been a while - how are you all?

First and foremost, let me reassure you that I am going to Woolfest! My gorgeous friend Claire beat Rita and Rosanna to the punch by phoning me and squealing "MEEEEEEEEE!" down the phone at me LOL.

We've got it all arranged - we're going to make a week of it and see some of the Lakes too, so if you live in that area and send me your address; you may get a visit!

OK, so catchup time.

I was soooooooo ill at the beginning of the month! On the first Saturday of the month, Kaz and I go to Colonel Bogey's nightclub for 80's night and although she wasn't here (she went on holiday the day before, tut); I decided to go without her!

All day Saturday, I battled a migraine. Nothing I tried worked, I had medication, I sat with my eyes closed, I took another whammy pill, I avoided knitting and reading, I took another whammy pill, it didn't really go but got down to manageable proportions.

I must've been quite stoned though (I've never taken 3 whammy pills in a day before) because I decided, in my infinite wisdom, to go to Bogey's anyway - because, you know, I'd probably feel loads better after a drink in a really noisy nightclub.

I was fine! For about three hours!

Then the migraine punched me in the head and I spent the next two hours in the toilet puking with my eyes tightly shut because the light was hurting.

The bouncers finally threw me out once everyone had gone, I know they thought I was drunk, but I had only had a couple of drinks! I tried to call my mum, but didn't get an answer so I focused on the floor directly in front of me and started walking.

I made it home and went straight into the loo as I was still really suffering! Half an hour later, Isis woke me by sniffing my feet. So I staggered back downstairs, grabbed a blanket and lay on the sofa - Isis naturally lay on top of me *sigh*

The migraine was now raging, I couldn't move, I couldn't lift my head, I had to lie on my left because lying on my right made me feel sick. I knew I was dehydrated from being sick, but wasn't able to get up and get a drink.

It was lunchtime before anyone appeared in the lounge where I was. But it was another two hours before I was able to ask for and drink a cup of tea - although I was only able to drink about half of it because sitting up made me feel ill.

It was 7pm before I was able to sit up, at which point Alex forced more tea and a yoghurt down my neck. I also risked two paracetamol (but not a whammy pill!).

Oh that all did wonders and about an hour later; I was able to get up and get in the bath (which I really needed as I sweat when I'm sick so must've been honking LOL). The bath felt great so I ate some rice too.

It all worked to calm my head enough that I was able to function, but over the following week I felt like I was recovering from the flu! My head was spongy and being so sick had set my IBS off. It was a week before I felt anything like normal!

**********

I've done some more sewing! I finished it last night, I made a Kindle cover for Mum's Kindle.


I'm really proud of it - it's not perfect, but it's only my second ever project so I'm not doing too bad at all! I'm going to make a case for my iPad this weekend!

**********

I've started going to bingo with Mel, my first session was last Wednesday and I won £80.70! Went again this Wednesday, but I didn't win a thing - one of the girls won £4500 though!

**********

On Tuesday I saw a Medium. I really wasn't sure to expect, but Dad came through. This guy said loads of things that he couldn't possibly have known, I can't remember it all, but he gave me a CD recording of our session so I can review it later.

**********

Oooooh, I finally finished my latest spinning project! I started out with 500g of 70% Black Alpaca/30% White Merino and spun it to a 2 ply laceweight.


I ended up with a massive 3019.1m/3301.7y! I'm not sure yet what I'm going to make, but I'm seriously considering a featherweight cardigan.

Socks! I'm still knitting away on the socks, I'm currently knitting the J socks which I have to get finished quickly as K is currently live and have to be cast on before the 3rd of June. I'm not doing too badly considering the three weeks we spent in Italy, being ill and having to reknit the I socks three times due to a chronically badly written pattern! I can't wait until I've finished the Z socks - then I'll do a huge sock post - I've saved all the pairs; I'm not going to wear any of them until I've finished the challenge!

**********

Um....that's pretty much it, I think. I'm going to a spin in over in Southampton on Sunday, bingo again on Saturday night, but other than that, I'm still just plowing on with the socks!


My son Matt says "Hi"

Sunday 15 May 2011

What do I do about Woolfest?

I decided ages ago that this year, I would be going to Woolfest - come hell or high water!

Nothing will prevent me from going - I've even turned down being a bridesmaid!

Then Mum came up with the idea of turning it into a mini holiday; we decided to go up a few days early and explore the Lake District a bit. She could go off and do whatever she liked while I was drooling (figuratively) over fibre!

Today she has informed me that, due to the Italy holiday costing more than we'd planned, she can't afford to go!

We were going to take the camper and wild camp, so I haven't booked a hotel which I wouldn't really want to do anyway due to the whole sleeping on the floor thing and it'll cost quite a bit to take the camper on my own.

Taking the car would be slightly cheaper than the camper, but I'd have nowhere to sleep other than the car - that would mean no toilet at night and no tea lol.

If I take the camper, I'll be alone at night - this obviously makes me slightly nervous, but it's a home away from home with all the conveniences.

I wonder if any of my friends fancy sharing my camper with me?



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Monday 2 May 2011

Addiction

Addiction can be a terrible thing, the desire, the need for that one thing that will take the addiction away.

I'm not talking about alcohol, smoking or drugs.

I'm talking about Coca Cola! Beautiful, ice cold Coca Cola!

I am a cola addict. It started years ago, I can't really remember when but it was when the children were small. I could quite easily consume 3 litres of cola in a day.

I kept a bottle by the bedside so that I'd have a drink if I woke during the night and would often buy a 500ml bottle if out during the day.

So, why am I telling you this?

I recently read this post by a twitter friend of mine and decided that something needs to be done about the fact that the makers of Coca Cola don't tell people how addictive and dangerous their product is!

I developed psoriasis quite a few years ago, it was shortly after I went to Florida with the family in 2005 and was told it was stress related. I was even referred to a dermatologist.

I tried all different creams or potions, emollients and treatments, but one of the baffling things was that my legs (the worst hit places) didn't really itch much during the day.

But at night.....I would start itching early evening and scratch most of the evening and half the night too.

It was driving me absolutely bananas! I was also causing my legs to bleed and scar.

After a year or so, things got a bit financially tight and we had to cut back on takeaways and unnecessary purchases for a while. I also wanted to lose some weight, so cut out the cola.

I didn't really notice anything at first.

Until we decided to splurge one evening on a takeaway from the kebab shop. We all ordered what we wanted and got a couple of bottles of cola.

Within half an hour of eating the meal, my skin was crawling with itchiness!

I did some judicial testing over the next few months and discovered that Coca Cola was the cause of the itching! If I avoid it, I don't itch and my psoriasis calms right down. If I drink it, I can guarantee that I will be scratching later that day!

Now, thankfully my reaction isn't anywhere near as bad as Jackie's and I hope her headaches continue to improve, but as I told her in the comments section of her blog; I found coming off the cola quite hard.

There is a lot of sugar in carbonated drinks and that is what people get addicted to. I found that I suffered headaches for a good couple of months after quitting it, but eventually they did cease.

But I know the lure of the cola - it's strong, especially Cherry Coke! An ice cold can of Cherry Coke on a hot day, or after a spicy meal is just fabulous. I have to avoid Poundland as they sell 3 for £1 :(

Coca Cola is addictive and very bad for you!

If you drink it (or any other carbonated drink/soda - I can't drink Dr Pepper either!) and you suffer from something that the medical people can't explain or treat - try cutting the soda's out for a while...at least 2 months....to see if it helps.

Please spread the word too, these kind of sugary drinks don't just rot your teeth, they rot your entire body!