Merry Christmas

Have you had a good day?

Sock patterns from Claire!

Mine has been awesome!  I got up about 8.30, had a nice hour drinking tea and surfing the web, then I had a shower before we all opened our presents.

I got LOADS!

Claire gave me a sock pattern book and a CD with over 50 sock patterns on!

From Kathy

This gift alone will keep me busy this year!

I joined in two Secret Santas this year.  One Santa - her Ravelry username is Kathycogs -  gave me a shoe box crammed full of stuff.  There was some lovely sparkly sock yarn, Cadbury's hot chocolate sachets, chewy lollies, Galaxy chocolate, 'Keep Calm, Carry On Knitting' cup mat and little itty bitty stitch markers!

From KTjazz

The other Santa didn't immediately reveal herself until I begged her too because she bought me some lovely gifts!  

KTjazz bought me some bamboo sock yarn, some chocolate peanuts, some roving to spin up to make dread wraps, a bag she made herself and DREAD BEADS!!! How totally awesome!

She really did her research, I guess she came here LOL.

I also got some lovely angora fibre from Ambermog, can't wait to spin it!

Isis and her duck

Isis didn't get left out - she got a new toy; it's a duck that quacks.  We squeezed it before opening it and she got SO excited!  She has spent the entire day (when not drooling in the kitchen at the meat) using it as a pillow.

The kids had quite a few gifts this year - some we're not allowed to open as they're from Vicky, Matt's girlfriend, and she's not here until tomorrow.

 

 

 

Christmas Day

They seem quite happy and it took them until 8pm before arguments started LOL

After we had breakfast we sat down to watch Phantom of The Opera - no, not the crappy film version; the proper stage version filmed at the Royal Albert Hall! Mum bought it for me when we went to watch the tennis and I'd been saving it!

The kids LOVED it!

Tomorrow will be a day of gluttony as no one felt like eating - we had such a huge breakfast; no one had room for a full roast turkey dinner!

My new bag!

 So tomorrow we are going to have cold meat, mash potato, pickled onions, cranberry sauce and lots and lots of cake!

There will probably be alcohol too!

Well, whatever you did and whoever you spent it with; I hope you had a good day and that the rest of the holiday period is a good one for you and yours.

Oh....I cast on socks too *embarrassed face* but they're not for me!  I was asked to make some for Juliann ages ago, she even sent me the yarn, but I got so wrapped up in socks for me that I didn't get around to it.  In this pic I've placed the yarn with the started toes in front of the bag Matt bought me for Christmas :D

Bit of a rambly post for you...

OK....sad news first.

Kim

Last week we had Kim put to sleep. He was getting very old, he was chronically arthritic and obviously uncomfortable. It seemed the best bet all round. I took him to the vet on the 14th and cuddled him as the anaesthetic was administered.

It was very quick and he was gone before all the medicine had been injected which tells me he was ready to go.

Unfortunately, he has not been the only loss. I got a frantic call two days ago from Mel asking me to take Auntie Ruth to the vet; Walter's mother, Midnight, had given birth and unfortunately suffered a prolapsed womb in the process.

By the time she had been found she was in shock, freezing cold and barely alive. There was blood everywhere and the baby chinchilla was dead - we don't know if it had been born dead or whether she just didn't bother with it in her pain. The fact that she allowed us to pick her up and wrap her in a towel and stroke on her way to the vets was all we needed to make the decision.

A very sad week really :(

So....complete subject change!

Look at all those presents!

How do you like my Christmas tree? It was put up on Dad's birthday which we now refer to as 'tree day' and there are lots of presents underneath it - some of them are even for me!! How exciting!

Bah Humbug!

As you can see; Vicky is very excited....Alex, not so much lol

We have lots of yummy food planned for Christmas Day and we're going to sit and watch a filming of Phantom of The Opera after breakfast on Christmas morning.

I've just passed the 5 month mark with my dreadlocks and wow it's all happening there! I started wearing a scarf when I went out as they were really quite messy and annoying, the scarf worked well although I think I looked like someone having chemo!

That's a wrap!

My hair was stiff and didn't move much - in fact it hurt to try and change the way the hair lay on my scalp.

What a mess!

Awesomeness

Then I got up one morning and all of a sudden I had this hair that was nice tight locs with blunted tips, the hair moves when I shake my head and it just looks so awesome!

Unfortunately, the purple had totally faded so I bought some L'Oreal dye called Black Cherry (which I've used before) and went over the lot. I love how it looks and feels and even though I bought new scarves to wrap around my locs today; I don't think I'll be wearing them much!

When I started typing this post, I did think it was likely this would probably be my last post of 2011, but I've just remembered that I've got to show you all the A-Z socks I have knit this year - I just have to finish the Z socks and then you can see them all together! It'll be about another day or two, so keep your eyes peeled!

Tree Day

Christmas Tree

Dad

Today should've been my dad's 61st birthday.

We have a tradition on his birthday now.  12th December is the day we put the tree up!

I think Dad would've liked this tradition.

Today we have put up the tree and spent this evening watching movies and drinking spiced rum with coke.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Christmas isn't just for kids

I was moaning on Christmas Eve about the TV showing utter crap nowadays on Christmas.

When I was a kid, we always used to watch Mary Poppins, ET, Star Wars, Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz.

But this year; the telly has come through. We didn't get it all on Christmas Day, but ET was on yesterday and I am watching Mary Poppins right now!

Hey, I'm not the only one!

My friend Ashley is 'fed up with waiting for his phone to arrive, but it's ok because Mary Poppins is on'. My friend Elle is also happy it's on and Stephen Fry is in heaven!

Well, she is Practically Perfect In Every Way :0)

Merry Christmas

It's now 5.20pm and - for most of you - the fun is all over!

The food consumed, the presents opened and all the shouting done LOL

Well, we've done all of that except for the food! Every year we plan meticulously for Christmas dinner, so we can eat at a halfway decent time and every year we starve all day long while the damn food refuses to cook at a decent rate.

Tonight we'll be eating about 8pm!

So, what did you get for Christmas? I got a toolkit from Mel, a little heart pendant from Mason and lots of chocolate from the kids!

But you lot, my online friends, you totally surprised me!

I tend to go through life very hard on myself. I know I can make people laugh, but I'm also incredibly pushy and I know I make people uncomfortable - especially when I lose my temper! I chat to quite a few people, but I often get it into my head that if I disappeared; I wouldn't really be missed on here...

Claire started it, I received 2 e-mails on the 23rd telling me that Claire had bought me Through The Woods pattern (Ravelry link) and Flying Cables pattern! Then Helen got in on it and bought me the Chandelier Fingerless Gloves pattern (Ravelry link) and a Damselfly Shawl pattern (Ravelry link)! Next thing I knew; Diane bought me Sweet Tees pattern! Then Elle bought me Athena pattern (Ravelry link) for my 'A' socks on 1st Jan! Rita also got in on it with the Owlsocks pattern (Ravelry link)! Then Kristina bought me this gorgeous pattern (Ravelry link) called Serenity which I'm very excited about as it's knit with two strands of KSH so will be a gorgeous warm sweater!

Eight presents! Some of them from people that I haven't met yet! I am so totally blown away by the generosity of my online friends.

Thank you so much!

Merry Christmas!

The weather strikes again

After missing out on the tennis at the beginning of the month, I got myself into the mindset that if it was going to snow then so be it. I had ordered my shopping and I could just hole up here where it's warm and dry and look out the window and marvel how pretty it is!

On Sunday evening I was on my way home after taking Isis the Fluffy Puppy out for her daily walk - we have walked daily for over a month now! - we'd gone out on our own and were quite confident that we would be alright.

I was just coming down a small slope past the Co-op at the end of my village and I stood on a patch of ice.

I didn't even see it!

I fell - hard! I landed (narrowly avoiding Isis who looked completely baffled to find me suddenly on the floor beside her!) right on my backside with my left palm flat on the floor next to me.

After a minute or two, I managed to get back on my feet and head towards my house. I was so stunned and had scared myself so much I could barely move - a walk that usually takes a minute, took me 15 minutes.

By the time I got home, I was having a mild panic attack and shaking like a leaf. My left arm was alternating between agony and numbness, I had pins and needles in my left hand and couldn't make a fist, I had knots of pain on the inside of both thighs, my back was in spasm and my favourite jeans had split under the strain.

Alex rushed to make me tea and I took one of my whammy pills to help ease the spams and calm me down. I spent the rest of the evening hobbling around with my stick (which I haven't used it months!)

By the time I went to bed, several hours later, I had regained some use in my left arm and the pins and needles were easing.

I felt like I had been beaten when I woke, but I was able to move and the tingling in my hand had gone. I was ok providing I moved carefully.

Then I walked Kaz home after knit night. I do this every Monday. She comes to mine, rides with me there and back, then I walk her back to Sandown - that way I can still do my daily walk but not be too tired to go out!

I was doing fine, all the way to Kaz's house - we chatted about shopping, Christmas and tattoo ideas. I walked her to her door and kept going back towards town to come home.

By the time I reached the town centre, I knew I was in trouble. The pain in my left shoulder was intense! I also had pain in my back, all down my left arm and in the back of my right knee (that was new - I guess it must've happened as my right leg slipped out from underneath me). I couldn't walk very fast and basically shuffled along.

A walk that should've taken me half an hour tops, took approximately an hour and ten minutes!

I feel worse today than yesterday, my left shoulder is absolutely agony and clicks if I move it in a certain way (I'm pretty sure that's normal for an Ehlers Danlos sufferer like myself - I just hope it doesn't dislocate), my forearms ache, my back aches, my neck aches and I'm still fighting the flu I've had for three weeks too!

I've got a billion and one things to do, 3 fruit cakes, 2 almond slices and 2 chocolate cakes (at least) to bake and I feel like one huge bruise.

I've had enough of winter now :(

Doctor Kyle

A year or so ago, I don't remember now, I offered to make Kyle a Doctor Who scarf. We decided to the Season 18 scarf, but we couldn't find the correct colours, so Kyle chose black, red and a sort of mustard colour.

I got knitting and I must've got about halfway through it before the garter stitch drove me absolutely batty with boredom and I put it away.

Kyle didn't say anything at the time as it was summer, but as Christmas approached and it got colder he voiced concerns to my mum that I wasn't going to get it finished. She nagged me and I got to work.

I forced myself to put down my current shawl, put my spinning wheel away, ignore my spindles and knit mindless garter stitch.

It went on and on and on and on and...well, you get the idea!

But, last week, I finished!

This thing is humongous! As you can see it stretches across the room and then some (the pic with Alex was taken while I was still knitting it!)

I've wrapped it and put it under the tree. I can't wait for Kyle to open it and model it on Christmas Day!

The Good, The Bad & The Totally Exhausted

As we were preparing for today, I discovered that I hadn't bought a gammon joint! I'm extremely annoyed about this as everyone likes gammon and I could've sworn I bought some a month ago!

I made it in time to collect Mum, I even managed a shower beforehand.

We got back, kicked all the kids out of bed and opened our presents.

I did quite well this year! I got a sewing box from Kyle

Sock yarn from Helen

I participated in two Secret Santa swaps on Ravelry this year, I got a hat from the UK RAK one

and a whole bundle of stuff from the Lime Green Jelly one! Some sock yarn, a keyring with instructions for kitchener stitch on, some chocolate (which is always good, but I'm not sure when it's mint and chilli flavoured LOL) and 3000m of cobweb weight pure silk!

I got some lovely sheepskin slippers from Mum

and this adorable elephant from Mason which came in a personalised box!

Customs = FAIL

Well, it's the day before Christmas Eve.

Tomorrow is the last possible day for parcel delivery.

My wheel travelled halfway around the globe in 3 days.

It's still sitting in customs.

Merry Christmas.

Time is running out!

I had an e-mail at the last week telling me my Rose was in stock.

Later, I received the tracking info and I've been impatiently checking it every day....several times a day!

It was picked up at 2.35pm on the 16th (I assume that's local time?). It left New Zealand at 9.45am the following day.

It arrived 'overseas' at 8.27am on the 18th and was listed as 'Held for clearance' 8 minutes later.

That's where it still is :(

I'm hoping that this is just because it's the weekend and no one updates the website at weekends and that it's not still being held.

How long does it take to clear something? Where exactly is it being held? The New Zealand website doesn't say and there doesn't appear to be any other way to track it.

There is less than a week to go until Christmas Day now and (after dating a postie several years ago) I'm well aware how much post Royal Mail have to deal with during this period.

The race is on - will my wheel arrive before Christmas Day?

I won't get it until Christmas Day if it does as Alex has decided it should be stolen and hidden until Christmas Day *sigh*

Tradition

It's the time of year that gets everyone talking about TRADITION! Do you have any Christmas traditions? I'd love to hear them.

We have a few. 12th December is tree day. 12th December was my fathers birthday - he would've turned 59 today and ever since 2007; his birthday has become tree day.

Here is our tree.

Gaudy innit? There's my Christmas Star on top and already presents underneath! I love it, but I'll be heartily sick of by Christmas Day LOL.

Other traditions include:

• Presents - these are opened once we're all up and Mum is here
• Baking of cakes - this is my job and I usually spend most of Christmas Eve in the kitchen making cakes and swallowing pills to cope with the back pain!
• a cooked breakfast on Christmas morning which my mum always cooks! Bacon, eggs, sausages, beans, bread, tea, hash browns, the list is endless and we drive my mum potty by drooling on her as she cooks!
• The drink starts flowing pretty much straight away, so Christmas dinner is prepared on Christmas Eve, all I have to do is try and turn the cooker on at the right time (alarms on mobile phones are the greatest thing evah!)
• I'm in charge of dinner as my mother usually works Christmas Eve and Christmas night (she works 10pm to 8am) so she sleeps for the afternoon.
• Noel's Christmas Presents! Everyone in the UK knows what that is for my International friends; Noel's Christmas Presents is a programme that is on Christmas Day and hosted by this man. It's one of those shows where someone surprises random people, for eg a woman hasn't seen her brother for 30 years because he moved to Australia when they were 18 and he'll be sitting behind her in the audience or something. I always bawl my eyes out watching it (last year I had the flu and there was snot everywhere - I got through an entire toilet roll watching it!)
• Dr Who! Nuff said!
• Lots of food, lots of drinks, lots of fun!

What do you do for Christmas?