Oh dear....

So I woke up this morning....in absolute agony! It's either because of yesterday or because I sleep flat - I'm wondering if I need to sleep more propped up....

Mum came round yesterday and said the tax on the van is due to expire at the end of this month. She was concerned as we hadn't had a reminder. She showed me the paperwork she had for the van - she had the receipt and the registration document that the dealer was supposed to have sent to the DVLA when we bought the van!

I've just got off the phone with the DVLA, they say the dealer obviously did things 'backwards' and that we should still be able to tax the vehicle at the post office. Then I told him that the previous buyer of the van backed out right at the last minute, but the dealer had already written his details on the registration then used Tipp-Ex.

DVLA says that makes the registration null and void and there's a good chance the Post Office will refuse to tax it.

I asked what to do then, he said I would have to apply for new registration documents before I can tax it - this can take four to six weeks!

Mum is going to go to the post office in a minute and see if she can blag a tax disc, if not; I think she's planning on visiting the dealership and having a rant!

We go on holiday in eleven days!

Frustration and Impatience

I am my own worst enemy! Well, anyone who knows me well knows that!

I have no patience at all. If I want something; I want it right now! If I can't do something, I get absolutely furious with myself and shout at everyone!

I get frustrated so easily too, which I guess ties it all in together.

Someone I follow on twitter summed it up perfectly, her twitter name is Bahtocancer and as you can guess she is currently going through chemotherapy. She said: 'It astonishes me that I can 'do' cancer but am reduced to tears by a problem setting up pages on my website.'.

I know exactly what she means for I'm that way myself. I can cope with injuries to the kids, pets, emergencies, whatever - but stupid things drive me absolutely WILD!

I started selling yarn this week. I spent a happy couple of afternoons throwing dye around and ended up with 19 skeins (two of which were a custom order from Kerry). It was great and I loved the results.

I then spent hours uploading everything to my Folksy shop (Folksy takes aaaaaaaaaages!) and announced that the shop was ready to the masses that were waiting - ok....not 'masses' exactly....more like Kerry, Diane and Rita! But they were there waiting on twitter and it was all sooooooooo exciting!

Well, they each bought something - thank you, ladies, loves ya! - and I packaged it all up for posting this morning.

Then today, I decided I really should create a spreadsheet detailing my incoming and outgoing where the shop is concerned. I fought with the damn thing for two hours! Everytime I entered in the SUM formula thingy, I just got a red triangle!

I went and yelled at everyone on twitter and the troops rallied and we eventually got it sorted, but the fact that I swear I entered that stupid forumla countless times and it didn't work for two hours enraged me!

So, this afternoon, I sat down and did some spinning to relax. That all went well, then the announcement came out that advertising slots were available on Ravelry. I thought that would be a really good idea so went along to have a look.

I had to register for advertising and then upload my banner - it refused my banner because it was the incorrect size. I've finally managed to adjust it to a different size, but it didn't load as I was looking at it - I just had a box with grey and white stripes!

My banner is naff anyway. I can't design for toffee and I just don't understand how to manipulate the image for different websites - why the hell can't the sites just change the banner automatically for you? I can't even get the Folksy one to not look all warped and stretched!

I'd love to have my own site - but last time I even considered it, I got so angry at all the technical babble the 'build your own sites' sites threw at me, that I gave up with a pounding headache!

Someone said 'go to college and learn what you want to know' but it doesn't stay in my head! The kids think I'm hysterical; I'll sit and play a game on the x-box and I'll spend an hour going round in circles totally oblivious to the fact that I'm actually lost!

If I don't write it down, I forget it! Everything goes into my phone with an alarm to remind me. I've been known to look at my diary at 10am, see there's an appointment at midday and then promptly forget about the appointment.

I'm clumsy and I knock things over all the time!

But I get soooo frustrated at myself and my limitations!

It's taken me over a week to get over Wonderwool. I was so exhausted, then I had the vertigo attack and fell on the stairs. I finally recovered and got on with the dyeing. I spent a couple of hours at a time in the kitchen, but it still made my back ache!

Yesterday, I sat down to reskein the yarn. Unfortunately, Mum's skeiner didn't want to play and everything kept tightening as I turned it, so I gave up with that and decided to wind the yarn around the legs of my largest table from my nest of tables.

I wound 17 of the skeins. It took all day and by the end of it, I was exhausted and my back was in agony.

Some of the muscles under my shoulders are still in spasm today.

That's not right. None of it!

I'm 34 years old! Not 68 like my Mum (who is probably more physically able than I am!), I shouldn't have to rest for a couple of hours after running the vacuum around downstairs. I shouldn't suffer pain from standing for more than ten minutes.

I shouldn't spend a week or more recovering from being on my feet for a couple of days!

I'm amazed I remember how to breathe!

Wonderwool!

This weekend is Wonderwool!

I am very excited about this. The last fibre festival I went to was Fibrefest and I had a blast! Fibrefest was also where I met Helen for the first time and we've become firm friends since then!

Well, this weekend I am staying with Helen and we'll drive to Wales on Saturday and Sunday to drool over the fibre (not literally, because vendors get upset if you cover their fibre in drool!).

I'm planning on buying a couple of spindles too. I'm also collecting an upright swift and two fleeces from Mr & Mrs Mog, I've agreed to teach Kristina how to do TAAT socks using ML, go and say hello to Sarah from Brownberry Yarns, Nic from Nicsknots, LongdrawJames from Ravelry and countless others - I've even started a list on my iPhone, but I'm bound to forget someone!!

I have also had a chat with Andy at bluefaced.com about picking up a bulk order of yarn.

That's right! Fluffosity is going to start supplying yarn! It'll take me a week or so, but I plan to have a lot of yarn in the shop in the future!

I also contacted Hedgehog Equipment at the beginning of March - remember them? They're the people I initially ordered my Rose from, but I gave up after a few months of waiting and not being kept up to date on my order and ordered from NZ instead. Well, I contacted them right at the beginning of March and told them I wanted a plying kit and a box of plastic bobbins for my Majacraft Rose (thinking that would give them plenty of time).

I e-mailed them last night saying it was just a gentle reminder about our conversation. Here's their reply:

Hello Sam
Thanks for your message. I hadn't forgotten your order but I did need reminding to email you to say that so far unfortunately nothing has arrived from NZ. I was hoping they would come this week - I know stuff is on its way but it looks as though it might have been disrupted by the volcano. I can save you as many bobbins as I have in stock - I'm about to go & pack up all the accessories so I will check exactly how many - & other than a miracle in the next 24 hrs all I can say is sorry & I will send you the order (free of P&P of course) when it comes.
Any way, I really am sorry , we can discuss it at the weekend.
Best wishes, Sarah

Needless to say, I'm pretty pissed off about this! I gave them plenty of time to get this order sorted and they've just let me down again! I think I shall give up with them and order from somewhere else from now on, it might be more expensive, but at least I can guarantee when I'll get my stuff! I was banking on that plying kit this weekend - I've filled my bobbins up (very full thinking I'd be getting a jumbo bobbin) and was banking on plying it all off!

Never mind eh?

I'm pissed at Royal Mail too! I did some handspun yarn for my friend Claire, I sent it first class on Monday, she has just received a card telling her that she has to pay £1.49 (£1 service charge and 49p because 'apparently' I didn't pay enough, yet according to their website, the £1.72 I did pay should cover it up to 250g!) to receive the parcel! Money grabbing shits and they wonder why couriers are stealing all their business.

On the other hand, I'm very excited to be going tomorrow, I need a holiday! On my way to bath, I shall be popping to visit a friend in Lymington who is giving me a whole load of home educating stuff for Alex - she also has horses and lambs and has promised me bacon and freshly laid eggs for breakfast!!!

When I get to Bath, Helen and I are going to visit Elle who has bought Eric from me.

Eric will be her first wheel and I'm really pleased he is going to someone who will love him as I did!

Unfortunately I'm booked on the 6.55am ferry which means I need to get up at about 4.30!!

Dog Attack!

First off, please be warned - the pictures I am about to show you may upset you!

We own a border collie, his name is Kim. He's 12 years old. He's a big friendly loving dog and adores everyone. His only failing is that he pulls on the lead. Due to this, I can't walk him.

When he was younger and the children were young, Kim started to suffer from stress. This was due to the fact that he wasn't getting enough exercise and that he was constantly trying to herd the children, who - annoyingly - wouldn't stay herded.

We contemplated selling him, but in the end he went to live with my Mum - as she is only next door and there isn't a fence between our properties; this wasn't a big upheavel for any of us!

Kyle walks Kim every evening and Kim spends the rest of his time racing around the garden with a football or squeaky toy.

Kyle got home tonight in a right state. Another dog had attacked Kim while they were out walking.

Apparently Kyle was walking up a street and spotted a man holding a dog on the opposite side of the road. The other dog dragged the man across the road and bit Kim on the face.

The man apparently beat the hell out of the dog to make it stop and then told Kyle it wasn't his dog, it was his friends and that his friend would pay the vets bill for any treatment. Kyle said he seemed quite upset and he gave Kyle the owners first name and mobile phone number.

I called the owner - Thomas - on his mobile. He was quite pleasant to begin with, but then he tried to say that the dog had bitten Kim 'in surprise when both dogs rounded the same corner and bumped into each other'! As I tried to tell him that this was not the case, he kept speaking over me louder and louder.

Eventually, I was forced to hang up on him and I contacted both a vet and the police.

The police officer I spoke to first was quite blunt and said that there was very little that could be done and that the dog probably wouldn't even be destroyed, especially as it was on a lead. I was furious and told him that that stunk! He said to call them back after I'd seen the vet and they'd send someone out.

I called the vet, she offered to see him, but after establishing that Kim was calm, had eaten and drunk something and wasn't fussing - that it would be less stressful to him to be left until morning.

I called the police back and got a totally different attitude than before. The female officer was very nice and said she would send it down to the control room to get someone out to us, that it was clearly a case of an uncontrollable dog.

Due to the fact that something is happening locally, they are unable to send someone out to us tonight, but someone will come out in the morning.

These photos have been taken as evidence.

Breakdown?

Weird day.

Everything started off great. I got up and we packed some stuff into the camper for out holiday next week (we're going camping in Scotland).

Then Alex and I went into town to return some library books and get some shopping. While there we got a new string for his guitar and put a deposit down on something better quality.

I bought some dye - I dyed my hair purple a few weeks ago and now it's a dull red colour.

When we got home I had a house full of teenagers. I had a bit of a moan that Matt was upstairs in his room when he was supposed to be downstairs (he'd agreed to look after Isis) and that they'd been smoking in the porch with the window open instead of the door - again!

Then Matt dyed my hair and we watched the premier of the new season of Doctor Who.

Eventually Matt and his friends all went out, I dyed Alex's hair (plum tint) and ordered a takeaway, took Mum to work, took Isis & Kim for a quick walk.

When I got back, I sat down to work on my crochet hexagon blanket and almost immediately Alex asked if I'd give him a hand to change his bed.

This is something we fight about on a regular basis - I don't mind helping him, but during the day! Asking me in the evening just starts a fight, we can never find a sheet to fit, or a duvet cover (I'm woefully short on bed linen now everyone seems to have a double bed, but I've got enough single bed sized for a hospital!). But I sighed and agreed to help him.

When I got up my sewing needle disappeared down between the cushions.

I just flipped!

I pulled the sofa out, hunted around, vacuumed up all the dust that had accumulated under there (where does it come from?), screamed at Alex who screamed back at me.

Eventually, Alex took himself off for a walk to calm down and in a fit of temper I pulled the king sized sheet off Matt's double bed (he'll get it in the neck when he gets home!) and put it on Alex's bed (pulling my back in the process!). Alex had the grace to thank me when he got home.

Then next thing I know (I don't even know how it happened), I was screaming at Kyle about how he doesn't keep his cats litter tray clean enough and that his room is disgusting and smells due to the litter tray. Kyle was screaming at me because I'd refused to let him have friends over to stay while we're away (I don't really know these ppl and I don't want them in the house unsupervised).

He cleaned his tray, I put a duvet cover on Alex's bed, Kyle vacuumed his room. The vacuum made a funny noise, Alex & I went to investigate. Kyle had vacuumed up a piece of paper and caused the cleaner to make an 'elephant noise'.

I was saying something to Kyle about how you can't vacuum up certain things because it clogs it and I sat on his bed.

Right onto the (full) cat water bowl.

I just went ballistic, threw my slippers over the banister, stormed downstairs, stripped my leggings and underwear off (I had a cold wet bum!).

Then I sat down, picked up Isis....and I cried.

I cried and sobbed and sobbed.

Kyle came in and apologised and I was crying so hard, I couldn't breathe properly.

Then Alex came in and gave me tissue and hugged me. Then he persuaded me to get dressed and we went out for a walk.

I don't feel any better and I feel awful for yelling at them both.

I'm having one of those 'I'm a single parent and I'm drowning' moments, I think. It's very very hard, you get very little thanks, it's always your fault, they never seem happy.

There's so much negativity.

So why do we soldier on? Because I love them. I may not always like them, but I love them. I expect they hate me most of the time, but I hope they love me sometimes too. There are moments, a shared laugh, watching them grow, learn and become their own person. Those moments that your kids - the same kids you hated half an hour ago for making you sooooo mad - they remind you that they're the centre of your world and life would be so very different without them.

I don't know why today happened the way that it did, but it did and I can't change it. I've apologised to both Kyle and Alex. I've cried all over Isis. My back hurts. My head hurts.

Today was one of those weird days, where it started out great and someone flicked a switch somewhere and turned everything upside down.

I hope tomorrow is better.

I will never buy HP again!

Beware, mega rant ahead!

I have had numerous Hewlett Packard printer - usually superduper-do-everything-for-you-except-make-a-cuppa ones!

The first one I had needed to go in for repairs when the shuttle holding the ink cartridges broke during the first cartridge change. The second one didn't print properly and was a complete piece of rubbish. Then I bought another one.

Well, this one ran out of black ink at the beginning of December. I got new cartridges and replaced them. Went through all the realignment processes and received an error message that the heads could not align.

I checked the help (HA!) section on the HP site and followed all the instructions.

Nothing doing!

So I took it back to Staples. I walked in and Mark (the salesman) took one look at me and said "Not again!"

He spent half an hour fiddling with it and eventually phoned to book it in.

I knew it would take a while as it was booked in on the 16th December. Two weeks before Christmas; I knew it was going to be hectic.

Then of course there was the 'Big Freeze' and the whole country ground to a halt.

I received a call from the insurance company in January apologising profoundly for the delay. I understood that due to the snow, not much was happening. They said they would call me back in 10 working days.

I received another call a couple of weeks later telling me that they had to send away for parts from 'abroad' as they couldn't get the part here and that they wouldn't be received until February 5th! I grumbled a bit, but - ya know - not much I could do.

I've just received another call. It's going to be a few more weeks!

I have just flipped down the phone at the poor CSR. This is totally unacceptable tha an item that cost me that much money breaks in the first year and is extremely difficult to repair!

They haven't offered me a printer to use in the interim!

I will never buy a HP product again. They're completely crap, don't last and just aren't worth the money!

Moan

I feel like having a moan.

I still haven't heard about the Majacraft Rose! I'm getting so pissed off with waiting and I realise that I couldn't have gone this weekend because Sarah wasn't available, but at least it would've been there and mine!

I decided that my breadmaker wasn't up to the task of making bread for a family of five and that I was going to get a food mixer and make bread in the oven instead. After much deliberation, I have chosen one.

Only to find out that it isn't in stock in the Island's one and only store, or the nearest one in Portsmouth. I guess I'll see if there are any available nearby when I'm ready to go and get the Rose.

I phoned T-Mobile to see if they would upgrade me early. I'm due to upgrade on 6th Jan and I thought 'I've been a good customer, I've been with them a few years. I pay at least £35 a month for my contract then 3 of the kids have contracts at £20 each...that's nearly £100 a month!"

But no, if I want out of my contract six weeks early, it's going to cost me just under £69!

Our X-Box 360 broke. It couldn't be repaired by the local whizz-kid and I certainly wasn't going to pay Microsoft £90 to repair it. So we decided to buy a new one. I found a good deal on Game's website and went to the store only to find out that they don't do the same deals that their online store does and they weren't willing to either! I really hate that!

Thankfully, Curry's said they'd do the deal!

My new blu-ray player, the one I bought in August and have already exchanged once due to a fault, has broken again and I've had to send it away for repairs. I'm very annoyed about this as I've just bought my first blu-ray DVD - Star Trek - and I wanted to drool over the quality!

I got outbid on a pair of moon & stars curtains that I really wanted for the craft room.

The craft room still isn't done and I've had enough of painting - the gloss is giving me a headache! I just want someone else to finish it off, move all the furniture about and sell my books so they're not taking up space anymore!

I'm doing a Secret Santa on Ravelry, I got told who my giftee is today. I searched, she doesn't have a blog, a wishlist and she hasn't answered the questionnaire so that people know what to send her! C'mon people, if you're going to participate, give a gal a clue!!

I feel very sad for my friend. She's going through a tough time at the moment and I feel really sad that things haven't worked out for her and her husband again. I can't tell you any more because it isn't my place to and I don't have her permission.

I know you read my blog Sweetie, I just wish I could help you both but I can't. But know that my heart bleeds for you and I'm angry at how unfair life is to some people! I am going to give you a big squishy hug when I see you next!

Moan over, go about your business

I would just like to add (a few hours after originally posting this) that I have just discovered a leak in Matt's room - just what I don't need!

Am I Being Haunted?

Remember that DAB radio I told you I'd bought that developed a problem and refused to work.

I had to return it for a replacement.

Within a week of receiving the replacement, that stopped working too! I'm currently awaiting the arrival of my third one!

I ordered my Mac Mini a couple of weeks ago. I was so excited although I went through hell to finally get it as I told you here.

Well the adapter finally arrived today and I got it all set up and plugged in...................and the Mini is dead! There is no power going into it at all.

I phoned Apple, almost in tears, he asked me to unplug it all, plug it back in, try a different wall socket. Then declared it DOA and put me through to the refunds department.

I was not offered a replacement power cord or an exchange unit, just "return it for a refund"

They said the refund would only take a couple of days (maybe by Saturday? That would sweeten my mood!) but then I got the e-mail with my return number.

The e-mail says:

"Our carrier will contact you within 2 business days to arrange collection. The item(s) will take 3-4 business days to reach the Apple Centre. Once receipt is confirmed, your refund will be processed. Please allow 5-10 days for the refund to reach your account. "

Erm..........but the man on the phone said in a couple of days!!

I have to wait for that money to be credited back onto my debit card before I can order a replacement as I can't afford to just order another one! If I'm lucky, the money won't get eaten by a bill!

You know when you watch a movie where one guy is kicking the crap out of another guy (stay with me here, there is a point!). He well and truly kicks the crap out of someone and you think "blimey!"

That's how I feel! I want to kick the crap out of someone!

Rant Rant Rant Rant

A few days ago there was a knock at my door. There was a man from the housing authority standing there. He said he was looking for my next door but one neighbour.

All I know about her is that her name is Ruth, she's a widow and she works in a nursing home in Brading!

I also know that her house is falling to bits and that pigeons are living in her loft. I have complained about this to environmental health, but because it's not adversely affecting me, there's nothing can be done!

Here's her house at the front - bloody mess innit!

Can you see the wood covering the pane of glass on the door? I went out there a couple of nights ago because the police arrived. I don't know who called them, but someone obviously did. They hammered on the door for a bit and then forced entry - I guess they thought they'd find a dead neighbour in there, but apparently the place is empty and her mail has been collected!

Yesterday was not a good day for communication :(

I ordered a DVD player months ago, it had extra speakers and a USB reader and card reader too. I thought that'd save wasting a lot of blank DVD's.

It was working fine up until about a month ago when it just decided it wouldn't read the USB stick or any memory cards inserted in it. So I phoned up and asked to arrange a collection.

The Customer Services Representative asked me my name, postcode, address and date of birth, then she says "And what's the answer to your secret question?" I paused and said "Well, what's the question?" She said she couldn't tell me that!

WTF?!?! "Then why don't you just ask me for a memorable word or phrase instead of asking me to remember a question and an answer?" says i.

She got quite queer at that point and I told her that all I wanted to do was return an item and if she arranged for the collection, she'd verify that I am who I say I am because I live at MY address!

Eventually she gave me a clue and I was able to answer my own secret question!

Then I had to phone 3 to get a PAC (Porting Authority Code) for Matt's phone so that I can move his number over to T-Mobile along with mine, Kyle's and Jessica's (whom I did last week with no trouble whatsoever). So this jerk asks me why I'm leaving 3, I told him that it was because my son doesn't get signal at school (regardless of the fact that he left school today). So this guy starts going on about why didn't I call Technical Support etc etc.

Now apart from the fact they all appear to be Indian or Pakistani and I can barely understand them, the reason I didn't call was because it's not a technical fault, 3 just don't cover that area! I told him that and he sneered and asked if I'd tried other handsets. I said yes and could I have the PAC code please. Then he wanted to know which network I was transferring to. I said it didn't matter and could I have a PAC code please.

Then he started to prevaricate even more and I lost it!

I started yelling at him and told him to either give me the damn PAC code or put me through to someone who could and that he didn't need to try and sell me a whole bunch of their crap. He insisted he wasn't trying to sell me anything and that he was just trying to see if they could save me money.

WTF - again!

"Can I have the PAC code please?" So then he says; "Why are you getting so excited?"

"BECAUSE I'VE BEEN ON THE PHONE FOR TEN BLOODY MINUTES AND I'VE ASKED REPEATEDLY FOR THE PAC CODE WHICH YOU STILL HAVEN'T GIVEN ME!"

Eventually I just kept repeating "Can I have a PAC code please?" and refused to answer all questions - he got the message pretty quick after that!

Funny, I phoned T-Mobile and told them that I wanted to add two lines to my account and when I told the man that they were for my children he said he would get the new sim cards out on Special Delivery so that I'd receive them before 1pm next day, that the accounts could be capped to prevent overspending and that it wouldn't change a thing on the account itself and that he would call me back the next day to take down the PAC codes so that we could transfer the numbers.

I also phoned the physiotherapy department. My doctor referred me weeks ago and I just kept forgetting to call and get an appointment. I got an answering machine!

So today, I woke and packed the kids off to school then less than an hour later a sim card arrived - just one. Oh no, I thought! But then I remembered that he'd had to do them separately so they'd probably arrive separately and - after a disastrous relationship with a postman - I knew that there'd probably be another delivery a few hours later.

Thankfully there was and I had the two sim cards. I put them in the phone and half an hour later the nice man from T-Mobile calls me up and asks if the sims have arrived. I joyfully told him they had, he took down the PAC numbers and told me it'd all be transferred by Wednesday! Shame 3 weren't as efficient!

Unfortunately, I also received a callback from physio - because I hadn't called them to arrange the appointment, they'd bounced my referral BACK to my doctor, so now I've got to go to my doctor and get another referral!

My second son Matt has now officially (except for his exams) left school OMG!

Lots to catch up

So, let's see, what's been going on? Loads!!

Just over a week ago, Alex and I were messing around and Alex's elbow knocked my cup of tea over…all over my laptop! I yelled in shock and tipped Alex and Isis off my lap yelling to everyone to get some tissue.

Alex immediately got very stroppy and yelled at me so I yelled back at him and he stormed off to bed in a huff. Thankfully, the laptop turned out to be ok, but the next day I got a call from the school telling me that Alex had flipped out.

I went up to the school, but Alex refused to talk to me other than to yell at me shouting that he didn't have a home or family and that he wanted to be adopted. Normally I can pull him out of these phases he goes through, but this time, I was the cause. I ended up having to leave him at school…I left in tears.

About an hour later, Alex and his teacher came home and Alex gave me a huge hug. We were both exhausted and totally drained afterward.

Our X-Box 360 is on the fritz, of course I've made a deal with the kids that I'll buy them one big present and give them cash for Christmas (saves me the stress of all that Christmas shopping!). They all decided to have Guitar Hero for the X-Box 360! So we've spent the last week or so panicking that we wouldn't have an X-Box to play the Christmas present on, but I've just received an e-mail telling me it's on it's way home WOO HOO!

Whatever you do, DON'T buy a HP C7280 printer, what a piece of crap! I got one about a year ago when my last printer died because the man in Staples recommended that model. I found the software cumbersome to use, if I tried to print photos I had to load one sheet at a time or it would pull several through at once and print one photo over several pages.

Then about a month ago I started getting an error message telling me that the duplex module wasn't installed, I took it in to Staples and they sent it off. A couple of weeks later I was told to collect a new printer from Staples, but kept receiving the error message. This meant that I was turning the page so that printing was manual two sided.

A week or so ago I wanted to print a page and just told it to print anyway, when I went to collect the page, it had printed two sided automatically! It just meant that I had to click 'print' twice to get it to print anything two sided. Then yesterday I bought the Garden Variety Collection from Susan Pandorf, I was merrily printing away when I received an error message telling me that the Ink System had failed! I tried everything, I reset the printer and it printed the alignment page perfectly then flashed up with this error message again.

So I took the printer back to Staples this morning and told the manager that I wanted to kick the damn thing with my New Rocks. Staples finally agreed to let me pay the difference and upgrade, isn't this a huge piece of printer LOL

I finished what was going to be Nic's jumper but it came out so small I decided it should go to Phoebe instead, Kerry doesn't mind that it's blue…I think it'll suit her personally.

So I'm making another 'Weasley' but with a 'D' on it for Nic.

See what happens when you leave yarn lying around? Tut