Raining again

We had Will and George whilst mummy had another hospital appointment, baby is doing well, it was wet so a day inside. 

The boys always play together, Will is a kind gentle big brother, the only thing we say is 'not so close Will' as George likes his own space. We were exhausted after they left, it was for us an earlier start to the day, a few times I looked at the clock thinking it was much later than it was. Hubby made fruit pancakes for lunch with ice cream, we all loved them. 

The cats are not going out much, their mat is dirty from wet paw prints, but they love this spot next to the radiator. we are in the process of teaching George, when they are in their baskets they want to sleep and not play. Purdy (black and white) does love to play with the boys allowing them to stroke her, every time they visit she always comes out to play. 

I'm knitting like mad this week, I have separated the sleeves and I am now working on the body, I am playing yarn chicken with the navy shade, I think I have just enough, I have no way of knowing until I have knitted the design, I could cut the block colour by one row to ensure enough yarn, I will have to think about it. 

The weather has made it a dull week, with rain most days, just that awful non stop heavier than drizzle rain, if you go out you get wet not soaked, it's much warmer, which is good, by this weekend it's going to be much warmer than normal and dry, so I am dreaming of time in the garden on Sunday.  We have not walked to the local shops, after our Tesco big shop delivery on Monday, there is nothing we need. 

We did get some sunshine on Thursday, but the ground was so wet, so not able to be outside in garden. Also on Thursday Will had his 4th birthday, he went to preschool as normal, and came home to balloon's and cards and gifts and a treat of McDonald's for tea, it was a tiring day for him, so we did not speak to him, he had lovely new toys to play with. Today we stretching our supporting role and popping over for cake and cuddles, it will be nice to leave the house, it's about a 10 minute drive to their house..

I keep saying I am bored, but honestly it's not boredom, it's the feeling of being caged, even if it is in our lovely comfortable home, with hubby who is a good companion. I am not complaining, I am trying to understand my feelings, I have always loved this home and garden, we have everything we want here, my small stash of craft items suit my taste at this time. Summer is always better, I thrive when outside in the garden, being tucked away inside for so long, watching the rain and the dull starts to the day, which brings the spirits down a level. I know I'm in a safe place, there are loads of others who are suffering with all types of fears and worries, we can hide from this virus, and as more people have their vaccinations, we can see a small light at the end of this huge black hole. BUT we need contact and laughter together with those we love, and as things feel as if they are improving the desire to be free is growing. 

New start

These yarns are leftover from my last jumper, I knew I had ordered too much, but as I was not following a design as it was printed, I had to guess how much of each colour I required.

I often use this notebook to scribble in when I am working a design, it's good to be able to pop back and recheck my thinking before or even during my knitting. The scribbles are the outline to see if it will work, as with everything it evolves as it grows. 

So another new start, I decided not to use the white, it's good to have that colour in my stash, just 3 colours and stripes. The pale pink is better at the top as its the smallest amount I have, there are 288 stitches on each row, rising to 384 just before I separate the body and the sleeves. 

I did finish socks for SIL, he loves them, so I will make another pair and a pair for hubby, he loved the orange and grey together, so SIL will have different bright colours. 

This is the last book written in this set, there should be another one, but I have to wait until it has been published, this ia book 14 this year. 

So our weather is warmer again but that means dull grey days and rain, still not able to be outside in the garden, I have been checking the birds water, but happily it's not frozen any more. I now pop to the greenhouse most days, I have seeds which I am going to sow this weekend and hopefully be able to get the summer bulbs in the ground. 

Valentines day in lockdown.

We always swap cards, but in this strange year we did it differently, card shops are shut, online cards cost the earth, so when I was sorting my memory box a while ago, I kept a couple cards, these were from 2018, don't tell anyone.

We tried to get an afternoon tea from a local lady for Sunday, she was fully booked so we decided to ask her to deliver on Saturday, we missed lunch and enjoyed our treats along side a bottle of Prosecco, the contents of the box for 1 person. 

 Huge amount of food, all freshly made and wonderful, took 2 attempts to eat it all, Prosecco went straight to my head, so lovely afternoon nap, tea cups there just for show. 

These books are brilliant and not too huge under 300 pages each, I do love the story line, the main DCI is a bit jump and then think about it, but they are just stories. Books 12 and 13 read this year. 

I hope to finish these this week, they are very simple to make, the yarn does all the hard work, I decided to make the heels different colours, SIL loves colour. 

 

It was a brilliant weekend our afternoon tea for Saturday was really good, we were pleased we did not get it on Sunday as we did not want much for our evening meal. Hubby cooked a lovely meal on Sunday evening, we had a good bottle of red wine with our meal, so a pleasant couple of days. Other than walking to the village for my jab on Saturday, we have not been out, Saturday was cold, Sunday the rain came, the only thing worse than being out in the cold is being out in the cold and wet. 

 

I have had my note book out, I am planning another jumper to knit, I had so much yarn leftover from my last jumper, 4 different colours to play with, I'm almost certain of the design. I will still have more yarn left, but its one of my stock yarns, so I'm happy to have loads of colours, photos in next post. My socks should be finished soon, so I'm ready for a new cast on. 

I think after reading all the comments on my last post, we are all feeling the same, this lockdown is hard work, we need to see friends and family, we need to sit together and laugh, we need coffee and gossip, it's good for our soul. 

Bored

I love these pots, they are a nice size and were a good price, a bit of fun for the kitchen. 

I have been purchasing fresh parsley and coriander, they never regrow, and I am adding to the plastic plants pots, which I don't need. So these will look lovely on the kitchen windowsill, at the moment they are filled with compost in our warm sunny office, once the soil is warm I will sow seeds. 

I purchased the lovely yarn for SIL socks and was told it was lost in the post, so I ordered these wonderful colours, the following day the missing yarn arrived. Opal is perfect sock yarn, so I have plenty now to knit with. This year I am not making knitted socks for gifts, other than those who ask for them. 

These silk Alliums are just what I was looking for last summer, to add to the vase of silk summer flowers, they came from Dunelm, ordered online and a good price, all 3 for the cost of 1 bloom elsewhere. 

This little shelf is perfect in the greenhouse, all my small pots can be displayed together, often the tiny pots look lost, this year I want to add to my collection of stranger looking plants, often they are sold as tiny plants. 

Like so many people I am spending more time online, looking for ideas, filling time, these days if you look at anything, your social media is then full of reminders of what you have been viewing. I am seeing  everywhere Tia the turtle, I love her and I would like her, but check the price, really!! is it just me, it's very overpriced, I can afford one, but really, is it theft overpricing. 

Nothing I have purchased was expensive, other than the yarn, each purchase was under £20, other than the plant pots, they were items I have been looking for, most since last summer.  

I have had my covid jab this morning at our local GP surgery, I knew it would all go smoothly, hubby had his jab there 2 weeks ago. My brother will have his jab next week, so the protection is rolling out, still we will stay at home, even if its boring, I would love to spend time in the greenhouse or garden, it's just too cold. I am itching to sow seeds, still a bit too early, I don't have so many this year, just 5 different flowers. 

So back to the Internet, I can read and knit only for so long, what are you doing to pass time in this lockdown.