Mud and limitations...

If it's not dog hair it's dog mud and if it's not dog mud it's cricket mud! Yes those are cricket whites! J played at a rather soggy pitch this week. We had a job to find a spot on the boundary that wasn't boggy. None of the boys were phased at all with the mud accumulating on their bright white kit but I bet I wasn't the only Mum wondering whether it was going to wash out. It did. Nothing short of a miracle!

Week four of the CAL 'Last Dance in the Rain' is a lovely wavy design which uses triple trebles amongst other stitches. It's been a while since I needed a triple treble. This was the first square that didn't quite come out perfectly square but that was easily put right with an extra row of htr's at the end. In fact I prefer this because it makes the dimension above and below the 'waves' roughly the same. I've substituted the colour because I didn't have the charcoal grey shade in DK.

This picture of Tilly was take a just a few days before she went missing. She's been gone three nights. Harvey keeps poking his head through the cat flap and wandering round sniffing her favourite sleeping places. I know he's wondering where she's got to.

I've been impatient today and attempted to walk the dogs. I can manage a small amount of driving, in fact driving is a lot easier on my knee than walking. I parked up at my favourite dog walking spot, struggled the very short distance down to the bridge and let the dogs have a good run about and a swim. I would have liked to dangle my legs over the river but the chances of getting back up were slim and it's a very remote spot so I didn't chance it. It must have been all of thirty metres walking without crutches and it's thirty metres I've been regretting ever since. M rolls his eyeballs skyward and calls me stupid but in my logic you can't possibly know your limitations until you test them!

Hello sunshine...

I watched the film Snow Cake recently and discovered the song 'Hello Sunshine'. I can't often make sense of new songs but the lead vocals on this one are deep which suits the frequencies I can hear. I loved the film, Alan Rickman was absolutely heart breaking. In fact I watched it twice, I liked it that much.

M reports that the ticket collector on his daily commute to London this week has been especially cheerful, announcing that he would be along shortly for tickets, passes, bribes... I'm sure it's the appearance of sunshine that brings out the best in everyone.

I've been taking it all in from a chair by the patio doors, looking at a magnificent cherry blossom that will soon shower the garden with pink confetti. It's not ours, it's absolutely huge and in just one windy day we will get the majority of the pink stuff, not that I mind.

The cat seems to like the whole sitting down regime that I'm under. As long as the dogs are sunbathing on the deck she sidles up to my chair, does the whole 'shall I or shan't I?' routine, eventually jumps up, takes half an hour to get comfortable and then stays for a very short amount of time. I kind of prefer the daft dog thing where they instantly notice that you've sat down, bound over with a hopeful look on their face, leap up, give a contented sigh and snore on your lap for as long as it takes for your legs to go to sleep.

A dodgy knee hasn't got in the way of cookie making this week. I hopped and hobbled gathering all the ingredients, mixer and bowls, then managed to do the whole thing, cut the baking parchment and get them in the oven all without leaving my stool. Just took a little planning!

This week's square for the Last Dance on the Beach/in the Rain CAL is crochet cables! Argh! I knew cables would take some concentration and patience. I did a small section, realised I was one stitch out, which made my bobbles noticeably off centre, ripped the whole lot out and started again. After that I was much more careful, only ripping back a row 8 because I misplaced a stitch after the Fpdtr's. If you're day dreaming about summer being almost here then it's easy to misplace the sdc's after the Fpdtr's. I told M that and he totally agreed! On the second square I decided to put a non locking stitch marker in the stitch before I completed any Fpdtr's, ie. Miss two stitches, place marker, then complete the Fpdtr's and then carry on with sdc's. It's surprisingly time saving not having to check behind the front post stitches to double check where you should be doing the next stitch, not to mention the time saved in ripping back a row after you've got to the end and discovered you are one stitch out.

This is definitely my favourite square so far even if it does need to be made without any distractions, e.g. TV, family members, dogs chasing cats, cats chasing birds, cats murdering mice. Ugh. I've completed the four squares and it's hugely tempting at this stage to do a few extras here and there to put by for an extra, perhaps smaller, blanket. On the other hand, four seems to be quite a well thought out number which stops short of the boredom of repetition settling in.

Miss Marmalade...

I started making Brussels, who looks fairly dog like with his droopy ears, and ended up making Miss Marmalade, who is distinctly cat like. Of course, Brussels might have been a rabbit, who knows?

The gold thread doesn't seem to have photographed very well and I really wasn't sure about it as I was trying to work 4 ply cotton doubled with gold thread that 'knits as 3 ply' using a 3mm hook. It was a bit tricky. It was the only gold thread I could get hold of, and I'm glad I persevered, it lends a nice bit of glamour to the puss.

I made a few tweaks: I used 7mm chocolate brown safety eyes with a 6mm plain black safety eye for the nose. I made the cat ears by stopping after round 7 on the given ears pattern. I shortened the arms by four rows. I used black cotton for the paws and feet instead of brown.

It's the first time I've used Natura Just Cotton. M was in Canterbury on business recently and managed  to find time to pop into a yarn shop I may have casually mentioned! I can use the other colours he bought for some of the other designs in this lovely little book; Sweet Crochet by Sandrine Deveze.

Hints have been dropped about a certain Torquay Jumper so last night it was back to the dreaded shred stitch. Miss Marmalade was just a minor diversion!

Cedar River Blanket...

E caught me browsing more crochet baby patterns a few days ago and politely reminded me that she'd been promised a crochet blanket a few years back. Given that Jake's took a few years to make (I got bored with it!) I reluctantly agreed to make one for her.

The Cedar River blanket is everywhere at the moment. The free pattern is available on the Deramores website. E agreed it was something a bit different to all the chevron and granny blankets so we settled on that for the design. I did quite like the colour combination suggested in the 'packs' but E had other ideas and chose a pale grey for the main colour, with a few other swaps too. It's looking a bit colourful for my taste but I think it works. The number of ends to weave in though! Yikes.

Since this photo was taken I've completed four squares, bordered them all and then joined them with dc on the back. It kind of looks ok. Only another twenty squares to make for a large throw.

It will probably be the most involved piece of crochet I ever make. It's clever how the pattern only uses a DK weight of wool and yet the fabric produced is pretty thick and sturdy. After the first square I was worried it wouldn't drape well but it seems to be working out ok now that I've got four joined together. I'm definitely going to need a good supply of The Waltons and some Westerns to see me through this blanket!

Tilly might just be a cat who likes routine. I give her some breakfast at nine and she disappears outside into Mollie's old hunting ground by the river (it's pretty dried up at the moment). Round about two I call her and she comes running for a late lunch. Just before four she's had enough of being an explorer and comes and sits down next to me on the sofa while I do a spot of crochet. I haven't the heart to tell her that if it's routine she wants she's picked the wrong person. Routine is a dirty word for me.

Our only problem at the moment is that she's refusing to use the cat flap since a stupid dog with a stupid face decided to stick his stupid head through the cat flap to see where she was (cheers Riley). As it happens she was about to come through it. Duh! Despite the fact that we've renamed the dogs Dumb and Dumber they are actually getting an overdose of hugs and snoozing on my lap time. I wouldn't want them to feel left out.

http://thistlebearhome.com/search/label/winter%20project%20link%20party

Tilly...

We have a new addition! Meet Tilly. I got talked into this by the very persuasive E, and M was all for it too. He's more of a cat person. I'm very much a dog person. I'm a sucker for rescue animals though.

Tilly was found under a hedge with her kitten. The locals (somewhere in East Lincolnshire) had been feeding her for some time. She's about two or three years old, and yes, she looks remarkably similar to our beloved Mollie. Tilly is also much smaller than the average cat. She hasn't quite grown into her ears. The rescue charity named her and since she comes when you call her name it would be daft to rename her. Apparently black and white cats are the least popular when it comes to adoption. We couldn't imagine having any other type.

She's doing really well settling in with two bouncy dogs who try to lick her face. She's not having any of it though. She loves to play with a toy mouse on the end of a string, she even likes her pop up tunnel but she keeps pawing the hamster cage so I'm pretty sure the field mice and the water voles should be worried.

(Sadly we did find Mollie several weeks after she went missing whilst poorly. I'm glad we did.)

Finishing wips...

I shouldn't really post this stuff just yet. It will spoil the surprise, but nevermind. I'm feeling pleased with myself for sorting out a pile of wips and placing them all in a large basket. The plan is to keep them close by and work my way through them without getting sidetracked with other projects!

With all the heavy rain we've had lately my plan is working nicely. The little 'rice pudding' waistcoat in the first picture originally had buttons. I didn't like them and they made the item look too boyish. So off came the buttons and little ties were made and attached. Much better.

The soft grey blanket got shoved to one side when I became unsure about my original decision to add in a deep gold band in the border. It's a gorgeous shade but maybe not babyish enough. Once I'd decided to leave that out it was just a question of doing several rounds of border. It's probably only a pushchair or pram size blanket but one my niece could use later for dolls, or teddies.

Then we have a wee rabbit who needs eyes! I decided against safety eyes even though I'm sure they are perfectly safe. She just needs a stitch or two once I've found my wool needle.

Finally a teeny tiny little short sleeved cardigan which I'm hoping, if I get a move on, will be a good fit for now. If not, it can be another doll item for later on! Just the borders and sleeves to do.

Just to let you know...I reply to all comments privately. I find it's nice to have a chat that way. I've been asked about Mollie, and no, sadly she still hasn't turned up. It's not a nice feeling not knowing where she is but we are sure that she's gone to cat heaven. She's left a big hole and the family doesn't seem quite right without her presence. I keep having bizarre dreams about her, and what may have happened; most are unrealistic, in some she speaks and is cartoon like, they aren't unpleasant dreams. I'm pretty sure that this is as a result of not having 'closure'.

Mollie...

Mollie hasn't been well for the last few months. The first signs of illness were a strangely wild appetite for food. She'd charge, like a bullet out of a gun, whenever anyone was in the region of her food bowl, then stand there meowing loudly until she was fed. Coupled with a drastic loss of weight, I googled the symptoms (I'm not at all knowledgeable about cats!) and worked out that she had a thyroid problem. The vet confirmed this and she started a course of tablets. Initially she put a few pounds on and we were relieved that's all it was and kind of expected her to live a bit longer.

Although she had a whole lot of other tests at the time of checking out her thyroid function it's possible there was something else making her poorly. In the last month she refused to sleep indoors, preferring to make a cosy nest in a large patch of bamboo to the front of our house.

She's been missing for five days now (she's never gone missing before). We've searched high and low. She was drastically underweight and very weak. We are pretty sure she's taken herself off someone cool, dark and hidden and fallen asleep for the last time.

Goodnight Mollie x

Murder...

I've had my first week day off from the charity shop since we first set it up three weeks ago. I had to take Ella to an appointment that was bang slap in the middle of my day so it wasn't worth going in before or after. In fact a day off was long overdue. It's been pretty full on work at the shop. Lots of bending, lifting and climbing up and down stepladders, with little time to stop for coffee or lunch. So much so I had to make a return visit to hospital. I never did have gas and air whilst in labour with Ella or Jake and now I know what a waste of time it is. It didn't take the pain away as such but it did turn the inside of the ambulance into a very weird shape with very weird sounds. In fact it was just plain old weird and after a while the pain was the last thing on my mind, so it does kinda work.

So I'm having a few days of rest. Mainly to keep the nagging husband from...well, nagging. The trouble is that now I've got the bug for rearranging junk at work all I want to do is come home and rearrange my own junk. Just a glance in the direction of a stepladder and he looks at me with ridiculous disapproval. Lucky for me he's off to work nice and early tomorrow. I need to go up into the attic to find those elusive Christmas decorations!

That wasn't all the drama that's happened around her lately either. I woke this morning and sleepily went into the conservatory to pull up the blinds. I saw what I thought was a bloody white tissue on the floor and wondered who'd had a nose bleed... It wasn't a tissue. It was the mangled little body of Lorelei; Ella's white Roborovski hamster. It was quite an unpleasant shock. I've never had to pick up a dead animal in my life but with M not home I had to get a wodge of tissues and pick it up and pop it in a box quickly and quietly (I was breathing extremely fast and puffing and ok, swearing too) before Ella woke up. I wasn't looking forward to breaking the news. 'Oh by the way, the cat has murdered your hamster'. What I have to say about the cat right now can't be said out loud.

The culprit was an external tube that she must have a managed to dislodge. Needless to say that cage is being donated to the charity shop and a cat proof replacement has been purchased along with a new addition to take Ella's mind off the loss. She really gets attached to these little fellas. Batman and Flash are about to spend their second Christmas with us. They are girls but E didn't let that spoil her plans for their names. Lorelei had a completely different personality and was chosen because she was on her own, with all her chums purchased. Daisy is the new girl in town. She came with that name. She was not for sale as such, but up for adoption because she was too old to sell. They sell them at 8 or 9 weeks and Daisy was the grand old age of 12 weeks. It was suggested we make a donation to the charity, so we did.

So far so good. She seems to be settling in well. They are best kept in pairs but Ella has a soft spot for the ones that end up alone. She's got a little strawberry house, a brand new wheel, a chinchilla dust bath and some natural fluff for her bedding. It's practically a penthouse suite!

Happier news includes the presentation night at E's school tonight. She received her GCSE certificates shortly after we listened to two of the most dull and rubbish guest speakers. She also received a special award for excellence in Art. She was chuffed to bits. Along with the wooden shield she also got a book voucher. She's going to buy a clothbound edition of a novel that is slightly art related and then she can attach the bookplate they also gave her (this book was awarded to...). Such a nice touch I thought. Made up for the dull speakers.

Cats sleep anywhere...

So you get the general idea that Mollie has a few choices when it comes to places to sleep? Yep. So I think you'll agree that sleeping on top of my Dairy Milk Oreo bar was bang out of order? Yes. I knew you'd agree. M swears cats don't get senile dementia, but I disagree. I may have mentioned ringing her scrawny little neck. A bit of an overreaction said M. Have you seen the state of my Oreo chocolate? This isn't just any old bar of chocolate you know! It was melted into a wafer thin version of its former self. Let's just say the cat had better stay out of my way from now on!

She is probably about 14 or 15 years old. She didn't come with an exact age. The paperwork just said between approx three to four and a half years old. That was about eleven years ago. Roughly. Either way I think she's going senile. We've started on a grand tour of places-to-sleep-that-will-irritate-the-heck-out-of-mum. A few days ago it was on top of a bookcase in the kitchen. This special spot meant she could leap from there to the top of the tall fridge just at the precise moment you entered the kitchen scaring the hell out of you. Next, she decided to sleep in the middle of the kitchen island. This follows years of never, and I mean never, allowing her to jump up on any of our kitchen work surfaces. She just brazenly decided to plonk herself in the middle of one. That night I covered every square inch of that worktop I with obstacles. Ha ha I thought. Sleep on top of my cake stand if you dare. Make yourself comfy on my set of saucepans why not? Never fear though, cats are always one step ahead. Where did she sleep that night? On the blinking oven hob of course!

And so it went on until the night of the Oreo bar. When I mention that I've had enough of scraping up black fur and mud from inappropriate sleeping places everyone says, 'but you'll miss her when she's gone!' Mmmh, debatable.

So what delights have I had today at the charity shop? Oh yes, the pushchair. In wheels a little old lady with a pushchair and I immediately realise it's going to be a donation. How nice I think. She probably has grandchildren that have outgrown it. 'Is this any good to you?' she says. Yes, thank you very much I say, looking it up and down and thinking to myself, this is a good quality pushchair with rain hood and foot muffler. Perfect. Off she trots, off I trot with the booty. 'Oh' she says. 'I used it for my dog. Until he died that is.' On closer nose inspection yep, it smelt like a stinking dog bed. Lovely. It's surprising what a good Hoover and a bottle of Febreze can do!

I love making friends with the decent regulars. By decent I mean the ones that aren't shoplifters. One such regular is in his eighties but as fit as a fiddle. He cycles by most days and if we have any clock radios he always buys them. I've no idea what he does with so many of them. Today he came by and bought a tape deck and whilst he was paying for that he noticed I had unpacked a couple of watches. I said they weren't working but might do with a new battery. He went home with his tape deck and a bit later he came back with a big knife and a handful of tiny little batteries. The knife was to pick the backs off. Anyway, two of the four were working and the other two we had to throw away. We know who to ask if we get any more watches in!

Thrifted crochet pattern...

It's another beautiful day today. I had to pick up some art materials for E this morning and also popped into a couple of charity shops. Oxfam have only just started to throw random balls of wool into a basket in the corner for 49p each. I picked up a useful quantity of cotton mix DK yarn in a tasteful denim blue. Cotton always comes in handy and if all else fails it will make nice face cloths.

I also bought two balls of Wendy Fusion in fantastic sea blues. These might be made into another crochet stool cover for the kitchen. The existing one is proving popular.

MIND had a huge tray of knitting patterns. Lately I've found that crochet patterns are few and far between but today I got lucky, for 30p I have twenty three crochet edging patterns. Bargain! All the examples look they were made up in crochet cotton, the very fine kind. I've done a sample of no. 23 up in DK. I think I might do a sample length in all 23, just for the hell of it. It will be a nice project to do next time we go away in the caravan.

Animal photo's, just because. Harvey settling for just his nose on M's lap if not the rest of him. Mollie claiming the wool cushion as soon as it was put outside in the sun. Riley on his favourite chair.

To finish off the day we have not one but two cricket matches. A school match and a club match. The flask is ready, the tin mugs are packed. I can sit through any number of hours of cricket as long as I have a plentiful supply of tea!

Happy Christmas!

So this is Christmas huh? Loving the wrapping paper hideouts and the plentiful cardboard boxes. It has to be said, I quite like showing off too. Feeling rather full with turkey leftovers so I'm leaving the mousing to the neighbourhood cats. Happy Christmas everyone!

Dogs in crates...

So, the kitchen is far from ready for the new units but hey the rustic look dog beds have been built! Riley gives his royal seal of approval! Note that the dogs are extremely educated, they know which bed to get into (ahem, fluke).

Actually I think they look better in real life. Quite sturdy things but not ridiculously heavy. My contribution was the name plaques. We got lucky with the pallet wood required when M spotted a double one in a skip on his way home from work. M is never shy about asking for things from skips. Luckily he managed to get it in the car. The pallet made both beds with a few small pieces left over.

We will be looking out for another pallet... the cat needs a rustic crate bed now! Currently her favourite sleeping spot is on top of the 3/4 height freezer; out of reach of Riley. So as long as the new bed goes up there with a proper wool blanket inside she will be happy.

I'm thinking of having a bit of fun with her crate wording...maybe 'Pest Control Inc.' or 'Handle with Care' or perhaps just 'The Boss'. Any better ideas anyone?

Little cat, big nuisance...

Mollie has been a bit of a pickle lately. She's been doing that street running business in the kitchen; running and leaping from object to object without touching the floor. Clever. Not so clever is the dusty footprints she leaves behind. The dust from the kitchen floor is a losing battle.

She's also started her winter mouse culling programme. Last year she left them whole on the doormat. This year she seems to have developed a taste for mouse heads. This Is Not A Good Thing. Last week I had to step over two mouse bodies quite a few times before M got home from work and gave them a watery burial. Yuk.

Just when we've finally found the bed of her dreams (her Amazon box) she decides it's time to explore other options. See above for sunny afternoons on the deck, in Jake's old bed which is now Harvey's outdoor basket. Harvey was not impressed. Not one bit.

Then she discovered the freshly washed cushion cover on Ella's bedroom chair. She's a sucker for fresh linen, but so am I. I think this cover had been on for all of an hour before her nose led her there. It's now covered in black hair. Thanks Moll.

Is there a cat thing going on here that I'm unaware of, or is it just Mollie? I find dogs are a lot easier to understand. Harvey's language is mud and water. Preferably at the same time.

I think the cat might be having a mid life crisis! She's not the only one. Next week my age begins with 4 and ends with 4 and I'm thinking, is it too late to dye my hair blue?

Postcards from the cat...