I don't like 24!

There I've actually said it and Jack Bauer hasn't come after me...yet! Surely I can't be the only person to dislike this series, all my family are obsessed and talk about plots and characters as if they're known to them personally. It must be in the rules of the series that it can't be watched alone, take the other night....son Tom and his wife Laura who are living with us at the moment have a far superior flat screen telly in their room but had to come down and watch with my husband Paul. Do they all hold hands incase it's scary I wonder? Thank goodness for our V+ box that's all I can say!


Last month I was really impressed with a flower arrangement at daughter Lucy's and wondered why it looked so good. It was all to do with a twiggy sort of ring which fitted into the vase and held the flowers. Lucy had salvaged it from an arrangement she'd had for her birthday. I searched the internet for something similar but couldn't come up with anything, not knowing what it was called didn't help. I was delighted to find that Lucy had managed to track one down as part of my Christmas present...clever girl had thought to try Interflora where the original gift came from. So here is my sisal collar in action, by adding some random garden foliage to some beautiful flowers we were given by friends we ended up with a really stunning arrangement

For the last few years my very best non-knitting friend Elaine has been helping to care for her husband's Aunty Vera. This lady was well known to us all at the Library where we worked as she would often pop into town on the bus to see Elaine. Sadly, as she was overtaken by dementia her trips into town and further afield became a cause for concern, on several occasions she was taken home by the police. When she died a few months ago Elaine asked if I would like all Vera's knitting and sewing bits and pieces. How could I refuse...knowing she had been a keen seamstress, knitter and beader I guessed I would be in for a treat. What a treat it was too...fabric, containers of knitting needles and all the usual sewing equipment. So many fascinating old boxes and tins just full of buttons. There are several buttons that I really love and I'm determined to use them on some project or other in the future.

It would seem that for or a knitter your whole life ends up in your knitting bag, I know that I often pop things in mine knowing I'll soon find them again because I'm always rummaging in it. Vera must have done the same as we found all sorts of personal bits...lipsticks, Carter's Little Liver Pills, receipts, notes, numerous suspender buttons and most poignantly her turquoise eye shadow. She was well over 90 but up until the last couple of years she always put on her make up to come into town...especially her trademark eye shadow!

What a year!

We've just enjoyed the last family meal of 2008...almost all our chicks around us, the grown up ones anyway. Our Christmas day was very quiet as three out of our four were with their in-laws this year, we waited until the day after boxing day when we were all finally together to open presents and have a wonderful day with everyone.

We enjoyed our cruise so much, three weeks being just the right length of time...think we may have created a precedent there! It was funny seeing Christmas decorations in the Caribbean sunshine and walk round shopping malls to reggae carols! Being away so close to Christmas messed with my head though and rendered me incapable of any sensible festive planning, as I thought though, it happened whether I was ready or not!

The first week when we were in the Med the weather was just right for sightseeing, quite cool and occasionally showery but nothing to spoil our fun. I couldn't resist a couple of knitting photos, the first one was at Trevi Fountain in Rome

Then in front of St Peter's Square

I'm sorry to say I didn't get a huge amount of knitting done on holiday and tonight is the night I really must finish those socks so they can go home with Lucy tomorrow lunch time...that extra second we're having should swing it for me!

As usual we've been mulling over the year's happenings and wondering what's in store for us as a family in 2009. We have so much to be thankful for...and we are. Two wonderful daughters, two brilliant sons & sons and daughters-in-law we would have chosen ourselves. Between them so far they have given us two granddaughters and two grandsons...we can hardly believe we are so blessed. The big sadness of this year for us and our children has been losing their much loved Gramps.

It's almost a year to the day since my first post and I've been a resounding failure as a blogger! What little I've managed has been great fun and I always promise myself to do it more often. Perhaps that should be my New Year Resolution...only time will tell on that one. My real hope for the coming year is continued good health and safety, protection and happiness for all my precious family. The same for my very dear and lovely friends..knitters and non-knitters alike, they give me more joy than they will ever know!

An amazing weekend.....and some important holiday packing!

We've had an unusually busy few months with some lovely weekends away. By far the most memorable was the one we spent in Guernsey at the beginning of October. Earlier this year we joined The Charybdis Association which is to do with the ship..HMS Charybdis on which my husband's uncle was lost in 1943 during WW2. It was torpedoed off the coast of France together with HMS Limbourne and a total of 500 were lost. The bodies of 21 Royal Navy and Royal Marines were washed up on German occupied Guernsey others in Jersey and France. The Germans carried out a funeral service with full military honours, the Islanders seized on this occasion to show their loyalty to Britain and respect for those who had died. Five thousand islanders attended in silent defiance and 900 wreaths were laid over the area, it was the first opportunity for mass solidarity and made a huge impression on the Islanders which is still remembered today.

Every October the Association is made very welcome by the people of Guernsey when Charybdis weekend is celebrated. The weekend started with a formal dinner which was attended by The First Sea Lord, other Naval Officers and Guernsey dignitaries and carried on a pace with receptions, coffee mornings and lunches, church service, march and wreath laying at the cemetery and a final concert by the Royal Marines. It was all very emotional and probably one of the most moving things was witnessing the laying of a wreath at sea by the eight survivors of the sinking.

These guys, all now in their late eighties, had amazing stories to tell and enjoyed having us newbies there who hadn't heard them before! One of them had been a signalman who worked alongside our uncle who was also a signalman, talking with him really brought alive the memory of an uncle who died before we were born.

Here is the most important part of my holiday packing!

We are off on Tuesday next week for a three week cruise, first week in the Med then five sea days and a week in the Caribbean. We've been on several cruises but never such a long one and feel rather concerned about leaving our elderly mums for so long.

I hope I've got enough knitting and reading..the socks were supposed to be for my husband as he chose the yarn but somehow they just aren't big enough for him, so youngest daughter Lucy who's feet are bigger than mine is delighted to be next in line. The scrummy pink Merino is for a bolero each for our two granddaughters Abi and Ellie..cousins who love to dress alike. I'm looking forward to reading Kate Morton and Debbie Macomber is a firm favourite

Home Sweet Home

Safely home from our holiday in France...certainly a holiday with a difference for me!

Euro Disney and Centre Parcs were wonderful but I was poorly for the first five of the ten day holiday. A nasty tummy thing which started the very first evening in Dover..scary that, knowing we had the ferry crossing and a three hour drive across France the next morning. I managed better than expected but spent the next four days in bed, venturing out to Disney for a few hours but soon scuttling back to my bed via the shuttle bus. Had I felt better I would have queued up to get a photo of Winnie the Pooh holding my sock as it was I just managed to hold it myself infront of the Fairy Princess Castle!

Once I was feeling better I just loved Centre Parcs near Paris at Le Lac d'Ailette new this year, lovely two storey cottages in a lake setting rather than the forest setting we're used to here. As usual bikes were the only form of transport and we loved cycling everywhere...in fact we loved it so much that today we've bought a couple of bikes for us to take out to local country parks and cycle paths, definitely won't be using them on roads!

It was so good spending time with our grandchildren and I really loved being with my daughter as we usually only see each other every few weeks and I miss her lots. I'm not going to risk any more photos as I get myself in a bit of a mess when I'm using my laptop and our home pc is out of action...again!

Not another holiday?

Oh yes there is!

There is an earlier one to mention first though...another mobility scooter adventure infact, with my Mum this time. We took her to Norfolk for two weeks at the beginning of May...those two perfect weeks of sunshine. First stop was Docking, to a lovely cottage in a village near Brancaster beach in North Norfolk then on to Brundell in a fantastic chalet plonk on the very edge of the River Yare, just perfect for Mum to sit and watch all the activity on the river. We had our own tame mallards who came to be fed every day also a little dinghy for my husband to play with.

As before when holidaying with scooters we had to plan our trips very carefully but managed some really good outings. Usually gardens, garden centres and farm parks were a safe bet as most are scooter friendly. Have some lovely photos but Blogger just will not let me upload them...again!

Next week we are off to Euro Disney with youngest daughter and family then on to Centre Parcs near Paris. So excited to have a 10 days with grandchildren Ellie(4) and Josh(2). They did the same trip last year and Ellie can't wait to see everything again...do hope I'll be able to show pics of them.

K3 and WWKIP

When I finished work two of my colleagues and best friends Sue and Marylyn (aka Mazzam Again) and I decided to form a knitting group. So far there are only we three founder members, our official name for high days and holidays is K3tog but between ourselves it's just K3. Our intention, should we ever expand our membership, is to increase the number accordingly...but if there were six more members we may have to re-think our name!

We try to arrange exciting Knitterly Jaunts and Adventures with at least one yarn shop and somewhere interesting for coffee and lunch. Mostly we meet up at Gloria Jeans coffee shop across the road from the library where Sue (right) and Marylyn (middle) still work...I join them there at least twice a week for their coffee or lunch breaks, being a pensioner with a free bus pass is very liberating!

Sue and I were the only members of K3 available last Saturday to celebrate KKWIP day and did so by working abit of sock in GJs but forgot to take a photo. Sue managed to snap me holding it on the way back to the library but didn't realise I was infront of a police car!

The next place to KIP was obviously the library...some funny looks here, not least from ex-colleagues! (blogger just won't let me upload my photo)

For the first time since I left 9 months ago I went into the staff area, and was even taken down into the bowels of the building to my old desk...what a depressing place to spend half of every working day! Nothing much had changed and I felt so relieved that I'd managed to escape when I did!

Farewell to my adored Father-In-Law

Everyone says that nothing can ever prepare you for the loss of a parent...and it's so very true.

Six weeks ago my father-in-law died suddenly at the age of 85. He was so much more to me than simply my father-in-law, I had known him since I was a little girl when he was a Sunday School Teacher and Youth Leader in our church. When I started going out with my husband he welcomed me into their family and very soon became the adored substitute for my own father whom I never knew.

With no father to give me away when I got married Dad was more than happy to step in...I was delighted when he took me down the aisle to marry his son 39 years ago.

We are so glad we took Mum and Dad on holiday to Spain in January, it was a really happy time and so good to spend two weeks all together. With my brother-in-law coming out for one week too it meant that Dad was able to enjoy having both his sons around at the same time for a change and he thoroughly enjoyed that.

In an earlier post I promised a photo of them both on their mobility scooters...these were a constant source of amusement for us and not a little anxiety, there were some scary moments! We had to plan routes with military precision to make sure there was access but it was well worth it because of the freedom it gave them to get about. This photo was taken on the day they celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary!

We can't really say we've lost him, because of his strong Christian faith and ours too we know where he is and that we will see him again. It's just that he's not here and we miss him so much. He was a wonderful husband, dad, grandpa and gramps...he loved his family totally and was never happier than when we were all together. We loved him totally too and always will!