HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!

So what you all up to? Treat or Treating? Halloween parties? Staying in watching scary films? Or just pretending there is no-one home when kids come knocking?!!

We did the scary film night last night - as we do most nights! We watched Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street - classic scary films of our generation! I grew up watching the horror of the 1930's and 40's and whilst these are true classics - you can't beat the 70's and 80's for horrors!

When I first saw Nightmare on Elm Street (on tv) I was babysitting on Halloween, for a girl and boy, I was about 18-19 yrs old and had my knitting with me.....too many similarities!!!!! It really freaked me out!!! I quickly ran to make sure all the doors and windows were locked!

Tonight York City Screen Cinema is screening the 3rd and final series of the web series that Darren has been busy working on  - Zomblogalypse (a video blog about a zombie apocalypse). The final episode is being premiered tonight on the big screen before it goes online!! Darren as you can imagine is rather giddy about this!! Whilst he worked on Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban (fx technician) and Evil Aliens (he made the alien teeth), this is the most spfx work he has done (along with partner Ian) for any film/series!! I'm very proud of you babe!!! xx

Post Pals Charity

I thought I would mention this wonderful charity Post Pals - it is to help brighten up the lives of terminally ill or chronically sick children.

I'm sure that many of you will have heard of it and many will not. There are probably similar charities out there across the world...but this is the one I know.

I found out about it through the Let's Knit magazine forum, we got together and decided to do a Robin Robin. We start with a ball of wool and someone makes a gift for a child on Post Pals, then the gift is sent to the child and the ball is sent to another forum member to make another gift.

We completed the Round Robin and as I was the last person in the first round...I have been the first person in the next Round Robin.

If you have a few minutes to spare I would recommend you check out Post Pals...maybe even drop a line to someone...you really will make their day!!

Granny Stripe Blanket Finished!!

OK drum roll please......the moment we've all been waiting for...ok so me and Darren!!...the finished warm and snuggly, thick and cuddly and oh so colourful blankie!!!!

It has been wonderful to wrap myself up in it whilst laid out on the sofa this last week. It has been finished to perfectly time with the cold weather too! I have made it for us to snuggle under on the sofa, not for the bed. For a size guide - this is a super king size bed!

I love it so much that I want to make another one! Not because I want the experience of making - don't get me wrong I enjoyed every moment...but because I don't want to share it with Darren...I want my own!!! So we'll probably get one each now!! Somehow, I don't think that Darren will object!!

My blanket was made using 100% acrylic yarn. It is 80 stripes (160 rows) plus a border of 4 rows of border. The starting chain was 300. There are 12 colours. I used between 150 - 200g of each colour. Some colours have more stripes than others, so I used more of the yarn.

My colours were chosen randomly but as I went along I tried to even the colours out. I also wanted to ensure that the same colours were not used too close together.

I started the blanket at the end of June and finished it last week. So that's about 4 months.

What can I say...I love it love it love it!!!!

More than just a cold?

Probably.

I was on the late shift at work yesterday for a grand total of 90 mins then I was sent home. I was being sick and my breathing had become dreadful. My heart was racing and I was shaking. My asthma inhaler ran out and couldn't get a replacement before work. I also had to make an appointment to get a new one! First available appointment - next MONDAY!!!!!!! So I asked for a doctor to ring me at work. My asthma doesn't affect my daily, it is when I get bad colds/chest infections that I need my inhaler.

Luckily just as I was about to leave work, one of managers gave me her inhaler (same type as mine!). This definately saved me as it was just after 7pm when I finally heard from my doctor (good that he rang at that time though!) He gave me an appointment for today, I don't have a chest infection (which I knew) and although my peak flow (measurement for how my asthma is - lung capacity) is low, it isn't dangerously/worringly low.

So I'm just gonna take it easy and keep breathing! Strange that my cough only really started yesterday morning and developed to this so quickly.


Hope everyone is ok and healthy!! For anyone who is poorly - get well soon!!! xx

Feeling rather pathetic at the moment

I have a cold.

It started last Tues evening.

Darren caught my cold on Thursday - he didn't take it from me and in fact it morphed into man-flu!!!

Been sleep deprived due to the cold, shifts and working nights.

On the upside I have finished my granny stripe blanket!!!! Pics will have to wait for a bit - I'll lay it out on the bed when I change the bedding. It'll look better on our white bedding rather than our coloured bedding!!

I've also designed a very simple crochet purse - I was too poorly and tired to focus on anything and started to make some fingerless gloves. Unfortunately they were not wide enough but realised when I folded it, that I had made a cute little purse!!! So I'll get the pattern written up asap with some pics!

Loving Hands Winter Challenge!!

Yes it's that time again!!!

"The first one is to help out a school in Kenya. The Springs of Life School in Nairobi to be exact. This is is a school built with the help of the Rotary Club in Arbroath and fronted by a lovely lady Rotarian called Alison Stedman. We have already been giving Alison a hand by sending her baby cardies for a challenge at another place she is working on (trying to get 1500 baby cardies by Christmas - and I have a box of 200 to send up to her for that sitting here in the office right now!). For the school in this challenge the lady who runs it would like to kit her kids out in uniform so they will not look bad next to the city kids. Her dream is to have the best turned out slum school in Kenya! The kids here live in groups of 12 in houses built by the rotary club - each house has a grandmother (an old lady also rescued by the charity) who takes care of 12 kiddies in her house. They have now also built a school so these children can be educated.

The uniform required is -

Grey trousers (if possible dark gey but not black) for boys and girls
White shirts/blouses
Maroon V-Jumpers
Maroon Beanie Hats
Black shoes/sandals
Games Kit -
white shorts
Red and yellow T-shirts - It will be good if the number of red T-shirts and Yellow is balanced in every class and gender because they are used for group competitions during physical education lessons and brain games.
white long socks for girls, Grey long socks for boys
maroon or black gym bags
black gym shoes

Please Note-
- That if it will be possible we could request Graduation gowns for the pre-schoolers

It would also be great to provide Alison with a supply of day to day clothing and maybe toys for these kiddies too as Ireen intends to get them to change into their school clothes when they get to school and change back into play things when they leave ;0)

The beauty for us with this challenge is that Alison herself is based here in Scotland so we would just need to get these items to her in Arbroath at the end of the challenge and the Rotarians would take them on from there ;0)

Part 2 of the challenge is our old faithful Hats and Balaclavas for the seafaring men. Each year since Loving Hands started we have helped out with this challenge going from 100 the first year to 676 last year! I am sure we will not let them down this year either! This also is a no postage for us challenge as there is a pastor from Apostleship of the Sea in driving distance of Fife who will come and collect them from here when we are ready!"

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary

Yes my grandparents have been married for 60 years. It was actually their anniversary on Thursday but we are having the party today.

I'm impressed, especially as after 50 years, my grandma did say she was ready to try another fella!!!!

Seriously though, can you imagine spending that long with the same person - in years to come will people be still married that long? Darren and I won't be. Despite being together for 8 years, we're not married and as I'm 36 and he's 41, it's doubtful that even if we got married today, that we'd be alive to celebrate 60 years!!

So many congratulations to you both!!! See you later at the party!! xxx

Personal stuff

Apologies in advance re post. Just getting my head round stuff.


On Thursday I found out that a work friend of mine had to be put into a coma (she has had on going health problems but was thought to be ok now). Yesterday, we found out that she had died during the night.

She was only in her mid 50's.

Just seems so unfair. Haven't really felt up to doing much since I found out she was in the coma - sort of puts life and any issues you may have into perspective.

I've never really known anyone who's died before like this. Old relatives, residents at the Old Peoples Home, even a disabled child who had health concerns and was never expected to live into full adulthood. But, V is different. She had been ill but was back at work. It seemed sudden when she went off sick again and then into the coma.

Take care of loved ones and make sure they know how you feel about them. Life is too precious.