We Love You: Year, Year, Year!

The poor blog has been sadly neglected, and not for The Instagram or anything else: life has just been busy or hard.

Hedy has a big allergy attack and needed the multi million dollar non-steroidal drugs. Lorelai Gilmore had a sore front leg which Dr Marion thinks is just old age, where upon she bumped herself in a rowdy game on our walk or at home and woke up the next morning and went “Ouch”. No drugs were required, but she needed to be coddled.

I have had a few blips, ups and downs, but December was full of happenings and my mum came to visit and she wore me out!! It was so lovely to see her, we shopped and chatted and did puzzles and ate out!

The last few weeks I have had an infected thumb and so that has put a dampener on things. As well as being incapacitated in the right hand department, and I am right handed, I was also feeling quite yucky. I have two lots of the Giant and Very Powerful antibiotics and I am on my next repeat tomorrow. The infection finally came to a head, shall we say, yesterday and so the throbbing has stopped. At last. I feel weakly relieved.

I love to blog, and so I would like to be a more consistent blogger next year. I am blogging from The iPad today because The iPad has The Internet but the computer does not. And dealing with an ISP is beyond me right now. My landline and iPad work and so that is all I need to be going on with.

I spent a greater proportion of the afternoon in bed, in the cool and the dark, adding all of the Library books I have read this year to my Typelist. There are not quite a hundred books, but I don’t take photos of the books friends lend me, or favourite books I read again.

So from our house to yours, Happy New Year. I am hoping to be back to normal by the end of the week perhaps, so please accept my apologies if I have neglected you. May 2019 bring you happiness and health.

 

 

Love Is In The Air

I have been a wreck all day, ever since I woke up at 6-30am. The ABS man took a full three minutes to announce the result of the Same Sex Postal Survey: it was a YES!! I have cried happy tears all day, every time it was on the news that almost two-thirds of Australians voted YES. Every time I saw Penny Wong cover her face and cry. Every time I saw the man ask his partner to marry him. Every time. Every time. Every time.

I was so afraid we might end up with a Brexit or a Trump result, but my faith in Australians is restored and bolstered.  Overall, it was 61.6% saying YES, and our state, with a terrible record for many years, had the equal third highest YES vote. 133 out of 150 electorates said YES to civil marriage for a woman and a man, a woman and a woman, and a man and a man.

Now we wait for the Parliament to do the right thing, to pass the bill and not allow discrimination by wedding bakers and florists. I was pleased to see James Paterson's bill has been taken down. I have my fingers crossed again. I didn't think I would ever see the day.

I have been recovering from my eye operation, it has only been three weeks, and I have been extra tired. I have hay fever, and I can only take my 'pretend cold tablets' which also make me drowsy. There has been a lot of sleeping. I had a battery of weird and expensive tests and an ultrasound (I didn't have to pay, yay again for Australia). The good news is that nothing has changed, which could also be the bad news, but I choose to think happy thoughts: if my condition ever changes, it won't be for the better!!

Lorelai Gilmore and Hedy Lamarr have a new paddle pool. It is sooo much smaller then the green one which is 28 years old, but it means Hedy can't monopolise the cool water. Gilly would never push her out and so there's always a spare pool now.

Sandy's dad and mum don't have a new dog, after Sandy died, but they are Respite care for trainee Guide Dogs. They hosted Paris over the Recreation Day long weekend. Paris is two years old, and she wasn't allowed off her lead as the dam area is not secure. We don't want her running down an almost vertical hill into a gorge of trees like Gilly and Hedy......

They are good girls and come back when they are called!! Hedy like to roll about, and she especially likes to show you her belly when she has done something wicked, let's say stealing the wraps from the grocery bag, opening the packet and eating them. She loves the grass at the dam.

Gilly watches and waits for Sandy or Rafa's dads to arrive.

Rafa is always very popular.

I had planned to sew today as the forecast said it would be cool. It was not. It was 29*C and we always add 5-8 degrees, so if you do the maths it was quite hot. In the end I did cutting out. It will be cooler tomorrow and I plan to sew. I am making the Seamwork Almada Robe in some lovely rayon from Spotlight. This is the photo from the Almada PDF.

I've also cut out ten Christmas shopping bags, ready to sew up the bodies.

Although I have The Instagram, and it is so easy to post a photograph, I love my blog. I have found lots of people whose blogs I used to follow, and so I am very pleased to see them again!!

I still haven't knitted with my plastic surgery-ed finger. The weather is warmer now, so I have given up on this year's cardigan. I can sew, so I am making the best of it. I have read four books in the last three days, and found all bar one of my Library books, so I am doing well. I have a week to find it..... One job I want to do is add the 77 books I have read since June to my side bar. I love having a record of the books I read and I am way behind.

I haven't kept up with answering my comments. I want catch up in the next few days. Sometimes they are too far back to appear on my iPad and I am too lazy to turn the computer on!!!!

It is not long until Christmas and I am not panicking or worrying. I even found edible rose petals for my Turkish coconut ice at the deli at the corner. I have been slowly shopping for presents and making baking lists. I love Christmas!!

 

Dip-That-Toe

For the last two months I have either had a cold, or been recovering from a cold. And not even a bad cold. I went to the doctor for my usual appointment and she decided I didn't need antibiotics, and I didn't. But it took me so long to recover. Every day we would go for a walk, then we would go to bed until four or five o'clock in the afternoon, and we would sleep all night too. It was only last week that I started having proper days awake. Consequently I am dipping my toe back into The Internet and my blog.

There has been very little crafting: I knitted a Milo (It's Marvellous What A Difference), some socks for MrsDrWho ( Magical Happy Socks) and I made Wee Master Singapore some Shiny Gold Disco Trousers to match the Shiny Gold T-Shirt I sewed for him. Oh and I made a whole other set of pouches with Labradors on the front. I sewed one set and promptly put them somewhere safe, aka Lost. I sewed another set and of course then I found the first.

Lorelai Gilmore's health has continued to improve. She is feeling very well and loves to run and play all the time. Winter is here today, but we have had a few fogs and frosty cold mornings already. Gilly and Hedy love the colder mornings, they are invigorated.

We went to the vet for Gilly's blood test a fortnight ago. This is how Hedy waits for Gilly.

And it is impossible to take a photo of her joy when Gilly comes back. Poor Gilly, Hedy's waggy tail is a bother.

Hedy loves to play with Rafa and the ball. The ball is the thing. They both want it, they both can't have it at the same time. Rafa has the same toy, but if there are two, it is too confusing for them.

I've had to return a whole stack of books to The Library, unread. I couldn't concentrate at all. Thank goodness I feel better, as I have lots of new books on Hold as well as the old one, back on Hold again.

I used my candy thermometer for the first time and made some Italian meringue. I made a syrup with sugar and water and brought it to the boil until it reached 120*C. Meanwhile I whisked some egg-whites. When the syrup reached the correct temperature I slowly poured it into the bowl as I whisked the egg-whites until they were cool. I don't have a blowtorch to brown the meringue. I am afraid of them, uncalled for I know, but gas and matches or an ignition spark scare me. I made some lemon curd and marscapone filled doughnuts topped with the Italian meringue and also some apple pie doughnuts, tipped with whipped cream, pecans and maple syrup. I took them for supper at Sewing. I feel more confident with the candy thermometer now, there may be more temperature related recipes in my future.

Last week I went to Sewing, this week to Knitting Dining Out and I was also an unexpected Patient/Partner for the Fourth Year Doctors. I was the lucky ninth phone call to find someone to fill a gap.

And now it is time for all good Labradors (and naughty ones) to go to bed. Tomorrow I am going to ask my next door neighbour to take a photo of the new dress I sewed ages ago, and I shall endeavour to post for Friday Food and even, shock/horror, read and comment on blogs!!!

Here is Lorelai Gilmore running. She hasn't run like this since Peri Naughty died. Oh and here's Hedy Lamarr and her BillyBall and Sandy too.

The Powering Inferno

We have been living in interesting times at our house: so many social outings for the holidays and with overseas visitors, an operation for Hedy Lamarr, our land-line has not been working for almost a fortnight, there were terrible storms and our power was off for two days. There has been a little bit of teetering on the edge, but I think we are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

The Labradors went to visit at MrsDrWho's house and met The Overseas Visitors. Much hilarity ensued.

Hedy Lamarr went to be de-sexed. We had been practising all the important things like having your ears, eyes and teeth checked, having a pretend injection and a new addition- having your leg shaved. Gilly and I dropped Hedy off at 7-45am.

Gilly and I went for a walk together,

and then we had hardly been home at all before the power went off. A tree had fallen on the power lines and in our street the house next door had power, the next three didn't and then the house on the corner did. Our houses very weirdly wired here, the suburb is old and houses were built and connected willy-nilly. This is not the tree that fell on our power lines, just one of the many that blew over in town. Towns were flooded, roofs blown off and almost 20,000 people were without power at one point. It has been a very bad year for wild weather.

Hedy was well enough to come home at 1pm and then we bunkered down, waiting for the power to be reconnected.

The land-line doesn't work in a power outage anyway, so were were home along together with no way to communicate with the outside world!! The Hydro rang the neighbours later in the evening to say the power was not going to be fixed and then MrsDrWho brought a thermos of hot sweet tea and more thermoses for the hot water bottle and some hot food.

The power was finally restored late the next night, and oh how I appreciated a hot shower and a cup of tea whenever I wanted one. And the internet. I still need to organise for the land-line to be fixed. The phone company just tells you to ring them about the fault, and of course I have no phone, so I can't. I did email, but they are just hopeless.

Hedy is allowed to go for a walk on her lead with Gilly. The entire time she barks, crossly and loudly. She is Not Happy At All to be restrained. As soon as Gilly is on the lead, Hedy is as good as gold and as quiet as a mouse. Hedy has recovered incredibly fast and is in total denial that she had an operation at all. She wears her cloud collar when I go out, but otherwise she doesn't seem too interested in her stitches, which come out at the end of the week. She now has smaller cloud collar #2 as she somehow punctured larger cloud collar #1 and pulled it off.

I have caught up on lots of reading. We were slightly prepared for the power outage with a torch and radio and spare batteries. I read by hanging the torch from the lamp that wasn't working. Unfortunately, the emergency services urged people to check websites and online for all the relevant road closures, snow falls and power outages and we don't have a smart phone so we were in the dark: metaphorically and literally!! We could have decamped to someone else's house but with Hedy only just having had her operation, I decided she was better at home in the place she knew, safe and sound with Gilly.

I haven't done any knitting or proper sewing. I made a toile for the Gold Star Spangled Jacket, and I finished The Extermin9 Hat for Uncle Dutch's birthday. This time I used the most up-to-date iteration of the pattern and so all the slipped stitches lined up. I like the variegated red colour too.

I have done an awful lot of sleeping, all day and all night. When things are difficult, sleep is a great refuge. And so to bed again, even though we didn't officially get up until 1pm this afternoon.

Read It And Sleep

Time has just slipped away, and we are almost two thirds of the way through Autumn. Gilly enjoys Autumn.

I've been poorly with a cold which turned into a sinus infection, which may (or may not) be gone. Hedy was being a puppy, which required quite a lot of effort, so thank goodness for Lorelai Gilmore. She is A Shining Star of obedience, companionship and puppy-wrangling. Quite a lot of my conversations lately begin with:"I was going to, but then the puppy came."

Lorelai Gilmore and Hedy Lamarr went to visit The GardyGardeners. Hedy tipped out the water bowl twice, and almost chewed the vacuum cleaner.

They could run and play in the garden and Hedy loved the large giraffe ornament. Gilly was exhausted before we even went home.

Hedy was exhausted when we came home, and slept with her ears arranged through The Crate.

We went to The Vet to be weighed and Hedy is 8.7kg, so growing nicely. We saw Dr Malcolm and he said she was a cracker of a puppy, and she walked on her lead very nicely. The weather is very warm for Autumn and so there is a lot of playing in the paddle pool, especially after a ride in the car.

And this happens:

Hedy Lamarr has ears that remind me of Sister Betrille in The Flying Nun.

Well, apart from Labrador-ing, nothing much else has been happening. I sewed some new shopping bags. I have started numbering them, but I didn't keep a proper record with the photos, but I am about to sew #80.

I sewed the Cat bag for a kind lady at the knitting shop. The cupcake bag was for The Bakers and their new shop. The material was the closest thing to a baking theme I had. I ate the most delicious rhubarb and custard pastry from their shop.

The apple bag was for The GardyGardeners and I sent The Labrador bag to a far away friend. I only have a little of The Peri & Gilly material left, so I shall have to print some Gilly & Hedy soon.

Hedy started as all The Dogs have, and as she means to go on: helping with the photos.

Lorelai Gilmore enjoys her walks with her friends, Rafa and Sandy. Most of the time they do parallel play, but at other times,

this happens.

Thank goodness Hedy is able to look after herself a bit more. When I am poorly and spend the day in bed she has to fend for herself with Gilly. I have been doing a lot of reading, I discovered some Georgette Heyer-lite books by M C Beaton and so I have been devouring them as quickly as they come from The Library.

Tonight we are doing Sewing, but with no actual sewing. I am making some apple pastries and not having a glass of bubbly, because I am taking pretend cold and flu tablets.

I do like to try and answer all my comments. It is not a chore and I know it is not a "should", so I shall work my way slowly through them. I appreciate all the lovely comments on my blog. The blogs I read?? Well everyone could have won the lottery and moved to France with a film star as far as I know. I shall slowly catch up on that as well!!!

I think we might have time for a nap before tea time. Actually, there's always time for a nap!!

Mourning Has Broken, Like The First Morning...

Lorelai Gilmore and I are working out our new dynamic: she's doing exceptionally well. We were very touched by the kind emails and comments when Peri died. Thank you.

Peri Naughty brought us so much joy, and it is nice to know The Labradors' antics, and endless pictures, may have amused and entertained others. It is hard to be sad when you have a bouncy and bright Labrador like Gilly. She's always busy doing something and then comes to report about her doings. She's always up for a cuddle, a pat and a rub on the belly. Oh and licking, there is always the licking.

I left Gilly by herself on the very first day because I had to go to The Hospital pharmacy. I have left her every day; I've left her in the car at the deli at the corner (on a cool morning with all the windows open for 2 minutes I hasten to add), I've left her at home in the afternoon and last night until 10pm when I went out to dinner at Mr and Mrs WeeJock&Bessie's. Their house is just along the road, and though I thought about her for the three hours I was away, she was perfectly fine and waiting for me at the gate. Usually she just goes to bed, but it rained and I think she was enjoying the rain.

She's been for a walk all by herself too. And she's had a walk with all of her friends: Jet, Rafa and Sandy.

MrsDrWho bought her a huge chew bone. I thought she'd eaten it, then it 'appeared' again. This appearance also explained the sneezing. Gilly had buried the bone in the garden.

Unfortunately, I saw where she buried it and she was not happy. I had to go inside and now I have no idea where the bone is, which is a great comfort and relief to her.

I also left Gilly alone when I went to visit Auntie Dutch for afternoon tea. I sewed two bags for her birthday. I take such poor photos and unless it is a Labrador, I just take one. So if it is wobbly or hazy, that's the only photo I have. I know things are getting back to normal when I bust out two new shopping bags!!!

I have sewed two new dresses. The Swirly Lime/Aqua dress needs to have a new hem. I need to undo the very long circle skirt hem and then make a new hem with biased binding, just to get 2cms more length. The Hawaii Dress needs a hem and then a belt of some kind. I am wearing it right now, regardless. Oh, and it needs ironing.

My Pear Dress, which I made 2 1/2 years ago, has worn out. It has some holes and is not for wearing outside the house any more. I have some Apple material from the same range, so I will be glad to replace it with another fruity dress.

I have been poorly pretty much all the time this year and then Peri was not well and I have not kept up my Book List in the side bar of my blog. I plan to add all the books I have read, and I can, because I take a photo when I return a book to The Library. Three times this year The Library insisted I hadn't returned a book. I knew I had, but had no real proof: Now I do!!! Each time it seems the returned book wasn't scanned properly and when another patron tried to borrow said book, The System has a conniption and they found the 'lost' book. Now I keep track of each book when I return it by taking a photo. It can cost $100 to replace a Library book, so I am being canny and careful.

The weather is turning summery. The nights are warmer and the days hotter in the afternoon. I think we are heading towards a drought. The rainfall for October was 0.6ml. The lowest recorded rainfall since records have been kept was in 1949, when 9ml fell. It is either El Nino or La Nina.... It's El Nino.

Peri Pumpkin is home now, she lives in a little velvet bag on the mantelpiece with Vundy and Tori, who are in boxes, and Harki-Parki-Parker-Posey, who is in a  little velvet bag too. I got a little teary scrolling through photos looking for books, and suffered a few pangs of emptiness. But on the whole, I am glad she is in Dog and Cat and Other Small Animal Heaven. Her legs won't hurt and she will be able to run and play and eat all the Heavenly food she likes. There will be lots of sleeping in the sun, I imagine, whilst floating on a cloud.

It's Recreation Day tomorrow, where people in The North have our holiday for  The South's Regatta Day. It is a good day to start thinking about Christmas. I've already spotted a little sleigh made from some Nice biscuits and two candy canes. Soooo cute!! I'm making lists and planning my baking and crafting. I hope El Nino stays away during December when we want to bake. All Lorelai Gilmore's friends have gone to their shacks for the weekend, so we'll have a walk by ourselves tomorrow. We walk a little farther to compensate for the extra treats that Gilly has. She's spoiled, but fit!!!

#putoutyouronions

While I have not lost my mother, as a country we have been very careless with our Prime Minister. Again. It was on, and my favourite hashtag on The Twitter was #putoutyouronions. I wish I had The Twitter just so I could have done that!! So it's farewell Tony and hello Malcolm, who at least knows that the PM is decided by the Party with the majority and not by a special vote by electors.

Good to live in a country where this all happens without the Defence Forces driving tanks through the streets, with not a shot fired, or a water cannon aimed. Yay for us. My mum and I talk on the phone on Monday nights and we both said that we couldn't go to sleep until we knew who would be the PM.

I have been Getting Things Done now I am feeling a little more like myself. I have almost finished a pair of socks for MrsDrWho's birthday, which was in June. I am using my usual pattern in some Opal Hundertwasser Kuss im Regen, Kiss in the Rain. I call them The I Just Want Your (Kiss) Socks. I love the colours and the way they merge and play.

Peri is pottering along, she needs help sometimes to jump into the car, but we are developing a routine and try to anticipate each other. Peri is very funny, because when she is exceptionally pleased and joyous, she has what I like to call Happy Hackles. And she likes to be patted on The Hackle area: hard.

Lorelai Gilmore is exceedingly pleased as well, because The Paddle Pool has been broken out for Spring. It has been very hot, 26*C,which I hope is not the shape of things to come. We have to put an extra cover on the bed, because she likes to play in the pool and then go to bed. As you do.

Gilly is very interested in cars and so far has been in Rafa's car, and now Sandy's. You can just see Sandy on the far side.

I picked up the latest John Flanagan book today. I had ordered it a few days ago from Petrarch's and expected it in a fortnight, so it came early. As I was leaving the shop one of the Shop Men was coming back in, I showed him my book and he looked inside the cover and then swapped it for a book signed by the author. I am extra chuffed now.

There is a new way to eat a Golden Gaytime ice-cream: it comes in a tub at the supermarket now. There are new flavours: mint, strawberry and chocolate, but I went for the stock standard toffee and vanilla with biscuit crumbs. It is nice to have an ice cream without chocolate, which I am not supposed to eat.

On Monday I found ALL my Library books and took them back. I also found my proper prescription sunglasses, and I am very happy about that. MrsDrWho and I went shopping and I bought a few Christmas presents. We found some tops in Target with a push-the-button-for-sound feature: they play the Star Wars theme. I had been quite cross that there were no clothes at all for women, apparently Disney feels they have the Princess market for girls and adult women are not a demographic they are interested in. Still, Target does have some pyjamas and a top.This is a children's t-shirt, but I am going to take off the button and sew a little pocket in my soon-to-be Star Wars dress and push it all the time to annoy everyone. And amuse myself.

I 'virtually' attended The Writers' and Readers' Festival, and I notice they avoided any proper punctuation.  I went to Words for Nerds as it streamed for free in our Library. The speakers were Jane Caro, Julian Burnside and Don Watson. It was slightly spoiled by the woman in charge in the room speaking loudly on her phone. Twice. Very enjoyable and I would go again. I have read books authored by all three, and I am very interested in words too. It is a Very Poor photo.

And now we are going to watch Gruen, time shifted, and then go to bed and read the new book. We haven't had a nap today at all. I might not read very much.

Oh Mother, Where Art Thou???

Well, I almost went with The Day My Mum Might Have Gone Psycho. It started when my sister rang from The Mainland to say that the Doctors' surgery had rung her to say my mum had missed her appointment. My mum never misses an appointment. No-one could contact her by landline, mobile or email. I knew she was going out with some friends, but I didn't know their numbers, or the new next-door neighbour and my Aunt was on The Mainland too.

So I did what any good daughter would do, I rang the Police and asked for help. I also told them her age. I was more worried about that really. In about half an hour the Police rang back to say that her car was not there and there was no sign of violence at all, and she wasn't lying inside unconscious. So we sat by the phone, ringing and messaging until my mum arrived home at about 3pm.

Turns out her appointment at the doctor was on THURSDAY and she had been on a tour of the Menzies Centre and had not turned her phone back on. Everything was fine, and I am glad the doctors' surgery rang, but very cross they had the wrong day and then sent my mum a letter chiding her for missing her appointment. It took me more than a few days to recover from the day, but I did go into the Police Station in town and thank them very much. I am grateful to live in a place where the Police will look for a person who has been misplaced for just a few hours.

We have also updated all our contact numbers and my mum's new mobile has an alarm and automatically dials for help.

Look, Gilly and Peri: happy girls.

Peri's blood test showed two of her liver enzymes are high, and she must have another test in three months. She is sometimes wobbly on her back legs and only goes up the steps if it is really worth it. When Uncle Dutch came, he said she looked at him and he saw her think: "He'll come down the stairs and pat me," and he did and she was right!!

The Whipper-snipper Man came again and made the paving weed free and like new. He also took out lots more weeds.  Gilly can run in great circles from the bottom to the top and up the side and the paddle pool is in service again. Peri is pleased to have the side to sniff new smells.

My mum and Aunt came to visit last week. We shopped and ate and I helped mum choose a new mobile and then we shopped and ate a little more. For three days. I had a lovely time and it was so nice to see them both. Plus, my mum wasn't missing, which was a bonus. I felt fairly fine on Friday, but went downhill and on Saturday I didn't wake up till almost 10am and I had to pretend it was Sunday so The Labradors didn't know they had missed their walk. We had a catch up walk on Sunday proper.

Peri had the best day ever when she found a huge bone from a wallaby. It had been stripped clean and was not smelly at all. She ran, in her own fashion, all the way from the gate to the dam, proudly carrying the bone. Neither Rafa nor Gilly could get a look in.

She didn't want to chew it, just carry it. In the end we threw it over the fence before she wanted to bring it home.

I have nothing crafty to show, as although I feel well, what with my mum almost disappearing, the vet visits and then visitors, I feel quite tired. Yesterday I felt a bit better and of course I did too many things. A new book arrived a few weeks ago at the PO at the corner, but there was no card in the letter box. Luckily they know me and sent another card today and I went to pick up my book. Since it was 19*C today, I need to sew a dress. MrsDrWho has suggested I cut out two at once. I think she might be on to something there.

Cadbury have a new kind of chocolate treat. They have been around for a few weeks so I bought some and made MrsDrWho taste them. There is a sweet, and a savoury, chocolate 'biscuit'.

The sweet version has little Nice biscuits without the sugar, which taste vaguely of Malt'o'milk biscuits. The savoury version is reminiscent of the Lemon Crisp biscuits, which has two sweet biscuits sprinkled with salt and a creamy lemon filling.: obviously with chocolate and not lemon. I am not sure they will catch on, but they are soooo much better than Vegemite Chocolate. That was a mad creative flop!!

Cleo is very apprehensive about the whole thing, but determined to be involved.

And now I am going to watch some TV (Hinterland on The Netflix and then on real TV The Chaser's Media Circus. Gruen was back last night after almost two years) and then we are all going to bed. We have new cotton sheets with 250 thread count. They are as smooth as silk and I think I may need some more. The old sheets have a lower thread count and have developed dreadful bobbles. I am throwing them out and there is no way of using them for anything else really.

And there will definitely be Friday Food. I had prepared for last week, but then the sleep over.

Playing Beatie El-Bow

Wow, it's been cold. It will be -3*C tonight. The average June overnight temperature is +3*C. The long range forecast is for a colder, drier Winter and I think they are spot on. It is toasty warm with the new hot water bottle cover in action. I lost the hot water bottle stopper the other night. I tipped the water out in the garden when The Labradors went out for a wee and the stopper went too. To solve that problem I have tied the stopper to the actual hot water bottle!!

It's a poor iPad photo, but you get the general idea. The cover is pilling like all get out, but it is snuggly warm and has no worn out holes so I am happy.

Peri is not so happy, she hurt her arthritic leg yesterday. I am not sure what happened but I found her half on and half off the bed and her poor left elbow is very sore. She was limping quite badly. I gave her an extra half a tablet and we all went to bed at 8-30pm. She is much better today, no limp at all until this evening. It makes me realise that she is getting old quite quickly and that she may not be here much longer. Gilly tried to help, she was over helpful. I think she was worried too. I know Peri wasn't in too much pain, as I have learned that she shakes and won't eat. There was no shaking and A Lot of eating!!

 

I am knitting my mum a hat from some of the very lovely 10 ply Naturally Loyal. It is surprisingly soft and light and delicious to knit and wear. I'm making the Thrifter Beanie again, so it will be snug against her head but blousy around her hair: no hat hair resulting I hope!!! That's my hat on the right. It is so warm and I wear it when we walk at the dam

Speaking of the dam, I gave Rafa and Sandy's dads some pumpkin biscuits to take home for the dogs. Do you think Peri and Gilly knew there was a treat in a different pocket? You bet your sweet bippy they did.

 Though only Peri had true staying power, they others trotted off when no treats emerged.

MrsDrWho found a different kind of Nutella made with macadamias: Macabella. It smells delicious, I can't taste it, but I can see the pieces of macadamias in it. It's made by the Buderim Ginger people, but their FAQ isn't up and running it seems.

There are three things happening over the next two days so I have to rest up. I planned to do some tasks this week, but it hasn't panned out.  I did make a pretty marvellous cake for MrsDrWho's morning tea at school, even if I do say so myself. It took all afternoon from 1pm until 6pm. There was a lot of heating things up and waiting for them to cool down. It will be my Friday Food.

Oh and "Playing Beatie Bow"?? Fabulous book!!!

The Australian Patient

Three of four times a year I go to The Hospital and I am a 'patient' for the student doctors. This week it was the final year doctors. After the usual poking and prodding and taking of history, they were set the task of debating my possible treatments. My spleen was once again the star and everyone wanted to feel it. Apparently it feels like a nose???? It is thoroughly exhausting, but I feel useful and it is a worthwhile thing to do. I sensibly rang and cancelled my appointment with the exercise physiologist for Wednesday.

On Sunday at dinner MrsDrWho and I realised that Easter was more than on its way, it was imminent. I went to school on Monday afternoon and showed the children how to sew the felt chicken from BH&G.

The children had to trace and cut and then sew their chickens. Then they glued on the feathers and glued 'in' the feet. Considering they hadn't really sewn before, they turned out very well!!

Consequently, when I came home on Tuesday afternoon, we all went to bed and then we slept all night. We arose for hot cross buns with The GardyGardeners, and then back to sleep all day Wednesday and all night too. The Labradors are excellent sleepers. They do take up quite a lot of the bed. It's an ipad photo and they are always atmospheric: grainy and a bit pale.

It was WeeJock and Bessie's dad's birthday and I knitted him a hat and baked some brownies. The Twoman Pup Tent Hat is a marvellous pattern, all cabled with just some twisty knitting into the front and the back of two stitches. I used some 10ply naturally Loyal and it is so light and warm. I'd knit this pattern again.

Today I bought some material, and I am planning on sewing something Eastery. This year I haven't done very much Eastery at all. I have posted some cards and that is all. Tomorrow all the shops are shut and so I plan to bake some Easter biscuits for Friday Food and sew. Me-Made-May starts soon, well in May. I was an enthusiastic participant in Self-Stitched-September because I could wear lots of dresses and skirts I had sewn and cardigans I'd knitted, but May is not a good month in the Southern Hemisphere. It is all just the same few cardigans worn with a variety of long sleeved bought tops and green jeans. I wonder if I might just do my own Self-Stitched-Septemeber this year???

The weather has been both unseasonally warm and so wild and windy that we had gale warnings. We walked in the rain and wind this morning. DayLight Saving ends early Sunday morning so the evenings will be dark very early. I have been doing some reading as lots of books have arrived from The Library. It is a sad time at Easter, as The Library is closed for five days. Thank goodness I stocked up today.

Peri and Gilly, eventually, both looked the same way and I managed to fit them both into the same photo!! I was holding a very tasty treat. The Labradors can't have chocolate, but I think they may get a pig's ear for Easter.