Still here

Thank you to the people who emailed to ask if I was OK!  I was/am fine but our broadband connection has been sick.  In fact we've been suffering a technology blight - we had two evenings with no TV signal last weekend, both computers have been struggling for unknown reasons and the broadband signal has been totally unreliable.

Not a lot has happened over the last fortnight really.  I collected my new specs but the pressure in my right eye hasn't dropped so I expect I'll need to go back to the hospital - waiting for optician to write to GP at present.  The flowers above, and a lot more, came from my brother-in-law for our anniversary but the deliverers got the date wrong - no matter, they are really beautiful and are lasting well.   I also had two huge parcels from Australia containing some of my late sister's things - to our horror the customs charges were about 10 times the value so I shall query them next week. BIL sent payment via Western Union but I'm still appalled by the duty and VAT on items which have purely sentimental value.

I was thinking yesterday that although I haven't seen my brother-in-law for 14 years now, he's been part of my life for 54!  My sister was 13 years older than me and I was 4 when she first met him, and 8 when I was a bridesmaid at her wedding.  They went to Australia when I was 18.  I worry now that he's very isolated as their children live in other far-flung parts of Australia - Skype is a blessing though as we can all communicate without bankrupting ourselves.

Weather has been variable but we've had a few good days, haven't we?   Having less problem with the photo uploads now but I don't like the new system at all.

Hope you're having a good weekend.  I might get to the Malvern Flea Fair tomorrow  - fingers crossed.

The world at your feet

It's a bit steep on the way up, but once you reach the top, the views from British Camp on the Malvern Hills is breath-taking.  If you've got the puff, you can get a 360 degree view of the countryside - right over to the Welsh hills, to Hereford, Bredon Hill and Tewkesbury, and even glimpse the Forest of Dean.

We had the place more or less to ourselves - and the rabbits and crows - and the views were wondeful in today's great weather.

Blogger is still taking forever to upload my photos - anyone else have this problem?, or I would have shared a lot more.  Hope these brighten up your day and your weather has been as good today.

This is a brief post just to say thank you to everyone who commented or emailed to wish us Happy Anniversary - your good wishes were very much appreciated.  We had a great dinner at home last night, which everyone enjoyed, so now were off on another year - which we hope will be better.

I've now posted the items that people 'claimed' from my giveaway (yarn, buttons, handles, lace etc).  So if you haven't had yours please let me know as I've kept all the proofs of posting.  Judith, sorry I haven't been round with the yarn, yet. 

The silver lining...?

Today is our wedding anniversary.  We've certainly had the sickness and health, and the richer and poorer, and  plenty of better and certainly some worse (especially the last two years of looking after M which would test the bonds of any marriage, however strong).  During 35 years of marriage we've both changed - not always for the better, developed in different ways (I'd never get into my wedding dress now) , but kept the committment the same and faced problems with a united front.  Luckily, such problems as we've had have been for both of us, not caused  by each other. 
A quick trawl through Facebook and Friends Reunited shows me that of the people I shared my sixth form school years, the 15 or so 'girls' I knew, are all married and only one has been divorced and re-married.  We are fortunate that none of us has so far been widowed.  The 'boys' have less fortunate, the majority have been divorced or separated - the exception being the two who married classmates.

Apparently, 35 years is jade or coral - don't see us getting any of either.  We're having a family dinner tonight - fortunately we hadn't decided to go out today as it's absolutely throwing down rain and quite cold.


I took several photos of a beautiful morning yesterday - including silver mist and clouds across the horizon.

Blogger's new photo upload system has taken forever to upload these two but you get the idea. Pity today wasn't so lovely but we'll enjoy the day anyway.

Hope you all have a good weekend, whatever the weather.

Life's full of surprises...

I went to have my eyes tested today - nothing surprising in that I hear you say.  This time last year, before I started this blog, I had a strange thing happen to my right eye which no-one ever really explained so I now have to go annually.
My left eye seemed to be getting worse and I was getting quite cross - glasses are so expensive as I have quite a complicated and expensive lens prescription - a new pair makes quite a dent in our monthly finances, and I felt having to cope with M's cataracts was quite enough at present.
Anyway, off I went this morning thinking to myself that it was a good excuse to leave M to H's ministrations and spend time in Worcester.  The eye test was incredibly thorough and to my surprise my eyes have improved not deteriorated and my prescription has decreased.  I did know that the change caused by age making most people long-sighted could have a beneficial effect if one's short-sighted, but apparently there's been a big change in my eyes - especially the left so I've actually been struggling with specs which are too strong!
So, inevitably, new specs were needed - though I did get quite a nice second pair free.  They did find that the pressure in my right eye is a little too high, and I have to have that checked again in a fortnight, which may result in another hospital visit, but may right itself in the meantime.
Now all I have to do is convince H that his complaints about his specs may have the same cause and get him to have an eyetest - especially as he's now over 60 and can get a discount, and find an optician that can provide him with a pair suitable for playing the organ in! (Hopeless in Varifocals as you have to look down to the pedal board to check your feet and up quite high to the musicdesk to read the music, so you're always looking through the wrong bit of the lens, apparently.)

House of Fraser in Worcester is being revamped and its wool and fabric section, now on the top floor, will be much better than before - Rowan wools and Kaffe Fasset and Amy Butler Fabric amongs others, and right next to the new cafe.  They're also selling Biba fashion which took me right back to the late 60's early 70's and the old Biba store where I spent many a happy hour!

Thanks to everyone who claimed items I had on offer, some have been posted and I'll get the rest off in a day or so.  Lace, guinea pig yarn and book still on offer - I'll take them to charity shop with the rest if I don't get any takers by Monday. 

Some more bit and pieces from the clear out.  The larger pink lace is slightly stretchy, there's only a small amount of the fringing. I can measure if anyone's interested. Let me know by Friday if you want any of these or the two items in the previous post.  There are also two pairs of bamboo bag handles, one pair is circular about 12 cm in diameter, the other D shaped, about 14.5 cm across the straight end.  I hate the feel of them but they may be just what someone else is looking for. 

Would anyone like...?

I've been having a sort out ...  well it comes to us all in time, the moment when you can't find something because you've put it somewhere safe and you realise that everything has got into such a muddle you can't see the wood for the trees.  As I've been waiting in for some things to be delivered and some to be collected, it seemed like a good idea - not much point trying to sew when you can't hear the doorbell, or work upstairs when you can't get down to the door quickly enough, so I've been systematically going through 'stuff'.
Quite a few things I shall take to the local charity shops, but I thought I'd put one or two things on here.  If you see something you like, it's first come first served, no charge.  I've got three things to offer today, but keep checking as I expect there to be some more over the next few days.

Firstly, this is a 50g ball of Patons Spirit (75% Acrylic 25% Mohair).  Although it's only one ball, it's enough  (and plenty) to make this

A dear little guinea pig from a pattern by Debbie Birkin which can be purchased and downloaded here http://www.debibirkin.com/inc/sdetail/136, for £2. (I'd happily throw in a copy but it's copyrighted).  It's very realistic when finished - I've given away the two I knitted but they were lovely.

Secondly, still from the knitting stash, three balls of Debbie Bliss cotton dk in fuschia pink.  Might make a scarf or table mats - I haven't any pattern.  I think this was part of my sister's stash as I have no memory of buying it!  Anyone want it?

It's dark and stronger in colour than it looks on screen.  I don't know if it's a current colour.

Finally, we've managed somehow to aquire two copies of this book which is the story of Madresfield, a country house which is where Evelyn Waugh wrote Brideshead Revisited and is therefore the inspiration for Brideshead itself and the Marchmain family who lived there.  It also has many other claims to fame - connections to Dicken's Bleak House and Elgar's Enigma Variations and many historical events and it has been lived in by the same family for 28 generations.  The house had never been left unattended and has no handles to its outer doors!  If you've never read Brideshead Revisited I'll find a copy of that too.

That's all now, hope someone will want these - they'll go to the charity shop otherwise.  I'll probably have some more to offer next week.