Christmas comes early

I have a new toy to play with. Last Friday after work I went with my OH to a local shopping centre and bought a new laptop. We chose an Acer Aspire 5742 and to our great delight discovered that it was on special offer at PC World. I have to say that shopping for a computer was a bit humiliating. The sales assistant looked as though he was about 14 years old and yawned his way through the whole transaction. I also inadvertently provided a bit of entertainment for his work mates. I am sure they were snickering at me when I mistakenly asked if the computer had a 3i processor! I should have said i3. My only excuse is that it had been a long and tiring week and although I consider myself quite computer literate, it doesn't come naturally.

I am not really a gadget person, I was probably one of the last people to buy a mobile phone in the UK. Perhaps it is my age. I won't disclose what it is but just let us say that I grew up when there were no home computers and mobile phones! However, I am really excited about our latest purchase. It no only gives me some flexibility about where I work but it hopefully will mean that can update this blog more frequently.

Sadly my Mother-in-law died last December just before Christmas. She left us some money in her will. Instead of frittering it away we have decided to buy a couple of things such as the laptop and possibly a new camera for my OH. We are also going to make sure that we have a really nice holiday. The rest will be safely tucked away for a rainy day. I was extremely fond of my Mother-in-law and her long illness and subsequent passing was very distressing. I would like to think that she approved of how we are spending the money. She always tried to enjoy life despite her poor health. Thank you Eileen, wherever you are!

Now that Winter's here....

Here are the pictures of my OH's gloves as promised. Not very exciting I know but they are the first pair of gloves that I have improvised from a basic pattern. He chose the colour. I am really pleased with how they turned out. He wore them to the allotment yesterday and reports that they are very comfortable. They are made out of superwash sock yarn so at least I can throw them into the washing machine if he decides to plant broad beans or turn his compost heap whilst wearing them!

I finished them just in time as we woke up this morning to find the UK in the grip of its first bad winter storm. I love the changing seasons, particularly Autumn with its glorious colours and Bonfire Night. Plus it is an excuse for lots of cosy nights sitting at home knitting! However this morning was not pleasant with gale force winds, torrential rain and falling temperatures.

Brief Update

It is quite a few weeks since I updated this blog. Everyday life has got in the way and I seem to be splitting my time between work and waiting around at the hospital for various appointments.

I have been plodding on with a number of projects. I have almost finished my commissioned necklace although I have had to apologise to my client for taking so long. I have to admit that I have found concentrating on anything for any length of time difficult. In addition to the beading I have been knitting some fingerless gloves for my OH and have finished my own gloves, athough they took me 6 weeks to make. That must be a record! Pictures to come very soon. When I have finished the necklace I am going to dust off my crochet skills and attempt this hat from Stitch Diva Studios. I love wearing hats and, as I am currently growing the layers out of my hair so that I can have it cut into a bob, this pattern seemed ideal. It is quite a while since I have crocheted anything so we will see how I get on!

On the health front things seem to be progressing well. I am having physiotherapy for the problems with my left leg and I finally seem to have found the right combination of pain medication (the past few weeks has been a bit of a struggle with bizarre side effects such as vertigo). I have to admit that I consider myself very lucky to have all of this excellent care without facing huge medical bills. At the risk of opening a can of political worms this whole business has made me realise how lucky we are to have free healthcare in the UK. I know that the NHS has its critics both here and on the other side of the Atlantic. I am just glad that I have been able to get the support and care that I need without having to worry about how I am going to pay for it. The past three months has been stressful enough without that too!