How was yours?

Honestly what a name for a establishment....originally est 1839...this building is down a cobbled street...0ld tenament buildings.

This beautiful staircase is in the middle of the hotel...when the hotel was refurbished it had to be kept Grade II listed...at the very top is a beautiful domned window.

Me and hubby having a quick cuddle whilst waiter took piccy....ahhh!

We went for a walk around and about....these beautiful houses take your breath away...lots of them are flats but a few are still full houses. Luckily people had their curtains open and lights on so we could have a good ol' nosey hehe!!! everything looked so festive inside. The ceilings on these properties must be 12' odd....and the mouldings and original cornices etc were gorgeous.

Hello...hope all had a good Christmas

Mine with my darling hubby was a quiet one....usually I do all the cooking and running around but this year my youngest daughter went to her In-laws....my eldest DD we don't see...this is by her choice. Anyway me and hubby thought okeydokee lets take ourselves away...so we did up to wonderful beautiful Edinburgh...we stayed for 3 nights at the Roxburgh Hotel in Charlotte Square....the hotel if I am correct is made up of several georgian town houses knocked together.

The food was superb....champagne and canapes......poached pears with stilton......full turkey dinner..oh every concieveable delicious morsel of food was had. On Boxing Day we went to the pantomine, well I haven't been for 20 odd years, we saw Aladdin with Alan Stewart as Widow Twanky...I tell you there may have been lots of children but I haven't split my sides laughing so much in ages...especially some of the innuendo jokes that go straight over the childrens heads...a lovely treat all in all.

Came across this poem and made me smile

Its the day before Christmas and all through the house

The puppies are squeaking an old rubber mouse



The wreath which had merrily hung on the door

Is scattered in pieces all over the floor



The stockings that hung in a neat little row

Now boast a hole in each one of the toes



The tree was subjected to bright-eyed whims

and now although splendid, its missing some limbs



I catch them and hold them "be good" I insist

They lick me, then run off to see what they've missed



And now as I watch them the thought comes to me

That theirs is the spirit that Christmas should be



Should children and puppies yet show us the way

and teach us the joy that should come with this day



Could they bring the message thats written above

And tell us that most of all Christmas is LOVE


Me and my darling hubby went to Horsham in Sussex....just to browse around. Along one street they had 3 snow makers blowing...the scene was entrancing....Christmas music playing...people walking through and getting "snowed on". But what stopped me in my tracks
were the children all standing/jumping/skipping around their faces full of laughter...so young so sweet. A young man was entertaining them and shouting "Who loves Christmas"...and the children responded with such raised voices. Me and hubby stood watching for a while I was starting to choke up........how I wish that time did not rush by soooo quick and I could enjoy the time all over again with my children........but there again...........I will and I can....with our Grandchildren, how wonderful is that. Honestly the sentimentality at this time of year now that I'm a tad older......(or like a matured red wine, mellow and warm without a tang!!! he he.)...is so silly, now where did I put that box of tissues.......x

Nigella Lawson......

I treated myself today...if whether you love her or hate her...this book is a definite must have for Christmas.....maybe a great gift....actually I'm wondering if my daughter might have purchased this for me ops! Best of all its at Waterstones for £8.99 woohoo bargain.
The glossy pages just inspire you to cook...well it works for me.....I'm loving
the Spruced Up Vanilla Cake what a wonderful alternative to Christmas cake, have defnitely got to track down one of those cake tins for it. Also fantastic recipe for Chocolate Pudding...oh and for those not keen on the proverbial MR. TURKEY....then the recipe for stuffed pumpkin looks pretty good.

What I love about this lady is "SHE LOVES TO EAT"....honestly I sit their giggling to myself when after the end credits of the programme...she sneaks downstairs for the midnight bite. The lashings of cream that went on that mince pie.....indecent. I was listening to our Terry Wogan on radio 2 the other day......seems quite a few of the men love her two...hmmm! wonder why? Could it be the way the camera lingers on her mouth as she eats..I don't think its the food.

Theres also something else I am inspired to do....I lurrrvvveee her kitchen it is so homely. I love the way everything sugar/flour/dried fruit etc are all to hand and within easy reach. So after Christmas I'm off to Ikea to purchase glass jars and sort out my larder...then I won't have flour/sugar spilling over the place when I unroll the bags etc. Yep I think that will be one of my New Year resolutions....get organized.

OK own up whos finished their Chrissy shopping?

ME.....TA DA!!!!

I'm going to sit with a Christmas film on this afternoon and do my wrapping....of course with a cuppa and choccy bickies oh and....read my new Nigella Cookery book....

Have a wonderful weekend...xxxxxxxx

Thank you....

http://www.bigfoto.com/sites/galery/flowers1/flower-rose_5xv.jpg




Just a virtual thank you for the lovely kind words such lovely ladies have left on last posting.


XXXXX

Update on my darling Mum

Some of the lovely people that visit my blog and I thank all of you that do...know that my darling Mum has end stage vascular senile dementia....I find that putting my thoughts to print has helped greatly.
So I thought I would update the current situation. Well as of last posting re Mum....she was sent home from hospital...her stomach continues to blow up like a huge balloon and when I say huge...well the only way to describe it...is well like when ones 9 months pregnant...I apologise for the comparison but was only way I could think of describing as to how big. The swelling is due to the fact that her body can no longer pass gases so it all ferments. I could hardly believe it when my darling Dad said that the doctor was contacting the hospital with a view to them putting a tube into the side of her stomach with a valve....apparently to release the gases. I suppose this is to make her more comfortable but whether she would survive such? Anyways this is booked for January.
I have described my darling Mum before but will do so again....she is doubly incontinent...weighs about 4half/5 stone...cannot talk/feed/move at all by herself...her bones of her entire body are now fused all together and when I say entire I mean entire....she cannot even turn her head.....she is stuck at right angles like a Z. She has so many sores over her body it is heartbreaking...she doesn't know me at all and hasn't done so for the past 2/3 years....even though at times I do get a lovely oh so sweet smile when I first walk in and she manages to open her eyes but it is flickering....when this smile does happen my stomach trips and I choke up and believe me I cherish that smile with all my being.
My Dad looks after her with 2 carers coming in 3 times a day to change and clean her and a daily nurse to see to her sores...there is a terrible one on the base of her spine, so now they have given Dad a special bed where the back raises up...and have said that it is better for her to stay there until after lunch. The bed is in the lounge where Dad sits as well....he is not at all happy with her being in bed as he likes her in the chair...but now she constantly slips down...they have been married 56 years and in her chair is where he likes her. I gently talk to him that it is best for Mum and more comfortable...I think for now he is agreeing. He is in denial and has been for a long time....on Monday he was talking about colouring her hair as he dones't like seeing it grey!!!! eeek....what hair....what my darling Mum has is hearly lost and so so thin....to describe her as skeletal is nearer.
To describe more.....she has now been having TIA's...transiant ischaemic attacks...mini strokes...over the last week about 5/6 I know these are a prelude to something bigger. I have said "goodbye " to her so many times over the last two years when she has been hospitalized due to problems....usually taken into a side room...but bless her she has rallied.
Everytime I see her now I mentally say the words and also whisper in her hear that "I love you" and thank her for being my Mummy. I have been dreading that she will depart this world before Christmas.....but the TIA's seem to have settled down.
I don't know how my darling Dad will be...he says to me..."he lost his wife a few years ago"....he is such a trooper and the care, compassion, patience and dedication and total love along with his strength have astounded me....lesser mortals would have buckled....but it has been at a cost to his own health.....he never complains just recites his marriage vows to me.."for richer for poorer...in sickness and in health and desrcibes it as the "rich tapestry of life"....so lovely people thats where we are as of the 17th December...Mum is 85 and Dad 82...if you have read thus far I thank you so much for staying with it....I understand and I apologise that at times it can make uncomfortable reading.....but anyways for now take care hugs ....x

Christmas past......

Hi...thought would show you some piccys of where we went for Christmas 2006......we decided hubby and I to go down to Somerset and stayed in a beautiful mullion stoned lodge.....this lodge was on the entrance to a most beautiful entracing mansion....(privately owned)...unfortunately I never got to step a foot inside to view. But anyway the lodge was so charming for Christmas...although not richly decorated it was very warm and very welcoming. It had a perfect but small workable kitchen....off that a very pretty dining room which had a log burner in an inglenook.... The lounge as you can see was not heavily decorated but the whole lodge had a wonderful ambience of spirit of Christmas...it seemed to wrap itself around you and comfort you and say "welcome".....The side stone mullion window behind the TV looked straight down the drive so that in the "olden" days...the gatekeeper could see who was coming and inform the Master/mistress of the Manor.

Me and Megs by the fire and then my lovely sil by the car in the beautiful shrouded icy mist of a winters morning. Its strange how when one looks back on past holiday photos....does one realize what a wonderful time was had.....will definitely visit back here again. Take care...xx

These were only part of the grounds....which we were allowed to walk around.

The Aaaahhhh factor!

Thougt I would show you photo of my two beautiful twin Grandchildren.....both a year old when this photo was taken in October. They were born 9 weeks premature and weighed the
little boy weighed 3lb and dropped to about 2lb 9oz afterwards and the little girl weighed 4lb and managed to keep her birth weight pretty well....now as you can see they are doing great. Took this piccy adhock and made me smile when I looked at it...the page they are looking at says "Little Treasures"......oh how true...if anybody had told me I would be so so head over heels and totally besotted I would not have believed them. They just make my heart smile.....


Thought I would show you another photo of this little poppet...shes my Cavalier called Megan...and yes she is as sweet/soppy/daft as she looks...she has a very lovely nature...always ready for a lap and snooze.....I used to have another called Lady, she lasted for 13 years which is very good for this breed...in fact Megan was brought as her companion....but Lady never wanted to know Megan...would turn away and put her nose in the air when Megan went near her. Actually thinking about it Megs quite a "tart" hehe!!! she goe to anybody for a biscuit........shhhhhh!!! don't say it out loud.....sometimes I have spelt it out and she still knows what I'm talking about. Oh the other day DH went out for a couple of hours and Megan got up ran to the front door and laid there...I thought somebody had rung the doorbell....went to check noone there....then about 2 mins later I hear our car coming up the road and yes it was hubby returning. How on earth do dogs detect this......dodododododododo......chat laters hugs me xxxxxx

A rose by any other name..

Such a pretty glass crystal cream amd sugar set.

I just adore this table runner.

Hello and welcome to my very first Tablescape Tuesday....I came across this here...http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/.....what a wonderful inspirational idea....along with all the other beautiful blogs with wonderful houses and tables. Anyway hope you enjoy my table setting. The table is set with Villeroy & Boch white porcelain china in Wave Design....I wasn't quite sure when I first purchased this dinner service as to rectangular plates...but they are wonderful to use....everything interchanges with each other....the small plates underneath the soup bowls are used with the coffee cups (not shown)....the side plates used as dessert plates as well.

Ops sorry for the shaky piccy.

My cutlery has a pitted bark effect on it. The so pretty etched wine glasses come from one of my very very favourite shops Laura Ashley. On the left is a cruet set which I purchased in a local collectables shop.

Just love this cutesy sleigh....it comes from TK Maxx....this shop fascinates me you never know what you are going to find from visit to visit. The other day popped in there and they had Spode Woodland coffee mugs eeekkk!!....I would have purchased them but there was nothing else to go with them...oh well.

Anyway back to here....put lots of lovely apple/cone thingys to make everything festive and pretty.

MERRY
CHRISTMAS

XXX

A few Christmas bits and bobs.

Picture heavy post.....hey Mr. Turkey are you ready....???

Just a few prettys on my side cabinet...hmmm!!! now looking at this picture think it maybe needs a tad more flowery bits...yes?

Hey Santa.....you'll be real busy soon.

Don't you just love the cutesy set on the first picture...purchased from good ol' TK Maxx....sugar bowl/cream milk jug and the lovely jam/butter dish with the sleigh mini knife...lurrrvveee it...and of course there was my 2nd bargain again TK Maxx.

Then my 2nd bargain yet again TK Maxx 3 beautiful large Baubles which are by Waterford...a bargain at about £3/£4 each...went into my local department store and couldn't believe my eyes, they were for sale there at £20 eeeekkk!! so very pleased. Have displayed them in a red glass bowl with tiny lights around them.

Ok I know TK Maxx again....did I tell you about my bargains...couldn't resist (oh and I tried soooo hard) these cutesy four plates and large plate.....perfect for those mince pies....scrummy.

and for now my mirror done up in its glory....with another Waterford bauble that has Seasons Greetings on it.

and how could I forget these so funny snowmen....in stages of meltdown....did make me giggle...the message on the melted snowman says..."see you next year".....oh yes the 3 small threes come from Sainsburys.....a great little find.

the home piccies

Afraid my postings got a bit mixed up....below this post...there is one re my darling Mum and where she is at now....but for here...some piccys which I hope you enjoy....hugs me x

The first picture is of the vest/tank sirdar top I have just finished. This one is the afterthought one...the first being on Ravelry....finished it was way to big and made me look frumpy...so a lovely knitty friend suggested that I machine and cut to shape..so boldy going where I have never been before I ventured forth...so glad I did.........looks a lot better...sorry for the cheesey phto thought....meme to me...must let my hair grow a bit.Thought would show you a few piccys of a few of my favourite things....now theres a cue for a song....in my home. First off is a lovely little gas fired stove from Villager Stoves....originally we wanted a woodburner...but the expense would have been far too much...so we settled for this little beauty....throws out nearly 4kw of heat...but never needs to be up so high...keeps the room lovely and toasty just ticking over on low.

The chair is a favourite to sit and read my mags and knitty stuff with a nice coffee and biscuit.

We have just papered one wall of our dining room in this sumptious wallpaper...I love it. We weren't quite sure first of all but the room needed warming up and its certainly done the trick. On the wall is a oh so! beautifully romantic print then my thoughtful DD brought me the porcelain couple on the left to go with it.

Last and not least is my very very favourite...my lovely Rayburn...gorgeous red...oh is there a theme going on here....hehe....anyways my kitchen is Ikea red units with chrome etc.... this afternoon I have been baking a fruit loaf and some roly poly mince pies at the same time a beef casserole has been simmering away in it.

Home pics and other...

Hello...thought I would start with Mum today....ok where we are at now is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????????????????????.....if somebody had told me how uncredibly sad...painful....heartbreaking and all adjectives that I could add....that watching someone in the end stages of altzheimers would be maybe unless I was seeing it for myself I would and could never ever comprehend. The hospital sent my darling Mum home about 16 days ago.....Dad wanted her home I had other thoughts wondering why. I spoke to the hospital and asked about her and her stomach blowing up and said that she would be back in again in a week or so and they said they would deal with that then. So she went home...Dad has been feeding her...albeit very little...and this week her stomach is blown up and hard again....the doctor called and said to Dad "oh we can look at putting a tube in the side of her stomach with a valve to release the gases.....all this intestinal abdominal catastrophes are all part of her aging process and not linked with the dementia. WHAT........why........I asked my Dad how he felt and he said that he lost his wife four years ago...I said to him rather quietly..."don't you feel enough is enough now Dad".....he didn't answer...I could sense him choking up and I quickly changed the subject...this seems to be an unspoken rule of thumb between the two of us now....he brooches questions with me I try to answer then he understandably shys away.

Anyway today wed 19th Nov...I rang him to ask how things were...well he is awaiting the doctor as apart from all the blisters and sores that are breaking out over her body.....a hugh rash is appearing over her torso......I believe her body is now breaking down rapidly now.....he said he hopes the doctors take her back into hospital....honestly what can I say to this charming delightful Father of mine...he knows what is coming...but I believe his heart and hopes go the other way. I know not. He said to me that Mum couldn't even cry if she wanted to...her brain is completely d..d...there I cannot even bring myself to type the full word...so I await a phone call later this day to find out what is happening...he says he prefers to ring me........xxx



Anyway onto tuther things. well I completed by sirdar vest and when finished it was uuurrrggghhh! too big. Apologies I will have to post piccys later...computer seems to be playing up.....will be back in the next couple of days...ttfn x

Oh for goodness sake......

No knitty pics....just a bloggy post re things...anyway I will post about my darling Mum in a bit....so a couple of weeks ago I had my flu jab...well within 24 hours I had very mild flue symptoms....achy/headachy that sort of things....thats fine, never had them before with the jab so oh. Anyway 4 days later, a sort of cold type thingy affected me, nothing really came to a head just that feeling of stuffy and being off for the last9 days...then last night Sunday...flipping eck...thought my head was going to pop my 3am sunday morning...my throat was so constricted...face pain/earpain....a terrible pulsating pain in the roof of my mouth and back of my throat that came in waves....it hurt so much I'm not kidding you afraid to say I blubbed like a baby. Anyway took myself off to the docs this morning, even though hubby wanted me to stay in bed...so doc looks and just sees red mouth and throat...he said that I could have had a virus in my system waiting to emerge and the flu jab let it loose....add to that I have developed a red rash around my mouth...this could be from a change of foundation...anyway doc has prescripted me some cortizone cream....honestly I look like something out of halloween at the moment.

Ok....now to my darling Mum....last Tuesday they wanted to let her out of hospital as they said "medically shes fit"....urgh!!!!!!! are they talking about the correct woman...or has it been my Dad saying he wants her home. Anyway he hasn't been too good himself...so I asked him if he could cope...he said "no"...so I rang the hospital and asked if they could possibly keep her for another 24 hours or so....afraid that met with a rather angst reply....so I asked if she could be kept for another day on a "social basis"....erm no.....ok so I understand that Mum would be bed blocking. Anyway Dad has a wonderful social worker, she is young and so helpful...I rang her up and asked for advice....she managed to get my Mum to be allowed to stay and couldn't understand why they would want to release her anyway. So at the moment my darling Mum has tubes up her nose to help her breathe....they are taking x rays of her chest etc....they are attempting to help her get rid of the gas build up......she has a perpetual temperature...so they have a fan on her....I as yet have only managed to see her one in the last week...because of this cold virus thingy...I was going to go tonight...but then my throat thing happened last night...so the next few days are out....I would love to go and visit my Dad and spend an evening with him ...but he would rather I didn't so as I don't give him anything else, which I can perfectly understand...so lovely people who have sent me their virtual hugs...it really does help....I cannot believe how much...and I thank you sooooo much for your kind words.

Now on the knitty front...well we have to speak of it don't we....Lady E is coming on Ok...even though I am not making it so wide. I have just cast on for some mittens for my darling twin Grandchildred (one boy and girl) they;re a year old now....anyway what with colder weather coming, they will need them. Then for a big big treat for MEEEEEE!!!! squeeeeeee.. I just purchased two skeins of Malabrigo lace weight in the colourway Noviembre....I want to have a go at making a lace shawl...something which has eluded me so far....but....I really don't know which pattern to go for ...any suggestions? so will be off for now thank you for stopping by xxxx

First of all...

Thought would post piccys of current wips......the floral jacket is nearly half done......not enjoying it as much as Ivy League and starting to feel should have done next size up even though all measurements etc are correct....this is top left........then am knitting a no brainer vest top.....in the gorgeous red/autumn colourway...cost £13.....cheap as chips....and of course Ihave had the calling to do another Lady Eleanor...this time in Noro Silk sock yarn...which will be not so heavy to wear.

Ok on the more serious stuff.....well my darling Mum as been taken back into hospital again...after being out for a week.....she has developed a chest infection along with all the other things with the end stage dementia....she is sleeping a lot and being made comfortable and thats all for now.

Hope you enjoy the photos...take care for now.... me x

Hi!

No knitting to show even though I am still working on floral jacket, slowly. So strange that one starts off a wip keen and with interest and then half way through I seem to run out of steam for colourwork. I suppose it is so labour intensive and you have to concentrate so much. For now its on the back burner and I am working on a vest type thingy in sirdar in a beautiful red/brown colour...so simple even no shaping...straight forward stocking stitch. Mind you I am awaiting for some Noro Sil Garden sock yarn to come through from Yarn and Fiber as I fancy making myself another shawl...Lady Eleanor...my first one is lovely but at times a tad too heavy...so looking forward to postie coming. Will post piccys when get round to it ..

life at te mo is a tad busy and a tad sad....a long long time ago in my blog I wrote about my Mum having Altzheimers...anyhow she nows weighs about 4st and evenmore so a total ...well I don't wish or want to use the word but if I say everything apart from her breathing she cannot do I'm sure you will get the picture. Her stomach swells up enormously as she cannot pass her gases, so food ferments inside her....my Father is in total denial regarding her he is 81 and Mum 85...she has just been in hospital...where I thought the angels would come as it is becoming increasingly sad to see her in such a total skeletal state...her potassium levels had dropped way low and I thought they would just make her comfortable...they decided to give her an endoscopy...now if I can explain my Mums body will she is rigit as a board, cannot bend her neck her body is stuck like a zig zag and I thought no way would they do this to her....so they managed to release the gas and her stomach has gone down a tad...albeit she was passing blood and black stuff...(sorry to be so descriptive and I'm sure I am writing this for myself...I find it therapeutic...but then I suppose this is what blogs are for as well).....they sent her home to Dad with bottles of sodium...potassium and heavens know what else for him to give her...basically to try and keep things going....I am starting to well up with tears writing this as I really don't want my darling Mum to leave BUT....when is enough enough....she was in such a deep sleep in hospital that at one time it took me 20 mins to bring her round from it.....now she is home I am having to deal with my Dad...who seems to think his wife will go on forever...and he thought that them releasing her gases would make her poo solid again.....he;s now back to all his everyday washing etc....he has brought all their daily/weekly food and just feeds her and feeds her...mind you that is when he can get her to open her mouth......I know the whole round will start again in a few days when the gases start to build again. I said to my darling hubby about it and he said to me "its obviously not her time yet"....part of me feels that she is waiting for her hubby. The other week he was rushed into hospital with terrible chest pains again (he has 3 stents) and they found that things were OK and he had obviously terrible stress..he came home and had a panic attack...that is something quite frightening to behold...so he is on valium. I cannot and do not even try to talk to him about Mum because of his total denial and when he talks to me I just jolly hom along...what elese can I do...he is and has done such a wonderful job with Mum and I wonder how he is going to be when the time comes....I feel he will go either one way or the other....its so sad when you see your Mum and Dad who have been together 56 years....that their prsonal life chapters of their life books will change.....anyway lovely people who have read this and stayed with it...thank you for stopping by.

Long time again.

Hello......hope all who pass by here are well and that summer has been sunny for you unlike here in the U.K......a total washout...thank goodness me and DH managed to get a week away in Italy...Lake Garda in a resort called Riva, absolutely wonderful we had such a laid back total relaxing week, we sat walked drank ate and totally chilled. Theres one thing that the continent does well and we don't...beautiful laden with flower boxes...wonderful.

Anyway on the knitting front the first piccy is of a lovely jacket that I am currently knitting called Floral Jacket is it the one from the summer issue of Vogue Knitting, being knitted in Rowan Pure Wool....the stranding is shall we say time consuming but very enjoyable...I always look on this type of work as painting with wool. The second piccy which I have just finished knitting in between doing Floral Jacket is called Valour from The Colour Collection in Kaffe Fassetts new yarn called Colourscape...if you want something that knits up really quickly a no brainer will be lovely and warm to wear...then have a look at this book...there are quite a few wearable items...and the yarn is 100% lambswool....the pattern called for 4 skeins and I did the small size and only used 3...another lady on Ravelry has knitted it using 3 so be aware as the price at £10 is not cheap...also have been waiting for ages and ages for my fall issue of Vogue Knitting to come through...as am wanting to do the Druid Mittens and a couple of other knits in there....must be patient. Anyway thats all for now...be back as and when. x

Raw fleece aaaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!

So thought would dive into the start with the raw fleece side of spinning...OK!! so sent off for a fleece from our wool marketing board, a blue faced leicester, it came opened the box...what a bleeping!!!! mess they'd sent me nothing was useable, so it was binned. Then tried a jacob fleece, unfortunately this fleece was soooo coarse, the only best thing for the fleece was to stuff pillows....and then I found a lovely lady in Wales who keeps her own 200 flock for her and other spinners fibre needs. I received a beautiful cross bred fleece a bit of shetland/icelandic and something else....couldn't wear the yarn next to skin but great for a jacket...anyway am in the middle of spinning this up bulky weight. so piccys of progress so far