Planning and playing

I was tutor in our sign group this week, Shelia is giving us all a turn at a leading the group, I decided to have a visit to the zoo and practice animals signs, I purchased a pack of  cards, I only used a few, each person picked two cards and signed them to everyone. After I gave them the fingerspelling sheet, again everyone was able to complete it. It was fun once I had decided what subject to use, I used the BSL site for the fingerspelling signs, I would not want to have to decide every week how to spend our time.

Wednesday morning we spent time at the Portsmouth Downs Syndrome association party, they hold every year to celebrate our wonderful children. This local branch is a magnificent support group for the whole family, lots of happy people mixing and having fun, there was even a tiny one week old baby there. We are so lucky they are so good at what they do, supporting our children through out their growing lives, George has extra schooling sessions to help prepare him for school next year.  

I really should not have purchased more yarn, this is Aran, I got enough to make another long cardi, I just love the colour, I have already started on the back. 

I have finished the back using this fleck yarn, it does knit up well, the pattern is easy to remember, so it grew quickly. Instead of starting a front, I used my new yarn, as I am using different yarn than the pattern suggest, I would like to make this first, so I can ensure I have enough yarn, the brown fleck I have had for years and have more than is required by the pattern. The pattern is easier to see on the purple, and I am ensuring I don't make any mistakes this time, I hope to finish the back over the weekend.

Blogger is giving me old unpublished unseen comments, I've had a few in the past couple of days, I always check my spam file as I often find a comment in there. I really don't know what is happening. I can still only comment anonymously on my phone, but I'm OK using my desktop.

We both had dental appointments on Thursday morning, both had a bit of work, not cheap but necessary. I popped into Wilkson's and got four packs of summer bulbs for my raised bed, I am hoping once planted they will help fill the space, I will get a few nemesia plants, which I adore, and hope I won't need anything more in that bed. 

Friday we got our new made blinds, hubby popped out, I stayed at home as we were due a postal delivery which we did not want to miss, we had a lazy day at home. Hubby is planning the decoration of our spare bedroom, it should not be too hard work other than replacing the small radiator with a bigger model. 

Today we had planned a walk in the woods, George and his nursery are again fundraising, we did the walk last year, George was then using his walker, now he runs everywhere, again it's for Portsmouth Down Syndrome Ass. Another grandchild growing up quickly, hubby will walk with us, as grandma is away. Molly has spots, which daughter thinks might be chickenpox, so I will find out soon what is happening today, I have suggested I stay home with Molly, I think daughter will take in the weather conditions. 

Festive time

 Monday we went to a Christmas party for George at Portsmouth Downs Syndrome charity, it was on Portsmouth pier, so whilst it was wet and windy outside we had loads of fun, Molly was all smiles at Santa, but George was unsure, it's his 1st time of meeting him. 

Tuesday it was our Christmas lunch for sign class, not only does Shelia give her time to teach us, she also made a lovely lunch, it was fun but sadly our last get together this year. We had 3 new songs to perform, 2 practiced with Shelia and the red red robin, we practiced as a surprise for her. 

I slept over at daughters on last night, just to keep her company whilst her hubby was working away from home, he is in Saudi Arabia for another week, he works for F1 IT team, his dream job. The carol concert at Will's school was postponed until Friday as it was being held outside and the weather was very wet. 

Daughter is able to collect Wills Christmas bike and hide it whilst he is at school, George is at nursery and I get to play with Molly, later we are popping out to her local village to have lunch. 

There has been some local flooding, the storm came the same time as high tide, nothing too bad and we were not affected. 

We had a new ariel fitted this week, before we had a dish and was having issues with the sound on the TV, totally our error, we did not check to see if the new TV was compatible with our dish. Now it's all sorted, hubby will sell the 2nd hand freesat box and dish, which will help towards the cost. We now have lost the facility to record programs, but we are using Iplayer and other online places. 

We posted all our cards which have further to go, but I still have to write family cards, I've dropped behind a bit, I will try and get them done by Thursday. I have finished the first side of the dice, I have done 6 red dots, next I will do 5 green dots, that will make me half way through. I am planning 2 days next week to finish Luna and her brother Alba, it's a case of sort their limbs and the final sewing together. 

I am tired all the time at the moment, I am sleeping well, but every day really quickly after I get up, I start to feel over come with tiredness, most afternoons I need to sit in my chair, I use the time to craft, I've never felt quite like this, it's new to me, I am hoping it's just the darker days and soon I will start to gain more strength. 

Harvest due

I purchased this fruit cage this spring, as we now feed so many little birds, I felt my berries needed protection, it works well and does not look out of place so near our seating area. I have not covered my raspberries, so I am sharing them with the birds. 

Both my blueberries and blackcurrants are beginning to ripen, I have started picking some, we won't have enough to freeze or make into jam, but from now on we will have a supply of fruit fresh each day. I do have a pot with 3 strawberry plants, new this year, so only a small crop. 

Inside my greenhouse, I have 2 cucumber plants sharing a pot, I have cut loads of flowers from the bottom, they never grow big or straight, so I prefer to remove them and wait a bit longer. This year I will keep on top of trimming these plants to stop them getting huge, I only require 2 cucumbers per week, so I won't grow as many as last year. The tomato plant in front was grown from a seed from a shop purchased tomato, I want to see if I grow them at home are they more tasty. 

In front of the greenhouse  are 2 tomato plants, both these will produce small tomatoes, both plants have green fruit on them, I have placed my plants here in pots for many years, always getting good results. 

Not a harvest, but flowers from seeds purchased in Spain for me by a friend, these are beautiful, but only flower if kept in my greenhouse, it's nice to have space for flowers. I have loads of soft wood cuttings here, most look good and I am hoping to have loads of new plants.

The raspberries are being picked every couple of days, this is the 1st year we get to eat them, in the past few years different grandsons have helped picked and ate most of the crop.  I have blackberries as well in the garden, but they fruit late summer, my gooseberry busy I dug out, it was not producing, I have decided I will purchase another plant and hope to get a rhubarb growing in a huge pot. 

I have salad leaves, rocket, coriander and parsley growing in pots, some in the greenhouse and some in the herb bed, so salads should be lovely and fresh. I do also have spring onions to sow, a few each week, to spread out the crop. 

I always say my garden space it small, but I have through the 11 years we have been here, worked out ways to make the best use of the plot, fruit is always a great harvest, the plants tend to grow upwards, which means I can grow more. 

I've had a busy few days, our Zoom Makaton course worked well, just 6 students, so much smaller class, but 9am start at the weekend was a bit early for me, so we had earlier bed times. With Makaton each sign has a sketch, so we have 2 things to learn for each word, for now we will use simple signs for both boys (George and Will), I have plenty to practice and show hubby, so he can use sign as well. 

Saturday we had our 1st takeaway for months, hubby asked on our local Facebook page, which was the best Chinese, we went with the most popular, which we had not used for years and had a great meal, loads leftover for Sunday, not too expensive so we will do it again, with a good bottle of red wine between us. 

Sunday hubby took the outside table to bits to start sanding it, he also made rock cakes for this week's treat. We managed a walk and stayed dry, it was sunny no rain all day, but we also had loads of dark clouds which threatened rain. I spent afternoon outside, nothing much to do, loads of time in greenhouse checking on my cuttings and watering. I have finished the socks, I'm really pleased with them, photo next time, I have done loads to my blanket, but I'm itching to start knitting, but yet I've not had a reply to the yarn shortage. 

It's a sunny start here, lazy day planned after a busy weekend. 

Keeping busy

I can taste the finish on this blanket, it helps most evenings feel much cooler, so having this on my lap gives me pleasure in more ways than one. It is now the length I require, so each row is one square shorter, so it's getting quicker to do each colour.

The top is my start line, this will be a my lap end, the section I am working on will be the bottom, I wanted the colours to match on both ends. I am going to edge this blanket, something I have never done, so a session on you-tube is needed to ensure I get it right, I have a different shade for the edging. 

Joy my yarn came, much quicker than I expected, this is for the summer top shown here, then disappointment as I ordered 4 balls of this yarn and only 3 were in the parcel, I have emailed the company, but their automated reply was bear with us, we are extra busy and down on staff, but we will get to you. So I can't start my knitting because at this moment I don't have enough yarn. 

But don't you love the shades, it looks and feels like summer, and  it's a bit thicker than my Spanish cotton, this is 100% cotton. I do have some fabric which would match this, I've had it for years, purchased on a trip to The Gambia for youngest daughter, she just never used it, it's a lightweight pure cotton. 

I'm doing a zoom course this weekend both mornings, with a 9am start, there is no chance we will be able to do the 2nd part of this course any other way, should be interesting. I have been reading through level one again, in places it's hard, some signs are different from the BSL I have already learnt.

I have been reading, this series I have read books 1, 2 and 3 I'm reading book 4, all with the same DI, these are lighter crime thrillers and an easy read, hubby put this set on my kindle. Once finished this book it will take my reading to 41 books this year. 

Whilst on a walk earlier this week we saw loads of boxes of books outside homes, I choose the top 3 books, 2 new authors for me and another book by Karen Rose, so plenty of reading to be done.

Thank you to everyone for you kind comments from my last post, I am extremely pleased with my weight loss, hubby has helped, he has been eating the same foods as me, so no preparing 2 different meals, and he has lost weight as well, it has also helped the weather was so hot, salads are easier to eat in the heat, we have salads most days for lunch. 

I have done nothing in the garden, nothing needs doing, we are both pleased with the views from our windows, we are eating raspberries and a few strawberries from our garden, I have purchase UK grown strawberries as I now consider them to be in season, and they taste wonderful, we both love eating seasonally, having a break from foods makes them taste much better when they come back into season, we can't do it with all foods, but we do it as often as we can. I finished making mask and packed the sewing machine away, and I've changed buttons on hubby's new blazer. Hubby is sanding the last chair from the outside dining set, he still has the table to do, in each case he takes the item to bits, sands and stains before putting it back together, he is a bit of a perfectionist, which I don't mind. After the rainstorms yesterday all our water butts are full again, and the garden has had a good soak, it's sunny now but more rain is expected.

We sorted some kitchen cupboards, doing so much baking has shown us what we use and what is just stored, youngest daughter took a few items home with her, we have a few more items, and with some books I have we will put a box outside this weekend, see how much can be passed on. 

We saw daughter, Will and George, on Wednesday, it was chilly, and George was on the sitting room floor with doors open, he is moving, always on his tummy and very interested in everything around him, Will was so good, he was allowed in to get his cars and doctors kit out. I was at one point showing him the robin on the bird feeders and I put my hand on his back, only to be told, 'don't touch, you have germs', bless him. 

Sunny day outside

Amaryllis time again

 Unexpected flowers on this African violet,
lives on my kitchen window sill

 Still loads of colour in the garden 

 Greenhouse cacti and succulents 

 Carnivorous plants loving the sunshine
these work well in the greenhouse.

 Almost done with the leaves

These photo's were taken on Monday, before the rains came, I spent an hour outside enjoying the sunshine. I am pleased to see so much colour in the garden, my geraniums planted in the back bed has flowered for months, the bright pink is an extra bonus to see each day.  I have a few extra pots on the decking, filled with my birthday bulbs, once these  have flowered in the spring I will add them to my side garden, I would rather grow them this way than try and plant into hard ground in November.
An hour in the greenhouse, where it's really warm, I have not added any coverings to plants as I want them to have as much sunshine as possible, and this is the sunniest spot in my garden.
The bird feeders are now the busiest part of our garden, we both love to watch the different birds who visit to feed. We have managed to keep the huge wood pigeons away, they can clear a feeder very quickly, we do throw seed onto the garage roof for them. We regularly see two squirrels at their nut feeder, they too stay away from the bird feeders, so a happy balance. Hubby has put bait boxes back down in the back corner, not sure what is coming into our garden, but our cat Purdy is down that end watching all the time, a sure sign something is coming into our garden. 
Daughter did not have time to pop in for making Santa on Tuesday, so we have agreed to make them on Friday. Sign class was good, we are doing our own version of a Christmas nativity, it is helping us put together longer sentences, each one has a twist in which is funny, plus we are going to wear costumes and be videoed.

Harvest

Greenhouse harvest

 Fruit

 Cut flower garden

 Finished whilst away, sent to me by Linda 

 Next read

We got home at lunch time on Monday, so after unpacking the van, I got all the towels and quilt covers in the wash and on the line, we always tidy the van before we drive home, and once home I sort again, removing anything which won't keep. Tomorrow all the bedding and towels will be packed back in, so other than food and clothes it's ready to go, we hope to be away in July for at least one weekend.
It was also pleasing to have a harvest ready, we had salad for tea, and loads of fruit and ice cream, there  were many more berries, but I just picked enough for our tea. I think I am going to make a summer pudding this week. I love being able to cut flowers from my raised bed.
Tuesday, we had our afternoon tea with our sign group, one lady Gwen left the group last month as she moved away from the area, she surprised everyone by attending the tea, which made the afternoon a huge success. We sat looking over the local marina at huge posh boats, the tea was wonderful. As for my results, I came 3rd out of 7, which was very pleasing, I got a certificate and a small cup.

Finished

Long strap shoulder bag,

change of plan this is for a friend who asked for one of my bags. I will purchase more fabric for DIL

 Another shoulder strap bag, 

this one for daughter who is cat mad,

made from two expensive tea towels

 Reversible child's bag, for a little boy

 I love the animal print 

 Bag made from flags from the royal wedding

 I love the back

 Close up of the front,

this is a much bigger bag, the design on the front decided the size. The material with their photo on was not woven as dense as I normally use for bags, so I lined this bag fully with white cotton material, this will give it an extra strength, plus I could put a pocket inside. This is for my sign tutor, she loved my home made bags and asked me to make her this one. 

I had already cut these bags out, so they took less than an afternoon to make, I am really quite quick at sewing them, BUT, I have no plans to make any more for a while, unless I get a request. I have in my craft room a bag for everything, sewing , knitting, Crochet, even a bag with my sign class books in.
I would love to sew other things, I have made my own clothes before, but I have a wardrobe full of clothes and really should not make anything new for a while.
I hope to use my sewing machine for Christmas gifts this year, as I do enjoy any time at my machine. What are you sewing?
Thank you for your wishes for my sign exam, it was not too bad, some things I did not know, but I joined the class later than the other ladies. We get our results next Tuesday, when we meet for afternoon tea.
Wednesday I caught the bus into town, met daughter and Will at 10am, we went for a coffee together, Will has his swimming lesson at 9.30, which he loves and is always hungry after. We then met an old work friend of mine, a quick chat, daughter took Will home for a nap and I spend a lovely 4 hours with Ann, we had lunch together, and a wonder around town, I spent nothing, not a bean, there was nothing I required, we popped into a couple clothes shop, looked at the sale rail but I passed on everything.  Both Ann and daughter loved their new shopping bags, another wonderful day.

Cute photo post

Will not forgetting his Somerset roots.

At a local garden center play area

Just like Grancha's

My roses are still looking good

 Perfectly formed flowers

Saturday was fun with Will, he is completely happy to be with us, and spent most of the day following hubby, he loves sitting on the big motorbike. We took him to our local park to play and meet loads of dogs, it's important to ensure he is not afraid of dogs.
Sunday we popped to Argos, not a shop we use often, but I got a replacement phone as I dropped mine into water and it was sent of for repair or replacement. We walked to our local pub for a late lunch, which was really good. The pub has changed hands many times in recent year, and it's now has owners who understand good food. The pub is very close to Porchester castle, so after lunch we walked through the grounds, which were fill of families having loads of fun, we walked home the slightly longer route along the shore line, tide was out so we passed loads of walkers.
Monday I had Will for the day, we popped to the park, and he walked home, after his nap, we played outside most of the afternoon. Will loves the garden and walks around it pointing at any flowers. He also loves our wind chimes and gong, which hang from our tree.
Tuesday is sign class in the morning, we enjoyed a lovely lunch together, the group very social, we again had conversation time without words, then afternoon relaxing in our sunny garden.
This morning I am happy, I am still losing weight, enough to hopefully hit my target at the end of the month, I am wearing clothes I could not wear last year, looking into my wardrobe is better than going shopping, I am wearing favorites again.

Peter Rabbit...add to stash

The Art of not Breathing, started slowly but finished as a good read.

It was the 1st from my new reading club.

I will now start The Food of Love, passed to me from Jo

 Fat quarters from Dunelm, £7.00 for five

 All Peter Rabbit themed

I was going to make loads of little bags, my daughter Su suggested her friends would love them, especially as Peter Rabbit is opening in the cinema's. But I think I would prefer to do some patchwork, 8 of the 10 fat quarters are proper Peter Rabbit fabrics, the other 2 match in well. As yet it's all in my head, I won't be doing much sewing as we are working on our shower room for the next 4 days.
It's been a busy week, on Monday daughter Su with Will took me out for the day, we had a lovely long walk, a great lunch together, and then back to her house for play time. I enjoyed not going to town, like us, she has a local small high street, her's has different shops. I do like to support local shops, if we don't use them they will go.
Tuesday was sign language classes, firstly my new bag was great, everything together, I have great comments regarding the colour scheme, and also the fact I made it. We stayed longer this week almost 3 hours, after our class we chat and have lunch together, it was my turn so I made another quiche. In our class for the first time we are building sentences, we each are given a card with a word on, and we have to put together a sentence and sign to the group.
Yesterday, I had an early dentist check up, I have to go back as a filling has cracked, it was not a surprise. After I walked to a local swim center where Will has his swimming class, just 30 minutes, I was pleased to see how much more he is doing, I last saw him in the water last September. The tutor is working to have them happy when under water, they were walking off large floats into the water, Will loved it. Later I walked to our local market, I did not require anything, but it was nice to be outside.
Most days I am in my greenhouse, I have loads of tiny seedlings, each tray has it's own clear cover, this keeps the soil warm, I spray them each morning, I don't water later as I worry the night temperature will make the trays too cool. Nothing is required in the garden, which is pleasing, our garden looks good, which does not cure to itch inside me to do things. Oh well it will soon be warmer and then I will be full on with bedding plants.
The beast from the East is due again, just as we get used to the warm days, we have a yellow warning for snow on Sunday, as I have said before March is a bitch of a month.

Silence

This is from the reading club, as yet I have not started, I am a fast reader, so I will wait until later before opening it, I can finish a book in two days, and will read 2 or 3 books a week. So I will wait a while, so I finish this at the same time as other readers. 

Jo from Through the Keyhole, has had a book giveaway, which I have won, The food of Love by Amanda Prowse is completely new to me, but recommended by Jo. 

These are now a huge part of my life

I am really enjoying sign language, I use the BSL site most days, the pictures are simple and easy to follow, I have picked up extra words from this site. Sign language is different around the world, I am learning British Sign Language.
8 ladies meet every Tuesday late morning, we have an hour of instruction, then we chat and have lunch together. Shelia giving the instructions is not a tutor, she is deaf, but since she had her Cochlea implant she is now able to hear again, these meetings started as fun, with ladies some with hearing difficulties and other like me, just wanting to learn. We all have different ability levels, but it's fun, I look forward to going every week.
This week Shelia has changed the words from 12 days of Christmas, to 12 days of Easter, we had our first run this morning, I have never seen so many wiggly fingers, but it was great fun.  I feel I am learning loads of new things.
Plus I think at my age it's good to use my brain to learn something new, as my mum always said, 'use it, don't lose it'.

Each week I have loads of things to take, a A4 folder for handouts, my note book, Dictionary, glasses, tea bags (because I'm fussy), plus phone and purse. I always use my home made green bag, I love this bag and use it most times I pop to the shops. So often my stuff for class is left on the side, I also fumble around in the bottom of the bag for smaller items, so this week I am going to make a bag just for these items, with loads of pockets, I will look at my collection of tea towels from my stash. I have a picture in my mind too what I want, but as always it will evolve.
If it all works out I will post on it later in the week. I'm off now to check my stash, I might be gone for a while.

Brr!!

No snow here, but at 9.15am still just below freezing

 We have a lovely blue sky, but it's so cold

Typical winter day, we often miss all the snow, it does not take much to bring us to a stand still so we are happy to be snow free. It is really nice not to be out early in the mornings, my plan is a day at home. 

 I have two flowers forming

 This is finished, it was never going to be huge. 

 I love all the neat patterns, the colours remind me of heather's. 

 The final row is navy, I have stitched in all the navy ends for the colour change, the random I did not cut, it only had one level so I could keep it neat. 

 Will's blanket is giving me loads of ends, 

I use a hook and thread them along my work. 

I popped to my greenhouse and covered some of my tender plants last night, I do not heat in there, but it is in the most sunny spot in the garden, everything looked good when I checked this morning.
Sign language class was good yesterday, I was pleased I had already learnt the alphabet, numbers and a few greetings, we covered colours, some I already knew, we had to list a colour, add an object and two descriptive words, RED-CAR-YOURS/MINE, plus we had to add facial expressions, after class we shared lunch, there are seven ladies in the class and we take in turns proving the lunch. I am looking forward to going back next week, my friend Chris and I will get together to practice later this week.
I sat and finished my blanket last night, Grace my cat sits on my lap, so I was jiggling the blanket to keep it away from her, she does not attack my wool, so whilst a bit slower is was good, both the cat and the blanket kept me warm. 
I'm off got my kitchen cabinet tops to clean, not a great job, but once it is done I can relax and do some fun things.