Waiting

I do hope everyone had a lovely time over Christmas, thank you so much for your lovely comments, I confess I have not been on blogland and have only just seen them, so I apologise for not replying.

We did our best over Christmas, and we all tried very hard to push away the black cloud hanging over us. Just before Christmas Rebecca had the results of the PET scan and it was devastating news - we were told they had found a 'mass' in her groin of 3cm.  The floor opened up and we just sat there dumbstruck, talk about daja vu, almost to the day two years ago.

Stunned as we were, we took in the information given but being 'most unusual' and 'we are surprised too' didn't really help.  Rebecca has to go for a biopsy on the 2nd Jan, we then have to wait at least a week before we get those results.  The waiting is the worst, you can deal with the process as your mind has something positive to grasp, but the waiting allows unwanted thoughts and what ifs to penetrate.  Rebecca has been so brave, pushing everything away on the surface but like ducks, paddling like fury under the water. Poor love has even opted out from various invitations as she didn't want to put on a face, quite unerstandable

So I think we shall postpone new year for a bit and approach each day as it comes, putting into place lots of positivity, inner healing, good  thoughts and vibes and giving all the love and support to each other as we wait.

I do have a few photos that need processing, probably completely out of sync with timing but hey never mind, be back soon to share.
Take care xx

Happy Christmas

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas, have a great day and enjoy the festivities
Take care

Pottering

Can't seem to catch the days as they are flying by......
The first Sunday in December is the Christmas church service in the little chapel in our plaza, unfortunately it poured with rain so the traditional refreshments afterwards of thick sweet hot chocolate and cake were served in the old school house.  It was certainly well attended though and we were presented with this beautiful plant afterwards, so bright and cheerful

Have been pottering about in the craft room though.....been knitting hubby a special wrist/hand warmer to help his hand and also some little thumb covers, I adapted the pattern from making the arms of a rabbit, sounds daft, but worked well

A suffolk puff decoration to match the stars and a little wreath made from the inner circle of a used reel of tape, padded and wrapped with a fluffy white wool, ribbon roses and beads glued onto garden foliage finished it off.

Printed out some fun labels,(sorry can't remember where to link it) quite back to basics sitting gently colouring in and sprinkling glitter

Did make more but have already used them for the UK parcels

 As hubby is able to drive a little further now he took me into Calpe to visit one of the home decor shops Casa, hoping to catch some of their Christmas goodies, some of which makes me think I could make something similar for a fraction of the cost, but it's fun browsing.  In previous years I have visited mid December only to find the Christmas stock replaced by Spring......
I spied a bag with approx 250 tiny soft white balls for 1 euro, couldn't pass those up so a couple of bags dropped into my basket.........a few beads to make a little wreath then I couldn't resist making two tiny snowmen.....................

Add caption

 Its difficult to see in the picture, but I threaded some onto silver thread, some on fluffy wool and the last one with red and green beads between, they are very light so can go on the tree etc without bending things out of shape........

Tuesday saw us in Benidorm again, DD was having her PET TAC scan, this time it was 2 lots of yukky liquid to swallow plus the usual injected dye, she then had to sit alone and wait for over an hour before the scans.  They also wanted 2 scans, but at least let her out in between to have something to break the 6 hour fast.
it was very emotional as it is two years ago this month that this journey began and the trepidation of waiting now until we get the results is going to seem like an age.  They gave her the usual speal of do not go near children, pregnant ladies etc, so she queried about her new kittens she has just adopted and was told not to go nearer than a metre of them for 24 hours!

Sun's out so we are taking lunch up to the naya (it was 22 c in there yesterday) so warm up and chill out?? oh you know what I mean!!
take care






 

Playing catch up

Since my last post, (yes I know it was ages ago) we have gone from cold, back to 27C and now back to cold with a vengence. Log fire is lit every morning and the fleeces have appeared, even the furries have changed their habits, being more inclined to be in with us rather than outside.  Last night we even had all 8 of them joining us, most unusual.  They tend to want to bag the best position, their favourite chair or in front of the fire, they might have a little scrap at times, but mostly they get on very well, and we don't take on board the glares when we turf them off our sofa.

The fibro flare up well and truly kicked me, probably not surprising given the recent events so i haven't got alot to show.  I did make a special pair of wrist/hand warmers for hubby as his hand, although gradually improving, was suffering greatly with heat loss, I also made some little thumb warmers just to keep that warm too. I think the physio was quite amused.

I also made another star decoration

oh dear side ways again 

I have had this nifty little gadget for making tassels for years now, called a tassellette, it comes in 3 different sizes and takes the pain out of making tassels 

made from sturdy plastic it is so easy to control the fibres, ends and finishing touches

Amanda asked for help and support for the spanish strays  couldn't ignore that so I put together a small parcel of goodies that I hope will help towards raising funds at the craft fair being organised.  As I havent posted for while this is a bit old news, (sorry) anyway a good cause and the parcel has been sent

a little selection for our furry friends 

I made an executive decision to continue using the home deliery service from Mercadona, acknowledging that I was being kind to myself under difficult circumstances and, having a Loreal moment (I'm worth it). will continue to do so for the foreseeable, why not indeed?  I did ring head office and complimented the very first delivery man and hoped they would pass it on, so often people don't.  Well we saw him again this week and he was so chuffed, apparently head office had sent an email to local branch with the message, he said they get complaints but never compliments. Isn't that sad not to acknowledge when someone goes that extra mile.

Right got some WIP's to sort out and dinner to cook, it's all go..........

take care

 

Autumnal

Brrrr its really chilly, the temperature has suddenly dropped about 12 degrees down to 15 and we have had some rain, which we really needed.

The shooting season has begun which does get a little annoying early on a weekend morning when the guns start off, they always sound so close and we do worry about the furries - just in case it was mistaken identity.  At the farm in Devon, I would regularly find brace of pheasants hanging across my washing line gifted from the local shoot, sometimes the local hunt would bring round venison too. I never got involved in the politics of the hunt but when I first bought the farm I was approached  for my views, what a tricky question for a newby on the block, suffice to say I declined to comment saying everyone was entitled to their opinion but no you are not doing it on my land, something they did respect thankfully. Mind you many a time the back door was opened by a very large stranded hound and a very grumpy Master of the hounds having to come and collect it.

We are seeing the signs of the wild boar roaming up here again and poor DD had a run in with one as it darted out in front of her car on a country lane, the impact was enough to set the automatic hazards off but not the airbags thank goodness.  Again luckily for her she managed to break and although they hit, the boar ran away with no obvious sign of  injury and apart from another shake up, she was not hurt either.They are such big brutes.  Must say that I did pass the comment that 2 incidents in as many weeks in the car was 2 too many, no more thank you!!

Finally got round to taking some photos of various bits n bobs I have been pottering at in the last couple of weeks

another scarf for the pressie box

This time I decided to only cast on 7 stitches instead of 9, it didn't seem to make any difference really to the width but of course much longer, so a little more versatile.  

I found some little cross stitch card kits tucked away, must have had them since the late 90's when my parents retired from their craft shop. Just right with very little thinking involved

Some more wrist warmers, for me this time, I was lucky enough to buy a very good winter coat when we visited the UK in June, half price to boot, these will go very nicely with it.

Finally, a little more knitting, all the components are done now, just need sewing up, but what will it be?

take care

Still here.....

.....just haven't been in the mood to blog, or do much crafting come to that!
Hubby is having physio now and has been told to use it or lose it, he actually managed to hold a glass in his hand (empty) and lift it an inch off the table......progress

I had one of those phone calls that everyone dreads.....Hi, everything is ok BUT.........Poor DD has been in the wars again, she accelerated away from a roundabout, when the car in front suddenly breaked, she had safe stopping distance and breaked too, unfortunately the person behind didn't and rammed into the back of her.  Thank god no one was hurt and that she was in her boyfriend's car which had a very meaty bumper/boot, the other cars front was stoved in, also the police had a road block on the other carriageway so we already on the scene.  Something she just didn't need.

With hubby not being able to drive, I have signed up with the local supermarket for home delivery.  I used to use Tesco and Sainsburys in the UK, living in a remote hamlet in Devon it was ideal, it worked really well when we were busy with guests and unable to take the time out to shop. Anyway I thought I would give it a go here and I must say I have been really impressed.  Everything has arrived in good order, with long sell by dates and the fresh veg have been in excellent condition, the delivery man even carried the packs of water across the courtyard to the casita where I was storing them. The website has an english version and apart from the garlic which is normally bought in a net in the shop, so I ordered 1, yep, you guessed I got 1 garlic bulb for 22c, everything else has been spot on. 
As I am in the middle of a nasty flare up of the fibro, I have decided that the 7 euros delivery charge is so reasonable, probably cost as much in fuel going down the mountain, that I shall continue to order in this way and save myself wear and tear, time to be kind to me.

Today is DS's birthday, I really cannot believe he is 33.  He and his wife have travelled to London to see a show and stay overnight.  Apparently they get a coach ticket for 5 pounds each way, an absolutely brilliant deal from Devon to London. 

Weekend again, enjoy however you spend it
take care

Butterflies and pressies

Life remains challenging but then again it would probably be boring if it wasn't!?

Whilst hubby has been mainly sleeping during the day I decided to have a little play, I selected some pretty butterflies and asked hubby to resize and sharpen them, he does it in minutes in publisher and it would take me ages.

a little glitter

They are sitting in a little holder ideal for pressies, pattern from Lynette Anderson

adds a different dimension to a plant

 I will print out some more and plan to use them to decorate presents just to add a little something

The online yarn store I use recently had a 30% sale, so I selected different balls to make some more of these

another chrstmas pressie, would match the wrist warmers I made previously

Still on the christmas theme, a nice hanging decoration

sorry couldn't find a way to turn it round

 Then I moved on to some lavender sachets along with another couple of dish cloth/pot holders.

My mind wouldn't stretch to anything complicated so I feel pleased to have finished several albeit simple things

Finally, leave anything open, a drawer, box or in this case a guitar case and you will find a cat curled up in it

Willa

DD is visiting today, so I am looking forward to lots of catching up

take care 

Good news

Yesterday was check up day for hubby, he was so tense with anticipation.  One of our friends kindly drove us over to Denia, we arrived 15 minutes early, hubby was called within 5 minutes and was checked over, dressings changed and replastered in 20 minutes. Wow never seen anything so fast, so we were home just after 2 hours from leaving, including the travelling time of 40 mins each way. Fingers crossed is happens each time we have to go.

The good news is that he only cut half way through the tendon so the surgeon was able to reconstruct it and says that he will be able to play again.  Hubby commented that his hand looked like something out of a frankenstein movie which the medical team thought was amusing.  They just said he should have seen the inside.......err no........

Three weeks of plaster casts then probably physio, the antibiotics are making him feel yukky, as they do and I think the trauma of it all is catching up with both of us. Amazing that a wek has passed already.  Hubby wears a magnetic wrist band and we realised that this was the only think that saved his wrist, the consequences doesn't bear thinking about.

Had the carpenter out to measure up for a complete revamp of the entrance doors, complete with safety glass!! something about horses bolting springs to mind........

take care

Drama

Amazing how fast an innocent pleasurable evening spent singing and hubby playing the guitar can turn into a nightmare. Sounds a bit dramatic, but let me tell you that is certainly what it was.

It was about 10.15pm and hubby stepped out into the inner courtyard for a breath of cool air, on his return his shoe caught in the grooves of the floor tiles and he went flying.... putting his left hand out to steady himself he went straight through the glass of the front door, unfortunately the inside shutter was not fixed, otherwise it would have saved him.  How he managed to retract his arm without further damage I shall never know, as it was things were beginning to look like a war zone.

After contacting 112 (emergency servcies) i ran down into the plaza to try to find any neighbours, no reply anywhere, eventually one came up, I must have given them a rude awakening, the ambulance had still not arrived (it took an hour) so we bundled into Beno's car and luckily met the ambulance half way down the mountain where we transferred.

Emergency bandaged hubby up and he was admitted by about 3.30am then it was a waiting game for the doctor, who eventually arrived about 10am, in the meantime however poor hubby had to endure the nursing staff removing the sodden bandages, pouring oxigenated water and iodine over everything, awful feeling helpless with only comfort to offer, a bit daja vous as with DD.  

He was taken to the operating theatre at 12, about time, as the bandages were sodden again, he didn't return till 2.30pm, the operation had taken over 2 hours with the doctor exclaiming  'mucho, mucho, mucho sutures'  The artery, nerves, tendons were all repaired completely encased with bandages and then a plaster cast was applied, making sure there was no movement.

Hubby's home now, rather wobbly and certainly not looking forward to what comes next.  Going to be rather a long time before he will be playing again, just hope he doesn't get too frustrated coping with one arm.  DD has been brilliant in running me/us around, and unless I can get my head around driving again, which I haven't done for years with the fibro, she has offered to do 'taxi' services whenever. 

Due to our health care plan we are visiting totally different hospital/clinics, adds to the fun of trying to find our way around.  If it's not one thing it seems to be another.  Don't want to play this game anymore.....:-(

take care

Little knits

Last week the storms came, not too bad really and at least the garden is happy and everything got a wash, power only tripped but no outage. Even had to find a cardi!  Back to 27C and sunny again.

Friday saw DD and I making the trip to Denia hospital where it was the beginning of the 3 monthly checks, except its now 4 months but hey it was August....... we were very surprised to see the Doctor that we saw every week in Valencia, he in turn was so pleased to see the progress DD has made since he last saw her, DD found it comforting that there was continuity as he had even been on the team for the ICU scare... he is also a bit of a dish!!!!!........now we have PET scans in Benidorm, vascular consults then back for final reports in October, it's the waiting that winds us up.

Knitted a couple more pairs of wrist warmers, one was using cable...... getting adventurous.

 .

Little bunny was a bit cold in just his jacket, so he is now sporting a nice pair of dungarees

But then again he might be a she, being a tom boy, so for a party girl she must have a dress

ends to sew in and buttons on the straps

Saw this through the landing window yesterday morning, the sun was a huge red circle throwing pink hues across the valley.

Photo doesn't quite do it justice.

Off to play with cable bracelets and kitchener stitch............

take care

Mixed bag

Our internet is still pretending to be a yo yo, so we are having to be patient??!!...........

We really enjoy the cold Spanish soup gazpacho, very refreshing and ideal during the hot days when you really don't want anything to eat, so hubby decided to have a play

He took the basic ingredients, plus olive oil etc, a few tweaks and produced this

It was lovely, but it changes each time he makes it, now he is blending twice and sieving it to give a nice smooth texture, such a good way of using the plentiful veg around at the moment

Our vine has loads of white grapes on it this year, just need a little rain to help them swell, then it will be a race to beat the wasps......

half of the vine

 These are the first pickings of the almonds, we have a young tree in the driveway so they were easy to pick rather than putting the nets down and bashing the nuts, even though some of them were small, the kernals were quite large, plump and on sampling yummy.  We have around 16 almond trees, wonder what the yield will be this year

 Some more refurbishments - the watering can was in a sorry state with it's spout broken , after a quick solder and a lick of paint, good as new, the  little wheelbarrows came up nice too

Puff (the dragon) with his buzy lizzies

 

 

 

Needed a little over the shoulder bag for just those few essentials, really wanted this for the fiesta but guess I was a little late lol, came up quite nice using bamboo and cotton yarn

Saw this cute little rabbit pattern complete with its own wardrboe of clothes, just had to have a play to see how it came out

pattern from www.bysmallmeans.com

Isn't it cute, dungrees, a little dress and hat as well.

We are expecting storms for the next few days so time perhaps to play further.

Of to batten down the hatches

take care

.

Refurbishing

 Been busy refurbishing - removed and painted all the door furniture, bolts etc including the gates to the courtyard, the fierce sun soon discolours them, now they are all bright and shiny again. Gloss painted the interior sides of the front doors and their shutters and hubby did the outside of them, so much nicer again.  You can only do these jobs in the morning as it's so hot that the paint dries on the brush

Whilst I had the painting bug I revamped these sorry looking wooden flower decorations

before

after, ready to use

 I found this lamp lurking in a sorry state

parafin lamp

 A couple of coats later

 

like new

 Amber is a funny little cat, she really doesn't like to be touched very much and certainly hates being picked up, and yet she always wants to be near to where ever we are, she decided to take comfort by cuddling a ball of merino wool

 Decided to check out Ravelry and look for some wrist warmers - found several nice patterns and chose some bamboo yarn. unfortunately the yarn hasn't much 'give' but in fact will be ideal for DIL as she has very small hands.

One for the pressie box

These will be good for the christmas stockings, DD suggested I was being very organised, but as we all know the time flies and crafting pressies isn't always the quickest option, but certainly a satisfying one.

I found another pattern using a cable stitch which I thought would be good for DS, but not being a very experienced knitter, came across a slight problem (for me) so I emailed the designer with my query and she responded by return including a chart for definition, offering further help if needed - how lovely, crafters are such nice people.

It's about 32C + at the moment, I think I can hear the pool calling.............

take care

Grrrrr

Still plagued with internet connection problems - getting really annoying now,we have just had a call from the company who have at long last admitted they have changed the signals and we are now on the very edge for receiving!!!! it's taken months for them to say this whilst all the time taking monthly payments without giving a service, even harder Grrrrrrrrrr...............................it seems the only way out is to change to satallite which is both restrictive and costly.......

Unbelievably it is now a week since our fiesta, we were festers this year, so it was our job to make sure all the tables and chairs were out and covered, preparing the table dishes, mainly olives, peppers, silver onion, and tomato mix, plates of monkey nuts, special beans (which I can't remember the name of) and of course sandia (water melon). Then of course all the clearing up after everyone had gone.

Friday followed the usual format, everyone brings their picnic and the hub bub of noise in the plaza grows, after the tables have been cleared away it's time for the music.  This year hubby had agreed to set up his gear and do a gig too, unfortunately there seemed to be a little local politics going on, with the usual guy refusing to take his break so hubby could play, so he didn't get on until 1.30am.  However he was well received and everyone enjoyed his music and it's paved the way for a long spot next year as well as the local mountain restaurants all suggesting he goes to play for them.

Quieter Friday night

 Saturday was much busier and the plaza soon filled with people

Setting up Saturday, taken from our balcony which is actually  our ground floor

the plaza was packed, dancing after dinner

 

 The music continued until 3am.  

Sunday morning was the church service and parade of Santa Barbara followed by the races for the cockrells and all the children's races.  The refreshments were a lovely lemon ice slush, great in the heat of the day and cake, next years festers received their slab of cake adorned with a carnation.

Early evening saw a return this year of the traditional dancers, whirling and twirling

traditional dancers

 

The plaza filled a little more for the dinner and then it was time for more music and dancing.  Luckily the music stopped around 1am, it had been a very long weekend with very little sleep and I have to admit that it has taken nearly all week to get back to normal again.

We will have further duties in December when they have another church service, but then our year will be over and next years take over, the fund raising begins in December so its quite involved.

have a great weekend what ever you are doing, take care

Frustrating

How frustrating - we have been having problems with our internet connection for a while now, but this last week it has been so intermittent that it has been driving us mad.  So slow it times out or just disappears losing all data.  After complaining, yet again, a very helpful chap rang saying he had 'tweaked' the signals, obviously not enough as it hasn't been much better, couldn't even write a simple comment on my blog this morning without it spluttering.  So apologies for not replying to your lovely comments, lets hope he can tweak it a bit more.

Not much on the crafting front either, Friday was completely wiped out with a stinker of  a migraine that lasted into Saturday too. Flashing lights, sight disturbances, couldn't even stand the light, anyway, bit better now, somehow they always wipe you out for days.    

 Hubby took this photo of the whirling flower windmills, he has been busy making more too so looks like I shall have to get the paints out again

whirling windmills

Last weekend we were helping to clear the ermita (plaza) and to clean the church, old school house and general area ready for the fiesta this coming weekend.  This week the council will deliver the portable bar and then Friday we shall be helping set everything up.  Have to try to store up some sleep as we certainly will be getting very little next weekend.

Oh dear now its changed the font and won't let me change it..........think I will leave the computers alone for a bit.......just have to sit here ready to pounce when the signal comes again.

take care

Flower power

Took a break from the mini's as hubby kept his promise and made me some more flowers, so I spent yesterday afternoon painting them.  They really whizz round in the breeze we have at the moment..  I also refurbished some other garden ornaments that had become faded in the sun.

no watering necessary!

Some more painting today, 

did take a before photo, but its still drying so will have to wait to take the after

another flower has been made so off to paint it

take care

Fairies and dragonflies

I have wanted to add interest to the garden for ages now, odd quirky things that were different.  Well hubby made me a flower and a windmill with a promise of more to come, but whilst in the UK I found this......

Fairies in the garden

I hung a crystal from the bottom which throws beautiful colours when the sun catches it, also I found one with dragonflies which I hung in the almond tree and proved extremely difficult to capture in a photo.

Dragonflies 

For the last couple of nights we have been in the pool around midnight - its 29C and like a bath, especially as there wasn't any breeze, so nice to just relax and cool off.

A friend said it looked like an exclusive spa 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking into the Naya 

.I decided to make another shop to go into the Victorian Street, good for a change round and added interest.  I chose a haberdashery and have been busy making the various items associated with it - it is rather time consuming but fun, especially trying to think of ways to produce authentic 1/12th scale notions

Cotton reels, knitting basket and a selection of wool in hand made baskets

 What is a girl to do when its so hot and you can't unzip your coat?

Lucy

 

This is Lucy, one of our eldest furries squeezing herself into a basket meant for kittens 

I am also quite chuffed.... do you remember this.......

advocado stone - 21.5.13

 well this is how it looks now.......

now 2 months old

 I bought some root ginger which had fresh looking nodules on, so me being me, I sliced the root rather like you would a chitted potato and this is the result....

ginger 

apparently the foliage is rather unimpressive which doesn't really matter as what matters is what is going on underneath..............

Oh well had better get on with some more minis, bolts of fabric, sewing patterns...............

Have a great weekend, take care.