Wednesday 30 March

I have felt a bit out of sorts for a few days. Without going into too much detail, I have been trying to sort out hormonal troubles for a while now, without much luck. Last week I got started on a possible new solution, but this comes with side-effects which, I've been told, can take about 3 months to settle down. Well, let me tell you, it's not what my already haywire hormones needed. I shouted at the radio to shut up, I was rather rude to a cold-caller on the phone and I bawled my eyes out over my keyboard at the loneliness of working from home. I didn't feel like doing anything that I normally enjoy, and on top of it all, I was tired beyond belief. In short, everything was wrong with the world.

Things seemed a bit brighter today though. Not the weather - after more than a week of glorious sunshine, blossom, tiny, almost transparent green leaves appearing and being able to sit outside at lunchtime - we had grey, overcast skies today with very miserable drizzle in the afternoon. The sort of drizzle that totally fog up your glasses when you're out and about. But my mood was improved - not sure if it was the early night, but I just feel a bit better and more myself again. Thank goodness.

Lots of progress on the building of which this one is the best:


All the floor joists are in, and apparently the floor boards for the first floor are in too, but I haven't seen them yet. Putting the floor joists in was a team effort, L, who is doing an internship at work, came to stay with us at the weekend and quickly got roped in, plus me, B., his son and his dad, all with a job to do. It was fun - it felt like something out of the film Witness.

My highlight of last week was teaching S. from work to knit. She'd said a few times that she wanted to learn and last week we had time for a quick coffee at Starbucks, so I brought my knitting needles and yarn, and within half an hour she'd knitted a row.


The following day she'd done another row without any errors, and I even caught her doing a few sneaky stitches behind the computer. She told me on Monday that it's now almost a square - looking forward to seeing it tomorrow. I realised I'd never taught anyone to knit before, apart from I. who keeps showing a passing interest.

On the knitting front, I have almost finished my Cairn hat, just a few more rows. N. said the pattern looks like a spiderweb. I'd like to make the matching mittens too, I think they'll probably go faster than the hat.
I'm still working on I's peace sign granny cushion. Six and a half squares done, two and a half to go. And the back. She's going to get a couple of squares wrapped up for her birthday with an IOU, and I'll have to be strict with myself to finish it off, as I'm not enjoying it that much - it doesn't help that the pattern is so complicated that you can't work on it when there are distractions.

O and I made marmalade last weekend... Six or seven jars, I had a sore thumb from cutting up I don't know how many kumquats (too sour to eat, so in they went) and oranges.

It took ages to get it to set and when I left B's place on Sunday, it was still too warm to be able to tell if it was set properly, but B. had it for breakfast on Monday and said it was very good. Will have to get a photo of the jars later this week.

Lots happening this week, tomorrow I'm going for a school lunch at N's school as they're doing a Mother's Day lunch (roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, hungry already!), it's N's 9th birthday on Friday, tomorrow B's coming over to bring over the table-tennis table that I managed to buy on eBay for their birthdays, on Tuesday I. will be 12 (where did that time go!) and on Wednesday I've got a day off work to go on a school trip with N. to a Hands on Heritage site - we'll be doing activities such as weaving, spinning, dyeing, pottery and breadmaking. I think putting me in charge of a group of Year 3s and 4s might not be such a good idea - I'll be far too busy with all the activities to keep an eye on my charges ;-)

I'll leave you with a photo of N. rolling around in the wool that arrived in the post the other day. That's my boy!