Hello there
Just having a few problems with all things…..mental – physical- and electronic 😢
I’ll be back soon
Take care.
Cathy
Diamond or Ruby?
Is the customer always right
Or how do you feel when they don’t like what you’ve got?
I had a call last Friday…..from the friend I spoke about on Wednesday….the one who will become a new grandma next year.
“Cathy you won’t like what I’m going to say
My daughter has changed her mind. She’s decided she’d really like at least one little lacy jacket to bring baby home in…….She felt the one you had suggested was a bit plain. What other patterns do you have. If you don’t have one she likes, a friend of her mother in law (the other grandma) will knit one”
First thought from me was…what?? That wasn’t how it was, my friend had chosen that one from a selection I presented, asked me and I agreed to knit it as a gift. Next thought was…..thank goodness I’d only finished the first (very small) sleeve.
So after emailing this photo for her to pass on to the daughter……of a style I’d made previously – newborn size, not too plain, not too fancy, and then received a thumbs up yes, went and looked for the pattern.
Um, I haven’t actually knit this particular jacket for a while, the pattern was one ‘found’ on the web many years ago. I’d tried the original one, then made some alterations, so what I was looking for was a typed copy….and it wasn’t where I thought it would be. I certainly hoped I could find it because my ‘original reworked’ copy had been lost (along with countless other files) during one of those dreaded updates on the shared PC….which The Golfer tends to think is his because I so rarely use it….except to locate things I’ve saved in ‘my files and folders’.
After an awful lot of looking I finally found it tucked in behind something else. The paper copy of one for the cross overs I’d worked on back in August.
There was no copy on my iPad either so as I’ve altered it even more I think I need to do something about that. It’s such a simple design I’d hate to lose it…..again 😊
You know, after being on my own (with The Golfer) and doing what I want to do, not having to take anyone else into consideration (well, apart from The Golfer) for these past few months (read that as most of the past year) I was really looking forward to being with others and sharing. Yes I’ve been filling the charity box during this time to be shared with unknown children but as we’re slowly moving to a ‘normal’ life sharing by knitting and physically gifting this very special one off gift in a few months time was something I was looking forward to.
This will probably sound a bit strange to some, I will gladly make this little garment but for some reason at the moment I’m feeling a bit resentful, stupidly i feel betrayed as if my friend did the dirty on me by not telling the truth. I was offering and was almost berated for not having the things that were wanted. As if what I offered wasn’t good enough.
My problem I know!
Its early Monday morning and I’m enjoying my first cuppa tea…..I know this is not a happy post, I need to stop wallowing in my feeling of rejection and gather up the love I need to start casting on again. But then, we’ve been promised a warm sunny day, maybe I’ll just garden instead 😎
How do others cope with rejection – there has to be a way to not feel it personally
Any clues anyone?
Joining Corinne for Monday Musings
Senior Salon can be found HERE.
Denyse Whelan Blogs is the home of Life this week
But is it good for you….
Peanut Butter V Almond Butter
That is the question
Our big girl uses Almond Butter. From the amount she buys I imagine she uses it for and on everything. I thought it was similar to Peanut Butter which I enjoy now and again but use sparingly…..certainly not for cooking (except maybe in a very rare satay sauce)
But she dares to differ…..it’s healthier she said…..it’s good for you.
So having a quick peek at the nutritional table on a couple of jars…..aka as taking a quick snap of them in Costco this is what I found (I’m not naming the brands but I’ll just say they weren’t the most expensive.
| Almond Butter. Per 100gms | Peanut Butter. Per 100gms | ||
| Calories 650 | More | Less | Calories 612 |
| Protein 19gm | Less | More | Protein 22.3gm |
| Fat total 54gm | More | Less | Fat total 492gm |
| – Saturated 4.5gm | Less | More | – Saturated 6.9gm |
| Carbohydrate 22 gm | More | Less | Carbohydrate 17.8gm |
| – Sugars 3 gm | Less | More | – Sugars 8.9gm |
| Sodium 0 | Less | More | Sodium 274 |
As far as I can see the jury is out on this one. It depends on health issues I suppose
I like the taste of PB more so that is my guiding factor.
I only use a little on toast now and again
What do you think? Which would you choose?
Little boys and baby girls…..
October seemed to come and go quite quickly. Not a huge amount of anything was done except wonder if and when things would take a turn for the better and life would become more free and easy (in other words we’d be free from restrictions). The garden started to come alive so there was a bit of pottering done and rainy days meant there was a fair bit of reading done
As far as knitting went I actually had something else in mind but decided it easier to fish out a WIP (work in progress) and finish something‘simple and straightforward’ rather than get crotchety trying to work out increases & decreases at the same time as keeping different colours under control so plain and simple with easy stripes it was. A simple boat neck ….no designated back or front …..which means an ‘independent 2 yr old’ is able to ‘dress themselves’. Who else remembers the “me do it” stage??
After a conversation with a very excited younger (going to be a grandma) friend last week I’ve begun something much smaller and a lot more subdued in colour. Her daughter (mother to be) wants her newborn baby girl’s clothing to be soft (and girly??) so at her insistence soft pale colours it will be and as she’s not a knitter herself I was asked to make several cardigans as well as something like an old fashioned matinee coat, not lacy like feather and fan but plainer…I met up with ‘Grandma’ in an allowed meeting in the park where she looked over a selection of patterns and this (bottom left corner) is what we’ve agreed on. ‘Grandma’ will look at cardigan patterns another day and (all being well) Babe’s not due till May so there’s no hurry 😊
Feather and Fan stitch is often referred to as Old Shale – poking around on the net I found this article that disputes that and shows the reason why. I’m sure many knitters will find it interesting. The comments on the post are interesting reading also. Feather and Fan versus Old Shale
I’m between books at the moment. Actually it’s more like I’m‘book’d out’. The last one I read was The Yearling – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, a coming of age for the main character, a look at life in rural 1870’s Florida. Maybe it was the patter of speech used…..written and spelt as spoken, set in 1870’s Florida it wore me out trying to concentrate. I’ve read lots of books written in dialect but none so taxing as this one.
Better luck next time eh ??
Yarn Along can be found at Ginny’s. Do pop over to small things to see what others have worked on this past month.
Unravelled Wednesday hosted by Kat is here at As Kat Knits. Lots of knitting and reading to see there.
The smiles are returning….
Looking around I’m sure I’m seeing smiles behind masks…..I’m wondering where they’ve been hiding for the past, however many months.
And as well as perceived smiles I’ve noticed smiling eyes. They definitely have been missing. Smiling eyes haven’t been seen for a long time.
During a walk around the supermarket you’d be met with a downward glance, a furtive look at a list and a quick scurry away.
The other day someone actually nodded a greeting to me, acknowledged I was there. Laughed and smiled (unseen hidden by masks smiles ) when we both reached for something on the same shelf….then remembered it’s really not all over and stood back. We both shrugged shoulders, moved on wondering when our faces would be able to tell the tale and not have to rely on body gestures.
I smiled and heaved a sigh of relief last week at some good news.
An X-ray showed the worrying pains I’d been feeling in my upper back/shoulder area were nothing to do with my heart, my lungs were clear, there’d been no pneumonia, the coughing will be back under control again when I resume twice daily puffs of an asthma preventative. It showed more spinal degeneration (bummer, just what I need) higher in the thoracic spinal area.
Referred pain……Oh well, I’ll live, it just means another set of exercises to be done in conjunction with the lower lumbar region ones!
Coming back from the Chiropractor on Friday I passed a church notice board.
and saw these words in bold letters
Beneath it some wag had nailed on a bit of wood with the words.
Give them one of yours!
That certainly brought a smile to my face 😊
We missed World Smile Day back at the beginning of October….as much as we tried Victoria wasn’t quite ready to smile again. I think we are now and I’m doing my best to find something to smile at each day.
How about you- have your smiles gone into hibernation….gosh it’s been hard for us all worldwide so it’s no wonder they aren’t visible.
Have you discovered anything special to bring them back to life again.
Joining Corinne for Monday Musings
Senior Salon can be found HERE.
Microblog Monday is hosted by Mel at Stirrup Queens
Seen Outside…..
Even though daily life activities here in Victoria are being expanded day by day, restrictions eased, doors opened that have been shut for months, we are still not able to travel long distances so I’m still reliving trips away to places far far from home. I’m thinking armchair travel is going to be a way of life for a little while yet.
I once saw the climate in Melbourne described as Temperate but quite variable…known for its changeable weather patterns …lol four seasons in one day isn’t far from the mark. It can be hot and dry, it can definitely be cold and wet but what it isn’t is tropical…..except on some really hot humid days we might get in the summertime 😎
So one of the things I look forward to seeing when we are out and about in Queensland ….because I’ve never seen them growing in Melbourne and they just seem to shout out Tropical ….are the beautiful Bougainvillea which seem to grow like weeds, they are everywhere. Bright bursts of colour climbing over and around anything and everything reminding me of the big climbing Banksia roses that do well down south.
This week I’ve been reminding myself of some seen on a trip in 2009
I hope you enjoy them as well
We saw this lovely pink and white bush in a car park of all the places at Winton.
all on its own and looking a little out of place amongst the natives.
Maybe self sown
But what I did like was the way some businesses used it decoratively.
This was a lovely white strain growing up an archwayin front of a cafe in Longreach
It had a really nice cool look to it and there didn’t seem to be any thorns on this one.
which is possibly why it was placed so very strategically in front of the cafe
Now this to me was the most appealing of all
Mountains of colour at several spots along the main street of Bowen
One side of Herbert Street is higher than the other
and there were several of these fabulous covered crossings along the street.
(sadly removed during a ‘street renovation’)
Those bench seats looked so inviting
Thank you Kay (at Musings) for the inspiration……for this post.
To enlarge click or use the two finger slide
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainvillea.
https://floridata.com/plant/553
https://www.abc.net.au/gardening/plant-finder/bougainvillea/9441670
Sunday Selections is hosted by Elephants Child. Find Nature Notes at Rambling Woods.
Denyse Whelan Blogs is the home of Life this Week
Linking also to – Travel Tuesday – My Corner of the World – Our World Tuesday.
Still Waters 