Reasons to be Cheerful (and other stuff)

Ok, this will be a massive post with a large variety of photos so hang on to your hats!

It's been an incredibly emotional week-Myf has finished her very last day at Primary School so they had a Leavers Prom

And a final School Assembly with Awards (linking the kids to famous names-mostly sports stars and singers but a few awesome ones) with Myf receiving 'Charles Darwin

She's having a lot of problems with her father at the moment but has been very strong in standing up for herself and telling him how she feels-it's going to be unpleasant for a while but hopefully it will settle down soon.

I finished my commision blanket in record time-the lady has asked me to post it to her when I get back from London.  I've sent her a photo and she loves it (phew!)

I've had a birthday as well-Myf spoiled me thoroughly and Rascal also wanted to get me something special-he brought me a dead bat :-(  Certainly never had one of those before!

I'm helping out the wonderful SIBOL with some blankets they've received that are a bit too small to use-

I'm taking a couple with me to work on-I'm playing with half squares for one of them that will make it about 40" wide, a little larger than standard but I'm hoping Sue won't mind!

My Dad had his 64th birthday a couple of days ago and he doesn't like presents being bought for him so instead I have made him this-

One of my earliest memories is when I was 6, helping my Dad build a barbeque in the back garden when a female stag beetle grabbed on to my toe-Dad managed to gently get her off and then spent ages teaching me about these gorgeous insects :-)  My Dad is also a huge Beatles fan so this seemed appropriate for when he's 64!

I couldn't find a pattern anywhere so I looked up a google image and went from there-the antlers should have been much larger as I wanted to make a male stag beetle but she's wonderful I think and I hope he likes it!

We'll be away for 10 days so I hope you all have sunshine and happy days :-)  Much love!

Reasons to be Cheerful

Time to do a little catch up before I go to work-I've neglected my reasons to be cheerful because of feeling a bit down but I think it really helps to remember the good things!

Myf is going to be 11 in 9 days!  This is scary but wonderful as well, she's growing up so fast and becoming such a lovely young lady.

I'm working on another rainbow ripple blanket (this time for Myf) and I'm planning to make a couple for sale.  I've gotten to grips with the ripples and it's so soothing :-)

We've had some impressive weather here of late-every kind of rain, massive thunderstorms and bright sunshine!

(No photos at the moment-I can't find the camera I use to upload the photos with so I'll save them up and post loads when I find it!)

Thank you for your lovely comments about the rainbow blanket I made for the little girl and for your kindness about my moody blues.  You're all very sweet xx

Reasons to be Cheerful

It's been a busy week so far!  My friend Jay came up to visit on Saturday and went home this morning.  I was called in to work all day on Monday and I'm working my usual shifts on top so we've been hectic...

So, what to be cheerful about?

Evenings chatting with a very dear friend who I've known now for half my lifetime-it's funny how many things change but a lot stays the same too!

My childminder, friend and neighbour Bec who I don't mention enough for all her support-I wouldn't be able to cope with my job without her help and she's a genuinely lovely person as well.

My health-I was reminded recently that I'm actually very fortunate and despite my many grumbles, I'm lucky and very grateful to the Divine for my health and that of my family.

I'm a Reiki practitioner and one of the precepts is gratitude-to be thankful for what you have, to accept that you have what you need and good fortune is always better shared :-)

As ever-Myf has made me smile so much this week-lots of cuddles and jokes and the occasional cuppa too!

Reasons to be Cheerful

Happy Wednesday everyone!  It's the start of my work days so my brain tends to feel pre-emptively exhausted and shattered plus there are some tensions at work at the moment.  It's not the nicest work environment at its best but currently I'm finding it tough not to snap and yell at people!

So here are some positive things to counterbalance my stress :-)


I'm working on a couple of ideas for Mother's Day gifts (March 30th this year) and I'm experimenting with Tunisian Crochet.  I used this technique a while back when I was making this blanket here and really enjoyed it although I didn't own a proper extending hook which made it tricky-the stitches kept trying to slip off the edge!  I still don't have the right hook (I attempted to modify a knitting needle but it hasn't worked too well) but I'm a more confident crocheter now so that helps.

I mentioned before that Myf was working on her very own crochet project?  She was busily working at it for a couple of days and subtly asked if I like scarves more than neck warmers...
A few hours later, she presented me with this!  Her first ever crochet piece and it's for me!  It's delightful-such gorgeous colours and it fits me perfectly.  Isn't she clever?

We have an old friend coming to stay over the weekend-Myf and I are very excited!  Hoping we'll have nice weather as well :-)

I've enjoyed the 'Game of Thrones' series immensely so far and I got hold of a copy of one of the author's earlier books 'Voyaging Tuf' which is a great read.

Despite the weather being warmer here, it's typically quite chilly in the mornings when Myf and I are up so the newest blanket has been getting lots of use keeping us snug.  Thank you all for your lovely comments about this blanket-it's been a joy sharing it with you and the wonderful feedback I've had has really made my day :-)

And finally, there's this.  Cracked fits well with my warped sense of humour but this article is unusually all about the positive and worth a look!

Reasons to be Cheerful (slightly late)

My work hours have changed a bit-we're now open until 7pm so on Wednesdays, I'm at work from 10am until 7pm and today I start at 8am until 7pm!  So by the time I get home, usually around 7.45pm, collect Myf from the childminder and get home, I'm usually pretty wiped out.  Having to get up at 5.30am does not agree with me!

We're having beautiful weather at the moment-gorgeous sunshine and clear blue skies and all the plants are getting ready to burst out with all their glorious colours :-)

Yesterday was a pretty good day though.  I got caught up at work and managed to get the stock room sorted out ready for the delivery today.  I was in a positive mood all day!  This is what happens when I am so spoiled by my gorgeous girl-she brought me a cup of tea at 6am yesterday morning :-)

I've been working on the border for the blanket-I was improvising something that was going to involve building it up over a few rounds but after I finished the foundation round and starting improvising the next section, I couldn't make it do what my brain wanted and it looked awful!  And Myf and I really like how the foundation row looks.  So the blanket is finished!  I haven't taken a proper photo of it yet-hopefully I will over the weekend if the weather stays nice but I have taken one of the border...

The border is made up of a round of hdc granny clusters in dark brown (to match the joining), a round of dc granny clusters and a round of sc in cream and then the final round in green which comprises of (sc, ch 5, sc) in the corners and slst, *sc, hdc, dc, htr, ch 5, picot into top of htr, htr, dc, hdc, sc, slst and repeat from * around.

It's currently on the sofa waiting for its photo op and keeping Myf warm :-)  She's making her own crochet project-a scarf in dc that looks fab!

I'm still having loads of fun with the camera as well...

(Artemis doesn't usually go on Myf's lap but the blanket was irresistible!)

Reasons to be Cheerful!

I completely forgot to post on Wednesday!  Myf had another bout of sickness on Tuesday which I didn't think was a tummy bug but then yesterday, I was really sick all day-despite having to be at work (I did end up having to close early and dealing with the fallout from that with my boss wasn't fun).

When I finally got home yesterday and picked Myf up, I was so ill, I could hardly stand.  Myf ran around bringing me a bucket, water, tissues, her duvet, wet flannel and at about 8 o'clock, she got herself ready for bed and got my bed ready for me as well!  I collapsed in bed right after tucking her in and thankfully managed a night with being sick but I do feel very shaky today (I was supposed to be working again today but thankfully managed to get cover as I shouldn't be working around food at all!)

I know I go on and on about my daughter but I don't think I could have gotten through last night without her!  She's definitely the number one reason to be cheerful :-)

Myf also had World Book Day at school this week and wanted to go as Mildred from the Worst Witch (yes, Mildred has long dark hair in plaits but she could have had a haircut too!)

Doesn't she look fab?

In other news, I STILL haven't finished the border on the Sleeping Forest blanket!  This is because every time I make a start, this happens...

I may have to come up with a new strategy...

Reasons to be cheerful

I've had a lovely half term with Myf but today she's off with her Dad for his half of the week.  So it's definitely a good time to focus on the good as I often find it tough when she's not here.

We spent the morning yesterday making up a picnic and flapjacks-Myf managed to get some golden syrup in her hair and tried cutting a bit out-I ended up giving her an impromptu hair cut that needs some evening out but I think looks ok?  She likes it which is the main thing :-D

We took a trip to Cardiff Castle in the afternoon-I've not been before and I saw online that they were having a 'meet the birds of prey' event which I managed to get tickets for.  We didn't get to see the birds fly but the guys running the event were lovely and chatty and clearly adored their work.  Myf got to hold a Little Owl and I said hi to an Eagle Owl :-)  (Myf had her photo taken next to the Eagle Owl but her face is priceless, she thought he was going to try and nibble her hood!)

The weather was a bit wet for a picnic but we had a nice time looking around

As it was our last night of the holiday, I treated us to a little trip to Lush and bought us a fresh face mask so we had an evening of pampering with face masks, nail polish, cuddles and a DVD.
Myf chose 'The Worst Witch' and halfway through, she disappeared upstairs for ten minutes.  She reappeared like this...

We spent today in the company of a very dear friend-had a lovely long walk around the park, took Myf to the swings and then had a trip around Pontypridd's little museum before I dropped her off with her dad.  I miss her already!  But I'm so grateful for the beautiful Spring weather, the fun days out and for making the most of our time.

Hope you are all having a lovely week!

Reasons to be Cheerful...

There's been lots of ups and downs at work and with Myf being poorly plus some unpleasantness with her father but we have plenty of reasons to be cheerful this week!

First and foremost, Myf is a LOT better-thank you for all your kind well wishes :-)  We spent some time yesterday with some crochet-she really wants to be able to make a granny square so I was showing her how to do single crochet and double crochet stitches and getting her started on a granny square

(Forgive the mess in the background!)

Over the weekend, we had a visit from a dear friend (the one I made the rune pendant and poncho for)
She saw one of the Owls I made in this post here and loved it so much I offered to make one for her and her partner :-)
(My price was a photo of her holding them in her new poncho...)

Myf also has been busy making me this beautiful bracelet-she loves finger knitting!  The other two chunkier bracelet are made with a knitting nancy :-)  She's so creative!

There's a viewing tomorrow but thankfully, as we'd done a lot of tidying for our guest, there's very little to do apart from some surface decluttering :-)

Our cats have been most amusing (minimal fighting this week) and Myf has had fun with the camera again...

Rascal is the cuddle monster but Artemis has been giving him a run for his money this week!


Hope you're all having a lovely week?  What has made you smile today? :-D

Reasons to be cheerful

I'll admit that this week it's been tough to come up with the positive.  Myf hasn't been very well (I had to leave work early today to go and collect her from school which caused all kinds of problems as there was no one to cover me-managed to get it sorted but it took over 2 hours to be able to get to my daughter which was awful)  She's fine, tired and probably growing again, that tends to leave her vulnerable to bugs.

So, back to being cheerful!

The awful flooding going on has had me very worried for my family-spoke to Mum today who reassured me that she and Dad are fine (the Thames river is well reinforced where they are)  My heart goes out to everyone affected but I hope I'm not being selfish in saying that I'm so glad that my family are safe and well.
I often moan about the hill I live on but it's at times like this, with the winds howling and the rains swelling the rivers to bursting, that I'm so grateful to live up a hill!

Despite her not feeling well, Myf has been wonderful in the mornings-I've had TWO cups of tea in bed this week!

I finished off the poncho the other day-sadly, with all the bad weather, photos are pretty dreadful!  I've worked up a flower as well to attach to the neck tie (as usual, I've way overdone the length of the cord and the size of the flower!).  This is a belated Yule gift for a dear friend who is coming to visit this weekend.

The other gift I've been making has been a rune pendant for her birthday (it's her 30th).  Runes are used in divination but they are also associated with different points of the year, a little similar to a star sign-my friend is a rune reader and we have spent many evenings reading runes and tarot together :-) so I felt making a pendant with her birth rune, 'Berkano', would make a lovely gift.

I wanted to use my wood burning pen, but despite tearing the house apart looking, I've had no luck!  So instead, I've used a small chisel to carve the rune and a little woodstain to bring it out...

Crafting always makes me happy :-D

Lastly, there's this photo of Artemis that Myf took-Arti loves boxes!