I'm not.
I've not blogged throughout December for 2 reasons. The first is this -
I wanted to crochet a blanket for Miss B in time for her birthday (which is near Christmas.) My grandmother could produce amazing works of crochet and embroidery; I wanted to make something of an heirloom for my child to keep with her as she grows up the way I did with Grammy's things. However, it was a much larger project than any I'd undertaken before.
It took me 3 weeks of crocheting pretty much every spare moment of the day. If I was sitting down there was a hook in my hand and the blanket growing across my lap. I took it on the bus, to appointments that I knew I'd be waiting for, to cafes and I didn't watch a moment of television while not simultaneously crocheting like a woman possessed. I certainly had no time for blogging when there were rows to finish.
I am delighted with the result. So is Miss B who carries it around with her to watch TV snuggled with, and drapes across her bed each night. Many thanks to Lucy of Attic 24 for the pattern and the crochet-along encouragement,
The second reason is much less fun. I've been ill. Not anything serious, just unendingly poorly.
Mark and the kids had a nasty virus in November - fevers, sore throats and coughing. The kids had 3 or 4 days off school each, except poor Luke who attended every day because of mock GCSE exams. I caught it on Thursday December 4th - the day I was supposed to be baking for the school fair.
I bailed on the school fair and only made it to the ballet of Lord of the Flies with Luke the next night because I was heavily medicated and Mark kindly drove us to and from Bradford. (He's a top bloke, isn't he?) I spent the weekend and most of the next week in bed. Feverish, achey and weak, I felt very relieved I'd done the Christmas preparation early. Even making mince pies felt exhausting.
I had about a 6 day period of being well during which I slipped away from chores for the day and went to see The Hobbit on my own. It was great, although casting attractive men as dwarves has made me feel a bit funny with each instalment. Richard Armitage and Aidan Turner are too sexy to be dwarves.
Sadly, the few days feeling fine didn't last and the virus reasserted itself. This also happened to Miss B, who missed much of her last week in school. I was laid low by the 20th, got even worse across Christmas Day and Boxing Day and have continued to be raw of throat and coughing fit to die ever since. It's been a full month since I first came down with the thing and it's wearing thin I can tell you.
So, no exciting news to report, no new skills to share and not much time for reflection either.
However, I can share a picture of our tree, complete with the traditional Christmas Lizard inspecting some of the decorations:
And here's the craft bag I made for my niece Cara from old jeans, lined with a sundress B outgrew. I'd give you instructions if I had any - I just sort of made it up. I filled it with projects and kits for Cara to try. She's very creative.
I hope I'm fighting fit by Friday, when I head off for my annual ballet weekend. It's pretty much my favourite event of the year.
Best wishes to you and yours for a happy and peaceful 2015.
J xx
No comments:
Post a Comment