Pony Lovers Everywhere - Enjoy!

I'm not one for watching adverts but I heard the music (Fleetwood Mac - Everywhere) & I had to watch. 

Just brilliant!

Making Mode

Well that's what it feels like. I've finished my latest lace shawl and the Aran jacket I knitted for myself (using up wool I've had for 15 years) so I've been making things for my granddaughter, a knitted chick and a Minnie Mouse crochet hat. Have to say I'm not very good at taking photos of stuff I've made but I must give it a try. 

Now I'm desperate to start knitting a cardigan for our holidays next month. I've looked around the shops and can't see anything I like for under £40! I stopped knitting things for myself years ago because the wool got so expensive but now most of the jumpers & cardigans in the shops are that awful acrylic stuff. Even M&S have no pure wool jumpers in other than the odd cashmere one which isn't what I want and I'd need a mortgage for it.

We don't have any decent wool shops in our town so I end up buying it on the Internet. I really like the DROPS wools which are very reasonably priced. Shame non of the shops near us have this wool, the nearest is Berwick, about 60 miles away and they don't have a lot of stock. So mine gets ordered from Aberdeen and the staff are so helpful!

There are thousands of free patterns available on the Garnstudio website. Have to say the designs are lovely but the patterns are not particularly well written like the Paton & Baldwins & Sirdar patterns. I'm glad I'm not a beginner or I'd be tearing my hair out. I usually end up cutting and pasting the text & then writing it out properly, just in case I want to use it again. 

Now I can't wait for the wool to be delivered. It's a bit hit & miss not seeing or worse still not touching the wool but I'm pretty sure it will be fine. It's 75% wool and machine washable. I've used their lace wool and it's gorgeous to knit with and washes well.

This is the pattern I fancied. Loved the colours in this, it was called Fun Lilac although it seemed to have more red in it to me.

However they didn't have it & wouldn't be getting it for a month so I opted for my second choice of Blue /Turqoise. A bit duller but it will go with most of my clobber which tends to be blue, navy or turquoise.

Not sure whether I'll want to do that pattern in the blue, might do this one (it looks easier and quicker) then order some more wool later for the first pattern.

The wool usually comes very quickly with first class post but you can guarantee it gets delivered the moment I pop out to the shops. Yes that's exactly what happened today & now I'll have to go & collect it from the Post Office. So no getting started tonight it will have to wait until tomorrow.

I found a few more cardis that I like:

Can't justify buying all that wool though. Well not this month anyway! Maybe just one more batch next week!

Just in case you're wondering, no I'm not advertising, I don't participate in Google ads. Just thought I'd share the information about the wool in case you have the same problems getting wool that I do.

Look at My Face! Am I Bovvered?

I keep getting these messages on websites such as Goodreads saying I've been "unfriended by 3 people". Fancy that!!!!

Well I don't have a Facebook account now, I deactivated it so why should I care? Well Facebook must think I do or are trying to raise my curiosity as to who it is that's "unfriended me".

Well there's no such verb as "unfriend". Well that's what I thought but when I looked it up Facebook has created a whole new vocabulary their product. "unfriend" is not just a verb it's a noun too.  

Apparently, 

"Unfriends are people who were previously your friend but have either deactivated their account or have removed you from their friendlist".

So there! It's official. There's even an Unfriend Finder website should you be desperate to find out who is unfriending you & why. What's worse there's an Unfriendable website. Good grief there's a whole "unfriend" industry out there.

What's really naffing me off is that Google ads too keep popping up telling me I've been "unfriended". What I want to do is use the immortal words of Lauren aka Catherine Tate and say "Look at my face! Am I bovvered"?

Here she is with David Tennant in the Comic Relief sketch:

My Local Library

                                                            The Green Library

When I retired I decided I wasn't going to buy any more books. Well I needed to cut back on spending and to be truthful I'd filled all the shelves in the house yet there were still books lying around.

So I decided to buy books from the local charity shops. I was never going to get the latest editions but the books were quite cheap & at least I was contributing to charities. After I'd read them I used to either hand them back in or leave them wherever I went on holiday. 

I came across some great books that way. A couple I held on to were the David Niven ones, The Moon's a Balloon & Bring on the Empty Horses. They are absolute gems & I wouldn't part with them. If you haven't read them & want a good laugh as well as an insight into the life of a wonderful film star in the Hollywood of the 'thirties, 'forties & 'fifties, try them.

Well over the last couple of years the books have got pretty expensive at the charity shops. It's cheaper buying them at shops where they get rid of old stocks & then handing them into the charity shops so at least there's still a contribution to them.

So I decided to start to use our local library again. I hadn't used it for years as I never had time when I was working. I used to use it when I walked the children to school or I would take them in on the way home. It's a small branch which only opens for a few days a week. I decided to support them as the council cut backs have been affecting libraries for quite a while now. I'd hate to see it close as it provides a wonderful service for all ages. Now I take my granddaughter there after school & she loves it.

Last summer they had some great craft sessions for children where they were making things relating to the Olympics. I took my granddaughter along & she made an Olympic Torch, a laurel wreath, Olympic medals & a pencil box. The staff are always great, everything was free & the children really enjoyed it.

There are three libraries in Washington & surprisingly my granddaughter prefers the little old one to the other two up to date modern ones. The photo above is of the library we use, The Green Library. (Complete with blue wheelie bin). 

Yes the library's painted green but that's not why it has that name. I had to explain to Lauren that it's called The Green Library because it is situated on the Village Green. She gave me a withering look that said "That's what she thinks"! As they do, well let's face it, what do we know?

Washington Village Green

It's very close to Washington Old Hall which is the ancestral home of the Wessingtons (George Washington's ancestors). If I remember correctly the library is just opposite the place where President Carter planted a cherry tree in Washington on the Village Green, during his UK visit in May 1977. Sadly the tree died, it had been virtually frozen in the cargo of the plane on its way across the Atlantic! 

Have to admit that although I've lived in Washington for over forty years I've never been into the Old Hall. Must do it this summer & maybe get some better photographs.

Entrance to Washington Old Hall

So do you use your local library? I know lots of people have moved over to e-readers but I have to say I haven't. I know they can be useful when you go on holiday but I really like the feel of a book & you don't have to keep charging it up. 

The other issue is cost. Now I would have thought it would be really cheap to buy an e book but it's not. Just been looking at some recent biographies on Amazon & quite a few e books are dearer than the hard cover editions of books. It's a bit like buying an iTune compared to a vinyl LP complete with gorgeous glossy artwork covers. There's nothing tangible for your dosh is there? I always felt like I was getting my moneysworth with my Buddy Holly & Beatles LPs. Not like with the cassettes, CDs & iTunes.

Well think I'll just stick to the library for now. Even if they don't always have the specific book I would like to read. My reading list is massive and they have more than enough books on it to keep me going. Anyway I'll be helping keep our local library open for a while longer.

I Wish!

I wish I was there right now. Just look at that blue sky & make believe snow.

Where? 

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando.

Why?

Because tomorrow it's going to be 73F there & here it's snowing! Not the artificial kind like at Hogsmeade Village. It's the real white stuff! Real snow, cold & wet snow. Just like this at home on Washington Village Green.

YUK!

So beam me over Harry! I need some sun.