Friday 12 May 2017

Five on Friday - The end of an era

Hello, an old post that seems to have gone into drafts. Apologies if you've read it before. I hope you have had a great weekend. The weather here in Lincolnshire has been windy but bright. I've been busy sock knitting and some household chores, laundry and bed making. Have a good week and do leave a comment about what you've been up to. Cx

It's Friday! I'm joing Tricky and Carly for their Five on Friday again this week.

First up is these gorgeous flowers M bought for me. I'm not a lover of orange really but in flowers they do look fabulous, very bright and cheerful. They were bought a good few days ago now and the gerberas are still holding their heads up and doing well. 


For about 2 weeks I've been in a lot of pain with the tendon in my foot, making walking for prolonged times impossible. Shopping I've had to get on with and other chores round the house have been slotted between breaks. Apart from that I've rested and put my feet up. The exercises given by the physio department to rip off scar tissue, stretch the tendons and allow healing have been impossible. I always thought physio sounded nice and relaxing, massaging the painful area, well my exercises are quite hard work. You place the front part of your feet on the bottom stair (at all times), hold the banisters and lift yourself up (heels right up high) and lower down again so the back of your feet drops very low. You can do one foot at a time or both at once, two at once is easier I think. The Doctor called them load bearing exercises.

It's been especially hard having the radio on as I can't dance at all whilst cooking - my usual craziness! Having had physio before, the Doctor has referred me to the hospital specialist for a consultation in June. Anyway this isn't a woe is me post but instead a positive look to the future.

It's amazing what good supportive friends and family can do, if you believe in the power of prayer then you'll know that helps. A friend messaged me a few days ago and reminded me that a body needs to feel pain free to begin to heal too. So I've been using ibuprofen tablets and the gel, it still hurts like someone is pinching the back of your ankle with each step but... It's getting better.



So did I use my sudden new found time to do more crafts, er no, not really. I did catch up with some ironing, boring but necessary. I have been trying to read more, something that seems to have slipped lately. This book (for May) is for the book club - Mercy by Jodi Picoult. I've read one of her books before called The Storyteller, also with the book club and I'm beginning to think this is quite an intense read too. I won't tell you what the book's about as the cover question gives the gist and if you're a fan of hers I expect you'll have read it before. If you want to see more of her work see here.



I've also started another washcloth, this time for teen 2. It's in a soft cotton aran yarn, making it suitable for washing with even though the pattern is from the trusty 99 dishcloths pattern book. It will have a border around it in a complementary shade of blue. My thoughts at the time of starting this were, that I'd have a small project to cart around with me to Knit & Natter etc. My blanket I'm crocheting at the moment is way too big to carry around to places. Also as lovely as it is, it attracts a lot of attention at these places because of it's beauty in colours. I then wax lyrical about the story behind it and show off photos from attic24 site - Moorland Blanket. All in all I don't end up doing much actual crocheting at the sessions!



Another thing I've been up to recently is making up these wonderful bags for the food bank at church. A lady in the Craft Circle has kindly sewn these bags for me - aren't they great! I'm easily pleased I know. Having filled 3 bags with very basic items I realised at £5 a time, this was going to be a big venture to continue. So in the newsletter, I requested donations of any toiletries that would 'normally' have been put in the collecting bin. The teens carried some bags full of donated items home and I set to work filling them with some extra bits I'd collected. I've displayed 3 bags for you to see - for a child, man and a lady. Each bag will be different and some bags have a few items extra such as hand cream or tissues. They have a basic kit of sponge, flannel, soap, toothbrush and paste, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner and deodorant, STs (sanitary towels) as needed. These will be returned to the food bank for people in need, so they can be given a starter toiletry bag. I don't know how far we can ever remove homeless from our streets or care for everyone in need but I just imagined how I'd feel if I was in need and had nothing. If you know of a food bank facility and want to pop in a few toiletry items you never know, some crazy person like me, may be very pleased indeed.  


Lastly QT on the play deck of the teens swing and slide set. Teen 2 helped his Dad take it down on Wednesday. At 14 and 17 years old they have no use for it and it's rare for little people to pop over to play. The end of an era, if we put it up in the future it'll need new wood as it's quite old and weakened with age. We did have year 1 round twice in our garden a few years ago for a short visit, they loved playing on it all, I put down a thick rubber mat at the bottom of the slide as I know schools worry about safety. It was part of their 'Our Community' curriculum and they'd walked round the village noting and photographing places of interest. Once at my house they had biscuits, squash and a box of cars and Tracy Island with rockets and such to play with. They loved it.

Thank you for reading, please leave a comment. If you like it, please follow.
Enjoy the weekend!

If you like all this 'Hooks & Needles' craft wise, head to my face book page here and leave a photo of what you're busy making at the moment, it's great to see what peeps are making. Cx

17 comments:

  1. The flowers are lovely and physio can be brutal at times but in the long hopefully very beneficial. I only came across Jodi Piccoult earlier in the year and enjoying her writing even if they cover some controversial/interesting subjects at times, haven't come across the 2 you mention so will have to look out for those. Homelessness is a major problem here, we have a lot of young people sleeping rough it is so sad to see, or those struggling with young families in temporary housing.

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    1. Thank you for visiting. I guess these bags will go to someone in some sort of accommodation albeit temporary. I've heard people being quite cynical about food banks but I don't think anyone would seriously wish to find themselves homeless or in such dire need that they have nothing. Cx

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  2. I read Jodi Picault's My Sister's Keeper and really enjoyed it. I've not read any more of her work though.I might try Mercy. Sounds interesting.

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    1. My Sister's Keeper is probably the most popular book though I've not read it. I really need to get better organised with reading - particularly the book club reads. Club reads- first, then my own choice.

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  3. Beautiful flowers! Yes that orange color makes the bouquet pop! What a pretty cat! I really love crocheted dishcloths. I had to give up crocheting because of my arthritis, but they are so easy to do, I might go back to making a few at some point.

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  4. QT is a Maine Coon cat, we didn't know anything about this breed and just assumed he was a long haired fluffy boy. We bought him from an animal sanctuary believing him to be 8 yrs old. It turned out he was 14 yrs old ( now 16 yrs old) bless him. He's adorable and is loved to bits. There are some small face scrubbies on my previous post. The link to the 2 patterns are on there.
    http://hooksandneedles68.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/crocheting-scrubby-and-blanket-progress.html
    Cx

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  5. What a busy week. I'm sure those exercises will really help your tendons in the end even if they are a bit awkward now. Have a great weekend.

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    1. Thanks for visiting, Will get there in the end. Enjoy the weekend. Cx

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  6. The flowers are lovely and I know those kind last quite a while so much appreciated when I'm given them. Physio exercises can be hard and painful at first can't they? I hope you're on the road to recovery. The soft bags are a lovely idea as containers for the essentials that you're putting together for needy folk who come to the food bank. They have a practical use and show you care. Sounds as if your teens are helping out with the project in their own way by carrying donations home so that you can fill the bags.

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    1. My teens are always helping when I ask them too. They've had to do some strange things as over the years I've taken them to wherever I need to be. They went to play groups but nothing extra and no family close by so... anyway they've turned out ok lol. Stepping up the pain relief so I can get back to work, then I'll have to wait hospital appointment for their words of wisdom. Cx

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  7. Hello and thank you for the kind comment you left on my blog. Your kitty is so adorable and I can see why you fell in love with him. Lilly too is a rescue kitty and is now over 12 years old. Time goes by so fast, doesn't it? I love your flowers and all the pretty things you have been creating. I do hope your foot gets better. It can be hard sometimes to let things heal when you want to get on with life. Enjoy your weekend and try and rest if you can. Hugs, Pat

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  8. That is a joyful & colourful bouquet. And it seems your cat is really enjoying and relaxing!

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    1. Yes QT knows how to relax! He does it very well x

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  9. Maine Coones are always so handsome! He certainly knows how to live a stress free life!
    Thanks for joining in with Five on Friday, I hope your ankle feels better

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  10. Keep at the physio, it'll help in the long run, I broke my wrist a few years ago and could barely move it when the cast came off, had physio for 6 months and it ached constantly all that time. Its totally back to normal now though!
    I know what you mean about orange flowers, I wouldn't ever buy them but if someone buys them for me (a rare event!) I always think how happy they look!
    Jillxo

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    1. Thanks Jill, I'm glad your wrist is much improved. I've got physio later in the month so I really hope things will improve after that. Thanks for visiting. Cx

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