Rocking Your World 2019: Week 5

Well I thought it was March that 'comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb', but here we are on the first day of February, and that old lion is roaring away outside my window. I have had to tie up my lovely wind chimes, and there is dust and debris blowing everywhere. So I am very grateful for my warm, secure house, where I can sit at my desk, and write this post, with Arwen curled up beside me for company.

The week didn't get off to a great start because on Saturday Chris had to cut my wedding ring off for me! It is our ruby anniversary in April, and during those forty years I have only taken it off on a couple of occasions, when I had my hand and shoulder operations, and the hospital insisted. But as my arthritis has got worse, my fingers have days when they are swollen, and my ring finger had got so fat that I couldn't bend it and it was almost always painful. When I needed it off before, it was also a bit tight so it had to be cut off then too. The hospital told me a jeweler would do it, and the jeweler told me the hospital should do it, and in the end Chris did it for me. After that I had it made quite a bit bigger, but it has gradually got tighter again, and none of the alternative methods would help me get it off. So in the end I just asked Chris to cut it again. My finger remained puffy and sore for a few days, but it is gradually going down and I can now bend it, as much as I can any of my fingers anyway.

And the happy side of this, is that I can now wear my ring on the little finger of my right hand. Not the right place for it I know, but it is the only finger it could be made to fit, and at least I can still wear it.

The afternoon sun is quite low in the sky at this time of year, and as it hits the crystals that hang in my kitchen window, it sends rainbows all around the room.

I don't know why, but it always makes me happy to see this. Little rainbows dance all over the kitchen cupboards, ceiling and floor, and it is fun to watch the cats trying to catch them!

They always remind me of a film I loved when I saw it as a child, and I still watch it when they show it on TV - The film Pollyanna, where the little girl charmed a crotchety old lady by hanging crystals from an old chandelier in her window. (Perhaps I'm the crotchety old lady now allowing myself to be charmed by the same magic).

Last week I said I was trying to make the second test piece for a new technique in crochet - new to me anyway. I did manage it and only had to undo a row once, so it was easier than the first one for me. And here it is , a little snail.

I now feel ready to tackle the full size blanket so I have ordered the wool for it. The colour I want is out of stock, but they are expecting some more next week, so I won't have to wait to long. It will give me time to finish the one I am doing now, which is a good thing. I did the last row of the blanket last night and now have to attempt a wide, and complicated border. One lady in the Facebook group said the border took her a month to do, but finished the piece off beautifully so it will be worth it if I can do it.

On Thursday I had a parcel from Amazon which came in one of its usual cardboard boxes. I opened it in the kitchen - it was a new bread bin, and left the box on the floor. Within minutes Tango and Charlie were playing with it, both trying to get into it. Tango won and by the look on his face you know he is not letting Charlie force him out.

Being a contrary creature, as most cats are, as soon as Charlie gave up and walked away, Tango got out and wandered off too.

That night I pushed the flaps of the box inside, to strengthen it, and placed a blanket in the bottom, and all the cats have had a doze in it. This morning I heard a scuffle and found Charlie again trying to have a turn but this time Paco had got there first, and the way he was hissing, Charlie decided to take a step back. 

Paco and Charlie are both ten years old now, and we have seen a real change in Paco this year. He spends a lot of time curled up in a warm place, whereas Charlie is still very 'kittenish'. He is never still for long, and is the only one who likes to play with toys, bits of paper, or anything else that he can move to make a noise.

I had a problem with my car on Sunday which luckily has a warning panel on the dashboard so I knew it was best not to drive it.  Fortunately we still have our old car which Chris occasionally takes out for a spin, and I was grateful to be able to use that and still get to church on time. It was a bit like driving a tank after my blue one, but I did drive it all the time until a year or so ago, and I soon got used to it again. Our mechanic friend was delayed in UK due to the weather, but he has just sent us a message to take it down at lunch time, so hopefully I will have it back to use soon. I will have to use 'the tank' to get to choir practice tonight, but at least it is heavier so maybe I won't be blown across the lanes on the motorway. I am hoping it will have died down a bit by then, but it is not showing much sign of that yet.

There haven't been many big, bold sunsets this week, but I did get one picture earlier in the week.

And last night's sky was quite interesting too. 

I liked the way these funnels of cloud picked up the sun down their sides. I waited to see if it developed into anything more, but it soon got dark, so this was my last shot.

And with that I will link up with Annie's Friday Smiles, and Rocking Your World, and then I will print off the church news letter for Sunday. That means I can spend tomorrow morning back at the jam factory. I have been given another bag of lovely bitter oranges, so another batch of marmalade is on the cards. Then I will get ready to take the car down.

Say safe everyone, and don't venture out into the cold, wild weather unless you have to.