Friday Smiles 2022: Week 27

It has been a long slow week of recovery for me, but yesterday I began to feel much better, and today I am back to normal except for a residual cough and bouts of sneezing.

But I have some very happy news that really made me smile; at 7.39am on Tuesday 5th, my great grandson Reuben Stanley arrived. He was 9lbs 10ozs at birth so hardly looks like a new born, and he had to wear a second size suit as the first size didn't fit! His grandad, my son Mike, was 9lbs 7ozs and I had the same problem with his clothes so I guess it is a family thing. His two big brothers are thrilled to have him, but unfortunately he has to stay in hospital for a few more days. Apparently he was born too fast (is that possible?), and didn't have time to compress his lungs so he inhaled some fluid.  But he is in good hands and hopefully they will both be home very soon.

A couple of weeks ago I had some squishy mail and it was a lovely ball of mixed colour yarn, like you have seen me use before. I am making another mandala, this time with a fairly complex pattern, and while I was not well, I couldn't concentrate on it, so it is growing very slowly. But for the last few nights I have been sitting out on the porch until midnight. It has been so hot, and sometimes there is just a little breeze out there so I can handle the wool for a while. The downside is that my light attracts the bugs, even inside the fly-free porch area, so we burn citronella candles on a nearby table to deter them.  They tend to go for my ankles so I often have a candle down on the floor near my feet too.

Anyway, back to my crochet. This mandala was designed by a Russian lady, so it is no longer availbale to buy online, but someone has translated it for her (officially) and I bought a copy on Etsy. Some of the terminology is not quite what I am used to, but I am getting to grips with it now. I am working from the outside of the ball instead of the centre because I want the blue to be the outer rounds, and I was thinking the red had lasted a long time, so last night I was pleased to see the first strand of yellow has arrived. I love the way each colour blends into the next one.

This morning we went to the garden centre again so I could buy a few more plants. Here is todays buys. As soon as the sun has dropped a bit, I will get them planted out.

When we came back from the shops I found a small packet in our mail box. I had ordered a small piece of equipment from Amazon and I knew it would be sent from France. I thought Lisca would like the huge array of stamps that were on it.

You may be surprised to hear that when I had used the new phone for a few days I knew I was never going to love it. It fell short on a few points that I was not happy about considering the price I had paid, so I decided to return it (within the 15 days grace given with any purchase). The actual procedure was very straightforward, so I am waiting to hear it has arrived at the Repairs and Returns Centre in Poland, and then I will get my refund. It will take a few weeks so I am doing a lot of research to make sure the next one is more satisfactory, and in the meantime I am using one of Chris' old phones. It is fine for most things, but the camera is nothing like what I would like, so I will be replacing it as soon as I can.

And that is about it for this week. So I will be linking up with Annie's Friday Smiles in the morning.