First a sincere apology for not visiting anyone except the two host blogs last week. I really wasn't feeling up to it. I promise to do better this week.
And also a huge 'Thank you' to those who still visited me. Huddled under a blanket with my tablet, it really cheered me up to read your messages.
On Facebook a spotted a meme that fitted me perfectly all week.
I am not normally one for laying around all day, but all I wanted to do most days was sleep. On the days I did manage a small outing in the morning, I still slept all afternoon and all night. I am glad I am over that now! And Yes. I am feeling a lot better now , thank you.
Even though there have been some nice days if you kept out of the wind, and husband Chris spent a lot of time sitting out in the sun, I didn't even want to do that, and preferred to curl up in my chair. Tango was usually on hand to make sure I stayed put, and to add a welcome layer of warmth. He was in heaven as I usually move around too much for him, and he jumps onto the next chair and sulks!
But that doesn't mean it has been all doom and gloom. I have been overwhelmed by the lovely messages I have received from blogging friends, sewing group friends and church friends. One friend from church came to visit me on Saturday and brought me a lovely rose plant. I am hoping I can get outside to clear the corner bed and make a space for it this week.
I did venture out on Monday morning as I had a previously arranged meeting with Cati and an English couple who wanted to donate to ASADIS. I was simply their go-between, but it would have been difficult to rearrange, and it was nice to introduce them to each other, and make sure everyone understood what was going on. I also had a generous donation from my church mission funds for ASADIS, so I was able to pass that on to Cati too. So it was smiles all round.
Needless to say, when I got home I slept for the rest of the day, but I was glad I had made myself get ready and go!
Although I am no longer collecting knitted items for the African charity I have links with, I am committed to raising funds for them when I can. To this end, my home group give 1€ each at every meeting, towards the jiggers project, (treating children whose feet and hands have been attacked by sand-fly larvae), and I am also given personal donations from time to time, and raise some money from the sale of my jams and craft items. Some people keep their 'shrapnel', (copper coins), in a jam jar and give it to me when it is full. So every so often I need to sort it all out into different denomination coins, to pay into the bank, so I can then send a transfer to the charity, and I thought yesterday, this would be a good thing for me to do. It took a long time to sort it all out, and then it can only be paid into the bank in set amounts bound up in specific plastic tubes. They are a real fiddle to fill and to fasten with little plastic studs along the side. But they were done in the end, so it is now acceptable at the bank. Altogether, this little lot totals 330€, with a few odd coins to start the kitty off again.
You may remember that around last September, I bought myself a colour laser printer. It worked really well to begin with, and was a big help with printing all the calendars I sold at Christmas. But there was always a slight problem with the paper tray which gradually got worse until I couldn't really use it, and I went back to my old ink jet printer. We wrote to the place where it was purchased and we were shunted from one company to another, until they finally agreed to have it back to send to the manufacturer to look at. It had to be returned to Germany but they did give us a free returns label so we parcelled it up and took it to the post office. That was the last we heard of it until a couple of weeks ago. Then they tried to say they couldn't do anything with it because parts were missing. Fortunately we had the size and weight of the parcel and other documents that proved we sent it complete, and last week they said they would give us a full refund, which turned up in the bank account a couple of days later. So I then decided to replace it with a black only laser printer, and use my inkjet one for colour, mainly because the replacement toner cartridges are so expensive. We ordered one on Tuesday, and yesterday it arrived. So now it is installed, and I have just printed off the church newsletter for this week in record time!
And that is about it except for a plethora of sky photos! As I said earlier, it has been quite windy this week and that often makes for some interesting cloud formations. I love to watch them moving and changing shape all the time. Here is just one formation that caught my eye.
I also seem to be seeing faces in the sky every day. Chris is getting so used to my spotting them, that he even pointed the first of these out to me, as we were driving home from a necessary food shopping trip.
And when it is not faces, it is other 'mystical beasts'!
And now here are three prettier ones to end with.
Aren't they lovely? That same plane seems to pass over us at tea-time every day, cutting across the sky with its vapour trail that also picks up the dying rays of the sun.
So now I will link up with Rocking Your World at Virginia's blog, and Annie's Friday Smiles, and when I have made our tea, I will come back and see who else has given us a smile this week.
