Rocking Your World 2016: Week 47

Well here we are at Friday again, though I am not sure how we got there. Where did this week go? It certainly flew past, but I hope I can find some positives in its passing.

First of all a funny poster I spotted this week, which was just so apt for me that I had to use it.

It is not just crocheting and knitting either. There is paper craft, scrapbooks, lace etc. etc. I won't be graduating any time soon!

Next a proud moment from my grandson, who has just been elected as a member of Wolverhampton Youth Council. He was only fifteen a few months ago, so he has done really well to be chosen. He is a lad with a bright future ahead of him. He reads widely and absorbs a huge number of unrelated facts so he is the perfect person to take you with on your quiz team.

And one last smile from my Tango again. Last week he climbed into my bag of knitting for his nap. This week I found him at the bottom of the laundry basket. Doesn't he just look delighted to have been woken up? If looks could kill....!

So, let's see what else has happened this week. Well, Sunday morning I went to my church for our Remembrance Day service. Several people turned up wearing their own service medals, or those of a parent. Others wore red and black to mirror the poppies we wear for this day. One of our leaders walked around afterwards taking photos so here am I wearing my usual poppy dress that always come out for this occasion, with my friend Elspeth, who has started coming to church with me each week.

It was a lovely morning so we were able to sit outside to chat after the service, and share a cup of tea or coffee. We even needed to put up the sunshades.

Monday was the night of the super moon. Wasn't it beautiful? I thought we were going to miss it again because the afternoon was very cloudy and rain was threatening for the night. But just in time it cleared enough for us to see it, though we missed it breaking over the horizon. I went outside with my phone and my camera and tried to photograph it. I had my phone camera set to HDR and my photo had lots of colour aberrations but I kind of liked the effect. (The blue lights at the lower edge are street lamps and car lights).

With my camera I zoomed right out to cut out the bright street light outside our house, but on full zoom I can't hold it steady enough. So I rested the camera on a pillar of the wall and looked up through the orange trees and grape vines over the road, which made nice silhouettes.

You really need a building or the ground below it to show its size, but it was too dark for that. 

Now for a couple of random items. I forgot to share this with you last week. It is a metal forget-me-not. Isn't it pretty? My second son is part of the fund-raising team for the Severn Hospice, and last year they ran the Forget-me-not Project, selling these flowers to raise money for their work. They were made at the historical site near Telford known as the British Ironworks Centre, a part of the Ironbridge Gorge Museums. Most were bought as a memento of someone who had spent their last days at the hospice, but I guess we all have someone to remember. I asked my son to reserve one for me and hold on to it until I saw him next. They proved very popular so I waited for a second set to be made, and this month Mike brought it to Ireland when he came, so I could bring it home. At present it is stuck into a pot by my water garden, but I shall eventually choose a more permanent home for it.

My choir - Incognito Singers - is busy learning new songs for our Christmas Friends and Family evening in December. We had another good rehearsal this Wednesday, but before that we had an extra one just for the altos. We often draw the short straw when it comes to learning a different piece because usually the sopranos get the melody line which is often familiar to all of us, while we altos have a new harmony to learn. So one of our little group (there are only five altos), who used to be a music teacher, invites us up to her house on a Monday afternoon to run through our pieces. It is very helpful, and we always have a good time. She lives on the edge of Bédar, the little white village above and behind ours. After our practice we were standing outside enjoying the sun and I took this photo of the fabulous view she has from her garden. You can see right out across our village, across the campo, and on to the sea at Mojacar. How lucky is she!

A few weeks ago I mentioned that my knitting for Africa project was coming to an end. The charity we support, Greenfields Africa, is ceasing to accept knitted goods from the end of this month. So I have been very busy getting the word out to all my knitters, organising teams to sew together all the squares I had collected, crocheting edges on all the finished blankets, and generally tidying up any loose ends. Yesterday I did a final count before bagging everything up ready for my courier friend to take it to UK next week.

Altogether we had twenty-nine blankets; some knitted, some crocheted, and in an assortment of sizes. I didn't waste a single piece of work so some blankets are a funny mix of shapes and yarns, but I patch-worked them all together, and they will all keep someone warm.

Then I turned my attention to everything else. I found I had  thirty-one jumpers and cardigans from premature baby size up to around a four year old size, twenty-one hats and twelve scarves, some for children and others for teenagers, and twenty cheerful teddies. Aren't they fun?!

The baby clothes, smaller blankets and teddies will eventually get to Africa, but the larger blankets and hats will go to refugee centres, or the homeless, as it is no longer possible to send these into Africa by our usual routes. It is a good finale to my involvement, and I am so grateful to all the people who have helped me to make it happen. I shall continue to support the organisation financially whenever I can, but now it is time to look at some of those "half done projects" of my own, and try to get some of them finished.

I am very happy that my cold is at last leaving me and I am beginning to feel a bit better. I am still coughing and sneezing now and then but hopefully the worst has passed. I went to the clinic for my monthly diabetic and blood pressure check this morning and the nurse gave me my flu injection, so I am just hoping there are no side effects from that now. I don't usually react to it, so I expect I will be just fine.

And now for a couple of sky photos to end with. There have not been any dramatic sunsets like we had last week, and there have been a lot of grey clouds around. One day as they were gathering I saw this rather fierce dog looking down at me.

But gradually the dark clouds all joined forces up high, leaving a small band of light on the horizon. I included this picture because I liked the silhouette of the tree against it.

And finally I have added this photo taken when we set out to walk the dogs at around eight o'clock this morning. I thought it was so pretty.

     

One of the best things about living in Spain is that for at least ten months of the year we wake up to blue skies. It doesn't matter if it is chilly, whether or not we need to put a coat on, or if there is a fierce wind blowing, if the sky is blue you get an automatic positive start to the day. In fact this morning, all the little clouds disappeared and by mid-morning it was really warm. I sat outside to eat my lunch and didn't even need my jumper, but at night it is colder. The duvet is back on the bed, and the jumpers are out ready for the evenings. Several of my friends have lit their fires, but we haven't gone that far yet, but it won't be long now. But we are among the lucky ones who have a fire to light, so we should all be counting our blessings.

So now I will link up with Annie's Friday Smiles, and Rocking Your World 2016. I am sorry it took a few days to visit you all last week. I will try to better this time.