Rein, deer?

So, Gentle Readers, I am unwell.  I can distinctly remember the last time I had five full days off work; it was in 2006, and we had just finished moving back into our beautifully renovated house, my lovely Ma and Hank were visiting, and I got a chest infection.  Not just any old chest infection, you understand, but the sort that fills you so full of sticky green slime that when friends ring up to find out where you are, you can't even talk to them, because your airways are full of said sticky green slime.  It was truly disgusting.


Anyway, I have fallen victim to one of the three or four viruses doing the rounds of the office, which started with just a light head cold, many thanks to Mr Golightly for passing that to the whole household, but unlike him, I didn't take to my bed for 24 hours; I just kept going to work & blowing my germs all over the office.  On Friday last week, I even went along to our Annual Christmas In July lunch at a hotel in town; anything less festive I have yet to experience, but a lot of food was consumed, and no small amount of alcohol, but I left at 3.00pm, heading for bed.


Saturday was the worst day, Sunday not much better, Monday I thought "this is ridiculous" and rang the Doctor.  First available appointment:  10.00am yesterday.  Lucky it was my 9-day fortnight day, and I wasn't going into work anyway.  Lovely woman that she is, my doctor took one look at me, listened to my chest, looked down my throat and in my ears, and banished me to bed for the rest of the week.  Well, strictly speaking, she said "stay at home", so I'm still feeling pretty crap, but I'm in the sewing room, and that's got to be a good thing (for me, and possibly even for you!)...


Some fabric has been purchased since we last spoke:

I found a new shop in Mona Vale, called Patchwork on Pittwater, and I went a bit nuts with bits and pieces of all of these - I think the Amy Butler might end up as a cushion, because it is rather gorgeous... 


In other news of somewhat more importance than feeding my fabric addiction, Mr Golightly's lovely niece Emma F-G is very soon going to have her baby, and I, somewhat fruitlessly, I might add, scoured through my books yesterday looking for something I could make for the baby, truly unnamed, but known to some of us as Linus.  That's a bit like the artist formerly known as Prince, isn't it?  Maybe he needs to become Prince Linus?  Oooh, I like that.


Anyway, I found a pattern for a reindeer (yes, a reindeer - didn't you know they're going to be the next big thing after monkeys, owls and talking cats...) in this book.  Hers was all white fleecy, graceful embroidery and felt.  Mine is .... not.

Cute, yes?  Those antlers were a bugger, let me tell you.


Ciao!

Pickle me grandmother!

Does anybody except me remember Ted Bullpit?  Not that I ever watched Kingswood Country, you understand, Gentle Readers, as I believe it was on TV at a time when I didn't own one (and didn't miss it either, I might add) ... the most memorable thing about it was the way Ted treated his son-in-law, who, in real life, was Greek, but who played an Italian in the show.  Apparently the producers thought nobody would notice or care...


Anyhoo..., I have been somewhat unwell today, and yesterday, in fact, and spent most of the past 24 hours prone, in the dark, bucket close to hand.  Got up at 4.00pm to make some cushions (as you do), and to try out this little demon:

which snuck into the house after the craft show.  1100 stitches a minute makes it perfectly suitable to use for upholstery and the best part?  It's the same size as a normal machine, so I can make cushions & stuff without having to find a new house for something this size, 1.25 metres long, 60cm deep, 90cm high (read: needs a large space)... 

Anyway, I whipped out some Amy Butler home dec fabric I've had lying round for quite a while, which MGF Kaz waits patiently for me to make into cushions for her, and thought "oh, why not?"

So, here we are.

I had to fiddle a bit to get the tension right, but I think she'll like them.  Now, what's next?

Ciao!

Sick. I'm fully sick. Really.

Actually, in some cultures, Gentle Readers, that actually means "I am unwell".  Amusingly I had a phone call from Miss BlueLambb this afternoon enquiring if I was actually still employed by the August Institution, as I haven't been there for a week (Thursday was the Australia Day Holiday, Friday was swapped for my regular Tuesday off, as we had a half-day offsite thingy scheduled for our whole team & my lovely Boss wanted me there), and today is apparently Wednesday.  So.  

I have acquired some stinky virus, which has given me a nasty wheezy cough, which is happily producing **TMI ALERT** yellow-greeny slime, a headache, pounding sinuses and lethargy.  That's definitely the highlight.  I'm still in my PJ's, (not too unusual, I hear you say...) for the third day running (that's the unusual bit - how did I get to the Doctor?) apart from a brief sojourn in real clothes so I could go to the doctor, get anti-biotics for the (wait.  Is that hyphenated?  Antibiotics.  Anti-biotics.  Who cares, really?) chest infection, and ... oh bugger, I've lost the thread.  I'm sick, y'know.

Anyway, before all this happened, we spent a lovely relaxing weekend in the Hunter, and MGF Kaz and I took some nice pics.

Kaz's Sunday morning sunrise:

 Strawberry?

Sit up nicely!

Who, me?  On the furniture?

Gimme five!

On Saturday morning these guys were pictured having a bit of a sleep in, in next door's paddock.  Quietly, oh so quietly, I tiptoed round the verandah in my LLBean slides so I could get a quick pic... obviously not quietly enough.

Hello?

Did you hear something?

Quick, let's go...

On another note, I took absolutely no sewing with me, which was a bit silly in hindsight, because I'd promised Master H that I would make a pouch for his mother's birthday (29th January, oops) - you can tell I'm sick, can't you?  I just split that infinitive right down the middle.  I promised Master H that for his mother's birthday, I'd make a particular pouch.  It's still on the sewing machine.  I started it before we went to the Hunter & tried to finish it when we got back from the Hunter, but due to an earlier-than-usual dinner start time, and the incipient virus, it's still sitting there.  Very soon now, honest.  Mr Golightly pointed out two rules of sewing that I broke trying to get it finished in time - measure thrice, cut once; and, don't sew when you're sick/tired.  Very nasty.

Anyway, if only I'd taken it all with me, I could have had it made before I got sick, I wouldn't have let Master H down, and he could have given it to his mother for her birthday (29th January, did I mention that?  Oh yes.  I'm sick, you know.)

So, no sewing, no work, no fun, no sin, no you, no wonder it's dark.  Anybody recognise that?  Me neither.  I'm sick.  Ciao!

PS Thanks to the Peppermint Penguin & the Chairy Godmother for the moral support.  I'm still here, for now!

Ch Ch Changes...

Well, this could be embarrassing... (how is it that focusing has one 's' and embarrassing has two?).  Oh yes, where was I?  Embarrassing.  I added a new widget to the bottom of my blog from a site called "BlogFrog" - with a name like that, how could I resist?  It's supposed to be a form of social networking for bloggers, which might be nice, for those of us who can't go to things like "BlogHer" (but, I have to say, why would you want to?  Isn't cybercontact enough, already?)  Ooops, I digress again... and of course it's supposed to show you when people have read your blog.  I could be sitting there waiting for the pot to boil for a long long time.  


No, I know there are a few hardy souls who read this drivel through thick & thin, which is encouraging...


Did you also note I'd changed the banner?  I think sometimes a new look is good, even though none of my gentle readers could tell me how to add a background to my blog... I found instructions, I read them, I tried, I really did.. but some things just elude me - it's like long division, algebra and programming in C++, you know, they just go in one end and out the other.   Mr Golightly was no help either, even though he's the compleat geek, he was too busy fixing his toilet.  That's a whole other story I'm not telling. 


Weather-wise, it was nice having a day of 40C/104F yesterday, because it reminds us all how lovely it is to have a day of 29C/84F.  I was out west yesterday, and ventured out only once, to buy lunch, then returned to the slightly overheated damp cave I work in... no wonder I feel a bit odd today.


Oh yes, did I mention?  I feel a bit odd today.  Sore throat, sore ears, glands are up, eyes feel very sticky, head feels very cotton-woolly.  It's 10.50AM & I'm still in my PJs.  Not at work, in case you were worried.  


And on the supplies side, these arrived yesterday:

And these:

I loved the red and blue so much I thought I'd give the turquoise and coral a burl - they are very nice, I must say.  What a talent that nice Mr Dewberry is.

And in other news just to hand, I've been invited by my lovely friend Fluid Pudding to join her Flickr Group "Tide Whiff Wise", which is another way of saying 2010 is "The Year During Which I Finish What I’ve Started (TYDWIFWIS).  As the proud owner of many UFO's*, I'm determined to finish the lace scarf I started for my lovely SIL** two (at least) years ago, before her birthday.  When is that, I hear you saying?  Oh, if you must know, it's in October.  But that doesn't mean it'll be done in time - I just can't knit in summer because it's too hot, we're away for all of April, May, June, July & August are prime sewing months because its cool, so it'll have to be September.  Don't expect to hear from me then!

And now, back to bed.  I've exhausted myself with all this typing and I need to rest.  I'm so precious :-)

*Un-Finished Object

**Sister-in-Law