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🧶 Tidying up loose ends

Believe it or not it’s been a few weeks since I’ve picked up a knitting needle. I know a lot went on this past month but that is very unusual. I was in the middle of making those fingerless gloves/wrist warmers and lost interest – gathered everything up and put it away……The Golfer even remarked about how tidy my corner of the room was but it just seemed like too much effort to carry on…….until we had those cold wet days last week.

I still haven’t picked up a knitting needle but have used a sewing one to finish off 3 pairs. At least they’re done and can be put in the charity box along with a couple of 2nd size jackets ‘discovered’ tucked away unfinished. I’d actually forgotten about them which is strange because I know I enjoyed making them

Using another of those little grey Patons booklets popular during the 1960s (this one’s much the worse for wear and has lost its front cover) and 8ply/dk + uk8/4mm (Quickerknit discontinued years ago) they usually turn out about the same size as the original. It’s always struck me as a ‘girly’ design hence the ‘girly’ colours but as I’m not a fan of picot edges I use a plain cast off instead

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Now this might make you laugh……..at the beginning of January- 3 months ago – I had thoughts about making this little dolman jumper……..https://cranethie.com/2026/01/06/new-days-new-ways/……..’found’ tucked away with the jackets…….must but going round the twist because I don’t even remember making it! It’s turned out ok so maybe I’ll make another one….if I remember 😊

Also (still on driving restrictions) I wasn’t able to get to the most recent book club gathering on Friday so by finding the new book online I did someone a favour – saving their fuel by not having to deliver me the book in hand version.
Not sure what’s going on overseas but here the price of ULP has risen to over $2.50 a litre 😳

There should be more dancing – Rosalie Ham 2011

Set in the inner suburbs of Melbourne so familiar language and landmarks. From a couple of chapters in I can tell it’s going to be a ’humorous’ read with underlying tones of anything and everything to do with ageing, families and friends.
Plenty to think about!

It’s Wednesday – the first Wednesday in April
if you’d like to see what others have been making, reading or just talking about pop over to Kat’s……
she hosts ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘ and would love to see you there
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Brotherly love…..

I wrote a little note to my brother telling him that despite my concerns about having surgery it all went well.   As I’d mentioned here I was out of bed the next morning and walking (slowly) unaided with no pain.  Home the next day – smiling all the way 

Then of course reality set in…..
Things change as healing begins….
I keep likening it to when you get a new hairstyle……
Oh that’s great, looks and feels different, a boost to your morale then later you trying to do things to it and it doesn’t style/dry/curl the same way as before….because it’s not the same as before 

After a week my walking was ‘ok’ – not quite as upright as the first couple of days…..with a few ouch’s and grimaces thrown in
The Back felt quite tight and there was an ache around the hip nearest the wound site (two small 1cm incisions) hence the apprehension on walking. Originally it was a pain that ‘moved about’ hip/leg/back but had subsided to a dull ache in the one spot. Seemingly quite common

There are no actual exercises to do (they can come later)…..except at the moment walk each day – suggested time 1hr😦
Oh yeah I said to the physio at the hospital……5 mins here and there, little and often to begin with will do the trick, he said
Oh and don’t forget….no BLT. 😳😳
Bending- Lifting – Twisting!

So after reading all that my brother comes back with –
‘You’ll be right. Rest up then’
Me –
Rest up – haha. 
With post op ‘instructions’ saying aim for 1hr walking each day. Seemingly it promotes healing!
He then true to form says –
‘Walk to the pub and back….sorted ,,, follow me for other medical advice!!
Dont you just love little brothers and the way they think😊
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Things are much better now…..much improved over the past week but don’t put my name down for the 100 metres dash yet though. I’m hanging out to get back to the warm water pool to exercise in a different way……..have to wait until the wound site is absolutely healed.
Same with a bath (one of my life’s little pleasures)….I’m missing those calm gentle feelings of relaxing in warm water. Showers just don’t do it for me
And I shouldn’t grumble considering what was done to my spine, things moved aside, bits shaved off bone.  Nerves and tissue take time to heal.  I definitely wouldn’t return to how I felt prior to surgery!

And would you look at that – it’s Monday- the last Monday in March!
Monday’s the day I often sit here and think about things
I’m nursing a cup of tea and thinking about how cool last week was and how I hope the BOMs forecast for this week stays on track
Probably a last seasonal hurrah of 20s / 70s
The countdown towards winter has begun with the clocks changing on Saturday which among other things means I don’t have to recalculate the time when I’m out
Aka – the clock in the car will show the ‘correct’ time 😁

Is there anything you’re thinking about this Monday?
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Interesting summary on walking after spinal surgery ~ HERE
(I have no connection with this surgeon or his clinic)

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The bed head look……

Dry hospital air (plus a general anaesthetic) doesn’t do much for hair….voila Catherine as The Golfer found her at lunchtime today.
All smiles because she’d been up for a couple of short walks and discovered she could walk upright (something she’d hadn’t done for quite a while) and pain free (something she hadn’t been for quite a while
As I mentioned last month, with all the new advances in spinal surgery they don’t keep you in for long so I’ll be making my way home tomorrow morning.

In the meantime having finished Garry Disher’s new release (Mischance Creek) I’m trying Bridgerton- a new to me series. And what better way to begin but at the beginning. The Duke and I is #1…..early days yet, the Dukes family have been introduced – likewise the Bridgertons – followed by the strange/bizarre way Daphne and The Duke are introduced to themselves. An easy read so far, might turn out a bit on the light side…..but light is good when the mind and body are recovering
And there you see my token nod to St Patrick’s Day yesterday…..my green spectacle case.

The Golfer is certainly helping the recovery stage by bringing me chocolates…..which he helped himself to. Much cheaper than grapes he said…..left over from Christmas, tucked away in the cupboard and forgotten about until he went looking for something last night😊

Bye for now
I’ll see you in a few days
Cathy xx

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Today’s the day…..

For wearing the green!

Because of circumstances I was born in England but deep down feel very Irish

My father was born in Ireland 

Because of circumstances my mother was born in England 

All my grandparents were born in Ireland and all my great grandparents were born in Ireland 

A couple of Scots snuck in and joined up with the 14 Irish born great great grandparents

I choose to live in Australia but I think I have enough Irish blood in me to warrant wearing the green (and maybe a touch of orange) today

Have a great day

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It’s time…..

My mind’s been doing some walking so be prepared for a rambling post

Tomorrow is The Day – I’m beginning to feel more relaxed about this surgery……well outwardly maybe, still a few jelly wobbles (or even collywobbles) inside but there’s not much I can do about that.

So I’ll just keep on tapping — a technique I’ve been familiar with for a long time that’s been around in various guises for many years — until it’s time for my trolley ride…..which is now later than first arranged.

My admission time has been put back to 10am from the ridiculously stupid o’clock 6.30am 😳 so my ride down the corridor is now scheduled for 12.15pm. Not sure if that’s better or worse. Early admission meant it was all go, no time to pause and think – later means sitting around at home and half the day gone by the time I arrive at the op theatre’s doors.
I know…..I’m complaining about a very privileged first world situation

The Golfer has had his Tuesday messed around with as well…..
The original time meant he could say goodbye as I was on my way to theatre at 8.30am and get to the gym for his usual DVA health and welfare session….. now even if he (highly unlikely) did a kiss and run when he dropped me off at 10am it’d be over and done with by the time he arrived.
He doesn’t deal well with sickness in any form so we’ve agreed when I go to theatre he won’t stay there grumbling worrying with nothing to occupy his mind but would visit an ‘old mate’ Coffee and a chat with him will be better than coffee on his own

This past couple of weeks there’s been lots of funny conversations with family about goings on surrounding hospital stays – you know those ‘this happened to me’ ones that are meant to relieve tension by making you laugh.
This one came from my sister about her admission a couple of summers ago…..
…….Discharged 10am Saturday morning, waiting for meds before release and there’s B… pacing up and down complaining he had to be be back for cricket…….for a home match that started at 2pm .
Maybe The Golfers not quite as bad as my bro in law when it comes to sport

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In the meantime – this tempting offer arrived via email the other day.

  • Attn: Beneficiary,

Thank you very much for your patience. After several years waiting to receive your ATM card millions of Dollars, we have been instructed  by IMF and WORLD BANK to inform you that your ATM number 4500 9050 0004 0979 was now changed to the new ATM card which you can be easily use to withdraw the total funds to your local bank account in your country. Your total funds 10.5MUSD have been uploaded inside the ATM card . When you receive the ATM card , What you need to do is to go to any ATM machine in your country or any part of the world and withdraw your funds without any delay and without any problem.

We are waiting to hear from you as soon as you receive this email so that we can direct you how to go and how you can receive your ATM card. You are to furnish us with the following information for the delivery of the ATM card to you.

Last Name…………………………………
Other Names……………………………….
Date Of Birth……………………………..
Gender……………………………………
Marital Status…………………………….
Occupation………………………………..

PRIVATE Address……………………………
City……………………………………..
State…………………………………….
Country…………………………………..
Home Tel………………………………….
Mobile Tel………………………………..
Fax No……………………………………
Email…………………………………….

Thank you for your understanding .Looking forward to hearing from you on this email address  atmcarddepartment@amtcarddepartment.com  or cardatmpts4@outlook.com

Regards

Rev.Paul Peter.

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I laughed with a friend and said “they need to raise the bait a bit. With the price of groceries and fuel these days how long do they think 10 million USD (14 million AUD) would last????

(Yes I do realise it’s a scam)

Monday is the day I often sit here and wonder about things

Is there anything you’re wondering about this Monday?

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All together now….

Medley
In music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces played one after another, sometimes overlapping . They are common in popular music and most medleys are songs rather than instrumentals. source

There’s nothing like them to get people singing. There’s almost a feeling of achievement as the audience follows along knowing the words when the artist moves from one song to another
It appears that singing releases endorphins, serotonin and dopamine – the ‘happy’ chemicals that boost your mood and make you feel good about yourself
And I think you’d struggle to find an unsmiling person leaving a concert

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foster_and_Allen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_O’Donnell

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Ryan_(singer)

There’s lots of different styles to listen to and enjoy there
I bet you knew one or two of the songs and sang along as well 😊

Yes some are repeated – because they are familiar and I bet there’s many a homesick Irishman who’d sing about the place they left
The County of Armagh
The Homes of Donegal
The Green Glens of Antrim

And young Derek seems to appeal to a different age group with lively fun ones
The Rattlin’ Bog
Whiskey in the jar
The Rare old Mountain Dew
Courting in the Kitchen



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They’re a bonus….

I have a friend who (sometimes) talks in riddles

’I don’t know how I’m going to fill them’ she said

Ok I’ll bite – my thoughts when she came out with that

’Fill what?’

‘All those extra days’

‘Look at this’…..showing me a calendar on her phone

There’s an extra Sunday in March as well as an extra Monday and Tuesday

Click to enlarge or use two finger spread on screen

So looking at that we then worked out….

To her way of thinking there will be:-

An extra – Wednesday and Thursday in April
An extra – Friday, Saturday and Sunday in May
An extra – Monday and Tuesday in June
An extra – Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in July
An extra – Saturday, Sunday and Monday in August
An extra – Tuesday and Wednesday in September
An extra ~ Thursday, Friday and Saturday in October
An extra ~ Sunday and Monday in November
An extra – Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in December

’Oh wow, 23 extra days. Maybe I could take a holiday’

I just shook my head and said…..’shall we have another coffee?’

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I haven’t actually heard of it recently but going back a few years it was everywhere – does anyone remember or did actually receive the ‘823 years email’

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/823-years.htm

Fun Friday – the day you forget the worries of the week.

Will be back on Monday – See you you then

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🧶 Autumn Day4 ~ Fingerless Mitts with thumbs or ones without…..

To keep my mind occupied this past couple of weeks aka as trying not to overthink the proposed surgery due in mid March I’ve been doing my equivalent of craft shop dumster diving – having a dig around in the leftovers basket to see what else I can find to use

The thought was there to make more of the tiny trauma teddies but after a call out from a crafty friend for ‘quirky knits for teenage girls’ (bright colours if possible) I remembered seeing patterns for handwarmers & fingerless mitts with thumbs using cable stitches as a decorative feature.
Bright colours I have (although they don’t look very bright on the dull rainy day I photographed them. The calendar might say Autumn but I’m hoping we haven’t seen the last of the warm days)……small amounts I also have……(35gms dk/8ply maximum needed)…..


Both styles are easy to knit flat, all in one – the cable is only 2over2 so hardly qualifies for that term. I can see more being made which means my aim to lower the level in that basket could happen sooner than I thought it would😊

Links to free patterns

Bonnie Cabled Handwarmers

Cabled Fingerless Mittens with Thumbs

And of course the other thing I have to get on and do is the cross stitch birth sampler (similar to this one) for the babe due in 6weeks time

The pattern plus threads used last time are gathered together, just need to make sure there’s enough there before tootling off to Spotlight and hopefully not come home with more than Is necessary
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And now as…..after a long wait….. I finally received my copy of Garry Disher’s new novel, it’s time to settle down and get comfortable with Constable Paul Hirschhausen (Hirsch) as he solves more crime from his one man police station in rural South Australia
Fingers crossed its as good as the previous four in the series

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231221423-mischance-creek

I see the cost of petrol/gas has jumped sky high again…..obviously thanks to that bl**dy idiot and his pals and the tit for tat carryings on up there in another hemisphere. My health concerns are nothing compared to many in the world these days.


If you’d like to see what others are making, reading and talking about just click on ‘Unraveled Wednesday ‘…….
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Music Music Music

March is usually a warm ‘comfortable’ month down here in Melbourne

For various reasons- St Patrick’s Day being one of them 😊
I always feel it’s a month just made for music

And because I’m going to need a bit of comfort this March
Here are a few versions by some well known groups of one of my favourite tunes

 If you have a minute to spare take a listen and tell me which you prefer
The older comfy full on pub ‘session’ style……
…….or the more modern concert type production

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dubliners

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Irish_Rovers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Thunder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High_Kings

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You might notice there are varying lyrics but it’s still the same song and you have to agree they all have a place in the musical arena

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Velvet_Band

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📘 Summer love…..

As the late Summer days continued – fair days and foul wet humid days (cool ones as well) were spent reading ‘Beach Books’ those lighthearted easy to read, pick me up/put me down ones or others set in and around Summer. I enjoyed the Australian classics in January but there were an awful lot of words to digest in those books so was determined nothing heavy or taxing passed my eyes during February

Brighton (Victoria) Bathing Boxes aka Beach Huts – with Melbourne in the distance

One weekend was spent enjoying two of a series centred round brightly painted beach huts on the sands of a fictitious village in Dorset – The Beach Hut Series

The Beach Hut – Veronica Henry
Beach Hut #1
The Beach Hut Next Door – Veronica Henry
Beach Hut #2
The lives, loves and problems of owners/users plus extended family were there (in short story form) for all the world to see. It was interesting to see how the intermingling of the various families over the years cropped up in different stories
Fun reads 😎
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Then on to another quick read…..also set in an imaginary coastal village(on the ‘South Coast’).
The Little Beach Cafe – Sarah Hope
Escape to…Book 1
Pippa (a young single mum) is given the chance of a lifetime when she receives a bequest of a beach cafe from an elderly relative. This allows her and son Joshua to leave their life of scrimping and scraping, move to the coast and start afresh…….after a few set backs all is going ok, a friendship is developing with the local plumber then Joshua’s father, her ex turns up. There could have been a disastrous ending but……let’s just say alls well that ends well ❤️

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Later in the month I wanted something comforting, something soft but with a bit of a bite to it yet with a family feel so turned to a couple of Rosamunde Pilcher’s lesser known novels

The End of Summer – Rosamunde Pilcher 1971
Quite short, almost novella length, describing the return of 21yr old Jane to Scotland after seven years living with her script writing father in America following the death of her mother. Some surprises as she reacquaints herself with her grandmother and cousin and gets to know a family friend and ‘country lawyer. A good ending that you wondered about earlier on but weren’t quite sure if that’s the way it would pan out

Voices in Summer – Rosamunde Pilcher 1984
One of those pleasant English country garden type novels featuring Laura, Alec’s new (second) wife, who because of recent surgery is unable to go to Scotland on an annual fishing holiday with her husband and old friends of his. The novel covers the time Laura spends convalescing with Alec’s extended family in Cornwall…..with unexpected twists & turns, discovered emotions, realising her fears were unwarranted. Had a happy feel good look to the future ending

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And finally I moved on to something quite different- a murder mystery supposedly set in coastal Devon in August 1939 (Northern Hemisphere summer)

And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
Yes, an early work of the one and only Agatha Christie…..
Having seen the stage play i knew the storyline but had never read the book – the perfect choice for the letter C in my alphabet soup challenge

Eight guests plus a butler and housekeeper arrive at a little island- none will leave alive. A very short novel with a plot running along the lines of a children’s counting rhyme…..more descriptive than I imagined- the words in chapter 1 bringing each character to life subtly yet with humour . The suspense was there right to the last chapter…..complete with explanations for the surprise ending

And as Autumn begins in a couple of days (March 1st) I’m wondering if my reading pattern will change to reflect the new season
Only time will tell I suppose 😊

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