Category: Stitching Smalls

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Melbourne, Stitching Smalls, Works in Progress

Leporello & more birthday gifts

Anne S

As promised yesterday, I can finally share Nicki’s beautiful gift with you – every time I’ve seen one of Nicki’s gorgeous over-one stitched letters I’ve drooled … now I can drool over my very own one!  I just adore my pinkeep, it’s stitched and finished perfectly as always … and once again very scrummy colours! 😉  As well as my gorgeous pinkeep, Nicki also sent a really cute notebook too, which will come in very handy! 😀  Thanks again Nicki, I love everything and will treasure my pinkeep always! And I love the clever personalisation on the back! 😀

   

The other photos I have to share are of my Stitching Leporello – part one is now all finished.  I just realised I had the stitching on a bit of an angle, so the camera has blurred the bottom part of the ‘frontal’ photo as I used my SLR, but you get the idea … also I tried to take one photo on an angle to show up the beads.  I really need to get a tripod so I can take better photos – another challenge for the year, I think, to improve my photography skills!  In the meantime, though, these’ll have to suffice.  As usual with this sort of design, the photos don’t do the project justice whatsoever … it’s just gorgeous in real life!  Unfortunately, though, it won’t see the light of day for at least another 3 months, as my upcoming stitching time will now be spent on the CA Wells class projects plus a birthday gift or two.

 

And on that note, I’ll shut down for the day, as Mum and I are off to Healesville Sanctuary for the day – and if we have time we’ll call into Emerald Lake Park before coming home.  It will be nice to have a day out in the fresh air.

Thanks again to everyone who has left me birthday wishes – I really appreciate all the comments, e-cards, and private emails I’ve received … thanks for helping to make the day extra special {{hugs}}.

Cross Stitch, Stitching Smalls

Enabling Post!! (updated)

Anne S

Oh my, for lovers of “stitching smalls” check out these beauties! Wow, I just love them all!!! They’re all from The Cat’s Whiskers … WOW!!! Click on the link for all the latest releases. Guess who’s wishlist is growing? LOL – more incentive to hurry up and get cracking on that 50 project challenge (although there was talk of increasing it to 100 … perhaps I could do 50, have a splurge, then do 50 more? LOLOL) These ones are my favourites:

The Peacock Stitching Chair (how cool is this??)
Stitching Chair closed Stitcing Chair open

Blessed with Happiness Embroidered Box
Happiness Box

Birds of a Feather Dilly Bag with Stitching Accessories
BOAF Dilly Bag

Grandma’s Cushions Thread Wallet
GC Thread Wallet

Alyssum Scissor Pocket (Limited Release 2007)
Alyssum scissor pocket

Phew, that excitement in my mailbox woke me up this morning! I felt so rough last night I ended up not stitching at all, and just went straight to bed, where I slept for almost 11 hours yikes! Hopefully I can get a few stitches in this morning before I go to work – I’ve already printed off a few more properties to take in to show Sheree (love the Domain’s house alerts by email!), and once I’ve stopped salivating over the new releases I’ll have a quick bite of brekkie and get motivated. I still feel slightly like a train wreck, but hopefully it’ll ease off before work 🙂

Hope you enjoyed the piccies! 😀

(Update) Oh man, my inbox is going to be the death of me today … I also just found out tha CA Wells is doing a class here in Perth in April – oh boy, would I LOVE to go to that?? I’ve sent a quick email to find out if there are any spaces left, and what the details are … it would be a very cheap holiday apart from the class cost, as I get a very good travel discount on the flights, and a close friend moved to Perth from here last year and is always hassling me to come visit, so I’d have free room and board – how cool would that be? Anyway, I’d better not get too excited, as I presume it’s all booked out, but it’s nice to dream! And when I move in with Sheree it’ll be approx $400 savings each month, which means these sorts of splurges are very ‘do-able’ in the future 😀 BTW, can you tell I’m still not stitching?? LOL.

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls

It’s Friday!!

Anne S

And you have no idea how wonderful it is that it IS Friday!  Day 7 today, with 5am starts, and it’s been a killer of a week with the heat etc.  I had a very stressful day at work from the minute I walked through the door at 4.55am – Heathrow airport had bad weather with planes diverted to Stanstead, and I was the contact to liaise the rebookings etc … got some very lovely praise in writing from both the Supervisor in our office and the main operational guy in Sydney for the job I did (geez, I’m gonna start getting a big head soon LOL), but it hit me like a ton of bricks once the day finished – I feel totally drained!

Then after work I had to make a side trip to Wonga Park to drop off a boot-load (trunk-load for those of you in the northern hemisphere) of pet food off to the Blue Cross – we had a charity collection at Christmas for this animal shelter, and I finally found the time to drop it off.  It took me in the opposite direction to home, and a 2-hour round trip, but at least it’s done.  I didn’t realise how close I was to Frazier’s folks, so I made a quick phone call to see if they were home so I could catch up … alas they weren’t, but we made up for it tonight and chatted for 1 1/2 hours on the phone – unusual for me!  It was actually lovely to catch up with them, as I haven’t seen them for close to a year, if not longer.  When I move back to my old area, I’ll have to pop out and visit them more regularly again.  I was very touched when they told me off for not asking them for help when I told them I was moving out due to financial difficulties, and said there’s always a room at their place if I ever need it, for as long as I want – that’s incredibly kind of them!

When I finally got home this afternoon I was so exhausted I actually felt really queasy, so I went straight from the front door to the bedroom, and flopped out to sleep for 2 hours – I’m still quite shattered, but at least the queasiness has eased off.  I don’t know if I’ll get much stitching done tonight, though, and only managed one strand of silk in Bordeaux last night.  I’ll post a piccie later if I get chance to do any more, as there’s not much to show right now.

Talking of stitching – for CathyMK, you’re right the Treasures Workstation is the one by Judy Odell.  I signed up for this months ago before going on the Wagon along with the first SAL Yahoo group, and never could decide on the threads to use.  After trying to find a blue thread to substitute for the CCN ornie last month, I came across a Stef Francis thread (Bluebell) that KarenV sent to me, and think that would look beautiful for the flowers – I just have to decide which green thread to use and whether to use a contrasting thread as well.  But I’m a lot closer to at least starting than I was a few months ago! LOL.  I want to make a concerted effort to get this stitched soon, as I have the finishing kit all ready to go, so there’s no excuse after paying all that money out for it … and it’s such a gorgeous project 😀

   

I also found out the fabric I used for Egyptian Garden for those who asked … I used “Midas Touch” 32ct Belfast opalescent by Silkweaver – I originally ordered the Lugana version of it, and found it was too tiny to stitch on for the over-one, as the threads were quite clumped together, and the Lugana colour was too pale and apricot-y for my liking too … the Belfast is much darker and better for the project I think.  Sorry for the delay in finding the answer for you!  I still have no idea what the heck I’m going to do with the original fabric, and think I may try to dye it a different colour … I’m really not sure!

Rightio, time to go settle down for the night – I think I’ll crack open a bottle of Chardonnay to help with the chilling out process … that’ll be one less bottle to pack later teehee.  Talking of which, Sheree is calling a real estate agent today about a property that sounds really nice in Blackburn South which comes free next week … we’ll have to see what comes of it, but it’s closer to my old neck of the woods and looks quite modern – she specifically wants somewhere with two bathrooms, and we both want three bedrooms, which makes it harder to find somewhere, but this one seems to fit the bill … fingers crossed …  It’ll be so nice to be closer to my buddy, Sharon 😀

SBQ, Stitching Smalls

SBQ – Finishing Links

Anne S

(Edited to add a few more links I tracked down, as the original pages had been moved…)

Today’s SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:

“Do you have any good internet links to tutorials for your favorite finishing techniques that you would like to share?”

Funnily enough, I’ve been thinking for a while now to have a page set up on my blog dedicated to my finishing links! Here goes my list of finishing links and tutorials – there are loads here that others have no doubt already listed, but there may be some other unknown ones (I thought I had some others too, but I can’t find them at the moment):

Different Techniques:

Biscornu/Pincushions/Pinkeeps:

Needleroll instructions:

Wallhangings/Bellpulls:

Needlebook/Needlecase:

Scissor case:

Scissor fobs:

Pillows:

Bookmarks:

Fabric Book Covers:

Flat-fold/Cube-it:

Sachets/Bags:

Ornaments:

Nametag:

Cording, Tassels, & Miscellaneous:

Finishes, Needlerolls, Stitching Smalls

It never rains, it pours … & I’m flooding!

Anne S

Edited to add this positive news:

Tonight I decided to start a new project, being Sapphire Star canvaswork by Laura J Perin … after getting everything out, and making a working copy of the chart, I realised I’d goofed … I thought I had everything aside from the one thread that’s still on back order from months ago, only to find I don’t have any 18″ stretcher bars … doh! Oh well, it’s not as if I don’t have any other projects to choose from …

Instead I frogged the bottom band on my A Stitcher’s Needleroll by Lorri Birmingham … actually I ended up frogging part of it twice! Firstly to fix the error in the chart by removing the extra space between the body of the design and the bottom band (it was bugging me, and I couldn’t just leave it in) … then because I’d thrown all the kit threads out, thinking it was finished at the start of September, I re-kitted using the colour key … the second bit of frogging was due to misprint in the colour key (geez, I love Lorri Birmingham designs, but I seriously HATE all the chart errors!!!) – I ended up dragging my 500 series of threads out and colour matching with the rest of the finished stitching. I also subbed the bright pink ribbon, thinking a nice purple one would blend nicely, and it’s finally finished into an actual needleroll – which means I can finally add it to my 50 Projects tally … the stitching was done just prior to signing up, but it was within the official starting date of the rules – my compromise was that I wouldn’t add it to my tally until it was finish-finished … and now I can woohoo 😀
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
A Stitcher’s Needleroll by Lorri Birmingham
stitched from the kit contents
Photo compliments of Photobucket … bah humbug Blogger!
*********************************
Well, the good times just keep on rollin’ in my neck of the woods! Today I was worried I hadn’t heard from Mum and she said she’d phone today … so I thought I’d give her a quick call, only to find the home phone not working. The phone line is fine, as my PC is working with the internet with no problems … but I can’t get a true dial tone and use my home phone. A quick test using my mobile phone and it’s ringing on my mobile, but not ringing on the home phone … which means it’s likely my home phone needs to be replaced! I just cancelled my ‘messaging’ service on my home phone to save money, so the next phone will have it’s own answerphone … I guess my new phone will be my next ‘essential’ purchase. I could actually do without a home phone if it wasn’t for keeping up to date with Mum, and that’s critically important for me.

Anyway all I can say is “bring it on!!!!” … perhaps you can think of something else to add to the ever-increasing list of crappy events before the holiday season is over … well I’m not caving in!!! OK, that’s my rant for the night … now I’m off to sulk in my stitching corner to focus on all the positive things in my life right now … I refuse to let this latest event get me down! Mind you, with the way my financial situation is going, my 50 Projects Challenge may end up as a 100 Projects Challenge haha … although I’m likely to run out of DMC by then LOL. Right, I’m off to start something new to cheer myself up!

And on another negative note, I can’t believe it, but some thieving scumbag has stolen quilts from Amitie Textiles in Bentleigh … I’m absolutely gobsmacked that someone could do this. Here’s the link to the announcement on their blog … I thought I’d mention it in case any of my Melbourne readers are interested. I’m still shaking my head in disgust!

Now I also have a request from you – do any of you have any wonderful tried-and-tested bread recipes for a breadmaking machine, that don’t use a million different ingredients (or even those that do)? I have used a couple of recipes from the machine’s instruction manual that are good, but I also have a cookbook especially for bread machines, and the three loaves I’ve made so far have been dismal, and the book’s going out in the bin! I’d love to find some good recipes out there for trialling 😀 And another apology to Mum – if you don’t hurry up and get over here for a holiday, there’ll be no beer left … I have another loaf of Wholemeal beer and mustard bread baking … my fave recipe so far – guess who’s having cheese and pickle sandwiches for lunches next week again? haha.

Cross Stitch, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls

#3 of 50 and a Special Visit

Anne S

Two reasons to celebrate today (3 if you include the fact I only have one more 5am shift left this week woohoo) … I can cross off project #3 from my 50 Projects Challenge – and the final product (with those very very expensive beads LOL) went to the lovely Katrina today 😀 Yes, it’s true, we got to meet each other face to face today, and she’s even lovelier in person than on her blog, if that’s possible! 😀 It was awesome that we got to meet up and spend some time together before she flies home – and she says a big “hi” to everyone!! She sneaked in a quick blog reading session while visiting family at the weekend, but no doubt will be catching up properly when she gets home again 🙂

I had originally planned to stitch Katrina a self-designed needleroll, but my creative juices just didn’t come together in the end with my health issues etc, and the final design still needs a bit of tweaking … a quick glance over Katrina’s wishlist and I found the Cherry Blossoms Fob by The Sweetheart Tree hiding in there, which I had in my stash all kitted up for myself … it became the perfect solution. I’m still disappointed my needleroll didn’t come to fruition, but I liked how the little fob turned out, and will definitely stitch it again for myself (even with the pinks LOL).
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Unfortunately dopey me forgot to pack my camera to take with me today (my brain doesn’t really function at 4am – it’s even slower than it normally is, and that’s saying something), so I couldn’t take a photo myself, but Katrina had hers, as did her Mum, so you can look forward to one down the track when Katrina gets home hopefully 🙂

I couldn’t bring a photo home with me, but I did get spoilt rotten and given a beautiful gift from Katrina too … this is a design I’ve been ogling for a while now, but haven’t gotten around to stitching it for myself yet, and now I don’t need to – I now have a gorgeous pinkeep to have on display, and it will always remind me of our first meeting, so it will always be treasured … I just love it!! But that’s not all, I also got a needleroll chart by Forever In My Heart, who I’d never heard of before … this chart is so versatile as you could use just about any colour combination, and I’ll definitely be stitching one of these soon (in fact my mind was ticking over with the thread possibilities as soon as I had it in my grubby little hands). I just love everything, thank you so much, my friend – and it was such a wonderful treat to meet you! {{hugs}}
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting
Unfortunately it’s now onto very mundane stuff, after all that excitement, as I have to get all the housework done tonight ready for a workmate arriving tomorrow evening, then tomorrow a lot of the prep needs to be done ready for Saturday night’s dinner banquet here … can’t say I’ll be even looking at a needle, never mind using one, before Sunday (if that). When I do, though, I’m thinking of throwing my rotation out the window until I get the Dratteds done completely … I would dearly love to get the Dolphins stitched by year end, and my new idea is to stitch 10 hours on them, then stitch a Christmas ornie or needleroll (just something small and quick) or do a spot of finishing, then back to 10 hours of the Dratteds and so on, until they’re finished. If I do that, I’m hoping to have them finished by the end of October, especially if I can really put some serious work into them on my days off … well, that’s the plan anyway … but you know what they say about the plans of mice and men … 😉 LOL.

So in the words of Looney Tunes’ Porky Pig … for now, “th-th-th-th-th-th-that’s all folks!” 😉

Stitching Smalls

Photo for Tessa

Anne S

Just to satisfy Tessa’s curiosity … here’s my basket of ‘smalls’ – in fact, here’s a “before” and “after” shot haha … the first photo is from when I first started blogging just over a year ago – and the 2nd is the result after a year’s worth of stitching to fill it up! I eventually want to find a nice long narrow basket especially just for my needlerolls, which will give a bit more space to my pincushions again, but for now this will suffice. It’s sitting on top of my new Ikea cabinet I made last month which houses my glasses, and is the first thing you walk past when you come into my wee flat. I can’t believe how full that basket has got recently … me thinks perhaps I’m going to have to find another one to fill again soon too 😉

before ……………………….. after
Aside from that, nothing to post about really – I’ve been feeling really down and homesick today, so a phone call home helped a bit before settling down for the night. I’ve just been moping around for the last two days, perhaps because I haven’t been at work so haven’t had the distraction of chatting to other people there, and I’ve really been missing Mum since she’s been gone. Oh well, it’s back to work again tomorrow for 4 nights of 6pm starts (my least favourite shift – yuk!!), so I’ll have plenty of things to keep my busy then … I might even sneak in a small stitching project for work too, seeing as every now and then we get a quiet night and can get a few stitches in between phone calls 😛 This time I’ll make sure it’s not a Lorri Birmingham kit, so there shouldn’t be any errors for me not to notice!

And I’ll soon be meeting Katrina face-to-face when she’s over visiting Melbourne during the next couple of weeks, so that’ll be a great cheer-me-up and something to look forward to 😀 Then on 30 Sep I’m hosting my very first dinner party since I’ve moved out on my own … which is a huge big deal for me, as I’m inviting 4 people from work phew! I’m really nervous about it, but really looking forward to it as well – two of the ladies are definitely staying over for the night too, as they have a long way to drive, so it will be a fun social weekend, as we’ll be finishing off with brekkie at St Kilda before they head off home. I’m not really social on the whole, as I’m quite shy, and having people from work in my home is a biggie … I’m just nervous that people can be quite judgmental, but I feel secure enough with my surroundings now to make the move and invite people round …

Over the next week I’m hoping to catch up on blog reading, as I’m usually little miss cranky pants during the day and don’t get any stitching done on these shifts (I can’t usually get to sleep until about 4am, and don’t get a good unbroken sleep) … I’ve decided I’m fed up with Newsgator now showing piccies on the subscription feeds, so I’m moving everything over to Bloglines, and I’m catching up on each blog at the same time as copying over the subscription details – unfortunately, though, it’s going to take me quite some time to do it all, so my apologies if it’s a while before I get to ‘your’ blog 🙂

Rightio, back into the kitchen again to finish cooking dinner … a very boring Tuna Bake, that’s going to last me for the next 3 nights …

Cross Stitch, Exchanges, Finishes, SBQ, Stitching Smalls

SBQ’s and a very quick update

Anne S

And still no stash photos – just haven’t had time … have hardly spent any time at my PC all week, but have been working hard to get my exchanges finished instead, as well as trying to unpack after my holiday, and tidy up a bit (my little flat looks like a bomb has exploded in it).

Anyway, just quickly I’ve managed to get my scissors fob exchange into the mail to Nicola (I’m safe to post piccies, because she doesn’t read my blog) – the stitching was all finished before I flew to NZ, I just had to whipstitch it, make the tassel and cording, and put it together … then while I was in NZ I just never got around to getting it done, and ended up bringing it back home with me (geez, I’m useless!!). Anyway, it’s finally in its little envelope and on its way back to NZ again phew!! And just for a change, blogger is having a hissy fit about posting photos, so I’m giving up … here are photos uploaded from Photobucket – and if you want to see a close-up of the front click here, and the back is here.
Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

My mail art is all finished with the stitching – I hope the recipient likes it, but I have to admit to being a bit worried about it … I think I struggled as I couldn’t work out the recipient’s preferences, as there is no online album that I could find, or wishlist, so I feel like I’ve been stitching ‘blind’. Today I have the job of putting it all together into it’s envelope shape etc – I was going to do it yesterday, but it was day 7 of work, after doing the last 3 days with 5am shifts, and I was worried with my tiredness I’d stuff it up … best to leave it until today … although I still feel half asleep, so I don’t know … haha.

This weekend is our needleroll SAL, but I don’t know whether I’m going to manage to get one stitched, as I really do need to get that mail art 100% finished – maybe I’ll get some time tomorrow to put a few stitches in. If I do, I think I’ll be working on my half-finished ‘sample’ one I was making for the Melanie’s Exchange, and try to get a little bit more stitched on it.

Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting Rightio, lastly on to the SBQ’s before I sign off … I now have 4 SBQ’s to catch up on, so I thought I’d bite the bullet and get them all out of the way today, ‘cos before I know it there’ll be another one being posted 😛 I’ve decided to just answer the first 3 initially, as the other one needs photos, and I’m not yet organised for that one.

17 May – Today’s SBQ was suggested by Jenna and is:

“Lately, it seems that many stitching bloggers have experienced a loss of their stitching mojo. Have you ever lost your stitching mojo? If so, how did you get it back and how long did it take?”

I lost my mojo when I first moved to Melbourne, due to appalling living conditions that just weren’t conducive to stitching – but as soon as I moved out with Fraze and we got our own place I bought a cheap recliner, set up my stitching station, and never looked back … in fact I’ve stitched more in the last 24 months than I’ve ever stitched, I think 🙂 I did get a bit overwhelmed with my commitment stitching etc over the last couple of months, which has been detrimental to my overall stitching … I think sometimes it’s a bit of a carry-over from when I had concussion years ago – even now if I get over-tired, I struggle to ‘focus’ on things – I find I have to make lists etc to keep on track, but when I get overwhelmed with ‘stuff’ my head almost gets too cluttered and I lose track. I can sit in a chair, knowing I have lots of things I must get done, but half an hour later I’m still sat there, and don’t know where the time has gone hmmm. Now I’m realising that I need to be more realistic with my stitching time, especially as sometimes I get really tired with my shift work, so I can be more in control.

24 May – Today’s SBQ was suggested by Nancy and is:

“What is your favorite specialty stitch? Which one is your least favorite? Why?”

I don’t know what my favourite stitch is at the moment – I enjoy doing Rhodes stitches in whatever shape or form (which is probably a good thing, seeing as there are so many in the Bordeaux Mystery Sampler!), and I really enjoyed doing the Waffle stitch for my Melanie’s Exchange needleroll – I just enjoy the variety of loads of different stitches. Probably my least favourite would have to be bullion knots and french knots … definitely a lot easier to answer! haha.

31 May – Today’s SBQ was suggested by Carol and is:

“Do you collect charts by one particular designer, yet have never stitched anything by that designer? If so, which designer and why do you collect the charts but have not yet stitched any of them?”

Perhaps the designs that come to mind here are Teresa Wentzler … I went through a phase where I had to buy every single design that TW had put out, and continued to do so for quite some time, including trading and tracking down copies all over the world (prior to knowing about Ebay!). I’ve never actually stitched any of them in their entirety, although I do have two of them that are currently UFO’s, so I do expect to eventually finish them both. I doubt I’ll stitch much of my collection, but it’s the only one I’ll be hard pushed to part with. Even if I never stitch them, I love flicking through the charts in my folder like a book of fine art – it’s uplifting for the soul to just feast your eyes on such beauty 🙂

I also started doing the same with Mirabilia charts, and used to received her new charts automatically – but the designs changed and I no longer loved them as I used to, so I stopped … I’ll still buy one if I fall in love with it, but it’s more rare these days, and I’ve even been putting a few up for trade that I know I’ll never stitch in a month of Sundays. They’re probably the main two designers I’m guilty of collecting.

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls

Another day gone …

Anne S

… and still no needle in sight …

We have, however, uncovered the answer to the mystery of the weird-looking creature in my previous post – Sharon, you’re spot on, thank you!! I did a Google on “case moth” and found the following link, with some interesting info. Also, glad to know it’s harmless … and not a relative of the dreaded 8-legged Huntsman or something daft – quite fascinating to see it, and it’s the second one I’ve seen now, so the curiosity got the better of me this time … there you go, Mum, now we know! 😀 The male moth is quite spectacular when it emerges … typical, though, the female has to spend all its life cooped up in that cocoon ;P

And I’m glad to hear my last piece of stitching finally reached its destination, so I can finally release the full picture from the teaser I put out earlier – I stitched a small token of friendship for Jenna, to help to cheer her up after going through so much just lately … Jenna was one of the first people to comment on my blog when I started, and the comments she made had a big impact on my self-esteem, and that started to help me deal with things that had caused me personal pain last year – it was just a few kind words at just the right time … and it helped open my eyes to a whole big world out there, and start to appreciate who I am, and get back my caring nature. So, this little token was just my way of saying “thanks for everything – your friendship means a lot to me” 😀 Funnily enough, I’d already started stitching this when Jenna answered a previous SBQ about what the perfect project would be … the answer was “My perfect project would probably be a star-themed design, since I’m so nuts about stars. It would have some purple in it somewhere, or at least some blue. Kreiniks, of course, or another brand of metallic, to make the stars sparkle. And stitched on a gorgeous, rich hand-dyed fabric with luscious overdyed silk threads.” Amazingly, without trying, I think I almost nailed every point! haha. Glad you like it, Jenna – you deserve it! 😀

And it looks like my previous post has brought to the fore more Little Britain fans haha – now I know which of you have the craziest sense of humour haha. We’re always mimicking the characters … I mentioned to Rosa that last year I had my gallbladder removed, and while I was in hospital I was in a room with 4 beds – opposite me was an older lady who was a bit hard of hearing, and to the right of me was a younger lady who had her husband/partner visiting (we all had our curtains drawn) … anyway, the nurse came in a couple of times, and the hard-of-hearing lady was called Margaret … she’d come in and call out “Margaret … Margaret …” – I nearly wet myself, especially when a male voice pipes up from the next bed “… have we got any pirate memory games?” – I could hardly contain myself from giggling my head off … that programme has got so many people hooked, it’s great!

Anway, off to do something else for my final two hours before beddy-byes … I’m going in to work an hour earlier for overtime tomorrow, then I’ve amazingly managed to get 4 hours overtime on Sunday … the extra money will come in more handy than having the day off, I’ve decided! And it’s so rare to get overtime just lately, you grab it when you can!