Seen in A&E

We do three or four twelve hour shifts a week, and we see EVERYTHING.

• A nurse covered in white splashes of plaster of paris.
• A patient being kept nil-by-mouth before going to theatre for emergency surgery, trying to sneak a swig of beer from a can in his bag.
• A bike helmet, crushed like an eggshell.
• A floor awash with urine.
• Doctors and paramedics in bright orange helicopter jumpsuits.
• Relatives crying and hugging each other.
• A passport drenched in blood.
• Porters pushing trolleys around with incredible skill.  How do they never hit anything?
• Nurses and doctors crowded around the radiographer, who is looking at a patient's brain scan.
• Nervous looking medical students.
• People practising walking down the corridors with crutches.
• A linen skip full of discarded red ambulance blankets.
• A nurse talking to a patient about cupcake recipes as she puts a needle in his vein to take blood.
• A man handcuffed to a trolley, escorted everywhere by two tall policemen with crackling radios. 
• Many, many people whose problems will be solved by going home, taking a paracetamol, and seeing their GP next week.

The new, blue, hospital behind the old one

Messy desk - a snapshot

On my messy desk this morning:

• the milk bill
• a letter from Olivia's school about a summer picnic
• a free cup of coffee from Waitrose - thank you Waitrose
• three unopened magazines
• this week's Nursing Standard
• a leaflet about pelvic radiotherapy in men
• unexpected Amazon parcels, which I think may contain birthday presents
• a new cookbook
• a textbook on acute and critical care nursing
• my Kindle - I need to load it up with more things to read later; I've just finished this book, which was a good recommendation from my father
• keys and glasses
• fabric for another dress
• a freshly baked croissant in a paper bag (my breakfast, along with the coffee)

It is my day off today.  After I've tidied my desk I plan to sit in the garden and read the backlog of magazines and my new cookbook. 

The pleasure of lemon and cardamom

I had a restless night.  I was too hot, and flung my quilt onto the floor.  I heard the milkman leave our three bottles at the door at 4:05am, when it was dark and still outside.  Just before 6am, I heard a taxi drop off someone for the house over the road - they were very quiet but struggled to get their key into their door the right way up.  I listened to a few podcasts and tried to doze, but couldn't. 

And then just before 7am, when it was beginning to get light, I realised what had been keeping me awake.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Very faint, but persistant.  I could definitely hear dripping.  I went to the bathroom, and it got louder.  I hoped it was next door's problem, but when I looked out of the window, I realised it was ours.  We were on the phone to the plumber before breakfast, and he said he could come by in the afternoon.

I couldn't settle to anything all day.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Then the plumber came.  He dismantled the toilet, he muttered about valves and asked us where the hot water tank was.  He put in new washers, replaced worn pipes, mopped up the mess and checked everything was dry and fixed.  I smiled and was relieved.  We laughed and chatted about his toddlers and our neighbours, and then he went home.

Just as earlier in the week, I was revelling in the beauty of cherry blossom once I knew that a car emergency was resolved, now that there was no more dripping to worry about I could settle down to something peaceful and absorbing.

I made some lemon and cardamom biscuits.  These biscuits are delicious, and I was delighted to be able to use the edelweiss biscuit stamp I bought when I was in Brienz in Switzerland two years ago.  I mixed, rolled, stamped and baked with great satisfaction.  I wished the plumber had still been around because I would have offered him one with a cup of tea.

~~~~~~~~~~

The recipe is from the new Hairy Bikers series - Bakeation.  C and I have loved the first three episodes, which have taken in Norway, Benelux and Germany, and with the accompanying book on sale at Amazon for an insanely cheap £8.86 I bought it without hesitation.  It is fabulous.

Two pink bags

I haven't done any sewing since Christmas, and I've missed it.  Over a couple of evenings this week I sewed two bags.  What I had forgotten was how quick sewing is compared to knitting, and how deeply satisfying it is to create something from nothing and end up with an item which solves a problem.  Both these bags were made to solve problems.

O's old ballet bag was looking a little childish suddenly, and it was awkward for her to carry into class because it had a drawstring rather than handles. 

She really wanted a stylish tote bag like everyone else has.  I was very happy to make her one and asked her to pick out fabrics.  Despite declaring that she isn't into pink at all any more, she chose two eyewateringly bright pink fabrics for the bag.  I think she likes to keep me on my toes. 

O's new ballet bag - extra pink

I whipped up this tote bag for her in an evening, and she loves it.  At ballet this week she sauntered off into class with her new bag slung over her shoulder, looking very pleased with herself.  All the other 9 year olds in her class were exclaiming over the deliciousness of the cherry, polka dot and gingham fabrics, which pleased her even more.  She can be sure that no one else will ever have a ballet bag quite like this one.

O's new ballet bag - everything still gets stuffed inside any old how

The second bag was made for a friend's 12 year old daughter.  S didn't want her small bedroom cramped with a big washing basket, so her mum asked me to make her a drawstring laundry bag which could hang on the back of her door instead.  S picked out the fabric for her laundry bag, and also chose pink - but in much more muted colours than my 9 year old.  Like me, S's mum also thought her daughter didn't like anything pink, but was proved wrong.  I think maybe all girls like to keep their mums on their toes.

Embroidering a label

Laundry bag label

I embroidered a label for the bag, and was delighted to find a little steam iron image amongst my vast collection of embroidery transfers from Sublime Stitching.  I really love this bag, and the fabric S chose.  I think it would be a nice idea to have one of these myself to pack into my suitcase when I go away, and keep dirty washing separate from clean clothes.

S's laundry bag - to hang behind her bedroom door

I hope S likes it as much as I do - I have a feeling she will.  I know her mum will just be delighted to get those dirty clothes off the floor and tidied away.  What is it with girls and discarded clothes?

O's bedroom this morning - with discarded bath towel, pyjamas and tops flung around.

Desk mess

I am not so much bothered about clean, but I am bothered about tidy.  Mess makes me cross.  And when it's my mess, that's even worse - there is not even a compensating glow of righteousness to be had.

My desk early this morning reminded me of a party game from my childhood.  We called it Kim's Game. We were shown a tray with an extremely random selection of objects arranged on it, for one minute.  The tray was then covered with a cloth and we had to write down all the items we could remember.  I always liked this list-writing game.

morning desk

My desk this morning had:

• laptop
• pyjama trousers needing hemming
• sewing machine
• a bag with a secret surprise for my Mum in it
• tins full of cables and sewing machine feet
• pens
• a bottle of water
• lip balm
• handcream
• a seam ripper
• keys,
• part of an oyster shell I found on the foreshore
• a note from school about fundraising for Japan
• a crumpled tissue
• a sewing pattern in a brown envelope
• sunglasses
• my normal glasses
• orange post-it notes
• a book in a fabric cover
• a baking magazine
• medicine
• a camera cable
• a camera case
• a bristling pincushion

evening desk

By this evening, nothing had been put away, but I'd acquired Rose Prince's Kitchenella from the library and another bottle of water from somewhere.  I'd plugged in my camera and cable and plonked my green satchel on top of the baking magazine.  It does look like I'd managed to put the crumpled tissue in the bin though. 

Sometimes even small achievements must be celebrated.

In the middle of things

The longer days and brighter sunshine of spring don't translate themselves into an urge to spring clean - they just fill me with enormous energy for making things.  I don't normally like to have multiple projects on the go, because I can end up feeling overwhelmed, but at the moment that doesn't seeem to be a problem.

One legwarmer for O is finished, and the second one is coming along nicely.

These are a fast knit, and I like the colours she has chosen - they remind me of ice cream for some reason.  The combo with the red tights is an adventurous, but typical choice for O, who has no concept of colours clashing or matching - anything goes.  I rather admire that.

My colour preferences are more muted at the moment though.  Yesterday I finished the first of these armwarmers in some delicious Malabrigo yarn which I bought on a trip to Loop at the weekend.

The pattern is the wonderful Toast, found here on Ravelry, with a few small changes of my own.  The second armwarmer is also on the needles, and I am racing to get it finished before this week's walk, which is pencilled in for Friday.  I will end up with almost a whole skein of the yellow left over, and think I may make another calorimetry headband from it.

The third bit of knitting on the go right now (I know - three! very silly) is this facecloth in Debbie Bliss Eco Baby cotton.

I love the cotton (in yet another pastel spring shade), I love the pattern, which is from a library copy of Debbie Bliss's new book The Knitter's Year, and I love the idea of washing my face with a knitted washcloth rather than a tired old flannel.  However, knitting moss stitch is so incredibly slow.  It will be weeks before it is finished.  This trade off means that it will be a while before I replace all the worn-out flannels in my drawer with lovely cotton washcloths - I find moss stitch so beautiful but incredibly frustrating.

There's sewing happening as well as knitting!  Maybe I'm drinking too much coffee at the moment.

Last night I finished these pyjamas for C.

The top is a long sleeved t-shirt from Uniqlo.  Uniqlo don't seem to sell children's clothes here in the UK, but the men's XS size fits 11 year-old C very well.  The bottoms I made myself from a georgously soft checked flannel which I bought at Fabrics Galore last year for a bargain £4 a metre.  I used my favourite Simplicity 3669 pattern, which I've been sewing from for years - they are so simple I can make a pair in about an hour from start to finish.  Even better, the children love to wear them because they fit so nicely and are very comfy.

And then yesterday I received two new Lisette sewing patterns all the way from New York, which had escaped the sting of extra customs charges (very satisfying).  In the same delivery was the new Oliver + S book too.  So today I am cutting out fabric for a top for me, and planning some nephew and niece birthday presents for later in the year as well.  This is a photo of my ironing board, submerged under patterns and fabric, this morning.

The Oliver + S book is a thing of great beauty.  As I suspected, most of the projects are for children younger than mine (really for babies and pre-schoolers, with a few projects also good for children in the first year or two of school), but that's fine by me as I have plenty of small relatives to sew for.  I love the book for having so many good projects for little boys, who often get a raw deal when it comes to handmade love.

The Lisette patterns are lovely - and I think they are good value, even when ordered from America, because each packet has four patterns inside.  I bought these two patterns for the tunic tops, but now I have the patterns I also think I might make this skirt too.  I really like the skirt length and the button tabs at the front.

I am now off to make myself another pot of coffee.  There is spring making to be done - so much more fun than spring cleaning!

Faces next....

They thought hands were a bit tame, and did their faces next.

Cherry hands

The sights and sounds of midsummer in our garden - two children, home from school, with cherry stained hands and faces.

What's beside the bedside?

So Ali asked me what was on my bedside table. Jewellery mostly.

There are pots, dishes, bowls, boxes and all sorts of proper places to leave my jewellery at the end of the day, but I never do.

In this picture I can count 10 pairs of earrings, 2 bracelets, one necklace and a brooch. There is another whole part of my bedside table that I didn't photograph.

The little pot of cream is Jasmine Enriching Cream from Neal's Yard and it is the nicest cream in the whole world. It soothes hands, faces, cuts, scrapes, bruises, toes - anything you like. Love it. I have little pots of it scattered around the house, the office and various handbags, so that I am never without.

I don't yet scatter my glasses about - I always have a pair on, or on my bedside table, but judging from my track record with jewellery and Neal's Yard cream, its only a matter of time, surely?