Not every bride is so blessed

Here is a photo of DD with her four grandparents. Notice that the tie on the tallest man is the same as the ribbon on DD's bouquet - I wonder why that could be? Same surname perhaps?

My dad is the man closest to you - he was incredibly ill and was just determined to be at the wedding. After travelling for twelve hours by bus, train and car from his place to the motel the day before the wedding and repeating the experience the day after, he was rushed to hospital [150km/95 miles away] the following week and underwent surgery to have a kidney stent replaced on his left side and another inserted on his right*. The right ureter [tube between the bladder and kidney] was completely blocked. No wonder he was in a lot of pain. He could have died but praise the Lord for His intervention [answer to prayer] and dad's stubborn determination!

*Should you require more information about this procedure, you can go here.


Thanks LW and JF-B for the photo.

Yarn shopping

Last Thursday I found myself looking at the yarn section of the online Lincraft catalogue. Normally, I read the front page and delete but for some reason...

On Friday I visited Lincraft. They had all the yarn shown in their catalogue. Ooo, Cleckheaton Cocoon - it's so soft! It's labelled as Baby Cocoon but it's 4ply, 70% wool/30% nylon - that sounds like sock yarn to me!
And the mauve and deep pink [not red as it shows up here] - yummy! Did I happen to mention it's soooooo soft?

Over to Spotlight - it is, after all, only five minutes walk from Lincraft. All their new yarn is in and there were very few people in the store [mid-afternoon, wet, cold] so I almost had the whole department to myself. More fondling of Cocoon and Bamboo: that's even softer! Cleckheaton has a new range of solid colours. I like these two best!





Really, I just needed yarn to knit a baby blanket for our niece/god-daughter who is expecting in April and having her baby shower on 28th February. For her, I bought 10x50g balls of white Bella Baby Layette [80% bamboo/20% wool] - another very soft yarn but an awful colour range. I have started it so there will be another post about the blankie soon.

Then I found the bargain bin. Well, that's not exactly true; I knew where it was, I'd glanced at it a couple of times. Now I gave it my full attention. WM got a second basket [did I happen to mention he's called "Wonderful Man" for a reason?] and these found their way home with us!

16 balls of Magnum Baby 4ply [100% acrylic]

12 balls of Moda Vera Jacklyn [50%acrylic/50% tencel] - another very soft yarn that may be turned into chemo caps. sorry about the blurry photo - I needed to get close up to get an accurate colour!
15 balls of Bamboo Wave [60%bamboo/40% cotton] which I used to start a scarf for MIL [whose 75th birthday was yesterday] and I loved it; it was drapey and soft but so-not-my-MIL, even WM agreed so it's been frogged and is waiting to be something else [perhaps a lightweight cardi for me?].

All for just 50c a ball people! What a bargain!! And so soft! [are we detecting a theme here? LOL]

As for the Cocoon, it's still there waiting. Perhaps mauve Pomatomus socks? I only wear socks under trousers inside full lace-up shoes [ever practical and comfortable, that's me]! My socks can't be seen so, while I love knitting socks, I feel really bad spending all that time/money then hiding the socks anyway! Plus I already have two purple sock yarns in my stash! I need to think on it some more.

And MIL? She was given a gift voucher for the ABC shop for her birthday [half the fun is choosing something you don't have to pay for!] but I'm leaning towards knitting something 'just because'. Perhaps Aran socks or gloves to go with the Aran jumper I knitted years ago and which she loves. I'll let you know...

Wonderful Man?

I've just been on Lara's blog where she is bragging on her husband a little! [Hi Mark]. She inspired me to stand up and be counted!!

On DD's wedding day, she said she would like a photo taken in her room with the mural that was painted there when she was ten. When she left for her appointment at the hairdressers, her bed was unmade and the room was untidy - as it had been for several years to a greater or lesser extent. When I left to join her [an hour later] WM made the bed and tidied the room by putting everything inside the double wardrobe behind said mural which is shown here because what mother can resist showing a photo of her only child on her wedding day? And because I know you want to see the mural!


I have really enjoyed walking up the hall for the week we've been home from Bundeena and seeing that tidy room. On Sunday, DD & SIL opened their wedding presents and left her [former] room looking like a bomb had gone through it - presents, cards and wrapping from one end to the other. The untidiness was rather unnerving after two weeks of tidy so yesterday, while I was at work and he was enjoying his last week of leave, WM tidied the room again: presents neatly stacked, cards on top and paper smoothed out and flat on the bed! When I commented, he said: "I did it for you, not for them!" Isn't that sweet?

And if that isn't enough - [he's on leave from work remember] today he washed all the towels, vacuumed the carpets, swept and washed all 44 square metres of hard flooring and swept the back veranda [18 square metres]. Isn't he truly a Wonderful Man?

Flat Feet!

I was browsing some online yarn stores looking for Australian distributors of solid sock yarn for Knitter Sue, when I came upon a yarn called Flat Feet. "What a great name for a sock yarn," I thought. The yarn was handpainted and wasn't what I was looking for so I was about to move on when this caught my eye:

Experience this new concept in sock knitting. Knit directly from the flat, no balls, no skeins, no tangles!

"Knit from the flat with no tangles?" thinks I. "How is that possible?"

Go here for the full story! Delighted Hands, they've used your idea! [or did you borrow it from somewhere? LOL]

Does my foot look big in this?

I don't think it's exactly flattering but it sure is comfy!

I'm glad I used the Waving Lace pattern. The colours on the leg, which I really like, look look this:

After doing the heel, the colours began to pool rather differently so that the instep looks like this:

and the sole looks like this!

I knew there was a reason not to do stocking stitch with this yarn! LOL

the new "normal" life

Well, today was the last day of our week away. I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach, crying all the time. We returned to our own house but it is no longer 'home' for my baby girl! I'm still close to tears; being home again just makes it all so much harder!!

Tomorrow [Monday] I return to work and WM and I begin our new 'normal' life [though he's still on holidays for two weeks so maybe it's 'not-so-normal' for now].

The day after the wedding is a blur - I was totally depressed. We drove my parents to Strathfield station, waited for the train, waved them off and I don't think I spoke more than twenty words for the rest of the day. We introverts can be pretty quiet when things get on top of us! I didn't want to do anything; no hobbies held any interest. I wandered from room to room, weeping silent tears for a little girl who had grown up and would not be coming 'home'. At midday I went to bed and slept for two and a half hours. More long, unfulfilled hours then evening came, some television viewing and finally sleep took over the tears [shed and unshed].

Monday dawned; still painful but there was a holiday to get ready for: washing [laundry] and packing to do, and the 90 minute trip east to our destination. I tried not to think or talk about DD and everything was, on the surface, fine.

A week of sun, surf and speaking about things on our minds [as well as a few SMS from a honeymooning DD until - on Tuesday - we told her to stop] brought some relief from the pain. The kind paracetamol brings: it only gives relief, it doesn't take the pain away!

Returning to an empty house is new. And painful. And brings up the tears. Becoming empty-nesters is an excruciatingly painful experience. Thank you all for your support and patience.

a week ago

A week ago someone decided that this would be a good way to spend an extremely hot, windy Saturday afternoon!


I think they enjoyed it!

Thanks G&S for the photo.

Socks!

Remember I was telling you the saga of the Supersocke Cotton socks, Versions 1 through 6? I had a few comments encouraging me to knit plain socks. I like plain; plain is good when knitting self-striping socks like these I prepared earlier!

So, I want to thank you, dear readers, for your input but I sometimes can seem a little perverse! I really wanted something to knit that was interesting but not too challenging. I am, after all, still recovering from Myrtle.

So, I found this pattern in Favorite Socks, which I got from my family for Christmas. Looking at it on the cover, did nothing for me but the picture inside seemed doable with my yarn. Only one way to find out, right? Bring on Version #7!




And this is how the pattern looks with my yarn [photo taken last Sunday before I went on R&R]. I like it. I know the subtleties of the waving lace pattern are lost but it's a lovely knit and I like the way way it works with my yarn. So forgive me, dear readers, for my perversity - hopefully by the time I return from R&R there will be at least one Waving Lace Supersocke to see!

St John's Wilberforce and Oakville House

I found this image through a Google image search and loved it - that sky is so moody! The photo originally comes from this site; I recommend a visit if you like photos of old churches - these are fabulous.

DD was married in a fairytale princess dress and wanted a fairytale church. She and SIL searched the countryside for months, looking for an "old sandstone church" [our own church being an auditorium] and found this among others. The clincher? The minister was down-to-earth and easy to get on with, they all clicked from the first meeting. And so, the church was chosen.

And outside? Well, as you can see, it's on a hill so on the day of the wedding there was a good breeze blowing. Across the road is a large park with a war memorial. The photo above shows the view of the war memorial with the church and the old school house in the background. From the church grounds, there is a beautiful country view to the south east. Unfortunately, I can't find any photos on the 'Net and, of course, I wasn't using my camera straight after the ceremony.

The reception was held at Oakville House. Not only was it about twenty minutes from the church, it was out in the country on several acres and had horses. DD used to do show-jumping and dressage [never competitively]. The owners, Les and Jo who live on site, have only one wedding on any given day [unlike 'the other place' we visited that could do up to six in one day and sometimes three at a time!!]. We were told we could have any meals we wanted. This was very different to that 'other place' that said [in effect]: "Here is the menu, like it or leave it." Les, the chef at Oakville House, even made separate meals for two guests with special dietary requirements. The 'other place' gave a flat out "no" to this request!

And the clincher for this reception venue? Guests were allowed onto the property before the reception began to sit in the lounge in air-conditioned comfort, order their own drinks and be served canapes. How many weddings have you been to where you had to find something to do or somewhere to go between the ceremony and the reception because the bridal party was having photos taken? Our reception officially started at 6pm; the guests left the church at 4.30. The guests went straight to Oakville House where they were relieved to get out of the oppressive 37*C heat!

The MC was excellent, he knew exactly what he was doing. The staff were unobtrusive, polite and very attentive. The meals were large [no nouveau cuisine here] and good quality. The Chicken Cordon Bleu and the Chocolate Bavarian I had were delicious. Les and Jo told us: "Guests never leave Oakville House hungry" and they were right. Many guests commented on the lovely venue and the 'family feel'. The Bride and Groom were happy; the guests were happy. The only thing that bothered me was the volume of the music - twice we had to ask for it to be turned down; but I am very sensitive to loud noise. Besides, I want to have conversation without shouting! All in all, I would recommend Oakville House for a hassle-free reception venue.

I found some photos

Photos were taken on WM's camera before we left home that I didn't know about.

Do you think it was hot?




The red ribbon on DD's bouquet is the family tartan. She wanted to use this because it would be her last day with this surname.





No photos were taken of me at home - it's just as I had been told - MotB is nothing! LOL However, here is an unedited photo of me with DD taken by a friend.

edited to remove Facebook link - I'm not on Facebook so I don't understand how it works - or doesn't!

Shoes Day

I said here that I may wear DD's shoes on her Big Day. But, as advised by some readers, wearing too small shoes is not a good idea, especially when one is going to be on one's feet a lot.

So I bought these.


The shiny heel was not too high but high enough to look dressy and the black leather sandal was strappy enough for the heat of DD's Wedding Day.

I like them!


This is how they look from my eyes! Ignore the white skin,I had bronzing powder on my legs and my skirt was very long. Admire, instead, that cute manicure!

R&R

WM and I are off for a week at the beach so any posts that go up between now and 8th February were pre-written and posted automatically by Blogger. Here is the webpage for the 'hut' we are renting: this is Darby and Joan's 'uneventful life'. LOL!

It went well

Here I am exactly 24 hours since my last post. I was up for 20 hours yesterday and have had less than four hours sleep but when the brain kicks in it doesn't matter how tired the body is or how fuzzy the head is [I don't drink - I'm just very tired]!

Firstly, thanks to all the people who left comments on yesterday's post. I wept as I read them. The whole day went well - no arguments at home [you should have been in my family home on my wedding day]. Beautiful hair and make-up [I had my make-up done too]. Relaxed professional photographer who directed us and helped us make sense of everything. Car on time. Neighbours who mean a lot to us dropping by to see The Bride. Arrived at the church four minutes early [after four stops along the way to make the trip longer] in 37*C [99*F] heat. Strong breeze blowing but photographer just got on with the job. Into a stifling church where the groom was on the verge of collapsing from heat and nerves. Beautiful service. MotB managed to hold it together most of the time. Lots of congratulations and photos then off to the reception venue [for all but the bridal party - they had more photos around the church and grounds].

Air conditioning on but 70+ bodies made it still very warm [better than outside though]. MotB doing her best to mingle and speak to each guest. FotB speaking to MC/DJ. Guests enjoying cold drinks, soft lounges and canapes. Bridal party having photos and one bridesmaid getting sunburnt. Bridal party is ready [6pm] and The Reception begins! Great food in large servings: prawn salad/quiche, rack of lamb/chicken cordon bleu [both with vegetables], chocolate Bavarian/fruit salad. Choice of wine [red, white or non-alcoholic], beer, soft drink or water. Speeches - five: all very different. A candle lighting ceremony [which should have been done at the church but the groom left the candles in the car!]. Cutting of the cake. The most beautiful bridal waltz [you'd never know they only learnt to dance 10 days ago] at which MotB nd FotB completely lost it. Dancing and general partying. Too hot for Myrtle although she was seen swanning around the room for about five minutes provoking oohs and ahs from some. Goodbyes - Bride clinging to MotB, both bawling. More goodbyes [an archway], more bawling from same! Presents loaded into boots of three cars! Drive home. House stifling, no breeze, air hot and thick. Presents unloaded from boots of three cars. Goodbye to occupants of two cars. Goodbye to two bridesmaids and one groomsman. Silence. Just us! Empty-nesters! Darby and Joan*! Tears. FotB went to bed. MotB wanders around house, tears in eyes. Bed 1.00am - too hot to sleep.

Wake up 5am - still hot and not a hint of a breeze - today is supposed to be even hotter than yesterday. Current temperature 23*C [73*F] - it's only 6am [5am by sun-time; it's daylight-saving here]. WM still sleeping; Myrtle sleeping on bed which used to be DD's [more tears] amid a pile of presents.

And today? WM and I taking my parents to Strathfield to catch train home to Bingara. DD and SIL fly to Tasmania at 11.15; going to airport by Airport Express. FotB and MotB at home, alone. Sleep? Tennis tonight, some knitting, still sad!

No photos - WM took his camera but didn't really have the chance to use it. Will be relying on friends to send us copies until professional photos are ready!

*According to my mother, it's a term used for empty-nesters. According to Wikipedia,

the term 'Darby and Joan' is defined by the Random House Dictionary as "a happily married couple who lead a placid, uneventful life."