Ramblings of the mind- not on foot and RITA

No photos this time, just a bit of a ramble and not of the -pleasantly -walking variety either.
Blah week, blah weekend- too much OU studying/ reading writing and too little creativity and outright fun!
Nothing booked this weekend except a short 3.5 mile ramble to meet the Wheatley ramblers but I didn't make it as I was up past 3am studying/reading and then dozed in past 9:30 am- suffice to say I was in no fit state- pyama clad- to join ramblers by 10 am. The girls have mostly watched TV, played instruments and Ipad-ed/ msn-ed / lap topped as they both had exams- SATs and secondary school tests in all subjects respectively- their weekend was thus all play.
Me? Glued to a computer screen for the entire both days and nights...Not very effective actually, mostly procrastinating and dreaming up crochet projects, stitch patterns and fantasising about colours and wool types, cottons, silks and even cashmere....aaaaaaah.
JJ took girls to London where they ran through the Diana memorial fountain yesterday and today they went cycling and yet STILL I could not concentrate- yesterday I crocheted 2 mice while waiting for various OU bits to download..that was spread across the entire day and evening. Now THAT part was fun and I have photos and everything because they are presents.
Camera is being charged as I write.
Mind wanders everywhere: should I open a yarn shop? If yes where? In Thame or Oxford?
If only I could teach crochet a lot more, maybe even par time ''proper''- I do so miss having finished my first series of 4 evening classes. Fun and rewarding that's what it was.
And teaching those 8 ladies/girls at Music in the Elms Park event was amaaaaazing. Nothing for 2 hours and then 8 lessons in the next 2 hours...Photo on Thame news.net
Then there's the clothes-a -holic part of me that has not been shopping in eons and thus had a bash at ordering online, most of it's going back though. Must at least TRY to be sensible.
It's all packed up and ready to be colllected.
JJ shopped for food and cooked today, yesterday was smoked salmon- oh so delish, but a bit salty and weird tasting - was that because it was from Asda? I've done the washing- school uniforms and work attire don't u know? Whites on Saturday and Darks( all that navy) today.
Hadn't walked the dogs for 3 days so finally at 4pm I did it: BLISS. A nice walk through shoulder high - just finished flowering- rapeseed: eyes watering so much I couldn't see a thing.
Lucy loved being free: she's just finished 3 weeks of walking on the lead due to her season.
Pips had to be dragged at first but then warmed to the concept of excercise albeit very gradually. Ran all the way home of course: as always.
JJ and Miss E have been hoovering and Miss E has been reprimanding me for not concentrating and just getting on with it. BLAH blah boooring , some of the book and the research is fascinating but then again some articles are written in such an obtuse manner the author is just showing off and is unduly fond of his own ''voice'' so to speak. Yeuuuch.
Am I a new Rita? Acquiring all that academic lingo? Epistemology, paradigms, positivism, reflexive approaches etc etc
Still hoping the planned outfit options for Miss Y arrive in time for her Confirmation, my dress combo is all sorted and Miss E has only just realised she needs to get her act together to look presentable on the day. ( NO jeans or shorts) . Why does it all HAVE to be J Wills or Hollister?
I'm hoping she'll find something in the La Redoute sale so I won't have to pay until November...
Ordered my mum's fooddelivery online and spoke to her but although she chats away happily if you do most of the talking you can't ask anything because she has no answers. Even about things and people who I KNOW have visited this week. Ah well, that's dementia for you.
Apparently a Swedish research study found that if you are overweight/obese in your 30's and/ or 40's you have an increased risk of dementia. YIKES.
That's JJ and me screwed then? Oh yes been eating and snacking out of nervouseness and doing MUCH less excercise so went up 1 BMI point today from 26 to 27. My ideal is 24.
A loss of 5lbs will bring me back to 26, but that's not so easy at the moment: JJ buys all the ''wrong'' foods to tempt me and does NOT buy the ''safe'' treats like low cal choc mousses, or WW yoghurts - i adore the lemon ones. Am also worried about Miss Y who is likely to be found ''obese'' when measured on the NCM programme later this month as she's on the 5th centile for height but the 99th for weight.
AND she's got an infected cheek/ upper lip area skin problem that she keeps aggrevating by various habits she developed at Woodlands- an outward bound place the school took her to.
Pippa bit the groomer lady last time so we have to try to do a DIY job on her- she's very ''teddy-bear-ish and the grass seed- DANGEROUS TO DACHSHUNDS- season is upon us.
Hand clipping her paw-pits and staying out of reach of her snapping jaws and ultra sharp teeth will be a challenge!!! It's HER fault I have no car: she chewed a seat belt- again- this time just a tiny wee hole but it's failed the MOT.hence:
Oh yes and I forgot to mention: I have been CAR-LESS for over a week now and HATING it.
Had to hire a car to get to MK on Thursday but that turned out to be fun and an adventure: a Vauhall saloon and very smart and comfy. Except when I roasted my feet for a while before locating the correcting switch and the fact it ate my cd so I listened to radio 2 all the way.
Friday in London was terrfific too - I was desperate to leave the house by then - had a very good meeting.
Now I have to drive JJ's car tomorrow and it's an automatic: screech screech squelch. Do NOT like automatics, I like changing gears. Besides it's his baby- washes and hoovers it EVERY weekend- so wonderfully 1950's suburban- so I have to be ooooh sooooo careful.
Tuesday is Newbury for a presentation so I'd better have my vehicle back by then.
Read a horrid book : gap year for adults- which started off fine but got tres depressing by the end. Now I have no book to read at bedtime: I need it to switch into another world prior to shut-eye.
This was kind-of fun- just letting it all out BUT now I have to finish reading the chapters, the learning guide, do 2 final ''activities'' ( ou speak) and then draft the TMA ...
Can you hear me silently planning another diversion? Maybe I'll just google this.....
oh I have to just find that a moment..... Kettle on?
Another tea? Re-arrange the highlighters? WC? Go hang the washing? Empty the dishwasher?
Mop the floors? Iron clothes and school uniform for tomorrow?
Go sqeeze some orange juice?
The stress oh the stress, maybe just a bit of crochet will relax me so I can concentrate- well you know in a wee while.....?
I have now procrastinated for about 11 hours.....

Royal Wedding Day part one

It was ''THAT DAY'' today and we were all glued to our TV by 9 am this morning right through to about 1.45pm. Here's a little preview and I hope to show and share all my wee gems tomorrow? I did a bit of crochet in white ( of course!) 4 ply cotton : motifs in lace. We were all dressed for the occasion in navy, red and white: very patriotic and had celebratory home-baked chocolate brownies.

Bye bye for now for I am exhausted with all this wedding emotion etc, but I have well over 150 photos and hope to share these over one or a few of the next days...

Suffice to say I cried buckets at the vows bit and the Blessing and sang along with the hymns , especially JERUSALEM and the God Save the Queen, much to the disapproval of Miss E.

Miss Y is away at a sleepover party now and JJ and Miss E went to see THOR in 3D but I was happy to walk the dogs and watch it all over again with my camera handy the second time around.

Best ever Birthday!

Woke up to breakfast in bed on my birthday this Good Friday: a big number plus one. Miss Y and E had made this together: a yummeeee Dutch B'day breakfast: with pressies too!

The cheese and salami were the Dutch bit, Gouda don't you know, with ''MUM'' on it! DELISH GREENGRAPES AND ORENGE JUICE AS WELL . All of the family on the bed, cuddles etc

Duc D'O choccies, a necklace with inspirational message and lapis and silver earrings: boy was I happy with those!!!

Miss E baked apple cakes : just sooooo lovely! The baby chicks are growing and are fine but leaves now obstruct a good view of the nest.

And THANK YOU GOD for the most brilliant amazingly HOT sunny weather ever!!! Pippa sunbathed. The girls played in a large paddling pool: endless laughter and giggles and JJ and I relaxed in the garden with paper and crochet respectively.SUCH UTTER BLISS.

Plans to walk chapter 9 or 10 of the South Downs Way were revised and put on hold for another day as we did NOT want to sit in the car for hours on SUCH a sunny blue sky day. So we just chilled and were blissfully ecstatically HAPPY together.

A chilled happy JJ.

Miss Y and I played brain master and we watched the beloved G - girls too.

JJ made lunch: BLTs! Mine had a birthday candle!!!

Such a lovely sunny day: cuddles galore

Then just after 5 pm we went for a walk on the South Bucks Way: Great Kimble to Ellesborough.

A rare tree : still in bud! All others are fully ''in leaf'' now.WHAT A BLUE!!!

Steep climb at the start but with views on the way.

Red kite in tree

My photo

Miss Y 's better one- more intimate.

Miss E is taking photos too: dad's camera.

The views were STUNNING. Dry chalky paths. 5 miles in 2.5 hours. Much stopping for photography and admiring the view.At 7 pm it was still very warm.

Lucy on the lead all the way as she's in season. That too was a challenge both for her and us.

Ellesborough church in sight, we've not ever walked this bit before.

Back on the road back to Great Kimble was not the best route.

home for the dogs and back out to the Bottle and Glass for a birthday dinner out: SUPERB!!!

Then all went to bed as we were nicely exhausted.

Next day photos of some of the birthday CROCHET:

Crochet on the day was a new scarf with NORO SEKKU : 50% cotton, 17%wool,16%silk, 17% nylon: my first NORO yarn and it is a pain to work with. Spools back on itself, twists and knotts continuously and the colours though fab are in very loooooooong repeats. Too long for me.

Worked with a 3mm hook for a lacy effect. Bought in London on Wednesday: I was abhorred to find Oxford St John Lewis does not stock Patons DK or 4 ply cotton as for my b'day project ( tradition since 2005) was to be in the new Delta blue in this yarn. So I decided to try the Noro as we'd taken a rickshaw from Regent St especially to buy the yarn at JL.

2 ROWS OF 45 CIRCLES weigh 18 g so I should have yarn for 3 more rows....

It looked very Royal blue/ Turq on the ball but has LARGE amounts of purple, grey blue and even some burgundy...

Colour: 18 A and very very thin as well as rather thick in some places. Nice organic look. I think there's some green coming up...
Bye bye for now. No blue print today due to computer problems: it stops every minute to save! This post has taken me ALL DAY!