Ooops!

Did you notice today's deliberate mistake?  Well, I managed to post with just this photo.....

 .....instead of saving it as a draft ! Sue spotted it and luckily was kind enough to leave a comment which made me realise what I had done - thank you Sue!  That'll teach me to pay more attention when I am 'clicking' :-)

As you will have guessed, my Pineapple quilt is finished.  I'd just put the last couple of stitches into finishing the binding before the wrist kicked in so at least I have one finish for March, but that's going to be it for the rest of the month.  Getting to the end of this one has been very slow and perhaps not helped by what was building up in my wrist and maybe all the pulling and pushing during the quilting didn't help matters either, who knows!  Whatever the problems though I think its been worth the struggle.

If you have a moment pop along and have a look at Sue's blog and read about the amazing new book she has written - I promise you won't be disappointed !

Still Here!

Update on the wrist is that - wait for it - I have gout! Well, a form of gout in as much as the problem is a build up of  crystals in the joint causing restricted movement and inflammation. Caused by a build up of uric acid in the body, these crystals can apparently attack any joint, not just the feet, and can also affect the kidneys, hence kidney stones.

The good news is that the pain is now bearable, the swelling has gone down and hopefully the crystals can be dispersed with medication.  Bad news is that I can't use my hand properly without the support, and this coupled with instructions to 'rest' the joint means still no sewing, but in comparison with all the other problems happening around the world, things aren't too bad really.

Glorious Spring sunshine has meant that even though my quilting passion can't be fed at least my other favourite pastime, walking, is keeping me sane :-)

Disaster !

Seems like the pains I've been complaining about in my wrists , the left one in particular, when quilting over the last couple of weeks, were something more sinister than just the usual arthritic aches and pains .

My left wrist has been getting progressively more painful over the last 2-3 days and when I woke got this morning, after a very disturbed night,my wrist was badly swollen , my hand curled up like a claw and  I was unable to open it!

An early emergency appointment with the GP resulted in a very painful exam, what felt like at least a litre of blood samples,  a very stinging jab in the rear end (!) to help with the pain, and my left wrist strapped up in one of  these

Mine is actually quite a fetching blue, this photo is from an advert,  as  I just can't manage to snap one handed - typing is difficult enough :-)

I've spent most of the day in a drug-enduced fug, but the pain has improved a lot. X-rays first thing tomorrow morning if the swelling has gone down enough, then back to the GP for all the results. In the meantime, please keep everything crossed that it is a short term condition , as the last thing I want to hear is that I won't be able to use my hand for weeks!!

Weather Check

We have had the most glorious weather over this last week  - lovely sunny days but keeping a bit cold thanks to the North wind that's been blowing around the place.  Today though the wind has dropped and this afternoon it feels almost like Summer with temperatures around 14 C, positively T-shirt weather don't you think :-)

All around us Spring is working hard - everywhere you look there are clumps of daffodils

On banks, under trees and along the verges, and nestling not too far away some shy primroses

All the hedgerows are starting to bloom

and then there's forsythia in our neighbour's garden

Isn't this such a lovely stand of trees ?

Don't know what these fellows were up to,but there were rather a lot of them -  looking for lunch maybe ?

Not the clearest photo by any means, but it was a bit of a challenge trying to snap a flock of whirling birds!

So better days are definitely on the way, but before getting all excited about it and loosing the thermal undies - this is what we woke up to first thing this morning

A little reminder that Winter is still lurking there in the background after all!!

Dydd Gwyl Dewi

St David's Day, 1st March, a day of celebration for all sons and daughters of Wales no matter where they have wandered!

Isn't it strange that although many have travelled the globe throughout the ages and settled far and wide, 'home' is always 'home' with a special place in ours hearts and minds, and this family is no exception!

The house is full of bunches of daffodils, we are having leek soup with fresh French bread for lunch and tonight dinner with Welsh friends with cawl  and  'teisen lap' on the menu!  Lots of chat, laughter and 'hiraeth' guaranteed, and who knows maybe even a little singing :-)

Whilst  getting  links from Google, I came across a very good site about Wales if you're interested.  In case you don't have the time to visit,I thought these few facts were quite interesting. Whether they are all true or not I'll leave to better minds than mine to decide !

* The Captain of "The Mayflower" was born in Wales

* The world's first working steam locomotive ran on a nine mile stretch of track at Merthyr Tydfil, Wales in 1804. Richard Trevithick's four wheel engine hauled ten tons of iron and 70 people before the track plates broke under the weight !


* St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, was Welsh by birth (according to legend) !
( Patrick was born and was subsequently kidnapped from Banwen, Wales. - our own Patron is St. David )

* Mount Everest was named after a Brecon man !

*The first game of lawn tennis was played in 1873 at Nantclwyd Hall, Clwyd, North Wales !

* A Welsh mathematician, from Tenby, invented the "equals" sign =

* The first place of Christian worship in U.K. was Llantwit Major, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and similarly the first UK Cathedral was St. David's, Pembrokeshire, Wales

* The Welsh invented the longbow - the world's first armour piercing weapon.Welsh longbow men were feared throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.

* The northern hemisphere's longest place name is located on the Isle of Anglesey, northern Wales.The town is called:

 Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

* Up to half the signatories to the U.S. Declaration of Independence had Welsh ancestry, including Thomas Jefferson !

One last item that isn't mentioned on the website is that Wales gave us
'Myfanwy' , the one of greatest love song ever written in my opinion, and it always brings a lump to my throat.