WHERE ON EARTH DID IT GO?

Have you ever had something completely disappear?  Completely vanish?  I've occasionally mislaid an item only to remember shortly afterwards where I last saw it.  In this instance I have entirely lost a size 4.00 crochet hook.

How did it happen you ask?   Latish Wednesday afternoon I asked Phil to pop up to Godfreys re our vacuum cleaner.   As Candy was out in the garden I asked Phil to close the gate after he'd driven out.  I was sitting in the living room crocheting

and noticed he had driven off without shutting the gate.  I had bare feet so quickly popped my crochet on to the table next to my chair and went into the bedroom to put on a pair of shoes.

I grabbed my stick and walked up and closed the gate.  I've been feeling a tad livelier since my op and decided I'd sweep the front verandah.  This usually means a few sweeps of the broom, a sit down and a few more sweeps but I eventually get it done.   I then decided one of the chairs needed hosing down so did that as well and moved an old broken chair ready to be taken down the back yard.   While still out there Phil arrived back so I opened the gate for him to drive in and closed it again as Candy was still outside. 

Then I decided I'd hose part of the verandah down where I couldn't reach with the broom (no waste of water as the water runs into the garden) and we went into the house, had a cuppa and biscuit or two.

So, feeling proud of myself for having been able to do much more than usual, the day proceeded pretty much as usual until watching TV after dinner.   I grabbed for my crochet but NO HOOK!!  I searched through the box that held the finished squares, under the table and all round the area.  I checked in the bedroom in case I'd had the hook in my hand when I went for my shoes.  No sign of it.  Yesterday Jenny (our cleaning lady) came and when I told her she also looked as she was cleaning but still no hook.  Phil has moved both our chairs to no avail.  That hook is obviously is in that wonderful place 'somewhere".  ...and yes, I've searched down both sides of my armchair.

I knew I had a spare size 4.00 hook but as I'd not used it for many months (possibly years) it took me a full 24 hours to visually remember where I'd last seen it and lo and behold there it was.  I resumed crocheting last night and can now continue to make the rugs I give to Vinnys each year to do with as they please.  I don't mind if they give them to nursing homes or make a few dollars selling them.  It's a very small contribution on my part but it makes me feel I'm doing a tiny bit of good.  We also donate all unwanted clothing in good condition as well as a few household items we no longer need.

I know what I did outside has nothing to do with the lost hook but I just feel so pleased to have the energy to do a little more as for so long I seem to have been so weary.  It will be a slow progress but not feeling so tired is a big bonus even if there are no other improvements for a while.  I have no regrets about having had the parathyroid operation and it has healed so well and hardly any scar to speak of.

MONDAY MEANDERINGS

Have been slow with posts of late.  Not been all that busy but days seem to have been full.  I think everything is taking me so long to do is the main reason.  Sometimes the old mind gets way ahead of the old body and then gets frustrated which throws me right out of kilter.  Not sure that makes a lot of sense but I know what I mean.

Last Wednesday Phil and I spent about 4 hours at Fremantle Hospital.  Every two years we attend the Diabetes Study where we are tested for nearly everything possible....blood, urine, eyes, blood pressure, height, weight and balance (I am left out of that one as they can see at a glance I'd not succeed but Phil does it and does it well).  There are pages and pages of forms to complete about how we have been and how we are feeling, medications etc. etc. so it is quite daunting for we two oldies to complete.  This is our 4th visit and we keep doing it as it is good for us to have these tests and also good for the Department of Medicine to keep track of the same people over the years.  They learn from us and how we are faring.

I had a note from Victoria last week telling me that a long time penfriend had died after a short illness.  Margaret was 10 years younger than me but I do know she had type 2 diabetes and other problems.  I must write back to her husband to thank him for letting me know and tell him how sorry I am.  Margaret and I had been writing for over 30 years  and she was a real character and although we had stopped writing so frequently we still exchanged Christmas and birthday cards.  She, like me, was a Capricorn so perhaps that's why we got on so well.  She lived in Kinglake and I was so glad she and her husband and some of her family were holidaying in Tasmania when those dreadful fires occurred in 2009.  120 people lost their lives in that area alone and although Margaret and Len's home was saved, their daughter Christine and family lost their home.  I will miss you Margaret.  RIP

This calico cat of ours has fitted right in here and you couldn't ask for a better mannered cat although she can stand up for herself.  Yesterday my daughter telephoned me and Candy wanted to play with the phone cord.  When I raised my hand to tell her 'no' she was ready to have a little swipe back at me.  No claws out mind you so nothing spiteful in her at all. 

I bought her a scratching post on eBay (free postage from New South Wales)

and she will sit on top of it and play with the dangly mouse creature but it is her preference to play in the box the scratcher came in.

 We are patiently trying to teach her to scratch the posts but I think it is going to be a long haul.

Candy still sleeps on Phil's bed every night and jumps onto my lap during the day and evening, or whenever it is available.  Strange thing about her though is she doesn't like crocheted rugs at all so wonder what has happened in her past that may have put her off them.  One sleepy Candy cat on her mum's lap (rug on floor).

 She is very, very playful and seems to prefer screwed up paper balls or the tube from the toilet roll and really loves paper on the end of a piece of string.  I made one up out here in my workroom and keep it in a little basket on my desk.  She now comes in each morning and finds it and takes it out to play with.  We were told she was three and half but when she was first advertised on the APS website it said she was 18 months which we feel may be nearer the mark.  She's just like a big kitten.

Buttons.....I can't wear anything with buttons as she thinks they are to play with.  Fortunately I don't wear blouses and my jackets don't have buttons but my dressing gowns do so I have to somehow cover them up when Candy is near.

She hasn't been outside yet and we have no hope of putting the harness on her as all she wants to do is play with it and I think even if we put gloves on it would be an impossibility.  We are disappointed as we ha hoped to take her 'walkies' to get her used to our garden but seems that is not to be.  We were told to keep her in for 4 weeks so another 10 days to go.  We hope she enjoys her life with us enough for her not to want to run away.

Will see if I can come up with something of interest for Telling it on Tuesday but no promises a this time.