Catching up.

It's been a while, hasn't it? I think I just got tired of blogging. Nothing wrong Chez Fishwife, I just didn't feel like doing it and then I started to feel guilty about not doing it. Which is silly when you think about it. Who needs self imposed pressure like that? So I gave myself permission to worrying about it and let things drift. Lately though I've found myself thinking about blogging again and considered starting a new blog. New slate? Then I decided that this was also silly because I've a perfectly good blog already and anyway, I like the name.

So a quick run through the last ten months.

Family.
We're all in good health apart from me. My degenerating lumbar disc has been causing problems with my balance and gait so my GP sent me in for an MRI to see what was going on. Didn't much like the MRI, I must admit, but it was useful. The DD has brought on early osteoarthritis of the spine ie excessive wear and tear. This is not good and can't continue at this rate so my GP has sent me away with strict instructions to start losing some weight pronto. We can't do much about the disc (it's not so bad atm that it needs surgery) but I can help reduce some of the mechanical impact on the spine by lightening the general load. I've been overweight to a greater or lesser degree most of my life and yes, I've read the usual warnings about how this can cause excessive wear and tear on joints but somehow, the two ends haven't connected in my brain. Oh well, they have now. I still want to be able to walk in ten years so I'm motivated to lose the weight, put it that way!Five pounds down alread, one heck of a lot more to go.

Apart from that Princess is now 10 and almost as tall as me, Lad is towering over me, turning into a fantastic rugby prop and is currently sitting his SQA Standard Grade prelims. Biology today! Hubby had a brief scare with two positive FOBt (this is the bowel cancer screening program), went in for a colonoscopy and had a polyp taken out which showed signs of pre-cancerous cells. Hubby is now fine now it's out, don't worry, but he has joined the happy band of folk who have been spared from the onset of bowel cancer, just by doing the very simple screening tests. (Note from us both...DO IT WHEN YOU GET SENT ONE, okay?)



Allotment.
It was a good year this year, not because of the weird weather but because we didn't go away for a long holiday. The kids had too many other things on so we settled for a very nice couple of weeks camping in Yorkshire. At the moment I am putting the allotment to bed for the winter. More about that another day.

Crafting.
Literally hundreds of things to report, far too many in fact. Highlights were a crafting trip to York, spinning in a Back to Back at the Royal Highland Show, buying a second hand Joy spinning wheel (lightweight, folding, portable, totally necessary for people with back problems) and also spinning in a Sheep to Shawl at the Scottish National Sheepdog Trials. This last not only had great scones, it also got me back into weaving. The shawl was a woven one and I was so taken with it I bought a 24" rigid heddle loom. I've not done a lot yet but I'm learning.

What else? Oh, I also went to the Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers Summer School. Given that I can see the venue from my attic window it would have been rude not to! I was a little disappointed not to have got onto my first choice, Spinning Exotic Fibres with Sue Macniven, but I took a great class in Knitting with Handspun run by Di Gilpin. Great event, highly recommended.

General.
So, atm we're settling in for the winter. I'm off to a spinning/knitting/dyeing retreat the weekend after next. This is the same event I was atending when the big snows started last year. I'm hoping for better weather this time round. We've got the usual over-commercial run up to Christmas to endure and then come January I'm off to York again. Apart from that, no plans as such. Except I will try to blog a little more, I promise.