Catch-up Post

Hello All

I'm sure some of you may have noticed that I've been missing of late and here's why.

Suddenly on Wednesday afternoon, not long after I posted on What's On Your Desk Wednesday, I developed excruciating pain in my right jaw.

The EM took me to the Emergency Department at our local hospital where I was examined and given a cocktail of painkillers and antibiotics. Still not sure exactly what caused it but the doctor thought it was either an infection of the parotid gland or an abscess caused by my wisdom tooth. Fortunately, whatever the cause it's responding well to the meds - still sore but nothing like as bad as it was.

I've still to see my dentist. Hopefully he will be able to tell me for sure what caused the problem. Whatever, I may be about to lose that much treasured wisdom tooth!

Hoping to be back, firing on all cylinders, soon.

Friday Smiles on Saturday

Hello Everyone

I know I should have posted this round up of things that made me smile, for Annie's Friday Smile meme, yesterday but it's been a very busy week and I have to admit the heat is getting to me too. So much so, it's required a lot of lying down with my feet up - oh boy, are they killing me!!! Not that I propose to share photos of my feet with you ... suffice to say they are not a pretty sight!

A week ago my daughter and I, with our respective husbands, travelled north to see the Quilt Show organised by the ladies of Mary's Patch at Glencarse, near Perth. Needless to say I took an awful lot of photos but here's just a wee selection.

For such a small community - Glencarse is not much more than one street in size - the number of quilts was impressive and all very beautiful.

Most of the display was in the village hall but the overspill was displayed in this lovely church - a church with hens in the yard!

It's as quaint inside too.










Sunday was this little one's third birthday.

He's such a cutie and I can't believe how much he is growing.

Also on Sunday we took a trip to Culzean. It was hot and the sea and the sky were this deep azure blue ... as good as anything found  in the Mediterranean.

It's a fabulous time of the year to visit the country park. There's so many baby animals to see - cygnets (five), ducklings (sixteen) and young Highland Cows (three).

We were lucky enough to reach the deer park at feeding time so got to see the llamas up close - love them!

On Tuesday we visited the newly refurbished art gallery in Kirkcudbright where I was delighted to see Landseer's 'Monarch of the Glen' - it's massive and a marvellous work of art.

Here's a few of the other works of art that caught my eye.

Wednesday we had another birthday to celebrate.

My gorgeous granddaughter, Shari, turned fifteen and is now quite the young lady.

Callum, still celebrating his birthday ... it seems I'm not the only one who enjoys week long birthday celebrations ... loving having his great-gran read a Peppa Pig story to him.







And finally ...

... my wonderful great-grands all together at the Five Sisters Zoo - left to right, Brodie, Rhian, Callum and Lacie. There's nothing quite like a birthday celebration to get all the family together.

Goodness, if you've made it this far thank you, and apologies for the length of this post but it really has been a busy week and you should see the photos I've not included - there's a ton more!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Friday Smiles

Hello Smilers

Joining in Annie's Friday Smiles ... a bit late but I've been out spending the children's inheritance at The Range today.

It's an extremely cold day - only 5C degrees - but I've had a quick wander round the garden and there's quite a lot to smile about despite the freezing temperatures.

The miniature daffs, Tete-a-Tete, are looking better this year than ever.

Newly planted up pots of Pixie Iris with snowdrops promising a bit more colour soon.

Primulas waiting to be potted up - the pastel shades are so pretty.

Rhubarb - also waiting to be planted out. I just have to decide where it's going 

... oh, and for the weather to get warmer!

Got to share this.

This quilt was made by the members of the Cake and Crafting Group I go to on a Thursday afternoon. Two of the squares were made by yours truly. It's going to be entered into a competition at the SECC Craft Show next month. Wish us luck.

Finally, no funnies this week but I thought you might enjoy this lovely smiley photo.

My grandson William with his son Callum on a visit to Loch Lomond. Smiles like that just melt this grandmother's heart.

Hope you've had much to smile about this week too and that you will have a wonderful weekend.

Apology, Explanation, A Hanging Heart & A Smile

Hello Everyone,

Apologies for being a poor blogger and even poorer commenter over recent weeks. Fact is, due to the arthritis which affects my hands, arms and shoulders, I'm finding keyboarding painful. The last few months have been particularly bad and I'm now limited to what I can do. Such a pain!

I've been referred for physiotherapy, of course, and hopefully this will help me deal with the painful spasms I'm experiencing. In the meantime, I'm having to limit the type and amount of craftwork I do, not to mention keyboarding!

However, being unwilling to give up altogether, I have a plan. That is to continue blogging, just less frequently, for the foreseeable future and see how that works out. Mostly I'll post photographs but accompany them with less chat ... that could be a relief to some folk :)

So, in that spirit, here's a photo of a hanging heart I've just finished making.

I hand embroidered the flowers using a transfer from Lesley Taylor's lovely book, Flowers. The design is done on cream cotton with DMC embroidery floss. I haven't embroidered by hand in 50 years, and it could be my last for another 50 years!  I should live so long :)

As it is Friday, I can't forget to add a little funny for Annie's Friday Smiles.

I'd love this little kitty to take me through my physio exercises :)

So there you are, my tale of woe, my plan, and my latest creation, and something to smile about.

Take care and happy crafting,

Friday Smiles

Evening Everyone,

It's Friday. The day we share some, or all, of what made us smile this week with Annie at A Stitch In Time.

I wasn't around earlier today. Instead, we took advantage of the better weather an drove down to Castle Douglas to do a bit of shopping. It's a smashing little market town with loads of lovely shops, including a great health food store that sells herbs and spices, loose from the jar. Here's a few photos taken during the day.

Who could resist this display! Every time we visit the town we make a point of popping in and adding a few more goodies for our spice rack.

A pretty Easter display in one of those shops that always displays the kind of thing I find really hard to resist!

Book shops, especially secondhand book shops, are becoming as rare as hen's teeth these days. This one draws us like a magnet every time we visit the town. The shopkeepers in Castle Douglas seem to have a liking for choosing quirky names for their shops. Some even have interestingly different signage too.

The key on this one caught my eye.

And here's one for the Master Clockmaker.

Love the grandfather clock.

There are approximately fifty local businesses involved in either producing or selling food and drink in Castle Douglas, and for that reason it has been designated a Food Town. We like to have lunch in our favourite tearoom, The Scottish Pantry, and I always order their macaroni cheese ... it is simply delicious.

And because it's that time of the year here's a snap my DH flanked by a display of red balloons, flying to mark St Valentine's Day, found outside the Post Office!

So that was my day. Hope your day was as much fun too.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - WOYWW Week 342

Hi Everyone,

It's a bit hectic here at Chez Worthington, as I've no doubt it is for you all, but it would never do for me to miss the last WOYWW before Christmas. I'm not sharing my desk today - you really wouldn't want to see the mess it's in - but I have quite another desk to show you instead.

The piece of technology on this desk has made this Christmas the best ever for my family. It's my daughter's Cochlear Implant Processor which was officially switched on yesterday morning at the Scottish Cochlear Implant Clinic, Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock and I can't thank the team enough. Not only have they made this the most wonderful Christmas ever for my Juli, but they have made my entire year ... I really couldn't ask for more than the chance for Juli to hear better.

Here she is wearing the processor - it's attached to a magnet which is just under her scalp. She underwent the operation to have the Cochlear Implant fitted a month ago and we have all been waiting in anxious anticipation for the switch on yesterday. Although it is going to take some time, and many more visits to the clinic, Juli is already hearing new sounds. Here is what she had to report just a few hours after the switch on.

' When I got home, first I make myself a cup of tea, I heard I make noise with teaspoon in cup. Then heard Graeme (her husband) walking on wooden floor. It's a strange noise. It's slowly picking up.'

Simple, everyday noises and ones we in the hearing community take for granted, and even filters out most of the time, but to Juli they are a miracle of sound.

Here is a link to a video of Juli and the technician during the tuning session - just a snatch of it as it the whole procedure took more than four hours! In the background you can also hear the voice of the sign language interpreter explaining to Juli what the technician is saying. Oh, and there is a fleeting appearance of yours truly and the EM in the background too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9R8nx4b9hE

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhgh0eNJWrc

Ending on an all time high here's my Christmas Card to you all:

Have a wonderful holiday everyone.

Friday Smiles

Afternoon Everyone,

I've been out Christmas shopping today - trying to beat the crowds! - so this is late and therefore has to be a very quick Friday Smile post. As usual, I've had plenty to smile about this week. First up is this super cute photo of my two youngest great-grandchildren, Callum and Lacie.

The family have been having a real giggle at the difference in size between them. Callum is just over 5 months old, Lacie is almost 7 weeks and, I'm told, doing her best to catch up with her big cousin.

Here she is being fascinated by the toys hanging from her play mat. She's just discovering that she can touch them with her hands.

Now for the funnies - this week they are all to do with the upcoming festivities:

I can think of quite a few folk that might share this dream!

I'd be very happy with a penguin :)

And finally,

Not sure my Celtic supporting grandson's would appreciate the colour!

Hope you've all had a wonderfully happy week and that you enjoy the coming weekend.

Happy Friday,

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 338

Hello Everyone,

And happy WOYWW day to you all.

Before I reveal the mess that is my desk this morning, I'd just like to say a big thank you to everyone who sent my daughter, Juli, their good wishes yesterday. For those who don't know, Juli had an operation to have a Cochlear implant fitted. The three hour long op was successful and Juli has bounced back very quickly ... a whole lot quicker than her poor mum did! It will be a few more weeks before the device is switched on but then I think the world of sound is going to be a revelation to her - not least because after 44 years of silence she is going to hear music! I really can't think of a better Christmas present for my daughter than that.

Now on to what you've come to see - the desk!

That is sunshine you see streaming through the window! Apologies for the glare on the packet of stamps but I didn't pull the blind down for the photo. After the dreadful weather we've suffered recently it would be a shame to shut out the sunshine. And what's on the desk today? Piles! I'm really good at creating piles - in fact, I'm an expert at it. The pile of card and paper at the front is concealing a card I'm working on - the design for which involved the leafy template, the stamps and the distress inks, another pile, you can see at the back. There's also yet another pile, this time of die-cut leaves - tucked inside a tin lid top left - I went mad with the die-cutting machine ... I'm sure they will all come in handy for future projects. Next to that is, you've guessed, another pile, this time photographs - the same pile that has been there for some weeks. Should do something with them really ... maybe tomorrow, or the next day - you get the idea. On top of the photographs are some cut out letters - more off later - and next to the distress inks is a cute little crocheted chick - was a UFO but now finished - yeah!

This is what's on the sewing table today ... the reason for those cut out letters mentioned above. Bunting I'm making for my little great-grandson, Brodie, three tomorrow. His unusual name means that finding anything personalised is not easy so I'm hoping he will enjoy seeing his name hanging up on his bedroom wall - that is, once he can read :)

Well, that's me this week. A wee bit longer than Julia recommends but hopefully you've managed to hang on in there and read this far - my thanks if you have :)

Have a great day, take care, and I wish you all a wonderful crafty week ahead.