🦞🦂 *What are we up to?*🦂🦞

It's years since we last made for the fish&chip babies. That charity no longer collects them. There was a stigma attached so the garments can still be made but used for new born orphan lambs!

John Lewis is often a collection point for charity donations. In the haberdashery love that word departments.

Doodle, what an absolutely beautiful thing to do, the person who bequeathed the wool would be so happy to know what it was being used for. I welled up reading about how the recipients wrap themselves in a shawl and know they are made with love and care for them. There are definitely times in the past when I needed a shawl as I expect all of us could have too)

No sooner had I stopped snivelling about the shawls than I read the post from Grammaretto and the fish and chips babies, that has shocked me to the core.
A mother's instinct and love to protect their new born in anyway they can...in newspaper if that's all there is
Is there a charity Grammaretto? and where in the world are the clothes sent ?
I knew you were all amazing people, I just didn't know how amazing

Ixion thinking of you with your welly boot socks... I do hope you are keeping warm enough?

Grammaretto, I looked up "fish & chip babies" and ridiculously I hadn't ever thought how cold it might be at night. I know this is stupid as Arizona is very cold in some places overnight. I have worked with some extremely poor families here - some i went home and wept about and many were desperate with no support - but I haven't worked with families without even a baby outfit.

I sometimes think it's better to sell things for a decent price and give the money to charity. That way you know the recipient really wants it.
This is what I'm doing with my clutter at present.
It was so nice being able to hand over DH collection of records to another
enthusiast.

From now on, I will give the slippers I knit to a charity.
Usually the kaumatua take them but none of us are in such dire need as the poor Fish & Chip babies - that really shocked me.

'The poor you have always with you' ....maybe to remind us of how lucky we are?

Ixion The Helpers write to various hosts choosing geographically and by what work is being offered. We read eachothers reviews too.
Hosts can write to helpers they like the look of!
I don't usually write but answer letters sent to me. I have agreed to host an Australian girl who just wants to stay 2 weeks.
¹
What a very lovely knitting group you have Doodle.
Ours also make garments for charities. The fish&chip babies for example. These were vests which fit from babies to toddlers for children whose mothers had wrapped them in newspaper, having no clothes at all.

We also make hats for seafarers and homeless people and tiny garments for premature babies.

I have made these things but currently I'm trying to finish a sweater for myself. Nearly there!

Ixion an established member of our church left a large amount of wool to the church when she died. A knitting group was started to make something from the wool. It was decided that the knitters would make shawls for people.
We gather once a month to knit together but knit at other times too. We pray before we begin or at the end and ask for love and blessings on our knitting as we knit with love.
When shawls are completed they are blessed in church during one of our normal Sunday services and then the vicar will arrange for them to be given to anyone who we think needs comfort. The idea is that they wrap the shawl round them and know that they have been knitted with love and caring and prayers and we hope it gives them comfort.
It takes some time to knit them probably a few months because we all have other things to do. We knit with chunky wool of any colour and size 8 needles. 63 stitches in any pattern you choose to do. They are about 5ft long and then we add fringing to the bottom.
Some examples of those who receive them are
Parents who’ve lost a child
Those who have had a child after some difficult circumstances
Those who are seriously or terminally ill
Those who mourn
Those who are in need of knowing they are cared for.
Hope this helps.

I've never come across prayer shawls, Doodle, neither in my long association with my family church 'back home' nor with my current church.
I am interested - can you tell us more? Pattern, colour, significance? How long does it take you to complete one?

How easy is it to host a new helper, Grammaretto?
Are they on a 'waiting list'? Who does the matching?
I hope you have a successful placement again.

Chilly nights these days.
I am wearing my welly boot socks in bed when desperate.😱

Ixion i am knitting a big shawl. Problem is I’ve just finished one so the current one is not big enough to keep me warm. I’m trying to knit faster.
Ooh I’m glad I’m not the only one who forgets what they have and buys another.
Grammaretto maybe it would be an idea for your son to realise how disappointed you are with the rejecting of your application.
My arty friends are lovely. They’ve been so kind to me. I’m still knitting prayer shawls. We get through quite a lot as they are given to people, sometimes whole families, need a little extra love and comfort. They are knitted with loved and blessed in church before being passed to the recipient. I was given one when DH died. It’s a lovely gift.
Oh Kaimoana i do Hope you get to spend as much time as possible with Gubbins I bet she’s grown a lot since you last saw her.
NN glad the leg is improving. Do you just work occasionally or are you full time. I hope you’re being careful with your leg.
I’ve been out with walking group this morning then to the hospice for lunch. Met a few friends and had a good time.
Shed a few tears this morning (as happens quite often) and found out my friend was doing the same last night. Good to have someone to share with.

Yay... I've fallen into the right place....my fault for being absent for so long. I'm just on the train back to my country cottage... I've had the corporate face on this week...back at work.
It's been a nice project and the execs were all soo young and it was like being back with my girls with advice being sought re what to wear to last night's party and how best to do makeup along with tea and biscuits when they all arrived ' hanging ' this morning. I miss that and probably always will.

This morning one of them asked my advice as she was angry that her older sister was trying to find her a husband. She is a westernised Muslim and has a career, loves partying and the before marriage sex no longer applies to her. Her sister is married to a Turkish man and wants the same for her but she feels that the Turkish approach to her lifestyle wouldn't work and she wanted to be able to share her past wth her eventual husband.

Luckily I was called away so had a little time to think of my answer. In the end I said she could thank her sister for caring enough about her and how much she appreciated her love and that she would always want her to be part of her life wherever and whoever it was with...

I hope that helped her a little...I reminded her that life was very short ( it doesn't seem it when you are 27 does it?) and to enjoy her present life and keep her family a part of it.

The leg is healing finally...the antibiotics knocked me for 6. The description is like swallowing bleach was so right. It's going to take a few weeks to get my tummy happy again.

Grammaretto....no no no..I am so sad for you. When we get to an age ( I'm not saying which) having a something to look forward to and plan is such a bonus when life can become a bit humdrum. Is is worth finding out exactly what the objections were and asking what you could do to make it acceptable...I think from memory you are entitled to ask.

*Ixion we must be twins I have done the same
and not only once.*

Doodle I love music from Taize...I have a lovely little app called Pray as you go....only 10 minutes or so each day... Some music and a reading and a reflection. It's a gentle way to start or finish my day.

Got to go.. Need to try and look presentable for DH who hasn't seen me for 5 days...I think it's going to take longer than I've got... Back soon. Love to all.

💐Kaimoana x

"Mum might go out for a couple of hours to give your time à deux?"

Sadly, Gubbins doesn't know me well enough to allow that.

Bear in mind I have seen her only once since last November. She hid behind Mum but thawed out a little as the visit went on.
It'll be the same tomorrow.

We'll do crafts (at her request) but chances are she'll soon want to go to the playground (its usually been promised) and I have no transport, so that in itself will probably curtail the visit.

I'll just enjoy being with her for as long as I can.

That's funny ixion. You must really like it to buy an identical one. Perhaps you could keep a spare?

It's such good news Kaimoana to be seeing Gubbins soon. Then your son arrives . Is this the trip where he collects the rest of his family to join him in the UK?

It's not until next month that I go to Ireland and it will just be a few days. That DS is very against me building so he'll be relieved. He's not gloating though!

I had a tiring day today. After yoga I had washing and shopping to do and glazing pots. I have the electric kiln on.
I'm missing my Helper and have decided to have one more before the end of the year.

Your arty friends sound a lot of fun Doodle . What knitting are you doing? I'm still on the same sweater. It is warm on my knees.

I m off to bed now and hope I'll get more sleep than last night.

Hot chocolate? Horlicks? I don't have any but fancied it rioobos? Whisky? I may have herb tea.

What's everyone's tipple?

You need to knit something big, Doodle, like a blanket or a big woolly - then the faster you knit, the warmer you will be when your lap is covered!

Grammaretto, will you be able to have a measured conversation with your DS while you are away - or is he in the naysayer's camp over your new build proposals?

With any build, beware the placement of the Portaloo. Our friends were blessed blighted by their builders' siting of same. Directly in front of the sitting room windows and on a jaunty sideways slope😱. The children always thought this was a hoot.

Countdown to Gubbins, Kaimoana? Excellent. Have you thought what you might do with her, or does it depend on the time allotted? Don't suppose there's any chance that Mum might go out for a couple of hours to give your time à deux?

I needed to return a top today, which I had bought on line.
Sadly, there was no option in the 'Reason for Return' for

'Bought, but didn't realise I had a new one already at the back of the wardrobe'.

Grammaretto Hope your time in Ireland helps you gather your thoughts and decide what to do for the future. I suppose a lot depends on how much you want to stay exactly where you are or if there is somewhere you could move to that you would be equally happy to live.
You’re certainly looking at it in the right way. I do hope you find the right place for you soon.
Ixion keeping busy certainly helps although being busy doesn’t extend to housework or boring things🤣
Kaimoana I’m thrilled Gubbins is coming to see you soon. How lovely. I bet she’s grown a bit since last time. So pleased your son is coming home. I bet you can’t wait to see him
I do hope you haven’t abandoned plans to move to be near your other granddaughter. She sounds a lovely girl and very caring.
Had a lovely brunch it’s art class friends today then went to church knitting group. It was pretty chilly there so we were knitting faster. 🤣

The one that got away.......
When we first looked for a place near Edinburgh to live 50years ago, we fell in love with a cottage in the beautiful village of Temple and put in as high an offer as we could afford. We didn't get it and in the end bought a fairly ordinary bungalow in Portobello where we lived happily for 5 years before moving here.

In those days Temple had a school, a shop, a post office and a daily bus into Edinburgh. Now it has none of those things and actually our growing family would have hated being stuck out in the styx , relying on us to ferry them everywhere.

So maybe this end of a dream will prove to be a good thing.

Grammaretto the "dream house" buying saga was loss by increments. We had a deposit on a house, outbuildings and 8 acres for 8 years!

I will come back and tell the tale one day but it was perfect for us and our family. We spent many months looking for it and fell in love immediately we saw it. Lots of work required but we were so confident in it that a lovely local architect drew up some plans for us for extending and we went looking at materials for roofing, for a shower room, sauna, eco heating systems...

Happy days before it crumbled away
🤕

Now and again (as recently as last week) I "walk" the lane on Google and remember the dream.
I can't throw the plans away yet... even though it was a "lifetime ago" when the children were small.

I look to see if it's up for sale now and again too... and last year put a "watch" on property in that tiny area... I don't think it's where I'd want to move to now as very rural but it's a hankering nevertheless

Ixion, (and other lost 🦞🦂s) I haven't yet apologised for not sending links to this new thread. It all happened in a rush I'm afraid and at first I couldn't understand why I just couldn't post.
Once I realised I just started a new one and said what I was trying to say and then stupidly walked away

Apologies to all our friends who struggled to find us.

Kaimoana your "delicatessen dog food" story made me hoot! Thanks for sharing it with us!

I'm sorry you had rain - but did the café have any inside space? Maybe the rain put others off a bit? Great news about your precious granddaughter'as visit ... and presumably only 9 days now... 🗓
🎉🎉🎉

Have a restful time in Ireland Grammaretto. Go have craic and song in the local pubs, you'll feel so much better.

My son's partner is brining my grand-daughter to see me on Saturday, that will be lovely. He it was who told me, so I suspect he also instigated it.

I am having coffee with a friends today and as most of our cafes have outdoor dining options, I looked forward to that. Guess what? After days of sunshine, the temperature has dropped and its raining. Ah well.

Only 10 days now until my son is home from the UK, can't wait but I'll have to!

Thankyou lovely Lobstars!
I feel more sorry for my nice architect. He still thinks there's hope but I know our council only too well and know there isn't.

I had thought of a conversion Doodle and that could be an option but it would be easier and quicker to sell this and buy a smaller place.
Meanwhile I am making plans to visit my DS in Ireland.

I don't know if I knew about the 8 year battle NotSpaghetti . Tell us?

X-ed posts, NS.

#slow typist

Have you had any time to reconsider the planning outcome, Grammaretto?
Have you spoken to your architect? I hope Music Man will hang in there with whatever your next plan may be. Don't forget the piano!

Has your helper gone now?

Pleased you had a good day, Doodle. Good to keep busy so I'm told .

Thinking of Kaimoana with your difficult and emotional job of
packing, sorting and decluttering.
It must be such a help to have the enthusiasm and support of your DGD. She's an engineer, surveyor, architect? 🤔

I hope NN is seeing an improvement with her poorly leg and that the infection has cleared up. Must've been bad to actually get antibiotics these days 😉 ...

Thinking of 🦞friends, present and absent.

Oh, Grammaretto, what terrible news about your application. I truly hope that something perfect (or nearly so) come along very very soon.
If it does then the long slog to nowhere won't feel so miserable
🤞
I know how awful it is when your heart is set on something but one thing after another conspires against you. Eventually, for your own sanity you have to just say "enough" - even if that makes you weep....

In time you will pick yourself up and it will be just another part of your history.
I think I once mentioned our 8 year battle to buy our perfect home in Southern Ireland. Well it doesn't exactly pain me any more. I still yearn for what might have been but accept that other good things did come our way.

Thinking of you

Glad your presentation went well. You must have done a good job