Back in stinky Cheltenham

No, it actually does stink, well, in the kitchen at least (full bin and crazy heating.... mmmm, tasty smells there!)

So the delights of being back to Cheltenham, and after a weekend of... well, not much.  I'm really finding it hard to think of things to talk about here that aren't tedious running commentries of my life or moans that I've already had. 

Work was work.  Actually a very barable shift.  Nice patients, nice nurses, enough work to keep me busy and not twiddling my thumbs but not too busy to actually get everything done whilst still chatting to patients.  So that was good.  I honestly really find it hard to say that I enjoy work, I just don't find it a particularly rewarding job, it's just a means to an end.  And it makes me crave being a doctor and doing what I feel passionate about all the more.

This morning I finally got round to getting out of bed early enough to go to my local CofE church, as part of my quest to find a church that will give me what I need/want/think I need out of church.  It was a nice short walk up there, listening to the bells.  Very old school traditional!  It was Candlemas today, so it was interesting to see, as I've never been to a Candlemas  before, but I suppose it wasn't their usual sort of service, so I think I will try to make it back next week and try a more run of the mill kind of mass.  There was a lot of pomp and ceremony, which I do find a little needless in Christianity.  But I did get to take communion, for the first time in years, so that was nice, as I do believe it is an important part of church and practising Christianity.  I definitely left the church feeling very moved, relaxed and content.  I don't know if I learnt anything necessarily faith-strengthening, but I did enjoy it, and I'm hoping next week will be good too.  And they were very friendly and welcoming, so that definitely counts in their favour.

And finally, the wristwarmer is still not done, but very nearly.  I'm just debating on the length of the palm part, but hopefully will finish that tomorrow, along with the thumb, which shouldn't take too long at all.  So yipee, nearly half way!

 

(not entirely sure why I looks so shocked and dazed in this pic... I took it, I knew it was coming... lol!)

 

Two days without posting

I've officially broken my trend.  I had blogged pretty much everyday since I began, until this weekend... and there's not even a proper reason for it.  I went to Bristol, and finished the socks as documented in my previous post.  And then I made Harry's hat, the only model for which was me:

Another delightful pic of me taken (mainly due to laziness) with my webcam

I crocheted the hat.  It look about a day - I'd forgotten how absolutely simple this pattern was and how quickly it came together.  So I was really happy about that.  I've made this pattern for Harry about 4 or 5 times before, and I think that he's managed to loose them all along the way - not sure if he'll ever learn, or me for that matter, I do keep on making them!  I had to be a bit inventive this time.  He wanted a thinner wool (pattern calls for bulky/chunky) so I went for an aran weight and increased the pattern repeats, and actually managed to get it right, first time!  So yay for me, about adventurous as I've ever gotten with modifying patterns!

And now I'm on to making the wristwarmers for Ru.  I haven't got very far, the pattern uses a chart, something I've never done before, and I had a few queries about it, and obviously had to trawl the net for answers as I didn't bother bringing The Knitter's Bible.  Looking forward to the challenge.

Work on Saturday was about as exciting as I was expecting.  I was bored out of my wits, and got glared at and made to do menial, non-essential things when I dared get the crochet out (despite the fact they were all surfing the net and checking hotmail!).  So I took the hint and sat around staring off into space instead.  Oh well, I was at work after all, so it's bordering on being cheeky to sit there crocheting.  The times I've knitted have all be night shifts, so I obviously can get away with it more then!

Sunday was a bit of a write off.  I really wanted to get up and go to one of the local churches, but switched my alarm off and promptly feel asleep again... oops.  But I've been so tired, I've not been getting amazing sleep in here at Cheltenham, so it was definintely a case of catching up on it all!  When I did eventually get out of bed, I decided I'd go have breakfast (well, brunch!) at the local cafe, so I could sit with the free wi-fi and focus on finishing ranking my jobs.  Which I'd almost done when my laptop run out of juice and I didn't have anywhere near my table to plug in, and changing tables wasn't an option since they were packed (in fact people were kinda glaring at me for taking up a four seater table!).  So I ambled home and finished ranking there.  So glad to get it out of the way.  Now it's just a case of waiting about three weeks and I find out what jobs I have.

Then following having Harry and Claire round briefly so he could pick up the hat (and very generously pay for the yarn - yay, so it was guilt free wool shopping!), I decided to follow up on an idea that Sarah gave me last week.  I roasted a chicken, and had a lovely roast dinner, something I generally don't get round to doing as it's such a waste when I live alone.  And now I've got loads of leftovers to do stuff with.  I had a jacket potato with lemon-mayo chicken, I'm going to do a salad with the other breast, and then make up some soup with whatever's left over.  I may yet be able to get another meal out of whatever other meat is left over before I make the soup.  It was a really good idea - it works out quite cheaply (even splashed out on an organic/free range chicken), I have meal plans for most of the week, and I had a nice easy to think up shopping list.  So it really ticks a lot of the food rules boxes.  So thanks very much Sarah.

And then a quick dish wash and back to Cheltenham.  Had a really busy day today - 9 to 6.  So absolutely knackered right now.  It was a fairly good day.  I was with the consultant who had lead our ethics teaching last week and pretty much the first thing he said to me was that I had had a lot to say last week... I guess I was memorable!  Lol!  Not that I had several arguements or anything like that during ethics!  Lol!  He's quite a nice consultant and made sure I got to see lots and get a bit involved with the team.  In the afternoon, we spent time in the radiotherapy session, which was cool, as it's something I hadn't done before, and I was able to see all the stages.  I like to do things like that, then if I'm ever asked by patients, then at least I can have some grasp of what goes on. 

The most exciting thing to happen this weekend was when I got "chatting" to someone on Ravelry about the socks, and I had a look at her stash, and man did it make me lust.  She's got this huge stash of absolutely gorgeous yarns.  So I complemented her a bit and then we got chatting a bit about where to get wool.  And then she randomly asked for my postal address so she could send me some of her hand-dyed alpaca.  I'm so touched by the kindness of strangers.  She was so gracious about it, and wants absolutely nothing in return.  Can't wait to get back to Bristol and see what it is that she'll send. :)

And here I am... ready for bed.  Not a very exciting weekend, so I'm hoping for a better week!

Busy Sunday

What a day.  It feels like I've not stopped since about 8am!  It all started with Harry and Claire wanting to borrow my sat nav, and the best time for them to pick it up was about 8 this morning.  I have a new request to crochet Harry a red hat.  I sense another excuse to do the banned wool shopping!  But he said he'll refund me the money!  Can't wait to go shopping.  I want to get a really nice yarn, and I have an excuse, and it's not random pointless shopping for a vague project in the future, so I can get away with justifying this to myself!  I really struggled to get back to sleep despite the early hour. 

I eventually dozed off for about 20mins then got up to go pick up Ru (who had spent the night with another friend) and go to her old church.  I was quite excited about this, as finding a church is one of my things that I want to do under The Rules.  I think officially it's non-denominational, but it definitely borders on being evangelical, in the big, loud, stereotypical American kind of way.  Which seems a little OTT for me, so I'm not sure if I'll give it another try.  I did like the message and ethos of the church, which had a very "let's get down to business, bypass church politics, bypass distractions, focus on the Word" feel to it.  Which I really agree with.  Too much of Christianity is taken up with needless pointless junk that's been added over the years, but isn't really part of the original message of God and it's so easy to get side tracked with it all, rather than focusing on what a relationship with God is all about and how to cultivate it.  So, all in all, I'm not sure.  I think I will try a couple of other churches, like my local CofE, despite the fact I consider myself non-denominational.

Then Ru and I decided to make the most of our time together and went out to lunch, meeting up with some other people for some Nando's.  I'm really feeling guilty about all the money I've spent this weekend, but I don't think I was overly frivolous, but I really should be more controlled this week to make up for it.

Then it was goodbye to Ru, who I thoroughly enjoyed having around, and home to pack for coming to Cheltenham.  Which is where this is coming from.  I did find someone to give a lift to, so yay for being a little more environmently conscious and car sharing a little.  The accommodation here seems okay.  A little on the small side, and there was no linen, or pillows provided.  I've managed to locate a couple of old, sad looking pillows, so hopefully it'll be okay.  But there seems to be a nice bunch of people here.  The room looks a little like this:

(low res webcam photo, but gives an idea of the size)

I've not even picked up my sock knitting today, besides to pack it, and I'm missing it!  So tempted to do a couple of rows before sleep, but I know I really shouldn't.  I need to be up in the morning, which means according to The Rules, I should be in bed and all but ready for lights out.  And I know that I never really sleep well in strange, unfamiliar beds, so I think straight to bed/lights out is the way forward.