Snail-paced broadband and...

...a spell of Jury Service.


Just a brief catch-up to prove I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.


Road works, gas main replacement and general weather conditions seem to have been impacting on the broadband services in my area for a while. I don't think having half the street dug-up during the snow helped very much as a lot of the cable piping was exposed to the elements for a few weeks.


Trying to read my emails each day has become a struggle because the limited time I have available doesn't fit well with the lengthy periods it takes to load Outlook.


On top of this, Windows 10 keeps freezing me out telling me that urgent updates are required yet when I try to install them I'm told that everything is up to date ??? ***grrrrrrrr*** more hassle. As a result, I haven't loaded any new photos for a while so I do apologise for the lack of pics.


Things were ticking along generally and I was looking forward to another weekend away with crafting friends like the one I went on last year. Panic set in when I received a summons to do Jury Service.


Although the two weeks specified should not have caused any problems, I had visions of ending up on a long case that would drag on & on &...


Luckily it didn't - I was only selected for one case which was over & done with in 3 days.


I can't say I enjoyed my time, so much sitting around waiting to hear whether you are needed. However, I was very productive - I have done a lot of crochet and managed to make a good selection for flowers and small projects ready for our "Learning at Work Week" event. I have also nearly completed a crochet blanket (700grams worth of DK yarn) which actually came in handy and helped to keep me warm as the court building is very cold - unfortunately I couldn't take the blanket into the court room even though it was like an ice-box...just had to make do with coats, scarves and lots of layered clothing. Apparently they don't like the court to be too warm as the legal folk have to wear gowns & wigs.


So I'm back at work, catching up on hundreds of emails and trying to sort out a few issues that arose whilst I was off. At least I now know that there won't be any problems concerning the crafting weekend - time can't pass quickly enough for me.......................................................................

Getting ready...

...for Christmas.

I had a sort out at the weekend and all my Christmas china is now gathered ready for the festive season...

...the mug trees are now home to my collection of Christmas mugs...

...and my seasonal candles are all gathered together to help create that Christmassy 'feel'.

With Christmas just five weeks away, what are you up to getting ready for the holidays?......................................

Unfortunately...

...the trees have got to go.

When we first moved into the house there was a privet hedge across the garden that acted as a screen. The garage & cars were the other side of the hedge so the view from the house was of a lovely green wall. However, at over 10ft tall the privet was a major task to keep trimmed so after a lot of umming & arring it went.

There was a small tree between the hedge and the garage and we left it as it provided a bit of screening so we weren't gazing at the rendered wall of the garage. Over the years it has grown...

 ...and is in fact two trees. They create a lovely canopy in the corner...

 ...and help to hide the garage...

 ...they are also beautiful to look up through...

 ...especially as that direction is where the sun sets...

 

...you can see the glow through the leaves.

 I love trees and hate to see them cut down...

 ...but the trunks have increased in girth and are now pressing on the garage wall...

 ...so a hard decision has had to be taken...

...and the trees have got to come down...

...and they will leave such a gap when they are gone. So I had to get out and take as many photos as I could.

 

I know they have to go as they are damaging the garage (there is already a very big crack in the wall) but the garden will seem so empty without them.

I will have to think of something that is fairly low maintenance that can safely be used as a 'growing' screen of some sort...............................................................

Sunshine...

...and Showers.

This was the post I wanted to do yesterday but Mr Blogger had other ideas.

We get a lot of foxes around here as there is quite a bit of open farmland where they can roam. They also like to rummage through bins for food and as the park is just across the road, they are often lucky with burger boxes and the like that still hold a variety of treats. Unfortunately, they seem to like my back garden for their "picnics" and Monday morning the view from the bedroom was of a lovely plastic mess in the middle of the lawn. I was in the middle of clearing it up when the rain started.

I was about to run inside when I noticed this...

 ...so had to run and grab my camera...

...the rain wasn't very heavy...

 ...and I so wanted to get the pictures of the rainbow. This was 7am in the morning...

...and this was the view from my back garden.

The rain didn't last very long and had finished by the time I headed off to work but what a lovely moment so early in the day..............................................................

It's all the rage...

...apparently.

Hobbycraft refer to it as 'Knitting for your nest' and magazines have a variety of terms for it.

I just think of it as adding a "Homely" touch.

This is a set of bedding that I have had for some time...

 ...it is brushed cotton/flannelette and is a set that I use during the Winter months as it is warm and snuggly. However, when it is on the bed it looks a bit boring so I decided to make a throw.

Sorry about the creases but I just laid it over the bed to get the photo.

Going with the 'Granny blanket' style, I found the perfect colours in Linens Direct...

...and made a start on the blanket. I think I will add in a lot more of the paler blue as it gets bigger otherwise it could look rather dark but I'm pleased with the way the colours are coming together so far..............................................................