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Gratitude

This weekend saw some delightful weather in Yorkshire which prompted me to get busy in the garden. Actually something else prompted me- apart from my love of gardening. Little person number 3 who is 4yrs old had to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. The operation was on a Friday in March. It went well and I had to stay overnight with him as they needed to monitor his oxygen levels. Being in a hospital for 48 hours and surrounded by illness especially in young children (the ward we stayed in had quite a few long-term patients). It gives one pause for thought to appreciate how lucky one is to have healthy children and indeed to be healthy enough to not be in and out of the hospital. It’s something that is easy to take for granted. During the night as I slept on the cot bed next to my son’s bed, I couldn’t help but think of the stress and anxiety I felt in the lead up to, during and after the operation – seeing your little one  knocked unconscious and slump down as if all life has been snuffed out of them is a test of fortitude. Readers I am not a crier (except when I am pregnant and hormonal) but I did in that moment. As I was struggling to sleep, I kept thinking how incredibly privileged we are here in the UK to have the NHS. The mere fact that I didn’t have to worry about whether I could afford for my son to have an operation for his sleep apnea shouldn’t be taken for granted. I was vigilant in thanking the staff for looking after us and wrote a letter saying as much. I am proud that my taxes and National Insurance contribute to such a vital service. It’s not perfect but still worth it. Thinking about it while I was there I see it like this – the NHS is like a firefighter who saves you from a fire but while he/she is carrying you out of the burning building your head gets bumped against the door frame; yes your head hurts but at least you didn’t die in the fire. With that in mind I left the hospital with a firm resolve to involve myself in any Save the NHS campaigns.

Knitting

In other news Brooklyn Tweed  released their Winter 17 lookbook a while back and I am smitten with the Kirwin here. Perhaps it is the colour that calls to me but I think it’s a lovely design. When I get round to it, I will probably try to go for the same deep red the model is wearing.

Wish List

I also came across the McCall Pattern YouTube channel and saw this video with some of their winter releases.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DAK4O_tB8o

Isn’t it funny when you don’t notice a pattern until you see it on someone in motion? The Paco Peralta long tuxedo jacket appealed to me. They are now on my wish list for when Vogue next go on sale in the USA. I am lucky that my FIL visits us twice a year and he is happy to be a sewing pattern mule 🙂

TV Shows

….well The Collection was a major letdown and that is all I will say about that. Thank goodness I was always knitting when I watched it otherwise I’d feel like I wasted my time. I have heard good things about The Crown – and though I am not a fan of the monarchy – I think I will use a Netflix free month to watch it , then cancel Netflix. If there are any other good things to catch on Netflix please let me know – because I intend to ‘sweat the asset‘ as they say in accounting speak. In more distressing news – I heard that GBBO is moving to Channel 4 and apparently there is a strong possibility that Sewing Bee will go as well since it’s the same production company that makes both shows. Only Paul Hollywood is  moving with the Bake Off – apparently the others have decided to stay loyal to the Beeb. Though Bake Off was getting a tad annoying for me – I am not sure I like the idea of it moving to C4  – can you imagine all the product placement and the sponsored weeks? Things change I suppose.

Reading

I have been reading Outlander again – the first time I read them I  was in a (Jamie) frenzy so this time I am taking my time with it and savouring it (Jamie). I have decided to be more proactive with my reading list in 2017 and will be making a list of 12 books I want to read. I have been wanting to re-read all the classics I love like Pride & Prejudice, Jane Eyre etc. I think I will make 2017 the year of the Classic book for me.

Loosing it

My oldest started high school in September and its been hard to realise that I have very little control over what he does. High school is so different to primary school  and I am finding navigating it quite challenging. I have joined the PTA and a couple of parent organisations there so I can learn what’s what in high school. In fact, I recently went to my first ever parents evening in high school. It was chaos of the first order. To start with my darling hadn’t bothered to make any appointments for me (their system has the kids collecting the appointments) so I had to wait till a teacher had a free spot. Each slot is 5 mins in theory , however I discovered that on average it took about 15 mins each so all the teachers were so far out of schedule that it didn’t matter anymore. I also found, much to my amusement as I had to wait for 3 parents ahead of me to see the Math teacher, that the teacher more or less repeated the same stuff to each of us. I went by myself to the event, whereas almost everyone else had brought the OH and high school child in tow. Hence I had the luxury of listening in on conversations in a quietly unobtrusive way. It was fun – I havent had the opportunity to people watch in a long time. Anyhow  – patience is not my strong suit so I abandoned it all after seeing 5 of the 11 teachers. I figured if there was something very wrong with my son’s progress they would get in touch with me. I nearly fainted though when I got back home and was mulling over the fact that I will have to do this every year. Then it hit me. My other 4 are 3 years apart. So there will come a time when ALL 4 OF THEM ARE IN HIGH SCHOOL at the same time!!! And I will have to do parents evening for the 4 of them. 4 kids x 11 subjects = 44 x 5 minute (in theory but really closer to 15 minutes) slots!!!! I had to sit down when it hit me. Many choice swear words swirled about in my head.

On that note..thanks for coming by.

Peace and love,

Hila