10 Days of Good Things

OK so maybe some most of the past 10 days have been occupied by a lot of resting, which has proved necessary, I have had quite a few achievements dotted around too.  Quite significant ones as well.

My birthday was a lovely day.  Having my hair done was wonderful, and it meant one less thing for me to have to do that evening before going out.  I also had a really lovely meal out with my family, at the only food establishment I trust with cooking my food locally.  I got some lovely presents – an amethyst ring, a necklace to match, a set of knitting needs, a skein of yarn, a funky lizard brooch and a letter rack – much more than I had expected.  And 30 isn’t that bad after all.

I’ve had to spend many of my days recently in the armchair with my feet up on the foot stool (which is huge, and almost turns the reclined armchair into a chaise lounge).  Because I also went insanely noise sensitive, and thus couldn’t entertain the idea of music, TV or films, I instead kept myself occupied with my cross-stitch and new-found hobby of knitting.  Alternating between the two is not only good to give the brain a rest – knitting a scarf using garter stitch requires no brain power at all – but cross-stitching is fiddly and my hands can’t do that for extended periods.  Obviously I do have to rest from the knitting as well for the same reason.  I’m coming on well with both the cross-stitch and the knitting though – I’m three-quarters done with the cross-stitch, and I’ve knitted about 2ft of scarf.

The past 10 days have also been good for socialising.  I don’t mean going out or having people round – I’ve been far too exhausted to entertain the idea – I mean online.  Having joined the knitting website almost a month ago, I also joined a new crafting group for people with chronic illnesses.  It has meant over-doing it a couple of times posting and reading, but interacting with some new names has been great.

I have to continue resting for the rest of the week – next Friday I graduate!

Auf Deutsch

Last night I made another chocolate cake.  This time it wasn’t quite as impressive, looks wise, to the birthday cake I made, nor is it as big, but boy is it yummy!  A nice little Sezzy-sized loaf-sized bundle of yumminess.  I’m liking this baking lark now that I have the food processor to mix, and a dishwasher to clean everything afterwards!

The reason I baked the cake was because I had a friend over today.  She’s German and a retired teacher, and helped me lots through my final year of German studies, mostly ironing out a few grammatical problems I had.  I haven’t seen her for a while so I thought the cake would be a nice gesture.  It went down really well, and it’s even better than my last chocolate cake attempt!  I’ve actually just polished off the second slice today (I don’t think it’s going to last very long!).  Anyway, not only was the cake a success, but we spoke the entire time – 2 hours – in German.  That’s the first time I’ve actually spoken German like that since last year, and I was so pleased when she said as she was leaving that my German had remained good, that I seemed far more confident with it, and that it was good I understood her the entire time.  Yay!

Oh and I saw Mr Good-looking Neighbour Man last night too again.  He’d forgotten his key (again!) and remembered it was me who let him in before.  There’s a small chance I might see him Sunday, if he needs a new copy of the main entrance door key, as his seems to be duff anyway.  Still no idea if he’s single, but either way, it’s nice to talk to a neighbour here.  Meeting neighbours is a chance affair here, and it’s only the third time I’ve actually stopped and spoken to a neighbour.  I’m not complaining, I like the quiet and I’m a bit of a loner at times.  But company is nice at times.

I also registered with a knitting and crocheting site today, in readiness for starting to knit.  It’s a huge site, and I think I’ll be asking my friend who recommended it to me a lot of questions!

Time to rest now.