IT WAS THE NIGHT BEFORE...

Oliver eventually went to sleep at 10.15 pm !

The postman knocked this morning with a fantastic package from my Better Pal.

What wonderful goodies. Just look at that angora blend roving. My pal didn't say where it was from,but I'm 99% sure I know [I'll say if she does ! Added later : Kim's beautiful angora blend rovings. Gorgeous ! ] .

There were cute little stitchmarkers,sweet notecards,Earl Grey tea bags [that stuff has life giving properties,I'm sure of it !],chocolate and E post it notes. Fab !

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Have a great day everyone.
Love,Emma.

SEASON'S GREETINGS !

We hope your lives and homes are full of love,laughter,light,warmth and the sweet smells and tastes of the season.

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I have loads to blog about. First,our health: Oliver has a chest infection and is on antibiotics,which have started to kick in. He's cooler and getting his appetite back,and very excited about Christmas ! My knee is slowly improving. Great stuff,ibuprofen.

The lovely K T sent me the arn I was looking for to knit my Latvian mittens. I a very large box ! Inside was gorgeous yarns in stunning shades of cyclamen,chocolate [eaten !] and some great stuff for Oliver.

Lovely stuff for me to play with.

K T sent a police themed party bag from her son's birthday. Very popular it was too !
A return box is in the workings. Same for you Ms. Rachel H. !

A few days I got a lovely surprise envelope from Margene,to say thank you for being her Better Pal. I enjoyed every moment of it,just as I'm enjoying this round. Look at these delightful treats.

These lovely little stitchmarkers will be perfect for the lace scarf I have planned for that gorgeous,deep wine coloured merino laceweight. I'm just going to take a moment here to pout about the fact that Knitpicks don't sell outside the U.S. ....

I'm so spoilt,and it's not even christmas yet.

A LOT,LOT LATER...

On reflection I'm very fond of the dull purple [cousin of eggplant ? ] and rich red in Rachel H's mittens.The mohair is some of the softest and most luscious I've ever felt [see previous post for details and links].See the ''Canada'' Regia sock yarn she sent me too ?
The main impetus for her delightful parcel was this totally fab book,Zoom. It's about a little girl and her electric wheelchair. Oliver loves it,not least because she's a bit wild and naughty in her electric wheelchair. I'm hoping it will be read to his class in school next term. It's fantastic. If you search Amazon U.K. for the ISBN number you can get it. A book I highly recommend for disabled and non-disabled children is Don't Call Me Special.
The second mitten isn't finished as I've done very little other than slob about on the bed,watching daytime t.v. and mucking about with various toys and books with a sick child. I think he's about to sneeze in this pic.

He's had a rough six/seven weeks with colds and flu. At least he was o.k. last week,so didn't miss the pantomime,christmas party and nativity play.
To add to the fun I completely f****d my left knee on monday. I'm not sure what I did but it started with my hamstrings,at the back of the knee,being very tight and painfull,then my thigh and calf muscles went into spasm. At it's worst it felt like my leg was in advanced labour ! I was getting a sore throat from groaning so much. I really couldn't walk and was hopping and hanging onto door frames and furniture to propel myself. I am so very,very grateful for the stair lift ! [ * I feel I should clarify ; neither Allan nor I would ever use the stairlift. Although it can take an adult's weight,it is for Oliver's use alone. I do confess to using the track as a hand rail to haul myself upstairs in times of dire need ! * ] I couldn't get comfortable and getting up and down off the bed or a chair was excruciatingly painful. It took all my will power to keep moving. Agony ! Luckily the double strength ibuprofen has started to work,so I've had some sleep and am able to hobble about a bit. Poor Allan is having to do loads of stuff,under direction. You just know he'll be loving that !

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I did make a shawl pin for the bulky alpaca shawl. It was fun picking the beads.

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I've made one christmas present. A moss stitch scarf in Rowan's Biggy Print,using 15mm needles,taking two hours ! I know the recipient will like the colour,just hope she likes the soft merino warmth,and appreciates that I'm very selective about who I knit for. Now more so than ever. Once bitten,and all that !
Here's a glimpse.

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I've been meaning to link to a certain blog for ages. It's TIIRoaC.Mat has CP and uses a speech aid. He's just started at university,so I'm interested to read about his student life. I particularly wanted to link to this post. I believe.very strongly,in inclusion. I wouldn't fight for Oliver to be in a mainstream school if he was unhappy or suffering in any way. He's extremely happy and,most importantly,a part of our local community. Someone told me it would be ''safer'' for him at a special school. What cobblers ! Safer for whom exactly ? Oliver has to live in the real world,and the world has to live with people with disabilities. He's a bright and intelligent boy. It would destroy him to be with children with severe learning disabilities. There will be times when life will be hard,but better to go out and live it than be shut away. It seems to be very hard for small minded people to live with other people's differences. Tough for them !

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I've a backlog of stuff to post about. I'll try not to leave it so long,and to get caught up.
Keep calm. Get ready,in a totally unstressed way [ ! ],for the holidays. Knit on !