Is it Friday already?

Goodness, I don’t know about you, but I can’t quite believe that we’re at the end of the week already!  I’m really not very happy about the way the time is speeding along!

Before I launch into this week’s post, welcome back to you if you live in Australia or New Zealand!  The security problem that has taken up most of my headspace for this week (and probably explains why the time has zoomed as it has) is now solved after a week of three-way conversations between two support desks and me, and you should have no more problems accessing the blog and the tutorials.  I know a lot more about IP addresses and website security than I did at this time last week so it’s not been time wasted … but I really could have been doing other things! 🤣

Anyway, here we are now and I have actually managed to do a few things in between emailing support desks, thank goodness, so I’ve got some photos to show you!

The Christmas tree has gone up outside Winwick church.  We didn’t get to the switch on event but if you’re local, there is a Christmas Tree Festival on at the church this weekend (times and info here).  I think this is the first time they’ve held one of these so I’m not sure what’s involved, but I’m sure it’ll be a good event.

The last two photos are slightly more blurry than I had intended – well, the last one looks like the world is spinning around me at great speed, never mind “slightly blurry” – but you can speak to the dog about that.  He had had enough of photos by that point and wasn’t going to stand still while I took any more.

He’s had one on him this week where photos are concerned.  Not so small daughter texted to ask if she could have some photos of the cats and the dog – the cats were slightly more obliging but this is the dog posing for his photo …

Oh, he was absolutely not having his picture taken!  He turned his face away very deliberately, showed me his bottom and then walked off!  We’re seeing not so small daughter this weekend so she’ll have to take her own photos and see if he’s as badly behaved in front of her camera 🙂

Hattie got a bit feral with her advent calendar this week.  I wouldn’t have chosen to buy advent calendars for the pets myself, but the cat food company I use sent one for the cats which was a lovely subscriber gift – and Hattie is very interested in the contents.

Where are we now?  Day 6?  It’s looking distinctly more shredded!  Of course, I could put it away where she can’t see it but I didn’t want to as that seems to defeat the object of an advent calendar – but I’ve realised that leaving it on the mantelpiece is a mistake as there always seems to be cat up there with it!  In the end, I’ve left it face down on the carpet where she’s knocked it because she’s having a lovely time sitting on it but can’t get at any more of the doors, and you can’t wrestle an advent calendar off the mantelpiece when it’s already on the floor.  It’ll be tidy again after Christmas … 🙂

It’s pouring with rain today and we’ve got a yellow weather warning for wind and rain this weekend so that’s something to look forward to – not.  I’ve had to repair my lovely purple wellies which had started letting water in; the company I bought them from don’t make them any more and I’m not giving them up without a fight as I love them!

After a bit of research, this came up as the stuff to use so I’ll give it a go.  The worst that happens is that it doesn’t work but there’s no harm in trying – and this tube was considerably cheaper than a new pair of wellies would be!  I’ll keep you posted – it’ll be fairly easy to work out whether it’s worked or not … 🙂

I’ve got most of my Christmas wrapping done this week (in between waiting for emails) and that’s got to be a first – I’m never usually done this early!  Every year, I say that I want to be more organised and not be still doing Christmas preparation right up to the point where Father Christmas is driving his sleigh to our house, but this may well be the first year that I’ve actually managed it.  Not everything is done – the family always seem to take the longest to sort out – but I’ve got a lot ticked off the list and it feels great!

I don’t know about you, but I don’t really feel that festive when it’s raining outside, even when I’m wrapping presents.  I had a Christmas playlist full of popular Christmas music on, but songs about sailing down snowy hillsides on sleighs whilst the rain bounced down just weren’t doing it for me.  I even tried lighting festive candles and opening one of the doors on my own advent calendar to eat the chocolate but that didn’t help.  (No, I am absolutely not too old to have an advent calendar, and yes, I do want one with chocolate in as we always had the sort with a picture behind the door when I was little and that’s not nearly as exciting!)

Seeing the church Christmas tree whilst I was out with the dog definitely helped, though.  There are so many houses decorated with Christmas lights and whilst part of me thinks, “Oh, but what about your electricity bill?!”, the joyful, uncaring-about-bills part of me felt my spirits lift and I was very glad to see them.  Then, when I went to post a letter a couple of days later, this greeted me at the post box.

Source: Winwick & Hermitage Green Facebook group

I’ve used the Facebook group’s photos as they are better than mine 🙂  Someone has put a lot of work into creating this – currently unknown as the creator prefers to be anonymous, and it’s causing great speculation in the Facebook.  Banksy‘s name has been offered as a suggestion, but up until now, Banksy isn’t known for working in the medium of yarn so that may be unlikely, but you never know.

Anyway, joking and speculation about the crafter aside, these festive figures have brought a lot of pleasure to a lot of people and sometimes that’s enough, for creators and admirers alike.

Source: Winwick & Hermitage Green Facebook group

My own creating is progressing nicely.  I’ve nearly finished the second sock of the Winter Haven KAL pattern that will be coming out in January (the knitalong will start on 10 January 2025) and yesterday, I was taking tutorial photos to go along with the pattern.  It feels like it’s taken a long time to get to this point, but I think that’s because I decided to knit two pairs of socks!

I realised after I’d taken the photo that the pattern was really obvious and I thought I’d keep the secret for a bit longer!  Don’t worry – nothing too complicated for this pattern; one colour, and a pattern that is very easy to memorise so it will be perfect for restful sock knitting at the beginning of the new year.

I spotted these biscuits in the supermarket yesterday and thought they would be perfect for the Winter Haven KAL (it’s all about rest and relaxation, after all) … but they may not last until Christmas!  Aren’t they a good idea?  I like the idea of hanging your biscuit on your mug, although there is the risk that if you don’t take it off quickly enough then half your biscuit will be at the bottom of your mug, and that’s not always the best way to eat them!

And maybe you’re like me and you’re now thinking about Peter Kay and dipping biscuits … the link is here if you want to watch! 🙂   (Not from the UK?  Peter Kay is a favourite comedian from Bolton in the north west of England (not so far from Winwick), and he’s got a real talent for observational humour.  I hope you’ll enjoy this!)

Finally for today … more socks!  I can’t show you these ones in progress because they’re for not so small daughter for Christmas and although I’m pretty certain she doesn’t read the blog, I won’t show you just in case.  I don’t think she even knows I was going to knit her any socks so I’ve already blown the surprise if she does read this – but fingers crossed! 🤣

The pattern has a short row heel; not my favourite type to knit and I’ve already swapped for my usual no-wrap, no-gap heel rather than the options on the pattern, but it means that I can’t use heel stitch to reinforce the heel otherwise it will end up too short.  I’m going to give this a go.  The light kept shining on the packaging so it’s not that clear to see, but it’s very fine nylon thread intended for sewing rather than knitting, I think, and I’m holding it double with the yarn whilst I work the heel.  So far so good … there’ll be photos to show you after Christmas!

And that’s me for today! I hope you can stay warm and dry if you’ve got a wet and windy (or even snowy) forecast for this weekend – and stay cool if you’re in a hotter part of the world that can now read the blog again! 🙂

See you next week! xx