29 September, 2015

Still Knitting


I'm still knitting inbetween times.  Here's a cowl I just finished.  The start of Christmas gifts.  I am going to do a couple & then decide who they are for.  Not sure about this colour whether it will suit the person I was thinking it was to be for.

I haven't blocked it yet.  It needs it but will do a couple at at time if I can.  I do like this one though in the Cascade Heritage Paints yarn.  Would make a cool pair of socks too.

Ravelled...  check here for details!

Lazy Days

The best thing about holidays is the slow start.

This is one that I enjoyed seeing.  BJ reading to DJ.  How special is that...


Some snuggle time watching TV.  I love it when they get on so well.


We did venture out later on though.  Unfortunately!  It was freezing!  

But the boys had a good hour playing with other kids they didn't know.  Had a great time they did - while I turned Smurf blue!  So cold.  




28 September, 2015

Ahhh... Holidays...

A family drive that was meant to be to some gardens ended up on top of a mountain.  Becareful what you wish for when Stuart is driving!  You have been warned.  

In the car DJ said he wanted to climb a mountain!  Big mouth!!!  

Stuart turned off to head to the nearest ranges...  & climb we did.  So going up the mountain I said I wanted coffee & cake.  lol  




BJ started walking with a stick so DJ had to have one too.  He referred to it as his "wise old stick".  We did laugh.  He was still too busy talking most of the time.  Hard to be shown up on a walk by a 4 year old!  



I was there too...  really I was!  


27 September, 2015

39/52

A portrait of my boys once a week for a year.





BJ - resting at the top of the mountain we climbed.  
DJ - walking up the mountain with his "wise old stick".  Think he was emulating Gandalf.  

Linking with the 52 project.  

25 September, 2015

Birthday Socks


My new socks.  Yes, more.  lol

This was the yarn BJ picked out for me for my birthday.  Grandma took the boys to my work to let them pick something out for me.  Grandma had fun apparently.  They wanted to buy a lot of different things & lots of crazy colours.

I enjoyed knitting these.  No particular order to how the colour order came up.  So another pair that wouldn't suit someone who can't cope with not exactly matching socks.  (I met someone at work like that recently - I think she will struggle with making non-matching!  Isn't it funny how we are all so different!)

24 September, 2015

Thursday Thanks





  • End of term.  
  • Spring.
  • Give Unto Others ...
  • Fun days at work.
  • Seeing thoughtfulness & sensitivity in the big boy.

228/1000

20 September, 2015

38/52

A portrait of my boys once a week for a year.



BJ - Climbing trees - in his pjs of course!  PJ day but tempted outside by the fun.  
DJ - in the tree too but hanging on for dear life!  Rather nervous behind that big grin...


17 September, 2015

Thursday Thanks




  • Free wood chips for the garden!  
  • Great neighbours.
  • With crazy meat prices we have a freezer full of our own. 
  • 5 minute slow cooker prep.
  • A complete meal in the slow cooker all out of the freezer, originally from our own veggie garden.  
  • Beaut spring days.
  • ahhh...  one week till the school holidays!
  • Grandparents that can baby sit at short notice!
223/1000

15 September, 2015

Stained Glass Crochet



I have finished a new blanket.  This is my Stained Glass blanket.  Looked better in real life of course as the colours totally pop.  But you get the idea.  It's one I just needed to try because I can.  lol  It's the corner to corner crochet like I did for the blanket for Juneau.  This one I had to try using the Noro Kureyon yarns that have a lot of colour in them.  I did this in blocks that I worked up to a size so I got 2 squares from one ball of wool.  I used 13 balls of wool & then the left overs to make up the last few squares.  You can't really pick them out as being "odd" looking.   I used Cascade Superwash Aran for the black edges & border.

Ravelled here.

What do you see in it?  Diamonds or crosses?

13 September, 2015

37/52

A portrait of my boys once a week for a year.




BJ - trying to earn a bit of pocket money so helping in the garden.
DJ - posing as usual.

Linking with the 52 project.

12 September, 2015

Bad Stuff We Eat!

I've been unwell a couple of times this year.  Not just a cold, a little more than that.  GP visits that resulted in extra tests of varying sorts over a period of time while waiting to have them done.  No result.  Nice to know there is nothing wrong with your insides but also disconcerting to find there is no explanation for why you are feeling so crap.

Well another cold recently & then starting to feel once more as I did months ago resulting in the testing stuff.  Just soldiering on as we must with stomach aches & pains...  just getting worse...

What's changed?  What have I done differently?  What have I eaten differently?

Had a bad cough/cold again.  Cough medicine.  Cough lozenges.

Read cough medicine bottle.

What an eye opener.  Do you ever read those things?  Properly?  Not just the nice fluffy bits on the front where they say they are sugar free, strawberry flavoured, have immunity boosters which are great for your kids etc etc.....???

Well I had a nice surprise.  The nice grown up medicine I was using which did a great job for my cough contained 14.7g SORBITOL per 60mls.  60 mls is the max they recommended an adult take.
The warning along with Sorbitol was that it may have a laxative effect or may cause diarrhea.  OK.  Well not quite but in parts...

I am not one to go to Doctor Google ever as it will scare me to death with self diagnosis, but in this instance I did Google Sorbitol.  Far out!  Not only the laxative effect, but also to the extent of abdominal pain, bloating, gas & nausea.....  Well, that explains a lot.  Just there.  I think I just found the cause of my sickness...

But then I go further.  It is used in many diet style products & sugar free products.  When I have a cough, Mint Fishermans Friends cough lozenges are great to relieve the cough in bed while sleeping.  Well they contain it too...  The Airwaves menthol gum that I like to chew to help clear my head when I have a cold has it too.  Oh beauty...  I have been lining my insides with this stuff...

Further investigation shows that the nice children's variety of my cough medicine has even more Sorbitol in it than the adult version.  Remember I said the adult one had 14.7g.  Well the kids ones has 18.9g per 60 mls...  The intake for a child per day is much less but still with warning.  Yes my boys liked the strawberry flavour but initially I thought nothing of the complaints of a tummy ache before school.  But a bit later on when the smallest one is bending down doing something odd & explaining that his tummy hurts across the middle I realise it's the 3 small doses of this cough mixture that I have given him.


None of this is proven by any expert....   I am no expert.  I am just a mother trying to identify what has caused my sickness & is now causing my boys pain...  The only thing that changed is the medicine.

Looking further through the cupboard I find that Children's Panadol also contains this stuff....  but at least we are only talking 135mg of Sorbitol & 371mg of Maltitol (which has same effects as the other).  These are milligrams...  the other medicines were talking GRAMS...  Big difference.

At the chemist I was trying to find alternatives.  The staff member was very helpful in finding low or no Sorbitol.  It's difficult.  We found another with sorbitol levels measured in milligrams only.  I told her the other one I had was in grams & she was surprised.  We are now trying some drops which contain none.

It doesn't end there though...  The lovely little product Sorbitol is found in so many things.

Shopping the other day I was looking at something else.  BJ can't take nuts or eggs to school as other kids are allergic.  Fine.  I don't buy some stuff with "may contain traces of nuts" labels for school.  But this time I went to read it to see if there were any that didn't include that.  Actually I didn't get as far as looking for that information as I got stuck on the bit that said HUMECTANT (Sorbitol).  I got my phone out & made a note for myself with that word HUMECTANT.  Oh boy, here we go again... Yep, more stuff that makes us all feel like we are eating something nice & "lunchbox friendly".  Can you believe the packaging I was reading this on was Uncle Toby's Muesli bars?   You know those nice healthy treats that every second child has in their lunch?   I didn't go further on those things but will start reading more labels of that type of product if I happen to be in the mood to buy more packaged rubbish.

When I was a kid we used to get daily doses of fluoride, vitamin AD & vitamin C tablets.  I used to tell my mother that those puny little fluoride tablets made me feel sick in the stomach.  She didn't believe me of course.  (but as a mother why would she right before school?)  It's only come out in the last 10 or so years that is was in fact 100% true...  See Mum, told you so!    So having been in that position I can't discount now the complaints of my boys when they have a possible issue like it.

So there you go.  Take from this what you will but be aware of those cold & flu medicines first off.  I sure don't want to make my children sicker with something that I was expecting only to help them feel better & get well.




10 September, 2015

Thursday Thanks



  • Dog enjoying her blanket.
  • Spring days.
  • So pleased the school holidays are coming soon.
  • End of swimming term.  
  • Lovely customers that make my job enjoyable.
  • A boy that is have great reading improvements.
  • Happy Father's day celebrations.
  • Birthday time again this week!    

215/1000

06 September, 2015

36/52

A portrait of my boys once a week for a year.





Father's Day ...


Linking up with the project page.

03 September, 2015

Thursday Thanks




  • Lunch out with like minded knitting friends!  
  • Surprise baby treats for a friend.
  • Birthday spoils.
  • Lunch out on a birthday.
  • Family.
  • Old friends that remember you...  even from far away.

207/1000

02 September, 2015

Binge TV

 Have you got some good shows you binge what through a series of?  I've just been watching Sherlock Holmes, the recent series starring Martin Freeman & Benedict Cumberbatch.  Been quite enjoyable though a little weird at times.

But still getting a bit of craft done during these chance I get to watch something.

A couple of squares for the CAL blanket.

Wishful Thinking


Family Square


What can I watch next to craft too?