First of all there has been lots of knitting. I've just not achieved very much! I felt a bit dispondant when my good knit-pal-sally rang and has knit squillions of stuff since I last saw her but I think my biggest problem IS that I have far too much OTN's at any one time! No wonder nothing gets "done" when I'm spending hours knitting on several things all at once? .. Of course if I find out that she does exactly THIS too, then I shall have no choice but to stick my collection of needles into her neck and FAINT .. bah ..
I'm starting to work out what my problems are, where I'm going wrong and what I ought NOT be doing. which is great - except it doesn't seem to make it easier to put right .. I'm far too easily distracted and tempted to fling everything aside to CO for something "new" and especially if my cyber-knit-pals are doing it! I've signed up for two glove KAL's already and am now wavering and thinking of doing some nice scarf knitting with the delicious KSH stripe ever since Sally mentioned buying some and Di dropped a casual suggestion of knitting THIS .. .. yes. its in my queue and no I've not bought the yarn - YET but I've squeaked by reply so in a way thats practically a commitment, isn't it?
mind, at this price! I might find myself backing away slowly albeit crying slightly?
 |
| Sirdar back, design E |
Progressing nicely is my jumper! I've just done the stripe sequence where the two yarns are knit together and this is proving to be a quick (and easy) knit, I've resolved to not CO on any new projects until this at least is done. I've not taken a photo because tbh its just the same as the back!
We're dead broke at the moment on account of both lads costing us money with their respective return to 6th form college and uni this month/next month. Yesterday we spent a fortune on clothes for no.2.son and really just the basics! we've still to buy him a new winter coat, a new bag and possibly a hoodie/top thingie - poor dh had to be dragged shopping to pay for it all on his CREDIT CARD!
Hate having to do this, but what with buying his very expensive travel card, clothes AND same for no.1.son together with all the household items to take to Uni its just too much for our meagre account to manage in one go.
dh is not very good at shopping. dh does not go shopping very often. he suffered. at one point I had to lead him to a chair to wait while no.2.son proceeded to spend best part of 40mins trying on his clothes .. shopping with teen lads is NOT fun and I would say I'd leave them to it except that we have a discount card worth 20% including store offers which makes it favourable for us to buy their clothes which means we have to stand and wait outside changing rooms .. for ages .. sigh ..
no.2.son is not much good at shopping either, we had the usual 6min strop and fit when I "tried to help" by helpfully suggesting tops and shirts .. ? asking which style jeans he might be favouring? .. I was instructed to GO AWAY and leave him to it which I was happy to do until he produced jeans for £40!
I wasn't the only mum there, I had a conversation with two others also shopping with their teen sons for return to college (which doesn't go down well with the family. apparently they don't like it when "mum" starts "talking" to people. I ought, they think, to really sit in the corner. and keep quiet!). dh doesn't like it because inevitably he knows it will extend the experience of shopping by some minutes once I get going and if I'm lucky enough to find a crafty-mum to chat with it could be a lot of minutes!
Luckily - I think? - for US our son's college has not gone with this new trend of insisting their students wear "business dress". One poor woman/mum was frantic trying to persuade HER 16yo not to throw away his good GCSE grades because he couldn't shove his arms through a jacket and face having his neck buttoned and tied up - the sales assistant advised us a lot of the local colleges have gone this direction even insisting on colours and styles OF "suits" to be worn!
I don't think this will be successful or popular. Particularly for lads. After years of "uniform" seriously are 16yo's really going to take to adopting "business dress" for College for 2yrs?? I know our no.1.son was THRILLED that at least HE could get rid of his blazer and tie and school shoes in favour of jeans, tee and trainers and HE wasn't even a problem to get to wear "uniform".
no.2.son is still going through a no-photo phase and would NOT permit me to take a photo of him wearing the lovely clothes he did eventually choose! but he does look very nice! x
Our eldest son, 18yrs is busy working all the shifts they are flinging his way and being rewarded with a weekly wage which WE are thrilled to watch his bank balance going steadily UP but even so, we're spending a fortune on kitting him out for his first year at Uni. We can't afford to subsidise him much and certainly not on a regular basis, but are hoping that we can start him off with a few basics and with this in mind he has been in training in our kitchen "cooking" all week and we made him come to the supermarket with us a few times! which was a nightmare. the lad is NOT interested. I've tried to make it interesting, I've tried to impress upon him the importance of being aware of stuff while out shopping but at the same time I've come to see I need to relax and let him find out for himself, and wait for HIM to come to me on the phone with the questions or plea for HELP! MUM!? WHAT DO I DO? HOW DO I? ..
We're having serious problems in coming to terms with the inevitable fact that our son is leaving home and we won't be able to do a thing about it after next month - a health visitor at one of the "baby clinics" once said that things didn't really change much as our "babies" grew older, the problems just changed to suit their age but essentially being a parent is no easier when they are grown up and you worry just the same.
When our no.1.sons first started at infant school, my best-pal-Ann and I were feeling tearful and proud all at once and we waved our small son's off and blew into tissues on the playground for several mins until we noticed our "teacher" waving! and calling? to us? we RAN thinking/fearing some dreadful accident? some trauma, perhaps? a mistake! even? that our son's needn't have started school this year? to be TOLD - quite FIRMLY - that WE had to do some homework of our own! APPARENTLY a small select group of us "first time mums on the playground" were all guilty of NOT LETTING OUR CHILDREN DRESS THEMSELVES! gulp! well. its quicker? and easier? isn't it? to carry on dressing your small child afterall we've been doing it since they were babies? I remember we got ticked off by the teacher for NOT letting our children develop and learn the skills of independance by doing everything FOR them, we're not, she said, doing THEM any favours. And I suppose I've continued for the rest of his school/college years to do exactly that: do everything for him! and now I've got exactly 4 weeks to train him to cook, shop, manage a budget, handle money and organise himself not to mention clean the bathroom? operate a washing machine? help! I need to start NOW with no.2.son?
 |
| half price oven gloves and tea towels |
 |
| set of saucepans! |
 |
| and a frying pan! |
After an hour long lecture on NOT falling into the trap of buying takeaways every night - BUT at the same time not missing out on opportunities to mix in - NOT spending all his time in the pub BUT at the same time joining in .. I came to the conclusion I was wasting my time. HE had gone to sleep and zoned out after 3mins and all I'd done was reinforce to myself all the possible scenarios of HOW he could expect to come by some harm or misfortune. by the END its a good job he had zoned out and nodded off, because I'd had him lying in a gutter mugged and drunk for 3hrs before dragging himself home to find he'd lost his keys, lay there bleeding on the step after trying to break in to find all his valuable stolen on account of the attempted breakin by robbers and criminals just happening to be passing who stepped over his body and made off with his LAPTOP containing all his vital WORK - DON'T GO! I SUGGESTED? FAR TOO DANGEROUS! STAY HOME WITH ME INSTEAD? .. my SON woke up around this point and was slightly panicked at finding his mum sobbing slightly and muttering through sodden tissues about accidents, ambulances and the police .. of course I THEN had to spend twice as long convincing myself and reassuring HIM that he would have a marvellous time and that we'd be looking forward to hearing all about it! at 8pm. every night. by 8.15pm at the latest 8.30pm. or we'll be worrying? which led to another ponder over whether I oughtn't to buy him a 2nd mobile phone? just incase?
Personally I shall be glad when its all over and done with and he's GONE. At least then anything that does happen will be happening for real and we can deal with it.
In the meantime we're spending a FORTUNE on household stuff and between you and me, quite frankly are NOT getting the excited response one might be expecting after spending that month ON all household things like pans and cloths. Even dh remarked that our son might at least feign a little interest? (he chose the black and white themed tea towels/oven gloves).
 |
| Party gifts |
TOMORROW we shall out in the evening partying! hurrah. Our neighbour is celebrating her 60th birthday with a party and we're invited. Didn't know what to buy, difficult to buy something suitable when you don't especially know the person all that well. Not completely convinced she "drinks" we seem to think that maybe she doesn't? from a remark passed one time between dh and her dh. Anyway we settled for a bottle of champagne and box of seriously expensive chocolates. you can't go wrong with that? Might take my camera with me to take photo's at the party. After this occasion its back to "normal" as no.2.son starts College on Monday and dh is back to normal working pattern after the summer of filling in on odd days to cover staff holidays - I shall use the opportunity to revise my craft goals as I always find September a better time for me than, say, new year goals and resolutions.
No comments:
Post a Comment