Friday 22nd March

A quiet day today. Himself has been busy - one trip to Waitrose to do my father's shopping and restock his fridge, a trip to the post box with a letter to post, and another trip to Waitrose so buy some kefir for me. 

I'm reading Tim Spector's 'Food for Life' book off and on, and it reminded me that eating live yogurt and drinking kefir was an especially good idea when one is taking antibiotics. Well, I am, at the moment, which is why my BestBeloved so kindly walked in to buy some. 

Decades ago, when our son was born, the midwife was determined I should have live yogurt every day(no-one had heard of kefir back then) because I had to have a course of antibiotics. At the time we just humoured her - I like yogurt, and it was a bit of 'anything for a quiet life' - but of course science has caught up with her now and proved her right.

As for why I am taking them now - I've not been able to shift the sniffle and cough and cold, so am taking precautionary antibiotics, with the result I'm spending a lot of time sitting about and trying to let the antibiotics do their work unhindered by too much activity.

TV

I turned on the news at 6 pm and caught Princess Catherine's broadcast - I thought she spoke very well about why they had been so silent for the last few weeks. I found the endless speculation in the press ridiculous, and avoided reading it as much as possible. Honestly, people's appetite for gossip, scandal, speculation and starting up rumours hasn't changed in thousands of years. I hope that they will get peace now.    

KNITTING

Does knitting count as 'activity'? Upstairs in the morning, I knit a couple of rounds of a beanie hat, destined for 'Shoeboxes for Roumania' in the Autumn if I haven't lost it. Knitting helps prevent me from zoning out while listening to the day's chunk of 'The Bible in One Year', read by David Suchet. Even he couldn't make the the books of Numbers and Leviticus into gripping stories. The hat is part of my stash-busting effort. 

Downstairs, I have the second sock well on the way. Another inch and I will be decreasing for the toe before going back to do both heels. Hopefully this will be a completed UFO before the end of March (or very soon after!)

I am knitting a scarf in a very simple one-row pattern - it's going to take a long time - but again, a stash-buster.

Finally, I have started ripping out a giant granny-square blanket that I was Never going to finish, in order to make another, lighter-weight poncho. I'm not sure if this counts as a stash-buster or an Unfinished Object... I've ripped out enough to cast on for the poncho... I decided the best plan of attach was to rip out the blanket as I went along.

The knitting can happen while I'm on the sofa. Everything is to hand, so I can stay where I am while using the oxygen concentrator to keep my levels up. I'm always droopy during the first week on antibiotics; I remember a friend describing a workman who was supposed to be doing something as 'like a yard of tap water' ... if the cap fits, wear it!

DECLUTTERING

Is not happening at the moment! Unless you count the garden - my gardener came today late in the afternoon. She clipped and tied and weeded and cleared and tidied, filling the garden bin and leaving the place looking much better.

CROSS STITCHING

I'm really pleased with what I managed to do in a coupe of days last week, so although nothing is happening at the moment (except in my mind) there are still 9 days left in March...

READING

I'm about to re-read 'The Adam and Eve Diaries' by Mark Twain, which I read several years ago with much amusement. They are two novellas, one 'written' by Eve, the other by Adam, telling the story of the first days in the Garden of Eden. I don't remember much except I liked them.

The Book Club choice is 'Wandering Souls' by Cecile Pin, which I am wavering over whether to read or not. It is about a family of refugees escaping Vietnam in the time of the 1970s and 80s - I've read several reviews, all enthusiastic, but... am I ready to embark upon such an emotional read? The next meeting is on the 27th March so if I am going to dare to read it, I'll have to get stuck in soon.