Ants in our pants

...well, actually, in our kitchen.  Eek!

We've had the odd ant running around for a while now,  but today was something else.  The ants have been sprouting wings and today when we got back they were swarming (is that what they do?) all over the floor. They appear to have been nesting under the fridge.  Now we don't mind sharing our home with a few things (slugs for instance have taken up residence under the sink since the cold weather in the winter) and after my experiences with ants in South Africa (think long columns of ants on the kitchen worktops and ants on the patio crawling up your skirts) British ones tend not to bother me. I apologise to ant lovers everywhere, but we had to do something, so the kids and I were banished to picnic in the living room and then to Michelle's (thanks Michelle!) while Chris pulled everything out, cleaned up and put down ant powder.  So our kitchen is now the cleanest its been probably since we moved in, and I haven't done what I was going to do this afternoon, namely pack for Hannah going into hospital tomorrow.  Yep, just what we needed the day before that.

So tomorrow we hopefully take H in for the op on her palate [crosses fingers, prays, etc].  We have to phone the ward at 8am to check there is a bed for her.  I hope there is because we have prepared her as best we can (without scaring her witless) and this is good timing school- and holiday-wise.  All being well she will have the op on Thursday.

In other news Rebekah has started on solids and has taken to eating like she should have been doing it all along.  After weeks of looking longingly at our food she now has her own, and is already on two meals a day.  This means the breast pump has resurfaced (last used in those heady days of engorgement about four months ago), as the method of preparing her meals starts with 'first milk the cow'.  With my boobs rapidly becoming dispensable again I am definitely feeling that my baby is growing up too quickly.

Tools of the trade...

I just picked the baby up out of her seat to find she's been sitting on a small green plastic spanner.  Poor child, her sisters keep giving her toys to play with so she ends up surrounded by plastic fruit/magnetic letters/pipe cleaners/lego or whatever.  She doesn't usually sit on them though.

I have lots of photos to upload so hopefully I'll have things to show soon - lots of knitting has occurred, some of which has even been finished!

Finally two bits of important news - important to us that is: 1. Hannah has a date for her palate op - 28th July, which is, agh, soon [pulls scared face]; and 2. Hannah has her revised statement through and has got 25hrs support a week for school next year - yay! that's full time!

Been a while...

Well, its been a bit manic around here.  My Gran had a stroke a few weeks ago, and she died two weeks later.  So I have been down for her funeral and generally been a bit vacant.  Then the flu struck which we have all had, I still have the head cold bit of it.  Generally not a good month all round.

The upside of going down to my gran's was the chance to visit the lovely yarn shop, Interknit.  I have seen their advert in knitting magazines and thought I must visit next time I'm down.  So the day after the funeral Rebekah and I went across to see.  What a fantastic shop, lots of yummy yarn, and also Friday afternoon is their knitting group which we promptly joined for an hour.  We got a great welcome complete with home grown strawberries, so thanks ladies, it was lovely meeting and knitting with you.

Excited!

We're going camping today!
We're going camping today!
And the weather is... grey. Ah well.

Knitting progress

Rows knitted yesterday: 18
Rows knitted today: 12
Not bad going so far, and I may get a couple more done while R settles. Halfway up to the armholes now (on the back that is).

The wool, it has arrived...

...and much knitting has ensued.

So the wool for the lacy cardi arrived today and I got very excited and cast on straight away and did 18 rows of the back. If I carry on like this I might even finish in time (it needs to be done by 2nd July but that may be pushing my knitting speed way too far). Tonight I knitted watching a programme about Atlantis on iplayer (it featured Santorini rather heavily and we went there for our honeymoon so it was nice to see it on tv, as well as the programme being interesting in its own right), and then I watched Junior Apprentice. I still think I prefer the adult version but this has grown on me over the weeks, and is quite entertaining. I do wonder what the 'process' might do to impressionable teenagers, but I guess if they've got this far they can't be too lacking in self confidence.

I forsee a weekend of knitting and tea in brilliant sunshine and good company, with (and here we get into the realms of fantasy) lots of sleep. I can but dream.

Musings, and WIPs...

We had a manic (but good) weekend, what with the church open day and Hadfield carnival. At both we were promoting the Glossopdale Food Co-operative, and I've already had one email requesting the order form (thanks Jennifer!). The weather at the carnival was at least bettet than last year, though that's not saying a lot, it was very cold and wet and horrible last year. This year it rained at first but it brightened up later on, and it was warmer too. As we are camping next weekend we are thoroughly obsessed with the weather in our house at the moment.

I've just realised I can post from my ipod and therefore whilst feeding, so there might be a lot more very random posts coming along now. Especially during the long night feeds. It's 6am and this is Rebekah's second feed of the day. In some ways she's growing way too fast, in others (night feeding being one) I can't wait for her to get a bit older. (Actually, I'm not sure I can think of mamy more, four months is such a lovely age. She's watching and smiling and chuckling and chatting and rolling and reaching and grabbing, need I go on? Yes, they grow way too quickly.)

Well, we've switched sides so I'm now typing with me left hand, not nearly as quick. On a knitting front I have been doing a bit to my clapotis of late, but have now started another darkside cowl. I am also going to be making a little lacy cardy for a friend, just waiting for the wool to come to start that, and I'm also going to be making a wedding present for my cousin, so that lot should keep me busy and the needles steaming.