a good day

We set off for  a ride out to Bedale, a market town in Yorkshire. We thought it would have little craft and browsing shops but sadly it didn't! So we carried on to Leyburn, another small market town. They are all in the dale of Wensleydale, famous for it's cheese. It was a prettier place but we didn't have time to explore properly, lunch was good though!
On the way home Paul humoured me with a visit to a garden. It was a very pleasant collection of daffodils, all different varieties naturalised under trees and a collection of magnolia trees, some were in bloom but most had yet to flower. It was the kind of place you could visit any time of the year and find something of  interest. A gentle but good day, good for the soul.
The hospital test yesterday showed I don't have carpal tunnel syndrome, which is good, but didn't tell us what is causing my hands to be painful. I suspect it's sewing related so I am trying to be good and not do the same action for too long! Tricky as I am obsessive and get engrossed in what I'm doing and loose track of time.
The new car has been very comfortable and I am really trying hard to like green cars!!!

lovely surprise!

Maybe our luck is changing at last!! We found a car today,  a v reg fiesta, very tidy, MOT and tax sorted!!! The only snag is it's green and I have a definite allergy to green cars!! When I first started to learn to drive it was in a green car and it was not a good experience, it has put me off green cars for life! Well beggars and choosers and all that, it's a good price, good condition and right time so the colour will have to grow on me.
We got back from looking at the car and found a message on the answerphone to say my sister and nephew were on their way to visit us! Moya lives 350 miles away but had to come to Lancaster ( only 1and 1/2 hrs drive away) to take my neice back to university. She decided to make a day and visit us, she went back to Lancaster to stay with Sarah overnight and will drive home tomorrow.
We don't get to see each other very often, I saw her last in February so it was a lovely surprise and we had a really good chat! She was pleased to see Paul looking so well and he was pleased to be told it!! Mike was delighted as he got to watch the footy with Paul so a good time was had by all. Even the weather was good!
In the post today we got a DVD from Samantha with videos of the girls called happy memories, we all enjoyed watching them. Maybe tomorrow will be a garden day!!

Changing luck?!

Paul has researched another fiesta to replace the one we killed last saturday!! So with luck we will have another car tomorrow!  The Insurance people finally contacted us today to confirm the old car is officially extinct! Both Paul and I were feeling very tired today and a bit under the weather so we had a quiet day, but we did manage to buy the paint for the study! I think tomorrow, while Paul is watching the sport I will paint one of the walls in the study.
I went online last night and tried to find a cranberry wishes layer cake, to compliment my jelly roll. Unfortunately I was unsuccessful! I think it must be an old range, so tonight I will try to find something that will tone with it. Any suggestions welcomed!! We have had two lovely afternoons, sunny with clear blue skies and no wind. It even felt warm in the sun so maybe Spring is finally on the way. I am even beginning to get the urge to plant some flowers and clear some weeds!

no passport needed!

We had a lovely day, the drive was beautiful, the scenery was amazing! Of course I forgot the camera but there is always next time!! It only took about 2hrs to get there and was very easy to find.They have a coffee shop in the quilt shop and a sign saying Husbands waiting area!!! For us it's a good size shop, with a decent classroom space and the most amazing array of marking tools I've come across! Things like that tend to be an afterthought here, I also found packs of safety pins both straight and curved for basting and they're not easy to find either! A really well laid out, well stocked fabric selection, 100% cotton gingham, again not easy to find, some gorgeous batiks and a good selection of moda jellyrolls. No layer cakes or charm packs though and no fat quarter bundles. Apparently in the UK the retailers have to place their Moda orders  and only exactly what they order is imported, this means if something is popular and sells well they can't re-order more! That seems daft to me! And explains why finding some lines is so hard. Paul had a cup of tea and then went to read his book in the car as the seat was more comfortable! Across the road was a woollen mill outlet so we had a look around and had lunch there. He did really well and had scampi and chips, I had soup and sandwich but unfortunately had picked up a tummy bug before we set off so I wasn't too comfortable!
I don't know how we managed it but we somehow missed a turn on the way home and ended up doing a good 20 mile detour! Still we saw parts we haven't seen before!! A really good  day and I will be going back!
I got a Cranberry wishes jelly roll, and assorted marking tools!!

exciting day

 Just a quickie! we are off to the Borders today to research a new quilt shop!! I am very excited it looks good online!! Must remember camera and quilt patterns!!

death of a nice car!!

Saturday saw an extension of the run of bad luck we seem to be experiencing! Friday we had Paul's scan results, these were non-results really as the Oncologist didn't seem to be able to answer any of our questions or give us any idea of how successful the treatment had been! The only ray of light was he told us Paul's tumour markers had gone from 3000 before treatment to 500 in February after the treatment. He kept telling us he was pleased with the results and thought we should be pleased as well! We took some comfort from that and on Saturday decided to go shopping in preparation for Ben's visit and buy the paint to decorate the study, this has needed doing for 2 yrs!!
On our way through one of the local villages, while we were driving on the main road a young lad pulled out of a side turning without looking and totalled our car! The police and ambulance were called and I ended up going to hospital on a spinal board as I had central neck pain! The police had to arrange for our car to be recovered as it was undrivable. Fortunately both Paul and I were ok, just sore backs and necks! Needless to say we were unable to report the accident to the insurance company on saturday, they only keep office hours! So first thing monday Paul phoned, got transferred to India who didnt understand that the accident had happened on Saturday !! They have been completely unhelpful and told us we cant have a courtesy car for at least 48hrs as their investgation team have to authorise it! She told me I could get a hire car and reclaim the money from them later. I tried to explain I couldn't walk 31 miles to my nearest town to hire a car and that I needed a car to hire a car!!!! That didn't go down well!!
Then the GI specialist nurse phoned Paul to tell him she was organising the endoscopy the Oncologist had wanted and it would be within the next 2 weeks. Paul asked for his blood results from Friday to be told the tumour markers were now 40000!!!!!!!! He spoke to the Oncologist last night who couldnt explain why they had risen so much but although it was a concern ( only slightly!) didnt feel any other investigations would be necessary! He will bring Paul's follow up appointment forward by a month and order another scan but more or less said if Paul was feeling ok that was all that mattered. We just don't know what to think now, have the sorted the cancer out completely, was the treatment successful? what should we expect etc.
we both felt very flat and worried. This morning we decided to paint the study anyway!!
After all our visitors it feels quite empty in our house!! Ben helped me sort out the 'glory hole' in the loft and the passage into the washhouse! I have the bug now, the next dry day it will be the washhouse then the shed!!!! Joy has chosen their new quilt pattern and on thursday Paul and I will have a day out to Jedburgh near Edinburgh to find a new quilt shop, I may even get some fabric!!! We have decided life has to go on regardless!!

sick quilt!

Samantha and the girls have flown home now, we had a lovely visit and were initiated into the delights of 'soft play'! I climbed nets and went down slides like a 2yr old!!!! Certainly managed things I didn't think I could with Daisy's encouragement, you just can't say no thank you when she says," come on Nanny!"
The weather was cold and windy, it even snowed on Easter Saturday but this weekend is completely different, Spring has definitely arrived and it's warm and sunny.
Ben and Joy are visiting this week, he is very sad as his 'freedom' quilt is sick!! It is very old and loved now and has torn on the border. He is hoping the quilt doctor will mend it and stop any further wear and tear! Fortunately we managed to find a patch of the original fabric and I have patched it in! I have told him it's the last of the fabric so if it needs mending again we will have to think about making a new one! This was not well received!!
 We had fun as Joy and Ben helped me to move the handquilting frame from the library into the kitchen as we want to decorate in the library and I have a quilt on the frame. It involved carrying the frame outside the house and round and back in the front door, we had some strange looks from passing motorists! Despite living in a remote rural area with a very quiet road it's amazing how many people want to travel past if you are doing something mildly odd like moving a quilt frame!!