It's Late on a Thursday Night...

...and since the local Legion closed, I have found myself with nothing to do on a Thursday evening. I used to call Bingo there. Sometimes it drove me absolutely scatty, but most of the time it was great fun, and while I don't necessarily miss the place, I do miss the people and the fun we had. 

So Thursdays have gone from being permanently occupied to perpetually vacant. Which I am still getting used to. I am not used to having this time spare, so finding something to fill it with is taking time, trial and error. Tonight has been Christmas Crocheting. I am making some presents this year, and I am really loving seeing them come together. I hope their recipients like them! It was all going swimmingly until I subluxed my left collarbone this evening. It is the first time I have done that, and it hurt. I feel a bit sick from it still. Ice is not doing a huge deal. I feel another uncomfortable night coming on. 

I haven't slept well now for a while. There was a brief respite last week, where I had a wee adventure and left myself exhausted, but then back into the cycle of no sleep/extreme fatigue/no sleep and so on. I've almost forgotten what it was like to go to bed and sleep well. Being comfortable is a huge part of it. I have been struggling with my shoulders (left in particular) for a while now, and being unable to sleep on my back is leaving me with no option but to lay on sore shoulders. Which = waking up sore to turn over. Repeat eleventyeight times and the night turns into the day before you know it. Morning rolls around, and I'm so tired from the crap night that I finally crash out, wasting the morning. So any bendy tips on comfort when sleeping would be most gratefully appreciated! 

I am aware I have been absent again, and for that I apologise. The last few weeks have been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, which I will go into in a different post. I didn't want to clog this place up with pure negativity, so I was waiting until I could see the bright side before I let the world know about it! I am almost there, so I feel like I can start posting things again without being too much of a negative Nancy. 

Having read this back, it has been a bit negative, whoops! Sorry about that. The crochet stuff is positive though. It's keeping me occupied and it's gratifying to see something I have made with love for someone come together. I have never found a craft that I have been any good at before, and whilst I am still not very good at it, I am improving, and I am really really enjoying it! Huzzah xD 

Right, I'm off to change my icepack and get in my jamas. If you have come back for another read after a bit of a break, then thank you, you lovely person you! I won't leave it so long next time *promise*

I'm Baaaaack

Hello Everyone!

I apologize for my absence. Bad Blogger. 

However, it can be explained...

My first ever crochet project is finished! Mum loves it, and I love that she loves it. 8 Months of love and work have gone into it, and I hope she enjoys being cosy in it! 

Next project is to create an amigurumi Pokemon, for my brother's lovely GF. They went to Japan, and whilst there they visited the Pokemon Center. She only wanted Jigglypuff, and they didn't have one there. I showed her a crochet one, and she wants one of those instead. So Jigglypuff will be my second ever project, and my first amigurumi! Fingers crossed it goes well :)

Other than being very busy beavering away at the blanket, I have been at the hospital quite a bit. A half an hour physio slot was not enough to even get all my medical gubbins written down (!), so I have an hour appointment tomorrow.  Eep. I have also had my spine and knee MRI scanned this week. I am suffering quite a bit from that. An hour in a scanner in a not-particularly-comfortable position is not good for a Bendy Girl. Or Bendy Boy, I presume. 

I have had some nice adventures too.

Last weekend, I went to Wittering for the day. The weather was a bit on the naff side, but I find being by the sea oddly soothing. Wittering has changed a lot since I was small. The arcade has gone. GONE. That is a big shocker. I have always associated the seaside with sea, beach, ice cream and arcades! Many hours have been spent feeding the 2p machines. I have a whopping great chain full of 2p machine keyrings! 

I wanted to take a look in the haberdashery shop whilst we were there, and inside was the most beautiful Golden Retriever. I was on my scooter, and didn't want to run her over, so I stopped and waited. She looked at me, then her owner whistled to her. The next thing I heard was "Come on Shelley". I was completely confused, as the dog then got up and wandered over to her! I giggled a bit with the owner over the name, then rolled down to look at the yarn. All of a sudden, I felt a cold nose on my hand. I looked down, and she was sat right next to me, looking up at me as if to say "please be my friend". So I obliged, naturally, with lots of ear scratches and strokes. I got a friendly hand kiss from her, and she laid down with her head on the base of my scooter like she didn't want me to go. I didn't want to go either! She was the sort of dog who you'd curl up with on a sofa on a rainy day, to watch TV, and she'd sit with you all day. Totally adorable. I was genuinely sad when I left her. 

Earlier on in the week, my Auntie came over to take me out of the house for a while. We decided to take a visit to the Dog's Trust in Harefield. We had a lovely stroll (roll in my case!) around looking at all the lovely dogs up for adoption. I only wish I could have adopted one or more! The two who barked at my wheels, however, probably weren't companion material. Bless them! We both fell in love with a gorgeous older gentleman pooch called Max. We loved him so much, that when we went up to the Tea Rooms, we sat at his table! They do amazing light food there - we had cheese and ham toasted sandwiches and they were absolutely loaded with filling and incredibly tasty. I can definitely recommend it there - only get there early, to make sure you get to try cake! It was all sold out by the time we went to order! 

So there has been some niceness to take the sting out of the nastiness that has been going on in the land of this Bendy Girl. Just got to keep plodding on!

Hope everyone reading this is well and that things are shiny!

Checking In...

Hello Everyone, 

First off, I apologise for my last post! I was ranting and not really in a good place when I wrote it. 

So here's a run down of what has been happening in Aporia-Land...

• I did go to A&E about my knee. I was put into a brace (which was a total waste of time!), and referred to Orthopaedics, with a suspected ligament and/or tendon tear. I now have a much better brace and I'm waiting for an MRI Scan. Only downside to the brace is that Dad keeps calling me Forrest Gump! It's pretty badass though. I am locked in at a 20 degree angle.

• I also saw the Neurologist. He discovered there is a section of my spine which was missed when I had all those scans and xrays back in February. So I am waiting for another MRI Scan, and I am having my Gabapentin dosage increased to the highest prescription. 

• I finished my 72 granny squares! Wooo! With the help of my Dad and Mum, they were laid out on the floor to see how I wanted them. Photos were taken, and the squares were put into bags as per their row, so I can work on them and not get mixed up. (I was quite proud of that idea - my brain does work sometimes!). I have now started the edging. It's great to see my first project coming together!

• My friend Cat did my hair for me. It is beeeyooootiful. I was going to cancel because of my knee, but thought it would cheer me up. I'm so glad I didn't cancel, because I love what she did! I gave her Lavender and Violette Crazy Color dyes, and asked her to do something pretty. She came up with a purple ombre. I am in love with it!

• My laptop (Ruby) is very sick in the Pooter Hospital, under the care of Doctor Brother and Doctor Dad. I broke the power pin, which was bad enough, but some spiteful fucker managed to gain entry to my computer. It was virused to buggery and they got access to any passwords I had with a keylogger. Cue mass changing of passwords! My brother tried so hard to get rid of it, only for it to undo all of the hard work he did, so it has now been restored to factory settings, and any .exe files have been destroyed. At least we were able to save my docs, pics and music though! The new power pin has now arrived, and next week Ruby is scheduled for a very delicate soldering procedure. If you could please keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't go wrong, that would be great!

So that's been my last week really! I am going to paint my nails now, and if I do a nice enough job, I may put a picture up.

I will be back soon! 

Reason For Absence!

Hello Everyone!

I have not been blogging much recently. So this is just an update as to why really!

Just after Christmas, I decided that I would like to take up crochet as a hobby. Some of the "old fashioned" hobbies are really breaking back into the mainstream at the moment - knitting, crochet, baking, sewing, crafting in general - and I saw an advert for a new magazine being launched. I'm at a stage with my EDS where my hands and fingers are misbehaving more and more, and I wanted to find a hobby which would give me something to do, but at the same time, help me take control back over my hands! 

A family friend is a very proficient knitter and crocheter, and when I mentioned it to her, she furnished me with a wonderful book, and a shitload of wool. I can't describe how much of it there was. I also took a trip to Hobbycraft, and came home with some hooks, which were okay, but had a tendency to drag on the wool a bit. On a chance visit to House of Fraser, I picked up two KnitPro Symfonie hooks which were in the sale. I like these, they glide beautifully and they are rainbow coloured! I could only afford two sizes though, which made me a bit sad. I wanted them all! My lovely Dad then bought me a present on a random trip to a garden centre - a full set of metallic hooks, each one in a different colour. I can't describe how much I love these. The glide perfectly, have a thumb plate which makes them really easy to grip, and they are really pretty (I like pretty things!). 

So away I started, learning the stitches and starting little rows, rounds and squares. Once I'd got the knack of the squares, I decided it was time to start my first project. I am making a Granny Square patchwork blanket for my Mum. It was supposed to be ready for her birthday in June (oops), but injuries have hindered my progress a bit. I am now making a big effort to have it ready before she and my Dad go to The Great Dorset Steam Fair at the end of August, so am banning myself from lots of things until I get it done! I now have 19 squares to go until I can start sewing together. I am planning to use the first weekend in August to get it all stitched together. Exciting! Now it is in writing I must get it done. Or you all have permission to kick my online arse haha! 

So TTFN - I have some work to do! Once it is done, I will be back blogging like a demon. 

Five Things I'm Proud Of

Happy Monday, and welcome to my first official LBLC post! 

Karen, Louise, Keshia and Rachelle have kindly allowed me to become the newest member of the Lifestyle Blogging Ladies Collective, and I am very excited! The first joint blogging exercise I am taking part in is "Five Things I'm Proud Of", so without further ado...

• I am proud of my Uberman. He is working incredibly hard, to make his way in the notoriously difficult computer games industry, and I can't wait to be able to tell you all about the next steps he will take on the ladder. He is part of a team who have created Decoy Studios, and they are all working hard on a game right now. You can see some of the stuff he has been working on and creating here: Uberman's Portfolio. 

• I am proud that this year, I managed to raise over £1000 for the Hypermobility Syndrome Association, by getting a sponsored zebra tattoo. *www.hypermobility.org* I have a condition called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and May is EDS Awareness Month. The HMSA deal with all types of Hypermobility Syndromes, not just EDS, and they have been a real source of information, help and kindness for me. To be able to give something back to them means so much to me, and it is probably my greatest achievement to date.

• I am proud that I have learned to crochet. My lovely Nanny tried so hard to teach me to knit as a child, and it never worked, because my brain just cannot process holding and moving two needles at the same time (I cannot use chopsticks for the same reason!). This is a part of my EDS, which we didn't learn about until she had passed away. I decided just after Christmas last year that I should try to learn crochet - to give me something productive to do, and also to try and strengthen my fingers on my right hand. I am not the fastest, and my pain does not always allow me to work on it, but I am about two thirds of the way through a blanket of granny squares for my Mum.  I am proud because I have found a craft that I am able to do, and hope that my Nanny would be proud too!

• I am proud that I am part of two awesome families - the Greens and the Malkins. Both are very different, but equally as mad, and I love them both to pieces and I couldn't imagine life without them all. Family is very important to me, and I am lucky enough to be part of the two best families in the world. 

• I am proud that I have made a commitment to this Blog. It has encouraged me to start writing, which I haven't done since I left school, and I am really enjoying it. Writing is a very personal thing, and for a while, I had no desire to write anything at all. It was reignited with my EDS Fundraiser daily updates, and now I am really enjoying it. It may not be any good, but sod it, I'm enjoying it and feeling like it is giving me something to achieve (alongside my crochet projects) whilst I am in such a health slump. Since starting this, I have also started writing other small things, and if I am still going strong, maybe I will attempt to write something on a larger scale. 

Thank you for reading my first LBLC post! It is a very positive subject and it has really put a smile on my face, on what can only be described as a gloomy Monday. Please comment and tell me what you are proud of - more smiles are in order! 

You can see what the other ladies are proud of at their pages: 

Karen, Louise, Keshia and Rachelle 

And leave a comment to tell me what you're proud of!