The May photo-a-day challenge. I've missed 5th May, bird, completely. So sue me.

The rest? Here.

xxx

I'm working from home, waiting for our Disaster Recovery session to be ready for me. I'm cold, I'm about to put the heating on, re-locate my sheepskin slippers (honestly, I feel those were the only good thing to come out of last year's relationship with P, which seems terribly mercenary of me, but they really are a godsend when my toes get So Very Cold), and apply my typing wristwarmers, a pair of slightly fluffy mitteny things, rescued from the newly tidied yarn stash.

For, you see, I had a moth problem. I probably still do. And the odd moth was flying out of the stash. And, on Saturday, with various friends round, I took drastic action. They quilted. I cleaned out the entire thing. I have rid myself of three bags of assorted yarn, if not more (some went home with friends - that's the total that went to the charity shop). The stash now sits tidily in three Ikea boxes and a bag that is supposed to squash down but I haven't managed to persuade it yet. All of the yarn is in ziplock bags, bar two skeins that are in the freezer. One had moth poo on it, the other had a caterpillar. A handful of skeins were binned, as being both mothy and not worth saving (or, rather, I had no idea what to do with it, and life's too short). Everything is now corralled into plastic ziplocks to ensure that any further mothyness is contained. There will be some more mothballs, as the lavender was failing to repel anything. The bedroom was also showing signs of moths, and I mothballed it about, and I've not seen another since. Mind you, the bedroom is generally cooler than the sitting room.

Anyhow. Tearing apart the entire yarn stash works better with people than without, particularly when you're mired in the middle of it, and losing both the sellotape, the bag for spare sock yarn, and the will to live. I'm slightly ashamed of what loveliness I have, and am not knitting up. However, it all has a plan (apart from one batch of teal Debbie Bliss Cathay, which is waiting for the ultimate cardigan pattern), and No More shall be bought, except as souvenir yarn, until I've got the smallest box emptied.

N remarked on how much tidier it all was. My next job is to re-corrall the circular needles. I think I need a thingy to corrall them into, as I keep losing various packets and thus have no idea how many of which size I possess. Other items on the agenda include sewing badges onto Guidey Blankets, and also finishing the crochet flower brooch started about 4 years ago for Mum, and recently re-found.

Oh yeah. And Brownie Camp. And Brownies generally. We shall draw a discrete veil over the lying sixers (A "well, B caused this to happen to C". B, with a look as though butter wouldn't melt, "I don't know anything about that happening to C" C was in tears.... and Brown Owl couldn't prove anything so she confiscated both Sixers' badges). We shall, however, have a discussion next week about what makes a Good Brownie and a Good Sixer.  Brownie camp is in the final "Must print this, laminate that, and make a list of the other to take with us" point of affairs. Plus acquiring glue (or not), torches and more laminating pouches. I think I might sort out my packing tonight, as then it's done, and I won't forget my waterproof/pillow/wellies/knickers that way. It'll just be a case of adding in the medications.  Each year, taking them away gets a little easier - one realises that they don't need entertaining every single minute of every day, and that, actually, just being out of London with some countryside hedges to explore is, from their point of view, really quite exciting and interesting. I forget this. There were hedges to explore just five minutes from my childhood home. It was not novel to be in a field. For some of these girls, it is.

I came all over asthma-y yesterday. I don't like to admit it, but it seems I'm now sensitive to rollup cigarettes, which will make socialising a little trickier. Coughing mid-morris dance is not fun. More perturbing, no-one was to hand to sub-in for me, so I had to keep going to the end. Fortunately, it didn't get much worse than coughing and an inordinate quantity of Ventolin plus the associated shakes. Today has been slightly phlegmy as a result, but nothing green. This is good. I do not have time to be ill until 5th June, then I can be as ill as I like.

Other lovely things that have happened recently: a trip to "Close the Coalhouse" door with K&L, a stormingly lovely musical about miners and their unionisation in the 19th and 20th centuries. Curry and a trip to "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" with N. Flowers from N. Cuddles and cups of tea from N when I'm cold and fed up with morris dancing. Why yes, I am all loved up. And, you know what? It's wonderful, and it's been long enough coming, so I reserve the right to occasional squee. I can't see that I'd ever care more about anyone except, possibly, my own child. Which is a different sort of love.

In between mundane work tasks, this blog was written. And now? Disaster Recovery are ready for me.

xxx

1. Sir in his Fair Isle. Finally.

2. April Photo A Day (Some days missing...)

Back from San Diego, this time, and I probably ought to think about heading bed-wards, in a vague attempt to sort out my body clock (which wants to stay awake all night wheeee!). There will be no more transatlantic gallivanting about for a while, which is just as well. I don't think I can face seeing yet another chicken Caesar salad, my default edible while away in the USA (sans croutons).  N & I had a lovely time, solved several IT problems and acquired a taste for Cheetos. San Diego still looks lovely, but I forgot my camera, and the phone just doesn't do it justice.

Hmmm. Perhaps some hot chocolate should be on the agenda? There probably should be some more Brownie-min at some point in the reasonably near future. I feel a little vague about a couple of the planned activities for camp... however, I did manage to get the accounts to balance once I'd shifted £25 out of the subs tin into the camp tin. It all added up at that point.

xxx