Back, with colour. And feet.

Green beans, almost ready to plant up in the greenhouse.
Flowers, lots of lovely flowers.
The traditional chubby feet on table knitting pics.
Sunshine.

Enjoy the sunshine!

Feeling frumpy.

I had my left wrist injected last Thursday, it seemed much more painful than when I last had my wrists done and I admit to fainting as the needle was drawn out! The Dr was lovely (the vast majority at my little hopical are fabulous), and offered to do both wrists while I was there.
In a moment of gung ho insanity I said yes - then promptly changed my mind after the first one.
As I spent the next two days with my left hand in a splint and a sling I think that was  a wise decision - the image of me with both hands in slings is too silly for words!

Today the hand is definitely easier, but gives me a sharp reminder if I use it too roughly. By 'roughly' I mean dare devil things like pegging washing out or picking up a plate.
Apparently carpal tunnel pain is common in people with rheumatoid arthritis. The joy just never ends....

Poor little bruised chubby handy! And no knitting! Noooooo!
The good old methotrexate nausea decided it wanted in on the attention too, yippee.

Moving swiftly on.
Sunshine, bucket loads of the stuff. Fabulous.
I spent a lot of Thursday and Friday sleeping off the above, but managed an hour yesterday early evening, on my bench in my teeny tiny garden. A book, some easy crochet, and a visit from Frodo who lives next door:

Definitely the best dressed cat in the street.

The garden looks pretty at the moment, despite me not giving it the attention it deserves. The yellow poppies are from seeds mum gathered from her garden last year, and just keep flowering. Beautiful.

I have gathered quite a few seed heads, and will let the rest do their own thing.
Aren't seed pods beautiful?

I love the way they are starting to open, to let those seeds out.  This makes me want to attempt a painting, one day.

Triffid duck faced nastursium.

I started cutting out A Thing, and might start sewing it one day. Might.

Subtle, eh?

Enjoy the sun.
Toodles.

Piddling.

Tis piddling down outside, but warm -have just beenout to feed the birds (at 7pm, and why not). Nipped  back in  to get my camera and  really wish I could also capture the fabulous smell out there - LILLIES!

It's such a tiny garden and these are humonguous lillies, oh the scent!

Right outside the door, so wonderful  - lillies are my very favourite flowers, love love love.

As far as I remember these were just  bog standard Wilko's  bulbs, but they are pretty damned impressive.

I keep turning pots around so I can see them from the  bench - I am trying to  get a sit down in the fresh air every day where possible, it does me so much good mentally . Watching the sparrows playing / fighting /eating yesterday was great, they are so funny en masse (there are usually between 8 and about 20 together).

There's such a lot I cannot do at the moment (I crave the sea, crave walking on grass, would love to ride a bike, go hiking, go riding, would love to sew- would love to have a career again) but by hell I can sit in this little garden!

Radish  (I think).
Beetroot.
Beans.
One enormous bean and baby beans.

Lousy  picture but there is a teeeeeny baby bean to the left.

And did I mention the lillies?

Any suggestions for autumn / winter plants?

Hurrah for burnt bosoms!

That's more like it.
Sunshine.
Loads of the stuff.
Smiling people,  very dodgy 'summer' dress sense, the smell of sun cream and a corner shop freezer crammed with giant ice pops.
Bliss!

Not only was it sunny today but it was downright WARM. 20C, not bad at all thank you.
Fabulous!

I still have this horrible rash from the Tocilizumab, so I am hoping that the sunshine will help.
That's my excuse (if one were needed) for afternoons in the sun.

All of a sudden everything seems to be blooming and sprouting at once. These gorgeous poppies are from seeds my mum gave me, collected from her garden, They are stunning, and look! Do you also remember the way poppy heads bend from your  childhood?

I remember peeling them open to look at the petals curled inside (naughty me).
Isn't it funny what obscure things remind you of being a bairn?

Today I doped myself up with Piriton, propped my bad back up with cushions on the bench, had an illicit glass of Pimms (oh blimey, the new version is delicious!)  , read for a while and knitted for a while.

PSidney says he can read perfectly well and would I please turn the pages a bit faster.

Why yes I AM  we ARE reading a book that includes a Princess, a scorpion and  a Quest.
And Sid has suncream for his ears, bless him. How I love thee, Sidders.

And knitting a jacket for a wabbit.

Lovely Egyptian cotton, in one of my favourite bags. Not one I made (the shame of it), slightly larger than the ones I make, and  look at it!

Brilliant!
I bought a few of these in the sales in January, the only snag is that they don't have wrist straps and are definitely a pain to carry anywhere, especially as I always need my walking stick.

The other one I have is this:

They are from Kate Garey. The jewellery is worth a look too, I have my eye on the bluetit necklace.

This might just flower this year. Might.

Look at  the pansies,they are just beautiful.

The little things in  life, always look for the little things.

And look - it only took me 10 months to take  piccies. I really like how this looks,and it was a fun knit if a little boring by the end.

Venomous-Tentacula, free on Ravelry.

And that's it for now.
I have the urge to paint, and this arrived the other day - yes that is me reflected in it, and yes I DO have chubby little arms!

Toodles for now, enjoy the sun!

Twice. In one week.

Blog posts, dunno what you dirty souls were thinking ....

I have a very happy, VERY farty piggy. I managed to walk half way to the park yesterday (quite frustrating  not to make  it the whole way, but my  knees said NO. Who am I to argue. I gathered a bag of greenery for PSidney,  washed it thoroughly and by hell he is enjoying it!
I think he ate himself into a stupor last night.

I also sat  in the garden, in the rain, sketching  a (pretty poor) picture of the remaining orange tulips.

Ooooh! Hello tootsies!
I have called it 'A Ten Year Old Could Draw Better!', and might add a photo when it is finished. It isn't  good, but any - any! - sketching is brilliant for me mentally because it means an hour or so with functional fingers. Modom.
They are very swollen, but not as painful as they have been. The pins and needles carpal tunnel is a sod still, especially in the left  hand, but I am not allowed to have anything done to it whilst on the RoActemra trial. A bit of a sod really,  it needs  operating on.

The  trial? You want to know how it's going?  No? Well skip this bit then.
I do think there is a bit of improvement this time, I hope so as this month is the decider for any further infusions.  I go back on the 30th. I am exhausted (but have not been sleeping, I haven't had a sleeping tablet for two weeks and although I amrelieved to find I can come off them easily when I need to, my sleep is back to its usual 'nod off at about 2am, wake up at 4am' routine. Not enough.

I had my tablets delivered today so will have a sleeping tab tonight and see if I get a bit more snoozation.
The main sideeffect at the  moment is a huge rash, I have had it across the tops of my arms since I started the drug, but blimey its pretty grim at the moment. Itchy too.  I keep reminding myself 'better knees, better hands' and try to ignore them. Maybe I could play dot to dot with them?

The garden is confused, as I think we all are. Two days of glorious weather, then a week of grey. Frost. HAILSTONES. Gale force winds.

The tree finally blossomed, a month later than usual and that seems to be the same delay for  most of my plants.

I can smell this half way down the street (OK, in fairness it is a very short street). It's just passed its best and has started dropping, clouds of blossom confetti  into  the street.

I had to resort to slug pellets, we are infested again. Bloody horrible things. Die.
They got to the marigolds, but the cabbages and lettuce might survive. They started in  the greenhouse. Again, a good month or more behind.

Ignore the horrible carpet (my landlord let me choose everything except the carpets - apparently this is neutral! I am going to ask if I can recarpet, its been down for the ten years I have been here and is more grotty by the day).
But look at Sid! I can section off a third of the room for him to scamper in (also ignore strategic placing of various things to block off wires and wool). Sadly I forgot my painting stuff was behind the chair and he commented  on my talents by piddling on it.
Thanks.
His exercise regime is along the lines of I throw bits of lettuce, Sid pootles off after it, eats,  comes to  the grill and stares at me. Repeat.

I am knitting a Thing. In black. More on that later.

Before I pootle of in a PSidney Stylie, anyone want to buy all these books for £40?

 

 

Toodles.

Darth Vader of Yorkshire. Betcha jealous.

I am croaky as a croaky thing on croaky day in croaky town.
Tis either hayfever or a cough, whichever it is it can bog off. Please.

A post of many piccies and few words, am so tired.

Hospital last week, went as well as it can do but next one is the biggy - if there is no improvement that is it, finito. As my DAS (disease activity score) had gone UP quite a bit last week (the previous one was the first that had shown slight signs of improvement) nobody is very optimistic.

I had a long chat with my nurse and then with (thankfully the excellent dr and not  the one who looks stoned) the consultant.When I was struggling with the 'other' family of drugs, the DMARDs, I had reached the point where there was only one option left, and it was one I didn't really want (gold injections into ones bum). Thankfully the Prof. then managed to get me onto this current trial.
I am concerned that same scenario will happen with the biologics, but was reassured that my 'scores' are bad enough to go onto another biologic, should they decide to stop  this trial. That  of course means the risk of another set of side effects and waiting - as I said at hopical it has been over 2 years  of constant new drug / side effects / new drug. The neck x-rays from last month show early RA in my neck, so they want to keep an eye on that and my painful back. Yippee.

Soooooo....apart from health.

Sunshine, isn't it just wondrous stuff!?
Heat! Proper sunshine with HEAT! And light! And blue skies!

Sulky kitten came round the other day and cleared all one side of the garden to make it nicer for me to sit in, and ordered some gravel courtesy of mum as there are slightly bare patches appearing. I have a lovely family.
We turned a tatty corner into this:

The painted bit of fence looks  nice against the red brick of the house. Yes it is tiny, yes it is still a bit tatty but I really like it. The plants are on part of a wine cabinet I  threw out, laid on its side.

I turned a manky £1 planter into something half decent, for a giant yukka I was given via Freegle, piccies to come. Nothing exciting, but it looks fine.
I get the sitty down jobs to try and rest my bod. I am 93 dontcha  know.

The blossom tree went from utterly bare to this in the space of 5 days:

probably partly to blame for the cough but it is so pretty and smells so fabulous that I couldn't care less. I love this tree so much every year, it is the only one in the street. A swine when it starts to drop but worth it.
Thank you Mother Nature.

Knitting  has happened, I finished this jumper (from Knit to Flatter by Amy Herzog, more on that book to come). Good fun to knit, just needs a bit of a press (ie cheats blocking) then will see what it  is like on. Of course I haven't tried it on as I seamed / knit it, what are you on  about??! That's tantamount to swatching!

Shudder.

I also washed some material - other folk may have crisp white cottons on their washing line. I have skulls.

Destined to become a simple 3/4 circular skirt, which I think will be a useful bit of clothing over summer with black tee shirts and sandals.
It is too heavy for a dress, but might work as part of something else (that's vague!). I have the urge to sew and have been slowly -very slooooowly - reorganising the living room to make my sewing area (ie the table) more functional. And tidier.

Ooooh- I did a bit  of stitchery yesterday too, for cushion covers, must get piccies.
My hands must be improving even a little bit because I managed maybe 15 minutes of stitching yesterday, which is more than I can usually even think of.

I will leave you with this little charmer, who is not as brave or as fabulous as Charlie the robin, but who makes me smile. He (?) hops lower and lower in the tree, then comes closer and closer. Then hops onto the plant pot next to my feet, stares at me, realises what he has done and flies to the tree again!
Repeat many times.
Absolutely lovely.