Snuffle and sneeze

Yes, I am sneezing, spluttering and feeling very sorry for myself today. Mateo has been ill since Monday - he's always ill when it's a school holiday, poor thing. I expect he'll be feeling fine to go back tomorrow though he is still coughing quite a lot.
Ruy has also started and Amelia too. And I knew last night - I felt the little bug..s creeping up on me and by the middle of the night, I was shivery and sneezy and dozy (and most of the other dwarves as well apart from Happy!)

Oh well, cold should be gone by Christmas. We are planning on being here for Christmas, at least for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) and for Christmas Day. There is an increasing number of Spanish households that accept delivery of presents from 'Papa Noel' on Christmas Day but the main present-bringers are the Kings, who come on 6th January. And of course, that means TWO lots of presents!

I feel rather detached from Christmas this year. All my lovely Christmas things are in the barn in Leon and I have reached the point where a lot of my life feels a bit suspended until I have my own things around me again. Which hopefully will be soon - soon in 2011. We are hanging on here with each day being just a bit more difficult but that's only because we have decided to go - go south, go to Andalucia - on 27th December. We have decided to rent a holiday house for the short term and look for our home from there. It has been impossible to look for something here - the internet is good but the photos of properties all need to be taken with a pinch of salt, more for what they DON'T show that for what they do! I am getting quite desperate for us to establish ourselves in a place we can call home. However grateful we are to have had a home for the past 4 months or so, it's not our home, it has nothing of us here and without it, I do just feel as though I am marking time. And it's scary how fast time goes - so in effect, I sometimes feel as though I am wasting time. But that's because I feel sorry for myself today. I'm not heading for Slough again and I'm going to try and make our last two and a half weeks here really good fun. When I feel better, that is.

I have been knitting recently and finished a jumper for Cesar that I started back in May when I thought we were going to live in La Urz, in Leon, in a cold chilly place! It's the thickest, warmest jumper ever and made from lots of different scraps of wool - new and old. It's different back and front and the sleeves are also 'independent' colour-wise. On purpose, honest. ( I'm rubbish at following knitting patterns but as the original for this was one colour, I chose my different shades on a fairly random basis!)

When it's not actually on Cesar

It looks best draped over a chair

I had some labels made - wish I'd thought of a better name. (Suggestions please!)

Before I left England, I bought two enormous hanks of wool from British Breed Wools in Halifax, near where I used to live. It's a thick/thin yarn in a natural cream colour and it is just gorgeous! I've been saving it for a time when I could knit something for myself and that time has arrived. I'm knitting a shawl..just because I want one.. though I probably won't need it in the south of Spain! However, I've decided it will become an heirloom. Here's where I've got to thus far - and this is the size of a ball of wool that weighs 500g! Isn't it just wonderful!

Big hank, big ball = big shawl

Detail