Extreme Knitting Redhead: Mega-March

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Mega-March

I thought it was about time I posted another sky photo. This beautiful sunset was about 5:30 this evening.

I'm starting this post on 29th February having consumed 2 glasses of a very nice red wine. This is the last alcohol to pass my lips until after the London marathon as I am really going to put every effort I can into achieving my goals.

My diet is vegan for the duration of Lent and although I already eat a healthy vegetarian diet I always find I have lots more energy when I manage to cut out all animal products (basically just dairy and eggs). By the time Lent is over though I am yearning for a chunk of cheese!

Today I ran one of the sessions JJ has given me. 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles @ 9 min miling then 1 mile cool down. Then I did my core work and stretches (my ITB is a bit tight again so I might need a trip to see Mary Massage Lady - ouch!). Rather than making me feel weary, the session had the effect of energising me for the whole day which was brilliant. Tomorrow will just be a 3 mile trot across the fields to loosen everything up.

Mike's scarf is finished and blocked, modelled here by me as he was being a diva and refused to model for me!

At least he took the photo so I can't complain too much.

I like the way the wool stripes and it feel really warm. Even better, it looks decidedly manly so hopefully Mike will wear it.

He's very pleased with it anyway.

The other thing I like is that the pattern looks good on the back as well as the front.

So many single thickness scarves look fab on the front but horrid on the back and it's always difficult to get a scarf to stay the way you want it to so you end up displaying the back as well.

This is how the sunset had developed at about 5:40 this evening.

1 comment:

Shan said...: That is NICE!; March 1, 2012 at 9:26:00 PM PST

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Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.