Making Lace

Thanks to a very gracious lady, I was introduced to the art of lace-making several years ago. Now, I certainly don't claim to be any good at it, but I do enjoy it!

One of the pleasure of making lace is the use of bobbins - many of which are beautifully crafted works of art in themselves. They are often decorated (in pairs) with glass beads. Handling dozens of bobbins is simply soul-satisfying. They sound soothing, feel wonderful, and look attractive - a pleasure to work with.

Then there's the amazing process of producing actual lace with a little thread and some pins. In many ways I still feel as though it's a mysterious process. I also like the fact that this craft is so rarely seen today.

Here is a photo of a few samplers I have made:



And here are some of my bobbins on a lace pillow:



Not that I have any time for lace-making at the moment, of course, but I thought I'd take a few photos while I was packing my lace-bag away.

Christopher's Health (Update)

Christopher saw his paediatrician yesterday for his 3-monthly diabetes checkup. We've been working hard on his blood glucose control and were therefore hoping for a better result this time. Our hard work paid off with a HbA1c of 7.5% !!

Good diabetes control requires a level as close to "normal" as possible, with normal being about 6%. Achieving such a low percentage isn't recommended for people with diabetes, as it results in too many hypos to be safe (where blood sugar drops so low that you can become unconscious). So we aim to get a result somewhere between 7-8%.

Aside from this good news, however, the paediatrician expressed some concern about Christopher's hips. He has recommended that we get some x-rays to assess for risk of hip dislocation. If there's an increased risk, we may need to look at Botox injections. In addition, he is starting to worry about the possibilty of spine curvature (scoliosis) - which requires surgery if it gets too pronounced.

So - rather a mixed bag of news yesterday - and it will take some time to determine how serious these issues will be for Christopher. Meanwhile, he is looking forward to our family reward for the great HbA1c result: dinner at a local Irish pub. LOL.

SeaWorld Video

Here are some photos of our recent SeaWorld trip, plus a litte bit of video footage of the kids. You will need to click on the Play button twice to view this movie. Enjoy!

"Mum" by Catherine

Three More Weeks

Three weeks until we move! Catherine has been cutting one number off our tape measure every day to keep track of the countdown, and this morning we're down to 21 days. All the books we're taking are packed, apart from my textbooks. Christopher's room is already quite bare, with only homeschool and medical equipment remaining. He has been the main motivating force behind all of our packing and preparation, as he loves to watch us at work.

Catherine's room is still underway, as she needed to do some extensive cleaning up before we could start packing. She has been such a delight. Her daily jobs now include feeding our cat, washing up the breakfast dishes, and keeping her room clean. She also enjoys putting on a load of washing for me some mornings. Her latest achievement, of which she's very proud, is that she can cook 2-minute noodles without any adult help.

Yesterday, Christopher (in his walker) and Catherine decided to clean the whole house. They dusted, swept and mopped floors, vacuumed, cleaned windows and scrubbed the toilet. Don't forget I'm talking about an eight-year-old girl, and a 10-year-old boy in a wheelchair here. Now, some of our windows have new smudges, but it's worth it to see them doing this for enjoyment. I could probably learn something from their approach!