Where to start?

There's the stitching and then the other stuff.  This is supposed to be mainly a cross stitching blog, so I'll start with the stitching and then people who are only here for the beer, so to speak, can skip the rest.

 The Cat is moving on nicely.  I've done its forehead and, as you can see, have started on the other eye.  I would say that I'm about three quarters of the way there, give or take a few stitches.  I took this to Patchwork Group on Thursday, and they have finally accepted that it is supposed to be a cat.  The deadline for this is just over a fortnight away, and then I'll have a couple of weeks to get it framed, packed and off to its new owner.  I'm really quite happy with this piece, but am looking forward to finishing it and being able to move on to something for me.

Carnation is also progressing smoothly, with the regulation three blocks per week.  This week saw the completion of the lily bud and the appearance of the tips of petals from another lily.  I'm really proud of this piece - it requires real concentration and stickability, and it is going to be just cracking when it is done.

No new pictures of the Delft piece this week, but the chart for Chatelaine's Medieval Town Mandala arrived in time for me to take it to Patchwork to show them.  Having had a good look at the chart and the instructions, it is going to be as big a challenge as Carnation in its own way.

That's the stitching covered, now for the other stuff.  While I was on leave the other week, my car started making funny noises.  By Monday this week just gone, they were loud enough for my neighbour to suggest that I had it looked at.  It went to the garage on Tuesday - the head gasket had gone!  This resulted in my having no car until Friday evening and a serious dent in my bank account.  I am however looking on the bright side - if it had gone the previous Wednesday, when I had been doing 70 miles per hour down the A1(M), I might not be writing this now.

The other other stuff - my Dad went for blood tests on Thursday this week.  The consultant haemotologist was not happy, not with the lumps he found or the weight Dad has lost.  He said that with the lumps where they are, it could be one of a hundred things.  They took four tubes of blood and we have to wait two weeks for the results.  Dad will be 70 at the beginning of next month - what he really wants for his birthday is a clean bill of health.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed!