Alpine Flowers, by Caprilicious

Hello folks, how are you this week? Mike and I have been a bit swamped by problems with our cat, Wilfred. Mike found a swelling at the base of WIlfred's tail one morning and I was barraged by questions, 'what d'you think it is?' until eventually I prodded the offending area and offered the usual advice - observation and watchful waiting. I did point out that I know more about human beings than cats, and that perhaps he ought to be taken to the vet. My provisional diagnosis of an abscess turned out to be right and after a short visit to the vet, a quick incision and drainage, and us £115 out of pocket, the cat is back to his old swagger.  He was given two kinds of antibiotics - a tablet and a liquid that needs to be squirted into his mouth. We're not doing very well with those, I'm afraid. Wilfred seems to sense when we're trying to creep up on him with a tablet and makes a dash for it. When we finally catch him and stuff the medication down his throat, he sicks up in a short while. So, a fun week for everyone!

I showed you the pendant I made last week, as well as the necklace I'd begun for it. I finished the necklace and ran a strong wire through the tube to convert the necklace into a stiff torque that sits at the base of the neck. The pendant was inspired by a photograph of a meadow of alpine flowers in the Alaskan wilderness. I have contrasted strong colours with pastel ice cream shades and the tubular torque is made of green and grey beads, accented with pink. 

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I enjoyed making the tubular necklace, spiral peyote stitch was a lot of fun. It can only be made when one is firing on all four pistons, as it is a rather unforgiving pattern. I tried to continue weaving beads late into the night until I found that I was spending more time unpicking all my stitches and gave up in disgust. 

The clocks will soon turn back, Diwali is next week and I have twenty people coming to dinner, and as of today there are 58 days to Christmas. I'm focusing on February when I fly back to India. My sister has already booked a mini getaway for the two of us in Goa and I can't wait. 

In the meantime, Happy Diwali to those of you who celebrate it and may there be loads of love, light and prosperity in your lives.

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 That's me for now, folks. Have a wonderful week and I'll catch you next Friday, same time, same place.
Until then
​xx