Computer news and picture update

After long consideration, some waiting and two days of learning we finally have a new computer with everything needed, and I'm writing my first blog post here. There are some problems still: the laptop has no access to the internet like it should and used to have, and DH's email account has disappeared because of a misplaced password. I need the magic help of the next generation to get a photo editing programme (and at least two patience games  ;-)!). Luckily DD is arriving tonight from Berlin. She originally put up this blog for me, and has taught me almost everything I know about using a computer, especially the internet.

Maybe you would like to see some of the pictures I have taken since September? I'll show them anyway. About at the time when the computer crashed, I saw the most exotic butterfly in my life:

The Red Admiral. They are rare visitors in Finland. This one was warming itself on the sunny wall of our new garden shed.

We put up the bird feeder early in October, and the birds returned to our yard quickly. The first  portion of seeds was gone in a week, but as the Autumn has been unusually warm, the second fill wasn't needed until last night.

This squirrel has already changed fur for the winter, the reddish brown is only left in the legs. He was sitting in  our oak tree, apparently resting, and I thought he was just like me with my second cup of tea and newspaper, when I sit at the breakfast table alone after the men have gone to their duties: my nose drops closer and closer to the paper as I'm almost falling asleep again.

The trees had beautiful colours

but they are gone now.

I have played with yarn, not only knitting it but felting some too:

These little balls of yarn have been machine washed in hot water, rubbed a little to smooth the surface, and sent to Stephanie for her birthday some time ago.

With my PIF gift to Kaite in Australia, I sent a small fabric basket for her mother Coralie.

And look what she sent me in return:

The prettiest little daffodil pouch is handmade by her, and the cute house brooch is from Kaite. It is Spring down there, and daffodil time. Thank you, Coralie and Kaite!

Felted mittens, and lovely mail on a bad day

The last few days I have been fighting against a flu. Yesterday I spent most of the day wrapped in a quilt and shivering, today is a little better. My personal mailman, Mr. K., had the nicest mail to make my day on Thursday:

Melanie sent me black and white wool for felting/sharing with Mr. K. for flytying, and a wide selection of Green&Black's delicious chocolate. Amazon sent me the next Arthur Ransome book, Coot Club, just when I had finished the last one I had for Christmas. And finally, for the hours of lower energy level, there was my new issue of Kodin Kuvalehti. Their chief editor commented on the big German women's magazine Brigitte's decision to start using real size , non-professional models: Kodin Kuvalehti has been using their readers as models for 16 years already! - The chocolate was a good medicine, I slept well last night and only started sneezing again after I stood up in the morning.

As I have mainly concentrated on tea, chocolate and reading in my spare time, I have not much to show. The washing machine must run every day, no matter what, and so my mittens are now ready for use. This is the before picture, the safety pin at the top is holding a plastic bag in place inside the mitten during the felting process.

 

and here are the mittens after their spin in the washing machine:

 

A closer view:

 

They remained fairly soft, but they are still a bit too large for me, just DH's size.  Mr. K. only needs warm mittens for the snow pushing, but the wool is not very durable in such use. (This is not something I would even dream of darning!) I think I will wash them once more and see if they can get a little smaller still. The thumbs are too wide and long. I don't think I will make another pair very soon; it was fun to give it a try but I prefer knowing beforehand what size I'm going to get.