A Quiet Life

Thanks for all the recommendations for hand creams, some of which I've tried and others of which I will look out for. In the end what works best for me is tons of hand cream and Flash Instant Manicure used regularly - like every day. I'm a bit of a manicure demon and a friend bought me this for my birthday last year. In the move I'd forgotten about it. No matter what I do, however, the little chaps persist, especially at the weekend when domestic duties necessitate more immersion in water. I suppose the only cure is to give up housework or be more diligent about the use of rubber gloves.

Roxy thinks my font size is too small. I welcome this sort of opinion and would appreciate your comments. I tried making just the body text bigger but everything got bigger, so once I've gained a consensus I'll go back to GemmaUK and ask for some modifications; my html skills being non-existent to minimal.

Dave continues to recover well, apart from very disturbed nights. Even knockout pills from the doctor don't help. Of course he's frustrated about his inability to do things, but that's to be expected. We're going to have to fix up our utility room (previously Dave's Dad's office) sooner than expected. It's a flat roof extension and after 30-odd years has sprung a leak just as we move in. I'd just about got my spare bedroom clear of boxes and ephemera and was just about to get the bed down when we found the leak. Now the spare bedroom is once more full of boxes brought across to save them from being ruined by water. But looking on the bright side, at least that's all the boxes in one place now, they are diminishing in quantity and we will have a lovely new utility room, re-plastered and with a weatherproof roof much sooner than anticipated.

Monogamous knitting, coupled with an uneventful lifestyle, makes for boring blog posts. I've got two repeats of the shawl done (Mum has five) and even though it's targeted knitting with a daily goal, it's enjoyable. I now remember some of the rows without looking at the pattern and it's starting to look like something. One ball of yarn down, eight to go. My friend will start her maternity leave sometime during February. Will I make it on time?