Blocks for Leukaemia

Well here's a little bit of stitching I've been doing over the last couple of days in and amongst watching some of the Christmas tv and generally chilling out.

Clare in the Dordogne (well she is usually, if not strictly at present as she's Christmassing back in the UK) has asked for red and white 8.5" blocks for her leukaemia quilts

Here are four that I've put together and will post them off to her in the next few days - who knows they might even get the odd mate or two to join them.

We've had a very mixed up unusual Christmas as a nasty tummy bug has been rampaging through the family over the past week to ten days.

Nick started it the weekend we went to my brother's by vomitting all over their downstairs loo floor - lino thank goodness!

Then Lou had a session on the Thursday evening before Christmas.

Fortunately both of these happened late evening and the respective child went straight to bed with the appropriate bucket and seemed to sleep off the ill-effects and woke up the next morning tired but relatively unscathed

Unfortunately for her Sarah got off a lot less lightly and started in the early hours of Christmas Eve morning - she still isn't right now and I shall take her to the GP later this afternoon as I feel four solid days is a bit too long for just a simple d&v bug.

Nigel was also pretty grotty but thankfully no explosions from the upper end - he's big enough and ugly enough to deal with the other end thank goodness but he has returned to work this morning still feeling pretty grotty if a little better - having felt like he'd been run over by a steam engine that is.

I also had a day like I'd been acting as Muhammed Ali's punchbag on Thursday so all in all most of us felt pretty much unlike any of the Christmas fare that's been on offer. In fact we were still deciding as we prepared for bed on Christmas Eve whether to cook the Christmas lunch the next day or save it for Boxing Day. Christmas Day won by a very short head.

Of course this year I just happened to buy the largest turkey we've ever had - in error I might add! and of course catered for the 5000 as usual so we have loads of leftovers loitering in the fridge. We've not bothered to touch the Christmas Cake, mince pies, sausage rolls etc and I didn't even bother to warm up the Christmas pudding after Christmas lunch - it's still in the packet. We shall save it and enjoy it when we all feel 100% again - probably on New Year's day when Nigel has another bank holiday off work.

The two younger kids have made inroads into the chocolates around the place but the three older members of the family really don't have much heart for them.

Still despite the lurgy we had a quiet but pleasant Christmas day trying out Lou's new scrabble game and watching the offerings on the tv - and to be honest because no-one's been 100% it's probably a good job we weren't planning any visitors or house guests.

Hopefully the doc will sort Sarah out over the next day or so and we can then look forward to the New Year's celebrations with a little more relish.