SNEEZING, HOT AND FRUSTRATED

Oh my! I have been quite a sight the past few days with swollen eyelids, runny nose and itchy ears. It all started with a sore throat I developed after sitting in front of a fan trying to get some stitching done in the heat. I got rid of the bad throat only to break out in hay fever so badly that I couldn't stitch. Prior to that I was trying to complete the 2nd last block of Jenny's free BOM but I still haven't managed to finish it. Sorry about the creases. I just took it out of the hoop for a pic.

 

 

I am feeling so much better today but it is still too hot for me to stitch or crochet. We are seriously looking into getting some air con now. Since my last post I have made some progress with the first crocheted octagon. Still some more rows to do which shall magically transform the circle into an octagon. ( Well, I certainly hope so).

 

There are 9 granny squares in this blanket but I can only do them up to a certain row before something goes wrong. So, I have crocheted 7 of the granny squares as far as I can go before everything falls in a heap.

 

 

The other 2 need to be un pulled, I have tried several times to work the pattern out and I end up with the right amount of stitches but something is definitely not right. Things start to go wrong when I crochet those big crosses despite counting all the stitches and inserting the hook into the right one. I am getting splinters from scratching my head so much.  

 

 

Ah well. when the weather cools down a bit I shall keep making the octagons. I am hoping for a light bulb moment to happen so I can get on with those squares.

 

The one thing I have completed is another pot holder.

 

 

I have also finished another book which is the latest and final book in this particular series. Phillipa Gregory has started writing a whole new series which I am looking forward to reading.

 

 

It is so nice to have visited some of the places she writes about. One of them being Hampton Court Palace which I have yearned to see for well over 40 years. On the 30th June, 2015 we spent our 2nd last day in London. It was 29 degrees C when we boarded a train to Hampton Court station and walked to Hampton Court Palace. It was a long long path to the entrance.

 

 

 

Once through the main entrance there were other courtyards. This the Clock Court where the most beautiful clock sits high above. Unfortunately, you can't see how beautiful it is but it is rather decorative and also indicates the time of high tide which was useful for those travelling on the river in barges such as Henry V111 and his court.

 

 

 

The Great Hall where they held huge banquets . There are carved and painted "eavesdroppers" in the wooden roof. These were built under HenryV111's orders to remind all at court that everything said could be overheard. Clever! The walls are lined with large tapestries which were first hung in the 1530's.

 

 

 

Amazing ceilings throughout.

 

 

 

You know that you are in a palace when you see HUGE fireplaces.

 ( That's my daughter standing in front of it).

 

 

It's blurry but this is where King Henry V111 and Kateryn Parr knelt in the chapel to be married. She was his 6th and last wife and the only one who survived after his death. Whew! Was she the lucky one!

 

 

The Chapel Royal is in the gallery hall lined with several paintings. This is the famous iconic one that Henry V111 commissioned to make himself appear large and regal despite his ailing health and morbid obesity.

 

 

The chapel has the most ornate ceiling painted blue with silver stars. Unfortunately, the photo is not on the computer. It was this hall where Catherine Howard, his 5th wife, discovered that she was charged with adultery and ran along the hall in search of Henry in the chapel to plead her innocence. They say that several people have seen her ghost still running along the hall.

 

The kitchens.

 

 

 

 

Big vats of stewed meats. Ewwwww.

 

When one needs to serve wine with 600 meals twice a day, you need a big wine cellar.

 

 

Of course there were many other royals who lived in the palace long after Henry V111.

Anne Boleyn's apartments eventually became Queen Caroline's and this was her State Bed almost 2 centuries after Anne had lived there. 

 

 

Her private bed chamber. No idea why she had 2 beds.

 

 

The Queen's Privy Chamber.

 

 

Well, I think that is enough overload of my pics and history lesson for today. Yep, I can see you all rolling your eyes. We did a lot more that day, Madam Touseaud's Waxworks and Baker St. Thanks you so much for stopping by again. I hope you are enjoying stitching in air conditioning unlike me LOL.  

 

Angel Blessings.