I like Thankful Thursday

Today I am not here. I am having a pain block procedure on my back.

from hospital website

However, that is a glad thing. I am glad for all the things that fell in place, a few years ago, to be referred to the pain clinic. I hadn't realised it was an option but through one thing and another, it came to be. And I think if I had been able to get someone to do something more for me, it might not have happened because at the time the hospital authority I was under didn't do that. But, that changed and it meant I was now under a different hospital catchment which extended further south to an area that has a pain clinic.
And so they have been helping and this is one hope that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

Another like having to do with this, is that the hospital has a little charity bookshop. (It is just to the right of the glass doors on the photo above.)
So, when I go back and forth for appointments, I usually stop in. I bring what I have read back with me the next time!I picked up quite a few when I had my physio appointment last week. What I like is that sometimes you can get quite a few books in a series by the same author.

Looking forward to reading these while I am resting up.

Another time I found one by an author, that I hadn't read yet. I had been looking for some time. Yes, I could buy them, but usually it is just something I want to read, not necessarily want to own.
One of my favourite authors is Lindsey Davis who writes about a detective in ancient Rome. I just finished reading one the other day. A couple weeks ago I finished one she had written about Vespasian's life...really about the life of his love Caenis. A Course of Honour builds a wonderful story from this account; "A tantalising half-sentence in Suetonius’ biography says that after his wife died, Vespasian ‘took up again with Caenis, his former mistress and one of Antonia’s freedwomen and secretaries, who remained his wife in all but name even when he became Emperor’." a phrase from the webpage about the book on Lindsey Davis site.

On Saturday I met up with sewing friends at my friend Gabrielle's. I took the camera, but forgot to get it out!
However, I met one friend, Annette, who I hadn't seen for sometime. It was nice to catch up with her.

As is usual at most sewing meetings, someone wants to get rid of books or something. So, I came home with these. A few might be for possible students as a resource.
Also the wooly polyester thread to try on the overlocker.
But the fabrics in front and the elephant panel in the back were a gift from another lady. The panel from India she didn't want... "I have already made something from the rest and I don't have a need for anything else with elephants". However, the wonderful sunprints were pieces she picked up on a recent holiday in Africa for me! I think Zambia. How nice that she thought of me. 😊

Speaking of which gifts from sewing friends, a few months ago at one of the meetings (we meet at the Community Centre, bringing our projects to work on. Sewing machines and the like.) where there is often a lot of unrelated chat, we somehow began to talk about pressure cookers. I haven't used one since I was living at home, and then I think I really wasn't involved. Because I hadn't really learned all the nuances of pressure and wobbling thingys on top, I just wasn't confident about it. So, in the discussion they said the new ones were much more user friendly, and in fact, you could get ones that had buttons to set time and pressure and so on, then it got on with it. If there was anything not quite right, it goes to keep warm setting and cools down a great deal.
So, I thought. OK, I need one of those.
Then Margot said she had one in her garage she didn't want. She had bought a smaller one, because the other was too big for her small kitchen. Did I want it?
Are you sure?!!
Well, I would only eventually toss it. Someone should get use out of it.

So, I have been making use of it ever since. It was Very Helpful with the sweet potatoes and then potatoes when I made a Thanksgiving meal that had been ordered by a Certain Young Man who came home for it at the weekend. I didn't have to watch they didn't boil over or try to fit everything I was making onto 4 hobs at once.

OK. more on the like side of things next week! If you are interested, you can see what others have said, over at LeeAnna's blog.