Thank you for your many kind messages. I'll keep on writing, however brief and boring the news.

I think we may have turned a corner. My husband seemed better yesterday, blood sugars down, although still grumbling that his jaw aches. I am sure there is much in what Kristie and Tamar said in comments yesterday – that the antibiotics themselves may be making him feel unwell. I had pneumonia some decades ago, not a pleasant experience, and I remember being frightened as the course of antibiotics neared its end – would the disease surge back? In fact, I felt very much better almost as soon as I had downed the last pill. My husband has three more days, including today.

And my own symptom seems better this morning – we shall see. My plan on that one is to leave it to fester until I have filed the income tax. I hope that will be this week. I simply can't face another story line until that's done – and by then the symptom may have gone away, or may have accumulated a cluster of others to make diagnosis easier.

And knitting is going well, too – I do love that Monday Morning feeling. I've now knit 38 points of the 50 needed for the edging of the second side of the Unst Bridal Shawl. That means that the second corner, the half-way point, should be reached this week. The other two sides perhaps won't spill too far into February. Joining the border into a circle, picking up more than 1000 stitches, counting and counting and counting and establishing the borders – that won't be easy, but it won't take forever, either.

And Hellie isn't even engaged.

That point, once reached, might be a good one at which to pause and polish off the Milano. I'm so near the end – this is a dangerous moment to leave it. The exciting news on that front is that Kate Davies has knit it – after reading about it here! I couldn't feel more proud if I had had an OBE in the New Year's Honours, although the glory is all Carol Sunday's. Kate has made some interesting modifications.

And the other good news is that the Silly Christmas Project has reached Beijing and was very well received. I've asked for a picture. Cathy and her daughter Rachel were in London last week, staying with sister-in-law Rachel and investigating schools. They will be returning permanently from China in the summer, when Rachel will be ready for the sixth form. It went well. Cathy then carried the presents home to the Middle Kingdom.

And from the internet: Alex Capshaw-Taylor's account of designing and knitting her wedding dress is worth reading. I must do something with Bavarian Travelling Stitch. So many potential projects, so little time.

Other

Dawn, I'm pretty sure, seeing your comment yesterday, that it was you who taught me to Google-search a blog. Thanks again.

Ellen, thank you for your remarks about Hilary Mantel. I will read Wolf Hall. At the moment, my reading is in a worse state than my knitting, although mercifully obscured between the covers of my Kindle. I'm reading Kate Atkinson's Behind the Scenes at the Museum. I'm pretty sure I have started it before. I have temporarily abandoned “Norwegian by Night” and Le Carre's “The Honourable Schoolboy” and mean to finish both. And I've still got to go back to the Cazalets one day.