This Knitting Malarky Is Addictive

But I think I should stop calling them Monkees as the latest two are definately a species unknown to man. Meet Molly (Rat Look-A-Likey) and Freddie (Fraggle)

Meet Taloola

A Beautiful Baby












She is growing up fast










Perhaps a little too fast










Gemma has claimed this one and tries her best to keep her under control

But fails miserably

And if she keeps up this behaviour ( click video) she will be out the door

ME: 'Invisible disease' is now easier to read

An extract from The Telegraph 18th March

A simple blood test may revolutionise the way we treat patients with ME, reports Bob Ward
British researchers are close to developing, for the first time, a blood test and potential drug treatments for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), following groundbreaking work on its genetic origins. ME/CFS affects about one in 200 people, and women sufferers outnumber men by six to one. It causes a constant feeling of extreme exhaustion and malaise for more than six months, along with sleep abnormalities, memory and concentration difficulties and a great deal of pain.
In its most extreme form, the disease leaves sufferers bed-ridden and can even be fatal.
But patients now have new hope, thanks to research published in the Journal of Clinical Pathology by Dr Jonathan Kerr of St George's University of London and his colleagues.
They have identified 88 genes that produce different levels of proteins and other molecules in ME/CFS sufferers compared with the rest of the population.
Dr Kerr's team carried out a complex analysis of the records of 55 patients and found that they could be divided into seven sub-types according to the specific gene combinations found in their white blood cells, and the severity of their symptoms.
The most acutely affected patients had 71 of the 88 gene abnormalities.
The results of this work should allow better understanding of the causes and development of the disease. Many of the genes are known to be affected when a person contracts a virus, a factor which is believed to trigger many cases of ME/CFS.
Importantly, the researchers also recognised that five of the 88 genes are targeted by drugs which are already used to treat other diseases.
The team is now investigating whether the faulty genes produce abnormal levels of proteins that can be detected as minute quantities of "biomarkers" in the blood of patients.
"If proven to be sensitive and specific indicators of the illness, the discovery of protein biomarkers could lead to the development of a diagnostic test for ME/CFS, which would revolutionise our approach to this disease," explains Dr Kerr.
He will present his results at a conference on ME/CFS biomedical research in Cambridge in May.

Stevie's Big Cuz

Not put of by Stevie's uniqueness, I persevered and another Monkee was created, he was very chilled out and has now gone to his new home. Word has it that Stevie's Lil Sis is about to make her debut soon, she is gonna be trouble, I can tell, so watch this space

Builders

This morning I was woken at 8.30 by a foreign voice talking outside my bedroom window, I thought I must dreaming. I wondered who it was, I wondered what he was saying, eventually I was able to get up and look. The never ending house being built next door now has a army of Polish builders. Despite the fact that they spent most of the day talking on their phones I am being positive and hope that they will eventually do some building. I asked them politely not to park in my driveway, or wander into my garden to use their phones. They smiled a lot and nodded. I think I need to learn Polish !

Stevies Mum

Candyfloss Sky