Bows, Bells, Baubles and Beads

Do not shop with Carphone warehouse. Ever. For anything.

They were doing preorders on iPhones, so I ordered one and was told it would be with me on the Friday they were released. After waiting all day Friday, I phoned to be told they were out of stock (something they should have told me when ordering). Instead I could have a white one, which would be delivered on Saturday morning. I waited all Saturday morning. It didn’t arrive. I phoned up to be told that my order had come in too late to be shipped Saturday and that they usually don’t do that anyway and there weren’t any in stock either. Remember, at this point I’m also worried about whether or not I’m miscarrying and really don’t need any stress. I cancelled the order and was told I hadn’t been charged.

I went in to the Apple store, who were veryhelpful and treated me with politeness and respect. I know not everone has an Apple Store, but if you do they are great. They operate a little differently to most stores, which can be confusing to begin with (no tills to queue up at), but the service is wonderful.

Today I was looking at my bank account and they’d charged me. Which means 3 different customer service representatives lied to me. I phoned again and asked to speak to a manager. I didn’t get one of them, but I did get a customer complaints representative. She arranged to refund my money but I pointed out that wasn’t really enough. I’ve had to make 3 calls at my own expense and they’ve had my money under false pretenses since 18 June. Apparently that is worth a £5 voucher. I pointed out that I’d never use their company again, so a voucher was of no use.

Realistically, dealing with all their crap didn’t make me miscarry, but it didn’t exactly help during an incredibly difficult time in my life. Which is why I’d like to make sure as many people as possible know about the disgusting way I’ve been treated by them. It isn’t about them overdoing the preorders and having to backdate my order. It is the lack of communication and the way I was assured on every occasion that it was all fine, when it obviously wasn’t. Any idea how to get this to more people?

For those of you who want the short version I’m back home, it was successful and I’m feeling OK.

For those who want some more detail, we made it into the hospital at 8.15 and settled in. Because of the general anaesthetic (Annika was right, I had a D&C), I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since the previous night. After an hour or , I saw the doctor. This wasn’t great. She didn’t think I should be having a D&C and wanted me to change my mind to a medical management, which I definitely didn’t want. She said she didn’t have time to fit me in and that it would have to be some time in the afternoon. By this point I was getting very dehydrated. It took until after 2pm to get them to set up a drip for me, which made me more comfortable, but it was really bad up to that point.

I finally made it into surgery at about 5pm. The surgery team I had was great. Turns out that first doctor couldn’t even be bothered to sign the paperwork for me. The anaethetist gave good drug and the surgery was successful. The surgeon came round after and said I will probably have some bleeding for the next three weeks, then get my period in about 6 to 8 weeks, after which we’re fine to start trying again. We’re totally going with what this doctor said. Most have said 2 cycles before trying and the horrid doctor said 3.

I really do feel that the surgical route was the best way for us. I already feel able to draw a line under things and look forward. Not that I’m not still sad, or won’t continue to be, but it just feels better, psychologically not to carrying round my poor baby any more.

I doubt any of you actually read all this, if you did, sorry for the TMI bits (I don’t think Simon or Andy actually read this since I moved, which is probably a good thing). It just feels right to document it. Hopefully the next post will be about something a bit more fun, like my iPhone or Take That or something.

I’m sitting waiting for Martin and Rohan to finish their breakfast, so we can head off to the hospital. I’m not allowed to eat because of the general anaesthetic. I have no idea when the operation will take place, but I should be home a few hours afterwards. At the moment I’m convinced that something is going to go wrong and the I’m never going to be able to have another child, but hopefully that won’t actually be the case. I chose to go the surgery route with this and I’m still sure this is right for me, it is just difficult.

I just wanted to let people know, we had a scan today and there was no heartbeat. I’ll be going into hospital on Wednesday, and might not be around too much.

I meant to come straight back and give people the information they were asking for about Charly and Guy moving to South Africa.

They’ve gone for 3 years. Guy has been seconded to work over there. It is a really great opportunity for him, and should give him a nice boost when he comes back.

The original request that they go came just before Christmas. Guy didn’t even consider it initially, because he assumed Charly wouldn’t go (a reasonable assumption, given how long she’d been pushing him to move south to be closer to us). Guy had a lot to sort out, as the company didn’t really know what they needed to do, so let him tell them.

They seem to be settling in a bit better now. All we need to do is get ourselves some passports and fly off to visit them.

OK, so apparently, I’m not very good at keeping up with the about once a week thing then. I guess I’ll be posting very frequently for a bit, to try and keep up (either that or I’ll disappear for another 3 months. One or the other). It’s been so long, I’m not sure anyone even reads this any more.

So, things that have happened since I last posted:

I bought the Zafira. Love it. I never thought I’d be so happy driving around in something so big, but apparently I’m a big fan of mummy mobiles.

The car came in useful when my sister, brother in law, nieces and mother got stuck in America, due to a flight mix up and ended up flying in to one airport when their car was at a different one. A seven seater was very useful for transporting them all.

The car also came in useful when taking Charly, Guy, Rhiannon and Phoebe to the airport. So they could move to South Africa. I can’t believe my sister lives overseas now and will continue to do so for 3 more years. Rohan seems to be OK about it at the moment, but I’m thinking that once they get internet set up and he can see them online, he’s going to resent not having them here to play with. Before they left, Rohan and Phoebe usually saw one another once a week. They were bestest, bestest friends.

My mobile phone died. I left it in my jeans pocket and put them through the washing machine. I want to get a new IPhone when they come out, so currently I am phoneless. Well, I have my sister’s phone, but it is her number, not mine, so doesn’t exactly count.

My mum broke her foot. She was standing on a wobbly chair, fell off and broke a bone, the name of which is currently alluding me. She’s coping reasonably well, but it is making both her life and mine more difficult (mine only in the totally selfish way that she can’t drive to pick up Ro on work days so either I have to drop him off with her or Charles has to come pick him up).

It is very early days, but apparently my Diva Cup does work the way Annika’s does (it just took a month run up). Ro will be a big brother sometime in January/February (Pip2 due 29 January 2010). mUrt has discovered that a 2010 birthday is going to make it easier for him to always know how old the child is.

I have a fun post to make, really I do. Rohan and I dyed some fibre today and I took lots of photos but I can’t post them yet, because they may, or may not be part of a swap.

Instead, today I am blogging about the fact that I have to buy a new car (not new, new, new to me). The electrics have gone on mine. I’ve just spent over £200 on getting a new alternator fitted - which didn’t solve the problem. We were planning on getting a new car soon anyway, so this just pushes it forward. Still I could do without the expense and I’m nervous about driving something so big. I’ve only had fairly small cars (I think the Sunny was the biggest) and we’re planning on getting me a Vauxhall Zafira. It’s a little bit terrifying.

Taken from Cassie (and lots of other people, but Cassie is the one I claimed from).

The first five people who comment here will get something I make. Could be knitted. Could be yarn (handspun). Depends on what I think you will like and my inspirations. (Note, it’s going to be something I think you will like. Actual liking not guaranteed!) The only real rule is that you have to make this offer in your own journal.

As many, many people have already done this, I have no problem with people claiming from me who have already claimed elsewhere. I was thinking that some knitters might like some handspun (though it is still fairly firmly in the chunky category. If you want sock yarn, you’re going to be disappointed.) and non-knitters could have things like scarves, handwarmers or hats (either from handspun or millspun, depending on my mood).

I really need to get some wheel photos taken/posted, so you can see how great my beloved angel wheel is. I also need to get a photo of Ro in his hat and scarf, which he proudly tells anyone who will listen were made by mummy ’round and round’ (his spinning impressions are adorable).

I have no idea why, but Rupert was reading the bedtime story on CBeebies tonight and Ro kept pointing at the screen and saying Daddy. mUrt was sat right there with us, so he could surely see that the clean haven man on the screen did not really resemble his bearded, bespectacled father all that much.

I am hoping that when I post this, my changing to using Firefox on the Mac will mean that I don’t lose all formatting, as I have been doing with recent posts using Safari. It is most annoying. Otherwise, I’m going to have to update. I will do that anyway eventually, but it is effort and this one works just fine (except for the formatting).

Finally, it is my intention to post more in this blog. I have set myself a goal which I won’t fail at straight away, in order to kep up my momentum. I will post at least 52 times during 2009. That is roughly one post a week. I’m not setting one post a week though, because I can guarantee that in about three weeks I’d probably miss a week, then give up. This way, if I go quiet for a few weeks, it doesn’t matter, because I can always post every day for a week and be all caught up. Ideally, I hope I’ll post all of that and more, I’d like to, but I’m trying to set myself some achievable goals.

I’m doing two in one here (I’ve done the third one over on the swap blog) Hopefully this is going to make life simpler for my swap partner.

So, what is your favourite winter warmer for your hands?

Well, I’ve knitted some Fetchings in Posh Yarn Sophia Aran, which I wear all the time, although I think I really need something to cover my whole hands. I have started knitting the Winter Cottage Mittens, also in Posh yarn, but I need to undo them and start again with larger needles, as they are too small for my hands. Also, given that they are my first attempt at fairisle, they are a bit lumpy.

Do you have a favourite pattern or finished object?

Well, I’m rather partial to the Sonata gloves, which I can’t see any way of actually buying from the UK, which is a shame. I think the knotty gloves might be my favourites. They look very elegant.

What is your favourite yarn for gloves/mittens/handwarmers?

Well, I’m very partial to the Posh Yarn Sophia that I used for my Fetchings, but really, anything soft. Oh, and I have a big thing for semi-solid and self-striping yarns (I like variegated too, but that is more difficult to work with.

What is your favourite way of keeping your feet warm?

I love hand knitted socks. Pretty much all that are knitted in 4-ply.

Do you have a favourite pair of socks you reach for to keep your toes toasty?

I really like the Anastasia socks I knitted. They are a bit random. I knitted them in such a way that one goes light to dark and the other goes dark to light. My mum laughs at them, but I love them. Very comfy.

Is there a pair of socks/slippers you have been wanting to make for ages but haven’t got around to?

The ubiquitous monkeys feel like something I really should knit. I haven’t quite got round to it, because they are top down and I like toe up. I had the same issue with Jaywalkers, but I’m now knitting a toe up version. After my attempt at Snicket socks, I have discovered that you can’t just turn them the other way up (I tried, I failed).

What is your favourite yarn to use for socks/slippers?

Once again, I like the multicoloured yarns you can get. The only stipulation I have with sock yarn is that it needs to be superwash if I’m knitting socks from it. It’s a deal I made with my husband. He does the washing and a mixture of machine wash and hand wash socks would defeat him.