Wednesday 23 April 2014

40 winks and other randomness

Do you sleep well? Do you spring out of bed, full of the joys of spring, refreshed and ready to face the day?  Seems that I have reached an age where sleep quality is often up for discussion.  I have friends who wake at 5am and can't get back to sleep and others who struggle to drag themselves out of bed when the alarm goes off.  Do you fit into either of those groups? There's a new app that is causing interest and controversy around here. It's called Sleep Cycle and it monitors your sleep patterns. I have a theory that my quality of sleep depends on many other factors. One of which being the fact that I am married to a snorer ;-)
So we have both used this app, and it takes 5 days to calibrate before it can give you details of your sleep patterns. My graphs are totally different to my husband's. Mine are like this
Whereas he has much longer periods of deep sleep. I thought that meant his was the better nights sleep, but it turns out that it isn't. See those peaks of almost being awake? That equals times when he was snoring - aha, I now have proof! 
 
We were back to school yesterday after the two week Easter break. Boy did it feel bad to be back. Oh well, only 4 weeks to half term! However, I did discover that the new member of staff who has joined the English Faculty is quite a character.  He's Australian and is an ex-circus performer.  He looks a little eccentric with a beard and moustache that is curled up at the ends (think Hercule Poirot) I think the girls are going to find him quite different to the person whose job he is replacing.  She was middle aged, shorter than me (yes, I know!  Who would have thought it was possible?) and a vicar's wife.  He gave me advice on my failed attempts to hula hoop.  How can someone who is quite proficient on the Wii not be able to keep a hula hoop at waist level for more than one rotation?
 
I'm on the search for a new craft.  Sian has planted a seed of inspiration to learn a granny square in my brain and of course Denise is a super crocheter.  So I hunted through my knitting bag,and lo and behold I found a crochet hook and some wool from the 80s when my friend Linda and I went to evening craft classes.  I left my husband downstairs watching some tv programme that held no interest for me and went upstairs with hook, wool and ipad to do a bit of 'you tubing'.  It was late.  I was tired.  Things did not go well.  My hook was tiny (2.5mm) and my wool was fluffy.  Things did not go according to plan.  The lady on the video spoke and crocheted really quickly and although I soon remembered how to hold the wool and the hook and do a chain, other things didn't seem right.  Then she said 'Don't forget, I'm American, if you're watching this in the UK, we call things by different names, what we call a double is a treble over there.'  Well that explained a lot about why I was confused!
So, today.  Day off.  Hobbycraft is calling.  I've been in touch with the crochet guru (aka Denise) and she's told me what I need.  I've warned her that she may be hearing from me quite a lot.  She said she didn't mind but I'm wondering if she realises just how many questions I may have?

9 comments:

Sian said...

Yep, I'm married to a snorer too. But funny, - ask him and he'll say the same thing...

ooh, Granny squares! I'm going as fast as I can on my bright blanket. It's for the end of TSO's bed and she says it has to be taller than she is so she can pull it over her head. I think I'm about two thirds there, and once it's finished I'll be Grannying too.

Fiona@Staring at the Sea said...

Another here who's married to a snorer. It's a common affliction I fear! I'm in the wake between 5 and 6am camp. I don't bother trying to get back to sleep any more. I just get up and stream an episode of something. Now it's lighter, I can (hand) sew instead/as well.

I really must give the crochet another go. I am just so cackhanded at it!

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Having already seen your Instagram, I can say how proud I am of you figuring out the granny square AND a flower!!! Are you officially addicted yet? Your first granny square looks a whole lot neater than my first.

The sleep app is interesting! Fortunately, Doug isn't a big snorer. I'm one of those who wakes up early (5:00-ish) and can't go back to sleep.

Denise said...

Yay - your crocheting is fab. I dread to think what that app would make of my sleep patterns!!
Oh the snoring - especially after a Guiness !!!

ComfyMom~Stacey said...

Glad to see you are giving crochet a try! It's my favorite fiber art! I'm still working on a hat. Maybe I'll have it done in time for fall.

Amy said...

Sleep always brings up a lot of issues doesn't it?! TE is a snorer and has been since way before I met him, luckily I go to sleep very quickly but I do have the radio playing through an ear bud to drown out the noise a bit. Unfortunately that then has ramifications for the quality of my own sleep!

Sandie said...

I have to be up at 5am for work so going back to sleep would be a joy for me! Luckily I don't have problems sleeping as a rule but I like the sound of the app.
I am impressed with your crocheting. I have trouble at the ends and often forget to increase a chain, so instead of straight sides it ends up an odd shape. I have a bag of granny squares that I used for practice and I did enjoyed learning to crochet. Perhaps practice will help me master it one day and I will know where to come for top tips!
My latest new-craft is rag-rug making....

Maria Ontiveros said...

I used my fitbit to look at my sleep patterns. Mainly I don't get enough overall hours. Sadly, I lost my charger so I haven't tracked anything for a while.
Rinda

Anonymous said...

Another one married to a snorer although he says it's me. As for sleep I wake up any time between 2 and 5. DH gets up for work at 4:30 (but that's only for 9 more weeks) so I sometimes feel like I just may as well stay up if it's near to his getting up time. You've got me wondering what I did with the afghan I crocheted. Hmmmm