Post 621 Darkness and Light

On Thursday I finished the Aurora embroidery, and made the bag on Friday. As my embroidery blog says, I am in love with these panels. 

On my way to shop for Moussaka ingredients for Monday night’s dinner, I swung by Create in Stitch for more threads. The Jacquot panels chew through thread, because they use 6 strands of a limited colour range. While I’ve varied it a bit, the palette works too well to move too far. 

I also bought a couple of packets of 14 count Aida. I find it hard to believe I don’t have a supply of this, but search as I might, none materialised. I really want to have a go at the cross stitch pattern for A Slavic Inspired Purse in the Winter 2025 Piecework magazine. While it recommends 28 count linen I want to try it on Aida. I’ve gridded it up and found the threads, so now it’s in the queue. And, yes, it might have benefitted from an iron, but given the amount of stiffening in it I might wait to see how it hoops up. It’s going to need a wash to remove the stiffener..

We’ve been having trouble with our lobby lights since early Wednesday morning. On Thursday an electrician attempted a fix which was initially intermittently successful, then a total failure.  

As our lobbies have no external light source, they are pitch black without lighting. I resurrected a battery-operated lamp and placed it outside my door before realising there is a power point near the stair door.  I dug out a craft standing lamp and plugged it in. It can be switched on when heading out and turned off when you return,  and replaced with a night light. Pays to be inventive. 

Turns out it was a two electrician job. The booking for a Monday fix was postponed because the electricians were needed at a major fire in a solar panel factory. Today they returned and restored the foyer lights - adjusting the range to significantly improve the coverage from my door. Unfortunately the Exit light over the stair door is still out of action - so they’ll be back.

 On Wednesday I also received notice from OfficeWorks that the two mugs and coasters I had ordered on Boxing Day had arrived. I hastened to pick it up, curious to see if the disappearing picture mug worked. It did! I’m not showing much, as it is personal to a couple of family members, but the mug is initially black. When hot liquid is poured in, the black slowly disappears, revealing the picture underneath. This photo is about halfway through the process.  While the mug is warm, the picture remains, the black returning when it is cold. Magic! 

 

After finishing the Aurora bag mentioned above, I sorted out the remaining panels and bags I have, ironed them  and prepared the next one to embroider,  all detailed in my embroidery blog.

I've managed to make a small birthday bag since then which I'll report on later in the year.

Most of Saturday was spent making moussaka for Monday dinner. I decided to make two smaller rather than one large one - easier to deal with if not everyone turns up. I haven't done a roast for a while, and was tempted, but the temperature is above 30C all week and I'd rather not heat the kitchen up by having the oven on for 3+ hours. While moussaka takes me about 5 hours to make, it's a mixture of oven and cooktop in stages, rather than a constant - and I'm the only one affected.  I was still perspiring by the time I finished.  There were 5 of us for dinner, so the larger of the two sufficed, with enough left for my dinner tonight, and the smaller went home for those who missed out.  

Sunday was Book Club. I now have a data base of the titles we discuss, so take my laptop and add them as we talk. In addition to discussing the 2-3 nominated books, we report on all the other crime fiction we've read since our last meeting. Because that was in late November, there were a lot. I added 70 books to the database during the meeting! I will only attempt to read one or two of them. Today, after my hairdressing appointment, and before stopping at The Grind for 3kg of coffee beans, I called at Dymocks for a copy of Jane Harper’s Last One Out.  The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell is on its way from the World of Books.

That’s enough for me.

While it was only 31C today, its's heating up again, culminating in a forecast 42C on Saturday, which is when I will be giving a presentation and workshop on The Evil Eye in Embroidery at the Guild's Certificate Course Workshop. This afternoon I made a few adjustments and checked the exaample, templates, instructions and construction process.  I've been asked to bring my laptop, so I'm trying to locate a HDMI cable for my Mac. Otherwise I think it will be OK - provided the trading table has a good supply of beads and bling!

I've made a bit of progress on that next Kasia Jacquot panel. With a bit of luck I'll finish it tomorrow. The latest Inspirations magazine arrived today, with a couple of projects I find appealing. I'll take a rain check when I've finished a few more bags - including the Piecework cross-stitch one outlined above.

  

Post 620 Birthday Boost.

I spent all of Wednesday and Thursday inside doing some family history research for a family member with convict pedigree and working on the bag to the left. The temperature reached 43C and on Thursday 44C. I had thought of visiting the supermarket, but had enough food to keep me going so stayed in. Wednesday’s overnight low was 22C and Thursday 23C. I had the Aircon on each day from around 9am until 10pm and a fan on overnight, remaining quite comfortable. I had tuna(in oil, from a tin ) salad for dinner both days, so the stove didn’t go on. Even with solar panels, I clocked up $60 in electricity use over the two days, not something everyone could afford and certainly not sustainable over long period.

Friday got to 32C. By 9am the buzzer system was restored- a simple reset taking 10 minutes max. 🙄.

My granddaughters and I went shopping for silk at Eastern Silk. This is the choice we had. The girls each have a length or two and are working out what to make with it. Although we can all sew, we will plan a visit to a dressmaker when the initial design phase is over. Afterwards we repaired to the Queen Street Cafe for lunch.

On the way home I stopped at the Brickworks to pick up a newly-released book set in New Zealand. It had reached 32C so I did my shopping there, including a good supply of ice blocks, stopping only to mail a parcel on the way home. Around 5pm the temperature was down to 28 and there was a breeze, so I opened up the balcony doors and turned off the aircon. Such a relief! It made for an impressive sunset.

I skimmed the book on Saturday - well written but not my kettle of fish - too slow, too noir, too many voices.

In addition, I spent several hours doing some very specific research for my brother.

As the weather cooled down on Saturday and Sunday I decided to prepare my next knitting project,  the manteau capelet, with the beaded yarn I bought back in September. 

As it was in skeins the first task was  to wind it into balls.

It is knitted from the top down, so it didn't take long to knit the beaded top border before returning to my embroidery.

I haven't knitted with beaded yarn before. It is progressing and proving lovely to knit with.

Yesterday was my birthday - the last in my 70s. I had reluctantly agreed to a visit from the window cleaner at 8.30am. Adrian, who runs the business, had been trying to organise a visit since November, always at short notice and never when I was home.
 I was happy to be able to say Yes at last. By the time the young man actually arrived it was 9.20, and I had taken two birthday calls while alert for the buzzer (now fixed). He did a very good job. When he left I went shopping for milk and fruit, grabbed a Vietnamese salad lunch and settled at home to advance the Ania embroidery. and take more calls and messages.

Just after 6 I headed out to Sammy’s, on the Glenelg Marina for dinner with Adelaide family. We shared a dozen oysters, ate a variety of seafood and had a good time. I was privileged to open a variety of birthday gifts, photographing the totality when I got home. The spectacle case in the front is cork, purchased by Fionn in a Brisbane market - very rare. The wool is grown, spun and hand dyed locally - as soft as down. The bag is made by a local Guild member, the silver pin by a local artist, the pincushion by Niamh herself, the necklace by a Ghanan migrant in Canberra and the felted ball earrings by a Canberra artist. Amazing and brilliant.

Today I took things easy, prepared for a big clean - it's been 4 weeks since the last one because of Christmas, I did a lot of plant tidying and plenty of watering throughout the week. With the heat and watering the mandeville is flowering. I'm a bit worried about the Mulla Mulla. While the stems still have some green, the leaves have died. It has evolved to deal with heat but may not have been well enough established when the heat hit. I can only wait and see.

I finished off the Ania bag this afternoon.Detail in my embroidery blog.

It reached 31C today, a far cry from a week ago. I'm still enjoying the afterglow of the time spent talking to and dining with, family and friends yesterday. Thank you so much to all of you who have been in touch and given me so much friendship and love.

Post 619 Mostly Heat, Health and Happiness.

 

This was the  first photo I took in 2026, about 8am on New Year's Day 2026 from my back balcony. The business of the city is just visible in the top left hand corner - a high rise and a crane. The second photo I took had more balcony and no sign of city building. That's the one I posted to Instagram and FB, but I think the first is appropriate here.

There is a lot of building going on in the city and suburbs as the City Council and State Government prepare for growth. Hopefully they continue to manage that well, and to keep greening the city.

I did my bit on New Year's Day by heading to a nursery with a mental note of empty spots and pots I wanted to fill.   I came home with a punnet of petunias, a pummet of marigolds, a lisiantus, a frangipani and a Ptilitis Mulla Mulla. The last is an Australian desert plant with slightly mauve tufted flowers. I haven't tried it before, so here's hoping. 

It was 30C when I arrived home and unloaded them. I planted all but the marigolds. and watered them all well.  The roots of some of them had reached the limits of their pots, which I should have expected at this time of year.  The lisianthus, in particular, was a bit of a concern. 

They were all looking perky, however, the next day, when I planted out the marigolds. I had to remove a dead lavender bush from this pot before planting them, so it took a bit of time.  It hadn't reached the forecast peak of 31C but was still hot, so everything got watered again. I'll need to keep that up for the rest of Summer. Today it has reached 35C and tomorrow is forecast to be 42C. With daily watering they are all looking good.

I fasted overnight on New Year's Day, so I could do a blood test on Friday morning, ready for a check-up with my GP. My closest pathology lab was closed for the Christmas period, so I drove to North Adelaide. I wasn't sure if they would be busy or quiet during a holiday period. There was no waiting at all. I had a quick look around the very quiet North Adelaide Village Shopping Centre, bought grapes and cheese and came home for breakfast. 

I managed to finish the Spritz cardigan just after midnight on New Year's Eve. The details are in my embroidery blog. I'm delighted to enter 2026 without this on my to-do list! 

I'm now working on another Kasia Jacquot Veronka to add to a bag. That was what sent me off to Spotlight on Saturday. I store each of these panels with a Semco cotton craft bag on to which the finished panel will be stitched. I couldn’t find the cotton craft bag I thought I had stored with the panel. The bags were on sale at Spotlight, so I
bought a supply.  Of course, when I got home I found the missing one! No matter, I have now matched up all the panels I have left to bags. There are ten more panels/bags once I finish this one. And five bags left over for my own designs. One day.

I also called at Eastern Silk, an emporium of imported textiles of all sorts. They are closing in six months and selling off all their stock. I was looking for silk remnants to make another batch of gift bags. They had no remnants, but a room full of rolls of silk. I ended up choosing 5 rolls. The owner did a rough calculation of what was left on each roll and offered a price.  I ended up with 20 metres at an average of $14.50 a metre. The original prices were between $39 and $60 a metre. 

If I follow my original intention, it will make  100 or so bags. I have, however, offered the pieces to family members in case someone would like to have something made. 

There is 6.6 metres of the lovely, floaty orange, and the patterned.  blue would make a beautiful shirt.   I’m not sure I’m prepared to cut up 6.6 metres of silk for bags.   I, however, have more than enough clothes. 

It brings back memories though. I had several silk suits made when working and travelling. They packed small, looked good, and were comfortable in hot weather - even in Darwin where I visited frequently.

I also bought a loose cotton dress from a rack of many, all labelled All size. It was gathered from below the bust and was generous when I checked it against my hips - the usual sticking point. At home, however, it was the bust and shoulders that didn’t fit! I was hoping one of the women in the family can find a use for it but that is looking unlikely. I loved the bright colours and thought it would keep the wearer cool in summer.  I may have to turn it into bags!

I had woken that morning with an ache in my right sacroiliac joint, apparently from the way I’d been sleeping. 

My left sacroiliac joint is damaged from an old fall, but this ache was new. It persisted throughout the day, but didn’t trouble me when I went to bed. I woke around 6am on Sunday, however, with it aching again, and also with an ache in one eye. I applied one of the disposable eye masks and dozed off for the half hour the warmth lasted, after which I got up, heated a wheat bag and applied it to my back, arising pain-free for breakfast.💪🏼 The ache returned a few times during the day and again at night. Heat seems to work -  Deep Heat Rub less effective that hot wheat bag.                                                                                                  It didn't stop me taking down the Christmas decorations. It's a day earlier than my mother dictated - 5 January being the 12th day of Christmas. I was going to be busy on Monday, so risked breaking tradition. I left the angel and bird hanging on my flyscreen where they catch the light. Cards are still arriving, so they also stayed.                                                                                                                                                                         

 Yesterday I had an appointment for a full health care assessment with both my GP and the nurse. This is required under the government health plan that gives me access to some services at no or low fee . To my astonishment, the nurse’ assessment took nearly one and a half hours - asking questions, checking records, measuring. She was brilliant- personable, astute, considerate, interested.  When she had finished I saw my GP who added some further questions about my social and mental well-being. He also had and discussed my blood test results.  My blood sugars are lower than last time (when they were ok) and my kidney is doing ok.  I came home very happy with plenty of time to marinate the Chicken Marylands in lemon and honey, bake  the potatoes and bacon  and make a Greek salad for dinner - another relaxed and happy time. 

I have a GP appointment in April to check on kidney and get my flu shot, and a nurse appointment to check on the plan progress in August.  So fortunate.

This morning I had a podiatry appointment - one of the services subsidised by the health plan.  I spent the rest of the day doing a bit of family history research for a family member, inside, escaping the 35C heat. Tomorrow is forecast as 42C, and the rest of the week not much better. I don't like the heat, but I can manage it.

The Veronka embroidery is almost finished. I expect to finish it tomorrow and maybe make the bag. I won't be meeting my walking goal outside in the heat but might manage a few turns around the apartment - or even the supermarket. And there are plenty more embroidery and research projects to keep me relaxed and happy.

Post618 A few challenges, much community and joy.

 

I picked up the dress from the Post Office on Christmas Eve after a message saying it couldn’t be delivered. I assumed  the driver hadn’t bothered stopping. Then our Strata Rep discovered her buzzer was not working. It seems that while the reboot last week fixed my ability to provide entry, it did not fix the buzzer itself. All my complaints about delivery service were unwarranted - the buzzer system for our whole pod is out of action, and had probably been so for a week before Christmas! The company that services it is closed until sometime in January. Fortunately, the urgency of parcel delivery is  now over. Visitors need to phone for me to let them in.

The dress, described online as linen and cotton turns out to be fabric linen, trim cotton, meaning that, apart from the thin green binding along the front edge, the dress is linen. I would not have bought it had I known that. As much as I like linen, I do not like ironing. However, it proved fortuitous. After wearing it all Christmas Day, including driving in it (the critical test in my experience), it was barely crushed.      

I went to bed at 9.30pm on Christmas Day, waking a couple of times, but sleeping for at least 10 hours.

It had been a lovely, and not very strenuous day, mostly sitting around, inside and outside with one daughter’s family, while gifts were exchanged and opened, stories were told (or, mostly, retold) and food consumed, followed by a joyful phone catchup with my other daughter. I guess the effort of getting to this point caught up with me. The food, with no input whatsoever from me, was superbe.  The crowns, incidently, were well received.

I had little energy for anything on Boxing Day. I managed to change and wash my bed linen before settling in to read Murder on the Great Ocean Walk , stopping only to make some spaghetti with pesto around 3pm - a carbohydrate treat for Christmas. 

I also opened the Panettone I had foolishly bought. A very generous slice each day over five days with my morning coffee took care of that. I am registering an extra  0.5kg on my now reliable bathroom scales and need to take care of that before I see my GP on 5 January.

There was a bit of noise from the pub when I got home on Saturday night, the sound of people relaxed and happy. The pub looks quite quaint from my balcony at night.

I couldn’t get a decent shot of the moon but it could have been an Oberon and Titania night in the Square - with a little help from electricity.

On Monday morning, in 38C, I went shopping for a Beijing duck for my stir fry dinner. The shop, near the Adelaide Central Market, that sells them fresh each day, opens at 11am. On my way out I ran into our Strata rep. As we stood in the foyer talking the neighbour moving out of the first floor was bringing her last furniture down in the lift, so we acted as door openers and holders. The apartment is sold but we have no information about the new owner. 

On my return, with duck, broccoli, bean sprouts and a supply of serviettes, I met Alec, another new tenant, at the lift. He now lives below me. We got in the lift together and registered our floors. The lift doors closed. The lift doors opened. The lift doors closed. The lift doors opened. Eventually we got out. The doors continued their dance. I rang the Strata rep. She rang the lift company. We came up the stairs. Alec kindly waited to see I made it to the 3rd floor. I sent messages to the 5 family members coming for dinner offering a postponement in light of the lift situation. They were made of sterner stuff and prepared for stairs (as well as no buzzer). 

Just after 4pm the Strata rep declared the lift fixed! Family arrived carrying my Christmas detritus and my TerraCycle box, successfully delivered to their place. The stir fry hit the spot. I didn’t photograph it in the rush to get my timing right - and I forgot to add the bean sprouts, but it made for a relaxed and companionable evening. So grateful for the support and love.

Leftovers for late lunch today and the bean sprouts  will go in duck soup made from the bones. That will be my New Year's Eve treat.

The last batch of printed Bishops' Bags arrived today. That's 11 days from my order - printed and delivered from China. Faster than the Christmas cards that arrived today - 13 days from Eastern Australia!

More detail in my embroidery blog.

I managed to finish the sleeves on my cardigan last night. Today I stitched the pieces together. While the sleeves look tiny, they are not. The body is large and the shoulders come well down the arms, to just above the elbow. The photo was taken with the left-hand edge band on the needle. Tonight I am stitching the band. I won't be sorry to see it finished.

I've had a joyful and productive week and wish everyone a Peaceful, Happy New Year. 

Post 617. Christmas Wishes

I managed to mend (at least for now) the glass angel whose head had come away from the solder, so my nativity is now only missing shepherds.

I spent Wednesday morning at CMI Toyota, knitting and emailing while my car was serviced. Just before 7am, Couriers Please informed me they would deliver the bishop cushions that morning, but I managed to contact them and redirect the delivery to the Pack and Send down the road. All power to Couriers Please! 

I was not as fortunate the next day, when I cancelled Pilates and waited in all day for a delivery that never came! While the courier left a delivery card, they did not ring. The system records attempts, and there were none. I have now learned from reliable sources that some courier companies tell couriers not to ring apartments because it takes too much time! I now have the bags. The account of the new merchandise is in my embroidery blog. 

As I was confined to barracks on Thursday, waiting for a courier who didn't come, I decided to wash all my woollens. I put the 9 merino ones in the washing machine  and the five possum merino in the sink to hand-wash. I dried the machine lot first, a bit of turning and bone dry in 3 hours. 

I then spread out the possum merino ones dripping wet. This, at least, is a very good job jobbed.   

I had tickets to the Messiah at the Cathedral on Friday night, but after a lot of thought, gave it a miss. The temperature on Wednesday and Thursday was 39C and 40C, and forecast as 30C on Friday. The Cathedral has no cooling system and the heat builds up over several days. The deciding factor, however, was the cricket. The Cathedral is within an easy walk of the Adelaide Oval, and when a match is on, all parking around the Cathedral is restricted Event parking. As the third Ashes Test Match was in it's third day, scheduled to finish at 6pm, parking for a 7,00pm performance at the Cathedral was sure to be challenging. I opted out.  The attendance over 5 days was 223,638 a record for Adelaide Oval, so a good decision.

Apart from a couple of big supermarket shops and visits to an Art shop and the Post Office,  most of Friday and Saturday was spent adjusting the print on the Bishop bags. On Sunday I ordered 6 more, this time in a paler background colour, in the hope the printing will be clearer. I've organised for these to be delivered to my daughter's home.🤞 I'm hoping this will now be enough bags for those interested.

Once that was done I put the cricket on the television and set to work to get my Christmas gifts in order. I'm missing some of the Christmas sacks with initials on them for each grandchild, but as they are all now adults, and I have no shortage of gift bags, I improvised.  The bags are slowly turning up in unexpected places and I will swap on the day.

I haven't watched a cricket match for decades. As a child I heard the cricket on the radio throughout summer - pretty much everyone listened, and my family certainly did. On Sunday it proved very entertaining. Both sides went all out, making mistakes, but nevertheless demonstrating enormous skill and tenacity.  It was cricket at its best, and uplifting to watch, regardless of who won.

I kept watching until stumps, finishing the second front of my cardigan while doing so. I think I rather overdid making it larger. It is more a coat than a cardigan - but that's good. I've started on the sleeves. I was tempted to knit the two together on the same needles, as my mother and grandmother would have done, to ensure they are identical, but decided to keep it simple. If I managed to match the two fronts working them separately I can manage the same for the two sleeves.

The Christmas emails, eCards and calls keep coming in and four more cards came in Monday's post. I do so love getting the updates. It really lifts my spirits. It's my community, connected strongly over distance.

Monday's dinner was a sausage and vegetable bake, the original recipe from Ken Cock, the dear friend who died this year. My version has many more vegetable varieties than his, but still holds his memory. The photo, of course, is before  cooking! 

As family began to arrive my buzzer failed to work. That heaven for phones! I could go down and let them in. I reported the problem to the Strata. This morning I checked with my neighbour, and placed a sign over my buzzer instructing deliverers to buzz her. Our Strata rep, just back from a 2 week holiday, checked with other reps (the key one of whom was on holiday in Thailand!), then came up and showed me how to reboot my connection. It worked!  My buzzer is now operational! A learning curve for all of us. 

Apart from 2 parcels I have re-routed, I am still waiting on a couple of deliveries one of which is a dress I ordered to wear on Christmas Day. It was meant to arrive yesterday by Express delivery, but appears stuck in Melbourne - no surprise at this time of the year. It is now at Melbourne Airport, so pretty unlikely to arrive tomorrow.🤷

The weather has cooled a little. and is forecast to stay this way until  the weekend. By that I mean 23C-26C  - comfortable for eating outside, not pretty snowflake weather. 

The doves were back today, finding spots where the tiles were warm, but not too hot, to groom and fluff up their feathers, managing to look a bit dishevelled but nevertheless helping each other  to get it together.

Let's shake out our feathers, and help each other to peace and goodwill this Christmas.