Post 635 Friends and Neighbours

I almost missed the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra morning concert last Wednesday. I had subscribed back in October last year and filed it under “bookings” rather than “subscriptions”. In the past, tickets were sent out as a set, initially by mail, then as an email. The most recent practice (unannounced) is to sent an e-ticket a few days before the event. I need to adjust my record keeping. I had agreed to help out at a Guild event on the same morning and was willing to forego the concert, but the Guild organiser kindly found a replacement for me. 

I enjoyed the concert from my seat in the front row. I don’t recall sitting so close before. While it provides a lot of interest (as well as interactions and playing styles, an excellent view of varied shoes!) it is easy to lose the overall sweep on the piece unless I  close my eyes. The Horn Concerto, though, was fantastic from my vantage point. 

Afterwards I visited the Art Gallery for a last quick look at the Love and Devotion in Asian Art exhibition that finished on Sunday. The Cafe was too crowded for me to stay for lunch, although the new menu was enticing.

Saturday was Anzac Day - traditionally a public holiday on the day itself, the 25th April. 2 States and the ACT have now broken with tradition, adding a holiday on the following Monday when the 25th falls on a weekend. The remaining 4 States and the Northern Territory adhere to the tradition. This means most businesses, including supermarkets, were closed here on Saturday. Others, like garden centres and hotels open only in the afternoon - to show respect to the dawn services and Anzac Day Marches that take place in cities and towns throughout the country. 

I don't attend either of these, but I do always remember family members who served in both World Wars. This year I added both my grandmothers to those I honoured.  Although they never met, both grandmothers gave birth during the war. Nell, my maternal grandmother,  on the left, gave birth to my Uncle Albert a year before the outbreak of WWI.. Her husband. my grandfather, enlisted in August 2014 and my Aunty Grace was born in May 1915. She was two years old before her father saw her. He sent postcards and Nell managed on her own, no doubt with some help from her 10 siblings. 

Ada, my paternal grandmother, gave birth to a son in December 1915, while her husband was serving in France. The child died 15 months later. Neither of these women were well off. What must life have been like for them, keeping the home fires burning, Nell 21 when War broke out, Ada 18?

I made my usual batch of Anzac biscuits on Friday in preparation, saving them from burning just in time. I like them crispy - which is just as well!

There was a bit of drama around our carpark. Access is via a button on a fob. These were all programmed as one - so that the theft of one meant reprogramming them all. The Strata Committee have found an app that enables individual programming so individual fobs can be taken off the system. Our Strata president nominated an hour on the morning of Anzac Day when we could take our fobs to the carpark for reprogramming. That meant a bit of a scramble to retrieve fobs from family members at very short notice. We managed it, thanks to Anthony. Then, on Sunday night the carpark entry door jammed, so had to be cranked and left open overnight before repairers came and had it fixed by 11am Monday morning.

On the way home from Pilates on Thursday I called at Dymocks and picked up a copy of the latest in the Tea Lady series. On Friday I did my Monday dinner shop since supermarkets would be closed the following day, and visiting the Post Office to pick up a book for our May Book Club meeting which I had not been home to receive.

Over the weekend I managed to read both of them. Both were really good, the Tea Ladies rather too much so. I lived through that era in Sydney and recognise the world and people it so vividly conjures. It left me depressed. I tried to summarise my feelings in my review. 

The Book Club pick  was my first by Peter James. I chose it out of curiosity as to how a writer goes about a novel featuring living people. I was surprised and impressed.

The weather has been warm - a pleasant mid-20s Indian Summer. 

Partly as a result of the fob-reprogramming exercise, another drama unfolded when my immediate neighbours locked themselves out of their apartment late yesterday. I could let them into the building, but not their apartment. They couldn't contact their son who had a spare key so they shelterd with me while I was cooking dinner and we waited for a locksmith. I could, at least, offer them an Anzac biscuit! Their son eventually found the message, cancelled the locksmith and arrived an hour later - his concern manifesting itself in blustering attempts to exert control and allot blame. Order (and apartment access for my neighbours) was restored before my dinner guests arrived. Today I've had lengthy discussions with my neighbours, the son has apologised, we've worked out how to keep calm and carry on - and laughed.

That's in between the podiatrist, swimming and  Shane arriving at 8.30am to finish the installation of the drip tray in my ceiling.  The sponges are to muffle the sound of any drips which collect. If I hear more drips, the system is not working and I ring Shane who will attempt to get here in time to actually see it happening through the manhole.

While we both hope this doesn't happen, neither of us would be sad if Shane  were the appointed worker on future repair projects. He is a teacher as well as a maintenance man. I now have a clear idea of the ceiling space and the ventilation system. It seems the vents I had barely noticed in the balcony ceiling are critical to ceiling airflow, which enables evaporation and assists in heating and cooling.  They need cleaning. How this can be achieved depends on whether or not they play a part in fire management. Fortunately, this is already on the agenda of the next Strata Management Committee. Serendipity!

On Saturday, I found that, after all, I did need to wind the second skein of wool to finish the Chapter and Skein shawl.

I finished the shawl this evening. This is it straight off the needles. I will block it tomorrow. The crude measurements hopefully give a sense of size.  It used 1280gms of wool, leaving 720 gms, which I might try using for a beanie. I may, however, slip in an embroidery project first.

Post634. Plenty to see and do.

 

Last Thursday I woke to this sunrise, taking the first photo from my bed. By the time I got outside for a closer look, the first flight out of Adelaide to Melbourne was visible -  it's the dot in the grey sky slightly to the right of the middle in the photo below.

The red sky didn't, I think, amount to trouble for either local shepherds or sailors. On Sunday morning I  took a series of photos of the plane as it disappeared Eastwards - here right at the top of the photo. The Sunday sky was more pink than red - and was grey within 2-3 minutes.

I spent much of the week indoors. 

On Wednesday Shane and his apprentice arrived at 8.15am and set to work to drape my living room with drop sheets, before the top half of one worker disappeared into the ceiling. I had a doctor’s appointment at 9.30, so left them to it. I had my flu shot, and a long conversation with my GP about my blood test results from the week before. He, like the nephrologist, is happy with the results. My kidney is in good shape. My sugar level is OK and my weight stable. He says if I were 15 years younger he would suggest further weight loss, but at my age lifestyle is more important! I’m not sure that’s a great rule to live by, so I will continue to watch my weight and work slowly on a reduction.

When I returned home,  Shane was convinced, as he has long suspected, that this leak is under the solar panels. 

They have now installed a drip tray in my ceiling.  Several hours was spent re-plastering and repainting, with several trips to paint shops to find the exact colour for both wall and ceiling, so it doesn't refllect or show when the light direction changes.

They finally cleaned up and left at 4.15pm and will be back to add a connecting drain pipe from the ingress point to the tray.

I sat in the living room and knitted or wrote for the entire time. I like to hear their conversation. Shane is a great teacher, constantly engaging, explaining, showing, instructing and tasking the apprentice in a clear and supportive way.

I also now have a neat and tidy manhole ready for future inspections.  

I had been toying with the idea of cooking quail one Monday night. We used to cook it fairly frequently a couple of decades ago and I had almost forgotten. It turns out, however, that it is no longer easily available in Adelaide.  I checked with my local supermarket on Friday, but contrary to what their website says, they don't stock them. I'll investigate further, but in the meantime, eggplant is in season, and my butcher had freshly minced lamb.

Saturday proved to be quite busy. I spent much of it making Moussaka, in between making phone calls for my neighbour who had lost her phone.  Turns out she had left it at the supermarket checkout in the city.  In the afternoon, from 2.30pm- 5.50pm there was a concert in the Square, featuring two bands and a soloist. Their music was more soothing and melodic than last year's concert. I could hear, but not see the performers. This is the back of the crowd, facing the stage out of sight to the right of the photo.

In the evening, dinner was at a restaurant, to celebrate the 13th birthday of a family friend. Really relaxed. I'm not sure if my gift of cricketing books will prove a long-term interest, but it is well worth a try.

I spent most of Sunday finishing a special knitting project I had decided on for an upcoming birthday. It was intense and slightly complicated work, but produced a good result which I will reveal in due course. I am now  back on the Chapter and Skein shawl, which is a lovely, gentle project. I am only just over halfway through the first skein, so rather think one skein will be sufficient.

Books keep arriving safely. Illuminated Knits contains four patterns: a blanket, two shawls and a top, all with Celtic knot patterns.  Food for thought, rather than a rush to execute.

The Embroidery of Mexico is, without a doubt, the best I've seen on the topic. It contains detailed information about the stitches and templates of the embroidery traditions of very specific geographic areas. 

It is a treasure trove.

Today another of the Kathleen Herbert lecture reprints arrived: again, really useful background for my August talk. 

This, I think, is the last Ive ordered, so now to get down to writing.  

Today I managed to swim - 700 metres in half an hour. It’s good to be back in the pool.  Fortuitously, the temperature today, the middle of Autumn, was 30C.

Afterwards I called at Barrow and Bench hardware store. Yesterday I called there to buy a screw for a door handle that has been hanging off the wardrobe on one screw for months. When the remaining screw gave way I finally took it to find a replacement. After an enormous amount of assistance from Karen, I bought a replacement handle that came with screws. 

The problem was, the screws had to be cut to the right length. We took a punt, and Karen cut and filed them, telling me to return if the screws were too long. They were - hence today’s trip. Another worker cheerfully cut them again for me - extraordinary service for a $4.50 purchase! I also bought a couple of plants. 

The handle is now fully restored and functional. 

This afternoon I went through the pattern books accompanying the embroideries I mentioned last week.

Most are vintage knitting books that will go to a good home. A couple are crochet patterns, including this book of crocheted swimwear. 

I wonder if any Guild members will be tempted to give them a try?

                                                                     

Post 633 Quite a busy week.

1

WES Group was well attended last Wednesday with 16 people to hear Janet talk about Japanese Fukusa. There must have been 50+ varied examples. My favourite were those depicting the Takasago legend of the old couple, Jo and Uba,  who appear from Lake Takesako, to spend time under a pine tree setting the world to rights. She sweeps away the old pine needles with her broom while he rakes in good fortune.  

The Fukusa are beautifully decorated cloths placed over ritual presentation gifts. Most are woven and many embroidered.

In the gap between our meeting and the afternoon help session, Margaret helped me examine and make notes on an embroidery collection belonging to a work colleague of a family member. Most of it will, I think, end up on the Guild trading table.

I was too focused on ensuring the Gallery was left in the condition we found it to remember to check the supply of hoops on the trading table, which had been renewed the day before, so I returned after Pilates on Thursday and indulged in ten small presentation hoops. I may never use them, but my supply is depleted by the Celtic symbols I embroidered for the Early Medieval Period talk, and the hoops have proved really useful for displaying such small items. 

I felt, however, the urge to move to a larger embroidery project, so dug out the needlepoint Poppies cushion I bought last year. 

The only reliable way to tackle it is on my slate frame and Lowery, so I spent a couple of hours setting it up. It takes up quite a lot of room but is not difficult to move. Progress is slow. It’s 18” square and 10 thread count. I reckon this is at least an 85 hour project, given the time it takes to identify, choose, thread and stitch each colour. It’s also a little awkward to work, demanding regular posture adjustment. So far I've stitched a section 8"x 2' which took 4-6 hours. 

I shopped on Friday but couldn’t get lamb shanks anywhere at my local shopping centre. It was a big football weekend in Adelaide, with multiple games being played at several venues, and road closures around the city. The sky turned on a celebratory rainbow around 4pm. 

I tracked the lamb shanks down online at Frewville, fortunately in the opposite direction to the football venues. As most of the family had tickets on Saturday night, Katherine and I enjoyed a quiet meal down the road at The Greek.

Our Book Club met at Magill on Sunday. I plotted a ring route to avoid the many road closures on the more direct route, and got mildly lost. I hadn’t read the books, but there was still plenty to talk about and 62 books added to our database. I’ve ordered a second-hand copy of The Hawk is Dead by Peter James for our May meeting. The other two suggested books are thrillers, which I avoid and I am interested to check out how a fiction book is constructed around living people. I have a feeling I may not get to the meeting anyway, as I have a commitment well on the opposite side of the city later the same day.

The lamb shanks turned out well. I experimented with the vegetables (broccolini and bok choi), leaving them in iced water,  draining and tossing them into the lamb ragu at the last minute and removing from the heat after 1 minute. It worked well. The ragu was still a bit too liquid but no one seemed to mind. There was bread to soak it up.

The books I've ordered to help with my August talk are still arriving roughly on the expected timeline. There are snippets of information in each one, helping me to build the picture I want. Much of it is things I've forgotten from Uni studies decades ago. The Old English word man, for example, is gender neutral, meaning 'person' or 'human' and people are frequently referred to in early texts as 'weapon person' or ' weaving person'. 

This morning’s coffee meeting didn’t happen as my friend was ill, so I took the opportunity to drop into the city and buy a replacement for my kitchen scales.  Recommended by Choice, the new ones are slightly larger than the old and have both a high capacity (10kg) and a precision pad. It still, however, fits in my available storage space. The old one did its work for at least 20 years and is now awaiting the next curb side pickup.

Caleb turned up around 3.30pm to examine my TV, quickly finding a broken aerial cable inside the back of the TV, which, he is sure, must have been faulty. He made a temporary repair with tape and the signal was restored. After consulting with the boss, he disconnected the cable, headed to the wholesaler, returned and replaced it. My TV is now working again! I can now watch South Australian News in Adelaide time, rather than streaming from NSW in Eastern Standard Time! I celebrated with a non-alcoholic margarita.

The Chapter and Skein shawl is coming along nicely. I've used 40%-50% of the first of two skeins.I'm still not sure if I will need to use the second skein. It's relaxed knitting - a 6 line pattern in which only one row isa true patterned row. It's nice yarn to handle. 

Shane, my drip entry-point-finding hero, is due at 8am tomorrow. I have a lot of faith in his skill and persistence. The difficulty may come in getting agreement on an intervention beyond plugging the latest hole. I'm a bit buoyed by the television fix today - and grateful that I have such tradies available to help.

Better get some sleep.

Post 632 A lot going on

It's been a week with quite a lot on my mind, perhaps it's the Paschal moon. Wednesday began with a dash to the Guild to have my laptop tagged. It was the annual visit of an electrician to check and tag any machines used at the Guild. We needed to get the portable screen we are now using at WES, and any laptops likely to be used with it, tagged.

There was a bit of shopping to be done to get through the 4 day break. I made a full batch of chocolate crackle nests. 

Last week I was wondering if the shawl I had finished would go with the orange dress. I'm still unsure. I haven't actually tried it on yet. I did, however, find a small orange bag at a the Hahndorf leather shop. I ordered it to be delivered rather than drive up the Hills in current petrol situation. It arrived today. This is the shawl draped over the dress.  The bag will certainly work, with or without the shawl, but I'm hopeful it just might all work. The account of the shawl is in my embroidery blog.

 I moved quickly on to the  North Star Shawl  by Helen Stewart, the pattern I had chosen for the wool for the Chapter and Skein project. I'm very pleased with it, but set it aside over Easter to progress some embroidery.

As is now a tradition, Katherine and Niamh made hot cross buns on Good Friday. Lots of hot cross buns. I went to sample them as they came out of the oven.  Somehow I forgot to photograph the many trays. They were truly delicious. I had to ration myself to keep my weight under contol. 

I would normally have kept my Easter offering for Easter Sunday, but this year, Fionn's 21st birthday fell on Easter Saturday, so the family celebration focused on that, rather than Easter Sunday. I didn't want to confuse the birthday with Easter celbration, so I took my offering on Good Friday - a basket of felt Easter animals and some nests. The full details are in my embroidery blog account.

Late on Thursday I had a phone call to say the cabinet I had ordered in December to go behind my new TV was ready. The caller agreed that if I approved of it once I saw it,  it would fit on the back seat of my car and if I brought a blanket to wrap it in, two of their staff would help me load it, warning that I would need help at my end to unload it.  They were open on Saturday, so before heading out to Fionn's birthday lunch, I picked it up. Two men carried it to my car wrapped it in the doona I had provided, insisting on securing it in the seat belts - and the need for two people to unload at my end.

I had, of course, throught I'd give it a go on my own, but after watching them and their own precautions, I changed my mind and negotiated for Fionn to call in on Saturday morning to help me. 

We got it in place relatively easily. I had designed it so no cords needed to be detached to install it, since there had been a lot of effort to get the TV tuned. In spite of that, when I turned it on, there was no signal. The aerial cord was still connected at both ends but, while I have internet and streaming, no free-to-air TV.  I have contacted B&O and organised for the installing electricians to come next week and hopefully fix it.

The birthday party was a huge success, fuelled by a tonne of food and beverages. I had a lovely time catching up with a few family friends I haven't seen for a long time. It was a a very relaxed afternoon and Fionn, I think enjoyed it. Such gatherings are reviving and uplifting.  

As mentioned above, I switched to embroidery for a bit. I  finished another Kasia Jacquot panel and bag. A joy to work on.  Again, the detail is in my embroidery blog.

Most of Sunday and Monday was spent working on embroideries of Celtic symbols for my talk on the Legacy of Embroidery in the Early Medieval Period.  I am concerned about breaching copyright in using photos in a public presentation, so have drawn and embroidered these myself

I finished four and am well on the way with the fifth. They are quite tricky to draw and embroider symetrically and mine are far from perfect. This last one, in particular, has involved a lot of unpicking.

The weather has been mostly pleasantly in the low to mid 20s. It rained heavily on Sunday afternoon and my drip was back. The blessed Shane is booked to come and do his magic tomorrow week. I'm expecting this time he will install a drip tray.

I haven't swum this week. Too much going on and the pool closed over the Easter break. I'm hoping to make it on Friday. 

I hope readers had a happy and restful Easter.

Post 631 Turn, turn, turn.

Wednesday was swimming, then a quick trip to the Guild to hand over the book won in the raffle last week. A lot of interest in it from the Library Team, but it will need to go through the formal selection process. If it isn’t accepted I want it back - to give to the woman who really wanted to win it! 

After hanging out my wet towel and bathers when I got home, I headed over to the pub for a late lunch. I was hungry and still on a high from the NLA announcement. The trees in the Square are looking good. It was 31C and clear blue sky. 

The parcel I mailed with anxiety the day before reached its destination after a  runaround. I didn't realise that nominating extra insurance cover necessitated a signature on arrival. I won't do that again in a hurry.

On Thursday morning I had my annual appointment with my nephrologist. I left home early to detour via my audiologist, as the connector tube on one of my hearing aids had broken. I wasn't sure it could be fixed. This set of hearing aids is now about 10 years old and beyond mechanical repair. The tube, however, was easily replaced and I left with them fully functional. 

The good news continued.  The nephrologist (whose waiting room always provides a view of birdlife) is happy with my test results -  creatinine good,  no sign of protein, no change in sugar (which is slightly higher than ideal). We had another discussion about Ozempic. He has suggested doubling my metformin dose to help with weight loss. In the light of possible side-effects, I am trying a 50% increase until I discuss with my GP. We also discussed the research he's involved in with Avivo, to enable universal donor blood conversions for transplants and transfusions. It's exciting research with big implications for medical treatment in war zones. They need, however to raise substantially more funds.

I had a weekend to myself, so on Saturday, after shopping for Monday's roast, I had a very late lunch at Mr Nick's at Frewville - Barramundi with a salad of rocket, fennel and walnuts. Excellent.

The flower arrangement on the bench was extraordinary. The staff member on duty explained it had another tall vase inside, adding a waste of good lemons!                                                                      

I also bought oysters for my main meal on Sunday with a large serve of salad and some multigrain bread - the last my weekly quota.

Books continue to arrive. A friend who volunteers in a charity shop in the Hills sent me this one. Anne Hetzel was president of the                             Embroiderers' Guild of SA in 1994 during which time the Guild undertook two commissions, one to make a Cope for Anglican Archbishop Ian George and one for a commemorative hanging to mark the 50th Anniversay of WWII, both of which are illustrated in the book,  which covers the 15 year period from 1983 when Anne and her researcher husband, Basil, travelled the world campaigning for the elimination of iodine deficiency. It's a story I didn't know, and which crosses a number of my interests.

On Friday I picked up the dress (muumuu!) I was having made by the local dressmaker. Pick-up is usually late afternoon, but when I left the fabric she had asked me to come in the morning to try it on. When I arrived she said that wasn’t needed and we chatted about various things as her card reader rejected my cards. In the end I made a direct debit. I checked at the nearby bank, and the cards are fine, problem with card reader.

When I got home and tried the dress, it was too long. I was in danger of tripping. Rather than take it back, I got out my scissors, cut 7” off both dress and lining, and ran both around on the machine. It wasn’t quite as straightforward as I hoped, as the hem was slightly shaped. The photo was taken before I ironed the hem. It's fine. On the other hand, my insistence on pockets to hold my phone hasn’t paid off. The phone is far too heavy. Even, as I had planned, balanced by keys or purse, the distortion will make it difficult to move. Looks like it’s a must-wear-a-shoulder-bag dress.

I had planned to wear it to Fionn’s 21st over Easter, but I don’t think it will be warm enough. It’s light and floaty and will find plenty of use in Summer. Even though it has been 30C today, the weather is turning. I changed my quilt over to the heavier one on Saturday and also put on a singlet - my signal that autumn has arrived. Daylight saving ends next weekend.

The History of Knitting also arrived. Published in 1987 it seems to still be the most comprehensive account. It was written by the Bishop of Leicester, who began knitting aged 7 and continued throughout his life. I'm hoping this one might prompt a discussion at WES Group next year.

Today I got up early and madea  full batch of chocolate crackle nests  so I could take a couple to Panayoula, with whom I was having morning coffee, before my 1pm haircut. We had, as usual, so much to share, so much to talk about. 

I have just finished the shawl (why this post is so late!).  

I might have managed one more row with the yarn but, with about 570 stitches on the needle, I didn't risk it. I did an elastic cast-off, which uses more yarn, so the right decision, I think!

It looks and feels  lovely. Maybe it would go with that orange dress....

Today there were leaves falling from the trees along Carrington street, although in the Square a young jacaranda has a last blast of defiance with new blooms on the upmost tips.

I've been thinking a lot about my August talk on English Embroidery in the Early Middle Ages - and ordering a few booklets published in the 1990s by Anglo-Saxon Books. 

The one that has arrived has filled out some context for me. We didn't learn much about textiles, or the world of women, in my undergraduate course! I have four more on the way from England, but who knows how long they will take to arrive in the current international  transport disruptions.

Tomorrow I need to take my laptop to the Guild for electrical tagging. with a bit of luck I will also fit in a swim. I wish all of us a peaceful, relaxed and healthy Easter break.