Post 295 Friends who come to dinner.

I was having 2 friends to dinner tonight. I have been to dinner at their place many times in the last couple of years. It was well and truly time to reciprocate.  The building work next door makes parking difficult most evenings. Weekends are not to bad.

I had invited them for chicken livers - a dish I have cooked for many years, but don't cook for myself alone. Mostly, when I have guests, I cook something in advance - like moussaka- but chicken livers have to be cooked at the last minute. And they need to be fresh. So I was at the Central Market this morning at ten past eight. Unfortunately I was so intent on my shopping list I forgot to take photos.

I was home by 9.00am and by having my breakfast by 9.30 when my dove friend with the black wing tips arrived to check out the seed situation. I distributed some from the container near the door without frightening Black Tips away. I enjoyed watching the shadows cast  and the play of light while I drank my coffee.I don't understand this strange sitting down behaviour. Is it about extracting warmth from the tiles or some form of nesting practice? I've seen it before, but not often.

My brother called me. NSW has a Covid hotspot on the Northern Beaches which may end up closing the NSW border with Queensland. It is currently being managed by restricting the movement of people from the local government area of the hotspot. My sister-in-law is booked to travel to one of the border towns tomorrow to visit her mother in a Queensland nursing home.  I hope she is able to make it. At the moment it looks OK. I listened to the various State Press Conferences for the rest of the afternoon while getting ready for dinner.

There was a lot of tidying up and putting away needed before my guests arrived, so I began with the remaining pile of bags. This time I sat at the dining table and ironed while sitting in a chair. These were the smaller bags, so I could do it without an ironing board. I didn't count the bags, but they filled another plastic container. This is a very good job jobbed, as my mother would have said.    

During the afternoon my friend Panayoula phoned and we had a good chat. She has recently retired and is spending lots of time with her grandchildren. She has promised to make Greek biscuits with them this week. It reminded me that I still have the recipe for these given to me when I was at university by the mother of a Greek-Australian friend. I asked her for the recipe and wrote it down as she told me. I used it several times but my biscuits were never successful I always suspected there was some secret part to it that she didn't tell me. Panayoula has sent me her recipe, which looks far more promising.

After that it was time to prepare for dinner. This involved putting away lots of embroidery bits and pieces - the remains of finished projects and a few unfinished ones, like the quilt and hexies that have been been on the floor for weeks., pinning Christmas cards to the curtains, filing a few papers and finding homes (or temporary accommodation) for quite a lot of books and magazines as well as finding glasses and crockery, and doing what food preparation I could. 

When my guests arrived we had some complications with the lift. When I buzz people in, the lift brings them automatically to my floor. Today I had a phone call to say they were in the lift with the door closed but going nowhere. It seems one of them (versions here vary) pressed numerous buttons in the lift, thereby overriding my activation of the lift from my apartment. I eventually called the lift from my floor and they arrived safely. 

We had a very pleasant evening catching up and putting the world to rights. The chicken livers (with bacon, mushrooms and a good dash of wine, worked well and the cherry and almond tart I had bought in the market was a hit.  When they left, getting close to 11 pm, I watched from the balcony to make sure they made it out of the lift without mishap.

,The balcony looked strangely domestic, even drab, under artificial light (now there's a strange phrase!) at night. I rarely put the balcony light on, nor do I often go out there at night.  I am very late with this blog, so am going to set the email delivery for an hour later. The dishwasher is on. It has been a busy but very satisfying day. It's lovely to have company, and fabulous to have friends who come to dinner.

Post 294. From the Balcony and Sit’nStitch

I managed to get a couple of shots of this morning's dove visitor on my SLR. This is a youngish bird with a pink breast and some dark feathers under wing. He/she also has head feathers that tend to stand up - almost a dove mohawk.  I love the patterns visible up close on the wing - and the pensive look.

On the balcony the sunflower plant has produced a couple more small flowers. They will open up a bit more, but even at this size I love the yellow, and the dark somewhere in the centre. The jacarandas have largely dropped their blossom and are turning green. This is the very last of the purple on the tree behind our apartments.      

It was our last Sit'n Stitch before Christmas. Sue had prepared a beautiful spread of salad, cold meats and fresh breads. We were relaxed with lots to catch up on from the last fortnight.

Jennifer had bought an astounding gift for both Sue and I - as well as ordering one for herself! Each ball is 26 metres - so a total of 1508 metres.  enough for something like a poncho - or even a cardigan. Wow! 

And we can keep track of each others' progress on whatever we choose. 

I worked on another crocheted square. The size is consistent with the last two - which passed Jennifer's inspection. I now seem to have got the hang of this, so have a great grab and go project to work on as the fancy takes me. 

I've wound small balls of each colour  so I don't need to carry around 200 gm balls. Each little ball will make either a centre or surround for about 3 squares. I should be able to do 10-12 squares with these little balls.

This evening I began Lady Anne's Flowers. Thought I'd plunge right into the big red flower. I've worked the first two petals in four colours. I think I'll drop back to three from now on.That will give, I think, a smoother blend. It's lovely to be back to Crewel work.

Tomorrow I have friends coming for dinner so need to do some shopping tomorrow morning.

Apart from family dinners on Mondays in term time, this will be the first visitors I've had in the apartment for a meal since at least January - maybe longer. 

Perhaps I've forgotten how?  

I don't think so, but we'll soon find out. 

Post 293

 My apologies to those who receive this blog by email. Your email was late this morning because I was extremely late posting last night and missed the two hour time slot in which the emails are delivered. Thank you to the friends who checked up that I was OK. I really value your concern and monitoring. I will try not to let it happen again.

Turtle was waiting to greet the morning, cleaning up some of yesterday's seed and drinking from the clear water in the bowl. Mostly, however, taking in the scenery. I recognise the white edged tail feathers- and heaviness.

I got on to the ballet bear skirt straight away, adding the sequins, the spray of leaves, gathering the waist and stitching up the back seam.                          Here's the result

I then did something unusual. I put up the ironing board.  Iironed a bit more than half the bags in the big messy pile on my sewing room floor! Ironing is not my thing. My back and sciatica play up after I stand for more than about ten minutes. I do have a stool but that's not comfortable either. So I ironed for about half an hour with breaks about every 10 minutes. Because most of the bags are silk, they pack down. I put them into an empty see-through box. There's a bit of room left in this box, and I think I can find another one by doing a bit of  reorganising. 

Two boxes will, I think, hold all of the bags once they are ironed, and two boxes will fit in the fabric basket the mess was in, while keeping the bags smooth and tidy.

Martine liked her ballet bear and this evening sent me a photo of the bear on her tree. How good is that!

After Pilates (last of the year)I went to Unley Village to post a parcel and get a few things on special at Woolworths. As it was now close to 3pm and I had had no lunch, I indulged in a pasty and lime milkshake.

Back at home I worked another little needle keep. I'm getting the hang of these.

I also crocheted another square, mainly because I'm not quite ready to plunge into my crewel projects yet. Tomorrow, maybe. 

I had notice yesterday that the Aesop Frame panel is on its way, so it's time to progress Lady Anne's Flowers. I think I have now finished the Christmas gifts I wanted to make, so the decks are cleared (except, of course for the hexies on the quilt and the crocheted squares....).

Post 292 More obsession

This morning I needed to find a small gift bag for the stocking ornament I made yesterday. I have a supply of gift bags I made last year, all tumbled into a large storage bag I made. There is no way of finding a right-size bag without tipping it onto the floor. This morning, as I tipped them on to the floor, I decided it was time for a better system. I sorted the bags into piles from small to large. They are still in those piles and I need to (1) find a container in which they can lie flat (2) iron them (3) transfer them to to the new container/s. In the meantime I found a bag for the cross stitch stocking.

 I had a podiatrist appointment at 10.40 This is an indulgence and luxury - nail cutting, orthotic checking and callus removal every two months. I was meeting my friend Lorraine for lunch at 1.15, so in between I went to Create in Stitch to pick up a tin of thread, I browsed a bit and bought a few more bits for Christmas presents. 

With an hour and a half up my sleeve until lunch I thought I might go to Norwood but changed my mind on the way and diverted to the Burnside Village - a large shopping complex.  I regretted it as soon as I got there.  The fashion shops, the standardised luxury - I couldn't bear it. I might as well have been in an airport. The "Win an Audi Q2 this Christmas" sign seemed to say it all. I had a quick look in Mecca and got the hell out of there.

I went back to Mr Nick's at Frewville, where I was meeting Lorraine and did a bit of supermarket shopping.

Lorraine was early and looking good. She seems to have solved her low blood pressure/passing out problem by increasing the amount of water she drinks to 2 litres a day.  We exchanged gifts and she liked the little stocking. Whew!

Back at home another crazy idea took hold. I have made, I think, three sets of these Bucilla Ballet Bears. I liked them so much I cornered the market and bought another two sets before they sold out. I decided I should make one of them for Martine, my Pilates teacher, who is an ex-dancer. It's a messy process, cutting the pieces out of pre-stamped felt, adding embroidery and/or sequins, then stitching the parts together in order- felt bits, thread, instructions everywhere.

It also gets a bit creepy if you let it, stitching disembodied body parts together in order.

This is where I got to when I stopped close to midnight. I have time in the morning, I think, before Pilates, to sequin, gather and attach the skirt.I think she'll like it.

1. Another extraordinary sunset skyline this evening. Only 27C today and down to 23C tomorrow. Excellent from my point of view.

Two young doves seem to be my second best friends at the moment. - keeping watch from several vantage points. 

Ballet bear finish in the morning.

Post 291 Productivity - or obsession.

Today was a stitching day. I didn't quite plan the direction it took - but I got carried away. My window cleaners was here before 8.30.  I worked on the sashiko panel while they worked on the windows, and kept going  after they left until it was finished.

 While I was working on it, I was thinking about a gift for a friend I will be seeing tomorrow. We usually exchange presents but she has sent me a card this year and I am not sure if this signals a change in practice. She likes bespoke Christmas tree ornaments so I try to make one for her. I had no good ideas this  year. This morning I found the pattern for a set of tiny Bucilla stockings in cross stitch that I had made years ago. I still had the grid from the recent Certificate Course Workshop on Large Cross Stitch Projects so got the idea of using it to make a tiny stocking for my friend. I thought she'd like one on Joy.

It took me quite a while - several hours. I used DMC Etoile stranded cotton. The sparkle in the thread lends a lift to the embroidery. The word "Joy" is a bit strange. If I were doing it again I'd redesign it.  As it is, I think it's at least indicative. 

It was after 5 pm by the time I finished the cross stitch. I fortunately had the cardboard, template and felt backing stored with the pattern, so I cut out one cardboard and two felt stockings, then the embroidered aida. I folded the aida over the cardboard with some wadding in between. Reluctantly, I followed the instruction to glue it to the cardboard. I also glued a red felt stocking to the back. This is where the instructions end. The stocking is designed as a hanging ornament only. This seems like a waste to me, so when I made the original set I added another felt stocking to the back to form a proper stocking in which a little gift can be placed.  

It's a tight fit, but a chocolate Santa just fits in. A candy cane would be easier, and look better, but chocolate tastes better - and I have one to hand. A twisted chord finishes it. It looks as good as any I made in the past. The Etoile thread I think.

When I got to empty my mailbox there were several Christmas cards and the book I had ordered on my brother's recommendation. It does look interesting. I now have a pile of books waiting to be read.

As if that wasn't enough stitching productivity for one day, I took a plunge and made a little needle keep to put in one of the pouches I've been making. I was given one of these and have wanted to make some for a while. The base is a wine bottle top or something similar. The advantage is that it is shallow, and needles do not disappear into it. I was hoping to make two, but settled for one today!

While watching Morse tonight I folded the sashiko square from this morning into a pouch and added a zip. Like the last one, I put the zip in by hand. It appears to be strong.

The furthest I've been today is to my letterbox. I'm writing this while Lucy Worseley's 2019 Christmas Carol Odyssey is on TV.  

I want to go to bed but it is really interesting - and the carols are lovely.

Post 291 A bit of Christmas Shopping

I ventured to a shop called Ecolateral this morning, about 5km away. I had not been there before but had ordered some things online a couple of months age that were delivered from there and thought I should check it out. I have been buying my eco-friendly fruit and veg bags and makeup from a shop in Perth. It would be good to find one in Adelaide. I had a couple of Christmas present bits I thought I might find there. I was right, but then I also found what I wasn't looking for - a small, heavy, neoflam  pan and some BonAmi. I haven't seen the latter in years. I've been using Gumption to clean stainless steel, and jumped on the BonAmi. I've been using a much larger Jamie Oliver pan and wishing I had one just big enough to fit a one person meal. Now I do.

I ran into a friend in Ecolateral. Adelaide is indeed a small place.

From there I took myself to Create in Stitch with a list that included some orangy-gold Appletons wool - the range I am missing for Lady Anne's Flowers,  the two DMC Etoile colours I have almost used up and the tin of the latest DMC stranded colours. Samela is waiting on a couple more colours for the tin, so I've ordered that. No hurry. I just like those tins and find them convenient.

Back at home I checked off the bits of Christmas presents I had bought and noticed that there seem to be two doves visiting on and off, youngish ones, one with a dark tail and one lighter. Light Tail seems to know where the seed is kept and stands by or on the container to give me the message. I don't respond.

I made a booking at a Golf Hotel at Normanville in January, the same week as my Adelaide family are staying at nearby Carrickalinga. Most accommodation inthe area is in holiday houses, mostly booked out, and not designed for a person on their own. I have no intention of playing golf!

One of the young assistants at Ecolateral this morning gave me instructions about curing my new pan. I followed the instructions and then used the pan to cook salt and pepper squid for my dinner. It worked well.

I've been working on the last of my sashiko squares today. I decided to work it from the diagonals, which gives a lovely rope pattern. To connect between rows I ended with a circle and a flower in the mix. I just love the way different patterns are visible at different points of the process. It really is an exercise in changing perception.

I had a lovely long email this morning from my friend Christine in Watford England. She has finally had her cataract operations after a tedious and lengthy process of travelling alone, by bus, in the fog and rain, to have Covid tests 3 days before each operation, then back for the operations themselves. She can read large print at the moment in her Tier 2 lockdown.  She is a right trouper! Hopefully her embroidery, drawing and reading will be restored to her soon.

It's been a very warm and windy day here, grey and overcast for most of the day. Sunset, however, thanks to the dissipating cloud, was a treat. Only 29C tomorrow. My window cleaner is coming at 8.00am so I need to be up and dressed in time. Year 12 results are also out tomorrow. 

Post 290 Book Club

 

Our last Crime Fiction Book Club meeting for the year was a morning tea at the home of one of our members who lives about a kilometre from me. Pat has a small courtyard garden lush with plants. Birds visited while we were there - including a dove very like those that visit me. 

The books for discussion were the latest Ian Rankin, A Song for Dark Times  and Jo Nesbo's The Kingdom.  We all liked the Rankin. I didn't get to The Kingdom. A couple of others didn't finish it. One of the best things about this group is the sharing of other books we have read.  I noted Garry Disher's Consolation.  One member brought us each a lucky dip book. Mine was Snapshop by Garry Disher. I've now got quite a lot of reading to do. 

On my way home I went past the GPO and dropped the cards in the postbox outside.

 Back at home I checked out the two doves who visited. I don't think either of them were the one in Pat's garden. The younger one on the left has a distinctive dark tail. Turtle on the right is definitely older and plumper.

I read about half of Sonia Bates' Inheritance of Secrets on Libby. It has priority since I need to return it to the library in about 10 days time.

Nevertheless, I put the book away to redo the zip I inserted yesterday in one of the sashiko bags. It didn't fit properly. It's now much better. 

 I also finished another square. 

I'm having a go at inserting this zip by hand. I'm curious to see if I can make it strong enough. I can certainly do it more neatly than I can manage on the machine.

Another warm day forecast tomorrow - 34C. After that it's predicted to drop back into the 20s. Suits me.