Post 328 Pilates, Parcels and Printer Problems

 This morning's task was to get my spare room ready for my weekend visitors. The beds were made up 12 months ago, after my last visitors left, but it is also the room in which I store all my craft equipment and unfinished projects. They should be in the cupboard, but over the last year many have only made it to the luggage shelves at the end of the bed -or the end of the bed itself. This morning they all got put away and the trundle extracted from under the bed and set up. It was a bit of an effort, but it is done. I needed a coffee after that. 

I did manage to water the plants and put out some seeds.

I was rewarded by a visit from Black Tips later in the day.

On the way to Pilates I picked up my parcel from the Post Office - and another one from my letterbox.  The one in my letterbox was my copy of the Shetland Wool Week Annual.

My Watford friend Christine had put me on to this. It contains patterns and articles from the 2020 Virtual Shetland Wool Week - and they are fabulous.

The hats, in particular, are calling to me.  Katie's Kep, by Wilma Malcolmson, , made in different colour ways would both use up left-over wool and make fabulous gifts.

I also love Da Skaw Beret (right), by Angela Irvine. I'd like one of these myself. The Kirk Ness Toorie is also lovely.

There are fabulous socks - and leg warmers.

I'm so grateful to Christine for putting me on to this. It's not just eye candy - I will make some of these this year.

I worked fairly hard at Pilates. Martine, my usual instructor, was still on leave and Leanne, the studio owner, took the class. She always tries new things.

Afterwards, I drop some things off at the Salvos and went to Unley shopping centre to do the shopping I missed yesterday because of my shoe. To my amazement, the boarded-up green grocer that didn't open again after our first Covid lockdown early last year has been transformed and opened yesterday as a new business, incorporating another empty shop next door.

It's huge - a really big selection of fruit and veg (this is half of it) and another section, almost as big, with local eggs, pasta, sauces and similar produce.

I've missed a green grocer in this shopping centre, and this one promises to be terrific.

I bought nectarines, plums, potatoes, watermelon, cucumber, blueberries, strawberries and two bottles of my favourite passata. 

They also had a good range of flowers. I didn't buy any, but was intrigued by these ones called 'Green tricks'.

By now it was nearly 3pm and I hadn't had lunch. While I was taking these photos I noticed that The Lunch Club had lime milkshakes, so I indulged along with a sausage roll and a chocolate finger.It was an excellent sausage roll and I took the biscuit home to have with coffee.

After the coffee and biscuit, I finished the Phoenix!  I was so impressed with my effort that I even sorted and put away the left-over threads in my colour-coded containers.

I was feeling a bit tired after all this, but changed activity and got a second wind.

The Phoenix and Flowers is now blocked and drying. I'll take a closer photo tomorrow when it is dry, but I'm pleased with it.

I need to decide whether to add this and Lady Ann's Flowers to my chair now, or wait until I've finished the Aesop's Frame. 

I did not want to rush straight into Aesop, so I played around with my earlier idea of the image and text from Alan Garner's The Owl Service

I tried to print a photo of the plate that inspired Garner, but my printer played up again. I decided the full plate might be too complicated anyway, so I did a bit of a rough sketch . I think something like this might work. 

I'll sleep on it.