Last Wednesday my car was booked in for service at 10am. I had notice to say a ring I was having repaired was ready to be picked up in the city, so I swung past on my way to the car service and picked it up. A missing opal has been replaced. I stayed at the car dealership for the 3 hours it took to service the car and worked on the Leadlight Counted set. A couple of employees came over to see what I was doing.
From there I went on to Nordic Furniture and explained what I was after in the way of bookshelves. A very helpful woman agreed to come on the weekend to measure and quote on the weekend. On an errand roll, I continued to Mr Dishwasher to restock my dishwashing powder and rinse aid. I discovered they stock Jura coffee machines and got the filter I've been meaning to get for ages.
Still ticking things off jobs list, I came home and ordered a replacement medical ID bracelet. The band on my plaited one has worn through and the older stainless steel one I've been wearing keeps coming undone and falling off. In the meantime, I devised a temporary solution with a Buddhist prayer bracelet given to me some years ago by the Abbot Jim used to help with his English.
My jobs list fulfilment continued after Pilates on Thursday, when I went to Bunnings to get replacement globes for the exhaust fan over my stove top but I was out of luck They must have had several hundred bulbs, but not one that was suitable. A helpful assistant referred me to the wholesaler but a Google search when I got home tells me they are available in my local Woolworths supermarket!
In between the jobs list I worked steadily on the Leadlight Counted piece. The pouch is now finished. It took a while to do the buttonhole edge and I couldn't use a hoop. I've lined it in gold silk and added a button loop and bead from a broken earring.
I have mounted the linen for the matching pin cushion on a cotton surround so I can put it in a hoop. I don't need another pincushion, but it's a very nice design, so I will persevere.
In the meantime I've returned to my knitting.
A copy of my brother's latest book arrived on Friday as I was leaving for Sit'nStitch. It's an enticing collection with lots to talk about.
I have been steadily emptying the storage cupboard in my carparking space. It contained a vaccuum cleaner, a large plastic bin of Christmas decorations, some plastic bags, buckets, plaster moulds of my feet for several pairs of orthotics - and my year's supply of toilet rolls from Give a Crap. The toilet rolls are now safely stashed in the apartment - in the space I created by disposing of odd bottles of liqueurs and fortified wine!
Fortunately, there is now a local council hard rubbish collection on 3 November, so the cupboard, vacuum, plaster feet and half-pallet the cupboard stands on can all be disposed of there. I began devising fanciful plans for moving them to the street but Anthony thinks he will be able to help. The sunset on Friday was a lot more calming when I'd worked out it could be done! I like the way the lights in the apartment blocks at night look like holes.
On Saturday I managed to move my Christmas decorations and shoe cleaning gear into the apartment from the car park cupboard, and disposed of quite a bit of bubble wrap to soft plastic recycling. I also shopped for Monday dinner and dropped some lucets in to Barbara Mullan at the Guild. Her Gawler stitching group has got into lucet braiding in a big way.
Sunday was Crime Book Club again. It was an animated and wide-ranging discussion. None of us enjoyed, or quite knew what to make of either The Nancys or Nancy Business. It provoked a good discussion. It seems to me there is an audience somewhere that fits this better than we do. We were much happier with Robert Gott's The Orchard Murders, and likewise, for those who read it, Diana Febry's The Skeletons of Birkbury.
I got more stitching done and stashed away a few more bits from the cupboard in my carpark before my 6pm dinner which increasingly looks similar to this. I'm not complaining. I enjoy it, and it does the trick. 13kg down today.
Monday morning saw me getting the dinner organised and ready for the oven - 10 Chicken Marylands in my largest baking pan, potatoes and bacon sliced and layered in the large pyrex dish, an eggplant parmigiana in a smaller one. Then off to buy bread and greens - broccolini and bok choi.
I then swung past B2B, mostly to see Gay, but I took the Leadlight pincushion and got some more four-sided stitch outline done. One of the marudai that Gay had given me in case WES Group were interested (made by Peter, her husband some years ago) had fallen apart in my car. I felt bad about it. I think it had been glued and the glue gave way. Fortunately she was not overly concerned, and I had plenty of good news. Peter's lucets were a big hit and I have sold half of the 24 she gave me. The other 12 will go at the February Certificate Course - if they last that long!
This morning my electricity was off for half an hour while Suntrix fixed a faulty breaker on my line. I had good notification and the project manager rang me to make sure I had no issues. Great they identified it through system checks and fixed it before it could cause trouble.
The rest of today was spent at the hairdresser then stitching with friends Lori, Glenys and Junette. Lori made a fabulous salad lunch - best I've had in ages. I took a sashiko panel that is easy to work while talking.
I left a bit early to get home for Jan, who was coming to measure up for my bookshelves. She had great advice - things I hadn't thought of. I await the quote, but if it's in the range she suggests I'll go with it. She is also quoting on a cupboard for my sewing/office room. Their current timelines are 18 weeks from order to delivery, so the books will continue to move from chair to table for a bit longer. It is, however, going to be a nice piece of furniture - something to look forward to.
I think I've got some more cleaning out to do over the next few months.
Meanwhile, I've started one of the knitting kits I go from Marie Wallin a couple of months ago. In contrast to the sashiko, this demands concentration.
All my family are now fully vaccinated, and it is looking very promising for interstate visits in January without quarantine. There is a bit of apprehension about it here in South Australia. We have been Covid free for quite a while, and there will inevitably be outbreaks once we open our borders. Even when we reach 90% vaccination, we are unlikely to have paid enough attention to the vulnerable.
I guess we keep calm and carry on.
