Post 454 A lot of productive time waiting for car services

The big news this week was that the painting of the exterior of our apartment building is about to begin on 7 November. It will take 6 weeks and includes our balconies. The bad news is we are asked to clear our balconies! My balconies are gardens and I have art works riveted to the walls. Removing either plants or wall art is a major undertaking. The alternative is to move the plants to the centre of the back balcony, or the window side of the front balcony. I have, of course, chosen this option. 

Theo, my neighbour, very kindly knocked on my door and offered to help. That is immensely kind. He also came up with the idea of covering up the pieces on the walls. That made me feel a whole lot better.

On Saturday, Ali, my cleaner offered to move all the plants - and we rearranged the front balcony. The two cane chairs are now stashed in the spare bedroom. I've decided to only put one cane chair back when it's done, and to put the other on the back balcony. That means I can dispose of two mesh outdoor chairs. I never use more than one on each balcony, so this minor downsize should work. 

I also bought 4 packets of eco-friendly Glad Wrap and plan to encase all the wall pieces before 7 November. I might need Theo's help for a couple. l I feel much more relaxed.

On Sunday morning, before the rain  I moved the hose, potting mix, fertiliser and tools into my spare bathroom and a couple of pots from the back balcony inside.

I now have a couple of pots right next to my bedroom chair. My bathrooms have no windows, so not an option for plants for 6 weeks. Next weekend I'll finish stacking the plants in the centre of the back balcony and, hopefully, cover all the wall art with plastic.

A friend and I had plans to visit St Dominic's Priory on Sunday when their embroidered cope was being exhibited. It turned out to be only from 10.30am -12.00 noon, and my friend was rostered on for her church service at the same time, so we cancelled. 

Possibly a good thing, given the rain that was bucketing down by 11. 

It cleared up a bit in the afternoon, so I went for a walk in the wetlands. There were quite a few dog walkers and a family of ducks assessing the water. 

While I was waiting for my cleaner to arrive on Saturday,  a pair of Adelaide Rosella's began feeding on the native frangipani. I managed to get some photos to brighten up this post.

I spent last Wednesday morning waiting while my car was serviced - no hardship, there is decent coffee and a wide open, well-ventilated waiting area with wifi. I read an article in a  New Yorker sent to me by a friend, caught up on emails and didn't get any knitting done. All is well with my car, although it was due for new tyres. These were replaced today - a 4 hour job. Once again I chose to wait, rather than chance spend time walking in the rain and catching buses.

I finished off this post, worked on my WES presentation for next week, and had a surprise visit from a friend from Melbourne, passing through on her way to Ardrossan. The time passed very quickly.

Last week I also finished off the pouch I was making from last week's Certificate Course. The detail is in my embroidery blog.

The New Yorker article I read while waiting for the car last week  (thanks Pat) was "On the Rocks: A hundred years of The Waste Land" by Anthony Lane, When I got home I found my copy of The Waste Land  and read it aloud, not as well, I'm sure, as Benedict Cumberbatch, whose reading, accompanied by an orchestra and Anthony Burgess's score, Lane had attended, but enough to retrieve the rhythm and some of the nuance.

I had to go back quite a way in my archive of photos (not, of course, back 100 years!) to find any that were remotely suitable for discussion of The Waste Land.  Oddly, those I found were taken on a visit to the Flinders' Ranges in 2009, with the friend who sent the article! We were flying over Lake Eyre on one of the rare occasion it was in flood. Obviously these were taken outside the flood area!

One thing Lane discusses is the different context to which generations apply the poem - more environmental today and more political in its early years. 

At the moment, Eastern Australia is experiencing severe flooding, while the west is in drought.   The Murray River System is as full as it's ever been - while, I gather, the Mississippi River is barely navigable in places. We maybe need the Ancient Mariner alongside The Waste Land.

Eliot's words are still powerful - and say far more than any photograph. 

I think I'll stick to my knitting, embroidery - and the birds, all life-affirming.

I had a request a few days ago to talk about Bulgarian embroidery at the Guild's General Meeting on 7 Nov, using the newly acquired Museum items. I'vs agreed. I don't usually go on Mondays, as I am  preparing for dinner, but I'll have to get organised in advance. 

Sunday's excursion was cancelled, but Saturday made up for it. Dinner was at Grange Jetty Cafe because the surf season has begun and Anthony & Brigid spent the afternoon on surf patrol. After our relaxed, pleasant meal we had coffee at their place, did the crossword, and I picked up my year's supply of Who Gives a Crap toilet paper which is more easily delivered to a house than an apartment.

Also on Saturday, an old friend, now living in Darwin, was in town and called in. I haven't seen him in years and it was wonderful to catch up. He is still trying to convince me to write with him! Maybe.

I've put in a bit of work on my last PowerPoint for the year which began as Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Embroidery but is morphing into English Embroidery in the Early Medieval Period, for the November WES meeting. This has been a long and wandering journey, which I reckon started in my undergraduate course. I had planned to do my honours work on Culture and Society in the Middle Ages, but the option was pulled a month before my final year. Embroidery - or even textiles - would not have featured in research back then, but I'm making up for it. It is now a rich mine of information and has led me unexpected places and conclusions . 

A friend sent me a clever and amusing article I had missed on the joys of knitting, Thanks Peter.

Meanwhile, my brother's vest has reached the arm holes. I am delighted to be now working the top in sections, knitting back and forth - no steeks! What a sensible pattern! 

I haven't progressed it as much as I hoped while waiting for my car, but I'm back on it between wrapping the balcony in plastic.