Post 486 A wee soft

There was an eerie glow over the city at sunset yesterday when I drove Niamh to her football bus stop. Once we were out of the building, it was evident that this was rain. The roads were wet, windscreen wipers going full pelt and heavier than usual traffic, yet from the apartment it merely looked a bit misty,  with all the buildings grey. It reminded me of what was referred to as 'a wee soft' by those I taught with in Scotland in 1972 - barely visible rain that nevertheless soaked you through.

I've not encountered this in Adelaide before. Apparently, had I looked East rather than West,  I'd have seen  a rainbow. 

Winter rain (and only Winter rain!) is the norm for Adelaide - showery rather than torrential, and that's what we've been getting, with a few hours of sun in mainly overcast days. 

I have had plenty to occupy me at home - some research for my brother, reading and a concerted effort to finish St Brigid. The latter came a bit adrift last night when I discovered I had underestimated the number of pattern repeats I had completed on the front. I got one side finished to the shoulder before I had the sense to place it against the back, discovering I was out by 22 rows. There was nothing for it but to undo back to the neck decrease (the point shown here) and knit another 22 full rows before trying again. 

While I am using a row counter to keep track of where I am within the 22 pattern rows, I relied on my memory for the number of pattern repeats, which are not easily discerned from the finished garment. Memory is OK - but I should have checked against the finished back before decreasing. To catch up today I have stuck to my knitting, following the sun from the back to the front balcony and then inside.  I have made up 19 of the missing rows and am 2 days behind where I expected to be. Not disastrous.

Before our Sit'nStitch on Friday I ventured warily to the Grange Hotel for lunch. I have been having a problem with the left side of my jaw. I'm not sure if this relates to an operation I had in 1984, or something else. A week ago, chewing calamari set off a lot of pain and jaw restriction which gradually improved throughout the week but left me cautious. Opting for grilled fish without chips worked well and I enjoyed the meal.

Luckily, I have my annual appointment with my periodontist tomorrow, so will hopefully get some indication of the cause of the problem.

Still on the health front, I have read a bit about the injectables recommended by my nephrologist and I remain sceptical. I will certainly seek further medical advice.

I interrupted my knitting today to fertilise my plants. Those on the back balcony are mostly doing well from the rain. The wall garden is spreading nicely.

Again, I've been playing with shapes, tracing the outlines of these leaves to create embroidery patterns. This one has potential - when I've finished my knitting... oh, and the Phoebe Ann Traquair piece I'm planning for next year...

Did I mention the extra alpaca wool I ordered from Adagio mills? They had some black and browns in stock. It runs out quickly, so I ordered some for a shawl. When it arrived I liked it so much I ordered more (enough for 3 shawls) while stocks lasted. It arrived this week, along with a complementary ball of a new line. Now I've got an idea for that....