Post 541 It's Winter in Adelaide

I captured half an hour of sunrise last Wednesday morning, between 7.05am to 7.34am on the clock. I was pleased to have snapped it, as thick cloud obscured sunrise for the most  of the rest of the week.

It was my only day without appointments, and the only one likely to be fine for most of the day, so I did the washing, hanging it out around midday. There was a brief shower, but plenty of breeze. By the end of the day it was what my mother would have called too dry to get wet. I brought it in as the rain began and finished it in the heated bedroom.

The zygo cacti have settled well to their new home and are blooming generously, while the Wolemi pine is also looking happy.

The Almanda Blue I divided has recovered and the three transplanted pieces have growth already. These are now ready for new homes.

The one in the top left is my original. The bottom is the mother plant, from which the three smaller ones were taken.My original, while looking really healthy, has a way to go before it hangs over, perhaps because it is planted lower in the pot. None of them are anywhere near the original cultivated by John Walmsely, but I’m hopeful.

When I  extended the table last Monday night, I used a tablecloth that barely fitted so needed my crumb brush to sweep up escaped crumbs. 

It is a vintage pokerwork set, badly in need of bristle replacement. I've tried several times, unsuccessfully, to find a repairer. It’s not entirely useless, but far from efficient. This week I admitted defeat and ordered a new, contemporary set from a small business in Sutherland, NSW.  I'd still like to have this repaired, but I've reached my limit of making-do with it as it is.

On Wednesday last week I added angel hair pasta to the some of the remaining liquid from the lamb shanks I had cooked for the previous family dinner. That was my pasta quota for the week, and delicious. 

 

I had registered the Winter Solstice as being Saturday, so missed checking out sunrise on Friday, the actual Solstice. I did however, take photos walking home from the dentist mid-morning, so photos on the right show the day of the Winter Solstice in Adelaide,  and on the left, the same day,

moonrise  over the Adelaide Hills.

Between the dentist and moonrise was a  Sit’nStitch, our last for a few weeks. 

My hand braces and exercises are working well, complemented by Pilates. 

With at least six books on the go at the moment, I plunged straight into The Coat Route when it arrived on Friday.. The author travelled the world to see how each of the components of a $US50,000 bespoke Vicuna overcoat, made in Sydney for a Canadian customer, were made, through networks of breeders, ranchers, engravers, button-makers, spinners, weavers and tailors. Some WES Group members are going to love it.  It is not, unfortunately, lavishly illustrated. I galloped though it - my kind of book. If interested, my review is at. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16099182

I couldn't, however, convince anyone at our Crime Bookclub on Sunday! We took a bit longer than usual, with several members having read a lot in the last month. Not me. I will need to do better this month, as I have to have our August reads chosen when we meet next month. 

After Bookclub I took myself off for a late lunch at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart and then had a good look at the yarnbombing effort I missed with COVID. Our Square has 4 quadrants, each one carrying, in copper, across the central corners, one of the words The Forest of Dreams. Our quadrant is Forrest. A pretty good yarn bombing effort.

Another relaxed dinner yesterday, this time for 7. Inspirations magazine arrived and a couple of its projects seduced me into ordering kits. A Guild friend rang to tempt me with a hat pattern.

Today I set off with a list and good intentions. I picked up a parcel from the post office, an indulgence of two more scarf pins, then went on to a bookshop, the only one in Adelaide carrying Miss Austen Investigates which I wanted to test out for the Book Club pick.

I had planned to go on to Big W for Bone Lands, the second one I am considering, but in the end, supported the independent bookseller, and bought it. 

I was heading for the Hills next, to visit Aptos Cruz, which has finally announced a closing sale. A bit low on petrol, I stopped to fill up just before the freeway. By the time I’d paid, the rain was bucketing down. I don’t fancy the drive up or down the freeway in this weather, so I headed for home, put on the heating, had some lunch and began Miss Austen. 

A message from Inspirations said my kits could be picked up from the Bobbin Tree. I was tempted to head out straightaway, but decided to leave it until tomorrow morning. I’d love to have them, but I don't intend starting them,  the shop closes at 4, and the weather was off-putting. 

Time for woolly slippers, coatigan knitting and another episode of Donaldson and Dodds.