Post 538 Rain, Roma and a Rosella

On Wednesday I took some a couple of necklaces to Pink Carat to be restrung, along with an old amber earring to discuss replication. I lost its pair years ago on a plane trip. Their best suggestion is reusing four of its five amber beads to make a shorter pair. They will come up with a proposal.  

I spent the rest of the day advancing the coatigan, much of it in the late afternoon sun on the balcony.

I was glad I had done that when Thursday dawned to the sound of much needed rain, forecast to last 2 days.

The birds who had swooped in and out of my eastern balcony on Wednesday were nowhere to be seen, hopefully sheltering. 

By the time Pilates finished at 1.50pm the sun was out and the sky clear. Friday reversed the process, dawning  clear but settling into steady rain by midday. When the Matildas played China at Adelaide Oval at 7.40 pm it was cold, but dry.

I caught up with a couple of friends by long phone calls and two more embroidery books arrived. I’m particularly impressed with Stitch with One Line. I can see lots of ways of using the concept. For the moment, however, I’m sticking to my knitting.

I spent most of Saturday making moussaka, one for Sunday lunch with friends, and one for Monday with family. It takes several hours, making ragu, slicing and baking egg plants before making béchamel and assembling. 

I had been considering that lino print of Roma Mitchell all week, so left the ragu and eggplant to cool and headed out to Mrs Harris’s shop, armed with the measurements of my limited wall space. To my surprise, the framed print of Roma was almost the perfect fit for the space I had identified. Plan B,  to buy an unframed print and frame it to fit, was not needed. The exhibition finished on Sunday, but I had friends coming to lunch and couldn’t leave to go and pick it up, so we made arrangements for me to pick it up today.  It was too good an opportunity to miss.

Back at home I assembled the ragu and eggplant, made the béchamel sauce, added cheese, let it cool, added egg yolks and finished assembling. By 3pm they were in the fridge, the kitchen cleaned up (it’s a messy dish!) and the place aired.  It was satisfying to have it all organised before heading off to Kilkenny to catch up on netball dramas, reports of the Matilda’s match the night before and our crosswords.

I had organised for friends to come a bit early for Sunday lunch so I could take a FaceTime call from England around 6.00pm - the only time zone matchup that really works. Like an idiot I also decided to change my bed linen on Sunday morning, adding an underlay and another blanket before washing sheets when the sun hit the solar panels. I got the salad made, dessert laid out, nibbles in bowls and the table set just in time for their arrival. We had such a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon, grazing and catching up.

They left in time for my phone call, which lasted an hour and a half and was brilliant. We haven't really caught up properly since I was last in England - 2020, when this blog was started. So reassuring to pick up where we left off. 

I was tired enough to go to bed by 10.30, waking to a glorious Adelaide sunrise, ahead of a more relaxed Monday than usual. The moussaka was cooked, the dishwasher was ready to go,  the Sunday washing ready to hang out, and only fresh bread to buy, so a leisurely pace. Fionn was working, so six of us had a lovely conversational dinner. Afterwards I began watching Macdonald and Dodds - Series 1, episode 1.

This morning I made it to Mrs. Harris’s Shop to pick up Roma. This time I was successful in rousing the gallery owner. We spent a while discovering interests in common. She is keen to read The Gilded Page and I have ordered a copy of The Coat Route by Meg Loukens Noonen.

At home I hung Roma in the spot I had chosen, using existing hooks. The alignment is wrong. They need hanging properly, as does the displaced one. As my previous hanger has retired I phoned another and have organised him to come next Tuesday.

I took time out from knitting to finish another flannel flower bag.

It has been cold for the last few days. Winter hasn't waited for the solstice. The trees in the Square are almost bare, a few stubborn leaves hanging on.

My cousin Christine's funeral is tomorrow evening Australian time. It is being live-streamed, so I will be able to participate as an observer. 

Tomorrow will be my first time volunteering as the rostered 'hostess' at the Embroiderers' Guild - being on hand to help out with visitors or enquiries.  I shall report back next week.

Right at the end of the day, as I was closing the balcony door, an Adelaide Rosella came to feed on the trees behind.. A lot of shots ended in the bin, but this one captured a glorious moment.

Deo gratias.