It was very quiet on the street when I went for a walk around the block on New Year’s Day around 11.30am. The nearby cafes were closed. I didn’t go as far as Hutt St, where I’m sure there would be more activity. The yellow cube at the far end of our row is A Prayer for the Wild at Heart, packed up and closed for the next week.
I don’t often walk past the Box Factory(which is a Community Centre directly behind our apartments) unless I’m going to a meeting there. Today I noticed this prickly pear growing in their garden, a fine specimen to see from the opposite side of the road!
KimoYES, importers of Japanese fabric, both vintage and contemporary, had one of their periodic clearance sales. I have ignored these for a couple of years now. In the past I have used their remnants to make gift bags. More recently I have used cotton fabrics, mostly from the Guild trading table, and I still have a good supply of these. I had, however, recently realised I have very few silk bags in my current supply. There’s a place for their feel and interest, so I ordered a few remnant pieces, enough, I think, for 18 medium sized bags at a cost of about $3.70 per bag. I had hoped to post a photo but they will no doubt arrive while we are at Carrickalinga this week and be waiting at the PO next Monday.
After posting last week I received the admission forms for my upcoming hand surgery. When I read them, I was horrified to discover I was not only required to have someone pick me up after the surgery, which I had anticipated (a friend had offered) but to have ‘a carer’ there throughout the procedure and staying with me overnight. This seemed a considerable burden in January, as people were returning from leave, or preparing for a return to study. On Thursday I phoned the surgeon’s rooms, explained I couldn’t meet the requirement and requested a quick consultation to see if the finger was sufficiently healed to cancel surgery altogether. By a miracle I got a time that afternoon. He was sympathetic and helpful. The knuckle no longer held fluid. It wasn’t urgent. His advice was however, to do the surgery while the finger was in its current non-inflamed condition. We agreed to postpone. I promised to discuss a suitable date with my family.
While that might have been Much Ado About Nothing, Sunday, 5 January, was Twelfth Night, Epiphany, and the day for removing Christmas decorations. It was also my parents’ wedding anniversary. My mother was meticulous about adhering to tradition, so, in addition to filling out hospital forms, I removed Christmas decorations, put them away in their red box, reread all my Christmas cards and updated my Christmas card address records. The tree I bought is not looking too healthy. Along the stem, the needles are dry and brown.I’ve watered it as instructed, but it’s dropping needles. 🙏
On Saturday I had a phone call from my neighbour around 9.30am, to say the lift was out of order again, and the service company had been called. I had intended to go for an early walk, before the temperature reached its predicted 38C but decided against it. The lift was fixed around midday, well in time for me to go to family dinner. Meantime, I had a strange visitor. It looked like a relative of one of the birds I had seen in the Square last week. It is a Rock Dove, a feral form of Columbidae, the common pigeon. This one stood stationary on my balcony for a couple of hours, moving to a slightly different position about every ten minutes. It initially had an inflated neck, but that was less noticeable over time. I didn’t see it leave, and it hasn’t been back. It left behind quite a few droppings, unusual for birds on my balcony. Perhaps a form of heat stress?
I've also been ticking off a few small jobs. One was testing the pouch I bought to hold my car keys while swimming. I wore it in the shower with a pen inside. The pouch got thoroughly wet, but the pen remained completely dry, so it's ready for the beach!
I also posted an account of this Christmas embroidery to my embroidery blog
Sunday's sunset caught my eye, drawing me away from the repeat of Donaldson and Dodd.
Once again, the Catholic Cathedral sent its message in lights, dwarfed but not extinguished by the surrounding reflections of commerce.
Today I began packing for Carrickalinga, first deciding what embroidery and knitting to take, then the swimming gear, including sun and insect lotions, followed by clothes and a trip to the supermarket for the basic supplies we will need to get us going. I pick up my daughter and son-in-law from the airport tomorrow afternoon and drive straight there. We’ll be too late for regular shops. A big part of my preparation, of course, was clearing the boot of my car. That involved trips to the Salvos, to the bin and to the Guild. I’m just about there. I can finish packing in the morning before a thorough soaking of my plants. I’ve saved a few empty milk and soda bottles to upend full of water in a few pots. I'm only away 4 days but that’s enough to kill a few plants when it’s over 34C each day.
I'll report next week!
