Post595 Food and finishing

There was a lot to catch up with Panayoula on Wednesday morning. She had fabulous photos from a recent trip to Japan, such beautiful flowers, streetscapes, landscapes. We could have stayed all day, but both of us had other commitments. I dashed out to Create in Stitch to pick up something I’d bought online that morning, then to JBHiFi where I bought the Dyson heat/cool/purify appliance I’ve been investigating for a couple of weeks. It was recommended as a heater by Choice. I have an earlier version in my bedroom where it works really well. With the door closed it heats the whole room quickly and I turn it off in less than an hour. The room then stays warm for several hours. 

While my reverse cycle aircon works reasonably well, there are times when it’s cool recovery period (when the motor avoids overheating by going into cool mode) lasts longer than is comfortable. I then bring the Dyson from my bedroom to the larger living room. A second Dyson for the living room is a total luxury, but the Choice review, and a 40% discount sale, overcame my scruples. 

. Ticking off my list,  I went to my local chemist, had a prescription made up and bought the sunscreen most recommended by Choice, ducking to the shop next door for some calamari, tabouli and chips for my very late lunch. I ate at home while reading the 9th (and sadly last) of the Inspector David Graham books, with the new heater on trial. It worked well. The hourly cost seems to be 10-15%. less than the aircon.

The sunset (above) drew me away from the book. The skyscape doesn’t stay the same. 

On Thursday morning an article in the Washington Post caught my eye. It referenced a recent study in the journal PNSA USA comparing obesity and energy expenditure in developed and underdeveloped countries.  The results suggest that diet is a more critical factor than exercise in addressing obesity. There’s a lot more to be learned but I read a strong caution about processed foods. I don’t use a lot. For a while I was having a couple of frozen commercial pasta meals a week, but now only about one every month or so. I do have processed soups in my cupboard. Maybe stop that. Then there's icecream...

There was no danger of processed food on Friday when our roughly quarterly lunch group met at Lenzerheide. It has good food, excellent service and a very relaxing indoor garden: a most leisurely chance to catch up. I had thought of staying away because of my cold but by Thursday night , the 13th day, I had only the weakest of symptoms.

On Thursday evening, a bit bored with knitting the long rows of the Rowan shawl, I dug out my pile of Ink and Spindle  linens cut months ago into tote bag lengths. There are four bags cut from this Kangaroo Paw pattern. I used a motif from Evan Lewis’s A Garden of Curiosities to embroider ladybirds on one side. On Friday night  I embroidered over one of the flowers on what will be the other side of the tote - hopefully just enough to add interest and a little texture. There are a lot more of these to come, but I've put them away for another while, and focused my attention on the Sashiko Galaxy Dreaming panels - which are close to completion.

Three of these were completed and gifted by a friend in 2023 and 2024 to help me put together a table setting. Originally I intended the square ones as place mats, but decided they were too big. I amended the plan to joining them into a tablecloth, This week I finished embroidering the 8th square panel, so could lay them out on the table, unhemmed. I'm still not sure, but at the moment I am inclined towards keeping them as separate pieces which can be laid out to (mostly) cover the extended table.  I still have a runner to embroider. In the meantime I am hemming the squares by hand. I've started on the last one.

I am also now curious to know about the design process for these Australian panels. Yesterday I contacted the shop that produced them to ask about it. By next week I might have more information - and the last panel finished.

I’ve read a bit more this week, returning to Robert Thorogood for another Marlow Murder Mystery, and my first Death in Paradise book although I've watched most of the TV series.  I also discovered this week that my aversion to tension and needing to know the ending of books is a non-cognitive aversion strategy and quite a normal response. Spoiling the surprise protects your attachment to a character or community from being spoiled. Makes sense to me. The DI David Graham series I’ve just finished is a case in point. Things go wrong, there’s a mystery and changes, but the community will be there for another story.

The pressure is now on the students in the family, trial exam results for the two Year 12s , preparation for resumption of Uni next week for the other two. No dramas, but a lot of pressure.

Brigid is hopefully recovering quickly from a bug picked up on a flight from Sydney. I have plenty of left/over lambshanks to tide me over a couple of days while I finish the sashiko panels.  I had one serve for late lunch today.

I also had a couple of Craters crumpets this evening. I read about these Adelaide hand-made, no preservative crumpets several weeks ago, but couldn't find a local supplier. Yesterday Tony and Marks  my local greengrocer, had a supply and I bought some. They are indeed, light, fluffy and delicious.

On Sunday Katherine and I had tickets to another Ukaria concert, the German acapella group Sjaella. Although we are both fans of the group, we agreed to skip the concert . Katherine had work and I ran out of energy. It was ultimately too attractive to stay in the warm apartment with my book and stitching. A shame, but je ne regrette.

I've also had a couple of confronting scam messages, one purporting to be from PayPal and one demanding money via my website. I suspect they are a result of the Qantas hack. I am cautious and suspicious online, and was alert enough to pick up and check them out. Unpleasant and no room for complacency. It may be time for me to retire the website. Its value is now legacy and history..