Post 604 an Auspicious Week

This week's high point was last night's family birthday dinner - on the 18th birthday of Niamh and Veronica. Because it was a schoolday, with one working after school, and the other having a dental appointment, I was privileged to provide dinner.

I made what I call Bread and What You Can Get, and the girls call a Feast.  This time there was a Pastitsio Makaronia Me Feta, known colloquially as Pasta Pie, a favourite of Veronika's which I don't make often these days because of the carbs (macaroni, eggs, butter, 3 cheeses cooked in filo pastry), a plate of mixed party pies, pasties, sausage rolls & spanakopita, 4 salads, two  kinds of bread and, a favourite of Niamh's, Beijing duck cut into pieces. I bought the last when the shop, near the Central Market, opened at 11.00am.The duck was still warm. iI had bought and planned on some salami and leg ham as well, but decided at the last minute that no one would eat it. That was the right decision. 

No one chose to drink alcohol, so the girls enjoyed their water from the cocktail glasses Katherine and Alison bought for Jim and I on a wedding anniversary. They now rarely get an outing. 

Katherine made two very chocolatey cakes, we sang Happy Birthday, ate cake then gave presents. I was too caught up to take photos. It was a grand evening.

Appropriately,  it was also the Spring Equinox. I didn't venture up to take a photo at 4.19am. My balcony flowers, however, put on a show to mark the rite of passage. I am so grateful to be alive and included.

On Saturday morning I was privileged to accompany Katherine to a talk by Julia Baird, entitled Hope, Awe and Grace, based on her latest book, published in 2023. The talk was followed by a Q&A session chaired by Bishop Sophie. Julia proved to be a skilled and inspiring speaker. I had a copy of the book, which I hadn't got around to reading.

I began rectifying that as soon as I got home. Her  explanation of Grace really resonated. It not only got the little grey cells working, but gave me a light bulb moment in relation to the Evil Eye, sending me back to my PowerPoint presentation to make changes and showing me the way to the related project for the Certificate Course next year. I'm not going to bore anyone with detail here, but if you are interested in grace, or forgiveness, read the book! 

I contacted the carpenter about my extraction fan cupboard modification, but haven't heard back yet. I also plucked up courage to visit B&O on Friday, to begin investigating  a TV replacement. The service exceeded my expectations. Richard, their tech assistant, is now visiting me on Thursday morning to assess my current TV to see if it can be tuned or adjusted to improve reception.. There is no charge for this service. After that we can discuss options for replacement. They understand I may not want to stay at this high end of the market - which will mean going elsewhere. There was no pressure. 

In my time at home, between preparing food, reading Julia's book, housekeeping and watering the garden, I have wound quite a lot of yarn. On the sixth of the seven skeins of Spritz I worked out it was far more efficient to place the swift on the table, at the same horizontal level as my hands, rather than on the floor..  

As the table was going to be in use on Monday, I made the most of the weekend, and wound several other skeins I had stashed away. I wound two more after taking the photo, then packed it away with another project that will need it. 

I have identified patterns for each wound ball and stored them with a note of the pattern and where to find it. I haven't yet wound the variegated silk, largely because I am not sure what I will do with it.

I also ordered more of the Spritz, details of my reasoning are in my embroidery blog.

Today I have hung out two loads of washing, washed up from last night, welcomed the cleaners and had my haircut. I'm a bit tired, but content, relaxed and counting my blessings as I sit inside, on the cold and grey day, gazing at the flowers I bought yesterday and preparing to watch Antiques Roadshow, with a bowl of Greek salad and a couple of party sausage rolls.