Post622 Mostly Protection

On Wednesday I had a very pleasant lunch at the Grange Hotel with the husband of a sick friend. He needed to get out of the house, but doesn’t drive, and she needed  rest in the middle of the day. It worked out well. It was very windy at Grange but we were inside with a lovely view and decent food.  Relaxing for all three of us. When I got home, my lobby as one again in pitch darkness, so out came my phone torch and then the lamps! I could hear what I thought might be the electricians somewhere in the stairwell. I was right. An hour later the lobby light AND the exit sign were working. 

The lamps are back in my apartment. I used the battery operated one as my candle on Thursday, our National Day of Mourning for the victims of the Bondi attack. I won’t leave a candle alight in the apartment for more than a few minutes, so this, while not as aesthetically pleasing, cast a steady light in the darkness.

On Friday morning Brigid and I had an appointment with the dressmaker to discuss the first garment from my Eastern Silk sale indulgence. The visit left me hopeful. Connie is away next week, but there should be a toile for us to try in a fortnight. Back at home I went over my preparation for my Saturday workshop  before I finishing the Marta bag. Details of that in my embroidery blog.

Saturday, as predicted,  dawned hot. I set off with my very heavy bag of teaching aids at 8.40am, adding the string of embroidered protective eyes from outside my door at the last minute to minimise their absence, and taking my breakfast coffee with me. As I expected, there was a good turnout - the first workshop of the year in the air conditioned Guild Gallery on a 45C day was going to be tempting, regardless of the topic.

About 17 of us had a good time, in spite of the inadequacy of the Gallery technology set-up. I finally delivered my PowerPoint with the camera trained on my laptop screen and projecting on to the overhead screen. Worked very well. I’m assured things are about to change for the better! 

The workshop was a success. I had created a task to design and embroidery a protection against the Evil Eye, and prepared numerous circle and oval templates from milk carton plastic and paper to assist. I also had a few small opercula. What I hadn’t anticipated was the enthusiasm for the task. Participants expressed appreciation for a conceptual task - taking an idea and using it to create. That’s valuable information. Given no participant came without a goodly supply of bling - sequins, beads, metallics- I suspect that added to the enthusiasm. 

All in all it was a most satisfying way to spend the best part of a 45C day. Before I left I raided the trading table for  a couple of thread packs with colours useful for the Kasia Jacquot bags, and some buttons that might help in the dressmaking project.

All four grandchildren are now successfully enrolled in their uni courses, with workable timetables. This has been a bit of a trial for the three girls, now all enrolled at Adelaide Uni,  newly merged with Uni SA. The processes for enrolling, and requirements for specific merged courses have not always been clear or understood. There were bound to be glitches for the first cohort - and there were. For now, however, all three have subjects they are happy with and their programs for the year. On Friday, the younger two passed their driving tests and only need to complete another 20 hours of supervised driving to get their licences. Very much a new phase of their lives.

On Sunday a birthday lunch I had expected to attend was postponed because of the forecast 37C heat, less than the days either side, but still hot. As Monday was a public holiday for Australia Day, and SA trading regulations meant most food supply shops outside the CBD would be closed, I used the unexpected Sunday free time, to stock up on ice blocks, reduced sugar ice cream, milk and prawns to get me through the next bout of hot days. I’m going through a lot of low sugar ice blocks! 

I spent the hottest Australia Day on record inside, aircon on from 10 am, Western balcony plants watered and blinds down from 1pm. The overnight temperature didn’t get below 31C. I slept well with a fan on. It was already 35C when I turned the aircon back on at 7.15am.

Today it reached 42C by 11.30am. I had all blinds and curtains drawn except for part of the western balcony window so I could sit in my embroidered chair (red circle) to stitch and catch some light.  Around midday, when the sun moved overhead and the wind got up, I closed the curtains and turned on the light.

Most of the plants are coping well. At least two, including the Mulla Mulla, will need to be replaced. I haven’t tried the lift, which has failed before in the heat. With that in mind,  I cancelled today's cleaning. The risk of cleaners, with all their gear, not being able to use the lift, either up or down, in 42C, seemed too high. There is no news of a lift failure, but then, I'm not sure anyone has tried it. 

The Australia Day Honours List included an Order of Australia for Pat Pledger for her services to Children’s Literature. Pat has long reviewed and promoted children’s literature through Reading Plus. We worked together as teacher- librarians in the 1980s, our families were friends and we now belong to the same book club. It is so good that her years of quiet, diligent, relentless work to promote and facilitate reading has been recognised.

While tomorrow is a bit of a reprieve, with a forecast of 33C, we are likely to return to 37C on Thursday and 42C on Friday. No cool change on the horizon until Sunday. I have cancelled Pilates on Thursday since I don't think the studio aircon has been fixed. While I hate this hot weather, it has given me a chance to make good progress on Hanka Robertson's drawstring purse from  Winter 2025 Piecework magazine. I'm aware of the irony. The meticulous, slow and precise nature of the cross stitch has been a challenge, but the beauty of it is a reward. There's still quite a bit to do.

I'm aware that some of my US friends may, at the moment, be experiencing a dangerous snow storm. You are on my mind - crazy extremes at work, as I sit in Adelaide in 42C,  embroidering a project  published recently in the Northern hemisphere Winter. At least the dominant red has its own relevance to both.

Post 621 Darkness and Light

On Thursday I finished the Aurora embroidery, and made the bag on Friday. As my embroidery blog says, I am in love with these panels. 

On my way to shop for Moussaka ingredients for Monday night’s dinner, I swung by Create in Stitch for more threads. The Jacquot panels chew through thread, because they use 6 strands of a limited colour range. While I’ve varied it a bit, the palette works too well to move too far. 

I also bought a couple of packets of 14 count Aida. I find it hard to believe I don’t have a supply of this, but search as I might, none materialised. I really want to have a go at the cross stitch pattern for A Slavic Inspired Purse in the Winter 2025 Piecework magazine. While it recommends 28 count linen I want to try it on Aida. I’ve gridded it up and found the threads, so now it’s in the queue. And, yes, it might have benefitted from an iron, but given the amount of stiffening in it I might wait to see how it hoops up. It’s going to need a wash to remove the stiffener..

We’ve been having trouble with our lobby lights since early Wednesday morning. On Thursday an electrician attempted a fix which was initially intermittently successful, then a total failure.  

As our lobbies have no external light source, they are pitch black without lighting. I resurrected a battery-operated lamp and placed it outside my door before realising there is a power point near the stair door.  I dug out a craft standing lamp and plugged it in. It can be switched on when heading out and turned off when you return,  and replaced with a night light. Pays to be inventive. 

Turns out it was a two electrician job. The booking for a Monday fix was postponed because the electricians were needed at a major fire in a solar panel factory. Today they returned and restored the foyer lights - adjusting the range to significantly improve the coverage from my door. Unfortunately the Exit light over the stair door is still out of action - so they’ll be back.

 On Wednesday I also received notice from OfficeWorks that the two mugs and coasters I had ordered on Boxing Day had arrived. I hastened to pick it up, curious to see if the disappearing picture mug worked. It did! I’m not showing much, as it is personal to a couple of family members, but the mug is initially black. When hot liquid is poured in, the black slowly disappears, revealing the picture underneath. This photo is about halfway through the process.  While the mug is warm, the picture remains, the black returning when it is cold. Magic! 

 

After finishing the Aurora bag mentioned above, I sorted out the remaining panels and bags I have, ironed them  and prepared the next one to embroider,  all detailed in my embroidery blog.

I've managed to make a small birthday bag since then which I'll report on later in the year.

Most of Saturday was spent making moussaka for Monday dinner. I decided to make two smaller rather than one large one - easier to deal with if not everyone turns up. I haven't done a roast for a while, and was tempted, but the temperature is above 30C all week and I'd rather not heat the kitchen up by having the oven on for 3+ hours. While moussaka takes me about 5 hours to make, it's a mixture of oven and cooktop in stages, rather than a constant - and I'm the only one affected.  I was still perspiring by the time I finished.  There were 5 of us for dinner, so the larger of the two sufficed, with enough left for my dinner tonight, and the smaller went home for those who missed out.  

Sunday was Book Club. I now have a data base of the titles we discuss, so take my laptop and add them as we talk. In addition to discussing the 2-3 nominated books, we report on all the other crime fiction we've read since our last meeting. Because that was in late November, there were a lot. I added 70 books to the database during the meeting! I will only attempt to read one or two of them. Today, after my hairdressing appointment, and before stopping at The Grind for 3kg of coffee beans, I called at Dymocks for a copy of Jane Harper’s Last One Out.  The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell is on its way from the World of Books.

That’s enough for me.

While it was only 31C today, its's heating up again, culminating in a forecast 42C on Saturday, which is when I will be giving a presentation and workshop on The Evil Eye in Embroidery at the Guild's Certificate Course Workshop. This afternoon I made a few adjustments and checked the exaample, templates, instructions and construction process.  I've been asked to bring my laptop, so I'm trying to locate a HDMI cable for my Mac. Otherwise I think it will be OK - provided the trading table has a good supply of beads and bling!

I've made a bit of progress on that next Kasia Jacquot panel. With a bit of luck I'll finish it tomorrow. The latest Inspirations magazine arrived today, with a couple of projects I find appealing. I'll take a rain check when I've finished a few more bags - including the Piecework cross-stitch one outlined above.

  

Post 620 Birthday Boost.

I spent all of Wednesday and Thursday inside doing some family history research for a family member with convict pedigree and working on the bag to the left. The temperature reached 43C and on Thursday 44C. I had thought of visiting the supermarket, but had enough food to keep me going so stayed in. Wednesday’s overnight low was 22C and Thursday 23C. I had the Aircon on each day from around 9am until 10pm and a fan on overnight, remaining quite comfortable. I had tuna(in oil, from a tin ) salad for dinner both days, so the stove didn’t go on. Even with solar panels, I clocked up $60 in electricity use over the two days, not something everyone could afford and certainly not sustainable over long period.

Friday got to 32C. By 9am the buzzer system was restored- a simple reset taking 10 minutes max. 🙄.

My granddaughters and I went shopping for silk at Eastern Silk. This is the choice we had. The girls each have a length or two and are working out what to make with it. Although we can all sew, we will plan a visit to a dressmaker when the initial design phase is over. Afterwards we repaired to the Queen Street Cafe for lunch.

On the way home I stopped at the Brickworks to pick up a newly-released book set in New Zealand. It had reached 32C so I did my shopping there, including a good supply of ice blocks, stopping only to mail a parcel on the way home. Around 5pm the temperature was down to 28 and there was a breeze, so I opened up the balcony doors and turned off the aircon. Such a relief! It made for an impressive sunset.

I skimmed the book on Saturday - well written but not my kettle of fish - too slow, too noir, too many voices.

In addition, I spent several hours doing some very specific research for my brother.

As the weather cooled down on Saturday and Sunday I decided to prepare my next knitting project,  the manteau capelet, with the beaded yarn I bought back in September. 

As it was in skeins the first task was  to wind it into balls.

It is knitted from the top down, so it didn't take long to knit the beaded top border before returning to my embroidery.

I haven't knitted with beaded yarn before. It is progressing and proving lovely to knit with.

Yesterday was my birthday - the last in my 70s. I had reluctantly agreed to a visit from the window cleaner at 8.30am. Adrian, who runs the business, had been trying to organise a visit since November, always at short notice and never when I was home.
 I was happy to be able to say Yes at last. By the time the young man actually arrived it was 9.20, and I had taken two birthday calls while alert for the buzzer (now fixed). He did a very good job. When he left I went shopping for milk and fruit, grabbed a Vietnamese salad lunch and settled at home to advance the Ania embroidery. and take more calls and messages.

Just after 6 I headed out to Sammy’s, on the Glenelg Marina for dinner with Adelaide family. We shared a dozen oysters, ate a variety of seafood and had a good time. I was privileged to open a variety of birthday gifts, photographing the totality when I got home. The spectacle case in the front is cork, purchased by Fionn in a Brisbane market - very rare. The wool is grown, spun and hand dyed locally - as soft as down. The bag is made by a local Guild member, the silver pin by a local artist, the pincushion by Niamh herself, the necklace by a Ghanan migrant in Canberra and the felted ball earrings by a Canberra artist. Amazing and brilliant.

Today I took things easy, prepared for a big clean - it's been 4 weeks since the last one because of Christmas, I did a lot of plant tidying and plenty of watering throughout the week. With the heat and watering the mandeville is flowering. I'm a bit worried about the Mulla Mulla. While the stems still have some green, the leaves have died. It has evolved to deal with heat but may not have been well enough established when the heat hit. I can only wait and see.

I finished off the Ania bag this afternoon.Detail in my embroidery blog.

It reached 31C today, a far cry from a week ago. I'm still enjoying the afterglow of the time spent talking to and dining with, family and friends yesterday. Thank you so much to all of you who have been in touch and given me so much friendship and love.

Post 619 Mostly Heat, Health and Happiness.

 

This was the  first photo I took in 2026, about 8am on New Year's Day 2026 from my back balcony. The business of the city is just visible in the top left hand corner - a high rise and a crane. The second photo I took had more balcony and no sign of city building. That's the one I posted to Instagram and FB, but I think the first is appropriate here.

There is a lot of building going on in the city and suburbs as the City Council and State Government prepare for growth. Hopefully they continue to manage that well, and to keep greening the city.

I did my bit on New Year's Day by heading to a nursery with a mental note of empty spots and pots I wanted to fill.   I came home with a punnet of petunias, a pummet of marigolds, a lisiantus, a frangipani and a Ptilitis Mulla Mulla. The last is an Australian desert plant with slightly mauve tufted flowers. I haven't tried it before, so here's hoping. 

It was 30C when I arrived home and unloaded them. I planted all but the marigolds. and watered them all well.  The roots of some of them had reached the limits of their pots, which I should have expected at this time of year.  The lisianthus, in particular, was a bit of a concern. 

They were all looking perky, however, the next day, when I planted out the marigolds. I had to remove a dead lavender bush from this pot before planting them, so it took a bit of time.  It hadn't reached the forecast peak of 31C but was still hot, so everything got watered again. I'll need to keep that up for the rest of Summer. Today it has reached 35C and tomorrow is forecast to be 42C. With daily watering they are all looking good.

I fasted overnight on New Year's Day, so I could do a blood test on Friday morning, ready for a check-up with my GP. My closest pathology lab was closed for the Christmas period, so I drove to North Adelaide. I wasn't sure if they would be busy or quiet during a holiday period. There was no waiting at all. I had a quick look around the very quiet North Adelaide Village Shopping Centre, bought grapes and cheese and came home for breakfast. 

I managed to finish the Spritz cardigan just after midnight on New Year's Eve. The details are in my embroidery blog. I'm delighted to enter 2026 without this on my to-do list! 

I'm now working on another Kasia Jacquot Veronka to add to a bag. That was what sent me off to Spotlight on Saturday. I store each of these panels with a Semco cotton craft bag on to which the finished panel will be stitched. I couldn’t find the cotton craft bag I thought I had stored with the panel. The bags were on sale at Spotlight, so I
bought a supply.  Of course, when I got home I found the missing one! No matter, I have now matched up all the panels I have left to bags. There are ten more panels/bags once I finish this one. And five bags left over for my own designs. One day.

I also called at Eastern Silk, an emporium of imported textiles of all sorts. They are closing in six months and selling off all their stock. I was looking for silk remnants to make another batch of gift bags. They had no remnants, but a room full of rolls of silk. I ended up choosing 5 rolls. The owner did a rough calculation of what was left on each roll and offered a price.  I ended up with 20 metres at an average of $14.50 a metre. The original prices were between $39 and $60 a metre. 

If I follow my original intention, it will make  100 or so bags. I have, however, offered the pieces to family members in case someone would like to have something made. 

There is 6.6 metres of the lovely, floaty orange, and the patterned.  blue would make a beautiful shirt.   I’m not sure I’m prepared to cut up 6.6 metres of silk for bags.   I, however, have more than enough clothes. 

It brings back memories though. I had several silk suits made when working and travelling. They packed small, looked good, and were comfortable in hot weather - even in Darwin where I visited frequently.

I also bought a loose cotton dress from a rack of many, all labelled All size. It was gathered from below the bust and was generous when I checked it against my hips - the usual sticking point. At home, however, it was the bust and shoulders that didn’t fit! I was hoping one of the women in the family can find a use for it but that is looking unlikely. I loved the bright colours and thought it would keep the wearer cool in summer.  I may have to turn it into bags!

I had woken that morning with an ache in my right sacroiliac joint, apparently from the way I’d been sleeping. 

My left sacroiliac joint is damaged from an old fall, but this ache was new. It persisted throughout the day, but didn’t trouble me when I went to bed. I woke around 6am on Sunday, however, with it aching again, and also with an ache in one eye. I applied one of the disposable eye masks and dozed off for the half hour the warmth lasted, after which I got up, heated a wheat bag and applied it to my back, arising pain-free for breakfast.💪🏼 The ache returned a few times during the day and again at night. Heat seems to work -  Deep Heat Rub less effective that hot wheat bag.                                                                                                  It didn't stop me taking down the Christmas decorations. It's a day earlier than my mother dictated - 5 January being the 12th day of Christmas. I was going to be busy on Monday, so risked breaking tradition. I left the angel and bird hanging on my flyscreen where they catch the light. Cards are still arriving, so they also stayed.                                                                                                                                                                         

 Yesterday I had an appointment for a full health care assessment with both my GP and the nurse. This is required under the government health plan that gives me access to some services at no or low fee . To my astonishment, the nurse’ assessment took nearly one and a half hours - asking questions, checking records, measuring. She was brilliant- personable, astute, considerate, interested.  When she had finished I saw my GP who added some further questions about my social and mental well-being. He also had and discussed my blood test results.  My blood sugars are lower than last time (when they were ok) and my kidney is doing ok.  I came home very happy with plenty of time to marinate the Chicken Marylands in lemon and honey, bake  the potatoes and bacon  and make a Greek salad for dinner - another relaxed and happy time. 

I have a GP appointment in April to check on kidney and get my flu shot, and a nurse appointment to check on the plan progress in August.  So fortunate.

This morning I had a podiatry appointment - one of the services subsidised by the health plan.  I spent the rest of the day doing a bit of family history research for a family member, inside, escaping the 35C heat. Tomorrow is forecast as 42C, and the rest of the week not much better. I don't like the heat, but I can manage it.

The Veronka embroidery is almost finished. I expect to finish it tomorrow and maybe make the bag. I won't be meeting my walking goal outside in the heat but might manage a few turns around the apartment - or even the supermarket. And there are plenty more embroidery and research projects to keep me relaxed and happy.