Post 542 Mostly retail therapy, some scary.

 

Wednesday began with a visit to The Bobbin Tree, to pick up the three kits that I ordered the day before from Inspirations. They are, indeed, inspiring, but I am sticking to my knitting. I'm not going to show or discuss them yet, but one is Aquile by  Maria Rita Falleri, whose work I love. From The Bobbin Tree, determined to bite the bullet, I headed into the city to the Apple shop, waited impatiently until one of the helpers was free, then explained I wanted a new laptop.  I had worked out two options, one a Mac Air and one an iPad with keyboard. Explaining took a while, as did finding the only assistant who could help, explaining again and discussing. Eventually, it appeared the iPad option didn't quite fit my criteria, but the Mac Air did. As the store did not have one in stock with the memory I needed, we have ordered it, to be delivered to the store early next week.  I chose store delivery to get help with data transfer. Maybe I don't need that, but I need reassurance. 

In the meantime. my old laptop battery is draining faster and faster. It’s close to 9 years old. I've put off replacement because my computer skills and knowledge are, like the laptop, out of date, and I don't have an IT crowd on hand as I once did. I know I can do this, but change is scary, and time-consuming.

As I was about to drive home, my phone revealed a postie seeking access to the apartment foyer to leave a parcel. I let him in from my phone and the parcel was in the lift when I arrived home, a reminder that I've coped with a change to an app for remote entry! It turned out to be a book I ordered for the Guild Library several months ago. It's stunning.

The Guild Library team meet about fortnightly. When I checked, it was their workday, so I jumped back in the car and delivered it to them. It’s another one WES members will make good use of.

I was still hoping to get to the Aptos Cruz  EOFY sale, the one I abandoned last Tuesday because of the rain. As they have the business on the market, I wanted to get there if possible. Only Thursday or Friday remained to visit. I checked the weather carefully.  The best  forecast gap in the rain was early afternoon on Thursday, so I cancelled my Pilates class, eyed the sky, and set off around lunchtime. It could have been a worse drive, but blinding rain still caught me for several kilometres of the freeway in both directions. Both up and down I found a truck to sit behind and followed the tail lights. A bit scary, but I did it.💪

It was worth it. I got the last of their books Prada and Chanel books for Veronica and two Japanese bowls to match the one I  have used constantly since I bought it on my last visit.

  

I now have my personal set for all occasions , which should cover most meals from soup to toast or roast. Left is the middle size.

My real indulgence was a necklace of shells. I could see myself wearing it. As shell jewellery always does, it reminds me of Alice Walker's poem We Alone. 

This could be our revolution: 
to love what is plentiful 
as much as 
what is scarce

I want to be part of that revolution. I recognise the irony. While shells are plentiful, shell necklaces are not. I hope the artisan got joy in (and appropriate payment for) the making. It's beautiful.

To my surprise, the stand came with it. Aptos Cruz has them made by a local metalworker to fit each piece.  It needs a cord to connect the outer edges of each shoulder, as they stick up, from the thickness, when worn. It's a simple enough adjustment that I can make.   

I’m very glad I made the trip when I did. Friday’s weather was miserable. I waited in for a postal delivery, then headed to Frewville for some pork for Monday, calling at Create in Stitch to drop off my Botanical Embroidery bags for their 20th Anniversary exhibition opening tonight, then bunkered down  to sudoku, crosswords, and word games with the heating on.     

Saturday was also gloomy and wet. I set out for St Margaret’s Woodville Market morning, with an Almanda Blue (left) for the couple who run the plant stall. I promised to start one for them before Christmas, now, thanks to Cathy, I could deliver. They were surprised and pleased.  I had forgotten to go to the bank for more cash but had just enough to buy 7 more plants!    
I got them home, grabbed a bit of lunch before Heading out to an organ concert at the Cathedral. Planting had to wait.    

The St. Peter's organ was sent to Durham, England to be overhauled in 2017 and reinstalled in December 2018. With cathedral acoustics, it is a powerful  sound.          

There is a camera in the organ loft, trained on the keyboard and organist's upper body. While the screen spoils the aesthetic, it provides a lot of useful information. I was astounded by the number of stops. I ended up wanting a second camera on the pedals!
            
I enjoyed some pieces more than others. I didn't much like the last item, the brief Jean Langais' piece written for the liberation of Paris in 1944. I reckon the bells of Paris would have upstaged the organ! 

Back at Katherine & Anthony's place afterwards, Niamh and Veronica were hosting friends for dinner. The three of us who were non-party participants had an excellent risotto before tackling our weekly crosswords.

Sunday, before her last exam on Monday, was Niamh's 50th AFL game, celebrated by her leading the team through a banner on to the field, before winning against the second highest team on the ladder! The rain held off. I followed the score from home. Niamh is my June Superwoman!

Today has been a bit of a run-around. I set out to visit the upholsterer who has my chair. Five weeks ago, he said it wasn’t quite finished, but would be ready the next week. Last week, having heard nothing, I rang them, in business hours, and left a message asking them to ring back. I have repeated that every business day since. No one answers the phone. No one rings back. Today I visited the shop . The door was locked. A clock sign in the window said they were out and the clock displayed 6.30. I began to search for records of bankruptcy. 

Armed with 2 metres of lovely linen cloth one of my daughters gave me a couple of birthdays ago, my second stop was a maker of blinds,. I’ve thought long and hard about how to use the linen and concluded it needs to hang. Originally I thought it needed light behind it but the pattern is in fact better seen against a solid. I don’t need new blinds, but I could do with better sun protection and window insulation in my huge bedroom window.  The fabric would look lovely hanging there and would fitting in light of the many birds outside the window. It is possible, it seems, to add a border to the 2 metre length, back it with insulating fabric, and create a Roman blind. Michelle is coming next Monday to measure and quote. 
 In passing I mentioned to her my concern about the upholsterer. She deals with a supplier who also works with the upholsterer, so she made a phone call. The upholsterers (it’s a family business) are in Queensland on holiday and will be away for another week! A message to that effect on the answering machine and/or website and/or shop door might have been helpful. I am relieved. So far Michelle is my July Superwoman!

Before I headed out to the Guild to drop off something for a friend, a message arrived to say new my laptop was ready to pick up from Apple. The promised link to an appointment for  help transferring data wasn't there. A phone call eventually established I don’t need an appointment, Thursday morning will be fine BUT I need to have backed up the old machine to a hard drive, otherwise they will do that in the shop, which could take hours! When I revealed my Airport back-up hasn't worked reliably for several months I was immediately diverted to tech support. This resulted in such
an absurd conversation with a machine, that I hung up, found online instructions,  dug out the hard drive to which I backed up six years ago and set a back-up going. What began as a prediction of 23 hours to complete, took under 3.   Please think positive thoughts for me, especially on Thursday morning Adelaide time. If we get through this, I will be posting from a new laptop next week. 

I am far more confident on the first sleeve of the coatigan. I am now decreasing at each end of the knit rows for the raglan section. I enjoy the increase in speed as the rows decrease in length - about 70 rows to go. While there is still another sleeve to knit, I have the scent of a finish, and the energy that generates. 

Post 541 It's Winter in Adelaide

I captured half an hour of sunrise last Wednesday morning, between 7.05am to 7.34am on the clock. I was pleased to have snapped it, as thick cloud obscured sunrise for the most  of the rest of the week.

It was my only day without appointments, and the only one likely to be fine for most of the day, so I did the washing, hanging it out around midday. There was a brief shower, but plenty of breeze. By the end of the day it was what my mother would have called too dry to get wet. I brought it in as the rain began and finished it in the heated bedroom.

The zygo cacti have settled well to their new home and are blooming generously, while the Wolemi pine is also looking happy.

The Almanda Blue I divided has recovered and the three transplanted pieces have growth already. These are now ready for new homes.

The one in the top left is my original. The bottom is the mother plant, from which the three smaller ones were taken.My original, while looking really healthy, has a way to go before it hangs over, perhaps because it is planted lower in the pot. None of them are anywhere near the original cultivated by John Walmsely, but I’m hopeful.

When I  extended the table last Monday night, I used a tablecloth that barely fitted so needed my crumb brush to sweep up escaped crumbs. 

It is a vintage pokerwork set, badly in need of bristle replacement. I've tried several times, unsuccessfully, to find a repairer. It’s not entirely useless, but far from efficient. This week I admitted defeat and ordered a new, contemporary set from a small business in Sutherland, NSW.  I'd still like to have this repaired, but I've reached my limit of making-do with it as it is.

On Wednesday last week I added angel hair pasta to the some of the remaining liquid from the lamb shanks I had cooked for the previous family dinner. That was my pasta quota for the week, and delicious. 

 

I had registered the Winter Solstice as being Saturday, so missed checking out sunrise on Friday, the actual Solstice. I did however, take photos walking home from the dentist mid-morning, so photos on the right show the day of the Winter Solstice in Adelaide,  and on the left, the same day,

moonrise  over the Adelaide Hills.

Between the dentist and moonrise was a  Sit’nStitch, our last for a few weeks. 

My hand braces and exercises are working well, complemented by Pilates. 

With at least six books on the go at the moment, I plunged straight into The Coat Route when it arrived on Friday.. The author travelled the world to see how each of the components of a $US50,000 bespoke Vicuna overcoat, made in Sydney for a Canadian customer, were made, through networks of breeders, ranchers, engravers, button-makers, spinners, weavers and tailors. Some WES Group members are going to love it.  It is not, unfortunately, lavishly illustrated. I galloped though it - my kind of book. If interested, my review is at. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16099182

I couldn't, however, convince anyone at our Crime Bookclub on Sunday! We took a bit longer than usual, with several members having read a lot in the last month. Not me. I will need to do better this month, as I have to have our August reads chosen when we meet next month. 

After Bookclub I took myself off for a late lunch at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart and then had a good look at the yarnbombing effort I missed with COVID. Our Square has 4 quadrants, each one carrying, in copper, across the central corners, one of the words The Forest of Dreams. Our quadrant is Forrest. A pretty good yarn bombing effort.

Another relaxed dinner yesterday, this time for 7. Inspirations magazine arrived and a couple of its projects seduced me into ordering kits. A Guild friend rang to tempt me with a hat pattern.

Today I set off with a list and good intentions. I picked up a parcel from the post office, an indulgence of two more scarf pins, then went on to a bookshop, the only one in Adelaide carrying Miss Austen Investigates which I wanted to test out for the Book Club pick.

I had planned to go on to Big W for Bone Lands, the second one I am considering, but in the end, supported the independent bookseller, and bought it. 

I was heading for the Hills next, to visit Aptos Cruz, which has finally announced a closing sale. A bit low on petrol, I stopped to fill up just before the freeway. By the time I’d paid, the rain was bucketing down. I don’t fancy the drive up or down the freeway in this weather, so I headed for home, put on the heating, had some lunch and began Miss Austen. 

A message from Inspirations said my kits could be picked up from the Bobbin Tree. I was tempted to head out straightaway, but decided to leave it until tomorrow morning. I’d love to have them, but I don't intend starting them,  the shop closes at 4, and the weather was off-putting. 

Time for woolly slippers, coatigan knitting and another episode of Donaldson and Dodds.