406 Getting sorted

The sunset on Wednesday was striking, ahead of a bit of a storm; more in the distance than over Adelaide, although there was some rain. It was Alison's birthday. 

I had a ticket to  an 11 am performance of Eureka Day by the State Theatre Company but our lift was out of order until midday. I could have gone down the stairs but our borders had opened and we had three Covid positive arrivals.  The theatre,  still surrounded by a building site, had full seating, no hot drinks, no food. I didn't feel comfortable and the experience lost its attraction. I gave up. 

Instead I finished the scissor fob for the Leadlight Counted Set. My head has been out of this for a few weeks and by the time I realised I should work both sides of the fobI had positioned it badly on the fabric, so I used a small piece of Ink and Spindle linen for the back.               

This finishes the set.

The doves now visit as soon as I open the door. They look lovely against the trees and amongst the portulaca.

On Thursday I came home after Pilates to wait for a courier delivering my Christmas cards from the printer. I then went to the Guild and picked up the wool for my Viking Embroidery workshop , came home and added it to the kits.  I arranged to call in at the Guild on Saturday to find the Appleton's wools in the required colours from the trading table.

That turned out fairly well. I should have looked for gold wool as well as the brown, blue and cream I focused on. I've put together bundles of thread and added them to the workshop packs . I've substituted but will keep an eye out for gold. While I was at the Guild, I scanned a folder of articles about Lagartera, which Margaret A had generously brought in for me to borrow. It's a precious folder and better I don't take it from the building. Job done. Many thanks Margaret. We now have quite a bit of information for a session at WES next year.

On Friday I went to Seppeltsfield with three friends to celebrate a birthday.  It was a pleasant day of around 20C, lovely food and great company. I only took one photo - of the roof of the restaurant - a sure sign I was too busy enjoying myself.

On the weekend I checked all my Christmas gifts and made a few bags. I also  went to Frewville to buy a couple of Enzo's lasagna for Monday. I didn't like the look of the Enzo's ones available so settled for two other local brands. Only one was needed. Fionn was at football training until 7.30 and the girls had netball training at 6.30. I served the lasagne with salad at 5.30 for those who could make it. It was thick and creamy. The second one is in the freezer.

There were fireworks in Rymill Park around 8.30 pm on Sunday, visible from my eastern balcony. Apparently they were the culmination of a four day car rally. I also discovered that the New Year's Eve fireworks this year will be from Rymill Park, which means I should see them. Not easy to photograph though!

Monday was a fruitful day. The service men from Burns for Blinds arrived just after 9am. Efficient and cheerful,  they quickly determined that my two controllers had flat batteries and brought a fully charged one from their van. As soon as they used it, the roller shutter descended. It was then I discovered that the battery charger on the wall was not, as I thought, hard-wired, but plugged into a loose cord I thought belonged to a lamp. The connecting plug on the charger is tiny , not visible unless you look underneath, which I had not though to do. My feelings of inadequacy and idiocy were secondary to my overwhelming relief, joy and gratitude. 

It is 33C today and the shutter is down, improving the heat control. 

After the shutter fix I went shopping for bread and stamps. My overseas Christmas cards have gone, and the Australian ones ready to post tomorrow.  I was home, waiting for the girls to arrive when I had a visit from an abseiler. He buzzed from the entrance and came up at my invitation - a very large man in full abseiling gear, pockets and cords attached at every imaginable point. His company, it seems, has the contract to clean up, repair and paint the outside of the building next door and will be abseiling over my back balcony for the next couple of months. He was here to persuade me to a) close my Vergola roof b) refrain from going on to my balcony during the day while they are working.

Somewhat surprisingly, I agreed quite readily. I think I was still euphoric over the shutter result and inclined to assist polite, informative tradies.  I don't spend much time on my balcony, except to hang out washing and water the plants. I spend a lot of time looking out from inside. I have his phone number to let him know if I am going on to the balcony. 

They have put up boards and covers (most of which, of course, I can't see because the Vergola is closed) and have been working this morning, making quite a bit of noise on the roof while getting set up. My only real concern is that I can't see to take photos of them working.  They will remove their cover each weekend.

It is an imposition - but I figure helpfulness won't hurt me. Bizarre though.

Today I changed over to my summer quilt. It looks as if the cold nights are over. I washed the winter one, and hung it out after 5 to keep my promise to the abseiler. I prepared some lamb shanks and some duck legs - my meals for the rest of the week - and went to Unley to buy milk, post cards and deposit a cheque at the bank. That was a learning experience, involving envelopes like mail voting and a postal slot. Surprisingly the notice of deposit into my account was on my phone by the time I got home.

I also phoned the nephrologist's rooms to follow up on my question about vaccine booster. It seems he meant 'mrna' rather than 'Moderna'. I can have the Pfizer vaccine. At the moment the clinic I used for the first two vaccines isn't taking bookings into January and I can't have it before 8 January. So I wait.

While getting organised for Christmas, I decided to reduce my kit stash by making up some ballet bears as gifts for my Pilates class. That's occupied my stitching time this week.  This is a Bucilla kit I bought years ago. I liked them so much I bought several kits.  

There are six bears per kit. I had one full kit and one with four remaining. I've now made up those four. I need one for each of my three fellow students, one for the instructor and one for the receptionist, 5 in all. 

I pondered overnight if I could adapt one to a male bear for the one male in the group.  Late this afternoon I created some tissue templates, dug out some felt scraps  and cut them into the shapes. 

I have just finished putting it together. I think it will do the trick nicely.

One way and another, a getting sorted kind of week.

Post 403 Ups and downs

 

On Wednesday early the next layer of the scaffold came down on the Eastern side building next door. I was delighted to have most of my missing view back. There are two levels of scaffold to go.

The rest of the day was peaceful and relaxed. I had a lovely long phone call with a Guild friend and another with a friend of Jim's I haven't heard from for nearly two years. It was terrific to pick up where we left off. I also had a couple of conversations with my brother, trying to rectify the fact that I sent a parcel of books to his long defunct PO Box instead of his current one.  In this case, Australia Post were terrific and quickly found a solution.

At the end of the day I was less happy to discover that the West facing scaffold had also been removed and my view of the twin branched Norfolk Pine is now filtered through a balcony on the adjoining building. Admittedly, this is only visible when I am on my balcony, not when I am in my living room - and I can at least see through the balcony.  When the rest of the scaffold is removed I will be able to see into one end of a lower balcony as well. It's not terrible, nor too intrusive, but a bit of a surprise. 

On Thursday I had a medical day - fasting blood test , then an optometrist appointment before Pilates. The blood test revealed no change in my kidney readings which is a bit disappointing. They are not dangerously high, but higher than desirable. I see the renal specialist next Thursday, so I need to discuss. The optometrist spent 40 minutes examining my left eye which is once again inflamed with Meibomian Gland Disorder . She has upped the ante and moved me to a phosphate-free eye drop at least 4-6 times a day and a steroid cream twice a day as well as hotpacks. After 5 days there is definite improvement.  

Friday I did some shopping, went to Sit'nStitch, came home and cooked the ragu for moussaka. 

On Saturday I had half my front balcony cleaned. I can't reach much of it without a ladder. My cleaner did a fabulous job, tidying and organising as well as cleaning. It's a big job - grime from traffic and weather has not been removed in  more than 5 years. Michael Constantinou's Spanish Mackerel is looking splendid. It was also a JEMS day. It looked like a good turnout. Niamh and I had our regular milkshakes and Katherine and I had a good catch up while stitching. She is covering coat hangers. They look great.

At 8.30 on Sunday morning I took all the front boxes and bits out of my storage locker in the carpark and washed them.  Behind the front boxes is a single layer of boxes against the back wall, mostly labelled. I realised all of these are not going to fit on the trolley I bought. There is, however, no real need to move them. With nothing in front of them, it is  easy to see the labels and not too difficult to get to them.  The trolley will fit in front of them.

Just after 9.30 am Ken arrived and we removed the flatpack for the trolley from the back seat of my car, read the instructions and set to work.

Once we worked out a couple of simple processes it went very smoothly.

By 11 am we had it assembled and began to stack it.  By 11.30 it was in place and we had cleaned up. 

I discovered a couple of bits that should have gone out in the hard rubbish this week, and there are a couple more I can probably do without. 

At least now I can see what's there and get to it pretty easily. I now need to investigate archiving some of it.

It is a very good job jobbed and I couldn't have done it without Ken's help.

When I changed into clean clothes afterwards I discovered the jeans I bought last year are now a size too large for me, so I stitched elastic into the waist band - a fine solution and a pleasing discovery! While I was about it I patched a sheet which had developed a tear. Late in the afternoon I popped over to Ken and Barbara's place for a quick dinner.   A most satisfactory day!

It's been warm for a few days and on Monday morning I attempted to close the roller shutters on my large back window but nothing moved. I figured the battery had died in the controller. I couldn't get the back off to change it, so took it back to Burns for Blinds. Apparently the controller batteries are not made to be changed and the whole thing needs to be replaced, so they have ordered one for me. By amazing good fortune they are guaranteed for 5 years and this one is two months inside the guarantee, so there will be no charge - but a wait. 

In the meantime I plugged away at the pincushion in the Leadlight Counted Set and finished one side.

The moussaka was a good one. The ragu was thick and rich - down, I think, to the lamb being minced fresh by the butcher and a new brand of passata (well, there was also the half bottle of wine). 

Fionn is preparing for exams, Brigid had a netball committee meeting and the girls enjoying the end of year wind-down without the sadness of last year's transition from primary school.

This morning the scaffold at the back of the building next door was removed. My new view isn't quite as wide as it was before the building, but it's pretty good and much better than looking at scaffolding. 

This is what it looks like from my favourite chair just inside. I'm not complaining. 

I had intended to go into the city today and collect some restrung jewellery, but it was strata window cleaning day and I had organised for the contractor to clean my interior and exterior balcony windows. He did a terrific job and warned me that water from the plants is staining the windows in a few places. That doesn't worry me too much, but I'm going to try moving the plants on the front balcony away from the windows.

To my surprise, Burns for Blinds rang to say my controller had arrived, so late this afternoon I drove out and picked it up. It is currently on the charger, and I was nervous about whether it would work. If the problem isn't  the controller, it may mean a lot more work to fix it. I was right to be worried. After 5 hours on the charger it is still not working, so I need to ring Burns for Blinds tomorrow and ask for someone to look at it. It may mean getting on the roof - and scaffolding!

By this afternoon the scaffolding on the front of the building next door had gone. This is my new view looking south.  Left is the view from the edge of the balcony. Top right is the view from my usual chair and bottom right is the view from the dining table.  Not too bad.

I've finished the Leadlight Counted Set pincushion. I used a slightly darker cotton for the second side, just for variety. I played with leaving spaces to create a pattern (top left) but stitched over it.

So it's been an up and down week. The roller shutter not working is a worry, but there's quite a bit to be thankful for. I have also reached 14kg weight loss. 

Tomorrow is WES Group and on Thursday I see the renal specialist with a list of questions. I'm hoping the week follows the weather forecast, which is mild all the way.

Post 401 One foot up and one foot down......

Last Wednesday my car was booked in for service at 10am. I had notice to say a ring I was having repaired was ready to be picked up in the city, so I swung past on my way to the car service and picked it up. A missing opal has been replaced.  I stayed at the car dealership for the 3 hours it took to service the car and worked on the Leadlight Counted  set. A couple of  employees came over to see what I was doing. 

From there I went on to Nordic Furniture and explained what I was after in the way of bookshelves. A very helpful woman agreed to come on the weekend to measure and quote on the weekend. On an errand roll, I continued to Mr Dishwasher to restock my dishwashing powder and rinse aid. I discovered they stock Jura coffee machines and got the filter I've been meaning to get for ages. 

Still ticking things off jobs list, I came home and ordered  a replacement medical ID bracelet. The band on my plaited one has worn through and the older stainless steel one I've been wearing keeps coming undone and falling off. In the meantime, I devised a temporary solution with a Buddhist prayer bracelet given to me some years ago by the Abbot Jim used to help with his English.

My jobs list fulfilment continued after Pilates on Thursday, when I went to Bunnings to get replacement globes for the exhaust fan over my stove top but I was out of luck They must have had several hundred bulbs, but not one that was suitable. A helpful assistant referred me to the wholesaler but a Google search when I got home tells me they are available in my local Woolworths supermarket! 

In between the jobs list I worked steadily on the Leadlight Counted piece. The pouch is now finished. It took a while to do the buttonhole edge and I couldn't use a hoop. I've lined it in gold silk and added a button loop and bead from a broken earring.

I have mounted the linen for the matching pin cushion on a cotton surround so I can put it in a hoop.  I don't need another pincushion, but it's a very nice design, so I will persevere.

I realised when it was too late that I started stitching too close to the edge of the linen. Fortunately I have just enough room. 

In the meantime I've returned to my knitting.

A copy of my brother's latest book arrived on Friday as I was leaving for Sit'nStitch. It's an enticing collection with lots to talk about. 

I have been steadily emptying the storage cupboard in my carparking space. It contained a vaccuum cleaner, a large plastic bin of Christmas decorations, some plastic bags, buckets, plaster moulds of my feet for several pairs of orthotics - and my year's supply of toilet rolls from Give a Crap. The toilet rolls are now safely stashed in the apartment - in the space I created by disposing of odd bottles of liqueurs and fortified wine! 

Fortunately, there is now a local council hard rubbish collection on 3 November, so the cupboard, vacuum, plaster feet and half-pallet the cupboard stands on can all be disposed of there. I began devising fanciful plans for moving them to the street but Anthony thinks he will be able to help. The sunset on Friday was a lot more calming when I'd worked out it could be done!                                                                            I like the way the lights in the apartment blocks at night look like holes.

On Saturday I managed to move my Christmas decorations and shoe cleaning gear into the apartment from the car park cupboard, and disposed of quite a bit of bubble wrap to soft plastic recycling. I also shopped for Monday dinner and dropped some lucets in to Barbara Mullan at the Guild. Her Gawler stitching group has got into lucet braiding in a big way. 

Over the weekend I cut out 20 pieces of red silk left over from various old projects and mounted them on roughly A4 calico to make samplers for the Certificate Course Viking workshop in February. It's a bit mad, but an economical way for students to try out some metallic thread couching. Preparing the fabric involved a bit of fussy cutting, some ironing and a lot of zigzag machine stitching. Not onerous.

Now I have to print the patterns and finish and print the notes.

Sunday was Crime Book Club again. It was an animated and wide-ranging discussion. None of us enjoyed, or quite knew what to make of either The Nancys or Nancy Business. It provoked a good discussion. It seems to me there is an audience somewhere that fits this better than we do. We were much happier with Robert Gott's The Orchard Murders, and likewise, for those who read it, Diana Febry's The Skeletons of Birkbury. 

I got more stitching done and stashed away a few more bits from the cupboard in my carpark before my 6pm dinner which increasingly looks similar to this. I'm not complaining. I enjoy it, and it does the trick. 13kg down today.

Monday morning saw me getting the dinner organised and ready for the oven - 10 Chicken Marylands in my largest baking pan, potatoes and bacon sliced and layered in the large pyrex dish, an eggplant parmigiana in a smaller one. Then off to buy bread and greens - broccolini and bok choi. 

I then swung past B2B, mostly to see Gay, but I took the Leadlight pincushion and got some more four-sided stitch outline done. One of the marudai that Gay had given me in case WES Group were interested (made by Peter, her husband some years ago) had fallen apart in my car. I felt bad about it. I think it had been glued and the glue gave way. Fortunately she was not overly concerned, and I had plenty of good news. Peter's lucets were a big hit and I have sold half of the 24 she gave me. The other 12 will go at the February Certificate Course - if they last that long!

This morning my electricity was off for half an hour while Suntrix fixed a faulty breaker on my line. I had good notification and the project manager rang me to make sure I had no issues. Great they identified it through system checks and fixed it before it could cause trouble.

The rest of today was spent at the hairdresser then stitching with friends Lori, Glenys and Junette. Lori made a fabulous salad lunch - best I've had in ages. I took a sashiko panel that is easy to work while talking. 

I left a bit early to get home for Jan, who was coming to measure up for my bookshelves. She had great advice - things I hadn't thought of. I await the quote, but if it's in the range she suggests I'll go with it. She is also quoting on a cupboard for my sewing/office room. Their current timelines are 18 weeks from order to delivery, so the books will continue to move from chair to table for a bit longer. It is, however, going to be a nice piece of furniture - something to look forward to. 

I think I've got some more cleaning out to do over the next few months.

Meanwhile, I've started one of the knitting kits I go from Marie Wallin a couple of months ago.  In contrast to the sashiko, this demands concentration.

All my family are now fully vaccinated, and it is looking very promising for interstate visits in January without quarantine. There is a bit of apprehension about it here in South Australia. We have been Covid free for quite a while, and there will inevitably be outbreaks once we open our borders. Even when we reach 90% vaccination, we are unlikely to have paid enough attention to the vulnerable.  

I guess we keep calm and carry on. 

Post 399 Three lunches, three embroidery projects, and a lot of books.

Last Wednesday my grandchildren and I had our school holiday lunch at the River Cafe   It was relaxed and now fairly predictable - which at the moment I think we all like. They are such interesting company. 

While out I  missed the delivery of the proof copy of the book, so dashed to the PO just before closing. It looks good, and it was much easier, with the hard copy to refer to, to find and make the online changes that Pat had identified. I managed to make the changes, upload a new version, then delete the old. The only sustained problem in so doing was with the ISBN. I've now sorted that out with Bowker, who were very helpful. I finally ordered 50 print copies. Anyone wanting a copy can order at here . Selecting your own country at the top right hand corner of the page should ensure printing and delivery from your country. I have put no royalty on the book, so the cost is printing plus postage. You can also read the whole book as a preview, or download a free ebook. Blurb informed me on Monday that they will have a 'small price increase' across the board from the 18th October, but have not specified what it is. They appear also to be offering a 25% discount on printing costs with code GREAT25 at checkout.I don't know how long that will last. 

I finished the embroidery on my coat and wrote it up for my embroidery blog. I'm pleased with it. I like the tapering fall of the design. Now I need to find another project for B2B.                                                                                                                                  Thursday was relatively busy. Before going to Pilates I met with the accountant to submit my tax. He was well prepared and we got it all done - a big relief, and a small refund.  At 6pm we had a Convenors meeting at the Guild, the first in 3 years. It was very efficiently run. The Convenors' Guidelines need updating, given the Covid requirements.  We were invited to bring our meal with us. I had my main meal late in the afternoon, and took coffee and yoghurt at the meeting. 

When I got home I settled down to work on this magnet that I am planning as a Christmas present, while watching the movie Rams as a download on demand. I was a bit disappointed in the film, which I've wanted to see for a while, When I woke up the next morning, my left wrist was very painful - RSI from holding the small plastic canvas in my left hand. I wore my wrist brace all the next day, used cream and cold packs, but it was still sore. I was cursing because I had a two day counted embroidery class coming up on the weekend.

Friday, on the other hand, was leisurely, allowing me to get organised for the weekend, hang out the washing, do a bit of shopping. Partly to stop myself using the hand, I went to Frewville to get a few supplies, and had a late lunch at Mr Nick's - grilled trout with corn and leaf salad. Excellent. 

I had planned on a toastie for dinner, but wasn't hungry enough for anything but yoghurt. The lunch didn't detract from my weight loss although it did fluctuate by 0.6 kg over the rest of the week, for no reason that I can identify.

Saturday's class, Christine Bishop's Leadlight Counted Set, started at 9.30am sharp and went until 4pm.  I had prepared the outline some time ago. The whole design is about 8" across, and folds up to make a pouch. There are. I think, 14 different stitches used.

I found the first day a bit difficult because my hand was still very sore, and my left eye was weepy - the ongoing tear duct problem, but Christine was very helpful. I tried working it in my hand but moved to a seated 6" hoop so I didn't have to use my left hand to hold it. That worked better, but I had to work away from the edge to fit it in the hoop.  I still made fair progress. When I got home I mounted the linen on some sheeting and moved it to a larger hoop.  

This is where I reached on Sunday evening. Pretty pleased with that. It has been interesting working the different stitches. I'm almost disappointed to be in a position to repeat them.

Monday was spent shopping for and preparing dinner - stirfried duck with noodles and vegetables. It worked well, except I forgot to add the bok choi at the end. There were plenty of other vegetables, which is why I was able to forget! We had an interesting discussion about mandatory vaccination - and mandates in general. Our vaccination rates have risen significantly, especially amongst the 12-15 and 16-18 age groups. Fionn puts it down to education. He thinks schools have done a good job of educating kids about vaccines and other safety issues, like driver education. It's a good testimony. 

Today I went to the Retired Secondary Principals' Association lunch. These are held twice a year. Numbers have been down since Covid interrupted the twice a year routine. 

There were only 14 there today, at the Blackwood RSL to hear Deb O'Reilly, Director of New Schools for the Education Department, speak about the current approaches to the built environment of schools and the new schools currently being built.  It was really interesting. My late friend Heather Woods, who took a great interest in advances in this area, would have been delighted to hear of the progress being made for student learning. 

While I was there I received messages to tell me of a couple of deliveries that were coming today and sure enough, they arrived  15 minutes before I got home and had been taken to the local PO. There were three boxes, two of them containing the 50 copies I had ordered of Conversation with Baby Boomer Teachers! It is good to have them and a shame I wasn't able to take them to today's meeting. The third package was a book from my brother in preparation for some research he wants me to help with.  I rang to thank him and we ended up talking for nearly 2 hours.

Altogether a good day.

Tomorrow is the WES Group meeting, and my turn to present - Viking Embroidery. I have quite a lot to gather together to take with me.

All in all it has been an eventful week: a few stresses and obstacles, but plenty to be thankful for. 

Deo gratias.