Post 571 The Eyes Have It.

 

It’s been a week of relentless heat, at least 35C every day and 40C yesterday as the girls made  their way here on foot  from school and working in the city. Troopers. 

The city provided inspirational light to those still out when the sun set around 8.45pm.

I’ve spent most of the week inside, reading, researching, stitching or writing without the use of my right index finger. I shopped a couple of times, and spent Saturday making a pasta bake for Monday, because my big adventure was lunch at friends’ house on Sunday. It was great to catch up in their cool house and feast on gazpacho and seafood.

I cancelled Pilates on Thursday after a lot of thought. It's important exercise for me, but even exercises on legs and torso usually involve gripping something, and I really don’t want to knock or stress my recovering finger.

 Yesterday the 8 stitches were removed. One bled, so I had a dressing on it until midday today. The routine is now pressure bandage overnight for about 6 weeks to disperse fluid and, from Thursday, twice-daily massages of wound to ensure scar tissue doesn’t harden, plus regular mild bending (beware overuse!). It’s a bit sore around the wound.

My main focus has been on stitching the third Evil Eye mandala, which I finished yesterday. Details, of course, in my embroidery blog. 

Inevitably, as I stitched it, I was thinking about history and meaning for my presentation later in the year, so while the bolognese sauce was simmering on Saturday I got out my books and worked on the it. The PowerPoint is now almost prepared. There’s another embroidery I want to do, but fundamentally it’s there. 

On Friday I had a fasting blood test. Foolishly, I had it in my left arm, as usual. The vein seemed to have recovered from the cannula for the finger operation, but by the time I got home it was bleeding messily, so I applied pressure and sat for half an hour. It is still bruised, but OK. I get the results tomorrow.🤞🏼

Progress on the Certificate Course Aida project has been much slower. I'm discovering the limitations of Aida as an embroidery medium - which may, of course, be the point of the exercise. More to come. Before I progress it, I'm trying to make the last two tassels for the Aquile, which, if I succeed, will also go in the Guild Exhibition. I seem to be managing the knots without my index finger.  240 down, 720 to go! I'm on desk duty at the Guild tomorrow, so maybe I'll get some more done.

The kit I ordered from Tanya Bentham arrived today. At the moment working in wool is not attractive, although the design is.

While I have made inroads in my book pile, I haven't eliminated it and another book arrived today. After the knots, it might be time to redress the reading/stitching balance.

Post 438 Satisfying but Tiring Week.

It's been a busy week one way and another.

On Wednesday the much awaited lunch actually took place! John, being the gentleman and caring friend he is, brought flowers as well as champagne.

The moussaka was excellent and the gingerbread well received. There were little bears as well as angels. I invoked the angels to make sure we did get to meet this time! 

Cathy bought me a plant, an Almanda Blue, a form of lobelia I had admired at her place. I don't have a photo, but it is on my eastern balcony in a tray of water as it needs to be kept damp. Here's hoping I can grow it into its full glory.

It was a relaxed and sustaining afternoon and lilies have opened, providing continuous interest and joy. 

My Thursday optometrist appointment brought some sobering news. The eye treatment we have been following has modified the condition but not prevented it advancing to a stage of beginning to damage my cornea, so I now have an appointment with an eye surgeon in ten day's time to see if further intervention is required.  My Pilates class was taken by Leanne, the owner, because my instructor's teenage son has Covid. Leanne is always interesting - she always varies standard routines with additional challenges very specifically focused on each individual.  

Inevitably, the wine I had succumbed to ordering from a promotional phone call arrived while I was at Pilates, so was taken to the Post Office for me to pick up. Ironically, I'd have been home to receive it if I hadn't stopped at the PO on the way home to send a letter by express post!

I also had a phone call from the agency that supplies my cleaner, to say they are branching into carpet cleaning. Since I still haven't heard back from the carpet cleaner who visited my 2 months ago, I made a booking, which was today. 

This is the first time I have lived in a carpeted home - and the first time I've had the carpets cleaned - so I could only follow instructions to prepare. I was up early this morning to move all my indoor plants, small furniture, ornaments and sundry bits on to the balconies, bathrooms or kitchen. When Matt, the carpet cleaner arrived, we moved chairs and a bit more furniture. He cleaned all my carpets - 3 bedrooms, hall and living room and the arms of my 3 seater lounge. 

After getting him settled, I went out and came back when it was dry.  It took about an hour to move everything back in but it looks fresh and clean. I now need to do this regularly.

While it was being done, I went to the State Library to meet Michael, a man who went to Teachers' College with John, my lily-bearing friend above. Michael runs a weekly program on community radio, in which he interviews people and tells their stories. He has done several hundred broadcasts. When Michael asked if he could interview John, the latter deflected him to me - arguing my Baby Boomer Teacher book would be of interest. Michael meets with his subjects 2 times to get to know them, before recording an interview. I agreed to meet him today - and ended up spending two and a half hours sharing stories. Our second meeting is next week. John will keep!

While I was on this organisational roll, I ordered a Sutton Hoo Beastmaster kit from Tanya Bentham. This is an indulgence, but I plan to talk about Sutton Hoo in my Anglo-Saxon embroidery presentation later this year, and this looks like a good example, not of Anglo-Saxon Embroidery, but of Anglo-Saxon design being repurposed to a different craft form. Left is the Sutton-Hoo original in metal work and garnet and right is Tanya's embroidery kit version.

My Guild mate Margaret Morgan finished her knitted Shetland Shawl. The size isn't discernible from the photo but it is around 90cm square. I love the work and the colour.     

I finished the horse blanket (perhaps I should call it the pretty little horses blanket!) and consulted with Margaret about washing out the solvi. Her advice was sound, nothing ran the folds came out, solvi dissolved and the blanket is clean and ready to gift. It is very hard to photograph. I will publish a bit more detail tomorrow in my embroidery blog.

I managed to add the pocket to the second of my summer dresses that I dragged out last week. It's called spot the pocket!

Yesterday the fire alarm went off in our apartments just before 2pm. I evacuated down the stairs with my handbag, meeting up with 11 other residents on the footpath as the fire brigade came within minutes, blocking the road when they could find no parking space. 

After about 15 minutes of checking, they concluded it was a malfunction caused by pressure in the water pipes in our carpark - presumably related to sprinkler systems.  

I was pleased to back inside in time to turn my oven on for Monday dinner! It is reassuring to have such prompt service.

I'm a bit late posting this. I haven't had a lot of time to pull it together today. It has been that kind of week!