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.

Post 605 Slow but Steady Progress

After the busyness of my last post, it was a treat on Wednesday to take the city loop bus around to Elder Hall, next to the Art Gallery,  for an Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Matinee Concert. 

I was drawn by the Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis, but enjoyed the whole program. It was fabulous. 

I breathed a bit easier as the sun went down on Wednesday. 

It was back to business on Thursday. The B&O technician arrived about 10.15am on to assess my TV. While there is work that could be done to retune, even I, the great repair advocate, think it is time to move to a proper Smart TV. We discussed B&O options. My initial thinking was to move to a model that sits on a cabinet, rather than my current floor stand. 

When the technician left I moved furniture and rugs around to measure for cabinet possibilities, before rushing to Pilates. By the time I returned, the technician had sent two options, one with an integrated sound bar, one with it separate.

Also in my inbox was a draft of my Income Tax return, ready for me to read, check and amend or sign. I gave priority to tax, which took some time. It’s the first time I have done it online. Pleased with my success, I then spent some more time shifting furniture and measuring, before replying to a email from a friend wanting me to check his memory of a meeting I chaired in 1967, before he submits a motion to Synod! Fortunately, I had stopped at Queen St Cafe for a late lunch, so didn’t need to cook dinner. 

By the time I went to bed, having played with TV measurements, I was changing my mind about a cabinet. I slept on it.

In the morning I graphed them up and settled on a floor stand. No matter how I configured it, a cabinet model blocked part of the painting, even when the cabinet is only 18” high. I could move the painting, but I don’t want the screen to dominate the room. On a floor stand the replacement will be about 3”higher and 3” wider than the current one. I can live with that. Maybe a cabinet to fit behind it?

The hardest part of living alone is having no one on hand with whom to talk over these decisions. They are normal, inevitable decisions well within my capacity, but the benefit of a sounding board in immeasurable.

In the course of finding a ruler to graph the space, I found the missing Swift! As I had begun to suspect when the new one arrived, I had been looking for the wrong shape box. It was in plain sight. It is possible, of course, that the elves have been at work. Whatever the explanation, I now have two. Unfortunately I can't manage to wind two balls at once, so I now have one to lend out.

On Friday morning  my copy of the newly released Richard Osman Thursday Murder Club Book 4, was ready to be picked up in store and two parcels arrived, the completely indulgent Ehreman tapestry around 10, and the environmentally-friendly Leprosy Mission Christmas bonbons around 11. 

Once they were stowed I headed west to the Brickworks to pick up the book, then back across town to B&O to discuss the TV.  I have ordered the 48” floor standing version.  An installer will visit tomorrow to inspect and confirm an installation cost. I’ve paid a deposit. While there are cheaper options, this one hopefully gives me peace of mind. That evening the quote for my network backup came through from Sean the Geek (my spelling amended now I have it on paper!) and I’ve accepted that too. I'm still waiting to hear from Will about a panel to cover the exhaust box. I fear he is not interested. And the coffee machine techie hasn't been. I continue to use the machine.

After so many big decisions and transactions in a few days, things went quiet on the weekend. Saturday was the AFL grand final, followed by the girls’ 18th birthday party. I don’t follow football and 18th birthday parties do not need to accommodate 78 year old grandmothers privileged to celebrate on the actual day, so I had a quiet time at home reading Richard Osman, readjusting furniture and knitting. It's also school holidays, so no Monday dinner. Several days, therefore, on my own for stitching, reading, gardening - and losing track of which day it is. 

Since I indulged in another tapestry kit, I needed to get on with the one barely started  on my Lowery stand. I've now worked a section.

I've also knitted 65cm of the back of my cardigan,  finishing two balls of the yarn. The two extra balls arrived yesterday, neatly wound by the shop, bringing my number to 9. The yarn is going further than I anticipated. I'm now planning on 80cm length. For that I will need at least 8 balls. As knitters know, there is always a risk of too much or not enough. I don't want left-over yarn, but not enough is worse. I might be able to add pockets. And yes, there is a discernable colour difference between the two balls even though they are all from the same (I suspect only) dye lot. Part of the interest and charm.

Today the beaded silk/wool yarn I ordered from WA arrived. Here it is with  silk I wound last week and the pattern I found for it. I think it's going to work really well. The  top and bottom edges are worked in the beaded yarn with plain in the middle. First I need to finish my cardigan!

I dropped a couple of things today at the Guild where the bottlebrush is in full bloom. I still love the unfurling stamen.

I finished  Julia Baird's Bright Shining. The first quarter aided my thinking. The rest I found repetitive without adding much understanding. Richard Osman's The Impossible Fortune was a lot of fun, though with rather too many strands and characters to keep track of - a risk with series as they progress - a bit like life. 

Post 546 One foot up and one foot down

On Wednesday I had a fairly slow start, but got the washing out by 8.30 and eventually got back to the Jura shop to return 5 unopened filters for the old coffee machine which they swapped for the new machine’s filters. -

I took myself on to the parklands for a short walk, checking out the birds and tree growth. It’s a while since I’ve been. The eastern section of the creek is dry.  

The wattle is blooming on cue. 

August 1st was always Wattle Day to my mother, who had celebrated it at school, a curriculum item that no longer applied when I went to school, but the wattle doesn’t forget.

This tree is doing its best to imitate a reindeer. 

I had cancelled Pilates on Thursday in favour of a haircut followed by an afternoon performance by the Choir of Kings College Cambridge at the Adelaide Town Hall. 

I woke in time to capture the sun rise just following the moonrise. Around 8.30am I had several strange emails from Musica Viva, the sponsors of the choir, with new receipts and a reissued ticket. Eventually an email explained that the seat I had originally booked (from the Musica Viva website) did not exist and they had found me another seat!

Like many venues in Adelaide, the Town Hall is being renovated. It currently covered in scaffold. Inside there are new seats - iron backs with slight padding. The numbers are on the front edge of the base, so you have to raise the seat - or get on the floor - to see. I was there early enough to watch the confusion and join in the communal instructions as others arrived.

PROGRAM

George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759) Zadok the Priest, HWV 258 (1727)

Giovanni GABRIELI (c. 1554-1612)O magnum mysterium (1587)

Olivier MESSIAEN (1908-1992)Les Anges, from La Nativité du Seigneur (1935)

Morten LAURIDSEN (b 1943) O magnum mysterium (1994)

Olivier MESSIAEN Transports de joie, from L'Ascension (1933-34)

Edgar BAINTON (1880-1956)And I Saw a New Heaven (1928)

Damian BARBELER (b 1972) [music] and Judith Nangala CRISPIN (b 1970) [poem] Charlotte (2023)

NTERVAL

Maurice DURUFLÉ (1902-1986) Requiem, Op. 9 (1948)

I’m a fan of this choir, and it's good to hear the organ being played. Photography during the performance is, of course, not permitted.

I enjoyed the first half but bailed at interval. I was uncomfortable on the seat, my sciatic was flairing and I couldn’t face another 45 minutes, so came home and found a recording of the Durufle Requiem to listen to.

It was lovely on the balcony in the sun - with a cup of coffee. Durefle hasn't touched the pedestal on which I have the Faure Requiem!.

I had finished the first pocket for the Cardigan on Wednesday. I knitted a small hem at the top, turned it under and stitched it down. I think the strengthening might be needed, but I wanted the pattern to match unobtrusively on the outside.

Before starting the second pocket I took a short break  to dip into my next project.

This is the first square of a healing blanket for my hospitalised friend, using Martin Storey's Midwinter Blanket pattern and Rowan Felted Tweed. It requires following a chart  closely, but maybe after 8 of them I might have it in my memory!

I like the result, so  satisfied that I returned to the second pocket of the cardigan before a relatively early night, waking to a sunrise that seemed to reflect the knitted square of the night before at least in colour terms!

I had plenty of time to knit over the weekend, in between preparing for Monday’s dinner. Saturday night was the fund-raising quiz night and auction for Veronica’s Cambodia trip, so no dinner. I supplied some items for the auction but did not attend. It raised $19,000, a huge credit to the 17 girls involved (and their long suffering parents)!

My hospitalised friend underwent a major operation on Saturday and is recovering in a room facing the other way. So far, so good.

I haven’t made pies for a while and I don’t think I have ever served these together before. Both are from my well-worn copy of The Food of Greece by Vilma Liacouras Chantiles (1979). The round one is Kotopita (chicken pie with cheese and herbs) and the rectangular Pastitsio Makatinia me Feta ( pastitsio with feta cheese). 

They were both well received, but there was too much liquid in the chicken one - I’m not sure why - possibly too much stock in the bechamel.

We had 8 for dinner. I made a batch of lemonade scones (in case we needed more carbohydrate, which, of course we didn’t). As always, great to catch up with the kids’ activities (parents, I’m afraid, didn’t get much of a look-in). I’m grateful for some gift chocolates which I sampled tonight.

I finished the second pocket. I will stitch them on next time the cardigan and I are in the same city! 

I am now focused on the healing blanket, beginning by knitting one of each of the six motifs which will appear in varying numbers in the 35 square blanket.  I've completed 3.

I had my annual visit to the dermatologist yesterday. She has frozen off a couple of harmless but itchy growths behind my right knee and given me antibiotics for an inflamed cyst. If this hasn’t healed by Friday she will arrange a visit to a surgeon.🤞🏼 

I woke this morning as the birds returned from their overnight roost and managed a quick photo from bed. I had had a very late night and managed to sleep another couple of hours before I faced the day.

I spent the afternoon helping a friend with an insurance claim, and managed to finish the third square for the blanket. 

I'm now tired and ready for bed. Tomorrow is my monthly Hostess day at the Guild and a daughter's birthday. I do hope she has a happy one. 

Post 545 The still point of the turning wheel.

First thing on Wednesday I made the dress repair for which I bought thread last week. It was a fairly straightforward job once I got the heavier thread in the machine.  I then posted the finished cardigan, bought milk, and  prepared entries for the Guild's SALA Exhibition. Details of the cardigan are in my embroidery blog.

I have a lot of wool left over, including 5 untouched balls (on the right of photo). Plenty for pockets.

As I had a very late toasted cheese sandwich lunch, I took the opportunity to have a cup of soup. Guild friend Lee had given to me a packet to try - pumpkin soup with croutons -  as she thought it was excellent. Of course, she was right. I've subsequently tried the same brand tomato and parmesan, which is OK, but I agree the pumpkin is better. I have a good supply.

On Thursday I gave in and took my coffee machine to be repaired. The selection dial has not been working properly for a week and I've lived in hope of a miracle but that morning it died altogether. It is a solid, heavy machine. I emptied the water tank, cleaned it, found a large box in which I could carry it and set off for the Jura service agent. As usual, there was no parking outside, so I parked over their driveway, and left my boot open while I carried it in. I hate being without my machine. 

From the Jura shop I went on to the Guild to drop of my 7 SALA entries and buy a few bits and pieces from the shop.  I have entered 3 tote bags embroidered on Ink and Spindle linen, the two embroidered faces bags and two printed bags derived from those bags. They fitted nicely in my large exhibition bag

I was now (unusually) early for Pilates, so called at Queen St Cafe for a scrambled eggs with salmon and mushroom lunch. Unusually there were two classes in the Pilates studio, so 7 students and two instructors. Afterwards I dropped the mended dress and Guild purchases off before returning home, abandoning my plan to look at mattresses. That process requires unpressured time, and by 2.30pm I had had enough. 

The cardigan arrived at its destination and was a success. Whew! I have started knitting pockets which will be added later. 

In the meantime I have progressed one of the large sashiko Galaxy Dreaming squares.

On Friday I visited a Guild friend. She is working a stunning silk and gold piece - an ecclesiastical style. I stopped on the way home to buy ground coffee for my plunger - my go-to fallback while my coffee machine is being serviced. I didn't yet have a quote, so I bought a kilo of ground coffee.

Back at home in the late afternoon, another friend rang from the hospital I can see from my balcony, to tell me they have been diagnosed with cancer. They are to be operated on as soon as blood-thinners wear off. It's another shock. They are in good spirits and will see it through. 

After Book Club on Sunday I made a sign for my balcony which I hoped can be seen from the hospital.  They can see the banner, but can’t read it. It does at least make me feel as if I have done something. I have blocked the name out in the photo for privacy reasons. On the advice of one of our Book Club members I painted it on green cloth. My neighbours may be more tolerant of a sign if they associate it with the Olympics! Unfortunately the gold glitter paint I have wouldn't show up! So far no complaints.

Yesterday the Jura technician phoned with a quote for fixing my coffee machine, which is 9 years old.  Replacing the worn-out dial is expensive. It is possible to do a service and lock the dial on to my usual setting, with no movement possible. On balance, I decided to replace it. This morning I called in, had a lesson, and collected my new machine. I set it up as soon as I got home and tried it out. It is simpler than the old machine - and the coffee is good! I have yet to accustom myself to the cleaning and maintenance routines, which will be the real test.  A friend called in and gave her coffee a tick of approval! (I have about 750gm of surplus ground coffee).

Today was capped off with a dinner guest - an old university friend's son who is working in Adelaide for the week. As usual, I only managed to remember to take photos of the food before it went into the oven. Haloumi slices were added ( and a bit overcooked by the time I served) but it went well and we found plenty to talk about.

It has felt a bit as if there is some wheel of fortune thing working for me over the last couple of weeks - the demise of  the bed, the coffee machine, a chair; two friends with cancer. My rational brain says stuff always wears out, gets replaced and we adapt.  I have a great renovated chair and a new coffee machine. The bed is working at the moment and I will get to replace it when things settle down.  Friends are getting the best medical attention possible. I'm finishing (and starting!) projects, connected to family and good friends and meeting new people. The wheel of fortune turns continually. If we cling on we go down but up again. Change - and decay - is normal and inevitable.  Yet after seven decades even small changes are a bit scary. 

At the moment I'm trying to hold myself in the still centre.

Post 477 Home again, home again

These are the beach photos I couldn't upload last week.  I didn't venture on to the beach, but everyone else did. Several days were very hot, others windy and a little rainy. It was just lovely to be away, near the beach and with family - uplifting and renewing.

 

On my last day Katherine and I visited the Yankalilla Second Hand and Book Exchange hoping to see Emanda. She wasn't there, but we snagged a few bargains. 

That night we visited friends staying nearby in a house packed with mementos of the sea and an eclectic collection of art and oddities - a true beach shack. It was lovely to see the friends - and the house!

I came home on Friday. It took quite a while to unpack and to return plants to their places. The indoor ones had been sitting in the sink.  The weather had not been quite as hot as forecast and everything had survived - a couple only just. Oddly, my thriving pig-face on the balcony was covered in scale. It's about the toughest plant I own.

I took myself over to the pub on the corner for dinner - salt and pepper squid, of course.

The bats came out in force to welcome me home.      

                  

On Saturday morning I added the buttons to the baby cardigan I had finished at the beach. It's a little bigger than I envisaged, but I'm happy with it. I have another 200gm ball of cotton to make another. Once I've checked with Christine, I'll make that one smaller I think.

Sunday was Book Club. I had read 2 of our options - The Maid by Nita Prose and The Bleeding Heart Yard, by Ellie Griffiths, both good. Afterwards I detoured to pick up four summer uniforms to alter for the girls before school returns next Monday. They needed taking in at the waist and hems. That occupied Sunday and Monday (interrupted by Garry, the electrician replacing a light). 

Today I returned the uniforms - and they fit!

I'm now working on the apron for the Guild Exhibition - a bit mad, but interesting. I've also been playing with removing photos from their background - something my photo hints has been telling me to try for a while. I could remove the background - but not save it anywhere. I have now figured it out!  You can expect to see a lot more disembodied images! 

They will prove, I think, very useful.

These are the sunflowers I bought on Saturday. I love watching them open.

The coming week transitions out of summer holidays - Guild operating, school resuming, Monday dinners - and a public holiday.  Another adventure.