Post 628 Challenges and Plenty to do.

I managed to swim on Wednesday - 700 metres in half an hourThis time I made sure I brought my towel AND bathers home with me! As I hung them on the line at home, the shadows cast by the vergola  matched my stripey towel. 

I was in time to meet up with friends for an afternoon cup of tea and a very early dinner at the local pub. A lovely day. 

As I went to bed I noticed the vase of daisies I bought on Monday were beginning to droop.

I changed the water but by Thursday it was clear more was needed. Only a few survived on their stems, so they ended in a small, long-necked vase. The rest looked great for several days in a couple of shallow vases designed for floating blooms. I haven't used these for ages, so I'm pleased.

Before Pilates I headed further west to Spotlight with the orange silk from last week's post in hand, hoping silk habitue I found on their website, would serve as lining. It is lovely, and will, I'm sure, work. It is expensive, but wide. I bought 2, rather than 3, metres, hoping it can be used widthwise. If not, it will be a little short, but I don't think that will really matter. I now have an appointment with the dressmaking on Friday.

From Spotlight I went on to The Yarn Trader to pick up the skeins for the  Chapter and Skein project. They were ready for me in a sealed box, which I got them to open in the shop: I didn't want to wait until after Pilates to peek.

I have so far resisted the temptation to get out the swift and wind them into balls. I'm still knitting my birthday wool!

On Friday I had my 11th Covid vaccine - 6 months and one day from the 10th. As a precaution I spent the rest of the day at home, finishing #3 in The Antique Detective series before settling into a couple more sessions of the RSN's History of Embroidery  course.  I'm enjoying it, and trying not to rush it.  I'm making notes and thinking about the talks I've agreed to give in August.

I had cooked two duck legs - a l’orange ( a Luv a Duck pack)- on Thursday evening, so had the second leg cold with salad on Friday. While my vaccination arm was a little sore, by the evening I was knitting with no ill effect while watching Professor T and Brokenwood. I’ve also found a Margarita with the alcohol removed, so low sugar, and have been enjoying one each evening in one of the glasses the girls gave us as a wedding anniversary gift - probably in 2000.

Monday was Adelaide Cup Day, so it was a long weekend in Adelaide, with suburban supermarkets closed on Monday. When I headed out for supplies on Saturday, I found an intimidating note on my windscreen wipers, accusing me of speeding with my lights off in the carpark and threatening to send phone footage to the police! I sent a photo of the note to our Strata Rep, who phoned me immediately and instigated a search of carpark cctv. Within 90 minutes the Strata Rep had identified the perpetrator (without, of course, revealing the identity to me). A bit scary, but great support from my family and the Strata rep. 

Yesterday an email went out from the Strata Presiding Officer to remind everyone to keep the speed limit in the carpark, reporting that someone has inappropriately dealt with a perceived breach by a threatening note and outlining the appropriate process. It’s well worded. I don’t believe the offender has been spoken to directly. We wait to see if the threats stop. I am considering installing a dashcam in my car.

I ventured to Frewville for a few more supplies on Sunday before working through more of the RSN Course. It is proving really useful for my Early Medieval Embroidery talks in August. I'm adapting a presentation as I go, checking references and related texts I’ve been gathering. Obsessive as usual. It seems to be coming together.

There were fresh chicken livers at Frewville, so I bought some, along with bacon and mushrooms for a late lunch. I forgot to  buy a bunch of parsley, which normally supplies the vitamin C, so made do with a little fennel. It's a while since I cooked this, and I really enjoyed it.

The daisies lasted long enough to keep me focused on bloom. I discarded them yesterday, as the bloom faded, at the same time clearing out some dead pot plants and planting the last of those I bought 2 weeks ago at the church market. My balcony gardens are looking good. It's 30C today, but I'm hoping the worst of the hot weather is over. I managed to swim laps again today. I shared a lane and managed 700 metres

I also picked up this book at Dymocks on Saturday. It is set in Cornwall around 1628  when witch hunting is rife, and marketed as a prequel to Lorna Doone, a book my father was passionate about and I read several times as a girl. I’ve never regretted that my mother won the battle for my name. Again, this is not my regular fare, but I'm curious, and owe it to my father. I haven't started it yet,  giving myself the comfort of another of Clare Chase's Antique Store Detective Series rather than take on any more challenges.

The feather and fan shawl progressed well over the long weekend,  I now have around 320 stitches on the needle.

 

I weighed the yarn left - 194 gms from an initial 300gms. The next row used 2 grams so I calculate, as the rows are getting longer,  I have around 90 rows to go. 

Should finish it by the end of Easter if the Good Lord is willing and the creeks don’t rise. The full pattern repeat is 35 rows and I’m about to start on the next one.

Post 594 Cold of both kinds

I made it to World Embroidery on Wednesday, after a bit of coughing overnight but a fairly normal waking. The meeting went really well, largely thanks to Margaret’s skill and generosity in managing the setup of our new screen. It means we can all sit around the table in the foreground and see a presentation rather than being spread out around the room. Those present loved it (encouraged, perhaps, by the hummingbird cake brought by Pam).

There was interest in my effort to trace Celtic embroidery from motifs carved in stone, to metal engraving, to illuminated manuscripts to printed patterns.

It was a miserable day - maximum 10.1C (coldest for Adelaide since 2021) and 7cm of rain. I managed to get a bit cold and wet closing the gates as I left and within an hour I was sneezing, coughing and blowing my nose. 

I cancelled my Thursday Pilates, fell asleep on the couch, waking to make a lemon drink (someone had kindly left help-yourself lemons at the Guild) take Codral and fall into bed at 7.30pm. I woke a couple of times but basically slept for 10 hours. Thursday I stayed in, warm, dozing, using up the best part of a box of tissues, drinking a lot of tea in between hot lemon and weaned myself from Codral to paracetamol. By the end of the day I had enough energy to write up the summary of our meeting and  dig a piece of ham out of the freezer to boil with dried peas since I had run out of tinned and packet soups. It fit the bill and kept me going for a couple of days.                               .

I felt a lot better on Friday, but stayed indoors for most of the day, venturing out around 2pm to my local pub, which was surprisingly busy,  for calamari lunch, which I ate outside to avoid noise and hot air.It seems a few office workers have discovered POETS day. I nevertheless got served fairly promptly and was home by 3. I took Margaret Hickey’s An Ill Wind with me to read. I really enjoyed this one. She is an engaging writer.

On Saturday I ventured to the supermarket and stocked up on soups. I also bought some fresh chicken livers, bacon pieces and mushrooms to make myself chicken livers on Sunday and Monday. I'm not great on cooking for one, but I can whip this up quickly and I really like it. 

My cold is now following the five stages I find listed on a variety of websites. I am staying inside and warm most of the time, taking things easy, staying hydrated and using a lot of tissues. I'll continue until the symptoms completely disappear.   I'll make a decision about Thursday Pilates at noon tomorrow.  

Over the last 18 days I have read nine of Alison Golden's Instpector David Graham detective series set on Jersey. Obviously I am hooked.

I finished the Schwalm embroidery from Carol Stacey's May workshop. Details in my embroidery blog.      

I've taken concentration breaks from Schwalm by advancing the Rowan shawl. With 400+ stitches now on the needles, it takes me 20 minutes per row. I calculate I have about 90 more rows to go before I consider finishing it. I'll see how I feel in 30 knitting hours time.

I've been taking my cold to bed a little bit earlier than my norm. I managed to snap this before I fell asleep on Sunday, two nights after the full moon.  Tonight is cloudy with rain forecast and moonrise just before 10pm, so I'm unlikely to take a comparison photo.

Until next week.