Post 428: Vaccination, vaccination, vaccination

On Wednesday I saw my doctor and had my flu shot and a pneumonia shot. I wasn't aware I was due for the pneumonia one, but my doctor keeps good records and is on the ball. I also got a referral to my ENT to have wax removed from my ear. Good job jobbed, and no reaction other than a sore arm from the pneumonia one.  My doctor does not do Covid vaccinations, so that had to wait a few days.                                                                                                                                                                                                         

On Thursday, as I was getting ready for Pilates, three honey eaters arrived on my balcony, attracted to the aloe. I was lucky enough to be able to grab my DSLR and get some shots, first through the glass, but then, very carefully opening the screen door, through the open door. I was pleased with a few of them. We used to get a lot of these in our garden at Hindmarsh, but its the first time I've seen them here on my balcony. A good sign, I think.                                  

On Friday my new pieces of furniture were delivered. I was worried about the delivery, as they are large pieces and our lift is small. They would be awkward to carry up the (fairly narrow) stairs. Parking outside is also at a premium. I needn't have worried. The deliverers were fantastic.  They found a parking place, checked out the apartment, disassembled the furniture in their van, carried the long top plank up the stairs, and the rest in batches in the lift, then reassembled them in situ.  They took such care and were so skilled and adaptive.

It took 2 1/2 hours, but they just kept on until done. 

Above is the bookcase in my living area. There are now probably twice as many books on it. Left is the cabinet in my sewing room. It is more cluttered, but absolutely fit for purpose. The open shelves at the end are for books. At the moment the books to go there are in the containers - aids for the Viking, Celtic/Anglo-Saxon and Bulgarian presentations I have yet to do this year at the Guild. Eventually they will be books rather than boxes.

It was a long weekend here, as Monday was Anzac Day. Top priority was getting my 4th Covid jab on Saturday, which went well. With my Australian Government sponsored bandaid on my arm I awaited signs of the aching joints and overwhelming tiredness that followed the 3rd jab, but none appeared. I stayed awake and entertained throughout the family dinner and slept well.

On Sunday I was up to making the Anzac biscuits and alert enough not to burn them!

I managed to get the bookshelves sorted between my now 3 bookshelves, so that I now have a very good idea of where I can find any book I want. A breakthrough!  This photo merges views of two sides of my small sewing room.  I can move around, find what I need and stitch something quickly on my machine. I've removed the rug that was on the floor. There are still files and containers to go through, label and reduce, but I can see and get to everything.

On Monday, Anzac Day, I got up at dawn to light a candle and remember those in my family who went to war, from the top of this photo, Ted Ray and James Haynes, my grandfathers serving in WWI, my father, Len Haynes on HMS Formidable in WWII and Lionel Dellit, my late husband's uncle who died when his plane was shot down over the Timor Sea in WWII.  It's more important than ever to remember what they did. And the cost.

My friend Susan called in on Monday afternoon to see my new furniture. It was lovely to be able to share it over an Anzac biscuit and coffee and also to discuss our current projects, hopes and fears. 

This is the progress I had to show on the next bag-from-jeans. I'm now working on the other side.

Now that my furniture is in place I have contacted a carpet cleaner who is coming in the morning to quote, and Artic Air who should have serviced my Aircon this month. I also applied a clove oil solution to mould on the hinges of my bathroom door. Seems I'm Spring Cleaning in Autumn.

Post 424: Books, a bird, booster bookings and St Brigid.

Who knew there was an Orthodox monastery on Mull? It wasn't there when I visited 50 years ago! My Viking Embroidery research reminded me that the Celtic monastery and church of St Cuthbert and St Ninian, established in the 6th Century on the site of Ninian's Holy Well at Kilninian on Mull, had been abandoned as a result of Viking raids in the 10th Century. The church was rebuilt in 1755 and had since been deconsecrated.  I then discovered that the Orthodox Monastery of All Celtic Saints has been founded there in 2010 and is now operating as a community. One of their fund-raising ventures is the production of Embroidered House Blessings featuring the blessings of Celtic Saints on wool tweed cloth from both Mull and Harris.  

Of course, I ordered one. This is a house blessing from St Brigid, on Mull tweed, now hanging just inside the entrance to my apartment. It arrived this week, bearing this extraordinary sender address . It seems those who join the order take the title 'Seraphim'.

This is my last nostalgia photo for a while - March 2017 in Keswick, catching up with cousins and drifting along Derwent Water. I haven't given up hope of seeing either my cousins or Derwent Water again, but I am, as ever, so glad we got together when we could. 

On Thursday morning I finished the second attempt at the Mosaic Carpet Bag. I'm pleased with the result - and also pleased to have finished it. There's an account of the finish in my embroidery blog.

I'm sure some readers will have noted that I am posting more frequently to my embroidery blog. I've returned to my pre-Covid habit of using it as a record of my embroidery projects (for my own benefit as much as anything) rather than filling this blog with embroidery detail.    

While I was stitching the lining on my machine, I appliqued a couple of motifs over the holes on a bamboo top (those pesky zip holes keep appearing!). The motifs were embroidered on silk by WES members and not claimed after a display. I like the look.

On Wednesday I had coffee with Zoe from the Uni SA fundraising branch. I'm interested in the innovative work in remote learning now underway. 

I was back at Pilates on Thursday and a bit sore on Friday. My instructor and her daughter have had Covid in the two weeks I was isolating. The daughter ended up in hospital and is now recovering. I did a bit of food shopping on the way home, Adairs were having a sale so I called in to buy another plant stand and pot, then filled it with a philodendron from Barrow and Bench on Friday. I really like these bamboo stands which sit so lightly on the carpet. I now have three of them.

I also bought a cactus euphorbia and 

an Ascot Rainbow euphorbia - which look nothing like each other, perhaps not surprising as it turns out there are over 2000 species in the genus.

On Saturday I attended the Guild's Certificate Workshop where Arrienne took us through some Turkish stitches. Like most things, it took a while to get the hang of it, then became fairly straightforward. 

I haven't worked on the Aesop Frame since June of last year and haven't posted a photo since May 2021 when I finished the peahen.  This week I have finished the green woodpecker and am now on the hare, in the bottom left hand corner of the frame. 

On Sunday the Crime Book Club successfully met at my place - after last month's postponement due to water works in the street. We covered a wide range of books and generally enjoyed ourselves. I'm the picker next month (for what we read for May) so I'd better get my brain into gear.

Monday's dinner was a bit of a relay - 6 people coming from and going to various work, school, sport and church commitments. A lot of fun for me - it's what dynamic families do.

I keep getting notifications from Academia, a service I don't subscribe to, notifying me of mentions of the half a dozen papers I wrote between 2000 and 2009 while completing a Masters. I have, it seems, just had my 100th mention. Since I don't subscribe, I can't view the mentions, so have no idea if it's positive or negative. 

That was then. I'm glad others have found it useful as they build knowledge.

Sunsets here are my regular Vesper doxology, it's less frequently that I open the blinds to that first blush of a new day with all its promise. Yesterday I reread 'East Coker', the second of Eliot's Four Quartets which begins In my beginning is my end, and finishes In my end is my beginning.  I still find it profound. 

Today that promise was amply fulfilled as Panayoula and I spent two hours reflecting on Life and the Universe as we do each month. We've agreed to learn about 'sovereignty' before we meet next month.

My original mandevilla is loving its larger pot, rewarding me with both height and flowers. I might end up moving the others to the eastern balcony. Morning sun seems to be more to their liking than afternoon.

On Saturday the Australian Government authorised a second 'winter' booster from 4 April for those with underlying conditions and over 65s, so I immediately booked at my local pharmacy for 9 April.  Today I booked my flu shot for 20 April. My weight loss has slowed but not stopped. I've now lost 22 kg, and am losing about 1kg per month.