Post 623 a little cooler

 .- l

It was a pleasure on Wednesday to take advantage of slightly lower temperature and go to Frewville to get more salad supplies. I was totally out of everything except a slice of capsicum. From the activity in the aisles I wasn’t alone in that. Again, I added a few prawns and another box of iceblocks for good measure, correctly anticipating a few more days of above 40C coming up. As I was buying the fresh prawns in the deli section I noticed they had some Wakame seaweed salad, so I got a small serve to try. Turns out it is delicious. Wish I’d bought more.

There was a bit of a pleasant breeze through the apartment until mid-afternoon, when the temperature passed 30C. I closed the doors and put the aircon on until the sun set around 8.30pm when it was once again cool enough to open up. I’m glad I made the most of that small window.  

I indulged in some afternoon screen time, watching the movie Kangaroo Island on Netflix. I’m not quite sure what I made of it. It took a roundabout, if at times predictable, route to its central message about family, connection, place, continuity and change. There are a couple of strands I didn’t understand - but I’m not going back to unravel. I also read - or at least skimmed - Jane Harper’s Last One Out which seemed to suffer from a similar problem.

Although it breached my only-two-serves-of-fruit-a-day rule I added mango to my salad. It goes really well with prawns and was delicious. The mango was huge, and served me for three days.

Thursday and Friday passed inside, avoiding the heat, 39 and 42C respectively. I read a second BookClub choice, The In Crowd by Charlotte Vassell, which I really enjoyed. 

Thursday’s sunset was pointy and the Cathedral lights have competition.

I’m very pleased that so far the frangipani I bought a couple of weeks ago has continued to bloom. Watering is now a daily task. 

On Saturday morning, before breakfast, I did some gardening. The forecast was only 32C and the first market of the year was on at St Margaret’s Woodville. I got a couple of large biodegradable garbage bags and emptied pots of dead plants. Unfortunately this included both the Lemon Fir I had bought as a Christmas tree and the Bay tree I had bought hopefully a couple of weeks ago. I now have a lifetime supply of bay leaves. 

I took a bag of empty pots to John, the plant seller at St Margaret’s and bought a bag full of plants, including a peppermint geranium, which I’ve been looking for for several years. One of the parish’s locum priests had grown it, unbeknown  to John. I’m delighted and have settled it in a water well pot with high hopes. It has some promising new growth at the centre.🤞

The rest were geraniums, sword ferns and a syngonium,  plants with which I've been successful.

Now that the temperature is back in the 30s, the bats are back to feed on the Moreton Bay figs in the Square each evening. More than 500 of the Adelaide colony died in last week’s 40+ heat, so I was relieved to see at least a couple of dozen returning on Sunday evening.

As I was going to bed late last night I caught a glimpse of the rising moon - 99.3% gibbous. The photo isn’t perfect, but I like the colours and composition.

A few books caught my attention this week - none of them new. I’ve order 3 from various sources, The Life St Brigid of Kildare by Cogitosus, A Divine Calling: One Woman's Life-Long Battle for Equality in the Catholic Church and a book written some 15 years ago by an old university friend, God, the Best, and Evil. I guess there’s a theme. The ordination of the Archbishop of Canterbury revives memories of old battles.

I stuck with fried rice, with lemon and honey poultry (duck and chicken) last night. Although we were in a 28C heat break, I'm still not prepared to have the oven on for 3 hours. 

It looks as if the Uni timetables will support us continuing our Monday dinners, so there will be chances for roast pork when the weather cools in a month of so.

I've managed to finish outlining all sections of the main drawstring bag pattern. I only have the red border line to go before I take it out of the hoop and work the drawstring casing. I do love the effect, although the black backstitch outlining has been time-consuming. 

Panayoula and I spent a couple of hours catching up over coffee this morning. Sustaining.

The temperature is hovering in the low 30s this coming week, not high enough to bunker down, but too high for much outdoor activity during the day, so I should get the bag finished, if nothing else. 

I'm  also exploring options to return to swimming. 

Post 372 Anzac Day and school holidays.

Last week began with a visit to a craft group at a friend's retirement village to show them Nelly's collection of Bulgarian embroidery and talk a bit about it. I was too preoccupied with setting up and ensuring the PowerPoint would work to take photos until the very end, after we had packed up.

 

It was, I think, a success. There was interest and enthusiasm.  A number said they had never seen anything like it. One woman was very excited because she made the connection between the monk Cyril, tasked with developing a script, and Cyrillic script -a connection that I had missed myself (duh!).

On Thursday I took the grandchildren to the River Cafe for lunch. We had a good time. It's a lovely venue - light and airy, near the weir that ensures Adelaide has a riverside. I was too engaged to think of photographs. This one is courtesy of the restaurant website - and captures it well.The food has bit of Italian flare and always good. 

Sunday. was Anzac Day At one time this was a public holiday only if the day fell during the week, but some States, South Australia included, now give a public holiday regardless. Marches occurred without onlookers and dawn services were limited in numbers with many people lighting candles in their driveways at dawn instead.

My brother posted this tribute to our father, Leading Torpedo Man Leonard Haynes RN, whose service in WWII took him to Sydney where he met our mother and stayed. The background view is of Botany Bay where he spent the rest of his life.

The research into my grandmother's sister, Mahala Eliza Talbot Bearcraft has led to some extraordinary stories, as Melanie, my fellow-researcher in Portsmouth, and I continue to unravel the mystery. This week Melanie followed Mahala's cousins, the only niece and nephews of Mary Jane Talbot, the newsagent in Marylebone we believe to be Mahala's mother. These three children were orphaned when the eldest was 10. The two boys, aged 10 and 7 were sent to Canada as Dr Barnardo's boys and separated on arrival in 1907. Harry Elbon Noble, the eldest, enlisted in WWI on 7th May 1915. In May 1916 he was deployed as part of the 38th Canadian Battalion to Portsmouth via Bermuda.  While in England he seems to have made contact with his aunt and named her as his next of kin.  He was  deployed to France in August 1916 and killed on the Somme on 27 October 1916.  He was 20 years old. 

Back in Canada, Herbert, his younger brother, married. His marriage certificate registers his parents as unknown. One of the saddest things about this story is that Melanie and I appear to know more about the two brothers than they knew about each other following their separation on arrival in Canada.

I spent quite a bit of time working up a little narrative embroidery using the stitches and techniques of traditional Icelandic embroidery as part of the Guild's Design Online Course and also for the workshop I'm giving in June to the Certificate Course group. 

The photo is a bit dark, but it shows the stitches - and also the use of the printable, stick-on Sulki. I've now packed away the kits, notes and samples for the workshop until I need them in June.

On Friday we had our first Sit'nStitch for a while. Susan has made great progress on her Margaret Light piece, which I didn't photograph. Jennifer made strides on Sophie's Universe . It's really beautiful - the textures are remarkable.

Susan and I have been giving thought to what we might do with the box of wools that Jennifer bought us. 

I'd like it to be something that does justice to the colours and variety so I've been experimenting. 

I thought a stripey shawl might work,  but abandoned it (right) after figuring it would result in  too many joins on the very short rows at the ends of the shawl. I tried a basketweave but this didn't seem to work well with multicolours. Then I came across a pattern for an Entrelac scarf which looked promising. 

I tried it out on a small sample (left) and thought it promising. I then worked it on 140 stitches, which should give a width of about 75cm. 

I'm working one ball at a time and this is where it is up to. I'm really happy with this (at last!). I'm hoping it will work out long enough for a shawl (I'm calculating about 1 metre long) or if not, a shrug. 

Now that I've got the hang of the pattern it is pretty easy knitting - and hugely satisfying.

Yesterday I went to Basics 2 Beyond at the Guild. There were 9 of us there and it was a really pleasant time. Most of the others are working on one of the five projects in the Basics Course. I took along the linen and thread for three of the classes I have enrolled in this year - all counted projects that require preparation of the base fabric. I'm not good at this preparation, which involves tacking the guide lines for each project - with stitches that go over and under 4 fabric threads. By the end of the session I was querying whether the Jobelin fabric I had chosen for the Fisherton-de-la-mer class was suitable. I came home and ordered some blue Permin linen online, even though the Jobelin colour is great. I'm pleased I went to the group. Much better to work this out now than in the class itself!

Today I went to a Retired Secondary Principals' lunch. The group meets twice a year for lunch but didn't meet at all last year. I was a bit uncertain about attending. It was a new venue, at an RSL (Returned and Services League) Club in Blackwood - about 25 minutes drive away and I had no idea if any of my mates would be there. 

It turned out well, even though I got lost twice on the way there and had a bit of trouble parking. There were 22 there, of whom 5 were women. One member, now working as a university researcher,  presented some of his research. 

There was lots of socialising, strong interest in Chris's research and plenty of discussion. I was very pleased I'd gone. The ranks are a bit thinned, but there was a lot of care. I am, after all, it seems, part of this tribe. 

The building next door continues to rise and yesterday a crow made a claim to the view, if not exactly to a crows nest.  

It didn't keep the doves away. They have been frequent visitors, ruffling their feathers, soaking up the sun and hoping for food.

On my front balcony my three frangipani trees are looking at their best even as they begin to shed their leaves

while at the back the succulents are putting on a bit of a show.

The most spectacular sunset was last Friday. I was home from Sit'nStitch just in time to capture it.

We continue to go about our business cautiously. Western Australia has had a short lockdown and we have stopped flights from India in the light of the numbers of Covid cases from that country now in hotel quarantine here.

It may seem that things are pretty relaxed and normal here in South Australia, but there is still 'an abundance of caution'. There's no room anywhere in the world for complacency.

Post 366 Stitching, family history, blooms and sunsets

This week began with a morning of duty at the Guild Exhibition. The photos shows a small part of it. There are just under 300 exhibits spread over the gallery and the house. You can just see my bags on the back wall. We were quite busy on Wednesday morning with a group from the country driving up together to visit. We had plenty of helpers.

I did another three hours on Sunday, which was much quieter. This is the small garden between the house and Gallery. Helpers had time to sit and talk.

The exhibition was planned for last year. Numbers of both exhibitors and attendees are down on previous years, but still respectable.  Exhibition regulars came and clearly get joy out of  the work. Some go away quite excited, with an idea or two. There are also a few visitors who are new and also get excited. On Wednesday I met a young woman from Brazil who has an Art business in Adelaide and is interested in the World Embroidery Study Group.

I've been working steadily on the Turkman pouch. It's almost finished. The corner tassels are not yet done. I'm playing with using some gum nuts I've gilded a little, (resting there in the photos). I'm not convinced. I'll publish the story and result in my embroidery blog in the next couple of days.

Sunday morning was our Book Club meeting with lots of good discussion and ideas. I had chosen the books - Aaron Elkins' Gideon Oliver series and Sujarta Massey's Murder at Malabar Hill. Everyone liked the latter, and most liked Aaron Elkins.

The weather has been quite variable, 31C one day, but down to 19C and 20C on others. I'm not complaining. 31 is far more tolerable when followed by the low 20s. We had one night of rain so the plants have needed regular watering. The dove pair, especially Black Tips, have spent a lot of time visiting, even when I haven't put out seed - although no doubt the hope is still there!

Like me, they now indulge in a lot of sitting!

There's a new flower on the aloe, so I'm keeping an eye out for the Noisy Miner, who seems to have a grapevine that notifies of this bloom.                                                                   This Schlumbergia is also blooming, I think for the first time. So far there is only one flower but  a couple more coming.

The marigolds are going great guns and very cheering. I like to watch the buds form and open - such a contrast to the extravagance of the flowers.

On the front balcony I have two frangipani blooming, the red one for the first time. Unfortunately neither of them are scented but I'm still pleased to have them.  Hopefully the one I added a month ago will bloom with scent next year.

The building continues its steady upward rise. It is now, I think, probably 5 storeys high (four more to go).The white strip of wall close to the scaffold is the new building, the darker wall is my balcony.  There's a bit of noise, but still not enough to distress me. I avoid my living area when there is a concrete pour or the crane lifting panels into place. I can no longer see the work from my balcony except for a very rare instance of a worker climbing the scaffold.

I've spent a lot of time this week sorting out the the family history conundrums presented by the work of Melanie, whose contact I mentioned last week.It's amazing (and quite exciting) what can be achieved when we pool our work. Most importantly, Melanie has been able to visit archives and obtain documents not available online. It now appears that my paternal 3xGGrandmother, Sarah Attesley, was the sister of John and Henry Attesley who were convicted of larceny in the Cambridge Assizes in 1821, and sentenced to 7 years transportation. Sarah had two children out of wedlock, one of whom was my 2x GGrandmother.

By this morning we worked out that the two brothers were never actually transported. They appear to have served their sentences on the hulk Leviathan, Henry serving the full 7 years and John released on parole after 4 years. Their gaolers gave them reports of good behaviour which may have been the reason they were never transported. The UK Hulk Registers and Letter Books 1802-1847 for Henry and John Attersley show a few others with similar outcome. I did not know some sentenced convicts stayed on the hulks. It's a bit of a toss-up whether they were better off.

This is my grandmother, Ada whose ancestors these were. It now looks as if her line can be traced back through the Attesley's to Philip Attesley (1541-1572) and his wife Alyce Drawton (1542-1579). I have very little information about their lives except that two of their seven children survived to adulthood and by the 18th century their descendants were small-hold farmers. At no point in time does it look like an easy life.

Last night I cooked another variation of the tray-baked pork sausages . Once again, it was successful. Brigid had a 7pm netball committee meeting, so the kids and I ate just after 6. Katherine and Anthony picked them up in time to drop Brigid at her meeting and took the small cooked dish home to eat. I still didn't remember to photograph the cooked version! 

Yesterday was also the day of International Women's Day marches around Australia, focused on 'Enough is Enough' a version of 'Me too' triggered by some recent prominent cases here. I decided it was too difficult to go to the local march today but my spirit was there.

Last night's dark and brooding sunset seemed appropriate to the day.

I have changed my mind about using the Bushfire project for my Design Online project. I think it's too ambitious for the course, so I''m working on doing something with one of these linen pieces from Ink and Spindle. Not sure what yet, but using the river motif.

The post today included two books from separate sources. Each was packaged neatly in a padded paper bag that fits in the letterbox! Bravo!  One is, of course, the paper copy of Pat's book which I have already read on Kindle. I wanted a copy I can lend to people. The other is another of Shiela Payne's books. I haven't had a chance to browse carefully but it does have numerous index references to Bulgaria.

Finally, I did a repair job this morning for a friend. I have repaired these before - favourite orange trousers bought in Indonesia that split. Last week Ken sent this photo (left) of another disaster to befall them, above a previous patch. 

I stitched the tear to a piece of batik on the inside then stitched another batik patch over the top. 

They will soon be more patch than original - but that's OK.  I come from a long line of repairers! 

Later this year the World Embroidery Group is having a couple of sessions on Mend and Make Do. I might borrow them back to take along!

Until next week.