Post 342Lunch with Lorraine in Stirling

 My apologies to those readers who receive my blog posts by email. I don't know why yesterday's email didn't go out at the time set (between 11pm and 1am Adelaide time). It was posted just after 11pm Adelaide time - about an hour earlier than most recent posts, so should have been easily picked up in the timeframe. Usually I check before I go to sleep but I was very tired last night after the dentist. My thanks to the friend who alerted me this morning, enabling me to reset it to go out - albeit 12 hours late. I'll monitor the email post tonight.

Obviously I slept well! I have got through the day today so far without taking any pain relief and I have kept up the salt water rinses as instructed. 

I had organised some weeks ago to have lunch today with my friend Lorraine, whose birthday is next weekend. As I was away on my birthday last month we arranged this to celebrate both our birthdays. Lorraine has not been well for a year (I wrote about her in Post 170 and 273) but is recovering slowly and steadily. 

When my dental appointment was brought forward I didn't want to cancel today's lunch unless I had to - even if I didn't eat much. As it happened it was fine so I picked Lorraine up from her home in a retirement village in leafy Myrtle Bank.

At her suggestion, we went to the Stirling Hotel in the Adelaide Hills - only about a 15 minute drive from Myrtle Bank.  

I hadn't been here before. It was very pleasant, - spacious  and airy with a lot of greenery inside and out. 

Neither of us chose the specials. I had salt and pepper squid, which was excellent, and quite easy on my mouth. Neither of us had alcohol - my mouth instructions say none for a week to facilitate healing.

We had a really good catch up, two and a half hours of relaxed discussion in a very pleasant space.

Once back at home I made a start on the family history chart. Yesterday I bought an archival pen. The linen proved quite difficult to write on.

It does, however give a useful view of family - one not easily obtained from an online tree. I completed the Maternal side of my own tree. There are 8 names in the ninth generation and 12 in the eighth. It readily shows where there are gaps. 

I'll have a go at the Paternal side another day before too long.

This evening I've made progress on the Western Spinebill. The tail and outlines to go.  It's nearly time for me to make the two bags on to which this and the Blue Wren are to be appliqued. I'm planning to put these into the Guild Exhibition next month. The theme is Nature by Needle, and these seem to fit.

Covid restrictions have just been reinstated in Victoria as the virus has apparently escaped from hotel quarantine. Western Australia has a similar situation.. 

In South Australia we have cases in hotel quarantine from returning Australians but so far no community transmission. Nothing, however, can be taken for granted. 

I'm sticking to my stitching - and exercising that much vaunted abundance of caution.

Post 340

As I anticipated, the package awaiting me at the post office was the three genealogy charts I had ordered. I had a message from the PO to say they were ready to pick up around 10am this morning - so no need to decipher the postman's handwriting.

It is on a heavy linen-like fabric. The book on the left edge is A4, to give some sense of the size. My idea is to fill one out with myself as the starting point, then one beginning with my daughters and one with my grandchildren.  I will then develop books of stories that incorporate the many photos on my Ancestry tree. An online tree has many advantages, but stories and a holistic view are not among them. 

Now I need to try out a couple of archival pens. I've decided against embroidering the names!

And in case you look closely, 'paternal' is mispelled.

From the PO I went to Frewville to buy my muesli and some bakery items for this afternoon's visitors. I then went to the Guild to see what I could find in the library on Bulgarian embroidery.

This is the standard DMC account, mostly a collection of motifs and colour instructions.

This one, interestingly is the catalogue of an exhibition held in Adelaide at the Migration Museum in 1986

while this one has useful information about some embroidery and textile traditions.  There is also some information in Mary Gostelow's Embroidery: Traditional Designs, Techniques, and Patterns from All over the World.

It's enough to get me started. All I need to do now is read them, in between the other tasks I've set myself!

I had a reminder this morning that I have undertaken to give a Certificate Course Workshop on Icelandic Embroidery in May and need to have instructions in by April, so I borrowed the Icelandic books as well to update my PowerPoint and notes.

The building grew apace today. I think it is clear that the building does not go to the boundary of the block. The side wall went up this morning (left) and by the end of the day the corner had been turned and a return wall erected.  These, I'm assuming, will be the walls that continue for 9 storeys, leaving a lower courtyard at the back.

It will shave a little off my view, but nothing like I was fearing if the building went to the boundary.

I also heard from my periodontist today, offering me an appointment tomorrow morning at 9.00am, which I have accepted. The tooth is not aching today, but was over the weekend, so it's better to get it done - even if it means two lunches I have organised later in the week are less comfortable than they might have been.

It's a return to Monday night dinners tonight. Niamh and Veronica finish early on Mondays so were here about 2.40pm. It's been a very relaxed afternoon. Brigid is spending her gap year working at her old school as a PE assistant and appears to be much in demand as a swim instructor and supervisor and coach of several sports. Fionn is preparing to perform in front of SANFL selectors on the weekend. 

The pasta bake turned out very well and there wasn't a lot left.

I began work on the Western Spinebill this evening. There's a long way to go. I need to add more black to the head - I may even have to make it solid. I'll have a better idea once I put the eye in. I'm pleased with the bill.

Up early for the dentist tomorrow.