Post602 Laden with happiness and tears

Birds are active again, making lots of noise and moving around. I captured the doves through my newly cleaned window of the spare bedroom and snapped the honey eater through the balcony door.                       

Unsurprisingly, I didn't pay them much attention on Wednesday when I was up before 7 to reserve a parking space for the electrician. He arrived at 10.30, discussed my problem, pulled out the kitchen extractor fan, and at 11.20 set off  with the old unit, to buy a replacement. It took about 2 hours to find one that fitted & with which he was happy. It took ages to install and when it was in, the unit projected 2mm over the door clearance. I suggested shaving the door. Garry wasn’t happy. At 5.15 we agreed to leave the doors off for 12 days until he can return, dismantle the unit and remove the row of tiny tiles that are causing the problem.

I so admire the problem solving process and determination to get it right. It was a long day’s work requiring diagnosis, problem solving, meticulous measurement, consultation, product sourcing, purchasing, installation, adaptation, testing. At the end of all that, seven hours later,  it works, but near enough is not good enough and it must come out again. I dips me lid.

I returned the things we removed from the side cupboards, and also found another home for my supply of toilet paper. I don’t mind looking at it for 12 days, but it would invite jokes - and my mother would have disapproved of such display.

I had my 10th COVID shot on Friday morning - and have booked the next one for March next year. Back at home for a recovery coffee, my coffee machine showed the sign for cleaning. I got out the book and a cleaning tablet, and followed the steps. Once again, it didn’t work. I rang the shop. The serviceman who had offered to pay me a visit next time it happened was not there (Friday afternoon, POETS day?) but they promised to organise for him to come after the weekend. In the meantime I can still use the machine ignoring the ‘clean me ‘ signal. I haven't heard from him yet,and have kept making coffee. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It makes up for the slightly sore arm and tiredness from the vaccination.

When I finished the felted bag last week I had most of a 200gm ball of pink 10 ply left . It occurred to me it might make beanies for the JusticeNet walk next year. While I have made, and continue to make, white beanies for the AGJusticeNet team, I’m happy to use up coloured wool for beanies the charity can sell. The pink ball yielded 3 beanies with a bit left over. I do have another pink ball but instead I used up red left over from making slippers. In the process I worked out a better design for 16ply. 

I'm planning to move on to one of the larger knitting projects I have waiting, but as a break from knitting I retrieved one of the Ink and Spindle totes I cut out months ago and worked on it for a couple of days. Details in my embroidery blog. I'm pleased with it.

Beneath these activities has run a great deal of emotion and communication because a reserved, very private, widowed uncle in Canada has terminal cancer and had moved into a palliative care unit. Finding this out has taken a lot of detective work by my intrepid  English cousins. I helped where I could. 

The time difference between here and Vancouver makes synchronous communication tricky. He can no longer use email, which is how he mostly communicated over distance. He likes snail mail, so I’m giving it a go, in hope. It  feels as if cancer is taking over. I’ve started wearing my pin again. 

Tomorrow, however, is World Embroidery Study Group - and Fionn has invited me to the dinner he's cooking. Definitely a bright side.

Post 507 Adelaide Rosella calls

I had friends to lunch on Sunday, so spent much of Friday shopping and much of Saturday preparing. 

 

I cooked Peking Flavour Duck Breasts. I also planned to try a new potato dish for Monday night, and originally thought I'd use it for both meals, but realised Cheesy Potato Bake is hardly a fitting accompaniment to Peking Duck! 

I tried buying some fried rice from a takeaway in the Unley Shopping Centre, but it didn't appeal, so I gave in and made my own, boiling the rice on Saturday and leaving it spread out on a tray overnight in the fridge, then frying it all up the next day. It was, I'm happy to say, excellent. 

Over lunch I was bewailing the fact that while I had taken hundreds of bird photos, I hadn't seen a single Adelaide Rosella this year. Less than half an hour after my guests had left, I heard the telltale screech. I spent a long time holding my camera, unable to see the bird hidden in the leaves. When located,  it was a black shape against the sky. I snapped away, and was able to adjust the colour and light to triumphantly expose the rosella colour. I am grateful for the visitation, and regard it as a good omen for friendship and the journey my friends are about to take.

The jacarandas are still not as vibrant as other years, being a mixture of blossom, new growth and still-attached old leaves. It varies considerably across the city, but there is less full-purple impact this year. Happily, the young one the Council planted in the Square a couple of years ago are looking healthy.

As my friends were leaving on Sunday, a couple of men were searching a section of the Square with metal detectors, spring what they seemed to be digging up about a spade depth below the turf. Long lost items or buried treasure?  This morning I read a story of a family in Norway who found Viking burial items in their backyard, while searching for a lost earring.  I wonder what the men found in the Square.

We had a full complement on Monday night. The cheesy potato bake was a success alongside the honey soy chicken Maryland, but the left-over fried rice was too! Both will be on the rotation from now on. 

Last Wednesday I tripped getting out of the lift on my way back from collecting the mail. I'm still not sure whether the lift door was not level with the landing, or if I just stubbed my shoe, but the mail went flying and I fell heavily on my knees and left arm, across the foyer floor. I had trouble getting up, without putting all my weight on my knees. I managed to get myself across the floor to my door and use the handle as leverage to stand up. I could have called my neighbour, but was pleased to be able to manage myself. My knees and arm were bruised, but not enough to stop my doing Pilates the next day. I am paying more attention now as I exit the lift.

Honeyeaters dominate the balcony bird scene at the moment. Groups make swooping visits and zip around adjacent trees.

A couple of months ago, there was an appeal for buttons, to use on clothing being made for the Guild shop. 

This week my friend Vivienne sent me most of her significant button collection, some of which go back to at least the 1950s, probably earlier. I have saved a few for myself, including an addition to my Cat's Eye collection.  I also have buttons very similar to the white ones. I will deliver the remainder to the Guild next Thursday. It's so satisfying to be part of this continuity of recycling. Buttoned across time and place.

The cards I've had printed all arrived during the week. I won't reveal my Christmas card just yet.

The bookmarks  are everything I hoped for. The backs are blank so I can use them as gift cards.

Aquafit again today. Two safety pins largely tamed the floating skirt on my swimming costume. 

 

I have reached a milestone with the alpaca shawl. I am now knitting the lacy top border. only 14 rows to go, about 6,670 stitches. 

Not that I'm counting.

Post 504 Quite a week.

There was a fabulous rainbow over the city early on Wednesday morning. I just caught it after Robyn, my sister-in-law, noticed and drew my attention to it.

I reckon the pot of gold was somewhere near the police barracks that are about to be moved!

We went on to have brunch with Niamh, Veronica and Fionn at the Queen St Cafe. A happy time.

I had  a postal vote in our upcoming referendum and posted my ballot paper well in advance of closing date. I now have my Electoral Commission receipt.

My brother, staying with me for much of the week, is not keen on marmalade, which is pretty much my only(occasional) jam, so I opened the last jar of the crab-apple jelly I made from our crab apple tree in West Hindmarsh. The end of an era, and, yes, about time it was used!

It was a  relaxing time with my visitors. We've got a working plan for the book I'm helping my brother with; he edited another of his publications and Robyn has her lessons planned for the next term. They watched Niamh's football match (in the cold) and we had several relaxed meals, one with all the Adelaide family here on Friday night. It was a really good time.

They went home on Saturday. A  spectacular sunset rounded off their visit.  A rainbow and a spectacular sunset - the gods clearly approved of their visit.

On Sunday Katherine and I went to the Finale of the Festival of Choirs, on in Adelaide over the weekend. Five choirs, one each from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Queensland have been performing in 5 concerts. We only went to the last, which was at St Peter's Cathedral in the afternoon. 

It was a varied and interesting program. I enjoyed hearing Rainforest again. My favourite from the individual choirs was the Sydney Choir's Kirie and Gloria from Missa Rigensis. 

The final combined choirs piece, however was a stand-out, with the five choirs enclosing the audience on three sides, each with its conductor taking signals from Carl Crossin in the middle of the central aisle, surrounding us with sound. It really was fabulous, though not easy to photograph. These are some of the combined choirs processing to take up their places around the cathedral.

For the last couple of days the sun has been shining and the temperature is rising a little. I've caught up with washing and begun an advent calendar commission for Brigid. The honey eaters have been active, swooping around the balcony even as I was hanging out washing!

A message from my friend Ken almost stopped my heart. It said " I think we are close to 'end of life treatment'. It was only when I opened it and saw the attached photo that I realised, with relief, that he was referring to  another split in his favourite travel pants! 

Nowhere near end-of-life if I have my way.

Today I kept to my plan of returning to swimming when my back was healed and I'd had my 6th COVID shot. I got myself organised (no hearing aids, small bag with keys, cards & phone for front desk to mind, towel, pool shoes and toiletries) and fronted up for a 45 minute Aqua Fitness class at Unley Swim, a pool in the Unley shopping centre. I haven't used it before. The group was friendly, the instructor clear and helpful, and the session fairly vigorous. I managed without difficulty and really enjoyed it. I am now tired and feeling a few muscles. I have signed up for a 10 week block and it's in my diary indefinitely. 

I'm behind in my reading, and discovered I need another 28 row pattern repeat on the shawl, so nothing much to report there. With about 350 stitches on the needle now, each round takes a while. I'm unlikely to be finished by next week.  Still,

One foot up and one foot down, 

That's the way to London Town 

- or maybe 

Stitch by stitch (don't let them fall!), 

Very soon you'll have your shawl.  

(You can tell my brother's been staying with me!)

Post 499 Buttons and Birds

Spring arrived with a fanfare of birds this week. On the third level of an apartment with trees in front and behind, their noise is constant; chattering, calling, warning, arguing, as they seek out the emerging buds barely visible to human eyes. 

On Saturday evening it was a flock of lorikeets - the noisiest of them all.

It was in contrast to the almost monochrome moonscape as I tried to capture the super blue moon on Wednesday and Thursday nights. This was as close as I came to the golden glow, but I was pleased, nonetheless. Moonshots are difficult and at least I got a few decent shots, even without the gold.

I got some help on Saturday from JEMS for the jewellery pouch I had decided to make from last week's Certificate Course endeavour. I worked on the sample all week, unable to resist the temptation to play with the stitches and design. I couldn't decide between two pieces of fabric for the lining and back. The girls at JEMS worked it out - the velvet for the back because it matched the outer edge I was still working, and the shiny pink, which everyone loved, as lining. Later that night, Veronica added, sensibly, that the red necklaces I was planning to put in it would be hard to see if I used the velvet as lining. Good advice all round.  The pouch is now finished - detail in my embroidery blog. I've promised to take it back next month to show the JEMS.

A side activity at JEMS was button sorting. The JEMS button collection was being sorted into bags by colour and size. A button sort is irresistible, and I got a bit hooked. It's the result of a call for buttons for the children's dresses made by the Guild's shop team.

Sunday was sunny, with a stiff breeze in the morning, so I took the opportunity to throw my sheepskin slippers in the washing machine. The second load of washing was dry in an hour. The slippers took longer, but were clean and dry by the end of the afternoon.   I'll wait at least a couple of weeks before I wash my woollens - reckon I'll need them  yet.

On Sunday afternoon I took myself off to an Elders Art Auction to bid on a bark painting - the last item in the auction. It turned into a battle between an online bidder and myself. I allowed myself two bids over my notional limit, before bowing out. I'm now waiting for a photograph to come back from the framers before organising for my picture hanger to come and hang the botanical mosaic I bought a couple of weeks ago.

I've spent a bit of time on the western balcony in the late afternoons, stitching, reading or writing.  Once summer arrives with a vengeance the balcony will be much too hot.

I further refined the vegetable-bake-with-chipolatas recipe for Monday night dinner. This time I baked the vegetables on a high temperature for about 40 minutes before adding the chipolatas and lowering the temperature for another 30-40 minutes. This produced firmer vegetables without over-cooking the chipolatas. Once again, I intended to add lemon juice before serving, but forgot. Maybe next time I'll remember.

                                               

On Wednesday some fabulous fabric arrived from Tessuti. Need is certainly not the driving force here, but this presented too many bag possibilities to be ignored. I now have Christmas fabric for gift bags, quite a few linens from Ink and Spindle for totes, as well as this one. 

I need to make room in my life for a bag making binge.  

Two books on Australian women artists also arrived this week, in preparation for helping my brother with his next books. I’m also gearing up to write more family history and to document my own paintings, as well as prepare for several Guild presentations. 

I might have to slow down my knitting, although this will be a challenge. This is the beginning of the next alpaca shawl in the round. I  knitted the first few inches back and forth until there was enough to join in the round without dpns. As this one is mosaic knitting,  alternating 2 full rows in each colour, there is less reason I can see for the steek, but I am persevering.    

I also got another knitting book in today's mail - with some very attractive bag patterns.

After the book was delivered, I took myself off to the Tuesday Stitchers group at the Guild for a couple of hours to catch up with news and work on the Christine Bishop Pulled Thread mat. I was home in time to hear, then see, the flock of noisy New Holland Honeyeaters visit my balcony.

A single lorikeet also visited this morning. The buds that attract them are now visible to human eyes.

I'm having a couple of excisions of moles later this week, so may get time at home to observe while healing.  

Post 498 Flying.

A magpie was in the Guild garden on Saturday, watching the carpark activity from a safe vantage point  as I was leaving, taking off as soon as a car moved.

Birds have been active all week: Spring is on the way. The Adelaide Rosella appeared on the seemingly still bare tree at the back of the apartment but flew off before I could grab the DSLR. The early buds must be swelling. The doves have visited every day and the honey eaters make swift forays to check out my plants. 

I had my 6th  COVID vaccination on Wednesday before juggling car parking spaces with my cleaners. I had no adverse reaction, but was tired for a couple of days during which I had time to work up a list of jobs I have been putting off and the courage to tackle a couple of items on the list. 

So, on Friday, I plucked up courage and disposed of the lamp whose shade I had replaced in February . The shade did not fit properly and I had removed it in fear of it falling off. I like the lamp, but I don't use it and it deserves to be used and appreciated. At the risk of coming across as completely mad, I took it to a restoration centre, along with the shade and offered it to them free. My fall-back was to buy a shade that did fit and take the working lamp to a charity. The two assistants in the shop were wary of agreeing without the owner, who was on his way to the shop. When he arrived, he agreed immediately but asked me to accept a bottle of wine in exchange! Done.

The restoration centre is across the road from Nordic Design Furniture so I took another chance. The hap stretcher I bought from Shetland has a problem with one of the 4 connecting knobs that screw the sides together. A screw on one was too short, and would not hold the corner firm. I had researched repair centres and handymen, but found no-one who did such repairs. I took the set of connectors into Nordic Design Furniture and asked Daniel if he had any idea of a service that might fix it. He took it from me, got a tool and some glue, explained the problem (part of the screw had disappeared into the wood) and affected what may only be a temporary fix. He also explained that this side of the connector (lower in photo)  is designed to remain fixed. The connector should only be unscrewed from the side with the brass surround. This made sense, and may mean the temporary fix can be permanent if I undo it correctly. It was a generous response.

I came away from these two encounters on a high. It was uplifting to be shown such kindness in these contexts. A madwoman comes into your business with out-of-left-field, unprofitable requests. Both men responded with kindness and empathy. I felt affirmed and successful. 

I had a late lunch at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart to celebrate, trying the really lovely whiting special instead of my regular gnudi.

Saturday was a Certificate Course workshop taken by Margaret Adams on Canvas Stitches on Linen . There was a lot of information and stitches I have not worked before. I worked on a looser weave linen than most participants, so I could see more clearly what  I was doing. I had a great time and kept working on it when I got home, even though I had other things to work on.  

This is where I am up to (it's a 15cm hoop).

The reason I can work on this, is because I finished and blocked the alpaca shawl during the week. It was a long and, at times difficult, process, but worth it. I have written about it in detail in my stitching blog in more detail than all but knitting nerds would want.    

There is no shortage of things I want to do. I mended a couple of shirts for Fionn over the weekend, ordered a couple of books to help with work I've agreed to do for my brother's next book, while some Christmas fabric I ordered months ago for bags arrived, and I have agreed to give a workshop on Glazig embroidery for the Certificate Course next year. 

My priority is finishing the Canvas stitches above, then the Christine Bishop drawn thread mat - before I embark on another shawl.