Post613 Lots of Purple and Patience

It seems a bit early to me for Christmas decorations. I did put out the candelabra but the rest can wait for Advent. 

Wednesday began with my 4 monthly Optometrist appointment. My eyes are going well under the current treatment regime. They were checked, my steroid creme prescripion renewed  and my checkups moved to six monthly. We talked along the way about Christmas, so I came home and sorted out the presents in my wardrobe. I could only find one of the four sacks I made for grandchildren in 2019  (a replacement of the original felt ones that had worn out). Does this mean it’s time to abandon them now the users are all adults?

On Thursday morning I had an email from Snapfish asking me to order something, or lose the archive of my past projects. It’s a bit ironic. The reason I haven’t used them for several years is because the early photo books I had ordered from them had disappeared from their website and I found another service that provides an archive service and more flexible formats. 

I thought however, that responding to their email might give me leverage, so I examined their current offerings. Amongst them are a couple of printed bags and a cushion. Of course, I thought it would be worthwhile trying these as spin-offs from the Bishops Bag.🙄

Apart from my Pilates, I spent the entire day, and most of the evening. experimenting with photographs and Snapfish software. Like most companies, but unlike those I ordered last week, Snapfish bags are printable only on one side. In the end I combined individual photographs of the 14 embroidered faces into a Word document, which I then converted to a jpeg file using screenshot. I had to do this several times to get a high enough resolution to create merchandise and to get a size that uploaded without cropping out faces on the edge. I have finally ordered a tote bag, a library bag and a cushion. I have a feeling the cushion might prove to be an attractive choice.  

In the middle of all this I had a phone call to say my coffee machine was ready to pick up. I was happily drinking a cup of coffee from the insulated coffee pot  I had filled that morning , so delayed picking up the machine until Friday. The explanation for the problem is still a bit thin, but I am now operating it without a filter, and hoping the signals for descaling will now be clear to me. Danielle, who runs the shop and deals with customers, had taken the trouble to go through the processes with the technician and then again with me. So far so good, but I’m not counting my chickens yet. Danielle is great.

It's good to have espresso coffee when I want it, but I'm very pleased to have rediscovered the convenience of freshly ground coffee through a stainless steel drip filter into an insulated coffee pot. I've got choices!

On Saturday I paid a visit to Create in Stitch. It was raining heavily. On the way home I managed to find a place to stop on Halifax St to photograph the jacaranda trees. I love the mature trees with the contrasting black wood. 

Back at home, with another coffee,  the drip began again in my living room wall.  I took notes, timed it, and notified our Strata Rep. Another visit from Shane is now scheduled early this Friday.

It was, at least, good knitting weather. I managed, finally, to finish the left front of the cardigan. It looked (is) huge, and I was anxious to see if I had overdone the size shift. It appears, however, to be the right size.  Even though it had to be held in place, I didn't want to take it off. It would have been a good addition in Saturday's miserable weather.

I've now begun the right front.

Three of us ate well and,  in between intermittent checks on the Schoolies Week weather, managed the crosswords  with a bit of pooled knowledge - and an observer.

Sunday was BookClub and the only day this week when rain was not forecast. I managed to get my 2 weeks of accumualated washing done and hung out before I left at 9.45am. As I hung it out, the Jenny McWinney peg bag I made in 2012 finally fell apart. A shame, but it's had a good run. I used the pegs as they fell but couldn't stop to deal with it.

I had somehow missed the street closure notices for the Supercars Final which starts next Thursday. Roads are already closed, stands and bollards  erected. I had to go a very long way around to get to our meeting at Norwood. It was worth it,  The recommended books created animated discussion. 

As we shared our reading, I added another 48 books to my database of the crime books we have collectively read this year. I now have an 11 page table, in Word, containing 485 titles - the books we have individually read and shared with each other this year.. Another BookClub member has now transferred it into Excel format so it can be interrogated by category, not essential, but useful and handy. I'm hoping to recruit a granddaughter to help me manage the database,

It was also the day the cushion covers I'd made recently reached their destination. The account of their making is now in my embroidery blog.

There isn't a big choice of peg baskets in Adelaide. I found this wire mesh one at Bunnings and bought it on Monday. The old one, unfortunately, has gone to landfill. 

While at Bunnings I was seduced by a lemon scented pine, being marketed as a Christmas tree. It's very limey-greem which I rather like.  Let's see if I can keep this one alive beyond Christmas.

They also had the first poinsettia of the season. Not very big, but I do love them. While I eschew Christmas decorations before Advent, I don't count plants in the category!

My hairdresser doesn't wait for Advent. When I visited today she and her apprentice were engaged in wrapping the entrance door in a gigantic gold ribbon and bow. While Nikki cut my hair, the apprentice unpacked a box of frosted trees which she arranged , on instruction, in the window. The idea was to create a village in the window.

After some discussion, I came home, collected the box of santons, traditional pottery village nativity figures from Provence,  and took them back to the salon. 

Jim bought these some 15-20 years ago. I haven't  had space to display them here and Nikki was keen to borrow them. She has promised me photos when they are set up. I can't find any photos of the figures set up, so the box will have to do. They are tiny, and my guess is there would be 70-80 figures.

On my way home the second time I stopped at the Chemist, had a prescription made up, and returned the bathroom scales I bought 10 days ago. They have begun behaving like the last ones. 

This morning they gave me, within 5 minutes, a weight varying over a 3 kg range. The pharmacy was unsurprised, and very good about it,  refunding my money and will return them to the company. 

After discussion with pharmacy staff, I came home and checked out non-digital scales. I have, with some trepidation, ordered the one that is used in most doctor's surgeries. The reviews are mostly positive, and reliability seems high. There is no local supply and they are more expensive than those I've tried so far. I really need to get accurate and reliable weight measurements regularly, so here's hoping it's third time lucky.

This afternoon I've had the call scheduling Shane's visit to look for the leak early (sigh) on Friday morning. I also had a message to say by B&O TV is at the warehouse and can be delivered once I pay the balance! 

Also, all the printed bags I ordered, plus the cushion, are on their way to me. It looks as if I will be spending much of the coming week waiting for deliveries and services!

Post 558 Floe and Flow(n).

On Wednesday morning I caught a glimpse of the two blackbird chicks waiting eagerly for their food delivery which my presence at the window had delayed.  The father had arrived but flew off as soon as I moved to take a photo.

On Thursday morning I looked up from my breakfast to see one chick standing high in the nest. I snapped a quick photo through the glass.  Within seconds it flew away.

My photo caught the beginning of the flight - not an award-winning photo, but nevertheless a captured moment. There did not appear to be another fledgling left in the nest.  The flight took the young bird well clear of my balcony, in the direction of the trees behind.

It seems I captured his/her flying the nest. They have not been back and the nest appears empty. There seems to be some expert disagreement about whether or not they will use the nest again, or come back to the same area. Guess I'll find out.

To complete the transition, within a couple of hours, a magpie visited for water. Soon the doves were back. The coast, it appears, is clear for other birds.

After successfully swivelling the mattress on my new bed as recommended, I spent most of Wednesday (in between checking the balcony for any activity in the nest) completing the gift project I began last week. Now it is in the hands of the intended recipient I can reveal it is Floe, the penguin doorstop from the cover of Inspirations No 123.  It's been a great project to work on. Details, of course, in my embroidery blog.

On a 'complete-a-project' roll, I finished the embroidered flowers I  began several months ago on Ink and Spindle linen for  yet another tote bag (bottom left in composite photo). On Thursday I ironed several lengths of linen, and cut out lining for 3 bags that I had in pieces.  Over Friday and Saturday I stitched them. The Flannel Flower one in the lower right is embroidered a little on both sides, the other two, only on one side. The blue bird is a Nicola Jarvis design repurposed from a worn out bag. I experimented with this one, creating a bag with a zipped top and a shoulder strap. Again, details in my embroidery blog.

 

A completely different 'complete-a-project' involved recycling plastic bottle lids I have been collecting for 3-4 years. I had intended to take them to an Adelaide City Council recycling station, but when I checked, they no longer had a  specific collection box for plastic lids. Further investigation revealed instructions to place the lids inside a plastic milk container and put the full container into the regular recycle rubbish collection. Sorters can see the lids in the milk container and easily direct them appropriately. This seems an ingenious solution for the smaller soft drink lids, but I couldn't see it working for the milk bottle lids.  It didn't take me long, however, to work out that if I used my faithful Stanley knife to cut a triangular flap in an empty soft drink bottle, I could fill it with the larger lids (which are used by several charities to make a variety of recycled plastic products). I was hoping I'd found a solution that is convenient to the recycling depot as well as me. A friend, however, assures me the larger lids can be forced into a milk bottle, so I'll try that next time I have an empty milk bottle.

The 'replant the empty pots' project continues. 

I was able to eat left-over Chicken and fried rice on Tuesday and Wednesday, so visited the Queen St Cafe after Pilates on Thursday for a milkshake and very late lunch. The lunch special was Marinated Rindless Pork Belly with Gingered Hoisin Sauce and Mango Salsa.  It was excellent. 

The jacarandas are in full bloom all around the city. I am intrigued as to why there is such variation in the colour, coverage and timing of the transitions from flowers to leaves. The explanation seems to lie in soil type and water, yet it’s hard to see how these two, side by side in a city street, could have such different conditions. I need to talk to one of the City Council gardeners! 

On Saturday morning while the Christmas Pageant was taking place in the CBD, not far from me, I did a big shop, mostly for the ingredients for Monday night's dinner -Crispy Gnocchi with Sausage and Broccoli - a  recipe from the New York Times suggested by Katherine, which proved to be a success, and will join the Monday night meal rota. 

Sunday was BookClub. We tried meeting in a cafe again, but didn't like it. The noise level in a popular cafe is not conducive to group discussion. We were agreed that The Death of Dora Black was interesting, but would have been better as history than fiction. Our second book,  In the Blink of an Eye is a really interesting projection of the use of AI, in the form of an avatar, in police crime solving. Next month we're retreating to a home.

I’ve finished another Galaxy Dreaming panel. It’s been my ‘grab and go’ while the more ambitious projects were happening. I have two more to go before making a tablecloth.

I’ve moved on to an Irish harp by be Alice. I could finish it tonight, but decided it would be a good project to work on tomorrow while performing my hostess duties at the Guild, so I’m back to knitting up the leftover Rowan wool.

My cleaners have COVID so today I vaccuumed. The making of bags and penguin had left a trail of threads, fabric scraps and crumbs (yes, a girl needs coffee and a biscuit while on a stitching binge) throughout the apartment - and repotting hadn’t helped.  Although it has rained on and off all day, the front balcony doesn't benefit, so I put the hose on again, this time pulling too hard and wetting the carpet in the sitting area. My brother had also requested some specific research, so that is what I was doing while the Melbourne Cup was being run. This bit of the nation, at least, was not stopped by the race.

There is also a curb-side pickup scheduled for tomorrow morning, with unwanted goods to go out from 4pm this afternoon. I'd been saving a few things in my carpark storage, so had to get them out and package them for leaving out with the threat of intermittent rain. It was fine at 4pm, so my old vacuum cleaner, mop, mattress protector (containing polyester which isn’t accepted by charities) and defunct light box are now all awaiting collection in the morning (mine circled). So far it hasn't rained since 4pm so they might stay dry.

I am still processing the recent deaths and illnesses in my small community.  This week there was an unexpected death in my extended family, a friend travelled to New Zealand for a funeral and a Book Club friend is having her bladder removed to counter a cancer diagnosis.  It feels a bit like an onslaught. 

I am fortunate to be alive, supported and in reasonable health. I am trying to make the most of every moment. 

Carpe diem.

Post 509 Lots happening this week

On Wednesday I came into my living room almost ready to leave for WES Group, to find my 18 year old grandson sitting at the dining room table absorbed in his laptop. Surprisingly, I didn’t get a fright, and took it in my stride. He had come to do his last University exam for the year, using my wifi. He had woken to find  Optus, his home Internet provider, had been down since 4am - across Australia! His laptop frequently connects to my wifi, which does not use Optus, so he rushed here, connected and was in the midst of his exam. Enterprising. The outage was major. Train services stopped in Melbourne,  Ambulance services lost connectivity, courts could not access documents, businesses could only deal in cash, students missed exams and internet-dependent health services went down - for somewhere between 12 and 14 hours. Full credit to Fionn for finding a solution - as he always has when the path runs out. What the country needs.

At WES Group, unaffected by the outage, we managed our presentation - Moroccan Textile  Magic, drawing on Keryn's several trips, her extensive knowledge and collection.  Again, the group was very engaged. It always takes me a while to follow up afterwards, sending out a summary and notes. It looks as if the Guild's new office manager will set the projector up for us in future, which will be a great help. Keryn touched on textiles to ward off the evil eye. She corresponds with an archeologist in The Netherlands who has the best  evil eye explanation I’ve encountered. I’ve been following up. A couple more books on the way - another rabbit hole!  I've also been wearing some of my Turbo smaragdus opercula (cat's eyes) which, it seems, are evil eye amulets.

On Thursday I had a fasting blood test, getting to the pathology clinic just after 8am. After Pilates I called at the Guild, went grocery shopping and set about organising the cards and bookmarks I've been having printed.  The container is 30cmx45cm, so I am not going to run out of greeting cards or bookmarks any time soon!  I ended up really tired.

More bookmarks arrived today. I’ve decide on a bookmark for each decade for Di’s birthday today. She’ll like that. 

I had planned to visit Gallery M on Friday, where the Handspinners and Weavers Guild has an exhibition of Braids, but  with the temperature forecast at 42C I decided to stay at home and sent my electricity bill soaring. I got a lot of WES Admin done - and read Return to Valetto by Dominic Smith, which I enjoyed. It reached C40.2 but I stayed cool.

On Saturday Fionn asked if I could mend a pair of his trousers that had split from the waist to the bottom of the back pocket. Because of the position, I could use the edge of the pocket as reinforcement - so a relatively unobtrusive mend. The pocket is still usable, though Fionn assured me he is 'not a back pocket man'. Pleased to be able to help.

While on the topic of trousers....

The promised photos of the travelling pants arrived this week, the first on the flight and the second in a resort. Hopefully, as well as being comfortable, they are lucky pants - keeping the wearer safe while travelling.

There's still a bit more scope for repair if they can't stand the strain.....

Yesterday I bought a copy of December’s The Australian Women's Weekly, the first issue, I think, I've bought in about 50 years. It has a six page article about Sophie's Legacy, the foundation set up by Garry and Kate Putland, whose daughter, a 33 year-old Vet, committed suicide in September 2020. I worked with Garry in the 1990s and am full of admiration, and sadness, for the work of Sophie's Legacy. It's a very good article, outlining what amounts to a crisis in the Vet industry, and the steps being taken to address it.

The hat I was knitting a week or so ago is now with its owner and the detail is in my embroidery blog. 

I've also finished and delivered the alpaca shawl. 

I had thought about holding the link over to next week, since this post is a bit crowded,  but I've put it off for a couple of weeks, so here it is.

I've begun knitting the Buggiflooer Beanie in the Jamieson and Smith wool. It demands concentration because every row is different, but  is looking good. I have undone quite a bit, but I'm using stitch markers between each 34 stitch repeat, so I haven't had to undo more than 33 stitches at a time!

Today I had my annual checkup with my GP. My kidney and sugar readings were OK but still in the keep-on-eye-on range. We discussed weight loss at length, agreeing to rule out injectables at the moment. We've settled on an approach, I've cancelled the appointment with the nutritionist and made another appointment with my GP in 11 weeks time.   I had gone to today's appointment, made months ago, prepared for a 7km dash to my Aquafit class afterwards, but with 8 minutes to make it across town and into the pool, reluctantly gave up. Instead I called at Wakefield Press to pick up a copy of their just-released Adelaide Art Scene. I'm a little disappointed that its 740 pages focus on movements and galleries rather than artists, but it certainly has a wealth of local information for future projects.

I was clearly premature in my fear the jacarandas would not deliver this year. Carrington Street is glorious. 

The lorikeets still prefer the native frangipani. 

More to do in the coming week - to look forward to and be grateful for.

Post 508 Mostly Pageantry

The big event in Adelaide this week was the Christmas Pageant. Initiated by a department store in 1933, when 8 floats and 4 bands accompanied Santa through the streets to the Store’s Magic Cave to begin the Christmas selling period. Each year floats and bands were added. Crowds grew, the State Bank joined the sponsorship, staff from the store and the bank worked on the floats, artists and community groups got involved and floats were stored between Pageants. In 1996, before it closed, the department store sold the Pageant to the State Government which continues it with sponsorship naming rights currently going to a pharmacy. It is a big event in Adelaide, held on the second Saturday in November, unless, as happens this year, that falls on Remembrance Day, when the pageant is moved forward a week, It was suspended from 1940-44 during WWII. In 2020 and 21, during COVID, floats and bands circled the Showground arena watched by 35 000 distanced in the stands. 

Last Saturday over 300 000, about a quarter of the population, lined the streets. Because JEMS meet at 1pm on the first and third Saturday of the month, it was a challenge for me. City streets are closed from 5am to 1pm. To pick Niamh up at 12.30pm I planned my route around the city. Unfortunately, my timing coincides with many of the spectators  leaving the city. This time my ring route was bumper to bumper most of the way and the 15 minute journey took 45 minutes. I’m not complaining. Pageant Day Rules OK.

Our journey from Niamh’s place to the Guild involves a right-hand turn from Port Road to South Rd from the West. As has happened before, our arrival at the turn coincided with the unpeopled floats exiting the city to return to their storage, making the diagonally opposite right hand turn from the East. As a safety precaution, all other traffic is halted, so I was able to photograph bits of the floats, not great photography, but you get the idea. 

The birds have kept me busy this week. The Rosella, whose sudden appearance last week took me by surprise just after I’d lamented its absence, came back again on Wednesday, keeping well inside the native Frangipani tree seemingly evading my camera. With patience I got several interesting shots.

Unable to curb my practical impulses, I stayed up until 2am on Friday morning, creating bookmarks and cards from some of the shots. Then, this morning, seduced by a couple more photos, I ordered more from another company.

Yes, I now have a lifetime supply of both cards and bookmarks. Will it stop me producing more? Probably not.

A bee that was on the balcony at the same time got a bookmark gig. Although it deserved a macro lens, the colours make up for it. 

The honeyeaters are still dominant. I am fascinated by the way they (and other birds) can turn their bodies so fluidly, as if they have no bones. One of them made the bookmark frenzy too.

The jacarandas have finally come into their own. The purple haze is now upon us and, on cue the complementary fortnight lilies have just finished blooming outside the apartment entrance.

During the week there was the usual car-shuffle for the cleaners, a late change to my Pilates time, a late lunch at the pub across the Square, an early morning visit from a neighbour with a phone crisis, and a couple of deliveries. I also visited the Christine McCarthy print exhibition at the Art Images Gallery. It’s a long time since I viewed her work. Some I liked a lot.

I didn't get to swimming  today due to a scheduled  5 hour major car service. I turned down the loan car and caught the city loop bus home and back again. I was walking from the bus to the dealer when the Melbourne Cup was run and didn't tune in. The service ended up taking 6 hours with a glowing report and a smooth ride home. They also provided me with a lifecycle report, which indicates I should stick with the car for several more years.

I managed to finish the shawl on Sunday. The icord cast-off took quite a while, but was worth it. I cut and stitched the steek. 

The shape doesn’t suit the hap stretcher and the size suggested  I needed to block it on my floor or buy more foam blocks (it spans more than 2 metres). My friend Margaret suggested I use my single king bed, so I gave it a go this afternoon- perfect fit, and, with a towel underneath, should not damage the bed.

The lacy edge has me a bit worried. I’m not sure it will sit flat on the wearer. I’m wondering if I should wire it.  Final detail will be in my embroidery blog by next week.  

Last week's success with fried rice inspired me to cook lemon chicken for Monday's dinner. I made it in a huge dish, then divided it into two. To one part I added Hokkien noodles, my usual method, and the other I left as is, for those who wanted it with fried rice, which I repeated based on last week’s success. More labour than usual, but I'm getting a bit more flexible with cooking as I get older! It hit the mark.

My neighbour revealed that her 80th birthday is next Tuesday. I'm wondering if I can manage something appropriate in the timeframe. 80 simple flying birds on a bag? Or a bookmark to mark each decade - that I could manage! 

Tomorrow's WES Group meeting seems to have come around quickly. Quite a bit of effort has gone into setting up and checking the projection - along with Plan B and Plan C. Here's hoping