Post 398 Words, photos, stitches and, hopefully solar panel connection

We've had a fair bit of rain this week and in between showers my dove pair have dropped in to remind me to put out more seed. 

On Friday he (assuming the larger is male) stood very close, waiting as I hung out the washing but backed off when I got within about half a metre of him.

I spent most of last week buried in BookWright software reloading, editing and finally uploading the book to Blurb. I found it an intense and stressful time. It required numerous adjustments to get the pages to fit and run smoothly. I was expecting it to crash any minute. I figured out that one of my problems was not saving regularly. I have become accustomed to software which saves automatically and realised I needed to manually save after each change. When I thought I had it done and began to upload I got a message to say trade books needed to be in page units of 12, or extra pages would be added to the end of the book. As I didn't want 8 blank pages at the end I had to do another round of adjustment. I'm happy to say I got there. 

As recommended, I have ordered one print copy to check. I'm waiting anxiously for it to arrive before I make the link to the print version live. There is a free ebook version available here  for anyone interested. I'll report on the print version as soon as I have it.

I'm very grateful to my friend Pat Manser who jumped through hoops to access and read a copy for me. She found a quite a few typos and two clangers which I need to try to correct. I think I've figured a way to do that relatively safely. 

It was the Labour Day long weekend here. I had a really lovely evening at Katherine and Anthony's place on Saturday but spent the rest of the weekend at home, either engaged with the book, stitching or playing with family photos.   Left is me, my mother Sylvia, her mother Nell and Nell's father George Bearcraft.

Right is me, my father Len, his father Jim and Jim's mother Caroline Parker.

I've been putting together photos for each of my grandchildren with generational sequences. It's more revealing than a family tree. I have photos of all 4 of my grandparents and 5 of my 8 great-grandparents.  That means I can do 5 of 6 generations for each grandchild, plus 1 of 5 generations. I managed to get them set up and printed late on Monday.

 

The exercise, especially in a week where I have worked so hard on a book, has given me the opportunity to reflect on what my lineage has given to me. Words and photographs stand out. These photos are only with me because of the Box Brownie camera given to my uncle for his 15th birthday four months before the family left England for Australia in 1928. His parents could ill afford it, but he used it to photograph all their family before they left. He also went on to become a photographer in Sydney - not an easy journey. The family valued photography. However, both my parents valued words above most things - Dad, though himself a reserved man of few words,  through a commitment to books and 'the classics' as a path to understanding, Mum through story, poetry and recitation. I see her now as a bard - creating knowledge, clarifying ideas, maintaining values, shaping our world through story, repeating, adapting, adding, interpreting. It was a huge gift to my brother and I - and to our descendants. I would have it no other way. I've begun to think of an embroidery design that encapsulates some of this.

A couple of lorikeets were back on Friday evening. I was only quick enough to catch one on camera.  

My balcony flowers, easier to capture, are responding well to the rain.

In spite of my intention to only work on embroidering the lapels of my purple coat at B2B, I decided to move it forward. Because it can't be worked in a hoop I needed to wear my wrist brace on the left holding hand. I decided to stop pushing the needle through with my finger nails after I pushed the wrong end of the needle and put it right through my nail.

I did make good progress though, and finished one side on Sunday night. That, of course, was incentive enough to keep me going.  It's not, I decided, a good project to put away for a month at a time.

I now have all the purple and some of the green done on the second side. I shall write this project up for my embroidery blog once finished.

This week I was grateful for the Australia Post rescue service. My copy of Rowan Knitting 69 finally arrived - inside a large AusPost plastic bag. The original paper packaging envelope inside was in a sorry state and open on 2 sides. The contents had been put inside another plastic bag along with  a letter from the Netley PO depot in Adelaide, telling me the package had arrived in this state, had probably been soaked in water and providing contact details for compensation. Inside the second plastic bag were two sheets of corrugated cardboard taped together (by the shop) and inside that was - another plastic bag containing the magazine.

I'm torn between gratitude for an undamaged magazine and horror at the plastic it took to get to me - from Sydney. Better make sure I make something from it.

Today was the day our electricity was to be out while our solar panels were being connected. I decided against going away and settled in to read and stitch. I made a thermos of coffee before the 8 am starting time  - my base level requirement.  It was a sunny day, lovely to have balcony doors open. Not sure that the solar panels will begin working until tomorrow - when rain is forecast!

My electricity did not go off until 2.30 pm and was back on at 3.15. Glad I didn't go away!  I spent much of the time correcting the errors in the book, using a laptop copy of the file I have uploaded. I now have a fairly correct version which I'm hoping I can upload to Blurb before I remove the existing one. 🤞 I might wait to see the printed version, in case there are page issues. The print copy has arrived in Adelaide, so shouldn't be long.

The best news of the week is that all four grandchildren have now had their first vaccine. Fantastic. I'm looking forward to lunch with them tomorrow. 

Post 203 Days of Dove Lives and scanning

The young dove arrived this morning and began pecking very quickly at the seed. He (or maybe she) was very alert, pausing to listen every few seconds.









He ate about half the seed then hopped on to the rail and looked carefully in all directions.











While he was  on guard, 

another young dove arrived.



I think that the bird I have been calling 'the adolescent' is in fact two young birds.













They can be seen here - one on top of the balcony rail, on the flower box and the other on the lower rail

It was at this point that Myrtle arrived and scared them away.

I think I have a new pair of young doves interested in my balcony in competition with Myrtle and Turtle. Whether one of them is their offspring or not I can't tell, but it's quite likely.

Myrtle returned, briefly, and sampled the seed. The first young bird returned later still and gobbled a bit more. Still on alert.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out throughout Spring and Summer.

I looked for anymore 1980s photo albums without success. There are about 6-7 albums covering the 90s and two for the 70s. The earlier of these is a large one with sticky pages. I decided to start with this. Unfortunately, when I began to remove the photos, I was unable to do so without tearing the photos. The adhesive on the pages is very effective. The album has 50 double-sided pages, at least 600 photos that will not go through my new scanner.  The options are to lay each page on the flatbed scanner or use an App.
I decided to try the PhotoScan App, just in case it had recovered and, lo! it worked! I managed to scan, over about two and a half hours, 155 photos before the App began to slow. I am hoping that if I rest it overnight it will revive again tomorrow and I will be able to use it to scan the album in 4 batches.
I don't think any of the other albums will present the same problem, and I will be able to return to my super scanner for the others.

I did not get to enjoy much of the warm sun today but it is much more pleasant to be indoors scanning when the sun is shining in ( at 27C, not 46!). I had promised to do some research for my brother earlier in the week, so used the App crash to move to that. Still chasing some information, but have made a good start.


This evening I had to choose between Lewis and Midsomer Murders to progress my Caterina inner row. I've seen both so could focus on counting threads while listening and occasionally glancing at the screen. Lewis won, but I caught the end of Midsomer Murders.

I'm still making mistakes and either unpicking or compensating, but I'm pleased with the progress.

Rain is forecast on most of the next seven days, so a good thing I washed bed linen yesterday and my clothes today.

Post 195 Mostly photos

Today's goal was to buy photo archive boxes and begin to organise the photos I am scanning. I had found the boxes online at a company called Albox, in Manton St Hindmarsh, not far from where we lived for 30 years.

I drove past it at first. It is buried in a complex under the (literal) banner of Signarama - a franchise of sign makers. Preview plastics is also located there.  Compatible businesses.

The polypropylene box is what I had hoped, and they also make polypropylene dividers.

The reception area of the complex is full of signs - mostly about about Covid. This seems to be another of the minority of industries whose products have been in demand as a result of the pandemic.








I bought four boxes and four sets of dividers to get me started and enable me to work out what I will need.

From there I went to Norwood to pick up the last two books I had ordered for last week's birthdays.

While there were people about, and the car park pretty full, it did not seem crowded.



The weather was dull and overcast,  nowhere near as warm as yesterday.





Back at home I labelled dividers for the 203 photos I have scanned so far and placed them in a box to see how much space they occupied. They take up no more that 20% of the box, so I think the box will hold at least 1000 photos.

Next I went through all my photo albums and sorted them, putting sticky labels on the spine to help me. As I expected, there is another whole album covering the 80s.  Since I began here I have opted to scan this album next.  I removed all its photos   - about 310 in all.

I think I can cull some of these as I go. Some scenic shots, and the terrible photos of birds I attempted to take can go. There are, however, many memories amongst these photos. There are also a couple of documents that I will need to accommodate.

So I calculate this first box will hold at least two decades- but will chew up the dividers.

Now I can dispose of two albums.


I set the photo organising and scanning aside when the sun set and shifted to embroidery. I realised tonight that the name 'Serenity' which appears on the cover of Inspirations along with this project, refers to the Issue and not this project, which is called Caterina. I need to amend my blog post references to it.

I am beginning to get the hang of Caterina. It requires constant checking of thread counts and the relationship of each part, but it's possible to do this as you go.

I'm encouraged by completing the first round of the outside row for one quadrant - essentially a quarter of the stitching for one quarter of the mat!

Tomorrow the World Embroidery Study Group meets to discuss Icelandic Embroidery- should be interesting.

Post 190 Books, Birds and Birthdays

Today was full of photo opportunities, beginning with the dove summons. Myrtle flew off, but Turtle hung around for a while on the wall garden before adjourning to the roof for a bit. They made forays during the day to feast on the seed. There was building work next door, so perhaps they are getting bolder.












I had Pilates - good as usual - after which I called at the Guild to pick up a couple of library books.

I was pleased to find the Elsa Gudjonsson in the library. It is out of print and I had sourced the cheapest copy available for $A163.00  delivered. It is, I think, the Icelandic Embroidery Bible and very useful.  The pattern book is useful in a different way. It was last borrowed in 2013 and the Gudjonsson has, it seems, never been borrowed. I suspect that is about to change.

After getting home and examining the books, I set about scanning a photo album. I chose at random one covering much of the 1980s. There are photos of birthday parties, family visits

and our trip to Britain and Italy in December 1984.

I was going out this evening to a small birthday celebration in a restaurant. I planned to go early to get a park. As I was getting ready I noticed the lorikeets feeding on the trees behind the apartment so grabbed my camera. This is a sample of the photos.



There were about 8 lorikeets in all.



The Rosella held itself aloof - but was keeping an eye out.








The small cosy dinner turned into quite an event.  There was a 50th wedding anniversary celebration at the other end of the restaurant.




We'd been there about half an hour when the entertainment arrived - two accordianists who proceeded to serenade the happy couple with every Italian song popularised in English - and a good few more that didn't make it into Australia





We had Volare, It's Amore, Santa Lucia, Feniculi Fenicula, Quando, quando, quando, O solo mio,  - and Delilah!























There was a Covid Marshall in attendance - and no dancing. Our table was suitably distanced from the party and from other tables, but we got the sound and a little bit of the action when a waitress told the players there were two birthday celebrants on our table.  They of course, played Happy Birthday!




Quite an eventful and photoful day!