Post593 Ticking off lists and testing

Wednesday was very cold for Adelaide. I stayed in, washed sheets and a jumper, read the fourth book in the Inspector David Grahame series and progressed the Glazig Butterfly embroidery. 

Thursday, however, was a different matter. I had an 8.45am appointment with my endodontist to finish the four root canals begun in May, so I broke my no-food-before 8am rule, suspecting, correctly, it would be several hours before I could eat. The tooth had to be opened up, cleaned out again and filled with the permanent gutta-percha and sealant. A couple of X-rays later and all was well. 

I came home spent an hour on the Butterfly embroidery and sealed up the box of plastic recycling that has stood next to my laundry door for 7 months. I wrote about it when I bought it in early December last year. I calculated that if I could make it last six months I’d regard it as worthwhile. It has comfortably lasted seven months. I could probably have pushed it to hold a little more. It weighed 4.2 kg. It was awkward to handle, and I used a lot of packaging tape to ensure it didn’t burst open, but there was no trouble depositing it at the post office with its prepaid label. I had already bought the next box when the company had an Earth Day 30% discount. It is working out at $23 a month to recycle my 600gm of soft plastic. I’d prefer it to be less, but I’ll continue. It seems fair that I should take some responsibility for dealing with my detritus. I'm aiming to make the next one last 8 months. In the meantime, local councils are slowly sourcing recycling services. Hopefully this is the last one I have to buy.

From the post office I went to Pilates, experiencing no ill effects from the dental treatment, then to the Brickworks to pick up a copy of the second in the NZ Bookshop detective series and the latest Margaret Hickey An Ill Wind. I took the opportunity to drop into Tony and Marks for breakfast grapes (ending up with three packets of stunning biscuits, 2 avocados, and two packets nuts and seeds as well) before

swinging past the Guild to drop off my pink silk lipstick holder and the wooden cotton reels I had promised Christine. This got me home right on 3pm, unfortunately just too late to have lunch at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart but in time to bring in the washing that had been out for 30 hours. I do like a day where the to-do list gets ticked off! It is not lost on me that my first excursion after posting the soft plastic recycling resulted in plastic bags with grapes, biscuits, nuts and seeds.

After all that activity, I settled in to finish the Glazig butterfly I mentioned last week.. I finished the embroidery and spent much of Friday constructing a bag with it. I am delighted with the result which is written up in my embroidery blog.

From there I moved on to those Japanese fabric remnants I mentioned last week. I spent most of the weekend cutting, ironing, machining, threading drawstrings and adding stoppers to the drawstrings. The plan I had to visit the Australian Women Artists' Exhibition at the Art Galley went by the board. I now have 21 lovely bags ready to contain gifts when occasions arise. Again, details in my embroidery blog.

In between, I gave my eyes a bit of a break by knitting another Scales of Justice Beanie. I now have ten ready for next year's walk.

Yesterday the herbal insect-repellants I ordered from Bell Art arrived. I want to make sure these beanies survive the ten months to the next Walk for Justice. They are now stashed in this bag with a couple of Kakadu Plum repellant blocks protecting them.

By Saturday my Adelaide family had all recovered from their encounter with COVID so I had a very relaxed evening with those not at an 18th birthday party. 

I woke yesterday with a sore throat and, in view of the upcoming WES meeting and all the effort that's gone into swapping and preparing my Celtic presentation, I was mildly panicked. Would I have to cancel?

Before 6am I was attempting to administer a Covid test to my self in bed. Unsurprisingly, the test didn't work. Around 8 I got up and administered a test properly, getting a negative result. I made myself a hot lemon drink with honey, and settled to read and advance the left-over Rowan wool shawl I started last year. I drank tea rather than coffee throughout the day. In the afternoon I ventured to the Chemist to purchase a test kit for Covid, RSV and Flu A & B. To my relief, the test was negative for all of them. It seems I have at worst, a head cold.

I have stayed inside all day today, drinking more hot lemon, tea and soup. I have an occasional cough and sneeze but my throat is less sore, so I'm hopeful I'll be OK for tomorrow. I have had a coffee this afternoon, so must be on the mend.

I also retrieved the Scwalm masterpiece I began in Carol Mullan's workshop in May. I have never tried Schwalm. We made and traced templates on to our linen. I hsd drawn myself a flannel flower and begun to outline the leaf in coral knots. Today I completed the coral knots around the whole thing, 

I am now about to work a row of chain stitch inside the coral knots. After that, I need to consult the book (also acquired at the workshop). 

It's a bit hard on the eyes, so I will alternate with knitting - that's after more lemon and checking my Celtic Embroidery PowerPoint.

Post 390 Staying safe

Saturday night was a feast for Katherine's birthday. Fionn and Veronica made the lamb shanks, with potatoes, carrots and peas, Brigid bought and presented cheeses and Niamh made the meringues and chocolate coated apricots and strawberries.  It was a wonderful evening.

I managed to resist the cheese and meringues, although I do love meringues. 

I had, however, indulged in a lime milkshake earlier in the afternoon. It was a JEMS afternoon and I picked up Niamh as usual and we went to the Queen St Cafe for our regular milkshake treat. It's the first icecream I have had in six weeks. The after-JEMS milkshake will remain my special treat.

I finished the second shawl and blocked it. Not a very good photo, I'm afraid, but it worked well.

The Anglo-Saxon Horse I had bought last week seduced me. 

I was really curious to see how it would work up. It proved a lot of fun to work. I have written it up for my embroidery blog for anyone interested.

I made it into a pouch with a zip closure at the back and lined it in gold dupion silk.

I spent much of the weekend working on my final project for Design Online, the course run by Barbara Mullan for the Guild. I enrolled mostly to try the new online venture and have managed to adapt the assignments to things I've been working on. I could have used last week's Inuit project, but it felt like cheating. The assignment was to produce drawings with colours, rather than the finished project.

I decided to work on a design for the Italian boiled wool coat I made a couple of years ago. I've always intended to embroider the edges, and this seemed like an opportunity to progress it. 

I began with a series of Australian native flowers adapted from Annette Rich's book, choosing flowers from blues through mauve to red and arranging them in pairs on two long strips to fit on either edge of the coat.

Although I was pleased with the result, I decided, on reflection, that it was too fussy and the next day began again, focusing on Hardenbergia Violacea, a flowering vine found all down the East Coast of Australia.

This resulted in a much better design that I hope to work down both sides. My coloured pencils were badly in need of sharpening, and none of my sharpeners did the job, so the colours are not right,

but the threads will be better. They are a combination of Mogear and Cascade House - both Australian wools.

The Design Online course does not require making the design, but I will complete it - probably over summer when I don't need the coat!

On Monday I bought 4 new pencil sharpeners - I guess it's reasonable that the blades lose their edge over time. And not even I will sharpen the tiny blades of a plastic pencil sharpener! I also, however, bought new batteries for this one - which I certainly had in the early 1990s, maybe the 80s. I wasn't sure the C batteries were still available, but I was in luck. While I accept a battery-operated pencil sharpener is shameful, it is the best pencil sharpener ever and now works brilliantly.

Three more parcels arrived this week. The Sleepy Merino PJs are a treat, really cosy and comfortable and the possum merino socks from NZ Nature are very welcome. The alpaca yarn and pattern from Adagio Mill, which is, unfortunately, closing down also arrived.  I managed to get this package in their natural colour 'baby elephant walk' - a fawn. I think the pattern might also work for some of the leftover 4 ply green Sheepjies yarn  from my blanket.

It's an interesting brick pattern alternating with plain sections.

I've done a little trial on the  4ply green Sheepjies, and I think it's going to work too. 

The hand-woven linen from the Ukraine for my Viking workshop has arrived in Australia - presumably Melbourne. It could, of course, sit there for weeks, but there's a chance I might have it by next week. I'm curious to see it.

It has been a relatively wet week for Adelaide. 

Sunday night's sunset was lovely, if a bit threatening. However, both Sunday and Monday were sunny and pleasant. 

There is more rain on the way - unusual for Adelaide and always welcome.

Today I had the podiatrist appointment  (with mask, of course) postponed from lockdown two weeks ago. 

I was impressed with my podiatrist's P95 mask, which has elastics around the head, not the ears. My cloth masks have head elastic, as ear elastics dislodge my hearing aids. My masks work OK but better without my glasses. I'm going to investigate these further.

I bought some bread and brie for after-school snacks and took the girls to netball practice.

 It had been photo day at school, so they had several changes of clothes as well as their netball uniforms. Niamh, if I got it right, had 4 different sports team photos with differing uniforms, as well as her class photo in regular school uniform. A lot of clobber.

I was back to finish dinner - leftover lemon chicken with cauliflower rice- before 7pm so I can continue my 13 hour fasting routine. Quick and easy (but too much on my plate - ate about half). My weight has fluctuated  this week - down .2kg, .4kg. .6kg,  back up by similar amounts. I finished today the same as last week. I'm hopeful the drop will be consistent next week.

Our Covid restrictions in South Australia have been relaxed a little. Hospitality venues can now operate at 75% capacity. Masks remain.  Our borders are closed to all Eastern States. We are OK here - but on high alert. Friends and family in NSW, much in our thoughts, are having it much harder - hanging in, getting vaccinated, writing books and winding wool to revive almost forgotten knitting projects. Bravissimo!

Post 254 Day of the Doves

I slept in this morning. Unsurprising, since it was well after midnight when I posted yesterday's blog and headed for bed.

As I was about to have breakfast, a dove arrived. Myrtle or Blush? I incline to Blush, younger and slightly slimmer than Myrtle but similarly pink of breast. She was not shy, exploring the whole space and allowing me to open the door, distribute seed and take photos.

She is a really nice looking bird and made herself at home.

An hour or so later, two birds arrived together, definitely a young pair. Neither of them had a clear pale pink breast. One, I think, was Stormy.  They too, made themselves at home, exploring the whole space, coming right to the door.

Adelaide doves only live about 2 years, so they must mature quickly.  I'm pretty sure these are the adolescent birds Turtle was chasing away only a few months ago.

I left to pick up Niamh and take her to JEMS. I had planned to do a bit of shopping for Monday, but decided against it. It was a bit busy around the Central Market as I came past. The sun was out and the jacarandas too.

When I arrived home, the car park entry door didn't open when I used my device. I thought I had a spare battery in the car but I was wrong. I managed to squeeze my car into  a space in the Square and go upstairs for a battery. It did not, however, solve the problem. The door was evidently not working. Our pod rep reported it. At least I had my car out of the carpark.

I had yet one more visitor before picking Niamh up at the end of JEMS - Stormy, back again on his own, having another good look around,  coming right to the door. 

I suspect we have a transfer of entitlement of rights to my balcony to a new generation.

Niamh and I had milkshakes at the Queen St Cafe.

Back at their place Katherine and I knitted while Anthony cooked up a storm of meat and potatoes. Lots of interesting conversation. 

I now have 245 stitches on the needle. It's about 65cm long and probably 80-90 cm wide at the needle. The ball still has a good few centimetres of shawl left. I'm now on a mission to finish this week.

But right now I need to get ready for tomorrow's Counted Sashiko class.