Post 566 Here's a hand, my trusty friend

Like Bilbo Baggins' road in The Hobbit, this blog, originally for a single journey, goes ever on. I am now in the weekly rhythm and it helps me reflect, not only on auld lang syne, but on my here and now. I try to keep both the blog and my actions on a comfortably shaded path, not unlike this one as I entered Pakapakakanthi, or Victoria Park, this morning for a walk.

It was very quiet. The usual flocks and families of birds were elsewhere, leaving a lone Rosella to forage undisturbed.

The carpenter ants, however, were busy on the native Blackthorn bushes and there were park rangers, dog walkers and a few families about. I paused for a while on a log. 

It was, I suspect, more comfortable than the elegantly carved chair that I haven't noticed before.

Back at home, the letterbox held more lovely, newsy cards and I hung out the last washing of the year, a clean start to 2025.

Christmas morning brought photos and messages from family in Canberra before I thoroughly watered plants inside and on both balconies, closing screens and blinds before heading to lunch as the temperature hit 34C.  It was a relaxed (for me at least!) and joyful time. As you can see, we ate inside, where the temperature was pleasant. Outside it reached 37C, remaining well above 30C into the night. 

This was the centrepiece for our Christmas table, carefully arranged by Niamh and Veronica for the feast of lamb, pork, potatoes, carrot, parsnip, broccolini, beetroot, eggplant, pavlova & Yule log. 

The crackers from the Leprosy Shop were (apart from paper hats, which I doubt were naturally dyed!) eco-friendly and met with approval. The ‘favours’ were wooden. A spinning dice (Yes, No, Maybe, Never) got a good run. My scoop (1 teaspoon) now has a home in my Psyllium as my morning measure).

Fionn made a stunning focaccia with a complex dip for us to enjoy while opening presents. I limit my bread, but had 3 pieces. 

Everyone enjoyed their presents. Cookbooks and cooking equipment seemed to be the most popular.

I did well with hand and lip cream, amazing earrings and a book about Vietnamese costume, which I can already see as a hit at the Guild. The bag in which they came is a lovely example of Vietnamese embroidery. Best, however, is a hat! I’d planned to buy one of these, sponsored by the cancer council, but hadn’t braved the parking at the one shop I know sells them.

Yay! I've been wearing it whenever I go outside.

I got home around 5pm, in time to watch the Together at Christmas service at Westminster Abbey, which I really enjoyed, singing along to the carols and getting teary at the stories. The temperature remained high all night and was 31C when I woke on  Boxing Day. Oddly, it cooled down around 9am, after which it was deliciously cool and overcast with occasional bursts of sun. It remained thus for a couple of days.

While most of my balcony garden has done well through the heat, the Almanda I ‘saved’ from the blackbird did not make it.

The one given to me (left of the blue pot) is thriving as is the remaining one taken from it (right of the blue pot). I shall now start another for the friend to whom I promised one.

Over the last few weeks I’ve had a bit of trouble unlocking my letterbox. I have several keys, all cut from the 2 originals given to me by the previous apartment owners. I figured there was some wear on the one I use most regularly and swapped them around. On Boxing Day not even the original I used would work. I was mildly panicked. At this time of the year my chances of getting a locksmith are diminished. I had one original untried so overnight devised Plan A and B. On Friday morning I went downstairs armed with all keys, pen, paper and a large tape dispenser. Plan B involved taping over the letterbox slot with a note to take mail to the PO. 

After a couple of failures, the original key opened it. I have now locked it open. Whew! I can get mail! Yes, anyone else with access to our apartments can open it.  That’s a risk I can live with, unlike the risk of not getting my mail. I can now work out with our Strata rep how to get it fixed.

This slim volume arrived last week from the Book Grocer.- another one for passing around WES group. Imagine if it were stuck in my letterbox, its wrapping visible through the slot, out of reach!  

Shopping hours in South Australia over this holiday period are complex. Most businesses are closed on Christmas Day with the exception of convenience stores and a few hospitality venues. The day after Christmas Day is officially Proclamation Day, the day Governor Hindmarsh disembarked his shipload of free British settlers at Glenelg and declared a British Colony in 1836. 

In other states, this is Boxing Day. Under peculiar  and frequently amended restrictions, supermarkets are not allowed to open on this day, but other shops are, so Boxing Day sales go ahead, even though we don’t have Boxing Day! 

I did not venture to the shops until Sunday, when I replenished my butter supply and a few extras. The mince pies and Christmas puddings had disappeared, replaced by, yes, really, hot cross buns. I can only shake my head.

This is a very quiet time for me. The Guild is closed, families are on holiday and most services suspended. I take the opportunity to catch up on reading, trying to make up the gap in my Goodreads goal for the year. I began December nine books short but made up the shortfall. I am now one book ahead, having cleared up The Serpent and the Goddess, a couple by Ann Cleeves, and been captivated by new series by Abbie L Martin, set in the Adelaide Hills, beginning with The Ghost of Lilly Pilly Creek. I'm not a fan of ghostly cosy crime, but I loved these. There are four in the series. I read all four and want more!

Yesterday I took myself on a walk around the Square. The Sulphur crested cockatoos were out in force, silent for a change as they extracted seeds from the fallen pine cones. 

They shared the space peacefully with a couple of unusually coloured pigeons, while further away, in the sun, an ibis dug for insects.

I was home in time to take delivery of my order of 3 embroidery kits of Evil Eye deterrents. My WES talk on Evil Eye embroidery is not until the last quarter of 2025, but I thought I’d get started on an example or two. They look like fun. 

                                                       

It’s also a spur to finish the Aquile, which is coming along slowly. I'm planning to do more tonight, but can't finish it this year. It's quite challenging, and far from perfect. I hope to post the completed photo next week.

As I finished writing this, I could hear the 9pm Adelaide New Year's Eve fireworks but couldn't see them. This year they are back on the river, and Calvary Hospital blocks my view. 

I can only offer the view from my balcony. The white dot high in the centre of the sky is Venus, the Evening Star, associated with harmony, love and beauty.  What more could I wish for?

Post 550 Birds, a blind and ablaze with colour.

My personal big event this week was this morning's installation  of the blind I had ordered several weeks ago.

The installer arrived about 8.45am, with ladder, blind and left-over linen. Within minutes he had removed the old blind and had the new one balanced on his head as he positioned and drilled the screws in place.

By 9.05 it was all over. I had a new blind and he was off to his next job, taking the old blind and its fittings with him.

The new blind has sun protective backing, which will help considerably in temperature regulation.

It does take up a little more space when up than the old one (left), but I can afford to lose the tiny bit of light and sky.

I am delighted with it. I think I knew as soon as I was given the fabric, that it needed to be put to such use. It took a few years to pluck up courage. It does justice to the fabulous linen fabric, to the artist, the giver and the birds on the other side of the glass.  Gratitude.

While the blind uses the whole fabric piece I was given, the plain linen surround required to make it fit the window space resulted in significant off-cuts, which now belong to me. To my surprise, these are even-weave - 36 count, which is finer than I now choose to use, but not outside my stretch. At the very least there are fellow embroiderers who will use it.

More projects!

I had begun the week with a visit to the coffee machine shop to discuss the problem I was having with the clean and decalcify lights on my new machine. The staff had no experience of the problem and suggested I bring it in for them to look at. This I did the next day (sigh). They have only one technician at the moment and a backlog, so I am back to plunger coffee. To cheer myself up, I paid a visit to the wetlands, looking out for birds.  

                                  

I had no trouble finding them.          

They were all foraging in the ground and seemed to be finding what they were after.

The sulphur crested cockatoos were happy alongside

the long-billed corellas.

The magpie kept to itself.

My 8th COVID vaccine on Friday resulted in the predicted sore arm and tiredness, also about 48 hours of heartburn, which I can't attribute to any other cause. 

Knitting did not make my arm any more sore, so I'm pleased to say I am now on the home run with the blanket, currently adding the final side to the border. I will write it up in an embroidery blog later this week - once the recipient has it. The photo is of the finished squares joined together before the border (and before pressing!). It has had its challenges but I'm pleased with the result - and the process.

The temperature is warming a little and the signs of Spring are everywhere evident. The tree behind my balcony now has visible buds.

     The back balcony pots are awash with colour, and that ring-in coral tree has come into its own, matched by Thursday's sunset.         

.

Post 518 Adventuring

I posted last week from Adelaide Airport while waiting to board my plane to Canberra, the first flight I've made since March 2020. It was a smooth and pleasant flight, taking off over the sea, then swinging around over fairly bare terrain and cloud for most of the flight. I used to fly to Canberra fairly regularly, and had forgotten the regular pleasure of descending through clouds to the unexpected vista of lakes and land that surround the city.

It's lovely - and a large part of (for me) the attraction of our National Capital.

Creeks and roads wind through the hills, eventually revealing isolated farms, and then the lakes emerge in the background, with a glimpse of carefully located wind farms.

I had forgotten the joy of it.

The best part, of course was being there, spending time with Alison and Karl, catching up with a couple of friends. I have quite a few friends in Canberra and I'm glad I decided not try to see them all. I want to do things mindfully. There'll be other times.

Canberra does wildlife fairly well. There were bird sounds from dawn to dusk, currawongs, miners, and plenty of sulphur-crested cockatoos.

I spent a few hours meeting friends in the Botanic Gardens where we shared deck space with this Eastern Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii). 

 The flowering gums along the path to the carpark were doing a fine job of attracting the bees.

I also visited The Crafty Frog, to spend the voucher Alison and Karl gave me for Christmas. They have an enormous selection of wools (which I avoided) and an excellent selection of threads I needed.  I came away with a treasure trove (right).

The book on Brioche knitting is a find. I've wanted to try this, but without a focus. This has very clear instructions, including how to cast on and rib for Brioche, how to work it in the round, tips for finishing, and, surprisingly, a section on developing ideas and designs.  It looks as if I won't be reducing my knitting projects any time soon!

The best find, however, was the ebony needles. I have been pretty committed to bamboo needles, which are much kinder on my hands than plastic or steel. at The .Crafty Frog had about half a dozen sets and I was intrigued so bought 2 sets in a size I could use on the project I had with me. It took about 10 minutes for me to decide these were the best needles ever.

They are hand made in India, smooth and silky to the touch. I want to use them always, and within 24 hours of being home, had found a supplier of interchangeable sets and ordered them. They are not easy to find. I suspect they are not being made in any quantity, if at all. If you are a knitter, and stumble across them, buy them!

We went to Pollen, a bit out of town, for lunch on my birthday, which was also my last day in Canberra. It was a delicious, leisured meal in lovely surroundings.

The flight home was a bit bumpy, but without drama. Our entry into Adelaide at sunset provided - in contrast to our Canberra entry 3 days previously- cloudless views of the city. Although both flights descend over hills, Adelaide is drier, more heavily populated, and jammed between the sea and the hills.

And of course there's the Oval.

I had forgotten the routine and pleasure of air travel. I had expected, but didn't experience, disruption and hassle. 

Security checks at Canberra on the way home did pick up two doubtful items in my luggage, a credit-card size steel all-purpose opener-of-everything piece of merchandise I had slipped into my handbag because I didn't know what else to do with it, (great idea if you are not flying anywhere!), 

and a bag of cotton reels that had belonged to my mother, passed to Alison and are now coming to me. As commonplace as these may be to some of my generation, it is hardly surprising that current airport security staff want to examine a 'bag of cylinder-like objects' showing up on their computer screen!

Since arriving home, I've caught up on sleep, been to my Book Club, had coffee with Panayoula and managed to get to Aquafit today. 

I've made quite a bit of progress on the prayer shawl, ordered some more bookmarks (yes, I know) using the photos above of the cockatoo, the lizard and the bees, and finished the tote bag of native plants. Detail in my embroidery blog.

The Duftin Tote Bag kit was waiting in my letterbox. I'm a little daunted by the punch needle component in cotton, not wool, but a piece of test fabric is included, so if I don't like the test piece I will embroider instead. 

As I predicted last week, the frangipani was blooming to welcome me home on Friday night and has further opened in the hot weather we have had since. It is a hybrid of the pink and white varieties and does have scent!

Temperature here is a bit warmer than I prefer, but it would be churlish to complain in what has been a simply fabulous week. 

Now I'd better get back to researching Mexican embroidery!  🙏