Post 542 Mostly retail therapy, some scary.

 

Wednesday began with a visit to The Bobbin Tree, to pick up the three kits that I ordered the day before from Inspirations. They are, indeed, inspiring, but I am sticking to my knitting. I'm not going to show or discuss them yet, but one is Aquile by  Maria Rita Falleri, whose work I love. From The Bobbin Tree, determined to bite the bullet, I headed into the city to the Apple shop, waited impatiently until one of the helpers was free, then explained I wanted a new laptop.  I had worked out two options, one a Mac Air and one an iPad with keyboard. Explaining took a while, as did finding the only assistant who could help, explaining again and discussing. Eventually, it appeared the iPad option didn't quite fit my criteria, but the Mac Air did. As the store did not have one in stock with the memory I needed, we have ordered it, to be delivered to the store early next week.  I chose store delivery to get help with data transfer. Maybe I don't need that, but I need reassurance. 

In the meantime. my old laptop battery is draining faster and faster. It’s close to 9 years old. I've put off replacement because my computer skills and knowledge are, like the laptop, out of date, and I don't have an IT crowd on hand as I once did. I know I can do this, but change is scary, and time-consuming.

As I was about to drive home, my phone revealed a postie seeking access to the apartment foyer to leave a parcel. I let him in from my phone and the parcel was in the lift when I arrived home, a reminder that I've coped with a change to an app for remote entry! It turned out to be a book I ordered for the Guild Library several months ago. It's stunning.

The Guild Library team meet about fortnightly. When I checked, it was their workday, so I jumped back in the car and delivered it to them. It’s another one WES members will make good use of.

I was still hoping to get to the Aptos Cruz  EOFY sale, the one I abandoned last Tuesday because of the rain. As they have the business on the market, I wanted to get there if possible. Only Thursday or Friday remained to visit. I checked the weather carefully.  The best  forecast gap in the rain was early afternoon on Thursday, so I cancelled my Pilates class, eyed the sky, and set off around lunchtime. It could have been a worse drive, but blinding rain still caught me for several kilometres of the freeway in both directions. Both up and down I found a truck to sit behind and followed the tail lights. A bit scary, but I did it.💪

It was worth it. I got the last of their books Prada and Chanel books for Veronica and two Japanese bowls to match the one I  have used constantly since I bought it on my last visit.

  

I now have my personal set for all occasions , which should cover most meals from soup to toast or roast. Left is the middle size.

My real indulgence was a necklace of shells. I could see myself wearing it. As shell jewellery always does, it reminds me of Alice Walker's poem We Alone. 

This could be our revolution: 
to love what is plentiful 
as much as 
what is scarce

I want to be part of that revolution. I recognise the irony. While shells are plentiful, shell necklaces are not. I hope the artisan got joy in (and appropriate payment for) the making. It's beautiful.

To my surprise, the stand came with it. Aptos Cruz has them made by a local metalworker to fit each piece.  It needs a cord to connect the outer edges of each shoulder, as they stick up, from the thickness, when worn. It's a simple enough adjustment that I can make.   

I’m very glad I made the trip when I did. Friday’s weather was miserable. I waited in for a postal delivery, then headed to Frewville for some pork for Monday, calling at Create in Stitch to drop off my Botanical Embroidery bags for their 20th Anniversary exhibition opening tonight, then bunkered down  to sudoku, crosswords, and word games with the heating on.     

Saturday was also gloomy and wet. I set out for St Margaret’s Woodville Market morning, with an Almanda Blue (left) for the couple who run the plant stall. I promised to start one for them before Christmas, now, thanks to Cathy, I could deliver. They were surprised and pleased.  I had forgotten to go to the bank for more cash but had just enough to buy 7 more plants!    
I got them home, grabbed a bit of lunch before Heading out to an organ concert at the Cathedral. Planting had to wait.    

The St. Peter's organ was sent to Durham, England to be overhauled in 2017 and reinstalled in December 2018. With cathedral acoustics, it is a powerful  sound.          

There is a camera in the organ loft, trained on the keyboard and organist's upper body. While the screen spoils the aesthetic, it provides a lot of useful information. I was astounded by the number of stops. I ended up wanting a second camera on the pedals!
            
I enjoyed some pieces more than others. I didn't much like the last item, the brief Jean Langais' piece written for the liberation of Paris in 1944. I reckon the bells of Paris would have upstaged the organ! 

Back at Katherine & Anthony's place afterwards, Niamh and Veronica were hosting friends for dinner. The three of us who were non-party participants had an excellent risotto before tackling our weekly crosswords.

Sunday, before her last exam on Monday, was Niamh's 50th AFL game, celebrated by her leading the team through a banner on to the field, before winning against the second highest team on the ladder! The rain held off. I followed the score from home. Niamh is my June Superwoman!

Today has been a bit of a run-around. I set out to visit the upholsterer who has my chair. Five weeks ago, he said it wasn’t quite finished, but would be ready the next week. Last week, having heard nothing, I rang them, in business hours, and left a message asking them to ring back. I have repeated that every business day since. No one answers the phone. No one rings back. Today I visited the shop . The door was locked. A clock sign in the window said they were out and the clock displayed 6.30. I began to search for records of bankruptcy. 

Armed with 2 metres of lovely linen cloth one of my daughters gave me a couple of birthdays ago, my second stop was a maker of blinds,. I’ve thought long and hard about how to use the linen and concluded it needs to hang. Originally I thought it needed light behind it but the pattern is in fact better seen against a solid. I don’t need new blinds, but I could do with better sun protection and window insulation in my huge bedroom window.  The fabric would look lovely hanging there and would fitting in light of the many birds outside the window. It is possible, it seems, to add a border to the 2 metre length, back it with insulating fabric, and create a Roman blind. Michelle is coming next Monday to measure and quote. 
 In passing I mentioned to her my concern about the upholsterer. She deals with a supplier who also works with the upholsterer, so she made a phone call. The upholsterers (it’s a family business) are in Queensland on holiday and will be away for another week! A message to that effect on the answering machine and/or website and/or shop door might have been helpful. I am relieved. So far Michelle is my July Superwoman!

Before I headed out to the Guild to drop off something for a friend, a message arrived to say new my laptop was ready to pick up from Apple. The promised link to an appointment for  help transferring data wasn't there. A phone call eventually established I don’t need an appointment, Thursday morning will be fine BUT I need to have backed up the old machine to a hard drive, otherwise they will do that in the shop, which could take hours! When I revealed my Airport back-up hasn't worked reliably for several months I was immediately diverted to tech support. This resulted in such
an absurd conversation with a machine, that I hung up, found online instructions,  dug out the hard drive to which I backed up six years ago and set a back-up going. What began as a prediction of 23 hours to complete, took under 3.   Please think positive thoughts for me, especially on Thursday morning Adelaide time. If we get through this, I will be posting from a new laptop next week. 

I am far more confident on the first sleeve of the coatigan. I am now decreasing at each end of the knit rows for the raglan section. I enjoy the increase in speed as the rows decrease in length - about 70 rows to go. While there is still another sleeve to knit, I have the scent of a finish, and the energy that generates. 

Post 541 It's Winter in Adelaide

I captured half an hour of sunrise last Wednesday morning, between 7.05am to 7.34am on the clock. I was pleased to have snapped it, as thick cloud obscured sunrise for the most  of the rest of the week.

It was my only day without appointments, and the only one likely to be fine for most of the day, so I did the washing, hanging it out around midday. There was a brief shower, but plenty of breeze. By the end of the day it was what my mother would have called too dry to get wet. I brought it in as the rain began and finished it in the heated bedroom.

The zygo cacti have settled well to their new home and are blooming generously, while the Wolemi pine is also looking happy.

The Almanda Blue I divided has recovered and the three transplanted pieces have growth already. These are now ready for new homes.

The one in the top left is my original. The bottom is the mother plant, from which the three smaller ones were taken.My original, while looking really healthy, has a way to go before it hangs over, perhaps because it is planted lower in the pot. None of them are anywhere near the original cultivated by John Walmsely, but I’m hopeful.

When I  extended the table last Monday night, I used a tablecloth that barely fitted so needed my crumb brush to sweep up escaped crumbs. 

It is a vintage pokerwork set, badly in need of bristle replacement. I've tried several times, unsuccessfully, to find a repairer. It’s not entirely useless, but far from efficient. This week I admitted defeat and ordered a new, contemporary set from a small business in Sutherland, NSW.  I'd still like to have this repaired, but I've reached my limit of making-do with it as it is.

On Wednesday last week I added angel hair pasta to the some of the remaining liquid from the lamb shanks I had cooked for the previous family dinner. That was my pasta quota for the week, and delicious. 

 

I had registered the Winter Solstice as being Saturday, so missed checking out sunrise on Friday, the actual Solstice. I did however, take photos walking home from the dentist mid-morning, so photos on the right show the day of the Winter Solstice in Adelaide,  and on the left, the same day,

moonrise  over the Adelaide Hills.

Between the dentist and moonrise was a  Sit’nStitch, our last for a few weeks. 

My hand braces and exercises are working well, complemented by Pilates. 

With at least six books on the go at the moment, I plunged straight into The Coat Route when it arrived on Friday.. The author travelled the world to see how each of the components of a $US50,000 bespoke Vicuna overcoat, made in Sydney for a Canadian customer, were made, through networks of breeders, ranchers, engravers, button-makers, spinners, weavers and tailors. Some WES Group members are going to love it.  It is not, unfortunately, lavishly illustrated. I galloped though it - my kind of book. If interested, my review is at. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16099182

I couldn't, however, convince anyone at our Crime Bookclub on Sunday! We took a bit longer than usual, with several members having read a lot in the last month. Not me. I will need to do better this month, as I have to have our August reads chosen when we meet next month. 

After Bookclub I took myself off for a late lunch at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart and then had a good look at the yarnbombing effort I missed with COVID. Our Square has 4 quadrants, each one carrying, in copper, across the central corners, one of the words The Forest of Dreams. Our quadrant is Forrest. A pretty good yarn bombing effort.

Another relaxed dinner yesterday, this time for 7. Inspirations magazine arrived and a couple of its projects seduced me into ordering kits. A Guild friend rang to tempt me with a hat pattern.

Today I set off with a list and good intentions. I picked up a parcel from the post office, an indulgence of two more scarf pins, then went on to a bookshop, the only one in Adelaide carrying Miss Austen Investigates which I wanted to test out for the Book Club pick.

I had planned to go on to Big W for Bone Lands, the second one I am considering, but in the end, supported the independent bookseller, and bought it. 

I was heading for the Hills next, to visit Aptos Cruz, which has finally announced a closing sale. A bit low on petrol, I stopped to fill up just before the freeway. By the time I’d paid, the rain was bucketing down. I don’t fancy the drive up or down the freeway in this weather, so I headed for home, put on the heating, had some lunch and began Miss Austen. 

A message from Inspirations said my kits could be picked up from the Bobbin Tree. I was tempted to head out straightaway, but decided to leave it until tomorrow morning. I’d love to have them, but I don't intend starting them,  the shop closes at 4, and the weather was off-putting. 

Time for woolly slippers, coatigan knitting and another episode of Donaldson and Dodds.

Post 540 On the go

The highlight of this week was the Ukaria concert on Sunday afternoon, Voces8 and the Festival Statesmen Chorus. Both were fantastic. It is the concert I most wanted to go to this year, and since the friend I go with is in hospital, I drove up on my own, had my pre-ordered pie lunch, attended the Voces8 Q&A session and then the concert. Unfortunately I can’t share the program, which, as the result of workshops during the week, was not in the program, nor did I make a note of songs as announced. Voces8 ranged from plainsong, to an arrangement of Christ is the morning star from the grave of the Venerable Bede, to Dancing cheek to cheek.

The audience was totally engaged, the songs triggering memories, emotions, connections, energy.

The Festival Statesmen began with a very moving Loch Lomond. It evoked both joy and sadness, taking me back to 1972,  when Jim and I spent Sunday afternoons walking the old Roman road from Helensburgh to the Bonnie bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. I was struck by the insightful change they had made to the last line of the last verse:

But the broken heart it kens nae second spring again

And the world knows not how we are grieving. (from tho the waeful may cease fra their greeting)

It’s a powerful, expressive song, whether thought of in terms of the Jacobite rebellion or lost love. 

They finished their selection with Bridge over troubled water, also moving. 

The drive home at 4.30pm was a bit hair-raising, even on a choral high, with sections of the freeway journey heading right into the setting sun, but well worth it. I quite enjoy instrumental concerts, but it’s choral music that does it for me.

It’s been cold and fairly wet here this week, but on Saturday the sun came out, with a three day pause in the rain predicted,  so I washed my heavy Aran jumper. I’ve been wearing it a lot and it seemed to have taken on a slight grey tinge. It takes ages to dry and drips for a couple of hours, so better not hung inside. I moved it around a couple of times a day.

It took two fine days to dry enough to bring inside. After a night inside it gave me great satisfaction to fold it, ready to wear. I'm wearing it again now, as I post this.

We had a great World Embroidery Study Group morning on Wednesday. Pat has spent about 8 months reading about Embroidery on Knitting and shared her findings. We were spellbound. Focusing on what has been documented in Europe, she traced the history of embroidered knits back to the 15th century and showed us some extraordinary photos of embroidered stockings for both men and women. We learned about traditions of knitting by seafaring men and embroidery on knitted jumpers by Portuguese sailors. We also saw a surprising range of liturgical gloves, knitted and then embroidered. We were able to see and touch items from Pat’s collection (including the two on the far right). The blue coat is knitted and the embroidered panels appliquéd on by Barbara, while Keryn embroidered the jumper for her granddaughter.

We also adjusted our program for the rest of the year particularly to accommodate the Guild’s SALA Exhibition in August. I’m planning to enter the Early Women of the Book bags, along with the explanatory booklet I created, so on Friday I checked it over to see if there was more I  need to do. I only had one sample copy of the 8"x10"booklet printed. To get 2 more printed would cost me $80.  It is quite large and I don't have the software to alter the size.  It occurred to me that by scanning  the copy I could reduce the size to A5, which would be easier and cheaper to print. Once I had the idea, of course, I had to do it immediately. 

Some three hours later I had ordered 6 copies at a total cost of $41.40. When I picked them up on Saturday morning, I discovered I had inadvertently chosen black and white for the cover printing. 🙄

Colour isn’t critical, but more attractive, and it had taken me a good half an hour to get the cover colour right on the scan - then I’d ticked the wrong box for printing!  I think I'll live with it.

 After picking up the booklets, I did a big grocery shop, detouring to pick up a copy of a book I’d read about the same morning. I’m hoping it will help me to understand my weight. I am astonished at the complexity of the topic, but the book is written and laid out in a very accessible way. I'm working my way through it.

I also grabbed a copy of the latest Donna Leon (Brunetti#33)  for a friend. I had received a pre-publication notice which led me to realise I had not read Brunetti #32. so I managed to borrow it from the library and devoured it earlier this week. The new one will have to go on the end of my reading queue.

It was a relatively social week. In addition to WES Group and Pilates, I had dinner with friends on Thursday and, for the first time in several months, stitched with a friend on Friday afternoon (there was a lot of catching up to do). I also gave a talk at U3A. 

I avoid commitments on Mondays so I can focus on preparing for dinner. However, the earliest appointment I had been able to get with the hand therapist was on Monday morning, so I took it. Also, during the week, my  only working watch - which I bought in Keswick, Cumbria, in 2015, died. The battery had been recently renewed, so I needed a new watch.  My dinner host on Thursday told me her sister had a solar watch, an idea new to me. I investigated and found, online, a couple I liked. An Adelaide jewellery store had an EOFY sale that reduced the price by 25%, so after seeing the hand therapist I continued into the CBD to the jewellery store. 

As I suspected, my hand issues are largely the result of my hand movements while knitting rows with three colours, particularly the thumb movements to catch the out-of-play wool on the purl rows. Typing this blog on my iPad (as I am doing now) doesn’t help. I touch-type on my laptop but use my thumbs on phone and tablet. The good news is the brace I have, which is customised to my left hand (right), has been superseded by smaller, standardised braces that are more comfortable and less obtrusive (left). I am using them as I type this. I also have three new hand exercises.

The result of my quick dash into the city after the hand clinic is on my left wrist - a watch that charges from light both in and out of doors and should last 12-15 years. 🙏🏼 The right wrist bracelet is a medi-alert.

From the city I went to Unley,  for bread from the bakery, and  capsicum and strawberries from the greengrocer. The greengrocer had a philodendron that would fill one of my empty balcony pots, so it also came home with me. A woman stopped me in the carpark, saying “Are you going to plant that? You look as if you need help,”! I managed. The photo was taken at dusk, hence the strange colour.

There were 8 of us for a pleasant Monday dinner. We extended the table, which I have left up for the week. It's a more comfortable fit when there are more than six and I don't need to economise on the space it occupies.

Today I gave a talk on my Conversations with Baby Boomer Teachers book at the Enfield branch of the University of the Third Age. I spent several hours refreshing my memory. I haven't thought about it for about 18 months. Most of the audience had been Baby Boomer teachers. There were lots of questions and lively discussion.  I enjoyed it. There's a lot more work to be done in the space, but I intend to leave it to others. I'm sticking to my knitting.

Speaking of which, the first sleeve is underway. Both the brace and the exercises are making a difference. 

I need to post this, so I can do the second set of exercises for the day! It's been a busy week.

Post 539 Plants, Paintings and Patterns

My Zygocactuses, Schlumbergera truncata,  have burst into bloom this week. Hopefully the honey eaters will be spreading the seeds around. Known colloquially as Zygos in Australia, I understand these are called Christmas, Holiday or Thanksgiving Cactus in the northern hemisphere, for obvious reasons.

It was pretty quiet at the Guild on Wednesday, my first day as ‘hostess’. I took one phone call asking if the Guild ran Stumpwork classes, and helped one visitor find hoops to display her cross-stitching. Both are interested in membership and one at least, is likely to join. I handed the phone call over to the office manager, when the caller needed details. A lot of our time was spent talking about the breakdown of the Guild’s computer system. Fortunately a technician arrived with the hard drive restored to functionality (with a recommendation of replacement) so the back up, document restoration and financial reports could go ahead. A day of drama, if not much ‘hostessing’. 

I had taken a new flannel flower linen in a sitting hoop and my knitting. Since there was no audience of embroiderers, I stuck to my knitting, finishing 10 rows of pattern.

I had intended to follow the live stream of my UK cousin’s funeral at 7pm, but muddled my time. When I logged in at 7.30 it had finished. Fortunately the on-demand recording became available on Friday afternoon and I was able to watch.

I had my last Shingles vaccination on Thursday and also discussed at some length the nephrologist’s proposal that I take metformin to keep my blood sugar out of the pre-diabetes range. The GP, who has diabetes expertise, is not convinced the blood sugar reading is high enough to warrant medication, but we are going with it and have formulated a plan. If we can reach my weight goal, and blood sugar is under control, we will try withdrawing Metformin. We will monitor every 4 months with blood tests.  I went on to my Pilates class, where my instructor immediately swung behind the plan with changes to my program.

I am very happy with this, and began taking the medication the same day. As predicted, the Shingles shot gave me a sore arm, tiredness and mild aches. I had planned quite a few errands on Friday, but gave up after picking up some jewellery repairs and greengrocery. I did briefly examine a dress in TakingShape. It caught my eye online, but as I suspected, the style was very much not suited to my figure. It was, apparently, National Doughnut Day, and the shopping centre, in partnership with Dulwich Bakery,  was giving away 250 huge sprinkle doughnuts. The queue was out the door and along the footpath. I wasn’t even tempted. (Perhaps the metformin was working!). 

By the time I got home I was very tired so settled into reading Alice Robert’s Crypt. - and watched the funeral. My friend with pancreatic cancer managed to ring me to talk for a few minutes. She is in hospital, too ill to have visitors. 

It was a long weekend here for the King’s Birthday. Apart from dinner at Kilkenny, my plan was to spend it very quietly adjusting to metformin, keeping warm, reading, knitting and preparing my talk on Conversations with Baby Boomer Teachers for a U3A group in a fortnight. 

I finished Crypt around midday on Sunday. The near-useless black and white illustrations at the end of my Kindle version were by no means critical to my enjoyment, but very helpful when I checked them in colour on my iPad, I began to wonder whether I would  read more illustrated books electronically if the e-reader supported colour.. This led me to check where e-reader technology was up to, which spurred me to hang out the washing and head out to buy a Kobo Libra Colour. 

Since the shop was next to Bunnings, I of course also bought the replacement plants I was looking for, a lemon Zygo, 3 kalanchoe, a philodendron, lavender, nemesia, and a Wollemi pine. I have considered joining the conservation effort for the last since moving here, but was very uncertain about the chance of survival on an Adelaide balcony. I have not seen them for sale in Adelaide before. I figure if Bunnings is selling them in Adelaide there has to be a reasonable chance of growing them here. It is on my eastern balcony, where I can protect it from our hottest weather. 

All this reduced my knitting time and committed me to weekend   gardening.

It was overcast, but the rain held off on Monday when I planted on the eastern balcony, I was pleased with the result(left).

The western balcony needed more work today - emptying a few pots, repotting a couple and adding to others. It leaves me with a couple of empty pots to fill. I just got it finished and cleaned up before the rain set in (right).

Nick, the picture hanger, was meant to come at 2pm and I had parked my car in the street in case he couldn’t find a park. My ticket limit was 2.25. 

Unfortunately he was running an hour late. When I went to move my car the rain was bucketing down, and the space in front of my car was empty, so I moved into it. We did an efficient swap when he arrived around 3pm.

He did a professional, efficient job, hanging both Romas (right), level, in alignment with their surroundings. The Jacqueline Hick Widows now hangs alongside her Drover with Camp Dogs (above).  He then checked three things I had hung myself and rehung two of them. I’m delighted. It was great having him here. I suspect his views on COVID would not align with mine, but I will certainly call him if I need to hang more paintings.

While waiting for him to come I experimented with embroidering a single line figure on a knitted jumper in preparation for tomorrow's WES Group meeting. The detail is in my embroidery blog.

Although I’ve been wearing my left hand brace while knitting this weekend, I’m still feeling the arthritis in both thumb/wrist joints - partly, I suspect, a by-product of colour knitting, where thumbs are used to move the carried wool at each stitch. . While the hand physiotherapist I saw in 2009 has retired, it occurred to me that Grip Surgery, which I attended a year ago when I sliced open my thumb on a mandolin, might have hand physios. Sure enough, they have ‘hand therapists’. I now have an appointment for next Monday. 

The knitting, in spite of distractions is coming along. I'm almost up to the sleeve decrease on the second front. It looks huge, but meets pattern measurements. I guess, as an outer garment, it needs room to go over other clothes. I love its bold colours and pattern.  They stand in contrast to the delicacy of the Zygo.

So glad they are both in my world.

Post 538 Rain, Roma and a Rosella

On Wednesday I took some a couple of necklaces to Pink Carat to be restrung, along with an old amber earring to discuss replication. I lost its pair years ago on a plane trip. Their best suggestion is reusing four of its five amber beads to make a shorter pair. They will come up with a proposal.  

I spent the rest of the day advancing the coatigan, much of it in the late afternoon sun on the balcony.

I was glad I had done that when Thursday dawned to the sound of much needed rain, forecast to last 2 days.

The birds who had swooped in and out of my eastern balcony on Wednesday were nowhere to be seen, hopefully sheltering. 

By the time Pilates finished at 1.50pm the sun was out and the sky clear. Friday reversed the process, dawning  clear but settling into steady rain by midday. When the Matildas played China at Adelaide Oval at 7.40 pm it was cold, but dry.

I caught up with a couple of friends by long phone calls and two more embroidery books arrived. I’m particularly impressed with Stitch with One Line. I can see lots of ways of using the concept. For the moment, however, I’m sticking to my knitting.

I spent most of Saturday making moussaka, one for Sunday lunch with friends, and one for Monday with family. It takes several hours, making ragu, slicing and baking egg plants before making béchamel and assembling. 

I had been considering that lino print of Roma Mitchell all week, so left the ragu and eggplant to cool and headed out to Mrs Harris’s shop, armed with the measurements of my limited wall space. To my surprise, the framed print of Roma was almost the perfect fit for the space I had identified. Plan B,  to buy an unframed print and frame it to fit, was not needed. The exhibition finished on Sunday, but I had friends coming to lunch and couldn’t leave to go and pick it up, so we made arrangements for me to pick it up today.  It was too good an opportunity to miss.

Back at home I assembled the ragu and eggplant, made the béchamel sauce, added cheese, let it cool, added egg yolks and finished assembling. By 3pm they were in the fridge, the kitchen cleaned up (it’s a messy dish!) and the place aired.  It was satisfying to have it all organised before heading off to Kilkenny to catch up on netball dramas, reports of the Matilda’s match the night before and our crosswords.

I had organised for friends to come a bit early for Sunday lunch so I could take a FaceTime call from England around 6.00pm - the only time zone matchup that really works. Like an idiot I also decided to change my bed linen on Sunday morning, adding an underlay and another blanket before washing sheets when the sun hit the solar panels. I got the salad made, dessert laid out, nibbles in bowls and the table set just in time for their arrival. We had such a relaxing and enjoyable afternoon, grazing and catching up.

They left in time for my phone call, which lasted an hour and a half and was brilliant. We haven't really caught up properly since I was last in England - 2020, when this blog was started. So reassuring to pick up where we left off. 

I was tired enough to go to bed by 10.30, waking to a glorious Adelaide sunrise, ahead of a more relaxed Monday than usual. The moussaka was cooked, the dishwasher was ready to go,  the Sunday washing ready to hang out, and only fresh bread to buy, so a leisurely pace. Fionn was working, so six of us had a lovely conversational dinner. Afterwards I began watching Macdonald and Dodds - Series 1, episode 1.

This morning I made it to Mrs. Harris’s Shop to pick up Roma. This time I was successful in rousing the gallery owner. We spent a while discovering interests in common. She is keen to read The Gilded Page and I have ordered a copy of The Coat Route by Meg Loukens Noonen.

At home I hung Roma in the spot I had chosen, using existing hooks. The alignment is wrong. They need hanging properly, as does the displaced one. As my previous hanger has retired I phoned another and have organised him to come next Tuesday.

I took time out from knitting to finish another flannel flower bag.

It has been cold for the last few days. Winter hasn't waited for the solstice. The trees in the Square are almost bare, a few stubborn leaves hanging on.

My cousin Christine's funeral is tomorrow evening Australian time. It is being live-streamed, so I will be able to participate as an observer. 

Tomorrow will be my first time volunteering as the rostered 'hostess' at the Embroiderers' Guild - being on hand to help out with visitors or enquiries.  I shall report back next week.

Right at the end of the day, as I was closing the balcony door, an Adelaide Rosella came to feed on the trees behind.. A lot of shots ended in the bin, but this one captured a glorious moment.

Deo gratias.