Post 542 Plant-based post on new laptop!

I'm delighted to be posting this from my new laptop! I drove into the city around 10.15am on Wednesday with my old one. I'd have taken the bus but as I had Pilates 10km away at 1pm I  figured I'd need to go straight there. At Apple I waited about 15 minutes before my attendant arrived with the new laptop, asked a few questions, took some details, got my signature  - and told me I could go home and they would send a text when the data transfer was complete! I was stunned. It made a difference that I had backed up to a hard drive. While I was there I bought a new back-up hard drive. It seems risky to trust my 8 year-old hard drive to back up the new machine.  I also bought a stylus for my iPad Mini. It is taking some of the pressure off my left thumb, which I've used repetitively not only for knitting, but also on the iPad for word and number games. 

I was home by 11.30 and the crumb brush I had ordered was in the letterbox. It's neat, and a lot more efficient than the pokerwork one, which I will now dispose off. 

As I was leaving at 12.40 pm for Pilates the message arrived to say my computer data transfer was complete and I could pick up both laptops! I  collected them on the way home from Pilates. 

The new one operated flawlessly - all programs, passwords, content  operational- including those that had ceased working on the out-of-date operating system of the old one.  All tribute to the Rundle Mall Apple Centre!  (I have nevertheless chosen not to include a photo of a laptop!)

There were only two of us at Pilates - a good workout. While on the balance board I look out on the studio garden where an Agave is preparing to bloom. It looks as the one at the Guild did a couple of years ago.

I'm looking forward to seeing it bloom. 

To celebrate the laptop (and because, by 4pm, I was hungry) I went to the pub for a 4pm lunch  of whiting fillets. 

In the letterbox was a lovely little embroidered bag with hand lotion  - a gift from a neighbour from my old Hindmarsh home, who had presumably been passing while I was in the city. It all made for a magic day.

The sun shone on Friday as a neighbour from the floor below came up to ask my advice on her next knitting project. She wants something to knit while at a chatty craft group and to keep her hands busy while watching TV. She's tired of the blanket she's been knitting for months. I pulled out some fairly easy patterns for shawls and cardigans, and she's taken them  with enthusiasm to think about.  After she left I took myself of to Craft Alive at the Showground. It was on over the weekend and I figured Friday would be less crowded. 

It was fun to look around. I had a talk to the women on the Handknitters' Guild stall (after they plied me with questions about the cardigan I was wearing), and waved to the volunteers on the Embroiderers' Guild stall. I was tempted by some Sashiko threads, including metallics, and some beautiful turned wood encased stitch rippers and needle threaders but came away empty handed. It was a pleasant outing and good to get a notion of what's out there at the moment.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the western balcony, soaking up sun and plant perfection.

The Euphorbia Trigonum I bought a few years ago as a ‘rescue me’ plant, about 12cm high is thriving. It had a growth spurt this year. The main stand is now about 90cm high and there are numerous new stems. the narrowed bit is where it regrew after it broke in transit and I put it together with sticky tape! 

 ' ' 'The western balcony is protected from the wind which raged all night and though Saturday. On the eastern balcony,  I found the yellow poinsettia I had planted (obviously not well!) several weeks ago lying on the tiles with roots exposed - lifted straight out of its container!  I've put it back in, watered it well, and placed rocks on top.

Although it is school holidays, with three family members working in the city and two without Monday sporting commitments,  dinner went ahead here yesterday. I cheated and bought family pies from the bakery, to serve with roast potato and veg, but it worked well. I am blessed.

This morning Michelle came to measure for my blind, and is now preparing a quote. It's going to look great - and improve insulation.  

When she left I took myself off to Bunnings to buy a strong metal plant stand. I had noticed on the weekend that the wooden one holding up a barbecue lid I had turned into a garden bed, was collapsing under the weight. The lid has a substantial handle which  means it won't sit on the ground. Bunnings have just the thing - a metal stand with a circular top in which the lid sits nicely. 

I also bought potting mix to pot up the plants from last week's church sale. 

In the late afternoon I got a bit of warmth on the Western balcony while adding to this post. The battery charge on the new laptop has lasted all week. It hasn't been in constant use, but the old one was barely lasting 3 hours! My current plan is to charge and back up each Tuesday night after posting this.

I finished the first sleeve of the coatigan and am working on the second. I have 35 rows to go to the decrease. I don't think the sleeves are roomy enough, compared to the body and have formulated a plan to adjust them.

I have set myself a goal to finish by the end of the month - so on with it!

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.