406 Getting sorted

The sunset on Wednesday was striking, ahead of a bit of a storm; more in the distance than over Adelaide, although there was some rain. It was Alison's birthday. 

I had a ticket to  an 11 am performance of Eureka Day by the State Theatre Company but our lift was out of order until midday. I could have gone down the stairs but our borders had opened and we had three Covid positive arrivals.  The theatre,  still surrounded by a building site, had full seating, no hot drinks, no food. I didn't feel comfortable and the experience lost its attraction. I gave up. 

Instead I finished the scissor fob for the Leadlight Counted Set. My head has been out of this for a few weeks and by the time I realised I should work both sides of the fobI had positioned it badly on the fabric, so I used a small piece of Ink and Spindle linen for the back.               

This finishes the set.

The doves now visit as soon as I open the door. They look lovely against the trees and amongst the portulaca.

On Thursday I came home after Pilates to wait for a courier delivering my Christmas cards from the printer. I then went to the Guild and picked up the wool for my Viking Embroidery workshop , came home and added it to the kits.  I arranged to call in at the Guild on Saturday to find the Appleton's wools in the required colours from the trading table.

That turned out fairly well. I should have looked for gold wool as well as the brown, blue and cream I focused on. I've put together bundles of thread and added them to the workshop packs . I've substituted but will keep an eye out for gold. While I was at the Guild, I scanned a folder of articles about Lagartera, which Margaret A had generously brought in for me to borrow. It's a precious folder and better I don't take it from the building. Job done. Many thanks Margaret. We now have quite a bit of information for a session at WES next year.

On Friday I went to Seppeltsfield with three friends to celebrate a birthday.  It was a pleasant day of around 20C, lovely food and great company. I only took one photo - of the roof of the restaurant - a sure sign I was too busy enjoying myself.

On the weekend I checked all my Christmas gifts and made a few bags. I also  went to Frewville to buy a couple of Enzo's lasagna for Monday. I didn't like the look of the Enzo's ones available so settled for two other local brands. Only one was needed. Fionn was at football training until 7.30 and the girls had netball training at 6.30. I served the lasagne with salad at 5.30 for those who could make it. It was thick and creamy. The second one is in the freezer.

There were fireworks in Rymill Park around 8.30 pm on Sunday, visible from my eastern balcony. Apparently they were the culmination of a four day car rally. I also discovered that the New Year's Eve fireworks this year will be from Rymill Park, which means I should see them. Not easy to photograph though!

Monday was a fruitful day. The service men from Burns for Blinds arrived just after 9am. Efficient and cheerful,  they quickly determined that my two controllers had flat batteries and brought a fully charged one from their van. As soon as they used it, the roller shutter descended. It was then I discovered that the battery charger on the wall was not, as I thought, hard-wired, but plugged into a loose cord I thought belonged to a lamp. The connecting plug on the charger is tiny , not visible unless you look underneath, which I had not though to do. My feelings of inadequacy and idiocy were secondary to my overwhelming relief, joy and gratitude. 

It is 33C today and the shutter is down, improving the heat control. 

After the shutter fix I went shopping for bread and stamps. My overseas Christmas cards have gone, and the Australian ones ready to post tomorrow.  I was home, waiting for the girls to arrive when I had a visit from an abseiler. He buzzed from the entrance and came up at my invitation - a very large man in full abseiling gear, pockets and cords attached at every imaginable point. His company, it seems, has the contract to clean up, repair and paint the outside of the building next door and will be abseiling over my back balcony for the next couple of months. He was here to persuade me to a) close my Vergola roof b) refrain from going on to my balcony during the day while they are working.

Somewhat surprisingly, I agreed quite readily. I think I was still euphoric over the shutter result and inclined to assist polite, informative tradies.  I don't spend much time on my balcony, except to hang out washing and water the plants. I spend a lot of time looking out from inside. I have his phone number to let him know if I am going on to the balcony. 

They have put up boards and covers (most of which, of course, I can't see because the Vergola is closed) and have been working this morning, making quite a bit of noise on the roof while getting set up. My only real concern is that I can't see to take photos of them working.  They will remove their cover each weekend.

It is an imposition - but I figure helpfulness won't hurt me. Bizarre though.

Today I changed over to my summer quilt. It looks as if the cold nights are over. I washed the winter one, and hung it out after 5 to keep my promise to the abseiler. I prepared some lamb shanks and some duck legs - my meals for the rest of the week - and went to Unley to buy milk, post cards and deposit a cheque at the bank. That was a learning experience, involving envelopes like mail voting and a postal slot. Surprisingly the notice of deposit into my account was on my phone by the time I got home.

I also phoned the nephrologist's rooms to follow up on my question about vaccine booster. It seems he meant 'mrna' rather than 'Moderna'. I can have the Pfizer vaccine. At the moment the clinic I used for the first two vaccines isn't taking bookings into January and I can't have it before 8 January. So I wait.

While getting organised for Christmas, I decided to reduce my kit stash by making up some ballet bears as gifts for my Pilates class. That's occupied my stitching time this week.  This is a Bucilla kit I bought years ago. I liked them so much I bought several kits.  

There are six bears per kit. I had one full kit and one with four remaining. I've now made up those four. I need one for each of my three fellow students, one for the instructor and one for the receptionist, 5 in all. 

I pondered overnight if I could adapt one to a male bear for the one male in the group.  Late this afternoon I created some tissue templates, dug out some felt scraps  and cut them into the shapes. 

I have just finished putting it together. I think it will do the trick nicely.

One way and another, a getting sorted kind of week.

Post 405 Mostly Books, Birds and a Birdcage

Last Wednesday the dove came hoping for food as I watered the plants. I didn't quite get it in the frame of the photo against the jacaranda.  Even though it had rained the day before it doesn't take long for the sunflower to droop.

Although I didn't mention it last week (there was enough gloom without it!), for several days I had been getting continual pop-up notices whenever I opened my email, telling me my Exchange password was incorrect. I don't use Exchange regularly, but for a Sydney University Alumni account I use as a back-up, and for messages from my website. I couldn't fix it. I eventually emailed the Sydney University Alumni office. 

I then went into the city to pick up jewellery repairs - two favourite necklaces are now wearable - then on to Nordic Furniture to discuss the furniture I've ordered. My concerns were addressed when I discovered the shelves are adjustable, allowing me to have two decent book shelves and one  very narrow shelf that would take bigger books lying horizontally.I also settled on polished, non glossy Tasmanian Blackwood.

On Thursday I had a reply from Sydney Uni alumni - saying others had reported the problem and giving me some links to FAQs which in no way helped. Then Microsoft  emailed - since I use this account for my office software. Microsoft instructions worked on first go! It seems this problem was caused by the adoption of two step authentication, which requires a reset. I had to reset on each device I use, but did it quickly and easily.

There were only two of us at Pilates. Martine had prepared a few new exercises for me. Afterwards I treated myself to a late lunch of Grilled Atlantic salmon and salad at the Queen St Cafe - and a lime milkshake.

Late in the afternoon, there was a lot of bird noise, indicating the Noisy Miners were around. Most were hidden in the leaves of the trees, which are now very dense. 

One was perched high on the top branch of one of the trees. It appeared to be a young bird - almost a fledgling but had certainly found its voice.

At the same time the sunflower had recovered and was looking splendid in the afternoon light. I used my DSLR for these photos and discovered a few photos from late September that I had not processed, including several of lorikeets enjoying the buds on the same trees before they developed into flowers and leaves.

On Thursday night I finished the embroidery on the second fridge magnet. On Friday morning I stitched on the felt background and added the magnet. I'm very pleased with these. They are hard on the hands and I am not planning to make the other two in the kit, using the plastic canvas. 

I might, however, try  on either Aida or tapestry canvas. I do have plenty of magnetic strip!

On Friday I also emailed our Strata rep to find out about plans the Strata has for services using scaffolding. It doesn't look as if it will help me with the possible roller shutter repair. 

On a more positive note our solar panels are now operational and we received stickers to put on our electricity box. 

Susan and I both knitted our way through Sit'nStitch. There was plenty to talk about.

Saturday was the last JEMS meeting for the year - and the Christmas breakup. There were seven JEMS there, three tutors and lots of food. They made Christmas angels with beads, wire, a crystal and ribbon. At the end there was a group photo and promises from everyone to be back next year.  A lovely rounding of the year.

Niamh managed to fit in a milkshake on the way home - our last for the year. Anthony cooked some excellent patties and chicken for dinner. They had been spreading another load of mulch to their front garden all day. It's looking great.

During the week one of the Lagartera booklets I had ordered arrived and I have been playing with a couple of motifs from it. It's mostly counted satin stitch, requiring concentration (spot the 3 missing stitches in the photo!) and very effective.

I've got a few ideas for using it. I also checked the Guild Museum and found it holds an example, so I think we will be able to hold a productive workshop next year to meet Maria's request.

I also received the forms to fill out for my two Certificate Course Workshops next year,. The first one is in February, which means I need to have the summary and requirements into the Guild’s December newsletter. In order to list requirements I needed to prepare the kit - print the pattern on to Sulky and finalise and organise printing of the workshop notes so I can calculate kit costs. That took a few hours on Sunday, along with some food preparation and packing away the trundle bed ready for the technician to access the roller shutter controller easily on Monday morning. 

I was well prepared, but, alas, I had it wrong. I waited for the call to give me the specific time. At 11.30 I rang - to discover the appointment was for next Monday! The fault, I think, was mine. I had been very stressed about the problem, and the appointment. Oddly, the misunderstanding, far from adding to my stress, seems to have alleviated it.  Perhaps the efficiency and empathy of the staff member who answered the phone gave me confidence, or put my fears into perspective. Either way, my heart is lighter.                                                                                                                                            Altogether I got a lot done on Monday while waiting - put away the remains of numerous projects - threads, patterns, notes, fabrics. I went to the supermarket, to Create in Stitch and to Officeworks to pick up the printed notes for the workshop. I also prepared the text and photos for my Christmas card this year. I tried printing it at Officeworks and then Snapfish. Officeworks predict a week longer to deliver, so I have ordered with Snapfish. Another reason to feel light-hearted. 

I had a discussion with Taetia at Create in Stitch about a class they have advertised for February next year - two Saturday's with Di Kirshner teaching Christine Bishop's Birdcage Etui. I did Christine's class for this at BATB in October 2014, finished one panel and the scissor fob but have not progressed it since then. I've been thinking about it recently and would like to finish it. Unfortunately, the second day of Di's class is on the same day as the Certificate Course Viking Workshop. I may be able to do the first day of the class and join one of Di's Stitch and Chat mornings to finish it. Or just stitch it.            It's time has, I think, come.  Nordic Needle have a downloadable pattern for it.                                                                                                                                  Today I put together the kits for the February Viking Embroidery workshop and wrote the notes for the next Guild newsletter.  I have to pick up 18 pieces of wool flannel from the Guild on Thursday and hopefully a few skeins of Appletons wool and the kits are ready.

This week I booked in for a Moderna vaccine in early January, following the advice of my nephrologist. I later discovered only Pfizer can be given as a booster and Moderna requires some proof of immuno-compromise. I have left a message for the nephrologist to find out how to proceed. Our borders opened today and there is a fair bit of apprehension. I have now linked my vaccination status to my SAGov check-in App, the first of the new requirements.

In between organising the kits I've been reading Louise Penny's A Fatal Grace - a great treat.  Sally Coulthard's book arrived today.  It looks as if it's going to be a winner - so I'd better get on with Louise Penny. 

Post 404 Stresses, fears and challenges

This week began with the monthly meeting of the World Embroidery Study Group and a presentation on Opus Anglicanum by Margaret, who had worked some lovely examples, which, focused on the running of the meeting, I failed to photograph.  It was fortuitous that Tanya Bentham's book has finally been published and we had a copy to peruse.

It's an active group, with lots of interaction, ideas and queries. Junette had brought along a scarf with maritime motifs she was hoping members could help her make sense of. Maria is hoping that next year we can help her learn more about Lagatera embroidery through a bedspread she has inherited. I am still following up on things members asked me after the formal part of the meeting.

On Thursday I had my follow-up meeting with the nephrologist. He is pleased - and I suspect, surprised, with my weight loss progress.  Unlike my GP, he will be satisfied when I have lost another 8kg. Statistics apparently indicate that as the high risk point for kidney donors.  I plan to have reached at least this when I next see him in April. He also advised that I am at high risk should I contract Covid, and need to have a Moderna booster shot as soon as I am eligible - which is early January.

My creatinine level, which alarms my GP, is, according to the nephrologist, below the alarm level for a kidney donor.  Diabetes is the big enemy and his focus.  If I continue to make progress and reach his weight goal in April, he will see me every 12 months.  

It is jacaranda time in Adelaide and the streets transforming.  By this time next year (Deo volente) I plan to be pretty close to my recommended BMI weight level - a lot more than 8kg lighter.

The nephrologist appointment was followed by Pilates, and capped off by dinner with friends at Louca's seafood restaurant.  I allowed myself a small glass of wine - the first since 27 June and a one-off.

Adelaide is not the only city with jacarandas in bloom. This one (left) is near my brother's place in Sydney, taken on Saturday evening from the roof of their apartment. He and my sister-in-law held a dinner to launch Conversations with Baby Boomer Teachers with some of their friends whose stories are in the book. 

They began the evening with drinks on the roof. At 8.30 I called in from the family dinner at Katherine and Anthony's place, and had a chat with them. They were having a good time.

I'm really grateful to their participation, their willingness to celebrate and to my brother and sister-in-law for their commitment to making it an occasion and the book a success. 

Back in Adelaide, on Sunday I did a little Christmas shopping and bought some more plants at Bunnings to replace the potted colour that had passed its best on my balcony.  I bought a punnet of six portulaca seedlings which I've spread in various places, a dark pink geranium and a sunflower to brighten up the back balcony. The sunflower is not yet in bloom, but will be soon.

There are two small but bushy poinsettias for the front and a lily for the living area. 

I also sorted through my box of Christmas decorations. I decided the 60cm  tree that lights up and flashes when plugged in was not working well and past its use-by date. I deposited it, and another plug-in decoration, at Bunnings' e-recycling.

I've been embroidering and knitting for Christmas. The one I can share is the completed Babushka fridge magnet. It has taken me a long time. I've found it hard going on the plastic canvas. Even adapting it to fit in a hoop it has taken a lot of effort to stitch through the canvas. 

The result, however, is very pleasing. So much so, I have decided to make another one. I think the gift requires two.  

I am not, however, happy with the magnets included in the kit. This (left) glue-on magnet is designed to be cut  in 4, and used for four designs in the kit.  This is not my idea of an effective fridge magnet, so this afternoon I took a trip to Officeworks  to see if I can do better. 

I now have a 3 metre roll of self-adhesive magnetic strip, and a packet of smaller strips -  enough for around 90 fridge magnets - just in case.  The strip on the right is now firmly attached. 

The adhesive strip seems to work and the magnet sat easily and firmly on the fridge when I tried it out.  I wouldn't don't want to give a Christmas fridge magnet that doesn't work, however attractive!

Monday was lamb shanks for dinner, with roast potatoes, broccolini and beans. Worked well. I've found a new brand of passata which I think works better than my old (more expensive) brand. I had left-overs for tonight's dinner.

I've also received and examined the plans for the two pieces of furniture I ordered. The bookshelves are too close together. I've measured and thought and discussed with K & A over dinner. I think I will need to settle for two shelves instead of three. A pity, and disappointing, but I don't think the alternative - raising the height of the unit - will work. I will visit Nordic Furniture tomorrow to finalise. 

Unfortunately, and much more disappointing, the new controller for my roller shutter, that I was charging when I posted last week, did not fix the problem. I requested service but hadn't had a response by this morning, so  chased them up by email today. This evening I had an apologetic call, and a time for a technician to visit next Monday. It seems likely the problem may be the motor - which requires a scaffold to access. The parts are covered by guarantee, but not labour, so, as I suspected, the cost of the scaffold will be mine. No point in crossing that bridge until I come to it. My stress is significantly relieved by having a time for it to be assessed.

As if to acknowledge my relief, the new poinsettias on the front balcony looked lovely in the afternoon light.

The second magnet is progressing. I've chosen one with more colours than the first one and this time I worked the outline first. It's been a little easier so far. 

One way or another I found this a week of stresses and challenges. At the end of it I am more at peace than at the beginning - and more confident. I've also clocked up the 15th kg weight loss.

Post 403 Ups and downs

 

On Wednesday early the next layer of the scaffold came down on the Eastern side building next door. I was delighted to have most of my missing view back. There are two levels of scaffold to go.

The rest of the day was peaceful and relaxed. I had a lovely long phone call with a Guild friend and another with a friend of Jim's I haven't heard from for nearly two years. It was terrific to pick up where we left off. I also had a couple of conversations with my brother, trying to rectify the fact that I sent a parcel of books to his long defunct PO Box instead of his current one.  In this case, Australia Post were terrific and quickly found a solution.

At the end of the day I was less happy to discover that the West facing scaffold had also been removed and my view of the twin branched Norfolk Pine is now filtered through a balcony on the adjoining building. Admittedly, this is only visible when I am on my balcony, not when I am in my living room - and I can at least see through the balcony.  When the rest of the scaffold is removed I will be able to see into one end of a lower balcony as well. It's not terrible, nor too intrusive, but a bit of a surprise. 

On Thursday I had a medical day - fasting blood test , then an optometrist appointment before Pilates. The blood test revealed no change in my kidney readings which is a bit disappointing. They are not dangerously high, but higher than desirable. I see the renal specialist next Thursday, so I need to discuss. The optometrist spent 40 minutes examining my left eye which is once again inflamed with Meibomian Gland Disorder . She has upped the ante and moved me to a phosphate-free eye drop at least 4-6 times a day and a steroid cream twice a day as well as hotpacks. After 5 days there is definite improvement.  

Friday I did some shopping, went to Sit'nStitch, came home and cooked the ragu for moussaka. 

On Saturday I had half my front balcony cleaned. I can't reach much of it without a ladder. My cleaner did a fabulous job, tidying and organising as well as cleaning. It's a big job - grime from traffic and weather has not been removed in  more than 5 years. Michael Constantinou's Spanish Mackerel is looking splendid. It was also a JEMS day. It looked like a good turnout. Niamh and I had our regular milkshakes and Katherine and I had a good catch up while stitching. She is covering coat hangers. They look great.

At 8.30 on Sunday morning I took all the front boxes and bits out of my storage locker in the carpark and washed them.  Behind the front boxes is a single layer of boxes against the back wall, mostly labelled. I realised all of these are not going to fit on the trolley I bought. There is, however, no real need to move them. With nothing in front of them, it is  easy to see the labels and not too difficult to get to them.  The trolley will fit in front of them.

Just after 9.30 am Ken arrived and we removed the flatpack for the trolley from the back seat of my car, read the instructions and set to work.

Once we worked out a couple of simple processes it went very smoothly.

By 11 am we had it assembled and began to stack it.  By 11.30 it was in place and we had cleaned up. 

I discovered a couple of bits that should have gone out in the hard rubbish this week, and there are a couple more I can probably do without. 

At least now I can see what's there and get to it pretty easily. I now need to investigate archiving some of it.

It is a very good job jobbed and I couldn't have done it without Ken's help.

When I changed into clean clothes afterwards I discovered the jeans I bought last year are now a size too large for me, so I stitched elastic into the waist band - a fine solution and a pleasing discovery! While I was about it I patched a sheet which had developed a tear. Late in the afternoon I popped over to Ken and Barbara's place for a quick dinner.   A most satisfactory day!

It's been warm for a few days and on Monday morning I attempted to close the roller shutters on my large back window but nothing moved. I figured the battery had died in the controller. I couldn't get the back off to change it, so took it back to Burns for Blinds. Apparently the controller batteries are not made to be changed and the whole thing needs to be replaced, so they have ordered one for me. By amazing good fortune they are guaranteed for 5 years and this one is two months inside the guarantee, so there will be no charge - but a wait. 

In the meantime I plugged away at the pincushion in the Leadlight Counted Set and finished one side.

The moussaka was a good one. The ragu was thick and rich - down, I think, to the lamb being minced fresh by the butcher and a new brand of passata (well, there was also the half bottle of wine). 

Fionn is preparing for exams, Brigid had a netball committee meeting and the girls enjoying the end of year wind-down without the sadness of last year's transition from primary school.

This morning the scaffold at the back of the building next door was removed. My new view isn't quite as wide as it was before the building, but it's pretty good and much better than looking at scaffolding. 

This is what it looks like from my favourite chair just inside. I'm not complaining. 

I had intended to go into the city today and collect some restrung jewellery, but it was strata window cleaning day and I had organised for the contractor to clean my interior and exterior balcony windows. He did a terrific job and warned me that water from the plants is staining the windows in a few places. That doesn't worry me too much, but I'm going to try moving the plants on the front balcony away from the windows.

To my surprise, Burns for Blinds rang to say my controller had arrived, so late this afternoon I drove out and picked it up. It is currently on the charger, and I was nervous about whether it would work. If the problem isn't  the controller, it may mean a lot more work to fix it. I was right to be worried. After 5 hours on the charger it is still not working, so I need to ring Burns for Blinds tomorrow and ask for someone to look at it. It may mean getting on the roof - and scaffolding!

By this afternoon the scaffolding on the front of the building next door had gone. This is my new view looking south.  Left is the view from the edge of the balcony. Top right is the view from my usual chair and bottom right is the view from the dining table.  Not too bad.

I've finished the Leadlight Counted Set pincushion. I used a slightly darker cotton for the second side, just for variety. I played with leaving spaces to create a pattern (top left) but stitched over it.

So it's been an up and down week. The roller shutter not working is a worry, but there's quite a bit to be thankful for. I have also reached 14kg weight loss. 

Tomorrow is WES Group and on Thursday I see the renal specialist with a list of questions. I'm hoping the week follows the weather forecast, which is mild all the way.