Post 414 Birthday Celebrations.

This week began with my birthday celebrations. I'm truly grateful to my daughters for ensuring we were together for this auspicious birthday. Birthdays themselves have never really been great events to me. Early January in Australia is when most people are away and difficult to get together. In recent years we have managed to gather at the beach but it wasn't possible last year and only possible this year through the grit and determination of my daughters. Alison especially had to make sacrifices, detailed plans and endless adjustments and inconveniences to come from Canberra. 

She also took this and several other photos, for which I am grateful.

As you can see, I broke out and had a lime milkshake!

My habit of asking a waitress to take a photo of us all at the lunch table at the Normanville Jetty Cafe did not pay off this time. The photo isn't a good one, and I agreed not to use it. 

We therefore have two photos, one taken by Alison and one by Karl, so everyone gets in. I haven't attempted to meld them into one.

After lunch we repaired to one of the holiday rentals for candles and cake - not together. The apples that were blown upon have not been eaten but the icecream cake disappearing. I didn't indulge. 

I was given some really lovely gifts, all so carefully chosen: the SA-made, Celtic style brooch from Brigid (top left), the Canberra-made and designed one from Alison and Karl,(lower right), a necklace from Katherine and Alison, an amazing locally made paperweight from Fionn, a Normanville made clove scented leopard trivet from Veronica (it emits the scent when heated by a dish!). Niamh always makes me a pin-cushion (a much needed continual reminder not to put my pins and needles into the arm of the lounge chair). This year's is a book - cleverly designed and made by Niamh. While it is puffy and solid, pins will not get lost in it. The thickness and shape prevents that happening. It is great. I should have placed all these on the tray cloth my friend Vivienne made for me, but didn't think until too late!

It was a really lovely day. There were also lots of messages from friends. Carrickalinga phone reception is still terrible, but sms and online messages get through. I am really grateful. It was my kind of day. I hadn't thought much about reaching 75 but it now does seem a bit of a milestone - one that Jim knew he was unlikely to reach, and that my mother missed by 9 years in spite of expectations of longevity. I am very, very blessed, and will try to make the most of every day.

On Thursday we were up early to pack so that Alison and Karl could return to Canberra. Their afternoon flight had been brought forward to 9.30am and it's a 90 minute drive to the airport. Sad to say goodbye, but so fabulous to have had the time. I returned the key to the Agent before 10am, then took this photo along the road on my way back. I moved in with Katherine and her family at their holiday rental up on the hill - another blessing. 

On Friday we went into Yankalilla to get a few supplies. Katherine and I visited the Second Hand & Book Exchange. Katherine found the doilies she was looking for. I was looking for Amanda, who runs the shop and was at one stage an active SA Embroiderers' Guild member but she wasn't there. However, I did find some books that I couldn't resist.

None of them are specifically on embroidery or textiles, but they do have significant relevance. I've finished the Viking one, which has proved really useful and dipped into the others. 

I've now done as much as I can without a sewing machine on the Hearts and Roses bag. Once I stitch each of the six outside pieces to their six inside lining pieces there's another round of hand stitching to join the six together. A job for next week.

The weather has cooled down - mostly in the low to mid 20sC. I have no regrets, but I think, although it hasn't stopped them swimming, everyone else would prefer it a bit warmer.

The kangaroos have moved somewhere else for their evening graze in the last few days, or maybe they don't like the cooler evenings. 

On Sunday the paddock was taken over by a flock of galahs, their screeching silenced while they fed. I regretted not bringing my DSLR.  The photo taken with my iPad is live, which improves it, but inserted here they look like stones.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         They were easier to photograph as they flew away! 

By Monday morning they were feeding on the road verge! Presumably they have stripped the paddock of whatever it is they like.

Carrickalinga turned on a smashing sunset for our last night.

I've started on the Marie Wallin Fair Isle Bag I bought as a kit last September.  I brought the kit with me, but forgot to add the needles! Katherine managed to find some for me in Normanville. 

It is proving difficult. I knitted the first section, which is half the base, without realising the whole bag is knitted in garter stitch, not stocking stitch. I swapped over when I started on the wider section, which is the front. 

It is intuitive, and much easier, to work purl rows on the wrong side, otherwise you spend a lot of time moving your working and resting threads from one side to another to avoid carrying thread across the right side. 

The pattern also shows up more crisply in stocking stitch. Since arriving home I've worked the next section in stocking stitch and I'm much happier. I will continue in this mode.

Before we left on Monday, there were some moments where it is obvious why so many artists have painted this part of the SA coast. The light was lovely and the cliff line clear.  I even managed to catch a couple of birds in flight.

I arrived home to find the wind had upset the pot of on my back balcony, and also blown over the container of seed for the birds. The lid was nowhere to be found - no doubt acted as a frisby over the nearby roofs. The spilt seed had not, as far as I could see, been found by birds. Perhaps they were waiting for me to return, because within minutes one dove appeared, ignored the spilt seed, and attempted to get the seed remaining in the container, which I had righted. The dove had several attempts to get to the seed, but couldn't manage the balancing act without upsetting the container, gave up and retreating to the spilt seed. I did oblige by tipping out the seed left in the container!

Today I made two forays into the outside world, one to Ecolateral at Magill to pick up the two things I ordered online in their New Year sale. While I was in that side of town I called at Heyne's Nursery to replenish a few plants. I bought a red Aloha Mandevilla,  The pink one on my Eastern balcony has done so well, I thought I'd try another in the West. I also bought another bowl-shaped pot and some white geraniums to put in it. I dropped these at home, then went out again to Unley to get fresh milk, fruit and vegetables. 

The two trips, a bit of washing and watering took all the energy I had today. I read a fair bit of the Bruce Beckham Inspector Skelgill book I had been saving. Late in the day I did manage to find and purchase some pdf versions of a series of books on goddess embroidery by Mary Kelly. That should keep me busy for a few weeks - once I've read the Celtic book above!

Thank you for all the birthday wishes and messages. It's been an awesome week! 

I did, incidentally, maintain my weight loss program. 18.6 kg down now. Thanks for all the help and support.  

Post 413 Coming to you from Carrickalinga

Since Saturday I have been staying with family at Carrickalinga. This is the view from the beach house where I am currently staying. This is looking north, back towards Adelaide. It is warming up (currently 32C) but still pretty pleasant.

I am staying at the moment in a A frame house, with one of my daughters. The house has lots of light in the living areas. There is lots of wooden panelling and mezzanine structures.  It makes for a very good beach house.    Birds perch under the eaves.                  

My other daughter and her family are staying close by. They are further from the beach, but with fabulous views over the surrounding countryside. 

Kangaroos graze in the evening on the open paddocks and on the hills.

I'm hoping my balcony garden is not suffering too much in the heat. I watered it thoroughly before leaving. I also gave the doves a last feed.

Up until Friday the abseilers were hard at work and no doubt will continue while I'm away.  Today I had a call from them apologising for the noise last night. Apparently some of their equipment blew off the roof in the wind. With a bit of luck they will be nearly or fully finished when I return.

The days before coming down here were taken up with shopping, packing and a bit of stitching, except for the excitement generated by the British National Archives release of the 1921 census data around 10.30pm Adelaide time on Thursday. Although the data will be available through Ancestry in June, I indulged myself and purchased copies of the transcript of entries for both sets of my grandparents. The paternal one included my father, who was 20 months old at the time. This confirmed their address and my grandfather's occupation. It gave me his employer's name for the first time. The maternal one also gave me a little more information about my grandfather's work. Amusingly, my grandmother's name, Nellie, was transcribed as 'Willie'.  I haven't accessed the raw form, but I suspect this is result of transcription by computer. 

I've advanced my Hearts and Roses bag. The outside  and inside flaps are finished. I am now working on the last of the pockets. The light here is not good enough to work on it after dark and I am running low on a couple of thread colours and attempting to ration and improvise. Once I've finished the pockets I won't be able to do much assembly until I get home. I need a sewing machine to stitch the outside to the lining pieces before I stitch them together by hand. I also need an iron. I think it will look good, I'm less convinced about usefulness, but we'll see.

Happy Birthday to Melody, whose birthday is today on the other side of the world. Mine is tomorrow and I'm looking forward to lunch with family - outside at the Normanville Jetty Cafe. 

Post 412: the first of 2022

The first part of the week was hot in Adelaide - over 35C from Wednesday to Friday and 30C on the weekend. It's not unusual at this time of the year, and could be a lot worse. I don't enjoy the heat and was happy to spend most days inside with the aircon on low. 

It did make for some pleasing sunsets. 

Like much of the world, we are in the midst of an Omicron outbreak. Although the raw numbers in South Australia are not huge, 16558 active cases, 101 in hospital and 12 in ICU, this is high on a per-capita basis, and higher than at any other point in the pandemic. Testing demand has been so high that the definition of close contact has been modified and testing on arrival for interstate visitors removed.  There is considerable unease in the community. I, like most friends and family, are being ultra-cautious. Rapid antigen tests are in very short supply. I have managed to obtain a pack of 5 from Sydney which arrived today.

New Year's Eve fireworks were moved from the usual riverbank location to a smaller park with ticketed seating and controllable entrance and exit.  They are a fairly tame affair in Adelaide anyway. I was pleased with the move, because my view of the riverbank is blocked by high rise buildings, whereas  I have a view of the sky over Rymill Park, the new venue.

I enjoyed 8 minutes of fireworks at 9.30 and again at midnight. While waiting I watched the three episodes of the BBC's excellent Scotland from the Sky. It brought back memories of walking Roman roads and visiting many prehistoric sites when living in Scotland.

I discovered on Thursday that Christmas cards I had sent overseas on 30 November hadn't arrived yet, so I sent out an email version. I don't expect all my absent friends to send cards, but I love getting news from them at Christmas. Cards suit me because I love the medium of photographs with narrative and make my own.  I'm not fussy, however, about the medium in which I stay in touch with friends.  It's been lovely this week, between Christmas and New Year, to catch up with a number of friends by phone, email or social media. I've had lovely long conversations one way or another. That's hugely satisfying.

It can also be sad. Today a Christmas letter brought news of the death last year of a favourite NZ cousin of my mother's - not much older than me - who I met as a teenager. My mother (on bride's left) was at her wedding in England in 1966.

My only two excursions for the week were to family for dinner on Saturday night and to the optometrist on New Year's Eve. My eyes have improved significantly. I have now weaned myself from the steroid cream but need to continue the lubricant at least 6 times a day and the hot packs at least once. The condition, it seems, is genetic and treatment long-term. I also had the eye test for my driving licence and went straight to the Post Office, put it in a registered envelope and mailed it. I usually deliver it to a Government Service Centre but figured it wiser to trust the mail than mingle in a place where I would likely have to wait. 

One thing I accomplished at home was to organise the needle box my brother bought me at an auction. I am still looking for packets of needles in the various project bags and pouches I have but I can see how useful it will be to have a place where all the packets are together and visible.

There were about 40 packets of vintage machine needles in the box, mostly size 2 or 1, with a couple  1/2  and a 0. While I might try a couple in my machine, there are way too many for me to use in my lifetime. A dressmaking friend will find good use for them. We've agreed to meet up once there is less Covid circulating. 

In between conversations with friends and family, I've read several books, including some more research on the Celts and Anglo-Saxons for my WES workshop this year, and worked on a couple of pieces of embroidery. 

This is the next stage of the Hearts and Roses project. 

I need to complete six of these sides (left), six matching lining  pieces (right) and six inner pockets.

So far I've completed 3 sides and 3 lining pieces.

I've also worked on a mandala to cover some of the zipper holes on one of my tops. 

Mandalas make good grab and go projects and I plan to do a few more for other tops.

I've also watched the first and part of the second series of Brokenwood and, as a break, replayed the first of Ben Fogle's Scotland's Sacred Islands. which I love. When I was in my teens, I can remember a conversation about what I would be doing when I was 21. My father said, out of the blue, that if I had any sense I would be travelling in the Hebrides, the most beautiful place on earth. He didn't elaborate but it stuck with me. I didn't make it when I was 21, but when I was 25 and Jim and I worked in Scotland, I made sure we explored what we could of the Hebrides. We got to Skye, Mull, Iona, Harris, Lewis and Orkney. I haven't seen all the world, so don't know if my London-born father's assessment was accurate, but he was definitely on to something. Ben Fogle raises the concept of 'thin' places - where the 'real' and 'spiritual' worlds are close together. Or magic. I don't have a travel bucket list. The Hebrides, however, still call to me, or, as the song says are puttin' love on me.

This morning there was a crashing on the roof, signalling the return of the abseilers. They have covered my Vergola once again. This time they are painting the wall. It began too windy today to paint, but they have holes to plug. The plastic pipe seems to go into the gaps between the wall sheets. I'm hoping they will get most of their work done while I'm (hopefully) at Carrickalinga next week, assuming the Covid situation allows.

Post 411 To safety, sanity and solicitousness in 2022.

Last Wednesday I dashed into the city to pick up the brooch that has been with the repairer for several weeks and was finally finished. It belonged to my grandmother and is not a glamorous or expensive piece. The sparkly stones they have used do not resemble the original, which were, from memory, plastic beads in a range of primary colours. It was, however, the only option - and I rather think my grandmother would have liked it. 

The interest lies in the brooch coming apart to form two clips, 

which can be used on the corners of a square-necked dress to hold undergarments out of sight.

I don't know that I will ever use it, but I really like the concept. My grandmother had very little jewellery and am pleased to have it in working order.

This was the view down King William St, in the centre of Adelaide towards the Christmas tree in Victoria Square as I returned home. The Town Hall is on the left and the GPO clocktower on the right.

I posted last week on the anniversary of my mother's birthday. On the day my brother visited our parent's grave to place frangipani blooms from one of the successors of the tree she nurtured for 40 years. The magnolia tree on their grave has grown in the last year and is looking healthy. I'm glad he went. 

There was a flurry of noisy activity in the street in front of the building next door in the last few days before Christmas - what looked to be the extension of the NBN cabling underground and repairs to the road. It was finished and the road block removed on Christmas Eve. This is now the view from my balcony.

At street level the footpath is still blocked but the road is open and parking has, for the moment at least, improved significantly.

From across the Square the view is not too bad. 

Closer up the new buildings loom a bit, but it is, admittedly, a reasonable streetscape.

The sunset on Christmas Eve was truly glorious - I would not have been at all surprised to see angels.

It prefigured a lovely Christmas Day- calls with my brother and with Alison, most of the day at Katherine and Anthony's, relaxed, delicious food outside, amazing presents, great company.

I have a treasure trove of presents, a really lovely bird brooch, charming, vibrant earrings, a needle-keep, fabric to play with, a calendar of wonderful bird photos, a pouch of hand cream and an antique box for needle packets.

There might be more about some of these in later posts.

The public holiday's following Christmas Day have been very quiet. We have Omicron circulating in the community and  tightening restrictions. Friends are isolating and booked for tests tomorrow because they are  contacts of someone who has tested positive. Family work contacts and friends are also awaiting results. 

I've stayed home catching up on reading, embroidery and several friends and family. It's been really lovely to have long emails, phone calls and cards from so many friends and family who have taken the time to catch up.  This is a very important part of the year for me - the maintenance and strengthening of the web of connections spun over a lifetime, across circumstances, the country and the world.  I do my best to keep in touch throughout the year, but this fixed point ritual is so renewing and strengthening. Thank you to all who have participated.

There has been quite a bit of dove activity this week. I haven't manage to capture the four birds on camera, but they seem to be parents and their two offspring. Either the young birds are now muscling in on the parents' territory, or they are being taught the protocols of feeding. 

They arrive together and there is a lot of chasing around the seed and the ground space until they fly away, then one or two return. I'm sure this will end with only two birds visiting - but which generation it will be is not yet clear.

I took time out from the bag I've been working on to make this pouch for some scissors I had bought as a present. I have published details of this and other presents today in my embroidery blog. I could not write about them here without ruining the surprises.

The base of the Hearts and Roses Bag progresses.  It still has a central rose and a border to go, but I'm pleased with the progress. It is fairly slow work, much of it in a single strand of cotton, but very pleasurable. With a lot of incentive to stay at home I expect to make progress to the sides by next week - although there is the Guild Challenge to draw me away......

I've read some interesting books, watched the BBC's Road to Istanbul and Road to Rome series on pilgrimages and also the Sacred Isles of Scotland series. These are all helping to shape my thinking about historic embroidery. 

My weight loss continues slowly but steadily, 17.6 kg down as of this morning. 

Until next year.