Post 496 Food, Fibre, Family, Friends - and moonshine.

I missed the super full moon on 2 August. Rising at 4am to see it wasn't a priority. However, last Wednesday morning I woke with a start at 3am. Although my blind was drawn, the bedroom was very light, so I got up to investigate. 

It was a half-moon (not evident in the hastily taken photo) with a star above it. I don't know why it woke me up. I sleep pretty soundly and thought the least I could do was to take a photo.

I went back to bed and slept a couple more hours. The star, it turns out, was Jupiter.

I'm tempted to say it's a once in a blue moon event, but there is blue moon on 31 August which rises at 11.08 am, so that's unlikely to wake me up. It remains to be seen if the sky will be clear enough to see it.

Wednesday was our WES Group meeting, and Barbara shared her collection of tribal textiles from West Bengal and Gudjarat. It is a fabulous collection and was accompanied by an illustrated account of her several trips to the area, developing links to the producing communities. There were 13 of us there and there was a lot of interaction and engagement with the topic. 

I had to rush home to let the cleaners in. Fortunately fortnightly cleaning will not fall on the second Wednesday of the month again until December.

On Thursday morning I had my annual skin cancer check. The dermatologist I have seen for the last 25 years or more has retired so this was my first visit to the new, young, dermatologist she referred me to.  I don't enjoy these visits, but was very impressed with her manner and thoroughness.  She identified two growing moles on my back that need removing. I have an appointment for this in early September.

I went on to Pilates, grabbed a milkshake at the Queen St Cafe,  and then visited friends who had invited me for dinner. As always, we had a relaxed and refreshing time. I undertook to further mend the pants one of the friends bought in Indonesia a few years ago. He wears them to travel in - especially on planes. When the pants split (also several years ago) I offered to mend them, and have been continuing the tradition ever since. I enjoy the challenge and he enjoys the pants and the narrative. They are travelling again soon, and the pants had developed yet another tear.

I finished mending them on Saturday. The  detail  is in my stitching blog.

My granddaughters roll their eyes. Their idea of fashionable, respectable, or even acceptable, clothing, does not include orange pants, with or without patches.

Rowan magazine 73 arrived on Friday. It is a beach-focused issue with some inspiring patterns. I already have more projects than I can handle, but I do hope I can make some of these. 

 As if that weren't enough, yesterday this book arrived with another fine selection of things I would like to make.

Guess I just have to  keep on being highly selective or find the one or two people in my circle who get attracted to one or other of them.  

A friend living in England sent me a link to this article about favourite knitting projects. I don't think I could name one favourite project, but the enthusiasm these knitters express is familiar to me. It continues the discussion kicked off by the Kate Davies quote I used last week. In December the World Embroidery Study Group will be discussing knitting and I'm hoping we will explore this aspect.

It looks like the trainer who works in the Square has returned. Perhaps this signals Spring is on the way. This group was working at 8am on Sunday as I was preparing to go to my Book Club. The cafe we used to meet in has closed due to a major shopping centre renovation. We have been meeting in homes, waiting to see if it reopens, but that, alas, is not going to happen. On Sunday we tried a new place, called Foliage. It is a lovely venue, with plants and all sorts of interesting bits for sale. It got a trifle noisy at one point, but was pleasant and convenient so we will give it another go.     

From there I went on to Katherine's birthday bash, which she had at home. The food, catered by Jesse, was fabulous, disappeared quickly and seemed to be endlessly replenished.  Everyone was occupied, kids drawing, playing games, visiting the park, adults engaged in catching up with each other. It was good to catch up with quite a few friends I haven't seen for a while.

I prepared Monday night's moussaka on Saturday, which gave me a relatively leisured Monday, extending into the relaxed dinner. 

Perhaps a little less relaxed, I cut the steek on the alpaca shawl. The cutting went well. 

The next step, however, was to pick up a further 320 stitches around the two cut sides, giving me 772 stitches on which to work a 12 row border.  I knew that was coming, but hadn't registered that the pattern requires this to be repeated on the inside, as well as the outside, to form a double border joined by an i-cord. I'm on my way with the outside border - but am not yet committed to the double border. It is taking me 70 minutes to knit each row. I've done three rows.

I will record progress in my stitching blog - and hopefully report on the outcome next week.

Post 495 Bags, Birds, Balcony and a Birthday.

This week's highlight was Katherine's birthday on Monday. Her Adelaide family celebrated with dinner at Osteria Oggi on Pirie St - one of the few Adelaide restaurants that open on Monday. Great food and service. Afterwards we adjourned to my place for present-giving, tea, coffee and excellent biscuits made by Niamh. The Matildas capped the evening by winning their match against Denmark to proceed to the quarter final of the World Cup.

The week began with a catch-up with a couple of  old workmates. We hadn't met for about a year, although I bump into one in a shopping centre every now and then. Both have had health scares, but are now doing well.  Interesting, wide-ranging discussions.

When I got home, I found a sunny spot on my western balcony  to read and do a little knitting.  I've caught up this week on a couple more in G R Jordan's Highlands and Islands Detective series, an addition to Cathy Ace's WISE Agency series and the latest in T A William's Armstrong and Oscar Cosy Mysteries.

With no Sit'nStitch on Friday, I planned to visit the Frida Kahlo Exhibition at the Art Gallery, but I waited for a delivery of a possum wool jumper from NZ, which I figured wouldn't fit in my letterbox.

If I wasn't home it would then end up at the local PO over the weekend. The post usually arrives between 11.30 and 12.15, so I paced around the Square for half an hour to intercept the postie, only to discover it was in my letterbox! I cursed myself for a fool for not having checked. I encourage the postie to squish things through the slot, and usually get a message when it's delivered.  I did manage to take some photos of the Adelaide Rosellas in the Square while walking.      It looks as if the early buds might be on the trees.  I've worn the jumper several times since- it's great!

Rather than venturing to the Art Gallery in the afternoon, I went to Create in Stitch and then on to Elders to pick up my brother's most recent auction purchases. Back home, I got stuck into making a bag for Katherine's birthday. I finished it  on Sunday. More detail in my embroidery blog. 

I also baked a couple of batches of Anzac biscuits (yes, one tray is a bit darker than the other but they didn't burn!).                                                  Today I ventured to Port Adelaide to The Yarn Trader to buy a couple more of Kate Davies ' books.  I  admit to being addicted. There are a couple of patterns in each I am interested in knitting,  and a lot of background information. She talks eloquently about the slowing down that knitting brings - the necessary to-ing and fro-ing.     And however fast we learn, however speedily we work, all knitters come to know that the time of knitting is necessarily measured, and that the growth of a project will always be determined by the pace of our own two hands. (p4 Ten Years in the Making)            

On the way to Port Adelaide I stopped at Spotlight to buy some cotton carry bags. These are very cheap and were recently used by JEMS to embellish with felt appliqué. I thought they had huge potential for gift bags, so we will see what I can do with them.

It's another sunny, breezy day in Adelaide.  I wrote most of this in the afternoon sun on the balcony. 

I have 28 rows to go on my shawl. Back to the slowness of knitting.

Post494 Food and Thought

There were a few mildly sunny breaks this week, one, luckily, on Friday as I had lunch at Grange before our Sit'nStitch. It really is a lovely spot. 

This time I ventured to the fisherman's basket, without chips. It was excellent.

The good weather extended to Hurtle Square but Saturday morning was another matter.

We don't often get fog in Adelaide, so it was a surprise on Saturday, to wake to a world shrouded in mist. From the view east, I presumed it was coming down from the Hills.

West over the city, however was just as shrouded. It didn't clear until about 11am - making it difficult for the netball and football matches being played all over the city.

Once it cleared, I did my shopping for Monday, then made a batch of corn and zucchini muffins as a pick-me-up. They kept me going for several days.

Much of my time has been spent proof-reading my brother's latest book - due out in a month or so. It is about convicts - and I think it is really good. I am, of course, biased, but I do think this tells an overall story that is important and enlightening. I learned a lot. Once it is published, I will provide details for anyone interested.

Today was taken up with a visit from Ovenbusters. I had booked them to clean my oven, along with the exhaust fan. I had used them to clean my old oven in 2018, but bought a new, pyrolytic  oven a year later believing I could then keep it clean myself. While I have cleaned the shelves regularly, I baulked at the pyrolytic function - pathetic, I know, but I was reluctant to remove all the shelves and apply such heat. In the end, I engaged Ovenbusters again.

Such services, partly done in an equipped van, are not straightforward in an apartment. While  I have a spare carpark under the building, the entry to our basement carpark is not high enough for some vans, so I try to reserve a street park by parking my own car there, then moving it for the service vehicle. This morning street parking was difficult. There appeared to be a gathering of white cars and vans doing a bit of a shuffle every 2 hours so it took me several times around the block to slip into a close-by vacated space. It was adequate rather than perfect. When Ovenbusters finally arrived, the van was small enough to fit in the carpark.  That's good for the service - but a lot of unnecessary messing about for me beforehand. The service took just over 2 hours and I now have a pristine oven, cooktop and exhaust fan. I will now do my best to keep it that way, which means, I think, engaging Ovenbusters more frequently!

 

On Monday we had 7 for dinner, with Niamh at football and Brigid bringing a friend. It was short and sharp, so Niamh could be picked up quickly and everyone could get home to watch the soccer - Matildas v Canada. Dinner was  a lot of fun, and successful - as were the Matildas.

There was an Adelaide Rosella out and about in the Square but not close enough for me to photograph.  My faithful dove, however, graced my balcony several times and allowed a photograph.

I have made a bit of progress on the Christine Bishop Pulled Mat, and the shawl. I have 40 rows to go on the latter. There are now some 370 stitches on the needles and increasing to 452. It is taking about 25 minutes to knit each row. That's still quite a few more days knitting!

My thanks to all of you who have been in touch about the blog. I do appreciate the communication - and the interest. I will continue weekly.

post 493 Wild

Many thanks to the 16 who responded to my question about continuing this blog. I am really grateful. There is an audience of kindred spirits who enjoy reading it. I enjoy the connection, reflection and writing discipline.  I will continue weekly. 

This was sunset last Wednesday. I spent the morning at the hairdresser and had lunch on Hutt St. with friends.  It was a satisfying, pleasant, if cool and slightly rainy, day culminating in a spectacular sunset.

I was pleased, too, to return to Pilates on Thursday after 2 weeks isolating with my cold. It was good to be back in routine. 

On Friday, before Sit'nStitch, I had lunch at the Grange Hotel. It was crowded. I hadn't booked, because I needed to wait at home for a parcel. I did, however, park next to  rosemary in full flower, full of bees who were happy to have their photos taken.

That night, while working on my shawl, I discovered from a neighbour that our entry buzzers were not working. You would not know, of course, unless someone told you. When I checked, around 11pm, my video screen was dead, so it seemed our whole pod was out. Our Pod Rep is currently overseas, so we reported it to our Strata Management Company by email. There was, predictably, no response until Monday morning. No one came to fix it on Monday, so I asked family members coming to dinner to phone me when they arrived so I could then go down in the lift to let them in. I was a bit stressed about it, but it  worked without problem. We had a really good dinner time. It's good to be reminded of the goodwill and capability with which I am surrounded. 

On Saturday Niamh and Anthony were in Brisbane watching the WWC match between Haiti and England. Katherine, Veronica and I went to The Greek for dinner. It was, as usual, a lovely meal. I forgot to take a photo until Katherine and I were enjoying a coffee with Loukoumi (Greek-style Turkish delight). Veronica's impressive pistachio ice-cream is just visible in the background. All made on the premises.

About 6-8 honey eaters flew on to my balcony this morning, squarking and competing for nectar. They make me smile, so noisy, playful and together.

I headed off to my new, very young and enthusiastic, podiatrist. I asked why he chose Podiatry. It turns out, when he left school, he wanted a year off to travel, while his parents wanted him to go to university, so he applied for courses he believed he had no hope of getting into - Podiatry being top of his list! He figured when he was rejected his parents would allow him to take a year off. Hoisted by his own petard, he got into Podiatry. Then Covid hit, and his chance of travel was further delayed. He can see the irony. His criteria for a good job are: doing good for people, not needing to be athletic, meeting people you wouldn't otherwise meet, getting to know people over time, being able to talk to people and not taking your work home with you. Podiatry fits.

He wanted to know what I would be doing for the rest of the day, so I told him that I was going to a friend's place to plan a talk for the Guild. He wanted to know all about it, so I ended up telling him about Wild Silk. His response: "See, now I know about silk!". How extraordinary!

Margaret and I pulled together all our resources on Wild Silk, Madagascan Cocoon Silk and Golden Orb Spider Silk. We have quite a lot of physical elements as well as a bit of research.  I think it will be an interesting session in September. I also got a bowl of Margaret's fabulous pumpkin soup. Another great day.

To top it off, when I got home, the video entry system seems to be working again. I haven't been able to test it, but the screen is working, so I assume it's fixed and the buzzer will work too. 

I have a pre-proof copy of my brother's new book to read - and it's looking great.     A week rich in opportunity, friendship and joy.

Post 492 Silks and Sjaella

It has been another quiet week, as I recovered from my cold and stayed at home for the early part of the week. 

By Friday I ventured to Sit'nStitch, to Katherine & Anthony's on Saturday night and then to the Sjaella Concert at Ukaria on Sunday afternoon. They were really fabulous. 

I'm so glad I eventually got the date right - and was able to go. It was an appreciative audience, and a perfect venue for the music.

I spent time over several days beginning the preparation for the September meeting of the World Embroidery Study Group. A friend and I had agreed to do something in November on cruelty-free silk with the sheets of Madagascan silk I bought from Dale Rollerson. The September presenter isn't well and asked for more time, so we brought ours forward. I had thought to incorporate Indian Wild Silk using the book I bought recently.   I then remembered  Golden Orb spider silk....So the presentation has expanded a bit. 

That's OK. I think the group will be interested. I managed to source some Indian Wild Silk from Deidaa in Melbourne. My order resulted in a really interesting exchange with Samita, from the shop, and a resulting link to her You Tube channel post on the Victorian Embroiderers' Guild Exhibition on Recycling.

 

On Monday I made a double batch of Anzac biscuits, thinking it would last a couple of weeks. Unfortunately I didn't remove the second batch in time (distracted by silk), so the compost will benefit and I will need to make another batch next week.                                                                                                                                                                    

Another distraction on Monday was a very large magpie in the Square. I attempted to photograph it using my DSLR but it was too far away for a decent shot. The shots I did get were interesting for the shapes, which might, I think, come in handy for embroidering.                                                                                   In between burning biscuits and thinking about silk, I have progressed the Christine Bishop Pulled Work Mat and the shawl I am knitting in the round with a steek.  I won't post photos of the mat, as Christine does not want her work on the Internet. The shawl is looking very promising. I have another 93 rows to go - all, of course, getting longer, so hard to predict timeline. There is a border to add as well.

I am conscious that this blog is approaching its 500th post. It began as a travel blog and an expectation of 35-40 posts. When Covid hit and I shortened my travel, I continued the blog to share my experience of the unknown. The unknown has gone on for quite a long time. I don't yet have travel plans, which is what I had assumed would eventually bring  England2020 to an end. Should I stop at 500 posts? Keep going until there is England20?? Drop to posting fortnightly or monthly?  Opinion is always welcome.

Post 491 Cold

My honeyeater visitor returned on Thursday morning, fluttering around exploring before heading to the flowering aloe and providing me with one of the few photos for this week.

While at lunch with my friend Lorraine on Wednesday, I developed a slight cough. By the evening it was a fully developed sore throat. On Thursday morning I cancelled my Pilates class and postponed my thumb dressing for a week. I had the first, and heaviest, cold I have had in years. It has persisted all week. Yes, I did test negative for Covid. 

The worst is over. The cough hung on a bit but is largely gone. I haven't sneezed for 24 hours. I cancelled all commitments, including  Saturday dinner and a hairdressing appointment, to bunker down with my books, knitting and, occasionally, the Christine Bishop Pulled Thread Mat. I have drunk a lot of warm lemon juice and honey.

On Saturday morning I masked up and paid a swift visit to the supermarket for a few basic supplies, in and out in 10 minutes. I created unnecessary panic cancelling going to a Sjaella concert at Ukaria on Sunday. Turns out it is on next Sunday. Cold-affected brain!

So there isn't much to report this week. I have read quite a few books, all reviewed on my Goodreads page. My energy returned enough yesterday to fertilise my plants. Today I have vacuumed and been for a walk.

A coffee table book I had ordered arrived. I thought it might help with bird embroidery. It's beautiful, but I haven't had the energy to spend the hours  it requires yet. I have emerged from crime fiction to read Mary Condron's The Serpent and the Goddess: Women, Religion and Power in Celtic Ireland, so I think that signals recovery.

I had been worried I might have infected my friend Lorraine at lunch last week. Today I learned that she, along with all her Book Club members, has the flu. That, at 90, is a worry. She is, however, cheerful, careful and competent. 

 

Clearly there is a lot of infection around. I think I got off lightly

And my sliced thumb is almost healed. 

Deo Gratias.                                 

Post 490 Mostly hanging out at home

Last Thursday was chilly. Not raining much, and not the coldest day we've had, but enough for my latest dove companion to take up residence, all fluffed up, on my balcony rail, for several hours. I left him/her there when I took myself off to Pilates around 12.30.

I came home with enough energy to make a batch of zucchini and corn muffins for my dinner - having sampled one straight out of the oven with brie inserted. Yum.

I was feeling pretty pleased with myself, because, on Wednesday, when I had my thumb checked by the nurse and surgeon, they had pronounced it on the way to successful healing ("you have given yourself a skin graft!"). Although it can now be exposed, they warned me not to get the edge caught on anything (like clothing) as it will rip the skin off and we will need to start over. On the side of caution, I have it protected by a woven dressing. I will wait until the graft is a bit more advanced before inflicting a photo on anyone. I go back again this Thursday to have it checked again.

There is quite a bit of bird activity at the moment. A little honeyeater hopped and fluttered around my back balcony on Saturday.  These are small, about 10-12 cm long. It came very close to the window and I took photos through the fly screen.

Eventually it took up position on a pot on the balcony rail so I could get a better shot.

Once it left, the dove returned to make sure there was no damage. I feel privileged.

 

I stayed close to home most of the week. My brother is fighting a writing deadline and I was able to check a few things to help out. 

By Friday I could hold a regular sewing needle, so paused my knitting to do a bit on the Christine Bishop Pulled Work Mat I started back in April and set aside, first to finish St Brigid, then because I couldn't hold a sewing needle. I am slowly working my way around the border. 

I also had time to think about the stocking stitch samples I had worked and mounted. The detail is in my stitching blog. This is not a post that would be of interest to any other than committed knitters, but those who fit that description may find it of interest. 

          

While I got gradually more able throughout the week, a horrible thing happened. Brigid had her handbag and car stolen. The car was later found abandoned with considerable damage. She worked and saved for so long to buy it.  It casts a pall.    Family and friends have rallied, she is strong, resilient, and will triumph. It's still horrible.

Sunday was Book Club, again good discussion and lots of recommendations. My reading has pretty much been comfort rather than challenge this week.

A couple of long-standing family friends joined us for dinner last night, which was great. 10 year-old Ed is a clock expert and filled me in on a number of items on the upcoming Theodore Bruce Jewellery and Timepieces auction as well as a couple of my late father's watches. A very happy time.

I  have begun a shawl with the alpaca wool I bought from Adagio Mills, using the Knitting Wraps in the Round book. It certainly has a lovely feel and the 8 row pattern is becoming familiar enough to need only a reminder at the beginning of each row. 

There is, however, a long way to go - about 150 ever increasing rows.

As I wrote this afternoon, the sun came out. I enjoy even the grey Winter days, but there is nothing quite as cheering as when the sun breaks through.

A lift.