Post 530 Birds, bags, blooms and bedclothes.

On Wednesday I made a dash up to Stirling to Aptos Cruz. I had it in my head to buy a touch screen clock for Fionn’s birthday and I had decided to buy some water glasses for myself, to match the Champagne flutes I bought last month. (my best crystal water glasses did not respond well to being in the .dishwasher many years ago. While I still use the three that are left, they are cloudy.) I got both the clock and water glasses (and some wine glasses while I was about it).

Aptos Cruz is in an old church, and from the carpark I noticed a pair of Adelaide Rosellas, high on the building. I’ve not seen a pair before. They were not together but both, I imagine, within sight of their nest.

I watched until they flew away and was able to take quite a few photos from inside my car, some with the window down and some through the windscreen. The female is, of course, the one with muted colour.

The new Amanda Hampson, a sequel to The Tea Ladies  was released on Thursday. I ordered a copy online from BigW at the Brickworks, hoping it would be ready to pick up on my way home from Pilates but the notice came close to closing time, so I picked it up on Friday morning and did my big supermarket shop while I was there, before heading of the The White Picket  for lunch with Lorraine. The little Dulwich shopping area was abuzz. We had a good lunch and sat for a couple of hours catching up and reflecting. 

It is this time of year that Adelaide comes into its own. It is sunny without being too hot. Leaves are beginning to fall, but there are a lot of blooms and verdancy. Things still need watering, but not twice a day as they did even last week. 

Saturday was the end of daylight saving. Turning my clocks back was easier than I anticipated, in spite of the fact that the synchronise function worked on none of them (I suspect too many changes in connectors since the clocks were made). 

As it has been cooler this week, I decided to change over my quilt. Then, inspired by Fionn’s birthday present from his parents - a new bed and bed linens  - I decided to change all my bed linen from the mattress cover upwards. I can’t turn the mattress myself, nor remove the valance, but everything else came off. When I got to the linen cupboard to find replacements, I decided it was time for a sort-out. All the bed linen came out. After putting on a load of washing, putting some pillow covers in to soak and a much needed cup of coffee, I sorted the linen. 

Remembering a tip from my friend Pat years ago, I placed sets of bed linen in bags or pillowcases and labelled them. I now have three “Queen bed set”s,  one ‘king bed sheets for spare room’ and one ‘double bed top sheet’ (don’t have a double bed, so should I keep this? Probably not.) 

I found a lost king-single bottom sheet, which went to the spare room, a pretty much unused child's beach towel, set aside for charity shop. One sheet, with a note pinned on it in my handwriting " Queen sheet with 41cm removed" (I'm guessing it ripped and I cut and redeemed it, but I have only a vague memory. It is now in my stash of backing fabric). One set, bottom beige linen, top white cotton, went on the bed after the clean protectors, with the winter quilt on top. 

The linen cupboard is looking good. I admit I returned 20 or so pillowcases unexamined. 

I did two loads of washing in the afternoon, but left the pillow protectors to soak overnight, washing them the next day, along with one pillow. The pillow came out of the wash in fine shape, but with some strange brown goopy marks on the case. Foolishly, I put it back in the washing machine on the quick cycle. The result (including a few more of the brown goopy marks) went on the line, in hapless shape, dripping everywhere and has now, unfortunately, been consigned to landfill.

A more careful examination of my washing machine, revealed the brown goop around the door seal. Oh dear. How long since I cleaned my washing machine? Too long, it seems. I have now scrubbed the door seal and run the cleaning cycle. 

Is Autumn Cleaning a thing, or have I just invented it?

In between laundry drama, I have been working solidly on my Early Women of Books project. I've been switching between reading about the women, creating a summary to turn into a booklet, and stitching their names onto the bag fabric. My Quaker stitch is coming along a treat.

After the dentist this morning, cleaning this afternoon and another false fire alarm, I finished the bag late this evening and the booklet about 5 minutes ago! It will take me a few hours to write it up in my embroidery blog and publish the booklet. 

I apologise for all the jobs I have neglected while working on this over the  last few days. I have been obsessed. The trial bags printed using photos  are now on their way to me, so I should have the verdict by next week. To my astonishment, the bags were printed in China. I’ve ordered over 20 items from this company, all printed in Victoria. I think there should have been some explanation for sending this one off-shore. I’m very interested to see the result. Meanwhile, here is one side of the finished bag of Early Women of Books.

Tomorrow is WES Group so I had better get organised. There's also the Amanda Hampson to read.

Post 529 Largely Easter Largess

I've been fortunate to have great company & three meals provided by my Adelaide family over Easter, hot cross buns on Friday, dinner on Saturday & lunch on Monday. Largess, brilliantly cooked by other people.

As always, my minor contribution to our Easter Day feast was a version of the chocolate crackle nests my mother always made. This year the eggs were supplied by Veronica, from the Lolly Shop where she works. My search through several supermarkets, and Haigh’s chocolates were unsuccessful. After Veronica supplied them I did discover a Darrell Lea version. There’s nothing healthy about these. They do, however, hold precious memories.

I was also fortunate enough to be given a scarlet begonia as an Easter present. It is now bringing joy to my living room.

The weather reverted to hot again this week, so watering was a constant task. I took another trip to Bunnings on Thursday and came home with a couple of grevillea in tubes, some hyacinths and a large Dianella to fill a large empty pot.

The hyacinths were barely open but provided a glorious display in the heat. 

They don’t last long, but have new buds emerging, so I’m enjoying the sight and smell.  

Both colours have green tips.

I tackled the Dianella on Sunday morning - a messy job emptying the large pot of soil, which, from the number of peach seeds in it, had been filled with compost from my Hindmarsh home. The memory got to me, and I kept much of it, topping it up with new potting mix. I’m hoping this might thrive and provide some bushiness to my balcony garden.

Watering on the back balcony brings birds to bathe and drink in the heat. On Sunday a blackbird had a very good time in the water. A dove came to observe and stake out territory but didn't interfere.  I haven't seen a blackbird here before.

 

I completed a few tasks over the weekend. The top of the list was the two samples for my Glazig workshop later in April. Details in my embroidery blog.

I also finished reading The Gilded Page.  It has taken  a while to finish because I made notes about women  involved in the book-making industry prior to the printing press. I am hoping to embroider these on another bag of women's faces, I now have 9 names. I got out the faces fabric, which is enough for another three bags, and  began the design process.

Before I went too far, I wanted to see if I could improve on my printed bag experiment of a few weeks ago,  in response to a friend who said she wants one of these Early Women of Books bags. My first experiment was OK, but not ideal.

On the Vistaprint website I found a 'Full Custom'' bag template which promised to allow me to place a photograph over most of both sides of a tote bag. I had a go on my iPad, but it crashed at the review stage. I tried a bit later on my laptop. It timed out at the transfer-to-cart stage. At the moment I can't use Chrome on my 8 year-old laptop so was using Safari. As a  last resort I tried using Firefox on my iPad. This worked fairly smoothly. The photo is from the order courtesy of VistaPrint. The other side is similar and has an authorship statement along the left hand side, larger than I wanted, but I gave up trying to reduce it, fearing another crash.

I have ordered the result which is predicted to arrive by 17 April. It is, of course, the original bag and not the Early Women one. I'm currently waiting on a very overdue cushion from the same company, so we will see. It has given me confidence, however, to proceed with  embroidery on Early Women of Books. If the printing process works, it opens a range of possibilities (just what I needed, more possibilities!).

I caught up on a couple of more books over Easter, Dead Tide, my Book Club substitute, Body of Lies, by Sarah Bailey, and  finished Medieval Graffiti, by Matthew Champion. The latter is another that takes time because I wanted to take notes for possible later use in embroidery projects. No shortage of ideas! I am now reading Carlene O'Connor's,  Murder in an Irish Bookshop with her Murder in Galway also downloaded from the library. 

With all of this going on, and the temperature until Monday being over 30C each day, I have not met my target of finishing the first 80 lines of pattern with my knitting project. I am at line 60, 28cm, so reasonable progress. The sleeve decrease begins at 63cm, so less than two full patterns.

I’ve begun the Early Women of Books embroidery. In between Aquafit and the podiatrist today I’ve fortuitously moved on to Queen Emma. 

This book arrived today. It explores what we now know about Anglo-Saxon and Viking England based on the 2014 examination by archeologists and anthropologists of 6 chests of bones at Winchester Cathedral. The bones were collected by parishioners and stored in stone chests after  William Wallace’s men desecrated the Cathedral in 1642 and scattered bones from mortuary chests, among them the body of Queen Emma.  

I’m planning on putting together a booklet on each of the women to accompany this bag. Looks as if I need to stitch and read at the same time!  Fortunately the temperature has dropped a little today.

Post 528 as Autumn Leaves Start to Fall.

 

The sunflowers I bought in the heat are finally spent. The last two put out a lot of cheer before they graduated to compost.

Before that happened, I spent Wednesday morning at the hairdresser and in the evening went back to Noi with friends for a very early dinner. We took advantage of their Feed-me and out-by-seven options, both of which worked well for me. It was an exceptional meal, and I'll be returning.

On Thursday, before Pilates, I rushed off to BigW  to buy a copy of Foul Play by Fiona MacIntosh, a Book Club pick, but after much searching through the strange shelf organisation, with no assistant in sight, I gave up and bought Dead Tide, the next in the series ( I was, of course, late for Pilates). 

After Pilates I went to Bunnings to get plumbers tape and some potting mix for succulents. I exited with a trolley full of plants (yes, including a pot of sunflowers!).

On Friday morning the fire alarm went off as I was getting dressed after showering, around 9am. threw on my clothes, grabbed phone, handbag and, as I was leaving, my hearing aids and watch. I went down the stairs, increasingly carefully, as the stair lights were not on below my floor. When I got outside, Maureen, our pod rep, was there before me, in her dressing gown. The alarm had stopped as I reached to bottom of the stairs. A man from another pod joined us. At this point I realised my hearing aids were not in my hand. When nothing happened, we went back into the building. Maureen and the neighbour came up the stairs with me, looking for the hearing aids. I searched in my apartment and then retraced my steps once again up and down the stairs. Nothing. 

I phoned my audiologist and made an appointment to be fitted for new hearing aids before heading out to the supermarket.  As I was getting into the car, my hand brushed against my trouser pocket; there was something in it. Yes, in the stress of evacuating the building via stairs without light, I had dropped what was in my hand - watch and hearing aids - into a pocket so I could use both hands on the stair rail! I felt like an idiot, but was delighted to have found them, and to cancel the appointment for replacements!  

I’ve no idea what set off the alarms. I suspect a neighbour who did not evacuate set off a smoke alarm and managed to turned it off while I was descending the stairs. 

I ended up doing a big shop for Monday night, then spending the afternoon gardening, planting what I had bought the day before, removing spent flowers, dead plants and empty plastic pots, fertilising, watering, repotting and sweeping up. The plumbers tape made absolutely no difference to my hose fitting. It’s still a weak stream, and still leaks. It nevertheless works and is more efficient than watering cans. 

I considered going to the pub for dinner, but settled for a cheese and salami salad and a long talk to my brother before getting organised for Saturday’s certificate workshop. A tiring day. 

Saturday's workshop was a counted stitches sampler. The group was small and friendly, the task interesting and requiring thought. I worked a simple grid sampler, varying thread over 5 basic stitches, so far wool and Danish thread in a similar colour. I intend to add colour variation as I go. For the moment, however, this is parked.

Requirements for the two Guild classes I’ve booked into later in the year have arrived and I’m busy finding, cutting and preparing linens for them.

On Sunday I picked up Lorraine at midday and drove up to Mt Barker Summit for a Ploughman's Lunch and Ukaria concert, our first for the year - the Australian String Quartet with Andrea Lam. It was fabulous. We had front row seats with a good view of the pianist (thanks to Lorraine's walker and disabled booking options).  We were a bit taken aback by the number of mobility devices in the audience. We all seem to have aged substantially. 

Since all the fuss about a certain amateur photographer altering a photo, I decided to have a go with the photo I took of two doves early in the week. I didn’t like the background wall behind the dove on the right of the top photo, so I experimented (using only Apple photo tools) in removing her from the background and re-pasting her into a cropped copy of the photo. While I have removed backgrounds before, I had to learn how to insert the result into another photo (lower photo). The perspective doesn’t quite work. While one bird (presumably the male) is genuinely larger than the other, moving them even slightly closer creates too great a contrast. I haven’t worked out how to enlarge the pasted image. I’m pleased to have tried it - and I promise to always declare if I do it again! 

There were seven of us for dinner on Monday night - really good to catch up with everyone. It is a busy and potentially stressful time for both school and university students, but all seem to have it organised and more of less under control. I feel for them. I remember the stress. Does it need to be like this? While I'm sure I learned from it, I'm not sure it's a necessary part of learning. There's  surely a better way.  My educator’s itch needs scratching.

Last night was the Pascal Full Moon, the first full moon after the March equinox and the signal that next Sunday is Easter. I happened to see it rising over the hills. A privilege. 

Today I skipped Aquafit. I had a few jobs to do and didn't want to be rushed. I got organised for the cleaner, dropped a set of pearls off at a jeweller to be restrung and called at a bookshop for a  colouring book I had read about and thought might provide useful embroidery designs. I have quite a few of these, and no, I haven't made much use of them! 

The Kaffe Fassett cardigan is, however progressing. The weather is cooling and Easter has been a time for knitting since I was a teenager.

It's an interesting mind that can create this set of colours. I am now on row 42 of an 80 row pattern that then repeats approximately 3 times on the back and fronts. I'd like to make significant progress  over Easter in between the family rituals and some reading. I have a pile of hard-copy books I need to tackle while making notes, so I can develop both embroidery ideas and a couple of presentations.  There's also 2 samples to work for my Glazig workshop in April. I won't be bored.

May you be uplifted at Easter!

Post 527 Ups and Downs

The sunflowers, barely open when I foolishly bought them during the heat wave last week, required a lot of coaxing (continuous water topping and stem cutting) before the leaves decided not to droop and the flowers to open. In spite of the colour, when they did come out they didn't look their  best in that tall vase.

 

I did, however, manage to get them posed for the photo on Thursday before I reduced the stems further and relegated them to a smaller, less colour-coordinated vase that held them together and upright and where they are still blooming!

Wednesday's WES Group meeting was focused on textiles of Northern India, specifically Assam and Nagaland, visited by one of our members in 2019. As well as an account of her visit, some history of the area and plenty of photographic illustration, she had collected some fabulous examples of silk, cotton and linen works from the area. In spite of the 37C temperature, 14 attended, engaging enthusiastically in the discussion, asking questions and contributing their own knowledge. It's an energy-generating group. 

 

I needed to be home in the afternoon for my cleaner, who arrived about 2.30 - and found his own parking space, always touch and go in our busy street. I usually write up the WES meeting summary straight away but left it until the next morning, making myself (of course) late for Pilates. I celebrated by having lunch at the Queen St Cafe - an excellent crispy skin atlantic salmon with beetroot aioli, baby potatoes and watercress and radish salad.                                                                 

In between, I made the decision to take up the hem on the Arte Otomi dress I bought and wore to Brigid's 21st. I was reluctant to do it, because it meant removing some of the embroidery, but it was uncomfortably long, even when lifted by the belt. I also knew I could trip on it. 

I folded the hem under about 3" and stitched it by hand, without cutting. I had to undo the side seams a little because of the tapering shape.

I'm much happier with the result - deliberately tested with bare feet to be sure. Worn without a belt it's now a comfortable length - far more relaxing. Even a tiny heel will lift it further.  I’m sorry to lose some embroidery, but there's a lot left!  It's been too hot to wear it anyway.

A busy day on Saturday, when I spent the morning making moussaka, literally sweating over the stove, grabbed a shower, rushed off to pick up Niamh for JEMS, where I’d promised to stand in for an absent helper. I wasn’t really needed, but managed to sort some buttons, do the washing up and pick up the wrong phone on my way out. My bad, as my grandchildren would say.

I didn’t realise until Niamh and I had ordered our milkshakes and rhubarb friands at Queen St Cafe, 10 minutes drive from the Guild. The phone was the same model as mine with a similar cover. Both were in my pocket. Fortunately the owner, a tutor, was still at the Guild. She hadn’t missed it. She insisted she would come to us to pick it up, eschewing directions, saying she would Google the address on her iPad. We waited and waited. Everyone had now gone home from the Guild. We had no means of contact. 50 minutes later, just as we were about to drive away, she arrived. She had (1) mislaid her car keys somewhere at the Guild (2) found her car keys (3) realised once in her car that her iPad had no connectivity without her phone or wifi (4) gone to Queen St in a different suburb. I'm still not sure how she actually found us, but we were all very happy! 

Niamh was home in time to change and get to her football match. Anthony's roast lamb was excellent, likewise Katherine's salad. Katherine and I completed the Guardian Crossword with some remote help from Anthony at the ground watching the last half of Niamh's game. I was home just after 9, in the words of all good 1950s compositions, tired, but happy.

I had to leave home earlier than usual the next morning for my Book Club, because of the numerous road closures between me and Norwood, where we met. Not only has the Fringe closed one connecting road, but the Vailo Adelaide 500 car race was also on this weekend, closing another main city connector,  so I had to take a round-about route. I was quite glad to be leaving home - the noise from the cars was loud. As usual, we had a stimulating and useful discussion. This month we didn't have nominated books - just caught up on what each of us had been reading, which was a lot. Inspired by one of our member's, I came home and spent the afternoon escaping the 31C outside temperature,  reading,  in air-conditioned comfort, the second of Rhys Dylan's DCI Evan Warlow series.  

By the evening however, I was undoing several days of knitting. Left is what I had. Below right is what I should have had. Somehow I had missed a 10 row block of the chart. It’s tricky, working from a black and white chart with multiple colours. Also tricky undoing colour work over 10 rows.

It took more than an hour to pull it undone and rewind the wool.  I also changed down a needle size as it was looking too large. 

The redone missing rows (right) are about 6" in length, row 28 of an 80 row pattern, which is then repeated. I'm beginning to get the concept of the pattern imprinted in my brain, the key to relaxed knitting. Each row has 3 colours, a little trickier to keep untangled than my usual 2 per row of Fair Isle. 

As I was photographing the sunrise yesterday, a flock of birds took off noisily and I managed to get a few shots. I suspect they were Corellas, which feed as a flock in the South parklands, but they could have been lorikeets. Against the sky they just look black. The flight lasted for several minutes. 

A great start to the day.

Birds are increasingly evident - both in sight and sound. I startled 4 doves on my balcony yesterday and this one returned to explore. I think they presage the Autumn Equinox - tomorrow afternoon at 2pm. Interestingly, the temperature has dropped as if on cue,  from several weeks of 30C+, into the mid-twenties today, where it is forecast to remain for the next 10 days. Deo Gratias.

I pushed myself to get to Aquafit today, dashing home to shower and change before meeting Panayoula for coffee at White Picket, where I took the opportunity to have a substantial lunch - a “protein salad” of rocket, spinach, poached eggs, avocado, Haloumi, sun-dried tomato and smoked salmon - while we caught up and laughed a lot. 

Carrot salad for dinner tonight on the 'only one main meal per day' principle. Happy with that.

Post 526 Mad, Mad March.

On Wednesday I went on a gallery crawl with a friend visiting from Sydney for Writers' Week, a chance to reconnect, catch up on a few years, and share our  interest in beautiful things. We began at Art Images Gallery at Norwood where, along with their current Leunig exhibition,  I discovered a few Jane Burbidge plates. 

I bought a bowl from her Lotus collection and a plate from her Seafoam collection. The bowl matches the mugs I already have and makes a useful addition to my breakfast crockery, while the plate will serve a tart or pie. From there we headed up to Crafers and Atelier, for very early afternoon tea and more browsing. 

We were tempted by, but resisted, some lovely damask dresses, but I did succumb to some coral earrings and an Erica McNicoll pot plant holder.

Our last stop was the longest, at Aptos Cruz Gallery in Stirling. There is so much to look at there and I haven’t been for a while. There are always treasures. 

I bought a portable LED light which sits at three angles and recharges via usb. I have numerous lamps, but no power near my stitching chairs. This can be positioned beside me to focus on my hoop. It is also elegant. 

To my surprise and joy, they had a new supply of the champagne flutes I had bought as oddments several years ago. Only one remains of the 3 I bought. I now have 5.

They currently have a very large stock of Japanese crockery.

My final purchase was a single dinner plate.  I now have 3 to use when, as usual, I dine alone - and before I need to run the dishwasher. 

Sadly the deconsecrated church building, in which Aptos Cruz is housed, is up for sale. The owners are retiring. It has been a very special place from which I have had a lot of pleasure.

On our return we met up with another friend for dinner at A Prayer for the Wild at Heart - a truly fabulous day.

As the temperature climbed, Thursday was a chance to catch up on washing, Pilates and to read Jane Casey's The Burning pretty much in two long sittings. 

Friday required a visit to an Endodontist in the cbd. He was detailed and thorough in his assessment. I have a weakness in a crown. Replacement is risky. Options are do nothing or an(other) implant. I see my referring dentist next month, so will talk it over with her.  I have huge respect for this set of dentists and their evidence-based approach. So professional. I caught the city loop bus both ways, getting home as the temperature hit 37C and made myself a ham salad in my new plate.

On Saturday I managed to get to Frewville Foodland before 10am, well before the temperature hit its 40C maximum, and buy plenty of salad stuff, iceblocks and prawns to keep me going through a hot long weekend. It has been Adelaide Cup weekend - and a lot going on, Festival, Fringe, Womad, Writers' Week - with temperature each day over 39C. I caught up with Kilkenny news at dinner on Saturday night, then bunkered down with books and the cockatoo bag, venturing out only briefly for petrol on Sunday morning, while the prices were at the low end of the cycle.

I had the aircon on for 3 days, something I haven't done for a couple of years. It will cost me - but less than going away for the weekend.

The plants are coping, with daily watering. Some, like the Durante, have bloomed again. A few need replacing once the heat has retreated.

I met my neighbour while heading out for petrol. Theo is recovering well with help from a visiting physio.  I've stayed out of their way but Di says he'd like a visit, so I'll see what I can do when it's a little cooler.

I finished the cockatoo bag embroidery on Sunday night and on Monday found lining fabric and blocked the bag. I’ve really enjoyed this one, in spite of stuffing up the punch needle. Detail is in my embroidery blog. What I didn't mention there is that in the construction I made good use of the elegant pincushion Niamh made for my birthday this year.

I found some glass pins that match her French knots and it provided exactly what I needed to create the gussets.

While at the machine I affected another repair to my friend’s orange leisure pants. Voila!

Our current heat is producing lots of cloud. Today, after a cloudy sunrise, and slow start,  I ventured out to Aquafit. I nearly didn't go. Although it's a little cooler (37C rather than 39C!) I was temped to bunker down, but I'm glad I went. It was lovely in the water, the exercises mild and flowing.

In spite of the heat, I've been working on the Kaffe Fassett Aztec cardigan. Getting the many colours right is going to be a challenge once the labels are removed from the balls, so I've set up a colour card to help me. 

There's still warm weather to come, so I might alternate with Sashiko.