Up and running again

Recently I had to drop out of the human race for several days, but all is well now.  Like a good person I did as we are being told and had my booster for the covid plague, but while Kevin sailed through his with no after-effects I had a nasty reaction which totally wiped me out.  I'll spare you the gruesome details, suffice to say it's a long time since I have felt so unwell....but normal programming has now been resumed.

A couple of trial blocks have been made.

I really like the little one, it's so cute, but the larger one is easier to mark and cut......so, the larger one it is.  Seam allowances were pressed under so the finished size could be seen and measured; pieces for several of these blocks have been cut and more will be done in the odd moment or two, but not a stitch will be taken - not one! - until we go away in a couple of months.  It's not as though I lack for other things to do here at home, after all.

Fabric has been purchased for the back of the house quilt.

Last year I bought a wide backing from a store which specialises in wide fabrics so when the "annual sale" email came through early last month I thought to myself......"hhmm" I thought.....and checked out the fabrics.  This design came in different backgrounds, green, orange, blue, red, purple, but the yellow is bright and cheerful (although the pic is a little dark) so yellow it is.  The green was very tempting though.....

Last Sunday we went out to lunch a day early, to celebrate Kevin's birthday.  We hopped into our red rental car (ours is due home from car hospital on Tuesday), drove half an hour north to a village up in the hills, and had a very nice lunch at a local pub.  They have a pretty garden with flowers and trees....and the trees are changing!  We are also noticing down here in the valley that some trees are losing their summer brightness and beginning to look faded and tired, a sign that summer is on the way out.  A sports ground that we drive past on our way into town has a deciduous vine covering its fence -  and it, too, is changing.  We have had some hot days this summer, but on the whole it hasn't been as unpleasant as it sometimes is.

The dreaded mask has had to be worn of late for things such as the annual eye exam.  My eyes aren't as good as they were a year ago - threading a fine needle is more difficult, for example - so a new prescription is needed for my glasses.  Probably a good idea to have a task light too, they said.  Probably a good idea, said I....so now I am on the hunt for a light to sit beside my chair.  Hopped online, found one I like...gulped at the price...still gulping, but will talk to the helpful folk at a lighting shop.  The alternative is the Big Green and Red Shop which has a large stock including the light I like, but not always helpful advice.  That will be this week's conundrum, hopefully to be soon solved.

Also looming, when I get around to making an appointment, is the necessary medical check for people who reach A Certain Age (which I will in May).  This now becomes an annual thing, much as I dislike the thought.  The aim is to get this out of the way before we head down south, assuming the world is open enough that we can go, so I don't have to worry about dates expiring and stuff like that.

More 'Duties of Guests'.

"It is the duty of every lady who attends a ball, to make her toilet as fresh as possible.  It need not be expensive, but it should at least be clean; it may be simple, but it should be neither soiled nor tumbled.  The gentlemen should wear evening dress."

'Freshness' is easier for us now than it would have been in those far-off days, I think.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer