Keeping out of mischief

That's about all has happened this week, actually.

Books have been read.....most not memorable, but enjoyable at the time. 

Stitches have been taken on the flower basket quilt and a name is percolating around in my brain - 'Flower baskets'  - but in French, 'Paniers de fleurs', which sounds more posh and less boring than English, n'est ce pas?  Many years ago a suitable label was bought for that quilt, and last year backing was bought. 

The soft lime green will compliment the flower prints on the front as many of them have green somewhere in the design, and the label will have the details hand-embroidered.  The label is not *quite* square, and not *quite* printed on the straight grain, but I'll make it work.

The diamond templates I ordered have arrived but nothing has been cut yet, as my back decided to be annoying every time I stood up.  Never mind.....it will get done.

Some house blocks have been trimmed, once again the rebellious back made that difficult.  Trim two blocks, sit down for an hour......trim another block.....give up.  Make coffee.  Sit down and read.  Fortunately it is slowly improving.

The big news in this part of the world of late has been floods.  Fortunately we don't live in a flooded area but having undergone two floods in 2017 I can feel for those who have been washed out of their homes - and our water was clean, straight from the town system, not muddy water carrying along trees, dead animals, parts of buildings and sewage in its wake.  Lives have been lost, homes have been irreparably damaged; farmers have lost stock, crops and buildings.  Our hearts go out to them.  I remember bad floods when I was growing up and a family we knew was regularly flooded out of their timber cottage; I remember Mrs Wilson saying to my mother "you can sweep out the mud when it dries but you never get rid of the smell, because it has seeped into the wood".

One of the saddest stories though - to me, anyway - is the damage done to a beautiful piece of furniture, the Hannah Cabinet.  On a visit to the Bungendore Woodworks Gallery several years ago we saw the Hannah Cabinet on display.....and I don't think I have ever seen such an exquisite man-made object; we walked around and ogled it, and watched the video, and walked around some more.....admired the marquetry made from many different woods and stones featuring Aussie birds and flora.  Those of us who make Stuff can appreciate things made by other makers, the hours of work it takes, the skills needed (even if we don't use the same skills), and to have it damaged so badly must be heartbreaking to its maker.  I hope it is able to be saved.

We have been lucky enough to see other pieces of Geoff Hannah's work, one being the cabinet held at 'Yarralumla', the official residence of the Australian Governor General.  Once a year (this was pre-covid, of course) the ground floor public rooms are opened to the public for charity, and we saw the Yarralumla Cabinet there.  I coveted it mightily then, and I still do today......and I love the "secret drawers", so watch it to the end.

We enjoyed a concert from a visiting choir last night, our first outing for a long time.  We even enjoyed a choc top ice cream at interval - our first for two years, how good is that!

More 'Duties of Guests':

"Another duty of guests is that each one should do all in his or her power to contribute to the enjoyment of the evening, and neither hesitate nor decline to be introduced to such guests as the hostess requests."

Sage advice.  The hostess, after all, is trying to keep her guests mingling, and a shy wallflower contributes very little to the occasion.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer