A day late, but not a dollar short

Which is good.  We don't want to be short of a dollar or two, do we.

The music festival has been and gone, and from all accounts was a success.  We went to a couple of concerts - one was yesterday afternoon, which is why there was no blog post - and had a performer staying with us, a lovely bloke whose songs we really enjoyed and with whom we share mutual friends; but we didn't (as we have done in previous years) hang around town to listen to buskers and to check out market stalls.  There were a lot of visitors from all over bringing who knows what germs with them, and while we aren't living our lives in fear of catching the plague bug we are going away next week and didn't want to get sick before we go.

Consequently not much was achieved.  Songs were plinked and practised for the concert next weekend, stitches were knitted.  Some stitches were sewn on the flower basket quilt.....not long to go now, yay!....and some diamonds were cut.  As a result no pics were taken, so we'll dig into the vault today.

These were all taken at the Japanese Garden in Cowra on an autumn afternoon, some years ago.

Cowra is a pleasant town with a sad war history, which you read about in the link.

It's a very peaceful garden......

......a fitting memorial.

It seems appropriate to show these pics today as it's ANZAC Day.  This is a re-post of my words from several years ago:

'Today Australia and New Zealand are celebrating, if that is the right word, ANZAC Day.  It's the day when we remember the sacrifices of those who fought in wars for our country.  My father was stationed in New Guinea in WWII (as we found out a few years ago, he was in the War Graves unit) and never, never, ever spoke of his experiences - he was only 25YO when the war ended and it affected him profoundly.  Consequently it affected all of us; my mother, my brothers, and me.  He was not a happy man, he was a distant, sometimes abusive, father who walked out one day and never contacted any of us ever again; we found out he had died many years after it happened.  War doesn't only take people's lives....it takes away their souls too.'

He never marched on ANZAC Day.  It was not a good day in our house because he would go out and get drunk, my mother would get annoyed and bad-tempered, and we children would just do our best to keep out of the way. 

We do have a happier celebration though because, 48 years ago today, I moved in with Kevin - a minor scandal at the time, but inconsequential all these years later when so many couples live together without benefit of a ceremony.  Nearly half a century - my goodness!

Last week the courage was plucked up and a visit to the hairdresser took place.  I do not like sitting in the chair staring at myself for however long it takes.  I just do not.  However as it had been six months since the last trim and I want to look a bit spiffy for the concert next Saturday evening, it was time to have a few inches lopped off.  On the way home I called into the French café for a coffee (and a small treat) (because their treats are really nice) and asked if the hot cross buns were, indeed, flavoured by cardamom.  They were.  

"Duties of an escort.

A lady's escort should call for her and accompany her to the place of entertainment; go with her as far as the dressing-room, return to meet her there when she is prepared to go to the ball-room; enter the latter room with her and lead her to the hostess; dance the first dance with her; conduct her to the supper-room, and be ready to accompany her home whenever she wishes to go.  He should watch during the evening to see that she is supplied with dancing partners.  When he escorts her home she should not invite him to enter the house, and even if she does so, he should by all means decline the invitation.  He should call upon her within the next two days."

He sounds like the ideal escort, doesn't he?  Almost too good to be true.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

A girl's best friend

According to the song it's supposed to be diamonds, but what if you're a girl who prefers coloured stones?  Emeralds, peridot....my newest unaffordable love is demantoid garnets which are the most scrumptious (and expensive!) green ever....sapphires, topaz, garnets.  Rubies if they aren't too pink.

I don't even have an engagement ring, we didn't get engaged.....we just got married.....it was the 1970s, after all, when people were being different just to be different and it was my second marriage anyway, so the whole 'get engaged with a diamond ring' thing seemed a bit meaningless.  Many years later Kevin gave me a lovely emerald and diamond ring, an un-engagement ring.

Having always been one of the aforesaid girls who prefers coloured stones, though, I have to admit to being swayed by some of the trinkets we saw at the Cartier exhibition in Canberra a few years ago.  Some of those tiaras, a solid wall of diamonds perched atop one's forehead, came close to changing my mind.  

But - I still love coloured stones best.

Progress on the diamonds so far.

All the diamonds on the right are grouped in threes, light, medium and dark; the top left (there are more than you would think) are single light diamonds, and just a few medium on the left.  It's only two weeks and two days until we go away so I had better get cracking with cutting more, yes?  

I am pleased to announce that, finally, the batting is inserted between front and back borders of my Canadian quilt, and when we return home it will be quilted.  There won't be time beforehand.

It took so long to do because it's a method I haven't used before, and when one isn't a very confident person one hesitates to do new things in case one just messes up.  That probably comes from having perfectionist parents for whom one's best was frequently not good enough; a less-than-perfect school exam result - that is, anything not in the top three in the class - was looked on as abject failure and frequently resulted in a severe beating.  I'm not asking for sympathy, just telling how it was....but it has resulted in a lack of self-esteem and confidence, even all these years later.  Some things just never leave you, you know.

The new jumper is coming along well, decreasing for the armholes on the back is progressing.  Having two stitches less in every two rows means that the further along it is the quicker it progresses, if you can follow that.

This year I did something I've never done before, I ordered myself six hot cross buns from the French baker/patisserie on the other side of the river (because Kevin doesn't eat fruit buns, and because we've always been away at Easter), collected them yesterday morning and to date have conducted two taste tests....they are far and away the nicest hot cross buns ever with a hint of - something, could be cardamom perhaps?  Might need to taste test the remaining four to make a proper decision....

Visitors are arriving in town for the postponed country music festival which officially starts tomorrow, but which seems to be already under way.  Lots of new faces in town; it's easy to play 'pick the tourist'!  We have earmarked a couple of concerts to attend; these days 'country music' seems to have evolved into country rock with screaming guitars and loud drums and basses which is not our taste at all, but we can manage to avoid that.

More suggestions for gentlemen:

"When gentlemen, invited to a house on the occasion of an entertainment, are not acquainted with all the members of the family, their first duty, after speaking to the host and hostess, is to ask some common friend to introduce them to those members whom they do not know.  The host and hostess are often too much occupied in receiving to be able to do this."

Indeed.  Making the acquaintance of the family members of one's host and/or hostess is a polite thing to do.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

The wildlife around here is.....wild

A couple of days ago we harnessed up the trusty steed VW and drove downtown for the weekly drug run, because when you are Olde Phartes who haven't been anywhere much for the past two years (apart from one trip away, a year ago) the drug run can be a social highlight.  When we returned we drove up and stopped in front of the garage whereupon Kevin hopped out of the trusty steed, garage key in hand, to open the door.  (We are old school Olde Phartes.  We don't have one of those fancy-nancy electronic garage door opener thingies.)  As he walked around the front of the car he motioned me to come and look at something between the front of the car and the garage door.....and it was this big feller!

A big bluey, or blue tongue lizard - a very large skink.  Their tongue is indeed bright blue, and is used to scare predators.  This plump feller - we didn't ask if it was a boy or a girl - had flattened itself out to soak up warmth from the concrete in front of the west-facing garage door.  It would have been more than 30cm long, or over 12 inches in old money.  Needless to say, we didn't put the car away until it had moved back into the garden.

It is said that if you have a friendly bluey hanging around you won't have snakes, although that isn't quite so.  The story probably arose because blueys will eat snake eggs so there might seem to be fewer snakes around, but if it came to a fight between an adult brown snake and an adult blue tongue lizard the snake would probably win.  Despite this one's fearsome appearance they are good to have in the garden, as they eat snails and slugs.

Kangaroos have been coming around in the mornings, as grass with the dew still on seems to make for a tasty snack.

Progress has been made in the sewing room:  some diamonds have been cut, stitches have been taken in the flower basket quilt.  Stitches of another kind have also been knitted.  The Canadian quilt has been pulled out once more to work on the border; the batting is being inserted between front and back then it will be quilted to hold it in place.

If the world was in a different place we wouldn't be here this week, we would be in Canberra for the big folk festival.  It hasn't been held for the past two years due to the plague but is on this year......and we won't be there, first time (for me, anyway) since 1996.  By today we would have arrived, have our campsite set up and even been working the first of several volunteer shifts, something I first started doing in 2002.  Since the last festival three years ago there have been many changes, some due to the ongoing plague and others due to changes in organising personnel and procedures, but that's the way of the world now.  We understand that changes happen, even if we don't always like the changes.

Oh well.  We will see what next year brings, won't we....so much of our lives these days seem to be "wait and see'.

Our weather is definitely autumnal now.  Nights are cooler (although still not cold) and, athough the days warm up by mid afternoon, they start to cool down quicker than they did even a few weeks ago.  Perhaps if we are very lucky one day soon we might be able to take ourselves on a Nice Sunday Drive to admire some autumn leaves, because you all know how much I love those colours.

More "Suggestions for gentlemen:

A really well-bred man will remember to ask the daughters of a house to dance, as it is his imperative duty to do so; and if the ball has been given for a lady who dances, he should include her in his attentions.  If he wishes to be considered a thorough-bred gentleman, he will sacrifice himself occasionally to those who are unsought and neglected in the dance.  The consciousness of having performed a kind and courteous action will be his reward."

Back in my dancing days - not very many years ago - on entering the ballroom we were each issued with a dance card, and part of the fun was booking partners.  Sadly Kevin would not and did not dance, but I still enjoyed the exercise and the dressing-up.  Somehow, though, I don't think the twice-fractured right foot would go for an energetic polka, or even a more genteel waltz, any more.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Waiting for the heavens to open

Judging by the weather radar, that might happen fairly soon....

Daylight saving ended sometime this morning at stupid dark o'clock, a time when no one in their right mind is out and about.  We reset a few clocks before heading off to bed (although Kevin forgot to set our bedside clock, resulting in a little confusion on getting up) and found out that things like phones and computers had reset themselves as if by magic.  The stove clock, however, doesn't have magic and takes a bit of working out....and the less said about the car clock, the better.

Nothing photo-worthy has happened this week.  Strips have been cut for sashings for the house quilt - about two-thirds are done.  Stitches have been taken on the flower basket quilt, joining of the final two sections are progressing along nicely.  A few stitches were knitted.  No diamonds were cut out.  

Every time we go anywhere we notice more and more signs of autumn, and it seems early this year because of our relatively mild summer.  (Not that I am complaining, summer's heat and I not being good friends)  So how about some autumn glory?

These were taken on our last trip to Canada late in 2018, but the beauty of the colours never fades.  The pic above, taken in Midland, Ontario, is a tree we saw each time we drove into a car park behind main street shops.

Bayfield, Ontario, is a small town with beautiful trees.

Heading across country to British Columbia, we visited MacMillan Provincial Park with friends.  This was moss on a fallen tree.

Sad to think that it was probably our last trip.  By the time travel becomes relatively easy again we will be too old (and probably too poor!) to head off on such a journey; those long plane flights are no fun at all.  But - those trips have given us friends and memories that will always be with us.

Thanks to the covid plague, U3A has once again been cancelled.  Oh well; we had two ukulele get-togethers before the plug was pulled.  The Monday group is practising for our moment of fame and glory in a concert at the end of the month, although public holidays and school holidays (which mean grandparent duty for some) mean that we won't see other much in April at all.

During the week while out and about I even bought some new clothes, how about that?  Now that we can go out and about again those new jeans (sadly needed, I fear) and a new top will be Just The Thing.  

I smell rain.....won't be long now.....

More Suggestions for Gentlemen:

"If a lady asks any favor of a gentleman, such as to send a servant to her with a glass of water, to take her into the ball-room when she is without an escort, to inquire whether her carriage is in waiting, or any of the numerous services which ladies often require, no gentleman will, under any circumstances, refuse her request."

How many of us, I wonder, have ever had a glass of water delivered by a servant? or had someone check if our carriage is waiting?  Sadly, probably not many of us.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer