Back in a few weeks

Next Friday - Friday 13th, but we're not superstitious - we will heading off on our travels down south.  There probably won't be opportunities to update the blog during that time, but we'll be back a few weeks later.  There will, I'm sure, be photo opportunities during our travels.

Consequently not much has happened this week.  More diamonds have been cut, some stitches knitted.  Songs were played and sung.  Appointments were kept.  Food was purchased.

Not having to pack a caravan has its advantages, and its disadvantages.  No more "there's plenty of room so this, that and the other can go in" thinking.....no; on the other hand we are more conscious of only taking what will be needed with no unnecessary extras.  And, of course, a ukulele.  

My brain has been itching, however, to get on with cutting green border fabrics for my house quilt, and to get those tree blocks laid out for Arboretum, and perhaps even to cut into the fabrics for that yellow quilt I have been wanting to make for nigh on 30 years......never mind; we will arrive home the day before Easter, so there will be opportunities for all that cutting and stitching.

But - we need a picture, so let's see what we can find.

Several years ago we spent Easter at the folk festival, then we stayed in Canberra for a few more weeks as our son and (now ex) DIL were away on their delayed honeymoon.  One Saturday morning I was reading the local paper and found that a local (local-ish) garden was open for inspection, so off we went.  It was a 40-45 minute drive east in some rather gorgeous country, and well worth it.

We paid our charity dollars at the gate, and in we went.  I don't even remember what the house looked like - it was not open - but the gardens were beautiful.  I'm not sure what this small tree was, possibly some sort of oak, but the leaves were very bright.

An area just outside the house had been set up as a small café where we enjoyed a coffee and admired the flowers on our table, large dahlias wearing their autumn dresses.

Lots of fallen leaves.......

......and a pond......

.....with a rose trellis......

'Nahema' has a wonderful scent.  If you look it up you can see that's it's a climbing rose which is quite spectacular when covered with blooms.

Here is a timely read for you.  Today is International Women's Day, and this article shows that much is still to be done to make a world in which women feel comfortable.  A woman is not just a shorter bloke with longer hair, there is much more to us than that; I'm not tall, about five foot two as the songs says (although I don't have eyes of blue) and I find many chairs are too high for me to rest my feet on the ground.....and I'm by no means the shortest woman I know.  Many years ago I read that anyone under five foot three inches tall finds most chairs too high.  That's certainly true.  The particularly galling part is that many medications given to women are not tested on them - too hard, say the medical scientist blokes, women have menstrual cycles and pregnancies and menopauses which make them unavailable when we need them to be tested, so we won't bother about them.  Perhaps in the future things might change....we certainly hope so, even if we're no longer around to benefit.

Sigh.....

"Lovers' disputes.

Neither party should try to make the other jealous for the purpose of testing his or her affection.  Such a course is contemptible; and if the affections of the other are permanently lost by it, the offending party is only gaining his or her just desserts.  Neither should there be provocation to little quarrels for the foolish delight of reconciliation.  No lover will assume a domineering attitude over his future wife.  If he does so, she will do well to escape from his thrall before she becomes his wife in reality.  A domineering lover will be certain to be more domineering as a husband."

Of this, I have no doubt.

We will return in a few weeks, but until then - 

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

May the fourth, and all that Stuff

Although I'm not a Star Wars fan....my brain doesn't do science fiction, I have never seen any of the movies and don't really care for the music either, but they are popular.  So, May the fourth be with you, and all that.

Moving right along.

This print has different background colours including pink and green but many of the flowers on the green background have solid petals, making them dark blobs.  That might be good on a larger block but not one this size, so just the orange background was used.  

This blue fabric was the back of Summertime Blues - as soon my eyes hit on it at the quilt shop, I knew it was perfect.  The orange fabric has been used on another tree, a dark green one, but it looks different here because of the background.  I'm not going to be precious about only using fabrics once....if they look good they will be used, and this looks good.

This week's bright trees.

During our visit to Canberra in March we managed to find a parking spot at the National Arboretum, a rare thing indeed as it's a very popular place to visit, so we had lunch at their cafe with the wonderful views.  We were too early for the autumn colour, although some plantings were starting to change.  We don't visit the Arboretum every time we are in Canberra, but we go often enough that we can enjoy its progress over time.

How have you all been?  We survived an election yesterday; some people may be disappointed by the result but, as it was well and truly a majority win, many people are obviously pleased.  Our MP has been returned....he wasn't part of the winning team....perhaps one day he won't be our MP any more, either.  We can only live in hope.

Words have been read, and music has been sorted.  Stitches have been sewn.  There is mending in the sewing room waiting to be done, a bed sheet which has a small hole to be fixed before it gets washed, otherwise that small hole may become a much larger hole during its time in the washing machine.  Songs were sung at choir.  We hunted and gathered to avert starvation, and that was the week.

Best of all, it's definitely autumn!  For the past few nights we have had a fire to keep us warm, and to stop the house from cooling down too much overnight.  Earlier in the week the slow cooker came out for the first time in quite a while, to be used for maple mustard chicken; it's a bit like honey mustard but with maple syrup instead of honey - it's quite yummy.  Shorts have been put away and longer sleeves brought out.  I don't mind cooler weather but do feel the cold, so need to warmly dressed for it; the maximum daytime temperature is deceiving, as the wind chill takes it down several degrees.  Lovely in the sun, but as soon as you turn a corner into that south-easterly breeze it's a different story.

We have an anniversary coming up this week - on Wednesday 7th May it will be 15 years since we shook the dust of the city off our heels and moved here, to the Small Smoke.  It's been a good decision; nowhere in the world is perfect, but it comes pretty darn close for us.  15 years is a whole decade and a half....it doesn't seem that long!

"Assisting a lady to alight from her horse.

After the ride, the gentleman must assist his companion to alight.  She must first free her knee from the pommel, and be certain that her habit is entirely disengaged.  He must then take her left hand in his right, and offer his left hand as a step for her foot.  He then lowers his hand slowly and allows her to reach the ground gently without springing.  A lady should not attempt to spring from the saddle."

That sounds complicated, doesn't it?  I wouldn't blame a lady for springing, you know.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

It's good to go away.....

.....but it's even better to be home.

Well, that was a fun couple of weeks!  Spending time with family and friends - hello, Janice and Mick - going places we hadn't been before, and a little (just a little) shopping.

Every year when we visit Canberra I tell myself I will take lots of pics, and it seldom happens.  It didn't happen this year either; we have been making these annual autumn visits since 1996, and it's so familiar now that I forget to whip out the camera.  However, occasionally something will catch my eye, and I think to myself "now, that's nice"!

This was taken outside a café.  The cloudy diffused light through the leaves shows some autumn colouring just starting to peep through.

One place which has been on my list for a few years is the Canadian pub, on the south side of the lake.  We met our son there one day for lunch, and jolly good it was too.  There are quite a few artworks with a caribou theme throughout, but I specially liked this one stitched in gold (it doesn't show in the pic, but it was gold) on a dark fabric background.  The finger marks in the corner are not ours.

A yarn bombed tree.  The other side was even more colourful, but because of plants and the sloping ground I couldn't get to it so easily.....still, this is very bright!  

Canberra weather can be quite chilly, so the tree is probably glad of its warm blanket.

The view looking down from my chair at a favourite café, one morning.  As soon as I had taken this pic a little puff of wind blew those leaves in all directions, and - pouf - they were scattered.

Our anniversary lunch the day before we left was special.  We tried a new-ish restaurant and oh, it was good.  Might be somewhere to keep in mind for my birthday next month.....I could certainly eat there again......

Fabrics for the next two leaves were chosen before we went away, so they were made yesterday.  This one puts me in mind of the old rhyme "Lavender's blue, dilly dilly"; the background fabric was used for my Summertime Blues quilt, and the lighter fabric was left from my Canadian quilt.

I quite like this tree.  My first thought in choosing these two fabrics was that they would clash - that's all right; I'm not a great fan of matchy-matchy, I like contrast - but it looks good!

Two contrasting trees to welcome us home.

We had a medical moment while in Canberra, but this time it was Kevin's turn.  While I was browsing at a used book and CD shop he realised that he had left his phone in the car, so trotted off to get it.  On returning he tripped going up a step - there was only one step - and banged his head on a convenient metal pipe.  A helpful woman brought him over to me, so after I paid for my purchases (wasn't going to let those chosen CDs get away!) I drove him to an urgent care centre.  Nurse Lucy cleaned and dressed the wound on his head and sent us off to the hospital for a scan, as head wounds in older folk need to be checked.  Fortunately the scan showed no damage, so we went back to our cabin for a quiet night.  The next day was Saturday; we had arranged to meet our son and The One And Only Grandkid but the weather changed, it was cold and raining, Kevin was still recovering, so we stayed in for a quiet day.  I had hoped to get to the farmers' market that day but with the rain and associated mud and slush decided against it.....the first time for many years that we have missed going.  Never mind, there's always next time.

Words were read while we were away, and since coming home.  Stitches were knitted, and also sewn - the box with finished three-diamond hexagons now contains exactly 300! - and even crossword puzzles attempted.  Some plinking took place in Canberra as my tenor uke came with me, but sadly there were no other uke players to jam with this time. 

The rain which our town missed out on before going away certainly fell while we weren't here!  We had quite a bit in Canberra, but much more fell in our town.  When we left things were dry and brown, just a little tinge of green.....now all is lush bright green, and it looks really good.  Daylight saving finished last night so today was an earlier start than I would like, my body clock needs to reset itself, but it will.

And the end of an era has come.....as of ten minutes ago our caravan has gone, sold to an interstate buyer.  It is now on its way to its new home in The Land Of The Queen, or Queensland as some folk might call it.  I'm sure its new owner will enjoy it as much as we have - even if they don't have it for 27 years as we did.

"The gentleman's duty as an escort.

When a gentleman contemplates riding with a lady, his first duty is to see that her horse is a proper one for her use, and one that she can readily manage.  He must see that her saddle and bridle are perfectly secure, and trust nothing of this kind to the stable men, without personal examination.  He must be punctual at the appointed hour, and not keep the lady waiting for him clad in her riding costume.  He should see the lady comfortably seated in her saddle before he mounts himself; take his position on the lady's right in riding, open all gates and pay all tolls on the road."

Probably very good advice.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Finally - some progress

It's been ages since my Canadian quilt was worked on.....since before we want down south early last month, certainly.  However, in recent times it has been prominent on the sewing table.

The original Cunning Plan was worked out after watching various quilt-as-you-go tutorials, and this bit - inserting the border batting between the front and back of the quilt - looked to be easy peasy.  One video suggested using batting joining tape which I didn't have, but I had been assured that iron-on interfacing would do as well.  Well, it didn't......I suspect the problem was the temperature of the iron; the interfacing needed a hotter temperature to make it bond than I used.  The quilt fabrics being cotton batiks could take a hot temperature but the batting is a wool/poly blend, so a hot temperature could cause the poly in the blend to melt.

So, a new Cunning Plan was needed.

I have been tacking the border batting to the quilt centre panel batting using herringbone stitch, as you can see; it only needs to stay tacked until the border quilting is done, to hold it in place.  Three and a half sides have been tacked.  It is tedious work but will soon be finished, then the border can be pinned and quilted.  That's the folded-back quilt border that you can see.

A quiet corner of the lake at the caravan park where we stayed last month, just north of Canberra.  We would certainly stay there again.....just not between April and, say, September/October.

It has been cold, and the fire is welcome.  Today is quite pleasant out in the sun, but once around a shady corner it's a different story.  Our gig this morning went well but oh my.....what a freezy frosty start to the day it was.  Fortunately we were inside.

Yesterday afternoon's Eisteddfod performance went well; I was pleased with how I played and sang.  Although I wasn't judged the winner several people came up to me afterwards to say how much they enjoyed my funny song, and our choir director Bill, who was judging, has already booked me to sing it at the next choir concert later in the year.  Woohoo, fame!  I don't mind at all not winning; it's the feedback and comments from the audience members - mostly fellow musicians - that I value more, and can learn from.

We thought we were in for a rather expensive week as the kitchen light packed it in....did you know that many LED light fittings can't just have the lights inside changed?  the whole thing has to be replaced by an electrician....so now we have a plainer but very bright - my heavens it's bright! - new light.  That same day the dishwasher seemed to be having a few conniptions so the electrician also looked at it for us but couldn't find anything wrong.  It's fine, he said.  We have taken his word for it, but I'm not quite convinced.

Last month while we weren't here a milestone was passed, it was twelve years since we shook the dust of the Big Smoke from our heels and moved into this house.  My goodness....how time does fly!  It's been a good move for the most part; being in a smaller town compared to very big city does have a few drawbacks, but the sense of community and lack of traffic congestion more than make up for that.

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"Common civility requires that those who have not been present, but who were among the guests invited, should, when meeting the hostess the first time after an entertainment, make it a point to express some acknowledgement of their appreciation of the invitation, by regretting their inability to be present."

Indeed.  No need to make a big song and dance about it, just "thank you for the invitation, I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend" will suffice.

Enjoy your days!

The tumbling story so far

A little while ago the pieces waiting to be pressed were duly done, then the completed pieces laid out for their first progress pic.

I like it....it is coming along just as I hoped.  The lightest side will be on top, the darkest side on the right, and something in between on the left.  Apart from that I'm not getting too precious about value, it will work itself out as it goes along, and nothing will be fussy cut because I like random.

These are fabrics left from my tumbler quilt, either repros - some bought many years ago - or fabrics which hold hands nicely with repros.  Several of the light fabrics are left from cutting backgrounds for my autumn leaf quilt, still in pieces in a box, although quite a lot of joining has been done.  One day it will be finished.  One day.

Back when we lived in the Big Smoke I was a member of the state quilt guild and used to enjoy attending their meetings, especially the annual 'market day' where for $5 members could book a table and sell whatever they wished.  Some gems were bought at those days - the yellow and black sashing fabric for my house quilt was one - and a bag of mixed green reproduction fabrics was another.  They were useful in my tumbler quilt, and they will be useful in this one too.

This is a quiet corner of the caravan park where we stayed just north of Canberra.  Once again, don't be fooled by the blue sky - it wasn't *quite* warm, and the leaves had nearly all blown off the trees..

One of those cheeky cockatoos at the coffee shop, in the rain.  The owner told us he has had to replace the umbrella because of bird damage.....those cockies have sharp beaks!

The Turon River at Sofala.  As in last week's pic, you can see where debris carried by higher river levels has been left behind.

Isn't this fun?  Taken in the back yard of a cafe in Sofala....a large flower made from rusty shovels, and Ned Kelly wearing his legendary armour.  

Something to look at while we enjoyed excellent coffee and very nice treats.  We were there too late for the autumn colour on their young trees, just peeking on the left.

It's been a busy week with ukulele group, choir, U3A, the usual hunting and gathering, and on Friday afternoon we rolled up our sleeves and had our flu shots.  I do not like pointy medical things.  It was a cold day too, but for ease of being spiked we wore short sleeves with a jacket over the top.  We were quite glad to be home again and in warmer clothes, it's a bit too cool for bare skin right now and the fire is welcome.

The ukulele group has two - two! - gigs coming up: market day at a small church hall just out of town (one of our regular gigs before covid pulled the plug on nearly everything in the world) and a charity musical afternoon, something else we used to do annually.  Also in a few weeks it will be The Day For Me To Make The Annual Fool of Myself at the Eisteddfod; I never expect to be chosen the winner and so far haven't been disappointed in that, but I enjoy sharing my songs with an audience.....particularly as I know songs which few, if any, other people in this town would know, and which the audience always enjoy.  One woman stopped me once while we were out shopping to congratulate me on my choice of songs; "You always have the best songs, Jennifer!" she said, which coming from a fellow musician is valued praise.

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"Public balls are most enjoyable when you have your own party.  The great charm of a ball is its perfect accord and harmony.  All altercations, loud talking, and noisy laughter are doubly ill-mannered in a ballroom.  Very little suffices to disturb the whole party."

A polite well bred person does not draw attention to themselves, or indeed to their group of friends, by being too loud.  Some folk today could also take note of that.

Enjoy your days!

Happiness is.......

.......different things to different people.......that's what happiness is!

You'll be singing it all day now, won't you?

Earlier this week I was a very happy little duckie when I found out that I did, indeed, own the 6 mm circular knitting needle required to knit up some of the luscious yarn brought back from Canada last year.

 'Funky Chunky' is by Gateway Fibreworks in Muskoka and is the softest cuddliest yarn I have felt for a long time.  The label includes instructions to make a cowl which is what it will become, as winters here in the Small Smoke require a warm scarf or cowl from time to time.  On a cold windy rainy day last November we attended the Royal Winter Fair which had a section for products from northern Ontario, so that's where it was bought.  Gail and I had a nice chat - fellow knitters always do! - as I was wearing my hand-knitted jumper; it was certainly needed that day.

Having bought one skein and been gifted another (a ball of yak yarn from our lovely DIL) I was yarn happy, but then my friend on Vancouver Island took me to a yarn store in Courtenay and I saw this.

Orange - gold - black - blue - very dramatic.  It is sock yarn but will be used for a scarf, because how could anyone want to hide that lusciousness inside shoes where no one can admire it?  It's by Biscotte Yarns in Quebec, a mix of wool with a little nylon, and the colour is "À la belle étoile".

Not so long ago the frame on my gorgeous green reading glasses started to break; it was made of two layers of metal, and they started separating.  Can be fixed said the optometrist, need to order a new part......probably not worth it, said I, they are already a couple of years old and I will be due for another test in a few months anyway......so the eyes were tested (doing fine, no better, no worse) and new frames were eventually found.  They are a bright turquoise, quite cheerful, comfortable to wear......but not green.  Very little choice in green frames and what there was I didn't like, or they looked silly on me because they were thick plastic.  So turquoise it is.  They are pretty, but they are not green.

Sigh.......

In a few days we will be heading south to Canberra, over 700 kms each way......that's a lot of knitting time, which is why the yarn has come out to be fondled.  The hand-piecing will go along; our little caravan doesn't have TV, so my entertainment is reading, sewing, crosswords and music, because a uke or two will go as well.

Apart from spending time with the family and time at the folk festival there will be time for a little retail indulgence (Canberra is a Medium Smoke so has lots more choice than here) and an exhibition or two, one of which will be at the National Film and Sound Archive where costumes from 'The Dressmaker' will be on display.  Loved the movie - adored the frocks!  The characters were defined by their costumes, and parts of the plot had an 'Emperor's New Clothes' feel to it.  It was hard to sit still, however, when Kate Winslett's character Tilly heaved that lovely old Singer machine off the verandah; I felt like jumping through the screen to catch it in my arms.

So adieu for now, we'll be back early next month.

"Dressing well requires good taste, good sense, and refinement.  A woman of good sense will neither make dress her first or her last object in life.  No sensible wife will betray that total indifference for her husband which is implied in the neglect of her appearance, and she will remember that to dress consistently and tastefully is one of the duties which she owes to society."

You could say that.

Enjoy your days!

It's now the middle of April!

We're back, as you can see!  We had a good holiday; the Canberra family is well and happy, Young Euan is growing like you wouldn't believe and leading his parents a merry dance while his grandparents sit back and chuckle remembering the days when his parents did similar things,  the folk festival was fun (although it would have been much more funner had I not succumbed to a bad dose of hay fever), no new instruments came home with me although I had a play of a beautiful small-body guitar which I still covet enormously, and the chocolate shops in Canberra still have some stock left.

The weather was surprisingly hot, dry and sunny.....a bit too hot and sunny for comfort most days.....Easter in Canberra is supposed to be autumn colours, mild days and cool nights.  Not so, this year.  Don't be fooled by the greens in the picture below, everywhere else was very dry.

 More like these two pics show.

 We discovered the new-to-us lookout at Red Hill last year and were most impressed!  This year we had lunch at the cafe overlooking Canberra, and a very nice lunch it was too.

Some brave locals were traipsing up and down the somewhat steep hill for their daily constitutional.  Hardy folk, those Canberrans.

We also went to the jewellery exhibition.....well, what can I say......those trinkets were mostly very gorgeous although there were some I didn't care for, the tutti frutti pieces among them.  There is just too much going on in those pieces.  I have never cared much for diamonds but after seeing some - not all, mind you! - of the diamond pieces on display I can see the attraction of a wall of shimmer on one's bosom or head; every time one moved one would sparkle and dazzle.  My favourite - even though it's not green! - is this pretty little tiara; compared to some of the jewellery on display it was fairly modest, but was quite sweet and I loved it.  Just the same, the green baubles were all rather lovely and I could have brought any of them home with me.

But I didn't.  Law abiding Jennifer, that's me.

Now we are back home and settling in the next Big Trip will be to Canada in early October......and the months won't take long to fly by, if the last few are an indication.  However, the Canadian government has now decided that Aussies travelling to Canada have to fill out and lodge a visa waiver form thingy which we have duly successfully done, but imagine our surprise when we found out, upon completion, that each form is costing us $127!!  Geez!!  That's $254 less to spend on maple syrup and fabric, you know......never had to do that in the past and we have visited Canada five times......sorry Canada, I love youse all but that's a bit rude......

Oh well.  If we want to see our boy we have no choice, and it's already paid.

My quilt is waiting to be bound, it is quilted with a design of oak leaves which suit the autumn colours.  The binding is made and pressed, still need to design a label but that will be done soon.  Something with an oak leaf or two, perhaps.  Then, hopefully before you know it, the whole thing will be all finished, done and completed!  Yay!

"Cleansing gold jewellery.
Gold ornaments may be kept bright and clean with soap and warm water, scrubbing them well with a soft nail-brush.  They may be dried in sawdust of boxwood.  Imitation jewellery may be treated in the same way."

I wonder if that method would be used on a diamond tiara?  And I wonder if one can buy sawdust of only one particular species?

Enjoy your days!