Leaves, leaves and more leaves

My photos have been loaded onto the computer but they aren't yet captioned; if it's not done soon we might forget where they were taken.  After tomorrow's gig there will be more time.

Isn't this an amazing colour?  It's called Burning Bush.

 Some golden goodness across the river.  This pic and the one above were taken in Parry Sound, Ontario, on a cold slightly snowy day.

 Fallen maple leaves in the rain, in Goderich.

 More fallen leaves on a damp day in Bayfield.

So many colours - the reason why our trips to Canada have been in autumn, it's such a beautiful season.

We are settling back into our usual routine although I did hit the ground running, as two days after we arriveded home the uke group had a gig at a small church just out of town; it was a 'thank you' early Christmas lunch for church helpers, and as we have played at their monthly markets during the year we were included.  We were the entertainment, and we were also recipients of a very nice lunch.

Tomorrow's U3A Christmas lunch will be more Christmas songs which we are now getting good at playing.  By next November we will have forgotten them all again, you know.

We had a great time in Canada.  Our boy is doing well and we really enjoyed our time with him and his lovely partner; she and I had a few 'girls days out' together, to a craft festival, a quilt show and a textile museum.  I think of her as the daughter I didn't give birth to and wish we could see more of each other - but it is such a long way!

Honestly, I don't think I can do that long flight again.  Plane seats have become thinner and more uncomfortable (probably keeping the weight down) and 20 hours spent in one of those seats when one has a sore neck anyway is hard work.  We can't afford the expensive seats up the front, and in any case would rather have the money to spend at our destinations than in getting there.  Add to that humping one's bags around airports, lots of self-service stuff - checking in and going through customs and security is all about 'do it yourself' these days but of course we don't get a discount for that - it's not fun any more, if indeed it ever was.

Ah well.  Our boy said they would come and see us in a few years, his first visit back since leaving in February 2005 - that will be wonderful.

"The comfort of others.
In seeking his own comfort, no passenger has a right to overlook or disregard that of others.  If for his own comfort, he wishes to raise or lower a window, he should consult the wishes of passengers immediately around him before doing so.  The discomforts of travelling should be borne cheerfully, for what may enhance your own comfort may endanger the health of some fellow-traveller."

These days, sadly, it's everyone for his or her own self, and be darned to anyone else.

Enjoy your days!

We're having a great time in Canada!

So far no pics, but they will be taken.....the trees in the streets near where we are staying are changing, the huge oak trees across the road are gorgeous.  Spending time with our son and his girlfriend has been wonderful, and once again we have been impressed by the friendliness and helpfulness of people we have met.

The Creativ Festival visit was fun, and yesterday's visit to the Textile Museum very short because of work being done to prepare a new exhibit, but as entry was subsequently free we didn't complain.  Perhaps another visit in a few weeks may be possible; it's such an interesting place with a fabulous collection and a wonderful shop, including the best selection of books on anything to do with fibres and textiles that you could imagine.

So far no bones have been broken, no one has taken a tumble - although sometimes it is difficult to keep one's balance in the subway carriage when the driver slams on the brakes, I swear some of the carriages must have square wheels - we both want to leave Canada as intact as when we arrived.  Kevin hurt his shoulder heaving a suitcase into the back of our car just before leaving home but after treatment by a local massage therapist it is feeling much better, and he now thinks it won't fall off after all. Which is probably a good thing, as there is more heaving of suitcases to come.

By gosh it's a long flight.......the 90-minute stopover in Vancouver wasn't enough for my ears to return to normal after the descent, so landing in Toronto was even more painful that normal.  We have seen an advertisement for a gadget which is supposed to help with the ear pain so shall check it out soon, and see if it is as wonderful as it claims to be.  Because landing can be so agonisingly painful I really dread flying, but the alternative was a long swim and a long overland hike.

The etiquette book has been left behind so I can't leave you with the usual words of gentle wisdom and courtesy, but that will be made up on our return.

Enjoy your days!

Still plastered

Somewhere in east Toronto, Canada....sorry I can't be more specific but I wasn't with Kevin when he took this pic. It's somewhere near Taylor Creek Park.
Nor this one. Aren't the leaves pretty floating on the water? Kevin took some lovely pics of autumn colours when he and our son Doug went for a long walk while Sayward and I were checking out the Kaleidoscope exhibition of gorgeous vintage quilts at the Textile Museum.
This is some of the view from the bus stop near our son's place - waiting for a bus can usually be rather boring, but not when there are colours like these to look at. I wish I could live in a climate with colours like this all year round.

Yesterday the orthopedic specialist looked at the x-ray taken of my wrist the previous day and said that, although it's healing as well as can be expected (he didn't add "considering your age" but he might as well have done) he wants to see me again in two weeks. He said (once again almost referring to my age but not quite) that it's a fine line between leaving the arm in plaster long enough for the bone to have healed, but not so long that the limb stiffens up. As my wrist has been set with a slight downward bend for some medical reason, can't you just imagine how tender it's going to be when it's finally free? I know there are many people in this world who are putting up with much more than I have to, but it is still driving me spare. Two more weeks will be six weeks since it was broken. I wonder if I will still remember how to knit? or play guitar? and as for using a sewing machine......and my beautiful new overlocker is out of its box waiting for me to play with it and I can't........

In the past five days I have read four books and am half-way through a fifth which isn't grabbing my attention as much as some I have read, so I might give it up as a bad job and not even try to find out who dunnit. It's been a while since I have read such a cliched book. One I particularly enjoyed was "Bugatti Queen: in search of a French racing legend" by Miranda Seymour. Helene Delangle was a racing car driver in the 1930s, and led a rip-snorting life off the track too; she had been a dancer before taking to the race circuit. She was glamorous with a beautiful smile as a young woman, but ended her days in a tiny apartment alone, estranged from her family and in poor health in her eighties. Some of her race driving records still stand all these years later.

My sewing room is unusable at present because it is being painted, we are freshening up the house with a coat of paint before selling it early next year. Kevin's plan is to have it ready for me to use again when I an able to, isn't he great?

"Keep to the right.
On meeting and passing people in the street, keep to your right hand, except when a gentleman is walking alone; then he must always turn aside to give the preferred side of the walk to a lady, to anyone carrying a heavy load, to a clergyman or to an old gentleman."

Enjoy your weekend.

Jennifer

Home again

We arrived home last Thursday morning after a looong flight, it's good to be home but in yesterday's heat we wished we were back in Canada! Photos will follow in due course. Unfortunately I had only taken a few pics before I broke my left arm and sprained my right wrist, and found out that one needs two working hands to operate even a simple point-and-shoot digital camera. Never mind, Kevin took some lovely pics, the fall colours were so beautiful.

Highlights....it's difficult to say. Spending time with our son Doug and his lovely Sayward, meeting Rose Marie and her DH, and of course making the acquaintance of their kitties Hank and Ashes, and meeting up with Debra. The exhibition of vintage quilts at the Textile Museum was fascinating, and attending a quilt show in Ajax was interesting - it's always good to see what other quilters are doing. The Creativ Festival was fun, I was quite restrained really......just think what I could have done had I been intact.......

Places are all well and good, but it's people who really make a place. Everyone we met was so nice to us, from Deb who owned the suite where we stayed (Deb/Debbie/Debra is a popular Canadian name, it seems) whose lovely mum sent us home-made muffins to spoil us, to the staff at The Scarborough Hospital who looked after this rather shaken Aussie tourist who lost her footing on a rough patch of ground and fell over (Nurse Doreen in particular was wonderful), to the people at the folk club we attended where I won a CD in their raffle - when it was announced that the winner was visiting from Australia there was a round of applause, wasn't that great? Thank you too to the nice folk who have left comments on my blog when I posted about breaking my arm, I will reply as soon as I can.

I did indulge slightly as to fabric, yarn and books, as you will see in due course.

My Bernina machine is home again, and so is my lovely new overlocker although it is still in its box - will unpack it soon. When I am all mended again I will be able to have fun with it. Speaking of being mended, I have seen a local orthopedic specialist and he says my arm is healing well. It will be so good to have the cast removed and to be able to do things again......sew, knit, crochet, to practice spinning, and to play guitar. Our computer had some of its innards fried in a storm the day before we went to Canada and wasn't fixed until last night, so now I can read, do crosswords and spend time on the computer. And watch TV. And annoy Kevin........please can you help me with this, or that.......

Have a wonderful week.

Jennifer

There ain't no cure for the summer time blues......

No I'm not depressed, far from it! Last night DH Kevin and I went to see Del Rey perform, Del is visiting Australia and did a show in Sydney last night. We have seen her before and she is fabulous. She spoke of Memphis Minnie...now there's a woman I would have liked to have known, sounds like she would have been a real ripper. Del plays blues/boogie guitar and ukelele.

This little quilt was made a few years when a couple of friends and I challenged each other to make a quilt representing a particular month. My month was January, chosen because I don't really like the heat of summer - after all, it was supposed to be a challenge! The sky in an Australian summer is a very intense blue , so blue that it hurts your eyes on a hot day to look at it, and the heat haze shimmers. As many of my quilts have names with a musical reference I called this little one "There ain't no cure for the summertime blues" from the old song by Eddie Cochrane.

When we visited Canada late in 2007 we - Kevin, the lovely Kiera-Oona and I - spent several hours at the Textile Museum of Canada in Toronto. What a fascinating place....lots of hands-on things to play with, and two exhibitions to see, one of which was called "The Blues" about the influence of indigo fabric on various cultures. There was a lovely old quilt from the late 19th century, indigo blue stars on a white background, as well as fabrics and clothing from Asia, Africa and America, and great blues music (of course!) playing in the background. There was a film showing the making of indigo dye which Kevin found interesting, he likes to know how things are done. If I am lucky enough to visit Toronto again the Textile Museum is definitely on my list of Places To Visit. It also has the best shop I have ever seen for books on textiles. Had to think of the baggage allowance though....and I had already bought the book, 'Ontario's Heritage Quilts', which they had.

I'm wearing a blue shirt today, somehow it seems appropriate.

Jennifer