Behind the trees

Backing has been bought for Arboretum - much to my surprise I was able to find Just The Very Thing at the local quilt shop, so there was no need to take that drive north.  The batiks in the main part of the shop were all delicate tone on tone pastels in shades of pink, lavender, blue, etc.  Very pretty if that's your thing, but not at all what I wanted.

Let's have a look in the sale room, said the assistant......

.....where my eyes lit on this.  The background is a deep rich chocolate, with little yellow/gold - squiggles? commas? hooks?  

Here's a mock-up with the intended binding fabric around the edge.  Today is dull and cloudy, not ideal conditions for photography, as the colour looks more washed-out than it is in real life.

So, yes - Just The Very Thing!  I must admit I had been hoping for lighter brighter fabric but this suits the binding and the price was amazing.  If the bolt was emptied the price was even better, so there is now a leftover piece in my stash; a hanging sleeve will be needed as the plan is to enter it in both the local show in September, and our quilt group exhibition in October.

How has everyone been?  We have had a fairly quiet week.  Stitches were sewn and knitted, fabric shopping was done.  Songs were sung.  We hunted and we foraged in order that we may not starve, and that was the week.

To make up for missing out on my trip north let's go to a pub in a small - very small - village half an hour south, said I, so we did; we drove to Currabubula where we had lunch at the pub.  There has been a pub in the village for a long time.  Australian author Kate Grenville has written a book "One Life" about her mother, and her grandmother, and her great-grandmother....I came across it in the library several years ago not knowing of the local connection, and found it fascinating.  

The weather has been winter on-and-off.  Days are fairly mild but nights and mornings are cool enough that we are glad to have a fire to keep us, and the house, from cooling down too much.  We've even had some more rain - it's unbelievable how much every blade of grass has changed to bright green from the dead dry brown of just a few weeks ago; we are even seeing the occasional kangaroo on the hill behind us.

Finally the hay fever cough, the gift that keeps on giving, seems to have abated - for which I am thankful.  It still catches me unawares from time to time, but not as severely as before.  

"Ceremonials when there are no bridesmaids.

When there are no bridesmaids, the marriage ceremonials at the church are as follows:  The members of the bride's family proceed to the church before the bride, who follows with her mother.  The bridegroom awaits them at the church and gives his arm to the bride's mother.  They walk up the aisle to the altar, the mother falling back to her position on the left.  The father, or relative representing him, conducts the bride to the bridegroom, who stands at the altar with his face turned toward her as she approaches, and the father falls back to the left.  The relatives follow, taking their places standing, those of the bride to the left, those of the groom to the right.  After kneeling at the altar for a moment, the bride, standing on the left of the bridegroom, takes the glove off from her left hand, while he takes the glove off from his right hand.  The service then begins.  The father of the bride gives her away by bowing when the question is asked, which is a much simpler form than stepping forward and placing his daughter's hand in that of the clergyman.  Perfect self-control should be exhibited by all parties during the ceremony."

Today's quote is fairly long, but there isn't really a suitable place to break it into smaller bites.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

A bit of a fizzer

Is what my birthday was.  

The Hay Fever from Hades had moved in earlier in the week, and from then on it has been cough-cough-cough and more cough.  Sadly the anticipated birthday lunch had to be postponed, but it went ahead yesterday and was all the more appreciated for being delayed.

I can understand why sleep deprivation is used as an instrument of torture, sleeping is so difficult when one is continually cough-cough-coughing.  However the cough is more settled now and I have managed a few nights of nearly uninterrupted sleep, which certainly makes me feel better.  The rib muscles which had been so painful (because: cough) and made machine sewing difficult as a result, are also easing.

Consequently, much as I had hoped it would be, the top of Arboretum is not quite finished.

The section on the bottom right needs to be joined to the section above it - you can see my yellow pin marker top centre on the blue peacock tree - then that whole section will be joined to the much larger section to the left.

Then - it will be done!

I could manage an occasional stitch by hand or by knitting needle in between coughing, but much of my spare time was spent reading because it doesn't require much physical effort.  This was on the "take one, leave one" table when I went to the physio recently; I have read another of Jane Harper's books so this one came home with me.

I enjoyed it, although it's by no means a light-hearted read.  It centres around an annual memorial for Sam, a man who disappeared on his 21st birthday five years earlier, and we find out relationships are falling apart....buildings are falling apart....the town itself is falling apart as a nearby mine encroaches closer and closer.  Despite that it's not all gloom and doom, and there is much positivity.  The book has now gone back to whence it came, for someone else's enjoyment.

Words, as you can see, have been read.  Stitches have occasionally been sewn or knitted.  Not one word has been sung or plinked; I haven't been to choir because it's difficult to sing when one is coughing, but that also means that no practice has been done for the Eisteddfod competition in just two weeks (eek!).  Appointments were kept, something which seems to be happening more and more these days.  We managed to go out for food to keep starvation at bay, and that was our week.

When one is spending more time at home because one isn't well one's world shrinks, doesn't it?  Not sick enough to need medical attention or to take to one's bed like the heroine of a Victorian novel, just unwell enough to feel tired and listless and to occasionally spend time in one's comfy chair wrapped in a quilt.  Which, of course, one made some years ago.

For many years it was my caravan quilt, and now it's my comfy chair quilt because it matches my comfy green chair and because it's warm.

Early last week we had a small rain shower which was very welcome, and more is forecast over the next few days.....which will be even more welcome.  Our drive on Saturday for lunch was to Bendemeer and we drove through very dry brown country, so that rain is needed.

Here we are back at the altar.

"The bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Only relatives and the most intimate friends are asked to be bridesmaids - the sisters of the bride and of the bridegroom, where it is possible.  The bridegroom chooses his best man and the groomsmen from his circle of relatives and friends of his own age, and from the relatives of his fiancee of a suitable age.  The dresses of the bridesmaids are not given, unless their circumstances are such as to make it necessary."

You notice that small children are not mentioned.  For many years now small children - some quite small - have been part of a wedding party, and I must admit to not being a fan.  A retinue of cutesy-poo kiddie-widdies seems to de rigeur at royal weddings; I remember reading many years ago it started with Princess Margaret of the British Royal Family as she and her groom were short and didn't wish to have bridesmaids towering over them, so her attendants were all or nearly all pre-teens.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Marking time

Because nothing new has been started in the sewing room.  Indeed, very little happened in the sewing room at all, this week.

Diamonds have been cut for the tumbling blocks, and more will be cut to have a good supply for the upcoming holiday.  One block was made for the monthly BOM for my quilting group. Fabric was picked up and put down again.  

The house quilt was going to be worked on but the spare bed - the design bed - is being used to lay out some Stuff for the holiday in less than two weeks, so today we shall visit the photo vault.

According to the computer this pic was taken in April, 2022 - nearly four years ago, and probably about the start of the tumbling blocks journey.

This was two years later, in June 2024....many more blocks had been made in the meantime, these few were laid out for a photo opportunity.  Now there are nearly 400 completed blocks out of 449 needed, but a few extra may be made just in case.  Many of the fabrics are repros (some from many many years ago) or newer fabrics which hold hands nicely with the repros; all were used in my tumbler quilt, and since then others have been found in the stash which also work.  Several fabrics have been used up in the process, so that's a good thing too.

In case you have forgotten, or have never seen the tumbler quilt:

Every time I look at it I think to myself - did I really make this by hand?  Not the borders, of course, but that large centre panel and another smaller panel on the reverse, and I pat myself on the back once more.

Here's a chuckle for you:  while having lunch today I was finishing the last few pages of a book, the plot of which centered around the murder of an elderly man who had planned to change his will to cut members of his family out.  This was not good enough for the husband of a niece, he wanted her share (and everyone else's too) so he engineered a gas explosion which blew up the elderly uncle's house with uncle in it, completely obliterating the house and poor old uncle.  Fast forward to the memorial service a few weeks later, one of the attendees asked if uncle was going to be cremated.....a bit late for that, I would have thought, the explosion.....

Words have been read.  Stitches have been sewn and knitted.  Songs were plinked and sung.  My annual entry for the Eisteddfod at the end of May has been lodged, so now the words to the poem and song need to be learned.  Most are already in my brain, the chords for the song are not there yet but they will come.  We ambled around the supermarket and found Stuff to eat.  Appointments were kept.  That was about it for the week.

Despite being told it is so, today - 1st March - is not the first day of autumn.  Days are getting shorter but temperatures are still saying 'summer', and nights are not as cool as we would like.  We will be glad to finally see the last of what has been a long unpleasant summer.  We have forgotten what rain looks like, but hopefully whoever arranges these things will take pity on us and loosen the taps to let some water through before too long.  We have high hope that our sojourn down south will be a little cooler, as we won't be far from the Snowy Mountains.....and I am also hoping to see autumn colour, won't that be nice?

"No young man who would shrink from being guilty of a great impropriety, should ever prolong his visits beyond ten o'clock, unless it be the common custom of the family to remain up and to entertain visitors at a later hour, and the visit paid is a family one and not a tete-a-tete.  Two hours is quite long enough for a call; and the young man will give evidence of his affection no less than his consideration, by making his visits short, and, if need be, making them often, rather than by prolonging to unreasonable hours."

A young lady's family will not thank her suitor for keeping them - and her - from their beauty sleep, by overstaying his welcome.  

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Counting chickens and all that

Something it seems we must not do, seeing as how a couple of things which had been looked forward to had to be cancelled this week.

Last weekend one of the uke group folks had a positive test to the plague.  With someone else already away we were already down on voices, so the remainder of us made the reluctant decision to cancel Wednesday's performance.  While we really hated to disappoint those lovely folk at the seniors' residence, we just didn't have enough people to put on a good show.  However all is not lost; next month our town is taken over by a humumgous country music festival.  Many locals welcome it with open arms while many others pull up their drawbridge and stay home, only venturing out if they really must.....including, it seems, the lovely folk at the seniors' residence.  The manager and I had a nice little chat and I suggested bringing the festival to them which she heartily approved, so that will be fun.

Then on Thursday night at choir our director pointed out the lack of singers who were there that night, the fact that at least two folk - a married couple - have also come down with plague, and told us that last night's Christmas extravaganza was also being reluctantly cancelled. He has promised it will happen in the middle of next year; we will have Christmas in July instead of in December, and he still wants me to sing my Christmas ukulele song.  That gives me several more months of practice.....perhaps I may be able to play without looking at the music!  I know the words and just need to learn the sequence of chords, some of which is already in my brain.

Oh well.  C'est la vie, and all that.

The roster for next year's morning tea and BOM duties has been handed out, and I am down for late January.  Earlier this year an idea for a block popped into my brain, so I might just try it.  This is how it begins:

A 3-1/2 inch square, surrounded by two rows of strips cut two inches wide; it should measure 9-1/2 inches when finished.  Fabrics to make two more of these blocks are sitting on my sewing room table as we speak.  Once the blocks are done they will be cut once on the diagonal and joined with a black strip, probably one inch wide when finished.  All I am asking the group members to do is to make one of these blocks; I will do the diagonal cutting and rejoining, as I want the colours mixed up so it doesn't look too matchy-matchy.  I don't know if it will work, but thought it would be fun to try.

The diagonal of a 9-1/2 inch square is over 13 inches, which is a piece of mathematical trivia for you, and which will be how long my black sashing strips need to be cut.  

Words have been read.  Diamonds have been sewn.  Notes have been plinked and sing.  Hunting and gathering has happened, and so has passed another week.

It has rained, more very welcome rain, but the coming week is forecast to be hot, hot, hot......and dry.  Good weather for staying inside and sewing, perhaps.

Most of the books I read have been downloaded to my tablet, but sometimes I let my hair down and read a Real Book as I did this week.  The bookshop here is one of a chain which publishes a "reading guide" twice a year, so I have decided to use it as my reading guide too.  One book mentioned caught my interest, the library had it in their collection, so I reserved it and duly collected it on Friday.  It was finished last night (I'm a quick reader, always have been) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  It's by Ariel Lawhon and is called 'The Frozen River'.  I won't spoil it by leaking any of the plot, but it's a good read.  Most of the story takes place over a cold winter in Maine in 1789, a winter experience foreign to many Aussies, but it really makes you feel as though you were suffering in the cold along with the characters.  The central characters really lived, Martha the midwife certainly did - as her descendants still do today.

The mangos from a local school's annual fundraiser are now all peeled, sliced and in the freezer.  The kids next door have all attended the primary school not far away and, for the past few years, they have had a fundraising drive in which I have happily participated.  ("It's mango time again......")  Girl 1 has been in high school for a couple of years, Boy goes off to high school next year - but Girl 2 still has several years at that school, so there will be mangos for a while yet.  Yum yum.....

Continuing with Etiquette of Public Places, Conduct in Church:

"A gentleman may walk up the aisle either a little ahead of, or by the side of a lady, allowing the lady to first enter the pew.  There should be no haste in passing up the aisle."

Indeed, no.  There is no need to sprint.  No doubt there will seats for all.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Greening the corner gardens

All the triangles for the outer corners are done.

Now they will be set aside with the completed houses, and eventually they will all make their way into the quilt.  Eventually.  Joining squares has now started for the side triangles; each block will need 49 squares set in seven rows of seven, then will be cut into four quarter-square triangles.  When the decision was made to do this it seemed quite tedious, but actually it's not.......and every stitch will be worth it, when finished.

This week's houses, a black house surrounded by white and a white house surounded by black.

By the time the setting decision was taken several houses had already been made using black and white fabrics so they will be set with the opposite; dark houses will be surrounded by white, and white houses will have black.  

This is the back of the quilt shown last week.  The orange fabric wasn't ~quite~ wide enough so a strip using leftover fabrics from the front was made, a technique used in other quilts too.

All the Canadian quilt blocks have had their stabiliser removed so now they are set aside for a while, because I want to make the back for the (as yet un-named) tumbler quilt.  When we were down south a few months ago I bought some extra wide fabric for the back, and now the plan is to insert a strip to make it longer.  There were tumblers left from the front because too many were cut, so they have been pieced into a strip which, however, needs more width......and my brain is thinking about how to do it, so watch this space.  When that's done it will be booked in for long arm quilting, because it's too big for me to handle.

The flower basket quilt is also being worked on, it's currently a TV project (either that or knitting) - my goodness, it's going to be huge.  It will also be quilted by a long armer.

That's my colourful week, how has yours been?

Playing with bright fabrics was certainly more fun than having my second covid plague shot, which I did a few days ago.  Now I suppose I'm as vaccinated as I can currently be, and Kevin will also be on Tuesday.  I am, however, still staying home because of the compulsory mask rule; he is quite happy to do shopping and household running around, and I am happy to let him.

There is a sporting event being held in another country and it doesn't interest us one bit; there is already far too much sport on T.V.  Members of our family have lost work because of lockdowns and shutdowns, but these people can quite happily swan off overseas, kick a ball and grin for the camera.  They waffle on about "winning a medal for my country" and "doing the country proud" but at the end of the day where does that medal end up?  Probably on a shelf in their own bedroom, unseen and uncared about by the rest of us.  Our orchestras, our actors and dancers, are up there with the best but don't get the rah rahs that sport people do.  I eagerly await the day that our national ballet company or one of our orchestras gets a 'welcome home parade' on completion of an overseas tour as is often done for sport people but I suspect hell will be long frozen over by the time that happens - which, sadly, doesn't say much about us as a nation, does it?

I've been reading mystery books downloaded for free on my tablet, and these books vary from quite good to not good at all.  If they don't grab my interest they are deleted unfinished, in some cases barely started, and another is opened.  At my age I don't know how many years are left to me, but I'm darn sure I'm not going to waste any of them reading a badly-written book.  Having said that there have been some I have enjoyed so much that I have sought out others by the same author......but only if they're free, of course.  

"Receptions, parties and balls.

Morning receptions, as they are called, but more correctly speaking, afternoon parties, are generally held from four to seven o'clock in the afternoon.  Sometimes a sufficient number for a quadrille arrange to remain after the assemblage has for the most part dispersed."

Can you dance a quadrille?  I can, and indeed have often done so; I used to enjoy dancing and only stopped not that many years ago.  In my next life, however, I am going to marry a bloke who dances......because Kevin does not and will not dance, so I relied on friends to partner me.  A 'sufficient number' for a quadrille is eight people, four couples.

Enjoy your days!

Only eight houses to go!

There is a 'but' here......but we are going away in three weeks, so not all the houses will be made before we go because I am sticking to my goal of two per week.  Never mind; they will be here to welcome us home again and all houses will be done by the anniversary of our moving into this house, eleven years ago in May.

Aren't these fun with their colourful gardens?

A lavender house with a garden of iris, and a light green house with pots in its garden.  The green fabric was pulled from my stash to make the roof for the lavender house, and I liked it so much that it also became the next house.  It has been in my stash for a very long time, the selvedge says "Stained Glass for Quilters".

Some trimming has also been happening.  The blocks on the right have been trimmed but need to be pressed and have their corner 'ears' snipped off, while the pile on the left is awaiting trimming.  Too long spent with the cutter aggravates a soreness in my right forearm, so I take it easy and don't have marathon cutting/trimming sessions.  This is the autumn quilt.

Eventually both these quilts will be done.......and then I might have to think of a new one!

The coming week holds the promise of rain, even possibly quite a lot of rain.  We shall see.  We have watched promised rain clouds part and go around us before now; even with the weather site saying "95% chance of rain" we have missed out on even one drop.  Our town is on the edge of a wide valley with hills to the north and east, and those hills make their own weather.

We are now feeling confident about making plans for our sojourn down south.  Two interesting exhibitions will be on while we are in Canberra, one at the National Gallery of Australia of European paintings, and another at the National Library of Australia of Australian art - which is the one I really want to see.  Way back when I was a Sweet Young Thing and worked at the library here it held a copy of "The Picturesque Atlas of Australasia" with its beautiful engravings published in the 1880s, which was fascinating to a somewhat naive teenager who didn't know much about anything.  It was republished many years ago but I didn't get around to buying a copy, and now it's probably out of print.

My etiquette book is a reprint of a book from the 1880s.  Back in the 1970s-1980s several older books were reprinted in facsimile editions, meaning that they are an exact copy of the original......and this in the days before computers and scanners.  To all intents and purposes it is exactly as it would have been published in those earlier days, except of course for the information about it being a facsimile reprint.

By the way - if you have left a comment and I haven't answered it's not because I am ignoring you, I really love having visitors and like to reply!  It means that you are a "no reply blogger", so if you would like a reply you might want to check your settings.

"The knife and fork.

The knife and fork were not made for playthings, and should not be used as such when people are waiting at the table for the food to be served.  Do not hold them erect in your hands at each side of your plate, nor cross them on your plate when you have finished, nor make a noise with them.  The knife should only be used for cutting meats and hard substances, while the fork, held in the left hand, is used in carrying food into the mouth.  A knife must never, in any account, be put into the mouth.  When you send your plate to be refilled, do not send your knife and fork, but put them upon a piece of bread, or hold them in your hand."

I recall, as a child, being told "don't put your knife in your mouth".  To this day, if I do so - I do it with guilt while looking over my shoulder to see if my mother is watching, despite the fact that she has been gone since 1999.

Enjoy your days!

In which we are still mooching along.......

It has been a week of not doing much.  Stitches have been sewn, none have been knitted.  Books have been read.  Notes have been plinked (yay!) and even sung (double yay!).

Stitching down the applique on the Canadian blocks has resumed.  Nunavut is done, New Brunswick isn't far from being done......in that order.  Nunavut had easier shapes for stitching, so it was done first.  

Pictures of these were shown earlier this year and they don't look much different now because the stitching is being done with see-through polyester thread.  If it wasn't, can't you imagine the squillions of thread colour changes?  Doesn't bear thinking about, does it?

We'll have some flowers instead, because it's spring.  These are all plants from our garden in the Big Smoke.

Love the new shoots on this bottle brush - Callistemon 'Taree Pink'.  It was an impulse buy as a very small plant from the local hardware shop, which had a small but excellent garden section.  I took it home, found a spot on the north-east corner of the front of the house, planted it - then stood back and watched while it grew.  I have never know a plant which grew so quickly.

A pink bottle brush poking its head in at the side, and creamy white Grevillea 'Moonlight'.

Another grevillea - I think this is 'Robyn Gordon'.

'Taree Pink' again.  If everything we planted grew as well as this did, I would be a happy woman!

The Big Smoke's climate is much more humid with milder winters than here, and these plants loved it.  We did plant a 'Taree Pink' here; it turned up its toes at the first sign of a proper winter.......but perhaps I might try again.

I really like our Aussie native plants.  They don't have the gorgeous autumn colour that trees from other countries do but their new growth in spring is often a glorious bronze, just as spectacular in its own way.  They are often rich in nectar which attracts a lot of birds, and of course watching them makes for great entertainment.

Speaking of birds......a few days ago I heard an odd tapping noise, and couldn't think what it could be.  It happened again yesterday morning, and turned out to be one of our resident peewees, more usually seen flying around looking for insects.  They are often seen pecking at the 'other' bird in a car mirror or window - this one was pecking at the bottom corner of the big floor-to-ceiling window; its beak tapping on the window was the odd noise.

Have I ever told you the details of my etiquette book, bought many years at a library cull for just a dollar or two?  It was originally published in 1885, probably in the U.S. judging by the spelling, with an Australian edition in 1886; mine is a 'facsimile edition' (meaning an exact copy, even down to typeface) published in 1980.  It's full title is "Australian etiquette, or the rules and usages of the best society in the Australasian colonies, together with their sports, pastimes, games and amusements.  Revised, illustrated and compiled expressly as a household treasure for Australian homes."  Several years ago bloggers were signing off with a quote from a book or poem, or sometimes a Bible verse or inspirational saying - I decided on advice from my book.  It was published at a time when some people moving into 'society' for the first time may have been unsure how to behave in social situations, but for all that is not too stiff - its advice is more about courtesy and making others, as well as one's self, feel at ease no matter what the occasion.

"Punctuality.

The hour generally selected in cities is after business hours, or from five to eight o'clock.  In the country or villages it may be an hour or two earlier.  To be punctual at the hour mentioned is obligatory.  If you are too early you are in the way; if too late you annoy the hostess, cause impatience among the assembled guests, and perhaps spoil the dinner.  Fifteen minutes is the longest time required to wait for a tardy guest."

Advice as true today as in 1885, yes?

Enjoy your days!

Time for the autumn leaves

Now that the tree hanging is done, it's time for one of my favourite pastimes - mindlessly feeding fabric through the machine.

A couple of years ago while going through some 'free to good home' magazines at a local quilt shop a front-cover project caught my eye.....can't resist those autumn colours......so it came home with me.  All the fabrics have been cut for a while, some half square triangles sewn as leaders and enders then trimmed to size.  One hundred and twenty 2-1/2 inch squares are a wee bit fiddly-diddly to trim - not all at once, thank goodness - but they are now all done.  Then 15 stems had to be made, because there are 15 leaves.  This will be the first one, pieces are laid out ready to be joined.

The magazine design (an issue from 2007 of a now defunct Aussie magazine) had the leaves all in shades of one colour, all red, all green, etc., but I like my autumn leaves mixed, so mixed they shall be.  Just like leaves are in real life.  Lots of different backgrounds (but no white, the corner piece is actually a pale beige print) and lots and lots of leaf prints, many of which are souvenirs from Canadaian trips.

Then.....would you believe it?  While going through magazines recently to sort out what to keep and what to give to the Rotary Club book shed I found I already had that magazine!  The spare copy has now been donated along with other books and magazines, and a couple of books from the Rotary Club book shed came home with me in return.  We have all missed the Book Shed which has, of course, been closed for a few months but is now open again.

Every town needs a Book Shed.  It's a place for us to donate our unwanted books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, jigsaw puzzles.......and a place to buy more.  Yesterday my $5 bought me two good quilt books (each of which probably cost up to $40 new, and they are both only a few years old) and a CD, and the money raised goes to support various worthy causes.

Welcome to Frédérique from France, the first time I have had a French visitor to my blog!  

What do you think of the new Blogger?  Looks like it is being forced on us whether we want it or not, so I might as well give it a try.  No use postponing the inevitable, is there.  

Today is the winter solstice, the day of the year with the least amount of sunlight.  Pretty right too; it's been a cold grey day with a few showers, a good day to stay indoors and sew.  Or look at those two new books on scrappy quilts.  Or veg out on the computer.

"Always recognize acquaintances.

One should always recognize lady acquaintances in the street, either by bowing or words of greeting, a gentleman lifting his hat.  If they stop to speak, it is not obligatory to shake hands.  Shaking hands is not forbidden, but in most cases it is to be avoided in public."

Looks like that answers last week's question, doesn't it?  Of course, when that was written in 1885 people - most ladies and many gentlemen - would have worn gloves in public, so no touching of actual hands would have taken place.

Enjoy your days!

Today is World Parrot Day

So let's hear it for the parrots!  Polly want a cracker, and all that......

We have parrots here.  We have Sulphur Crested Cockatoos (large noisy white birds with yellow comb on top of head), noisy Little Corellas (you haven't lived until you have been woken at stupid dark very early o'clock by a flock of corellas), my favourite noisy Galahs (pink and grey - "silly galah" is also used as a good-natured insult), sometimes King Parrots.  We also have Rainbow Lorikeets, Eastern Rosellas, and Crimson Rosellas, which are all parrots in my book.

The larger the bird, the louder the noise.  Parrots are noisy, but I like them.

A galah, taken in winter in Canberra at the campground where we stay.

How could I have forgotten the majestic Major Mitchell Cockatoo with its pink, orange and yellow crest?  Perhaps because we don't see them here.

A male King Parrot - the girl is opposite colours, green with a red back and wings.

This week has been uneventful.  Not much has been done.  The scarf being knitted is growing longer - it's an elongated skinny triangle - the tumblers are stitched by hand when my eyes aren't too tired, the tree is slowly being quilted with only the main trunk to go.  Then lots and lots of background, in small pieces, to be quilted.

On Friday I went for my flu shot.  The medical centre had set up a clinic in the foyer which I was unhappy about - there was absolutely no privacy.  I know there was no intimate examination required, but just to be stuck out in full view of everyone passing is not my idea of a 'medical consultation'.  The doctor called my name, the nurse said my age, a woman hanging around for her turn made a remark about "not looking it".  That's not the point.  My age (and everything else about me) is a matter between me and the doctor.  If that is how it's done next year I shall re-think.  Kevin managed to have his flu shot when he visited the doctor for something else, so I know what to do in future.

Besides which, I do not like pointy medical things.  Come to that, I do not enjoy being poked, prodded or pushed in the name of medical science at all.  Here it is Sunday afternoon, and my arm is still sore and tender.

Oh well.  Moving right along.

Read a book I enjoyed recently, and now I can't remember its name.  The word 'family' was in it, that I can tell you; it was downloaded to my tablet, and when I finish a book I delete it so it's gone.  It's by an Australian author, set in Queensland, and the family in question revolves around the mother of three grown men, their partners and children and their interractions with each other.  Mother was a poisonous old witch, for sure, but it had its light moments.

I like books which revolve around family secrets, perhaps because my own family had secrets so it's easy to relate to those stories.

My 1882 etiquette book has a whole chapter devoted to British and European titles.  I haven't delved into that chapter as it is not information I need in my everyday life......but some of you may need it.

"European titles.
Titles in Continental Europe are so common and so frequently unsustained by landed and moneyed interests, that they have not that significance which they hold in England.  A count may be a penniless scamp, depending on the gambling-table for a precarious subsistence, and looking out for the chance of making a wealthy marriage."

There you have it, ladies.....watch out for those 'penniless scamps', they're only after your fortune.

Enjoy your days!

Today is.......

......whatever day you want it to be.  It could be Wednesday, or Friday......it could even be Sunday, if you wish.  Our weeks aren't divided up by our usual pastimes and activities so, unless there is an appointment that you are permitted to keep, it doesn't really matter what day it is.

If the world was perfect we would be enjoying the folk festival right now at this very minute as we speak, their slogan is "Five days in a perfect world".  However it's a long way from perfect right now, and we are stuck at home.....trapped......imprisoned, without even having committed a crime.

Sigh.

Block number nine is done, Newfoundland and Labrador.

I've never seen a puffin, they are odd looking little birdies! 

Stitches have been knitted.

This gorgeous yarn went all the way from Montreal where it was dyed, to Vancouver Island where I bought it, across the Pacific Ocean in a big tin box to the Big Smoke in my bag, then it was driven home here to the Small Smoke - so it is very well travelled.  It's sock yarn but mine is on its way to becoming a scarf, it's way too pretty to hide inside shoes - it should be out flaunting its glory to the world.

Stitches have also been sewn, more quilting has been done on the tree hanging, and the tumblers are still happily tumbling along.

One thing I seldom if ever do (although Kevin often does) is watch daytime television but yesterday afternoon I succumbed and watched two old black and white movies, one from the late 1940s (!) and one from the early 1960s.  I've done it now, I'm on the slippery slope......next thing will be daytime soapies......

At least we are being spared the usual amount of sport on TV because there isn't any being played.  Every cloud has a silver lining and that's mine, shining like a diamond - although some of the TV stations have replaced their endless sport programs with programs on the progress of the current plague.  I'm not sure which is worse!  

Sorting of the bookshelves has ground to a halt because the book sale is closed.  One of the Rotary Clubs hereabouts has a lease with very cheap rent on a former industrial building, and one of their fundraisers is a used book sale every year in early May.  (The Lions Club also has one, in November)  The book sale has been ongoing twice a week for nearly a full year now; it's between here and town, so very convenient to pop into to drop off anything we have culled and to fill any gaps in our (my) collection.  Due to the plague it is closed for the time being; I have a small pile of books and magazines ready to be dropped off, so it's easier to leave the books on their shelves until things change.

"On public promenades.
Bowing once to a person upon a public promenade or drive is all that civility requires.  If a person is a friend, it is in better form, the second and subsequent passings, should you catch his or her eye, to smile slightly instead of bowing repeatedly.  If an acquaintance, it is best to avert the eyes."

A bow is not a bad idea, as it entails no physical contact.  One could sweep into a deep curtsey, but these days one would be darn lucky to get up again if one so much as tried it.

Enjoy your days!

Another week in which not much happens

It's amazing how restrictive one's life becomes when one can't stand for long, or walk far, without pain.  Too much sitting, we are told, is not good for us either, but sometimes one just doesn't have much choice.

Never mind.  This too shall pass, as I keep reminding myself.

At least my foot hasn't fallen off yet.

As a blog post isn't complete without pictures and nothing worthy of being pictured has occurred this week, let's trawl back through the vaults and see what we can find.

Taken just a couple of months after we moved here from the Big Smoke.  No cats were harmed in the taking of this picture.

Bianca had never seen a fire until living in this house, and immediately after the fire was lit she jumped on top.  She didn't stay long, though - we didn't have to coax or lift her down, she jumped off very smartly!

Bianca is still with us, she is now 16-1/2 years old - don't forget the half - and is doing well for such an elderly puss.  Each year her vet has "Senior Pet Month" in June with a free check-up, so off she went early in the week to be checked.  Apart from a low growl when vet Robyn touched a sore spot on her back hips she behaved quite well, and received a good health report.  She has lost some weight and is looking a little scrawny and unkempt as old cats do, but she runs around like a cat half her age and is quite happy with her life.

This was our view on a couple of mornings his week......not much at all.  Last year was so dry we had no fog as there was no moisture around to create any; it's still very dry but an occasional shower lately has left enough moisture for our world to sometimes disappear in the mornings.

One of the reasons we chose this house (apart from the view across the valley) was the lack of steps to make life difficult as we grew older.  It's single storey with one step at the back and just four at the front but those four are a bit tricky when one is unable to bend one's ankle (I'm not kidding when I say the boot is rigid), so we have ordered a railing for the front steps.  We like the open look of the house with no railings and it's not high enough off the ground to make safety railings mandatory, but out of curiosity we had a low rail included in the first quote......however, the amount was enough to make our eyes water.

As a result the verandah will stay un-railed, but there will be a basic rail to the left of the four steps which will make my life slightly easier.

My visit to the book sale last weekend to top up my Sue Grafton book collection yielded - nothing.  There were several of her books on the shelf, but all were books I already have!  Never mind......I shall visit every few weeks or so and have high hopes of completing my collection.  I did, however, find a couple of music books (one I already have, but the new one is in much better condition than my much-used copy), a couple of CDs and a DVD.

Following on from last week's quote:

"The mother has it in her power to make such books the companions and friends of her children as her good judgement may select, and to impress upon them their truths, by conversing with them about the moral lessons or the intellectual instructions they contain.  A taste may be easily cultivated for books on natural science and for history, as well as for those that teach important and wholesome lessons for the young."

My parents let me read whatever I wanted.  I was a precocious reader, reading whatever I could get my hands on even if I didn't always understand it, and had a reading age older than my actual age.  For them it was just an opportunity to boast about their clever daughter which they felt reflected glory on them......what wonderful parents they must be to produce such an amazing child!......but we had few books at home, and I never saw either of my parents read.  Books were my escape from a not always kind world.

Enough of that.

Enjoy your days!

The improbable has become possible

It is indeed possible to use one's left foot (even if one is a fairly right handed person) on the pedal of one's sewing machine.  To this end a couple of blocks have been made, one of which is my annual contribution to the quilt group's BOM.

One or two members are always looking for ideas to use up their stashes of 2-1/2in squares, and this block uses 32 of the little buggers to make a block about 11-1/4in square.

First, make two of these blocks using 16 squares each.

 Cut each of those blocks once on the diagonal.

Rotate the triangles so that the outer corners go into the centre, and join them into a larger triangle.  Repeat with the other two triangles, then join those two larger triangles into a square.  Easy peasy.  Is done.

I can't claim credit for this idea......I found it here.  Earlier this year I used these instructions to make my challenge quilt, and last week it occurred to me to use smaller squares to make a single block.

That's been the most exciting thing which has happened lately.

Took ourselves off to the fracture clinic on Wednesday afternoon.  Managed to not quite get lost in the hospital corridors.  Off you go for another X-ray, said the first doctor I saw, so off along the corridors I duly trotted.  Actually, limped is a better word......the boot doesn't make walking easy and I'm not allowed to drive with it on either so Kevin has to be my chauffeur, poor bloke......foot was photographed, then back to the clinic.  Saw a different doctor who prescribed another four weeks in the boot followed by another X-ray, make an appointment for that at the desk he said.  Did.  Went home.  Both doctors muttered words like "incomplete healing", "surgery" and "metal pin in foot bone" (gulp); it seems this foot bone fracture is notoriously difficult to heal on its own.

Bugger.

Oh well.  Onward and upward.

Weather has cooled down, we have even had a frost, while not far away from here some wet white stuff covered the ground.  It mightn't seem like much to many of you, but a couple of inches of snow is a big deal here and something not seen every winter.

Hoping to get to the Big Book Sale tomorrow.  We have two used book sales each year; a Rotary club runs the May sale while the Lions do November.  This year the Rotary sale is ongoing as they have access to cheap premises.  I have found amazing music books and a few interesting CDs at these sales and haven't set foot in the current one since before our Easter trip away, so I can feel a visit coming on.......don't you love a book sale......must take along the list of Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries and see if more can be added to my collection.

"The influence of books.

Few mothers can over-estimate the influence upon which the companionship of books exerts in youth upon the habits and tastes of their children, and no mother who has the welfare of her children at heart will neglect the important work of choosing the proper books for them to read, while they are under her care.  She should select for them such as will both interest and instruct, and this should be done during the early years, before their minds shall have imbibed the pernicious teachings of bad books and sensational novels.  The poison imbibed from bad books works so secretly that their influence for evil is even greater than the influence of bad associates."

Goodness......I wonder what the writer of these words in the early 1880s would think of my taste for murder/mystery stories, and for books on social history?  

Enjoy your days!

We have our books back!

I am a happy woman again.

Following the first flood in January 2017 our books were packed away for six months, then back on shelves for three months.  Packed up after the second flood at the end of October 2017 for over nine months.......it was like greeting old friends again as they were unpacked.  Right now they are on shelves but not in any order, so looking for one particular title can be a real adventure - but they will eventually be sorted, and the opportunity taken for a bit of a cull.  Right now, though, it's so good to be able to pick up a favourite book to enjoy again.

Not many stitches have been taken lately, but a lot of notes have been plinked.  That's something which can't be shown in a picture!  Take my word for it though......notes have been played, songs have been sung.

Now we are counting down the time until we flap our wings and fly - and it will be six weeks from tomorrow until we take off, up there in a tin box in the sky with hundreds of our new best friends and 97 crying babies over vast expanses of shark infested waters.  Sigh......I don't really mind flying (except for the horrendous ear pain on descent and landing) but really, it's just a glorified bus, isn't it?  Might be just dandy if one can afford to be up the pointy end with the other movers and shakers of the world, able to lie down and stretch out on a 15-16 hour flight, instead of sitting up with the plebs at the back.  Oh well.....I keep telling myself, this too shall pass and we will eventually be back on terra firma.  The firma, the better.

Looking forward to glorious sights like these again, though.

 One day we visited a local park we had often passed, and wandered around enjoying the gardens and the view.

 Colours were changing, of course - these are the colours that make my heart sing.

I like blue spruce, but they don't seem to grow here.

Sadly many of the conifers here are dying off in the drought; even our native eucalyptus trees are drying out and dying - something which seldom happens; they have developed over hundreds of years to live in a dry climate.  The nightly news bulletins are wallowing in gloom and doom because of the drought, and I can't help thinking - yes, we know that things are bad but talking about it won't make it go away, will it?  How about some more upbeat stories instead, to cheer people up?  So this blog will be a gloom-and-doom-free zone, as much as is possible.

"Be sympathetic and animated.
Do not go into society unless you make up your mind to be sympathetic, unselfish, animating, as well as animated.  Society does not require mirth, but it does demand cheerfulness and unselfishness, and you must help to make and sustain cheerful conversation.  The manner of conversation is as important as the matter."

Couldn't have put it better myself.  Some people (my mother was a prime example) mistake "how are you today" as a question, rather than the greeting it really is.....and a person's innards is not a topic for cheerful conversation, is it?

Enjoy your days!

Not back to normal yet

Like that shampoo ad said on TV a few years ago, it won't happen overnight......but it will happen.

Well, it seems this flood really caused damage.  The bottoms of several doors soaked up moisture from sitting on wet carpet, so they will also be replaced.  Some skirting (base) boards will need to go, but only a couple - most are made of proper wood, so they have less damage.  We can't help wonder why real wood was used for some, and cheap crappy artificial wood for others?  We have noticed that some odd short cuts were taken when this house was built 25 years ago.  At least one inside wall has to be partially removed to check for moisture between inner and outer walls.

Two of my books were lost.  One was a Mon Tricot knitting and crochet stitch and technique dictionary which I bought new in 1974, and to which I refer often; even though all that stuff can be found online sometimes there is no substitute for a proper book with real pages, is there?  Guess what - I found a copy on Ebay!  A small thing to be sure but something to cheer me a little, it should arrive soon.  The other was a book of basic women's knitting patterns which is still available, so that will also be done soon.  Both those books had their pages stuck together too firmly to be separated, because of the paper used.

However we aren't buying 'stuff' at present, because there is nowhere to put it!  Much of the house has been emptied, and furniture which hasn't been hauled away is stored in the garage.  We are trying to keep floors as clear as possible to make it easier for whoever puts down the new carpet.  One thing is for sure, though......we won't be going back to the store where the last replacement carpet was furnished, the owner bloke wasn't wonderful to deal with.  When we said to the assessor/builder from the insurance company that we would prefer to use another supplier he asked was it because of the boss man......we said yes......funny, he said, several other people have told me the same thing. 

Having said that......this morning a fundraising Christmas Fair was held and I couldn't resist some pretty blue and green earrings, they won't take up much room will they......and a necklace made in Madagascar from cow horn dyed in bright colours, which I am wearing as we speak.  I will call them my Christmas present.

My guitars and tenor ukulele were sitting on the wet floor but because they were in their cases I think they will be all right, and my cheapie soprano uke is probably some sort of plastic which would be impervious to water anyway.  On another cheery note, there have been a couple of ukulele gigs lately, playing music is more fun than moping about our spoiled house! 

Our town has two big used book sales a year, one in May organised by a Rotary Club and one in November organised by a Lions Club.  Since moving here I have found some wonderful treasures at these sales, but didn't go to the current sale in case I was carried away and bought books.......and right now we have nowhere to put them.

Sigh.  I do enjoy those book sales.......

"Never hold your companion in conversation by the buttonhole.  If you are obliged to detain him forcibly in order to say what you wish, you are pressing upon him what is disagreeable or unwelcome, and you commit a gross breach of etiquette in so doing."

Oh my - I would never do that to anyone, and I hope no one would ever do it to me.

Enjoy your days!

Hanging in an empty night

All finished, quilted, labelled, bound and photographed!  At last!

 Close up the colours are brighter, as you can see below.

 The back, with the extra piecing not as obvious as I had feared.

 A panel of stars was inserted to make the backing wide enough.

 The title, "Hanging in an empty night" is a line in a song written by a friend, Cathy Miller.

One of the first quilting books I bought a long time ago, and still a favourite, is "Star Quilts" by Mary Elizabeth Johnson.  It's wonderfully inspirational and, although I have never made any of the quilts whose instructions are in the book, my collection has a few star quilts including this one.

Last weekend the final stitches were taken on the blocks to make "Gumballs" from a pattern in McCalls Quilting way back in 2008.  I laid them out on the spare bed (AKA the design bed, I still haven't gotten around to getting a design wall) to see how they looked.......and I love them, they are just what I hoped they would be!

A bundle of blue/teal/purple fabrics was won in a giveaway on Linda's blog a couple of years ago, and when those fabrics arrived I looked at them......pondered......looked again......added a few more blues from my batik stash, and some orange and gold for contrast.......and this is the result.  When we return from our holiday those blocks will be joined into a top.  The colours make me think of flower petals floating on a tropical lagoon.......getting a bit fanciful here, folks.  I'll try not to let it happen again.

Next Wednesday we will be hitching up our little caravan, climbing into the car and heading south to Canberra to see the family and no doubt marvel at how much Young Euan has grown, and to enjoy the folk festival and some Canberra shopping (Canberra is the Medium Smoke so there is more choice than here) before going east to the south coast, then back to Canberra for a few days before returning home.  This week I found out that there will be a craft show in Canberra on our last weekend there, how fortuitous is that?

When we come home the repairs to the house can start.  The insurance company has finally approved a builder to fix the kitchen cupboards and replace what seems like several acres of floor tiles, after which the new carpet can be installed.  Once that is done we may - gasp - have to visit the Big Smoke to purchase replacements for the furniture which was damaged by water, then our books and treasures can be unpacked again.  I miss my books so much; all my sewing and quilting books are packed, nearly all my music books, nearly every cook book......a few favourite fiction books......my own library, built up over a long time.

While we're away it may not be possible to comment on blogs because we will have limited internet and we will probably have exciting things to do, places to go and people to see.

"No lady worthy any gentleman's regard will say "no" twice to a suit which she intends ultimately to receive with favor.  A lady should be allowed all the time she requires before making up her mind; and if the gentleman grows impatient at the delay, he is always at liberty to insist on an immediate answer and abide by the consequences of his impatience."

Well, I didn't say "no" at all.  Not once.

Enjoy your days!