Sad sad sad......

The on again, off again choir concert is definitely off.  We are so disappointed.  The charity committee which would have benefited had to comply with so many rules and regulations that it was too difficult to make it happen; the hall is owned by the council which has its hands tied by state government rules, and so it goes on.  Or doesn't, in this case.  We have hopes of a concert happening early next year, but our director is facing some health issues.......so, we can only see what next year brings, can't we.

At least the ukulele group can play next weekend at a charity fundraising fair, which will be fun.  We've even been practising!

A couple more houses.

A cat house and a house surrounded by birds, bugs and blooms, both of whom shop at the same garden store.  

'Weeds of Grace' is nearly finished, yay!  The label is attached, now the last corner needs to be bound - there is not much to do now, and then it can be photographed in all its gorgeous glory.  'Canadiana' is also coming along nicely; Ontario and Alberta have been quilted and joined, Quebec is quilted.

This is a pic from the past.  When we lived in the Big Smoke there was a block of shops not far away; a newsagent, pharmacy/post office agency, small supermarket, etc., and on the top corner a hardware shop with a small but very good plant nursery.  This is one of the plants bought there, a Callistemon called 'Taree Pink' - Taree is a town east of here, near the coast.  It's a pretty plant with pink blooms, and the new leaf growth shown here is pinky-bronze.  

I don't think we have ever had a plant which grew as quickly as this did!  It was a case of "plant it and stand back"; it lived on the front north-east corner of the house so it had direct sun for much of the day, and also reflected warmth from the brick and glass wall behind......and was the complete opposite of 'Wee Johnnie' which took four years to flower.  We planted one here but the drier inland climate didn't suit, because after a time spent doing nothing much at all it turned up its toes, folded its tent and stole away into the night - such a pity, because it was very pretty.

Our drive to town now has a new landmark, and it's not a good one.  On the four corners of a busy intersection are a small but useful shopping centre, the craft shed which has facilities for makers of just about anything you could think of, a sports ground, and until recently a vacant block which was used as overflow parking by both the sports ground and the shopping centre but which now holds a fast food place - I refuse to call it a 'restaurant', because to me that implies something nicer - which has the yellow arches on top; I won't name it because they aren't paying me to advertise, but I'm sure you can guess who I mean.  The corner also has a roundabout which is poorly planned and executed; the first week it was installed there were several accidents, we expect there will be many more now.  There is much gnashing of teeth by people who think it the wrong use of the land, especially as that roundabout is tricky to drive through with the traffic it already has.

Sadly our local council seems to feel that 'development at all costs' trumps traffic safety and the amenity of the aged care facility alongside.  There are supposed to be conditions about business hours etc., but you can bet your boots that it will eventually be allowed to trade for the longer hours it wants, and too bad about the oldies who live on the other side of the fence.  We don't have to use that corner on our trips to and from town, but it's an easier route if we do.

On to happier stuff.

Do you ever wonder what is going through an author's mind when they write their books, apart from telling the story?  I for one do like to see attention paid to spelling and grammar and syntax and Stuff like that, so I was floored a couple of days ago to read 'aquatint' instead of 'acquaint'.  Yes, no doubt it was run through spell check which said "that's fine, it's spelled correctly, you can use it"......but it's not the correct use, is it?  We both had a chuckle over that one; an 'aquatint' is a way of making an etching, to 'acquaint' is to make someone aware of something or someone.

A lot of rain fell this week but the promised flood didn't eventuate.  This is probably a good thing as it was forecast to be of biblical proportions, something not seen here for several years.  Winter popped back for a visit yesterday and hasn't quite left yet, quite a shock to the system - we have become used to spring's warmer temperatures, although there have  been one or two days you would call 'hot'.  It certainly hasn't been weather for barefoot frolicking around the garden in a flouncy summer frock; your frock would have been blown away into the wild blue yonder, leaving you covered in embarassment and very little else.

"Preparations for a ball.

There should be dressing-rooms for ladies and gentlemen, with a servant or servants to each.  There should be cards with the names of the invited guests upon them, or checks with duplicates to be given to the guests ready to pin upon the wraps of each one.  Each dressing room should be supplied with a complete set of toilet articles.  It is customary to decorate the house elaborately with flowers.  Although this is an expensive luxury, it adds much to beautifying the rooms."

                                                                                                      Perhaps we could beautify the rooms with 'Wee Johnnie' and 'Taree Pink"?                              

Enjoy your days!

Moving right along, footloose and fancy free......

The words of that song sum up the week nicely.

Progress has been made on sewing down the quilt binding.  A second corner has been turned although not without some angst, as I realised it had been flipped the wrong way......so some un-sewing happened, and some fancy poking and prodding of the corner mitre happened, and eventually it saw what I wanted and turned itself to face the correct way.  It could have been left but I would have noticed one wrong-facing corner every time I looked at the quilt - because we do, right? - so it was worth taking time to fix it.  We have had a couple of cooler evenings, so having the weight of a large quilt bundled up on my lap hasn't been too bad.

The top panel of the Canadian quilt is done, there are two rows of quilting in each black sashing.

The row under this has three blocks; two have been quilted and joined with sashing, while quilting on the third is in progress.  

This week's houses, both yellow but both different; a party house on the left (wouldn't want to live next door to them, would you?) and a house proudly flying its Aussie flag on the door, surrounded by tiny stars.

And because he's so cute, here's Wee Johnnie again.  This is the whole plant in all its glory.

You can see by the ruler that he is a Wee Johnnie, indeed!

It has taken him four years to get this far, but he is making up for lost time now.

Welcome to a new visitor to my blog, Viola from Sweden - what a beautiful country you live in!  Thank you for stopping by; I can't reply direct to you as you come up as a no-reply blogger.  

A hair trim finally happened during the week, the dreaded mask was donned (the stress gave me a headache which took some hours to dissipate, it really is a problem for me) and my hair is a few inches shorter than it was.  It could probably have done with leaving an extra half-inch or so on the length but not to worry; it will grow back.  Since having eye surgery last year and finding out how big and bright the world is I need to wear a hat when outside, and that's easier with shorter hair.

Choir resumed a few weeks ago and we are still hoping to have our concert at the end of November, but we fear it is unlikely.  Because of restrictions in numbers we wouldn't be able to have a very large audience; the whole point of the concert is to be a charity fundraiser, and we won't be able to raise much money from a small audience.  So......it looks as though it may be postponed until early next year, instead.  It's the only concert we do all year so we want to make it as good as possible - and with a few more months rehearsal we should be even more fabulous than we are now!

A few nights ago we were rudely awoken at stupid dark early o'clock by the noisiest storm we have heard for some time; it was full-on lights and music, crashing thunder and flashing lightning with some rain and wind.  The clock read 3.33 a.m., which is far too early for any civilised person to be stirring.  Not much rain (a bit more would have been good, actually) and fortunately for us no damage, although people in other parts of the country haven't been so lucky with trees falling on houses and vehicles.  We had first-hand experience of a destructive hail storm many years ago while living in the Big Smoke, and it's something we never want to experience again.

"More formal entertainments.

Evening parties and balls are of a much more formal character than the entertainments that have been mentioned.  They require evening dress.  Of late years, however, evening dress is as much worn at grand dinners as at balls and evening parties, only the material is not of so diaphanous a character.  Lace and muslin are out of place.  Invitations to evening parties should be sent from a week to two weeks in advance, and in all cases they should be answered immediately."

Just remember to leave your lace gown at home before sallying forth to a grand dinner, and you should be fine.  We aren't as formal now as folk were in 1885 when these words were written, which is probably a good thing......but on the other hand, it's nice to get really dressed up occasionally although I can't remember the last time we did.

Enjoy your days!

Oh, boy

The stress levels here have been rising, but I am trying to keep a lid on mine.  Kevin is starting to wonder "what if......what if......." and I am saying "don't worry about it.  What happens will happen."

More remediators have been, and we are now two large bookshelves less than we were before The Flood.  The timber end grain soaked up water like a sponge and, as they weren't solid timber, they can't be saved.  Bugger......they were 30 years old but there was nothing wrong with them.......so long as they didn't get wet.  All the books they contained have been packed away.  Everything else in every cupboard in that room will be packed away tomorrow to facilitate laying of new carpet when the time comes, and we don't know how long it will be until it can be accessed again.

Oh well.  What happens, will happen.

Our first two remediators who removed damaged carpets and set up the noisy fans were a cheery young couple who worked like Trojans, but I didn't warm to the second two, a younger bloke and an older bloke.  The younger bloke was fine, also a cheery young feller, but the older bloke (and he isn't as old as we are, he just seems older) is one of those blokes who comes storming in like a bull at a gate.  We haven't been through this experience before so are not sure of what happens, and a little gentleness goes a long way.  His voice was loud, his personality was loud.  I don't want him in my home again.  The remediation company is sending people again tomorrow and, if that bloke walks in the front door, I will be walking straight out the back, into the car and down the road and not coming home until he has gone.

Yesterday the insurance company sent an assessor to check out the kitchen cupboards and floor tiles, and his recommendation is that all the tiles be replaced as so many have come loose.  If the flood hadn't been hot water they would have probably stayed stuck down, but the glue under them has dissolved.  The cupboards are, as yet, a still unknown quantity - until someone can get under and behind them we won't know the extent of damage or mould.

On to happier things......

Get a load of this!  Proper applique!!

 Nothing lick 'n' stick about this lot!

Love those fabrics......

I suspect my sewing room will become even more of a refuge than it usually is for the next few months.  That might bode well for a few UFOs......or I could say I am off working on my PHD, Projects Half Done.  Sounds good, doesn't it?  Especially for one who didn't finish high school......

Last Thursday night at choir Carol and I were chatting to a new member (who was slightly appalled to find out that we don't use music, but she'll soon get over that) and Carol and I, who hadn't sat down and chatted before although we have been sitting a row apart for six months, worked out that we had been at school together. Fancy that.  I have never kept in touch with anyone from my school days, they weren't the best days of my life and don't need to be revisited.  Carol was asking the names of girls in my social circle and I couldn't remember.

In a couple of weeks the choir is performing at a charity concert and our leader has asked if the uke group can perform.  There are five members of both choir and uke group but two won't be available, so we're calling in reinforcements.  It seems to have fallen on my shoulders, woo hoo!  Oh, the power......I'm not picking any songs that I don't like, they will be oldies because our concerts attract an older audience who probably wouldn't like heavy metal goth headbanging ukulele music - if so, they will be sadly disappointed.

"Introducing yourself.

If, on entering a drawing room to pay a visit, you are not recognized, mention your name immediately.  If you know but one member of the family and you find others only in the room, introduce yourself to them.  Unless this is done, much awkwardness may be occasioned."

Exactly.  Don't go barging into someone's home saying, "G'day, where's the toilet?"  I don't care how long you have been driving.

Enjoy your days!