Not a stitch, not one street or laneway

No sewing was done on the house quilt.  The older I get, the more the first few days of daylight saving hit me; once it's been underway for a while it's easier to cope, but I'm pretty useless for those first few days.  That's my excuse for why I didn't get to quilt group on Tuesday.  It was still dark when I woke up, and I don't bounce out of bed when it's dark.  

Never mind.  There is no deadline....it's just a fun project.

Consequently it's been a(nother) lazy week, although the time change fog is lifting now.

The backing for the blue and green quilt has been pieced, although it needs to be cut down to size.

The fabric needed to be cut and re-joined to make a big enough piece.  There was no guarantee that the diagonal swirl (this is tilted) would match up when that was done and, if it didn't match, that would bug the bejabbers out of me every time I looked at it, so the blue stripe was added.  My brain can do random with no problems....it can do matched.......but it doesn't do mis-matched.  Mis-matched just looks.....untidy, doesn't it?  The blue stripe will be about one third of the way down going across the quilt, and the swirls will go top left to bottom right.  Or vice versa.

It is Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, so best wishes to my Canadian family and friends!

This was taken on Thanksgiving back in 2015.  We had celebrated Turkey Day with our son and his partner the previous day and, of course, being a holiday there wasn't a lot open on the actual day.  As it was a glorious day we took a bus to Rosetta Mcclain Gardens which we had passed several times by bus and car, but this was our first visit......and it was worth it, for sure; it was a beautiful place to while away a couple of hours with its early autumn colours.  While strolling around we heard a familiar sound - an Australian cockatiel!  It was sitting on its owner's shoulder chirping away, so of course being True Blue Ozzies we said in our best broad Strine "g'day, mate".  However, the bird being Canadian born and bred far from its native land didn't understand our accents, which we thought was funny.

Words have been read.  Notes have been sung but none plinked, but uke group resumes tomorrow so we will be plinking again.  Diamonds have been cut, and sewn.  Thoughts have been thought about many profound things.  Hunting and gathering has happened.  A little shifting of fabrics from one place to another has been done.

A major Aussie car race is taking place today which Kevin is watching, at times through his eyelids.  The sound is turned off because I cannot stand the screaming commentary, and the radio is playing instead; currently it's a program of instrumental music from movies.  I have tinnitus, and find having a radio playing in the background helps distract my brain from the endless annoying humming and buzzing in my ears.  My generation grew up without television, certainly those of us who grew up in country towns did (TV came to the Big Smoke several years earlier than it did to smaller towns) and to this day I am more than happy to leave it off, unless there is a program I really want to watch.  But - we had radio!  There was always music; in our house the 'wireless' was turned on first thing in the morning and turned off last thing at night.  The local station played a mix of the latest hits and music from earlier times so we grew up familiar with music from the 1950s, 40s, 30s.....even the 1920s, and those older songs were also played at the dances we attended so of course we sang along while tripping the light fantastic.

An unwelcome visitor popped in for a chat earlier this week - winter made a return!  It was so cool on Thursday evening that we even had a fire; we could have done with one last night too because this morning was distinctly chilly.  We'll see how this evening develops, it may even be lit again.  This is the latest we have had a fire, we are usually done with them by the end of September......but not this year; last week was very warm for so early in the season and this week has swung to the opposite extreme.

Etiquette of the Street, Some General Suggestions:

"If a gentleman is walking with two ladies in a rain storm, and there is but one umbrella, he should give it to his companions and walk outside.  Nothing can be more absurd than to see a gentleman walking between two ladies holding an umbrella which perfectly protects himself, but half deluges his companions with its dripping streams."

"Absurd" doesn't begin to describe it, does it?

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Summer is icumen in........

......so says the old song, and summer seems to have arrived here at La Chateau des Wombats with a vengeance considering that, as it's another two weeks to the spring equinox, it's still winter by the calendar.  When I was at school a thousand years ago we were taught that spring and autumn began on the equinox, but someone forgot to tell Mother Nature this year - she seems to have lost spring.

To make up for my moans about how hot it is and how much hotter the coming summer may be, here are some pics of our pretty garden flowers.....all Aussie native plants.

 Phebalium squamulosum argenteum.  (don't worry, I can't say it either)  Can grow up to two metres high.

 Philotheca 'Bournda Beauty', its maximum height should be one metre when fully grown......it will be gorgeous, and its lovely smell is related to citrus.

 Eremophila nivea , could grow up to two and a half metres and is well on the way already.  It is really pretty and we love it!  The leaves are very soft.

Eremophila 'Kalbarri Carpet', deep gold flowers with grey leaves.  If planted in the garden rather than a pot it could grow as high as two metres, but as we don't have a vacant spot in the garden it's in a pot for now.  When I saw it recently at the nursery I fell deeply in love with it and it had to come home with us.

Some people in Australia claim to not like our native plants, but how could you not love these?  They are all so different, and all so beautiful.  Just because a plant comes from overseas (every other country in the world is overseas from Australia, being as how we are an island) doesn't make it better or more desirable than something local.

Nothing much to report on the sewing front.  A shopping expedition will take place (probably the day after tomorrow, as tomorrow has taken on a life of its own) to buy the zipper for the wedding skirt, button moulds for covering as the blouse has five buttons up the back, and some el cheapo gingham to try out the sizing of the blouse pattern before cutting into that pretty green fabric.  Last week an invisible zipper foot was purchased for My Lovely New Bernina, and the video of how to use it has been watched, so I reckon I can do it.  I've been sewing in zippers since I was a teenager, even the very long ones that used to go in the fitted dresses we wore as teenagers, but have never inserted an invisible zipper before.......shows that even at my advanced age, learning a new skill is not impossible.

So far no joy on sandals to wear to the wedding either, although a local shoe shop looks promising; they have some lovely summer sandals but not in colours that would go with my fabrics.  Never mind, there are still several months to go.  In the meantime, every shoe shop I pass will have its summer stock checked out......somewhere, the right sandals will be waiting.......shoe shopping is always a fraught exercise for me.  I'm not a shoe girl.  I buy what I have to when I have to, and that's it.

My radio program is being moved again, probably to a weeknight, as programs are being shuffled round to take into account the fact that some of the announcers have resigned.  Some didn't like the changes being brought in so, rather than co-operate with the new management to find a mutually agreeable solution, they walked.  I have been told to continue as I have been so am doing just that, as there is no point in rocking a boat which is steady.

Yesterday a small group of singers including yours truly sang for our supper at an open day at the local Historical Society museum.  We enjoyed it, and our audience seemed to enjoy it too; nice things were said to us, and about us.  The recently-made long black skirt had its first wearing and was a great hit, as was the white linen shirt with smocked yoke and sleeve panels - an op shop purchase last week for the princely sum of $3.  (The label is still in business, and their new white linen shirts are priced at $279, so that makes my shirt A Very Good Bargain, don't you think?)  It was worn with a black bow in my hair and a wide-brimmed straw hat trimmed with black ribbons (which lad lain unworn in the wardrobe for some years), and I was complimented on my authentic late-19th century look......just goes to show how easily a different look can be put together.

"How to have shoes made.
The great fault with modern shoes is that their soles are made too narrow.  If one would secure perfect healthfulness of the feet, he should go to the shoemaker and step with his stockinged feet on a sheet of paper.  Let the shoemaker mark with a pencil upon the paper the exact size of his foot, and then make him a shoe whose sole shall be as broad as this outlined foot."

Would that I could.......

Enjoy your days!

Waxing lyrical

This morning our neighbour gave us a big bunch of Geraldton Wax from their garden, her husband was pruning one of their trees nearby and the secateurs slipped......that's his story, anyway.  Isn't it beautiful?

 You can see the waxy flower centres.  The original plant had pale pink flowers, but now different colours are available including this deep almost-purple; on the bush in natural light the colour is richer than it looks here.

I have admired this bush each morning on my walk, it takes me back to when I was a wee thing......12 years old or so......my mother's aunt and uncle had one in their garden.  The waxy little blooms were fascinating!  In those days growing Australian native plants was considered a very daring thing to do, as every gardener lusted after roses and other plants from overseas - which grow here with varying degrees of success.  Almost everything in our garden now is an Aussie native plant but we don't have a Geraldton Wax plant......perhaps next time there is a vacancy (because no plant lives forever and eventually some will need replacing) we might take a trip to our local nursery........

The radio program is going well on Sunday afternoon.  As part of the changes happening at the station each of the presenters was asked to pop in for a talk, which I did, and was told that to continue with the mix of music I have been playing.  I was also told that shortly my time slot will be changing and I will be going back to evening, which is good news.

The kitchen at La Chateau des Wombats is very spiffy these days, as it now has a new oven.  So far it works, and within the next few days we will try cooking a favourite slice in it.  The old oven baked very well so I need to see if this one does too, and if a tried-and-true recipe comes out the way it should -  that will be good enough for me.

The excursion to the local fabric shop yielded results, a lovely silky polyester for a new skirt - autumn colours in a splodgy print, with a light teal lining which brings out the depth in the colours - it blends beautifully with the pretty aqua cotton from my stash.  Unfortunately the green silk I remembered from my last visit had gone....the owner only gets one roll of each fabric and when it's gone, it's gone.....I bought extra fabric to make a scarf/wrap and plan to bead its ends to give it some weight.  Now for shoes and bag, shoes will probably be dressy sandals as an outdoor wedding in mid-summer in Australia could be warm and my feet swell in hot weather.

The ultrasound and x-ray had mixed results: the shoulder bones are not being pulled out of place by the torn tendon which is good news, but the painful tear is still there and will not get better by itself.  Next step is to see an orthopaedic specialist about a repair, oh dear.......not looking forward to Going Under The Knife........but if it's the only way to fix what is becoming an increasing problem then it will have to be done.

"Still more destructive of the beauty and symmetry of our women's feet have been the high, narrow heels so much worn lately.  They make it difficult to walk, and even in some cases permanently cripple the feet.  A shoe, to be comfortable, should have a broad sole and a heel of moderate height, say one-half an inch, as broad at the bottom as at the top."

Rest assured that, for the forthcoming wedding, the groom's mother will not be staggering in heels too high for her - even though she is short.

Enjoy your days!

I spy some music.......

Here is the promised pic of the engagement present.  It's not meant to be a forever heirloom, just a bit of fun.

A set of place mats with a musical theme.  It uses six different fabrics, and once cut the pieces are swapped around so that all mats use the same fabrics but in different places, as you can see.  The blue was chosen because the engagement ring has an Aussie sapphire in the centre.

The wedding will take place at the start of next February, so now I need to start thinking.....what does the mother of the groom wear?  It won't be over-the-top formal but somehow I don't think jeans would be right.  When one is short (can't do anything about that) and fat (other people tell me I am not but I think I am, thank you menopause and genetics), one doesn't look good in anything at all.  Just as well all eyes will be on the bride.  At this stage I am leaning toward a skirt and top, the skirt would be in a print with the top in a co-ordinating plain fabric.  If the skirt fabric is suitable there might even be extra purchased for a matching wrap.....I am thinking of a rather luscious green (of course), blue and brown silk I saw recently in a local fabric shop.....it was very beautiful.

Next Tuesday the shoulder has an appointment for an ultrasound and x-ray to see what is happening in there, then back to the doctor a few days later to find out the verdict and to decide what happens next.  If it should be found that an operation is necessary (and from what Emma The Nice Young Physiotherapist told me, that will probably be the case) the next decision will be timing.  If the shoulder is strapped in a sling for some weeks I won't be able to play ukulele, which will be sad.  It will also curtail some other activities such as sewing and quilting.  All in all, it may be a rather boring time; remembering back on the time my arm was plastered while it healed from its break, it was very boring indeed.  I could do crosswords, and read, provided I sat at the table - holding a book was quite painful.  Now, though, I have my fancy new electronic gadget upon which to read books!

Last Sunday my radio program had its first airing in its new time slot, as they say, and let me tell you three hours of talking on air is more tiring than two.  One of the changes in the air is to, as they say, play "more of the hits from the 80s, 90s and noughties" and if it is decided that my program will do that then I will cease presenting.  At present I play a mix of folk/blues/jazz, some old swing band music, nearly all of it from our own CDs........I lost interest in popular music in about 1975 and would be totally out of my depth playing music from later years.

This winter has been fairly mild and dry, local plants are somewhat confused and are starting to bud and send out new green shoots although spring shouldn't be starting until next month.  However that changed last night, it was very cold, and this morning we woke up to a heavy frost, frozen water in the bird baths and the news that the temperature had dropped to minus 5.6 overnight - the coldest this year.  That's 21.9 degrees if you still use old numbers.  Tonight will also be very cold, minus 4 is forecast.....but that was last night's forecast too!  It is preferable to the heat we had last summer; one can always add layers, but there are limits to what one can remove in summer, especially in public, and still maintain some sense of decorum.

"Dress at wedding receptions.
At wedding receptions in the evening, guests should wear full evening dress.  No one should attend in black or mourning dress, which should give place to grey or lavender.  At a morning reception of the wedded couple, guests should wear the richest street costume with white gloves."

And if one doesn't have any white gloves.......?

Enjoy your days!

Doo doo dooooo, lookin' out my back door.......

Although we live in a country town we aren't right in the centre of it, we live on the northern edge with no neighbours over our back fence........except for these fellers.  While having lunch today I heard 'moo' which was then repeated a few times, and looked up to see the whole herd watching me through the back window.  There are more beasties but I couldn't get them all in the shot.  The white-faced feller seems quite interested in our rosemary bush!  This is crown land leased by a local bloke who sometimes has a few horses and/or cattle which are bought, fattened up then sold again.  At present we think there may be 16 in the herd, but they don't stand still long enough to be easily counted.  At times it can smell somewhat.....rural.....when we go outside, but it is still better than where we lived in the Big Smoke.

The hill is deceptively steep too - it doesn't seem like much in this pic, but believe me - it is steeper than it looks.

It's been a very long time since we had a Wombat of the Week (WOW), there can't be too many left which haven't been shown on the blog, but this one hasn't.  It's a bag screen printed on very nice quality linen, which our son and his GF (now fiancée) gave me last Christmas along with other goodies, and it gets used a lot.  Speaking of said couple, their package has been sent and when it has been received I will show a pic here.

Lately many blogs I have looked at have mentioned bloglovin', can someone please tell me what it is, what it is for and what does it do - preferably in words of no more than four letters and no longer than one syllable?  Their website is as clear as mud.

There are some changes in the air at the radio station, my program is being shifted to Sunday afternoons and will run for three hours instead of the current two.  Could be interesting......we'll see how it goes.

Last weekend's uke concert went well, we were applauded and people said nice things to and about us.  It has been uploaded to the interwebz and you should be able to see it here; I'm in the middle.  Now we are getting into even more advanced stuff, picking tunes instead of just strumming chords, starting with "Hey Jude".

I am trying to see where in my life I can fit in that shoulder operation, I suspect the day is getting closer when there won't be much choice but to have it fixed.  Next Tuesday I see my GP to start the ball rolling, she will no doubt suggest (yet another) ultrasound, then the next step after that will be to see the specialist.  Not looking forward to Going Under The Knife, but just the same it would be nice to have a shoulder which doesn't hurt.  Let that be a lesson to you.......don't have your hands in your pockets if you should happen to trip and fall, it was a tumble a few years ago which broke my arm and tore the tendon in my shoulder.

The other night at choir we were told what to wear for next month's concert and the women are asked to wear an ankle-length black skirt, if they have one.....and thanks to my recent time sewing I do, now!

"Promiscuous introduction. 
There is a large class of people who introduce friends and acquaintances to everybody they meet, whether at home or abroad, while walking or riding out.  Such promiscuous introductions are neither necessary, desirable, nor at all times agreeable."

I'm sure none of us would do that, would we?

Enjoy your days!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch........

What a great time we had at the festival this year!  For some years now the festival has been getting bigger and bigger - this year it was pulled back in size, and was so much friendlier and easier to get round.  It was more like the festival it used to be in years gone by, and much better for that.  Let's hope it continues that way.

I was so busy having a good time that no pics were taken, would you believe!  But this afternoon I did take a few of my beautiful new ukulele, which I present for your edification.

 Isn't this a pretty little thing?

 The back and sides are of Queensland Maple, the neck is ash, and the dark fret board is lacewood.

It was expensive but worth every penny, a dream to play and it sounds wonderful.  One of the features at the festival is a display of instruments, which I have always found fascinating......so this year I went shopping, and bought my ukulele from Doug Eaton.  It was admired all weekend by many people, and last night at uke group it was a hit too.  While I'm far from being the world's best player, it makes even me sound good.

On our trip home the autumn colours were coming along nicely; next year Easter will be three weeks later than this year - so that will mean more colour, yay!

It's been a quiet few days at the Chateau des Wombats, on Monday morning Kevin went to the Big Smoke for an operation on his shoulder and will return tomorrow.  I stayed here keeping the home fires burning (not literally, it isn't that cold yet) and looking after the cats - who, by the way, were thoroughly spoiled by our house sitters.  All has gone well with the operation but somehow I don't think he has realised what life will be like being able to use only his left arm for a while......and he is very right-handed.

A feature of the festival is the number of workshops, the one on bluegrass gospel harmony singing was fun......a hundred people in a small room, by gosh we sounded great.......and a forum for broadcasters, which I attended.  Several performers popped in to the forum and distributed copies of their latest CDs which were gratefully received, so this Sunday's radio program will feature music from this year's festival and from past festivals too.  We brought eight CDs home with us but only paid for two, thanks to the generosity of said performers.

On the way home we had an interesting experience:  we stopped at a camp ground in Cowra, and late in the afternoon the manager rounded up all the guests for a 'happy hour' chat in the barbecue shed.  One woman arrived late, looked at me.....recognised me, and when she introduced herself I recognised her too......we used to play music together years ago, so later that evening she, her husband and I had a great little musical session much to the entertainment (we hope!) of the other guests.  We certainly enjoyed ourselves!

"Do not lack politeness.
Never hesitate in acts of politeness for fear they will not be recognized or returned.  One cannot be too polite so long as he conforms to rules, while it is easy to lack politeness by neglect to them.  Besides, if courtesy is met by neglect or rebuff, it is not for the courteous person to feel mortification, but the boorish one; and so all lookers-on will regard the matter."

The guests at the camp ground were very polite about our music, even singing along with us when they knew the songs we played, and were very courteous - which we appreciated.

Enjoy your days!

Oh, the indignity.........

All my ancestors, as far as I have been able to ascertain, came from the British Isles, England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland and like many of my family I have the complexion to prove it.....pale, freckled skin and auburn hair (what's not grey, that is).  Last week my body and I attended the doctor for a skin check, something I hadn't done for some years because it is such an undignified procedure; one has to strip down to one's undies while said doctor peers closely at one's skin.  A couple of spots need to go back for a return visit and biopsy but that doesn't need to be for a while, thank goodness.  When the doctor - young, male - asked me if I was happy to take off my clothes so he could look at my skin I replied, "no I am not happy about it, I find the whole procedure very humiliating but am prepared to do it".......he thought that was hilarious.  I was merely speaking the truth.  Stripping is humiliating and undignified and cringe-making, and there will be more cringing because one of the spots to be biopsied (is there such a word?) is on my back under my bra strap.  Erk.  Cringe.......

On a much happier note the radio program seems to be going along well, next Sunday's will be a little green because it will be St Patrick's Day.  All together now........diddle-e-i-diddle-e-o.......diddly diddly........

A busy week coming up what with volunteering at the local gallery; attending a pattern drafting workshop where the hard sell may be tried, but it doesn't work on me; Thursday quilt group; Friday household stuff; Saturday evening we have seats for a play by the local theatre group, Sunday and Monday cleaning and packing ready to drive off on Tuesday for a couple of weeks.  We will return the first weekend in April.

The sewing room has been calling, and yesterday one of the projects bought last year in Canada was pulled out of the cupboard and its gorgeous batik fabrics drooled over.  Then I took the rotary cutter to them......sliced and diced......not all cut yet but it won't take long.  The pattern is "Leaf peeking" although my fabrics are different to those shown, and it was purchased at the Creativ Festival in Toronto from the very helpful ladies at Country Concessions quilt shop.  The sewing mojo has been a little absent lately so a new project is just what it needs to kick start it again, yes?  Especially something small and easily finished.  As autumn colours are appearing round town it seems a good time to make an autumn project.

But our autumn colours, pretty as they are, are nothing like these:

Taken in Bayfield, Ontario, last October.  Much more glorious than anything we see here.....and some Canadians we met wondered why we travelled to their country in autumn, rather than summer.

"It is rude to interrupt friends whom you meet in a shop before they have finished making their purchases, or to ask their attention to your own purchases.  It is rude to offer your opinion unasked, upon their judgement or taste, in the selection of goods."

Indeed.

Now it's time for some ukulele practice, then perhaps a piece or two of fabric may be cut, then early dinner before heading out to choir......sometimes I wonder how I ever found time to work, keep house and raise a family for all those years before I retired.

Enjoy your days!

We've been and gone and come home again

The Big Smoke was big, but not very smokey - at least not where we were!  We stayed by the water and had a lovely view from the back verandah, looking left.........

 ........then straight ahead........

 .......then right.

A hibiscus in the rain, the flowers on that bush were bigger than my hand.

And before you ask, no, I did not go in that pool.  I don't appear in public in a swimsuit.

We had an good visit, catching up with friends for dinner, visiting my favourite music shop (a couple of new CDs came home with us) and a quilt shop, and seeing an exhibition at the State Library of NSW, a collection of photos taken in the gold rush days of the 1870s.  The detail in the photos is amazing and we found it particularly interesting as we know some of the towns where the pictures were taken; several of the buildings still exist.

But we could have done without the drive home in the rain on Friday........only 30-40 minutes was dry, out of what is usually a six hour drive.  It took much longer because traffic was slow, drivers were being cautious which isn't a bad thing in heavy rain.

Last week Karen was able to hear some of my radio program, isn't technology amazing?  People at the station were thrilled to know that we can be heard on the far side of the known universe - which Karen's town is, from here.  Thank you for listening, Karen, and for your kind words!  I still make the occasional mistake but I'm getting the hang of all that has to be done.......and tonight it was a solo effort, no one in the building but me.  Each week gets a little easier and a little less unnerving.

We've been seeing signs of autumn!  The vine on the fence of the football field we drive past on our way to or from town is starting to turn bronze and some trees are turning yellow already, while others have the faded look which often precedes changing.  We're not sure what the vine is, could be an ornamental grape, and it is pretty when all its leaves are bronze.  Signs that summer is on the way out have been noticeable for two or three weeks now; summer was record-breaking hot, the hottest for many years, and I for one will be glad when it's finally all over.  When we head south in a couple of weeks there should be even more signs of autumn to enjoy.

"To make lip salve.
Melt in a jar placed in a basin of boiling water a quarter of an ounce each of white wax and spermaceti, flour of benzoin fifteen grains, and half an ounce of the oil of almonds.  Stir until the mixture is cool.  Color red with alkanet root."

Oh my.......women have it easy these days, don't we?  We can buy a new lipstick whenever we need to, we don't have to make our own.  Alkanet and benzoin are from  plants, while spermaceti is from whales; obviously the writers of my 1885 book assumed their readers would be familiar with such items.

Enjoy your days!

So.....tonight's the night!

Yes folks, tonight marks my debut as a radio announcer with my own weekly program and apparently the station is now streaming so you can listen online, should the time suit.  From 7pm to 9pm Eastern Australian Time, which is probably stupid dark o'clock in some parts of the world - if you would like to listen you can find world clocks on the interwebz; we are in the same time zone as Sydney.  Station details are here.

The ukulele and Beethoven are becoming more friendly toward each other, you will be pleased to hear.  Oh my......last week teacher Sam let me use one of his tenor ukes.  Mine is a soprano, the smallest size, then there's concert size, tenor, with baritone being the biggest.  Tenor is so much easier to play because I am used to playing guitar, my fingers are long and often reach too far on the little soprano's neck so I end up playing wrong notes.  Didn't have that problem with Sam's tenor uke!  I can foresee a tenor uke in my future, and some of the time spent at next month's National Folk Festival will be checking out the hand-made instrument makers' display to find just the right tenor uke.

We need a picture, don't we?  Let's see what we can find.

This really made us chuckle, we thought it was fun!  In Sidney, B.C., Canada, this tree beside the water had bottles hanging from its branches.  You may not be able to see the contents of the bottles, but there were objects like a key ring (with keys attached), a little yellow duck and a red poppy - it was a few days after Remembrance Day.

There was even a sign attached to the tree giving an email address, perhaps it's the Keeper Of The Tree?  One would need to be nimble and a little fearless to hang a bottle from some of those branches.

Last night I received an email to tell me I had won some Aurifil thread from a blog giveaway, isn't that great?  It's a thread I really like, and use often; I've been buying thread online from them for several years.

The other day I checked in with Emma the physiotherapist and she has given me the green light to start walking, but not too far, in addition to the usual walking while shopping etc..  The doctor has said 30 minutes a day, but so far 10 minutes is about all my foot and ankle will happily do - according to Emma, we should stop when it starts hurting so as not to damage still-healing tissues.  That's all right by me, I am so unfit and out of condition that it will take a little time to build up my fitness again.  We live near the top of a hill so walking away from our house is fairly a easy downhill stroll.......but coming home is always uphill.  I can't believe how long this is taking to heal, it seemed a fairly ordinary (if somewhat painful) whack when it was first done!  Just goes to show, you can damage yourself more easily than you think.

Last weekend Kevin and I went to see "Quartet"......it's gently humorous and has some wonderful performers who can still sing and play up a storm although in what would be considered their senior years.  While it's not the best movie I've seen about older people we both enjoyed it, and friends who have seen it have also liked it.  It's good to see a movie which doesn't depend on violence, action, special effects and sex, sex and more sex to tell a story.  Is that really what people want to see these days, or is it what movie-makers want to make regardless of the public's taste?

"After you have visited a friend at her country seat, or after receiving an invitation to visit her, a call is due her upon her return to her town residence.  This is one of the occasions when a call should be made promptly and in person, unless you have a reason for wishing to discontinue the acquaintance; even then it would be more civil to take another opportunity for dropping a friend who wished to show civility, unless her character has been irretrievably lost in the meantime."

Oh dear!  I have sometimes lost my way, or lost an object.....but to lose one's character would be disastrous.

Enjoy your days!

Not sure where the week has gone.....

No doubt about it, the older one gets the quicker time flies.  This week I had great intentions of posting sooner but it just didn't happen.

The quilt top made of those not-very-well-put-together blocks is done, what do you reckon?  Bearing in mind that it still needs to be properly pressed, then layered and quilted.

It's not quite as yellow as it appears - it's lying on the spare bed, and that room has gold walls.  The picture was quickly taken so you could see what a genius I am, both with the design and the border colour choices.

The current sewing room project is to draft a pattern for pants, which is quite an interesting process.  When I was young and slender I used to be able to make pants from a bought pattern which would fit with no alterations needed but as age, genetics and hormones have wrecked my once youthful figure that's not so easy any more.  Properly fitting clothes can make anyone look better.....at least, I hope so!  We now have a branch of the Australian Sewing Guild here in the Small Smoke, and the help and support of like-minded people is great.  It also helps to have someone else to help with fitting and measuring which is difficult to do on one's own.  As the next sewing group meeting will come before the quilt group meeting the pants pattern will get done first; if the quilt isn't done for this month it can wait until next time.

Now that the music festival is over and done with until next January life is slowly returning to what passes for normal.  Monday night choir starts again tomorrow night, ukulele group on Tuesday night.....so far Thursday night choir hasn't been heard from, but no doubt it will start again soon.  This year I had hoped to have a go at square dancing but the foot is not quite yet up to it; yes, I have done square dancing before so I can follow the calls......allemand left with your left hand, do-si-do etc.......my doctor keeps making noises about exercise and that would at least be fun......

Last Wednesday morning I made my radio debut!  Not on my own program yet but Tony who has been training me said "now you take over" and walked out of the studio for a while, so I had the fun of selecting the music to be played, and announcing it, and making sure the correct sponsors' and community announcement messages were played, and answering the phone and playing the requested songs.  Folk who heard it were complimentary, so that's good - I'm looking forward to having my own program.

This week we have had more welcome rain, the hill behind us is now green and lush again.  Before last weekend it was dry and yellow-brown, but within two days of the rain it had changed completely; it was getting greener as we watched, I'm sure.  This morning I noticed a slight change of colour on some of the leaves of a large deciduous tree near the local railway station, perhaps we are coming to the beginning of the end of summer!  Or perhaps the tree was like many of us, tired and stressed by the heat of the last few months.

"As culture is the first requirement of good society, so self-improvement should be the aim of each and all of its members.  Manners will improve with the cultivation of the mind, until the pleasure and harmony of social intercourse are no longer marred by the introduction of discordant elements, and they only will be excluded from the best society whose lack of education and whose rude manners will totally unfit them for its enjoyments and appreciation.  Good manners are even more essential to harmony in society than a good education, and may be considered as valuable an acquisition as knowledge in any form."

That's very true, isn't it?  We can forgive people many things, if they have good manners.

Enjoy your days!