Back to vertical

Which is something I most definitely was not, last weekend; the reaction to the booster was every bit as bad as I had feared, in fact it was worse than last time.  As usual Kevin had no reaction at all, which doesn't seem fair.

It has been a sad week, though - on Thursday we had to say goodbye to Bianca, after more than 19 years.

This is my favourite pic of her, taken not long after we moved here.  Our house in the Big Smoke didn't have a Big Black Blob in the corner, a thing which, after some magic words were said and arcane deeds done, could be made to emit warmth.  (We still have a Blob, of a more modern design)  The magic words had been said, the arcane deeds done, a small fire started......and she jumped up!  She didn't stay long, but I couldn't resist a photo.

Back in the Big Smoke, helping to sort and pack.

Just to show what a pretty cat she was.....and yes, she did have eyes of different colours, but she wasn't deaf.

When she was very young she had just a few grey/black hairs on top of her head, something our vet told us could cancel out the gene which often makes odd-eyed white cats deaf.

And now we are catless.  We have always had at least one cat in our 48 years together.  The house is very quiet.

Before succumbing to the booster reaction I did manage to start the quilting on the border of my Canadian quilt, and have high hopes of being able to do more during the coming week.  Enough was done that the layers are now held firmly together, I don't need to worry about it falling apart every time it is picked up.

Some stitches have been knitted.  Some diamonds have been pieced.  Some words have been read.  That is about all I have been capable of doing.  I am seriously thinking about not having any more boosters; I suspect the government and the medical people will try to cajole/bribe/coerce/threaten us with one every six months, but I don't want to be that ill every six months.

The ukulele group has a gig next Saturday afternoon, a 'musical afternoon' we have played at in the past, before the covid plague.  (Our lives seem to be divided into BC and AC, don't they?)  We even have a couple of extra songs in reserve in case we are needed to fill in for someone who may have to cancel at short notice, always a possibility these days; when I spoke to one of the organisers yesterday she was pleased to hear it.

The new dishwasher works, for which we are thankful.  We also now have a light in our walk-in pantry, something which makes our lives easier.  It's set up with a sensor, comes on when the door is opened and goes off when it's closed, so it is not left on when it shouldn't be.

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"It is necessary for a gentleman to bow to his partner before a quadrille; after, it is enough that he offers his arm and walks at least half way round the room with her.  He is not obliged to remain beside her unless he wishes to do so, but may leave her with any lady whom she knows, or conduct her to a seat."

So, gentlemen, don't just dump your quadrille partner like a hot potato.  The bow before beginning the quadrille is performed while the opening chords of the music are being played.  Gentlemen bow - ladies drop a curtsey - to one's partner, then turn and repeat to one's corner person.  Then....begin the first movement of the quadrille.  I used to enjoy dancing quadrilles, whether slow and stately or more enthusiastic.

Enjoy your days!

Pinning progress

The border on my Canadian quilt is pinned, ready to be machine quilted.

The white border won't be quilted, the narrow black inner border and the outer print border will be.  That's the block for Newfoundland and Labrador peeking in the corner.  There are a few things happening this week but - hopefully! - next weekend is free for quilting; I say "hopefully" because we are booked in to have our second covid boosters on Friday, and if I have a reaction to it like I did to the first booster back in February I won't be stirring from my bed for a few days.  Kevin had no reaction at all, but I more than made up for both of us.  

Some folk have expressed surprise that I'm not using English paper piecing to make my diamond hexagon blocks.....well, that's because I find it to be quite unutterably tedious.  This is how I make my diamonds:

First, a piece of fabric is cut four inches by two and a half inches, then the diamond template laid on the wrong side and traced around with a very fine point pencil.  Dark fabrics are done with a silver pencil.  Using a square ruler to add 1/4 in seam outside the pencil lines and a rotary cutter, four cuts later - zip zip zip zip - we have a diamond ready for sewing on the line.  It's a very quick process.

You can see how beautifully they fit together....and then they're done.  No trying to fit the old arthritic hands around paper shapes, just a straight seam from corner to corner.  More diamonds needed to be cut so this project can come with me on Tuesday, for my monthly day volunteering at a gallery.  A surprising amount of stitching can be done if there are not a lot of visitors, and if there are visitors it's often a talking point.

I love the colours in this pic....autumn leaves in the car park at Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island.

We're back in winter, our spell of milder weather (and even a little rain!) has ended again, for now at least.  This morning was very very cold; minus 2 deg C, but the 'feels like' dipped to minus 6 C.  The hill behind us was covered in a white layer of frost; even the weeds looked pretty and lacey, but it wasn't pretty enough to make me want to go outside to frolic barefoot among the dandelions, let me tell you.

The sage of the broken dishwasher continues.  Last weekend we ordered a new one....it'll take at least two to three weeks to get from the warehouse, we were told....but no!  A call came on Friday to tell us it was already in, so arrangements need to be made to have it collected, delivered and installed.  Hopefully those arrangements are already under way.

Wilson, the big black boofy overgrown teenage dog next door, is barking again.....when his owners are away he takes it on himself to bark for the whole neighbourhood......we wouldn't mind the odd bout of laryngitis now and then.  Each and every dog which is walked past his house is greeted; the neighbourhood has become noisier than it used to be as more people now have dogs, so of course there are more greetings.  He's a big softie ('big' being the word, he's a boxer/lab mix) who looks fierce and has a loud voice.  A very loud voice.  Which he uses often...there he goes again.....

Oh well.  Wilson certainly keeps burglars away from their house, and probably from ours too.  

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"Never forget ball-room engagements, nor confuse them, nor promise two dances to one person.  If a lady has forgotten an engagement, the gentleman she has thus slighted must pleasantly accept her apology.  Good breeding and the appearance of good temper are inseparable."

That last sentence holds true for many circumstances, doesn't it?  Not just when forgetting that one has engaged one's self to a dance partner the fact of which has then slipped one's mind, but in other parts of our life.

Enjoy your days!

One of these days....

....this quilt will have its borders pinned ready for quilting.

It seems that every time I have a block of time to get it done, something intervenes....it is so frustrating....time had been reserved yesterday but we went shopping for a dishwasher.  By the time we returned home, had a cuppa, fiddle-faddled around for a bit, there wasn't enough of the day left for something I prefer to do in natural light.

Oh well.  The coming week doesn't look too hectic....fingers crossed....

Just because I love autumn pictures:

Taken on a cool damp day outside our B&B in Goderich, a small town in Ontario.  If I ever moved to Canada (not much chance of that; I don't think I would survive the first winter) I would live in Goderich, it's a very pretty town.

How have you all been this week?  It's still winter here, not much has changed, life for these two Olde Phartes drifts along.  

A few of us from the ukulele group provided some entertainment on Friday for a Refugee Week function, which was interesting; it makes you realise how lucky we are to live in a safe country free from conflict.  When I was a child we heard about 'displaced persons' as European refugees were called after World War II.  Many came to Australia in search of peace; most found it, although life here in what was still considered a colonial outpost would have been so different from the life they were used to.  

When I think about the bland boring food we grew up with - lamb chops served with mashed potato and peas, every week - I am so pleased times have moved on, driven by people who have settled here from other countries.  My mother didn't like cooking, it was a chore she did from necessity, and as a result she was an unimaginative cook.  A pinch of curry powder in the savoury beef mince - always boiled, never browned in oil - was the most adventurous dish she served.

I remember when convenience foods started appearing in shops, and my mother seized the opportunity with both hands.  Packet cake mixes were her favourite, she made two double-sized cakes a week because my father took lunch from home.  'Smoko' (morning tea break) was not considered complete without a large piece of cake for those doing manual labour - including bricklaying, my father's occupation.  Many older Ozzies still call the morning tea break 'smoko' even though a much smaller number of people now smoke than used to, and many of us (myself included) have never ever not once lit up even one surreptitious puff.  Not ever.

Something else which pleased her was the advent of synthetic fabrics, fabrics which advertised themselves as 'wash and wear', no ironing needed.  However Ozzie summers can be fearsomely hot, and the last fabric you want to swathe yourself in is a non-breathable fabric; we have gone back to realising that cotton and linen fabrics are more comfortable.  If ironing bugs you, then don't do it - who is going to care if you are wearing wrinkled clothing?  Not me....

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"When dancing a round dance, a gentleman should never hold a lady's hand behind him, or on his hip, or high in the air, moving her arm as though it were a pump handle, as seen in some of our western cities, but should hold it gracefully by his side."

Yes indeed, gentlemen.  I have danced with blokes whose dancing style is....shall we say.....creative.

Enjoy your days!

Finally - some progress

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

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

So, a new Cunning Plan was needed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

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

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

Enjoy your days!

I have seen the light......

A few months ago when having my annual eye exam the optician recommended getting a task light.....good idea, I said.  I kept meaning to go shopping for one but time flew by then we went away and were busy after coming home again.  However - a few days ago I announced that I (we) would go light shopping.  So I (we) did.

Isn't it a pretty colour?  It goes with my green chair - in the same colour family, at least - and gives a wonderful light for handwork; the flexible neck was pulled down for this pic.  You can also see my new Jennifer table with my Stuff on it, including a wombat coaster for my drink of choice which is usually either water or coffee.

The lighting shop had this colour reduced because - can you believe it - green doesn't always sell as well as other colours do.  It is euphemistically called 'Mint' although I have never seen mint that colour; it's more like aqua, and it holds hands nicely with my smokey turquoise chair.

If you look up 'mint green' a range of colours appears, very few of which I would associate with the bright vibrant green of mint plants.  

Some fallen leaves in Canberra last month, mostly from plane trees.

Even when fallen they make a pretty picture against the grey pavers.

Plinking has happened, practice for the Eisteddfod on Saturday afternoon and the market outside town on Sunday morning.  (No sleep in for me on Sunday!)  Knitting has happened, the first sleeve on the new jumper/cardy is coming along well.  Sewing has happened, a few more diamonds have been sewn together and more have been cut.  My Canadian quilt is now on my work table waiting to have the batting tacked together inside the border layers - not as difficult as it sounds - I am looking forward to having it done.  

Books have been read, some better than others.....I've always been a quick reader, had my own library card when I was about four years old.  Neither of my parents were readers, so I don't know where I came from.

We are now seeing ads for the next sportfest, the Commonwealth Games, which will be happening in the next month or two or three, I don't really know or care.  What I do care about, what really makes my blood boil, is the wording of ads for those games, ads hailing our 'heroes' accompanied by people wearing sports clothes and waving medals.  To me a 'hero' is someone who does something selfless for another, sometimes at the risk of their own life, not someone who can run or swim faster or jump higher than another person.

Another grumble:  last night one of my favourite movies 'The Dressmaker' was on TV so we watched it - and it had scenes cut out!  How annoying was that!  At least we could still admire the wonderful costumes.  Not everyone who sees this movie has enjoyed it but anyone who grew up in a country town would, I think, get it; the pettiness of small town life, the gossip, the closing of ranks against anyone perceived as an outsider.  Our Canberra son's father-in-law also likes it; he grew up in a small town.

We've had some cold frosty mornings and some grey days.  I'm glad I don't live where the sun doesn't shine for months on end.....I can't imagine what that would be like.

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"The difference between a ball and an evening party is, that at a ball there must be dancing, and at an evening party there may or may not be.  A London authority defines a ball to be "an assemblage for dancing of not less than seventy-five persons."

Considering that many dances are for two people, or for two or four couples, I wonder who decided the figure of seventy-five persons was a good number?  Someone who can't count, perhaps.

Enjoy your days!

Not such a wuss after all

We had been thinking, all the time we were away and since returning home, that it was cold....decidedly chilly, in fact....and it seems we were right.  The weather statistics up to the end of last month were released and our state has, indeed, seen the coldest start to winter since the mid-1980s.....and who can remember temperatures from that far back?  Can you remember how cold it was on a particular mid-winter day in, say, 1993?  

Neither can I.

This is The Big Green Jumper, a garment which is worth its (not inconsiderable) weight in gold during cold weather.

It is big, it is deep mossy green, and it is warm.  The pure wool yarn came from Bendigo Woollen Mills a very long time ago, and the pattern was bought a few years before that.  In the original design the rope cables outlining the centre and side front panels had bobbles knitted into them but I don't care for bobbles, so they were omitted.  I can't remember when it was finished, but I do remember knitting it while touring New Zealand in a hired motorhome back in late 2000.  It is warm because there are so many cables in the design and every cable is double thickness - because that's how they are made.

Stitches have been knitted on the latest jumper/cardy, whatever it decides it wants to be, although it is leaning towards being another jumper which would fit my clothing style more than a cardy, and guess what...it will have cables on the front!

Some more three-diamond hexagons have been pieced.  Two blocks were made yesterday, BOMs for the quilt group, so they are now caught up.  

The major project during the coming week is to get out the Canadian quilt, and start working on the borders.  The batting needs to be firmly attached inside the borders, then quilting will happen to hold it all in place.  Then binding....we'll be on the homeward stretch, yay!  And, of, course, a label.

Not much plinking has happened, but it will.  

Soup has been made, cauliflower and chorizo soup.  The original recipe called for bacon but one day I happened to have chorizo instead so thought I would give it a whirl, and we found that we prefer its smokey taste.  One it has cooled down it will be smooshed (technical word, that) with the stick blender, and there will be soup for the coming chilly days.  One thing to be said for cold weather - soup makes it easy to get in one's daily serve of veggies, doesn't it?

A couple of days ago we took a heater to a local op shop as we no longer have need for it, and in this cold weather someone else may need it.  While we were there we checked out the goodies for sale and found Just The Very Thing to sit beside my TV/hand work chair, a small square table with one drawer and room for all my paraphenalia on top.  What a useful little table it is, to be sure!  I was using a slightly ricketty folding tray table - this is more stable, and a better height for me.  I have no idea if it was a bedside table or a low hall table, but it makes a handy dandy Jennifer table and was $20 well spent.

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

"In leaving a ball, it is not necessary to wish the lady of the house a good night.  In leaving a small dance or party, it is civil to do so."

Indeed.  That sounds like the right thing to do, doesn't it?

Enjoy your days!

The tumbling story so far

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Continuing on with General Rules for Balls:

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

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

Enjoy your days!