Melting moments

'Melting moments', for those of you who don't live in the wonderful land of Oz, are a favourite Aussie treat which have been around for a long time.  There are many recipes online, to make it easy I found one for you....Melting moments......not having tried it I can't vouch for it, but I'm sure they are yummy.

We've been having our own moments of melting this week.  It has been, and continues to be, very very hot with not much relief at night for sleeping....although the daytime heat is so tiring that the night time warmth certainly hasn't kept me awake.  In C degrees we have been nudging 40 for the past several days with those temps to continue for much of the coming week.  (That's over 100 deg F in old money)  We stay indoors as much as possible and drink plenty of water, we know that one day it will be cooler, and then we will feel better.

A few nights ago there was, as they say on the news, quite a bit of storm activity around.  Here on the northern edge of town we had a bit of wind, some lightning and thunder and about half a dozen drops of rain, while on the other side of the river there were blackouts, trees down, car accidents (because people don't know how to drive in anything other than bright sunny weather, do they) and teeming rain, even hail.  The official weather station at the airport on the south-west of town received - not one drop.  So, it didn't happen.

Unfortunately the heat fries my brain making it difficult to concentrate so not much has been achieved, but I did manage to get the three blocks made that I need for next month's BOM.

The two blocks on the right will be cut once diagonally.  There will be one intact block left to show the group what is expected (there will of course be a pic on the instructions which I will hand out); two of the cut blocks will be joined with black sashing, while the remaining two will be left so I can explain my idea.  I has also occurred to me earlier today that those blocks could be cut twice through the middle - up and down, and across, mixed around and sashed with black - but I like the diagonal idea better.  If you want to try it for yourself the centre square is cut 3-1/2 in, and the surrounding strips are all cut 2 inches.

It will not be long until the season is upon us, the musical wreath will be hung on the front door once more.....probably during the coming week.  Ding a ling.

Last night the ukulele group played for a Christmas carols evening at a small village 15 minutes out of town, and it was fun.  Despite the horrible heat we enjoyed ourselves, the audience seemed to as well, and we all had fun singing along with Christmas songs old and new.  The choir included one of the Australian Christmas carols......yes, there are some; in fact there are 15.....in their set, and we sang another.  My generation grew up singing them at school so of course are familiar with them, and they do reflect an Aussie Christmas more than carols from colder climes.  When there is a total fire ban (as there is again today) we would certainly not think of roasting our chestnuts on a fire, open or otherwise; in the words of 'The North Wind': "The north wind is tossing the leaves, the red dust is over the town....the sparrows are under the eaves, and the grass in the paddock is brown......" which is Australia in summer, and Australia at Christmas.

Some work was done on the neighbourhood at quilt group on Tuesday, then the bobbin thread ran out halfway through adding a setting triangle to the end of a house row.  It was nearly packing-up time anyway, so - when it's not quite so hot and when the social seasonal happenings let up for a while - it will be finished off at home.

Diamonds have been joined.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked and sung; choir has now finished for the year, and U3A ukulele group finishes next Thursday with lunch at the club where we hold our weekly meetings......first we will eat then we will play and sing, which sounds good to me.  Hunting and gathering, as usual, happened, and a birthday gift was posted off to The One And Only Grandkid who will soon turn nine.

Each year a 'Colour of the Year' is released by Pantone, and next year's colour was released this week.....'Peach Fuzz'.  Now I don't know about you but I would call it 'Blergh'.....or perhaps 'Bare Bum'.  I can't see it setting my world on fire, that's for sure.  When I posted about it on my online quilt group it reminded many members of sampler quilts they made in the 1980s-1990s which were peach/apricot with pale green or blue - a scheme they thought (hoped!) had gone forever.

Continuing on with Etiquette of Public Places, Conduct in Church:

"People should preserve the utmost silence and decorum in church, and avoid whispering, laughing, staring, or making a noise of any kind with the feet or hands."

Indeed.  Attending a church is not the same as attending a theatrical performance, although there is an element of theatre just the same.

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

Meet Rusty the wombat!

Rusty tried living in a pot with a succulent.....he was a bit too big to fit; he's longer nose-to-tail than he looks.  He tried another pot....there was room for either Rusty or a plant, but not both.  So he and I had a chat and we decided to move him to the back garden, where he now resides in his own little spot among some rocks.

There is a wombat friend behind him to make sure he doesn't get too lonely, although I don't think the friend is ever awake.  Rusty is made from metal, and has a spike stuck in the ground to make sure he doesn't go anywhere.  The post behind is one of the uprights for the wash line.

The Christmas occasions continue.

Yesterday the quilt group had its last Saturday meeting for the year, we waved around our challenge quilts (in my case still just a top but mine wasn't the only one unfinished, which made me feel better; the most popular two-colour theme was blue and white/cream), we had a cuppa, some small quilts and the bags I made were handed over to a representative of a charity, and we had a 'lucky dip' gift exchange....not a Secret Santa, as we weren't given names.  My gift is lovely!  A zipper bag with sewing notions stitched in silvery-grey on a yellow background which contained a spare cutter blade (always welcome); a pretty lacy hanky for when I feel like being a posh lady (I do sometimes, you know); a pair of 'Thangs' in a felt case; a pack of stationery notes and cards; and a gadget with a secret.

The back of the bag continues the yellow/grey theme, my two 'Thangs' show up against it - and the secret of the gadget is revealed!  The long silver end pulls out and is reversed, placed back in the holder, and it becomes a stitch ripper.

There was also a beautiful hand-made Christmas card with an Aussie bird, but it missed being in the pic.  The 'Thangs' case has the name "Sewmadic" so I looked it up and found that, through Kiva, they help women in developing countries to start and run their own businesses.....definitely a cause to support.

Next year's challenge was voted on, a few suggestions were tossed around, and the winning idea is to make a row by row quilt, something I have never done although they were all the rage several years ago.  I am feeling a bit lukewarm about it.....a regular commitment doesn't work for me, because if life is busy and I get behind it causes me stress, and I don't sew to be stressed.  I looked at ideas online, and none of them really floated my boat.  It's not compulsory to participate, so perhaps I won't.

After our meeting/cuppa/gift exchange/charity handover we adjourned to a pub on the other side of town for lunch.  It was a very wet drive; we've had quite a very welcome wet week, with more rain forecast.  Lunch was yummy, and you will be pleased to know that I stuck to alcohol-free as a 15-20 minute drive home in steady rain is easier with a clear head.  (Not that I indulge at lunch time, anyway)  There were several family groups in the pub and, because the rain was so heavy; all the little kiddie-widdies who would otherwise be running around in the outdoor playground were stuck noisily inside.  I was glad I hadn't worn my very bestest sandals as my feet did get very wet going to and from the car, both for the meeting and for lunch.  Splish splosh.

Diamonds have been sewn.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked and sung as the uke group is playing on Wednesday afternoon at a seniors' residence, and as I have a solo gig (!) next Saturday night at the choir Christmas party (which has been called an "extravaganza" by our director) so that will be fun.  The usual hunting and gathering, and that's pretty much it for this week, folks.

The U3A ukulele course leader and I have decide to divvy up the job.  She is quite happy to continue being the contact person and to do any admin Stuff, and I don't mind taking the group on Thursdays when she isn't available - although she said recently she thinks they do really well under me, better than under her!  (I don't know about that.....)  I did suggest that she add my name as official joint leader so the previous leader can't push his way back in, which she said she would do.  We aren't doing this to be nasty, you know; there are valid reasons for our thinking the way we do.

Continuing with Etiquette of Public Places.  The first two are quite short, so we will combine them.

"Conduct in church.

A gentleman should remove his hat upon entering the auditorium.

When visiting a strange church, you should wait in the vestibule until an attendant appears to show you to a seat."

The 'conduct in church' chapter is quite lengthy.  I suspect that, in days gone by, many folk did not go to church because they believed in the message being preached, but because it was a social activity - a case of seeing and being seen, particularly while wearing one's newest finery

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Very worthy Stuff

This week has seen very little action on the Getting Stuff Done front, but has seen quite a bit of running around.  The Christmas occasions have started; yesterday morning the Historical Society had theirs under the shady verandah, and today we attended a charity fair.  It was strange to just be at the fair without playing music as we have done in past years but at present the ukulele group's numbers are down, so there is no way we can do an outside performance.  We have two indoors gigs lined up in the next few weeks, we can manage those.

We did make a few purchases....Kevin bought himself a magnifying glass with a bone (deer antler) handle to help him decipher the family history information (the writing on some of those old hand-written certificates looks legible until you try to read it); we bought some meat pies, currently in the fridge, which will be frozen later and which look very yummy;  I bought a new wombat, made of rusty metal, for the garden (we have a large pot with a succulent growing in it, which will make a nice home for Rusty the wombat) and a couple more goodies with an eye to Christmas gifting.  I drooled over Annette the jewellery lady's lovely trinkets.....I already have some of her beautiful pieces.....I could quite happily have bought several pairs.  But I was strong, and I didn't.  The home-made lemonade we had was welcome on a warm sunny day, too.

So....let's see what we can find in the photo treasure vault, to liven up this post.

All 225 (!) of these basket blocks were sewn together some time ago.  It was the first time I had tried hand-piecing, and I found I enjoyed it......so much so that the original plan of 169 blocks, 13 rows by 13, was enlarged to 15 by 15.  They all face the same way.

The blocks were sewn into sets of nine, with alternating print and white corners.  The design looks better with matching corners, hence the number of blocks.

However, it is huge.....about 90 inches square unquilted......and I find myself wondering if those extra blocks were really necessary?  Why didn't I stop with the smaller size of 78 inches square when I had the chance?  Now a little voice in my brain is telling me to unpick two rows each way, and be happy with the smaller size.  Which I just may do.  It will still be a reasonable sized quilt, after all.

Some sewing of diamonds has happened, and more have been cut.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked and sung, some of the Christmas variety and some not.  The hunting, gathering and foraging essential for survival took place, and also a little op shopping; I am now the owner of a red bag, something needed to match the red straps on my red, black and cream sandals.  They entered my (not quite) sumptuous wardrobe a few years ago, a new purchase on an annual trip to Canberra, and have been asking for a co-ordinating bag ever since.

A link to this quote was posted earlier today on a vintage sewing machine social media page.  It certainly made me chuckle, and I'm sure you will laugh with me:

Advice to the ladies from Mr Rowley of the Sydney Sewing Machine Co:

"An hour's sewing with a good machine soothes a woman's nerves, and exerts the same calming influence that tobacco does with a man. She sews all her little irritations into the seams, imprisons her fancied wrongs into the double gussets, or stays them into the gores; every sensible woman will confess this."

The quote is, unfortunately, not dated. I don't know about the rest of you.....but I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing a garment with so many irritations and fancied wrongs in its seams, gussets and gores!

Continuing on with Etiquette of Public Places, following on last week's quote:

"They seem to know, as if by instinct, how to conduct themselves, wherever they may go, or in whatever society they may be thrown. They consider at all times the fitness of things, and their actions and speech are governed by feelings of gentleness and kindness towards everybody with whom they come into social relations, having a due consideration for the opinions and prejudices of others, and doing nothing to wound their feelings. Many people, however, either from ignorance, thoughtlessness or carelessness, are constantly violating some of the observances of etiquette pertaining to places of public assemblages. It is for this reason that rule are here given by which may be regulated the conduct of people in various public gatherings, where awkwardness and ostentatious display often call forth unfavorable criticism."

Perhaps some nations could also take note of this advice, then the world would not be in such a mess.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Even more streets in the neighbourhood

  It's up to seven streets, now.

Eventually they will meet in the middle....and I will soon need to find somewhere other than the spare bed to lay them out, as they will outgrow it!  It will be a fairly large quilt, and it has to be one of the funnest quilts - is there such a word as 'funnest'? because there should be - that I have ever made.  It's been a portable project for a while, going to the monthly first Tuesday quilt group with me, but after next month's streets have been added it will become a 'work at home' project; those seams are getting quite long, so it can stay here.  The only fabric bought is the wide backing, it's all from my stash.  The decision to make pieced setting triangles was a leap of faith, and I love the result.

How has everyone been this week?  We are doing well; we even had some welcome rain, although it came in the form of a storm.  My Thursday evening drive to choir was through barely sprinkling rain, the heavens opened while we were singing for a couple of hours (although we didn't hear it) and I barely made it home before it started up again; fortunately it's only a five minute drive, or six minutes if the one and only traffic light on the way is red.  However we aren't complaining, and our garden is smiling.

Stitches have been sewn on the musical hanging.  Some diamonds have been sewn and more cut.  Words have been read, notes have been plinked and sung.  The usual hunting and gathering has taken place, and heigh ho.....so passes another week.

It's been an anniversary week for our town.  Back in 1888 Tamworth was the first town in Australia - yes, even before much larger cities - to have a municipal street lighting scheme.  You can read all about it here and here.  In those days it was a town of only a few thousand people, so the town council of the day took quite a brave decision.  Don't you love the concern - from men, of course - that the new lights would make women look pale!  The large building in the first pic of the article is the post office, which is still there today.  Mrs Piper, wife of the Mayor - Madame Lady Mayoress - turned the lights on with a golden key which stayed in the family for a long time, and is now held in the Powerstation Museum.  While Tamworth was not the first town in Australia to have electric lighting many were run by private owners......but ours was the first municipally-owned scheme in the country.  

On 9th November every year those noisy old steam engines are fired up to celebrate the anniversary, and quite a sight (and sound!) they are too.  And of course - as is often the case - Hizzoner The Mayor Mr Piper has a street named after him and we hope also after his wife, although Elizabeth Street is not far away.

There is getting to be more and more Christmas Stuff appearing in shops......Chrissy food (I love mince pies)......decorations everywhere......the occasional piece of music on the radio......c'mon, folks, it's not for several weeks yet......the ukulele group is practising Christmas songs for a couple of gigs....all together, now...."I want a ukulele for Christmas, dear Santa please".......

We have come to the end of our Etiquette of the Street, so we move on to Etiquette of Public Places.

"All well-bred persons will conduct themselves at all times and in all places with perfect decorum.  Wherever they meet people they will be found polite, considerate of the comfort, convenience and wishes of others, and unobtrusive in their behaviour."

It seems to be fashionable to decry today's manners and standards.  I don't usually join in the decrying, but I must say that find decorum to be sadly lacking at times.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

Finally....

....some quilting is happening on my little hanging.  Some is still to be done, and provided that he promised storms don't eventuate that may happen later; being slightly fiddly stop-start stuff it takes longer than one would think.

Using a computerised machine in a storm is not, apparently, a Good Thing.  So I don't.  The plug only goes in the wall socket when I am using the machine.

Incidentally, something we have learned while watching home renno shows on our visits to Canada  - what we call a socket, or a power point, over there is called a 'receptacle'.  We speak the same language, but sometimes you would never know it.

Because it is autumn over there in the Land of the Maple Leaf beautiful pics are appearing on social media, and I am sighing with longing.  These trees were taken on the same visit to Bayfield.

The colour difference from green to orange is striking.  Obviously this was trimmed by someone who went to the same school of tree lopping that some people attend here, with the same unfortunate result....but the leaves are a lovely colour.

Bayfield is a very pretty town and the trees make a beautiful display, even if the occasional specimen wasn't trimmed as well as it could have been.

Diamonds have been cut and sewn.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked and sung.  Words have been read.  The usual forays to shops for various items....and so passes another seven days, or sennight, as we apparently used to say in centuries gone by.  It means - obviously! - seven nights and days.  A week.

It is indeed storm season here, and we have had a few of late.  As we speak the wind is picking up and a check of the weather radar shows storms not far away.  We had some welcome rain last night, a change from the previous day which was quite miserable; we woke up to the smell of smoke - even inside the house - from fires a couple of hours north.  My eyes were miserable, my nose was miserable, and I had a miserable headache.  Fortunately yesterday was much clearer, the weather change is helping put fires out and the smoke is blowing somewhere else.

Last month was an anniversary, 15 years since I started blogging.....it just passed me by, I completely forgot about it.....that's a lot of waffle over a long time about not much, isn't it?

Christmas Stuff is starting to appear in shops, Christmas music is sneaking into the classical music station playlists.  It will be here before we know it, folks.  We have made no plans for anything special although I did point out that, if I still had to prepare and cook a fancy meal (even a fairly plain meal) it was just the same as any other day for me.  In years past we have gone to a restaurant for lunch, but they are pricing themselves out of our reach for just one meal.  Perhaps we could go to a Chinese restaurant instead.....I like honey chicken, I know it's not very authentic Chinese food but I don't care.  I just like it.

Our U3A ukulele course leader was back on Thursday, much to my relief.....however, she announced that she was stepping down next year.  I know she would like me to take over, but I am undecided; while she knows I already have other Stuff in my life as well - we both do - a previous male leader is making noises about coming back and taking over, and neither of us want that.  We are meeting up tomorrow for a cuppa and a chat so I can find out just what is involved; if she is prepared to back me up, it might be possible.  We'll see what our chat throws up.  Even if I give it a trial for a year.....I'm sure I can survive a year.....

Continuing on with Etiquette of the Street, Some General Suggestions:

"Do not quarrel with a cab driver about his fare, but pay him and dismiss him.  If you have a complaint to make against him, take his name and make it to the proper authorities.  It is rude to keep a lady waiting while you are disputing with a cabman."

Words just as relevant now as when they were first published in 1885, yes?

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer

A little of this, not much of that

Pretty much sums up my week.  How was yours?

The decision was made to use the darker fabric to bind the blue and green quilt, so strips will be cut this week.  The bags shown recently have been handed over to the Worthy Cause, so they have left the sewing room.

Diamonds have been cut, and also sewn.....an easy mindless project in front of TV.  Words have been read.  Notes have been plinked and sung; once again I was the leader for the U3A ukulele group, and once again we managed without descending into total anarchy.  I have to admit to being floored when I mentioned making sure ukes were in tune....one woman said she never tuned hers, didn't own a tuner, in fact didn't think it made any difference!  Ohmygawd......if you have ever heard an out of tune instrument, doesn't matter which instrument it is, it's enough to set your teeth on edge.  (well, mine, anyway)  She has instructions to buy a tuner before next Thursday, and I will show her how to use it.

Many years ago we used to meet up at folk festivals with a lovely man and his wife who had a sticker on their car window which read "Love thy neighbour - tune thy piano".  Never a truer word spoken.  Or written.  He used to have a beautiful green parrot on his shoulder, and a permanent trail of bird poop down his back.....but his piano was always in tune.  Sadly, he is no longer with us.  I don't know about the parrot.

As not a great deal of note has been accomplished this week, we will trawl back through the vaults for some photographic inspiration.

When Kevin was putting the 1926 Singer treadle machine back together he noticed this piece of metal on the floor that he thought must have come from the machine.  I duly photographed it and asked the "what is it?" question on a social media vintage machine page.  It is the central piece of the tension assembly, I was told by Those Who Know.  Kevin checked - but it isn't from that machine!  So - it either came from the 1925 machine, or I have ended up with a spare.....and a mystery.

Pics are appearing on social media of autumn on the other side of the world, beautiful droolworthy pics of glorious fall colour.  These are a little different; they are fungus photographed on an autumn trip to MacMillan Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.

This looks like two birds, or perhaps two fish, doesn't it?  But no - it's fungi.

The park had lots of different fungi.

There are very tall straight trees in that park, too.  Vancouver Island is the Land of Tall Straight Trees.  We have tall trees in Australia too, but they aren't very straight.

The weather has gone from quite hot to rather cool, and hasn't yet swung back.  It's the time of year where the big decision as to what to wear is dependent on conditions, and will we be inside or outside, will it be sunny or windy......however, we know it probably won't be wet, although it rained a few nights ago.  We were woken at stupid dark early o'clock to very loud thunder and the garden enjoyed a drink, although it would like more.

Continuing on with Etiquette if the Street, Some General Suggestions:

"A gentleman will always precede a lady up a flight of stairs, and allow her to precede him in going down."

Of course he should.....and just think, this was written many years before the advent of mini skirts when some men tried to walk up stairs behind a lady!  Shame on them.

Enjoy your days!

Jennifer