What goes on at Costco overnight ???
You do begin to wonder…..
🧶 The gift that keeps on giving….
Last week F aka Tigger’s Mum remarked on a knitted scarf I’d used as a ‘prop’…..which I said I usually wore outside (or inside) a sleeveless jacket (similar to a gilet but not so close fitting).
There’s a blue colour in the mix so it works well if I’m wearing jeans, I’ve another lightweight one that works in the same way – adding a bit of interest to the dullish brown colour of the jacket…..
….which is one of those ‘comes in handy now and again’ things I’ve had in the wardrobe for years – made from some sort of fleece that weighs almost nothing so was good for o/seas travel – especially on trips like the 2013 one to several Canadian provinces
The scarf was a Christmas in July gift to me – the year after I made all these as Christmas presents for a group of ‘crafty’ friends. Yes we do daft things like that down under – give winter scarves as gifts when more often than not the temperature is in the high 20sC/80sF😊
I’d been given an enormous bag of fine Mohair, Acrylic, Nylon mix yarn which I was loathe to pass on…..too ‘pretty’ to give away and surely I could make something with it. . So what to do with it became almost a 6 month project. No ball bands with needle size didn’t help so there was much trial knitting to end with something that draped. I used 5mm/uk 6/us 8…..a little bit thicker than what I usually work with – and boy did my hands complain!
I started with the lilac colour- knitting it in feather and fan. A pattern I knew – well, I thought I did. How can you mess up a 4 row pattern – 3 of which are just knit and purl stocking stitch – quite easily it seems. My yo’s and k2tog’s never seemed to be in the right place, After getting it sorted and finished It turned out looking more like a baby’s wrap than a scarf so no more of that design.
My stack of old baby patterns – the ones with lacy matinee coats – were long gone and this yarn needed holes not solid, couldn’t ask ‘the group’ as they’d want to know all the ins and outs New baby coming??? everything on the net seemed very complicated so I ended up scouring the op shops
This was in an old Lincraft book – just 4 rows again – ones I actually remembered. Two with the same combination of yfd’s, s1k1psso and k2tog’s intermixed with two purl. Strange how they ‘stuck’ and F&F didn’t.
So come Christmas all finally finished, wrapped in the same paper, in a lucky dip box so each chose their own – lots of oohs and aahs and thank yous.
A few weeks later one of them asked if she could have the pattern hers was made from. Sure, no problem.
Christmas in July is a ‘big thing’ here – it’s cold and often dreary so all the twinkling lights display the way they do in the northern hemisphere during the Christmas festivities up there.
Our little group self catered for a get together each year – our only stipulation was the gifts were to be fun little pressies. Like a Secret Santa – everyone provide one gift- nothing big – a low cost was often mentioned.
Surprise Surprise- no dipping in the box for me – mine’ was actually given to me – “you knit all these and didn’t have one for yourself- so here’s one just for you”.
Lots of oohs and ash’s and Thank you from me😊
The group is no more – I still have my lacy scarf – still giving me warm memories whenever I wear it
Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder.
Do you have gifts that give whenever you see them
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Not an actual ‘unraveled’ post but there was much unraveling involved😊.
Do pop over to Kat’s blog to look at Unraveled Wednesday and see what others have made and read this week
The things you find…
One 50yr old photo
One young 8yr old lad – soon to become a grandfather
One ‘brazen hussy’ who actually had a waist – soon to become a gt grandma (again)
Fun Friday – the day to leave all the worries of the week behind you
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🧶There’s always a ‘but what if’
Gathering ‘supplies’ to take away usually means I have to sit down and actually think about what I’d like to achieve.
With loads of leftovers I thought I’d take a big box …or rather, take some of it…..to use for more ‘coloured’ hats – but you know what happens with that idea…..making them is what I call a ‘spur of the moment’ craft…..deciding what to use means looking at what you have, then tossing it about and wondering if there’s enough of this or of that – and (as much as I’d like to) I can’t take it all (The Golfer packs the car so I can’t sneak more in – what’s this, do you need it, will you use it, is it coming back with us) so those annoying but what if thoughts keep rolling around my mind.
But what if – I don’t have enough of this/that/or the other, you can bet I’d be down the local shop looking for another contrast. Taking more leftovers home than I brought with me!.
But what if – I get fed up making the same things for that length of time
Then dear old Spotlight came to the rescue
(enter if you dare – keep a hold on your wallet if you do)
Large bags of mill ends reduced – sturdy winter coloured 8ply
great for kids easy to knit easy to wear guernseys and other winter wear.
So after time with hot chocolate, little Danish cookies
(and an assortment of pattern books).
plus Mother’s Day flowers that didn’t like the indoor heating
Several likely designs were picked out….
….ones I’ve made before so there shouldn’t be any ‘But What If’s’
But then you never know😊
One thing I do know is 👇
Kat hosts a weekly link up called Unraveled Wednesday . which features Reading Crafting Chatting – you’ll find it all there – no reading from me this week but look, why don’t you pop over, see what’s going on – maybe stay and say hello.
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Bend and Stretch..
The other week when I mentioned I’d been using the resistance bands at home more regularly I had a couple of emails (Hello Sue – Hello Polly) asking what exercises I used them for.
On a ‘good’ day (meaning when I have the time and am willing & able) I’ll ‘work through’ the exercises on the first two charts.
(Just letting you know that I even though I start with good intentions
‘working through’ doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll do every one of them
or I’ll do 3 sets of the ones I ‘choose’😊)
They look a bit daunting yet are quite simple
it’s just a case of stretching a ‘rubber band’ at the right angle
On a ‘bad’ day when the back is being obnoxious and standing can be a pain I’ll try some from this sit down version. Very similar to the other charts – working on the same muscles – just in a modified way. If you enlarge this chart you’ll be able to see the targeted muscles
In the same way that Chair yoga is great when you can’t get up and down off the floor Chair Exercises are great when you can’t stand for long periods
I wonder if I do them all on a regular basis will it stop me staring at the floor??
Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder
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📘Have book – will travel….May
We definitely have had some fun recently – we went (armchair) travelling far and wide searching for those elusive A-Z place name titles, racking up those Frequent Flyer Points (or Air Miles as some of you might have) – from Florida to Hawaii then back across to Jamaica.
Turn around, fly west across the Pacific to hot humid Singapore and then up to Vienna. Where we’ve just arrived to pleasant late spring- early summer unlike coolish/cold late autumn – early winter here in Melbourne!
(43,171kms/ 26825 mls plus countless hrs of jet lag😎)
It was a fun ride and I ended up with a book in my hand all the way!
My reads over the month were…..
Florida fling with the Single Dad – Deanne Anders 2022
Inside the front cover it said:- Harlequin Medical – Pulse Racing Passion. Oh this’ll be good I thought😎.
The book blurb said – a fresh start in Key West is just what the flight nurse needs—but is a fling with a single dad?
So I wasn’t quite sure what to expect – it wasn’t too bad, not very long, a quick easy read that was finished in a couple of afternoon, the sort of book you class as a ‘beach read’.
Set in sunny warm Florida Keys, it covers the time a young flight nurse returning to work after recovering from a gun shot wound, transfers from New York for a short contract. .
Add a good looking ‘station boss’ his young daughter, her PTSD, colleagues not sure of her skills plus an instant attraction and we have a little ‘reluctant’ love story (with a couple of ‘spicy’ episodes) in a trauma casualty air ambulance environment. All well that ends well.
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Meet me in Hawaii – Georgia Toffolo 2021.
‘Her beauty, her smile…his stomach flipped like he’d gone over a bump in the road
Hawaii, where there’s Sun, Sand, Sea and Surf – what’s not to like about that
You never know- there’re may be a little romance as well. After all, it ‘is’ a Mills and Boon.
Two youngish mature (late 20/early30) adults with disturbed’ childhoods – wanting/needing to – providing help for underprivileged children. An initial ‘spark’ – misunderstandings – conflicting emotions – trying to resolve past mistakes – good friends coming to the rescue – coming to a climax finishing the way we knew it would.
Yes, it’s a ‘love story’ – with thoughts and feelings possibly familiar to many of the readers. Accept the past, it’s behind you……. look to the future, it’s all there in front of you.
*****
A High Wind in Jamaica – Richard Hughes 1929 (Vintage Classics 2002).
….a terrible hurricane levels their Jamaican estate, the Bas-Thorntons decide to send their children back to England. On the way their ship is set upon by pirates…… .
Well that’s the ‘blurb’ but it’s certainly not the whole of the happenings. I thought it was going to be a YA book but it also appears geared to adults…….
- from the description of their late C19th life before the storm (with language and attitudes which have offended many modern readers). .
you can read an abbreviated version of the first few chapters HERE
- …..through an auction
- ………a nativity play – with real cattle!
- ……a child’s death, a murder followed by an attempted murder, an encounter with a ship full of ‘circus animals’, mixed reactions to plus disturbing emotions felt between sailors and children, ‘rescued’ returned to England then on to the final chapter where an action in a court case becomes a nasty ending to innocent parties.
An interesting read – one that wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t finding places for letters
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Singapore Sapphire- A.M.Stuart 2019.
Historical fiction – murder mystery – Singapore ( a place where we spent several happy years during the 1960s) – 3 ticks from me. I was really looking forward to reading this.
It’s a shame when something you look forward to doesn’t eventuate – the remembered sights, sounds and smells were there but there was something about the words I just couldn’t get on with. I did finish it but if you asked me why I felt so disappointed I’d be hard pushed to tell you.
Maybe an attempt at a reread sometime might be in order
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And now I have just begun…..
A glove shop in Vienna & other stories – Eva Ibbotson 1984
Blurb:- A collection of eighteen romantic short stories from the award-winning Eva Ibbotson, “A Glove Shop in Vienna” will show you the great passions and astute observations of everyday life.
Keeping to my ‘theme’ (letters/places) the little 14 page story (A glove shop in Vienna) is the one I’m interested in and possibly the only one I will actually read.
About the writer’s (possible real or maybe imagined?) Austrian family particularly Great Uncle Max, his former opera singing wife Helene along with his glove selling mistress Susie.
Six pages in and he is enjoying visiting her apartment….
…..which faced inwards, towards a cobbled courtyard with an old pear tree in the centre, and when the shutters were closed (and of course they always were closed when uncle Max was there) the call of street sellers, the carpet beating, the sound of tugboats hooting up the Danube, came as the gentlest, the most undisturbing counterpoint to their secret and illicit love.
And indeed their love was secret. Very secret. It had to be……
It won’t take long to finish- just don’t have enough time at the moment
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This is the state of play Mid May with the Letters and Places Challenge.
Along with what I read in April it’s now 11 down – 15 more to go
Sharing with What’s on your Book Shelf Challenge
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🧶 A Riot of Colour
It began as a way of using up all those bright left overs – A Head Start
which progressed to giving away a little bit of love – School starts on Monday –
which then developed into a full scale attempt at something I hadn’t done for a little while
Bright isn’t it 😎
The idea was to practice my fair isle skills on one of those little ‘me do it’s’
Front and back the same so didn’t matter what way a 2yr old puts it on.
But I decided on a plain back instead
then couldn’t be bothered decided not to knit made it sleeveless
It hasn’t made it to the charity because a friend claimed it for a young grandchild. Thankfully the mother liked it (memories of the return of the red jumper) and wasn’t too upset when I said No sorry to her request for another larger one in different colours
All this hasn’t made much of a dent in the left overs because there’s still oodles left in the box. It’ll be a case of ‘watch this space’ because I’m not sure what I’ll come up with next
🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶🧶
We’ve had misty damp mornings recently, not cold just very autumnal looking. Somehow I don’t think the little Japanese Maple will colour much more- it’s dropping leaves already. I think we might have to think about pruning it as well as the Pittosporum which is dwarfing it.
So with this month’s book club offering having just arrived I spent some time on the deck the other day feeling rather granny like but very comfortable and warm wrapped in a blanket.
I told The Golfer I was resting (like actors do) between ‘jobs’ – waiting for inspiration on what to do next – something interesting will crop up – some little thing will seem just right and I’ll get on with it.
Thankfully unlike actors I’m not dependent on doing that ‘something’ for a living.
Who says you can’t have fun in your old age😊
Coal Creek by Australian author Alex Miller…..2013
Kat hosts a weekly link up called Unraveled Wednesday . which features Reading Crafting Chatting – you’ll find it all there – pop over, see what’s going on – maybe stay and say hello.
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Families…who’d have ‘em!
My cousin has just become a Gt Granny and with a christening coming up soon is relaying all the ‘family gossip’ she’s gleaning from standing on the sidelines watching and listening to the preparation details.
Even though she’s not involved she’s getting a bit stressed with what she’s hearing so to put a smile back on her face – and reassure her all will go well with their do – I sent her this.
(Something I wrote elsewhere a few years ago about a family celebration )
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Family Baptism Day
All Mary could think of as she cleaned the kitchen was how upset Aunty Josie had been at the church after the baptism of her youngest daughter’s first child.
By all accounts her cousin had arrived at the airport (no overnight ferry for her) beaming with the babe in her arms but no man there to stand at the font alongside her and the baby. From what she gathered it seems a short explanation was given and there were smiles all round.
They’d all come back to her place for the afternoon tea she’d prepared early that morning.
There’d been so many invited that when her aunt was pointedly heard wondering where was everyone going to sit, and didn’t Mary have such a lovely big house, she hadn’t the heart to say no and had offered her home in lieu of everyone going back to her aunt’s – which of course meant the rooms were now filled with aunties and uncles and cousins galore along with their tribes of little horrors who thankfully stayed outside in the back yard.
Mary wasn’t shy in voicing her feelings to her extended family so she’d told them (the wee ones that was) in no uncertain manner that – to use one of her father’s choice expressions – she’d have their ‘guts for garters’ if she saw them near the chicken run or exploring the vegetable garden
Standing there by the sink, she noticed a silver coin on the bench. One of the family would have put it into the baby’s hand and in the confusion of gathering up all the bits and pieces it been left behind. I’ll take it round to Aunty Josie’s later she thought, as she put it into the pocket of the pinafore that covered her best frock.
Sipping on another mug of tea (no sugar, it’s fattening, she heard her late mother say) and as if to annoy her, Mary added a spoonful before mentally comparing herself to her cousin, the new mother.
Noticeably her hair hung long and loose, there was no fancy beehive hairdo for her – the only beehives in her life were the ones she’d tended all those years ago with Jimmy. Thanks to her mother’s meddling Jimmy was long gone and no one had ever appeared to take his place.
These days, after she’d seen all the little ones on their way and closed the school for the day, her primary aim in life was to be content and at peace with herself. Jimmy always said she needed to be close to nature – not have to deal with the dregs of society like he did.
All evening her mind kept replaying the scene at the church.
She knew in her heart the words she’d heard coming from her aunt’s mouth weren’t really the truth.
But even so….was Uncle Billy really ‘a silly old eejit who after a few drinks wouldn’t think twice about telling the world the real reason why the child’s father wasn’t there that afternoon’?
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Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder
Hopefully this doesn’t sound familiar to anyone
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Just one look
Over the past couple of days the whole world has been looking at the sky
Fantastic photos have been appearing of Northern and Southern lights
As I live in a built up area my chances of seeing this phenomenon are small
BUT
From my front door tonight my phone picked up a sort of light purple hue.
which changed slightly as the evening went by
Plus – if you look carefully
a whole multitude of stars and planets
Click/ tap or finger slide to enlarge
Life skills learnt…
Fun Friday – the day to leave all the worries of the week behind you
Nostalgia or just Memories…
Nostalgia:~ pleasure and sadness that is caused by remembering something from the past and wishing that you could experience it again – source
an affectionate feeling you have for the past, especially for a particularly happy time.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/nostalgia
A while ago Caroline made mention of the G&Ts that she loves which reminded me of a drink I haven’t had in a long while.
We have the ‘Ginger’ — just need to pop down to Dan’s…..
….wonder if they’ve got some warm sunshine to go with it
Two ingredient cocktails – – https://www.broadsheet.com.au/sydney/food-and-drink/article/seven-seriously-easy-two-ingredient-cocktails
Maybe it’s just me…..
It only seems like a short time (certainly not the actual 3 months) since the clubs and groups I’m associated with returned and regrouped after the long summer break
Weeks have moved past quite quickly this year – early on, illness and ‘other’ meant some classes/gatherings didn’t happen but when I looked at the calendar the other day (3 weeks into the 2nd term) I groaned – where did all my free time go?
I’m starting to get fed up with trying to find a day ‘to do things’.
For quite a few years after I finished working (as in paid employment) I was involved with a large charity giving them 2 regular days a week of my time. It was almost like being ‘at work’ again, being acknowledged for who I was, seeing/working alongside the same people each time, I agreed with the aims and objectives of the charity and certainly enjoyed the tasks I was responsible for. Then, like a lot of things in life, things changed, paid staff moved on, office routines changed, attitudes toward the volunteers changed and I grew tired of ‘office politics’.
It was so much like being back at work again that I decided I didn’t need all that stuff in my life and resigned. Oh but we ‘love’ what you’re doing, you’ve been doing it for about 10 years now why are you giving it away.
Because I need some ‘me time’ I told them and began to live a very quiet ‘me time’ life. Doing what I wanted when I wanted with no commitments to anyone or anything else – apart from The Golfer. I was content with my Crafting Reading Gardening Knitting Family History researching Travelling etc etc the same as many other retirees were.
Then the community attitude to older life expectations seemed to swing away from living a quiet sedentary life and became ‘Keep busy, keep your brain active, meeting greeting getting involved, play a larger role in society or you will grow stale in retirement.
I’m not usually swayed by those sorts of ‘messages’ but did begin to wonder if – no matter how much I was enjoying my quiet retiring lifestyle – I was becoming too much of a recluse, perhaps I did need to move back into community life and take more interest in what was going on around me, so slowly and gingerly (because sometimes you don’t quite know what you’re letting yourself in for) I joined clubs and groups that were recommended by friends and the pace of my days changed again.
This year is nearly half way over and as I mentioned above it’s now got to the stage where the boxes on my calendar have so many ‘regular’ outings pencilled in…..some weekly, some fortnightly, others monthly…….that something has got to go because I’m finding it hard to find a day to do things – like housework or washing or ironing – well that might be stretching it a bit but with an overly full lifestyle making medical appointments as well as finding days to catch up with friends it is becoming very much like telephone yo-yo*
*Years ago there was a little game played in business circles called Telephone YoYo. I’d call another practice and ask to speak to someone- not available ‘I’ll ask them to call you’ – they’d call back – ‘sorry Cathy’s not available to take your call. And so it would go. The yoyo string would roll up to them and down to me …..backwards and forwards and so on 🙂
* These days it’s – sorry I’m not free that day, let’s try for another one.
* Or – Oh you’re not free that day – how about this one
Maybe it is just me that enjoys being involved yet thinks/knows that no matter what age one is, there are times when constant busy times can be too much of a good thing.
(That sentence seems to be as clear as mud)
Does anyone else feel the same way?.
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Monday Musings – a time to think and ponder
What are you thinking about this Monday morning?
Look between…
‘T and U’…..
Because……
THE…..
ME 💕.
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💕💕💕💕💕
Just a bit of Fun on a Friday 😊
Well, hello there…
Looks like May has arrived- she’s eager isn’t she😊
April has only just left and here is May creeping in the front door.
I wonder what she has in store for us this year?
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Yesterday morning (last day of April) – felt a bit chilly coming back from the pool. Not really ‘cold’ but very cloudy and autumnal looking
The little tree I pass has dropped most of its leaves – it seems to be well ahead of others down the road. Of course the big gums in the background will stay green giving a sort of half & half look to the street in the middle of winter when all the deciduous trees are completely bare.
And with a nod to my Anglo Irish heritage where a big topic of conversation would be — what else but The Weather.
Here’s a look at what I can expect for the next few days
Cool/cold nights and pleasant days
which is good because I’ll be out and about – some busy days coming up
(oh and tomorrow is today😊)
Late Autumn or Early Winter?
Fluffy sheets on the bed – slippers by the fire – old fashioned ways to keep The Golfer happy….and not complaining about his cold feet 😊
Still Waters 