What We've Been Getting Up To

So what have we been up to while we are still in lock down?

I've been going to work, like normal, whereas Mick has stopped working  again, which is good, considering he is supposed to be retired.  

Mick is always happy pottering away in his shed and has been having a great time playing with his new toy.......which I still haven't shared here......I will.....soon.  He also enjoys playing in the garden and has it looking lovely.

Me, well I'm always happy playing in my sewing room.

Other than that, when it rained last weekend I went and pulled out this little box.

It is only about four inches square and holds a little 100 piece puzzle.  Mum bought it at the church white elephant stall a few years ago.  However, it just sat in her room for a couple of years and I know she would not be able to manage it now, so I brought it home.  Mum loves jigsaws.  When she was a dressmaking teacher in the 1950s and boarding in a lady's home she would do jigsaws.  She had some lovely ones of paintings of English castles. They are here now.  I may get them out and revisit them.  For someone who was not at all sporty, during the hot summer you would always find Mum sitting at the dining table, watching the cricket on the tele and working on a large jigsaw.  

Mick and I sat down to this little one and had it completed in an hour.  There was no picture to guide us, just the shapes of the pieces.  It was a nice little interlude.  I think another puzzle will come out soon.  Our only problem is that we only have one big table in the house, so it is a bit tricky to have one set up for any length of time.  We'll see how we go.

I've been reading.  My goal was to read at least one book this month.  Well, so far I've read five and the month isn't over yet.

Robert Goddard is an author we came across either at an op shop or book exchange and have found a few in our travels.  They are all mysteries, but not your normal formula.  I have a couple more sitting next to my chair to read soon.  We'll keep an eye out for more of his books.

Neither of us have ever read an ebook, always having plenty of "real" books to keep us amused.  However, Mick is in a bit of a dilemma, as he is running out of reading material.  He is a prolific reader and the op shops and library are all closed to the public at the moment.

I decided it was time to have a play around with the ebooks at the library.  I had read on a blog about "The Thursday Murder Club", so thought it would be a good one to start with, but it was only available on hold.  In the meantime, I grabbed whatever came up quickly, so read this old Pryne Fisher book.

I was pleased when my requested book became available much sooner than anticipated.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  As the review said, it was funny and clever.  The sequel "The Man Who Died Twice" has been released, but it is on reserve until March 2022.  I'll get to it at some stage.

Mick has even read one ebook.  However, he finds the font too small on his phone or the ipad, so is just using his laptop.

We've been baking again.  Also, as one of my goals this month I had said it would be good to revisit some old favourite recipes that I haven't made in years.

Firstly, one afternoon I wanted something quick and tasty, so made some pikelets.  This is also something that I haven't made in years.  There were too many for just us, so a plateful was also sent to our lovely next door neighbours.

I had some carrots in the fridge that needed using, so carrot cake was the perfect way to use them up. Carrot cake is also something I haven't made in years.  This recipe is one I pulled from a Family Circle back in 1983, shortly after I left school.  It is as yummy as I remember.

There was far too much of the cream cheese icing, so we then made some muffins.  The same recipe as we used for the raspberry and pear ones, but this time we used apple and walnut.  Yummo.  We reckon we may try apple and ginger next time.

I have also revisited two other old recipes.  Meatballs in Beer Sauce and Spanish Chicken. It's been fun dusting off the old recipes.

So, all in all, we have not had any trouble filling in our time at home and are really enjoying it.  Having said that, we do realise that we are in a very fortunate place in our lives to be able to enjoy this time at home.

Spring Has Sprung

Here it is, three weeks into to spring and I've hardly posted at all. That is not to say that things haven't been happening.

Our wattle tree was putting on its best show at the start of the month for Wattle Day.

The fragrance was divine and the bees were loving it.

The weather has been all over the place, as it typically is at this time of year.  We have had glorious days with the temperature up to the low 20s C, only to then have cold fronts come through and it plummet to not even reaching double digits and a dusting of snow on the hills in the district.

The winter display on our little kitchen shelf has been put away.

To be replaced by a more spring like offering.

Our weeping cherry tree, which we have now had for two years, put on a nice show, as did the ring of mixed daffodils around its base.

Back in autumn we visited Canowindra and I bought a packet of white daffodil bulbs.  They are blooming beautifully, with two blooms on each stem, which is unusual.

We have planted our tomato seedlings in pots and they are getting a bit of a start in the green house.  The snow peas are growing nicely, but only three ordinary pea seeds germinated, so they have been replanted and are now just starting to poke their heads through the surface.

The cherry tree blossoms have just about finished now, just in time for the crab apple to put on its show.

What we have really enjoyed is mornings that are warm enough to eat our breakfasts out on the back verandah, which receives lovely morning sun.

In normal times we always say we are not very good at staying home, but it really has been nice to be at home at this time of year.

We have had a few walks, when the weather has been nice, but not as many as we should do.  Living on the edge of town, we can wander through suburbia, or we can head up the hill behind our house and be in among the paddocks.

The view to the west is glorious.

Some gum trees will be covered in blossoms before long.

It's hard to believe that there are suburbs just down behind the first hill.

Well that's enough for today.  I'll share more of what we have been up to shortly.

A Little Bit of Stitching

I've managed to get a little bit of stitching done in the last day or so.

Yesterday evening was Friday Night with Friends hosted by Cheryll.

I was planning to be very productive, but got sidetracked by a book I was reading.  As I've mentioned before, I'm a bit of a binge reader, so I settled in and finished my book.  After that I went into the sewing room.

By bed time I had made another five bibs to be donated.......except for the snaps.  I will get to those at some stage.

So, not a great deal of stitching, but it was still a couple of hours in the sewing room and more achieved than I would usually of an evening.

This morning was another Zoom gathering organised by Chookyblue.  This time it just went till lunch time, which was still enjoyable.  Quite a few girls popped in and out.  There were often twelve on at a time.

My project of choice for these times has been my little redwork blocks for my Christmas project.  I just about completed my next block while stitching with everyone else and then finished it off after lunch.

This is how much thread I have left.  I still have one more block to stitch, so will have to get another skein, so I'm not sure if I will get the second block completed this month.  We'll see how we go.

I'm going to have to think of another hand work project to work on, as that is by far the easiest while chatting away.

After that I went into my sewing room and made a couple of more caravan decorated tea towels.  They are a fun and quick little make.

Now to decide what to work on next.

My Goals for September

Here we are, already in spring and it is time for me to decide what I wish to achieve this month, considering we are still in lock down and aren't sure when restrictions will ease.

Firstly, my stitching goals.

1.    ONE PROJECT A MONTHS

This was a hard one.  I have so many things running around in my head.  In the end I decided that I would like to progress the Laundry Basket Quilts Mystery Quilt towards a quilt top.  

There are 225 blocks to arrange, kind of like a jigsaw, and then stitch together.  I'm not sure what I will do for a border, and also not sure what fabric I will have here that will be suitable.  My goal will just to get all the blocks joined together.

2.    WOOFA CHALLENGE

This will be a very simple aim this month.  I just want to get my garden trellis quilt top completed, by fixing my boo boo, where I have to turn a block around, and add the border. 

I will then see if I have any suitable fabric for the backing, and if so, try to get it to my quilting fairy.    We'll just have to see how much of that is possible to achieve this month.

3.    CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE

There are just two more little redwork blocks to stitch before I decide what to make with them all.  I know I'm slack with hand work, but I really want to get those final two blocks stitched.  I have a feeling I will run out of my thread before I finish, but rather than muck around getting another skein at this point, I will just substitute whatever I can from my stash of threads.

4.    MAKE A DONATION PROJECT

This is a new goal I am adding this month.  I've made something for the last couple of months, so I think it is doable to make something each month.  It may be another baby quilt, or bibs, or pencil cases, or something else.  Just something.

5.    FRIDAY NIGHT WITH FRIENDS

 

Cheryll is hosting us tonight, so I will join in.  Let's hope I'm more productive than last month.

6.    ONE PROJECT A MONTH

I hope to have at least one finish, if not more to report to Kris at the end of next month.

7.    ZOOMING

I will be joining in with Chookyblue tomorrow morning for another Zoom get together.  A wonderful way to connect with other stitchers.

Now for my non stitching goals.

There won't be too many, as we are somewhat restricted with the current lock down.

1.    READ A BOOK

I hope to read at least one, if not more.

2.    TRY A NEW RECIPE

I think I wish to expand this to also revisit a recipe I haven't made in ages.  There are recipes in my folder I haven't made in years.  They have been kept because they are yummy, so it is time to make them again.

3.    FRIDAY FUN DAY

Well, I don't think this will be happening.  I can still have fun, but I don't expect we will be able to be out and about as yet.

4.    HAVE A WEEKEND AWAY IN THE CARAVAN

Obviously, this won't happen either, but we will really appreciate it when we are able to travel again.

In the meantime, we have decided to have a go at camp oven cooking in our back yard.  We've had a camp oven for ages, but have never really used it.  That way we will be ready to make use of it when we do get to hit the road.

Another Week and a Bit That Was

Another week and a half has passed with life consisting of work, the supermarket and home, but I don't mind too much.  I always have plenty to keep me amused here.

After the glorious weather on the weekend a week ago, the forecast cold change came through with a vengeance last Monday, bringing heavy snow to some areas in the district.  It was 22 degrees on the Sunday, and 5 degrees on the Tuesday.  I had to pop into work for a bit on a couple of my usual days off, as one of my colleagues was snowed in.  The heaviest snow they have had for a few years.  We just had rain, receiving 55mm over the two days. This, on top of the already saturated ground caused some minor flooding, with the low level bridge under water for a couple of days, but I didn't get a chance to take a photo, as we aren't supposed to be out sightseeing.

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise on Friday, which brought a bit more rain, but not too much.

I had my first go at Click and Collect shopping on Friday, as there were a few things that were on special at Spotlight that I wanted. It worked a treat. They had them ready in about an hour.  Of course, it was while it was raining, and freezing cold. that I went to collect them. There were some pretty low volume fabrics and thread at 40% off. Of course, the large reels of white thread were already sold out. 

Some good news for the week is that on Thursday we both had our second Covid 19 vaccination shot.  Unlike the first one, where we felt a bit doughy on the following day, this time we had no symptoms at all.  It is a good feeling to have that all behind us.  

I didn't do any sewing over the weekend.  This is why.

Because, how can you work in this mess?

Mick worked all weekend (so much for retirement), so I turned up the music (at Lou's suggestion) and started having a tidy up.  

Everywhere seemed to be a dumping ground.

That looks better.

I even had found a home for my Pinnock machine, which was just sitting on my sewing table.  I had a large rattan basket with all sorts of ironing bits and bobs that are rarely used on this dresser.  Realistically, I just use the water bottles to fill  the iron, the mister bottle, the lint roller and my applique mat.  I found a smaller basket for them and have the rest stored in the bottom of the dresser.  So much better, but still accessible, when needed.  Let's face it, I didn't need all the lint roller refills, defuzzers, tiny travel iron and tailor's ham on the bench.

Mick was especially pleased that I had excavated the arm chair, so he has somewhere to sit, if he wants.

I then started sorting out some boxes, and shock. horror, actually labelled some.  Who'd have thought!!!

All my vintage doileys are properly stored, not just dumped all over the place.

There are still a few things that need to find homes or otherwise be dealt with......like the mending....and the taking up of hems on PJs and trackie dacks that have been sitting there for months.  I'll feel much better when I get that ticked off the list, and it will get a clothes basket off the floor.

I also started playing with threads.  

I've always been a bit anal, in that I generally only use cotton threads in my patchwork and applique and have quite a collection, due to enjoying machine applique. It's actually more organised than it looks.

I then have a drawer of poly threads that rarely get used.  Mick's Mum's sewing stuff has come to live with me, so I thought it was time to put her threads in with mine.  So may threads, nearly all poly. So, now I will try to use as many of these as I can in my patchwork.  I don't quite get the reasoning that you shouldn't use poly thread in your piecing, as it will melt when you iron it.  How hot must some people have their iron?  My clothes are sewn with poly and they don't fall apart when ironed.  The other reasoning is that the thread is stronger than the fabric, so the fabric will wear out quicker than the stitching.  Well, I'm not sure any of my quilts are going to have that amount of wear. I will still use cotton on what I would consider to be a special quilt, but for others I will try to start to use this large supply of threads.  I've seen some quilts where they use lots of different colours in straight line or wavy line quilting.  That might be a bit of fun and use up some of the brighter threads.

Anyway, my sewing room is much better than it was a week ago and I feel that I can actually do some sewing.  The first thing is to finish the garden trellis quilt top and then decide what I will work on next.

I did get to bake some more muffins on the weekend.  These are peanut butter and banana.   

It was also the weekend that I stepped out of my comfort zone....Mick needed a haircut.  He normally pops down to the local barber and has a Number 2 buzz cut.  That way he reckons he doesn't have to go as often.  He has been getting rather woolly, for Mick, and was even thinking that he would have to buy a comb.

Then, in the Aldi catalogue, there was advertised hair clippers for $20.  He suggested that, as he wouldn't be able to visit the barber anytime soon, we should buy some and me give him a hair cut.  I suppose it can't be too hard.

Before.  He's very lucky to have nice thick hair.

After.  The serious face isn't because it was a failure, just that he didn't want his photo taken.  It went OK for a first attempt.  I didn't go a Number 2, just a Number 4.  Mick is happy with it, so it looks like I have now become his personal hairdresser.

Yesterday I was just about to walk out the door to go to work when Mick rang to tell me that one of his work colleagues has been identified as a contact of a new Covid case in town.  Therefore, he had to go for a test, therefore I had to go for a test and we were self isolating....again.  It was a bit of a nuisance regarding both of our work, but better safe than sorry. 

Seeing as we were stuck at home again and it was a nice day, I took this bag that had been hanging in the sewing room over winter out to the back verandah.

And ended up with a small amount of lavender ready to use.

Knowing me, I would probably just put it away and not use it.  I had a quick look on Pinterest and found a tutorial and made these cute little pyramids.  There is still plenty of lavender to use on something else, but at least the paper bag is not hanging around any more......until next autumn.

Fortunately, our negative test results arrived early this morning, so we were able to get back on with our normal lives and not miss too much work.

We still have at least another week of general lock down, which means that the Bathurst Blog Meet will not be proceeding, although we will have a Zoom get together.  

The weather this week is forecast to be rather spring like, with temperatures into the low 20s, so maybe some stitching outside.  We'll see.