2paw

"A Handbag?" :The Importance Of Being Warmest

I am very glad to be feeling relatively well again. Well for me, anyway. Peri and Gilly are trained to nap and sleep, and so even when I was finally up they still wanted to nap. You can fit a person and two Labradors on the couch. Just. If you wriggle your hand into their cuddle and feel their bellies they are as warm as toast. No hot water bottles for them!!!

Peri won't lie on the couch unless the jelly roll quilt is carefully laid on the sheepskin. This morning at the dam they met Rafa and Sandy. There was much jubilation and very little opportunity for a photo until I squashed a couple of seaweed rice crackers and strewed them about. That's they way to get a photo.  The Labradors are checking for tiny pieces of biscuit and Rafa is just running about with his tongue lolling!!!

Yesterday I had surprise lunch with AuntieDutch. We both had a delicious Ashgrove cheese and caramelised onion frittata with salad. The cauliflower and poached sultana salad was so yummy and the lentil one too.

We had "facetime" with Baby Zoe and her mum. Baby Zoe was riding inside her red inflatable Dalek.

Today I bought a new green handbag. I have had my eye on it for quite some time and it was half price so I bought it. It's quite spacious for a small bag and has room for all my bits and bobs. The camera flash left a big shiny white spot on the bag so, I tried to fix it with Ribbet's tools. Poorly I think.

I left home without earrings. I always wear them when I leave the house, except for dog walking, and I feel not quite right without them. I was forced to buy new earrings, also on super more than half price sale!!!

Tomorrow I have a doctor's appointment and then a surprise outing with MrsDrWho's sister, and on Thursday I am having my hair cut and it is MrsDrWho's birthday. I am thinking Friday will be my posting things day. I have been working on my secret projects. Here's a sneak peek of one. There are enough clues for people in the know to guess the theme!!

For a long time a tree has blocked the view of the road when you pull out from our drive way. Actually first you back up the drive onto a small parking bay which is not big enough to park on, but is big enough for idling and indicating to pull out. This morning the tree was cut down, it was almost dead, and the next-to-next-door neighbour is very pleased because it is a Blackwood tree and he will use it to build and craft things. Gilly spent an hour being endless amused by the men up the tree. When she stood on the outside table she could see them, then she'd run inside to tell me, and I had to go out and look. Repeat this for about an hour!! Peri pottered about. She's seen men up trees before.

In TV news I'm watching season 2 of Star Trek Deep Space 9, which is being played at the rate of three episodes a week. Also Endeavour, which is the prequel to Morse and Lewis and The Americans. I'm watching MasterChef in fast forward. Not even 1/3 fast forward, but actual amusing silent film fast forward.

The BlackSpot of Doomlight (tm) has a new 99 cent magazine out and it has a Labrador on the cover. Inside there is a pattern for a dog coat. Gilly has a new pretty green collar and I think she needs a coat. Definitely. And Peri too. I have no illusions about the amount of time they will spend wearing said coats: minutes if not seconds, but they will briefly look so cute!!

On Saturday I rescued a kitten. A half grown kitten that was in the bush at the dam. Gilly was beside herself woofing and Peri wanted to make friends and the kitten just meowed at us and tried to come closer. We eventually made it safely to the car and then I found a box in the Spare Oom and drove back to the dam. I could hear the kitten's piteous meows and she came when I called and ate chicken from my hand. It took a few tries before she was safely in the box which did have air holes in it. I took her to the RSPCA where, instantly, she was winding her way around everyone's legs and purring and making herself right at home. I hope someone claims her, or she finds new human companions. I can't believe she made her own way to the bush, but I can believe that people dump their animals. I don't understand why, but they do.

The weather has been more wintry of late and there will be ice on the car as the nights are going to be below zero this week. The Winter Solstice means the days are going to start to get longer. It makes me feel that Winter is hardly here before its gone again. We all plan to enjoy the cold weather while it lasts!!!

Wonky Kong

Peri has been tackling slopes Man from Snowy River style: And (s)he raced ... down the mountain like a torrent down its bed, While the others stood and watched in very fear. 

My heart really was in my mouth, as she raced up then down the slope and leaped over the gully at the side of the track. I shouldn't worry, she is very sure-footed. When I went to the new $2 shop (I think the world recognises that nomenclature) I bought Lorelai Gilmore a new squeaky duck. It is a mallard and makes a nice ducky sound. Gilly loves to run inside like a hurricane, whirl about and then rush outside. I am meant to field the ducky and then throw it up to the next terraced level so she can catch it. It is a game with complicated rules. She's about to catch the ducky here:

Here's a more flattering wet Labrador photo.

We had an old-fashioned draw for the drawstring bag. I did try to use a random generator thingy, but I couldn't manage the copy and paste widget properly. So, I wrote the 15 names on a piece of A4 paper, cut them, folded them up and put them into the drawstring bag and gave them a big shake.

And the winner is:

I hope you will enjoy putting things in and out of the bag Wendy!! I always wish everyone could win. I am pretty sure The Labradors wouldn't want me to win Tattslotto if they knew I wanted more Labradors. I think my heart could expand to love a couple more.

Onyi and I had a little swap at Knitting Dining Out last week. She'd won an ABC bath gel Dalek and said she would gift it to me, as I am a Doctor Who enthusiast. I offered to sew her a zippy pouch, and she asked for an Autumnal one. And we made it so.

At Sewing last night we made Wonky Star blocks, rather than the more tricky and large LeMoyne Star. MrsDrWho's chocolate and MrsReno's aqua balloon blocks on top and my two underneath. I have two half blocks to finish and I am all up to date with twelve blocks complete.

I borrowed The Great British Sewing Bee book from The Library. It is a good book for people who are beginning to sew and some of the patterns are quite complicated, like the Hacking Jacket.

I've been quite tired this week. I've done something every day and then we've have had to have afternoon naps to recover. The weather has been dull and I think sunny days are better than wild windy and cloudy ones.

Well Peri is trying to open the baby gate into the kitchen by pulling at it with her paw, and Gilly is running in and out with her squeaky duck. I'm going to have a quick nap before it's time to make their dinner I think.

Some You Swim, Some You Lose.

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night, nor fog, stays Peri from swimming in Winter.

She even had a swimming mate: Rafa. Gilly paddled about on the shore and woofed and wagged her tail.

Look how happy Peri is!!! And I love Gilly's shake starting at her head and Rafa is just eyeing off that spare stick.... I love the way the fog is just floating on the water. We have had some beautiful sunny days and MrsDrWho emailed photos of the sunrise yesterday. Gilly woke us up at 7-29am but MrsDrWho was already taking photos at her house. Here's one:

Peri and Gilly were not particularly happy, but compliant as always, when I made them pose with my prize from the ABC. There's a Cryptic News quiz after 4-30pm where they play three songs and you have to guess what news story they are referencing. They played 'River Deep Mountain High', 'Dancing Queen' and 'Happy Anniversary Baby'. I remembered hearing a news story on AM in the morning and lo, I was right- It was the anniversary of Hillary and Sherpa Norgay reaching the summit of Everest and the queen of England is having a garden party to celebrate.

Ta da!! An Elmo CD which will be for Baby Zoe and for me, Everybody Wants To Rule the World, described as jazz interpretations of contemporary pop songs. I know quite a few of the songs, but now I have my eye on a Burt Bacharach CD as well!!

MrsDrWho and I caught up for brunch amidst her holiday planning and report writing, We shopped. She made me try on new jeans. She made me. They were 66.67% off. How could I resist?? $20 for paisley print stretch denim jeans, and $12 for a not quite big enough to button over my upper nether regions but OK otherwise cardigan. It will be good with a dress in Spring.

I've been doing secret sewing, as well as the June Craftsy BOM . June was a Lemoyne Star, whih is complicated and large in their quilt. Instead, we are making Wonky Stars and I have made two. These are 12 inches and have no Y-seams and look so cute!! And as a bonus any wonkiness is part of the charm. I have just decided that, and will make it so.

A little while ago there was a spate of chalk rainbow crossings. We had one too in our Civic Square, no-one washed it away or made a fuss because, law abiding citizens that we have, the people responsible asked the Council if it would be OK and promised to be careful and responsible. I'd say they're polite activists.

On Sundays we don't walk, and since Miss Lorelai Gilmore is not for sleeping in I baked a Feta and Vegetable loaf  for brunch. I couldn't wait the twenty minutes for it to cool in the tin and so I burnt my fingers and my mouth. It was so tasty. I ate it for lunch as well!! We had a day in pyjamas watching TV on the couch in the Sun.

Today I had to drive to the other side of town to see the lovely Exercise Physiologist. Surprisingly, I hadn't gone as far downhill as I thought, and I was very pleased with my level of bendiness and balance. I may have then popped into the patchwork shop and bought two fat quarters and some other bits and bobs. I may also have come home and sewed a drawstring bag for my lastest sock project to live in.

And I may also have used the same, but opposite, fabric to make another bag.

I'm giving this bag away, it's not green enough for me, so leave a comment and we'll pick a winner in a week, Tuesday 11th June. You don't have to tweet, or repost, or like it, or follow anything!!!

Mr Yunupingu died this week. He was Australian of the Year in 1992 in recognition of his work in the education of Aboriginal children and helping to break down barriers between Aboriginal and non- Aboriginal Australians. He was the lead singer of Yothu Yindi. I remember so clearly hearing this song for the first time. It was written by Paul Kelly and Yothu Yindi members so you know it's good.

Lady(Hazel)Hawke

I have noticed recently the acknowledgement and respect paid to the women associated with, or in, politics: Margaret Whitlam, Dame Enid Lyons and lately, Hazel Hawke on her death. All these women were knowledgeable and important in their own right:

• Margaret, being PM Edward Gough Whitlam's wife, was also a social worker, a published author, an advocate for women's rights, a champion swimmer, on the Boards of Australia Opera and Sydney Dance Company and she even wrote a column for the Women's Day. She raised their four children while Gough was away in Canberra. She was also a great ambassador for the country and just a really interesting and intelligent woman.
• Dame Enid, the wife of the only Tasmanian Prime Minister of Australia Joe Lyons, after his death in 1939 raised their eleven children and became the first woman elected to The House of Representatives (The Lower House in Canberra) and the first woman Cabinet Minister.
• Hazel was mother and father to the Hawke's children while Bob was President of the ACTU (Unions), then in Parliament and finally Prime Minister. She was an author, a supporter of Reconciliation, a fine pianist and worked in the areas of Children's TV, heritage and the environment. About ten years ago she revealed she was suffering from dementia and went on to set up Alzheimers Australia. She continued to be a spokesperson for the disease until she had to withdraw from public life as her illness progressed.

I'm really interested in the women who partnered these men. They were such strong and self sufficient women and their husbands could not have achieved success without their support. I've read Margaret's biography, and a few books about Joe and Enid and now I'm looking forward to reading Hazel's reflections on her life.

Today I had another appointment at The Hospital in the newly renovated Clinic. Look how beautiful the glass partitions are in the waiting area. It is the rule that 10% of the money on Government buildings must be spent on art. I can't always agree with that because sometimes at school we had to spend money on art installations instead of better facilities.

When I came home I made a start on May's dress. It was not very successful. If you put a zip in the side seam of the bodice toile, and then try to put it on, there's just no way you can without breaking the bottom of the zip. The waistband, which is quite high, more or less fitted. The large gap at the top of the side seam was pretty much the amount of FBA I should have done. Then it will fit nicely. Damn. There's not going to be a May dress and I am OK with that. 12 Dresses is a goal, not a requirement. I like the way there is some gathering where the bodice attaches to the waistband. It actually looks really nice. My KMart doona cover material is making an appearance again!! I wonder if you can tell that Gilly was helping me, playing with her cup in a bag?? I've taken to calling her Diddle Dumpling, I'm not sure why.

The wool shop and some neighbours had a lot of feijoas, and so I made some Feijoa and Apple jam, I'm not a big jam maker, I made and Apple and Rose jelly once, but this turned out quite well. 1 kg of fruit and two apples made about a litre of jam, or four jars. Feijoa smell perfume-y and taste delicious. We used to know someone with a tree when I was little, but I haven't come across them for years.

The weather today was perfect. I wore my Pear Summer dress and the sky was Summer blue with white clouds. It was 18* here, and 20* in the South.

It is Autumn, in fact tomorrow is the last day of Autumn and then we are in Winter. The really cold weather never starts until after the Winter Solstice: when the days get longer the cold gets stronger. Peri and Gilly love running through the crinkly leaves on their walk and we have plenty of leaves around the garden. I sweep up one day and there are more the next. This picture has The Labradors in Treat Anticipation mode. You can just see where Peri's fur hasn't all grown back from when she last donated blood. I am not sure why. It must be because she is older. I love this picture, even though I know it's the rice cake they love and desire and not me.

I felt the need for vegetables tonight. I had a big sleep this afternoon and woke up craving vegetables. I had mashed sweet potato and ordinary potato with garlic, carrots and peas. The peas are frozen, but like the rest of the vegetables they are all local. The garlic is so local it's from next door!!

I made a slightly successful plan of what the Spare Oom looks like now.I couldn't make the door be in the right spot.

The light in the the centre of the room, and not very conducive to sewing, but the power point is on the back wall where the desk is. I'm thinking of a wall of bookcases and/or squares on the left hand wall with no window. The couch under the other window if for Labradors. The table is a large piece of laminated chipboard on a very old table, a green laminex one with tubular metal legs. The room is 3m x 4m, quite large for a sewing room I think. It doesn't have to be anything else, and the couch folds out to be a very uncomfortable bed. It may need throwing out.

Tomorrow is Friday Food, and I made a savoury loaf for MrsDrWho's school lunches last week. I've been watching The Little Paris Kitchen and I'm really enjoying it. MrsDrWho may well be the recipient of some of her baking too- I have the book on Hold at The Library. MrsDrWho is writing Big School Reports so I am baking some Caramel Chip biscuits tomorrow to ease the writing process. It's already after 10pm. I've finished my book so no reading tonight: a cup of fruit tea and then straight to sleep for everyone.

Rich Man, Poorly Woman, Beggar Man, Thief.

It's been very quiet at our house over the last week or so. I spent the better part of three days and three nights in bed, being poorly. Luckily I have trained The Labradors to nap and so they kept me company. Usually if I sleep all day I can't sleep a wink at night, but with a weird headache and various other miscellaneous symptoms, I needed round the clock restorative sleep. Knowing that there was something Going Around alleviated my worries and so I just waited until I started to feel better.

I know I wasn't well because I didn't really feel like eating: that's always a telling sign at our house. When I was little we had sweet bowls with a wide flat rim and we'd have stewed fruit with custard or ice-cream -never both- for dessert. When we came to a pip or stone, we'd put it on the rim and when we finished we'd say the rhyme Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, counting to find out who we would marry when we grew up. Everyone, even my dad!!!

I spent most of today counting minutes, waiting in Pathology at the Hospital for my blood test. I left home at 9-30am. I arrived there at 9-37 and waiting until 10-20, whereupon I had to leave for my Psychologist's appointment. Then back to the hospital at noon-ish and I eventually arrived home at 1-45pm. Really, I'm glad I have time on my hands so I can wait in the Hospital. I'm not complaining, just a bit incredulous at the long wait. I did start reading my new Library book. It's part two of a series and I thought I'd read it before, but I hadn't. So I read like a madwoman. When I came home we all went to bed with a cup of tea and I read some more until my eyes were so tired they itched. It's a good book: The Gathering of the Lost. Oh and the Typepad linky typelist is working again so I can start adding the backlog of books to my list in the Green Column.

Mr Tennis, Rafa's dad, and I have been discussing what kind of consciousness dogs possess. We believe they do possess a consciousness, but perhaps not a meta consciousness. Peri is good at problem-solving. She was on one side of the fence and Gilly on the other. Peri wanted to be with Gilly. She tried sticking her whole body through the wire, but that didn't work. Then off they ran together,

up to the top where the fence ended where they were happily reunited. They ran back to tell me how clever they were. They look very excited.

I finished the little Ovaltine vest. I loved knitting it. I have a few loose stitches at the corners of the straps. I think I may be able to ease the looseness out across a few stitches. I like the way a photo seems to make the X and O cables stand out.

It puts them in focus, kind of the same way I find saying something out loud makes it real. I'm always in a contemplative mood after I see my psychologist. Today I am being grateful, and it's easy to be grateful for Labradors when they greet you at the gate when you come home.

I am sewing. It's a milestone (and no-one ever says kilometrestone, do they?) birthday for MrsDrWho, in fact a slew of friends are having a milestone birthday. So I've made a plan, I'm checking it twice and I am making her some interesting gifts!!!

In another milestone I have opened the Spare Room door. I am forced to call it the Spare Oom, after Narnia. I am making an effort to eventually go into the Spare Oom and make it my Sewing and Craft Oom, instead of just a Spare Oom that we never go into. I am picturing some of those bookcases that are made of squares for storage. It is a bit exciting. I'll need a heater and a fan too. There's already a couch for Peri and Gilly.

Moore's Law says that the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles every two years (or eighteen months). Moore saw this trend over fifty years, but how does this affect me?? The price of SD cards for my digital camera has plummeted over the years. In 2003 a 32MB card cost about $100, but now a 4GB card only costs $8. I actually only want to buy a 2GB card, because I am afraid to have 1524 photos on just one card, but 4GB is the smallest I can seem to find now. Using my mathematical trickery, I worked out that the 4GB card would have cost $12,800 way back in 2003. If I could borrow that Delorean and take a thousad back to 2003, I'd be as rich as Croesus!!!

The GardyGardeners come tomorrow and I'm making Pigs in Blankets and I think some pikelets with lemon curd and cream. It's The Labradors' favourite time of the week and they may even get a tiny piece of scone for themselves. Life is good.

Alas, Poor Yorick! I Nude Him, Horatio.

Why anyone would want to participate in a nude Winter's Solstice swim I know not, but I do feel it is very harsh for The Police to ban the event. I've seen people wearing only slightly more than that in the street and at the beach and there can be less than nothing on TV. If members of The Public don't want to see the Art of Dark Mofo, they could just not look.

Autumn is definitely here today, no Summer dress today, and I wore my hand-knitted socks, scarf, mittens and hat to walk The Labradors. We saw Rafa and Sandy. Sandy had not encountered mittens before and he pulled one off my hand and ran away with it. The temptation of a seaweed rice cracker was too much and he brought it back, dribbly, but intact.

It's drizzly and gloomy and I have started taking Vitamin D again. Just heard from the BOM on the radio that it was down to 6*C today. It was cold. We had Sun yesterday. Peri was sunbathing and having her belly rubbed. She'd be banned by The Police if they spotted her having a swim.

Miss Lorelai Gilmore has been making mud again. The ground has been soaked by some good rain, and there is a lot of digging to be done. And a lot of faux black boots to be worn. Inside. If we are not careful.

This afternoon, while I was knitting and watching first Lewis and then DCI Banks, they were curled up together being ever so cute on the couch.

I am knitting Ovaltine (or Milo) What a wonderful pattern and I don't know why I haven't knitted it before. I am doing the Hugs and Kisses XOXO cable option. It is ever so sweet!!! I've run out of wool, so it will need to wait till tomorrow to be finished.

I sewed a bunny for baby Zoe. I sewed it a while ago, but forgot to take a photo and so I had to unwrap it. It was wrapped in Labrador Christmas paper that said 'Imagine this is Easter paper', so I expect I can wrap it properly now.

In clothes news, there may have been a sale and I may have, on purpose, put four more pairs of green jeans on lay-by. Four new greens. But they were on sale and instead of $210, they were only $140, a whole third off. Too good to pass up.

In an 'I should have thought of that before' moment I realised that no matter how I cut this material,

there are always going to be interestingly placed circles on the bodice of a dress. Luckily, both Marilyn and Naomi have the option for a patterned skirt and a plain coloured bodice. I think I'll be going with that option.

I made some leek and chicken soup for tea and it was delicious. The poor Labradors missed out on the chicken, but they did have some yummy raw carrot and celery with their kangaroo and rice and some hot water from the kettle made it kind of soup-like.

Tomorrow I am baking a Malteser Cake for MrsDrWho's morning tea turn. It is totally covered with Maltesers, but I think that is too overboard even for me, and covering the top may be enough. Apparently the correct size of tin is crucial, so of course I shall just be using a tin I already own!!! I like to live in interesting cooking times....

Lady Caroline La(m)b

Thank goodness The Ribbet has a Red Eye fix, or in my case a White Eye fix, because The Labradors' photo made them look mad, bad and dangerous to know. After their tea they decided to play rowdy games in the quite hard rain and in the dark. The Game also necessitated running inside, around the house, and then back out again.

After Byron threw Lady Caroline Lamb over, he married, and his daughter Ada was the woman who worked with Babbage on his computer. I wonder if I knew that and had forgotten? I think I did.

Earlier this week on our walk I was patting Peri and Gilly when I realised there were too many legs: Sandy had appeared out of nowhere. He is so strong, and the hill so slippery and gravelly, his dad lets him off the lead and we usually hear him thundering like a horse towards us. The wet ground must have absorbed the sound.

I've finished The Walk Mittens. I am not sure I need buttons and loops. I'll see. I made a little pop-top for the right thumb. It works well enough. I have torn both my thumb nails about half a centimetre down from the top at the edge. It must have been the cold snap and not wearing rubber gloves enough. I am nursing them along with nail glue and tiny squares of tea bag material. I've noticed that when I click on Popular Posts on Bloglovin' they are mostly fashion, and nail polish. I am not a nail polish person, I am too gung ho and chip it after five minutes, but most of the popular world is nail polish obsessed it seems.

Sadly, it hasn't been cold enough to wear my mittens, but I have been knitting away on the back of Dreamy Vision (Aislinn) I am going to attempt short row shoulders. I love the way it is looking, nice and long and such a nice green. I'll be ready to start a sleeve tomorrow. I knit a sleeve and a back to check how much wool I will need. The pattern says about 1859m, but so far I've only used 400m for the back so I may need less.

Today I wore my sleeveless Pear dress to Leukaemia Support Group. It did rain and turn dark and cold later on, but I'm pleased to be getting so much mileage out of my dresses. And speaking of dresses, my Sew Serendipity patterns arrived from the US is eleven days. That's right, eleven days. Excellent service, and great communication. I am very happy.

In other complimentary news, Nestles has thoughtfully put a little hemispherical dip in the lid of their condensed milk so that when you slip your thumb under the ring pull, there is extra room and it is so much easier to open. And McKenzies has released Gelatine Leaves, with instructions in Australian and a clear indication of how many leaves to use for the amount of liquid you have.

I used the leaves to make The Iced Vovo Tart. It's going to be my Friday Food this week. There is no actual baking, but it does take all day to make, so you need a wet day at home and some dedication. I went to The Dutches' for tea on Sunday night and saw the wonderfully cute Bay Zoe. She's gorgeous and doesn't have her nasal gastric tube anymore and eats and is starting to talk. I am so happy for all The Dutches.

I sewed a Bunny bag for The Dutches for a very late Easter present.

I can't add any books to my Books I am Reading list because Typepad and Amazon are having issues again, but I picked up new Library books and there could be a day in bed reading later in the week.

In other happy news my sewing machine is back. MrsReno's dad kindly cleaned it and said that the plates were tight. I am not sure what that means, but I am so glad to have it back. MrsReno's dad has gone back home but when he comes back to visit I shall cook him something delicious to say thank you. He said he was very pleased to fix my machine because he is pleased people still like to sew!! How cool and kind is that???

MrsDrWho and I went to see Star Trek Into Darkness last week. We went on Friday at 6-30pm and there would only have been twenty people there. We saw it in 3D, because, well why not??!! It was great, it was full of lovely nods to the original series and explosions and Starship battles and angst and running and sacrifice. Pretty fabulous all round. I think they have done an excellent job with their casting and I could slightly swoon over Chris Pine's James T Kirk and Karl Urban's Bones. Oh my!!! I know some people pooh-pooh reboots, but I lived through the long Sci-Fi and Fantasy drought of the 80s and early 90s and so I am just ever so grateful that someone has gone to the trouble of making a new film that I can enjoy. It was over two hours long and by my usual rating system I did not look at the time once, didn't even think of the time I was totally engrossed, and ducking debris, for the whole time: so that's 5 Stars, A+++ and 10/10.

That Old Black Magic's Got Me In Its Spool

The Craftsy Block this month is a spool (the picture is clicky to see the BOM), actually it is seven 7 inch spools like this:

I didn't really like the pattern and so I found a free pattern and we all agreed to sew that instead. I think it really does look like an old fashioned cotton wheel wound wildly with thread. First MrsReno and MesSherlock.

And then mine and some of MrsDrWho's. She's had an interesting week thus far, so just made part of her block.

I am part way through sewing the second spool. Next fortnight is catch up evening so I hope to finish my other circle and fan blocks and then there will be ten. Wow, that was fast!!!

The Walk Mittens have been quite fast too. I just have the thumbs to knit. I had to wait until they were both finished as I want to make the thumb of the right mitten with an opening and I couldn't do that till I'd knitted the left thumb. And of course, I knitted the right mitten first.

There is the little loop to be crocheted at the top of the pop-overs and two buttons to be sewn onto the cuffs and after the thumbs they are ready to be worn. The weather is strange, some places are expecting 25*C tomorrow, and I'm back to wearing Summer dresses with a cardigan that I can take off when it's too hot. This may be the first year when I wear a Summer dress in Winter, just twenty-two days to go to find out. It was frosty and foggy this morning and I wore my new hat.

I ordered new dress patterns from Sew Serendipity. The postage from the US was just $3 per pattern so I ordered two: Marilyn and Naomi.

Naomi will need a lower scoop neck and maybe Marilyn will need a slightly higher and shorter waist. I  love them both and they are shown in different fabrics to give you design ideas.

And now The Labradors. Peri is the most beautiful dog in the whole wide world. She in the middle of swishing her tail because she's been a good girl and come straight away when called.

And Miss Lorelai Gilmore is always a good girl and the most beautiful pup in the whole wide world. Except maybe today when she ran into the bush seeking the horrible smelly thing, but she did come back when I used my Teacher's voice.

I don't think I'm up to knitting a thumb, or two, tonight. I had rice, milk and a sprinkle of brown sugar for my tea, I suppose it's nursery food, but as a child it was something we had quite often. We ate macaroni the same way, all Italians are probably scandalised now.

So it's a cup of tea, the ABC News and then an early night for us all.

Help Me, Obi One Can Call Me. You're My Only Hope.

The Internet and Phone are back. It was not, in fact, my ISP at all. It was the Evil Darth Telstra. It appears that the cables to my next door neighbour's house were cut by mistake, and they were offered call diversion and compensation. Because I am not a Telstra customer they just didn't bother with me at all. I rang and that is basically what Rob from Telstra told me: Ha ha boo sucks to you. My ISP explained that this happens pretty regularly, especially in older areas here where phone lines are archaic. I can complain to The Ombudsman, but as I have no details or names, they won't be able to do anything. I do intend to write and explain what happened, as perhaps if they receive enough complaints the Ombudsman may act. I asked my ISP person to pass on to the people I spoke to what had happened. I may have become a little short when they both insisted on reading me long scripts instead of really listening to my problem. It was all very civilised.

Hence I missed Friday Food and May The Fourth. But I did not have a Georgette Heyer decline or even a Florence Nightingale take-to-my-bed. Which is very good.

We had a massive and very scary hail and electric storm last week. Here's eight seconds of what it sounded like in my car:

   

I thought I would get out and my car's roof would be covered with dents, but it wasn't. The sky was black and there were rainbows and it lasted for about half an hour. At MrsDrWho's house it settled deeply, like snow, and still hadn't melted the next day. 

The weather has taken a distinctly Autumnal turn: close to 0*C overnight with heavy morning frosts, but beautiful sunny days at 19*C.

Peri took the opportunity to roll in the most awful smelly and yucky thing, her best yet. I ended up buying some pampering spray to try and mask the smell even after a bath.

Gilly decided that the almost complete felt Christmas plum pudding would be a good toy. And so now it is.

The Labradors do enjoy their walks together. They run so fast and range so far that they need giant drinks from puddles and a dip in the paddle pool when they come home. Lorelai Gilmore likes to follow where Peri leads.

There has been some knitting. I've knitted up the two balls of wool into the back of Dreamy Vision (Aislinn) Yay. I love it. I am sad I didn't take more wool with me. I love the tubular cast on. It's as magic as turning a heel.

You can't see the Eiffel Tower lace very well and my close up photos are not terribly good.

I haven't found the rest of the 4ply to knit my convertible mittens so I've started a new 8ply pair. I think I can crank out a mitten a day. We'll see. The Walk MIttens are from a free pattern.

MrsDrWho's Lord of the Rings wool beret, My Precious,  is complete. I found the website for the wool, where you can buy all sorts of LOTR movie costuming. If only!!! There seems to be a severe lack of green though.

New denim leggings, or jeans as I like to call them, have been worn. Once with Labrador accessories, and once with MrsHouse Of's eldest daughter's new shoes. Surprisingly I could balance in them, even walk a little. Just.

The passsionfruit vine is bearing fruit and a bumper crop too. I made melting moments with passionfruit filling last week for morning tea. I plan to try some passionfruit curd this week.

Once the Sun goes down behind the hill at the back the temperature drops quickly every afternoon. It's 4-30pm and time to close all the windows and turn on the Warmy bed for Peri. There's chicken and vegetable soup to be made for tea and The Labradors' rice to be cooked and a mitten to be knitted. I have lots of blog posts to read and comments to answer. We plan to be online into the foreseeable future!!!

You Can't: Call Me. I'm Not On Line. You Can't Call Me, Call Me, Any Time.

I have no phone or internet access. I have twice called my ISP from MrsDrWho's house and they seem beastly careless about doing anything to help me. I will continue to pursue a solution.

Imagine a picture of Labradors here.

I am posting this at MrsDrWho's house. She let me use her phone and internet. I did laugh when the ISP recorded message implored me to email my fault information to them!! They couldn't quite comprehend that I wasn't at my house ringing them from my phone.

So I may be some time.

Talk amongst yourselves!!!