End of the holidays

I started to write this post yesterday - with the words "it is a very very quiet Sunday afternoon" but then the computer ate my blog post, so I stomped off. It was however a very very quiet afternoon ... I did a lot of weaving, number two son lay on the sofa with Youtube, and number one son and my husband (and the dog) slept. The dog had no excuse, but the other two had just come back from a two week holiday in Europe! And it took them forty hours to get from their apartment in Berlin to Canberra, so all they wanted was sleep.

The trip was my son's 16th birthday present - because we have never travelled much with them we said when they turn 16 they get an overseas trip anywhere in the world with one parent; their choice to destination (and parent). So he chose London and Berlin, and they had an absolutely wonderful time. Lots of Third Reich walking tours and natural history museums, so a very good idea he took his father and not me, but they both thought it was awesome, and they both think I should get there one day! I've never been to either city ... but I will.

And I think this might be the last fire of the winter (although I've said that a few times now).

Still quiet times

Not much to report here - despite the onset of spring I'm having little fires in the fireplace to keep myself warm and amused. It is lovely to have the firelight, although I don't think I can spin it out for much longer. I went for a run on Saturday and it was positively roasting. There was some new public art around the lake - I think it's temporary for Floriade. It was pretty cool.

I did some more weaving on the weekend, a little bit more on-line shopping, and lots of binge watching of Brooklyn Nine Nine with number two son. We also watched the new episode of Doctor Who and loved it! I think she'll be a great doctor. We were both sitting there on the edge of our seats with a creepy new alien saying "we've missed this!!!" ... doesn't take much to keep us entertained. And when we needed additional amusement we put the snuggly blanket over the dog's head. She didn't care.

Bamboo and wool

Well, this is lovely. After the disappointment of the horse blanket, this 50/50 bamboo-wool blend wove like an absolute dream. And it is soft, and drapes beautifully and looks awesome! It is absolutely impossible for me to look at a ball of yarn and tell how it is going to weave up, but I suppose I'm learning. I hope I'm learning.



So this is just two colours in a basic houndstooth. The colours in the top picture are the most realistic - the other photos are a bit duller. Two gold, two blue, repeat on both the warp and the weft. Isn't that unlikely? It looks so complicated and it is so simple. I have worn it into work too and it is extremely comfortable. Despite having sworn off shopping I'm going to order some more because I'm so pleased with it. I think I can get the edges neater, and I forgot to finish off in a stripe of blue like I did at the start. Ooops.

Hobby = shopping

Like always happens when I get a new hobby, I've gone a little crazy on the on-line shopping. I have never really bought yarn before, other than the occasional bit from the chain stores, and I am only now realising it is a wonderful wonderful world of on-line possibilities. Ice Yarns in Turkey have delivered me some variegated 100%  wool for a bargain price. And some very fine alpaca, with 2% elastane. I didn't think it would be very stretchy, but it is. I have absolutely no idea how I'm going to weave with it, but it is very soft and fluffy.



Left front there is some silk - the yellow is thicker and the beige stuff on the cones is very fine. I'll have to ply it with something else to be able to weave with it on the rigid heddle, but I'm quite keen to try silk. Actually I'm keen to try ALL THE YARNS ... the far left blue and burgundy balls are a mostly wool, with some alpaca and silk blend. Time to stop shopping and start weaving.



We had a peaceful long weekend, mostly warm but some use of the fireplace anyway. I had brunch with a friend and did some errands - number two son had his last day of school on Friday and last theatre performance on Saturday so he spent the following 48 hours in his pyjamas not doing much of anything! And I don't blame him. The days are long enough now for me to walk home from work which I did .... the shadows are coming across but it was sunny and very pleasant.

Burn, baby burn

So look at this! After years of shivering (caused by dithering) we have a freestanding fireplace. Installed without any fuss, in half a day, and now happily burning the firewood that is still in the shed from when we bought the place twelve years ago. It is very dry and is burning very well.

We still have to get it certified by the government but that is just a question of filling in the forms and paying the money. I don't know if this will be a money saving measure - the fireplace will cost us just under $6000 all up - but we pay $102 a week for electricity on average, so anything that brings that down will be more than welcome. And of course we will have to buy some more wood.



Here is the room view with boy under blanket (but still wearing a t-shirt, for god's sake if you're cold put a jumper on) and teetering piles of folded washing. It is lovely to watch the flames. It's a big piece of iron with a big hearth, but it doesn't overwhelm the room like I was worried it might. The technology is amazing - even at full burn there is no heat coming off the back, it lights incredibly easy, and no smoke in the room!!!

We went for a very traditional-looking fireplace because the modern sleek ones wouldn't have suited our very 1970s house. And it pumps out the heat, even on low. Mind you it hasn't been super cold these past few days. I think we have another week where the overnight temperature might dip below zero but then it will have to sit idle until April probably. And we haven't cleaned out the ashes yet, that might dampen my enthusiasm. Or not! I love a fire.

Cloudy but no chance of showers

I had a lovely weekend down the beach - happily alone. After a fairly brutal couple of weeks at work (just busy, not actually brutal, although I felt a bit punch-drunk by the end of it) it was blissful to vegetate. The weather was cloudy and not very warm, but it didn't matter. I went for plenty of walks, including along by the creek, which is looking very green at the moment.

This is in sharp contrast to the rest of the countryside, which is as dry as I've ever seen it. I noticed buildings I've never seen before because the foliage is so reduced, and the most phenomenal amount of road kill. One stretch of road about a hundred metres long had four kangaroos and two wombats ... all on the move for food. Except these actual animals, who were very dead. According to the Department of Primary Industries 98.9% of New South Wales is drought-affected, which is pretty damn dry. Our "lawn" is mostly sand at the best of times, so not much to look at at the moment.

This is one of my favourite cliffs down to the sea, with the spring flowers. The sea did not look welcoming but there were the usual keen surfers and little kids having a swim. I made another dress, ate lots of cheese, read a book, watched the footy finals and spent some time just sitting. Friends came over Saturday night for drinks which was lovely (and stopped me being completely hermit anti-social). I was so close to throwing a four-day sickie and not coming back ... but I restrained myself.

A bit of a horse blanket

This is the next thing to come off the loom - another scarf - wool this time. Or at least the weft is entirely wool, some of the stripes are wool and a couple are a wool/acrylic blend. Going with what I had in the cupboard again.



It is a bit disappointing - very firm and solid without much drape. Which is probably what I should have expected, but really this is a constant journey of discovery. I thought the different stripes on the warp would liven it up a bit, but it actually dulled down the weft yarn enormously. The weft is a lovely variegated wool in pink and orange and blue but you wouldn't know it from this scarf. Here it is on the ball. It hardly even looks like the same stuff.



And here it is as it is meant to be used. It is certainly extremely warm! It's the turn of the bamboo / wool blend next and we will see how that turns out.