Winter Solstice

We've had some miserable weather in recent weeks - but it is winter and there have been some bright spots! The advent of our winter solstice means that from now on the days will get longer. Hooray!! I understand completely why this date features in pagan celebrations.

My cymbidium orchids are flowering and so too is my sole camellia (in a pot.) I am convinced that position is the most important factor that determines whether or not one's orchids flower.

Finally, we have got the website and blog for Toowoomba Quilters Club Inc up and running. It needs some work - but it's up.

Also I had a pyjama day last week. For those who don't indulge in such decadent behaviour, it means that I spent the entire day in my pyjamas, large parts of it in bed being a sloth. It was a bright spot because, afterwards, I felt so much better for being lazy and self-indulgent!

Our next major project is to re-carpet the house and I am somewhat heartened to know several people, including Di, who are managing to stay sane during major renovation projects in their homes. Packing up the contents of shelves, sideboards, dressing tables....not to mention the mess behind the computer desk...(Does everyone have endless cords, wires, connectors behind their electronic equipment?) ..is a nightmare!

January is half gone!

I had a very lazy day yesterday, sitting in a comfy chair finishing a novel, Katherine by Anya Seton. In recent times I've enjoyed reading a few historically-based novels and this one called upon the history I learned as a child at school in England. (So it wasn't all a waste of time!)

At least my body had a bit of a rest from outdoor labouring - which I do enjoy. Our block and my outdoor pot plants all look pretty good at present although the forecast of possible rain later this week is good news. My tomato production is beginning to fall off now but we have had another wonderful crop this year. Decades ago I made a batch of tomato relish and am going to do a repeat performance this week. It's an old recipe from my sister who makes those sorts of things regularly and frequently.

One of my favourite things about Christmas and birthdays is the exchange of greetings with old friends with whom I would otherwise lose contact. I have several friends in that category including Pat who now lives in Newhaven in England. Our mothers were friends when we were small children in Surrey and I guess we kept in contact through our mothers. Later, in the 1970s, we met up in London and have exchanged news and seasonal greetings ever since. The "credit crunch" as she calls it has impacted severely on them and she is waiting to hear about the possible termination of her job.

Our local economy appears fairly buoyant. However I do remember experiencing a completely different sentiment when I was in Sydney late last year. Try as I may to understand what's going on, along with most of the population I have to believe that our government knows what it is doing.

Time for a gripe! Why do we have to buy in multiples to get "special" prices? I don't want to have to buy two loaves of bread or six cans of tuna in order to get the good price. We don't eat any more of the discounted items and storage becomes a problem.

We can't get everything right

Yay! I finished a set of curtains today. (A set equals 14 curtains.) This is a project that should have been finished months ago but that Stupid Shop with no Service misinformed me, mucked up my order and then, last week, realised that the fabric had been discontinued. I was furious but settled down to take positive action: a quick trip to Brisbane visiting four of their stores yielded sufficient fabric to complete the project. (That was after they had tried to source it from their other stores!!!!)

I have decided to send the electric spinning machine that I inherited down to my sister-in-law in Canberra. I had great plans to resurrect my interest in spinning but it's become obvious that time is not on my side. She will put it to better use and I still have my traditional wheel which I would rather use anyway. (If and when I find time.)

They still haven't been able to find out what's wrong with our 4WD which spent most of last week at the dealers under observation. We collected it again on Saturday and then at 6am on Sunday it died again - only 300m from home. A mechanic friend called in this morning and it started straight away! The mechanic from the dealer is making a house call tomorrow morning and we're hoping the car won't start. (Did I say that? Why do we nearly always have intermittent problems with our things?)