Into routine again

 Last week was cold but fine days so the lawn got mowed and the garden got a general tidy up and I managed to get out for walks so all is good with life Down Under.

The city where I live is bordered on one edge by a large river and the council have provided a well maintained and safe river walk.   Yesterday I remembered to stop and take a photograph.

And the mailman brought the package of kits I had ordered from The Nutmeg Company so of course I had to make a start.   Before that I carefully packaged up the other projects and the linens and charts I had sorted out.  They are back in the cupboard and I’m well on the way to box number one, “Evening in Westminster”.   I’m currently working on the outer lid.  The red bus, building and lamp are on the inside of the lid. 

It is many many years since I have stitched on Aida but I can see that the stiffness of the fabric make it totally suitable for box making so I’m doing my best to ignore my preferences for pure linen and so far so good.   The instructions for both stitching and construction are very detailed and all necessary ingredients are supplied so I’m hopeful of success.

My meal plan for this week has been written, my grocery shopping is done, the daily schedule is full but not too full and next Saturday is an embroidery get together at a small town a short drive away so I intend going to that.   Yes!   I’d say that normal routine is re-established!

And so life goes on

 It is now almost three weeks since I returned home and I’m still in the midst of a “back to earth with a bump” syndrome.   Adjusting to the cold and wet of winter is a work in progress but it is good to catch up with family and friends again.

After indulging in too many Cream Teas in the UK and cafe outings in The Netherlands I’m trying to eat more healthily and exercise regularly.   So far so good!   Im working through my collection of soup recipes and this week it is a particularly delicious pumpkin one.   Roast pumpkin, carrot and tomato flavoured with herbs and then maple syrup and yogurt are added when it is served.  Yum!😋 

The only ball of wool I brought back has been knitted into a pair of winter socks.   Thank you to the Blue faced Leicester sheep and the West Yorkshire Spinners.   Every time I wear these I will think of my wonderful trip and how Little Sister and I collected Knitting Shops!   

I brought home this bookmark kit too and enjoyed stitching and remembering the little grey squirrels who kindly played with me in the park on York.   They were such fun and a really happy tick on My List.

And I have decided on my next embroidery project - a hardanger runner for my coffee table.   I’m currently tacking it all out so that I’m sure it will be the correct size and this activity also fills in the time while I wait for my order of the necessary DMC Perle thread to arrive.

Next week my neighbour wants to come for a cup of tea and a chat so I plan on making a Ginger Crunch slice and  indulging in some nostalgia of my visit to Sarah Nelson’s Gingerbread Shop.   That was heavenly gingerbread!

And home

 June 28  - June 30

We left Amsterdam in the evening of a beautiful warm day 

and arrived in Dubai in the morning to a much hotter temperature.   At that vast airport we had to step outside the terminal building briefly to enter a bus to go from Building C to Building A.   The instant we opened the door both Little Sister and I gasped as our glasses steamed over.  It was already 33 degrees Celsius at 6:30am!

At Terminal A we found the gate and with energy batteries all but exhausted we also found a place selling cold ginger beer.    The instant the assistant passed me the card reader machine Little Sister and I gasped as for two bottles of Ginger Beer it was 78 AED.   I’d never heard of AED before let alone a conversion rate but let me assure you that is $36 New Zealand dollars for two small bottles of Ginger Beer.   Such was my exhaustion and thirst that despite good Scottish ancestry which taught me frugality, I really didn’t care and quaffed it as if the price was merely a few cents.

Then began the loooong haul back to New Zealand where somewhere along the way of the safe and comfortable journey we lost a day.  It was good to see the shores of home and now safely back I’m dealing with the unpacking, the washing, the cold (it’s only 14 degrees Celsius today) and the jet lag.   Hopefully I will soon feel like picking up a needle and finding a new stitching project.