Little Treasures

 My friend is an inspiration and after she showed me her stitching I had to follow her example.  These are Betsy Morgan’s Little Treasures.   

It is next to impossible to obtain Gloriana Silks here in New Zealand so I substituted red, green and gold DMC.   Feeling very righteous about using only what was in stash, I came down to earth with a bump when I had to buy the 28mm buttons that go top and bottom of these tiny hanging cylinders.   So all I need to do is make the twisted cord and construct them!

Maybe tomorrow.   I have The Last Sock to finish tonight🙂

It’s official

 Today I reached the allotted span of three score years and ten.   After extended celebrations with family (early to avoid a clash with the birth of Great Nephew #2) and then with friends (early to avoid a clash with a public holiday long weekend in New Zealand), today I finally reached the actual day.   Little Sister kindly drove up to take me to lunch and we had a delicious stuffed potato and then shared a small cheesecake and a pot of tea at a local cafe before she willingly filled the role of personal shopper and assisted me to buy a couple of summer tops.

It has been a happy day.   The two Biblical Birthday celebrations that are recorded ended in beheadings but my day was nothing so dramatic.  Just a splendid day  filled with thankfulness for happy memories and love as well as the anticipation of what years to come may perhaps hold.

Fences

 The top of the Kensington Square box is now done and in reality the French knots weren’t as bad as I’d feared.   Now I’m working on the exterior fence - this forms the rim of the lid.

Have also started another pair of socks in Opal Sock Yarn made by those extremely clever Germans who don’t put a word of English on their ball bands!    It is knitting up well and providing something for my hands to do while I watch the TV news each evening at dinner time.   

Yesterday I went to the library to get a book The King’s Loot only to find that it is very recently published and not yet on their shelves.   However the very kind librarian said that the acquisitions committee would purchase it and as I’d recommended the book I would have the privilege of being first to read it.   So now I wait.   This is a far cheaper way to “purchase” books, when someone else pays for them (ha ha).   

I couldn’t wait for the library with Jeffrey Archer’s latest though so resorted to a Kindle Edition and then sat up through the night to finish it.   Years ago when he visited New Zealand I went to a breakfast where he was the guest speaker and had the good fortune to be seated at his table.  What a charmer!   And I do admit to having read all the books he’s written although most have been borrowed from the library so I’ve not contributed in any great way to his immense royalties!

After several days of beautiful fine weather where we were deceived into thinking the sun had arrived to stay,  it is currently grey sky and showery but while that’s not so good for lifting spirits it is excellent for the garden and my plants are all singing their thanks.   I have at least five buds on my peony and the lily of he valley that I though I had killed has sent forth four shoots.   The Nigella seed has germinated in profusion so I will have some flowers.