Chapter 2: Confessions of a Serial UFOer

At last, a UFO which is nearing completion - as I knit the edging I keep breaking into that Johnny Cash song - And the Road Goes on Forever!. I still have about a quarter of the edging to do, but it's not the edging shown in the pattern photo - it's off another jacket in the same book.

This jacket is for Ms Just 11 - I know she'll love it (provided it fits) because when I asked her what colour she'd like, she said "Grandma Flea, it doesn't really matter because I love everything you choose for me ..." and my heart nearly broke with love for her. She is a special little Flea, our first grandchild, born the day after Grandpa Flea came out of an extended hospital stay for his bowel cancer operation. She was the "light at the end of the tunnel". I hope to have this one finished in the next few days so that I can post it to her.

Confessions of a serial UFOer

Yes - that's me. I didn't mean to do it ... and I'm really sorry .... but somehow it all got away from me .... but what's a girl to do? You know - you're happily knitting away and suddenly you're bored - that snazzy new ball of yarn winks at you - or maybe the subtle mixing of colours in the stash catches your eye - and before you know it, you're flirting with a new relationship - you vowed it would never happen - that you'd be faithful until the last seam was sewn - but now you're dancing with a new partner and your old love is lying discarded in the corner .... how did it happen?

I didn't mean to confess - but the enormity of my sins became apparent when I started to rationalise my knitting supplies in preparation for the move. Well, that's not quite true - it really started when I was rationalising the toys in the little Fleas' room - deciding how few dolls ' beds we could survive with - how many bedtime stories were past their use by date - how many toys, how many boxes of old calendars and Christmas cards, old wrapping paper, assorted pieces of ribbon, foil, pieces of cardboard, half used vials of glitter, toilet roll inserts, empty cardboard boxes (all for drawing and snipping, stamping and glueing) etc, I could palm off on my eldest daughter and the littlest Flea. And there, in the wardrobe, were two boxes of yarn I had totally forgotten about - odd balls of cotton that I had left in the house for TV knitting of washers and kitchen cloths. The rest of the stash had been secreted in boxes wrapped in garbage bags and hidden in a large cupboard under the house when we were pretending to live a life of elegance and ease while our house was being sold .....

So, leaving the little Fleas' room in total disarray, I decided to investigate the other places where I knew knitting things to be, with a view to finishing a few UFOs and tidying things up in readiness for packing into boxes for the move. Note that this is not stash we're talking about - that's another story - this is the accumulated baskets of projects etc that seem to multiply in corners at night. What a mistake. Mea culpa, mea culpa. How could one person have so many baskets? and how could so much stuff fit into so few baskets? And how could one person have started so many projects without finishing any? Of course, it isn't really my fault - no, I blame Grandpa Flea. If he hadn't had the temerity to RETIRE, I would still be happily knitting all day until about 5 o'clock, at which point I would run around and start the dinner and make like I'd been very busy all day - well, I had been, hadn't I? just not with housework ....

So, here it is - the results of my investigation - mind you, it may well take the next ten posts to document it all ... but it may spur me into action - well, they do say, while there's life there's hope .....

Some of these photos are not too good - but they tell the story ... first, the relatively empty looking basket in the study:
How did all these things come out of that basket?

My Montse Stanley book (I've been looking for that), numerous printouts of downloads from the internet of things I'll(never) make one day , a ball of mohair (I wonder what I'd been doing with that?), an odd coathanger waiting for a cover (part of my plan - the first part, actually - to cover all the wooden coathangers in the house ), an old Guild newsletter and ..... a bag of yarns I keep forgetting to give to a friend of mine so she can knit herself a shawl ... OKAY! I'll put it near the front door so I remember to give it to her - better still, I'll ring her and ask her over for lunch and so I can't forget, I'll ask her to remind me!

Now, while I was in the study I remembered that the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet had a few things in it .... including: a half-finished bag knitted in the back of the car in Western Australia about five years ago after I saw a sample in a shop in Albany - I lost interest when it didn't look like I thought it should ... OKAY - I"LL FINISH THIS .... the beginnings of a mitred hat. I think the pattern was in a Knitters' magazine - we know what's going to happen to this, don't we? a small jumper I was knitting for THE SHACK's street stall. A friend gave me a lot of yarn to use for charity knitting when she was moving - OKAY - I"LL FINISH THIS .... and some crocheted squares started to use up some left over yarn from a granny rug I made for the littlest Flea when she was tiny. This new rug was going to be a capsule cover but I forgot what size crochet hook I was using and the squares are two different sizes - and now I have NO idea what size hook to use - BUT I'll finish this by turning into a rug for one of the doll's beds I'm giving away ... and another half-finished capsule cover started out of sock yarn in the stash after I decided that I would never master the art of sock knitting... hmm - this will either be finished or become another doll's blankie ... and some little squares that I'd started to do for a back-pack ... looks like a Barbie sleeping bag coming up ... or a doll's cushion .. and a scarf being made to use up some donated yarn (for The Shack again) - not that I can imagine anyone buying it - that's the problem with a lot of donated yarn - it's useless/horrible/too little/etc. Maybe I'll finish this one, or donate it to the rubbish.

And that's only scratched the surface of that drawer - it's like the Magic Pudding - cut and come again. I know you can hardly contain your excitement, but you'll have to wait until another day for the rest of the filing cabinet drawer to reveal itself. Just in case you're in lorikeet withdrawal here's a more cheerful sight to finish with: and a Mother's Day gift from my eldest daughter - a vintage needle gauge -

Possum Magic ...

For everone who loves the possums - the other day we were having lunch on the deck when a couple of large dogs sudddenly charged through our bush - the neighbour's dog immediately started barking and within a few seconds there was a dog chorus in progress. It's usually very quiet around here and it's unusual to have dogs wandering in, so the shy little possum was understandably rather concerned about the noise and its implications for her safety. However, she is not as sleepy as she looks - every time she looked out of the nest and saw the camera pointed her way, she'd bob down! I managed to get a photo at last - she looks so sweet. I seem to be obsessed with possum bits, but I love being able to see the detail, although this photo has been enlarged beyond sharpness - look at the stripes on her toes and the strong nails.


Kate, Carson, Roxie and Susan for your kind words about the possums and your concern for their future. I hope the new owners will care for them and resist the urge to remove the possum houses - although once they hear the noise the pesky little things make on the roof and the deck at night, they might be tempted! I think there was a possum party in progress again last night, and judging by the possum poos and the HUGE brown pools along the rail of the deck, they were there for quite a long time - it's like hearing the rain on a tin roof - the noise makes me drift off to sleep.

Thank you all for the words of encouragement about the process of moving - I had to laugh at the way Roxie expressed it - "This is how you eat an elephant - one bite at a time" - I think she captured the process very well!

I met Lara at Cherryhills on Wednesday - she had that beautiful look that pregnant women have - and I'm glad to hear that all went well with her scan. I'm amazed at the amount of technology that is routinely employed in pregnancy these days - when I was expecting either my first or second child, my obstetrician was using ultrasound as a very new procedure in very special cases. None of us knew what it was.

The other thing I noticed when my eldest daughter had a baby five years ago, was the amount of support that is offered to new mothers - she was put on a "depression watch" because of my history of severe depression, and the birthing centre stayed in close touch with her. When she had a few "settling" problems they sent the "settling team" out to visit and helped her develop a routine get the littlest flea to sleep. Same when she was finding it took her an hour to feed the little twerp when she started on solids - someone came out and stayed at mealtimes to see what she was doing and to advise on what was a reasonable time to persist. We used to drive our baby around and around the block to get her to sleep! And as for feeding! I used to breast feed and also complement with a formula so I had all the boiling up of bottles and making the formula as well. I did that with my second child too and in both instances was advised by the Baby Health Centre to stop breast feeding at three months. I felt like an absolute failure. But with the third child, I had heard about the Nursing Mothers' Association (now called something else). They lent me "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" and I went to their meetings - the poor baby only went to the BHC every now again - and we both thrived on breastfeeding for 12 months. I used to say I'd still be feeding her except that she weaned herself - but after watching "Little Britain" I've changed my mind!!

40 years of memories ...

It's hard to believe, but our house has sold and now we have to condense 40 years of accumulated junk into a much smaller home! I'm very pleased, but every now and again (5 minute intervals!) I get the heebie jeebies about how much there is to be done, will I be able to live in close proximity to other people? (I hope so), will I miss the possums (YES!), the birds (YES!) and the echidna (YES!), a couple of the neighbours (YES!). We have 12 weeks before settlement which helps. Our stuff has to go into storage for a couple of months so we'll be living out of suitcases for a while. Theoretically our new place should be finished by the end of August, but I doubt it will be ready then. We are going to India in mid September, so we'll potentially not be able to move in until mid-October on our return. Once we're actually homeless, I'll feel better - it's just the thought of it ... some people are never happy!!



The other day one of the possums had a bit of a stretch and left two little toes peeping over the hole. I just love how much detail it's possible to see with a photo - I could never get this close to little possum toes, and if I did, they'd probably be moving very quickly in the opposite direction! Although we built the box according to the specifications from WIRES you can see where the possums have been gnawing the wood to make the hole a better size.



I've had a knitting week so far - went to the Guild yesterday and quite enjoyed the morning - we had a spinning demonstration, but I couldn't manage the treadle with my two bad knees (my "bad" knee, which is still visiting the physio twice a week is now my better knee . I'd post a photo of the bruise on my "used to be good" knee, except that I haven't waxed my legs for a long, long time! I'm not vain, though!!). Today I had an enjoyable lunch and lots of chatting with Janette and then a very productive wander around the shops (I love helping other people spend their money). Tomorrow is Cherryhills knitting group and we are having a birthday celebration with cake and champagne and probably very little knitting. It should be fun. Perhaps I'll post some knitting content next time (but don't hold your breath!).

Scrabbling Around ....

This is my excuse for not posting for some days - the "new" home that we are moving to, and the need to sell our current home of 40 years (how can I be that old!). Our unit is the one on the right as you look at the sign. There are two in the front and nine behind.

I asked permission of the two men working on the site to post their photos on this blog - I promised them fame and stardom and of course they both agreed! This young man is working in "our" new garage.

I didn't worry about asking Grandpa Flea's permission - he looks very happy and proprietorial standing in "his" new car space.

This is the head honcho in the block laying department. The builder tells us that he is an expert and that his skills are highly in demand. The walls for the garage are nearly finished and once the suspended concrete floor is poured, the frame should go up in no time.

This is a kitchen in one of the other units - I'm not sure yet whether we will have the same colour scheme or something different.

I am glad Janette declined my invitation to hold her breath in anticipation of my next post which would be about knitting .... my excuse is that we have been very busy trying to keep the house clean and TIDY while it is on the market. We are surrounded by large eucalypts and various other trees. Eucalypts are supposedly evergeen, but in reality they shed copious amounts of leaves all year round, and bucketloads of blossom and gumnuts in spring and summer. Every day we need to sweep the driveway, patio and deck so that we appear to live a tidy life in a natural environment, every day I need to make the beds (darn, now you know I don't always do it!!), unpack the dishwasher, clean the mirror in the bathroom, not hang the washing on the line, but manage to miraculously dry it anyhow (you can see the clothes line as you walk up the front steps),etc etc, and every night I need to bring the cyclamens inside, off the balcony or the possums eat all the leaves. Then in the morning I need to put them out again ... Yesterday I had moved the two kettles with pineapples growing in them, so the large pot of red cyclamens would have centre stage on the outdoor table - and today, I discovered that the possums had been trying to eat the pineapple leaves ... fortunately for both the plants and the possums, they hadn't eaten too much - I think the leaves were too tough.

For the last few days I have intended to photograph ALL my UFOs and post them, so there would be evidence that I DO knit - but each day something has gotten in the way - today I was racing inside to get the phone and in my haste, fell UP the step onto my (used to be) good knee. It now feels as though I have done some terrible damage to it, whilst my BAD knee, which has been responding to twice weekly physio, seems like a two year old's by comparison. C'est la vie!

We had our first "open for inspection" day last Saturday after a number of weeks without advertising and "by appointment" inspections. We had a few people come back several times to look at the house, but no offers. However, people who had looked at the house twice before, and had arranged a pre-purchase building and pest inspection, indicated to the agent on Saturday that they were going to see their solicitor today with a view to buying! Until they actually sign on the dotted line we are not getting over-excited, but it's looking hopeful. The good news is, that if they buy, they are the sort of people who will appreciate the wildlife and not pull down the possum boxes. Speaking of possums - a few more possums for your enjoyment. There were two in the tree near the feeding tray last night - one up the top, looking very hopefully down at the other:

And one hanging on to the tree and greedily eating the apple peel we had put out.






Monday seems to have turned into Scrabble day - you know, that game with all the little letters on tiles .... I hated it when the fleas were little, but on my recent trip to Ballina, I started playing with some other "500" widows and fell in love with the game - and now we are continuing to play every other Monday afternoon or so, leaving the Scrabble widowers to amuse themselves! I feel an overwhelming desire to read the dictionary in bed at night - and do I need to! One of our Scrabblers was born in Malaysia and has only been in Australia for ten years or so - she often asks for clarification of not-so-common word meanings - and it's unbelievable how many times it's a word that we might use in our speech quite appropriately, but have absolutely no solid idea of its dictionary definition! Needless to say, I can't think of an example right now. English as a second language is not a major disadvantage for our friend - she is an excellent player, and has a very competitive spirit when it comes to snaffling those triple word scores!

No Knitters' Guild yesterday - too busy, and no Cherryhills group tomorrow as we have to see the solicitor about the sale of the house! And tomorrow afternoon I will be seeing my friend the physio and asking his opinion about my once GOOD now BAD knee!

What do you think of this ....

I have been feeling very honoured to be tagged as a "Thinking Blogger" by Roxie (maybe I don't have Alzheimer's after all ...), but I've also been feeling a bit bemused by it - I'm new to these games and am not sure how they work - if I tag other people, how do they know? What happens if I want to tag someone who's been tagged already? What happens when I don't tag people - will they still love me (I have "need to be liked issues"!)? Can I tag the tagger? I guess not ... The responsibility is weighing very heavily on my shoulders! Oh well, here goes.

The first person I'd tag as a Thinking Blogger is Marilyn, the Knitting Curmudgeon. The very first time I did a google for knitting in an internet cafe (before I had the internet), the Knitting Curmudgeon's site came up. I fell in love with her in-your-face style, the way she takes no prisoners, and her honesty (I have "dealing with anger issues"!!). Her 'honest to god serious writing' is gut wrenching. Grandpa Flea had cancer ten years ago and I know how I felt then - 'Essay: 25 April', taps deeply into my soul.

Next is Yarnstorm. This blog has changed the way I look at the world. I have never been "artistic" or good with colours and design, but looking at Yarnstorm's photos has stimulated me to try other ways of looking at the world - and I love it!

Then, Franklin - his blog is always interesting to read, it covers a wide range of topics, he has a cheeky, wry sense of humour, and again, a sense of honesty comes through to me.

This is so hard!

Then .. My Name is Heather - always full of beautiful photos, colour and from-the-heart writing.

So many blogs, so few in five .. so Ree of Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. I'm not sure why I enjoy reading this blog so much - maybe because it's so removed from my daily life, yet the daily dramas across the world in another family take me back to the time when our family was young - you know, the old "the more things change the more they stay the same" or something - there's a wonderful French saying that I can never remember, that sounds much more impressive. Beautifully written, honest (again), beautifully photographed and Malboro Man lurking in the wings. Who could ask for anything more?

There's a number of other blogs I'd like to add, but I've run out of numbers. So here are the rules for you thinking bloggers:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think,
2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme, http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2007/02/thinking-blogger-awards_11.html

Publish and be damned!

Saturday Sky

We were at La Perouse yesterday - it had been a beautiful day - sunny and warm and we'd had a wander on the beach at Congwong Bay before checking out the location of various things that Grandpa Flea needed to know for a Probus outing that he is organising. Late in the day the sky was filling up with cotton wool clouds and the sun was sending out long rays of "God's light" . Flocks of sea gulls and crows were circling around, riding the thermals and looking for scraps left by litterbugs. I was trying to catch the sun's rays in a photo - without a lot of success, but the silhouette of the birds against the sky really appealed to me.

While we were wandering around I became very conscious of how little I know of the geography and history of this land that I live in. La Perouse is on a bay at the end of the bus line in the south eastern suburbs of Sydney. The link above to Wikiipedia has a good summary of it's history. Named after Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse, and traditionally an area with a large aboriginal community, it is still a relatively unspoiled waterfront suburb, but signs of the great middleclass sprawl are showing. Just up the road, the magnificent site of the now defunct Prince Henry Hospital has been broken up into small building lots for those with plenty of money, and high rise apartments are starting to encroach on the once unbroken view of Little Bay.

Fortunately, some historical parts of the site will be protected and retained. One of these is the Nursing and Medical Museum. We are going there for a Probus outing in June and will have a conducted tour by one of the nurses who worked there in the fifties and sixties. Prince Henry was known as "The Coast Hospital" and had originally been a quarantine hosptal for infectious diseases. A friend of mine studied medicine when we left school and one of her placements was at Prince Henry. At that time there was still an operating "leprosaurium" there. We were both amazed (and very young!) to think that there were people with leprosy living in Sydney - we'd only ever heard about it in the context of overseas countries. The leprosaurium was closed in the mid-late sixties after the advent of antibiotics that controlled the disease.

Just as well Janette isn't holding her breath - knitting content - SOON.