Hanging in; hanging on...

My husband is still in Intensive Care, fighting many fights to regain the ability to breathe independently. He will be permanently paralysed but the extent of this is not known. He'll need months of rehabilitation before we can come home.

I am hovering in my new life; I've been house-sitting for eleven weeks and am now about to move into the 1940's solid brick flat equivalent of a serviced apartment, near the beach. This move is both a step forward and an enormously difficult and energy-defeating task.

The road from 20th January to here is indescribable. But I DO think the odd application of Chanel No. 5 helps.

Sad, sad news...

One week ago my dear husband suffered a catastrophic injury in a car accident. He was not at all at fault; a fact which some people find helpful.

We have had to move to another city to a specialist medical centre for help. Since arriving he's had successful surgery, but unfortunately developed life-threatening complications. This entire week has been a vigil of sorts.

This blog suspended until further notice, which could be months. Today brought to you by the tiniest echo of Chanel No. 5 which my daughter is wearing. I am so terribly, achingly sad for my darling.

Movement on the photo phront...

We've just returned from our holiday, in about four hundred safe little pieces. Three warm-blooded pieces and many, many bags, boxes, piles, hangers and bits. Including the fabulous, unleavable-behind many-coloured chandelier which will, I hope, be the star of the first photo I manage to post to this site.

I took many photos of my sewing projects of the past.. visits to the coast house began from very early days (it's been more than 10 years of visits now) to mean sewing time for me. I started small; recovering torn or worn cushion covers. I began to try to make patchwork again; having almost forgotten how to put it together. This led me to take classes in beginners techniques, highlighting the biiig difference in technique and equipment from my early attempts nearly 30 years ago. [30 years ago! Yikes!... but I distract myself..] I photographed every little project I've made there, as it forms an important beginning chapter. Soon I will amalgamate photos of more recent - more sophisticated - projects, many of which have gone to live with other people.

I don't have 'in the making' snaps for many as I didn't think of it until a couple of years ago, and it hasn't been a regular process. This very much reflects the fact that I tend to make things up as I go along, so there's no point making draft patterns or sketching designs. It will be what it is when it's finished. And usually, it will find a home when someone sees me working on it and goes 'Ooooh..'. This is very useful when you find yourself somewhat buried in oh, for example, far too many shawl/lap rug/cuddly blankie pieces of knitting. I may not be slender but I don't need THAT many acres of mohair fabulousness to wrap around me...

We had a nice time coasting. We did very little beaching, except the whale variety on beds and couches. Many books were read; many hours of music enjoyed; our cat behaved most eccentrically (it being only her second trip away with us, and clearly somewhat confusing - what had we done with HER backyard???); calories were consumed with an intensity only matched by our attempts to get into the cirrhosis danger zone. It were all very good.

The unguent collection was barely boosted, mostly because I now leave so much stuff there! But there was a small lapse into the sensitive skin face-cream department (thank goodness you can get L'Oreal products at Woollies); and I enjoyed finishing off a bottle of Dolce and Gabbana purrfume. No name, just D and G. Lovely.

I attended a one-day sewing class at Moruya, with a crafty-minded friend to share the fun (I mean craft, not wiley!). I was the slowest sewer I think, but I learnt a lot (it was a tote-bag making project) and the finished product is pretty spiffy. I was humbly but happily delighted when we visited two artist friends who both admired and made what I thought were very trenchant comments about my chosen colour palette.

Ahem. Pulls ego back... today brought to you by FAR TOO MUCH packing, cleaning, driving, unpacking and sorting out of a huge water leak, thanks to a split in the grey water hose. I didn't really want to use up NINE TOWELS sopping up the water which was intended for my tomatoes! Now I have to use more water to wash the towels which are full of soapy water from the grey water hose I use to try to save water. Irony is a force!

's good to be 'ome.

Time to cruise...

We've run away to the coast for a couple of weeks. We've had some deliciously cool rain, and some horrible steamy humidity afterwards. Why both I ask sweatily??

I've packed numerous projects, knitting and sewing, and hope to do some FINISHING. Now, pick yourselves up off the floor and behave. It has to happen sometimes you know. I recall, a couple of years ago, I was determined to finish some things, so I started with the very small, achievable things like the odd missing button on a shirt; two inches of dropped hem on a trouser leg; one final row of fringe on a scarf. Now I've pretty much run out of little jobs and I've had to take some deep breaths and look to the next layer of UFOs*.

I have with me the second half of a shawl for E (hi baby!); a tote bag project which I am taking to a one-day course at a local fabric shop; the famous 'greens' art/colour theory project quilt which is a stack of rectangles waiting for some seams to make them into a single bed quilt top. I have a random knitting thing which is just using up a weird ball of mohair and acrylic wool, not very nice to knit with but it's a pretty enough rectangle.. I'm knitting that one in what I THINK is moss stitch... and I have plenty of fat quarters for purposes of adding to/starting a small project which I am inspired to do once I have inhaled enough soothing seaside air.

These projects usually take the form of 'something useful for the house' and as such tend to be cushion covers, aprons, oven gloves, pillow cases or weird folded bits of long fabric which I think I can fake-o into a summer garment of a very toga-like nature ... ie I stand with the fabric in front of the mirror; folding, pleating and pinning, until it looks decent and feels comfy. Then I take it home and get it out next summer and try to work out what I had in mind!

But for now, these holi-days brought to you by my summer holiday stash: Ange ou Demon (nearly finished); Angel; a miniature Prada, and an unopened Gucci. So far, A ou D is winning. It's an intense, slightly musky scent which I like on these warm days. And, ya know, any excuse! Finishing a bottle is good enough for me.

*UnFinished Objects

Slowly gathering material....

Hello! And Happy Thing Celebration to you all. I hope your festive event has been more fun than stress; more bling than blah; and certainly more food than you ever thought you needed! My day with friends and family yesterday set what I believe to be a purrsonal calorie high. Mind you, temptation was thrown before me in lavish quantities - just the dessert portion of the meal went like this:

1. A very fine brandy and macadamia christmas pudding

2. An equally fine blueberry trifle, and

3. A massively rich chocolate mousse

... served with...

4. Whipped cream

5. Double cream

6. Pouring cream

7. Brandy butter

8. Superior vanilla icecream, and

9. Custard

I'm sure there's a number 10 in there somewhere I've forgotten (even tho my eyes were indeed bigger than my stomach, an amazing feat of re-arranged physiology not to be thought about too carefully...).

I feel very spoilt and cherished by friends, family, gifts, unexpected good wishes, lots of contact from people I haven't kept up with propurrly, and not least of all, the weather. We've had some very hot, windy, dry dusty smoky horrible weather recently. Christmas Eve was everything one could actively hate - hot, dry, the house stuffy from days of heat, and the stove on for hours. Even with the portable cooler I was a hot hot purrson all day. And then, overnight, a cool change blew through, bringing with it steady, delicious, freshening rain. Maybe it spoiled a few picnics and barbecues, but I was delighted. I AM delighted! It's still cool and rainy, and long may it last. There's plenty of summer left to be hot and sweaty.

The gardens look so green, so invigorated, so wonderfully fresh. The mulch looks dark with water and usefully heavy with purpose, keeping roots and soil damp and cool. The day lilies are drooping with water and the roses and just .. fabulous. FABULOUS!

We have a few days before leaving for the coast, to read our christmas books, eat our christmas goodies, arrange our gorgeous new christmas fruity bits, drink our christmas bottles, and enjoy our christmas bling. I'm so delighted with my new resin necklace (thank you, darling M) that I've been wearing it in bed while I read. It's made of different lozenge shapes in reds, oranges and yellows, and is very me. For which read colourful, informal and a bit funky.

The last few days brought to you by sore feet (cooking requires much standing); several hard-used aprons; and a series of favourite purrfumes: Prada, the end of the bottle of Gucci, one evening's worth of Thierry Mugler's 'Angel', and quantities of Jo Malone 'Vintage Gardenia'. I urge you to try the Gardenia; it's delightfully balanced and flowery without being heavy or cloying. It goes very well, for example, with a chocolate mousse and shot of bourbon supper!