Wednesday W’s #113.

What’s top of my mind: Life and Death.

For the past week I’ve been making this quilt for a friend I’ve known since high school. I’m calling it the ‘Wendy’ quilt, after her sister who died last Monday.

My dear friend Cathy has lived through so much loss. Both her parents, her beloved husband and a baby, who died of SIDS when she was only 12 weeks old. And now her sister, who was her best friend.

I can’t explain why she’s been singled out for all of this, as she’s the loveliest person. All I could think of to do is to create something comforting, that she could wrap herself with when the world seems like it’s all a bit too much.

Where I’m going: Off to the Ghan.

I looked at the calendar and saw that I have less than 2 weeks before I’m off travelling again.

YIKES!

I decided I’d take a leaf from Scott and Blogless Sandy’s books and stay at the hotel at the airport for my flight to Adelaide. It leaves early in the morning, so I might as well make life a bit easier for myself.

That’s the only thing I’ve done to prepare for the journey. I have to get my act together.

Where I’ve been: nowhere.

Just to the beach with the little woofs; to my sewing room; to the garden and to the library. It’s been delightful. I love being here at home.

What I’m reading: One of the best books I’ve read in ages.

‘The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot’ by Marianne Cronin. Oh, how I love this book, even though it made me cry. (Scout was very concerned by this.) It is a beautiful read, with characters I know will live on in my head for years to come.

‘Storm Child’ by Michael Robotham. I selected this from the library’s ‘2 weeks only’ stand. To my annoyance, it was only after I got home that I realised that it was the 4th in a series. I like to follow a series chronologically, but I began reading it anyway.

I liked it so much that I’ve put the first 3 in the series on hold.

What I’m watching: The Block, of course. And ‘Slow Horses.’

I watched the first episode and a half of Slow Horses (AppleTV) and didn’t really get it, but I started it again a week or so later. The cast was too good for the script to be lacking. Now I’m into it.

What I’m listening to: Music. And Jeff snoring.

I’m letting my podcasts build up for the ‘Ligas’ Crazy Road Trip’ in November. When I’m driving from Uluru back to Melbourne, I’ll need them (and a lot of Minties) to help me stay focused.

As you all know by now, Jeffrey’s snoring is a constant.

What I’m eating: Nothing special.

I’ve been too busy quilting and reading to worry about unimportant things like food!

What I’m planning: Lots of nebulous things.

As I don’t have an internal monologue, my thoughts are just blobs of ideas. I have a few quilts I want to make, and some of them have already begun. I have my trip to the Red Centre and the Top End to pack for. My garden needs work to get it ready for Spring.

When I decide which one I’m in the Zone to work on first, the planning and the laser focus will come.

Who deserves a thumbs-up: Past Frogdancer.

I made a quilt for Evan27 back in 2020. I called it the Bees Knees quilt. Now, Maths has never been my strong suit, so I made double the number of half-square triangles than I needed. I was pretty annoyed with myself at the time, but I stowed the leftover triangles, thinking that I’d make a quilt with them someday.

The quilt at the top of this page is the one I made. I was so thankful that I could put a quilt for my friend together so quickly.

It’s a good thing that fabric doesn’t go ‘off’!

What has made me smile: Scout.

Scout just turned 9 – and she’s finally discovered that it’s possible to destroy dog toys. Being a dachshund, she has very strong jaws, so it was always surprising that she was able to keep squeaky toys around for years without a dent being put into them.

But it couldn’t last forever. Last week I was working in the front garden and as I was doing that, I was throwing her blue plastic pig for her. I threw it into the bin when I saw fluffy white stuffing on the lawn and realised that she’d bitten one of his feet off. After the high drama of her nearly dying from an intestinal blockage after she swallowed a pip back when she was 2 years old, I am taking no chances.

She stayed by the bin, crying, for half an hour. So when I went to Bunnings a couple of days ago, I bought 3 toys for her, Two were a bit like the pig, and the pink one you can see her with is made from sturdy fabric. All have squeakers, of course.

One plastic toy lasted 30 minutes. It was being tortured so much that my Apple Watch said that I was being exposed to sound over 90 decibels, which could endanger my hearing! After 30 minutes I saw white stuffing on the rug. She’d upped her game.

I haven’t been game to give her the other plastic one yet, as the squeaker disappeared. We’re hoping it passes through her…

However, the pink toy has lasted 2 days so far. Bits of it have gone, but the squeaker and body remain intact.

As I’m writing this, I’m throwing it for her again and again. She’s so happy.

Just after writing this, I tossed her toy, and in a throw that describes my sporting prowess to a tee – I threw it over the dining table and smashed some wineglasses that Mum and Dad had given me. They were from my grandparents’ place and had gold on them, so they can’t be put in a dishwasher. I was going to donate them to the op shop around the corner.

Oh well. At least the house has now had a very thorough sweep and vacuum!

Dad joke of the day: