Surely not!

I'm not sure when or how it happened but at some point in the last few months I seem to have crossed an invisible line. At first I thought it was a random happening but it now occurs on a regular basis. Somehow, I have become a person for whom people relinguish their seats on buses.

Now I don't wish to sound ungrateful and I am very pleased that there are so many well brought up people around but it is a little unnerving. How can the energetic, youthful person that I am inside look as though I need to sit down?

Postcard from New Zealand

We had a wonderful time in New Zealand, although it seems a long time ago now. But with limited access to the internet and limited time, I didn't manage to blog about the trip. So here is the potted version.

We flew into Wellington at the start of the trip. After picking up the car and grabbing a late lunch we headed for Karori. Just as we got there, a massive storm blew up and the temperature plummeted. Welcome to Windy Wellington indeed! My cousin's three children were pleased to see me and we had a lovely evening catching up on all the news. Actually - not sure whether the children were more interested in me or my iPhone but I was happy to see them again. The next day we visited Te_Papa , found a yarn shop for me and a tackle shop for R. And the weather improved although it was a still a little chilly. The youngest asked me to teach him to knit. I don't think he quite grasped it but he smiled his devastating smile at me and said that he was "finding it very relaxing"!

We then headed off to Martinborough. What a great little town - we loved it.

Fabulous wineries, good food and very friendly people. We visited a couple of wineries and Olivo where we bought some amazing olive oil. A wander through the Wairarapa and on to my aunt in Taupo.

My aunt is my mother's youngest sister and we were always very close when I was growing up. This visit there were no shocking family revelations and we had a good time catching up. I really like Taupo althought I'm not sure I would want to live there. We went to the Orakei Korako geothermal park and then for a spin (literally) on the Huka_Falls Jetboat.

After a detour via Tauranga we headed up to Whangapareo, just north of Auckland. Here we were looked after in fine style by an ex-Navy colleague of R's. They went fishing early Saturday morning and caught a few snapper which we had for supper. Our hosts prepared them in lemon juice with chopped onion, tomato and coconut milk - delicious!

On Sunday it was back to Auckland to have coffee with my other kiwi cousin, then on to the airport and home. And yes - there was some yarn acquisition!

Knitters in knots

Last Saturday saw us (as the erstwhile self-styled magic president would say) at the AGM of the NSW Knitters Guild. Now you wouldn't think that something as genteel as knitting would generate such heated debate and engender such deeply felt emotions. I guess that when you get a group of people together for whatever purpose, then divudes can open and the original common purpose get forgotten.

We were told not to talk about the AGM so I can't tell you about the grossly improper behaviours that occurred. Nor can I comment on the travesty of the "election" of the office bearers. I have since heard that there were even more improprieties during the nomination process than we understood. It seems that the President herself opened the nomination papers and, upon seeing who had nomonated for what position, then persuaded other people to also nominate for those positions. The Returning Officer was not allowed to fulfil her role of impartially overseeing the process and the Executive Committee later voted on the validity of the nominations despite the fact that there was a clear conflict of interest.

At the end of this debacle, we have a new committee and a new president who is committed to ensuring fair, equitable and accountable governance. It is a shame that they weren't permitted to go through the proper election process as I know that they would have got massive support from the ordinary members. The people who, after all, supposed to be what the Guild is all about.

The young ones

When I was chronologically a young one, I wanted to be like my aunt, Carol. Carol was (and still is) ten years older than me and was more like an older sister to me. So when she became a fan of Cliff Richard, so did I. I suspect that due to the fickleness of teenagers, Carol moved on but I didn't. Whilst I am not a dyed in the wool, avid Cliff groupie, I have remained a constant fan (much to the amusement and indulgence of my family). So when it was announced that Sir Cliff AND the Shadows were going to perform at the Hunter Valley, I knew I had to get tickets.

So last Friday afternoon we headed north to the Hunter Valley. The place where we stayed was nothing special but this was the view from the verandah.

On Friday night we had excellent tapas at Tatler. After a lazy start to Saturday we hit the wineries! I like to go to the smaller wineries - the ones that only sell from the cellar door rather than the big conglomerates. It seemed from our guidebook that Audrey_Wilkinson had won a lot of prizes so we decided to start there. As we drove up to the cellar door a magnificent view unfolded before us:

The wine was pretty good, too. Next up was an old favouite Tamburlaine where we got some bargain red, some Framboise and some white. After lunch we headed to Capercaille which I felt was a little disappointing.

After getting changed, it was time to head off to the concert at Hope Estate. It was a great night. Cliff always puts on a good show and this was no different. I had forgotten what a great musician Hank Marvin was and it was wonderful to hear some of the Shadows old hits. And for somewhat aged young ones - they looked and sounded pretty good!

Ups and downs

It's been an eventful and somewhat stressful few weeks. I was going to blog about the debacle of the Knitters_Guild elections but I think that all that should be said has been. I know that the incoming Executive will be much more open, visible and accountable and that the harassment and bullying that has characterised the organisation will become a thing of the past.

Workwise we had a tumultuous week last week with fourteen partners resigning from the firm on the same day. Again, much has been written about this and whilst it does not affect me directly, it has unsettled everyone.

Healthwise I have had an unpleasant gum infection which my dentist attributes to stress. The medication was strong and knocked me around a bit last week.

Thank goodness for my knitting! The Green Leaves socks are progressing nicely,

Cherry_Basket is finished

and I have started a Featherweight Cardigan.

There has been some yarn acquisition - the last instalments of the Lush yarn Sock Club and the wonderful Knitabulous yarn club. Oh - and a skein of Lush 50/50 silk and merino happened to fall into my virtual shopping basket.

A Capital Weekend

Last Thursday evening, instead of going to the M&S knitting group, I flew to Canberra. It was wonderful to get away from the packing boxes for the weekend.







Friday was the man's birthday and we went to the excellent Ottoman for dinner. The restaurant is somewhat curiously located in Barton, surrounded by office buildings. We had a lovely evening and the service and food were of the usual high standard. We had a selection of Turkish dishes - all delicious - and left feeling well and truly sated.









On Saturday morning we headed to the National Gallery for the Masterpieces_from_Paris exhibition. This comprises 112 masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris which, I believe, is undergoing extensive renovation. The highlight for me, rather predictably, was Van Gogh's Starry Night. I've seen it before but was again enthralled by the depth of colour and luminescence of the painting.









After that, we headed for the Canberra Centre and a bit of shopping before going to see Bran Nue Dae. I enjoyed the movie but can see that it might have been better as a stage show.

Later we walked around the lake before heading out to dinner in Manuka.






On Sunday we had a leisurely but not very nice breakfast- in Manuka again - before spending an hour or so at the Bus_Depot_Markets in Kingston. Then on to the Pialligo_Estate for lunch - an excellent Duck breast salad for me - and a glass or two of Pinot Grigio. The weather was perfect - warm but with none of the Sydney humidity.

And then it was time to get on the plane back to Sydney. After the stresses of the last few weeks it was the perfect weekend - no humidity, warm days, good food and wine and a some relaxing diversions.

Stash relocation

So Saturday (hottest day for 6 or 7 years) was the day of the move. The removalists were great and nearly everything got relocated without too much drama. The new place has more living space but the bedrooms are smaller with fewer cupboards. This necessitated a trip to Ikea to buy a wardrobe. (Note to self: do not go to Ikea on a drizzly Sunday. Everybody has the same idea. It is not much fun for you or the hundreds of wailing infants!)

The knitting books are in here somewhere:

And part of the stash is in here........

.....somewhere!