Hello
How are you all going, in your little corners of the world?
As Australia strengthens the laws limiting our movements,
we Cardinals took time out for a Sunday picnic...
We took absolutely everything we needed:
folding chairs & tiny table, chicken/salad rolls, tiny apple crumble desserts and a nice bottle of sparkling wine..
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| Vintage tablecloth, souvenir from Singapore inherited from Mr Cardinal's mother |
We sat high on the banks of the Brisbane River, watching the pelicans play...
We were able to space ourselves about 20 metres from other people, and nobody, but nobody, touched the available picnic tables, bins, or barbeques.
According to new laws this week, we should not even picnic again.
Social restrictions are that we leave the house only to work, obtain food or medicine, and exercise for brief periods.
I have never experienced online grocery shopping, but last week decided it was time to start. Our first Woolworths delivery will come this Friday.
However, I forgot lots of items, and new attempts have revealed no available time-slots for another delivery.
I am thinking of getting up soon after midnight to see if the system reveals more times I can access...
While we are spending all our time in our Cardinal nest, I have been playing around with the decor...
using only what can be found around the house, on the theme which our daughter calls the Age of Exotic Exploration ...
The old globe belonged to my father - how different are the countries of the world today.
Decoy duck was found in Canada..
A tiny column was a souvenir from Italy, and little Greek urn a gift from our daughter..
A carved wooden elephant, a gift from our younger son, many years ago.
Palms courtesy of the Red Cardinal jungle of neglect..
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| Petyarre, Jeannie, c.1950-, Utopia Central Australia 'Bush Medicine' |
As we will have to go out now and then, I am working on making some masks:
The luxury model, in floral linen lined with silk.
Unfortunately I overlooked the fact that the loose weave of linen is not a good idea and offers little protection...
I made two more in dense woven cotton, lined with the same fabric.
I know these are not at all 100% reliable, but there are no masks to be bought, and some protection is better than none at all.
My Sew-Jo and my Art-Jo have been sadly missing, but today I did push myself into selecting some fabric from the stash to make something...anything...
And began a little painting. It is part of the struggle to adapt to the 'new normal'.
Every day is a day closer to the other end.
I am making a point of phoning or texting one or two people daily....
And I am glad Mr Red Cardinal is here with me, working down in his study :)
Happy Hibernation
XXXX
Changing decor is a wonderful way to spend the time at home. Lovely photos. Happy Hibernation, makes stay home orders feel less awful. Stay Safe!
ReplyDeleteI'll keep using Happy Hibernation :) We must find ways to amuse ourselves and lift the spirits. Be safe too!
DeleteHello Patricia!!!
ReplyDeleteWe are into our third week...have not hugged or kissed my kids or gandkids for 23 days!!😔
Have only shopped twice, but I am being very creative in stretching what I do have..We do Family Facetimes, and I talk to my girls and Miss V daily...boyfriend and I walk everyday, but we really should be down at the cottage, cleaning up that mess from all the Lake storms...
Looks like we will be in here, for at least another month...working on a "covid" blanket...made form all of my bits and bobs of left over yarn...at least it keeps my hands busy...
Take care my dear...stay safe...stay home...💛
Missing the kids is the hard part. We very much restricted hugging our grandsons while they were here - just at the end for goodbye. Can't be too careful as they were going out and about. Facetime is a gift, isn't it? And thank goodness we can all still walk. 'Covid' blanket, what a good name. All crafters will end up doing something like that, I suspect :) Take care Linda as you Happy Hibernate!
DeleteExactly the same rules apply here Patricia - the weekend following our lockdown announcement people flocked to the countryside, but the government soon put paid to that.
ReplyDeleteKeep yourselves safeX
It is interesting how people behave, sometimes in ways unexpected by the authorities. The countryside seems like a good idea, but it is not! In Australia many people loaded up their camping trailers and began driving interstate into the outback towns. That is now being stopped as the local areas do not have intensive care units or the ability to look after the influx. Be safe too Rosemary. x
DeleteGreetings from Bend, Oregon! Posts like yours are what keep me inspired as we also socially distance ourselves. My son was very ill during most of 2018. In and out of the hospital, surgeries. As a result he lost 12" of his colon and his spleen. He is 58, high functioning special needs and he works at the front of a large supermarket. His physicians have recommended he stay home during the worst of the spread. He misses the daily interaction with customers, his manager tells me customers are missing him and his cheerful banter. He has worked there for fifteen years. I continue to write poetry, paint a bit and decorate empty wine bottles (accumulation increasing) for my bottle tree this Spring/Summer. Take good care of yourselves. I have a friend in his mid 80s in Bateman's Bay who is recovering from surgery and this is a tough time for him.
ReplyDeleteHi Helen, and welcome to my blog. I do hope your son will be safe during the pandemic. I looked at your blog, and enjoyed your poetry! It is a good time to enjoy our cultural pursuits as we stay home for an indefinite time. I have been to Oregon, twenty years ago, when we attended a conference in Portland. Happy memories of a pleasant city, and going up near the snow line for dinner in a lodge, watching Olympic skiers practising on the slopes. Bateman's Bay is a lovely place too. Hope your friend is OK - last night there was a TV interview from there, discouraging visitors as they cannot cope with the influx following the awful bushfires. Take care.
DeleteThe cloud photo is beautiful, Patricia. There's just something about it that really got to me. A picnic sounds wonderful, and what a lovely sight the pelicans are. Love that old globe of your father's. And the Greek urn is very special. That's a good idea to sew some masks. It was a hectic day this morning, as I got up early to stand in line for about an hour and a half at Target shivering in the cold just to get toilet paper. But I'm so thankful we are all well. That's thoughtful that you are phoning and texting people daily. I try to check in on loved ones too.
ReplyDeleteI hope you stay healthy, Patricia, and I will be thinking of my dear blog friend along the way.
~Sheri
Glad you like the cloud photo - I just looked up at our picnic and there it was, just waiting for the camera. Oh goodness, that is a long time to stand in line in the cold. How strange our world is now! I have a reasonable supply of toilet rolls, but have come up with an idea if we run out: we could use old, unwanted dressmaking patterns which are thin tissue!! I could start a trend... Thanking of you dear Sheri, and Happy hibernating.
DeleteWe've been in lockdown for a couple of weeks now and a picnic sounds like a wonderful idea just now. But I'm getting into the rhythm of this new reality. Nice to see that you are keeping well and busy.
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
It really is world-wide, isn't it? I am pleased to report I am also getting into the rhythm, and finding my new life not so bad after all! At first I could not be creative at all, but now, back to the art and sewing :) No more picnics for us, so we are lucky we went while it was legal. I am planning date night at home at the weekend. Happy Hibernation ...xo
DeleteI missed, this Patricia. We’ve been in the Dutch version of lockdown for several weeks now and a picnic seems a lovely idea, but even though we could, no one I know would dream if doing so. The new normal has hit here and we are all social distancing like crazy. Your photos are beautiful, though and something to look forward to when this is all over. I love your masks. I am out of elastic and do not want to risk going to the shops to buy any. Catch 22. No masks without elastic. No elastic without exposing myself to risk...I’ll have to think about that.
ReplyDeleteHello Val. No more picnics for us now, not even for Easter. It is all very serious. Glad you like the photos - I am encouraging the garden to do a bit more that I can share. I am also out of elastic having just enough here for three masks. Apparently there is now a national shortage of elastic! If you want to make a mask, you can tie them with ribbon, or tape, or a bit of bias, one in each corner. Fiddly, but I know some medical ones do this. I also saw on Facebook how to make one from a sock!! Happy new normal :)
ReplyDelete