Snow

As I’ve been cycling to work each day I decided not to bring my lap top home – I don’t need to haul the extra weight! So I wrote this last week, but didn’t post it until now …


With low temperatures and icy winds, winter is definitely here. Snow was forecast for our cottage last night and today and has been falling in higher areas all around the city. As in the past, my immediate reaction was “let’s go!”, but once again it was only I who was able to and this time I wanted to share the experience.

I love being at the cottage when it snows. The atmosphere is so different, other-worldly and the already beautiful landscape is transformed. Watching the flakes swirl and fall, densely and lightly, blanketing all in an unspoilt layer is wonderful and being cozy inside with the fire and candlelight only amplifies the wonder. My darling couldn’t come and he has never been able to enjoy these times, so consequently I felt uncomfortable with the thought of leaving him to miss out again.


Last week we spent a number of days there. Snow was already on the mountains opposite and the increased ski traffic was noticeable. Although the days were lovely, the nights were freezing but we slept well, snug in our little nest. My darling took the opportunity of transferring the kiwi fruit vines which weren’t too happy on the northern fence, to our southern boundary. This is where our land abuts the general store’s out-buildings, the back wall of one of the buildings being the barrier. These buildings are old by Australian standards as the store has supplied the community with their provisions for many years (and I recall reading it was the last one to be held up by a bushranger).


Once the new site for the kiwi fruit was chosen he started to dig and found the hole to be full of bottles and old leather lace-up boots and shoes. After a little research on ‘Clement’s tonic’, I found these items could be about 100 years old, but why boots and bottles? Did all other refuse get burned or rot? Was it from the shop or the family at our place?


We’ve put in a number of fruit trees over the years, as well as many other shrubs and bushes, without this sort of discovery. I know that before the days of garbage collections, families had a designated spot in their yards as a dumping place and maybe this was the place for our house (or the shop). I guess we’ll never know but I do hope the kiwi don’t mind living side-by-side with old bottles and boot leather – and under snow!

Platform 10

Yesterday for my trip to Gippsland I decided to travel by public transport. This involved cycling to our suburban train station, boarding a train to Flinders Street Station in the city, then changing to V-line for the country leg.

It was a chilly, foggy morning and all was going to plan. I knew I had 8 minutes to change at Flinders Street but which platform? Arriving there I scanned the overhead monitors, no country trains were listed so I found a railway employee at the exit and inquired … after hesitating he answered “Platform 10”. I thanked him and quickly set off.

The concourse was bright and well-lit and the entrances to the platforms clearly numbered with monitors displaying destinations and times – 1… 2… 3…4… 5… 6… 7… 8… 9…. ? No platform 10. Was his information correct? With no-one else to ask I eventually found a little-old-nicely-sign-written “Platforms 10, 12 and, 13”, with an arrow pointing down some nostalgic looking stairs. With each step I descended into the darkness, I felt I was moving further back in time.

I walked out into the quiet dimness of platforms 12 and 13 disturbing some pigeons who fluttered upwards, not a soul around. Hmmm, not encouraging and a little eerie. Was I nearing Platform 9 ¾ I wondered? When had the last train pulled up at these platforms? 1962? 1963? I quickly returned upstairs to the 21st century. Where was platform 10?

Another sign told me I could get to platforms 10, 12 and 13 by a lift so I stepped inside, a little warily, but then couldn’t understand any of the symbols on the buttons and not wanting to get stuck either in the lift or in some other time zone, I left it.

Feeling a little surreal, I looked for help, some one to direct me to platform 10, and not finding anyone I decided to go beyond platform 9. I felt a little pressured for time by this stage but it was here I discovered an escalator descending to platform 10. I quickly ran down onto the open, airy platform running parallel to the Yarra River. Comfortingly, a few passengers were waiting and a little country sprinter train was pulled up so I hastened towards it ready to jump on, although still not sure whether Platform 10 was the right one for my train.

Suddenly, “Where are you going?” rang in my ears. The question came from a uniformed gentleman who must have thought it odd to see a nearly 50 year old grandmother running along (I can run quite easily though, due to my cycling!). He told me that I was on the right platform but that my train hadn’t arrived. I thanked him, still feeling part of a story book, and admired the scenery while I waited.

“Look Daddy, it’s smiling, it’s a happy train”, the little girl delightfully exclaimed as our train approached and smiling I happily boarded it. The friendly welcome, the warmth and relaxed atmosphere encompassed me as I continued my enjoyable journey through the pages of life.

Is there a platform 11? ...

More opal

Here is my latest ‘opal’ adventure – it really is a time of discovery when you knit with this wool. It is a woolly cap knitted on 40cm circular needles so I just go around and around and there are no seams to stitch. I’m really impressed with the beautiful fair isle effect and am looking forward to wearing it in this chilly weather. (As planned, I lined the previous opal ‘stripe’ and made it into a pencil case ready for the new term next week).

Below are my (unblocked) crocheting efforts . . .

















It is to be an afghan and I’m only using multiples of the three squares. So far I have made over 30 so I’m well on my way.

I’ll close with a photo of little Belle taken this afternoon, I think she is trying to imitate her Poppy whistling. She is 5 months old now, a gorgeous girl with a sweet nature and very active.

Holidays

Holidays are here and instead of writing more often, I think I am writing less. They actually started with a head cold, so I had to sit quietly by the fire, sipping hot lemon and honey drinks, watching my favourite “1940’s House” series for the first few days.

During this time I knitted up a sample out of ‘Opal’ wool. I do like the colours but the stripes are too wide for what I’m envisaging. It was fun to do as it is a little unpredictable and I do like to find out what colour is next. It also feels lovely. I have been aiming for at least one new square per day for my crocheted granny rug – so far, so good.


On Monday my darling and I cycled into the city to see “A Crude Awakening” at the Nova Cinema. Interesting viewing. Climate change and global warming were not mentioned but it seems that the time of Peak Oil has passed and our society is very much based on oil, so what next? Solar seems to be the only viable option – I was pleased to hear that nuclear (which I am opposed to) would only be a stop-gap at best with the known reserves of uranium only lasting 30 years. I’ll be glad when we get our old car running on veggie oil, which is carbon neutral, in the meantime I guess we’ll continue to do what we can by cycling as much as possible.


The first hole for our planned orchard in the front yard has been dug and filled with compost, but our big project for the holidays is to finish the bathroom. Here is my darling in action as he removed the previous owners’ pink vinyl as well as the original 1950’s green checked lino tiles. I think our home must have been very trendy when it was built and we have decided to keep as much of the original features as possible including the pink suite and the black tiles. We will be putting down a black/cream checked floor. This project is being resumed from the Christmas holidays 18 months ago when a terrible accident with a circular saw occurred, but now that my darling’s thumb has been successfully reattached and his fingers stitched he is ready to resume ...

It’s off to the cottage tomorrow and with snow forecast it will be a little chilly, definitely winter, and very cozy.