I thought I was Going to be Working

On the 19th of October I was having a sort of quiet celebration to myself- I was one year on from my operation for cancer, and everything was looking good so far, I saw my surgeon at the end of September. And then whammo the next day my 82 year old mother had a stroke. She lives independently  and is quite active and has a large garden and walks her little dog daily. Her neighbour found her on the Saturday but we think she collapsed on the previous day- as I had spoken to her on the Thursday evening. So the window for reversal was closed and we waited in emergency for hours- before calling it a day at 9pm as we had a fair drive ahead of us. Mum could not move her left side and  was able to talk sort of but of course there was drooping and other things associated with stroke. They did actually perform  the clot retrieval operation via a stent from her groin. And when I went back to Hospital on Sunday morning- she was finally in a bed ( instead of emergency) and there was a small improvement in  hand movement and speech- but she was still in High Dependency Acute. Daily there have been improvements and she is now in rehab- where they hope to be able to see her return to independent living - and of course mum is hating  the process of how this happens- she never did like hospitals. Movement of her left arm is almost back to normal and she is able to walk and she is able to talk ( a lot!!!)- there are a few memory gaps, and some strange observations from time to time, but all in all it looks as if she will be able to return home and walk her little dog again. However any work came to a screaming halt. Initially I was visiting every day for at least four hours- and I have wound it back a little at present- and finally had two days in a row where I was not going to the rehab- which is about a one and half hour drive from my home each way. So basically I have done no work for three weeks and the two days at home have been lovely but I am feeling a little uninspired to say the least. I have been doing some hand stitching- but not a lot.

I started a little fire piece awhile ago and just finished it today. Fire to me is all about the creative process and I was trying to jump start it. It also signalled high fire danger in the region I used to live in, but with bush fire  season starting very early in  Australia... I am thinking it could be a wider statement about global warming and the risk that entails for every living soul on this earth. It is readily apparent that things cannot continue the way they are and even if you do not believe in climate change (there is plenty of evidence to say that our climate is changing with catastrophic results if we do not do something about it) the reality is that the earth's resources are finite- they cannot be restored once used up- forests take hundreds of years to grow and develop their eco systems, extinct animals cannot return ,air is unclean something that was visibly apparent as I drove to Melbourne, and every day from my kitchen window I see the power plant pumping smoke into the atmosphere as it burns coal.

 It is just a small piece- but earth is burning up under corporate greed and government inactivity. it is time for all of us to live smaller and to consume a little less especially  fast fashion , processed foods, plastics, cars and petrol, building materials ( i am sad to see so many  perfectly fine houses being bulldozed to build more modern and larger  houses  that are often badly insulated despite regulations and are made of substandard materials)

I have also been slowly- very slowly working on another Traveller's Blanket which I am calling One Earth- each circle represents Earth as  it looks form outer space- and each circle is different because the earth is unique and has many unique and wondrous things- things worth saving. I can understand the passion with which young people- and older ones have been protesting- their future is much much different than the hopes I had as a young person- at that time it was protest marches  to end the Vietnam war and fears of  Nuclear war as the Cold War was all too real- and we marched and protested and sometimes it did bring about change.

Things have been progressing slowly at my house- I had hoped to have more done to the garden by now- but the last three weeks  have taken energy elsewhere. I did plant an olive tree and as I was getting out of the car a young man passing by with green hair and many piercings said- hello- I see you have a tree, an olive tree so you must plan to be here awhile.  I said yes and then he told me about a fundraiser  to plant 20 million trees by the years end to which he had made a donation ( I forgot the name the name of the organisation but it is good to hear that  people are mobilising to  counter the damage )

I have been building a vegie patch of sorts- but nothing too large at present as I really want to see how this garden lives, for a year. But I wanted a few basics like salad, tomatoes and cucumbers, green beans and a few other things. The garden  has a few trees, a fejoia, a lemon tree, a mandarin tree ,a loquat tree and a nectarine tree and it seems they chopped down a few fruit trees as the root stock  is going slighly mad.  The garden feels somehow very Italian but  the name of the owners was anything but.

  My vegie patch such as it is- but already I have been  eating rocket salad leaves, the other things will take a bit longer, but  some of the tomatoes are already setting tomatoes so I hope to have tomatoes before I leave to exhibit in Europe in 2020. The photo below is lemons and loquats from  the trees in the back. It is a pity the season for loquats is so short as they do have a very pleasant flavour even though the seeds are large.

Oh and Morwell seems to have roses everywhere- and  there is quite a lot in my garden( not many with fragrance) they are all flowering now and I am enjoying them and look forward to giving them a good prune next year. But it has been  one of the lovely surprises from this house as the bushes looked quite dishevelled  and  not well cared for in the last few years ( as the owner was quite elderly). The weather has been surly so I have been enjoying picking them and putting them in my house. Oh and there is even a straggly bottle brush!

And lastly- there are still changes happening in the loungeroom- I think the modern book case will have to go- it seems too modern, and the spare bedroom will turn into a sort of library room whilst also being a spare bedroom ( I am looking for a house sitter for next year - and you are welcome to stay longer if you want ). I have rediscovered some pieces I had forgotten I had because they have been packed away for so long including this Syrian horse blanket with its gorgeous tassels. I love the deep red and indigo colours and it's transformed the mustard couch into something else again- I think this may stay- and now to work out what to hang on the walls.The blanket animals have been created by Beth and Trevor Reid- I have been quietly collecting them when I have been to the Canberra Quilt Show- they are such fun. And the little baskets in the foreground are by Lissa-Jane de Sailles  ( we are both teaching at Grampians Texture next year) and remind me very much of sea creatures - urchins of sorts. Both have facebook pages if you want to see their work.

So Morwellia is coming along, things are still finding their place and I am still trying to get the hang of this house!