Two loads of washing done - I was unsure what the weather was doing (cloudy, sunny, breezy, chilly) so did one, then as it was nearly dry, did another. Will do the rest tomorrow.

I also managed several more trips to the shed with contents of kitchen cupboards and offloaded a roll of lino to the neighbour over the road.

I unpacked both the new vacuum cleaner and the steamer and these are now in the shed, with the vac charging merrily away. I will use it to clean the prayer mat I have put out there with a view to cleaning and then rolling up, and see how it goes. The steamer will be applied to various parts of the kitchen (stove etc) and the shower to see how it works then it too will be put to one side for 'ron.

Actually got quite a bit done despite just pottering so am feeling pleased with myself. Tomorrow being another day off, I might get even more done!

Weather has been all over the shop this week, and so have I. Tuesday and today I was on the History Room, so Wednesday, having checked the forecast I decided to do the washing and defer my trip to Hobart till Friday. Then I remembered Friday is Good Friday so a trip to Hobart would be a bit pointless. So I set off at around tennish and was therefore late home.

For all the time I have lived here, people have been telling me there is a hedge on the back road that bears sloes. Every year, for some reason or another I have failed to get there at a suitable time, but yesterday was the day! I of course forgot this in my rush to head to Hobart so arrived without anything to pick into but decided to pick anyway and sort it out later. As I approached the hedge I could see lots of fruit, but nothing that resembled a sloe, but I picked it anyway, pausing from time to time to wonder at the softness, largeness and pinkish redness of the fruit. Having finally picked a jumper full and discovered a ziplock bag under the car seat to transfer them to, I finally cracked and tasted one. Now a sloe is a bitter fruit, one that puckers your mouth and makes you want to gag. They are only acceptable when translated into gin. This, it turned out, was a damson. Sigh. Fortunately damsons also go into gin and make nice drinkies, so that will be their fate tomorrow. Gin, sadly turned out to be remarkably expensive, so I bought vodka instead, so I will have damson vodka on offer in a couple of months time.

On to Kemp and Denning, Shiploads, and other various shops at Cambridge Park at which I spent not a penny, and so into town to the Salamanca Wool Shop where i was once again subjected to the life history of the saleswoman, avoided buying anything (I had promised to go look at some coloured fleeces) and headed off to Howards Storage World. There I scoped out the hanging thingies for the inside of cupboard doors (to store spices, custard powder, smaller sauces and vanilla etc) and bought some drawer dividers (the next lot will come from Shiploads I think). After finally relocating the car I headed to Enwrapt to get some small ziplock bags to use for my record of my spinning activities which turned out to be cellophane bags which I though would be less susceptible to sweating. There I encountered the lovely relaxed approach of store security that is still a hallmark of Tasmania. Total stranger to the shop, carrying a large shopping bag, but the attendant asked me to keep and eye on things as she had to go out the back, lol. She didn't even ask to see in my bag when I left! And yes, most of their stock would have comfortably fitted in the bag with no evidence of its presence. This is the second time i have been asked to do this recently, I find it terribly amusing.

From there it was off to the Reject Shop to get some more storage containers for my ever-increasing stash of wool, and to Coles for food and so home. Walked the dog, cleaned the bank and headed home exhausted.

I spent a happy hour or so labelling bins, transferring contents adding mothproofing and so forth before collapsing into bed.

It was a late night last night because I became engrossed in Escape to the Country and that last episode in Scotland was enthralling. Meanwhile I sat and span/spun/spinned. After various tension squares failed to come up with a suitable number for the desired beanie pattern I had in mind I have worked out how many stitches make an inch and multiplied it by the number of inches I need - it should work! lol. I am rather making this pattern up as I go along as the Alafoss Lopi patterns do not have a turn-up and seem a bit girlie so following the instruction but adding a band and also adding colour-work sheep to it as well (on a rather smoother background than the Ryeland is producing). I am thinking a sheep flanked by border collies with possibly a row of smaller sheep to make up the circle and carry the yarn around to the beginning once more (the down side of using circular knitting methods is the need to carry contrast yarn all around the item as you won't be catching up with the design until you get there.

Lots of houses for sale in Oatlands at the moment - even the tourists are commenting!

And a bit of rain yesterday - 12 mm in total so nothing to write home about but better than a poke in the eye with a blunt stick.

Yesterday started badly with a total abscence of glasses. They weren't anywhere I might have put them (I take them off for bed or shower only, so not terribly many options) and I was really stressing out that they might have been somewhere on the floor where I might tread on them!!!! Poked under bed and bedside table and chests of drawers with the broom, still no glasses. Since i can not drive without them, I had to resort to searching for their predecessors. And that is how I found them again. Apparently the cat had knocked them off the table, into the drawer and then kindly shut the drawer with them inside. Phew.

Apart from that not much has happened, at least till I took Seb for his walk this afternoon and he slipped his collar. He had a wonderful time racing around the oval, chasing a hare and generally being elusive, but he stopped for an interesting snack he found and I grabbed him by the base of the tail. He lunged around to bite but thought better of it and just lay down in a complete submission - I suspect it is how the dog catcher finally caught him when he was a stray. Totally passive. It was quite worrying, so I talked to him as i fixed the collar  back where it belonged and he soon got over it.

Supposed to be raining this afternoon but not much evidence this will happen so I will hope it arrives tonight.

Better again today - amazing what a past-use-by antihistamine can do to clear the sinuses.

Washed the rest of the recoverable wool from the Ryeland fleece - what does not get spun into the two bobbins i am presently working on will go in a labelled box for future reference. Had to stop on my way into town to let a flock of Suffolks cross the road so booked a fleece with the farmer for his next clip (November). And at the moment I am wrestling with the desire to light a fire and the knowledge it will make sleeping difficult tonight due to increased temperatures. It is this time of the year when a pellet heater would be a very good thing.

Meanwhile the temperature for the next few days will be in the low 20s after which we will once again plunge into cooler ranges (13-14). I really should be packing up the contents of the dresser (the bits not already dealt with which are the precious heirloom bowls etc that have to be properly packed into something that will keep them protected). I found a plastic tub with some old sheets in it, so will pack them into that using the sheets to keep them apart to avoid chipping.

The plastic tubs of fleece have each gained a camphor ball as I spotted a silverfish in the bathroom this morning. Once dispatched, a rapid trip to Oatlands provided the cure.

The book has yet to be given a good reading - I will reserve it for tomorrow in the History Room. It being hardback and fairly large, does not lend itself to reading with a cat firmly planted in the lap.

Tonight is bank cleaning and visiting friends - all good fun.

Tuesday already and a fair bit of progress. Monday I woke early and had already cleared the floor in the spare bedroom before 8. Remaining are the table saw and a small folding table, both of which belong in the shed, but neither of which is going there any time soon. Once they are gone (or moved to one side, the room will be ready to receive the various cabinets from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry but first I need to finish off the lining in the shed so they can go in something resembling a suitable location. I will need some spare muscle to do all this so am trying to track down someone who can work to instructions and provide cheery company while working - it may take a while. I also need to find out what sort of lead time the vinyl people need so I do not find myself kitchenless for a month or still half-kitchened and them on the doorstep.

The plumber came and sorted out the roof plumbing for the shed yesterday also and since most of the relevant parts were missing in action, it seems he was back here today while I was at the History Room. He has sorted out the slow leak from the side outdoor tap, fitted a tap beside the shed and generally made himself useful, though the tank gauge is still in pieces and uninstalled. It seems the string on the float was not all it could be. I will use some string line string to fit it.

Meanwhile in the History Room the wife of one of the other members called in and we talked Council and campaigns - She is interested in developing a team of women to run - apparently has little experience of these matters and does not understand the voting system. I have suggested we get an experienced woman councillor to come talk to us and for her, in the mean time, to identify potential candidates. If it were me I would certainly form a team, but suggest we run on a ticket with a defined preference system so the vote was not scattered across us all and therefore lost. I would be happy to run on such a ticket as long as I was not first preference but am a bit concerned about some of the people she views as suitable candidates. Still, the elections are not till next year and such concerns are not all that important at this point.

Meanwhile I am feeling mildly ill, but I am sure it will pass. If not I will go see the doctor if  I can get an appointment with one who will not go for the pat solution.

Yesterday was a trip to Hobart rather later in the day than usual - I had an Art Exhibition opening to go to being hosted by a friend. She is a ceramicist which sounds fairly uninspiring I realise, but she does amazing stuff with found objects and thinly rolled clay cut out with cookie cutters then rolled onto textured surfaces of bark and shells. The glaze might be anything from Raku to none. My purchase (oooops) was a 'Dystopian Dream Catcher' with the ring formed from a bit of old reinforcing rod, suspended from  a spring that may once have added bounce to a trampoline. The circle is divided by two strands of rusted barbed wire that has survived two bushfires, and from this, suspended from fish hooks is a flock of birds. Pretty from a distance and disturbing close up - it will look wonderful over the fire place once the lounge is finished.

I had a beer at the opening and after getting in the car concluded a cup of tea would not go astray so lobbed into Barbara's house with no notice and received refreshment and conversation before heading home.

Today was the spinning group - only four of us today but quite a few visitors to the Supreme Court building, many of whom dropped by for a chat and to admire our work