Today was supposed to be sunny but the sun failed to put in an appearance till late afternoon. It was also supposed to be very windy, but that didn't happen either. I spent the day sitting out side the Lucky Ewe with a bunch of others as they sat and span and I sat and wound. All of my skeins of dyed wool are now in balls, so when I finish the scarf and the tamoshanter I will have a vest to knit.

The wildlife were left to their own devices in my absence and when I returned Billy and Poppet were asleep in the sun on the arm of the lounge and Seb pounded through to greet me, ignoring them both. subsequent encounters with Poppet have been rather less dramatic than previously, so I live in hope of a return to tranquility some time in the not too distant future.

Two of the spinners are former dog trainers so I took Seb in to meet them and they gave me a few hints. They, like me, concluded he will never be off leash reliably, but that he is nice and relaxed. They also told me that apparently there are some tracking dog groups in Tassie, so I will look into that - pity to waste a nose as acute as his.

After 14 mm last night more rain fell today - in between showers I have been re-ordering the wood heap so as to provide a boundary beyond which the wood must not spread. I am expecting another load on Monday so hope to have my L-shaped wall within which future deliveries can be dumped, and then organised more neatly on arrival.

I did manage to get to the bank to clean it, and collect some food for various starving animals (haha), and clean the wood heater and stack it ready for lighting, but despite the rain it has been more subtropical than cold - most peculiar weather. I doubt I will be lighting it any time soon.

A crop of mushrooms found its way to my frypan and provided a free lunch which was very tasty too.

Otherwise a very lazy day.

The topsy turvey weather continues and this morning was a bright sunny day followed by a bit of a deluge or two. I headed off to pick up my patient at Kempton and take him for an xray and sat in the car park in Glenorchy while I waited, eating my lunch. Home through pouring rain, so I texted my woodman and suggested it was time to start stockpiling wood. He rang back later and delivered a load an hour after that. He had just been cutting some wood, so rather than unpack it at his place then deliver on a scheduled run, he came straight through - saved him some double handling and made sure I have a ton on hand if the overcast of the next two days comes complete with chill.

The kitten has been getting more adventurous and coming into the loungeroom from time to time. She was on the sofa with Billy (at opposite ends) when I got in this afternoon. Billy has, against his will, become appointed as Uncle, but is not himself all that fond of Poppet. And the dog confrontations are improving. Her adventures have reminded me that knitting and kittens are not a good combination, but no harm done.

And I am planning an earlyish night tonight as I am a bit weary.

The perfect Autumn day today - bit of a problem it's still Summer, but you can't have everything. Sunshine, cornflower blue skies, light breezes - beautiful.

My driving stint (which involved shutting the kitten away in my absence) was an easy one - there and back by noon, and the passenger is one I had last week and a pleasant conversationalist. Poor woman has Parkinsons which is a bit disconcerting - the entire car shudders when we are stationary. And the appointment took long enough (and more) for me to get some groceries. And that is my lot for the week apparently, unless something crops up at the last minute. But I have a trip booked for next week on Thursday that will take me to the Eastern Shore which will give me an hour in Eastlands that will be no chore at all!

Confining the kitten is no longer a thing - though she seems to prefer to spend her time in her comfy bed in the pen. I suspect if I remove the pen but leave everything in the same position, she will still go there, haha. But she is getting more adventurous slowly and there is no need to rush her (though I would like to reclaim that square meter of bathroom some time soon.)

So tonight's dinner is a nice curry from down in town and a tub of yoghurt.

This afternoon I was invaded by two local blokes come to pick up some roofing iron and posts i had offered to one of them to fix the fence that was broken by the falling tree. Unbeknownst to me, he thought I was talking about another bit of fence and he was quite oblivious to the damage I was talking about as it was not visible from the house. Which leaves me to wonder who has been chainsawing the broken limbs and helping themselves to the resultant wood! I will leave that one to them to sort out. They also took the chook run away so that is one less bit of clutter in the yard.

After shuddering through a chilly morning with overcast skies and chilly winds, I finally cracked and lit the fire at two. The sun came out at 2:30, of course.

The household managed to sleep through last night, and Billy and Poppet spent some time exploring together. Billy came to the bedroom door to complain - loudly - at one point but Seb, once abed, stayed there - much to my surprise. I can't say that things are calm however, they are presently debating how close Seb is permitted at present and the language is not sociable. But he gives ground, so she is pretty safe. And I suspect Billy has been whispering slanders in her ears.

The bathroom and laundry remain her domain, but after lights out she ventures rather further afield - I spotted her fleeing the loungeroom when I went for a nocturnal prowl last night.

She will be shut up tomorrow when I do the appointments run, but I won't bother tonight.

Yesterday was rather mild, so  no fire was lit in  anticipation of today's forecast. But that turned out to me misleading so no fire has been lit just yet today. Actually not much has happened at all today apart from leaving the pen door open for Poppet to come out and explore at her own pace. Which I have to say is rather slow. I have stopped moderating and she seems perfectly capable of looking after herself - only intervening if Seb is actually lunging into the pen. I have also put the carry box on top of the pen as an extra retreat if she gets trapped. In the pen she has a high-sided bed that she can lurk in, and in the laundry she darts behind the hot water cylinder if all else fails. So it's all good. I will leave the pen open tonight and see how much sleep I get.

The grey skies are getting a little tiresome, but I guess I will survive.

EMW - yes! The temptation to add ruffles is strong! Fortunately I hate them, so it is unlikely to be satisfied.

The last couple of days have seen yet another return to winter, with strong winds, rain and rather chilly temperatures. In fact the fire was going last night and has been chugging slowly all day today. It's actually a bit too warm, but it will be too chilly if I let it go out too early. It's a struggle, haha.

Poppet's linguistic skills have improved and she now purrs when she sees me. This is a pleasant change from the spitting and snarling that was her previous mode of communication (despite running over for a cuddle while doing so). So I presume she has made the transition to domestic cat now. She is certainly quite confident around the dog - no darting off for cover, more a stately withdrawal.

I have been playing with the sewing machine and have finally constructed something resembling a blouse for under the top of the dress. I played with the gathering foot that came with the machine. I wish I had known about these marvels years ago - no more doing endless running stitches and slicing my fingers open trying to draw up gathers in reluctant fabric - it does it all for you. And the bobbin thread is loose enough to allow additional tightening or easing as required! Miraculous! I was so enthused I bought two packs of paper patterns from the Bargain Centre so I now have a pattern base for pretty well anything I am ever likely to want to make. Happy dance!