A Weekend in Yass

On Thursday afternoon Steve and I headed south for the town of Yass, to be part of the Turning Wave Festival, a festival of Irish music, dance and poetry. (You can read about the other time we attended this festival here, back in 2008 when it was held in Gundagai).

After the rush of getting ready to leave, it was wonderful to be driving in the open countryside, looking forward to a great weekend. Just seeing so much sky is enough reason for me to enjoy being out of Sydney.

We stopped briefly at Goulburn then hurried on, hoping to reach Yass before dark.

As it turned out, it was perfect timing - we were treated to the most amazing sunset.

I might have gotten a bit carried away taking photos of it every moment or two as it changed ...

We drove into Yass (pop. 5591) at twilight. 

We had dinner at the club, followed by a good session with a good group of 

people who had arrived early, like us.

The next morning we woke up in our cute little 1960s motel 

and headed down the main street to do a little shopping 

(someone forgot her toothbrush) and go to our fiddle class.

The fiddle classes were held outside on a big old verandah. The building is currently being used as an art gallery. It was a cold morning and pretty chilly up there in the shade when the wind blew. It might have been 10degC by then, it had been only 2degC when we woke up.

Our class was taught by the lovely Tricia Hastings from County Clare.

She taught us a few jigs and reels over the weekend, and a barndance, and we also learnt ways to ornament the tunes. At the end of the weekend we gave a little recital of what we had learnt in the Liberty Theatre.  On Friday we also did a little looking at antiques. We loved this shop and I bought a few things here.

'

Everything was arranged so tastefully, I wanted it all.

But across the road we learnt that less really is more.

After 15 minutes trawling through rooms full of old stuff at this shop, I was exhausted and quite happy not to see anything vintage for another year or so. (And it's never a good look to leave cleaning things and used paper towel on display, I don't think!). These photos were of the more organised sections of this huge collection.

After a good lunch in a cafe, we spent the afternoon exploring more of Yass on foot, admiring some old homes and gardens, and meeting the friendly neighbour next to the motel.

On Friday evening the festival began.

First stop for us was a recital in the beautiful old St Augustine's Chapel.

We arrived early and a lone Uilleann piper was tuning up.

The sunshine was streaming in the western window as we heard beautiful 

pipes, fiddle and concertina solos.

After the recital and a yummy Vietnamese dinner making new friends, we stayed out till midnight hearing some great bands in the old Liberty Theatre, everything from traditional to Celtic rock, including Cliodhna Ni Ruairc, Sunas, Saoirse and Night Potion.  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos of those groups.

Next morning, another fiddle class, 

(my fiddle on the left, Steve's on the right)

a visit to the Celtic markets, and an afternoon and night jam-packed full of bands.

Ballyhooley, Cady & Redford, Tricia Hastings, Kent Daniel and Bill Wiseman, Corinn Strating Band, Lime and Steel, Jason & Chloe Roweth, Senor Cabrales, Gallie, and Grimick. A bit of everything that could be labeled folk or acoustic. We loved almost every one of these gigs, and the ones we didn't love were still entertaining. Some of the highlights were Grimick, Senor Calabres, and Kent Daniels & Bill Wiseman.

By Saturday night the atmosphere in the town was just about 100% Irish.  In every pub people were playing in sessions. People were dancing and sharing poetry at other venues, and we came 

across these guys playing outside a pub, in the cold.

On Sunday morning we had our final fiddle class, followed by our class recital on the stage

where we had watched so many wonderful performers.  We got through a barndance and a reel

without any dramas, and listened to what the concertina class had learned, and some more tunes by piper Pat Lyons. After a quick lunch in the park it was time for us to head home and collect our girls. We hadn't seen all the bands, but most of them. So much music, so little time.

It was a fantastic weekend, full of good times being together, getting to know like-minded people, all willing to share their music, good food (that I could eat!),enjoying being in a country town, and hearing some truly great music.  A perfect break.

The girls stayed with my parents and (as well as finishing off the school term) went to a local Medieval Faire, Mum emailed this photo of them all dressed up ready to go. (Emily's outfit was one of her school textiles projects last year, and Laura's dress is the one I wore to my Jane Austen birthday party.)

2 weeks on

It's been 16 days now since my surgery,

and I still feel very much a patient.

My days are spent mostly sitting,

watching Downton or movies, reading blogs on my iPad;

and reading books or magazines (when my eyes can cope with that).

Which all sounds ideal, until it's all you can do.

Sometimes I've had to go back to bed, too tired for anything.

 I'm still enjoying flowers around me.

Above are the last of this bouquet from some of my students:

I think I like them better as they are now ...

Yesterday I spent an hour ordering groceries online,

with the aim of getting our non-perishables for the next month delivered,

plus some fresh food for the next few days.

Now my kitchen is filled with 37 bags of groceries 

I'm not allowed to unpack

(because of the bending and lifting).

But at least I won't have to send Steve out to the shops 

quite so much for a while.

Thank goodness I've been able to crochet these weeks,

I think it has kept me sane.

This was one of my projects, you might see more of it later.

I've also finished my poncho and started knitting a cowl,

projects for another post.

Another little project I finally managed was making 

a little shower cap for my ear!

I still can't get my ear wet, so a shower cap works fine for most days, 

but after about a week I really need to wash my hair, 

and am nervous about just using

a vaseline-soaked cotton ball (standard post-op protection advice)

so I cut up a shower cap and added elastic to make this itsy-bitsy ear cap,

and tried it this morning (plus the cotton ball and vaseline) with much success. 

Lunches have been haphazard, depending how I've been feeling,

this was one of the best ones - leftover potato

and a chickpea omelette.

Laura has been home sick with headaches and nausea

four out of days this week.  Meaning she has missed most of her Year 9 NAPLAN tests.

The thought that we might be headed for a repeat

of last year is just too much for me to cope with, at the moment.

I'm thankful she is old enough to look after herself

and have never been more grateful for the invention of the iPod.

Hopefully she might improve when things go back to normal with me,

she's a sensitive (but sweet) little thing that way.

 In my mind, today was to be the last day of my convalescence.

(I finished Downton season 4 just now, so it must be time to get better!)

Next week I plan to ease back into my normal activities,

starting with piano teaching. 

But I still feel foggy and tired and sometimes dizzy for a lot of each day.

I'll see how I go on the weekend before I confirm anything.

Fortunately I usually feel much better in the evenings, somehow,

the other night I cooked most of the dinner and dessert by myself.

So, I'll keep rolling with the ups and downs a bit longer,

ever grateful that my surgery has been successful,

I can hear well, and the sun is shining.

Buttons

Don't you think a button jar

is one of the most satisfying things to own?

Not only is it useful,

but oh so pretty,

and full of associations

with the button jars of childhood.

Fifties & Floral Fashion

It's been a big week here.

A big month, in fact.

Emily finally finished her dress, 

a major project for her Year 9 Textiles & Fashion Design.

And then there was a fashion parade.

Requiring new shoes,

nail polish, suitable underpinnings

and a cute new haircut.

All at the last minute, of course.

Coming on top of Emily's 7 other assignments, 

my Stampin Up! activities

and music exams ...

 .... it's all been a bit of a whirlwind.

But she's done well.

Her dress, complete with boning, 

invisible zipper and other tricky new skills

fits well and looks great.

She will love wearing it.

And, like most other items in her wardrobe, 

has a fifties/floral vibe to it.

Photos taken late at night, 

after the parade.

Mending

My felt needlebook and other sewing items

 I finally attacked the mending pile.

My gran's thimble.  Makes me think of her while I sew ...

Poor Steve had almost no pants to wear 

 - the pockets had all worn through,

and buttons had come off shorts and a shirt.

The towering mending pile was a sore spot near our laundry.

I keep my sewing kit in this vintage tin.


But after just two sessions,
one with the sewing machine
and one by hand,
they were all mended, ironed,
and back in the bedroom ready to wear.

Leaving me feeling frugal and virtuous

with an empty mending basket!