Knock, knock. Hello?

Anybody home?

That’s how it feels around Lupey Loops at the moment, in more ways than one because I’ve either been physically out (not at home) or I’ve been so tired and addled with brainfog (from being out and about) that I’ve felt like “the lights are on but nobody’s home” in my head!

I’ve been physically busy and managing to get out a lot more since this blog first began.  Most outings have been important obligations but June has brought opportunities for some more pleasurable, voluntary outings:

•    Attending AFL* football at Adelaide Oval.  This year I’ve got to all the Crows’ home games so far except for one, when there was a special social event being held on the same evening that I could not miss.

•    Revisiting ‘the old stomping ground’ for Saturday afternoon SANFL* football games – that’s the best time to watch a footy match.  I’ve enjoyed it immensely.

The Pilgrim Uniting Church is home to
the largest pipe organ in South Australia.
When certain pipes are opened,
the five-pointed gold star ornament spins!

•    Hearing talented voices in the Adelaide Eisteddfod Society’s Choral competition in the Pilgrim Uniting Church (built in Gothic Revival style in 1865–young in European terms but ‘old’ in Australia!)

•    Meeting friends for long overdue cuppas.**

•    Marvelling at original artworks at the “Colours of Impressionism” exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia, including works by Manet, Monet, Morisot, Cezanne, Renoir, Sisley, the Pissarros, Gauguin, Caillebotte, Seurat, Signac etc. which are on loan from the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.  I was surprised at the emotion these works stirred in me.

•    Investigating the world of autonomous vehicles.  I’m planning to ride one later this week!
 

As the film character Ferris Bueller put it:

“Life moves pretty fast …
If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” 

This year was certainly moving too fast. The end of May brought the end of urgent deadlines, leaving June to pick up the pieces of a challenging year to date.  Phew!


June has been for breathing space; refocussing on my health, home and heart (my spiritual heart). The regular weekly schedule is a tight mix of health and household commitments.  By the time everything I need to do is done, including rest, the remaining time is precious.  For months, this precious time has been eaten up by bureaucracy and campaigning and it is time to stop before I end up in the hospital again.

The choice to replace those chores with joyful experiences was important for stress relief.  While it felt good spiritually to get out and about for my heart, my health was still struggling; e.g. an outing to the city to visit the exhibition left me exhausted for days afterwards; and the home organisation is running behind with barely enough energy to catch up. 

And crochet?  No energy (or time) for working on my own designs or special projects.  Crochet has been purely therapeutic, sticking to simple projects and trying to tidy all the loose ends (that have been waiting to be tidied since Maker Faire last year).

Two of my crocheted items can be seen here,
displayed in the cabinet at the 2017 Royal Adelaide Show.

At this time last year, my dreams for 2018 included a bunch of hats to contribute to the upcoming Beanies to Berets Exhibition, restocking Gallery M with more scarves, getting stuck into my own design work (so many ideas but no opportunities to put them into practice) and enter something in the Royal Adelaide Show. Pretty ambitious.  I anticipated that I would have to put all of that ‘on hold’ this year which is why they are still dreams but they will not be dreams forever! 

What do you dream about for your crochet and other crafts? 

Thank you for being so patient with my irregular blogging this year.

As July approaches, my intention is to return to the blogosphere properly, get back to the crochet and reconnect with you. 

Jodie
x x x 

* AFL: Australian Football League. This is the national Australian Rules football league: http://www.afl.com.au/
 SANFL: South Australian National Football League which is the state level league in South Australia for the national football code Australian Rules Football: http://sanfl.com.au/

** ‘Cuppa’: Australian colloquialism for a ‘cup of’ something, traditionally a cup of tea.  The meaning extends beyond the literal ‘cup o’ tea’ to refer to the act of spending time together and sharing news over a hot drink. 

Related Posts on Lupey Loops

"Beanies to Berets - Bigger and Better", 21 June 2018: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2018/06/beanies-to-berets-bigger-and-better.html

"Adelaide Maker Faire 2018 News", 3 April 2018: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2018/04/adelaide-maker-faire-2018-news.html

"Marching into April (Update)",25 March 2018: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2018/03/marching-into-april-update.html

"Battling Bureaucracy", 3 November 2017: https://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/11/battling-bureaucracy.html

"Royal Adelaide Show Results 2017", 17 October 2017:
http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2017/10/royal-adelaide-show-results-2017.html

"Fun at the Beanies to Berets Exhibition and Sale (Part 1)", 20 September 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/09/fun-at-beanies-to-berets-exhibition-and.html

"Broomstick Rainbow Finished for You", 10 June 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com/2017/06/broomstick-rainbow-finished-for-you.html

Other Resources

Adelaide Eisteddfod: http://sacomment.com/aes/eisteddfod/ 

Adelaide Eisteddfod Society: http://arts.sa.gov.au/organisations/adelaide-eisteddfod-society-inc

Art Gallery of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide: http://www.artgallery.sa.gov.au/agsa/home  





Gallery M, City of Marion, South Australia: http://gallerym.com.au/

Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France: http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/home.html

Pilgrim Uniting Church, 12 Flinders Street, Adelaide, South Australia: http://pilgrim.org.au/

• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pilgrim_Uniting_Church

Royal Adelaide Show: http://theshow.com.au/