A very St Kilda long weekend

It's the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Normally I love a long weekend, but this one threatened to be a bit of a downer, since we were meant to be on a road trip to Adelaide, for (amongst other things) the Adelaide Cabaret festival. Instead we are at the tail end of the fourth lockdown, which was only two weeks, but this one was hard for me. We had no plans for this weekend, both because we were meant to be away, and because the current (rather odd) rules mean you can meet people outdoors, or in cafes/bars/restaurants, but not at home.

We got to go for lunch with my parents, which was delightful.

I was planning to knit Bee a cardigan while we were away, so she could try it on as we went. I decided to knit it anyway, and am making quite good progress. Hopefully it will fit. At the very least, this is quite a cheering colour to be knitting with. It's got a sparkle thread through it that doesn't really photograph, but it's really pretty.

We also went on a largely windless run down the beach. The ocean soothes my soul. I'm always so grateful that we live a kilometre and a half from the sea.

Speaking of living in St Kilda The Secret Life of Us has just been put on NetFlix. It's a drama set and filmed in 2001, and everything happens in and around one block in St Kilda. We started watching it on Friday, and on the weekend we took ourselves on a little walking tour of area they hang out in, which is all within a couple of kilometres of our house. Fun.

I was also lucky to be reading an absorbing book - Tracy Chevalier's A Single Thread. If I had to summarise it I would say "middle aged woman moves to new town, joins craft group. Challenges and adventures follow." As someone who has made so many friendships through my knitting group, this resonated. It is quite a serious book, with relatable interesting characters. Women's fiction at it's finest.

And finally I dyed some yarn, for a cabled jumper for Leon. It was originally bright white, which he didn't want and I actually got it the very light coffee I was aiming for. Which is good, because I'm known for being heavy-handed with the dye, or dying "vibrant" colours, if you want to be kind.

So, what could have been a very sad weekend ended up being a lot of fun. I love living in St Kilda, and even thought a holiday will be nice when we can go, it was also nice having a very St Kilda long weekend.

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