Weekend wrap up: October 5th 2015

So last week I kept stitching away - no knitting or reading was done - I seem to be entralled with cross stitch again.

Update photo:

WIP as of 05/10/15

So I think I have completed the bottom half completely except for detail back stitch in the dress and beads which I will do at the same time.

Next up is to frog the entire right hand ironwork as it's one stitch too low. At the time I realised the mistake I was so annoyed that I decided to ignore it and started to stitch the dress (I had only completed the bodice at that stage) and work in the opposite direction! Usually I will make myself fix a mistake as soon as it's discovered but I had just gotten over discovering the faded fabric from the qsnaps (entirely my fault) and was close to throwing in the towel on this project.

This weekend was different to most in that we helped our friend move out on Saturday. He had been living with us since the beginning of the year but has just broken up with his long term girlfriend (also our friend) so he felt like a move would give him a fresh start and our place could become a bit more neutral for them both. So the circumstances are sad, we will miss him not being around, and I really don't like change!

We also bought a new washing machine and dryer which is a major purchase for us! We have purposefully not bought anything new ever (exception being the couch). Everything we have is a mishmash of donations from friends and family or dirt cheap second hand deals. Well we now have the house we want to stay in for a long long time and have to get our heads around buying quality proper replacements as time and circumstances allow. We worked out that over the the past 10 years we have only spent $300 on 2 x washing machines and 1 x dryer and repairs that Jonathan has made to keep them going. This weekend we purchased new machines and spent thousands lol - hard change to make!

We decided to make the purchases now as we have been warned that this summer coming up has the potential to be a record breaking dry summer. We are semi rural now and rely on tank water gathered from rainfall on our roof. We have run out once before and it was easy to get water trucked in but it was horrible tasting stuff. So water efficiency and tracking is key and that includes a new washing machine :)

I'm going to try and enjoy this week as it's going to be a lot calmer than next week *gulp*.

Next week the other half of the couple that broke up will return from holiday (this happened on the eve of an overseas holiday) and has been absorbing the shock but it may seem fresh all over again returning home. My mother-in-law is visiting for a day or two, and Jonathan is going on an overseas business trip for just over two weeks and now I will be home alone - not looking forward to that!