The week that was....

Another week gone by. Does anyone else feel as amazed as I do that we are almost a quarter of the way through the year again already? Despite turning on hosing down wet weather for the visit of Prince William, we have since had several gorgeous days. Today the sea across the road is blue, the sun is shining and the West Coast bush behind the house looks stunning. Days like this the Coast is a great place to be.

Number two son in Japan abandoned Tokyo after a day of shakes and caught a shinkansen to Osaka for a couple of days. Not long after he headed even further away to Fukuoka to visit a friend. This weekend he has begun the trek back to Osaka and perhaps Tokyo. His parents would probably rather he stayed out of there a bit longer, but his job and apartment are there, and so far the news is not too bad. I guess at 28 he is well used to making his own decisions, but parents always worry about their 'babies' regardless I think.
Here's hoping the Japanese manage to stabilise and control their nuclear power plant before too long.

Not much energy for quilting this week, having worked a full week and then a Saturday morning as well. The mystery quilt borders are still lying across my sewing table and no blue strips have been cut. Does finishing a sleeve for a winter jersey count?

I did take time to play ladies for an afternoon at a Home Hospice fundraiser. Afternoon Tea As It Used To Be saw a large group of ladies attend a catered afternoon tea. We were served cups of tea in fine china cups and treated with cake stands holding tiny sandwiches, pikelets, cream cakes, truffles, and other such delights. All thoughts of calorie counting went out the window as everyone enjoyed an afternoon of indulgence and being waited on.

When there's no energy for craft, there's always time for reading instead. Finished Harriet Evans and Claudia Carroll, plus the latest Diane Blacklock The Right Time. This one I thoroughly enjoyed. A tale of four sisters, each in a different stage of relationships - about to get married; separated; married but with problems; and 'the other woman' outside of a marriage. The personalities are so well written that this was the first book I have read for some time that I have not wanted to put down until it was finished. Definitely a 'chick' book, though.
It didn't take long to read Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin', a lightweight, short novel giving a slice of life in the 1960's. As it's an era I grew up in, even though not in America, I probably enjoyed it more for being able to recognise aspects of the era.
In contrast my next read, Sophie Hannah's Lasting Damage, has a plot so convoluted with twists and turns that I find it hard to make sense of it and I am a third of the way through. So far none of the characters is particularly likeable, and I would almost label it tedious, however, it holds enough interest for me to want to find out what is really happening.

We've just heard from the son in Japan that he is on his way back to Tokyo. It appears even the French friends are confident the situation is stabilizing. I wish I was as confident, but time will tell. At least the local charlatan Ken Ring is not predicting another earthquake there!