PhotoHuntMy choice for this week’s theme is a sculpture at the McClelland Sculpture Park, Frankston – this is definitely what I would consider to be “heavy”!
Author: Anne S
Brightening my life one stitch or one card at a time, and sharing my joy of needlework and card-making.
Feel like crying … in a good way!
I’ve been speaking to ‘my’ mechanic today and I’m off to pick up my car tomorrow … and it seems it’s going to be a relatively painless bill, much to my total amazement and joy (for me relatively painless is under $1,000!)! Hence the feeling I could cry tears of joy!!!
Out of all the problems with the car, he’s managed to find that they’re quite ‘minor’ things – the airconditioning flooding the car only turned out to be a blocked drainage tube; the ‘broken’ windows just turned out to be that the idiot who ripped out my alarm system last year hit the ‘child lock’, so the windows were fixed at the push of a button (that gave me a bit of a giggle) … the ‘big’ costs are a reconditioned alternator and a new battery … and he’s replacing my car aerial that got killed in the hail storms before Christmas, plus the dashboard light and hopefully the door remote. I’ve got my fingers crossed it won’t be too much over say $600, but time will tell tomorrow morning!
I must say it’s a real pleasure having a mechanic that’s not out to stiff you and is truly reliable and trustworthy – even if he is on the other side of town, I’ll definitely be taking my car to him on a regular basis now!
In other news I’ve requested from Dodgey Brothers R Us a copy of the receipt for the extra rental truck expenses, and he’s refused to give it to me … which I now have in writing from him in an email … bless you Mr Dodgey, that’ll come in very handy for when we take it further to claim back those costs!! 😀
And if that all isn’t enough, I’ve also managed to ‘unpublish’ all those future WordPress posts as well, by just clicking on edit timestamp and saving again … so over the next few weeks it’s going to feel like Groundhog Dog with everything you’ve already seen haha.
Still no gift photos to share with you yet, as I need to buy some DVD’s to get rid of some files on my laptop … but I promise you the wait is worth it! 🙂
I’ll try to remember and pick up some DVD’s tomorrow while I’m out picking up my car! For now, it’s time to head off and unpack another couple of things before bedtime. Hopefully in another week I’ll have more time to get back into my stitching again. We’re having a friend come to visit from Melbourne next Tuesday, so we’ve got to get cracking and get the place tidied up … it’s going to be so good having a social event next week and entertaining at home! That cocktail bar will finally get a hammering … and I will have a Chardonnay drinking buddy here (no-one else I know drinks Chardy … everybody else in Oz seems to be Sauvignon Blanc fans). I must say that today “life feels good” 😀
Rightio, time for bed so we can get up early tomorrow … hope to be back tomorrow with a fun-filled post of stitching goodies! 🙂
Sorry about all the ‘future posts’
Not sure what’s happening with WordPress today, but all those posts are dated for the future, and shouldn’t be published! I’m not sure how to ‘unpublish’ them without deleting them either … oh well, you get a sneak preview of the next load of Photo Hunts haha. And no, it’s not my birthday either … well, not for another 9 days anyway! Thanks for the early birthday wishes, though – that’s what made me realise the WordPress glitch had happened!!
I will do another post later, as I have some exquisite gifts to share … but I need to send a couple of emails first, plus my laptop hard drive is full and won’t let me crop or edit the photos ho-hum … will post piccies as soon as I can 🙂
“Fit”
The post title is apparently what I look like! The removalist who dropped Lisa’s bike off on Saturday said “you’re looking fit -must be all the walking up those stairs” … !!! Well, it’s good to see his eyesight was still working OK after not turning up until 7.3opm hmmm haha 😉
As for what else has been happening – the dining table legs are now firmly wedged onto the table top, but still propped up against the wall until Lisa’s back has strengthened a little bit – it’s still way too heavy for me to manage on my own. Once that’s up, though, it means I can put the sewing machine up and get a few things finished …
Especially as now I have another needleroll ready for finishing! Yes, I finally pulled the needle and scissors out and stitched a needleroll for Dragonfly Dreams – this one is Shepherd’s Bush’ Shepherd’s Roll. It was fun to stitch something ‘easy’ … although I ended up stitching the darning band 3 times due to having a serious blonde moment not once but twice!!
Anyway, here’s my latest finish … don’t expect to see anything else this week haha.
A WIP and Car goes to the Dr
Sorry I haven’t been online much but quite frankly I just haven’t felt like posting at all – the move was quite exhausting, both physically and mentally … I can’t believe that even my knuckles felt bruised and aching after all the lifting!!! Yesterday was the first day I could lift a box up off the floor again without groaning – geez it felt good 😉
Anyway, today I had an early morning start – my car is finally off to the mechanics on the other side of town. I really need my car, and to finally have a decent and fair mechanic looking at it is a blessing in itself. Brenda and Nigel have recommended their mechanic to me, and he seems like a really nice bloke so far. I’ve documented the entire history of what’s been going wrong with my car over the last 2 years, which will hopefully help shed some light on what’s wrong … if nothing else hopefully he can get the car windows to open again, which will be a bonus in the Sydney heat! And most importantly I hope he can get the dashboard light working again!! I upgraded my RACV membership to the “total care” package, which gives unlimited towing and breakdown assistance … but unfortunately it doesn’t exactly copy over to the NRMA in Sydney (which I didn’t realise) – I only get 8km free towing, and have to pay $4.40 per km over that … considering the mechanic is possibly just over 50km away, that’s gonna be a hefty towing bill!! Supposedly I can claim that money back from the RACV though, so that’d better be true, or I’ll be spewing big time!!
I have to admit I feel quite nauseous and ill thinking of all the money that’s being incurred lately – it’s all going on a credit card, but it’s still extra money I have to fork out every month in repayments. Our dramas with the removalists haven’t finished either – it turns out they delivered the wrong bike to us (I had no idea, as it was Lisa’s and she didn’t see it until she arrived) … and I’m missing one entire box, so I’m trying to make a list of all the things I can think of that were in it hmmm. Lisa’s away this weekend, but next week we’re probably going to write down a time line of everything that’s happened and send it to all and sundry, including possibly the TV show Today Tonight!
All this hassle and drama has seriously impacted on my stitching – I looked back at what I’d achieved in January stitching-wise and the only thing was that paltry little Xmas ornie stocking that I finished in one day! That’s very very unlike me!! The only other thing I started was Sweetheart Tree’s Wildflower Needleroll … the photo is basically the sum total of 3 days stitching (2 days from when I was sitting in an empty apartment, and 1 from a couple of nights ago) … it’s all quite pathetic really!
I get really enthusiastic and excited about all the designs I could be stitching, then feel exhausted about 5 seconds later and don’t end up doing anything – perhaps once the boxes etc are all entirely unpacked and I can move in my bedroom easily, then I’ll feel more settled and can get into a normal routine again. The lounge is a bomb site at the moment as well, as Lisa’s things are all piled up there, as well as some of my stuff that needs to be sorted out, so the clutter everywhere is probably affecting me. Lisa put her back out last weekend, and she’s been in agony all week, so we haven’t been able to do much around the place … but hopefully she’ll be back to normal again by the end of next week and we can make a concerted effort to get the place tidied up and organised.
The main challenge for me this weekend is trying to set up the video to Lisa’s TV … and get the legs onto the dining table, so the dining area can get uncluttered. I’m going to try and make an effort to take a couple of hours out to do some stitching – and need something quite ‘easy’ to stitch to help get me back into the swing of things (which won’t be the ST needleroll … that backstitching of all the leaves is doing my head in at the moment!! – mind you, once that’s finished there’s not much left before it’s totally stitched). It’s likely that I’ll either choose a small freebie or Xmas ornie, or start a new LHN or CCN design … but I must stitch “something”, or I’m going to kick myself hard!!!
Once the place is fully de-cluttered we need to invite our elderly neighbours up for morning or afternoon tea … I’d guess they’re both in their 70’s to 80’s, and seem really lovely old dears (Norma on the ground floor, and Barbara in the middle of us on the 2nd). We’re also setting up a calendar in the kitchen where we can keep track of all our house guests that will be coming over the coming year, so we don’t double-book … it’s going to be quite a social year if everyone comes that says they will be! 😀
Anyway, time to sign off for the day as I need to head to the Post Office before it closes … I’ve found out there is a tiny local branch just up the road at the shops, which is open on Saturday mornings – I haven’t been able to get to the PO since my car has been broken down, since moving here, to post some changes of address etc, so it’s great to find I can do all that on Saturdays now! I can still clear my mail in the mornings at Mascot before work, but the actual shop for postage etc isn’t open then.
Rightio, time to ‘shake a tail feather’ and do the morning duties … with luck Lisa’s bike will be returning this afternoon from Dodgey Brothers R Us, and I need to make sure I’m home all afternoon for their arrival … geez, they’re the last people I want to see today!!
PhotoHunt – Narrow
My choices this week are varied … first up are the trams of Hong Kong – they remind me of toys on a track, they’re quite tall and narrow … I guess space is at a premium there!
Also here’s the narrow roadway travelling up to the Remarkables skifield in Queenstown, New Zealand – that drive is definitely not for the faint-hearted with some sheer drops off to the side!
A small happy dance
Yesterday’s plan of taking the day/afternoon off was a perfect one! I did a lot of tidying up in my bedroom late at night, then today I’ve pulled out all stops and almost finished off the kitchen by packing away all the Tupperware and baking trays etc (believe me, the Tupperware in itself is a massive feat haha). I also rearranged the lounge furniture today, and ironed the duvet and pillowcases to make Lisa’s bed up for her arriving tonight. She won’t be arriving until about 8pm, after spending the entire day driving from Melbourne on her own, so at least she doesn’t have to worry about where she’s going to sleep when she arrives. I’m also going to cook a roast chicken and baked potatoes with a salad ready for her arriving – and the wine has been chilling ever since the first day the fridge was switched on 😉
Anyway, following is the sum of my stitching efforts yesterday – it was a bit hampered by the fact my threads were all over the place, so I had to ‘un-kit’ a project to find the DMC 814. The only GAST threads I had were Flax and Raspberry Parfait, everything else was substituted with a DMC equivalent. It’s stitched on 28ct mystery Cashel linen (in a light taupe colour) from my stash – which means I’m now up-t0-date with the Christmas Ornie SAL on the XSers Yahoo group – yay 😀
“Fill With Love”
Designs by Cathy Jean
2007 Just Cross Stitch Ornament issue
I’m unsure what the next project will be … I should probably finish the Sweetheart Tree needleroll I started last week, then I think a wee LHN or CCN project might be in order before I start committing myself to my CA Wells class pieces – now I (will soon) have my own stitching space again, I guess it’s time to start tackling those class pieces when I can concentrate on them properly 🙂
Hopefully next week I’ll also have time to start sitting down and catching up on everyone’s blogs again! 🙂
Another wishlist enhancement & Australia Day
Oh boy, I knew it was a bad idea to pop online and read a couple of blogs while taking a break from unpacking – have you seen the latest chart from Little House Needleworks? This absolutely MUST go on the wishlist … I absolutely adore it! (Mind you, I seem to love almost ALL of their designs at the moment – they’re like chocolate, one piece isn’t enough LOL.)
Home of a Needleworker by Little House Needleworks
OK, back to unpacking again …
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Actually, I just realised what day it is today – it’s Australia Day here in the land Down Under … so the very best wishes go out to all my friends in this beautiful country, however you choose to celebrate it! I’ve actually just decided that I’m calling the packing quits today, and instead I’m going to curl up with a Christmas ornie to stitch – my energy levels have been really flagging over the last couple of days, and it’s taking me twice as long to do everything, so perhaps this is what the doctor ordered? It’ll help to recharge my batteries anyway, and I still have tomorrow left for unpacking before Lisa arrives … the boxes that are still left to be done are tidied up in one or two areas in the ‘common’ areas of the flat (don’t ask about my bedroom, as I can barely move in there!), so now I’m off to make a special treat for myself for lunch … toasted bagels with cream cheese, capers and smoked salmon … I’m salivating already! – Then it’s time to kit up my ornie and start stitching with a DVD on the laptop! 😀
PhotoHunt – Old-Fashioned
Focusing on the Positive!
The last few posts have been quite negative (perhaps understandably so), so it’s time to get back to seeing the positives. Last night this is the view I had when I came into my new bedroom …
Yes, I actually found the screws etc quite quickly, and managed to put my bed frame etc together ready for bed-time. It was an incredible feeling getting into a newy made bed (not just the bed frame, but the new sheets and duvet set I bought in the sales late last year – it’s unusual for me to have a light-coloured ‘girly’ duvet, as I’m usually into the brighter blue colours, but it’s a nice change) … I actually lay there in the bed just appreciating the feeling of being back in my own “things” again. It’s not intended that the ducks will stay there, but I don’t have anywhere else to put them just yet (there’s no room in that bathroom).
Another positive thing, is that I found out we can see the ocean from our balcony! OK, fair enough, you have to squint hard to see it in the distance, but you really CAN see it! haha. See, we really ARE just a block away from the beach! 😀
And yet one more positive thing – I can’t get over being able to see proper TV channels again!! We have a proper built-in aerial, unlike the other apartment in Elwood where I had to use bunnies ears and each channel had various degrees of ‘snow’ … every single channel I’ve managed to pick up so far in the lounge is crystal clear … I’m so impressed!! 🙂
Of course, things are still a pig-sty here while I’m unpacking … unfortunately it seems in every box there is something else broken. I started taking photos the other day to share (mainly to show Mum), but now it’s getting to the stage where there are too many photos banking up … and still a few more boxes yet to be opened. Thankfully to date there aren’t too many things that are of sentimental value or well-loved items that have been lost. About 6 pieces of furniture have been broken in various stages … but some are fixable, and some items are cheap and nasty anyway so they need replacing – some of the crockery in the boxes have been the biggest affected … one Pyrex dish smashed into smithereens (it’s like little mosaic pieces wrapped into paper), and one cappuccino cup and saucer from NZ smashed … unfortunately not of the same set – my last remaining blue pottery cup that was a gift from a friend, plus the saucer of my very favourite cup set. At least with the cappuccino cup I can go out and find another saucer that will fit it, as it has quite bright colours in stripes, so that shouldn’t be too difficult 🙂 The Pyrex dish was a chicken roasting dish that didn’t really get used, so I guess that just makes more space in the kitchen cabinets 😉
Work managed to give me the days off this week, which means I’ve had time to get over the emotional aspects of this move – my fighting spirit is also starting to return, and we’ve made the decision to definitely take our issue further. I’ll be contacting the Fair Trading Assn again, plus checking to see of the Australian Consumers group have an area to report them to … but we’ve also found a website that gives product reviews of Australian companies, and we’re going to each write an individual report (including the other girl from work who had grief the week before us from the same company), which will give them an even worse rating. I don’t feel angry or upset anymore, but I do feel that we need to let people know … if any of our feedback helps to cut back on the income derived by Dodgey Brothers R Us, then justice will be served. Mum gave me a giggle yesterday when she said I should have known better by using a company with such a disreputable name … obviously that was a nickname I gave them myself – in due course I will fully disclose the company details!
The one thing I’m now having to reconsider is my birthday plans this year – originally I was looking at spending a day out in the Blue Mountains, doing the ‘touristy thing’, then finishing off with dinner somewhere … funds are now pretty thin, as I’m $400 extra out of pocket thanks to Dodgey Brothers, plus my mobile bill will be astronomical, so that’s probably an extra $300 coming … plus my car needs fixing … yikes! Guess it’s back on the breadline again … anyway, if anyone has any suggestions for nice “cheap” things to do around Sydney, I’d really appreciate the ideas! I still want to have some sort of celebration making the most of what Sydney has to offer, just in case I don’t end up staying (although the thought of having to move again right now puts chills up my spine haha) 😀
Anyway, ending on a happy note … even though I haven’t lifted a needle at all since all the troubles began, I have managed to finalise my Needleroll Tutorial for the Focus on Finishing blog – and I’ve decided to release it ahead of time, as my time online is up and down (I’m only popping on when I need a quick break from unpacking) … so feel free to pop over and take a look – and don’t hesitate to let me know if something doesn’t make sense! I’ll be uploading it just as soon as I’ve published this post 😀
Hopefully by the end of next week there’ll some more stitching to share (in fact, hopefully by the end of this weekend!).
Thanks again for all the supportive comments – it’s truly helped me get through the last couple of days with sanity intact! {{hugs}}
Feather Stitching 