Month: February 2007

Thanks to Sally and Meg

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And to Mark, of course.  I have mathsphobia.  I know it’s stupid.  I can actually count.  I can multiply, and I can subtract.  On some occasions, I can also divide without a calculator.  I can work out correct change without a cash register, and have been known to split a restaurant bill, including tip.  But ask me to change a pattern that includes increases or decreases, and I turn into a big girls blouse (not that there is anything wrong with a blouse, but it just isn’t me).

So Mark helped me.  I may have been less than gracious, and a bit difficult to deal with.  I was in pain, and I have this sore throat thing which makes it a bit hard to talk, and I wasn’t very able to explain what I needed, and what the limitations were.  I think we ended up with a workable pattern, but then I took it to Rubi + Lana’s and stuffed it up.

Sally checked our calculations, and looked at my knitting, and looked at my neatly marked up pattern notes, and helped me to determine that while I had my rows checked off as if I had done them correctly, it wasn’t possible that I had done them correctly after looking at my knitting.  I contemplated crying, but that would be embarrassing.  Sally makes up her own garments as she knits.  There were other very competent and wonderful knitters there.  Pamela was there.

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Pamela made this.  There are much better pictures, and a thorough explanation of why it wouldn’t do to cry in front of Pamela here.

Meg suggested that I do it like an all in one garment – ie, in the same manner that I had started.  She explained the basic concept, we agreed that the decreases should be a little less frequent, for a not so steep angle, and I was on my way.  After far too many knits and rips…

Saturday, I finally got some washing on the line (thanks Mark!), saturday night, the heavens opened, and we finally have some water going into the dams.  Hooray!  I should wash more often.

Today, it was Courthouse day, and though I feel a little guilty for using a little emotional blackmail to get the crowds out today, it was wonderful to see so many people, and I thoroughly enjoyed my last Sn’B as an unemployed person.

Tomorrow, employment.

a love letter to the RTA

This week, I had to renew my drivers licence, register Rene, and get a parking permit because I am special.

Now, in previous years this would have meant hours of waiting, and since I was missing my renewal papers, multiple trips to the RTA, as well as a trip to the insurance company, and at least one trip to the mechanic.

This year, we popped in once to pick up paperwork for the car, and a Mobility Parking Scheme application form. My wonderful father also picked one up from his RTA and had it signed by the quack, bless him. Then I realised I had to renew my licence too.

The next day, I paid the greenslip over the phone (lost paperwork was no problem), I rang the mechanic who had time right away, Mark took the car up the hill (about 200m), and came back within 30 minutes with the carl already registered – the mechanic let us use his internets to complete the process. Mark drove home, put the sticker on the car, and we were done.

This morning, I took the cripple paperwork to the RTA, and had a mobility permit and a new licence (both utterly appalling pictures of me, but you get that) within about 20mins.

Very impressed. A few years ago, you practically had to take a day off work to get the car registered. I love the internets 🙂

* BTW, I don’t intend to abuse my mobility parking permit, but for days like today, when I was able to drive to right outside the shopping arcade, and then park in a space that was wide enough so that I could swing my legs out of the car and put the boot on, it literally made the difference between enjoying some time out with my peeps, and staying at home. Again.

Freak

I loved Fuzz Bucket very much, and when she came into my life, I realise how ill prepared I was to care for another soul.  I had the internets, and I found a group called Petbunny, an email list full of people that cared enough to educate me about my new friend, and who supported me through her life, and ultimately mourned her loss with me, and supported me through a very rough period.

I became very close to some of these people that I have never met, and since that time I have lost touch with.

I never discounted the impact these people had on my life.  I still hope one day to meet up with Patricia, Shely, Shari,  Michelle, and Karen, and Laura, and Jan, Carolyn, and Melanie.  There are too many others to name, but you get the idea. 

It’s been more than 4 years since I actively participated in the forum that all these people were a part of – so it’s a shock to me that I am so rattled by the news that Carolyn has been diagnosed with cancer, and is currently waiting for results of the test that will tell her if the cancer that was removed by surgery has spread. 

Carolyn has a young family, and though I have never met her, have never spoken to her on the phone, haven’t even seen her photograph, I find myself in tears on the other side of the world, hoping that my friend will be ok.

Does that make me a freak ?

The Queen is Dead, Long Live the Queen…

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I suppose everyone knows by now, Anna Nicole Smith has shuffled off this mortal coil.

She was brassy, she was brash, she was bold, and very often trashy and tasteless.  Famous for being famous, some people might see a parallel between her and that other blonde about town, Paris Hilton.  But not me.  I’ve always liked something about Anna, and it wasn’t just the breasts.  Or the glitter and diamantes (but that was a huge appeal).  She’s been fat, she’s been thin, she’s been an unwed mother, a single mother, a stripper, a public drunk, a gold digger, and a general train wreck.  The sort of talk show guest that Jerry Springer dreams about.

But she never pretended to be anything else.  She’s stood up under the face of public scrutiny, and said, “so what, I’m trailer trash”.  And I loved her for it.

Look how cute….

My darling is an uncle.

Just before Alex was born, the realisation that I was going to be an actual auntie hit me.  I’ve been “Aunty Lara” to a few kids before, but this is my actual brothers child.  This kid is actually going to be part of my world for the rest of my life, and my brother won’t change his mind about being my brother, and deny me access to a child I love very much.  A REAL auntie.

As we talked, Mark also realised that he would be a real uncle too.  Not an uncle in law, but a REAL uncle.

It’s pretty cute.

Even skinny girls have to dress carefully

To avoid looking like a barn in a knitted garment.

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What was the designer thinking ?

I am reminded of Emma’s comment about more generously sized women in poncho’s – “like a wall with a fringe”.

The designer is Max Azria from his New York Fashion Week show.  Some of his clothes are actually quite nice if you fancy an eating disorder.  But really, to do this to a girl who probably does obscene things to her body so that she looks thin is just mean.  I hope they got paid a lot.