Category: Useful Things I did Today

Since becoming in-valid…. I am really excited by every little thing that I can get done. No dishes yet, but I can stack the dishwasher!

Denistone Station

Anyone familiar with the Northern train line in Sydney would know Denistone Station as a strange twilight zone type of place. The trains all stop there, but no-one ever gets on or off the train. It’s like a ghost town, miles of bare concrete, but with a few lovely trees, including a Frangipani, and a couple of bottlebrushes that attract the lorikeets when they flower.

Because there is no commercial area around the station (just a big park, and houses on large blocks with established gardens), it is a haven for wildlife, and most mornings I see at least a bird or two. This morning, there were quite a few Sulphur Crested Cockatoos and I was lucky to get this shot of one looking at me.

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And this guy – just poking his face out the front door, considering his options for the new day…..

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They’re Home !

Thank you to everyone who contacted me with messages of support, and who tolerated my dramatic reactions to my Dad’s accident. Mum and Dad arrived safely this morning (no thanks to the insurance company), and are relaxing at home.

Mum and I brought down her futon bed from upstairs for Dad, so that she can sleep downstairs in my old room and be able to hear if he needs her in the night. Tomorrow I’ll install a DVD player for him so he can watch movies and digital TV with the touch of a button. It’s going to be a very boring three months before he’s allowed to walk, or drive a car, so he’s going to need all the entertainment he can get.

I’ve ordered him a new 24″ iMac, but it will take a few weeks (it’s got a special video card, and a larger hard drive, so it will be built to order), and in the meantime he won’t have much to entertain him. Maybe I should start an internet hoax – “Old man wants to collect more get well cards than previous spotty youth…..”.

Apparently they’re serious about going back to Burma/Myanmar next year, and taking me with them. Can’t wait!

P.S. The Secret World of Knitters

I won’t “out” anyone, but a few months ago I came across a knitter in one of my other social worlds. Not too unusual, except that this knitter belongs to a subset of a subset of knitters that I am in contact with, and there is only about ten of us. I hadn’t met her in real life until this day, so it was funny to meet her “out of context” so to speak.

And then yesterday I sold an iPod to another knitter, who is also one of the Rubi + Lana crowd.

It’s a small world, even smaller when you wear your pointy sticks out and proud.

And P.P.S. On the train the other week, I was knitting my little moss stitch squares for Hamish to use as facewashers, and a woman got on my carriage with a sock on tiny double pointed needles. Nothing too complicated, but it made my knitting look very pedestrian and remedial. I secretly hoped that I would see her again while I was working on my lace project. Yes, I know it’s not a competitive sport, but I can’t help myself. And Emma, you’re still beating me.

Swallowtail Progress

I’m halfway through the 13th repeat of chart two, which means that I’ll be starting chart three (the complicated bit – I think there are nupps in there somewhere) in the next 24-48 hours. The colour is nothing like this picture, but I only had time for a quick post.

My new lappy has Photobooth software, which allows me to use the built in iSight camera to take a quick snapshot, and then email the image with one click. Since the adorable husband set up blogging by email, I can now do a photo post in a few seconds, using two applications (Photobooth and Mail) instead of having to get out the camera, download the images, resize and export images in iPhoto, upload via FTP using CyberDuck, and then posting (in html) via Safari.

I love technology 😉

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And in super excellent wonderful news, I was given a summary of commission earned over the last few months yesterday – and it’s almost enough to pay for my new lappy ! Happy happy, joy joy !!!!

This, of course, means that I’ll be able to get a new iPod if and when one comes out with an enticing enough feature set to appease my gadget jones.

Le Stuff!

After almost a year of promising to go, I finally made it to the S’nB at Rubi & Lana’s (website coming soon?) in Gordon. It’s a lovely shop, with all the yarn arranged by colour, and a huge wooden table in the middle. It’s not a large shop, but it is a cosy and delightful spot to gather, and I know I’ll be going back whenever I can.

I finally got to meet Celia, whose blog I’ve been reading for ages, and Pamela, who was also one of the first people to show an interest in a northside group all those months ago. Lovely people, and very welcoming. 🙂

And since I haven’t been in a yarn shop in AGES (simply ages darling), I had to buy some accoutrements. My first ever set of proper stitch markers in green and purple, some large locking stitch markers (because the sensibly sized ones were in ugly colours), and my very first Chibi.

Joy !

The pencil case is labelled Le Stuff, because accoutrements has waaay too many letters.

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Catch Up Post

On Wednesday night we got another bunny from Penrith vet. He’d been desexed that day, and Mark picked him up after work, and set him up in the middle of our kitchen. Not a marvellous place for a bunny to live, but we are running out of space for new creatures. New bunny is a mini lop with siamese markings. He looks a little like a sock monkey, and has been referred to as “monkey boy”. He is extremely cute, and I have pictures I will post soon. He and Blueberry would make a fabulous couple, and I am wondering if the person who is taking her would consider a couple if I can bond them.

Wednesday night we went to Bev and Ted’s (Marks parents) for dinner. I had told Ted that Mark was struggling with his new life as a teacher, so the four of us put our heads together to try to work out some strategies for making his life in the classroom a happier one. Mark is a wonderful teacher, and he cares deeply about his kids, their happiness and educational outcomes – but he has never been able to be the bad guy, especially with kids. I’ve never had a great deal to do with children, but I have spent enough time with the species to know that if you aren’t consistent, and there are no repercussions for bad behaviour, then the kids will happily crush you and do a happy dance on the shattered fragments of what used to be your feeling of self worth. Monsters.

I, on the other hand, have no trouble being the bad guy. I was so deeply unpopular at school that I had to learn what it was to be me, and really learn to be ok with who I am. Once you’ve been there, someone not liking a decision you’ve made isn’t upsetting, and it’s easy to mantain consistency. It’s also bloody hard to back down and admit you’re wrong, but I’m getting better at that now. Kinda.

Thursday night, Kerry spoke at a public forum in Epping about West Papuan refugees in Papua New Guinea. Kerry visited PNG a few weeks ago to see for herself the reality of the only other choice for people fleeing West Papua. If a person has been politically active in the West Papuan independance movemnet, and they want to leave the country, theoretically they could apply in person at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta (as long as they could get th Jakarta without being detained or killed), or they could flee to PNG.

Papua New Guinea has a refugee camp that has been in existance for over 20 years (and some people have lived there for that long). Despite deep sympathy for the plight of West Papuans, the PNG government has very few resources to share, and the refugee camp (which is extremely isolated and difficult to access), is only now having water tanks installed to ensure a continuous supply of clean drinking water. Aid agencies have supplied basic healthcare and some schooling for children, but this is not a gateway to any sort of future, just a holding pen.

That is the reason why 42 West Papuan refugees cut down a tree, hollowed the center to make a canoe, strapped 2 outboard motors on it, and made their way across the ocean to Australia. Not because they wanted a better life – because they wanted any life.

A priest from West Papua put his three teenaged sons onto this boat, and when he was asked why he put his children in such a dangerous position, he replied, “Because I wanted them to live”.

Australia helped to create the problems in West Papua, our governement has a responsibility to the people of Australia to behave ethically towards people who ask us for help. John Howard withdrew the motion to have all refugees processed away from Australian soil, but please make sure you let your local member know how you feel about these issues. Australian politics seems to be very much centered on taking care of interest rates so that middle and high income earners can maintain their comfortable existance, while low income earners and the disenfranchised are ignored.

And in knitting news….

The Swallowtail Shawl has be plagued by my inability to count. Last night I frogged about 6 full rows (which takes much longer than knitting 6 rows), to find a missed yarn over. All well and good, but the mystery is – how did I miss this ? I count at the end of every row, and when I get to the centre stitch of a pattern row. So if I missed a stitch that far back, I must have miscounted at least 8 times. And, you would assume that the pattern would be out. Wouldn’t you ? Well – it wasn’t. It was all going swimmingly for ages until I was a stitch short at the end of a pattern row.

At least I had beautiful music to listen to. Mark picked me up after work and took me to listen to the final rehearsal of Coro Innominata before their sunday afternoon concert. I usually attend all of Marks concerts (since the first one I saw the day after our first kiss), and will only miss this one because I HAVE TICKEST TO THE CIRCUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lace Progress

I did a crochet chain before I got to the pub – just so I could say I started without my security blanket (Emma).

And lo and behold, Emma was there, knitting her new lace project – the Swallowtail Shawl from the current issue of IK. And of course, she cast on yesterday, so she is way ahead of me.

This isn’t a bad thing, as she was able to warn me of the pitfalls I was likely to find in the pattern, hence I can learn from her mistakes. But there is this tiny little competitive part of me that wants to finish before she does.

And tonight, after doing a little spinning, I picked it up again while watching some crime shows, and completed the 4th repeat of the second chart. In one day I have mastered the provisional cast on (well – I did it twice), and I learned to read a chart.

Does that make me a real knitter now ?

Last week another knitter sat next to me on the train while I knit moss stitch square. She pulled out a sock, on tiny needles, and knit on that. It looked terribly complicated (self patterning yarn on 4 tiny needles in the round), and I felt like saying to the assembled spectators, “Hey – I can do that, and raise you cable”. But maturity got the better of me. Though now I must admit, I am rather hoping the same woman sits next to me tomorrow, so I can redeem my knitterly pride. 😉

Search For Charity

Goodsearch

The first time you visit, you’ll be asked who you want the advertising revenue for your search to benefit. I chose the House Rabbit Society in the US, because their work has a direct flow on effect to my own, and now every time I search using the site, the HRS benefits.

Using the powers of advertising for good – who’d a thunk it ?