2x Dim Sum

In the CBD again (it stands for Central Business District; Hugh informs me that "downtown" means nothing here), and hungry, again, I was hoping the $4 Chinese-hamburger guy would be around, but he wasn't. So I went to the food court, resigned to fast food from a chain. I just wanted a little snack, though, not a full meal, and I wasn't sure that any of the food court restaurants sold snacky stuff.

It was late in the day and all the restaurants were getting ready to close down. An Asian restaurant had grouped it's remaining egg rolls and dumplings into little bags that it was selling off for $2-$4. Score!

It was tasty, too.

Paper-making

We get so much friggin' junk mail!! (And very little actual mail. Boohoo! Send us letters!!!) Junk mail fliers actually litter the streets of our suburb. I got to thinking. I mean, we have a fireplace that we use occasionally to heat our cozy little flat, and the junk mail comes in really handy for kindling material. But it's getting warmer now. I was reminded of an old paper-making kit that I had in high school. I think I used it about 3 times, but always really enjoyed it. Surely, if I had a kit, I could turn all this junk mail into beautiful, craft-worthy paper??

A quick check on ebay and Amazon. Looks like there's nothing cheaper than $30. Hm, what to do, what to do?
 
Oh right, in the same "do it myself" spirit that I've been relishing for the past few months, I could make myself a kit! And of course, there are several youtube videos out there using simple materials. Now I just need to acquire two matching wooden picture or canvas frames (craft store), a staple gun (Hugh's dad?), and some nylon screen for windows (surely, the giant hardware store up the road will have some).

So lazy

I should write something. I really should. Here's what I've done in the past week or so:

• Bought some green wool on ebay
• Waxed my legs with sugaring wax
• Made progress on my heirloom bag (even though I had already blocked the pieces, I decided to undo to make them longer, so the bag will be much bigger)
• Bought some music and dancing books from ebay to use for paper crafts
• Bought some avocados to try avocado egg salad (haven't tried it yet but looks SO GOOD!)
• Drooled over lots and lots of very pretty knitting patterns
• Received a sewing machine from Hugh's mum (!!!!So excited!!!!)
• Sat around on my ass for hours at a time

Um, that might be it. More later, when I'm feeling less lazy.

Envelope for Holly

Hm, making an oversized envelope is harder than I expected. Still, finding the paper turned out easier than I expected! I was reading my copy of madison that I got from the Show, and there was a rather inspiring article about Hillary Clinton. Holly got to see Hillz at the AIDS Conference in D.C. this summer, and she was really enamored with her. I don't blame her. Her advocacy for gender and health equity are right on the money. Even if she retires from politics this year, as she has been planning, I'm eager to see what she does next. The article quoted an old friend of hers as saying that maybe Bill and Hillz would relax and take up gardening and cooking. Somehow, that doesn't seem likely.

Work in Progress: Heather Heirloom Bag

Currently working on a new bag. I love big bags that hold all my crap, library books, plus any groceries I need to pick up on the way home. Sadly, I think I stopped these too early, and the bag might end up being rather smaller than desired. Still, I'm pleased with how it's going so far. I'm using my pretty blue-gray-green wool from the Handweavers and Spinners Guild. The finished product is means to have some crochet details, and here are some of my practice pieces.

Pattern: Heirloom bag by Martin Storey
Craft: knitting and crochet

I think I'll be working on this one for a while. It requires a fabric lining and a ribbon strap. This means sewing, and as I haven't yet learned to sew, the future of this bag remains unclear.

Letter for Holly

Holly's birthday is coming up and I wanted to make her something nice. Aparna suggested recording a video for her, but I can't think of what to say. We'll see. Anyway, I decided to write her a letter as well, since it is eternally my (unrealised) goal to send more letters. I used large index cards, though, and I don't have any suitably-sized envelopes. I have loads of tutorials for making envelopes, so I'll have to locate some nice paper.

My workstation (complete with snacks)

E for Ethel

Because I'm sad and lonely and don't know anyone in Adelaide, I joined some local groups on Meetup.com. One of them is a crafters group (yay!) and they were advertising a crocheting event at a place called E for Ethel in North Adelaide.

I thought maybe, just maybe, this place would sell yarn, because they have regular crochet classes and events. I went to check it out a couple weeks ago, and then I attended the crochet event on Thursday night.

Sadly, they do not sell yarn. But I'm still in love with E for Ethel. It's a cafe and shop mix, and they sell original artwork, graphic prints, and handmade knickknacks of all sorts, all made in Australia. It's wonderful!! I know where I'll be getting any gifts for the next year. Ethel celebrated her 1st birthday last week, so she's relatively new to the Adelaide cafe scene.

 
Sorry, that photo's a bit fuzzy, but I was trying to be slightly stealthy about photographing my work in public. (I don't know why I bother owning a camera if I'm gonna be frightened of taking pictures in public, but whatever.) There is a large basket of de-stashed yarn, and I was able to snag a ball that matched the project I'm currently working on.

On my previous visit, I had spotted these crochet hook sets by UrbanSiesta, and since I got paid on Thursday, I couldn't possibly resist buying one!

Oh, and wool!

Showbag!

Product placement! I think I'll do product reviews on this stuff as I use it. Cute bag, huh? It's nice and big, perfect for a beach bag. Until beachy weather, I'm using it to store all my knitting stuff, which had previously been sitting in various piles on the floors of various rooms.

Review #1: Those "Delites" snacky things. They're sea salt and balsamic vinegar flavoured rice crisps. Sounds wonderful! I love rice crisps, I love sea salt, I love balsamic vinegar! Sadly, they were not a "delite" to eat. The flavour combination doesn't work. The vinegar is way too strong, especially for rice crisps. It needs to be toned down one or two degrees.

Brickworks Market

After my perfect Sunday mojo weeks ago, I decided to have another go at making Sunday magic. Adelaide has quite a few weekend markets going on, but some only run once a month or every other week or only during summer months or whatever.

We've driven past the site of Brickworks Market a few times, and the website for it describes all sorts of things you can buy there, including handmade goods. I wanted to see if, just maybe, I could get my hands on some wool (yes, I have a one-track mind). The market runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, so I walked down there last Sunday to check it out.

I made it ma'self. Ain't I clever?

It's set in an old (guess, go on, guess!) brick-making factory. Hence Brickworks. Clever, huh? There's a big old kiln that used to fit up to 300,000 bricks. Now it fits...

The innards

Well, unfortunately, I'm not really sure what it fits. I think a couple factors may have contributed to my market fail. One, The Show is in town and any vendor worth their salt would probably be selling there instead of here. Those vendors not worth their salt probably expected all the customers to be at The Show, too.

Two, it's still early spring. It didn't look like these stalls were empty just for the day. It looked like they'd been deserted a while. Maybe people just don't bother when it's not blazing hot outside?

Third, for three-day market, perhaps Sunday is their slowest day. Who knows?

I'll have to try again in a couple months, when the weather is hot and Christmas approacheth.

I wasn't ready to home, yet. It was a gorgeous day and I wanted to do something, particularly something involving the purchase of wool!! I am determined, if nothing else.

I knew the Handspinners & Weavers Guild of South Australia was just a bit further down the road and open on Sundays. Just a bit further, right?? I continued down the road...and continued...and continued for three-quarters of a mile until I was exhausted and thirsty and a bit peckish too. At a big intersection, I gave up and went to buy refreshment at a gas station and Oh! Why, I do believe that is the Guild itself just two doors further down! I made it! The day isn't a total loss, I shan't return home empty-handed!

Wait, what's that note on the door?

"Closed. Come visit our booth at the Royal Adelaide Show!"

Sigh...I guess I lost my Sunday mojo this week. But hey, at least I spent some time in the sun and got some exercise, right?

Royal Adelaide Show!

Ooh ooh ooh, the county fair is in town and I was so excited to go! 'Round these parts, they call it the Royal Adelaide Show, and it's essentially just like the Puyallup Fair. We went on Tuesday, when the weather was just right.

We started off the day with breakfast at the Central Market: pork sizzlebuns, coconut cocktail buns, and sugar butter buns...I'm drooling just thinking about it two days later...

At the Show, there was lots of stuff on display, including Greek desserts that I really must try some time. There were also scarecrows, and bonsai trees, and a train layout (lame compared to Grandpa P's) and sheep-shearing demonstrations, and cow-milking, and pig races, and competitive wood cutting! I bought two new skeins of beautiful wool (pictures another time).

Towards the afternoon, we took a ride on the ferris wheel, where we could see for miles and miles around. And then I just had to have a "Dagwood Dog," which is really a corndog by another name. It made me oh-so-happy.

Then I bought a "showbag." Hugh says, back in the day, showbags were free and full of samples for various products. These days, you can choose from over 300 showbags offered by different brands, but they cost money. For example, Mars will sell a Skittles showbag, a Starburst showbag, a chocolate showbag...you get the picture. I chose a women's fashion magazine that I've read a couple times, because they had the cutest bag. It came with a pair of sunglasses, a wallet, 3 magazines, and a bunch of samples. I'll post about it later cuz I don't have pictures at the mo'. Then we went home and flopped on the bed in exhaustion.

Sacred Waste

I was reading a really interesting article for work. It's about bodily waste products, and how throughout history, humankind has, for various reasons, made waste products into sacred articles. It raises the whole issue of what is "waste," and there was a whole section on placentas. It's all the rage in the US these days for couples to attribute special healing or spiritual qualities to their child's placenta, and I found this passage particularly amusing:

Left, not right

I'm looking into getting a valid drivers license here. The SA government wants you to remember:

Fingerless gloves

Some knitting projects I started and then decided I didn't like. Will probably dismantle them. At some point...

Money!!!!

I got paid!!! I have money!!! I genuinely feel rich. I have worked 4 days, just 4 days so far and already made enough to cover rent and bills for the month with a bit left over. And I get another paycheck of the same amount in two weeks. What a wonderful country this is! With wages these high, I don't even care that I was taxed 35%. I have yarn money!!!

Okay, I must be really careful to budget and not go out and spend it all at once. But I did buy myself some stickers and ink pads, and I took my man out for Greek to thank him for supporting me financially for the last month or so.

For lack of a better photo, here are some of my dishes. Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with my dishes? I did pay $300 to have them sent to Australia...

Breakfast at Mayfair Bakery

"Breakfast" (i.e. lunch cuz it was 1pm) at Mayfair Bakery on Semaphore Road.

This is a cheese Kransky. It is like a Costco kosher dog that has been injected with cheese, then wrapped in pastry. If you order it "with sauce," as we did, they take a bottle of ketchup, insert the tip of the bottle into the pastry in multiple places, and squeeze. Wash down with Farmers Union iced coffee.

Spring!!

I'm hoppin'

yes, indeed

I'm not stoppin'

no, sirree

This is my favorite time of year!

Spring started on September 1st. When I told Hugh that our northern hemisphere seasons change with the soltices and equinoxes or whatever, he responded, "Yeah, well, that's cuz you're all pagans."

All the cherry trees in our neighborhood started to bloom last week. They are in full glory now.

At the top of the photo, you can see the vine that runs across our front porch. I'm excited to see how leafy it'll be!

On Tuesday, day 4 of spring, it was 77°F! Or what we grew up calling "shorts weather." Heck, 77 is practically "running through the sprinkler weather." Funny enough, not that many people were wearing shorts. Some girls were wearing short skirts, but they wear those every day, and many had tights on.

Sadly, on Tuesday evening, the weather took a turn for the worse. It rained most of the early morning. Today, it is overcast, heavily windy, and down to 55°F. A 20 degree drop in one day. Oh well.

Work work work

Phew! The last few days were a bit more stressful than they really needed to be. I received an email on Friday about the job interview this week, saying they had a task for me to accomplish before the interview. I put it out of my mind on Friday, totally forgot about it on Saturday and spent the whole day knitting, then discovered on Sunday that they wanted me to do a mini literature review by Wednesday, 8am. Since I now work (yay!!) Monday and Tuesday on another literature review, I knew I'd only have the evenings to work on it.

So yeah, I totally panicked.

But I focused, didn't do any knitting or scrapbooking or Internet trawling, and got it done. I have no idea if it's any good or what they were looking for, but it's submitted and I don't care anymore. Also, I don't really even want this job, and even if I did I don't think they can give it to me (for visa reasons). So whatever.

I'm enjoying my new job, though. Sadly, it's only two days a week, and only for three months or so. But wages are high here and that may cover rent and a bit leftover. We'll see. My first paycheck isn't for a few weeks yet. But the university is beautiful! It's quite a ways out of town and is really sprawling, so that there's loads of green space between the different groups of buildings. To get to the main campus, I have to climb a big hill, then take this bridge over a tree-filled gully.

 And this was my veggie burger lunch yesterday, which kept trying to blow away in the high winds. It was tasty!

*Thanks, Becky! I grabbed "Blogging for Creatives" from the library and it got me thinking about my boring design.