Monday, July 31, 2006
Has anyone ever driven...
... A Toyota Starlet?
I've now done the trawl of the assorted car dealerships - six of them, which is quite impressive in a town this small - and the best option so far looks like a 1996 Toyota Starlet 1.3. It's a little more than they gave me for my Saxo, but not so much that I'd have to take out a bank loan for it. It's also a lot smaller and two years older, although the engine is bigger. There's the advantage of a Toyota dealership in town, and according to the reviews I've read it's a very reliable car (which is a Good Thing in my book).
I think I could get the longbow in, as as that's normally been my criterion for car size then it can't really be too small. There's no power steering and the steering is a bit on the heavy side, although it's not as if I'm going to be driving long distances in it anyway, as I've little reason to drive down to Reykjavík nowadays.
Any advice or suggestions, anyone?
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I've now done the trawl of the assorted car dealerships - six of them, which is quite impressive in a town this small - and the best option so far looks like a 1996 Toyota Starlet 1.3. It's a little more than they gave me for my Saxo, but not so much that I'd have to take out a bank loan for it. It's also a lot smaller and two years older, although the engine is bigger. There's the advantage of a Toyota dealership in town, and according to the reviews I've read it's a very reliable car (which is a Good Thing in my book).
I think I could get the longbow in, as as that's normally been my criterion for car size then it can't really be too small. There's no power steering and the steering is a bit on the heavy side, although it's not as if I'm going to be driving long distances in it anyway, as I've little reason to drive down to Reykjavík nowadays.
Any advice or suggestions, anyone?
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Sunday, July 30, 2006
Swimming in the rain
Is a Good Thing.
This afternoon I went, together with my Charda (one of the Gamer Girls) and her daughter Mika, to the swimming pool about ten minutes drive away up Öxnadalsheiði. It's in a small town of about 500 people and has a pool, a slide, two hot pots, a steam room and a smaller lounging pool with an intermittent waterfall feature. The really great things are that it's an open-air pool with heated water and it has great views of the mountains on either side of the valley.
Unlike the UK at present, we've got temperatures of between 12° and 18° at present - not the sort of thing you'd want for a visit to an unheated lido somewhere in England, but fine for a pleasantly warm pool out here. Even more so for a hot pot at 40°, although that does get a bit warm after a while and so the rain was especially welcome after ten minutes in that.
It's not a particularly large pool - probably 20m long - but that doesn't worry me. In fact it inspired me to do ten lengths, which I doubt I'd have attempted in a 25m pool. It's also a lot quieter than the pool in Akureyri, which is quite an attraction. I may try to go there at least once a week in future.
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This afternoon I went, together with my Charda (one of the Gamer Girls) and her daughter Mika, to the swimming pool about ten minutes drive away up Öxnadalsheiði. It's in a small town of about 500 people and has a pool, a slide, two hot pots, a steam room and a smaller lounging pool with an intermittent waterfall feature. The really great things are that it's an open-air pool with heated water and it has great views of the mountains on either side of the valley.
Unlike the UK at present, we've got temperatures of between 12° and 18° at present - not the sort of thing you'd want for a visit to an unheated lido somewhere in England, but fine for a pleasantly warm pool out here. Even more so for a hot pot at 40°, although that does get a bit warm after a while and so the rain was especially welcome after ten minutes in that.
It's not a particularly large pool - probably 20m long - but that doesn't worry me. In fact it inspired me to do ten lengths, which I doubt I'd have attempted in a 25m pool. It's also a lot quieter than the pool in Akureyri, which is quite an attraction. I may try to go there at least once a week in future.
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Saturday, July 29, 2006
The ratchet screwdriver...
... An engineering miracle.
No, I haven't gone mad. I've just spent two hours putting together a 5-drawer chest of drawers for the living room in order to provide a) handy storage space for small items and b) something upon which the modem can sit that isn't a toaster box covered in a piece of fabric. This is good as I can now make the other two cushions for which I'd earmarked the fabric.
The last time I put furniture together was the dinner table, which was rather less complicated but harder on the hands. I suspect it may have been a quality thing - I got the chest of drawers in the sale and they're a rather better quality than the table in that they're real wood not MDF. All of the holes were pre-drilled and didn't require me to put my entire weight on the screwdriver just to drive in the screws. Hence no bruises all over my hands from the pressure. It also helped that I'd found my little ratchet screwdriver. I've been a fan of these things from about the age of three (I have an engineer for a father - go figure) as they really do make life easier. Especially when you remember how to reverse them. :) So much easier on the knuckles and the wrists...
Now that I've got drawer space I can clear the table. Or rather the piece of board covered with a tablecloth and set upon a couple of storage boxes that is currently masquerading as a table. Once it's cleared I may even go back and buy the coffee table to match the drawers as it's also in the sale.
Ah, the joys of home furnishings.
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No, I haven't gone mad. I've just spent two hours putting together a 5-drawer chest of drawers for the living room in order to provide a) handy storage space for small items and b) something upon which the modem can sit that isn't a toaster box covered in a piece of fabric. This is good as I can now make the other two cushions for which I'd earmarked the fabric.
The last time I put furniture together was the dinner table, which was rather less complicated but harder on the hands. I suspect it may have been a quality thing - I got the chest of drawers in the sale and they're a rather better quality than the table in that they're real wood not MDF. All of the holes were pre-drilled and didn't require me to put my entire weight on the screwdriver just to drive in the screws. Hence no bruises all over my hands from the pressure. It also helped that I'd found my little ratchet screwdriver. I've been a fan of these things from about the age of three (I have an engineer for a father - go figure) as they really do make life easier. Especially when you remember how to reverse them. :) So much easier on the knuckles and the wrists...
Now that I've got drawer space I can clear the table. Or rather the piece of board covered with a tablecloth and set upon a couple of storage boxes that is currently masquerading as a table. Once it's cleared I may even go back and buy the coffee table to match the drawers as it's also in the sale.
Ah, the joys of home furnishings.
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Friday, July 28, 2006
Bílasaga - continued
Well, I'm back and I have a car again.
Not my car, unfortunately, as it has indeed been written off. The repair cost would have been approximately four grand while the book price was just under two. So I now have a hire car while I run around to the various dealerships to look for a new pre-cherished car. I was quite impressed at how well everything worked - I went into the insurance office, signed the agreement accepting the offer and a couple of minutes later the money was in my bank account.
I decided not to go straight up to the dealerships because I need to get used to driving a left-wheel-drive car a little first, so that any test-drive gives me a truer picture of the car rather than of my own problems transferring over. I took it off for a spin up the fjörd and back the other side, something I haven't done before. There are at least three of the smallest one-lane bridges I have ever seen; sufficiently so that in my rather nervous state of mind I must have slowed down to about 10 kmph to cross them. The ones on the main road to Reykjavík are much, much wider. It was definitely rural out there, and I had to dodge not only tractors but also little motor buggies and sheepdogs.
Left-wheel-drive does have one thing going for it: it's much easier to see cars coming towards you when you're joining a road on the left. Nonetheless, with the twisting and the stress of driving in Iceland again for the first time since the accident my next and shoulders are feeling a bit on the sore side.
Finally I went to salvage what I could from the boot of the old car. Apart from a jacket and my fedora (both of which I would miss greatly) I had all of the normal car paraphenalia - the warning triangle, the first aid kit, the blanket, the hiking boots, the strange viking stick-throwing game, a bolt of fabric, the hostess tray I'd picked up on the base, and a bottle of Gordon's Gin with two bottles of tonic. Just the normal stuff.
Tomorrow I might take the car to Mývatn, partly for the driving experience, partly to immerse myself in the hot waters at the Nature Baths, and partly because they're coming at noon to paint lines down the apartment's car park. Tonight I'm going to embroider. Hurray!
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Not my car, unfortunately, as it has indeed been written off. The repair cost would have been approximately four grand while the book price was just under two. So I now have a hire car while I run around to the various dealerships to look for a new pre-cherished car. I was quite impressed at how well everything worked - I went into the insurance office, signed the agreement accepting the offer and a couple of minutes later the money was in my bank account.
I decided not to go straight up to the dealerships because I need to get used to driving a left-wheel-drive car a little first, so that any test-drive gives me a truer picture of the car rather than of my own problems transferring over. I took it off for a spin up the fjörd and back the other side, something I haven't done before. There are at least three of the smallest one-lane bridges I have ever seen; sufficiently so that in my rather nervous state of mind I must have slowed down to about 10 kmph to cross them. The ones on the main road to Reykjavík are much, much wider. It was definitely rural out there, and I had to dodge not only tractors but also little motor buggies and sheepdogs.
Left-wheel-drive does have one thing going for it: it's much easier to see cars coming towards you when you're joining a road on the left. Nonetheless, with the twisting and the stress of driving in Iceland again for the first time since the accident my next and shoulders are feeling a bit on the sore side.
Finally I went to salvage what I could from the boot of the old car. Apart from a jacket and my fedora (both of which I would miss greatly) I had all of the normal car paraphenalia - the warning triangle, the first aid kit, the blanket, the hiking boots, the strange viking stick-throwing game, a bolt of fabric, the hostess tray I'd picked up on the base, and a bottle of Gordon's Gin with two bottles of tonic. Just the normal stuff.
Tomorrow I might take the car to Mývatn, partly for the driving experience, partly to immerse myself in the hot waters at the Nature Baths, and partly because they're coming at noon to paint lines down the apartment's car park. Tonight I'm going to embroider. Hurray!
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Thursday, July 27, 2006
Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen
Take 2.
Actually it's more wonderful than I realised on my first trip through. This may have something to do with discovering the location of the more comfortable seating and the 24-hour 7-11, but I also ventured into the city on the train.
I checked my luggage into the left luggage office at the airport and headed for the trains, stopping on the way to buy a rather nice blue silk and pashmina stole to cover my arms and shoulders. The journey was only about 15 minutes and about £2, which was nice. Various people had told me that the Tivoli Gardens were easy to find - you just stepped out of the train station and there they were - and they were right!
The Tivoli Gardens contains a quite astonishing collection of themed buildings and rides. Most of the buildings are either restaurants (such as the Fregatten Sct. Georg III
fast foot and drink outlets, like the Drop-In Tea Shop
or theatres, like the Pantomime Theatre
I've got quite a few more photos, which I'll upload at some point, some of which are just really cool little bits of design.
I managed to get away with just buying a very large Tivoli coffee mug for the office (the other one is about four years old, so it's definitely time for a new one!) although I almost caved in and bought a cuddly ginger cat soft toy wearing a purple renaissance gown. I might yet lose that battle next time I'm flying through.
The language business was interesting. I found that I could understand quite a lot of the signage but, as usual, not the spoken language. I think I also caused a little confusion by pronouncing Danish words with an Icelandic accent... rolling the Rs and putting Ðs where they ought to go but the Danes have transcribed them through to Ds. They looked even more confused when they realised I was actually English!
It was far too hot to go on any of the rides, in spite of the largest ice cream waffle cone I've eaten since I went to Alton Towers about fifteen years ago. This probably just means that I'll have to go back sometime, preferably when it's darker and the place is all lit up. It must look fantastic once all of the illuminations have been turned on.
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Actually it's more wonderful than I realised on my first trip through. This may have something to do with discovering the location of the more comfortable seating and the 24-hour 7-11, but I also ventured into the city on the train.
I checked my luggage into the left luggage office at the airport and headed for the trains, stopping on the way to buy a rather nice blue silk and pashmina stole to cover my arms and shoulders. The journey was only about 15 minutes and about £2, which was nice. Various people had told me that the Tivoli Gardens were easy to find - you just stepped out of the train station and there they were - and they were right!
The Tivoli Gardens contains a quite astonishing collection of themed buildings and rides. Most of the buildings are either restaurants (such as the Fregatten Sct. Georg III
fast foot and drink outlets, like the Drop-In Tea Shop
or theatres, like the Pantomime Theatre
I've got quite a few more photos, which I'll upload at some point, some of which are just really cool little bits of design.
I managed to get away with just buying a very large Tivoli coffee mug for the office (the other one is about four years old, so it's definitely time for a new one!) although I almost caved in and bought a cuddly ginger cat soft toy wearing a purple renaissance gown. I might yet lose that battle next time I'm flying through.
The language business was interesting. I found that I could understand quite a lot of the signage but, as usual, not the spoken language. I think I also caused a little confusion by pronouncing Danish words with an Icelandic accent... rolling the Rs and putting Ðs where they ought to go but the Danes have transcribed them through to Ds. They looked even more confused when they realised I was actually English!
It was far too hot to go on any of the rides, in spite of the largest ice cream waffle cone I've eaten since I went to Alton Towers about fifteen years ago. This probably just means that I'll have to go back sometime, preferably when it's darker and the place is all lit up. It must look fantastic once all of the illuminations have been turned on.
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Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Too hot!
It is officially too hot to do anything today. I have lounged about on the sofa reading and doing little else. I miss my embroidery! Still, it's ten degrees cooler in Reykjavík, which is something. I wonder what it'll be like in Copenhagen tomorrow?
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Tuesday, July 25, 2006
The Tapestry meeting
Today we had the first official meeting of the Garston Tapestry working group.
It was very well attended, which was nice. The main purpose of this one was to see how much interest there was in the project and for me to brain dump all of the stuff Mum and I had planned when we'd discussed it. Sad academic that I am, I did a Powerpoint presentation. Still, it meant that everyone got to see all of the necessary pictures and had copies of the timelines and so forth.
The basic plan is to do something like the Quaker Tapestry at Kendal, although we'll use wool on linen rather than wool on wool. We will keep the idea of a tripartite design and a limited palette of colours as these unify a large project. I'm officially on the working group as creative consultant as I'm the one with the big vision.
Apart from that it's just been too hot again. I want this weather to head east somewhere. Or south. Or anywhere but north-west. We've been promised thinderstorms for days but I haven't even seen a rainshower.
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It was very well attended, which was nice. The main purpose of this one was to see how much interest there was in the project and for me to brain dump all of the stuff Mum and I had planned when we'd discussed it. Sad academic that I am, I did a Powerpoint presentation. Still, it meant that everyone got to see all of the necessary pictures and had copies of the timelines and so forth.
The basic plan is to do something like the Quaker Tapestry at Kendal, although we'll use wool on linen rather than wool on wool. We will keep the idea of a tripartite design and a limited palette of colours as these unify a large project. I'm officially on the working group as creative consultant as I'm the one with the big vision.
Apart from that it's just been too hot again. I want this weather to head east somewhere. Or south. Or anywhere but north-west. We've been promised thinderstorms for days but I haven't even seen a rainshower.
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Monday, July 24, 2006
No interview, but a good dinner
Today was Dad's birthday.
Which was the entire reason for my coming back to the UK at this particular time rather than earlier in the month. The original plan was that I'd return from the van in the morning and then Kayte and I would take Dad out to lunch so that Kayte could get back to Nottingham before it got too late in the evening.
Dad had other plans. He was going to the dock to do things with the boat, much to Kayte's frustration. It didn't really worry me - I was just following orders at this point and would turn up at the appropriate hour whatever happened. So I got a couple of extra hours relaxing at the van. There was a short time when I thought I might have to make a rapid run down the motorway to do an interview with Radio Merseyside about the Garston Tapestry, but the timing was a bit tight and, frankly, it would sound much better on local radio to have someone talking about the project who actually sounds like they're a local.
Dinner was nothing wildly exciting, just the Toby Carvery down the road, but you always know that you're going to get decent food at a Toby. We were joined by my athletic little 93 year-old great aunt who'd been on the bowling green all day getting in a bit of practice before the team match on Wednesday. She's a demon crown green bowler who no longer enters the club individual competition because it's time to let the youngsters (of 70) have a chance.
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Which was the entire reason for my coming back to the UK at this particular time rather than earlier in the month. The original plan was that I'd return from the van in the morning and then Kayte and I would take Dad out to lunch so that Kayte could get back to Nottingham before it got too late in the evening.
Dad had other plans. He was going to the dock to do things with the boat, much to Kayte's frustration. It didn't really worry me - I was just following orders at this point and would turn up at the appropriate hour whatever happened. So I got a couple of extra hours relaxing at the van. There was a short time when I thought I might have to make a rapid run down the motorway to do an interview with Radio Merseyside about the Garston Tapestry, but the timing was a bit tight and, frankly, it would sound much better on local radio to have someone talking about the project who actually sounds like they're a local.
Dinner was nothing wildly exciting, just the Toby Carvery down the road, but you always know that you're going to get decent food at a Toby. We were joined by my athletic little 93 year-old great aunt who'd been on the bowling green all day getting in a bit of practice before the team match on Wednesday. She's a demon crown green bowler who no longer enters the club individual competition because it's time to let the youngsters (of 70) have a chance.
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Sunday, July 23, 2006
Dangerous things, names
Especially in RPGs.
I don't know, you play a character once and forget to note down the name on the computer file containing the character sheet. Then four years later you come back to that character and suddenly she's given a name that makes her do ludicrous things.
We spent this morning playing Universe, a seventies SF RPG for which Martin and I had generated characters back in 2002. It was fine for Penny, as she did character generation last night, but we'd forgotten quite a lot in the intervening couple of years. My character is the ship's pilot, someone who made a nice comfortable life in the family shipping business. That's shipping as in ethically challenged merchants, as Fred put it. He decided that, as she didn't seem to have a name yet then it would obviously have to be Jill. Martin was no better off, as his character had no noted name either, and was a little lacking in the IQ department.
And so Captain Jill and Pinky were shortly joined by Liz (Penny's character) in an attempt to get off-world during a coup. Now I normally play quite sensible filthy mind rippers, certainly not the sort who stroll unarmed down the centre of the road towards gun-wielding troopers in order to distract them from what the other players are doing. No! Normally I'd be one of those wielding a big gun and preparing to take down anything that even looked at me in a funny manner.
It was fun, and we got away with it in the end. It was during this that I realised just how long my hair is nowadays, when I plaited a little bit at the front in an appropriately piratical manner and discovered that it still came down almost to my waist. I suppose I don't notice because I usually have it piled onto my head and secured with the comb thingy Gytha gave me.
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I don't know, you play a character once and forget to note down the name on the computer file containing the character sheet. Then four years later you come back to that character and suddenly she's given a name that makes her do ludicrous things.
We spent this morning playing Universe, a seventies SF RPG for which Martin and I had generated characters back in 2002. It was fine for Penny, as she did character generation last night, but we'd forgotten quite a lot in the intervening couple of years. My character is the ship's pilot, someone who made a nice comfortable life in the family shipping business. That's shipping as in ethically challenged merchants, as Fred put it. He decided that, as she didn't seem to have a name yet then it would obviously have to be Jill. Martin was no better off, as his character had no noted name either, and was a little lacking in the IQ department.
And so Captain Jill and Pinky were shortly joined by Liz (Penny's character) in an attempt to get off-world during a coup. Now I normally play quite sensible filthy mind rippers, certainly not the sort who stroll unarmed down the centre of the road towards gun-wielding troopers in order to distract them from what the other players are doing. No! Normally I'd be one of those wielding a big gun and preparing to take down anything that even looked at me in a funny manner.
It was fun, and we got away with it in the end. It was during this that I realised just how long my hair is nowadays, when I plaited a little bit at the front in an appropriately piratical manner and discovered that it still came down almost to my waist. I suppose I don't notice because I usually have it piled onto my head and secured with the comb thingy Gytha gave me.
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Saturday, July 22, 2006
Hodgehigs and other wildlife
Rabbits at the van I am used to. Hodgehigs are a little less common.
What on earth's a hodgehig? I hear you ask. Hedgehog - simple, see? :) This evening it was so hot that we all sat outside to eat our respective takeaway curries and ended up staying outside until well past midnight. Penny and I were discussing the assorted interesting birds we'd seen recently, such as the large raptor I'd seen yesterday flying across the motorway. This wasn't your average little kestrel, it was more the size of one of our larger ravens - I suspected that it was a buzzard and Penny concurred. Suddenly this dark shape starts to slink across the ground between two of the nearby vans. It moved surprisingly quickly and in a manner that certainly wasn't a rabbit. It's been a long time since I've seen a wild hedgehog, so it was quite an exciting evening.
We'd had a little excitement earlier in the day too. While the guys went to the bookshop, Penny and I went to the Carnforth embroidery shop. The intention was just to put one of my completed pieces in to be framed, but then Penny noticed a kit of a canal that would make a very good gift for either her brother or her mum. It was all my fault taking her into the shop, as she has enough UFOs already. I was doing very well in my attempt not to buy anything until I came across, hidden in a corner, a long thin kit of assorted celtic beasties. It was really a good thing that I saw it, because it did save Penny from the terrible problem of deciding whether to buy that one or the canal.
And I've started it! I haven't done a stitch of embroidery in the last week as Dad has such a down on it that I'm not even considering doing any at 449. Now... how much can I get done in the next two days, given that there'll be some serious gaming going on tomorrow?
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What on earth's a hodgehig? I hear you ask. Hedgehog - simple, see? :) This evening it was so hot that we all sat outside to eat our respective takeaway curries and ended up staying outside until well past midnight. Penny and I were discussing the assorted interesting birds we'd seen recently, such as the large raptor I'd seen yesterday flying across the motorway. This wasn't your average little kestrel, it was more the size of one of our larger ravens - I suspected that it was a buzzard and Penny concurred. Suddenly this dark shape starts to slink across the ground between two of the nearby vans. It moved surprisingly quickly and in a manner that certainly wasn't a rabbit. It's been a long time since I've seen a wild hedgehog, so it was quite an exciting evening.
We'd had a little excitement earlier in the day too. While the guys went to the bookshop, Penny and I went to the Carnforth embroidery shop. The intention was just to put one of my completed pieces in to be framed, but then Penny noticed a kit of a canal that would make a very good gift for either her brother or her mum. It was all my fault taking her into the shop, as she has enough UFOs already. I was doing very well in my attempt not to buy anything until I came across, hidden in a corner, a long thin kit of assorted celtic beasties. It was really a good thing that I saw it, because it did save Penny from the terrible problem of deciding whether to buy that one or the canal.
And I've started it! I haven't done a stitch of embroidery in the last week as Dad has such a down on it that I'm not even considering doing any at 449. Now... how much can I get done in the next two days, given that there'll be some serious gaming going on tomorrow?
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Friday, July 21, 2006
The caravan, at last
But it's still too hot, even here.
This morning I went to the embroidery group meeting bearing three boxes and a large bag of assorted surplus craft stuff and managed to get rid of it all. Without breaking down into floods of tears too, which impressed me the most. I didn't actually get any embroidery done, but spent the morning extractracting the more choice items for a little extra exposure. I'm not too bad at the hard sell thing if it's something I care about.
Then I took the Saab up to the caravan. As I'd previously expected, it was a dream to drive on the motorway, and I started sufficiently early in the day that I didn't get caught up in too much traffic. There's absolutely no point in trying to get onto the M6 after about 15:30 as it's practically bumper-to-bumper all the way from the M62 junction up to the M55 junction for Blackpool. I blame Manchester myself.
The site managers have recently added a new security feature to the site - a set of bars that you have to have an electronic control to raise. The last I knew, the control had been left in the caravan so that the various folks who stay there could all use the same one rather than shell out £35 for their own. So I parked the car, walked up to the van, let myself in, turned off the alarm, and completely failed to find the clicker. Ah well. Unfortunately there was no-one in the lodge for me to get a spare, but as someone else coming in recognised the car they let me in. Later in the evening I went back down to the lodge and got the spare, no problem there.
It's wonderful - I can sit and relax, watch mindless television (UK History and News 24) and I don't have to worry about upsetting anyone. I could handle a week or three of this.
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This morning I went to the embroidery group meeting bearing three boxes and a large bag of assorted surplus craft stuff and managed to get rid of it all. Without breaking down into floods of tears too, which impressed me the most. I didn't actually get any embroidery done, but spent the morning extractracting the more choice items for a little extra exposure. I'm not too bad at the hard sell thing if it's something I care about.
Then I took the Saab up to the caravan. As I'd previously expected, it was a dream to drive on the motorway, and I started sufficiently early in the day that I didn't get caught up in too much traffic. There's absolutely no point in trying to get onto the M6 after about 15:30 as it's practically bumper-to-bumper all the way from the M62 junction up to the M55 junction for Blackpool. I blame Manchester myself.
The site managers have recently added a new security feature to the site - a set of bars that you have to have an electronic control to raise. The last I knew, the control had been left in the caravan so that the various folks who stay there could all use the same one rather than shell out £35 for their own. So I parked the car, walked up to the van, let myself in, turned off the alarm, and completely failed to find the clicker. Ah well. Unfortunately there was no-one in the lodge for me to get a spare, but as someone else coming in recognised the car they let me in. Later in the evening I went back down to the lodge and got the spare, no problem there.
It's wonderful - I can sit and relax, watch mindless television (UK History and News 24) and I don't have to worry about upsetting anyone. I could handle a week or three of this.
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Thursday, July 20, 2006
Lessons in quilting
Courtesy of the local quilting group.
I've always been rather wary of quilting. I used to share a flat with someone who made patchwork quilts entirely by hand, using random shapes and sizes of fabric pieces. This, to me, seemed a terribly long-winded way of doing things. Later on, when her first child was born, I presented her with a small hand-quilted baby blanket made from a kit with a dinosaur on it. I hasten to add that although I did the quilting by hand, I did the actual engineering on a machine.
That's the problem - I like sewing machines. I like the way that they allow you to do the boring bits like seams quickly so that you can carry on to do the more interesting embroidery bits by hand. I dislike hemming for a similar reason: I could be doing something more interesting! On the other hand, it would be nice to be able to design something and then turn out a dozen identical badges without having to do the repetitive stuff. Never again do I want to do 12 badges of the same design, even if they are in 6 different techniques. So I'm a little ambivalent about super-duper-embroidering-sewing-machines the like of which my frind Diane has just acquired - part of me thinks Oooh! Shiny! while another part of me thinks that machine embroidery is cheating.
But back to quilting. Later on - much later on - I made myself a quillow entirely by machine. It's very effective and didn't take long at all. Now I have this pattern to make what I plan to be a wall hanging, and I'm definitely planning to quilt that by machine too. One of the big problems before starting this was how to cut out all of the individual pieces. This was what I discovered today - how to use one of those circular cutters, a board ond one of those strange perpex quilting guides with lots of lines on it. I now have sufficient confidence that I might even go back to iceland next week and get started upon it.
If, that is, I'm not distracted by a couple of cotton sheets and start the long-threatened tivaevae tataura (a Polynesian quilt) instead.
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I've always been rather wary of quilting. I used to share a flat with someone who made patchwork quilts entirely by hand, using random shapes and sizes of fabric pieces. This, to me, seemed a terribly long-winded way of doing things. Later on, when her first child was born, I presented her with a small hand-quilted baby blanket made from a kit with a dinosaur on it. I hasten to add that although I did the quilting by hand, I did the actual engineering on a machine.
That's the problem - I like sewing machines. I like the way that they allow you to do the boring bits like seams quickly so that you can carry on to do the more interesting embroidery bits by hand. I dislike hemming for a similar reason: I could be doing something more interesting! On the other hand, it would be nice to be able to design something and then turn out a dozen identical badges without having to do the repetitive stuff. Never again do I want to do 12 badges of the same design, even if they are in 6 different techniques. So I'm a little ambivalent about super-duper-embroidering-sewing-machines the like of which my frind Diane has just acquired - part of me thinks Oooh! Shiny! while another part of me thinks that machine embroidery is cheating.
But back to quilting. Later on - much later on - I made myself a quillow entirely by machine. It's very effective and didn't take long at all. Now I have this pattern to make what I plan to be a wall hanging, and I'm definitely planning to quilt that by machine too. One of the big problems before starting this was how to cut out all of the individual pieces. This was what I discovered today - how to use one of those circular cutters, a board ond one of those strange perpex quilting guides with lots of lines on it. I now have sufficient confidence that I might even go back to iceland next week and get started upon it.
If, that is, I'm not distracted by a couple of cotton sheets and start the long-threatened tivaevae tataura (a Polynesian quilt) instead.
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Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Sorting out
I spent this morning going through drawers and drawers of craft and embroidery stuff in Mum's office.
As I can't store much here I've been quite brutal with what's going to the craft and embroidery club on Friday. I've already got a box of fabric and a bag of stuff in the car that I extracted from Aunty June's on Monday, but today I filled another two boxes ready to go. These include a number of quite large Malaysian embroidery kits, but there's no way I'll ever get around to doing them so it's better that someone else does. I've extracted the stuff I really want, and even then there's a small box worth of assorted embroideries and other bits and bobs.
I must admit - Mum was an embroidery hoarder. There were all sorts of completed patterns, thread remnants from completed kits, little free kits from magazines (sans instructions, I'm afraid), small frames, mountboards, pieces of aida, plastic pocket folders, craft boxes, embroidery bags... My hoarding skills pale into insignificance compared to this. Even so, I know that there are a number of other things that I haven't located yet - things such as the Tereza Wenzler mermaid kit I bought for Mum for Christmas one year and have promised to do for Kayte, or the thirty or so Brocklebank embroidery kits I made (which need to be found to go off to Arklow with the Brock in early August).
It wasn't quite as painful as I thought it would be. What might be more so is taking it to embroidery on Friday.
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As I can't store much here I've been quite brutal with what's going to the craft and embroidery club on Friday. I've already got a box of fabric and a bag of stuff in the car that I extracted from Aunty June's on Monday, but today I filled another two boxes ready to go. These include a number of quite large Malaysian embroidery kits, but there's no way I'll ever get around to doing them so it's better that someone else does. I've extracted the stuff I really want, and even then there's a small box worth of assorted embroideries and other bits and bobs.
I must admit - Mum was an embroidery hoarder. There were all sorts of completed patterns, thread remnants from completed kits, little free kits from magazines (sans instructions, I'm afraid), small frames, mountboards, pieces of aida, plastic pocket folders, craft boxes, embroidery bags... My hoarding skills pale into insignificance compared to this. Even so, I know that there are a number of other things that I haven't located yet - things such as the Tereza Wenzler mermaid kit I bought for Mum for Christmas one year and have promised to do for Kayte, or the thirty or so Brocklebank embroidery kits I made (which need to be found to go off to Arklow with the Brock in early August).
It wasn't quite as painful as I thought it would be. What might be more so is taking it to embroidery on Friday.
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Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Tug incoming
This afternoon I went to collect Dad from the Maritime Museum.
He and the rest of the geriatric Sea Scouts that make up the Wincham Preservation Society had taken the tug Brocklebank up to the Festival of the Sea in Glasgow for the weekend. They came back into Liverpool on the 17:00 tide and, after a short delay to open the Canning Half-Tide Basin dock gates, steamed in to the delight of a number of museum visitors.
I arrived in plenty of time, and one of the museum staff and I managed to thoroughly confuse each other, as I'd brought the Saab into the museum proper rather than the car park. Eventually I managed to explain that I was meeting the Brock and needed to get down onto the jetty and the penny suddenly dropped; "Ah, you're one of us!" he exclaimed and was quite happy about the whole situation. I hadn't actually thought of it that way myself, but it's true - I do embroidery kits and other stuff for the Society. I really ought to take out a membership myself. :)
One interesting thing was that before the Brock came back into the dock the place was full of jellyfish. Now I'm not a great fan of such things, having had a nasty experience treading in one on Ainsdale beach when I was about four, but the numbers were quite impressive.
I was out in the sun for about an hour and I'm a little sunburnt as a result. I really must get some suntan lotion before I go up to the van on Friday.
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He and the rest of the geriatric Sea Scouts that make up the Wincham Preservation Society had taken the tug Brocklebank up to the Festival of the Sea in Glasgow for the weekend. They came back into Liverpool on the 17:00 tide and, after a short delay to open the Canning Half-Tide Basin dock gates, steamed in to the delight of a number of museum visitors.
I arrived in plenty of time, and one of the museum staff and I managed to thoroughly confuse each other, as I'd brought the Saab into the museum proper rather than the car park. Eventually I managed to explain that I was meeting the Brock and needed to get down onto the jetty and the penny suddenly dropped; "Ah, you're one of us!" he exclaimed and was quite happy about the whole situation. I hadn't actually thought of it that way myself, but it's true - I do embroidery kits and other stuff for the Society. I really ought to take out a membership myself. :)
One interesting thing was that before the Brock came back into the dock the place was full of jellyfish. Now I'm not a great fan of such things, having had a nasty experience treading in one on Ainsdale beach when I was about four, but the numbers were quite impressive.
I was out in the sun for about an hour and I'm a little sunburnt as a result. I really must get some suntan lotion before I go up to the van on Friday.
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Monday, July 17, 2006
Bodies continued
My bodies have bones.
But not eyelets as yet. It's been too hot to do anything energetic like attack the mostly-complete piece with a hammer. Far too hot to do anything adventurous like cutting out the dress - although, in my defence, I want to point out that I really need to make the dress pattern from the PoB pattern so I need to finish the PoB first, particularly so that I can sort out the sleeves. It looks like I'll be doing it at the caravan next weekend, as I can't do anything once Dad gets back tomorrow.
Today I also ventured out into the garden with a hosepipe. We don't have a hosepipe ban up here and Dad has left instructions that the lawns and the assorted flowerbeds should be watered every couple of days. Hmm... gardening is not one of my strong points, but even I can wave a hose about. The water in the air was quite pleasant.
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But not eyelets as yet. It's been too hot to do anything energetic like attack the mostly-complete piece with a hammer. Far too hot to do anything adventurous like cutting out the dress - although, in my defence, I want to point out that I really need to make the dress pattern from the PoB pattern so I need to finish the PoB first, particularly so that I can sort out the sleeves. It looks like I'll be doing it at the caravan next weekend, as I can't do anything once Dad gets back tomorrow.
Today I also ventured out into the garden with a hosepipe. We don't have a hosepipe ban up here and Dad has left instructions that the lawns and the assorted flowerbeds should be watered every couple of days. Hmm... gardening is not one of my strong points, but even I can wave a hose about. The water in the air was quite pleasant.
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Sunday, July 16, 2006
Arrr!
Yes, we went to see Pirates 2.
And it was fun. The sort of film that makes you want to grab your rapier and go at someone. Fortunately I didn't have my rapier with me. Afterwards we went off for dinner and came up with the cast for the best British film ever that hasn't been made yet. Imagine...
The Three Musketeers
starring
D'Artagnan - Orlando Bloom
Athos - Sean Bean
Porthos - David Tennant
Aramis - Ioan Gruffudd
Cardinal Richelieu - Christopher Lee
Rochefort - Cary Elwes
Although we're still pondering David Tennant as Porthos, as although he's great at the appreciating the finer points of life bit, he's a bit on the thin side. An alternative was to have him as Athos and Sean Bean as Rochefort, as I think he'd make a wonderful sidekick to Christopher Lee.
Does anyone know where we can get the millions we're going to need to make this? I can almost guarantee it'd be a major success with a cast like that.
1 comments
And it was fun. The sort of film that makes you want to grab your rapier and go at someone. Fortunately I didn't have my rapier with me. Afterwards we went off for dinner and came up with the cast for the best British film ever that hasn't been made yet. Imagine...
The Three Musketeers
starring
D'Artagnan - Orlando Bloom
Athos - Sean Bean
Porthos - David Tennant
Aramis - Ioan Gruffudd
Cardinal Richelieu - Christopher Lee
Rochefort - Cary Elwes
Although we're still pondering David Tennant as Porthos, as although he's great at the appreciating the finer points of life bit, he's a bit on the thin side. An alternative was to have him as Athos and Sean Bean as Rochefort, as I think he'd make a wonderful sidekick to Christopher Lee.
Does anyone know where we can get the millions we're going to need to make this? I can almost guarantee it'd be a major success with a cast like that.
1 comments
Saturday, July 15, 2006
A pair of bodies
No, not a Midsommer Murder, although that would be a fabulous title for one.
Construction of the not-wedding dress got underway today - or at least the pattern-making for the undergraments did. As it's effectively a tudor gown it needs a corset underneath it, and as my current corset is a) too big and b) back-lacing I decided that now is the time to make a new one. This led to the big question of whether to do a corset or a pair of bodies (yes this is the fore-runner of the word bodice). I've plumped for the pair of bodies mainly because I've been asked to give the local Embroidery Guild an illustrated talk on Elizabethan dress and it's more authentic to do the PoB.
Penny and I did another trip to Aberkan, where I picked up a gorgeous fabric for the linings and facings (and, eventually, the under-skirt) and Penny acquired enough dark brown linen to do three nun's habits for an archery event she and some friends are attending later in the year. Not a lot of actual construction went on in the end, as we sat and talked late into the night - probably better for my emotional wellbeing than panicing over the dress.
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Construction of the not-wedding dress got underway today - or at least the pattern-making for the undergraments did. As it's effectively a tudor gown it needs a corset underneath it, and as my current corset is a) too big and b) back-lacing I decided that now is the time to make a new one. This led to the big question of whether to do a corset or a pair of bodies (yes this is the fore-runner of the word bodice). I've plumped for the pair of bodies mainly because I've been asked to give the local Embroidery Guild an illustrated talk on Elizabethan dress and it's more authentic to do the PoB.
Penny and I did another trip to Aberkan, where I picked up a gorgeous fabric for the linings and facings (and, eventually, the under-skirt) and Penny acquired enough dark brown linen to do three nun's habits for an archery event she and some friends are attending later in the year. Not a lot of actual construction went on in the end, as we sat and talked late into the night - probably better for my emotional wellbeing than panicing over the dress.
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Friday, July 14, 2006
Wonderful, wonderful...
...Copenhagen!
Well, maybe not. I arrived at Copenhagen airport at 03:30 local time, whereupon my luggage was delayed for half an hour, and then I discovered that there was nowhere comfortable to wait until I checked in for my 08:15 flight. Never mind - at 06:00 I checked in and got to have a genuine Danish Danish pastry with coffee for breakfast. From then it was off to Manchester and thence to Liverpool by bus.
The National Express bus station is dangerously close to Aberkan. Fortunately I had an excuse to visit it, as I was looking for fabric for my dress for Kate's wedding. I didn't find anything, so once I'd got a taxi home and dropped off my luggage it was back into town to visit George Henry Lee - that's John Lewis to most of the rest of the country - where I did get some rather nice red satin and a book on beading. It was a little uncomfortable on the bus as there were quite a lot of pensioners and I found myself getting a little angry and resentful - why were they still alive and Mum wasn't? I managed, however, to refrain from going on a grief-fuelled killing spree.
Later I collected Penny from Lime Street Station. The council seem to have finished most of the roadworks around the station but they have left the area with a very strange pattern of traffic flow. Ah well. Penny is staying to give me a hand with the dressmaking, although we may find it necessary to go to the cinema sometime over the weekend - aaarrrr!
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Well, maybe not. I arrived at Copenhagen airport at 03:30 local time, whereupon my luggage was delayed for half an hour, and then I discovered that there was nowhere comfortable to wait until I checked in for my 08:15 flight. Never mind - at 06:00 I checked in and got to have a genuine Danish Danish pastry with coffee for breakfast. From then it was off to Manchester and thence to Liverpool by bus.
The National Express bus station is dangerously close to Aberkan. Fortunately I had an excuse to visit it, as I was looking for fabric for my dress for Kate's wedding. I didn't find anything, so once I'd got a taxi home and dropped off my luggage it was back into town to visit George Henry Lee - that's John Lewis to most of the rest of the country - where I did get some rather nice red satin and a book on beading. It was a little uncomfortable on the bus as there were quite a lot of pensioners and I found myself getting a little angry and resentful - why were they still alive and Mum wasn't? I managed, however, to refrain from going on a grief-fuelled killing spree.
Later I collected Penny from Lime Street Station. The council seem to have finished most of the roadworks around the station but they have left the area with a very strange pattern of traffic flow. Ah well. Penny is staying to give me a hand with the dressmaking, although we may find it necessary to go to the cinema sometime over the weekend - aaarrrr!
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Thursday, July 13, 2006
Dread
Later this evening I'll be getting on a flight to Copenhagen, and I'm dreading it.
Not the flying, nor the Copenhagen business (although I will be arriving at 03:00 and leaving again at 08:15 - hopefully I'll find a corner in which to sleep between them), but more the fact that by lunchtime tomorrow I'll be back in the house in Liverpool and Mum won't be there to meet me. And won't be arriving back from a meeting, or the caravan, or anywhere else ever again.
Dad won't be there either, which is a good thing in a way, as I'll be able to fall apart rather than bottle it all up. He's off with the Brocklebank to the maritime festival in Glasgow this week, which means I can do dressmaking at home rather than have to go up to the caravan to do it.
So I've packed my small suitcase - mainly with my computer and another bag - and will be travelling light. I must remember to download a couple more books, as I believe that they're just as expensive in Denmark as they are here.
4 comments
Not the flying, nor the Copenhagen business (although I will be arriving at 03:00 and leaving again at 08:15 - hopefully I'll find a corner in which to sleep between them), but more the fact that by lunchtime tomorrow I'll be back in the house in Liverpool and Mum won't be there to meet me. And won't be arriving back from a meeting, or the caravan, or anywhere else ever again.
Dad won't be there either, which is a good thing in a way, as I'll be able to fall apart rather than bottle it all up. He's off with the Brocklebank to the maritime festival in Glasgow this week, which means I can do dressmaking at home rather than have to go up to the caravan to do it.
So I've packed my small suitcase - mainly with my computer and another bag - and will be travelling light. I must remember to download a couple more books, as I believe that they're just as expensive in Denmark as they are here.
4 comments
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Success!
I have identified the bird!
It is the White Wagtail, Motacilla alba, known locally as the Maríuerla. The really frustrating thing is that my note with yesterday's sketch reads Looks a bit like a wagtail. The UK local version is the Pied Wagtail, Motacilla alba yarrelli which is a extremely rare but not unknown here. I'd become sufficiently desperate to start trawling through pages of photos of Icelandic birds (most of which were various gulls or ducks) when it eventually popped up.
I can now relax again. :)
2 comments
It is the White Wagtail, Motacilla alba, known locally as the Maríuerla. The really frustrating thing is that my note with yesterday's sketch reads Looks a bit like a wagtail. The UK local version is the Pied Wagtail, Motacilla alba yarrelli which is a extremely rare but not unknown here. I'd become sufficiently desperate to start trawling through pages of photos of Icelandic birds (most of which were various gulls or ducks) when it eventually popped up.
I can now relax again. :)
2 comments
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Today's word is...
Röntgendeild - or X-ray department.
Not because I ended up there today, but rather because I'm impressed at how knowing a little history of science can help can be useful in learning a new language. X-rays are also known as Röntgen rays in some areas after the chap who discovered them. My medical update is just that my wrist is likely to take a couple of weeks to heal, my shoulder at least six weeks (and I should see the GP about physiotherapy once I get back from the UK) and my neck anywhere from three months to two years. I'm hoping for the former.
While awaiting my lift to the hospital I saw that strange little bird again. This time I even did a rough sketch so that I could look it up later. I am miffed to confirm that it is definitely not in my book of British and European birds, which is clearly lying when it says that it contains all regular visitors to Europe. Either that or it's quite rare. It's a bit like a wagtail in shape and has a black head and bib with a broad white streak across the eye. The back and wiings are dark brown, while the tail is black and pointed. The underside is pale mottled brown. I'm beginning to get quite frustrated by my inability to identify it.
This evening we did the RPG thing. Oh my... :) Are they in trouble... They not only eventually returned the medical supplies to the sherrif but they also killed off nine of Niska's henchmen and have all of Niska's money. Oh dear... :)
2 comments
Not because I ended up there today, but rather because I'm impressed at how knowing a little history of science can help can be useful in learning a new language. X-rays are also known as Röntgen rays in some areas after the chap who discovered them. My medical update is just that my wrist is likely to take a couple of weeks to heal, my shoulder at least six weeks (and I should see the GP about physiotherapy once I get back from the UK) and my neck anywhere from three months to two years. I'm hoping for the former.
While awaiting my lift to the hospital I saw that strange little bird again. This time I even did a rough sketch so that I could look it up later. I am miffed to confirm that it is definitely not in my book of British and European birds, which is clearly lying when it says that it contains all regular visitors to Europe. Either that or it's quite rare. It's a bit like a wagtail in shape and has a black head and bib with a broad white streak across the eye. The back and wiings are dark brown, while the tail is black and pointed. The underside is pale mottled brown. I'm beginning to get quite frustrated by my inability to identify it.
This evening we did the RPG thing. Oh my... :) Are they in trouble... They not only eventually returned the medical supplies to the sherrif but they also killed off nine of Niska's henchmen and have all of Niska's money. Oh dear... :)
2 comments
Monday, July 10, 2006
The problem with agreeing to run an RPG on 30 hours notice...
... Is realising that you've now only got 24 hours to do everything. And that includes 8 hours at work.
Still, it's a system I know (MegaTraveller) and a scenario I remember screwing up as a player, so that helps. :) Now if only I can get the remaining PC generated in less than two hours tomorrow I'll be fine. Oh - and generate a couple of major NPCs. And tidy up the flat a bit more. Hey, who needs sleep anyway?
I did a bit of running around this morning and have, at last, got my Copenhagen-Manchester flight sorted and also picked up my new Visa card. They even gave me two personalised luggage tags with it this time. Then it was off to a meeting at which I've ended up picking up more tasks to do before the end of the week (preferably well before the end of the week as we'd really like to have a working demo by close of play on Friday).
I'd better get started then.
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Still, it's a system I know (MegaTraveller) and a scenario I remember screwing up as a player, so that helps. :) Now if only I can get the remaining PC generated in less than two hours tomorrow I'll be fine. Oh - and generate a couple of major NPCs. And tidy up the flat a bit more. Hey, who needs sleep anyway?
I did a bit of running around this morning and have, at last, got my Copenhagen-Manchester flight sorted and also picked up my new Visa card. They even gave me two personalised luggage tags with it this time. Then it was off to a meeting at which I've ended up picking up more tasks to do before the end of the week (preferably well before the end of the week as we'd really like to have a working demo by close of play on Friday).
I'd better get started then.
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Sunday, July 09, 2006
Dull and uninspired
That's me tonight, I'm afraid.
Today I
And that's about it. Both embroidery and beading take up a lot of time - beading even more than embroidery - which is where most of the day must have gone. Ah well.
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Today I
- Catalogued my DVDs
- Finished the embroidery on the tudor cap
- Started a beaded necklace
- Watched Equilibrium - the (Sean) Bean Feast continues. It's definitely better than The Matrix, IMO
- Ached :)
And that's about it. Both embroidery and beading take up a lot of time - beading even more than embroidery - which is where most of the day must have gone. Ah well.
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Saturday, July 08, 2006
A pain in the neck part II
Genvieve was absolutely right - sitting in front of a computer is not neck-friendly.
So I'm trying not to do a lot of it. My neck feels as if it's made from some sort of heavy rubber under tension - it's not violently painful, but it does protest when I move it, particularly while doing stretching exercises. Instead I've found a reasonably comfortable position on the sofa with my embroidery and the DVD. Yesterday I had a Bean Feast (Sharpe and Troy). Tonight I'm considering a Biehn Feast (Aliens and Terminator).
Or maybe not. My computer woes continue, in that the power supply for my iBook is now non-functional. I've tested it with my super-super, solar-powered digital multimeter (don't you just love gadgets? :) ) and discovered that although I get 240 volts going into the yoyo, I get nothing at all coming out at the far end. I suspect that there's a break in the wide at the point where it plugs into the iBook, but that's all encased in a nice plastic bit to stop me getting in to it. The plan is to take it back to the UK with me and let Dad fix it, maybe just by shortening the cable and refitting the plug. Ah well.
Thankfully I have my emergency backup one-day-to-be-turned-into-a-Linux-box machine, hence my ability to post.
1 comments
So I'm trying not to do a lot of it. My neck feels as if it's made from some sort of heavy rubber under tension - it's not violently painful, but it does protest when I move it, particularly while doing stretching exercises. Instead I've found a reasonably comfortable position on the sofa with my embroidery and the DVD. Yesterday I had a Bean Feast (Sharpe and Troy). Tonight I'm considering a Biehn Feast (Aliens and Terminator).
Or maybe not. My computer woes continue, in that the power supply for my iBook is now non-functional. I've tested it with my super-super, solar-powered digital multimeter (don't you just love gadgets? :) ) and discovered that although I get 240 volts going into the yoyo, I get nothing at all coming out at the far end. I suspect that there's a break in the wide at the point where it plugs into the iBook, but that's all encased in a nice plastic bit to stop me getting in to it. The plan is to take it back to the UK with me and let Dad fix it, maybe just by shortening the cable and refitting the plug. Ah well.
Thankfully I have my emergency backup one-day-to-be-turned-into-a-Linux-box machine, hence my ability to post.
1 comments
Friday, July 07, 2006
Still having travel problems
What sort of airlines still use paper tickets?
Well BMI seems to for the Manchester-Copenhagen route. Which is quite frustrating, as it would add an extra £30 to the price for DHL delivery and, frankly, I'm not sure I'd trust them to find me here in time, guaranteed delivery in three days or not. I'm not taking any chances with travel this time, not after what happened in April. It looks like I'll have to go down to the travel agency in town and get the tickets through them, paying the appropriate premium.
I have a theory about my life. For some reason I must have bought the unluck disadvantage - maybe to balance the ambidextrous advantage. Or maybe I'm just an Avatar of Murphy. Now that would go well on a t-shirt. And thinking of t-shirts, one thing did make me laugh today - a t-shirt at ThinkGeek bearing the legend: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Now that amused me.
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Well BMI seems to for the Manchester-Copenhagen route. Which is quite frustrating, as it would add an extra £30 to the price for DHL delivery and, frankly, I'm not sure I'd trust them to find me here in time, guaranteed delivery in three days or not. I'm not taking any chances with travel this time, not after what happened in April. It looks like I'll have to go down to the travel agency in town and get the tickets through them, paying the appropriate premium.
I have a theory about my life. For some reason I must have bought the unluck disadvantage - maybe to balance the ambidextrous advantage. Or maybe I'm just an Avatar of Murphy. Now that would go well on a t-shirt. And thinking of t-shirts, one thing did make me laugh today - a t-shirt at ThinkGeek bearing the legend: If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.
Now that amused me.
0 comments
Thursday, July 06, 2006
A pain in the neck
Can I trade my neck in for a new one please?
It's been a very slow day here as I've been taking a) painkillers and b) it easy. As well as the neck pain my left shoulder seems to have been stressed again, which is annoying. I also have a quite large bruise on my wrist where the doctor prodded it (quite painfully, I must say) to feel what was wrong with it. Now while I've been bruised by doctors before, it's normally because I haven't been fast enough with my rapier to stop theirs. :) This wrist thing is a whole new ballgame.
I've started sorting out my travel for next week. The Akureyri-Copenhagen tickets are booked, but the Copenhagen-Manchester ones are being more problematic. For some reason the BMI website won't let me book tickets for Copenhagen-Manchester-Copenhagen but would let me do it the other way around. Other travel websites won't give me the combination of flights that I want. On the positive side though, it looks like I'll have several hours to kill in Copenhagen, so I may try to dash into the city itself to have a look around.
Tomorrow I might try going back into work for a bit, depending on how the neck feels. I feel rather guilty about not going in, but I don't fancy sitting bent in front of a computer just yet.
1 comments
It's been a very slow day here as I've been taking a) painkillers and b) it easy. As well as the neck pain my left shoulder seems to have been stressed again, which is annoying. I also have a quite large bruise on my wrist where the doctor prodded it (quite painfully, I must say) to feel what was wrong with it. Now while I've been bruised by doctors before, it's normally because I haven't been fast enough with my rapier to stop theirs. :) This wrist thing is a whole new ballgame.
I've started sorting out my travel for next week. The Akureyri-Copenhagen tickets are booked, but the Copenhagen-Manchester ones are being more problematic. For some reason the BMI website won't let me book tickets for Copenhagen-Manchester-Copenhagen but would let me do it the other way around. Other travel websites won't give me the combination of flights that I want. On the positive side though, it looks like I'll have several hours to kill in Copenhagen, so I may try to dash into the city itself to have a look around.
Tomorrow I might try going back into work for a bit, depending on how the neck feels. I feel rather guilty about not going in, but I don't fancy sitting bent in front of a computer just yet.
1 comments
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Akureyri by bus
For the first time since I arrived here almost two years ago, I have used the Akureyri buses.
After two years here I know most of the local landmarks - the supermarkets, the sports centres, the hospital, the police station, the town centre, that sort of thing - but I haven't really had cause to wander around the residential areas. Travelling through them on a bus was therefore an interesting experience.
Akureyri is large enough to have four seperate bus routes numbered, logically enough, 1, 2, 3 and 4. (I'm sure in Liverpool they'd have numbered them 8, 35, 84 and 110 or the like.) Numbers 1, 2 and 4 stop outside my apartment block, which is quite convenient for getting in and out of the town centre. Each bus runs once an hour, and only two run each way down the road, which is less convenient but understandable in a town this size. On the way in to work yesterday I checked the timings, so I didn't have long to wait when I ventured out today.
The bus threaded its way through the technicolour scandinavian houses down to Raðhústorg, the town square and a completely different route back. I hadn't realised quite how many green spaces and children's playparks there were nearby, all with exciting climbing frames that would send any local council official in the UK into convulsions at the thought of legal actions rising from little Gloria Dawn falling and scraping her knee. Nor had I really had a chance to look at the harbour before, full as it is of fishing boats that seldom go out.
As a result of this adventurous excursion I have now sorted out what was going on with my insurance payments and, at the same time, informed the insurance about the car. Nothing will happen until the police report comes through, but after that I'm entitled to a hire car for seven days while my car is either repaired or I can replace it. Of course, by the time the report comes through I'll be about to go back to the UK for a fortnight, so nothing's really going to happen until I get back at the end of the month.
I also took advantage of being in town to pick up some Kenyan coffee, mango tea and a fresh loaf. I'm feeling sufficiently bruised and sore that I thought I'd treat myself.
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After two years here I know most of the local landmarks - the supermarkets, the sports centres, the hospital, the police station, the town centre, that sort of thing - but I haven't really had cause to wander around the residential areas. Travelling through them on a bus was therefore an interesting experience.
Akureyri is large enough to have four seperate bus routes numbered, logically enough, 1, 2, 3 and 4. (I'm sure in Liverpool they'd have numbered them 8, 35, 84 and 110 or the like.) Numbers 1, 2 and 4 stop outside my apartment block, which is quite convenient for getting in and out of the town centre. Each bus runs once an hour, and only two run each way down the road, which is less convenient but understandable in a town this size. On the way in to work yesterday I checked the timings, so I didn't have long to wait when I ventured out today.
The bus threaded its way through the technicolour scandinavian houses down to Raðhústorg, the town square and a completely different route back. I hadn't realised quite how many green spaces and children's playparks there were nearby, all with exciting climbing frames that would send any local council official in the UK into convulsions at the thought of legal actions rising from little Gloria Dawn falling and scraping her knee. Nor had I really had a chance to look at the harbour before, full as it is of fishing boats that seldom go out.
As a result of this adventurous excursion I have now sorted out what was going on with my insurance payments and, at the same time, informed the insurance about the car. Nothing will happen until the police report comes through, but after that I'm entitled to a hire car for seven days while my car is either repaired or I can replace it. Of course, by the time the report comes through I'll be about to go back to the UK for a fortnight, so nothing's really going to happen until I get back at the end of the month.
I also took advantage of being in town to pick up some Kenyan coffee, mango tea and a fresh loaf. I'm feeling sufficiently bruised and sore that I thought I'd treat myself.
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Tuesday, July 04, 2006
My wrist is not broken
Or so the doctor at A&E told me.
Nor are my neck or shoulder, although it was the wrist that eventually drove me to go to the hospital (actually it was Martha who did the sdriving :) ). It was a bit sore this morning, but after a couple of hours sitting in front of a computer using a keyboard my right wrist was sufficiently swollen that I had to take my watch off. The fact that the wrist was tender to the touch and that my entire arm from the elbow down felt that there was a cold fire dancing up and down it was enough to persuade me that maybe I ought to have it looked at.
This gave me my first encounter with the Icelandic health service. The hospital was very quiet - a delight compared to the A&Es I've been into in the UK - and I waited about twenty minutes to see first a nurse, then a doctor. Everyone, including the receptionist, spoke English, which was a relief as I although I know the Icelandic for elbow I don't know it for wrist.
The doctor prodded my spine and wrist and got me to move various things in various directions before pronouncing that nothing was broken, just severely strained. It was tubigripped and I was handed a prescription for NSAIDs and a further appointment for next Tuesday morning.
I wonder if I have to pay then too? I was a little suprised that you pay for the consultation - a flat fee of just under £30 - and then for any drugs that you need - just over £10 in this case. Seemingly you pay for about the first £100 of treatment and the rest is free; there is no flat rate for prescriptions but you can get discount cards and the like as you do in the UK. The pharmacist explained that she'd given me the generic form of the drug because it was 300 Ikr cheaper than the named variety.
Until Tuesday, then, I should make sure I remain mobile and don't freeze up. Go swimming, she said. Swimming is the Icelandic cure-all. It doesn't matter what you've got, you should go swimming. I'm also to keep up the T'ai Ch'i, which is just the sort of slow stretching exercise I need, it seems.
Doesn't stop it hurting though.
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Nor are my neck or shoulder, although it was the wrist that eventually drove me to go to the hospital (actually it was Martha who did the sdriving :) ). It was a bit sore this morning, but after a couple of hours sitting in front of a computer using a keyboard my right wrist was sufficiently swollen that I had to take my watch off. The fact that the wrist was tender to the touch and that my entire arm from the elbow down felt that there was a cold fire dancing up and down it was enough to persuade me that maybe I ought to have it looked at.
This gave me my first encounter with the Icelandic health service. The hospital was very quiet - a delight compared to the A&Es I've been into in the UK - and I waited about twenty minutes to see first a nurse, then a doctor. Everyone, including the receptionist, spoke English, which was a relief as I although I know the Icelandic for elbow I don't know it for wrist.
The doctor prodded my spine and wrist and got me to move various things in various directions before pronouncing that nothing was broken, just severely strained. It was tubigripped and I was handed a prescription for NSAIDs and a further appointment for next Tuesday morning.
I wonder if I have to pay then too? I was a little suprised that you pay for the consultation - a flat fee of just under £30 - and then for any drugs that you need - just over £10 in this case. Seemingly you pay for about the first £100 of treatment and the rest is free; there is no flat rate for prescriptions but you can get discount cards and the like as you do in the UK. The pharmacist explained that she'd given me the generic form of the drug because it was 300 Ikr cheaper than the named variety.
Until Tuesday, then, I should make sure I remain mobile and don't freeze up. Go swimming, she said. Swimming is the Icelandic cure-all. It doesn't matter what you've got, you should go swimming. I'm also to keep up the T'ai Ch'i, which is just the sort of slow stretching exercise I need, it seems.
Doesn't stop it hurting though.
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Monday, July 03, 2006
Down and up and down
I recognise shock when I feel it.
The day started badly enough - I went to have a shower and the hot tap turned but didn't turn on. A little investigation with a screwdriver later and I decided that I needed a new turning bit. No problem there, I'd pick up a pair in Byko after work.
Work was ok - I worked through most of the tutorials for Macromedia Freehand, making the occasional delighted 'ooh', 'aah' and even the odd 'cor!'. Then I went down into town to Byko and found it had relocated to the new SuperByko just outside town.
No problem there, I just drove out, got what I needed, drove back, and was stopped at the turning off the main-ish road, indicating to turn left, when a white van slammed into my rear.
Slammed in the sort of way that breaks the glass in the rear window, puts a serious dent into the bodywork and makes you very glad that you're wearing a seatbelt. All I could think of was he's written off my car!!!
I don't think I have whiplash, and the driver of the van (a young delivery guy) was highly apologetic and admitted it was all his fault. You have to call the police in any case of an accident, so I've just spent what appears to have been an hour waiting for them, doing paperwork and trying to get the car started again. It didn't, and it's being towed off to a garage somewhere (at the other insurance company's expense). The police were, give them their due, very nice.
I now have to navigate the Icelandic insurance system - not something I'm looking forward to since the bank seem to have rearranged things and I'm sure I should have had another installment pop up on my automatic banking by now. I'd planned to go down into to town to talk to them about it this week (this week being the first I've actually got time to do anything like that). I hope the car isn't a write-off; even with the insurance I'm not sure I can afford to buy another car out here.
I want to be somewhere else. Somewhere I can actually understand what all the paperwork says, and where prices aren't so high they scare you every time you look at them.
0 comments
The day started badly enough - I went to have a shower and the hot tap turned but didn't turn on. A little investigation with a screwdriver later and I decided that I needed a new turning bit. No problem there, I'd pick up a pair in Byko after work.
Work was ok - I worked through most of the tutorials for Macromedia Freehand, making the occasional delighted 'ooh', 'aah' and even the odd 'cor!'. Then I went down into town to Byko and found it had relocated to the new SuperByko just outside town.
No problem there, I just drove out, got what I needed, drove back, and was stopped at the turning off the main-ish road, indicating to turn left, when a white van slammed into my rear.
Slammed in the sort of way that breaks the glass in the rear window, puts a serious dent into the bodywork and makes you very glad that you're wearing a seatbelt. All I could think of was he's written off my car!!!
I don't think I have whiplash, and the driver of the van (a young delivery guy) was highly apologetic and admitted it was all his fault. You have to call the police in any case of an accident, so I've just spent what appears to have been an hour waiting for them, doing paperwork and trying to get the car started again. It didn't, and it's being towed off to a garage somewhere (at the other insurance company's expense). The police were, give them their due, very nice.
I now have to navigate the Icelandic insurance system - not something I'm looking forward to since the bank seem to have rearranged things and I'm sure I should have had another installment pop up on my automatic banking by now. I'd planned to go down into to town to talk to them about it this week (this week being the first I've actually got time to do anything like that). I hope the car isn't a write-off; even with the insurance I'm not sure I can afford to buy another car out here.
I want to be somewhere else. Somewhere I can actually understand what all the paperwork says, and where prices aren't so high they scare you every time you look at them.
0 comments
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Completed
I got it finished.
I think that the sampler took, in all, roughly 120 hours of work. 20-ish hours a week over six weeks. Now all I have to do is frame it - or rather, take it into Carnforth to be framed when I'm at the caravan and then pick it up on the way back from the Edinburgh Festival.
With that compete, I've now turned my attention back to the tudor coif. Until now I've been doing it freehand rather than on a hoop or frame, partly because it's easier to transport that way, and partly because I can do several stitches at once that way. Today though, I gave in and put it on a frame, as I'm finding it quite painful to hold the fabric itself with my left hand. I get shooting pains down my thumb and have to stop and stretch every couple of minutes to calm it. That's not an efficient way of working.
So I'm now working a little more slowly, but probably more evenly. I can do a full fleur-de-lys in about an hour (or, to be more precise, two half-hour Radio 4 science documentaries) and have about 8 more to complete. Then I need to decide if I want to put something in the unfilled spaces or if I can leave it in a chessboard-type form. Filling it with fleurs-de-lys would probably add another 12 hours or so to it. Even so, that's only about a week's worth of work in total, so it's not that much.
I'll see how it looks once the first set are finished, I think. After all, I wouldn't want Rebecca shouting at me for spending more than 20 hours on it, would I? :)
1 comments
I think that the sampler took, in all, roughly 120 hours of work. 20-ish hours a week over six weeks. Now all I have to do is frame it - or rather, take it into Carnforth to be framed when I'm at the caravan and then pick it up on the way back from the Edinburgh Festival.
With that compete, I've now turned my attention back to the tudor coif. Until now I've been doing it freehand rather than on a hoop or frame, partly because it's easier to transport that way, and partly because I can do several stitches at once that way. Today though, I gave in and put it on a frame, as I'm finding it quite painful to hold the fabric itself with my left hand. I get shooting pains down my thumb and have to stop and stretch every couple of minutes to calm it. That's not an efficient way of working.
So I'm now working a little more slowly, but probably more evenly. I can do a full fleur-de-lys in about an hour (or, to be more precise, two half-hour Radio 4 science documentaries) and have about 8 more to complete. Then I need to decide if I want to put something in the unfilled spaces or if I can leave it in a chessboard-type form. Filling it with fleurs-de-lys would probably add another 12 hours or so to it. Even so, that's only about a week's worth of work in total, so it's not that much.
I'll see how it looks once the first set are finished, I think. After all, I wouldn't want Rebecca shouting at me for spending more than 20 hours on it, would I? :)
1 comments
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Go Germany!
We just can't do World Cup penalty shoot-outs, can we?
The silence on local television meant that I ended up following the England game via the BBC News website. Of course I was hoping for a 2005 Champions League-style finish once I realised that it was going to penalties, but England just aren't very good at that. And clearly Stevie G and Jamie C have got out of practice in the last couple of months.
So from now on I will support Germany. Yes, you did read that right - an England fan supporting Germany. They've always been one of my favourite European teams and it would be absolutely fantastic for them to win at home. I'm also glad to see that the German people seem to be happy to wave their flags and get patriotic again; good for them, it's about time they started to feel good about themselves once more.
AND Shumie is on pole in Indianapolis tomorrow - yay!
0 comments
The silence on local television meant that I ended up following the England game via the BBC News website. Of course I was hoping for a 2005 Champions League-style finish once I realised that it was going to penalties, but England just aren't very good at that. And clearly Stevie G and Jamie C have got out of practice in the last couple of months.
So from now on I will support Germany. Yes, you did read that right - an England fan supporting Germany. They've always been one of my favourite European teams and it would be absolutely fantastic for them to win at home. I'm also glad to see that the German people seem to be happy to wave their flags and get patriotic again; good for them, it's about time they started to feel good about themselves once more.
AND Shumie is on pole in Indianapolis tomorrow - yay!
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