The BBQ of my dreams

A few years ago when I was teaching Food Studies the school decided to close the kitchens for refurbishment.  Just great when you have 6 classes of Food Studies and another 4 Senior classes of Hospitality.  My staff were not pleased and neither was I but I put my thinking cap on and came up with a Semester of "Outdoor Cookery" classes.

I begged, borrowed and stole BBQ's from where ever I could find them and we set the classes up in the grounds and then when it rained under the walkways.  They were some of the most successful classes I have ever run and the kids just loved them.  One of the BBQ's that a parent lent us was a Weber Kettle.  This thing could cook anything and I have always wanted one but of course the male of the house thought they were a waste of money.

But today I bought a Weber Genesis E 330 gas model.  It was very expensive but I need to spoil myself once in a while.  Usually they deliver and assemble them but not to an island so it will be delivered to my son who will bring it over and we will assemble it ourselves.  Gee I hope it gets here before Easter when I have visitors coming over.

 

Weber® Genesis E330

Hishizashi Patterns 689 - 700

Patterns No 689 - 700

Download No 689 - 700.pages

I remembering writing that I thought there would be 400 patterns when I began charting and stitching them and here I sit at 700.  The other patterns that I have collected are variations on those already charted but I have got this far so I may as well include them as well.  That means a few more weeks to go till I finish.

We have a connection again

It seems like forever since I was able to log onto Typepad.  The saga of errors on the part of our internet provider reads like a soapy but today, Saturday, all my emails started to flood in and I was able to log on.  Thank goodness.

There were a number of other technology dramas as well.  I bought a new printer and found I didn't have an Apple driver in the box.  With no internet I couldn't just download one so had to make the 4hrs round journey into Brisbane to get the retailer to download it onto a memory stick for me.

The other drama was with Apple and my ID.  That took a 2hr telephone conversation to Singapore to try and fix.  In the course of the conversation the technician said I had two other ID's.  I had to sleep on that one, but I have worked out that one must have been my first iPad.  A brick of a thing that I put in the recycling.  But guess what?  You can't just delete the ID.  I thought I had but it hangs around out there in cyberspace then it can surface and take over all your devices.  The other ID was on my laptop and I'm still working on that one.

So what have I done in the last 8 days?  Well I am into my new house which is as small as I thought it would be.  I have reduced my fabric stash by 1/3rd by donating it to the sales table at the Qld Embroiderers' Guild.  A very painful process.  I still want to reduce it by another third but I have to get over the pain of getting rid of this lot.

And I finished all the instructions and some extra samples for the July school holiday Children's Class.  The original design and samples were made by Lee who lives in Dubai.  She has taken Chicken Scratch off the gingham and put it onto Aida cloth giving it a whole new look.

My samples are for our beginners.  Sometimes we get children as young as 6 years of age so it is important that they can finish their piece to take home. This sample was worked on 10 count Aida and the little ones could manage this,

and this on 14 count.

Now I have to start thinking about the September holiday class.

 

I wonder if this will work?

We have moved into our new house and asked Telstra to move our telephone and internet connections over.  "how long will it take?" we asked.  "Only three days," was the reply.  After five days and no action I went into the shop and asked why.  The answer was, "it will take up to 2 weeks".  Not happy Telstra.

So I am sitting in the coffee shop looking out at a misty bay.  Cyclone Nathan has crossed the coast up north and we are waiting for the rains to come and the heat to relent.

Everything is in limbo until I can get back onto the net again.

Unpacked

I am putting myself under a lot of pressure but I just couldn't sit and look at all those unpacked boxes.  So it is done.  I have unpacked everything possible.  I am still waiting for my bookshelves to be assembled and all the computer equipment and my sewing machines still have to be moved but the everything else is neatly put away and I have located most of the missing items.

That leaves getting these kits ready for the next "Children's Class".  I have finished all the instruction sheets and the posters, those will all be ready tonight.  I'm not sure that I will have the rest of the kit ready in time.  I might have to ask for help.

Chaos, complete and utter!

That is what life is at the moment.  We have to move into our new home and were unable to get a moving company to come over to the island to do the job.  Instead our children are doing it but they can only come on the weekend.  So now we are living in two houses at the same time.

We can't get the phone or internet transferred until next week, so the computers are still in the old house, which my daughter is going to continue renting until she buys a new house.  That means I have to leave her enough furniture, crockery cutlery, linen and cooking stuff to keep her house going.  (Looking at this photo of the house I see there is a Bunya Pine out the back.  I will have to go looking for that.)

Cyclone Pam is out there in the Pacific and the winds are up around 25 to 30 knots.  We are getting blown away on the front of the house but the back deck is sheltered and calm.

My new kitchen is so small in comparison to the house in town but it is clean and modern so I am sure I will adapt and I bought the refrigerator from the previous owners which has an ice-maker in the door.   Such luxury.

In all this chaos I have to complete the kits for the Children's Class that I promised to deliver on Tuesday.  I have moved only the bed out of the room in the rental house and I am going to keep at it until I'm finished.  Then I will unpack at the new house.  Well that's the plan.

Then I have to work out where everything is.

WIPW

I finished the third sample for the Children's Holiday class, the penguin, who is for those who have stitched before.  The outline stitching isn't very hard but it takes time to attach the bow tie and place the beads in position.  I have made the bag big enough to take a new smart phone.

I am still experimenting with how to put these little bags together.  I have to try and have them almost assembled before the children do the embroidery.  You get 25 to 30 kids who all want their bags sewn up at the same time and it has to be something quick and easy for the person doing the assembling.  I would like it to be just the side seams and inserting the pinch frame.

Feeling sorry for myself

This getting older is very depressing.  I went fishing yesterday and found I couldn't scramble over the rocks like I used to do before I broke my foot.  I had to sit down first and then climb down.  Depressing. 

Today I find I have put my neck out from casting the fishing line.  It would be fine if I had caught a heap of legal sized fish but they were all undersized and I had to put them back in the sea.  Depressing. 

I am having trouble with my Apple computer and the help desk is no help at all.  Depressing. 

Then I read this story about an old man, Alfred Date, 109 years old, who knits and I have given myself a good talking to.  I need to concentrate on what I CAN do not fret about what I can't.   I like his comment that "if you do the best with what you have you can't do any more than that".

At 109 years of age he knits for charity.  One of his projects was knitting little woollen jumpers for penguins who were caught in an oil spill.  What an inspiration this man is.

Sometimes I wonder

My husband has bought himself a Landrover Ute.  It drives like a truck, no car springs in this one.  I haven't driven one of these for over 30 years.  I found that I could remember how to work the gears and the 4wheel drive.  Backing it is a bit difficult BUT the biggest problem is I can't get into it without a step ladder.  I can get out but not in.  Something has happened to my legs over the last 30 years.  Looks like I am going to have to keep walking.

Slow Progress

I am making very slow progress on my "Essence of Coochie" pieces and now that I have come to the figure in this piece I think it is time to do some reverse sewing.  Stitching the outline is not the best solution for this.  I might applique the clothing or maybe use my fabric pens and colour them.  I think this will need a couple of rehearsals until I get it right.