A day in my life: Thursday 14th May 2009 (a post without pictures!)

Still not started at my new contract so I had another unexpected day to fill up with other things...

8 am I wake up late. My morning routine is as usual: out of bed, turn on the computer, go to the loo, put the kettle on to make my morning cuppa, let the cat in and feed him. I also put yesterday's dry dishes away and wander out to the garden to photograph my composting Wreck this Journal page.

8:15 am: I have 4 emails (all junk). I drink my tea while listening to the first CD of the day (Mellow Gold compilation) and read my friends' and local blogs. I write and publish the composting blog post after dealing with the pictures I took in the back yard.

8:30 am: Load my composting pages to Flickr and the WTJ groups I belong to. I get sidetracked watching and giggling at this on Ampersand Duck's blog while downloading Wednesday night's class photos from my camera. Then I head downstairs to make breakfast (toasted crumpets with homemade jam, vanilla yoghurt) and write the day's To Do list while I wait for the crumpets to toast.

9:00 am: Shower. Dress. Head across to check my PO Box and visit the ATM.

9:30 am: Pop into newsagents to pick up my magazines. Have a big moan to Chris, who works there, about my design class (he used to go to CIT too). I feel much better. Return home and put out rubbish and recycling bins. Go upstairs and put away Tuesday’s washing.

10:00 am: Drive to Kippax to meet someone who is returning an advent calendar they bought off me, thinking it was an actual dolls house. While I’m there check out Go-Lo for plastic bins to store the avalanche of packing peanuts taking over my kitchen (but all the bins are coloured so I don’t buy anything). I also pop into the op shop while I’m there, but nothing catches my attention. Drive home, stopping off to buy overlocker needles on the way.

11:00 am: Home again. Make and eat morning tea (crackers with blue brie and an apple) Find myself a comfy spot on the bed with the cat and finally start working on the hat for the possum costume.

11:30 am: Get a call from my agency telling me I can start my contract tomorrow. Tell them I can’t as I’m already committed to work on that day. We decide Monday works for everyone (only almost a week late) I return to the bed, the cat and the hat.

1:00 pm: Lunchtime. I reheat a container of Mediterranean bean soup from the freezer and retire to the sofa to eat it while reading the latest issue of Home New Zealand. Decide it’s too cold to continue working in the bedroom without crawling into bed so bring my knitting downstairs and turn on the lounge heater.

3:00 pm: Finish the possum hat. Celebrate by making a cup of tea and pulling out the chocolate I have hidden in the cupboard to go with it. Head upstairs to check my email and release the second blog post for the day. Return downstairs to the sofa and start knitting the possum hat ears (making it up as I go along).

4:30pm: Finish possum hat ears. Start possum hat ties.

5:00 pm: Finish possum hat ties. Decide I need to try this thing called relaxing. Finish reading Home NZ. Start reading latest Living Etc.

5:30 pm: Go back upstairs, get changed and drive into Civic for a Craft ACT opening.

6:00 pm: Opening schmoozing. Drink free glass of wine. Eat free cheese. Admire works and take lots of photos.

7:00 pm: Head back home, texting Sarah to discuss dinner arrangements. Load photos from the opening onto the computer.

7:30 pm: Sarah arrives. We wander over to pick up Noodle Choice takeout and back home to eat it. Drink wine.

8:00 pm: Sarah works on covering her tail with furry stuff. I work on sewing in the loose ends on the possum hat. Sew on the ties. Sew the possum ears together and start experimenting with placement of said ears. Drink more wine. Take photos (and a video) to test ears.

10:00 pm: Sarah goes home. Go back upstairs to the computer, load costume photos and check out opening photos and blog stats for the day. Decide it is imperative to start a Craft ACT Flickr group right this very second.

10:20 pm: Finally come to my senses. (Almost) boil kettle. Fill hottie. Head to bed.

Soundtrack for the day:

Q Playlist Mellow Gold
George Michael: Listen without prejudice
Anika Moa: In swings the tide
Moments notice: Moments notice
Moonlight Sounds Vol 6
New Groove Vol 2
New order: Get ready
The Presets: Apocalypso
Age Pryor: Shank’s Pony
Eddi Reader: Mirmama

I got plastered last night...

Wreck this Journal composting update

14 May 2009:

(See the last two weeks here)

More shopping. More pears. And the return of a new old favorite

Hurrah! Yesterday I finally had the time to go op shopping. More importantly, when I opened my wallet I discovered there was money in there. Always a handy thing to have when you plan to go op shopping...

I did the Salvos Jamison/ Vinnies Belconnen/ Salvos Belconnen/ Salvos Mitchell run and spent $19 of my $20.

There were five more pears bought for my collection at Vinnies Belconnen:$4 for a container which included a pile of other mini fruit as well (which will be returning to an op shop near me in the very near future.)The colours are a little bright for my collection so I have plans to experiment with various paint finishes and see what happens.

The excitement of the day was this dress which I bought at Salvos Jamison:It was a complete rip off at $15 (I didn't even have a full Salvos card to bring the price down to something sensible) but I just had to buy it.You see, I have an identical dress which I'd just mournfully realised was really past the state to be worn in public after several years of weekly wearings through Autumn, Winter and Spring. It was inching towards the rag bag while I tried to convince myself I really couldn't decently wear it again. So to find a replacement was something to celebrate indeed, at whatever price...

In which The Shopping Sherpa writes about shopping (again)

Yesterday morning I attended the media launch of the new Craft ACT Shop, which is due to open at 4pm Saturday 23rd May*. I got to have a nosey round all the lovely things for saleincluding Olivia's fabulous pears (and pods)and this tiny wheelie bin necklace which appealed to my sense of things out of scale and place. I forgot to check if it clips closed: perhaps if it does you could keep photos of ex-boyfriends and monster bosses in it in a manner similar to how you keep photos of loved ones in lockets?Here furniture designer/ maker Craig Harris explains to Meredith how he uses felled street trees to create his stools. (*The Canberra community is invited to join the celebration of local talent, with exquisite objects available sourced directly from the studios of local makers and enjoy local wines provided by Ross Di Barolo Vineyard Estate. The Craft ACT Shop is open to the public Tuesday to Friday 10am - 5pm and Saturday 12 noon - 4pm. Craft ACT is located at Level 1, North Building, Civic Square)

A cheesy tail on Tuesday

I was supposed to be starting my new contract this afternoon. But I'd forgotten about the ponderously glacial pace Government Departments move at when arranging contracts and so my actual start date is possibly up to a week away. Not good news for my bank account but good news for the fact I have time to catch up on a few more things that I didn't expect to get to until next month. I even managed to find the time to go op shopping!

Even more importantly I pulled out the beginnings of the possum costume pattern I put together last month and had a play with it before creating a more official toile to test a few things out.Which Sarah delighted in trying on this evening when she arrived with the start of the tail she'd made for it.

We decided the tail looked a lot like a creature from Jim Henson's Labyrinth so had to add eyes, nose and cut a tongue before we did anything else!Then we started seeing how the fur we bought would drapebefore retiring downstairs to bowls of Oven Baked Pumpkin and Baby Spinach Risotto featuring the last of the Perfect Italiano parmesan block I had in the fridge, grated and stirred through and sprinkled with some of the shaved parmesan they sent me to try*.Sarah took the whole product endorsement thing a little too literally, I think...(*If I say I don't really see the point of buying it pre bagged as it's almost as quick to shave from the block using a vegetable peeler do you think they'll send someone round to take away the rest of my free cheese?)

April's amazing Swap-bot parcel

arrived yesterday and it was super terrifically fantabulous.It wasn't the composition book and Moleskine notebook that made it super terrifically fantabulous (although I have a slight obsession with good notebooks).Or the large and beautiful vintage button that was used to close the wrapping. Not the Mary Engelbreight note cards that were included.

Neither was it the lovely hand made jewellery that my partner made (I suspect that Scrabble tile is going to end up in one of my miniature room settings rather than around my neck...)No, it was this that made the package super terrifically fantabulous:It arrived with a small note explaining "mainly black & white pages & photos". Australia National Journal 1st edition Winter 1939. I'd never even heard of such a publication but Oh, what a perfect gift for me!

Look! There are Art Deco buildings:Wood engravings:

Models of small houses:(now if I can just sort out how my final design project this year can be a dolls house so I can make one of these up...)

Old suitcasesand cruises to take them on:There's even knitting!

And design

including the curriculum of the Bauhuas School of Design at Dessau.

Sigh....

(i)Mac and cheese

My run of pre-birthday luck continues with Perfect Italiano cheese sending me a stash of free cheese to play with, and the addition to my new creative space of a (very) cheap iMac G5 from work.

I can't be a real designer unless I'm using a Mac, can I?

There's only one little problem. It didn't come with a mouse. Probably just as well with all that cheese around...

(Not) Modern Miniatures on Monday: The Rocks

This year's big exhibit at the Sydney Miniatures Show was a 1/12th scale terrace from The Rocks in Sydney. From back left to back right:

Up the sidearound the cornerdown the streetto the stairs at the other end.

I'll show you the back next week...

My (new) creative space

I finally succumbed to the call of IKEA while I was in Sydney last Sunday. The lovely Sean informed me it was an easy 7 minutes out of my way, and with the knowledge that I had some assured work ahead of me (and everything I bought was tax deductible) there was no choice really... I bought a set of Vika Kaj adjustable legs (I would have preferred the Vika Byske legs which are shiny silver except the notes said "Should only be combined with a wall-mounted table top". Crap. At least the ones I got were half the price) and a Galant table top which I was told would be fine with the legs I chose as long as I drilled new holes. Not sure if that's quite IKEA Hack territory...)

So I finally have my standing height table: not as cute as the Udden console I was lusting after but cheaper and, more importantly, bigger.

And I picked up a set of Vika Alex drawers which I've also been lusting after since I first saw them in the IKEA catalogue (still haven't managed to justify this purchase, alas!). Once it dawned on me that they were designed to hold A2 paper I was sold. A set of drawers that I can keep my art work in? So I can stop the endless hunt for a set of affordable vintage plan drawers? Sold! (Especially since they tuck beautifully under the table, leaving space on top for my work box, rolls of paper and a set of drawers for little arty things)

The final purchase onto the IKEA trolley was a fold up bar stool on the off chance I wanted to actually sit at my new creative space. For $39, I wasn't going to argue with myself.

When I put everything into place today I realised I still had room to swing one of my filing cabinets round to fit between the desk and the wall. My office feels so big I feel I could have a party in it! Perhaps I should combine a Eurovision party with an office swarming party?

(Want more info? Picture with notes here)

Possibly the best birthday present ever

I moved out of home when I was 17.

For my 18th birthday I asked The Parental Units for a toolbox and tools, figuring they'd get me better quality stuff than I would (actually I knew I'd rather spend my meagre earnings on clothes, records, nightclub entry fees, glasses of cheap nasty wine at said nightclubs or tickets for the last train home at 3am than on tools. I was almost 18, after all!)

And whenever I've need to pull the hammer they bought me that year, or the ratchet push drill/ screw driver they bought me that year out of the tool box they also bought me that year I think of them and the quite sensible-underneath-it-all 17 year old me that requested something as seemingly boring as tools for my birthday 25 years ago.
Thanks Mum! Thanks Dad!

The best jobs are often the ones you never apply for but you get any way

The possibilities have landed and I'm a very happy girl.

My first bit of good news is I have a new contract for the next month, 3 days a week working in The Parliamentary Triangle as an Internet Assistant, earning significantly more an hour than I was at my my lowly paid casual job with the 42 second commute (much as loved it and hope to go back to it when this contract finishes).

I got offered the Internet Assistant role while I was at The National Folk Festival and randomly bumped into an old client/ candidate. (I seem to have a habit of randomly being offered contracts when wandering round public spaces. I got my last library contract when I bumped into someone at the mall!)

I'll still be working 1 day a week at job #2 (the no longer paying the rent or the food and yay I still have at least one job job mainly because it seems silly to give up a permanent role at this stage. Besides, I still enjoy the work I'm doing there. (And, come to think of it, I was offered at a dinner party. At my place. So the random job offers in public spaces theory isn't quite correct)

And on the other day of the week? I've been offered a 1 year volunteer internship here:which I'm beyond super excited about.

There's more good news. I'll tell you about that next week...

The return of WTJ

Thursday, 30th April 2009:Thursday, 7th May 2009:

I "planted" it in the garden opposite the back door and am finding it fascinating watching it break down. Much faster than I thought it would, I might add!

Stay tuned for photos from Thursday, 14th May 2009...

Repeat after me...

It's the journey not the destination that's the important bit...

Last night at class we had to split into groups, chose one of our designs from last week, and create it in full size. I was lucky enough that my group chose my design (then again it wasn't too hard as at that stage there were only two in our group and Hannah wasn't sure her design was structurally sound).

We started with a large IKEA box (there's a story there which I'll get round to sharing sometime soon...) and some hasty scaled-up sketched from last week's maquette. At this stage I was cursing myself that I hadn't made time during the week to make up a larger scale maquette to test some issues I had with the original...While I cut and folded the back Hannah worked on the seats. Anna was a late arrival and helped Hannah with the seats while I cut the holes in the back.We had a trial run putting the two sections together (tape's not allowed on the final piece but we used it as tacking)and discovered our first problem. Can you see it?We decided it was an undocumented feature and soldiered on. Tara joined us after her workshop training and she and Hannah glued the chair bases together.While I was in workshop training Tara and the gang created the internal bracing and attached the seat tops: It was during the final assembly that we discovered the second major flaw in my design (but at least it looks nice, right?) Here are the issues:

I used the average seated figure measurements sent to me by Sarah out of the Engineers' Black Bookbut forgot in my haste to factor in the fact that the chair was triangular. Which caused both the problems.

1. The front of the chair is the correct width for an average sized human male but, because it narrows from there by the time it gets to the bit where your bum goes it's a bit squeezy. I should have measured across the middle part and therefore made the front a lot wider.2. I measured down the middle of the seat section and used that measurement for the screen sides. Duh! Did I not remember my school maths classes? The screen is too short and doesn't reach the front of the chair. Which is probably a blessing in disguise as it helps alleviate the squeezy seat problem to a certain extent.

But for the purposes of the design brief the chair is close enough and not bad for a first try. (Although the pedant in me wants to sketch some more options and build another chair that addresses the problems with this one)