Finally, Gentle Readers, our issues with the router are fixed (apparently). I feel the pain and suffering of Mr Golightly, who had to deal with not one, not two, not three but four, yes four, links in the chain of service - his IT colleagues, Exetel, Telstra and then AAPT. Isn't it good to know our telecommunications are safe in the hands of some stinkin' multi-national?
However, at the risk of being disconnected again, I won't go any further than that. Even the VOIP works, which is great, because our phone bill was creeping up again - we pay about $13/month for the VOIP, which charges a whole 10c for a National call (to Perth, for example), and has reduced our landline bill down to the basic line rental charge for many months now.
If you can do it, Gentle Readers, and you live in this country (that's Australia, in case you've forgotten), talk to Engin about a voice box. It connects to your wireless broadband modem (or wired, even) with a network cable, and with the aid of an ordinary telephone handset plugged into the voice box, gives you access to the cheapest national phone calls you can imagine. I love it because it lets me keep in constant contact with my lovely Ma for peanuts. This is an unsolicited, unscripted ad. Can you tell?
In other news, it was my good friend Doc Rosie's birthday on Wednesday - I've known her 27 years, which amazes me. We've been through quite a lot together, and I am still amazed and awed by her basic human decency and her ability to tell dirty jokes - the first one she ever told me, about Maud and Mildred and the bunch of flowers, still pops into my head at the most inopportune times..
Anyway, I made her these:
Which I hope will hit the spot - aren't those fabrics lovely?
And now, having just spoken to my lovely Ma on the VOIP, and having a number of jobs I can do today, I am going off to shower (yes, it' only 10.37am, I don't want to rush into it!) and then pick a job at random. I can see new curtains on the horizon...
Ciao!
Well, maybe not. But it is doing my head in - we've had a new router, we've had some close attention from the ISP, I've now got two mobile broadband sticks, one of which only works in the front bedroom, the other of which is still waiting for the company to activate it - why does this process take 24 hours? Somebody needs to explain this to me in words of one syllable...
The other news is that the new neighbours appear to have nicked our internet cable. Their network now shows up on our router, so I suspect the previously mentioned dodgy-brothers contractor who installed their broadband didn't bother to investigate if it was already used. Which it was. At the time. Hah.
Anyway, Friday was probably the worst day I've had at upholstery school. Not only did I completely frack up the cutting out of the skirt for the slipper chair, I cut my last piece of fabric for the outside back too small & had to cut another one out of the piping fabric, which I also cut too small. Then I sewed up the skirts & put the inserted piece on the wrong side, so I had to unpick it and restitch it... twice. Then I cut out the calico for the skirt, and cut it too short. Then I cut the missing piece. Too short. So then I had to cut another piece, and my calico now has three pieces, instead of one nice smooth piece. And finally, I cut one of the corners for the box lining too short, and had to spend most of Monday trying to fix it, eventually throwing myself on the mercy of the Upholstery Munchkin...Hah. Why did I think this was going to fun all the time? Well, actually, it was, until Friday.
I have no idea what was going on, but I'm going in on Wednesday to finish the chair seat - webbing, vinyl, white plastic trim round the edge, four layers of foam, linters, calico & fabric. I'm also going to unpick the skirt, because, guess what? I found the missing piece of the skirt, and I'm going to unpick the skirt & reinsert it so I don't have six pieces, just the regular four. Then I'm going to fit the skirt, attach the piping, and then I'll be up to the same point as everybody else. Well, nearly everybody. Some of us are still putting stuff together on the chair, so I don't feel too too bad about my progress. I have a photo for you, but my toolbox with the camera is in the car, waiting to zip off tomorrow morning.
I have injuries to relate, too, but that will have to wait. It's 10.25pm, Gentle Readers, and I'm off to bed. All this sitting, watching the router has exhausted me.
Ciao!
