Post590 Do I dare?

         

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We had another good meeting of the WES Group last Wednesday. The Guild property was awash with activity in preparation for a Garage Sale on Saturday. The library team were meeting as usual but also sorting spare books for the Garage Sale. Phyllis and I snagged the last two on-site parking spaces and several members had to hunt for street parking, not easy with a building site in the block and tradie vehicles parked all along the street. Barbara Mullan showed us maps and photos from her trips to villages in NE India. For me the highlight was the superb collection of textiles she has accumulated along the way. It was no small feat to bring them along and pack them up again at the end.

We did, however, leave the place very clean and tidy. 

That night I captured the moonrise (unrelated fact!).

Because members of the Guild Executive were working alongside our meeting we learned that when the Guild’s new laptop arrives for the Gallery we will not have access to it, but the old one is being gifted to our group. This will work for a while but has spurred me on to explore the possibility of projecting from a laptop to a portable monitor so we can gather more intimately around a table. Much of my week has been spent exploring this, talking it over with our WES computer guru and two knowledgeable OfficeWorks sales assistants.

On Saturday morning I purchased an 18 1/2” monitor which connected to and operated directly from a laptop without needing to be plugged in, obviating the need for electrical testing and tagging, which was proving very difficult to organise. An hour later, while at the Guild’s Garage Sale (with Noisy Miners making their presence felt), I learned the Guild had several tagged and tested powerboards into which it is permitted to plug untagged equipment. After a bit more consultation with our guru, I returned the monitor and swapped it for a 27” one, better for group viewing.

On Sunday I plucked up courage to try the monitor. I got it assembled OK but the connection to my Mac proved elusive. While the HDMI cable fitted, the laptop and cable didn’t recognise each other. I tried the trouble shooting instructions, but no luck. I found it disheartening   

In the meantime, my coffee machine showed the cleaning sign. When I tried to follow the instructions, it displayed both the 'change filter' and the 'descale' signs- contradictory. I changed the filter, but nothing else changed. The manual says these two symbols together mean the machine is cold and needs wrapping in a blanket! The apartment temperature was 23C. I turned it on and off several times. It now indicated the bean container was empty. Nonsense! Further disheartened. Now I had two machines not working and speaking foreign languages. I did get the washing done, a couple of plants potted, chicken Marylands marinating,  rice cooked and in the fridge to dry out. 

On Monday I took the coffee machine back to Jura for service. There were varying opinions from the 2 sales assistants. I refused point blank to take it home to try any of their ideas. The machine awaits a technician. At the moment I don't care if I never see it again, and my plunger is getting a workout.

Last night, after dinner for 7, Fionn enthusiastically tackled the laptop to monitor connection, and achieved it in about 6 minutes. It appears the spare USB converter I keep on my laptop prevented the monitor cord connecting to the adjacent port.  Once we removed the Comsol USB converter, the monitor was happy to connect via the adjacent port and, after a bit of work with an awkward control toggle on the back of the monitor, we were in business.

I was over the moon. Fionn is my hero! I played with it for a bit after the troops left, but haven't yet tried to do it from scratch. Tomorrow Margaret and I are getting together to sort it out, and hopefully finish confident we can reproduce a display at the Guild from both an Apple and an Android machine. I have not as yet removed the clear film from the screen, just in case...

I did, however, after dropping off some Art works at Pack and Send for my brother, trek to Spotlight and buy fabric, webbing and buckles to make a carry bag for the screen.  Am I insane?

Fionn also tried on my supersized beanies for me. He has a reasonably large head. 

With Georgia's help we figured out the largest one (the not-a-teacosy) would be improved my folding the band in half. I'm going to stitch it down so it stays in place.

The 16 ply knits quickly and is certainly warm. These are anticipating more walkers next year.

I found time this afternoon to sit in the afternoon sun for half an hour doing Wordle and a couple of other puzzles. The  balcony is feeling good at the moment.

I feel relieved and thankful that I have support from family, friends, finance and businesses to keep following ideas. I fear (literally) that I am losing my grasp of changing technology and that will limit my output. That's scary, but help is obviously at hand. 

For now I shall try, in my small way, to keep disturbing, in the hope of improving, my little bit of the universe.

Post 542 Plant-based post on new laptop!

I'm delighted to be posting this from my new laptop! I drove into the city around 10.15am on Wednesday with my old one. I'd have taken the bus but as I had Pilates 10km away at 1pm I  figured I'd need to go straight there. At Apple I waited about 15 minutes before my attendant arrived with the new laptop, asked a few questions, took some details, got my signature  - and told me I could go home and they would send a text when the data transfer was complete! I was stunned. It made a difference that I had backed up to a hard drive. While I was there I bought a new back-up hard drive. It seems risky to trust my 8 year-old hard drive to back up the new machine.  I also bought a stylus for my iPad Mini. It is taking some of the pressure off my left thumb, which I've used repetitively not only for knitting, but also on the iPad for word and number games. 

I was home by 11.30 and the crumb brush I had ordered was in the letterbox. It's neat, and a lot more efficient than the pokerwork one, which I will now dispose off. 

As I was leaving at 12.40 pm for Pilates the message arrived to say my computer data transfer was complete and I could pick up both laptops! I  collected them on the way home from Pilates. 

The new one operated flawlessly - all programs, passwords, content  operational- including those that had ceased working on the out-of-date operating system of the old one.  All tribute to the Rundle Mall Apple Centre!  (I have nevertheless chosen not to include a photo of a laptop!)

There were only two of us at Pilates - a good workout. While on the balance board I look out on the studio garden where an Agave is preparing to bloom. It looks as the one at the Guild did a couple of years ago.

I'm looking forward to seeing it bloom. 

To celebrate the laptop (and because, by 4pm, I was hungry) I went to the pub for a 4pm lunch  of whiting fillets. 

In the letterbox was a lovely little embroidered bag with hand lotion  - a gift from a neighbour from my old Hindmarsh home, who had presumably been passing while I was in the city. It all made for a magic day.

The sun shone on Friday as a neighbour from the floor below came up to ask my advice on her next knitting project. She wants something to knit while at a chatty craft group and to keep her hands busy while watching TV. She's tired of the blanket she's been knitting for months. I pulled out some fairly easy patterns for shawls and cardigans, and she's taken them  with enthusiasm to think about.  After she left I took myself of to Craft Alive at the Showground. It was on over the weekend and I figured Friday would be less crowded. 

It was fun to look around. I had a talk to the women on the Handknitters' Guild stall (after they plied me with questions about the cardigan I was wearing), and waved to the volunteers on the Embroiderers' Guild stall. I was tempted by some Sashiko threads, including metallics, and some beautiful turned wood encased stitch rippers and needle threaders but came away empty handed. It was a pleasant outing and good to get a notion of what's out there at the moment.

I spent the rest of the afternoon on the western balcony, soaking up sun and plant perfection.

The Euphorbia Trigonum I bought a few years ago as a ‘rescue me’ plant, about 12cm high is thriving. It had a growth spurt this year. The main stand is now about 90cm high and there are numerous new stems. the narrowed bit is where it regrew after it broke in transit and I put it together with sticky tape! 

 ' ' 'The western balcony is protected from the wind which raged all night and though Saturday. On the eastern balcony,  I found the yellow poinsettia I had planted (obviously not well!) several weeks ago lying on the tiles with roots exposed - lifted straight out of its container!  I've put it back in, watered it well, and placed rocks on top.

Although it is school holidays, with three family members working in the city and two without Monday sporting commitments,  dinner went ahead here yesterday. I cheated and bought family pies from the bakery, to serve with roast potato and veg, but it worked well. I am blessed.

This morning Michelle came to measure for my blind, and is now preparing a quote. It's going to look great - and improve insulation.  

When she left I took myself off to Bunnings to buy a strong metal plant stand. I had noticed on the weekend that the wooden one holding up a barbecue lid I had turned into a garden bed, was collapsing under the weight. The lid has a substantial handle which  means it won't sit on the ground. Bunnings have just the thing - a metal stand with a circular top in which the lid sits nicely. 

I also bought potting mix to pot up the plants from last week's church sale. 

In the late afternoon I got a bit of warmth on the Western balcony while adding to this post. The battery charge on the new laptop has lasted all week. It hasn't been in constant use, but the old one was barely lasting 3 hours! My current plan is to charge and back up each Tuesday night after posting this.

I finished the first sleeve of the coatigan and am working on the second. I have 35 rows to go to the decrease. I don't think the sleeves are roomy enough, compared to the body and have formulated a plan to adjust them.

I have set myself a goal to finish by the end of the month - so on with it!

Post 198 Laptop, scanner, Yeh!

It didn’t go below 28C overnight last night. In my Sleepy Merino pyjamas, even though they are supposed to be comfortable in Summer as well as Winter, I think this might apply to the regular 100gsm products, not to the 200 gsm nightshirt I was wearing.  Consequently I opened my blind at sunrise.

The young dove arrived , but is too nervous to stay if I open the door. I put out some seed and he/she returned a bit later to sample it.

I was due to pick up Jennifer for SitnStitch at 12.30 . I rang the Apple Centre at Norwood late in the morning to check how they were going with my computer and scanner. They were still working on it. As I wanted it for this blog tonight, I either had to pick it up before I picked up Jennifer, or late this afternoon after I’d dropped her home. When they rang me around midday to say it was ready I rushed off to get it - much better than having it on my mind all afternoon and a deadline at the end of the day.

It delayed me picking up Jennifer  by 25 minutes,. The laptop is tidied up,  has an up to date operating system and connects to the scanner. Yeh!  The staff were helpful and took care to explain what had been done and how to use the new interface.  It’s a relief to have it back and working. I’ll try the scanner out tomorrow.

Susan made cheese scones again - fabulous! There was lots to catch up on. Jennifer is getting about a bit. She is still having dizzy spells . She worked today on cutting out the background fabric to mount her COVID embroidery. It’s going to look amazing.

When I got home, three young men were exercising in the Square. One was practising tight-rope walking on a band stretched between two trees about a metre off the ground. He got on to it by jumping from the ground. He fell off a lot, but kept practising until he stayed on and kept going.









The lorikeets were out in force in the evening. The trees are beginning to bud, obviously very attractive to the nectar-seeking birds.












Now I have my laptop back I can publish a couple of the shots I took yesterday of the Rosella.

The succulent flowers are also coming along nicely.

As I’ve been writing this I’ve been (half) watching Gardening Australia which ran a story on the stobie pole art in Rosetta St . I wasn’t fast enough to photograph the screen. For those not in South Australia, stobie poles are an Adelaide invention. Because there was not much timber in Adelaide, a man named Stobie invented replacement for wooden telegraph poles, by using two discarded railway tracks with concrete between them.

In the 1980s community projects engaged artists to paint the poles.  The practice continues. Gardening Australia covered the poles and the community plantings in the streets streetscapes of the Charles Sturt Council area.

Altogether, a productive and satisfying day. I progressed my knitting  and the Caterina mat but not enough to take photos. My early start is catching up with me!

Post 197 Missing my laptop

Today’s post is short on photos. This morning I took my laptop and scanner to Macworld Norwood and left it with them to fix the scanner connection. After a bit of an inspection the issue seems to be the need to update the operating system on the laptop. They were hoping to have it done today but that hasn’t happened. Hopefully it will be done tomorrow.

While I can compose and post a blog from my phone or iPad, I can’t control the layout or the size of photos so will limit what I post. Usually I shape my narrative around photos. Can’t do that today.

Myrtle turned up this morning and shared seed with her shadow. Turtle turned up later in the day. 

I dashed from Norwood across town to Pilates, then did a bit of fruit and veg shopping at North Adelaide. 

The builders have dug a pit where previously they put in cement columns. Mystery to me.

As I was bringing in the washing late in the afternoon the Adelaide Rosella was announcing his presence from the nearby tree. I got some photos in my SLR but can’t download them until my computer is back.

It still feels like a Friday. After years of Pilates on Friday it’s going to take a while to adjust.

I had a phone catch up with my brother and progressed the Caterina project.

This is fairly slow progress but I can see the open, lacey effect emerging.

Hopefully I will have my computer back tomorrow and can resume formatting photos.