Musing - with the distraction of a foodie paradise.

The thing about getting away is that it gives you the chance to evaluate.
The downside of getting away so far is that by the time my bodyclock's adjusted completely, we're halfway through.  
And bunions don't like planes. Or blisters.  Or ankles.  It must be a forty thing.
And Llanrhidian seems rather dull.  

I have stagnated in Llanrhidian.  It's easy to stay too long.  Fantastic for Josh to grow up in, for work, for safety, for the backdrop.  But now Josh has moved on, and my work is no longer in the village.
In fact, Llanrhidian is probably not ideal for craft.  Understatement.
And it doesn't have a deli.

Last year I was completely unprepared for the Christmas rush, and closed my order book in early November.  I also undercharged, and regularly worked till 2am to get orders out.  
Lesson learned...I'm not naturally gifted in business sense!

This year, I am going to be more prepared. 
 Funny to be thinking about Christmas in June, but not thinking about Christmas in sunshine was my big mistake before. So now, I'm going to think in upside down seasons!

And I'm wondering what other craft sellers learned during their first year of business?

Melbourne - two glasses is all it took...seduced by boiled wool and gorgeous stripes!

A boozy lunch with Josh.

Great idea...until he directed me to the most expensive shopping district in Melbourne.

No vintage shops here - no retro, no charity - no fabric. All shiny chrome and guards at the foyer.

And I entirely blame the prosecco for launching my creditcard in a rainbow hued knitwear shop on not one but two items.  

But do they really count if they were in the sale?  As really, if they're half price it's just like buying one!

And I did get a nice carrier bag and lots of tissue paper...

Seduced by boiled wool and gorgeous stripes. 

Melbourne - 30 men in shorts and foodie heaven :)

Day two in Melbourne.

Blue skies and crisp air, city of delis and - for this week - The Lions.

Yes, I am a (temporarily) converted Lions fan. 

My newly 21 year old son is fanatical, and having celebrated his 21st birthday mid flight to Melbourne from the UK, we were at the Aami stadium yesterday evening for The Lions versus Melbourne Rebels.

There is something very photogenic about thirty men in shorts.

And leaving 30 men in shorts aside, it was also special because Josh's dad was there too.

Tomorrow I'm going to track down some fabric shops - by my logic Australia is closer to Japan than the UK, so Kokka fabric should be much cheaper here. And Australian vintage.

 Although the same can't be said for cheese. 

That would be the very nice cheese with the very expensive, non existent price tag I found in the deli. 

Lesson learned - do not buy from the very first deli in the deli-filled arcade, as they get cheaper the further away from the entrance.

 $35 DOLLARS!!!

                                                                              

Smoke in my ears....

Does our irritability fuse become shorter as we get older?  
Do little niggles become big problems?
Am I being unreasonable to think two unwelcome water features through my ceiling in a week is two accidents too many???

Well, on a scale of one to ten with my hapless neighbour I was a good eight on the fury monitor!
First, there was the soaking of belongings in a converted coalshed as water cascaded through the stairs above.  This was caused by buckets of water being repeatedly thrown over the stairs during a spring clean, only to take a diversion through my coalshed roof, through the sooty cobwebs and onto my belongings.
Okay, accidents happen. I waved my arms about, got cross and forgave.

Until last night.  
One minute I'm watching Eastenders, the next I'm disturbed by a sizzling sound from the kitchen.  A pan boiling dry?  Oh, no - this time it's a water feature - a water feature consisting of an ever expanding damp patch and a neat line of  big, fat water drops tip tapping onto the floor, just a foot from my fuse box.
And a neighbour who's out.

With smoke coming out of my ears, I shoved a note through his door - luminous yellow, so it can't be missed - and waited for him to get back.  Which he does, around midnight, and both him and friend both managed to miss the cross, luminous note.  I know this because the housing officer who insisted he let him in this morning did spot it.

The offending water feature was caused by a faulty washing machine.  My hapless neighbour has told me not to worry, he'll watch it when it's full of water!!! Watch it???  Bin it!!!  More smoke from my ears.

So now I'm on water watch, and hoping watergate doesn't come in threes.

Cross.
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A bee's eye view.

What a difference the sun makes!
Nearly two weeks of wall-to-wall sunshine before nature's sprinklers arrived.
Birdsong at dawn, sunshine at 5.30am - I love summer.

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