Thursday, January 24, 2008

I'm angry about the T-card

After a zillion years and $95 million, the government has pulled the plug on Sydney’s T-card. When we were in Seoul it was wonderful to have a card which worked on all transport, which totted up your fare wherever you went with a single swipe. You didn’t even have to take it out of your purse, just wave it over the sensor. It can work in other cities, bigger cities. What is the problem here?

We don’t believe that it is entirely the fault of the company involved, although there is probably some of that. We think it is Sydney’s arcane mess of private transport operators who will not agree to change any of their ways.

Whoever is to blame, the people of Sydney are the losers. We still have to figure how many sections (huh?) we want to buy on a bus. We can’t buy a train ticket from Newtown to the Airport and return to Circular Quay - oh no, we have to buy two separate tickets.

Sydney is an utter mess of traffic and we are all as mad as hell.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Majic buttons

I finished knitting my red mohair cardigan this weekend, and decided to try my hand at making buttons for it using polymer clay (Fimo). I mixed up the colour I wanted, made them red with black stripes. I was happy with the result. I made quite a lot, which turned out to be a good thing.



I sewed them all on - all eight of them. Very happy with the result. I like those buttons! Turns out I was not the only one who liked them.

After taking some photos for Ravelry, I left the cardigan over the back of the sofa and entered the details of the project onto my Ravelry site.



Then I heard activity......

That Dog had gotten the cardigan and had eaten not just one or two, but FOUR of the buttons. He'd chewed them right off the cardigan!!! There were some fragments left, but I know he has swallowed some. I wonder if polymer clay is good for Pugs?


Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Maps on the phone

We went up to the Blue Mountains on Sunday, for lunch. Leaving Alpha Prime means that we need a street directory and directions. Of course we went to Whereis before going, to review the best route. We had excellent instructions from our friend too.

Our street directory is getting a bit old, but the printed ones are SO big that they don't fit either in the glove box or in the side pockets of the car doors. I was interested when rocketing around Google's latest offerings to see Google Maps for Mobile. I downloaded it and had a bit of a play.

Then yesterday we went into town, and I thought I just might pop in to Tapestry Craft. I've been there before (d'oh!) but wasn't exactly sure which block it was in. So while Michael chose coral trout from the fish counter at DJ's Food Hall, I fired it up. Clicked on Search, then typed in Tapestry Craft. Up popped the address and phone number, with options to call, or to view it on a map, or to view a list of directions from my current location.

I am very impressed.

Oh yes, I got five balls of pale khaki cotton to knit a pram blanket for my niece's baby. I'll put that on Ravelry soon. If you have a Ravelry account then you'll find me there under Knittatpug. I've been gradually populating that site with my projects, stash, and library. Along with playing Scrabulous on Facebook, I've been busy!

Does it sound like I've been on holiday? More toys to play with. Love it.

Taking a quick break from Greece with Henrietta and Majic



Every dog deserves a Christmas present, and Majic is no exception. He LOVES his toys, all of them. Anywhere we sit ends up with a cairn of toys around our feet as he brings them to us. He presses a toy against a leg and looks up beseechingly. If we ignore him, he assumes that toy wasn't good enough, or tempting enough. He drops it, and goes to get another one.

When we saw Henrietta the Christmas Chicken in a pet store window near us, she had to be ours. He adores her. Wouldn't you?

Henrietta is rather large. Almost as large as Majic is.



She also makes a very engaging noise. Not a squeak, so much as a cluck.




He loves to play with her - so does someone else around here!




Majic loves it when you throw Henrietta the length of the house. He fetches her back looking very proud.

Henrietta can be a bit dangerous though. When Majic is on your lap he likes to take her by the neck and give her a good shaking. Those big black boots of hers really make a dent in one's face as they swing by.