Now where did I put that flaming sword?

What I Would Like To Write About If I Had Time

2009-11-11T23:49:00.003+10:30

The Hen Night.
The Wedding.
The recent visit of an old friend from Teacher's College.
The two day course on Maths I have just done.
The overlockers I have bids on.
My sick husband (it's like sleeping with a combine harvester...all that tossing and turning).
The school fees for the Baby Angel's new school for next year :-(
My wonderful Mum and Dad who are helping out with the above.
The heat................
Work.
Year 11s leaving this week.
Exams. Reports. Marking.
Marking
Marking
Being made chairperson of the Industrial Relations Committee hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Missing In Action

2009-11-09T21:09:00.003+10:30

I admit it. I've kind of been living at ebay and facebook lately! I don't know what's the matter with me; I don't feel like writing. Maybe it's the weather? Over 37c again today and forecast to last til Saturday!! :-(

I'm currently in the market for an overlocker (serger for you US types). I lost out on one the night before the big wedding because I was so busy sewing the BA's dress that I forgot to check on the auction progress. I've got a lot to learn about this ebay thing. Turns out that one didn't do rolled hems which are apparently a big plus and certainly would have been a good thing on the BA's dress (I felt the hem I had painstakingly hand sewn looked neat but heavy; rolled may have been better) so maybe it was for the best.

I've tried to do a little research on the various brands but there's remarkably few user reviews. It's also tricky to find out whether the second hand machines on ebay do the rolled hem and whether they have an automatic setting or need a cumbersome needle and plate change. Predictably, companies are more keen to tell you about their current models.

There's a Janome Mylock 654D (I think) going and I'm in the running but I'm trying to decide whether to go over the Au $150.00 mark. Postage has to be considered as well. Does anyone know this machine and whether it's worth it?

Aside from that I had a very interesting weekend catching up with a friend from Teacher's College whom I hadn't seen for 20 years! She had tried to find me some years ago, phoning everyone in Sydney with my maiden name and asking if I lived there. I was deeply touched. Finally she found me on 'friends reunited' which lists people against their schools and training or tertiary institutions. I signed up for that site in 2000 and am still listed under my maiden name.

I picked her up from the airport on Friday night and we had a wonderful catch-up at the BA's netball match (they won and she played VERY well). Unfortunately, with a sleepy BA on my hands I had to drop her at her accommodation that night and meet up again the next morning.

Boy we can talk!

We talked all through the morning, all through lunch (Italian), all through my drive by tour of the city, scenic trip through the hills to my place, tour of the house, drive back to the city, pre dinner drinks, dinner (Thai) and nightcap. By 11.30pm my eyes were rolling in my head but I attempted to continue carrying on a conversation, surrendering only when I started talking about staircases in my sleep whilst sitting upright at the table!

I camped responsibly over on her couch and then took her to the airport in the morning, after MORE talking.

Well, we had a lot to catch up on :-D

Back to school today and I'm on a course about Numeracy Support for two days. So far it has been quite interesting and challenging. Much of the basic stuff I am familiar with but the challenge is how to apply it to disenfranchised teenage learners.

And just because I have been lazy of late and because you haven't heard much from my classroom babies, try these little beauties from the recent Y8 test on Co-ordinate Geometry and Line Graphs.

A graph is presented showing the weight and length of puppies on the y and x axes respectively. Pupils are asked to order the puppies according to length and then to order them according to weight. Surprise, surprise the order is different. The final question asks:
" Is it true that longer puppies are always heavier? Give a reason for your answer."

Here are some of the responses:

" No because it says Spot 's length is long but he ways (sic) the least of all of the dogs.
I had a dog really short but he weighs a lot."

"Not all the time and it depends what dog it is."

"No because Oscar is the heaviest dog and he is not the longest." (errrrr yes he is.....)

"If a puppy is longer than another it's going to be heavier because it has more fat and skin and bones."

*sigh*

Now I'm off to mark the Year 10 Taxation and Depreciation/Interest tests.

Wish me luck............

Brightly Dawned Her Wedding Day

2009-11-04T00:08:00.007+10:30

After about ten years solo, my Bestie has finally tied the knot with The Amazing Mumford.

Sunday afternoon saw us arriving in the parklands under a savage 36C sunapproaching the vine covered gazebo and witnessing their exchange of vows.

Afterwards we retired to a local hotel for a cocktail reception. That's all I have time for tonight. More juicy details to follow when I am back on en even keel.

Crafty Tuesday errrr....Thursday.....errrrrrrrrr Friday?

2009-10-29T06:05:00.006+10:30

Having been laid low by a very nasty cold type flu virus thing for the last week, I have been pretty light-on the posting front I'm afraid. I had half a day off last Tuesday, then went back to work to share my germs around (I'm thoughtful like that), and predictably collapsed in a heap on Thursday and had Friday and Monday off with a miserable weekend in between. Yesterday back at school I actually felt semi-normal in the morning but by lunchtime was wilting and by 3pm was reduced to a sleep on the staff room sofa. With groaning. I hate it when you can't breathe with your mouth closed.

But I digress.

As a result of all this, and my general busy-ness, I missed Crafty Tuesday and I did have something I wanted to share so here it is. The Baby Angel's partly completed bridesmaidy wedding dress thingy. As you can tell I am having difficulty deciding what to call it as the BA is not a bridesmaid 'as such'. She is actually the dog wrangler.

Have I explained this before? I think I have. When The Bestie hooked up with Mumford, his only true love was a little chihuahuaxJackRussellxfox terrier called (to Blogland) Q. Of course he has had to make room in his heart for my Bestie and so little Q has been somewhat sidelined but not enough to be omitted from the wedding ceremony this Sunday. She will be the ring bearer.
Now as any good thespian knows, when you have animals peforming on set you must have a 'wrangler' on hand to ensure their safety and that they get enough schooling and are sent home to bed before 10pm and so forth (or is that children? ...meh, same difference). Q's main task is to walk down the 'aisle' (it's an outdoor wedding) and stand with the wedding party until the rings are called for, at which time she must sit up like a meerkat whilst The BA disengages the rings from her collar. There is even a special velcro device for the purpose!

Himself is disgusted by the whole idea. Even the BA is mildly embarrassed by the notion but she wanted a role in the wedding and this is what was on offer. It must be said she is not too proud to stoop to dog wrangling in order to get to wear a pretty dress! Which brings me to the dress.

You see it above, semi finished, hanging in the doorway. I still have to add cap sleeves in lace, motifs around the bodice/skirt seam, finishing the lining at the back and hand sew the full circle hem. Plenty of time. The wedding's on Sunday.

In Which I Deliberately Thwart My Husband

2009-10-25T22:25:00.007+10:30

Himself: My trackies have been in the laundry abyss for four weeks now! I have been completely
unable to find them.

Me: There is no way they have been missing for four weeks...two maybe...have you checked the..?

Himself: I've checked EVERYWHERE!!! I've even been through the laundry basket. They have
completely DISAPPEARED!!

Me: Alright, I will look for them but I can guarantee you they have NOT disappeared and they haven't been 'missing' for four weeks. Now, let's have a look here (opens a drawer) no? ok well how about here? (no luck) They're bound to be here somewhere.

Himself: Ah HAH! Ah HAH! You SEE? I TOLD you they were nowhere to be found!!! I've looked in all those places.

Me: (giving up on all the drawers/shelves etc and starting on the laundry hamper) Well, I haven't been deliberately hiding them, they're bound to be here...

Himself: (triumphantly) FOUR weeks! That's how long they've been missing! I haven't seen them in FOUR weeks.

Me: (starting to lose my good humour) Well, I washed last weekend so they couldn't have been missing all that long, unless they are hanging out in the family room....

(I start to march off down the hall to check the usual location for drying things indoors in the wet weather)

Himself: (hot on my heels) I've actually LOOKED down here and I couldn't find anything.*

Me: (gets to room; looks briefly around;takes trackies off the back of a chair. The first chair in the room. Not hidden by anything. Says nothing)

Himself: (momentarily stunned) Well they must have been there for four weeks....

Me: One. At the most.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*Note: this in itself is something of a miracle. Piles of Himself's neatly folded laundry have been known to sit down in the family room for weeks while he squeals for clean underwear.

Theme Thursday: At Play

2009-10-23T00:35:00.009+10:30

To continue in a nostalgic vein, here are my Baby Angel and her cousin 'At Play' at Grandma's house in 2002. I think the BA was 7 and her cousin Ginger was 3.

I can hear them shrieking with giggles as I look at this.

Thinking back, play often involved getting under blankets and into make believe' beds'.

Sometimes the bed was a trampoline.

( Augh! I cannot believe I could not find any pictures of her in her trampoline bed.)

Sometimes the bed was a boxAnd sometimes it was a suitcase.
Megan at A Mental Inventory is hosting Theme Thursday for the time being while AmyJo does that new baby thing. Pop over and see what other Play-ful shots people are sharing.

Clouded By The Mists of Time...and mood enhancing substances.

2009-10-21T21:14:00.007+10:30

My husband isn't talking to me.

I didn't believe him you see. I scoffed at his memory; a cardinal crime.

He claimed that when he was at school, they had dances, formal dances, which went until 2am. Apparently there were two bands and the younger students were sent home after the first band.....but really! 2 am???? What teacher would stay at a school dance til 2am????
His retort was that they had 'very good bands'.

So, my anally retentive antenna is out (ooo-eer). All you Adelaideloodians, does anyone remember the boys' school on South Terrace having formals that went until 2 in the morning????????? Puh-lease. Does anyone remember ANY of the private schools having formals that went beyond mid-night? Granted, his era was slightly before mine, but surely things were not 'free-er' in his day than mine????? We are talking 1973-4 bythe way.

At my old school (soon to be the Baby Angel's school) we had very strict policies about our few dances. I have posted about it before: letters to leave early, stay inside the building, no patent leather shoes*...that sort of thing.

Now when we got to uni; that was a different matter! The infamous O Ball where many a fresher saw their first sunrise, was renowned. Prosh Week, the Law School Pub Crawl, all these were debauched affaires with no boundaries as by that time we were all technically 'adults'; but school dances? Til 2am????????????

I think not.

However, I am happy to be proven wrong. Do some research guys and gals; Prof J?
Cash Mc Buck? Headbang? Kindergarten Friend? Middle Sis? (she always knew where the good parties were)...........

Seriously.

2am??????

* Apparently patent leather shoes enabled boys to see your underwear reflected on their highly polished surface.

Because I Still Really Miss It

2009-10-18T23:59:00.006+10:30

School is back and Lord knows I am right up to my neck in it but.....I can't help a bit of nostalgia having received a whole disk of photos from our official 'photographer'. And yes I know I shouldn't be showing faces but I am so over that anonymity thing. First off, let's start with me.
I call this one 'No Sleep'.

And this one 'Dressing Room Sweatshop'.

Here I am getting 'notes' from the Director onstage after the show.

And wrestling with that bl**** red dress...

I love the literate message left on the mirror from the make-up girls.
But now I must tell you about my inspired 'prop'.

There were a number of large props called for in the script which could have proved quite overwhelming and expensive: staircases. beds for the orphans, different rooms in the mansion; some of these were built, some summarily 'deleted' and others, as they were not 'on' for very long and arguably did not add much to the story but gave flavour to the production, teetered on the brink. Three such items included: a dog cart, a laundry hamper and a hot dog stand. One afternoon in the school basement I spied an old TV trolley which sparked a 'brilliant' idea! The trolley would become the frame for all three props.

The laundry hamper could hang inside the frame. This had to be big enough for Annie to hide inside and be wheeled offstage in. The hotdog stand would need sides which we hooked on: the dog cart could be the reverse sides of the hotdog stand. There were actually four sides to the thing but as you can see here at the dress rehearsal getting them all flipped over and reattached in time could be a problem.

Here's all our servants wearing those problematic uniforms which I seemed to be cutting out for EVER. The worst part was cutting them out at night. The black knit fabric was slippery and hard to see with my aging eyes. The blue kitchen staff dresses I borrowed from another school (yay).

Finally, here's the tech crew.

Two of the little blonde lads on the left were the ones who were 'sharing the headset' in the lighting box :-D....awwwwww....they are such babies....

And now, we return you to normal transmission.

Die Walkure: A Word From My Father

2009-10-16T23:26:00.013+10:30

My dad doesn't usually read my blog but I tipped him off to my previous post and he sent me this email the other morning.

"This business of the Flying Valkyries has always perplexed me and although we believed that the labels were on the wrong sides, I really couldn't believe it. So I took your advice and u-tubed the Valk. Then I had to re-assemble my hi-fi turntable which was sitting in the cupboard and find the original record (downstairs next to the ironing).

30 minutes later I was ready for the Utube-record comparison and guess what? You are right!

Can I sue Decca after 45 years?"

Really Dad! Trust me!! Some of these episodes from my childhood are burned indelibly on my memory :-D

*****************************************

The first week back at school has been full-on.

As well as getting my head back around teaching classes I have

taken the BA and her friend to see 3oh!3
met with my House officials to organise the last House event of the year on the heels of last year's successful event
put forward the idea of student voting for next year's House officials and started the
consultation process
negotiated with one of my year 11's mums to get him OUT of his mainstream Y 11 maths
class and into an off-line individualised program. Committed myself to preparing an
individualised teaching and assessment program for him (about time!)
met with a Y8 pupil with acute school phobia and negotiated his re-engagement in the
education process
been on an excursion with Y10. Quite well mannered!!!!!
been co-opted into the Chairman's position for a committee which I thought was about discussing general procedures within the school and which turns out to be the Industrial Relations Committee!!!!!! :-( . You could not get anyone less interested in Industrial relations than I am. Hell, I don't even know what I earn per annum!!!! I am either on a steep learning curve or about to hand the job over to someone with much more of a 'worker' mentality than I have. Oh my coal mining grandfather would be ashamed of me ....*blush*
fallen asleep in front of the computer on more than one evening

That last point would be why I haven't posted much :-)

What Do The Flying Dutchman And A Hammer Drill Have in Common?

2009-10-11T21:57:00.014+10:30

If there is one thing Himself and I have in common, it is our attitude toward those age-old, gender specific arts of cooking and DIY. Deep seated, nay abyss-like, feelings of helplessness, failure and the overwhelming belief that we are somehow less of a man/woman for being unable to provide for our family in these time honoured ways, lead to well developed practices of procrastination and avoidance; me in the kitchen and Himself in any setting involving say, a ladder and a drill.

For example, when the end of the long working day arrives, rather than affectionately considering the heart warming meal I will prepare for my hard working husband and ravenous teenagers, I savagely mutter something like, 'I suppose I'd better think about dinner' and then storm off to fold washing or vacuum or, heaven forbid, do some school work: in short, anything other than cooking. When faced with a DIY task such as....oh I dunno....say putting up some venetian blinds in the BA's room, Himself manages to find something else that needs sanding on the boat or a pressing work related computer task...or, if I am really lucky, a close encounter with the lawn mower: anything which does not involve hand operated power tools.

We both feel similarly that our best, most well meaning efforts are doomed to failure. The other night, when we were asked to 'bring something' to a Sailing Club dinner, to accompany a roast, my paralysing insecurity saw me look up a recipe for Cauliflower Gratin on the web. As I prepared to follow the instructions something in my gut told me that cooking the cauliflower for 10 minutes before baking it was a bad idea, and yet, the recipe came from the web and therefore MUST be more reliable than me. The ridiculously large quantity of cheese called for seemed, in my extremely humble opinion, destined to curdle the white sauce and yet, I unwaveringly followed the instructions to the letter, determined to bring delicious, feel good food to the dinner party as a tribute to the other guests.

Predictably, my yearning for Earth Motherhood was once more dashed upon the soggy rocks of the inedible ship wreck of a gratin. Himself saved the day with a swiftly concocted and artistically arranged salad. I went to the dinner with a countenance like thunder and the reinforced belief that I am not much of a woman. I mean, women have been preparing meals for their loved ones since the dawn of time. How hard can it be??????????

But this post is not about me. Really. I am merely trying to communicate the depth of feeling accompanying Himself's aversion to DIY. We have had the venetian blinds for the BA's room for months now and we had promised ourselves that we would get them up whilst she was away this week. Well, of course THAT didn't happen but Himself did take the bracket down to the local hardware store and get appropriate screws and rawl plugs for the job. And then decided to mow the lawn.

Today, with a little encouragement, we made a start. Within 10 minutes I made the mistake of asking why he had purchased plasterboard screws when we were drilling into brick. I was just wondering! The 'dummy spit' was spectacular. He was off the ladder and out the door shouting that I could 'get a little man in' to do it if I wasn't happy with his work in seconds. And this was before he had even switched on the drill! Some judicious soothing and the assurance that I knew how he felt (see above story) calmed him sufficiently to get back onto the ladder. He lined up the drill and applied power.

Now we have had problems with this wall before. The double brick is phenomenally hard and drilling holes has proved trying in the past. I held my breath. The drill screamed, the dust flew, the bit advanced rapidly through the plaster and hit brick. The pitch increased, Himself applied more power. The bit spun wildly, and ineffectively, for 2 minutes before the air filled with a blue fog of expletives, the like of which had not been heard since last week. The drill hit the floor and Himself hit the road, heading for his garden shed and a calming cigar. I decided to take the drill and the bit down to the hardware store for advice.

At this point let me take you back in time.

When I was 12, my 7th grade teacher played us 'The Ride of the Valkyries', I think it was to inspire our creative writing but whatever the motivation it had a huge impact on me. I loved it! I came home singing 'dah duh dudah daaaaaa da' and excitedly explained to my classically leaning father the wonder of this dramatic piece. He smiled at me indulgently,
"That's not The Ride of the Valkyries," he explained gently, "that's 'The Flying Dutchman'.
This stopped me in my tracks. After all, my father knew everything but my teacher had showed us the cover of the album and told us the story and.. and.. and...

Dad lead me to the hallowed lounge room and the sacred record collection and reverently drew out an LP boasting an atmospheric drawing of the legendary ghost ship on the cover. He placed it on the turntable and as I listened, the familiar strains of 'dah duh dudah daaaaaa da' issued forth. How could this be????????

I don't know how we worked it out but the flip side of this album was 'The Ride of the Valkyries'. Someone at RCA or where ever had pasted the record labels on back to front (link in case you are a child of the CD age and do not remember that once upon a time you had to turn records over). For his entire adult life my father had been under the misapprehension that 'dah duh dudah daaaaaa da' signalled the approach of 'The Flying Dutchman', because of some quality control issues at Decca.

But what is the connection I hear you ask? What does this have to do with
Himself and his drill phobia? Well, when I got to the hardware store the technical advisor tested the drill and showed me that there were two settings, one for hammer drill (essential for drilling hard concrete and metal) and the other for more gentle, standard rotary drilling of wood and such. The drill had been set on 'rotary'. I asked to see which way the switch needed to go and there, before my very eyes, was The Flying Dutchman. The label indicating the setting was on back to front. For the last twenty years Himself has been trying to drill concrete with a screwdriver and put in screws with a hammer drill. No wonder he hates DIY.

We got one of the blinds up. The other one will have to wait until next weekend.

Image credits

Flying Dutchman

DIY Disasters

Drills

Play It Clean*

2009-10-10T09:06:00.003+10:30

Well, nothing since Tuesday...what have I been doing with myself? Painting tables in Kidzone (Sunday School) and making up Kids' Kits for use in church when there's no Kidzone if truth be known.

Oh and quilting.

Predictably things did not go to plan; I decided the top of the quilt was too narrow so I rearranged everything again. But I am much happier with it now and I spent Friday sewing it together. Only got about half done though. Phew, it's hard work! Fiddly! Mind you, I was working under stressful conditions; Himself had a deadline and he was waaaaay cutting it fine. He sat through in the other room effing and blinding and calling the computer, the files, the internet and the clients just about every name you can think of. It was not pretty and not conducive to relaxing quilting. I shut the door on him after awhile.

He was pretty stressed and sleep deprived. He spent two allnighters on this animated presentation for the North Adelaide Football Club's presentation night. He came to bed at 4.30am the first night and after a few snatched hours went at it again all day and came to bed at 5.30am the second night! That man lives on caffiene. Still, last night was the 'do' and it all went very well. I was really proud of him and all his hard work although I was mildly surprised and relieved to see that not one 'f@#&' had slipped into the presentation! Miraculous really considering the amount that were flying through the air. Fortunately we are 'kidfree' at the moment :-D

He made a little bit of history too as the club screened the presentation over the internet in real time as the audience were watching it. It was a record of the matches that year and a count down of the votes gained by each player in the 'Best and Fairest' Competition. The AFL (big league) do a similar thing on Brownlow Medal night but as far as we know, in Australia, no other clubs or State Competitions have done it. This meant that ex pat fans of the club (and we know there are many because the site stats tell us we get hits from places as diverse as London, Singapore and Dubai!) could watch a round up of the year's matches and player performances, leading to the announcement of the B&F winner, from the comfort of their own laptops. Next year we want him to do a live webcam of the acceptance speeches! Then again, knowing how riveting the speeches of young footballers are...maybe it's not worth it!
("....And I'd like to thank the coach and the back up team and the massuesse and my parents...")

Oh and if you've got nothing else to do, see if you can find anyone familiar in this gallery of elegant diners......

Off to quilt some more and enjoy my last few days of childfree time and holidays :-(

* The Club Song

Crafty Tuesday: Top of the Quilt

2009-10-07T13:21:00.003+10:30

Sorry I'm late! Here's the top ready to go together. The farthest row has been sewn into 3 blocks of 4 but I will get into the rest of it with a vengeance tonight. I am due to meet the Doyenne of Quilting on Friday when I will purchase wadding and backing (under her supervision) and retire to her place for the next lesson. She is determined that I have at least most of it done before the end of the holidays otherwise as we all know, it won't ever progress any further!

If you like craft, check out Crafty Tuesday at Carrie's.

Get Me To The Church On Time*

2009-10-04T23:45:00.011+10:30

"Mum, I had a terrible nightmare last night. I dreamed it was The Bestie's wedding and I didn't have a dress to wear..........."

"What's your point?"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

At the tender age of forty something, my Bestie has finally found the man of her dreams and on November 1st they will tie a rather unconventional knot in an outdoor ceremony in Adelaide's East Parklands. You see, at forty something and with one wedding behind you, you can afford to do things your way. There are no more maiden aunts and grandmothers to please; there is no sense of having to do it 'right' in case you regret it later and no fear of 'missing out' on something if you abandon the odd convention. No, at our age, one can indulge one's pecadillos.

Now I am not one to give away too many secrets in advance of the big day (much) but I can tell you that the Bestie has appointed The Diva and I her 'Old Tarts of Honour', Mumford is dry cleaning his 'Matrix' coat and planning a spectacular entrance and my Baby Angel has been given the job of escorting Q, beloved Jack Russell x Fox Terrier and ring bearer, down the 'aisle'. I told you it was unconventional.

The Bestie is opting for a dress to die for; big, bold and very 'Her'. A dress like this
(do not look if you don't want a spoiler). Due to the disparate shape and size of the other Old Tart and I, our dresses are linked by colour only and, since her best and most gorgeous dress is black, that's what I'm wearing too. So we have the boys in black, the OTs in black, the Bride in an 'unspecified colour but not white' and then we have The BA and dog.

So what will she wear?

The problem we face is that my Baby Angel already looks much older than her 14 years and I feel a black dress is too sophisticated and will make her look even older. Whilst this is a thrill for her, I am in no hurry to rush the aging process. I was in the same position at her age and inevitably people expected more of you than you were either capable of or comfortable with! She is a delightfully 14 year old fourteen year old, if that makes sense, and I want her to wear something that will be pretty, flattering, fun and yet dressy. Oh and the colour has to complement the Bestie's 'unspecified colour'. I want her to land somewhere between 'fairy princess' and 'funky teen'. Surely not that much of an 'ask'?

On the very first shopping day it became evident that our choices were more limited than we thought. Most of the dressy, formal dresses were very strappy or indeed strapless and she is not very comfortable with that yet and the price tags were, at times, insurmountable! I suggested making her a dress but she seemed less than thrilled at the prospect. We went out again last Thursday to try and find something in the right vein with a manageable price tag and brought a couple of dresses home on 'approval'.

Here is the first. Retail price tag: $ 90.00 AuI favoured the young, girly style of this one but felt the cotton material left it looking insufficiently 'fancy' for a wedding. She really liked it.

Here is the second. Retail price tag: $ 80.00 Au

This was a good combination of dressy and fun with the obvious problem of length (what length?) and a dubious top half which, as Himself said, left the dress looking like it didn't know what it was meant to be! From the back view you can see that there is a longer 'tube' style skirt poking out underneath the frou frou layer. I wondered about attaching another tulle layer underneath to add length but in the end the top half was not sufficiently inspiring for me to bother.She really liked it.

Naturally she wanted to keep both but as I pointed out, the first one I could make at half the cost, the second...well, where would she wear it? So the mean, Flaming Sword mother took both dresses back.

She hated me for about 20 minutes then she got over it.

So where does that leave us? Well, I want to do something like the first one but in a dressy fabric so I have been to a lovely fabric shop and picked up 3 m of a gorgeous crepe georgette style fabric (reduced from $30.00/m to $10.00/m) and half a metre of black lace for $10.00. I plan to make a full, swing skirt in the cream fabric and overlay the bodice (similar to the first dress) with the black lace. With the addition of a pattern for the bodice ($15.00) I should be able to put the whole thing together for around $55.00. In theory.

I think I'll do the whole thing in calico first just to make sure I cut the pattern correctly but hopefully we'll end up with something that is just right for the occasion and didn't cost an arm and a leg. I'll start when I've finished the top of the quilt :-D

* Stanley Holloway sings 'Get Me To The Church On Time (Lerner and Loewe)

Quilt Update!

2009-10-04T04:26:00.003+10:30

Hold the call on suggestions for patterns....Himself and I think we have 'cracked it' tonight! We are feeling v pleased with ourselves. pics to follow.

And now to bed as the government has stolen an hour from us and will not give it back until Autumn!!!!!!

SOOC Saturday: What I'm Doing In My Holidays

2009-10-03T11:20:00.004+09:30

Thought I'd show you how far I have got on my quilt this week. I haven't sewn any of the blocks together yet as I am still fiddling with the arrangement of the darks. I have a lot less of the pale green fabric left so I am leaning towards this idea of a dark green/pink alternate with a random pale green thrown into every row/column. It's a bit like doing a giant suduko. Except not.

I dunno I may change my mind. Himself and I were looking at it yesterday and he was casting his designer's eye over things. We decided that I'll do 6 quares by 10 squares all up and he suggests doing something 'different' or themed at any rate, for the four central squares. Like, maybe four of the pale greens altogether although I'm not all that keen on that idea. I am also toying with one of the background fabrics which is darker than the other three and wondering whether to make it a 'dark' for some of the blocks. Maybe that could be at the centre?

If anyone has any ideas or opinions, do chip in here. I am a complete novice and open to suggestion.

Meanwhile, we have been on a campaign to find a dress for the BA to wear in the Bestie's wedding......but that's a whole other post.

Learning To Quilt

2009-09-30T09:57:00.006+09:30

In a belated Crafty Tuesday (Carrie hasn't even posted herself I noticed!!) I thought I'd show you what I've been working on. With the sunset of The Musical and the mammoth job of packing up 'the sweatshop' I have been suffering from sewing withdrawal. I always had it in the back of my mind that I might be able to do something with the scraps of material left over from the orphan costumes; they were chosen as a 'palette' and they were essentially quilting materials so the obvious choice was to try quilting with them!

Now I have dabbled in many crafts over the years: sewing, knitting, embroidery, cross stitch, raffia work (thanks to my Grade 5 teacher), pottery, decoupage, origami and even tie-dye but I've never attempted quilting. I know nothing about it! A quick consultation of my 'Traditional Country Crafts' book was in order. There was mention of wadding and running stitch and even cutting a template for 'blocks' but the whole section was a little thin and there was nothing about patchwork and the various kinds of patchwork options you could toy with. So, where to next?

Of course my beautiful friend the Quilting Queen from Jindabyne is no longer with us so I couldn't go there for advice (ouch, grief kind of catches up with you doesn't it?)...but wait! I have an awesome friend right here in Adelaide who is the Doyenne of Quilting! She bestowed upon us a wonderful quilt for our wedding/housewarming and, when I was picking The BA up from swimming years ago, could always be seen with a needle in hand waiting for one of her brood to emerge from the pool. The obvious choice. I made arrangements for coffee and quilting advice.

On Monday we met for coffee and I brought the bag containing all my off cuts. I also brought a pathetic sketch of the kind of thing I had in mind and she was most gracious in refraining from laughing out loud at my naivety. "Right," she said,"You're going to need some tools and a visit to my place for some lessons." Errrrrr......tools? What do you need apart from scissors and thread?

Oh foolish Arizaphale.

By the end of the afternoon I had purchased a rotary cutter and quiting ruler.

I 'passed' on the cutting mat as I thought Himself had one at home and I had arranged for a demo session the following morning. There is a lot more to quilting than I thought. *sheepish grin* Like, did you know that the easiest way to sew two triangles together is to put two squares face to face, rule a diagonal line from corner to corner, sew 1/4 inch either side of that line and then cut down the line? Voila! Press open and you have two squares formed by triangles! (I may do a photo tute on this later...it is so clever and my 'Traditional Country Crafts' book did not mention it at all!!!)

We ended up spending a lovely couple of hours yesterday, me mastering the rotary cutter and her sewing little blocks together for me. I'm on my own now.......wish me luck!

She's Ba-ack!

2009-09-27T09:30:00.002+09:30

And she's still smiling.

She slept on the couch from 6pm Friday night til about 11pm before I woke her to send her to bed. She then slept though until after 10am the following morning.

I keep nagging her to write a guest post about it but so far she has been coy. I keep saying she can't possibly STILL be tired but it certainly looks that way!

In a quick answer to some of the questions about the camp posed in the comments on my previous post.

Is it school sponsored?

Yes. It is an integral part of her school's year 9 curriculum and has been for 20 years.

Is it like a survival type experience?

Yes and No. Mostly yes I guess. The kids are in groups and have to co-operate in challenges and cooking daily on hobo stoves. They sleep 'rough' and use only the rudimentary tools they have brought with them. There are long drop toilets and no showers. They are however fed from a kitchen once a day (breakfast) and have plenty of fresh fruit available for snacking. They undertake hikes, orienteering, river crossing challenges, rope courses, a blindfold obstacle course, rope swings, building a fire from scratch, cooking challenges, going down a dark mine etc. On the last night they are challenged to spend a night 'on their own' in one of three different circumstances;

under a tree
in a field under a tarpaulin
in the Esther Stand (standing in a 1 metre square space on a hillside for 6 hours)

Do all the schools do something like it, or just hers?

A number of schools run similar programs but hers is the only one I know of where the camp is a central part of the curriculum. Others seem to run in isolation as more of an 'add-on'.

Was this optional?

Yes and no. Pupils are strongly encouraged to take part and there are usually only a few who opt out, often for health reasons . This year however, the weather was so bad that after the first night and day, all pupils were given the option of whether to continue. Many 'phoned home' on the camp phone to discuss it and many went home that second night. Some returned the next day after a change of clothes and some did the whole back and forward thing, sleeping at home but returning to do the day challenges.

My child did not phone home. She made her decision to stay without consultation although she said it made her cry having to make the choice. It would have been so easy to have come home. She did not contact me during the whole week and she undertook every challenge. She wore the same 2 sets of clothes for the week. She did not shower. She got wet. Her shoes got wet. Her bedding got a bit wet but she stayed and she sucked it up! She stood for 6 and a half hours on a hillside in the dark and during a thunderstorm and she did not 'give up'.

Is this sort of camp a good idea? I think it is outstanding. What it does for kids in terms of building belief in themselves and their ability to cope is a gift without peer.

I am so proud of my tough daughter.

Update on the Weather For Thursday Night

2009-09-26T09:37:00.001+09:30

Did I say she might have a dry night?
There was a thunderstorm about 2am.

Outdoor Ed Camp: or How to Sleep in A Tree During a Storm.

2009-09-24T22:51:00.008+09:30

This is my Baby Angel arriving at her Year 9 Outdoor Ed camp last Sunday. She is unpacking her things in preparation for the 'search' by Year 10 Camp Leaders, to ensure the kids have not smuggled in ipods/phone/lollies or extra clothing. A Year 10 search reveals masses of contraband!

They have spent all this year preparing for this camp. They have made their own bowls,

candlestick holders and cups out of clay ; they have made torches in Science; they have planned menus in Home Ec and fashioned eating utensils from wood and plastic in Technology classes.

The newspapers and magazines she has there are for warmth. That strange green thing she is sitting on is her bed.

Last weekend she spent several hours out in the garden with Himself, practising knots and tying up tarpaulins with rope. We trawled the internet for instructions on how best to set up a shelter.
We bought two different sized tarps from the cheap shops.

The treebed, as you can see, is merely a stretcher like arrangement which is wedged in the fork of a tree (as far as I can make out) and anchored with rope. To protect yourself from the elements, you erect a tarpaulin over the treebed and secure it to various branches.

During the day, the groups of campers undergo challenges through which they earn points. They can trade these points for raw ingredients at the camp 'store' and they then cook their own dinner and lunch for the next day.

Now all this would be fine except for one thing.

weather

This week has seen some of the heaviest rain, wildest winds and most fantastic thunderstorms that Adelaide has experienced in some time. And where is my child?????

Up a tree.

I cannot pretend that I have not been worried. Well, perhaps worried is the wrong word. I have felt guilty. I have felt guilty as I snuggled under a quilt on my lovely squashy couch in front of the log fire, listening to the rain pelt down and the wind howl. I have felt guilty as I reflected with relief that I was not being forced to sleep in a tree. I felt guilty that I was not snatching my baby from the jaws of discomfort and possible dampness and protecting her with my very life. It just didn't seem right. But then, she's not my baby anymore.

After the Music Suite, upstairs, flooded on Monday afternoon and we spent an hour mopping up ankle deep water with the Annie mops and buckets, I wondered how my child was faring in the extreme conditions and I did something I swore I would never do, I became the over anxious parent. I texted a friend who is a teacher on the camp and posed the question:

"How much rain does it take to wash this camp out?"

Initially there was no response but later I received this text:

"A lot more than we've had! Your kid is tough. Some have gone home already. She will let you know when she's had enough. Camp is running fine."

Can I give you any sense at all of how proud (and how relieved) I was? My kid is tough. I just welled up. I immediately phoned Himself who had been muttering about 'Health and Safety' and 'irresponsible schools' and the Westminster incident to reassure him. I haven't texted again. That doesn't mean that I haven't jumped a foot in the air every time my phone rings.

But here we are, Thursday night and no phone call. She's still out there. Tonight is calmer. After four straight nights of wind and water she may get a dry sleep tonight although I think tonight is the famous 'Esther Watch'.

On this night, the challenge is to stay 'on watch'. They carve themselves out a square metre of ground and stand or sit in that space all night. I wonder if they will let them do it this year?

Tomorrow afternoon I have to pick her up from school. I am on tenterhooks to see her, to hear her experiences, to help her make the transition from extreme challenge to normality. I wonder at my capacity to do this. Perhaps we will sit up together until it's late. Perhaps I'll curl up on the couch with her. Perhaps she won't need me at all?............

Crafty Tuesday: The Costumes

2009-09-23T00:26:00.007+09:30

For Crafty Tuesday this week I bring you both my own craftiness and my overall crafty vision albeit made by someone else! Having said that, for many of these I did everything up to and including the cutting out and merely outsourced the sewing :-)

Firstly, the ubiquitous red dress! I am so disappointed that discretion prevents me posting the full photos as the young lady in question looked beautiful in both of these.
Yes, that is a real dog, and yes, it could have been a disaster; in fact, during dress rehearsal it was a disaster but by the first performance 'Annie' had mastered the art of delivering non stop 'treats' to our Sandy stand-in so that he sat solidly in one place, munching!

Here's a full length shot of the dress. See how I cut it wide at the front to cover her 'assets'?

This is dress rehearsal shot of her first outfit, her 'orphan' clothes. Note the less than co-operative dog.
I've left the face in on this one as it is relatively obscure. This is Bert Healy the 'radio' personality from the 'Oxydent Hour of Smiles'. I didn't make this costume; it was one of many I assembled from our costume store but I think it came together well. She loved it!

These young ladies were 'the lovely Boylan Sisters!' and they were one costume I didn't feel worked completely . This was partly because I had envisioned a pastel yellow for the girl closest to the camera but could only get gold in the fabric; partly because the ruffled sleeves in the pattern stuck up too much so we left them off but in hindsight I feel I should have replaced them with something else...a softer fabric maybe or a puff sleeve?; and partly because I left the purchase of the pink and gold sparkly decorations to someone else. The blue one I bought is ok, not great mind you, but I think the other two are way too gaudy. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

'Ralph and Shirley Mudge', the villains in disguise, were a good example of utilising what we had in the costume store but bringing it together well. 'Shirley' had more of a curl in her hair for the actual performance. I don't have pics of their first, more gaudy, outfits. Perhaps later?

Now a couple of group shots. I know their faces are 'in' here but I wanted you to get a feel for the set and I figure they're fairly small pics...

Firstly 'Hooverville'. For those unfamiliar with 'Annie', the story is set during The Depression when many shanty towns or so called 'Hoovervilles' (named after the President, Herbert Hoover) sprang up around the country as people lost everything in the stock market crash. I am pretty proud of this set as the design is mine. I didn't paint it, that was our sensational Art teacher, but the concept and original drawing were mine. I am a bit sad that I wasn't able to organise any 'lean-tos' on stage, and it was also a shame we couldn't stretch the production budget to include a data projector so we could project scenes onto the back cyc; still with the lighting (which is washed out here) it looked very shadowy and atmospheric.

I have to draw your attention to the hobo stove at the front there. It was designed and constructed by Himself and contained 4 torches suspended on wires with a whole bunch of red and yellow cellophane and aluminium foil. The overall effect, in the low light, was of flickering coals in an old metal stove. You don't get it here but I can assure you that it was VERY cool. Well done Himself!!!!

This was NYC, the showstopping tribute to New York City. Once again the costumes are a mix of outfits assembled from the costume store, items trawled from op shops and a few custom made jobs. The art work by our Art teacher was again a stand out. It made me wish we had commissioned more panels to fly in for other scenes but really, she gave up her holidays to paint these as it was!

Back to more up close shots; this is a scene in Daddy Warbuck's mansion. It is so sad I can't show you their faces as they are all so gorgeous and acting their little socks off here. We borrowed the blue and white costumes on the right from another school which had done 'Annie' before. I had planned for all the servants to wear these but as more 'best laid plans' were rent asunder, it became evident that only the smallest of our girls would fit them. The cook at the front is wearing only the apron from the original costume, the rest I cobbled together from our costume store. I think it worked. Anyway, as a result I had 7 men and 6 women to dress as servants. You can see three of them in the background. I had to cut out a range of sizes of those black dresses, starting at 10s and going up to 18s, as well as a number of black vests when it became evident that they are as scarce as hen's teeth in op shops. I also made the bowties in the same blue as the kitchen staff's dresses and bought matching blue ribbon for the female servants in black to tie around their necks. This is a dress rehearsal shot so I notice the girl behind doesn't have her ribbon on. I was really happy with the way these scenes looked especially since it was murder cutting out black gaberdine fabric at 2am!!!

Finally, for now, a few more orphans. I really want to get a shot of them all together because I think the palette of fabrics worked really well. Once again it's a shame I can't show you their faces as they are really beautiful! The dress nearest to the camera is the one I made. I also ended up top stitching all the necklines on the pinafores to give them a better finish.

Oh alright, I couldn't resist a shot of them altogether with the orphanage 'set' in the background. That was my vision too although again I left the actual painting to far more talented people. I hesitated on including this shot because there are a few anomalies. It was dress rehearsal; the young lady in black leggings was told to get cream or lose them altogether and there is one lass with no pinny (another job finished on that all night stint).

So there you have it; a whistle stop tour of costumes and sets for The Musical 2009. To see some other crafty offerings, click over to Barely Controlled Chaos and see what other crafty bloggers have to show for Crafty Tuesday.

Its A Hard Knock Life For Us!

2009-09-22T00:19:00.006+09:30

It is over.

Months and months of planning and rehearsal culminating in a brief week of furious activity and four performances.

Throughout this glorious week I wore a number of hats. I was still responsible for costumes and, in particular, finishing the infamous Annie 'red dress' but I was also stage manager which meant I 'ran' the show from a position in the wings, co-ordinating the lights, spots, sound, orchestra and backstage crews. A perfect job for a control freak :-D

We moved into the theatre last Monday in a process known as 'bumping in'. It is well named. It is rarely a smooth process. There was a truck and several trips back and forwards to bring all the sets, props and costumes from the school. There was a trailer and another trip to bring instruments. There was the whole 'costume rack falling over on the way and all costumes falling onto the floor of the truck and losing their labels' to deal with. There was the problem with the staircases.

These monoliths, our main set, were produced for us by the Tech Department at school. They had been fitted with carpet squares underneath so that they sat flush with the ground and slid along the polished floor of our rehearsal room. Of course, as the best laid plans of mice and men flew frantically awry, we discovered that the stage in the theatre had been painted with a slightly textured paint to prevent actors slipping. Unfortunately, this also applied to staircases. There was some intense consultation and experimentation. It was evident that we would need double the number of crew members to move these things in anything close to an acceptable time frame for set changes. Quick rethink. Trolley trucks were provided and with much groaning and sweating the ends of the stairs were hefted aboard. Still too slow. And too noisy! Eventually the Tech boys were brought in from school and fitted both sets of stairs with multiple castors. They no longer sat flush to the ground but at least we could move them.

There was also the problem with the dressing rooms. Two were provided, one for men and one for women. They were of approximately the same size. In our production there were approximately 40 girls and 6 boys. I made a snap decision; the girls were spread between the two woefully inadequate dressing rooms

and the boys were relegated to the loading dock at the back of the stage.

The strange looking table in the foreground here is the mic table. We used 10 radio mics which were swapped between cast members as they came and went from the stage. This grid formation was essential for keeping things under control.

Tuesday was the Tech rehearsal, a tedious process involving; setting lights, practicing set changes and running sound cues. Microphone levels needed to be checked and the orchestra practised with fold back. Our young cast were remarkably patient and co-operative and our backstage crew phenomonally organised and committed. If a little inexperienced.

I asked the prop girls if they had prepared the props table with labels for each item (rather like the grid for the mikes). "Sure," they reassured me and indicated a table marked with two strips of masking tape. One said 'orphanage' and one said 'mansion'.

Me: OK, that's a good start but it's a little bit vague.

Crew: What do you mean?

Me: Weeeeell, you would be better off dividing the table up into a grid and giving each prop a particular space and a label.

Crew: But we are the only ones taking things off, we'll know where they are and where they go.

Me: Uh-huh but in the excitement of the live run you're gonna find that you are working under huge pressure and things will just get put down where-ever. It all looks simple there now, but if I took one item away, would you know which item it was? You should be able to look at your table and know immediately if anything is missing. If you have a space for everything, the gaps will be obvious.

Crew: Hmmm (unconvinced)

Me: Well, I'm afraid I'm going to have to insist on this one. Just trust me.

They grumbled and made faces but they did what they were asked (a blessed change from my normal classes).

I asked them about it again after the run and they looked at me like I was stupid to suggest it could occur any other way!

On Tuesday, 'Annie' once again asked me if her red dress was ready. Once again I answered 'no'.
That night I went home to complete it. OK, actually I went home to cut it out first! The problem was that patterns suitable for adapting to make the 'red dress' were in sizes 2yrs-8yrs. Our Annie was a very well developed 15. I had managed to work with one of our more talented staff members to draft a pattern for the red dress but it was all guesswork. On Tuesday night I crashed onto the sofa for a few hours before waking at 1am and starting to cut and sew. When the BA got up at 6am, I was still there. The machine had decided to play up and was constantly jamming. Trying to sew two veeeeery long gathering lines for the sleeves was proving impossible and anyway, I needed to know whether what I had done so far actually fitted the girl in question.

I went into the theatre on Wednesday having worked through from 1am. The dress was still not finished. Once in the theatre I had to stop sewing and start stage managing. Annie wore her dress that afternoon for dress rehearsal complete with pins and no sleeves. I took it home Wednesday night and tried to finish it but my exhaustion defeated me. I got up at 7am and took the unfinished monstrosity into the theatre to complete. The machine continued to play up and the final stitches were put into the dress in the interval before it was worn on stage. Nothing like cutting it fine.You can see the offending, incomplete article in the mirror in this shot.

And so the show got underway.

This is my favourite story.
My lighting 'boys' were two very sweet seventh graders . They had been shown how the desk worked and which buttons to press and we had explained that I 'called' the cues for them to execute. As we worked through the dress rehearsals and the first two live performances, there were a few hiccups in the timing of the lights. Some were my fault but some just seemed to be a general slowness in response from the lighting room. But come on, they are only year sevens!

There was one cue in particular which we had consistently messed up. At the end of the cabinet scene where FDR and his cronies are all singing 'Tomorrow' we had consistently blacked them out too early. By the third performance I was determined to get the timing right. I held off, I called the 'stand-by', I watched intently....and to my horror, the lighting boys blacked the stage out with NO CUE FROM ME!!!!!!!! The cabinet once again finished singing in the dark and after my string of invectives I determined to find out how this had gone wrong.

I fronted my little lighting friends.

Me: So what happened with that black out?
Boy 1: Well, I gave a hand signal to Him and he thought I meant something else so he just 'went'.
Me: hang on........what do you mean you gave a hand signal to him and he 'went'....??????????????
Boy 2: (guilelessly) Well we decided to share the job so in one half he wears the headset and I press the buttons and in the other half I wear the headset and HE presses the buttons!

My carefully timed lighting cues were being passed from one set of ears across the room to another set before being implemented.
No wonder my cues were slow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me: Did you never think of sharing the job by ONE of you wearing the headset AND pressing the buttons in the first act and the other doing it in the second??????????
Boys: Er...no.
Me: Well that is what we will be doing for the last show!

And the lighting was perfect.

Status Check: Near Exhaustion

2009-09-16T22:35:00.003+09:30

Last night I fell aslepp ont he sofa around 9pm, slept til near one and then sewed through until dawn. As of this point in time I have been awake for 21 hours.......

I am off to sleep on the sofa for a couple of hours and then finish the iconic Annie dress before dawn. Tech and dress rehearsals have gone very much as these things do. Hoping the kids 'lift' with an audience.

Wish us luck!

Crafty Tuesday: Baby Vests

2009-09-16T00:34:00.003+09:30

Got to be quick because it's 12.40 and I'm about to make a dress for Annie in time for dress rehearsal tomorrow. Nothing like cutting it fine :-)

Here's my Crafty Tuesday offering, the vests I made for baby Not Max last week. I was so slack about delivering them that I couldn't post them til now! To be fair, I didn't make the vests (onesies I believe they're called in the US), I just did the embroidery, but I was quite pleased with the overall effect. In an anally retentive burst of realism, do you notice how the ground is plowed behind the tractor and flat in front of it? You don't get detail like that in the baby section of K Mart.

The only thing I might have done differently is the little green leaves at the neckline of the tractor vest. I chose a grass green to represent spring growth but now I wonder if I should have just stuck with the British racing green, as in the body of the tractor. What do you think?

Anyway, as I said to Dr O'C, don't look too closely and especially don't look behind the embroidery! This ain't no Royal Show entry :-D.

For more inspiring crafts, join Carrie for Crafty Tuesday over at Barely Controlled Chaos. I'm off to start sewing. At least I can 'sleep in' til after 7 am tomorrow.

Devastation or: Let Me Eat Cake or: You Can Never Have Enough Diggers

2009-09-13T07:47:00.007+09:30

Did A Free Man claim that the 2 year old Boy Z was 'devastated' when his sensational Digger birthday cake was cut up and served? Let me tell you, you cannot believe everything you read on the internet. Photographic evidence now, that is a different story!

Firstly, I give you the sensational Digger cake in detail. Well done Dr O'C. If this was a 'first effort' I can't wait to see where your skills develop!

Next a slightly worried Boy Z, but that was only because a number of strange people were singing him Happy Birthday.

Now, a tentative 'try'.

What is this orange stuff?

I think he likes it!!!

Hmmmm....these supporting struts taste pretty good.

I wonder what happens if you put it in this way.

OK, this could be a knife and fork job.

Huh. I've had enough of this. I've got more important things to get on with, like.....

.......opening presents!!!!!

Happy Birthday Boy Z!! Thanks for having us :-)

SOOC Saturday: The Telephone

2009-09-12T10:53:00.004+09:30

Did I mention I was involved with The School Musical? Well, next week we are 'in the theatre' and the pressure and job list is mounting. One of my responsibilities is to acquire props, preferably in keeping with the period of the show; in this case The Depression, circa 1933. We needed a telephone. Well, I knew exactly where to go. The BA's best friend's father is a phone-o-phile. I just knew that he would have exactly the right phone for the period. And I mean exactly!

Me: Please say no if you don't feel comfortable about this, but I was wondering if you would be able to lend us a period phone for the musical. Just a for a week. We'll take really good care of it.

Him: Hmmm. What period?

Me: 1930s, Depression.

Him: Australian or American?

Me: Well American but it doesn't really ma-

Him: Wall phone, table phone or desk phone?

Me: Errr... desk...

Him: Operator connected or dial phone?

Me: (thinks: what???????) ...ummmm, I'm not sure.....I'll have to check the script...

Him: I think I can help but I must tell you that these phones are not museum pieces, they're historical pieces but they're not in mint condition.

Me: Really, it's not a problem..

Him: hmm yes, well, they are made of bakelite which becomes more brittle with age so they can break easily if dropped.

Me: I can assure you, our stage hands are the most delightful, sensible kids(this is true). They will take really good care of it.

Him: Alright then, come and pick it up tomorrow.

When I arrived the next night, this gorgeous old phone was waiting for me along with a few apologies ("I've changed the handset to a more easily replaceable one if it breaks so it's not actually completely authentic") and a print out of a similar model being sold on ebay.

The model on ebay went for US$1325.00

So, no pressure there.

Later that day, by email, he also helpfully included dialling instructions.

It's Straight Out of Camera Saturday/Sunday over at Slurping Life. Click over and join in.