Trying to not suck so hard at SEWING...

So I've had a few things sitting there in a giant pile being neglected waiting for mending or just general 'that's not quite right' kind of fixing... so have made some headway on that this past week!

I'm a big fan of buttons, I can't help but collect a myriad of them wherever I am on this planet. The little memories they bring back to me are just wonderful.  So I had used a couple of pieces of fabric I got in Japan in 2009 and dodge-ily attached them to coathangers. They were getting a little neglected and saggy so it was time to fix them for real.

Here's what happened:

All that was really required for this was for me to go to the hardware store and buy some (sustainable forested) dowel, the chains and keyring chain came from what was already in my parents stash of craft things.




 Yay! Now they are less saggy and more sturdy and YIPPEE!

More soon. xJ

Yes, Julie, stop rabbiting on about Planet Challenge...

Okay okay so more on THAT tomorrow, however on to what we achieved in the last couple of days...
My mum volunteers at an Op Shop called The Caring Place in Morphett Vale, South Australia.

It's one of those true op shops too, where you can find stuff for 20 cents. I've managed to spend a whole $7 since I have been helping clean up there. (I cleaned up, cleaning up?!)
It's school holidays so it is closed at the moment but needs some love.

So with the combined forces of the lads from the "mens shed" (a club for men to hang and make stuff, really - like their own shed, but community based), we began!

We moved everything away from the walls in the main shop and the boys started painting yesterday...

So many things piled into the centre from the racks... if it falls over I will roll around on the floor with laughter I swear. We stacked pretty high!

 Here is their progress that we walked in on today!

Then we started to tackle the shed behind (there are three more rooms to this op shop).

Oops, forgot to get a full shot before I started <<<<<<


Haven't done the top shelf yet, but the only thing that lives here is boxes for people if they are purchasing a lot of things >>>>>>

I practiced my mad librarian skills on the bookshelves, all cleaned, all categorised! But for how long...

Before, again half way through... note the odd shoe mum found in the shoe racks. Shoe FAIL!
<<<<<<

All done!
>>>>>>>

The Caring Place opens again on October 15th and is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am - 3:30.

Come see how amazingly you can find useful things before it gets destroyed :)

One love.
Reclaim: Recycle: Reuse
xJ

Do we really want a return to the Howard years?!

Early in the noughties, at least I think it was then, the second time Howard got voted in to power... I remember being at my boyfriends house at the time and the only person in the household rooting for that guy was my boyfriends sisters boyfriend (Bueller?!).

He actually came out of their room, where they were watching the telecast also, chanting "four more years".  

I'm pretty sure the rest of us opened beers.  For we knew that for us, low to middle income earners and students, that we were all screwed.

I mostly ignore polls in the media, especially the big media, because it's all owned by the same rich guy and seems rather biased.  And somehow I don't believe that Abbott would win an election if there was a vote today.  So far, not a single person I know has indicated that they support Liberal, the views of the party, and their absolute ignorance about things like climate change and providing their members with conscience votes on issues that may be important to their electorates (a prime example being gay marriage).

So if we think about just that for a moment... a Government that has policies yet doesn't let it's members choose to vote in either the Senate or the Lower House genuinely, and with the voices of their constituency.

Sometimes when I hear Abbott interviewed I get particularly worried. Here is a guy who has obviously never seen a documentary about water; conservation or use thereof.  Countries around the world are pulling right away from putting up dams, and yet this guy wants to put in 150 of them in Australia.  Who is advising this guy?! Obviously not a climatologist, scientist, conservationist, or anyone with any knowledge of the subject.

Growing up in South Australia, we always conserved water. Our State has always been the one that has suffered, being at this end of the Murray River. Cotton farmers are allowed to pull water out of the river systems at alarming rates in a country that is so baron and so dry and with so little agriculturally viable land.  My father piped the water tank into the laundry sink, as well as the bathtub, in the 1980's. Why do I remember this?! Because I almost lost a toe helping him install the pipe from the shed to the tank.  We would bucket water from the bathtub out on to the lawns when there had been little rain, and use the cold water from the water tank to half fill the tub or to do hand washing.  It absolutely boggled the mind when moving up to Queensland in late 2004 only to find people whining about newly introduced water restrictions.

I was thinking "what?! you're only just getting them NOW?" - when us Southerners have had to always think about it. At least for the last 30 years.

Ranting aside, I'm freak;n scared. I hope Australia does not make the wrong choice.

Our most important issue, in case you hadn't noticed over this summer period, is the violent change in our weather patterns.  Thinking about this yesterday; I don't recall these insane weather events happening throughout my childhood, and even into my teen years. And yet if you look at this summer, watching the news whilst they say "well there's 300 fires in NSW at the moment and 95 of them are uncontained..." you have to wonder... what's going to happen next?!

Can we not simply take the lead in a Green Energy Revolution?! Show the rest of the world how it's done. Push clean energy industries and make our exports again competitive ! Help the third world evolve, without the use of fossil fuels??!

I'm certain it can be done. But will Australia take up the challenge.

We shall see.

Stand strong, Australia.

xx

lonely and sadly alone...

Well, you know I have to be honest here, on Friday I felt terribly alone, sitting in the lounge devouring red wine, after buying frozen sweet potato fries and baking some fish, then watching some dodgy movie on teevee that was neither fantastic nor offensive to me. You know those movies.

It could well be that 'festival remorse' is real. I mean let's face it, several times a year (well, okay, a lot of the year) I spend my time with my festival families. Then I have to leave them. All of a sudden it's "goodbye, see you next year" - as we're all transient bastards, let's not lie about it.

Spending a few weeks in Sydney was both overwhelming and lovely at the same time. Met a wonderful new crew of peoples, but also felt particularly out of place in that city. Everyone seems too well dressed, or perhaps it was just that I saw a lot of corporate people and that generally makes me shudder. There's a difference between a nice suit and a dude standing on a corner with one of those blue tooth headsets (i thought no-one used them anymore, turns out I was wrong) looking like he's talking to himself, but it being about something terribly important like the next big thing, or budgeting or some crap.

I did, however, enjoy the fact that a bunch of people were coming together to watch footage and ideas from across the globe in many languages. It really has reignited my fascination for film (like it was ever  really gone? i guess other things took precedence in recent years) and think fondly of those friends within that industry thinking 'bravo'.

And GO TEAM BOX OFFICE.

This festival remorse will become all the worse I am sure when I return to Canada soon to help out on Shambhala and have to head back to the Land Of Oz so quickly. I had such an amazing time there last year, even if I did sound like Darth Vadar for a few days and get hooked up to some oxygen therapy. And I had camping neighbours that had yip-yip costumes.

So... Festival Number 36 will you please stand up...

That continual feeling that I belong in that country instead of my own will probably never pass. I've got this strange feeling I will always regret leaving when I did, and always regret not checking out what the requirements would have been for me to stay.  I didn't want to work a lot when I was there, I made that choice, I developed other skills and kept everything flexible to fit in with my disappearing act type lifestyle.

We are so lucky here, and I get jack of people that complain and scare monger, do things for their own gain. Like SUCK IT UP all of you, we have low unemployment, medical care for all, a Government that is actually moving towards decreasing our environmental impact... I mean of course not all of these things are perfect, we are still fighting for many important things to be heard / passed / understood. But to whine and moan about pricing and such, think less. It's always more.

Do you really NEED 3 televisions, 2 cars, shoe hire, hot dog, fries and a coke?! To run your air conditioner or heater 24 / 7, then cry about electric bills?! Put on a jumper!

Our shitty media largely to blame for our over-consumption of just about everything. You need the latest gadget man, seriously, you do... *scoff*.

Look outside it, and get involved in what is local to you.

{ Actually can I ad that some of the television advertising I have seen lately REALLY gives me the shits. Clubs Australia trying to convince us that they are part of a solution... banks using high profile celebs to make them sound like a charity... mining companies trying to prove that they work along side environmental projects. Y'all make me sick. }

here ends the ranting...

i am a neglectful sod...

yes indeed i am. So much has happened since I last wrote in this thing.

Left Canada, didn't want to. Waah. Back in home town RADelaide, moving into a new enormous sharehouse this weekend which is exciting.

Worked Falls already, grand. new role. all good things.

Got a new job with the Adelaide Fringe. Way excited.

Been doing temping in between.

Centrelink sucks. But have been somewhat helpful.

My cholesterol went way down on my travels away. I still need to see the dentist.

I miss hockey and my Canadian family. I think I belong there. But can't do much about it now.

SAD. BUT HAPPY. PROGRESSIVE. STUFF. THINGS.

xJ

home again, home again, jiggidy jig...

well, not quite yet but the wheels (or probably more appropriately, the jet engines) are in motion...

how do i feel? i feel good. apart from the incessant smoking which i can't seem to put down again. damn you nicotine, damn you to hell (if there is such a place).

sad to leave Canada (again) of course, however my age is a factor and with my sister getting married December 10 I do feel an obligation as I only have one sibling.

and, as always, a bunch of summer festivals call me, it's like a whisper in the wind. I want to set up 'shop' somewhere in RADelaide and have the luxury of popping back in and out when I need to. I believe in my heart of hearts it will work. Hey if I can survive in Vancouver on less than $200 a week I can do anything, truly!

I have my sights set on a few festivals I haven't worked before. I hope that it will all come through for me.

Leaving some people behind will be hard, but you know with the wonder of the interweb and other technologies, we're really never disconnected.

Besides, the universe has a hand in that connection thing, for realsies.

So I will enjoy the next three months in Canada to the best of my ability. Currently working away gathering volunteers for Hapa-Palooza which is in a few weeks. I believe in it, I think it will be great.

xx

tell me, am i being productive??

maybe??...

ooh crappy pictures, still no digital camera only my phone...

been spending all my time with the boy before heading down to a-town tomorrow for about 10 days then off to hobart to work on the Falls Festival in Marion Bay. Way excited, it shall be fun fun fun.

much love to all, and smelly kwezbutt too.

xxJ

ok so once again i've been slack...

and i can't remember half the stuff i've been doing... let's go backwards...

last night i had dinner with my aunt and uncle for my aunts birthday at the buckingham arms where they have a massive smorgasboard. tasty.

then i just came home with the intention of going through last of crap lying around and sorting out... well i only got so far with that, i got distracted by adam sandler movie on tele.

i WAS going to go to the gov but i've really spent a whole lot of cash since i got paid the other day on boring necessities like bras. yay.

during the day yesterday i went to mum and dads so dad could check out the car and my sister and i went to mclaren vale to medlows and scarpantoni (necessary before leaving this town) to buy chocolate and lots of it and wine.

friday night had dinner with a different aunt at cafe michael 2 on rundle st, then on to the uni bar for Your Motive For and Raw Ether (didn't see Fear in Dakota who i think played last). Saw the lovely ladies as follows... (and some gents too but they don't get pics taken of them, hehe)

Tracey and Eva...

Fiona and Heidi...

Yours truly and Fiona...

Great, great. Trotted off for a quick drink at Rhino before having to trudge half way across town to meet the boys again in my big boots and caught a cab home.

Thursday night Loz and I went bowling... now i got a 135... NOT GOOD ENOUGH. 141 or bust!

Earlier in the week haven't done as much, been temping still.

to be continued...

xJ

we are fam-i-ly...

This is my Nan, shes in the second half of her 80's (get THAT) and is truly awesome.


xJ