I am seriously trying not to get too excited about the finals. Finals footy (what Americans would call the play-offs) is a whole different world where every game is crucial. We only have one potentially dangerous match left, against Melbourne this weekend and I know we can beat them, if we play well. At left is a photo of Michael O'Loughlin who is one of our true superstars (when he kicks straight). He is akin to Michael Jordan in that he can do impossible things with the ball and has great footy brain and knows when to do something unexpected and brilliant. A sneaky handpass to another player who kicks a goal while the other team is still concentrating on him. A kick from an impossible angle on the run. Picking up the ball and doing a 180 out of a tackle to kick a goal. He started playing in the seniors at 18 and is now 29 and one of the longest serving and highest scoring players we have. He kicked his 400th goal last weekend. And yes, despite his Irish name he is Aboriginal.

The first paragraph was written on Friday morning before I went the the Australian craft show where C and I trawled semi-quickly. I tried very hard not to look at quilting (but bought 3 fat quarters), skipped the scrapbooking, senciling, punchwork, sewing machines, embroidery (mostly). I was thrilled to see a small (and new) stall selling Procion dyes so I had to buy some. Then I caught a man explaining dyeing lace to somebody and butted in and asked if the dyes did wool too. Yes. Ozecraft dyes and they come in a wonderful range of muted soft colours because they are designed for people doing antique looking lace. So I collected 6 dyes from him. I don't think they go very far because he sells them to dye small items like fringe and lace but there should be enough to dye a small amount of yarn for a scarf. I bought two books, Stephanie's newest Knitting Rules! and Pat Ashcrofts No-pattern knits because I think it would be a new way to look at bits and pieces of yarn I've spun. There were so many beading booths and for the most part we by-passed them. With two exceptions: a Japanese guy selling the most gorgeous cloisonnee, glass, porcelain, onyx, etc. beads at ridiculous prices. I bought a pair of red cloisonnee earrings and a little pink cloisonnee jointed fish for A. At this point I called my boss who supposedly wants to do beading but turned down our offer to take her to the show and berated her for not coming because I was beginning to get sucked into beads and she would be in hog heaven. She promised next year (we'll see). Then there was a booth that was selling some already made up things like Christmas ornaments (which I am a total sucker for). While C was cruising I found one of the stall holders knitting with wire. Now I swore I would not do this but it looked so easy and the results were stunning. So I bought a spool of purple wire and a little kit for a necklace that has square opalescent beads in it. Can beads and cats co-exist? I think A would like a purple wire bracelet. I also bought some more scissors (can any craft person have too many scissors?) and a magnifier disc on a gooseneck that clips directly to your needlework frame. The magnifiers-on-goosenecks-on-stands didn't have necks long enough to get from my table to my needlpoint.

As an aside I went to Vision Australia a couple of weeks ago to see what handy hints and products they have. I bought a purse-sized magnifer that is much stronger than the one I have. This is for reading labels and instructions on boxes and bottles. I also got some marking do-dads so mark things like appliance plugs to tell you which way is up (Australian plugs have two prongs at a diagonal / and \ and a vertical prong centred below so up and down are important) and a lot of hints for coping. I was told not to drive at night (which I don't). They also had a magnifier light on a table stand. I wanted to see if there was similar at the show but there wasn't. I have one that attaches with a C-clamp (in theory) but it is unstable. The table stand one is the way to go and now I'll order it.

After the show C took me home and we talked to the cats a bit and then she left. I went to lie down and I slept for 2+ hours. My legs still hurt and my left knee has been very painful for the last week. I think a serious diet (like a liquid one) may be in the offing. Fruit season is about over and that's been my main thing. I went on the liquid diet in the states because of my knees and I may have to do it again. My "normal" genetically-induced weight (shape like my mother and sister) is not good for my joints and I am not ready for surgery.