I spent the afternoon cutting the lining and straps and sewing up the bag sections for the 3 new Kon&Tarol shopping bags. I estimate it has been a few years since I have sewn anything black and Holy!Goodness! I can definitely mark myself down as an old lady. It was virtually impossible to actually see where I was sewing. And that one time I had to unpick – ARGH! I was forced to use a needle threader for the machine and I was in bright daylight. Time for magnifying spectacles and a dazor lamp.

I’m somewhat flippant about it, but I had really not appreciated how much the eyesight deteriorates in the … ahem … mid to late 40s. Thank TheUniverse! for the wonderful, magical kindle – where I can bump up the size of the font to my liking, otherwise I would have trouble reading. As an aside, I was very much enjoying Clive James: Cultural Amnesia, but thought it would be one of the rare non-coffee table, full of pretty pictures, books improved by reading the hard copy version (for flagging and annotation purposes). That was until I saw one InRealLife and the typeface was so tiny that I could barely discern it.

When I think that I have another whole lifetime ahead of me (ZOMGWFTBBQ! Just ponder that for a moment!), I shudder to think of my eyesight at 90!

But I digress. What this sewing and cutting and ironing did was really reinforce that I need my own little nest for pottering/crafting. ThePalace(OfLove) is perfect – except for that (okay, and a couple of other very small hideously expensive things).

Bessie was back in her other home this weekend so I took over her room (after tidying it – what a messy puss she is!). It was blissful to be able to spread out and leave the ironing board up and sewing machine out – and enjoy the company of sprawled out kitties.

I really, positively, definitely must fit-out the upstairs landing (though I must compete with the weekly washing laid out on the drying racks) for such (and other) activities.

ActionItem for October/November.