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Saturday, May 12, 2007

Shopping

After being "in my head" for all of April, with NaPoWriMo, I felt the urge to make something. I'm sending off job applications and with fingers crossed that something turns up, I'm feeling the need to update my work wardrobe. Especially since I've lost 14 kgs in the past eight months (about thirty pounds), and most of my clothes are rather loose. And it's so long since I sewed my own clothes that I'm not too sure what pattern size to use any more.

However, I do have some multisize patterns in my possession, and I have some fabric stored away which wasn't very expensive, so I'm going to make some shirts to test out the patterns, and then I can look for more "business-like" fabric when I get the fit right.

So I headed off into town this morning to buy buttons, and poetry. The poetry book I was after is "Blame Vermeer" by Vincent O'Sullivan. I'm heading off to bed to read it, shortly.

In the City Mall there was a girl with a basket of something. It looked as if she might be soliciting donations, or something like that, so I was carefully looking away. Others were hurrying past, too. And then I realised what was in the basket. Chocolate! Samples of Fair Trade chocolate, to be exact, and very nice tasting chocolate it was, too.

I wasn't impressed with the poetry selection in most bookstores. About half a shelf tucked away in some obscure spot without its own shelf title, mostly. For example, New Zealand poetry tucked in at the end of New Zealand fiction. And then, a good half of the poetry was those collections, often sentimental and awful, of "ten poems to change your life" or "poems to read at weddings and funerals". But I did eventually find the book I was after.

And I had a nice time walking around town on a sunny autumn day, poking around in interesting shops like Cherry Blossom and Blue Earth. Shops where I'm not likely to buy anything (Japanese fabric covered journals for $40, anyone? Beautiful, but I'd be scared to write in them) - but it's fun to look, once in a while. And to smell the beautiful Blue Earth soaps and massage balms.

And even though it's autumn, and the leaves are falling from the trees, the flowers in the pots on this balcony didn't seem to know that.

6 comments:

kenju said...

Catherine, I like the new parts, both here and on you! Your hair looks very nice. Of course, I didn't know what it looked like before, but I do like it now! That's a lovely photo of the balcony. Michele sent me.

Shephard said...

I enjoyed reading about your shopping day, trying to picture your words and wondering what a charming town in New Zealand looks like. Both those shops sounded fun.

Michele says hello!
~S

OldLady Of The Hills said...

BEAUTIFUL pots of flowers on that Balcony, Catherine....It sure looks like Spring-Summer!

Margaret said...

Congrats on the weight loss and good luck with the sewing. I've found that it is much like riding a bicycle--it all comes right back to you. Here from Michele's.

Jan said...

Nice to see you in the photo, Catherine.Hello there!
And liked the pots of flowers too, of course!

m said...

Catherine good luck with the applications.

Crossing paws for you.