(no subject)

The urge to sew seems to have kicked in again, after my mad little dash last week. A curtain, a pillowcase and a skirt in two days? Get a hold of yourself, woman! Now I've embarked on the Adventure of the Silk Pyjamas and have so far crossed the River Pants Are Cut, but have come into the shadow of Mount Perhaps I Should Have Cut A Bit Wider. Once that peak is scaled, it will be smooth going across the Plains of Sewing The Pants and after that, the mighty cliffs of What The Hell Do I Want The Top To Look Like, Anyway? I have a rough idea, but I suppose I'll see when I get there. These are to be, after all, elegant lounging pyjamas so I can elegantly lounge around in my tiny one-room apartment.

My Soup Plan is again in effect this week and going nicely. I really should add ginger, Japanese onions and carrots aren't quite enough on their own for flavourful broth. Still, it's so nice to be able to eat almost as soon as I get home.

For me, first sign of getting seriously into a hobby is when I actually feel a desire to read the instruction manual for the equipment. I tend to jump in without bothering, as I have a practical enough mind that I can usually figure things out on my own, whether using a sewing machine or assembling furniture. Also, I learn hands-on skills better when I do something myself or figure it out on my own, which I find a bit strange, because otherwise I'm a very visual person and my memory is mostly visual (I remember studying for tests and during the exam, "seeing" my notes in my head and remembering "Ah, I wrote that bit of information in blue ink on the lower half of the left-hand page. Now, what was it that I wrote?") But when it comes to physical tasks, I have to perform the actions myself. I think my mother showed me how to use the washing machine at least five times when I was younger and I kept forgetting how. It wasn't until I was forced to do it on my own that I figured it out and then never forgot.

All that to say that yesterday I dug out the instruction manual for my digital camera. The more pictures I take, the better I want them to be. I used to be a conscientious photographer, because I was always limited, with a roll of film, to a certain number of pictures. Especially with slides, I didn't want to waste film on mediocre shots. With a digital camera, though, I can click away as much as I like, or until the battery's dead, but I'd still like to know how to get certain effects. I'm bracing myself for the fact that with what I have, a standard point-and-click camera, there isn't a whole lot I can do about exposure and focus and all that jazz, but it would be nice to be able to get the picture I want to begin with and not think "I could probably make this look better in Photoshop." Because Photoshop is another skill I have yet to acquire and also because I don't like manipulating photos too much.

In knitting news, I've finished my fingerless mitts. Of course, I finished them the day the weather changed for the warmer, so I don't think I'll be needing them until next year. In retaliation, I started another pair of socks.

Also, I finished reading:

Tai-Pan (James Clavell): I read Shogun a few years ago and liked it well enough, so I borrowed this one from M-P. It was a bit of a shock at first, how masculine it all is, because I started it the same day I finished reading The Poisonwood Bible. Still, it was an enjoyable read, though certainly not life-altering. The author decided to keep the characters' dialects and pidgin intact, so there was a lot of "na" and "baint" and "deaded", which would probably annoy many readers, but I got used to it after a while and didn't mind so much. The ending seems somewhat abrupt and I can only assume there's a sequel that explains what happens to Culum and Tess and Noble House. I guess I'd read it if someone lent it to me, but I doubt I'll be seeking it out on my own.