Strange Machines

This morning when we woke, Jack nursed as usual and sweetly asked, “Mama please hold hands”. I held his hand. Once done, he peered into my dozy face and grinned, kissed my cheeks repeatedly and then ran outside to look for his Dad.

We accomplished a lot today. Got a new pair of spectacles, ordered a new bathroom door to replace the broken one, did some market research on sewing machines (I was very awed by the Singer 8280 and the saleslady’s demo).

In the end, we lugged home my brother’s old Singer - actually my grandmother’s - after much convincing (”It’s the second last furniture I have of grandma’s.” “Grandma’s going to live with you soon. Isn’t having grandma herself even better than her furniture?” Pause. “You’re so rude.”).

I spent the latter half of the evening cleaning it (and here’s a link to some step-by-step advice). It is rusty but I rubbed in lemon and salt and hoped for the best. The gears still work and everything is where it should be. I spent a moment thinking of my grandma sitting by her machine with all the chalk, thread, and needles in the drawers.

I confess still being tempted by the 8280, its reputation only slightly marred by some jamming issues. Duds, some of them? The saleslady May said they’re all assembled in China now, although the parts are made in Brazil. I’ve been lucky so far with the Nokia phones. But let me run a couple of projects on the old Singer first. But it would be nice to have a machine ready to go…

Since it sells on Ebay for about slightly more than the list price including shipping (over US$100 - ouch), I might just get it here if I want it. Okay, I want it, but for now, I don’t need it.

Meanwhile, I’m planning to make this lovely stuffed tomato dish (with organic spinach, diced carrots, raisins, black beans, garlic, some herbs) for dinner tomorrow. It will be a nice change from the usual pasta+fish combo. That and the wrinkled yellow capsicum that is now 1 week old in my fridge.

After taking 2 days to make my very first small tote bag (instead of buying them) which is 100% cotton and a cool black (and a day of carrying and admiring it), I’ve decided it is time to go get a machine to help me out. This just is not productive.

Into Alice’s rabbit hole I fell.

From Pfaff to Singer to Brother and Bernina, I spun. And those are just the brand names. The models are even more, almost like genuses of some new species (I remember those days in Anthropology 101) I had to remember. It was impossible to find a conclusive model to buy.

Never mind my mother and brother both have ancient Singers, all in good health ready for use, which they insist they need to keep. Mom: “It is worth 1000 dollars if I sell it now, and I do use it. Occasionally.” Right. Bro: “I still want it.” Okay.

At Great World City I found a nice craft lady who wore a measuring tape like a necklace. She said they sell Janome and recommended me the entry-level Jem at $262. Gosh. I was looking to spend no more than $120.

Then the advice online. There seems to be a consensus that you can’t do wrong by Bernina and Pfaff but they’re worth more than what I earn in a year (now). Brother and Singer are all apparently plasticky and made in China now, and they’re erratic from model to model - I hate that.

There’s a woman selling a Brother XL-2220 on Ebay for $120 now and I can’t find a single review on that model. Other forum advice points to Ebay being overpriced although generally we noobs are better off buying second hand higher end machines than new entry level machines.

So this is what I have decided.

1. Go look around in live shops and touch the machines.
2. Find one I like that isn’t plasticky.
3. Consider seriously if I will be using that machine much.
4. Try to convince mother and brother to part with theirs.
5. Look at the Bernina Bernette series and the Janome Jem, which seem to have the most thumbs ups so far.

It is mine! On Wednesday night, I decided that it made perfect sense to buy a phone that was also a fabulous camera and so after a night of research and many questions and answers later, on Thursday I bought the Nokia N82. Just snapping a pic of Jack and I in the car and seeing it turn out perfect cheered me so.

I know that it is a nay in the spirit of non-consumerism, which I am striving for, but I have abstained for a long time till the price fell within a reasonable range and I cut coupons and accumulated points for it. Plus it helps me document my son’s and my cats’ lives and those are important to me. Plus my last cams were 3.2MPs so you can figure out how old they are.

I always regretted not buying a good camera phone when Jack was born and so early pics and videos of him are grainy and not very many. So this time, there are no regrets buying the best I can afford. Now I might actually catch that elusive Jack smiling in his sleep shot. Hopefully without waking him!

Here are my reviews of it on TechBot:

10 Thing I Love About the Nokia N82
Tips for Uploading to Flickr on the Nokia N82
Why Nokia N82 Beats N95 8GB Hands Down

Ahh what else is there to blog about but my Lenovo V100 (dang I need a name for it already). After playing with it all evening, I have to say I am entralled.

Things I love:

1. In the sidebar installed, your pics run like a mini album. Jack’s face keeps smiling at me from various angles and positions.

2. There is a clock.

3. I can type notes to remind me of things I shouldn’t forget.

4. The built-in camera. For amusement at self.

5. The lightness of the whole laptop.

6. The fingerprint authenticator. I feel like a spy.

7. The beautiful Windows backgrounds.

8. The keyboard tapping under my fingers.

9. The little beeps it makes.

10. The new Vista taskbar.

11. The cute kitten startup icon.

12. How the screen cover opens.

13. The tough display screen.

And this is just the first day! More to come…

It is 90% a stomach virus Jack has. His father has it several days ago and so did I, although mine manifested quite differently. This morning at 830am he woke up and let’s just say I changed his diaper thrice in ten minutes. He sweetly smiled and we went back to sleep after.

Anyhow, this is the first post written from the luscious yet unnamed Lenovo 3000 v100 that is mine, all mine now. I am writing from my bed with Jack sleeping, mouth attached to my nipple. The keyboard is heavenly and I think I’m the happiest tech-crazy Mom out there today.