Cars, the next chapter, Textiles and Tea, Laura Thomas

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So, I left the car overnight, then waited till early afternoon to check. 

Meanwhile I studied the orchid which after several months of bloom, is now dropping its blossoms. Then I pruned the main stem and moved it upstairs where it will be in good light with friends until it starts flowering again.

And I noticed I was stiff and achy from stress and not walking yesterday, so I did a 20 minute workout with April and Aiko, which helped a lot, also cheered me up a bit. A small bit.

And I sent a couple of very firm messages to Shaheen and Kaine, two of the little quislings who betrayed the Dems by voting to cave, about their treachery.   This also helped my mood.

When I called the car dealership, they were working on the car right then, the part had arrived, the service manager all over me being nice. 

I said we're not talking about charging me any more, then? Of course not, this isn't your fault, no, no, and I really apologize for yesterday, but now we're on it. 

It looks as if my call to the manager paid off. But I  really had had a lot of anxiety about maybe having another set-to when I picked it up. I agree that it was looking like a bit of bullying an old lady. But this old lady appears to have prevailed. I resent the emotional energy it took though.

Then I decided I'm old enough to please myself, and they were working late enough that it was going to end up with my having to drive home at dusk, not good, also I'd miss Textiles and Tea. 

So when they called late afternoon to let me know the car was ready, I said nah, I'll get in tomorrow. Too bad if they want my car off their crowded premises, I thought. Neener, I thought! Then I started laughing at myself! Finally cheerfulness broke through.

But the convenience of the ride service was so cool, and Lyft has a new program where you can request a favorite driver, or at least a woman, which pleases me.  There's also Uber available locally. 

This has  renewed my decision to get out of  car ownership, either to Handsome Son or to sell it. I'm tired of the responsibility and I think age 87 is high time to leave driving to people who like it. Tomorrow HS is going to drive me in to the dealership to pick up, then come back here for a cup of tea and car talk. 

Soooo, Liz 1, Honda,0. As of now.

And Textiles and Tea was a Welsh woman, Laura Thomas, whose Bridgend studio is next to Ewenny Pottery,the oldest working pottery in Wales. I wonder if blogista potter Gwyneth is familiar with it?

Laura, Eisteddford Gold Medal winner in 2024, does amazing weaving, exploring line and texture. Many of her pieces are threads encased in resin, amazing things. Most of her work is small, the largest we saw about 60" x30", and several works about 12" each way.

She's had a varied career, including designing for a traditional Welsh blanket mill, teaching, curating and exhibiting. Definitely check her website. I took some of these images from there.

The three images above show the whole work with a detail image 

She's a fearless and brilliant artist, cheerful and so honest about her work and plans. I know our Welsh blogistas will be all, well, she's a Welshwoman, so of course! 

Then I decided I needed a nice supper after all that, so this happened.

Shrimp boiled with lemon juice and salt, with brown rice cooked with butter and Old Bay, then a spritz of soy sauce on the plate. Spinach and scallion salad. Fast. Nice. Enough for tomorrow too 

Happy day everyone. Stick up for yourself even if your voice shakes a bit! Sez Ted and Big Ursy