On 1 Aug I bought an Elanor chair from Plush because Ming said I needed an armchair in the living room downstairs, and Simon from the art group worked in a furniture store. Simon helpfully made up a quote and emailed it to the Esag account so I paid a deposit. Much cheaper than the place I’d been used to getting furniture from and from whom I’d bought my couch, plus with only a deposit needed on order I didn’t do too much immediate damage to my credit card. I’d just gotten a refund because the night before I orchestrated a purchase of clothes for Adelaide. One of her retailers had a sale but stupidly I picked the wrong colour for one item – a top – so had to cancel the order as international orders with Lucy & Yak cannot be changed. This is what the chair looked like when it was delivered (not in Aug) after a time lag of about 12 weeks. I put it here in Aug because I didn’t make a note of it when it arrived. You can see it looks a bit like a bear (Ming’s description).
The art show came together and on 2 Aug I paid the rental fee to Annie the gallerist. Simon organised for us to go to the gallery the following week to discuss preparations, and I asked Simon when Billy Lake’s works could be collected (she planned to go away). I did some weeding on 4 Aug because the yellow nutgrass threatened to spread in my lawn which had grown ragged with lack of care. On 1 Aug I’d also picked up the Etch-A-Sketch I’d purchased on Amazon for Henri, this was a request from his mother, who remembered using one of these toys when she was small, and on the 5th I realised I’d need to go and buy more coffee. I still hadn’t heard from the print shop or from the framers (both of them) but on two days around this time I had a couple of conversations with Adelaide and her mother about where Ada and Ryo and Henri should move to to be closer to Yukiko, who was providing critical support for the family. They canvassed possibilities including renting or buying an apartment.
On 8 Aug I went with Graeme Cordiner of Sydney Friends of Myall Creek to visit the shadow minister for Aboriginal affairs at Parliament House, which was interesting. It was a bit stressful getting through the security apparatus but I survived unmolested. The building is under renovation so I entered through underground and walked upstairs to get to the lobby where I waited. After leaving Graeme on Elizabeth Street following the meeting I caught the bus to Newtown to get my coffee, then on the way back home went to Broadway Shopping Centre to pick up mail. I also bought some low-carb snacks there. The letter in the mail when I got home was a nice surprise because it seems that the insurance company under which I’d cashed in my life insurance policy had decided to change the way they calculate the value of policies so I would receive extra money.
I spoke with Ada and her mother on 9 Aug and saw the activity gym I’d sent for Henri on 24 Jul. When it had initially arrived in Japan the bolts for putting it together had been missing so I’d been forced to go to Kmart again, contacting the service desk in person and asking, with the help of a photo of the receipt Ada sent, for what I needed, which the clerk behind the counter kindly supplied. I picked out some more soft toys with attachment rings and mailed them off. When they arrived in Yokohama Ada put the thing together and I saw a video of Henri playing with it. It’s hard to classify the feelings I have when looking at my grandson, he seems sort of unreal possibly because I don’t have to look after him, though when Yukiko and I do Zoom convos with Ada and Henri it can go on for a long time; luckily Ada has a Zoom account.
I got so busy for the rest of Aug what with the art show (see pics below) and making a family photo album that I called ‘The Enormous Family Album’. The art show ran from 17 to 20 Aug inclusive and I was in the gallery each day giving out room sheets to potential customers. We had one woman who showed an interest in Simon’s work but though she came in twice and sent her husband once the transaction never materialised.
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