I had to turn the light out in the sewing room just when I was getting enthusiastic about cleaning up, and drive off to Adelaide again.  Shonny is doing a course on Events Management 2 days a week, and I like to time my visits so I can help her get off to school.  I get the kids up, feed and dress them, do Isla's hair and Shonny can just concentrate on getting herself ready.  The kids go off to daycare, and I'm free to drive allover town running errands.

Yesterday I put 100 km on the clock, driving to the other side of the city to drop my machine off at the repair shop.  They had a wall of secondhand machines that were waiting for repairs, it was so interesting to see about 50 vintage machines on the shelves, I love the old styles.

Two repair guys had a chat about what was wrong with my 6500, and the consensus was that I'd killed the motor with overuse.  :(  The good news was that they would simply take the old one off and bolt a new one on;  the part would be ordered straight away, and as soon as it arrived it would be done.  How much work has it done? one guy asked, and when I told him they both went all wide-eyed, and said I needed an industrial machine.  No thanks, I can't cart an industrial machine around, they weigh a ton.  However, when I go back to pick up the machine I'm going to try the new Juki that is about to be released.

Also, they told me to bring in my Beloved, the Singer 538, and they'll see what they can do to get her running again.  They have a heap of spare parts, and I could see from the wall of vintage machines that they are familiar with the old girls.  I'm so glad I decided to take my machine to them.

Today I'm staying closer to home, I'll just visit a couple Op-Shops down the road, and do some cooking so that Shonny doesn't have to think about dinner.  I love being able to help out, and I love catching up with Isla and Thomas, so I don't miss my sewing room.  Then when I go home, quilting is my consolation for being apart from my family. It all balances out.

It's still not completely Autumn, we're facing a return to 39° temperatures next week.  102° F doesn't spell Autumn to me.

The garden at home is producing a few little flowers, before I left I picked some geraniums and blue plumbago to put in a little jug. It's a tiny bouquet, but it's cheering. When it finally cools down there may be another round of roses, which is something to look forward to.  When it's cooler I can tidy up the garden beds and discover exactly what has survived this horrible summer.