Ups and Downs

[smallhobbit]

Or really Downs and Ups, but that sounds odd.

Firstly the down: Having enthused about the idea of Richard Armitage reading Poirot last week, I, along with a lot of other Audible subscribers, have now received an email saying their current rights only entitle them to make the titles available in the US.  Which is rubbish - I do understand about rights and, albeit reluctantly, accept them.  But to be offered something and then having it taken away is particularly disappointing at a time when little things are disproportionally important to happiness.  That they made a bad error is obvious since they've now given me (and everyone else affected) an additional credit.  I may finally buy David Copperfield.

And onto the ups.  My mother phoned and said she wanted to do some crochet, could I see if we still had her wool and a crochet hook.  I'm fairly sure I got rid of the wool - I took it in for her when she first moved into the home but she said she didn't want it.  I told her I'd used some of it for Brownies, which is true, and she was very pleased that it had gone somewhere it was of use.  And I promised to buy her some wool and get it sent directly.  Not being sure how much wool she would need for a shawl I contacted my friend K via Twitter.  We had a conversation and she suggested an online craft supplier who had an offer on wool and even better an easy grip crochet hook.  It was really helpful having the recommendation, so at 10pm Sunday night I placed the order, and it was delivered to the home Friday morning.  My mother was very happy and delighted with the crochet hook.

Then yesterday I decided I really would buy myself a tablet.  I'd been thinking about it for ages, but with the current ongoing situation I decided it would be a good addition to my life.  After a bit of a search I decided to go with a Lenovo and ordered direct from the company.  It arrived today and so far I'm delighted with it.

Comments

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Sorry about Poirot. If there was any way I could send you a bootleg copy, I would. Transatlantic smuggling FTW.

Congrats to getting the crochet tools to your mother. That is wonderful and so good for her mental faculties and emotional state.

Ooo! Go you on the hardware purchase! Hope it meets your needs!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you :)

I'm not sure how well she'll get on, but she used to do a lot of crochet so I think a lot of it will come back to her.

Yes, it's really to have a bigger screen than my phone for certain things, without needing to use my laptop.

[sanguinity]

Oh! It never occurred to me easy-grip crochet hooks exist, thank you! I see intriguing patterns, but crochet hurts my hands nowadays, so I've just been looking wistfully and sadly at patterns and moving on. But here is an option to experiment with maybe!

(Not that I don't have PLENTY of fiber-arts things to occupy myself with!)

And yes, otherwise inconsequential disappointments can have a surprisingly large impact right now -- the little pleasures have become so important! But hurrah for the new tablet and helping get your mother set up to crochet again!

[smallhobbit]

This is the one I ordered for my mother: crochet hook I'm sure there are others around.

Yes, there are far fewer things to look forward to, so the ones we can assume a greater importance. I'm starting to cope with my tablet and am looking forward to using it.

[howsmyenglish]

I'm very glad to hear about your ups! I call see how the down is disappointing, though. Good thing there are two ups and only one down!

[smallhobbit]

I try to look at the positive whenever I can :)

[rusty_armour]

I'm sorry that Poirot audiobook is only available in the US. That really sucks. I hope they'll release it in the UK sometime in the near future.

It's sweet that your mother was happy to see her old wool donated to the Brownies. I'm sure she'll be very happy with her new wool and crochet hook. I hope the shawl works out.

Congratulations on your new tablet! I'm glad you're so happy with it! :-D

[smallhobbit]

Yes, it's a shame. Particularly annoying because Audible did a bit shout about it which backfired on them.

I think my mother will be happy simply doing some crochet - it's more the activity rather than the end product which is important to her.

[adafrog]

Sorry about the disappointment.

Yay mom with supplies!

Hope you have fun with your tablet.

[smallhobbit]

I'm looking forward to using my tablet - thank you :)

[aome]

Sorry to hear about the disappointment with Richard Armitage. At least you got a refund.

[smallhobbit]

The additional credit was nice, but audible had really hyped it up which was annoying.

[margaret_r]

It's so annoying when things are country-limited, you'd think they would want world wide sales wouldn't you. Hope you enjoy your new tablet. I've thought one would be useful but have resisted the urge so far.

[smallhobbit]

Well yes. But also you'd think they'd check important details like that before the launch.

I'd been thinking about getting a tablet on and off for about a year so this finally made the decision.

[shallowness]

As you and others have said, disappointments like that strike one harder these days, and small pleasures take on huge significance e.g I got a delivery yesterday that will help celebrate familial birthdays enormousl and I was so chuffed.

[smallhobbit]

Oh, I'm delighted you received that delivery. How lovely!

[st_aurafina]

Argh, the regional stuff with audible is so frustrating!! For some reason in Australia, there'll be one book in a series that isn't available, which is just annoying and weird - why would books 1-3 and 5-7 be available but 4 is not?

I am glad your mum is giving crochet ago again - is she okay for patterns? There are lots of free shawl patterns around.

[smallhobbit]

There seems to be no rhyme or reason.

She's planning on doing a pattern she's done many times before and so should remember. I'm not sure she could follow a pattern anymore, sadly.

[corvidology]

Congratulations on the new tablet!

[smallhobbit]

Thank you - it means I can watch things without having to use my laptop, because my phone screen is really too small to appreciate videos etc.

[debriswoman]

Frustrating re audio, but great that your mum has found an interest:-)
All the best with the tablet:-)

[smallhobbit]

Yep, but they've released some Checkov short stories so I've pre-ordered them. And I did use the extra credit for David Copperfield, because it was included in a two for one offer, which seemed a shame to not accept.

I'm enjoying using the tablet - if we have a lazy morning and sit in bed it's much easier to watch things on my tablet than take my laptop upstairs. And, when we eventually start travelling again I shall be able to take it with me.