Wednesday, October 1, 2014

How to conquer territory and foment world unrest with a loom and a pocket knife


After a lovely two week visit, Hazel and Tony are back to Cambridge tonight, via London. Tony (who is singing in the kitchen as I type) just returned from mailing home the pocket knife he purchased at Kidron’s Hardware, in Amish Country. 2 ½” blade, perfect, he announced to Tom on the way back. Then, “Bloody hell, I can’t take it on the airplane.” So Mr. Regular Bloke and my brother-in-law drove into “your little village” and dropped “three quid” at the post office to preempt TSA. “Yes, OK, not bad,” Tony said.

In the meantime, I purchased my loom, and I will even tell the price because it figures significantly. $150.00, Canadian. The owner sent me photos of every square inch of the loom, which he bought long ago and never used. It is a 36” Fanny LeClerc. Anyone who looks up current retail will just shake their head in disbelief.

Because neither the seller nor I have a truck, he broke it down to fit in his wagon, and is bringing tools in case we need to disassemble more of it to fit in my car. He even sent me the link to assembly instructions; I think he doesn’t believe I wove on the same loom for twenty years. Without metric tools to make repairs.

I digress. I bought the loom three weeks ago; the seller took the listing off Kijiji and held it without payment, and now has disassembled it for me. Further, he is driving a hundred miles to a hockey match with his son and will meet me, essentially on the other side of the Peace Bridge.

I went to the bank and bought two one hundred Canadian bills to give him. The purchase took twenty minutes of paperwork, and not all because the teller had to consult her supervisor, who also read every line on the computer screen before touching a key. It was the paperwork! I could take thousands from the ATM machine in less than a minute, with no questions asked. If I had thousands. 

I was to return today, after noon, to pick up the money.

The receipt of what amounts to pocket money took another twenty minutes. Temper would not facilitate the transaction, so I settled for putting my forehead on the counter, in clear view of an extra person, who I hope was a regional supervisor. I looked up only to sign paper work and retrieve my driver’s license, which had to be copied.

The delay was frustrating because I also needed to drop my car at the garage for new tires, which I need before winter in any event, and am a good enough citizen to think ahead and not blow out a tire on our interstate or, heaven help me, the Queen Elizabeth Way.


Now baby has new shoes, Tony and Hazel will be home in the morning; the loom on Sunday. I have no idea how fast the post office moves a little knife for three quid postage.


25 comments:

  1. You got your loom....hurrah!!!!!

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  2. Cambridge and London - three quid? Three British quid and two British towns? You can stow a knife in the hold, but they don't like them as hand-luggage, but I'm sure you knew that.

    I took twenty pounds (weight) of potentially lethal weapons on a plane once. I have friends who have taken shotguns on trans-Atlantic flights as well, but you have to give them plenty of warning.

    I have a feeling of looming cloth coming up in your posts.

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  3. Well done on finding a loom! I'm sorry to hear about the bank mess. I've sent a postal order to the US from Canada and it took less than five minutes, and doesn't have to clear like a cheque does. But you may never need to know that, since you now have your toy :)

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    1. And I forgot to say they charge to write up the postal order. Quite a bit. So ... time vs money, maybe?

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  4. Dear Joanne, this news about the loom is so good to hear. You need the right tools and you'll feel so comfortable, I bet, working on the same type of loom on which you created for twenty years. Peace.

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  5. Hari OM
    I don't need to go looking, I KNOW that's the deal of the century and it was surely meant to be!!! You'll need to have a launch party for the first fly of the shuttle... In Scotland there are three different bank note issues, all legal sterling currency. Try and pass one over a shop counter in England though.... your bank carry-on looked tame compared to some of the arguments I have had about that... YAM xx

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  6. You got a loom!! Yay! I hope you have many happy hours with it. And $150 is a real bargain.
    I didn't think people bought pocket knives anymore. Three pounds to send one to England is a good price. Anything from Australia to anywhere costs far too much.
    I don't have much to do with banks these days, I get cash from the ATM for the month ahead and bills are paid online.

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  7. Congratulations on finding the loom that you want at such a bargain price -- and even more congratulations on finding the patience to deal with the bank!

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  8. Send photos when all is together! And let us know if Tony ever rec'd his knife. Where would a man be without his pocket knife?

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  9. Cool with the loom, but what a hassle to get the money to pay for it, but glad it eventually worked out. One time hubby forgot to pack his little pocketknife in the luggage and we already checked it before we went through security. He realized it when we were checking in at the airline. It was a special knife his dad had given him. The agent helping us, the first day on her job, offered to mail it back to him. We were actually surprised when a few weeks later it arrived :)

    betty

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  10. WONDERFUL news about your loom. Woo Hoo.
    I was out today and your beautiful dish cloth/tea towel was due for its first wash. It was unwashed when I got home. Why? 'Because it is so lovely I didn't want to ruin it. Does it need hand washing?'
    And he is right. It is lovely.

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  11. Love the 'whirled peas' logo at the end Joanne.

    Why do you need a new loom when you were able to weave those wonderful towels you sent me on your old one?
    Still, having been a quilter in my younger days I succumbed to the wonders of an expensive updated sewing machine and never regretted it.

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  12. Time goes by so slow when one is dealing with bureaucracy.

    Why didn't your friend just put the knife in his checked baggage? I think there would have been no problem with that.

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    1. Because they are not permitted to lock their luggage on the return trip. No idea why.

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  13. Having ordered £'s from our bank to take to England I know exactly what you're talking about. You would think we were restructuring the national debt, not ordering a very common currency.

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  14. The loom seller sounds like a nice person. I hope you enjoy the loom.
    As for the post, well I sometimes think they do the same whatever they charge. I've had so many airmail packets hang around for weeks, and, I have to say, vice versa too.

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  15. I like every transaction to be simple -simple- simple. What did the bank think -- you were a terrorist on the run? I changed some insurance plans recently and they sent me six separate envelopes in the mail -- most one pagers. Then they followed up a couple days later with a 45 page document in lawyer -ise. I promptly found another insurance company to deal with. I think that man that sold you your loom is a gem -- such persons are wonderful to deal with as opposed to banks. -- barbara

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  16. That loom is certainly going to a good home. I am sorry you had such a hassle getting $200 Canadian. I hope they did not charge you too much in exchange fee. Next time, plan a short trip across the border (don't forget nowadays you need a passport) and just take out the money from any ATM. You will get it in Canadian dollars if you are on this side of the border and the conversion will be done automatically and will be deducted in US dollars from your account.

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    1. Duh! Of course. I had the foresight to find out I can use my EZ Pass for the toll bridge, but as for actually obtaining the money, it never crossed my mind.

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  17. Husband once realised he was checking into a flight with his rigging knife - managed to post it home. New loom ... exciting news x

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  18. Dear Joanne,
    congratulations for such a bargain! Now the loom is there and you can start - enjoy!
    Planning ahead is a very good virtue, I think (bought a beautiful Bohemian old tree topper on the flea market today (we have a feast day, because years ago The Wall in Berlin came down) - though Christmas is still far away, and the world bathed in sunshine.

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  19. What an ordeal for $200 in Canadian. That's thoughtful of you to convert it in advance. My son and daughter in law have taken up weaving. I have no idea what kind of loom they are using but he's asked me to be on the lookout for shuttles? He gave me pictures. At the antique stores around here.

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  20. I am sorry that I could not make the road trip to pick up the "new" leclerc..Will be anxious to have you get it and start using it as I know it to be your favorite. i am sure you can fit it into your car..Even totally UN assembled you know it by heart.

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