Shed a Little Light

With the studio re-arrangement and loom re-positioning, one of the things I need to figure out is the placement of my supplementary lights. 

The work table is now rolled up against a wall, which means I'm working in my shadow.  However, Doug put a second lamp holder on the other end of the table so I can turn on two lamps when I'm working on it - something I have already done.  With the days getting shorter and what daylight we have grey and dreary, I really need extra light. 

Not to mention I also have 'baby' cataracts which are going to limit my vision further as they 'ripen'.

Today is another grey dreary day although it started out nicely enough.  But to thread this mostly black warp?  One lamp simply wasn't enough.  Fortunately I have some lights on clamps and was able to put one at the back of the loom so that I can more easily see the threads at the cross.

The past couple of days have been fraught, what with one thing and another.  Right now I'm trying to work out when I can have a conversation with Dave from Louet because the computer assisted dobby doesn't seem to want to talk to any of my devices.  We have to do some long distance trouble shooting, but between my schedule and his, we are having a bit of a time working out when we can do this.

I'm not unhappy with the customer service I have been getting - both Jane and Dave have been right there for me when I needed them.  It's just that I had appointments this afternoon, and he's traveling tomorrow, so it might take a wee while to be able to have the time to see why it isn't working.   It's all a huge disappointment, and still not having the Megado up and running at the end of September means my production schedule is shot all to hell. 

The more I think about the looming deadlines, the more I'm thinking I need to just cancel Calgary, but I will hold off on that decision until doing my inventory tonight, then see if the loom wakes up tomorrow.  Or whenever we can get it going. 

The other thing that ate up my time this week was a hearing test.  After weaving for 44 years, with various pieces of noisy equipment being used - pirn winder, bobbin winder, cone winder, air compressor, electric rotary cutter - my ears have been assailed by a lot of noise over the years.  I began thinking my hearing might be a problem about a year ago, and the indicators began piling up when I began to take notice.  So I went in for a hearing test and yes, it appears all that noise has taken a toll on me.

The audiologist was kind of surprised when I told her I was pleased it wasn't worse, given my work.  I think she was even more surprised when I told her that I'd routinely worn hearing protection when I wove  on my big loom.  The AVL fly shuttle with the plastic 'hammers' was very noisy and Doug recognized right from the get-go that my hearing needed protection and got me suitable ones.  I'm quite sure that without them my hearing would have been much worse many years ago.

The segment of hearing that I have lost centers on the soft consonant sounds, making words that sound similar sound even more similar.  I find that in a noisy environment, I am having more and more difficulty hearing people around me talking and I was starting to tune out..  While my hearing loss isn't profound, it is significant - the sharp dip at just that area in the spectrum was pretty effective in letting me know that I was going to have to get hearing aids, sooner rather than later.   Given my schedule, I opted to wait for a couple of months and will consider them a Christmas present.  :-/   Knowing that I am having some difficulty hearing means that I will be more careful in group settings and if I can't hear, just let the person I'm talking to know.  It is clear to me that if I'm going to continue teaching, I need to have hearing aids.

But all in all?  It's been a bit of a rough week.  Really sucks getting decrepit.  On the other hand, we live in the 21st century and have technology that will let us continue.  So, cataract surgery at some point, hearing aids before the end of the year.  Pretty soon I'll be the bionic woman!

Currently reading Amazons by Adrienne Mayor