Can you sew your old shorts and sarongs into dresses? Paint them? (Seahorses)

Have you ever found your clothes were too small? Or found a large towel had a hole or a stain?

Caftan from Cotton Fabric
I started my sewing simply. I made a large caftan, which is basically two lines of sewing up and down the sides, with three holes, for the neck and arms.

Towel With A Hole
The next easy garment was a towelling beach wrap. A large towel had a hole. I cut out the hole and made it into a neck for a towelling poncho to wear to the beach or swimming pool. Then I found a small stain. I covered it with a patch made from a piece cut around the hole.

Shorts Into a Skirt
This year I looked at an outfit comprising a long pianted tee-shirt and matching shorts.  Can I cut the tight waistband off and sew the short onto the hem of the tee-shirt? Yes, I can.

Should I leave it as a onesie? No. I cut the crotch.That left a v-shape gap at the front and the back. Like a kick pleat.

Here is yesterday's outfit with seahorses.

I bought it not only because of the vibrant colour, but because it was hand painted with a jolly design. The seahorses are edged in gold paint.

. 
The fabric is thick. The painted design is what I like most. The old tight waist band is now a necklace.

If you have ever bought a sarong, you can go online to find the many ways of tying a sarong to make a dress. I have lots of items in my cupboard which have not been worn for years. Time to get them out.

The trouble with most draped dresses, and dresses held by two ends of the dress tied in a knot is:

1 They are not as elegant as fitted dresses.

2 The knots untie and your dress falls at your feet.

What else can you do? Paint an old tee-shirt. Set the paint with an iron. You can buy paints for fabrics from Amazon.com. Acrilic paint will dry out and crack. Not so bad on a pinating or a cushion which gets no wear, but not for clothes which are worn a lot and washed a lot. You can mix ordinary acrylic paint, I have read, with fabric medium, which softens the paint so that it becomes flexible. I have yet to try this.

I find painted fabric stiff to wear. I would prefer to design a watercolour and have it printed on a tee-shirt.

Create funny mock-plane seats at home and watch your/others' videos for Armchair Travel

The idea of pretending your washing machine is a cruise ship window is so ridiculous it is funny. An inflatable pool with bar stool in your back garden (or back yard as the Americans say) is better than nothing. I shall start with serious guides, then end with the amusing mock destinations.

I am very content travelling the internet. I could spend months searching through information and enjoying discoveries, planning trips which might take place later this year, next year or never.

What can you do to recreate the pleasures of travel:
Practical Pictures
1 Watch videos (made by drones)
2 Project seasides or forests onto your living room or bedroom or kitchen or bathroom or outdoor walls
3 Print your favourite photo large and frame it
4 Use your favourite holiday or business trip picture as your laptop's welcome screen
5 Use your favourite holiday or business trip picture prjected behind you as your backdrop
 when videoconferencing using Manycam
6 Compile a serious guide to your city or your dream destination using route planning guides and photos from wiki. Start with your heroes and heroines such as Anne Frank, Helen Keller, Jesus, American Presidents, Elvis, Freddie Mercury and city destinations, mountains, beaches or treks.

Amusements
Create a jokey mock up of plane or cruise travel to amuse your friends, using
1 Hotel pool
Deckchairs in the garden by an inflatable pool.

2 Hotel Pool bar
Bar stools and cocktails by kitchen work surface. Stick poster of distant hotel on wall.

3 To recreate a cruise ship window or airplane window.
Washing machine circular front windows. Stick picture of outside scene on outside of window or inside.

4 To create a plane interior:
A bank of chairs alongside or behind each other with masks or saved airline socks or paper sick back and airline magazines. Wife (male or female) wearing tight skirt with small hat and scarf or baseball hat from tour company carries meal on a tray.

5 To create airport lounge
Airlne magazine covers stuck on magazines to recreate an airport lounge. Add wheeled bags and briefcases. For seatbelts, and remove clip straps from shoulder bags.

5 A mock plane toilet
Remove all your other clutter leaving only your saved free zip up flight bags and disposable toothrushes.
Printed signs above your batrhoom (rest room) or toilet door.
Signs can say;
Occupied.  .
Return to seat.
Stand outside looking glum holidng a magazine and looking at your watch.

6 Mock Destination Video
Take your favourite clips and create a guide to your home city.
If all else fails, just photograph your garden or the view from your window and do a mock travel guide to nature of city life.

7 Holograms
Hologram of yourself or wildlife.

Entertaining and Educational Websites
From Wiki

• Comparison of bicycle route planning websites
• Google Transit
• Rome2rio

• Rutebok for Norge
• Transport Direct Portal

• Traveline
• Walkit.com

VIRTUAL TRAVEL USING SCENERY

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20200330-covid-19-virtual-travel-during-coronavirus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ManyCam
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtualtourist
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_Key
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_learning_environment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-dimensional_virtual_tourism
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holography

AMUSING JOKES ABOUT RECREATING TRAVEL
https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/04/15/people-miss-flying-so-much-theyre-re-creating-airplane-experience-home/
https://www.insider.com/tiktok-recreating-flight-experience-inside-laundry-room-2020-4

About the Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. (Not related to the actress.) See books and profiles on Lulu.com and  Amazon and videos on YouTube.

Translating Vietnamese and other languages - how to do it

How do you translate words in a foreign language for your trip?

I tried typing out a list of phrases in English. Then translated on Google translate into Vietnamese. When I tried copying, I could not do the whole thing.

I tried translating back to see what I got. The translation is word for word more or less accurate, although you get absurdities such as me for I, but I reckon on many languages the words for me and I are the same. (I think this applies in Malay/Indonesian and Esperanto.) The solution is to photograph the page of translations and then print it out the picture for translations on your trip. (Especially important if you need to take a taxi or bus.)

Ttôi là
mệt mỏi
tôi
nhu cầu
một
cà phê.
Ở đâu
Đã
Starbucks.
Một
cốc
xin vui lòng.
Cảm ơn bạn
Cảm ơn bạn
Cảm ơn rất nhiều
Cảm ơn nhiều.
Không có gì.
Rất xin lỗi.

Ở đâu
Đã
các
phòng vệ sinh?
tôi
nhu cầu

Sữa
đường phố

giấy vệ sinh.

Tạm biệt.

Giáng sinh vui vẻ.

Hân hoan
Năm mới.

Chúc mừng sinh nhật.

Chúc mừng kỷ niệm.
Xin chúc mừng!

một
hai
số ba
bốn
số năm
mười
một trăm
một nghìn
một triệu.

Bao nhiêu
cho cái này
cho những điều này?
Quá nhiều.
Quá đắt?
Giá tốt nhất của bạn là gì?
Có gì rẻ hơn không?
giá rẻ hơn

Vâng
Không phải là

tôi sẽ mua nó
hóa đơn
biên lai

Vội
tôi phải đi

Hẹn gặp lại

địa chỉ nhà
thẻ địa chỉ
danh thiếp

và
nhưng

người nào
gì

Ở đâu
khi nào
tại sao

chúng tôi đang rời đi
hôm nay
Ngày mai
Hiện tại

Cảm ơn đã ghé thăm
Khách sạn của bạn rất dễ thương
Nhà hàng của bạn rất tuyệt
Chúng tôi yêu cà phê của bạn
Chúng tôi yêu nhà hàng của bạn
Chúng tôi yêu khách sạn của bạn

Ở đâu
Hành lý của chúng tôi

đây là
hộ chiếu của tôi

chúng ta trễ rồi
Chúng tôi đến sớm
đừng lo
chúng tôi sẽ đợi
Cảm ơn vì tất cảy bothrying to  

Phoning home for lost items - passports, bow ties and more

Problems
1 Passport left behind.
2 At the supermarket - do I need to buy nigella seed or cinnamon sticks or do we already have them?
3 We were overseas and our son phoned: 'Dad, I need a bow tie for my friend's wedding. Where would I find one.'

Answers
Number the drawers in your home or office from top down or bottom up or clockwise, or from the door or window.

Neater than handwriting, type out the labels and print them off in Italics or block capitals, large size for easy reading or tiny to be inconspicuous.

 You might like to make a border. Or underline and make the text bold.

DRAWER 1 
DRAWER 2

CUPBOARD ONE

CLOSET BEDROOM ONE
Evening jacket (black), evening shirt (white) and bow ties (black, blue and red).

This will also speed packing.

You can label drawers outside, inside or mentally.

Sort everything by size or colour.

In each drawer keep a list of what is inside.

Type out a list of what is where and tape it to the back of the door of a cupboard - or on the kitchen board.

Then when you want a passport, or the number of something, or the size of something, or the brand name to buy a replacement in the supermarket, the person back home can find it.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

How To Sign Certificates For Contests Neatly

Problem
You are attending a contest and somebody has to sign a certificate. Who should sign? Who has the best handwriting?

Answers
Eight ways to write names neatly on certificates:

1 Print names of contestants / participants on certificates in advance.

2 Chief judge brings two rulers for base line and top line of writing to ensure writing is level and even. 

3 Or mark two horizontal lines in pencil and rub out afterwards, gently, holding corners of paper with white paper to avoid fingermarks, using very soft rubber - putty rubbers about £1 from art shops / Wilko.

4 Ask all judges to submit a sample of John Smith while you are out of the room and ask judges to vote which writing is neatest and get that person to sign.

5 Bring scrap paper and Italic pen and ask the person signing to practice writing neatly, three times, copying a printed version of the names with correct spelling.

6 Insist that anybody signing a certificate writes their own name neatly and with every letter clear, not just a squiggle.

7 If you are chief judge/president, practise writing all the names in advance and your own.

8 Create a letterbox template large enough for the longest name so that the signature kept within it looks neat.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

Restaurant Vouchers How To Use Them To Save Money and Save Money Printing

Problem
I forget to use restaurant vouchers. If I print them it uses a lot of expensive coloured ink.

Answers / Tips
1 Make a list of the restaurant offers in your diary for the date when you want to use them, such as Saturday night or your birthday.
2 Make a booking online and attach the coupon so the restaurant can't forget and you can't forget. If they say, Sorry, we've cashed up and you should have told us earlier, you can say, but the voucher is attached to my booking.
3 Most places allow you to show the voucher on your phone because vouchers are sent to your phone and most people don't have a printer attached to their phone. The trick is to remember to show the voucher Set an alarm on your phone to remind you to show the voucher to the restaurant.
4 When printing set to black and white.
5 Ask restaurants to issue a black and white alternative version to save customers' money.

Story
I frequently get vouchers from Cafe Rouge. I accidentally set my printer to multiple copies and have dozens of copies of colour vouchers which will soon go out of date. I have stopped printing vouchers.

www.caferouge.com

Author
Angela Lansbury, author of How To Get Out Of The Mess You're In. (See Lulu and Amazon for my books.) Please save or share links to your favourite posts.

Storing Travel Brochures and Video CDs In Shoe Boxes With Labels

Problem
I have a stack of brochures from a trip to Italy but they are creating a clutter. They slide off the table onto the floor. I put them in a plastic bag. Disaster. Too many bags. I'll never be able to find them.

 I pack them in a shoe box. Now I have them neat but I still can't find them.

Answers
Shoe Box Labelled with Pen
1 You can write the name Italy on the end of the shoe box in pen. Yes, I do that. It does not look tidy, organised, professional. Besides, the writing is too small and I still can't find it.

I have not taken the time to do what I was advised by a much-moved mother in Rockville, Maryland. She told me, when moving house, label every box on all six sides, the four sides and the top and bottom. That way, however the boxes are stacked, you can sill see the label from every angle.

I could then use a black felt tip pen. It would not look tidy, even if I used a ruler to keep the bottom of letters straight, drew a faint pencil line an inch above, marked the spacing of the letters with dots.

Better to print. I could print out the word Italy in large black type, by enlarging the font to the largest size allowed. But that takes a lot of ink. I then have to fix the flimsy paper onto the box.

I get out a brochure entitled Umbria to read and put it back down on top of the box. The width is just the right size. I could tear off the cover and stick it down.

I don't like to destroy a brochure - even though I often have two copies of brochures. Besides, I don't have time.

I reach for a long elastic band, the sort you get on parcels held together by the postman. (In the USA you would say mail man). You find elastic bands on the ground everywhere, all over the world. I have seen them in Italy and Singapore. Lets over the whole top. Find another brochure.

My first effort was simply to leave the brochure on top of the box, attached with a big rubber band. That worked very well when the shoe box was on a long table.

But sideways on, the original shoe box name on the lid is a distraction.

My next effort was to look for other items to stick on the sides.

You can also make a collage of travel brochures. All from one country, or from several. This works on a small box, a shoe box.

Of course the answer for a DIY or craft enthusiast is to completely cover the box with a holiday theme. Stick on duplicate photos. (I have loads from America in the late 1900s.) Print pictures from the computer, maybe print from my own photos on the laptop or mobile phone.

Or cover a box with Xmas birthday or gift wrapping paper. Add a window in the centre with the word Italy.

Or cover a box in white and draw a freehand sketch. Add large curly calligraphy of the country name. Make six matching boxes from different states of the USA. Or stack boxes for countries in South America, Europe or Asia, Russia or China and satellite countries.

I hate cardboard boxes. yet they are too good and stiff to throw away. They keep dust off the contents. They group things together. They stack neatly.

For more details on Umbria:
www.umbriatourism.it

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share posts.

South Korea Going 'Coin less' not Chinless - I typed c o i n l e s s

Problem
South Korea is trying out a no coin system. This will make your wallet and pocket lighter. Fewer coins to have to recognise. Less embarrassment

On the other hand all those coins you find in pockets and bags and down the back of the sofa will be worthless.

Even if they refund the money at a central bank, the cost of going there will outweigh the fare money.

As for those jars of coins with the word for tips, or the charity boxes in which you can slip the odd coin, the collect of the pennies at charity shops were everything is priced at something and 99p as a marketing ploy to make it sound cheaper, and the customer says, Keep the Change.

All the items with prices pre-printed will need new packaging.

I used to wonder why some book printing systems would not allow you to print the price on the cover. I thought, 'but the customer wants to know the price and doesn't like to ask. The customer is more likely to buy if the price is marked and sounds cheap.'

Beggars will now be asking for a dollar.

You will no longer have coins for your coin collection.

Will they still issue high value commemorative coins? We will be watching the results of the experiment in Korea with interest.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Printing alphabets and Keyboard stickers in Greek, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French, Arabic, Korean, Thai and more

How do you print out keyboards?
The foreign language keyboard is not in alphabetical order but jumbled up, as is the English layout QWERTY.

For Hebrew I found this site:
http://www.qsm.co.il/Hebrew/keyboard.htm
It shows the Hebrew letters on the English letters. For example the Hebrew better l or lamed is on the English letter K key. So if I want to touch type the Hebrew letter L called lamed I can do it with taking my eyes off the print just by typing the english letter K.
http://www.qsm.co.il/Hebrew/keyboard.htm

Another way would be simply to type all the letters in Hebrew in bold. (All you need to do is run a fingertip or fingernail along all three rows of English keys, after clicking on the Hebrew letter symbol for the language you have installed - with the symbol now at the top right of your screen - on mine left of the date.

You then print that off.

If you are not sufficiently au fait with your computer or laptop to do a screen capture, print the foreign alphabet. Photograph it on your smart mobile phone. Load the picture onto your laptop. If you are using an Apple laptop such as the MacBook Pro, you can crop the photo in iPhoto to show just the screen. Then either paste it into your diary, or onto a triangular stand.

I do not need a stand because the paper seems to stand of its own accord.

How do you make a triangular stand?
Take an out of date of wanted flip over calendar with a firm cover. Pull off a piece of thick card. fold the card in half longways.  Turn the calendar open with the spiral binding at the top so it forms an A shape on your desk. Stick tape or glue the piece of card to link the two sides of the A and form a base. If you have taken a piece of card from the calendar, it should be the same width. Alternatively cut a piece from a cereal box.

Your printout of the alphabet in the foreign language on a keyboard can stand against the A frame, or be stick taped to it for a permanent aid.

Photo
Alternatively photograph your qwerty keyboard. Print onto white paper. type out the foreign symbols for each letter on your laptop or computer screen. Copy the foreign letters onto the printed sheet alongside the corresponding key. Use a coloured marker for the second alphabet.

Post it or mini sticker for keys
If you are bilingual or working with two languages all day, it might be worthwhile to print off the alphabet and stick a tiny letter on each key. I suspect if you use post its your fingers will soon slide if off. On the other hand if you use a glue, you risk getting your keys stuck down and making a mess, getting glue on your fingers. It depends how neat a person you are.

http://www.qsm.co.il/Hebrew/keyboard.htm

Somebody on a Duolingo forum suggested I should buy 'keyboard stickers'. I looked them up on the internet and immediately found them on eBay in several languages and colours. I would want a different colour from my keyboard as contrast.

I presume these stickers are ready gummed and the sort of gum which is suitable and won't melt or slide and a suitable size. You must check what is available in your location and if they would suit your situation. You could even leave them as a sign on the table without sticking them onto your keyboard.

Russian Keyboard Stickers
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RUSSIAN-KEYBOARD-STICKERS-TRANSPARENT-SUPER-DURABLE-NON-FADE-various-colours-/151785029563?var=&hash=item235717bfbb
The price for these is £1.99 (my eBay site is set to record that I am in the UK so the price appears in pounds sterling).

Greek Keyboard Stickers
See through stickers sounds good idea. On Amazon I found this set, prices quoted in dollars, American dollars I presume, $2.36 plus $4.49 to post to the UK. A bit dearer, but if you are buying them for business use and claiming them as a business expense I presume you will want the most suitable product, smart in appearance and quick to stick, rather than the cheapest.
https://www.amazon.com/KEYBOARD-STICKERS-TRANSPARENT-BACKGROUND-LETTERING/dp/B002FYFU8Q

The stickers are very reasonably priced. They come in various colours. If you have a white keys on your keyboard you will want to use any colour except white, preferably different to the colour of the English. If you have a black keys, you will want any colour except black, and probably a contrast to the white letters of QWERTY.

You can also buy stickers for other languages such as Arabic.
Or Hebrew and Arabic.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAC-ARABIC-HEBREW-ENGLISH-KEYBOARD-STICKER-NON-TRANSPARENT-BLACK-FOR-COMPUTER
From the USA. $6.85 (approx £5.20 depending on exchange rate) plus postage and packing $3.99, approx £3.03.

Check that you are buying stickers which are for your size keyboard and positioning of letters.

Other languages available in stickers are French, German, Korean, Spanish, Thai, Farsi and Persian.

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, language teacher.

Changing Your Watch Time - A beginner's guide

I buy watches which are water resistant to 50 metres. Then I don't have to worry about washing my hands, taking a shower, going for a swim in the pool or ocean, nor spray from rides on Duck boats and other sightseeing boats or even getting soaked in the rain, nor reaching down to retrieve a phone or item dropped in a basin.

A watch can have one, two, three or four buttons sticking out. Usually you press the buttons inwards.

Some watches have the four buttons labelled. When buying a watch, or printing instructions, look for a watch which has the buttons labelled.

 If your watch does not have the buttons labelled, you could print a copy of the instructions in large size. If necessary draw an arrow and write the name of the button larger. Then copy onto the picture which button is which.

The buttons will be:
Mode change - (time, alarm etc)
Time Set - time you want the watch to show
Alarm changer
Light on and off

The light, if you have one, is easiest to find. Normally you just push it in to turn on the light. Handy if you want to see the time in the middle of the night without waking yourself or a companion, whether sitting on the plane, or in bed.

Mode will have two or more settings. You want to change the time. Also any alarms if your watch has alarms.

Start with the time. Your watch should come with an instruction leaflet. If you are buying a watch online. you should check that the site promises an instruction leaflet, or has an instruction leaflet on the website. Unless you are fanatical about not wasting paper, print it out. If you prefer to be paperless, save the instructions on your computer or phone, and a backup elsewhere, or another family member's phone.

It's handy to have records of instructions for everything and give them to other members of the family or store them even if you don't need them now. I've been executor for my late mother, father, and uncle. Having instructions for watches is one less thing to worry about if you have the instructions for all appliances including watches. You want the instructions to use the watch, check it's still working, then when using it, giving it away, whether to family, to charity, or selling it second hand.

Most timers and clocks operate on variations of a simple system.
Press a button once to get from fixed to changeable time. Just like filling in the date for an online request for a credit card. Up comes a picture of two dots or lines. You must press something in or up to advance the time from 0 to 9. You have have 24 hours in the first column, or just numbers 0-9 in the first column and 0-9 in the second column.

You then press either once again to move onto the next activity, changing the minutes. (A few sophisticated watches also have seconds.)

You then have to press a button again to set the new time or return to normal time display.

If you go back to normal time display and you are not on the new time, you have missed out the last step which was click or press to say DONE/FINISHED/ENTER.

Don't burst into tears with disappointment that you still can't get things right. Don't stress your self in the slightest. You are doing well. You are one stop further up the ladder to success.

Go back and start again. This time it's easier and quicker. It's no longer a mystery. You know what you are doing. And by doing it twice you are telling your brain that it's not a fleeting incident to be forgotten, in the brain's waste bin department, but a repeated action so dear little brain has to file watch change instructions in the section of brain for I might need to remember this.