My Old Singer Resurrection Project (Part II)

Mr. Fixit

The Singer 'handyman' arrived the next day as expected.  Unfortunately, I was busy finishing up my cooking in the kitchen at the time, making a mean chicken stew and rice for lunch (I called it mean since my kids always help themselves for seconds whenever I serve this dish).  I sure hope the fragrant smell did not bother him too much as it was nearing lunchtime. (If you wanted to give the recipe a try, just scroll down near the end).  Not intending to be impolite, I turned down the heat for slow cooking and invited him in to have a look see.

At first, I kind of anticipated a look of utter disbelief on his face when he saw it, but the guy just kept a straight face and said, 'Not too bad, Ma'am. But would you consider upgrading with a brand new sewing machine?'. Oh dear, that was a classic.
I just smiled and told him about my 'mission', which is to give the old faithful a new lease in life. I also told him about my blog and how he was going to play a part in it (and then asked permission to take his picture, he he).  He was a trifle surprised when I told him that I couldn't sew - Oho ... what big mouth I have. Whatever happened to 'never expose any of your weak points', eh? :P.  I just stopped yapping right then and let him tinker with the machine - see what sort of repairs needed to be done.

The Stew, The Service Guy and The Little Vinca Girl

The Little Vinca Girl

Vinca flowers

Meanwhile, Nafisa (my youngest), was out alone in the garden picking her favorite vinca flowers.  I found myself going back and forth between the kitchen, the living room and the garden.  Lucky for me the stew was finally done, so I could concentrate on the repair and my little girl. If you were wondering how does a vinca plant look like, to the right is a picture I googled from www.parkswholesaleplants.com.  "It is easy to grow, and requires little or no attention. A grower once reported that he has grown Vinca in the same location for 30 years. It successfully reseeded itself each year, with no effort on his part.  This plant is known by three names: Vinca, Periwinkle (or Madagascar Periwinkle), and Myrtle. Botanists will tell you that there is also a separate strain or variety of Periwinkle. Vinca plants are native to North America, Europe, China and India.  The plants are grown for its attractive glossy, green foliage, as well as its flowers. Flowers bloom all summer, and up to frost. Common colors include white, rose, pink, and red." - Source: www.gardenersnet.com/flower/vincaperiwinkle.htm  

Enough botanical ramblings, back to the repair.

Here are the stuff in the list needed replacing:
* Motor drive belt
* Gear belt
* Pineapple Gear or 'something'
* House Service

After some calculating, Mr. Rais told me that he estimated the cost of repair to be around Rp. 260,000.- or around USD29.25! Wow, not too bad, eh?
While I waited for him to remove the machine for repair, I came across this website: http://www.singerco.com/
Very useful site!  It even has some free designs and project for its users. Here is one of them:

Click here for the full instructions.  Dare I even dream of trying to make such a beautiful creation?  He he ... dream on ...
When I finally snapped out of it, the machine was off the cabinet at last and out she went with Mr. Fixit.  It would be 2-3 days before  I could see her again.

Oh, and I really, really  looked forward to that day. :)


BONUS:

-- > Chicken Stew Recipe < --

Cut 1 whole chicken into 12 parts

Marinate with a mixture of:

- 1 tsp tamarind paste

- 1tsp salt

- 2 tbsp water

Put aside

Grind together:

8 pcs. of shallot/red onion

4 pcs of garlic

3 red chillies (large size)

3 pcs of candle nut/kemiri 

Medium heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil

Fry the fine mixture of onion etc above until fragrant

Put in the chicken parts, cook for about 3 minutes

Add the following ingredients:

- 4 tbsp of sweet soy sauce

- 1 tsp of sugar 

-1 tsp salt 

- 1 tsp pepper

- 3 dried cloves and 

- 1 cinnamon stick

And after the meat is evenly coated, add:

- 250 ml of water and

- an additional 6 tbsp of sweet soy sauce

Let it boil until the chicken is about done

When the sauce is thickened, add some lemon juice and 

voila!

Bon Appetite :)