bedridden

For the second time this winter I have a cold.

The first time around I tried to continue on with life and not let the cold get me down. I was pig-headed, I went to work, I kept drinking coffee, I had early showers. In response to this behaviour, the cold hovered around for two weeks, and then stayed a little bit longer just as a lingering cough.

This time, I'm frustratingly letting the cold force me into bed and am dosing up on immunity support in the hope that if I give the cold my weekend then maybe it won't stay around for as long this time. I struggle with this as I'm not very good at sitting around and not 'achieving' anything. C is making it as easy as possible for me to be lazy, with breakfast and endless supply of hot drinks brought to me in bed, not to mention, my laptop, reading material and the opening and closing of curtains.

Due to the mass snot production that is my focus at the moment I haven't brought myself to do any crafty activities. Life is more about the timing of sneezes and the containment of germs in my tissues.

Wendyl Nissen has a cold potion in her book which I'm nervous about trying - she warns that it is DISGUSTING and should be taken with whiskey to make it easier to consume. I don't have any whiskey!

This is Wendyl's recipe:

1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
pinch cayenne pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon of honey
juice of half a lemon

Boil the water, ginger, cayenne, and garlic for one minute. Remove from heat and add honey and lemon juice. Cool then hold your nose, close your eyes and drink. Should give relief from cold symptoms for 3 hours.

Do I dare? Does anyone have any other concotions for me to try?

warm joy

Now that the snow is melting and its a matter of staying warm through the freezing (-2°C!) nights I am so grateful to have my patchwork wool blanket.

Even though putting together a blanket like this is a time consuming process - finding the oversize tight knit wool jumpers, gently shrinking and washing them, and deciding what order to put your squares, it is well worth the process. I cuddle up with mine every night on the couch. Tonight its with a pinot, recovering from the work day and enjoying some Jonathan Creek. I was talking to a felting expert in Hamilton recently who advised me how easy it would be to add some detailing to the blanket. If I get up the nerves to give it a go I'll post the results.

The design for the blanket is from Kelly Doust's book The Crafty Minx.

Kelly is a self taught crafter who puts together the simplest patterns and is also a vintage clothes aficionado, I'm hoping to pick up her book A Life in Frocks soon.
I have made a few different things from The Crafty Minx and I'll gradually pop them on here for you to take a nosy at. For someone new to crafts I highly recommend this book.

Tonight I'm going to try out a homemade muesli bar recipe - sadly quite excited - I've promised C that it's going to be better than a bought one, fingers crossed.

in winter wonderland

Last night C & I flew in late from a wonderful weekend in Auckland (I will gush about Waiheke another time) to snow starting to collect on the road on our drive home. By midnight there was almost 10cm on the ground and when we woke up the backyard was this:

I remember the total excitement as a kid waking up and seeing your own home transformed so silently overnight into a beautiful white playground.

The snow continued to fall and the neighbourhood was full of squeels of delight from kids frolicking.

With the roads covered there was no work, or leaving the house at all, except to get milk at the dairy and a wander down the street through the slush. An inconvenience, but absolutely the best kind.

A day stranded meant that I could finish this book that I got at the airport:

Wendyl is so inspirational and I thoroughly recommend you visit her site for handy tips for reducing chemical inputs into your home. I am looking forward to trying her recipes for cleaning and am even trying to figure if I could fit some chooks in the backyard.

The rest of the day was spent working on my knitting,

 rescuing animals - we are now officially dog-sitting - hello zita!

and making peach and pear crumble.yum.

As for the weather, lets see what tomorrow brings. Secretly I'm hoping that we may have another day stranded as I have some felt work that I wanted to do and a skirt to make that I have been meaning to put together for ages.

just starting

Almost three months ago I read an article in the local paper about a lady in Christchurch who sold crossstitch kits. I was enthralled by her creative talent and the way a skill of yesteryear had been updated so beautifully for our modern age. This lead me to felt where I was suddenly in a world full of wonder, beauty, skill and talent that I never knew existed, right here in New Zealand. I had found something that I didn't know I had been looking for.

Using my sewing and knitting skills I had learnt as a teenager I have proceeded to move into a space of crafting, upcycling and making all round life changes. I am by no means an expert and I am still so new to the craft movement it is very intimidating to see all these talented women out there who fill their time with creating.

It may sound contrived but I think this is what I have always been meaning to do.
When I was in my early twenties - not so long ago - I decided that my purpose on this planet was to leave something behind that I had created, a contribution to the world as such, whether that be in words, art or life. By creating this blog I am leaving my words, by using my spare time to sew, paint, collage, stitch, knit, crochet or draw I am leaving my art. One day maybe I can create some life too.

I'm Alice, I live in Christchurch, I work full time, and I have C, who makes me smile at least once every day.

It's very nice to meet you.