Depression to expression

Hi All

Yes I am still around , and still reading [ thanks Jean ]. Just life has been a little mad and work frantic. Many challenges and demands both at home and work....

It hasn't helped that my employer has locked down the Internet so much that I can no longer have access and read most of my favourite blogs. I can also no longer blog in my breaks and as life has been equally as frantic at home getting near the PC is a challenge to say the least! [ They did this because of the latest round of virus and password threats]

So what have I been up too...!!??

1. Gardening , the veggies are doing well altho the weather this year hasn't favoured the tomatoes , too hot and dry when the fruit was setting and then tropical storms to knock them off as they are ripening. We will have a bumper crop of corn soon and I have already frozen bags full of butter beans. The courgettes are doing their usual run amok and I have just tried making chutney with them tonight for the first time. Not sure how that will taste but if it passes the kiddy taste test may be a way of getting rid of [ I mean using up ] the surplus in the fridge.

2 Deck, we are currently extending the deck area off our lounge. The small one present when we moved in wasn't big enough to have a couple of chairs let alone a table. We are looking forward to enjoying this next year. As we get a sea view and we are planning to put up a shade sail if next year is as hot and humid we will at least keep cooler.

3. Kid minding. As DS2s job, kindy teacher aiding starts a full week to 10 days before the schools go back [ Not sure who dreamed that madness up! ] I helped out looking after the DGC then of course DS2 gets the tummy bug going around [ I am sure DS1 remembers the fall out from that episode 5 years ago! ] This meant more kiddy minding and meal making etc etc. Of course DGD has now started Brownies, and loving it but guess who is involved with that. I will have to watch it or I will end up a leader at this rate.

4. Exhibition #1 for the year meant working very hard on producing 25+ pieces of jewelery to enter. This opened 10 days ago and runs until this coming weekend. I am thrilled as I have sold 10 pieces so far!!!

Here is a rather bad pic of some in progress. We had a quick trip to Auckland just before I had to have them finished [ in another storm , it poured!! ] So forgot to get a "finished pic" , will have to go and take some in the gallery this week. But 3 pieces went to some buyers from a cruise ship so are already by now on the other side of the world. I have been getting a lot of favourable comment re these.

It has been many years since I did any metal work at college. I do enjoy it but it is a means to an end. If I can sell on average one piece a week I can afford to take off a day a fortnight to work on more important things such as C & G knitting. So I figure I am now owed 10 days off over 20 weeks!!

5. Knitting!! Yes there has been knitting. Mostly samples for C & G but I have finished my wrap using browns and cassette tapes knitted in a stripe pattern. This baby is big... just as I planned.

Here it is blocking... rather hard to get in one pic...

I am planning on making a fringe threaded through the border. As this is for an exhibition piece tied into a listening post of old music from the 60/70's the fringing will be long and I will attach cassette cases from the tapes. The idea is that in times of trouble and stress and grief we tend to turn to the familiar music from our past. So the wrap will be hung so you can stand in it and listen to the music. I am still working on including text on tape threaded through the holes from the lines on increasing. Have yet to write the poem for this... oh for another day a week!

The next piece has yet to be decided... either the copper wire "cobweb" or white curtains knitted from hand spun recycled plastic shopping bags or perhaps the net curtains knitted from old video tapes...

Anyway that is me for now, off to plan a trip to the wool festival [ perhaps]

No promises but I will try and be a better blogger.

Cheers and knit on !!

"Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew. They're what make the instrument stretch - what make you go beyond the norm" Cicely Tyson