28 Days Later - Day Three

Day Three dawned cold, crisp, and overcast. A large flock of Green finches were picking the last of the seeds from the long-dead sunflowers along the driveway. An eerie silence pervaded. With the travel moratorium now in effect, the traffic on the highways was down to only the periodic rumble of a long-haul truck.

Photo from NZ Birds Online. I can't get close enough to the ones at my place to get a decent photo.

With the cold setting in, last night I thought it might be good to get out the slow cooker - it had been a while. I had bought 1 kg of chicken breast before the lockdown, so I shuffled through the pouches and sachets in the 'meal pouches and sachets' drawer - yes, I have a drawer just for that.
Under them all, I found a pouch of spice paste for a Madras Coconut Masala. It was a gorgeous artisanal spice paste crafted by a small NZ company. I love their stuff! The 'use by' date on the stamp was 2016, which meant I had bought it back in 2015. Yeah, I remember buying it. But unopened, these things never actually go off. So a kilo of chicken, a ton of coconut cream, and 6 hours later - voila! A fabulous smell wafting around the flat, and seven evening meals.

After breakfast, I made a point of reaching out to a few important contacts, which included my lovely landlady who lives in Japan, and a friend in Napier - to see if she wanted to set up some video chat crafting sessions. After that, it was time to get out in the garden for some more weeding and planting. For a time, the clouds withdrew and the sun streamed through giving some much needed warmth.

As the day moved on, the Government's fear that the weekend would see people relaxing the rules and treating it like a normal weekend were starting to be realized. After only one day of people taking it seriously, by 10.30 there were people once again out walking and driving around, kids up and down the pavements on scooters, and playing ball in the street. On the one o'clock news, there were reports of people congregating at parks to play Frisbee and touch football. Ye gods, people! Like crime and war, viruses don't stop for weekends and holidays!

The remainder of the day continued to oscillate between sunny and cloudy, periodically threatening rain but never quite delivering. By mid-afternoon things had quietened down, and people were mostly back at their own places, although I think that had more to do with the ominous skies than any prevailing common sense. I was getting the distinct impression that the weather was going to be a deciding factor in how strictly people kept to the lockdown.

Meanwhile, three days in, and I still hadn't been able to trick myself into any kind of structure or grand productivity, just continuing to potter around. I looked at the altered book a couple of times, deciding the best way to tackle my "Garden Gate and Hidden Library" two page spread, then settled on sitting in the lounge knitting and watching Season three of "Boss Baby: Back in Business" on Netflix. On the bright side, I might actually get this baby blanket done before the baby is born. Before this, it was looking like I was going to be pushing to get it done before he/she graduated high school.

Evening came... and went. Dinner was had - no prizes for guessing what that was, and after 20 minutes browsing through all the movies on Netflix, I chose an English dubbed Chinese movie, and once more settled in for knitting and movies... minus the knitting. I got too engrossed in the movie, which by the end I still wasn't sure whether I liked or not.

After that I stood outside for a bit, looking up at the stars. The cold was the kind of cold you could actually smell - sharp, and slightly metallic at the back of the nose, with a heady floral top note - some unknown night-flowering plant. Missing were the usual lingering bottom notes of diesel and exhaust fumes. 

I wondered where all zombies were. I was going to be really disappointed if we didn't get zombies out of this. With that thought, I headed back inside promising myself that tomorrow, I would DEFINITELY get back on track with a schedule, get more productive, and maybe cut back on the amount of zombie flicks I watched.

Goodnight all, stay safe.

28 Days Later - Day Two

Day Two dawned bright and sunny. For me, it was mostly a reiteration of day one, pottering around. There was only one youngster hooning around on a bike early in the morning, after that - nothing. No-one was driving around 'having a look', or visiting friends. Neighbors could still be heard nattering over the fence, but they were keeping a respectable distance from each other. People were starting to settle in and take it seriously.
With the traffic on all the side streets now mostly at a standstill, it made the traffic sounds from the three main highways sound even louder.  

Our normally busy street today

Every now and then a solitary person on a dog walking mission could be seen going by. Some I had never seen before, others I knew. With the parks closed, walking the dog around the neighborhood was now the only option for those with medium and larger dogs.

Fortunately Molly is a small dog, and we already have an indoor exercise routine for her, worked out after I sustained an injury to my left foot and wasn't able to take her to the park. I sit on the sofa at the front of the lounge, and throw her ball down the lounge, through the kitchen, and out the back door onto the back porch, hitting the wall of the attached garage. It is a straight, clear path all the way through. She races frantically after the ball, and rushes back with it, eager to have it thrown again. After 20 to 30 minutes of this, she is completely pooped.

By midday, there were howling gales and ominous clouds, and shortly after, torrential rains set in. Late afternoon saw a soggy, mournful cat sitting on the bureau by the front door, waiting for a break in the weather so she could dash back out.

As night fell, I went out into the garden, and noticed immediately that it was much darker than usual. I could actually see stars in sky. I had given up many years ago trying to view the Orionid and Leonid meteor showers. Generally, you can pick out Orion's belt, and a couple of other bright stars, but that is it.
To the southeast over Havelock North, it always looks like a permanent sunrise, with a never-ending sunset to the northwest over Flaxmere, and the flood of light from Hastings central in the middle. When it is cloudy, the bright orange glows spread and merge across the whole sky, bathing the entire city and surrounding area in a perpetual twilight.
Now that there is no nightlife, and businesses can't afford to keep everything lit up like daytime all night long, the stars that long ago vanished, have reappeared.

We will see what tomorrow brings. Goodnight all, stay safe.

28 Days Later - Day One

As of midnight last night, New Zealand went into a level 4 lockdown for four weeks.

Our Prime Minister declared a National State of Emergency, as well as issuing a Pandemic Notice. These gave the Government, police, and military, the special powers necessary to declare and enforce a nationwide lockdown.
All public places (museums, etc), schools, and non-essential businesses were closed. Even online shopping with non-essential businesses is closed.
Only essential services - Government, emergency services, hospitals, doctors, pharmacies, vets, financial institutions, supermarkets, and transport for goods - are all that are still operational.
Everyone who did not work in an essential service was ordered to stay home (which includes their yards for fresh air and exercise), only venturing out to access essential services. Most importantly, people should not have contact with anyone outside their "bubble" (the people they are in isolation with).

This unprecedented move was instituted to try to stop the spread of COVID-19 in NZ. To try to prevent what has happened in Italy, Spain, and other places.

So Day One dawned bright and sunny. The usual cacophony of children heading off to school was noticeably missing (we have a play center in the next block, and both a primary and a secondary school only a few blocks away). But in spite of the lockdown, the traffic levels on our suburban street were still close to the same. People were still driving around to visit friends. People were driving around "to just have a look". Kids were hooning up and down the street on bikes, unsupervised. One of my neighbours came over to me, and two other neighbours, asking if we had any spare boxes because she wanted to pack up the lounge so she could paint it.
People in this area are treating this as if it is a holiday not a lockdown, as if there is nothing to worry about, rather than there being a global pandemic with thousands of people dying. It is definitely worrying.

I started laying in supplies at the first rumblings of "a possible pandemic". My mother was visiting from Aussie at the time, and has helped financially with it, for which I am very grateful. I was able to get enough supplies in for the 4 weeks for myself and my two "babies" - Sheba my antisocial cat, and Molly the dog, who firmly believes she should be sitting on my lap every waking moment and sleeping on my head every sleeping moment.

Ironically, I spent much of my adult life "prepping" - keeping a six month supply of food etc stashed away. After over 20 years of doing that, two years ago, I decided, it was rather pointless and a waste of much need space, so I pared it all down to "normal" supply levels. That'll teach me!

We are currently in autumn, so the summer crops in the garden are finished, and the autumn/winter crops are only just now coming up.
Coming up in the last two weeks or so, I have Japanese giant red mustard, kale, Brussels sprouts, sprouting broccoli, cauli greens, leeks, miner's lettuce, Dutch cornsalad, lettuces, beetroot, rocket, arugula, onions, spinach, tat soi, and carrots. So the winter pantry is looking good. Today, I have spent some much needed time out in the garden weeding, and planted seed for salad mustard, more lettuces, and broadbeans.

By lunch time, the wind started picking up, and the clouds were coming over, so it was time to head in for the midday news, and some lunch.
The rest of the day was just spent pottering around, not doing anything in particular. Watching a lot of news, knitting, reading, a Skype call with Mum in Aussie, playing with the dog.

As evening wound down, and the sun was setting, I stood out in the yard to listen to traffic - that constant background hum that is always there day and night, from the main arterial ways the border our suburb on three sides. The main north/south highway that connects Wellington to Auckland via the East Coast side, the main highway running east/west that connect Palmerston North in the center thru Hastings to Napier on the coast, and a main east/west highway that connects the traffic coming down from Auckland in the north turning east to Napier and other east coast cities, bypassing Hastings.

The hum was still there, a steady stream of traffic swooshing and droning along the highways. Some of it will be extra trucks and vans hauling goods, and some of it people still in transit trying to get home. The lines at the Inter Island Ferry terminal and the domestic airports were so long and so frantic, that the deadline for people trying to get home was extended to Friday (tomorrow), to try to ease the pressure on services and stress on people.

It will be interesting to see how much of a reduction there is in the traffic, once the deadline for travel is passed, supply lines settle back to normal after all the panic buying, and the authorities start clamping down on those people who are just out driving around because they don't think the situation is really that serious.

Goodnight all, from here inside the lockdown. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Art Journal Journey - The Beginning

Greetings all!

Having completed quite a number of handmade journals, I have decided it is time to look at doing an Altered Book/Art Journal. These are very different from the type of journals I normally do. The ones I normally do are for actual journaling in, and I use them as Commonplace Books. 

Commonplace Book

Commonplace Books have been used in various incarnations for millennia. They are what you write down: 

- snippets and passages from books you read that caught your eye or that were important to you,

- poetry you especially love (or write yourself),

- sayings/quotes that speak to you,

- important information you want to remember,

- tables (weights, measures, correspondences),

- recipes you especially like (food, drink, herbal preparations, etc),

- ideas for projects, or a book you may want to write (or currently are writing),

- brainstorming,

- gluing/taping,sewing in found objects, favorite small pieces of lace and/or fabric, favorite old buttons etc.

It isn't a diary in which you gush about the guy you just met or vent about your boss, and it isn't a bullet journal where you write down the day to day things that need doing, but it chronicles your life, and the things that are important to you, and it is fabulous to look back over in later years.

Some of the more famous ones include those written by:

Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, both 2nd century AD,

The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon, a 10th century Japanese courtesan,

Leonardo da Vinci, Francis Bacon, John Milton, Mark Twain, Virginia Wolfe, and many others.

So if you keep a Commonplace book, you are in good company!

A Commonplace book, mid 17th century

Art Journaling Negativity

I love the concept of the Art Journals, but have been put off doing one, because so many I see are rather dark, and often somewhat disturbing. I know many are made as a therapy, to vent, to deal with trauma, and to express inner darkness, however I am very resistant to using art journaling for that, for a number of reasons.

First. Neurological studies show that the more often you remember something, the more entrenched it becomes in your memory, and the more of a hold it has over you and the more of an impact it has on your life - on the way you think, the way you interact with others, and the way you live your life.

On the positive side this is the basis of habit formation, and the base idea behind all Positive Thinking and Self Improvement programs. 

On the negative side, it is why we are advised to not dwell on things, and to learn to control thoughts that go around-and-around in our heads. Playing negative events again and again in our minds (be they actual events that happened, or 'events' that we imagine/fear might happen), we literally re-live them. Our brains, and the chemical/stress responses in our bodies respond as if it is actually happening again (and again, and again...).

The more you dwell on something, the harder it becomes to NOT dwell on it. It entrenches in the memory, and creates the HABIT of remembering it - a habit that becomes very difficult to break, and can spiral down into a dark depression, or - sometimes worse - a long-lasting low-grade depression that becomes our normal state so that we don't even realize we are depressed: clinical depression.

So the question becomes: do I want to make and have something in my life that will remind me every day of negative events and thoughts? Something that will cause me to re-live negative things day after day, even if it is just in the back of mind? Hmmm...

Second. It used to be believed that anger was like a volcano. If you didn't let it out, it would eventually erupt in a massive explosion. Venting was seen as good. This was based on the observation that people felt better after venting. Of course they did - it made them feel strong, powerful, and in control, and often got them what they wanted.

But modern studies into anger show that it is not like a volcano, rather it is like a fire - the more fuel you give it and the more you air it, the bigger it becomes. Studies show that if you vent, you are more likely to vent in the future, you are more likely to vent over more and more trivial things, and the level of venting will likely escalate with higher levels of verbal, emotional, psychological, and even physical violence. Those feelings of being strong, powerful, and in control, become bullying, domination, and manipulation - getting what you want through fear and intimidation. 
Fueling and fanning the fire becomes damaging to yourself, your relationships, and your life. It hurts those around you. It can lead to isolation, and getting stuck in life by hanging on to things. But damping the fire will calm it down. It will cause it to die back, and in some areas even die off, enabling you to forgive, and move on, by letting go.

Do I really want to make and have something in my life reminding me every day of my anger, of things I'm angry about, encouraging me to vent? Hmmm...

Third. Anyone who is familiar with the Law of Attraction will immediately understand - if you put yourself wholeheartedly into something, creating something while holding strong thoughts, feelings, and/or intent, you imbue that object with those thoughts feelings and intent. You create a magnet that will work tirelessly and endlessly on your behalf to bring those things to you.

When you create a page, you put all those thoughts and ideas into it. Most people when they have finished a page, say to themselves "this one is finished", and then move on to the next. This, in effect, makes EACH PAGE rather than the book as whole, a separate and complete 'magnet' in its own right.

If you fill page after page (create item after item in a collection of items) with frustration, anger, pain, rejection, sorrow, regret, depression, sarcasm, judgement, and darkness, then you have just created the most beautiful collection of magnets telling the Universe that those are the forces, events, and people, that you want drawn into your life. Hmmm...

Art Journaling Positivity

After much contemplation on the issues of Art Journaling, and in line with my current goals, I finally came up with the theme for my art journal.

This year for me is one I have dedicated to personal growth. It includes a lot of gratitude journaling, kindness journaling, meditation, contemplation, and a return to spirituality. And, of course a lot of reading.

So I have decided that I will theme my art journal on traits that I admire in others, and want to cultivate in myself - i.e. the kind of people I would like in my life, and the kind of person I would like to be.

I hope this will inspire others also, to be kinder to themselves, and to take the journey to seek the light (rather than the darkness) in their own souls.

Steampunk Lapbook and Other Stuff

Here we are, 4 months on from the last post. Doesn't time fly when your frozen!
It was a cold winter, and with no heating this year, all my plans for winter activities - including posting a winter garden walk-thru - went out the window. Or more appropriately, they sat huddled under a big furry blanket with a hot water bottle, watching TV and refusing to move unless absolutely necessary.

Now that it has started warming up, I have been getting into the craft room.
I have managed to get hold of a good number of old books and several sets of old encyclopedias, and promptly spent two weeks dissecting all the books and some of the encyclopedias. That means there are now book page paper packs, and hardcovers up in the Etsy shop.

And the making has begun. I have just finished a Steampunk lapbook, and a mini journal, as well as completing an altered planner. These I will actually keep for myself. People keep asking me about what I do and can I show them some of the stuff I make, and my answer is always "Ummm... well... I've never kept any of the stuff I make, so I don't have anything I can show you". Well, now I will have. And now I will start making things to put in the Etsy shop.
I had already started, with making the first in a set of pretty little envelopes made from book pages, but a number of people had been thru the house dropping off books, and the envelope walked off with one of them. The first naked journal for the shop has been completed though.

So lets start with the mini journal. This will become my Little Book of Information, where I can collate all those bits of information written on little bits of paper and sticky notes - what size is an A4 page in inches? Centimeters? Pixels (because the software I use for image manipulation works in pixels)? What about A5? What were the dimensions for the dividers for the larger planner? What ink does my printer take, again?

This pretty little journal consists of 4 signatures, each with 6 sheets. That means a nice 96 pages for info. All the sheets used to make the signatures were first tea dyed, giving them a wonderful look, feel, and sound.

At this point, I would like to introduce some book terminology.

Like so many other crafting areas, we have brought the skills and techniques from what was once a professional occupation into the general crafting masses, but never bothered to bring the proper terminologies with those skills. This has led to a lot of confusion about what constitutes a "page".

I read listings that say they have used 6 pages to make a signature, to give 12 pages, with 24 pages - or worse, 'writing surfaces'. I don't know about you, but when I'm discussing a book with someone I don't ask "what writing surface was that on", I ask "what page was that on". And when people are referring to the sheets used to make a signature as pages, then each side of the fold line also as pages, and then each side of those also as pages, or out of desperation to find a different word, refer to the actual pages as 'writing surfaces', it gets very confusing. 

So here is the basic terminology for SHEET – A sheet of paper

LEAF – Half of a sheet. Each sheet when folded in half, produces two leaves, one on each side of the fold line.

PAGE – One side of a leaf. Each leaf has two sides or pages

SIGNATURE – A group of sheets folded in half and stacked together

BOOK – A collection of signatures bound together

Each sheet produces 2 leaves, or 4 pages, so to determine the number of pages in a signature, multiply the number of sheets used by 4.

i.e. a 10 sheet signature has 40 pages.

And there you have it.
books:

Now onto the altered planner. All the laces on this are antique.

The lapbook was so much fun to do, but very labour-intensive and time consuming.

On the front, I put two bronze latches to keep it closed, which should prove very useful once it starts getting full.

The first journal for the Etsy shop is a naked journal. "Naked" means that it doesn't have any ephemera or embellishments inside, and "journal" - as opposed to "junk journal" means it doesn't have all the pockets and tuck spots that you find in junk journals. The only concession to those that I made was to put Venetian lace pockets on the inside of the front and back covers, and to include two naked tags in each pocket. Otherwise, the journal consist solely of pages.

The cover of this journal is an upcycled hardback book cover, covered with a soft cotton fabric from a piece of upcycled vintage clothing, and decorated with a beautiful shabby chic print collage.
The Journal itself consists of 4 signatures, each containing 9 sheets, which makes a total of 144 pages for journalling on.
Each signature is a mix of shabby chic printed sheets, and hand tea dyed papers. The paper used for both the printed sheets and tea dyed papers is an Eco product made from recycled paper. I do all the printing and hand tea dying myself.
In the center of each signature is a beautiful shabby chic printed envelop, for keeping small items, photos, etc.
The signatures are all hand sewn into the cover.

Well, that's it for this time. Cheers, all.

Of Neighbors, Skunk Cats, and Junk Journals

It was a dark and stormy night. Suddenly there was a loud "BANG!"
Ooo... good start to a story!
A little background now...

So last night, I sat down to binge watch the just-released, much anticipated, 6 part series "Good Omens" on Amazon Prime. The series is based on Terry Pratchett (of Discworld fame) and Neil Gamin's book. It is hilarious, and I can TOTALLY recommend it! The hallway walls of Hell have signs that say "Please don't lick the walls". Hmmm....

Halfway thru the bingeing around 8.30 pm, suddenly there was a loud banging on the back door. I NEVER get late visitors. Let's face it, I don't really get many visitors at any time of the day, but definitely not after dark!

Standing at the back door was a neighbour, proffering a head of broccoli. Apparently they were in the middle of making a fancy pasta dish from scratch, and suddenly realized that they didn't have any garlic in any form in the house, and could I please spare a clove of garlic, because all the shops were shut. Lol. Yeah... we've all been there! Just last week I was getting everything out to make cornbread, and discovered I didn't have any cornmeal. Oops! Fortunately I hadn't actually started it.

Well, it looks like winter has finally arrived (hence the dark and stormy night last night) - and right on time too. Yesterday was the first "official" day of winter here, and today it is cold, grey, wet, and VERY windy!

Definitely a good morning for a hot cup of coffee first thing. So I'm pattering out to the kitchen in my jammies, wrapped up in a long cardigan I use as a bathrobe, and POW! OMG, it smelled like a small skunk had gone off in the kitchen! Except we don't have skunks in New Zealand. 
OK, more backround...

About two months ago, the big tabby from down the back decided he didn't want to live there anymore, and he moved into my place. The owner was fine with that, as she was thinking of re-homing him anyway. His name is Frankie, and yeah, he's a bit of a mobster, but a really good mouser! Important, because I have been inundated with mice since the people in the flat next door - who did most of their cooking and had all their food storage in the garage - moved, leaving hordes of starving mice looking for a new food source. 

Frankie isn't too fond of Molly, the dog, and doesn't really like Sheba, my other cat. Sheba isn't too keen on the dog either, and really really dislikes Frankie. Molly doesn't like either of the cats, because they get attention she thinks should be going to her. So now I have three kiddies, all of them wanting to be only children. *Eyeroll*.

Anyway, it appears that Frankie, at some point in the middle of the night in his infinite cat wisdom, decided that the best way to prove once and for all that this was HIS house, was to spray the hutch and the big bag of potatoes in the kitchen. Pee-ewwww! And yes, he is neutered. Good thing I don't get a lot of visitors! Don't need a crystal ball to tell me that there is a big day of scrubbing ahead!

Sheba

Frankie

Molly

The Spirit Cloth is progressing nicely. Currently, I am doing the Boro stitching on a corner section. I love the way the Boro makes several disconnected layers of fabric look like a single piece of fabric, and I just adore the feel of it.

Boro stitching on Spirit Cloth Cover

With life getting back on track, I am looking at re-opening my Etsy shop, getting back into making my Fabric Books and Fabric Journals, and adding Art Journals, Junk Journals, and Junk Journal Planners to the inventory. Fingers crossed, I should have the first items in store in about 6 weeks. Next year, I hope to add online classes on making Fabric Books and Fabric Journals.

To whet my whistle in anticipation of getting into things, I made a toilet roll pocket book. Yup, it is exactly what it sounds like - a book of pockets made from toilet rolls (the cardboard rolls in middle of toilet paper), with tags in the pockets. 

There is an excellent video tutorial on how to make these by the wonderful LorriMarie Jenkins, a fabulous mixed-media artist. If you are interested in mixed media, her YouTube channel is really worth subscribing to.

Toilet Paper Roll Circus Pocket Book.

Mine is Teapot themed. I love teapots, and if I had the room I would collect them. It has all sorts of antique teapots - like the handmade silver camel from Morocco, and novelty teapots - like the octopus one from China. I have a bit of a Minion fetish, so the cover is a Minion tea set. My favorite teapot is the tiny toilet teapot (yes, a teapot in the shape of a toilet! Funky!)

Teapot Themed Toilet Roll Pocket Book

Camel Teapot and Octopus Teapot tags

Tiny Toilet Teapot tag

Hasta la vista - until we meet again. Cheers.