Week 20 – Look at this Photograph

20 weeks into the year! What?! This year is flying by – surprisingly, since it seems like each day is bringing new horrors.

My body is still trying to adjust to the colder weather. My joints have been hurting, and I’m not sure if it’s the come down from Mother’s Day or the cold. Or… maybe a secret third thing that I’m not aware of?

I can barely remember what happened over the last week. I’ve been trying to take more time to rest and stay off social media (as much as possible).

So, I’m going to keep it brief this week…

Week 11 of the stupidest war of the century.

This week, the ceasefire was still on (except for Lebanon, of course, because Israel is continuing their attacks and Greater Israel Project).

Other shit from this week:

• Trump was in China, where he was met with red carpet treatment

• On the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, Israel continues to target ‘Hamas’ and kill Palestinians

• The Australian Government released their budget this week, which includes some measures to level the playing field between 1st home buyers and investors (like changes to Capital Gains Tax discounts and Negative Gearing). As you would expect, the Murdoch media are losing their minds. 
• India’s PM has urged its population to limit fuel use and gold purchases due to the Iran War

I’m sure there was a lot more, but my brain simply refused to remember this week. 

This week, I finally knuckled down to make my final entry into the Royal Adelaide Show “Cuddle Toy” category.

Just to recap, I have already made a weighted Pound Puppy (with a cute “Puppy Love” collar) and a dinosaur lovey. I don’t think the dino is detailed enough to win, but I figured that I might as well enter it since the entries are donated to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

So, the final entry is this adorable cow lovey! It’s actually designed to be a pajamas holder (with an open bottom), but I made some modifications. I changed the horns as well – I freehanded them with DK cotton yarn instead of chenille. I crocheted the ‘body’ in the Alpine Stitch. It’s really hard to get good photos, and it looks way cuter in person. There are lots of details, including embroidery on the eyes. It feels weird to be finished so early with my entries, and now I’m not sure what to work on! Check out the little video on Instagram.

We are onto Season 2 of Star Trek: The Next Generation – Riker has his iconic beard!  I’m on Season 6 of House, and now he’s in a relationship. Please tell me – what woman in her right mind would want to get involved with a narcissistic drug addict? Let alone a woman with a baby! FFS. 

We also watched Project Hail Mary yesterday, and I woke up last night thinking about making a globe hacky sack! 

I finished the latest Murderbot book, Platform Decay. 5 stars (as always). I’m onto The Demon King by Peter V. Brett (I think this is the final instalment of the series). 

This week, I added the 3rd design to the Millennial Keychain series – a Polaroid! Did anyone else beg their parents (or grandparents) to use the Polaroid camera in the 80’s / 90s? My Mamaw had one, and she treated the film like gold because it was so expensive! We used to be able to take 1 or 2 pictures as a treat. I still have some of mine – one is a cloud that looks like a woman’s head. 

I have 1 more design already completed, and then I will put all of them into a bundle! 

This week, fidgets have been super popular. The Rainbow Bead Fidget has been kicking off on Etsy. 

I’ve put The Rind Beanie to the side for now. Knit4Charities SA has put a call out for beanies for the foster kid charity, Backpacks 4 Kids. So, I finished one last night, and I’m about halfway through another one. I also bought a knitting machine so that I can use up some stash yarn. 

I have so many pattern ideas, but not a lot of spoons to work on them. My sister has also been struggling with the season change, so I’m not sure when we’ll get together to finally design the Howard Moon Doll. I’m really hoping it’s soon! 

I hope everyone is doing as well as can be! Get outside and into nature if you can. There’s nothing like hearing the birds sing and seeing some plants to calm your nervous system down.