This is not my beautiful house!

So I'm human, and I change. I'm fickle, just the same as everyone else. A lot of things have changed, especially in the past few months. So I rebranded, just because I can! The previous name was revived in the absence of anything more suitable, and was associated with a period of history which is long-irrelevant, and being that I enjoy the company of the present and future, this never sat well with me. That's right blog, I never liked you, so I changed you. Who said it couldn't be done? Belzooka is a part of my 30+ life and reminds me of roller derby, maxi-cabs, leggings and Crème de Mûre. And change.

I mentioned change. Didn't I? I could have sworn I did. So I've been complaining for the last few years that there wasn't enough of this going around. Well, I am now living in Melbourne! I say living - I have only been here 4 weeks, and am currently staying in temporary accommodation, but I am working, house hunting, and made the move with a view to a longer term, so I like to think I'm on my way.

It is going pretty well. When I am not at work though, I am mostly extremely bored. In my usual fashion of turning a simple plan into a convoluted saga, two weeks before I was scheduled to go, a minor complication arose related to a prior medical condition, which has had little actual effect other than serve to exacerbate my boredom in two ways - I now can't drink, OR drive. For an "indefinite period" - or until I pay someone off to tell me otherwise! This coupled with the aforementioned temporary accommodation situation, and my other half still winding things up in Brisbane, is making me all kinds of crazy hermit lady. The first few weeks were very much focused on adjusting to the new job and environs. Now that I am finding a routine there, I am trying to find other activities to amuse myself in my spare time.

Before I made the move, I had decided it was time to tackle a new project, and that project, I decided, was making my own confectionery. Not quite the logical step you expected? Tell me about it!

My self-critic asked:
Why not do something you know a little about? Some craft thing maybe, you've surely picked up some transferable skills over the years? Let's face it girlfriend, your cooking skills are pretty ordinary. And sweets? Forget about it. Why do you want to embarrass yourself? I don't think I need to remind you about the biscotti.

Well, self-critic, to you I say:
Firstly, I'll have you know that I made a Cup-a-Soup the other day, and it was exquisite. I've just spent too much time in my comfort zone, and I'm looking for a challenge. I've sat too long in the shadow of my boyfriend and sister-in-law and their amazing and effortless fancy-pants culinary skills - and I think I am ready to find my own cooking niche. Or maybe it was from that time I was really tired and I watched Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory just before I went to bed. Also, YOUR NAILS LOOK UGLY!!!

So Project Cavity came about (yes, I do need to label everything with some dumb name to keep me engaged). I named it that in jest, but it has kind of stuck. It is still in the very early stages, experiencing a short hiatus to make time for all this "more important" business of relocation going on, and related crucial activities, including emotional eating and moping around because I miss my people. However, the last few days have seen a little more progress, the success of which is still undetermined, so I will wait to report further on that.

Time for my yearly post!

Don't be alarmed, it's only some bullet points...

+ I went to karaoke last night for the first time in 2010 (so overdue), and a fun time was had by all, HOWEVER, there are bruises forming on my thighs from the light up tambourines. Who knew it was such rough activity?

+ We recently tripped down to the electric Melbourne for a dear friend's wedding and a short break for shopping, eating, boozing and family time. I am still missing it, especially the shopping and Suga.

+ I am in the market for a new pair of jeans, and it seems to me that these steel plated jeans would be perfect for keeping my legs protected in any skirmishes that occur during my morning commute on casual Friday.

+ Mishka's Smokey Eye Tutorial: the only one you will ever need for your remaining lifespan (I don't claim to know anything about afterlife fashion, so I can't guarantee any further than that). I tried this last night, with 100% success, even being quite the makeup greenhorn that I am.

+ Taking a nerdy turn now, the upcoming Persona 3 Aigis Heavy Arms Version PVC figure is pretty special (the smoke and shells got me immediately). I would consider it if I didn't already have all the Persona 3 figure I needed in my delightful Elizabeth 1/8 Scale PVC Figure. Oh yeah, and if I was made of money. Something that puzzles me is the limited edition of this being SANS Heavy Arms. I like to think about big issues.

+ Tired of buying crappy plaster figurines for the unicorn enthusiast in your life? Take it to the next level with Unicorn Meat, and see just how much of an enthusiast they really are.

ding dong merrily on bloody high

My least favourite time of year approaches, and I look to one of my favourite things to try and keep off the annual Xmas blues - crappy craft. Obviously, Etsy is a source of awe and inspiration (and money wasting), but it also a hotbed of crappy craft. The most prominent examples of this can be found on the ever-disturbing Regretsy.com, which I am sure you know.

In a recent trawl, I came across one particular thing which stuck out as being totally non-crappy and fantastic, and I had to share - Christmas Goods Gift Claim Tags. I love these and what they are about, and if I had my own big family gathering to attend, I would snap them up (but I'll probably make up an excuse to get them anyway). They are such a great take on the big gifting ceremonies of Xmas morn, which I remember so fondly from the olden days.


+ This amputee panda USB hub is at the top of my terrifyingly cute Xmas list.



+ Hungry? Itchy feet? Feel like eating a flag? Me too.

+ Also helping get me through this tiresome month: Dita, Cascade Green, Simpkins Barley Sugar, and Worcestershire Sauce. Oh yes, and air conditioning.

Torquil

Allow me to introduce another special member of the family...


This is Torquil, the Earth Knight.

The pattern came from a book I received as a gift: Creepy Cute Crochet, by Christen Haden. This book was awesome: apart from the super cute patterns, I learned some invaluable lessons from the incredible attention to detail, the neatness and stitch choices within some of the more advanced patterns, and especially the exquisite finishing touches. This is not a book for absolute beginners, there are some real challenges here, but I would recommend it to anyone who likes crocheting small, cute, and occasionally creepy (though I'd be more inclined to call them geeky, not that I mind) amigurumi.

The Three Heads of Allen

The last however many months have been filled with the humdrum activities of daily life in the suburbs, which I tolerate, the most noteworthy positive things being our holiday to Japan, I turned 30, my niece turned 1, and we moved into a bigger place.

Craft wise, the usual ebb and flow has occurred. I finally completed what was once my secret Christmas project for Nick somewhere between then and now, which was... a crochet Cerberus! This project was ambitious in many ways, and as usual, slowed to an extra crawl in the construction stages, but I made it! Cerberus was dubbed by his new owner: “Allen”.


Big props to MrsThallium for sharing her wondrous pattern, and Suncatcher Eyes, well, for the eyes.

Post Cerberus, I spent our mild winter making winter woollies for various people. I became obsessed with variegated yarn for a short while, since it makes things look more interesting than they really are, and the changing colours and textures kept my attention span in check. I have been particularly digging on tweed yarn, of which I originally bought a skein of the most hideous colours I could find for some hobo gloves for my brother. I then actually realised that it is gorgeous to work with, and can look very cool in the right context. A beanie for each of us followed, though I finished my own in the last week of “cold” weather we had, so didn’t actually get a wear in. Whoops.


I’ve more recently fallen back into amigurumi, and taken the daunting step into using purely my own patterns, rather than the splicing together of all the wonderful patterns out there. Who knows how it will end (or if it ever will).

big brain am winning again!

On Monday, I decided to make some changes to my poxy website, upgrade my WordPress, change some colours and the like. It was all going well, until one wrong click or keystroke or breath and all of a sudden I had no website. Then I had a website with the new WordPress, but no posts. Then I had my posts back in weird format, but no admin access.

I have spent the days since in denial, weeping into my keyboard, having no idea what to do. I have been off work sick for two days, so you would have thought I might have had the time to look into it, but it all just seemed too hard and I had no clue where to start, since I had no admin access.

About 10 minutes ago I decided to face up to this embarassing little problem, and some light digging brought me to the most likely solution. Then, 2 minutes later, it was fixed. Who knew it would be so simple? I certainly didn't. To all wise computer geeks, this web luddite salutes you.

unproductive times

I easily get sucked in to spending a majority of my time doing things I don't really want to do. This especially happens in Summer. I have spent most of this year so far in this unproductive state, with a minority of exceptions.

Crafternoons were absent from my life for a lot of this time, after a minor case of burnout after so much Xmas pressure, and also due to the growth of my niece, and her new level of mobility, curiousity and tactile fascination, along with the increased ability to distract via cuteness. One of my Xmas projects still remains unfinished, but I am aiming to get it completed before next Xmas. I wouldn't want to set an unachievable goal. Here are a few of my Xmas projects which were completed and gifted on the due date.

Recently, however, I have been easing back into it, with the return of Winter, and the help of a few friends and keen greenhorns, and have been enjoying the deadline-free element to the crafternoon. It begins again...

So, our plans for change and excitement have been postponed due to unfortunate global circumstances. However, to dwell on the fact would be to invite melancholy into this post, so I won't.

I turn 30 next month. I am quite unconcerned about this, and am taking the fresh approach of looking forward to it, and using it to make some much needed changes here and there. The one thing I did promise myself, and phrased it as such knowing the unpredictable nature of things, is that I would not be in Brisbane for my birthday. Thanks to this promise, and the freeing up of some savings from the aforementioned plan changes, we are heading to Japan for 11 days! This is the most excitement we have seen in a while, and is keeping us occupied with planning and the making of many lists - one of my favourite things to do, of course.