…sunday snippets…

Yesterday, my Instagram memories showed me a photo from 2019. It was a picture of our vineyard, the vines struggling, the ground mostly bare. The sky was dull and grey, filled with smoke and dust, as it had been for months, and would continue to be so for months to come. I went out and shot a photo from the same spot to compare. Now, the grass is lush and green, needing to be slashed fortnightly. The vines are heavy with leaves and fruit. The eucalypts in the background have filled back out. This morning I woke to grey skies, not the smoke and dust of 2019, but glorious rainclouds, having delivered over two inches, and the rain continues to fall even as I type, with our road to town on the verge of being cut. The difference from two short years ago is stunning. It is the kind of wonderfully cozy day just made for crafting. With the local plague outbreak continuing, I stayed home with our two younger children, watching the river gauges and the radar, and working in my journaling bible, catching up on my Gratitude Documented project.

The crafting has been a bit thin on the ground this week. I’ve been wrapping up the last of the costume sewing from last weekend. We’ve had a bit of extra farm work thanks to some nasty winds taking out a few of the burnt trees still standing from the bushfires. The pigs did their best Houdini act, so there was some emergency fencing and paddock rearranging going on. The one thing I have managed is to keep reasonably up to date with is my Gratitude Documented project. I had a morning at home this morning (the last Sunday at home, after two months away from church!! Hooray for summer, and vaccines, and some kind of normal returning!), and did the last bit of catch up I needed to be fully up to date. I’ve also managed to keep on top of my Micro Nano project – 21 days down, 9 to go! Yesterday I got a chance to hit the sewing machine, and got my party dress sewn up, with just the hems left to go.

In other fun stuff this week, I’ve been:

READING: The Iron Necklace. I have been trying to push through, but just can’t seem to get into it. With only 61 of 700+ pages read, I let it expire on time last night. Two blocks of three week loans, and I couldn’t get any further than that? Time to let it go.

WATCHING: Pushing Daisies. I was chatting about it with Car yesterday, and needed something fun to watch to keep me company as I crocheted after all that sewing, and it was the perfect Saturday afternoon watch.

LISTENING TO: Matchbox Twenty. By mid afternoon yesterday I was running out of puff to get to the end of my dress, so I threw on some classic mb20, cranked the boom, and had me a little karaoke party to push through. Fun fact – the More Than You Think You Are tour was the first concert the mister and I went to together!

STARTING: a 12 days of Christmas calendar, for a swap. I have my 12 ideas locked in, now comes the fun bit of pulling it all together!

FINISHING: three costumes! I will be sure to share the finished products after the productions.

PLANNING: a deep dive into the container, to try and dig out the Christmas tree, because next Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent which means it’s Tree Day!!

On the podcast, we’ve been chatting about creative play, and all the fun things we have planned for our end of year craftapalooza. My photo skills boost class is only 2 weeks away – it goes live on December 4th, and bookings are now open. Book in direct on the Crafty Monkies site here.

This week, I am planning a big one. That dress needs hemming. I want to get at least four of my 12 swap items done. I need to finalise our advent activity list. it’s the most craftiest time of the year, and I’m ready to hit the ground running. Have a fabulous week!