Monday: I finished another book! Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly recommended for those who do not mind their stories narrated by foul-mouthed tame crows. There was one annoyingly simplistic character ending and the last two pages were needlessly tacked on solely to sooth humanity’s ego, but neither of those things were terrible enough to reduce my enjoyment of it as a whole.

Tuesday: I spent some time puppy-sitting this morning, although she is coming up on her second birthday so I’m not quite sure when puppyhood ends. I decided to take her for a nice long walk to wear her out but ended up pooping us both. I then spent a couple of unfulfilling hours flicking through Netflix, which I keep promising myself I will stop doing because it addles my brain. No bumbles bees were eaten this morning (by either of us).

This afternoon I cracked open one of the craft kits I had for my birthday. I do believe there was an element of unconscious sarcasm in this gift, this belief brought on by the 5+ years warning label on the side of the box. Ignoring that completely, I gleefully began painting and building my latest bee hotel. It kept me quiet, happy and out of trouble for a couple of hours. I decided to go for a rainbow design, I think the bees already know that this is an LGBTQA+ friendly home, but soon the neighbours will too.

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that the rainbow colours are not in the traditional order. That is a little because I refuse to be confined by authority, but mostly because I put a green stripe in the wrong place and then just decided to allow anarchy to reign supreme.

No fingers were glued together in the making of this project (although it was a close call a couple of times…)

Wednesday and Thursday: The official designation for these days was ‘Bleugh’ so instead of boring you with the details of how they were ‘Bleugh’ I will offer up short reviews of the last three books I read (before Hollow Kingdom).

The Crow Folk – Mark Stay ‘June 1940 Rationing. Blackouts. Witchcraft.’ I really feel as if I should have enjoyed this book, but I didn’t. Not because it is badly written, it isn’t, and not because the story doesn’t have enough in it, it does. But it is missing something, something I can’t quite put my finger on, but the thing that draws me into a book and keeps me there isn’t here.

Kung Fu High School – Ryan Gattis PLEASE do not attempt to read this book if you are one of those people who flinches when hearing details of other people’s injuries. Do not read it if your stomach clenches when you see someone getting hurt in a film, because this book is violent from the first page and is violent all the way through. It is well written but never explains how a high school full of teenagers is allowed to become a cross between the Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games. I did manage to finish it, even though I am one of those people, but only by skimming past all the fight scenes, meaning it took me approximately 20 minutes to complete it. This is a book that I suspect appeals mostly to teenage boys, which isn’t surprising considering it was recommended by someone who used to be one.

The Midnight Library – Matt Haig I recommend this book, with the caution that it begins very dark and more than a little depressing. It does manage to end with a more positive slant, without having become overly sweet or twee, which is a neat trick to pull off. There are obvious comparisions to It’s A Wonderful Life but it is also nothing like It’s A Wonderful Life, so another neat trick.

Although these days were ‘Bleugh’ I did help someone with their application for a new job, so good deeds were done.

Friday: Today I started some Sashiko (literal translation ‘Tiny Stabs’, how cool is that?!) This Japanese design method is basically just a simple running stitch, which I have been doing since I was 6 years old (thanks Grandma!) but it is not as simple as it look, especially when the only sewing I’ve been doing recently is bodging a huge tapestry needling into very forgiving wool. The craft started as a way to add visual appeal to patches and repairs in clothing and household textiles, but over the years they became beautiful designs in their own right.

I think I’m a little bit hooked on this now and I’m already planning a pretty big personal project using these designs. The sample above is also likely to end up as a cushion cover because, why not?

Saturday: I spent today machine sewing cushion inners for my Etsy creations and re-covering a window model/tailors dummy that I managed to blag from one of my old work colleagues. I haven’t made any clothing or wearable accessories yet, but I’ve got some intriguing pattern ideas wandering around my head and a trendy, grey jersey fabric wearing model would look good in the arty photos I think.

Sunday: The day for rest, book reading and home made soup and tiger bread.

This is a poor quality photo, in term of the actual colour of the yarn, but a fairly accurate image of what the super chunky wool I bought last week turned into 🙂

For those in the know: Manjula’s Kitchen has never let us down in our quest for home made curry perfection, I HIGHLY recommend it, and I have decided that home grown potatoes take up too much room and are not worth the garden space. They do flower and provide pollen for bees though…hmmm, maybe next year…