A little late but still...

 Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! This video is a little late, like two weeks really, but there you go.

I LOVE this song, but that won't stop me using it as a fun moment.

I dropped a line that says, "I had good intentions" ironically because I always do have good intentions, including to remember all the lines. :)

Christmas Eve

 

It's Christmas Eve here, 11pm, I'm about to go to bed. Food prep complete for tomorrow, presents all wrapped, crackers made, shop balanced and all tucked up for two days, and here we are.

My tiny tree is on the end of the kitchen bench - it's the only flat surface in our living area, but as it is enormous, the bench not the tree, it's not really in the way. It's actually the top third of a 7 foot tree, and David cleverly made it fit in the base with corrugated card. Kiwi ingenuity. I finished my day job last Friday and putting up the tree helped to flip me into holiday mode.

I had the most delicious late thanksgiving dinner at my friend Emily's where she just cooked the turkey legs and they were so good, I decided that was going to be our Christmas dinner. Then Jamie Oliver got on TV last week with boning and stuffing them. So, David boned them all out for me (we joked that he would have made an excellent butcher, which would horrify his lifelong vegetarian mother!) and tonight I stuffed and rolled 12 of them with pork sausagemeat, apricot and sage stuffing.

This year I have refused to bake any dried fruit foods as it is too hot! So I've made a trifle, experimenting with raspberry, rhubarb and orange flavours, with a dessert wine and Cointreau as the soak. The sponge is gluten free, and a bit dry but hopefully the booze and fruit will sort it out.

Late on Wednesday, having sewn up all the semi-constructed masks on my sewing table for the shop, I decided that masks were the new hats for Christmas crackers and made 12 more. They are all gorgeous, but sewing 30 masks was a mistake and my back is not happy with me. So on top of my knee, I'm hobbling around, getting on the floor every couple of hours to do stretches and hoping it will stop spasming. Cooking sitting on a bar stool is quite tricky!

On the News we are told that retail spending is down this year, but in our tranquil little shop we've had our best week ever in ten years. For this we are very, very thankful.

It's a funny time. Covid and bereavements and weather events and bad health - I don't feel much like celebrating. But because of this it is important to celebrate anyway. I'm sitting with things as they are - the good, and the bad. Rather than focus on either side, just to be with it. 

So on this Christmas Eve, I'm relaxing, contemplating bed and thinking of you all. Natalie if you read this I hope you are ok with the terrible tornado ripping through Kentucky. Sending love your way.

I wish for you all some peace and replenishment among the ambiguity. xo

Frock Tweaking

Hello! Long time no chat! I've been busy and it's all not very interesting really. I did the Christmas Caburlesque show on 4 December and we did a variation of it - bigger cast, more variety, over the hill in the Wairarapa.

I'm tired of my red Christmas dress really, so I decided to try something else. This dress I made in 2017, and I've honestly never loved it in spite of it being the most ambitious costume I've made. I just felt the result never delivered on the effort.

It feels like a dress a child would wear at a pageant. The bottom flounces droop instead of being deliciously frothy. It's not long enough or too long at the front. Meh. So, I stood in front of the mirror in it and pulled and hoiked and hitched, and bingo!

The result! the frothy flounce pops now, it has proper hi low, I prefer the assymetry and the hitch makes the dress a bit narrower. It's caught up with some strong stitches, and I'm going to play with the rest of the flounce to see if I can make it turn out more too.

It's the only costume I have that has a blue/green base as they're not really my colours but I LOVE the way the sequins on this fabric are shifting shades of blue, turquoise, lime and jade, just delicious!

The froth is green and blue organza, and because the fabric is translucent, the colours mix to make these turquoise colours. YUM.

I'm not sure that my Snag Christmas tree lights tights were the best choice to wear under them on the weekend but hey ho!