What I've Been Doing Lately

I've never been one to apologise for not posting for a long time, but gosh, it's been ages, hasn't it? With everything that's been happening in 2020, I'm sure you can't blame me. Whether I post once a week or once a quarter, I'm always intending to keep on blogging.

I thought I'd kick things off with a little wrapup of what I've been doing these last few months:

An exhibition!
I was lucky enough to be chosen once again to hold an exhibition at NOIR Darkroom, called Before(During)After. It was originally supposed to be in April, but was postponed a couple of times due to the pandemic and the gallery not being able to open. The gallery allowed me to change the theme, which I did to something more current. It explores how my art has changed during the pandemic and my uncertainty about what the future holds (for my art, but in general, too). There's a digital gallery on NOIR Darkroom's website which has photos and also an artist talk I did. I managed to talk for quite a long time for someone so shy!

Art! and a Conscript!
More specifically art-wise, I've been working on a series I call my Codex Pages. They're inspired by the Voynich Manuscript, a medieval book written in a mystery language that no-one can decipher, with strange illustrations. I've been fascinated with it for years. I finally had the idea of trying to make my own version. I created my own constructed script (conscript) for it. I always find this a lot of fun. I say 'always' when I've only created one before, but you get the idea! I'm hoping to write a post on this in more detail in the future.

These ones aren't finished yet:

Building a City!
Not a real one -- I was furnished with a game called Cities Skylines. It's like SimCity if you've heard of that (but better, by all accounts). My city just hit 80,000 inhabitants, and is called Lavender Town. I know! But it's not named after the location in the Nintendo game, but the pre-made map I chose in the beginning, which was called Lavender Lake. It's just the kind of game I like, and I've been spending a lot of time playing it lately. Here are a couple of screenshots.

Reading!
I was in a reading slump for several months, from about May to the start of December. I was given some ebooks to review, and of course whenever you're obligated to read something, it's no longer fun, so even though the books were good, I found it a little bit excruciating to get through them. (I still have 3 to go, oops!)

My friend Emilie started a Youtube channel a few months ago: Teacher Emilie in the Dining Room Library. She reads illustrated childrens books -- like an online storytime! It's kept me from having to admit that I read absolutely nothing in that time, if you believe that books usually for toddlers count! She often has wise comments to add as well. I recommend it.

I discovered The Story Graph a few weeks ago, and that's what really got me out of my reading slump. It's a reading community like Goodreads (but better, I daresay), with stats and graphs of books you've read. It aims to develop a really accurate and satisfying recommendations system. It's still in beta at the moment so you need to sign up to see everything, but for me it's definitely worth it so far. Reading challenges launched a few weeks ago, and members (including myself!) are enthusiastically creating and signing up for challenges.

Music!
Late last year I started a project to replicate my itunes library in Spotify. I ran into some hiccups at first which I won't go into (nothing to do with Spotify) but I've had lots of time to work on it while lurking in my cocoon this year. I'm working by artist and I've just finished the Gs, plus Eurovision working backwards from the present to 2004 so far. All the while I'm discovering new artists and songs. Who knew there was so much music in the world?
(The title of this playlist comes from a private joke of mine.)

Gardening!
Even through Winter there's usually something to do in the garden, but now that Spring (early Summer really) is here, it's all stations go! I'm barely keeping on top of the weeding, let alone planting new plants and re-potting old ones. But it's honest work and it makes me happy.

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. Hopefully I'll see you again soon!

My June, and Life & Health Update

In June I've been enjoying the colder weather, as I wrote about more in my Hello Winter blog post. In this post I want to talk about some more personal things. Some long-time readers might know that I have Ulcerative Colitis (I even wrote a zine about it a couple of years ago!). In late May I developed some new health problems, quite suddenly. I woke up in the middle of the night with severe pain in my knee. I was almost unable to walk. I managed to make it to a doctor and to my chiropractor with Husband's help, but I was given conflicting information about it. The most likely diagnosis is arthritis, which is a secondary complication of Ulcerative Colitis. It began to improve very slowly, but has relapsed several times. I can only stand for a few minutes, I can't walk very far and between that and a Colitis flare-up, I haven't been able to work. At the moment, I don't know if I'll get better, or if this is how my life will be now.

Having said that, I've been trying to stay positive and do what I can. I can still cook, do dishes, etc, as long as there's a chair nearby to rest my knee. I've been making art, crafting and even writing a couple of stories, which I might share soon.


What I've been painting ...
Here are some paintings in progress, and finished. I like giving the paint-by-numbers an ironic message. I have at least 10 more stashed away to do.

What I've been crocheting ...
It's been a lot of fun making these little plushy monsters. I'm currently onto my fourth. I love choosing the colours, and designing the faces.

What I've been reading ...
As one of my 101 Things in 1,001 Days items, I've been continuing on with The Lord of the Rings, and nearly finished the first book. The Fellowship have just left Lothlórien and said farewell to Galadriel and the other elves. I have been deliberately trying to imagine everything independently, not just fall back on what places and people looked like in the movies. Sometimes it can be quite difficult, even though I haven't seen the movies for about 5 years. Am I the only one who worries about that?

What I've been playing ...
I've started playing The Blockheads again. From what I understand, it's like a 2D version of Minecraft (though I've never played Minecraft). I'm working towards the ultimate pinnacle of the game -- the creation of a jetpack! so my Blockhead can fly through the sky rather than having to put up with riding donkeys. So undignified.

Bonus Kitty Picture ...

My April & May

I didn't post an update for April, because it wasn't very varied -- I spent the first half working, and the second half crocheting! I finished up my job just before Easter and put all my efforts into finishing the art piece for my exhibition. I wrote about that a few posts ago, so I won't go into a lot of detail here.

The exhibition came, and the exhibition went. I'm talking like it just happened, but I made it happen! I did all the work. (Lately I'm trying to be more aware of when I'm downplaying myself, and give myself more credit when it's due!) Perhaps I'll write more about the whole experience later. After the installation, I concentrated on other art projects, which I talked about in this post.

Yeah, I did that! And it's in a window in front of an art gallery!!!

What I've been trying ...
I tried Lucet braiding for the first time -- and I made it into a video! Lucet braiding is an ancient craft, known to be practiced by the Vikings and is probably even older. The fork-shaped tool creates a braid that's strong and slightly springy. Watch the video to see if I master the craft or not!
(The answer is, um, not really!)

What I've been reading ...
After waiting months, I finally began reading Lord of the Rings. It's on my 101 Things in 1,001 Days list to re-read this classic, and I was waiting until Winter (or late Autumn at the very least) to begin. I read The Hobbit first, of course, and I'm currently about to begin the Council of Elrond section, if you're familiar with the story. When I first began reading, I became completely obsessed with Hobbit foods and collected a large treasury of recipes. But that's a post for another time!

What I've been playing ...
I've been absolutely obsessed with a site called Chicken Smoothie since I discovered it at the start of May. It's just one of those sites where you collect things (pets in this case) and hang around on the forums. The average player seems to be quite a bit less than half my age, but I don't care, I'm enjoying it! It's run by a couple from New Zealand, and the pets and other elements are all designed by independent artists, so I feel like I'm not only having fun, but supporting a small business. I collected my first Unicorn yesterday!


Pet's name: Bunilla
Adopt virtual pets at Chicken Smoothie!
What I've been eating ...
I went to brunch at a French restaurant called Bon Ap' in Fitzroy. It was a simple spread, with bread, cheese and ham, but every element was such high quality and it came together into a memorable feast. Words can’t describe how wonderful it was.

Selections from Instagram
It seems my cat has started watching Youtube....

App Game Review: Furistas Cat Cafe

Furistas Cat Cafe is a casual app game by Runaway Play Studio, which came out in July 2018. You are the owner of a cat cafe, and your mission is to match cats with customers and keep them happy, while earning currency with which to decorate the cafe and upgrade the cats.

Customers enter the cafe with a preferred type of cat they wish to spend time with -- friendly, playful, shy, etc. Once you match them with a cat, they wander around spending quality time together. Minigames frequently appear, in which you prepare drinks for customers, give otherwise unoccupied cats a pat, or clean up kitty pawprints. These minigames earn you tokens. The games aren't timed and you can't "get it wrong", so they don't feel stressful. Occasionally cats will give you random tokens as well. These tokens can be used to buy furniture and other decorations for your cafe.

Periodically, baskets arrive, which contain currency and treats. There are 2 guaranteed daily baskets, and timed baskets, arriving in increments between 20 minutes and 12 hours. The treats in these baskets can be used to upgrade the cats (called "nurture" in the game). Higher level cats can spend more time with customers, enabling you to serve them more drinks and earn more tokens. As you level up, you get access to more cats and decorations, and your cafe gets bigger.

Aside from the minigames, it's just fun to watch the cats and the customers playing and spending time together. According to Runaway Games, all of the cats are modelled after real-life cats belonging to staff and friends, and there's a description of each one's personality on the cat screen. This makes them so much more charming in my opinion.

The developers have certainly gone to a lot of effort to make the behaviours of the cats lifelike. Cats will play with different toys, be cuddled, or petted, and sleep in different positions. Sometimes they sleep with one paw stretched out in front of them, just like my cat! They also knead the cushions, or rub up against the customers' legs. They make various different noises, from meows to purring to chirps. If you find the sound of cats purring relaxing, I definitely recommend having the sound on.

The decor of the cafe has a natural feel with many wooden items and plants to choose from. Similarly, the cats and customers are cute with large eyes, but aren't too far from reality, with realistic colours and features. This is unlike many games which are much more colourful and over-the-top. While I don't mind that kind of aesthetic, this is much more calming and appeals to my Mori Girl side. The mellow jazz soundtrack matches this feel. The sound effects -- including the cats purring when you pet them! -- aren't too obtrusive. While playing most games, I have the sound turned off as it can become annoying, but the sound effects in Furistas aren't overwhelming.

It's relatively quick and easy to level up when playing Furistas Cat Cafe. In the beginning, I was issued with a fairly generous amount of tokens, treats and kittykash. I started with one cat (Bon-Chan) and have collected another one at most levels so far. This is what my cafe looked like after only playing for about 2 hours (and I still had tokens left over!):

Many casual games these days have a plethora of advertisements, often playing involuntarily in between rounds. Furistas has no involuntary advertising. When a daily basket arrives (which occurs twice a day), you can optionally play an ad to double the amount of goodies in the basket. This is the only advertising in the game. The developers have chosen to prioritise the gameplay experience over getting revenue from advertising, and I really have to applaud this. When I come across games like this, I always enjoy the game more. I feel more positively towards the game developers, and open to purchasing upgrade packs or other things on offer. It also increases my feelings of loyalty -- I will often play the game for longer, and come back to it after a break.

Pluses
+ It's cats! And adorable ones, too! What more can I say?
+ The fact that they are based on real-life cats adds an extra dimension to the kitty goodness.
+ Made for cat lovers with realistic behaviour and sounds.
+ Generous supply of currency for upgrading cats and decorating cafe. Guaranteed daily baskets make you feel less pressured to return to the game and add to the relaxing feel.
+ Diverse customers (both in appearance and in names).
+ Natural and calming aesthetic appeals to me.
+ Minimal advertising makes for a really enjoyable gaming experience.


Minuses
- There are 4 different types of currency (5 when there is an event on). Even though tapping on a currency brings up an explanation of how to earn it and what it's for, it was still quite confusing at first. Now that I've been playing for a while, it seems to make sense though.


It was too hard weeding out the screenshots I took of the game, so I'll leave you with some photospam of the adorable kitties:

My March

The first signs of Autumn started to appear this month. I won't go into the customary nature-y part too much as I wrote about it only a few posts ago. This post is all about the food!

What I've been eating...
I've been doing a meditation course one night a week, and had to get dinner beforehand. Completely by coincidence, two weeks in a row the only food I could secure was vegan tacos. I'm not vegan or even vegetarian, but I'm willing to try new things. The first was from Miss Katie's Crab Shack (she has the same name as me!). I was unwilling to eat seafood in case I got sick just before my meditation was due to begin, so I went with the vegan option. The bean chilli and pico de gallo were delicious, but the tortillas fell apart within seconds, as is usual with gluten-free.

The second was from Trippy Taco, a well-known establishment in Melbourne. This time I was able to have a mixed set, with beans and tofu. The fried tofu was delicious, but the beans strangely bland. In fact the whole meal had no spice whatsoever, which I found very strange. The tortillas were very sturdy though, and I'd go back for the tasty tofu.

What I've been catching ...
Pokémon Go players will probably know that the game creators have started a monthly 'Community Day', which really means that certain rare Pokémon types will appear prolifically for three hours. It's up to the players to do the 'community' bit. Seeing as the game is designed so that more Pokémon appear when you're moving around, it's a good excuse to leave the house. Husband and I decided to go a park a short drive away from us, and accidentally ran into a kite festival! We had a lovely time walking around, catching Pokémon and looking at the kites.

What I've been cooking ...
One weekend I made sausage rolls, with the outrageously expensive gluten-free pastry I had in the freezer, and some sausage mince. I tweaked them a bit by enclosing cheese in the middle, and sealing up the ends. I also experimented by stamping the tip of a piping bag into the pastry to create a star effect.

Over Easter Husband and I made a giant batch of chilli in our slow cooker. It has beef steak, kidney beans, halloumi cheese, corn, capsicum, onion and various types of chillis. I fried most of the ingredients on the stove first to increase the depth of flavour. There was enough to last the whole weekend and in fact we still have plenty left. I love slow cooker cooking: an hour's work saved us from having to organise at least five meals.

What I've been buying ...
Sharick's old scratching board was almost completely worn down (he really loves scratching!) so we splashed out and bought him a new, fancy one. It's taller than the old one, and he likes to sit on it and peer at us over edge of the coffee table. At other times, he lounges on it like a Roman emperor at a banquet.

Selections from Instagram
This month's selections are meant to highlight the variable Autumn weather:

My November

This year, November just seemed to fly by. I've been sick with a stomach bug for the last couple of weeks, and haven't been up to doing much of my normal activities. I haven't been able to spend as much time outside as I'd like either.

The weather turned hot comparitively early this year, with nearly a week of days over 30oC. I wasn't quite ready to start watering my plants every day yet, especially with being sick, and I hope they've made it through unscathed. I need to be especially vigilant with my fruit trees if I want to have a harvest in a few months' time.


What I've been Playing.....
I mentioned last month that I'd been playing Animal Crossing: Pocket Camper. I'm afraid to say that my friends and I were a bit bored with it after a few weeks. We must have been 'early uptake' as the techies say, because a little while after that, many other people in my neck of the social media woods started sharing their player ID codes. I started playing again, but not quite as much. I've transferred my affections back to Stardew Valley.

What I've been Watching ....
Husband and I have been exploring everything that Netflix has to offer. As I understand it, there is slightly different or less content in different countries, but we're still very pleased with it. We've already watched all of Stranger Things, Victoria season 1 (Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are the cutest celebrity couple) and Star Trek: Discovery. Last night we started American Horror Story. I don't always have the attention span to sit through a whole movie, but we've managed to watch a couple so far.

What I've been Drinking ....
After reading about the health benefits of Yerba Mate, I've decided to add drinking a cup of the tea to my daily routine. I already have a traditional Yerba Mate drinking gourd which I've shown on the blog before. I assumed I wouldn't be able to find that post but searched for it anyway and found it! Here it is (second photo). The gourd is obviously not very convenient to use every day, not to mention makes tea so incredibly strong in caffiene that I can't guarantee my behaviour, so I purchased a range of bagged teas in different flavours to drink at work every morning.

P.S.
I've decided that I want to post three times a week between now and the end of the Summer Holidays. I figure if I declare the intention, I'll be more likely to stick to it.


Selections from Instagram