Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #27 Good Intentions

Ichigo and Akari from the anime Aikatsu!

 

 For my most recent update head on over to my other blog, Nayu's Reading Corner!

Nayu's Craft Time #321 Virtually No Snow Days

 

Seeing as my last post was the start of this year I figured I needed to put up a post. I tend to forget to since I tweet what I'm up to on Twitter. This year I'm determined to post more often! Craft isn't happening yet due to it being winter and my low energy reserves are in non-existent, especially over the last week when the temperature plummeted well under zero for a good 7 days. Anything below 5C makes me feel awful, but with the real feel down to at least -9C some days my body nted to hibernate extremely badly. It wouldn't be so bad but as you can see even when it was supposed to snow, the snow was a mere sprinkling, blink and you miss it type job. 

 

But that's no excuse for not posting! The day before yesterday I baked some yummy white rolls which look something like this. They usually rise quite a lot, creating beautifully white fluffy rolls. I actually do not enjoy a super crispy outside to a roll, so get it less crispy I put the warm rolls in the biodegradable looks like plastic but isn't bags I regularly use, and close them. The condensation from the steaming rolls prevent the outside staying crispy! It doesn't go soggy, it just isn't crisp. I discovered that trick a while back by accident. Now I do it on purpose! The dough is made in the bread machine and I divide it up into 8 plump tasty roll shapes. Can't be fresh out the oven hot buttered white rolls!

 Today I am gaming! Mostly playing review games that I can't talk about, but I'm really enjoying my farming games more than ever. Having fun with Harvest Moon: Light of Hope which I adore (I always marry Gabriel the animal shepherd type person) and is keeping me going until March 2nd when the new HM game One World comes out. It looks so epic guys! I had the privilege to attend a demo event and oh boy I just want to farm my heart out.

 

and Stardew Valley where I avoid the mines as all the bugs freak me out.

 

 on my Nintendo Switch Lite. Yes it is a different colour to my yellow one - I got coral because my yellow started having significant joycon drift. Lite's can't be swapped out for a new joycon, and since my Lite means so much to me as a distraction from my health issues I'd always known I'd get a 2nd one. I will send my yellow off for repairs at some point, not just now as got some life stuff regarding money going on, but once a resolution is reaached I'll send it off or save to send it off for fixing. I may end up using one for review games and one for other games, I don't know yet.

I currently have a very unhappy cat under my bed. There's building work going on, and since builders need to come in and out the house (wearing masks, and yes outside my bedroom I wear a mask unless I'm in the middle of the kitchen for a meal) and Belle hates people and any upset to her routine (almost like me), I unceremonially put her in my room earlier, along with her litter tray. I'll grab water and biscuits shortly for her. She happily came out to munch on some yesterday. Shouldn't be for too much longer, weather permitting. When I brought her in she slunk straight under the bed I think in disgust at me shutting her in. To be fair she is nice and cosy under there, she sleeps most of the day, evident from the not so little snores around my pillow area. She is less disturbed under the bed than if she is on it beside me. For the moment she is fed at crazy o'clock (before 5am) when family go to work so we know she actually eats something in the day besides biscuits before the workmen arrive. Sometimes in life I totally wish I could join her under the bed. The photo is of her on my bed as I can't reach her underneath. Have a good day!

Happy New Year!!!!

 

Morning! Happy 2021 (or 0021 as I initially typed). I'm sorry for being so silent for several weeks. Me and winter don't get on at all, add on to that current events that were present in 2020 and yeah, I focused on surviving.

This year I'm trying my best to blog more regularly. I tend to think I have blogged, then realise all I've done is posted updates on Twitter. It's the sole social media I'm on and I use it daily. I know not everyone is on it, so I'm sorry for not keeping this and my other blog updated. I am going to try harder, even if it's just a couple of sentences to keep you up to date with life.

Today I'm patiently awaiting a fun parcel. Although I wish I didn't have to buy it, I am excited about it's contents. I'm getting a new Nintendo Switch Lite! Yes I still have the one from last January, but unfortunately I'm experience the dreaded Joy Con Drift. It isn't as easily solved in a Lite as it is in say the original Switch where new joycons can be bought and used. The Lite is my favourite console of all time. I play on it over 6 hours a day. It truly is important part of my life, and I do rely on the games I have to help my mental health. Yes I have other hand consoles, and yes I had wanted to wait to see if there would be a new version of the Lite this year. Unfortunately the third party PowerA wireless controller that I have did not work well with all games - Super Mario Odyssey I'm looking right at you. It was a case of buy a pro controller, or for 4 times the price of a pro get a new Lite. 

Ever since I bought my Lite last year I knew this could happen. Nintendo recently told me my gaming time, and with over  2000 hours of gaming clocked up it has more than paid for it's price tag. Once everything is trasnsferred onto the new Lite, and once a week or two has passed to get through the post new year rush, I will send the faulty one to Nintendo and pray they can fix it for me. If they turn round and say they won't, or if it will cost a lot of money then I will say no thank you and just keep it as it is. I'm praying they can fix it for free - I've never used them for repairs before. I have bought new joy cons when my old ones started drifting. I've never had to buy a new controller in my entire 30 years or so of gaming, which is pretty reasonable, so I think the problems are just a build up of my being so lucky with controllers. 

May 2021 be filled with more hope and joy than 2020

Anyway, that's it for today. Craft...yeah let's just say I need to slowly build up my craft skills again. Like I said, unless you lived under a rock you know what 2020 was like. Begin extremely high risk from the virus, living with two key workers one in a hospital, plus some other life stuff I'm not yet at liberty to say but I will share later in the year when it's hopefully all sorted, means life is rather stressful for me, despite not having to work so I can stay isolated at home. 

I know 2021 still has the issues of 2020. But just by being a different year there's more hope. I pray that it is a great year for all of you. And here's to regular blogging!

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #26 Feature on the gaming and dry bar Hyper Reality in London

Inside Hyper Reality

 

Craft news coming soon, but check out my feature on the unique virtual reality and other games dry bar (no alcohol whatsoever) Hyper Reality on my other blog, Nayu's Reading Corner.

I'm safe

I love Ren from the anime Elemental Gelade Need to rewatch it soon.
 

 Apologies if any of you have been worried, I thought I'd put one post up here in September. Still busy isolating from the world as best I can during this crazy year. Honestly not been doing a lot of craft, mostly gaming to stay distracted. Covid19 has a lot to answer for. I am trying to get back into craft so please keep bearing with me. I will post pictures later this week. Just had a lot on my plate these past few months, along with being more unwell than normal occassionally too. I hope you all stay safe!!

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #25 Let's talk about the anime Aikatsu!

 

 Find out my thoughts on the 2021 latest Aikatsu! anime series over on Nayu's Reading Corner. Sometimes shows go on too long! This is Ichigo from the first series.

Nayu's Craft Time #320 Crafting is happening!

A 4mm clover hook (don't think the photo is by me)

I feel rather bad that I have barely blogged here all year. I am sorry! I shouldn't neglect this blog for Twitter, where I do share all my news. I am making the effort to post more regularly - I get new followers each week and want content for you all to enjoy. I blame the weird way that 2020 has panned out. Certainly nothing any of us expected. And, in truth, I think it has changed life permanently. But that's pretty much all I'll say on the matter. I am high risk for covid, but I am alive which is a blessing.

Time to show you some craft work which I did not post on Twitter but I did do yesterday (Friday). Friday's are my time to work on a secret craft project involving a needle and thread. Unfortunately when the weather is really hot (which, for the record, my malfunctioning body lives for - being warm is a real joy! Not to need a blanket is a rare and precious occasion) I don't sew because thin needles feel too weird against my skin. I have always been like this which is why I haven't done much embroidery lately.

Crochet I can do because I don't really touch the metal part of the crochet hook. I dived back into working on a crochet blanket for a local cat charity, Cats Protection who always need blankets for each new arrival and have branches all over the country, so see what items yours is taking for donation and please help them out if you can. It is lovely to hear the blankets go with the cat on to their new home, so they have something familiar with them. I do not know when I will be able to give them the blanket, but I plan on making a few then donating them, which will be some time. I added 1 row which you can see here, created some more pink squares, and turned a skein of yarn into a proper ball.

I love crochet because I use the same stitches for the granny square, a few chain stitches and treble stitches (UK terms). I use the join by crochet method of attaching the squares together. They had been in alternate colours, but yesterday I got so engrossed watching the wonderful American Pioneer series Little House on the Prairie that I forgot to pay attention to which square I chose. Ordinarily I d unpick it, but because it is a patchwork blanket, and not all the squares will be the same colours I left the out of sequence square where it was. The cat who gets it won't care what it looks like, only that it is warm and cosy.

As much as I need the hot weather for my health, I do hope it gets cooler because I have so much fun embroidery to start! I will talk more on that in another post. Hope you all have at least one fun thing to enjoy this weekend, and I hope to post again in a few days. Side note: this is made using the new style of Blogger, which is certainly different to the old style, but it mostly makes sense. I will get used to it soon enough. I am less keen on the new Windows update, it seems I can only crop and reduce a photo, I can't simply remove a bit from the top or bottom, so I edited the blanket picture on my phone which does what I want it to.

I firmly believe this! Picture artist/photographer unknown.