I have always had a tendency to change things around, even when I was very young I liked to "redesign" my bedroom furniture quite frequently.
The trouble with my craft room is I have a lot of "stuff" fitted into a too-small area, plus the shelving and cupboards I have are all recycled from other uses...whinge whinge I hear you cry...I'm not really...I know I am very lucky to have my own space and the supplies to indulge my crafty inclinations...but what I would dearly love to do is to design a specific space with purpose built joinery, camera mounts, space work benches, really good lighting et al to suit my preferences...
But to return to the real world, I am constantly redefining my space, using up unwanted additional supplies to reduce the amount of things I need to store as well as trying to get it more user-friendly and efficient for me. Unfortunately, to do that, I do need the assistance of the lads to move the furniture, cabling, computer equipment and other paraphernalia around to my newly designated spots...hence the eye rolling, but secretly I think they enjoy the challenge too, maybe.
This move was a relatively small one, just shifting my computer to the other side of the room to get it away from the window and the heat with with warmer weather approaching and my large work table re orientated to allow me access to both sides. It has resulted in more comfortable and efficient work areas with access to the under table trundle Tim made to increase storage.
I am still working hard to reduce the amount of supplies I have on hand, an ongoing issue. I now only purchase anything at all after a lot of consideration. I am determined to downsize in this regard. however, when I watch the videos of certain talented crafters and artists, I often get a longing to buy a stamp or die set that they demonstrate so wonderfully...but I now really try to avoid that urge, looking instead at what I already have. I am getting better at it but sometimes it is a real struggle ;)
I needed a card this week for our Karina who celebrated her birthday yesterday. She is an avid Gamer, so on the advice of my son, another such, I made a card using "Leet-Speak" (a gaming thing...don't ask!).
I was pretty happy with how it turned out but unfortunately the intent fell very flat as it seems not all gamers use the same language and so she was quite puzzled by the card when she opened it having never heard of Leet.
Ho hum, but I am old enough to know that you cannot expect to get it right all of the time...I learned something new during the process anyway, even if it is not going to be of much value to me!
For the cheesecake I tried a new recipe, this one citrus and chocolate ...personally I much prefer the luscious dense texture of a baked cheesecake but everyone else in the family prefers the lighter creaminess of the uncooked versions so I thought it expedient to indulge them...just this once! It went down pretty well...there is not much left.
Our Gladiolus tristis (Yellow Marsh Afrikaaner) is flowering for the first time this year since we bandicooted a few corms from a wild plant growing on the side of a country road...I have only ever seen these growing on sites of old house sites here in Tasmania. They have a strong evening perfume that reminds me of Christmas lilies but with a clove base note...I sometimes wonder about evening scented plants like this and which moth or other insect pollinator is thus attracted to the plant. These plants are very tough and tolerate dry conditions well, which is I suppose why they have survived in country areas so well. This plant is a native of South Africa, hence the common name.
Bye for now,
Di