Author: Bebe

Everything I knit in 2023

Bebe

I found it useful to review all the sweaters I knit in 2023 – not to brag but so I can look back at the year – each knit holds reminders of the time and place I worked on it. So I thought I’d add here all the bits and pieces I knit, plus a brief note about each. I’ve listed them in order of completion from January to December – they count if they were started in 2022 and completed in 2023.

The numbers:
Hats: 6
Socks/slippers: 4
Shawls/scarves: 4
Hottie Covers: 4
Blankets: 2
Cardigans: 2
Pullovers: 18
Total: 40

Made for me: 19
Made for others: 21

Aveiro by Orlane Sucche
Started: December 25 2022
Finished: January 2
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Rebel Worsted in Tom and Sellout Blue

I made one of these for a friend in 2022, and then really wanted one for myself. I made it super oversized to be a slouchy, around the house sweater. The v-neck makes it a good mid-season sweater for me.

Plus Shawl by Olga Buraya-Kefalian
Started: July 13 2022
Finished: January 24 (the day my father died)
Yarn: Cashmere People Yarns Cashgora in Demin and Pamirs

I really struggled with this one for a couple of reasons. First, it was my first time using mosaic knitting (slipping stitches to create the colour work pattern) – I was very glad it had written row-by-row instructions as I find charts hard to follow. Second, I knit it at my father’s bedside at the end of his life, so when I look at it, this is what it reminds me of. This has made it hard to wear. Also, it’s REALLY warm, so only good on the coldest of days, even for me.

No Frills by PetiteKnit
Started: January 29
Finished: February 12
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Alpaca Boucle in Flamingo and Outlaw Yarn Baby Bandit in Fantasia

This is the second one of these I knit – this one was for a friend who loved the one I knit myself. I knit them both in fluro pink fluff. I recommend this pattern for adventurous beginner knitters – it has some tricky parts (short rows!) but it a relatively easy and quick knit.

Frank & Bean(ie) by Jodi Brown
Started: March 11
Finished: March 18
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Nouveau in Charming and Tourmaline

This was a super quick and very enjoyable knit – made for a friend. The pattern asks for bulky weight yarn but I used a heavy DK and it worked fine. I really like the texture of the purl bumps.

Westerly by Tin Can Knits
Started: March 12
Finished: March 18
Yarn: Ashford Merino DK in Fuchsia

I have knit so many of these now! I made two this year. This is my very favourite cabled hat pattern – it comes in sizes from newborn to adult, so easy to make one for the whole family.

Acorn by Tin Can Knits
Started: March 20
Finished: March 20
Yarn: Ashford Merino DK in Fuchsia

I knit these as a set with the Westerly hat a lot – they look a bit the same and they make very cute baby socks.

The Twigs by Junko Okamoto
Started: February 13
Finished: March 25
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Bohemia Light in Old Beau and Radiance

I love this sweater so much – it’s so easy to wear, and it soft and warm. The colour work was a challenge, but just interesting enough that it wasn’t a slog to get through. The only downside is that it is “one-size” so not at all size inclusive, which means I wouldn’t knit it again.

First Cables Hat by Jared Flood
Started: March 25
Finished: April 1
Yarn: Ashford Merino DK in Peacock

I knit this for a friend and didn’t even take a photo of it! It was very quick and easy.

Granny Square Baby Blanket by Lauren Brown
Started: March 11
Finished: April 3
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Rebel Worsted in Origin, Justice and Pink

I made this as a gift, also very quick and easy! I did a plain crocheted edge rather than the picot in the pattern. I’ve honestly made so many of these I think I could crochet it in my sleep…

White Mountains by Midori Hirose
Started: April 1
Finished: April 9
Yarn: Hedgehog Fibres Merino Aran in Dune

The yarn for this one actually started out as the Nest pullover, but after knitting the whole body I decided I didn’t like the way the cable interacted with the variegated yarn so I frogged it and made this instead. The yarn is so soft and squishy and the sweater is cosy and oversized, I love it and wear it a lot.

Basic Beanie by Tin Can Knits
Started: April 5
Finished: April 14
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Nouveau in Parchment

I made three of these these hats this year – they make great gifts for babies, and I’ve made some adult ones too. I love that I can use the app for the pattern.

Cosy Classic Light by Jessie Maed
Started: April 11
Finished: May 13
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Sock Bandit in Pink

I made this one for my daughter – a quick and easy knit. The pattern has really great instructions about getting the fit right, and how to do modifications to get the sweater you want. I would definitely knit this one again.

Bressay by Marie Wallin
Started: 19 April
Finished: May 13
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Rebel Light (14 colours)

This sweater took six weeks to complete, but felt like it took months. I really loved knitting it, but the colour work was so complex it was hard going for my tired brain some evenings. I love love love the finished product and really want to knit another one of Marie Wallen’s patterns in her own yarn.

Trinigan by Andrea Mowry
Started: 30 May
Finished: 12 June
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Nyx in Thea and Spincycle Dream State in Love Spell

This knit was so engaging (but simple) so even though it took the same amount of time to finish as the Bressay, it felt like it sped by. I wear the cardigan all the time – it’s great to throw on when the weather is a bit chilly but not proper cold.

Banana Left Shawl by Yuki Ueda
Started: 9 April
Finished: 24 June
Yarn: Harnie Hoolie’s Designs Silky Humps Fingering in Flaming Gallah

I knit this for my daughter-in-law. It was intended as a wedding gift but I didn’t want to knit it while my father was dying, so I waited until after the funeral / wedding to get started, and it took aaaaages to finish. I love it though, and hope she does too.

Nordic Ski Sweater Hot Water Bottle Cover by Suzie Blackman
Started: 20 June
Finished: 20 June
Yarn: Ashford Triple Knit in Snow and Peacock

I knit this to practice my colour work, and because my workmate was wandering around with a naked hottie!

Nordic Ski Sweater Hot Water Bottle Cover by Suzie Blackman
Started: 23 June
Finished: 23 June
Yarn: Ashford Triple Knit in Snow, Peacock and Old Gold

Once I knitted one of these for a workmate, others lined up for one!

Lento by Jonna Hietala
Started: 25 June
Finished: 2 July
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Nyx in Fog and Shibui Knits Silk Cloud Fog

I think this is one of my favourite knits of the year – it was so fast to knit and it ticks all the boxes for me in terms of comfit, fit and how it slots into my wardrobe – I wear it a tonne. The shibui mohair is divine.

Mooch by Kate Davies
Started: 3 July
Finished: 20 July
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Nouveau in Parchment, Wreath and Wealth

I am slightly obsessed with Kate Davies. I love her style so much! I haven’t worn this one heaps though, as all over DK weight colour work is quite warm, even for me! I think I will wear it a lot next winter.

Vanilla Socks on Magic Loop by Crazy Sock Lady
Started: 24 July
Finished: 24 July
Yarn: KiwiYarn-a High Twist Merino Yarn in Barbie

I didn’t even make a project page for these ones and didn’t really follow the pattern. I made them for myself but they didn’t fit so I gave them to my daughter.

Westerly by Tin Can Knits
Started: 4 August
Finished: 6 August
Yarn: Ashford Merino DK in Old Gold

Just another of my TCK hats for a workmate – knit over a cosy couple of nights in Snowdon.

Esk by Kate Davies
Started: 5 August
Finished: 5 August
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Bohemia Gothic in Hyde

I knit these on a whim while away for the weekend at Snowdon. I had cold feet and lost my slippers (funny story) so whipped these up to keep me warm. I since gifted them as I got new slippers and don’t really wear them.

Pochie by Kate Davies
Started: 6 August
Finished: 8 August
Yarn:

This was a gift knit, I just really wanted to make this pattern so found someone knit-worthy to gift it to. I plan to knit more of these in 2024.

DK Hat by Ethan Barclay-Ennew
Started: 10 August
Finished: 11 August
Yarn: Spincycle Dream State in Love Spell

I just really needed a warm hat and wanted to use some left over Spincycle. Also, I really wanted to be matchy match with Ethan. It was a simple quick knit.

Treit by Kate Davies
Started: 2 August
Finished: 20 August
Yarn: Wild Earth Yarns Aspen in Cypress

This was a KAL with Get Flocked. I really loved knitting the lace, but didn’t love the bottom up design – I prefer top down. I would have preferred it was a little longer but can’t make that adjustment easily now.

Auster by Michele Wang
Started: 20 August
Finished: 14 September
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Rebel Worsted in Gardenish Green

I knit this for my son – my first serious delve into cables. It was so challenging but I really enjoyed it. What I didn’t love is that it’s knitted bottom up in pieces, so when the fit was a bit off, I couldn’t make alterations. Boo! He loves it regardless, but all I see is the bad fit.

Lillet by Thea Coleman
Started: 9 September
Finished: 18 September
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Rebel Worsted in Raspberry Beret

This was a little palette-cleanser after the cable marathon that was Auster. I wanted a nice bright woolly option for winter weekends and this is perfect. The pattern specifies a lower neckline, but that wasn’t going to be warm enough for me, so I knitted a longer collar on mine. While I love it, the collar sits a bit weirdly – I think it’s designed to be boat-neckish so the higher collar doesn’t quite work. I still wear it all the time though.

Weekender Crew by Andrea Mowry
Started: 18 September
Finished: 7 October
Yarn: Wild Earth Yarns Naturals in Chocolate

This is a big boy! It’s so warm and cosy, but also really hefty! It’s so good for cold winter weekends. I hardly took it off once the weather was cold enough. The construction was interesting and new to me, so I found the process engaging.

Bibliophile by Alicia Plummer
Started: 1 October
Finished: 17 October
Yarn: Wild Earth Yarns Aspen in Willow

This was a KAL with Get Flocked. I wasn’t convinced about the pattern or the yarn colour at first, but I love the finished product. The raglans increase on both sides so grow rapidly, and I wasn’t sure I liked that, but actually the garment fits really well. The green is not a shade I typically wear, but I get so many compliments (like, multiple comments every time I wear it) so I’ve embraced it. I knit it oversized and quite long (for me) so it fills a gap in my wardrobe as a light weight big cosy option.

Sophie Scarf by PetiteKnit
Started: 25 October
Finished: 29 October
Yarn: Random!

I knit this on a whim while in Japan – I found some cute pink fluff and really wanted a little something to knit with it. I made it a little wider and longer than the pattern, which makes it much more wearable for me. I wear this one all the time in winter, so snuggly!

Venezia by Joji Locateli
Started: 22 October
Finished: 1 November
Yarn: KiwiYarn-a High Twist Merino Yarn in Teal

I picked this to knit while I was in Japan and it was definitely a good choice. I wanted something that was lace but knitted side to side so I didn’t have too many stitches on my needle at once. This was perfect for that. The lace pattern is very simple but lovely. I wear it a lot – the colour fits into my wardrobe really well.

Carp-Beth by Kate Davies
Started: 12 November
Finished: 19 November
Yarn: Sesia New One in Dusky Pink

I knit this on a whim when I was at Get Flocked hanging out and had nothing to knit on. I grabbed the yarn, got started and couldn’t put it down until it was finished. The pattern was really confusing at first but once I got into the rhythm, it was really fun and engaging. It’s so great to wear – the Sesia is very squishy and warm.

Love Note by Tin Can Knits
Started: 18 November
Finished: 22 November
Yarn: YarnFloozy Mohair and Machinist in Pink Grapefruit

I knit this to compare this lace yoked sweater to the Treit – quite different, both lovely. I love the fabric, but the lace is a bit too open for me I think (but on’y by comparison to the Ranunculus, see below). Before I knit Ranunculus, this was the best thing ever. So fickle!

Little Squirrel by Tin Can Knits
Started: 10 August
Finished: 26 November
Yarn: Something random from stash

Knitted for my son-in-law (who has size 13 shoes!). Simple pattern that keeps the knitting interesting. This was my walking-and-knitting project.

Autumn Alpine by Caitlin Hunter
Started: November 19
Finished: December 14
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Baby Bandit in Hush and Spincycle Dyed in the Wool in Valley Girl

This was a KAL with Get Flocked. I wanted to make a low-contrast version of the colour work and achieved that. I wear this a LOT.

Granny Square Baby Blanket by Lauren Brown
Started: 24 November
Finished: 20 December
Yarn: Outlaw Yarn Rebel Light in multiple colours

Made for a workmate as a house warming gift.

Cozy Classic by Jessie Maed
Started: 26 November
Finished: 23 December
Yarn: Spincycle Dream State in Love Spell

I grabbed this pattern mostly for the stitch counts and sizing and changed the neckline, raglan style, the sleeve decreases and the sleeve and body length. So it’s a ‘kinda-cozy-classic’. I used the leftover Spincycle from my Trinigan for this one.

Fernwood by Tania Barley
Started: December 15
Finished: December 27
Yarn: Wild Earth Yarns Ashley Merino in Cloud and Forest

This was a commission – I gave it as an auction prize and knit it for the winner. The colour work was really easy with lots of quick repeats and short floats. I’d definitely be tempted to knit this again.

Ranunculus by Midori Hirose
Started: December 25
Finished: December 30
Yarn: Little Acorn Yarn Majestic Mohair and Sleek Sock in Raspberry Confit

This is my number one knit of 2023 – it knit up fast and was super fun to knit. I love the lace and the fabric is divine – so soft and fluffy. I knit this to compare three lace yoked sweater patterns (Treit, Love Note and this one). This is definitely my favourite of the three – the lace is interesting and subtle.

Why I knit

Bebe

I don’t even remember learning to knit, crochet and sew – it feels like I’ve just always been able to. Like lots of people of my generation, my beloved Nana taught me to knit and crochet. My mother (and school) taught me to sew. I’ve always enjoyed crafting, but I’m not very creative so it wasn’t something I actively engaged in as a young person. I knitted and crocheted stuff for my kids when they were little, but they grew up in a time when clothing had to be easy to wash and wear. Fast, cheap fashion was king.

I remember really clearly when I started crocheting again. It was September 2018 and I was having a conversation with my daughter about my precious Nana blanket – the blanket my Nana had made for me when I was born. All her grandchildren/great-grandchildren got one. My son was one of the last to get one before she died – I still have mine and his. My daughter wasn’t born when Nana died, so she doesn’t have one. I was struck with the realisation that I was now the Nana and it was my job to provide the blankets! Before I got started on blankets for the grandkids, I committed to making one for my daughter. It had been a while so I didn’t really know where to start – but luckily YouTube came to the rescue.

I finished the blanket for my daughter by Xmas 2018 and moved on to crocheted soft toys, more blankets and then hats and scarves. I crocheted my way through the beginning of the pandemic – it was so good to have something productive to focus on other than work while we were in lockdown.

I eventually got frustrated with crochet as a medium for making garments and turned my hand to knitting. I’d never been much of a knitter – I knew how but I was slow and messy. So I started small with a couple of baby hats, some booties, and then it was time to dive into what I really wanted – a jumper for myself. I got a free pattern from Lincraft and hit up my local yarn shop to get some wool. I’m so proud of my first ever jumper! It took me nine months to complete – I started it during the first COVID lock down in March 2020 and set a goal to complete it within 2020. It was a long slog (I knit one of the arms twice) and I finally finished it at a week before Christmas, just in the nick of time.

My first hand knitted jumper.

Since then I’ve knit tonnes of garments – hats, scarves, shawls, socks, booties, cardigans, sweaters. I love the mindfulness of knitting. Before I knitted, I spent a lot more time on social media – knitting has replaced doom-scrolling for me, and I find it much more peaceful (and productive!). It’s made me a more patient person too. Nowadays, a pause in proceedings (queuing, waiting for someone, sitting in a meeting) is just a good chance to get a few rows in – I almost always have a little something to knit on in my bag.

Knitting has also given me a new community to be part of. I am a member of a few different communities of interest – I love the way they bring people together who might otherwise not meet. I really enjoy my knit group – we meet on a Wednesday evening, eat pizza and knit together. Which is a slightly weird thing to do when you think about it…but I get a lot of joy from seeing what my fellow knitters are up to, and planning our next projects together.

This is why I knit.

It’s been a minute…

Bebe

I haven’t written anything here for almost two years. I used to really love planning out future blog topics and doing the research and writing, but I’m now out of the habit. I think Facebook played a big part in breaking my blogging routine. While I was being a regular Facebooker, there was no real reason to share bits of my life here – it was all over there for everyone to see.

Since finishing up on the Community Board last October, I’ve used Facebook only as needed to communicate and keep up with community activities. I have just become less interested and not really engaged with social media in general in the last couple of years. Why?

When social media was young, I marvelled at the fact I could chat with people anywhere in the world – I had friends all over the place, and was able to keep in touch with family overseas. In the last couple of years I have more of a desire for analogue relationships. Is it related to the pandemic? It happened around the same time. Correlated rather than causal I think.

At the same time as the pandemic, my life shifted subtly. I hardly noticed it at the time, but I feel different – I am in a new life stage. My children are both over thirty, married with kids. My stepdaughter finished her degree and moved out. My grandkids aren’t little anymore. Stephen and I are settled in our jobs, our routines – much more focussed on each other and making ourselves happy. I have no big stressors in my life at the moment – it’s allowed me to relax and enjoy myself.

Part of that shift for me was becoming more politically active and getting involved in knitting and crafting. These activities have given me new things to focus on and put my energy into, and new people to connect with. In my 20s and 30s I was lonelier. I spent a lot of time alone or with my kids at home. Friendships and connecting with people wasn’t as easy when I had limited funds and kids at home. My (local, in-person) world has massively expanded in the last few years so I feel little need to entertain myself with Facebook, Instagram or Twitter (let’s not even discuss that dumpster fire).

I was reflecting last evening while sitting with some pals at my local knit night how lovely it is to find like-minded people that I can relax and be myself with. We often sit in companionable quiet and just knit. And then sometimes there is a lot to say and it’s loud and busy. I just love it.

More on knitting next time.

How it started, how it’s going

Bebe2 Comments

Almost three years ago I made a commitment to reduce my plastic use for 2019 Plastic-Free July. I took a good look at all my plastic use, but focussed primarily on the kitchen and bathroom. You can read about that HERE. Then I reviewed my approach in January 2020 with another push to further reduce my plastic use (that update is HERE). I recently did this again to see what other plastic bits and pieces I could get rid of, focussing again mostly on the bottles and tubes in the bathroom, and packaging in the kitchen.

In my last update, I had just decided to give Ecostore bathroom products a go. I started out with the refillable bottles of shampoo and body wash, using either GoodFor or New World’s refillery to replenish. I also started using these in the kitchen and laundry too. They’ve been very successful.

In April 2021 I changed my gym routine (i.e. I stopped going…story for another time) and decided to switch from body wash to soap. One less bottle! And then more recently I discovered that Ecostore also sold shampoo bars, so I switched to those. All that remained was the face wash and the toothpaste tube. I switched to tooth tabs from GoodFor and stopped using face wash. So now I use NO plastic in my bathroom. The only plastic “beauty product” I use is moisturiser / sunscreen for my face.

The next change I plan to make is to get rid of the pump bottles of hand wash in the guest bathroom and kitchen and replace these with soap bars – I’m just using up what I have first.

In the kitchen I’ve expanded my use of bulk bins for the basics – rice, lentils, nuts, dried fruit, sugar, cereal, spices etc. It encourages me to eat healthier – less refined food, less sugar. A recent addition to the house was a bread maker – this means no plastic bread bags, and we know exactly what is going into each loaf.

There is always more to do, but I am pretty happy with my progress.

Captain’s Log, Stardate 222022

BebeLeave a comment

I’m writing this as a note to my future self more than anything else. It’s easy to forget what happened when, so this is a record of how things are right now and what’s happened since the last update in May 2020 (which seems like a very long time ago!). It’s been almost two years since the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. So where are we at?

To the numbers first. Below are the ‘confirmed’ cases / deaths (so both figures are potentially much higher). Actual cases are probably double or triple this number because a lot of countries do minimal testing.

Updated 02/02/22, as reported to the WHO

This is a staggering number of people. If you say it quickly, 5.6 million people doesn’t sound as bad as say, deaths from the World Wars (~40m and 85m) but it’s still a very large and scary number.

The pandemic has come in waves as new variants emerge and take hold. We’ve had Alpha (UK, Sept 2020), Beta (South Africa, May 2020), Gamma (Brazil, Nov 2020), Delta (India Oct 2020), Omicron (Multiple, Nov 2021).

Looking at the graph below, you’d think that Africa has been pretty lucky to have so few deaths. In reality it’s just that they don’t record deaths so this number is invariably much higher. COVID has been managed so differently the world over depending on who’s in power and how many resources the country has. Nothing new there. Our approach (more on this soon) has been both lauded and criticised – what you think governments should do to manage COVID usually depends on what side of the political divide you’re on.

Riding the wave – pandemic deaths Dec 2019 to Dec 2021 by region

For a long while Delta was the primary strain – it’s easier to catch than the earlier versions and so has overtaken the others. New Zealand was fairly successful at keeping Delta at bay. Now we have Omicron – it’s even more infectious and harder to detect.

So what has little old New Zealand been doing since I last posted?

We went “hard and early” with a full lockdown that all but stamped out the virus in New Zealand (except at the border). The government instituted a Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) process for all new arrivals at our border. This effectively stopped the virus from taking hold within New Zealand – we “flattened the curve”.

Eventually though, the Delta variant snuck into the community in Auckland, which led to a lockdown of Auckland and Northland between August and December 2021. The rest of the country was operating mostly as normal during that time. Just as we were starting to recover from Delta, Omicron came along and everything changed again. We had our first confirmed community case of Omicron in Dec 2021.

COVID-19 cases in New Zealand Mar 2020 to Jan 2022

At the end of 2021 the Government changed from an Alert Level framework (Level 4 = full lockdown, Level 1 = business as usual) to the COVID-19 Protection Framework or “Traffic Lights”. We are currently in Red, attempting to slow the spread of Omicron. The emphasis has shifted from ‘stamp it out” to managing COVID in the community and learning to live with it.

The reason we’ve been able to say goodbye to lockdowns is because we now have vaccines available. These were first developed in mid-2020 and New Zealand started vaccinating its adult population at the beginning of 2021 and its children (5-11 year olds) in Feb 2022. The vaccine requires at least two doses and the recommendation is that we have a ‘booster’ as well – so really three doses for good protection.

Despite a small vocal minority of people who have actively campaigned against vaccination, we’ve had a very high uptake – this is what has allowed us to begin the process of opening up safely. The vaccine makes it significantly less likely that you’ll catch COVID, means you’re much less likely to pass it on, and makes the illness far less serious for most people.

Having said all that, after several months of freedom – pretty much working and socialising as normal (but with the added fun of wearing a mask in public), I’m back working from home and only going out for essential trips. We’ve been encouraged to work from home and limit our travel. Omicron is expected to hit hard, and while it’s not as deadly as earlier variants the clinical advice is that we should be trying to avoid catching it. At the moment there is limited community spread and only a few cases in the community in Christchurch.

It feels like we are in a strange holding pattern waiting for the next wave to crash in. Who knows what will happen next.

How Animal Crossing saved my (everyday) life

BebeLeave a comment

You’re probably not one of the estimated 11 million people playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH). This cute little time-waster has been called the game we all need right now – it hit the e-shelves on March 20th, just at the right time to occupy millions of kids and adults stuck at home with a Nintendo Switch and nowhere to go….including me.

I jumped on the ACNH bandwagon on March 29th, to give me something to do in the vast span of time between finishing work at 4.30pm and bedtime. This time used to be allocated to community work – meetings, admin etc. In lockdown, early evening was the hardest for me. I’m used to leaving work and racing around doing stuff – now I move from the study to the living room (four steps), and then what? After the first week in Alert Level 4, I was all caught up on my TV watching and podcast listening and wasn’t sure what to do next. ACNH was the perfect gap filler.

It’s a life-making game. You create your character and then find yourself on a small island with a few supplies and Tom Nook to help you find your way. The goal of the game is to decorate your island by planting flowers and trees, upgrade from a tent to a house (and then a bigger house) and make furniture. Once your island is looking sufficiently lush, you’ll get villagers come join you – up to ten little animal characters with their own interesting quirks (randomly selected from hundreds of possible animals). Your job is to make friends with them by spending time with them and giving them items so they can also live their best island life.

It’s really hard to explain why I love this game so much. It’s slow, there is nothing much going on, and no pressure to do much of anything. Most days when I’m playing, I potter around – fishing, tending my gardens, talking to my islanders. In fact, that’s exactly why I love it.

The whole family was playing the game during lockdown – me, Megan, Antony, Bronwen, Isaac and eventually Stephen. The game has a feature where you can fly to another player’s island for a visit, and trade items. It became a nice way to connect when we couldn’t see each other in person. Once we finished lockdown, the kids went back to regular life, but I am still playing daily. I find it relaxing, and I’ve grown fond of my little islanders on Taimoana (the name of my island).

A huge online world has opened up around the game too – it’s amazing! There are several YouTube and Twitch channels where people stream their playtime. There are Discord servers where you can share items and ideas. I’m sure it will come and go just like other fads have, but right now it’s a cultural phenomenon – maybe it will be studied one day!

  • Island hopping
  • Visiting a pal
  • Living our best lives
  • Nap time with Megan
  • Spa time

How did I get here?

Bebe

The last couple of months has been a wild ride. The world (and I mean the whole actual world) has been turned upside-down by Covid-19.

I’ve been trying to write this post for a while, and I just haven’t known where to start…

I’m in my seventh week of working from home – since March 23rd. What started as a small viral outbreak in China in December has swept the world and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on March 12th. Today, the stats look like this:

  • Worldwide cases: 3, 525, 116
  • Worldwide deaths: 243, 540
  • Highest deaths: USA 61,906; Italy 29,079; UK 28,734

It’s mind boggling, sad, and not about to end any time soon (although death rates are now slowing in most countries as they restrict movement of citizens).

New words and phrases have entered the lexicon – lockdown, bubble, flattening the curve, Zooming.

Lockdown

The New Zealand government put the country in full lockdown – Alert Level 4 – on March 25th. All but essential workers were expected to stay at home except for food shopping or exercising in our local area. All shops were closed except groceries and petrol stations. This ended on April 27th.

New Zealand is currently in Alert Level 3. This means that everyone who can work from home should do so, and everyone is expected to stay at home unless they are travelling for work, exercise or shopping. I’ve only left the house for walking/running and grocery shopping since March 20th. It’s the complete polar opposite of my regular life!

I’m looking forward to Alert Level 2 where we may be able to go out a little more often – businesses can open as long as they can follow some rules around maintaining physical distance (1 metre) and contact tracing.

At the moment, Alert Level 1 seems a long way off. That would mean the resumption of ‘normal’ life within New Zealand, but no travel outside of New Zealand.

The Bubble

My Level 4 bubble has been me, Stephen and Bronwen. We were excited to extend our Level 3 bubble to include Megan, Isaac, Antony, Wyatt and Arlia. These are the only people I get to have close contact with until Level 1.

Flattening the Curve

New Zealand, along with many other countries, has been focussed slowly the rate of transmission of the virus so that the health system is not overwhelmed with cases. New Zealand has been very successful at this – I think amongst the best in the world. We locked down early, stayed that way for a long time, and most people complied with the rules. That meant that we had a spike of cases followed by a gradual reduction over the last few weeks. It looks like this:

Zooming

Weirdly and suddenly, Zoom has been part of my everyday life. When we first started working from home, my team was using Skype. Then out of nowhere, Zoom appeared. Now I’m using it to connect with all kinds of people – colleagues, friends, family, community groups. I admit, I’m pretty Zoomed-out at the end of most days.

What my everyday looks like

I’m working from home, playing at home, everything at home.
Some days it’s a grind – I find it hard to stay focused and just want to get up and walk away. Lots of micro-pauses is the key – I take small breaks to have cups of tea, do a bit of crochet, watch a YouTube clip, or just sit in a chair in another room for five minutes.

I haven’t been able to go to the gym, go shopping (except for groceries and a bit online), or do any community work. This last one is hard! I’ve been a community busy-body for so long I hardly know what to do with myself!

But there is also a peace in staying at home – I’m safe and warm and being (fairly) productive. It’s starting to feel normal.

Making ethical choices is hard!

Bebe1 Comment

Six month ago, I started making changes to reduce the amount of plastic I use. My first focus was on my hair and beauty products. You can read more about that HERE. I thought I’d give an update on how it’s been going.

Shampoo and conditioner

I tried the Ethique mini conditioner bar and then I decided I just didn’t need it. I have naturally oily hair and conditioner just makes it oilier. My hair seems fine without it.

Shampoo was trickier. I started with the Ethique oily hair shampoo bar (St Clements). It was great – my hair was a bit dry, but it worked well. I didn’t have any issues bringing it to the gym – I just used a plastic container I had at home to put it in, and dried it out each night. But then after about four months I noticed my head getting itchy. And then my scalp started burning after using the shampoo. And then I got a rash on my back! So I switched to Ethique’s normal hair shampoo (Pinkalicious). That didn’t help at all, so I stopped using the bars and have been using my husband’s shampoo for the last couple of weeks while I decided what to do next.

This weekend I got some Ecostore shampoo for normal hair from Good For. You can buy glass bottles from them or refill using any container you want. The plastic containers the Ecostore products come in are made from 90% sugar plastic (it’s a thing!). So this seems like a good option while I regroup and think about trying another shampoo bar. Maybe I’ll stick with EcoStore depending on how it treats my poor head! I like their ethics, and that they are a New Zealand brand. And the bonus is that my husband will use it too, less bottles!

Body wash

I initially ditched my Body Shop body wash for an Ethique soap bar, but I really didn’t like the feel of it, and it left a film in my shower. I’ve tried a few different bars since then, and have settled on a Trade Aid soap from India for now. I feel torn that it’s travelled a long way to get to me, but it’s also made in an ethical way, and buying Trade Aid products supports local industry in the country of origin. I may still switch to Ecostore body wash. The sugar plastic still gives me pause…

Face wash and moisturiser

I have not changed these yet – still using Body Shop seaweed range. They are the hardest thing to wean myself off. Body Shop has said that it intends to move its packaging to 75% post consumer recycled plastics, but they have given themselves until 2022. Not really good enough, especially with all the alternatives available that are using sustainable packaging.

Toothbrush and toothpaste

Switched to a wooden toothbrush – easy! Next step, toothpaste tabs.

Deodorant

I switched to Aotearoad Natural Deodorant and OMG I love it! It’s better than the Nivea one I was using by a long way!

Summary

I’m exhausted! Trying to be ethical is hard! Well, not really but it has taken some effort to make changes. I feel much happier as a result though. The hardest thing for me has been to traverse the minefield of ethical choices to make – do I reduce travel miles or the amount of packaging? Buying only NZ made products is great, but it means that I am not supporting small production in developing countries – I want to be able do this also! So I’ve gone with a combo of options.

Other stuff

I’ve also been working on less packaging in the kitchen. I’ve been doing more home cooking (omg using my kitchen for actually cooking!), and getting whole foods from bulk bins rather than in packets. Good For is amazing for organic, sustainably sourced products.

I joined my local community garden and have been getting some produce in exchange for some lovely community time on Saturday mornings – weeding and chatting, what could be better!? And I’ve been buying fresh produce from Dan’s on Stanmore Road – buying in season and from Canterbury growers as much as possible.

And going mostly plant-based has been a huge change. I have found that some vegan products are high in fat and salt and have a lot of packaging, so I’ve been working on cooking my own food with basic ingredients.

So that’s the update. I’ve changed heaps of small things in six months and I’ve reduced my plastic use so much. There is a lot more I can do, and I will keep working on ways to change. I’m loving the challenge of finding great stuff that doesn’t have a big impact on the world.

Why so many castles?

BebeLeave a comment

Stephen and I have travelled around the UK on holiday three times now, and each time we have structured our trip around visits to castles, abbeys and other ancient monuments.

The main reason for this is simply that we both love history and get immense enjoyment from being physically present in this history. It’s just magic being able to walk around a castle and imagine what it would have been like to be a labourer carefully placing stones. We marvel at walking in the same rooms as Kings and Queens and heroes from the past.

There are also side-benefits of this approach to travel.

Culture: we are often visiting sites that are off the beaten track and out of the way. We go through (and stay in) small villages as well as big cities, which we find is slower, less stressful and more likely to lead to interactions with locals. There is nothing like popping into the local establishment, sitting down with a baked potato and eavesdropping.

Exercise: visiting castles means climbing, since fortifications are typically on top of hills. It’s great to break a 2-3 hour drive with a good trek up a hill, usually combined with hundreds of spiralling steps.

Nature: a lot of the locations we visited are out on peninsulas or in out of the way places. We get to walk through some beautiful countryside and enjoy amazing views. And because it’s winter, some lovely sunsets (at 4.15pm!).

History: we get to learn a lot about a place by reading about the sites we visit. The UK historical societies provide really good interpretative guides and panels, and we do some of our own research on the areas we visit. We’ve learned a lot about the history of the region, and it’s really brought to life when you are standing on a city wall, walking through a cobbled street, viewing a village from a castle tower.

Connecting the dots: visiting one important site teaches you about that place, but visiting lots of places all over the UK, Ireland and Iceland has allowed us to connect the stories together. The same people appear in the stories but from different points of view – the invader and the invaded.

Slowing down: It’s not a fast way to travel – we have been here almost 5 weeks and needed every minute! We’ve covered a lot of ground – by car, bus, train and plane. it’s quite slow (veering off on side quests constantly) but it’s a lot of fun to be spontaneous.

The good news is that after three visits (technically six for me), I feel like seen everything I need to in the UK. Now I’m thinking about the next round of trips … maybe Scandinavia to connect up the Viking part of the story. Better start saving!

HERE is is map of the trip.

Impressions of Iceland

BebeLeave a comment

When we travelled in 2015, I wrote a daily blog about our trip. It was a lot of effort, and I didn’t feel like repeating this time. Instead, I’m doing a quick top five each day on Instagram. Much easier! But I felt compelled to write down my thoughts about Iceland. It was a “bucket-list” country for both Stephen and I – on our must-see list. In the back of my mind, I was a bit worried I might be disappointed. I was not…

What a place! We arrived from Edinburgh via London-Birmingham-Manchester, so immediately experienced the culture shock of being in a country about the same size as the South Island, but with only 360,000 residents. We jumped off the airport bus in the mid-afternoon to a quiet, clean and empty village square. 

In many ways, Iceland has a European vibe, but it also looks and feels a lot like New Zealand – it’s a small, remote island. And like New Zealand, Iceland sits between two tectonic plates that are slowly moving away from each other. Volcanoes, hot springs, mud pools, geysers and earthquakes are the norm here. 

We based ourselves in Reykjavík, and had four days to really take it all in. It was nice to be able to wander around and really absorb the place. Lots of things stood out…

  • At this time of year, the sun rises at about 9am and sets around 5pm. It’s really weird to be eating breakfast at 8am with the sun still firmly asleep. To compensate, the streets and buildings are brightly lit – it makes for a pretty morning stroll. 
  • The days were pleasantly sunny, but still cold of course. The sun had no warmth, and at midday, was barely over the horizon. By the middle of winter, there will be only four hours of daylight each day. 
  • Everyone speaks English in Iceland. Like, everyone. We didn’t come across anyone who didn’t have perfect English, and with very little accent. And most of the street and shop signs are also in English – they are effectively a bilingual country. 
  • This might be in part due to the vast number of tourists visiting  each year. This year, they’ve had two million guests – imagine that! That’s the equivalent of New Zealand having 25 million visitors every year (we had 3.8 million in 2018).
  • Although they are inundated with tourists every year, the locals don’t seem annoyed about sharing their resources with the visitors – everyone we met was super helpful and friendly. 
  • They have fairly good infrastructure to support the influx of guests from what we could see. The public transport is really good – heaps of buses going all over the island, and the government is considering putting in electric trains. There is a lot of building underway – mostly high density hotels to support the growing demand.
  • While we were there we saw workers laying pipes on the roads and a quick google told us that they are under-road heating pipes. They have had these for around 10 years – the heated roads and footpaths means they don’t need to clear the roads when it snows, and makes it safe when it’s frosty. What a genius idea! And it’s eco-friendly too, since Iceland uses 100% renewable energy. 
  • It certainly isn’t a cheap country to visit, with food and accommodation being very expensive compared with European countries. Understandable though, when you think about how remote it is.
  • They grow fruits and vegetables all year round, in glasshouses kept warm with geothermal energy, which also enriches the soil. Smart people!

I was completely charmed by Iceland, – like I said, it certainly did not disappoint.

And just because I found them interesting, here are a few fun facts we learned along the way:

  • Before the tourism boom started in 2010, Iceland was having a tough time – it was hit hard by the global financial crisis and its banking system collapsed in 2008, necessitating an IMF-funded bailout. 
  • The reason for the tourism boom seems to be the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, which disrupted air traffic all over Europe closing air traffic in 20 countries and affecting 10 million people. The Icelandic tourism office swung into action, and the charm offensive paid off, with tourist numbers increasing every year since 2011 (from less than 500,000 to over 2 million last year).  
  • If you want to know how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull, just say “hey you forgot your yoghurt” really quickly and you’ll be close. Apparently.
  • Iceland was settled by Vikings almost 1000 years ago, and they have the oldest legislature in the world – founded in 930. 
  • The Icelandic language has had very little influence from other languages over the past 1000 years, because of the remoteness of the country. Modern Icelanders can read ancient Norse texts more readily than people from Norway or Denmark.
  • The remoteness also makes Icelanders one of the most genetically homogeneous populations in the world, since they haven’t had the same co-mingling as the rest of us. Everyone’s your cousin!
  • A recent genetic survey found that 80% of men are of Norse origin, but only 40% of the woman – the remainder are Gaelic. The probable explanation for this is that when they were settling the country, the Vikings stopped in Ireland and picked up slaves – mostly women. So the majority of Icelandic women are descendants of Irish slaves. 

Next stop, Ireland…

  • Iceland at 8am
  • Iceland at midday
  • Iceland at 6pm
  • Thermal, mmmm
  • Under-road heating