April, where for art thou?

Hello dear Yarnies, yes it is I! Missing in action here ( but very much alive on other social media...ok, just my Group Page, still...😊 ).

April was A MONTH, as they say. One of those months where everything meant to happen in a year just decides to dump itself in one giant heap at your feet. Crochet? What Crochet? 😩

To begin, we had renovations. There were holidays in April and my dear Husband got all DIY minded. Mind you, he was sensible enough to call in professionals but even then what was meant to be a  "quick 3 - day - project " dragged on for almost two weeks! Knocking a huge hole through a wall was involved. As were angle grinders and 14-pound hammers. The noise! This was just the beginning. I know many of you have been through worse, so you'll completely understand that dust has got in absolutely EVERYWHERE. My lovely yarn wall had to be dismantled and put into safe storage! Can you imagine? 😞 It's mid-May and I am still finding dust patches in the most unlikely places. To say all this chaos and constant activity around threw me off my stride is an understatement. Augusta went on a sit-in protest and forced me to join her!!😼 I temporarily lost my Crojo. But that was then, and it's been fully restored since.

April also saw the passing of our beloved Staffordshire terrier, Joe. He was 15 years old, in human years 105! Completely blind and deaf but still up for a cookie, a walk or a splash in the ocean. Our rescue doggie, Roxy ( aka Soxy Roxy because of her little white socks ) has been most subdued since as she was his constant little companion and helper. On our walks, when Joe got a bit confused, she'd run next to him bumping him gently to help him stay on the path. Joe was special in that he LOVED Cats. Augusta still looks for him and then gives me the beady eye as if to say "where have you hidden him, Mom? "

Amidst our sadness, a new Pup entered our lives like a whirlwind of UBER puppiness! My eldest son decided to rescue a 4-month-old Pup from one of our local shelters, pretty much exactly the same time as he accepted a very challenging new job... so guess who's puppy-sitting these days? Needless to say, my home is no longer puppy-proof and things get chewed! I've had to put my yarn out of puppy reach. So when you hear me shouting, "Kai, put that down!"  in the videos of the new block, or random barking...😊

April was also the month that saw me taking a weekend break for the first time in a year. Not much of a rest though as we spent it at our off-grid cottage in the country where I suddenly got the urge to clean out the little storage room under the stairs ( meant to be a Harry Potterish guest room ) and turn it into... a Harry Potterish guest room! Ha! I was so pleased with myself that I decided to sleep there for the weekend, and Roxy joined me.
I seem to have lost the photographs I took but when they surface I will pop them in here.  My husband had the double bed upstairs all to himself for a change. It must have felt vast! Usually, we have at least one dog and one cat vying for space between us. Also, I didn't want to disturb the baby Pigeons who are nesting in the upstairs lookout ( a tiny porch built to rest the solar panels on...another "just a few days" project that went on and on! ).

In between all the movement and chaos, and sadness over Joe, I have actually managed to finally complete Wildflower. This cushion sized block is inspired by the wonderful flourish of flowers and greenery following our first rains of the season. The ongoing drought made this past Summer particularly difficult. Severe water restrictions meant that only saved grey water could be used to water plants. We allowed the grass to die a natural death and surprisingly the plants and shrubs survived due to my diligent watering with every spare drop!

But what a relief after the first rain. Our water tank filled to the brim, the overflow running into our pool. And every flowering thing has flowered! It's like second-Spring! Our garden is looking lush and colourful, attracting butterflies, bees and Honeybirds. Kai, being only 4 months old, barks at Butterflies! It's wonderful to see the world through a new Beings eyes. Like clockwork and heralding in the cooler months, the Cape Robins are back in the hedges and truly, there is nothing more delightful to my city-noise weary ears than to hear them trilling out their formidable repertoire of birdsong before dawn. Some Robins have up to 40 different chirps as they mimic sounds around them and those of other birds!

Watching the storm clouds gathering from my little studio.

Jasmine and the Argentinian Potato Plant couldn't be more pleased with the downpour! Oh, the fragrance! ❤

Black-Eyed Susan happily making it's way up the BBQ stand.! 😊

Poinsettia blooming really early!

A waterfall of Orange Trumpet Creeper over our back verandah! It's a Bee Buffet! ❤

Our favourite dog walk park, The Alphen greenbelt ( click on the link to see lots of lovely images! ) as well as other inner city and suburban greenbelts, frequented by cyclists and dog-walkers, strollers and nature babies have been sad places of late as we've watched the waterfalls, small lakes, and babbling brooks turn to sand and rock. Now the little streams that run through our local green-belts are babbling happily over their sandy river beds. Truly, Cape Town comes alive in Winter. It's my favourite season in this beautiful City.

On Friday 18, I will be releasing the pattern for " Wildflower "! I'm still totally in love with floral blocks but that's no surprise seeing as I am deeply attached to Earth. To me, it is all the Heaven I will ever need. In some way, my crochet will always reflect this passion for our natural world. Ok, so I wanted to do things a little differently this time. I am releasing the pattern with the videos only!  This I've done because so many of you talented and impatient Lovelies want to dive right in with the videos! For the Lovelies who prefer working from written patterns, the written pattern will be added on Monday.

Here's a little sneak peek to get you over the next 24-hours. 😉

Yes, Pom-Poms are involved. 😍

See you tomorrow!

❤ Jen