Happy January, Happy New Year, Happy New Decade!

Hello, Lovelies!

I know, I did already do all my Happy New Year social media posts so I KNOW you know I wish you all, dear Yarny Friends, a VERY Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, Joyous and Contented 2020! Can't say it too many times these days... we need all the good luck, good thoughts, good words and good deeds we can get, right? I, for one, am launching myself into this new decade... well "launching" may be a bit exaggerated ( my dodgy knee ) feeling determined to make every day count for something.

For me, this means:
💙 Not wasting time worrying about things I cannot change (my default setting is dialled high on Worry).
💙 Making healthy choices every day (not just occasionally). This means, getting enough sleep, cutting down on social media, walking EVERY DAY, eating even more sustainably (plant-power whoohoooo!), cutting out plastic from my life ( a huge task, right? ).
💙 Reading "world" News only once a week ( I need to know if an asteroid or tsunami is headed my way )!
💙 Reading a good fiction book at least once a month (suggestions welcome).
💙 Drinking top-notch coffee (life is too short to waste on instant nonsense ever again).
💙 Turning my frown upside down (so much harder than you'd expect considering what's going on in our poor old world).
💙Journal regularly (it's either that or a Therapist). To get myself motivated, I bought an inexpensive journal and made Nisha witness my good intentions. Anyways, those Owl Eyes will guilt trip me into doing what I said I'd do!

It's been very hot and humid over the last few days and Roxy and I have headed out to our beloved tree-lined Alphen Trail every day. Read more about this LOVELY walk HERE. The river looks like a skinny snake now as it wends its way towards the ocean. We begin our walk at Quince where they make the best coffee I have tasted in a long while. I'm not a snob on any level but have conceded that I am indeed a Coffee Snob. Quince has spoiled me and now I can never move house seeing as they're my Coffee Dealer and only 73 steps from my front door. Roxy is becoming a Very Good Girl at restaurants. Believe me when I say that in the past she was NOT a Very Good Girl but rather a little Monster on the lead and would try and pinch people's carrot cake right off their cake forks!

There are a number of these swings placed along the river bank and you can't see it in the image above but some of these swing out over a 10metre drop! Roxy and I like to climb up and down these steep embankments looking for treasure. Usually, it's just some pretty dried wild grasses, a colourful leaf or some interesting branches but yesterday.....oh, my! I literally yelled out loud "I'M SO LUCKY!", like an excited child! I found this painted stone and when I turned it over there was this! It's a thing. I never knew. I love this idea and if you like, you can join the CT Rocks! Group and start planting your own stones. I'm definitely going to paint a few stones and leave a pleasant surprise for someone else.

Finally, you're probably wondering when I'm going to get around to talking Crochet! This year I'll be releasing the Green Tea Block and Extension in May. MAAAAY I can hear you shouting, that's sooo faaar awaaaay! Thing is, I am admitting defeat...I simply cannot function in full crochet mode through our hot and humid Cape Town summer months. I've tried. I was even pregnant through three Summers just to prove I could do it. It must be age creeping up on me, or global warming, but my capacity to tolerate extreme heat has diminished year on year and it's now at 0%.

HOWEVER, I can manage smaller projects and as many of you may have already noted, Bloemfontein Rose is out of retirement, rewritten, resized and accompanied by a full Video tutorial!
I think last year I mentioned that bringing the older patterns out of retirement was on my project radar and now I'm going at them, all hooks blazing!

Last of all is our first Giveaway of the roaring 20's! I fell in love with the Norway Spruce Blanket by Rosina Plane. Isn't it lovely? Not to mention it will add to your crochet skills list, right? All you need to do to stand a chance of being one of our 3 x Lucky Winners is find the little clue in the pic below which points us to a future Holiday. If you can guess which one that is, then leave a comment in the comments section below and don't forget to add your Ravelry name! Good Luck! 🍀

Thank you so much for stopping by and see you in Crochetland!
💗 Jen