Hello again my dears, I am back with an update on the contents of my advent calendars! I'll also be sharing a few little things that I've made over the last few days, and I finally have a WIP that I can actually show you!
Let's start with the advent calendars:
December 8th
 |
| Today you have helped cover the cost of a face-to-face session offering vital support to someone who feels life is no longer worth living. |
The Advent of Change charity for this day was The Listening Place, a charity who offer talking therapies to people suffering with suicidal depression. I find it so disappointing that charities like this are necessary, because I firmly believe that in a fair and well supported society, the government will provide all that is needed to help those with mental health issues, the way that in civilised countries at least they aim to provide for those with physical health issues. I also believe that in a fair, and well supported society fewer people will suffer with depression and anxiety related conditions, as the perpetual stress of trying to make ends meet, "keeping up with the Jones's", and worrying about the state of the planet that we're leaving for the next generation, simply wouldn't be as bad in a world where resources were more equitably distributed, and where excess consumption was not actively encouraged.
That's just my opinion though.
 |
| Yarn, teabag, wax melt, and empty chocolate wrapper. |
I, errm, ate my chocolate before I remembered that I hadn't taken a photo of everything yet. It was a tasty chocolate. The tea was called "Happy Holidays", and it tasted like spiced apples. Pastel pink yarn, and a pastel pink wax melt match very nicely.
 |
| Impatient doggo nibbling my thumb. |
Finn really wanted to get at his treats, but he knows he's supposed to wait until I've taken a photo, so he went for just gently nibbling at my thumb.
December 9th
 |
| Today you have helped a city child enjoy time in the countryside by contributing towards craft materials for a forest school. |
Farms for City Children is a charity that works with kids from disadvantaged inner city areas, allowing them to spend time on a farm in the countryside, learning about nature in a way that would not be possible in their home communities.
 |
| Yarn, teabag, chocolate teddybear, and wax melt. |
Look at the little teddy bear chocolate! This is the first major difference between the teddy bear advent calendar, and the Lindt advent calendars that we've had in previous years. The tea is called "Holiday Boost", I don't recall feeling any more boosted than I usually do after a cuppa, but it was nice.
 |
| Let's try Good Boy Pose again. |
I mean, he gets the treats eventually, no matter what, but the most efficient course for speedy acquisition of treatos, combined with praise from mummy and daddy, if the Good Boy Pose.
December 10th
 |
| Today you have provided a grieving child with an activity book that helps them to understand and cope with their thoughts and feelings. |
Winston's Wish is a charity that works with bereaved children, and their families, to help them cope throughout the grieving process.
 |
| Yarn, chocolate teddybear, teabag, and wax melt. |
Another teddy bear chocolate! I thought the one on the 12th was a special chocolate for half way through the count down, but I was wrong! Of course, after I said this, Stephen pointed out that on the back of the calendar it tells you how many of each type of chocolate there is! I don't look at the "spoilers" though. I like surprises! I love this really subtle colourway for the yarn too, super pale grey and yellow. The tea is called "Festive Spice", and it tasted a little like mulled wine might taste if it didn't have wine in it, if that makes sense?
For some reason my phone charger cable wasn't attached to my phone when I woke up on this day. Maybe I forgot to plug it in, or maybe I caught the cable in the night and unplugged it, or maybe Finn did, as sometimes the cable gets caught on the edge of his bed (which is right next to my side of our bed). Whatever the cause, I had very little charge on my phone. So I left it plugged in in the bedroom for most of the day, and didn't get a photo of Finn "opening" his advent calendar, as there is no way that you can convince a "starving" spaniel to wait for his special treat until your phone is charged enough to take a photo!
December 11th
 |
| Today you have helped to buy the cement needed to build a sand dam, bringing a local supply of clean water to a rural community in Kenya. |
Excellent Development are a charity that work with people in developing countries to enable sustainable improvement to peoples lives, in particular through the use of Sand Dam technology that provides access to water, while conserving soil in dry lands.
 |
| Yarn, teabag, chocolate, and wax melt. |
Back to normal sized chocolates today, although this one had a milky white filling. The tea is called "Post-Party Refresh", and it smells a bit fruity, but also somewhat medicinal! I'm saving this one for Boxing day, or maybe New Year's day! The yarn is subtle pale pinks, with bold splashes of dark purple, on a sparkly base.
 |
| Quick mummy! Before daddy takes me out! |
The 11th was a Saturday, and Saturdays are busy days in our house at the moment. As Stephen can't drive, and my body can't always be relied upon, we are currently playing host for our weekly Table Top Role Playing Game. This means that we need to make sure that our house is as fit for guests as we can make it. I usually do a bit of tidying on the Friday, but I save things like vacuuming for Saturday afternoon, just before our guests arrive. As Finn does not get on well with The Hoover Beast, we prefer the Stephen take him out for a walk while I do battle with the accumulation of hair in our carpets. Stephen had his coat on, and was getting Finn into his collar and harness, but Finn was mostly concerned with not missing out on his advent treat!
December 12th
 |
| Today you have enabled a seriously ill child shielding at home to take a special virtual trip to the zoo. |
Well Child is a charity that works with the families of seriously ill children to ensure that as much as possible, they can be cared for in their family home, rather than in hospital.
These last 2 years have been especially hard for those with serious illnesses. I've felt it myself, and my conditions are comparatively mild. Still, this year I have been very aware of the fact that we have been continuing to limit contact with other people, wear our masks, and wash our hands much more frequently than "before", while it has very much seemed as though the majority of people in the UK have been behaving as though the threat was totally over. For those who are seriously ill, perhaps too ill to be able to tolerate being vaccinated, or still at significant risk of complications despite being vaccinated, these last 2 years have been all but a prison sentence. For a child I cannot even imagine how hard it must have been. For parents of children who are unlikely to survive into adulthood, who want only to make the most that they possibly can out of the few years they have together, I can imagine few things more frustrating that what we've just been through. Virtual trips and visits are a true lifeline for these people.
 |
| Yarn, teabag, 2 chocolates, and a wax melt. |
Two chocolates! These are my favourite! The tea is called "Winter Balance", and it's another one that smells a bit medicinal, although it also smells a bit like Indian spices. I think I might try this one tomorrow. I didn't really fancy it yesterday or today. The yarn fades from white through to a bright emerald green. I've been very into my greens and blues recently, so I'm liking this very much.
 |
| No waiting, treato now! |
I got up late yesterday, because I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole on Saturday night after our game (more on that later), but Finn was absolutely desperate for his advent treat by the time I was up and awake enough to be doing the calendars. There was no way he was waiting for a Good Boy photo!
December 13th
 |
| Today you have helped make sure that everyone's needs and rights are met equally during the ongoing response to Covid-19. |
Equally Ours is a UK charitable organisation that brings together the work of the former Equal Opportunities Commission, Commission for Racial Equality, and Disability Rights Commission. They aim to push society towards a more fair and equitable future by influencing the public, and government, using an evidence based approach. To be honest, this sounds like exactly the sort of charity I would like to be involved with myself, and I can't believe that I'd never heard of them before opening this door on this calendar. It's a safe bet that I'll be looking into the work of this charity in much greater depth after this!
 |
| 2 mini-skeins of yarn, chocolate teddybear, teabag, and wax melt. |
TWO mini-skeins! I don't know if this is an accident, and I'm going to find an empty chamber behind a future door, or if this is deliberate, I just know that I love both skeins! One has a white base, with lots of splashes and speckles of green, yellow, and burgundy. The other is half palest green, and half a purple so subtle and delicate that you think it's white until you look really closely, on a sparkly base. The tea is "Gingerbread Treat", which I thought it would be, as I knew there are 12 different flavours of tea in this calendar, and Gingerbread Treat was the tea I had on Day 1. Then there's another chocolate teddy bear, and I'm looking forward to being able to use this wax melt, as it smelled amazing as soon as I opened the little door!
 |
| OK then, Good Boy Pose it is. |
With everything being a little less disrupted today, Finn managed to restrain himself and sit in Good Boy Pose for his photo again. Then I hid a couple of these treats in Stephens pocket, and Finn spent the next 20 minutes trying to get his whole head inside the pocket!
That's us up to date with Advent stuff, so now here's a little update on my craft projects:
FO's
 |
| D20 Dice Jail Pendant. |
I deliberately said "craft" projects, rather than knitting, as although I have finished one knitting project, I can't show you that. Instead, what I've made that I can show you is a Dice Jail Pendant for naughty 20-sided dice. It's made from 11mm red anodised aluminium rings, and 5mm silver jump rings, joined together rather like chain mail, but with a few missing links so that the top can be opened up, and the "rehabilitated" die can be removed, and replaced with a different die that may have been misbehaving. The top can then be closed using a lever clasp in place of a jump ring.
I got the idea for these from some similar items that I saw on Pintrest, although all of the ones that I saw there used larger rings. I only chose 11mm rings because that's what I happened to already have in my craft kit!
 |
| D6 Dice Jail Pendant. |
First I made the D20 version, which is the most easily found version on the internet, presumably because most people using these play D&D, which is a D20 based system. However the system that we're currently using for our long running campaign is GURPS, which is a D6 based system. I couldn't find any dice jail pendants of this type for 6-sided dice on the internet. So I made one. I also made a simple beaded necklace for it to go on.
This is what I meant earlier when I said that I'd "fallen down a rabbit hole". I do occasionally become momentarily obsessed with an idea, and I can't rest, or do anything else, until I have pursued that idea to some form of conclusion. In this case, it was determining first if I was capable of creating a dice jail pendant, and secondly if I could make one for a D6. It was very definitely "tomorrow" by the time I'd reached a point at which I felt able to stop with this idea. It's not finished either, more anodised aluminium rings have been ordered...
WIP's
 |
| Knitting in progress. |
In November I showed you the handspun yarn that I'd finished as part of my own personal Fluff to Stuff challenge. This is the beginnings of a simple shrug that I'm knitting with that handspun yarn.
The pattern is based loosely on the Speckled Shrug by Lion Brand Yarns, and the yarn is handspun, approximately DK weight.
Finn
As if you hadn't had enough photo's of my dog already, here are some more!
 |
| Finn "helping" me to knit. |
There's not much in the world that's more cosy than knitting with a cuppa next to you, and a dog resting their head in your lap. <3
 |
| Finn sniffing the Christmas Stockings. |
We tried putting some early stocking fillers in the stockings. It didn't take Finn very long to notice this. The presents were quickly removed and hidden elsewhere until Christmas eve. If they go missing now, I will blame Stephen rather than Finn!
I'm afraid I have no penguin items ready to show you, although I have acquired another penguin related item in the last few days. I feel that in order to show it off properly, I will have to delay the reveal.
So that is everything for today. Sweet dreams my dears, speak to you again in a few days.
No comments:
Post a Comment