If you follow me on any social media you would have seen these already. But for archival purposes imma post them here too.
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/515404244/carcassonne-hate-cross-stitch-digital
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/541667741/ticket-to-ride-cross-stitch-digital-pdf
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/517295378/settlers-of-catan-board-game-tiles-cross
https://www.etsy.com/au/listing/535781858/7-wonders-i-fing-love-science-cross
Cristoforo’s sweet ute and house that he is renovating in Adelaide. He’s pretty much gutting the entire place, it’s crazy. Lots and lots of work to do still.
7 Wonders, all the time.
Most of our haul from Canada. Yeah….. we did a lot of shopping. But all of these things are either not available in Australia or significantly cheaper in Canada. Example: embroidery thread is $1.29/skein here, and with a coupon I got them for $0.50/skein at Michael’s. Another example: a hockey helmet that fits Scott’s giant head… not easy to find here.
I stole this picture from Facebook. The finalists from the Carcassonne tournament that Scott and I competed in. We were very confident going in, but didn’t end up doing that well. I beat Scott though, so all is well. It was so so so intense, my heart rate was probably 150+ for the entire day. We will be much better prepared for next year, and ready to get aggressive on turn #1.
Scott got me this cup and supplies to make Moscow Mules for our copper anniversary. What a delicious drink.
AKA Cramming All My Favourite Things About Canada In To One Week
Our trip to Ottawa was so short that we literally had a spreadsheet to try and pack in everything we wanted to do/see/eat/buy. But it worked, we did well! The trip was super hectic but really fun.
✔ Bulk Barn. Zingy zaps! :D What a great store. I should open one in Melbourne, y/y?
✔ Nostalgic board games, such as Survive. We really wanted to play Disaster too, but couldn’t find it. :(
✔ Hang out with Grandma and Grandpa, and MEP and Paul. Grandpa was really good at Sushi Go Party!
✔ Costco poutine. Best value poutine in the whole country, imo.
✔ Lots and lots of Shouldice strawberries.
✔ Hanging out with the Monnon’s (including MJ!) and Laurie. We made burgers and an enormous salad for dinner. I hadn’t actually seen Bill and Suzanne since our wedding party at their house, which was way way way too long.
✔ Lots of sister time with Rosemarie (aka Tina Belcher).
✔ Cottage
✔ Crokinole
✔ Dozens of games of Seven Wonders, because Rosemarie couldn’t figure out how to win.
✔ Celebrating my non-birthday. Breakfast cake! Also squeezing in one last game of Seven Wonders before going out for Canada Day.
Other things non-pictured:
✔ Dimsum with Jane
✔ Wine with Mary
✔ Pho with Lauren and Sarah
✔ Shawarmas
✔ Taco Bell
✔ Bagels
✔ Shopping (omg I got so much cheap embroidery thread, and Scott got skates and a helmet)
✔ Riverboarding (post coming)
✔ #canada150 (post coming)
It’s been a while since I’ve done a life update. I guess because we’ve settled into a bit of a routine now.
WORK: Mine is going well. It’s been a bit challenging trying to learn everything when I’m only there a couple days a week, and with everyone sharing the work, but it’s coming together. Scott’s is… going. :/
HOUSE: We moved! We upgraded to a two bedroom apartment a bit more central to work and family. The apartment is small, but nice, and I love the neighbourhood.
EXERCISE: I joined a new gym near our new house and it’s GREAT. They have an epic gym area, swimming pool, and lots of classes, so I’ve been able to add yoga and swimming back into my exercise plan (in addition to weights). Scott started biking to work (10km each way!), and still plays basketball and the occasional extra game of soccer or more basketball.
CRAFTS: My latest project is creating cross stitch patterns that I am trying to sell on Etsy. It’s hard though!! I have to make the patterns, test stitch it, photograph it, list it, and then advertise it. I’ve got two patterns in my shop but I still have SO much more work to do.
I also taught Scott how to crochet, so we’ve been making granny squares to eventually turn into a blanket. The biggest challenge is getting our tension to match each other.
FRIENDS: I’ve still been going to trivia most weeks with my internet friends. They are great. I also get together with a sub-group of them to Stitch n Bitch every month, which is fun. We usually eat lunch, and then crochet/cross stitch.
We used to go to a different trivia night with some of Scott’s friends but the pub changed the night so that is off until we find a good replacement.
We had Jemma and Damien over for a games night the other weekend. We played Wasabi and Carcassonne. I think we are getting close to teaching them Agricola!!!
VISITORS: Cassia and Pablo came to visit Melbourne with two of their Spanish friends. We went to Chin Chin for dinner the first night (1.5 hour wait!!! but really tasty), and then did a mega tourist day the next day at Brighton Beach, Fitzroy, and the CBD. I hope Silvi tags me in her pictures because I didn’t take any. :/
Natasha has arrived in Australia as well. She’s in Sydney at the moment, but we expect to see her in the next couple weeks. I can’t wait! We’ve got the guest bedroom all set up ready to go. :D
SUMMER: One really hot day we drove out to Sorrento back beach to play in the tidepools. It was lovely but Scott severely sunburned his feet which was SO GROSS. It wasn’t that hot of a summer, but it is lingering a bit. It’s still been above 30°C most days, but thankfully it gets cool overnight, so it’s been okay.
SKELETON: My FOMO about not sliding this season hasn’t actually been that bad because 1. I still get timesheets from Whistler to analyze, 2. the World Cup races are on at very convenient times here so I’ve been able to watch most of them live. 3. Instagram stories make me feel like I’m right there, and 4. My old coach Rob has been keeping a daily vlog. So yeah, that’s cool. The final race of the season is next weekend, in Korea on the future Olympic track! Should be interesting.
OK I can’t think of anything else at the moment, so… hasta luego.
I just realized that I never actually posted my 2016 video on here. I spammed it everywhere else, but not on the ol’ blog. So… here it is! What an epic year it was.
My favourite clips are Feb 29th, May 12th, and May 21st. :D