Trying New Things: April

I watched Evil Dead Rise

I was actually going to go see something else but then had issues with the online booking system and I MUCH prefer booking online than in cinema so forgot I actually COULD book tickets in the cinema and chose to see this instead.

I am so glad that I did!

Even though it didn't feature the iconic Ash, it still read authentically Evil Dead.  There are plenty of nods to the earlier films both in story and style, and while not as camp as some of the earlier iterations, the mark of Bruce Campbell is all over it.  

Not only that, but I was so excited to see that there were no US imports in this film.  Every single actor featured was either from NZ or Aussie.  Bruce Campbell has often sang the praises of Kiwi film crews in the past and his love is very apparent in this film.  This made me feel irrationally proud to be a Kiwi.

And there were more feels to come!  Not only did it contain strong, complex female leads, but it made a real effort to break horror tropes.  While in the past women perceived as sexually uninhabited are among the first to die, here our main protagonist is single, finds herself unexpectedly pregnant and struggles with the notion of motherhood.  Not only that but the only lead male character is played by a trans-male actor and nothing is made of it either in how the film is promoted or shot.  I only discovered this actor was trans when I checked to see where the cast came from.

Not only was this great horror filled with iconic scenes which showcased Kiwi/Aussie talent, but it was progressive to boot.  Thank you Bruce Campbell!

I read Hortus Curious by Michael Perry

Mum loaned me this thinking I might enjoy it - I absolutely did!  Not only did I learn about plants I didn't know much about before, but it helped me understand which of these I might be able to cultivate at home myself.

While some of the plants I already had a fair amount of knowledge of already, it was still interesting reading more about the history of these plants and their uses - some of which were completely new to me.

It's a very easy read with beautiful illustrations which I recommend to anyone interested in global botanical history.

I planted more chillies and curry trees

I love the internet.  Honestly.  It's brilliant.  It's how I'm communicating with you right now.  One of the things I love most about it is the communities you can form and the connections you can unexpectedly make with people from pretty much anywhere.  I have a few online communities I participate in - some actively, some more stealthily.  One of my favourites is a Facebook group about gardening on a budget in NZ.  This group has a regular plant/seed swap and in April I chose to participate in it.  While I sent red rocoto seeds across the motu I also received a few wonderful plants myself.  A local lady dropped off some curry seedlings - all of which were gifted to friends and whanau.  And I received yellow rocoto seeds from a lady in Wellington which have sprung into healthy little seedlings in my bay window.

I made peanut ANZAC biscuits

ANZAC day is a tricky one for me.  While I think it's important to remember those who gave their lives for our perceived freedoms, I struggle with the notion of war.  So while I don't participate in grand celebrations on this day, I do still make biscuits every year.  It's a way of remembering the huge sacrifices made not just by those men, but also of the families they left at home during unimaginable times.

While I usually stick with my usual tried-and-true recipe, this year I decided to give something new a try and went off-book.  Alongside the traditional ANZAC bickies I made some featuring peanut butter and some chopped roasted and salted nuts.  I forgot to write down exactly what I did but basically I substituted about a third of the butter with peanut butter and added in a quarter of a cup of peanuts.  

I did this mostly for me.  I love peanuts.  I love peanut butter.  I need more of it in my life.  But surprisingly, the kid who doesn't like either peanuts or peanut butter also liked these biscuits.  So it really did feel like a winning recipe.

I adopted

We were never meant to ever be a more than two cat family.  Two cats are plenty.  But when a friend posted that a Mama feral cat she had spent some time trapping would be re-released by the SPCA while her kittens would be fostered it just seemed so unfair.  Why should the Mama be discarded?  I felt compelled to help out.  The intent was never to keep her - I had hoped to take her temporarily while I sourced a suitable foster family for her as I know people who foster for other agencies. 

SPCA are not heartless bastards - it was kitten season which meant that many foster homes were already full.  And while feral kittens are usually fairly easy to domesticate, adult feral cats generally take a lot more time.  And when she arrived at our place Toastie certainly was feral! 

She was unapproachable - she hissed and scratched and spent most of her time hidden in her cat sack.  We kept her crated for more than a month not just to help her adjust but for everyone's safety.

I never expected her to change as much as she has in such a short time.

In less than eight weeks after she arrived, she is a changed animal.  Other than the ear tipping from SPCA you would never guess she had been a feral cat.  She doesn't attack us, nor does she attack our other pets.  I can call her and she'll come.  I can pat her - everyone in our house can pat her.  She's not scared of strangers - she's more social than Huddle.  She even had her first trip to the vets and didn't so much as complain or scratch anyone.  It's crazy.  She's a proper, regular pet cat.

As much as I'd love to take credit for all this change, I think a lot of it comes down to the fact that Toastie is a very food driven cat.  We've been able to hand feed her since a week of her arrival.  Her need for treats has always trumped her fear which was definitely the driver for the antisocial behaviours we saw early on.  Whatever it was that snowballed this adjustment to domesticity, I am grateful she is part of our whanau.

I painted

And here she is in painted form.  I was really happy with how this turned out.  I had a lot of fun playing with different textural elements and layering colour.  It's a little more heavy handed than I'd like but honestly, I'm happy.  It's the first painting I've done this year that I've really liked.

and I carved

I haven't finished carved anything in more than ten years, but after seeing 'my own pounamu' on Etta's birthday list I thought it was time I gave it another go.  

This year is Abby's first year of Kapahaka which she has been really excited about.  While she might seem like an outgoing child, she gets very anxious about performances.  I thought if I carved her a taonga to wear during performances it might help her feel braver.

I created a small, simple design which signifies dignity and strength and embedded an orange (her favourite colour) baby oyster shell in its base.  She wasn't super excited about it but she has worn it on days where she needed to feel a little braver.

Etta's taonga is currently a work in progress.  While it's made from humble cow bone rather than pounamu, I'm sure she will still cherish it.

I'm so excited to see what new things the next month brings!