It’s been over a year since the last update so I figured it was time for a new journal!

The most exciting news since the last journal was I got to go to New Zealand not once but twice! The first visit was an epic road trip (with a couple ferry rides) from Taupo all the way to Stuart Island. South Island New Zealand is so gorgeous and should be on everyone’s travel bucket list!

Then, since my dad didn’t have a chance to come home for the holidays, my mom and I got to visit again for Christmas and New Years. This visit we just did day trips on the North Island, but I did get to unleash my inter-nerd and visit Hobbiton, which was great fun.

Sadly it wasn’t all fun in New Zealand as my cat, who had recently been diagnosed with diabetes, came down with a case of pancreatitis while boarding at the vets. Fortunately we live near a 24hr vet specialist hospital and she was there for the rest of our trip. One giant vet bill later she came home and was, we thought, almost back to normal when the pancreatitis decided to flare up again. We decided to have a feeding tube put in, which sounds terrible but for cats it’s not a huge deal. I made her a little fleece collar to cover and secure the tube but otherwise she’s able to move around (and sleep!) normally.

My newest crafty hobby is amigurumi, which is Japanese for “cute crochet stuffed animals” (rough translation). After making a few following other people’s patterns, I branched out to make my own pattern for Isabelle and Digby from Animal Crossing: New Leaf. Look for more shots on the main page!

June will be the next session of NaGraNoWriMo and I hope to really crank out something next month. If you are on tumblr and have any interest in comic/graphic novel making, you can join the NaGraNoWriMo challenge or just follow the blog for what I hope are useful resources.

That’s about it for me, thanks for visiting!