I recently had the pleasure of discovering crafting groups on Facebook. A little late, I know; but hey I’ve not been using Facebook much over the last few years for personal reasons. Anyhoos, I was invited to join a New Zealand based cross stitch group, and it got me thinking about a conversation I once had with my good friend Jennie. How cool would it be to get together with other cross stitchers in Auckland? Have stitching meet ups on a regular basis and just geek out with like minded people? So I posted a question on that group, asking if anyone was based in Auckland, and would be interested...

Holidaying in Mangawhai is an interesting experience. If you go there, don’t hold any expectations like I did. For an area with beautiful coastlines, it doesn’t really take advantage of it. Hard pressed to find any seafood to eat; at the local fish and chip shop I discovered (to my horror) that all the seafood was exported in. Huh!? Mangawhai lacks identity. It doesn’t know if it wants to be known for it’s famous chocolatier Bennett’s, a golf resort or just as a small coastal holiday destination. The local gallery had hardly any work for sale from people within Mangawhai...

If things can go wrong, Doujin Overload 2010 would have been the day they did go wrong. I spent all week boosting my immune system so I wouldn’t catch whatever plagues were going around work, only to spend yesterday with a migraine; I brought the wrong lens for my camera and forgot my mc announcement sheet… and yet, I pulled through without too many mis-haps (Friend: “Speak louder Zeb! Your sexy dulcet tones were not heard in the far corners of the hall!”) Most importantly, I had a great time! The atmosphere was fantastic; heaps of great artists and even more visitors than...

I’ve spent all day today trying to decide how best to describe my experience at Doujin Overload 2009, and I guess I should start out with what I enjoyed. Don’t let the above statement scare you. I enjoyed the event for the most part, and if not for these few issues I had, it could have been just as good as last year’s event. I digress… The day started out beautifully, but cold. Nothing at all like the atrocious stormy weather we had last year. Auckland City wasn’t terribly busy at 8.30AM on a Saturday morning, and after paying for parking I hiked up the hill to the Hyatt...

So I’ve been fairly silent on this blog for the last few weeks. There is a reason of course, and I shall try to explain… Since losing my job, I have been under quite a bit of stress, and lets not talk about the depression. My depression manifests itself physically by emotional eating, and I have been eating, some very very bad things. It amazes me that I haven’t gained weight, thank god for my daily power walks. On top of that I’ve had a sinus infection. All of this together meant that I’ve been having some very very bad migraines. So severe that I am still recovering from...