First Amigurumi Steps

I was not sure with which of the current works I should start after my long absence - and then decided to post something I´m doin´right now :)

A friend of mine recently sent me a page with funny little crocheted things called "Amigurumis" (編みぐるみ, lit. crocheted or knitted stuffed toy) what is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed animals, food, and anthropomorphic creatures, knowing I was a passionate knitter and crocheteer.

I immediately fell in love with those petite little things that I looked up the basics and gave it a try. Definately something I´ll look more into, once you start it´s really addictive!

Here are some of my first attempts.

Hope you all had a wonderful christmas with your loved ones!

Mahalo ~ Bettina

I´m back

Hello Fellow Bloggers

First of all I have to apologize that I disappeared without any goodbye or telling what happened. I missed you all dearly, and I missed blogging as well.

The very sad reason for my absence is that our family got the most unwanted guest one can imagine - last december, pretty exactly one year ago, my beloved Father totally unexpected got diagnosed with advanced kidney cancer at the age of 72.
Unexpected, cause my Dad had no symptoms at all, was an extreme agile and active man for his age and never been severe ill before.

I can´t recall anything in my life before that left me so entirely devasted and heartbroken.

This year have been an extreme rough journey for us all. First being told in the local hospital that they can´t do anything for my Dad anymore we luckily went for a second medical opinion, after I learned in the internet that the worlds leading specialists for kidney cancer is located only 50 miles away.
To make a very long story short - my Father went through two very severe surgeries, including 2 weeks in induced coma, followed by two oncologic rehabs for each 5 weeks and found his way back to life, what even his Doctors call a miracle.

After all he went through, a re-staging was done a few weeks ago - and sadly we learned that he developed a recidive located where his kidney got removed. The good news are, that now my Father will join a medical study that contains a brandnew oral chemo that isn´t even on the market yet, what sounds very promising and gives us new hope. My Dad is an absolute amazing and brave man and thank god he doesn´t even waste a thought on giving up!

During this year my brushes helped me a lot to keep my mind steady. There were times I couldn´t even think of painting, but also other times painting was definitely my only escape of upcoming depressions.

Whenever I had some spare time I painted or did a lot of other crafting, so I have to share a lot that mounted up during the last months, which I now wanna share piece by piece with you.

I dearly hope that all of you are well and spent a more happy year like me and I want to thank all of the bottom of my heart, who contacted me when I silently left the blogging world.

Mahalo ~ Bettina