I Love Stardew Valley

Stardew Valley is a cute farming/life simulator in which you inherit an old farm and leave your life as a dissatisfied office worker to tend to it. I was surprised at the knowing tone of the introduction and the subtle, gently winking humour the game possesses, and as a person who has been historically easily confused in Harvest Moon or Terraria style games, I was also pleasantly surprised with the game mechanics (which have so far not been confusing).

Here I am attempting to get my crops started. I named my farm 'Cloud Lane Farm' for some reason. Why is it that clearing up weeds is more satisfying than almost anything else in a video game? I can tell you right now that it is not satisfying in real life.

There is also so much lovely scenery and detailing to be found in the game. Look at this abandoned town hall, for example. It's beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, I was surprised and thrilled to be brought a cat one morning. And this might be the most specific game compliment I've ever given, but the noises the cat makes when licking itself are so weirdly accurate and I love them. I love the cat lick noises.

I called my cat 'Fluff'.

Still speaking of beautiful, look at this video game hunk. I'm going to marry him and have 62 children (I'm assuming you can definitely have 62 children in this game and if you can't I'm going to be grumpy about it).

I love this game.

Tiny Houses

Recently I accidentally stumbled across a documentary about Tiny Houses on YouTube, and quickly I fell in love with all the possibilities of a small space and the passion of all the different people involved with tiny houses - from young families trying to craft the best space to raise their children with less strain on their income, to a group of students enrolled in a program specifically focused on the design and construction of tiny houses. There are so many stories about these homes and what they mean to people, and all of them are fascinating.

I dream of having a cabin in the woods, but it's the kind of dream that's hazy and dark and floating around in the night-time head of a little kid. It's too magical to be real, isn't it?

I'm continually astounded by what people are able to achieve the more they question the minutiae of their lives, and ask themselves what's really necessary for them. So much of what we think we know isn't true, and so much of what we think is necessary might not be. Sometimes it's hard to cling on to your inventive, inquisitive, creative, determined side. I'm going to try as hard as I can to cling on to mine.

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I made a playlist of videos about tiny houses that I've loved so far, including documentaries and some personal tiny house tours. I plan to add to it periodically as I find new things. Check it out here:

 

Diary: Trousers & Popcorn

I've not felt that great this week - kinda tired and a bit queasy - but I have been playing a lot of games. They can be a really good distraction when you're not very well (as long as they're not too stressful or strenuous). I finished a play-through of Bastion, and I've been serving lots of happy customers in Cook, Serve, Delicious!

I also got myself some new trousers. I've been lacking some proper trousers for a while now, but haven't really found anything with the right size, fit, or style. I finally realised that trousers in boys' sections can be exactly what I want. I got some brown slack-style trousers from Tesco and they are amazing. Good pockets, really soft, and not too casual. I love them.

I've bought a few different kinds of food this week as well, maybe stuff that I wouldn't get that often, and it has made me so happy. I've had a bit of a weird appetite and I've discovered that popcorn is the perfect catalyst. It might be my favourite food of all time.

The Soothing & Soft Qualities Of Light

Softness and stars: my favourite things.

Light is always calming somehow. It makes things so bright and calm and pretty just by touching them. There's so many different kinds of light too. Focused lamplight, directed at your favourite book lying open. Streams of orange sunlight coming through the blinds or lace curtains in determined beams, making patterns on the kitchen tiles. The endless watchful glow of moonlight, and the tentative dots of distant stars. All the universe has light making patterns within it.

Light has a magical effect on us. Light can lift me from the grumpiest of moods almost instantly. If I stumble on a beautiful bit of light, I feel this particular, unique sense of wonder. It's treasure. There's a reason for all the grandiose light-based imagery in epic tales and awakenings and in religious descriptions. God has many of the effects and attributes of light from various religious perspectives. The senses of guiding, lifting from corporeality, transcending oneself. All qualities light can offer in brief moments. This make-up of the universe is a tool of great malleability and calm for us. Hold light between your fingers and whisper a spell.

5 Things I Couldn't Do Without Tea

I don't know about you, but I basically owe everything to tea. Tea is my life force, my friend, my confidant. In short: I need tea. Here are some of the many things I would be hopelessly unable to do without it.

1. Have any thoughts

Tea has now fused to all of my brain cells, so I rely on it to trigger any thought processes I might have. Granted, most of them are about tea, but that's fine.

2. Lift a dozen men at once

Yes, that's right, tea has given me super strength and a thirst for blood - I mean, tea.

3. Drive a tractor

Fun fact: if the name of a vehicle begins with the letter 'T' then you actually can't drive it without drinking tea first.

4. ???????????

Sorry I forgot number four because it had been more than two seconds since I had taken a sip of tea.

5. Tea

Tea tea, tea tea tea tea tea. Tea: tea tea! Tea.

Happy Home Designer: Tammy's Halloween House

This time on Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer, I've been asked to design a beautifully spooky home for sweet yellow bear, Tammy. As many know, I love spook, so I am very excited about this one.

I've kept the garden nice and understated with some white lilies, dandelion puffs, and clovers. There are also some slightly eerie bears to build a bit of atmosphere before you enter the house itself. Across the bridge there is a dead tree and a mysterious gravestone (not pictured). Tammy's happy so far.

Inside, Tammy has provided me with a few pieces of furniture she wants me to work around in her main room. Let's give this place some character!

The lighting is all too important in a Halloween home, so I've enhanced the candelabra's effect with a fancy chandelier. We also have some nice, classic-looking furniture and a lattice wall to give the place a detailed historical feel.

Here's an overview of the room. I put a big pumpkin in the corner to watch over anyone who enters.

On to the next room, we have a small space to work with, but I think I can create a nice and homely vibe with it. I want to make the place look quite cosy and old-fashioned and fill it with trinkets so that it's less overtly Halloween-y and more gently, subtly creepy. A place filled with the secret remnants of ancient ghosts.

This is the finished second room. We have some nice character pieces - some antiques and personal items with unknown backstories. A trophy and a pile of old journals.

Tammy's very happy. She said she saw a shadow behind me just now...

My To-Do List

I always love keeping and writing to-do lists and I find them such a great and fulfilling way to organise ideas and tasks, so I'm just going to write one in the form of a blog post (please don't judge the inner workings of my mind too harshly).

1. Watch some new anime

I pretty much perpetually have it in the back of my mind to go check out a new anime series, but I tend to have phases of hefty anime viewing followed by long periods of anime abstinence. This happens a lot with any kind of TV show or with movies, so I have to keep reminding myself to get back into things and to keep finding new things that I love.

2. Write in my diary

This is on my to-do list every day, yet I almost always leave it until the last minute and do it just before I go to bed. Still, I guess that makes sense if I'm going to be writing about my day.

3. Eat some good stuff

I'm one of those people who easily forgets to eat, or postpones eating because I'm engrossed in something (it's cat videos, obviously), so this is always a good thing to remind myself of. I actually find it helpful to write shopping lists for this, because that way I visualise specific foods and it makes me want all of them immediately.

4. Finish my book

I'm always trying to finish a book. Why am I not reading right now?

5. Write/edit/draw something

Also a thing I am always doing, or trying to do, or hoping that I will soon be trying to do (seriously though, those cat videos, oh my).

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Gotta do all those things!