Creative home
Idon’t know about you but for me life seems to have sped up a few gears in recent times. I liken it to being on a treadmill with the speed setting on high, and running so hard that you eventually face plant. The face plant bit has actually happened to me! I was jogging on a treadmill when I suddenly remembered something important I was supposed to have done, and had forgotten. My body froze for a moment, in the next instant I was slam- dunked and rudely ejected backwards onto the carpet in front of a room of fitness junkies.
More recently I’ve experienced a bout of insomnia as a result of trying to be superwoman, so I love Rachel Grunwell’s column about why it’s so hard to ask for help (page 105) as well as Red Seal naturopath Julie Fergusson’s insights into how magnesium can help balance the mind and body (page 90) and our sleep support tips (page 74).
When working on this issue I was lucky enough to stay at The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke’s Bay, and it was a truly incredible experience that allowed me to unwind, and sleep like a baby. Which is why team Good are super stoked to be able to offer you the opportunity in this issue to win a luxury escape weekend at The Farm at Cape Kidnappers (see how to enter on page 61)!
The Farm at Cape Kidnappers has amazing walks as well as lots of cosy fireside corners to enjoy, especially now that the days are colder. I’ve been enjoying hunkering down at home too in my fleece-lined slippers, and getting creative. That’s involved changing the arrangement of the artwork on the walls, and re-imagining rooms to create calm spaces to enjoy a book. My partner Simon and I have even swapped sides of the bed, and he’s given me extra drawer space (good man).
Winter is a wonderful time for creative pursuits and an excuse to get out the colouring pencils. In this issue we have a beautiful illustration to colour in (page 112), and mail art templates (pages 33-34), the latter created exclusively for Good by Naomi Bulger. Her story about the power of handwritten letters really moved me. It is true that every letter is unique, a tangible expression of the writer; everything from their choice of pen and paper to style of handwriting makes a letter a bespoke and precious object. Writing a letter is an act of generosity too, especially when life today is busier than it ever has been, and our time is one of the greatest gifts we can give.