WALKING ON THE BEACH

Here's a few more photos from yesterday, this time of family:

 ABOVE:  Chasing birds.  He did a lot of that.  I caught the sparrow fleeing from the pest.

ABOVE:  Another one got away.  There were quite a few gulls around, and pigeons.  He tried to catch them all.

 ABOVE:  The tide was out, so plenty of sand to play on.

ABOVE:  Collecting shells.

 ABOVE:  Master Harvey on Mission Bay Beach.  Devonport on the other side of the harbour.  There is something so sweet about a toddler on the beach.  Wish we had more room so we could have picked up Lacy and Keera too.

 ABOVE:  Ya know who they are!

ABOVE: The irony of this shirt is... Steve THINKS he IS Number One !

 ABOVE X's 2: Playing in the sand.  

As you can see, it wasn't cold, even though it's supposed to be winter.  In Auckland is doesn't get very cold that often.  I love it here, if only for that..... Well, that, and the shopping.

ABOVE:  Last photo for now.  Granddad and his grandson, strolling down the beach.  Not hand in hand, cos Dante is too busy running around most of the time.

This morning is my 'traditional' big clean up of the house after the weekend.  So, I'm going to be busy vacuming, mopping, etc, etc.  What fun.

Then this afternoon I'm on duty at the Hospice Shop.  So... I'll catch ya later.

ONWARD...

Well... it's an utterly FOUL day here, wind and driving rain.  Ikkk.  
I decided to defer the big housework day till Tuesday... that way I won't be knackered tonight after working in the shop all afternoon too.

So, I did some more sewing this morning...

ABOVE:  All the Prairie Points on!  Now all I have to do is make it a bit wider and bind it.  I ♥love♥ Quilt As You Go!  

Right it's time I got ready to leave for the shop.
Catch ya later... 

I had a good time in the shop today.  We made some very good sales, most unusual for a Monday, and a wet horrible day at that.
I got some treasure:

ABOVE:  some boy clothes, another awesome basket, a bowl (cos it was blue!), a fish dish, a little frog key chain thingee and...

ABOVE:  This really cool pendant made of blue glass.   I don't know whether to wear it or hang it in a window that catches the sun?

End of Day:  fell asleep after dinner on the couch!  Must be tired.  Weird, cos I'm more a night person than a morning person.
So, I suppose I shall go to bed early!
nite nite

MY FIRST PRAIRIE POINTS!

Before I start to blather on about me Prairie Points:  Stew's job.  It's 'status quo' for the time being it would appear.  No offer on the table yet.  He thinks it's going to be another couple of weeks before he knows what job is on offer.  *sigh*  Let's just draw this out a bit more eh?

Well... I told you last night I'd show you my first effort doing Prairie Points, so here they are:

ABOVE:  See!   They are so darn cute!  I am only putting them around the centre part of the quilt... I think.   McDreamy has a laser pointer, and I used that for the first time last night too.  My quilting lines are evenly spaced now.
   
I had to add some 'pretty' stitching under the 'N' and 'Z' thanks to some ugly puckering under the 'N'.  I think it still looks ok.

I'm tempted to put it under the 'KIWI' now too.  We will see.  Heaps still to do on this quilt, but I'm really enjoying it.

A few of you lovely girls have commented on how 'talented' I am!  I'm not really, I get lots of ideas from looking at other's creations on Pinterest and Google Images.  Some things I do dream up, but I think if you gave it a go you would be just as good at it!  My sewing is full of nasty little accidents that you hardly ever get to see.  I am far from a perfect sewer!

Teddy was highly amusing last night. He came down to the garage to have a sniff around.  And he found a small bag of Coco's hair in a wire basket under my sewing desk, (saved from the Groomer).  He sniffed it, walked all around sniffing it some more, then he sat down on the rug and stared at it for about an hour!

ABOVE:  He was all bunched up and tense... I'm sure he thought there was another dog under my sewing table!
Then... the sly little bugger tugged it out of the basket and tried to take off with it!  I caught him in time and took it off him.  He would have probably chewed it up and made himself sick.  On my carpet.  NOT. GUNNA. HAPPEN.   ha ha ha.

So... I'm sewing again today, unless Stew comes up with something else for us to do.
I hope everyone else is having a lovely weekend?

ONWARD...

Very quickly.... been sewing, now going out and about for a Sunday Drive.... here's a quick little video of the boys playing this morning:


ABOVE:  This is exactly what Steve and Mike used to do with Griffin when he was a baby!  Dante loves it too.

Catch ya later...

Well... it's later.

We all piled into my car and went for a drive down at the waterfront.  Mission Bay to be exact.  We love walking along the beach there.
We all had a Movenpick icecream, then a wander.

ABOVE:  I got some cool photos!
I have a few more which I will post tomorrow.

Right now, it's back to me sewing before dinner.

LAST EPISODE OF BROADCHURCH !!!!  In 8 minutes.... Looking forward to this all week!  Who killed Danny???

WELL!  I didn't guess the killer.  And I'm not going to mention it here in case someone hasn't seen the ending yet (Judith I'm thinking of you).

End of Day:  I've had a really lovely day!  Sewing.  Out and about, walking on the beach, spending some lovely family time together.
nite nite

FINGERS CROSSED

I'm hoping like hell Dante is feeling a bit better today.
He was incredibly miserable yesterday, all he wanted to do was lie on Bex, draped over her shoulder.
It was a tough day for Bex.

Steve has taken today off work so he can help with Dante.  

That's not to say Stew and I couldn't or wouldn't help... but they want to care for him themselves and I totally understand that.

Today I am pretty much going to sew for most of the day.  I'm hoping Russell isn't home for a bit longer yet, as I have heaps to do before his quilt is finished.  It doesn't help that twice since I started his quilt I've had to re-arrange my sewing area!
It just didn't 'work' how I had it... so some minor adjustments needed to be made.

Hopefully I have it right now.  I drive myself nuts sometimes...  having to re-arrange all the time!

ABOVE:  I got the NZ added last night, just have to do the stitching down the middle of the Z then I can move on to the next phase.

so... you all have a great morning, and I'll be back later.

ONWARD...

Whoops!  It's much later than I thought.  I have been sewing for the past 4 hours!
I had an idea for another aspect of the quilt, so I've been doing this:

ABOVE:  Cutting up batik strips, joining them then turning them into little triangular pieces.  I have then backed them, sewn them and turned them in the right way... So they are complete as they are, as triangles.
The next phase will be to .....   ha ha!  Ain't gunna tell you.  You will have to wait and see.
It's something I've not tried before, so I'm excited!

Wow I've done heaps today!  While looking at all those triangles, it doesn't appear to be much.
Never mind, I'm thrilled with them ... Donna told me they are called Prairie Points.

I saw a picture on Pinterest of a little baby quilt with them on it, and have wanted to do some myself since then.

I got ONE small section of the first border around the centre of the Fern Quilt done, and will show you tomorrow.

End of Day:  a neat day, so happy to have been able to sew all day!  I take the weekends 'off' doing housework, so I can sew to me heart's content.  Stew picks up the slack... gotta love my man.
nite nite

YAAA, IT'S FRIDAY. OFF OUT AND ABOUT THIS MORNING

Heres to another lovely day!
For all you who work during the week, I hope today goes fast for you.

Fingers crossed we have a final resolution to Stew's job today... we SHOULD find out what job they have to offer him today.

I'm going out to get some more felting wool.  I'm determined to make me own 'N' & 'Z' for Russell's quilt today.
I didn't realise just how big the centre piece was, the part with the fern on.  It isn't going to take very many rounds of square blocks to make it big enough for a double bed at all.  
Yaaa.   Maybe I WILL  get it finished before he gets home!

I don't have much more to blither on about right now... so I'll just give you a couple of photos from the past day or so:

 ABOVE:  Dante.  He wasn't well yesterday, kept getting high-ish temperatures.  I hope he's feeling better today. (photo taken a few days ago)

ABOVE:  The little ratbag with his own pliers, I don't know what he thought he was doing to the dogs!  They were not impressed though.  (No dog was harmed in the taking of these photos!  Plastic Pliers)

Right, I'm outta here.  Got stuff to do.

ONWARD...

Last night I dreamed I had a pet sheep in the back yard, and I cut it's wool to make my own wool for felting.
It was a crazy idea. 

Dante was up and down heaps overnight, but seems a box of birds this morning.  Poor Bex is pretty tired though.  I expect she will have a midday nap when Dante does today.

It's another really nasty winter day today.  Wind and rain, and fairly cold. 

JEANIE:  HA HA!  That is so funny. I AM CONSIDERING IT.  

I didn't get any felting wool when out, it was just too expensive.  So, I came home with nothing!
That's a rare event. 

Once home I decided to look on Trademe for wool... but didn't find much there either.
Bex said her Mum could possibly get me some wool... off a sheep's back literally.  So, I'll wait and see if that pans out!

Bex and Dante are back from the doctors.  Dante has a throat/ear infection, so is now on antibiotics and pain medication.  Fingers crossed the meds do their work fast so Bex and Steve can get some sleep tonight.

There ARE bonus's to sleeping in the garage!  We don't hear a thing.  *smiles*

End of Day:  I managed to get a bit of sewing done this evening, but not much.  Only got the N & Z made and stitched on the quilt centre.  Will show you tomorrow.
nite nite

WHY?

I am feeling bad.
Stew was upset with what I said about his job yesterday.  He felt suckful, and almost didn't go the the work dinner.

I didn't mean to do that to him.  I am still just so angry at the company for dragging out this latest 'restructure' for everyone affected.

We have had 8 months of worry for what?
So they can save money.  They have dis-established many Management jobs so they could create 'new' jobs, where one person has to do the work of 3.  And they have gotten rid of so many people too...  So, I suppose I should be happy that Stew still has a job within the company, even though we still don't know what that is.

This is the last time I'm going to moan about this whole situation.  You have heard it all before!

Time to be positive, and find a reason to smile every day.  I've not smiled much in ages.
Fabric.  I think I need to get some more, that always makes me smile.

OH hang on!  I got some yesterday.  lol  *smiles*  See?   I'm already smiling today.  SCORE. 

ABOVE:  Lacy trying to juggle two toddlers on her hips.  Dante didn't last long... he was struggling to get down.  He doesn't 'hold on' and therefore is a dead weight still.  

We are going to miss Lacy and Keera when they more to Tauranga.  But ... it's not that far away, and we can always pop over to see them in a weekend.


ABOVE:  a cute little video of Coco and Dante.  This happens a lot in the morning.  Coco goes nuts, and Dante loves chasing her.

Today?  The weather is dreadful, so I'm going to sew all day!  Might get around to reading some blogs too... when I get too cold down in the garage to sew that is.

I hope everyone has a lovely day, I'll be back later.

ONWARD...

I've had a good, productive morning...  I've done a lot of work on the Fern Quilt for Russell... and I'm almost at the stage where I start building the blocks around the centre piece.

ABOVE:  Well, what do you think???  I'm thinking of adding a bigger 'N Z' at the top too.

I am really loving this quilt!  It took me hours to decide what to sew down the middle of each fern's green patch...and am thrilled with my choice now it's done.  *smiles*

PAULA'S MUM:  HI!  Nice to know you enjoy reading my blog.  And for saying lovely things about my sewing to Lacy.

LUNCHTIME!  1 pm... I'm hungry.  

I'm now making some felt, to use for the NZ for the quilt.  Quite fun today.  

I just spent 2.5 hours making felt.  And I learnt 2 things.

One.  You CANNOT add fabric 'bits' to your felt, it does not bind in.
Two.  You CANNOT add your dog's hair to your felt, it does not bind in either!

So, after all that time and effort... I threw the disaster in the bin.  It was not salvagable.
Tomorrow I will go and buy some more wool tops and give it another go... using ONLY wool.

End of Day:  spent the evening watching TV.  A few new programs on now.  
We watched one called "Off Their Rockers UK"... it was very funny.  Stew and I laughed our heads off, first time in forever I've found a TV program that funny.
So, there ya go... another happy day!
nite nite

WOULD YOU BELIEVE???

I'm off to Spotlight again this morning!  Yep, I want to find a pattern for little girl dresses, so I can make some dresses for my granddaughters.

Of course, I am NOT going to forget to work on Russell's quilt either.  I will do a bit of that, then make a dress.... and so on.

I'm quite excited about making dresses.

ABOVE:  a blogger friend of mine, Julie, showed me what she had done to cheer up her work desk.  Awwww... two very cute mug rugs of mine on her wall.    I wonder if she uses them as mug rugs?  *smiles*  Very pretty flowers too Julie.

That reminds me.  I've got a big stack of mug rugs to get finished... *sigh*.   I wish I didn't keep starting new projects before finishing what I've already got on the go.   

Steve is working out of town today so he's got Bex's car, her's is more reliable.  So, she's tagging along with me this morning.  She wants more wool to make a baby blanket for a friend.
It's amazing how much she can now do in crochet!

Right, that's about all for now, we want to get away fairly early, so I have time to pour over the patterns!

ONWARD...

Well that was quick!  We were in and out of Spotlight in about half an hour!  I found a pattern and zips for dresses, Bex got some wool and then we came home.

I am out again late this afternoon, to pick up Lacy and Keera, they have been in Tauranga for  a couple of days.

Grrrrr.  It's pissing down with rain, and really blowing hard as.
I had to go down to Manukau and pick up Lacy and Keera, race home in rush hour traffic, drop them off at mine, grab Brylee and drive her to school for Choir performances tonight.  
All in this crap weather, and rush hour traffic.  I'm not used to be a taxi.  I don't like it. Nope, not one bit.

Stew is out tonight.  It's kinda like a 'Farewell Dinner' for all the DEMOTED Managers I think.
It makes me seethe with anger every time I think of how his company has treated not only him, but lots of others too.  Some were clever and left the company months ago.
I wish Stew had.

End of Day:  well it's been quite a busy day with lots of time spent out and about in the pouring rain.  Maybe I will stay home tomorrow!
nite nite

ANOTHER HAPPY DAY...

I have found music to be one of the best ways to help me feel better about life in general.

Who else finds comfort in music?

I also (always have) found comfort in eating.  I'm trying to knock that on the head, but it's still hard.  

Stew is the same as me... so if one of us makes a suggestion about getting something 'nice' to eat in the evening... the over caves in only too quickly.

We are both our own worst enemy.  

HOW THE HELL DO YOU CHANGE THAT????

Well... clearly I don't have the LONG TERM answer.  I can be strong for ages, then just completely fall off the wagon.

And I can do that incredibly well.

When so many things in one's life are 'off' it is so easy to chuck in the towel and just wallow in it.

I've done that for quite a while now.

There is a lot of work to be done to turn things around again... but with help from those closest to me, I hope to get my life back on track.

There is NOTHING worse than self loathing, and I've done heaps of that lately.  

Time to turn the tables, accept all the shit I can't change, and learn to live with it, and still enjoy life.

I am going to choose to be as happy as I can be.  Lots of positive things are happening ... I just have to look a bit harder to appreciate them.

Our son Russell should be home soon.  I hope he can turn his life around and find some happiness again.   I can't wait to give him a big hug.   

Right.  TODAY:  I'm going back to the Hospice shop.  We have a lot of t-shirts in mens sizes at the moment.... so I'm going to grab a few for Steve.  He needs them for work.

It will give me a chance to have a proper look around too.  I don't get much of a chance when I'm working there. (believe it!)

FROGGY:  thanks for the camera card tip.  I often do that, but sometimes I forget ... obviously!  

JUDITH:  What a darn good idea!  Wish I'd thought of taping Broadchurch from the start.  

BLONDIE: I have a feeling blogger is eating a few of my reader's comments!

Time to get a move on, I've got a few jobs to do around the house before I go out and about.

ONWARD...

I went shopping this morning.
I wanted to get some cheap t-shirts for Steve to wear to work... I get them really cheap at the Hospice Shop.
We got in a big bunch of brand new t-shirts recently... so I grabbed 6 for Steve.

ABOVE:  The t-shirts look like they were in a batch that didn't get dyed properly, so were rejected?  But who cares when you are only wearing them to a building site?
*smiles*
I also bought a few more winter tops and pants for Keera.

I went to Spotlight, I had pins and safety pins on my list.  I got a little bit more than that!  We have needed new oven mitts for like... a year... but I just never got around to making more.  So, I bought some.  And that fabric is to hopefully make a few winter weight dresses for granddaughter's.  But we will see.  For now I've got heaps on the go in the sewing room.

But I got the fabric because it is so funky I just had to get some.

When I got home there was a bunch of flowers waiting for me!  There was a card attached, which said "love you mummy".  Because I didn't know which one it was, I had to text all three of my girls to find out.
It was Amanda, and 'just because' was why!   
So I thanked her and shall enjoy them, they are my favourite colours ... for flowers.  lol

Now.   Kids are due home in another half and hour or so, and I've not even given dinner a thought!  Better pull finger and think about it.  

Stew and I are going grocery shopping tonight I think.  At least the aisles won't be too cluttered up with other customers.  Looking for a positive slant on shopping for groceries!

MARGIE:  Of course you can.

JUDITH:  totally corny but cheerful!  I liked it.

Well.  Stew got home, got changed and we went to Sylvia Park and had dinner together before getting the groceries.  It was lovely. 

We went to The Garrison Public House, which is a bit of a mix between a pub and a restaurant... it is leaning towards being more of a restaurant now though.  A few years ago it was more of a pub... which I wouldn't even bother going into.  I'm not a pub sorta person.

Anyway, it was just so nice being out and having a nice meal together.  
After that we did the grocery shopping.  It was so quiet in the aisles, we didn't have to crawl along behind the crowds at all.
I actually enjoyed it!  

It's even better when you get home and the others unpack it all and put it away too!

End of Day:  Well... a good day, just as I planned it to be.  No more being morose here.  Live life and enjoy it, 'no matter what',  I say.
nite nite

CAN'T THINK OF A TITLE TODAY!

Well one good thing... it's MONDAY.  Kids back at school, men back at work, Bex and Dante off to Playcentre... so.  I have the morning to myself.

I have no idea what I might do with it.  Maybe sew?  Blog read?  Housework?
Even take the dogs for a walk, that's probably a good way to start the week.

I didn't get any sewing done yesterday, even though I am excited to be working on the Fern Quilt for Russell.
And of course, I want to get back to the other quilts I have on the go too.  I forgot to count in the pretty pink/teal one I started at the same time as the brown/teal one.  That makes it 4 on the go!

I have Hospice Shop after lunch today too.  I really enjoy doing that, meeting people, feeling like I'm doing something worthwhile for others in the community.
Do any of you do anything similar?

ABOVE:  Miss Muppet holding a sandwich very tentatively yesterday.  She really had no idea what to do with it!  I love how she's got her little pinky raised 'JUST SO'.  Too cute.
Littlies hands are so adorable.

Right, I'm off to make a start on this nice day.  Starting out this week in a more positive frame of mind... I can't keep dwelling on crap that cannot be changed.  

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  this morning's accomplishment, a new seat cushion for our 'home' highchair.  I am rather happy with it.  It can be taken off for cleaning too.  Dante's dog looks really cute in it.

Now it's time for me to grab some lunch (a chicken sandwich) and then head off to the Hospice Shop.

HI!  Back from the Shop, it was rather quiet this afternoon, but apparently it was even quieter this morning, so maybe not such a profitable day for the Hospice Shop.
I did my best to boost the coffers by buying a couple of things.

 ABOVE:  I saw this really cute laundry bag, so I grabbed it.  NOT so much because I wanted a laundry bag, but more so I could use it as inspiration for making some myself.  I can make some for Christmas presents.

Family:   Just tell me what colour you like!  It's a NICE idea for tog/beach bags too.  

 ABOVE:  It has to be said, the brown and fawn tones look really lovely.

ABOVE:  I saw this sweet little fish bottle stopper a couple of weeks ago, and vowed to buy it if it was still there in a few weeks.   It was.
So, I bought it.  
Then I kinda thought, might just put it to the test...

ABOVE:  it works!  Now Bex and I are drinking the wine.  Henkell Trocken is about the only wine I really do like.   I only drink it once in a blue moon.  Today... well it's not a blue moon, too bad!

I'm feeling so much better after being so depressed lately.  Long may it last.

MUST. REMEMBER..... two glasses of wine makes me tiddly !  lol

It has to be asked:  Where the hell is everyone?  I'm feeling very sad cos all day... NO COMMENTS!!!  *:sniff*

Yaaaa ....  A  comment.  Thanks Kate!  I was starting to think no one liked me anymore!  Phew.  

End of Day:  well I managed to drink three glasses of my wine!  That's the most I've had all year so far!  Not bad for a near teetotal me.

Thanks for the comments people!  Made me feel a bit better about me silly old blog.
nite nite

EEYORE AND FERN QUILT PROGRESS

Hopefully I'm getting a sleep in, as I got up to Keera yesterday morning.  It's Stew's turn today.

A while ago I decided to start collecting Britto toys and figurines.  I still don't have any figurines, but I do have TWO soft toys.
Eeyore joined my budding collection yesterday:

ABOVE:  how adorable is he?  I was going to wait until I'd lost a certain amount of weight before getting a 2nd BRITTO toy, but I just could not resist him.  

ABOVE: you probably can't tell, but all the green is sewn onto the brown now, and I've pinned it onto the backing center fabric.  As I said, this is a work in progress, and I'm making it up as I go.

I'm going to cut out the 12" blocks sometime today and start joining them all together.

Oh and happy, happy, joy, joy... Stew reminded me it's grocery shopping weekend.  So, I suppose we shall be doing that sometime today too.

Steve, Bex and Dante have gone to Hamilton for the day, visiting friends.  I'm sure they will have a lovely day away from this house and my moodiness. 

I took some really lovely photos of the guys sitting in the lounge last night watching the rugby game, both of them were dressed in their Canterbury rugby shirts.  I even got a good one of Miss Muppet sitting between them, laid back watching the rugby too.

ONLY.... I had forgotten to put the bloody card in the camera hadn't I?  So, no photos after all.
I've done that a few times now.  It's the only feature I miss from my previous camera.  It wouldn't 'go' without the card in.

My Canon does 'go' without the card in.   I've lost quite a few 'moments' by forgetting to put the card in!

Right, that's about all for now... I'm gunna go sleep in.

ONWARD...

I took back my highchair from Lacy, she wasn't using it any more.  It was in a pretty dirty state.  I thought I would have to throw the straps away and make new ones, they were that stained.   But, thanks to Nappysan, they came up really great.
I have to make a cover for the bottom seat cushion, it's all ripped and torn.  But other than that, it's now looking amazingly clean again.

I'm going to keep it ... I had thought of giving it to my friend's daugher, but I am sure we can use it here for visiting babies/toddlers.

Stew and the two kids are off to the supermarket.  We decided to do a mini-shop today and a full shop mid week, when we don't have to take B, G and Keera with us.

We just had a really lovely lunch of roast chicken sandwiches.  I tried feeding Keera a sandwich with vegemite on, she had NO IDEA how to eat a sandwich! I wonder what Lacy feeds her at lunchtime?

Is it just me, or is blogging dead in the water?  I hope Facebook hasn't totally taken over.

HAPPY ELF MOM:  Not that I know of!  Though I have my suspicions there will be another on the way sooner rather than later.

PAULA:  It might explain a few things Paula!  I did not see a comment from you yesterday at all.  Usually some comments come through and I have to moderate them and publish them myself.  Some go straight to my blog to be moderated there, it's sometimes confusing!

End of Day:  a very 'normal' winter weekend day.  Lazy, with no stress or fuss.  
Stew cooked a lovely dinner of lamb chops and veges.
Watched Episode 7 of Broadchurch... can't wait until next week to finally find out who killed Danny.
DON'T ANYONE TELL ME!!!
nite nite