Some kind of wonderful...

There are some really wonderful and generous folks out there... Just a couple of days ago I asked if anyone had some  Just Cross Stitch Ornament Magazines that needed a good home and WOW!! 

I have had the offer of three all ones that I could not find or missing. 

Just in case there are anymore looking for a home I would love 2003 , 2004, 2008.

After my blog was published two returned home safely ...  so at least I have traced those okay.

People are just so kind and generous in blog land ... THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.....

An update on the ornaments I have actually finished two stitcheries they are just awaiting construction.. so I am ahead of myself.
I am going to make up a few kits to take away with me to while away the evenings in the campervan. So by the end of February I will be way way ahead of myself ...yeah wishful thinking !!!

Where are they now.... and HELP

I have been buying this magazine for about 7 years now... Even when living in Dubai I ordered it from overseas and received 2 while there ... I have used a few of the patterns but always had intentions of doing more you know how it is.... I kept buying them I knew one day they would come in handy... that day has finally come.
I have joined a group to make Christmas ornaments at the rate of one a month ...or that is the object of the group... great you may say you will have lots of ornament patterns as you have  all these magazines.

WRONG!!! I have searched my sewing room  not once but three times and so far I can find two of them.   I remember lending a couple to someone ... now who ?   is the question and it was a while ago..
The likely people I have asked ..but to no avail.

So looks like I am on the hunt for magazines....

If you have a copy of  Just Cross Stitch CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS   that you can bare to part with I will be willing to buy it or them off of you and pay postage.

I have tried Just Cross Stitch for back copies ...  not available.

Still playing up....

Is anyone else still having the difficulty with trying to comment on blogs.... ???

I have taken the tick off of "Stay signed in"  as  comments suggested   and tried other blogs to see if it is particular ones but no it seems to be all of them sometimes and just a few at other times .... Oh!  so frustrating to say the least ...

So I am not ignoring any one ... just not able to comment.

I have also noticed that my blog list is not updating very quickly when people post ... it seems to be an hour or so behind ... so may be it is  "Blogger " errors not ours.

What happened to the house.... and marmalade

I managed to design a small Christmas Tree to add to my Little house.. I am now not sure how to finish it off with the area around it ... but it will come no doubt in time.

I have also noticed looking at the picture it needs a chimney.

Finally a pot of boiling marmalade..... I really cannot believe it took me 3 days to obtain the sugar for it .. sugar is not a commodity that I keep in large quantities as I do not use much of it in a year in general day to day living. .. so buying it is not on my normal supermarket list.

A Quilters Brain

I think this post needs no explanation at all.... Happy Stitching

Not allowing comments again

Things are playing up again ... I go to comment on friends blogs and for some reason it opens the comment sheet and then as I try to type ...Whammmm off goes the whole blog and I am left with a blank screen.

It did this  once before and someone gave me a tip ... for the life of me I can not remember what it was I had to do ??      Any answers PLEASE !!!

A Lazy Day for all

 Today was a child minding day as DS and DI L have both gone back to work and there is another 2 weeks holiday to go for the kids. So I have had them for just 2 days this week and 2 next.
The day started at 8am they were both in bed when I arrived at their house and seemed quite happy to stay there, at about 10am we finally had breakfast ... I  cooked pancakes I will not repeat what they put on them but some concoctions that I would not have thought of.
 Then the day continued with everyone doing something very quietly, there was no disagreements no shouting  and play fighting, so Grandma had a great day also .... other than cooking breakfast and lunch ... I just sat and watched TV they have Sky so I saw programmes not normally available to me....  from 9am to 3pm  I was stitching ...  I tried to do a little 1 over 1 on my " sweet bag" but this was to tedious to do  and difficult to watch TV at the same time. 

So I started an ornament ... I am hopefully signed up for the 2012 Christmas ornament challenge here  am starting early as I hope to do one a month as far as possible.  I did not have a pattern with me but I did have  Little House Neighbourhood WIP. plus extra fabric  so I am adapting one of the houses and changing it to a Christmas picture.

I am going to put a Christmas tree with lights by the side of the house if I can work out a pattern to fit ... may be I will cheat a little and look in the Just Cross Stitch Christmas ornament magazines of which I have 6  ( but missed 2011 can you believe) and find one that I can adapt.



It is growing slowly but then I knew it would be slow... I must admit I spent a whole evening doing a large flower in the centre and then a whole morning unpicking it  .. it did not look right some how to me ....  the stitches were not looking good ... not my  actual stitching just the technique that was used ... so have to give it some thought ...  do I try it again as pattern says or adapt it.

 

Amazing ....

No posts for a few days and then comes along 3 all at once ..... just like buses.
So keep reading .....

Happy Birthday Ellis

My eldest grandson Ellis is 11 today ...
Gee he is good looking  he takes after his grandma you know !!! yes I am modest as well.

At the weekend we went to Ohope for another surf lesson as part of his presents ... we stayed in the campervan along with his brother Harvey he is the one with the really happy face ( not) I did tell him this would go on my blog but it made no difference he was not going to smile.

Not sure what the problem was but guess he could have been tired after 2 long days  at the beach and I believe it was getting way past food time ... which is very important when you are a growing seven and a half year old.

See what I mean

See what I mean can't even get the graphics in the right place on my posts, goodness knows how I have ended up with 2 sets of them on and after the post .... oh well! time for a cup of tea.
I think I need my holiday roll on February 7th...

I am worried about me !!

I made some grapefruit marmalade a couple of weeks ago ... ( always make my own)  I had a few fruits left over plus some lemons from the garden...   so decided to make some more, simple did the necessary things and boiled the fruit  hey presto  ready for sugar ..umphhhh ! not enough sugar.

So today I went for my normal daily swim at 8.30am  ( yes I know you are thinking .... how highly commendable) after the swim I had full intentions of going to the supermarket for the sugar ... I know you are thinking the right things now!! YES! you can believe it I came back home minus the sugar, and this was the main reason for going to the market I could have managed with out all the other items for a few days ....   I just don't seem to retain details in my brain any more, I can be doing something and half way through  I get sidetracked , I  can even start up the computer to search for something on Google and when I have finished on the computer I have not even searched  for the original item .....
I used to remember phone numbers but now the mobile remembers them for me ..... Names they just elude me in fact I now just apologise if I can't remember anyones name and say so ... OH!! dear this must be age ... They say you are as old as you feel and at present my brain is making me feel in my dotage.

New Year Idea Number 1

I recieved this by email  and I'm passing on this idea because it is simple, cheap, effective and ingenious.

I hope it is of use to you .....  great for the freezer, sealing all those mishaped items.
Who ever thought of this should get a GREEN medal. or  be given an award for originality!!!
What a great idea... no more twists and ties or rubberbands.

 THIS METHOD IS WATER PROOF AND AIR TIGHT.  GREAT! 

Seal Plastic Bags with Old Bottle Caps  

Cut up a disposable water bottle and keep the neck and top, as in photo.

Insert the plastic bag through the neck and screw the top to seal.

The bag is made air-tight, water will not leak,

it is easy to open and the top and screw cap can be used over again!

Retail therapy

On yesterdays outing we had a fair bit of retail therapy ... a lot of it was just looking .
The couch in the family room is a  red salmon colour and I have had difficulty picking the right colour for the cushions   ( only had the couch 12 yrs ) I put my  red work girls quilt  on the back of it a bit ago,  I had never thought of trying red on it  so decided may be try red cushions but then as you all know there are at least 50 different reds ... but "Voila" yesterday there was the right colour red cushions in Whakatane .. so had to buy them.

I think another natural coloured "Corn Pad" embroidered one is called for as well ... oh well !!  another to do to add to the list ...  a thought !!  may be a good  project  to take to South Island with me
Another thought may be need to change the curtains ... time to turn off the thoughts this is getting expensive these  cushions and who has ever heard of changing the curtains to match the cushions......

Lovely Day and update.....

Red rose is the emblem of Inner Wheel

Yesterday was International Inner Wheel Day  ... for the uninitiated Inner Wheel is the original ladies section of Rotary, Rotarian's at one point in history could only be men and the wives and daughters of these men formed the Inner Wheel.  The Logo will show you that all wheels have spokes ( the inner wheel) and the ladies are the spokes that keep the wheel from collapsing  ( my theory)

My club here in Rotorua were invited by Opotiki  Club to attend a celebration of the day at the home of  the incoming International Inner Wheel Vice Chairman  Carole Young.
Just two of us were able to go, so we took a lovely leisurely drive via Whakatane and Ohope stopping for lunch at the Berry Farm ...ummmmm delicious. and doing a little retail therapy  in Whakatane .. then on to spend a lovely couple of hours at Carole and Ken's fruit farm.
One of the high lights were the wild turkey's  a photo here but not to clear as taken from inside the house did try to get one outside but as soon as you approached they moved away.

They have to cull them every now and then,  this was a first for me to see them in the wild ... it was also great to see them with their tails fanned.

UPDATE on stitching still on the laborious one strand over one thread very tedious so I do not do to much at a time but it is growing, 2 pictures could not decide which one to use so you get a double bonus view .....

Sorry no sign off for some reason ... I can not explain why it keeps disappearing on me. Will most likely appear again on the next post ??

Okay enough is enough

Rain and gale force winds are lashing much of the country, as New Zealand's miserable summer continues. 
MetService has issued heavy rain warnings for eastern Bay of Plenty ( this is where I live),  and severe gale warning for parts of the lower North Island.    I definitely did not need to know this at all ...  I only have to open the door to see it for myself.. ugh !!

Photo from NZ Daily Herald I think it is so neat and just sums up the weather.

I believe enough is enough, we are floating here in Rotorua ... my large lawn has at least 4 inches of water on it and it is beginning to stay, normally it drains after a few hours but not now the water is laying  and has been for a few days now.  They have now told us not to hold our breath for a summer this year ....

View of Mt Ngongotaha  from Lounge window.

All that water up there  is going to land on us in a few minutes.

I bet the neighbours though I had lost the plot this morning ....  I took the hose and cleaned the outside of the house ... I thought well!  I will get wet any how and  it was falling from the  heavens "cats and dogs"  and everything was wet / damp and loose .....  so easy to hose off, so all the spider webs have gone,   all I need to do now is spray the outside to keep the little beggers away for 4 months. But of course can not do that in the rain, bet the beggers  will all climb up again before it is dry enough to spray.
By the way I got soaked but after a lovely warm shower I was warm and cosy and  I felt great to have not let  the elements get the better of me.

Update .... stitching

I have at last managed a few stitches on my "sweet bag" well ! in fact more than a few as most of it is done in 1 strand over 1 thread ... and gee it is taking it's time in growing. So how have I managed to do some more.....
With the awful TV programmes .. which is normal for summer holidays ....  so I have been watching old videos to name a few ...
Hello Dolly , Paint your Wagon, Sound of Music, Sense and Sensibility and  Emma by Jane Austin,
Little Women ( 1949) version and any thing I have with Julia Roberts in it  .... which is quite a few.

Tonight I am going to re run Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth .... BBC version  ooooh! he can visit me any time that Mr Darcy .... so that will be about 3 evenings worth of viewing.

As I have seen them all at various times during the last few decades of my life, I don't actually have to watch them just listen and look up on occasions ... so I can stitch.

A Small Dilemma .....

If anyone can tell me how to keep the cat off my lap while I sit in comfort and stitch I would be pleased to hear it ... he is getting a little fed up with getting put outside each time I pick up my needlework.  He is attacking my sewing box and really pulling at the fabric when I have hold of it .. all for attention I guess, may be he is an adolescent cat.

New Year ..... Healthy Snack

Yes a fairly healthy snack ....
Now it is not often that this happens ... a healthy snack that is not carrot sticks or veggy stick of any sorts.....  Now they can be boring especially when you are trying hard to loose weight,
but here is a snack that I picked up from goodness knows where on one of my searchings and surfings ages ago ...  and have tried it a couple of times with different flavours.

Spice Roasted Crunchy Chickpeas

2 cans chickpeas
2 Table spoons olive oil
Dry spice seasoning

Pre heat oven 220

Rinse and pat dry the peas, place in a large bowl and drizzle on the oil and coat with seasoning  toss together well.
 I used Greggs Southern Style seasoning ... but you could use a taco seasoning or thai  or any curry powder  or Chinese five spice ... what ever flavour you or your family like.

Lay in single layer on a backing sheet and bake for 40 mins checking after 30 mins in case any are burning. They are almost done when they begin to shrivel and are half their size.
 Use all 40 mins as they have to dry out.  leave to cool

Store in a airtight container.


  

Wish I was Camping again.....

Since I have been back from Christmas camping I have to honestly say I have not stitched a stitch ... not even picked up a needle  ... I am getting with draw symptoms.
So I should be away in the van again, there I get so much stitching done.
So the purpose of this post is to say  ... I am off again  really this time to South Island.
Some may remember a back post,  even two posts where I was planning a South Island Trips ... last year and the year before, I wanted to see the snow, a glimpse of Mt Cook ( on previous trips it seemed to have disappeared) and Lake Tekapo.  A few  life changing things stopped me going but that is all sorted now .  
This return trip has been in my brain for 3 years now, I have had to put it off twice ... But hey!! not this time come floods or high water ...... what ever the elements wants to throw at me.  The van has had a few  jobs done on it and is all ready to go.

 I want to visit the Otago area,  I also want to see Christchurch again  which I know will be heart wrenching after only just being there the year before seeing it in all it's glory.
Need to visit Nelson area and down the coast to Wanaka ,   then thorough  the central area ( not been this way before)

So I am finally going to make it in February leaving around 8th ... just a few more bits of the plan to get into place, like seeing a house sitter, and final planning of the route.

So here is a glimpse of some of the scenery ... around Queens town I should add not taken by me.

 I would also like to catch up with any  bloggers who live down there so if you are from the South let me know and I will try and call, say hello and drink a cup of tea ....  I will have all month to fill and I know it will be done easily