kneedly knots

The blue lake

2012-02-12T00:51:00.000+13:00

Part of the trip we did at christmas was to an old haunt of mine and a very favourite place (although it has become sadly touristy recently. The blue lake is actually the remains of an old gold mine which got so deep that the pumping system broke and the whole thing filled with water. The reef they were following went under the township of St Bathans so there was no further work done. The white clay base made the lake look very blue indeed when I was young but there was a creek overflow with agricultural run off which mostly destroyed the base and now the colour is rather green instead but it is still a very beautiful place despite being man made. So here are some pictures taken by me, Matt and the boys.

And a gratuitous cat pic because I don't know how to delete it :) Yet!

Steampunk

2012-02-03T23:43:00.000+13:00

We did a trip to Oamaru last year and I have a heap of interesting photos so I thought I would post a few here. The exhibition was very good.

We had a really great day :)

viv

whew

2012-01-24T12:39:00.000+13:00

And now back to normal transmissions :) I killed the comments section by trying a new widget. Very bad! Took a while to get the comments back again but they are now working properly (I hope).

We did a short trip to Milton the other day to visit the wool factory shop. I got quite a bit of wool and a new pullover for Matt. Amongst the wool, I got some noodles (half spun wool) which I am going to make hats out of as it knits quite well. When I had finished untangling and winding the wool into balls there was a bit left over so I decided to try a needle felt object. I've done a lot of felting but I've never tried needle felting before. I only had black and white so I ended up with this.....

He is under 2 inches high and cost me a lot of finger pricks because I am new to this but I thought he came out quite sweet :) He is now sitting on my keyboard. I won't be pricking my fingers so much next time :) If there is a next time......

Morris dancers

2012-01-12T10:56:00.000+13:00

A whole crowd of Morris dancers morrised their way up the street the other day. There was a convention in town apparently :)

So there you have it :) A little bit of interest for the day.

viv

Cut away pieces

2011-12-23T22:45:00.000+13:00

The Art fibre Dunedin site has a couple of photos of me and my things but I thought I would post a couple of my own pics as well because I did two of them and Pat got the photo the wrong way round:)

The orange and blue thing was using a piece we did at the marbling event earlier along with a few bits of plain commercial stuff. I was rather pleased with the outcome as I have struggled to use this fabric in other directions (there's a derelict piece hiding in the corner looking at me mournfully right now!). Then I got keen and set out with a piece of fake fur in lurid yellow, a piece of old curtain net. part of an old blouse and a bit of reject dark brown stuff. The result was definitely interesting. Somehow there are animals in that set of random shapes :)

I think I might explore this type of design a bit more.....

viv

ps the yellow is much brighter in real life - I should have used the flash or something :)

viv

small pictures

2011-12-12T10:13:00.000+13:00

I got keen for a bit last week and decided to finally quilt up the four little pictures I made a month back. They have been sitting in a dejected heap since then so now they have nice new clouds and waves. I had thought I might keep one but now I don't know which as they all have their good points. The rest are to go for sale eventually - probably on 'Felt' where I have already put a few bits and pieces.

Someday I'd really like to have my own shop site just to display stuff and sell the odd thing.

See what you think is the best:)

viv

And just for good measure - a small felted picture

viv

Christmas bells

2011-12-03T23:10:00.000+13:00

Its been Christmas bells all the way round here. I think over half the kindy and school have already gone there and so have a selection of adults. I have to admit that they do look good. We have used ex kindy paintings this year (the ones either not named or done by teachers/helpers) as they are on pretty good quality paper and cut up really well.

The bells are easy to make. The kindy ones I make with three sides and bells around the bottom edge. Even the three year olds can tie a few knots and cut a bit of line when encouraged :) The senior kids and adults make the eight sided ones. I have found that pegs are great for holding things in place whilst knots are tied.

I tried lining one with gold paper but it was a large amount of work getting it together and it was really stiff to fold. I didn't think it was worth the effort so won't go there again. If anyone would like the pattern, leave me a note on e mail and I'll get back to you :)

viv

Ballet

2011-11-21T21:36:00.000+13:00

William got a part in the Royal Ballet performance of The Sleeping Beauty. It was more than a walk on part this time. The four boys had to actually dance with the big people this time and they all did very well indeed.

William was the Arabian Prince (junior) so without further ado, here are some photos.

(I made him take off the socks under his tights after this!)

The last image was taken during the technical rehearsal. Very impressive sets!!!!

viv

Island woolly thing

2011-11-08T00:53:00.000+13:00

I have at last got access to the photos taken on St Martins Island.

For the record, we had a blast and nearly everyone seems to have enjoyed themselves. I got a little sunburned which I wasn't expecting. It was just about a perfect day. The felting went really well and I'm only sorry I didn't have a chance to do all the other activities. I did have a go at spinning with a spindle and, despite not having spun anything for 10 or so years, I did manage to turn out a reasonable thread on a spindle made out of an old stick and a potato.

The dyeing looked wonderful hung out along the fence and I did manage to get photos of most of the felt pieces although my battery did die a bit too soon for my liking.

I took the spindle idea to the kindy on Monday (where I occasionally do relief work) and we made a spindle out of an old apple and a twig. Several of the 6 year olds got quite a reasonable thread. I'm aiming to tackle the dyed fleece this week once I give the spinning wheel a long overdue overhaul. Anyhow, here is a selection of the photos (not all taken by me).

These are not in order btw.
enjoy

viv

I forgot to add this. Matt took this photo of the boat returning with us from the island.

And this of us unloading at Port Chalmers.

viv

slow!

2011-10-18T18:34:00.000+13:00

Just a quick post to say I'm still alive but down to dial up speed because the boys used all the data.

William got his plates today so his mouth is full of correctional gear and he isn't speaking right yet although that will improve with time :)

It is raining fit to burst outside so my garden efforts are put off briefly until the sun arrives back. There should be lots of late blossom to photo by then as the trees are well budded up and colouring now. The rhododendrons are looking spectacular through the rain. Hopefully they will hold until the weather improves so I can get some good photos this year. Both the new apple trees are doing well and we have a brand new crab apple courtesy of the council which accidentally ring barked our last one whilst weed whacking the empty paper road next door. The new one looks about the same age as the old one so we haven't lost out and we are happy with the outcome. The man from the council said that they take on lots of temporary staff at this time of the year so there are occasions like this. I'm just pleased they apologised :)

Viv

wet felt pictures

2011-10-03T10:58:00.000+13:00

It occurred to me that some of you might like to know just how these pics are wet felted so here it is.....

Materials needed

one piece bubble wrap with the bubbles facing up
one piece whitebait netting (the square kind) enough to fold over the top as well as the bottom.
various multicoloured fine merino wools (carded)
an old plastic bag
soap and water

Method

lay out the bubble wrap and the netting
Cut two pieces of wool (three if the top is to look plain) and tease out carefully to the size wanted. These should be very thin and see through for the best (and quickest) result.

Lay the first piece horizontal, the second piece vertical and then make the picture piece horizontal on the netting (sandwich like).

Fold the net over these three layers keeping the fold away from the edge. Damp down carefully with water and then rub with soap.

Work with the plastic bag crumpled up horizontally and vertically checking every so often by lifting the net (this also helps prevent too much sticking) When the piece is solid enough, turn it over and work the back. When the three layers are bonded so that they don't separate when pinched, wash the felt and then bash it lots. (the children had a great time throwing theirs at the floor :) This will make the fibres close up and the whole thing shrink.

This whole process should take about half an hour. Then let it dry and embellish as you like :)

Note - if you want more even edges it pays to lift the net and fold or push them into place well before finishing the rubbing.

viv

Felt

2011-09-28T23:34:00.000+13:00

I teach several craft classes at the local Steiner School where my kids attend/ed and for the last three weeks we have been making felt pictures using a wet felt technique and then adding embellishments by needle felting or sewing things on. I took a number of pictures so here they are...

These are class 4 and 5 students (and their normal teacher)

And the obligatory Sprocket pic.

viv

The Gutbuster

2011-09-18T12:48:00.000+12:00

I got a few photos of the annual gutbuster so here they are :)

The beginning

Going up

Action shot of the guy that won

The children and young peoples race

The girl that won

Panoramic with our house

The walk

Bad hair day:)

viv in nz

'bread'

2011-09-17T00:13:00.000+12:00

There was a whisper in the air. The promise of summer was almost past and the chill of autumn was just about suggested in the little breeze that wafted in the tall grasses. The child herding geese stopped and sniffed at the wind and thought of the long winter to come. For now the memory of warm fires and woolly blankets was pleasurable. No more looking after the geese for a while. There was the small matter of having to do school work but that could be ignored with a little effort. Anyhow the legends of the past were at least interesting unlike the struggle to do the numbers.

The geese straggled out in front of her. They knew the way just as well as she did and sometimes they herded her as much as she herded them. The farm hove into view and she ran to open the thornbrush gate that led into the protected inner yard. There had been no sightings of the wild dog packs for a while but they would doubtless be back when the year got old enough and they got hungry enough. With these thoughts she gave the nearest farm dog an extra pat as she made her way to the enclosure where the geese spent their nights.

There was a mild kerfluffle behind as the goats were also coming in for the night and they were still mostly young and playful. Their elders were lined up ready for the evening milking and there was a promise of dessert flavouring the draft from the kitchen.

"Karianne is that you," her mother called from the kitchen, "Have you any berries for us today?"

"Yes mum." she called back, "There were lots down by the river. Mostly blackberries." She took the satchel off her back and headed to the kitchen with it and thought that life was pretty perfect when there was pudding for dinner.
"Go wash yourself before you come in dear." Her mother took the satchel and Karianne made her way to the pump. She filled a wooden bucket with water and, taking the bar of rough soap and the ragged towel, she washed her face and hands before removing her heavy sandals and scrubbing her feet. She then went to the kitchen door and into the mud room where she left her sandals and took a knitted jersey from a nearby peg. It was getting colder at night now and a little extra covering would be welcome as her summer garb was merely a strip of cloth tied round her waist. The jersey was old and patched but it covered her down past her knees which was a great advantage. She wondered who had been its first owner. With all its patches, it was hard to tell what it originally looked like and its colours were faded away to almost nothing. But clothes were precious and owning such a garment was not to be taken lightly.

In the kitchen, the table was set with wooden platters and horn mugs. There was a large earthenware jug of beer along with vegetable soup and hot baked potatoes with the last of the summer peas and sweet corn. There was a generous amount of cheese and butter and a pile of the usual oatcakes. In the middle of the table standing by itself on a precious pottery platter, was a small loaf of real bread. She stared at it longingly.

"Where did that come from?" she asked finally.

"It was a trade in the village for some scrap metal your brother found whilst minding the goats." said her mother.

"He has all the luck!" She said.

The rest of the family started to drift in through the various doors. First, her father from the gardens along with her eldest brother and his wife with their toddler who was still too young to have a formal name. Then her eldest sister and her grandmother along with two aunts who worked to make cloth for use and for sale. Her brother, the goatherd was next but mother sent him out again to scrub a little more carefully. There were also two farm hands and an elderly cousin who was mostly blind but still spun the finest thread. Missing was her grandfather who was now bedridden and was taken a tray. She would go sit with him later for a short time before bed and he might tell her stories if it was a good day.

Dinner was the most important time in the family because that was when everyone caught up on what had happened during the day. Today was even more special because of the bread. Grain was difficult to grow in this climate because of the changeable weather. She had heard that there were big fields of it waving in the breeze further south but that was beyond what she could imagine. There were oats of course but that didn't make bread like this! Finally the thank you to the earth spirits was said and dinner was begun. The bread was saved to be the last course and each person got one slice to embellish as they pleased with butter or jam or both.

Karianne looked at the slice on her platter. The anticipation was great. Would it live up to her expectations? She spread a little butter on one end and nibbled at it. "Like eating a cloud", she thought, "No substance but melt in your mouth." She spread jam on the rest and ate it slowly.

"Reminds me of that trip I did down south when I was young." said father.
Mother said it reminded her of home. (Father had brought her from the south when he did that trip. They had walked for several weeks to return to the farm). Some said it was like edible white wool only tastier of course. Others just ate and contemplated their own voyages of discovery when it would be their turn to leave and find a partner.

Dinner was finally over when the last crumb had been scooped off the last plate. The younger ones cleared the table and washed up quickly before heading off to their various evening chores. Karianne took her knitting up the stairs to grandfathers room and settled in to keep him company until the light was gone. She enjoyed hearing his impossible tales of carriages that moved by themselves and machines that flew in the air. How unsafe must it feel with only air beneath your feet. She knitted fast and accurately to complete the socks she would need this winter. The wool she had spun was still not as fine as she would like but it would make strong socks that might escape the inevitable darns for some time. Next birthday she would be 10 and allowed to weave on the small loom. That would be a real step up. She could feel almost grown up then although her adult name would still be some years away. Sometimes the waiting just seemed interminable until she turned 15 and joined the adult world.

Hastily she refocused on what he was saying. The story was one of the old ones about the Library. This was supposed to be a vast place bigger than their entire barn and outbuildings combined, just full of books. Thousands of them just waiting to be read. Like pebbles in a riverbed they were and all full of information and stories. There were only a few books at the farm. They filled just one bookcase and were only read by the few who mastered the art of reading. She had read them one by one, carefully. Most were about gardening and farming. One was about herbal medicines and the names of the herbs along with worn pictures of how they looked. One was a book with maps in it and names of places she could only imagine and then there was the one full of stories. That was her favorite. She had read it every chance she got and the thought that somewhere there might still be a library with other such books was like a pain in her heart. Maybe she could search for that when she finally grew up.

Meantime she asked grandfather once again if he had ever seen a library for himself and did he know where it might be. The answer was the same. He had never seen such a thing but his grandfathers grandfather had. It was supposed to be somewhere to the east. With such crumbs she had to be content.

When the light had finally faded too far to knit, she said goodnight to grandfather and made her way to the room she shared with the other single women of the household. There was a platform bed along one wall with woollen mattresses and a good supply of blankets and quilts. As the youngest, her place was near the center and she was usually grateful for this as it meant warmth in colder weather. However it also meant being careful not to wake others in the night and being rather too warm in hot weather.

It was cool enough now for her to enjoy snuggling down into the quilt and sleep came fast. She dreamed of Libraries........

viv

September already!

2011-09-02T22:07:00.000+12:00

Hard to believe that spring is more or less here. We had a couple of very warm days but it is cold again just now and there was a sprinkle of snow too although it didn't settle.

I seem to have become a wool repository at present with several people giving me odd boxes of this and that. One of them came with a half knitted jumper. The front and back were knitted to the armhole but there was no pattern and very little extra wool so it couldn't even be knitted as a sleeveless top. However, I looked up a pattern with the same number of stitches and added a striped top section. So now it is bright green, gold and orange with brown bits :) I'm hoping it will fit William as it isn't full sized. The rest of the wool has migrated to either my own collection for socks etc or will go to the school for their efforts. (There are some bigger amounts that I will keep for further jumpers too).

Matt got the deck finished to the kitchen and now is on the hunt for enough materials to close it in. Especially the roof! There is also the vege garden to arrange but it is still far too cold to do more than prepare the ground in that department. The plum tree has blossom all over just now so perhaps we will actually get some this year - last year a wood pigeon stole the lot! There were only a dozen but still.....

Sprocket tried to get into the rubbish bin again but now he has got too big for the one in Matts room (see previous photos) so he got into mine instead! He only just fits so I think that won't last very long. He does like small spaces. He also likes a brief cuddle under the bedclothes in the morning - just about 5 minutes on average. For real napping he still prefers to be in the wool basket so I have added an old jersey and a piece of furry fabric to protect my wool!

The photo is our friend Rob who did a fundraising event up our street for his handicapped daughter to get further medical treatment overseas. He got himself sponsored to do the street 26 times carrying a 50 kilo backpack! There were a lot of other people doing stuff too and they had a very successful day raising over $5,000. He has been training for a while so he did manage the whole lot!

viv

more snow

2011-08-15T11:42:00.000+12:00

Matt worked hard on Saturday and got the little deck connection to the back porch finished so we no longer have to go down the very big first step to get to the kitchen/toilet. Then it snowed..... and snowed and there is no school today and there are still the odd snow flurries around. You have to understand that snow isn't a very common thing round here so the kids have gone off with a friend to play in the snow despite their teenage status :)

It also meant that you had to pick your time for the kitchen etc with care or dress for the outdoors because the snow tended to go down your neck and stick to your clothes...brrrrr! We had to sweep it rather a lot too or wade through the snow in slippers. Not recommended.

Eventually there will be some kind of cover but not yet. I might add that I am typing this in gloves and a woolly dressing gown over my clothes and sitting over the heater - there are still way too many gaps in this house and you can see snow outside from the shower with no intervening glass/wall. Its not too bad in here and will warm up in a bit but generally it is just cold!

In other news, mum is back from the hospital and seems about where she was before which is great :) Her stitches will be removed next Thursday so that is ok.

There was a small bird which hit the window and stunned itself the other day. It sat on my windowbox for quite a while recovering itself but was ok. It is what we call a waxeye but is also known as a silvereye and rather cute.

For those who wish, there is a competition over at Frugal Kiwi too. I really like that site so this is a plug for it too :)

viv

Hope you like these

viv

Hospital - again!

2011-08-05T20:20:00.000+12:00

At least this time it wasn't me! Just to put your minds at rest. The week started normally with the kids back to school and my teaching going completely to rule. The Knitting Squad was good too and then we come to Thursday!

I took mum for a routine blood test in the morning and that was running late and took forever as she is hard to get blood from. Consequently I ran late getting back to the person I had offered to teach to knit and she was a bit doubtful about ringing the bell after the door knock didn't work. She saw no car in the drive and thought we must be out. Actually, we just don't have a car :) So that went out the window. After that, mum went out to a birthday afternoon tea with her cousins and had a good time. She was brought back at about 5 and I had invited her and my aunt in to inspect the new bedroom and to hear James playing his new piece. She got out of the ute ok and was heading for the path when the slope caught her out and she fell onto a pile of bricks beside the path. I could see she was falling but was too far away to catch her and she missed her grab at the fence post. It was a pretty gentle fall though and she has solid bones so I wasn't expecting to have to do more than pick her up and dust her off. So my aunt and I did that and then things turned to custard. There was a 4 inch gash in her leg and it was bleeding very badly so I raced inside for a handtowel (fabric sort) and held it over the gash. It was still bleeding furiously right through the cloth so I got the boys to fish out an elastic bandage and applied that over the towel with pressure and a large safety pin. By this time I'd sent hubby off for the other car which we parked right beside her, loaded her up and went rapidly into A&E that being somewhat faster than waiting for an ambulance. Turns out she had nicked an artery so they did a small operation with hallucinogenics and local because they didn't want to risk her under a general anesthetic because of her heart problems. She has to stay there until Monday and be fed lots of water and blood etc because she lost rather a lot even with the pressure bandage. She didn't feel it much at all - said it just felt like a graze so that was good and she can now say she knows what LSD feels like (although it wasn't that but similar in its effects) She said it was quite interesting :)

So I spent most of last night sitting in an uncomfortable chair whilst she was in an uncomfortable bed being investigated. I now have a rather gruesome lot of clothing to wash. We threw the towel and bandage out as they were just completely gory. At least my sister got there to share things and we were relieved at about 10.30 by my brother who stayed until the op was done and she was settled for the night. She looks not too bad today but is very tired. She should be fine by Monday with any luck.

My knitting beginner came at lunchtime today and looks to be a pretty good prospect as a knitter so that is ok. I spent the morning at the high school with William who is going there next year. They got shown around the various classrooms and were plied with a magnificent morning tea as well. James is already at this school and I think it will suit William as well. So next year it will be all Logan Park High School except that I will still teach at the Steiner. They are going to go to the open day there on Sunday as well - I think they enjoyed themselves! Looks like all his present class and his best friend from earlier will also be there so he won't be short of friends :)

viv

Finished - well....

2011-08-01T00:26:00.000+12:00

It was hard work but we got the room habitable just before the kids got back from Arrowtown. There is still the small matter of the skirting boards and the rest of the wallpaper and a heap of sorting of 'junk'. I ran out of wallpaper so I hung my largest hanging on the wall and will use the scraps of wallpaper round the edge - just don't look underneath! Someday I may have the money to do it all properly but in the mean time it will be ok.

We put the remains of an old picket fence along the edge of the upstairs piece so that William feel safer. He helped to paint them white to match the rest of the woodwork. They don't look too bad in their new home :)

The 13th birthday party was the same day as the jaffa race so I didn't bother to organize anything special. With about 30,000 jaffas racing past who needs anything organized! So we now have two teenagers!!! I let him have a friend to stay the night so the sleeping platform has been trialled good and proper and has been a great success. Even the cat thinks it is a bit of all right :)

Its back to school tomorrow. The fortnight holiday seems to have just vanished. Probably due to working so hard on that bedroom! William gets to take a look at his new school for next year at the end of the week. James is already there of course but I imagine won't own up to having a little brother anytime soon :) Although you never can tell....

Sorry about the lack of relevant photos - I will get some up soon - promise :)

viv in nz

These are from above Abbotsford in Dunedin

viv in nz

DIY

2011-07-26T14:45:00.000+12:00

The boys are away skiing with Grandma this week so I decided, in my wisdom, to do over Williams room. At present it is a corridor between the kitchen and toilet on one side and the rest of the house on the other. Sort of an en suite kitchen :) It is his birthday at the end of the week so I thought we could get it done easily in the time. Ha! Fat chance. First Matt got a really super bad cold and couldn't do anything for several days and then, just as we put in the outside door with access to the other rooms minus the handy little porch yet to come, it snowed! We could see it through the huge hole in the wall left from the removal of the window. And feel it of course. The only saving grace is that it opens into a hallway which we don't heat anyway. Having a shower was rather 'interesting' as the back door is now in what remains of the bathroom. The shower is scheduled for relocation sometime soon (I hope).

I had rallied the family in to help but, due to the snow, they had to go almost before we got started. They did help get the main bed frame into place but that was about it and now it is weekdays and they all have jobs.

The frame for the upstairs bunk is almost done and I have spent most of today filling cracks in the ceiling which seems a mile high (I'm not that keen on heights and I need to be one step off the top of the tall ladder!!!!!!). I need to paint the ceiling (two coats) wall paper the walls (mostly to cover imperfections as I can't afford new wall board yet) and set up the room again with all its bits and pieces like bedding, drawers etc.

The boys are due back midday tomorrow.........I get the strange feeling that William will end up helping to wallpaper his own room!

viv in nz

These were taken a few years back but the view is just the same only snowier!

viv

cold

2011-07-15T11:40:00.000+12:00

Its been a really cold week round here - rain, snow, hail, sleet etc. That cold I caught last week has not been helpful either so I have mostly hidden in here. However, I'm going to have to face the great outdoors soon or run out of clothes. Washing does tend to pile up at this time of the year waiting for a half decent day but, due to that really nasty cold, I went and missed the last half decent day!

Sprocket is no longer a boy. He was neutered a couple of days back and came back very affectionate after his little trip. The vet said he either smooched everyone or ran round and round like a mad thing - too much energy in that small fur ball. Trying to keep him quiet for 24 hours was merely an exercise in frustration!

He has bounced back just the same as ever so I don't think it affected him much.

He found my dried beans this morning and has been playing with them all over the house (they are still in their pods and rattle and rustle well when attacked). There was also a marathon running session up and down the hall, across the bed onto the windowsill and repeat.....lots. He has now gone to sleep on the couch. I will probably be finding beans in all sorts of places for a while :)

I finished the pair of mittens I started last week and they will go onto the stall at the school fair too as they are still not a perfect fit. I will play around with the pattern a bit more as I think it can be improved quite a bit yet. I also have a pair of socks to knit for a friend who is going to renovate my wooden needles for me (one at a time so I don't have to stop knitting) and I have a few improvements to make in another pair of socks for a dancer. I think some extra ribbing in the back of the heel and under the instep should do the job.

School holidays will probably slow things down round here but I do hope to get William's room fixed so that he can do his dance practice there. His exams are coming up rapidly and he needs to do some extra work as he is grade 5 this year and can't just rely on what he does in class.

I'm going to investigate my photos - probably be as irrelevant to the post as ever :)

viv

Two photos from the Catlins and one sunset from the back yard :) The Purakanui Falls are just wonderful if you ask me :)

viv

Sprocket

2011-07-08T13:43:00.000+12:00

Well, she makes a nice little boy!!! We now have to transition to him. Fortunately his name is just as good as ever.

It has been a week of school interviews, report cards and I took Mum to the knitting squad where we generally froze as there was a conference on (mental health nurses!) and there were staff taking things hither and yon and leaving the door open. It was absolutely freezing outside and there was nowhere else to decamp to due to numerous displays etc.

I now have a cold......I just hope Mum doesn't catch it with her health being what it is but we weren't to know. Anyhow, I got half a mitten made which was something, along with the usual chit chat. We are a very diverse bunch of people which makes for interesting conversations.

The school reports etc were all fairly glowing which doesn't sound like my lot at all - I was complimented on my nice, quiet and thoughtful young man - you know - the one we think is outrageously noisy and out there! We even had teachers enquiring about what classes he wanted to take next year and please could they have him again!!!!!

Sprocket has got bigger!

Funny things get seen on our road quite a bit. Some sort of fancy scooter just went down. I missed getting a photo unfortunately but I did snap this a few weeks back.

viv

kitten

2011-06-28T19:42:00.000+12:00

I finally got a newer photo of Sprocket. She has a liking for sitting in rubbish bins. This one is a particularly nice one I made as a potter somewhere in the early 90's.

I have decided that all the odd wool scraps should be used so I am making a collection of 'odd' socks. I'll probably have them on the sale table at the local school fair so that peeps can pick their own as none of them match except in size :) I've also been experimenting with a small sock in the same way. The first one looks pretty good in purple and yellow! Whoever get these will never lose them even if they don't fully match (they are scraps after all :).

You can tell I used the flash I'm afraid.

These are the first few socks plus the experimental one which will be the start of another collection of odd socks.

Hope you like these photos.

viv in nz

Socks

2011-06-23T11:41:00.000+12:00

Life is full of socks at present. All sorts and shapes and colours and sizes. I think I'm onto pair fourteen so far this year! Mind you, they are great for those times when you are bored out of your mind and there is nothing better to do - like committee meetings!

I joined the knitting squad in the valley and, guess what, they are all into socks too. Must be the cold weather or something.

My present pair is 'left over wool' socks. Rainbow mostly and rather bright because I tend to use bright colours anyway.

The mid winter community dinner was held last night and there was an entire line of socks pegged up across the hall. There were also three display boards from our fibre art group showing some of what we are up to. The food was pot luck and interesting and delicious too. The dinner keeps getting bigger and bigger. The hall is starting to look rather full :)

I'm a bit lacking in photos so I will post one or two from earlier collections.

viv

The first is Sprocket of coure, the other two are from a trip to Trotters Gorge which is just out from Palmerston. The rock formations are really wonderful.

viv

Wallpaper

2011-06-07T22:22:00.000+12:00

I finally got on to putting up some wallpaper behind the new (recycled bench unit. The wallpaper was some my sister didn't use in her old house and there should be enough for three walls even if not the fourth. It turned out to be horrid stuff to get up and the edges have pulled away something chronic but I think I can fix that with some pins and some stronger glue once the paper is fully dry.

It totally transforms that part of the kitchen! If you mentally delete the unfinished stuff - it doesn't look like my kitchen at all but much fancier :) On the other hand, I am not going to post a photo until I've dealt to those edges.

So here are a few 'other' photos instead.

These are more symposium shots around Queenstown and Arrowtown, including one of my seat in the car for the four hour (more or less) trip home! It was a little 'snug'. I did get to try the front seat for about half the trip although this too was a little 'snug'. That is what you get when you try to fit three people, their sewing machines, their luggage for a week, their sleeping bags and pillows (plus the three extra sleeping bags etc used by the other party)and their fabric necessities into one medium sized car along with their three selves and their handbags, cameras, lunches, thermoses, drink bottles and I'm sure you get the picture.

It was soooo worth while to be part of this though.

viv

I'm growing says Sprocket

2011-05-27T21:18:00.001+12:00

I think Sprocket has grown at least to double her size since we got her and is rapidly turning into the cat version of a teenager. She has got that rather leggy look and her eyes have started to change colour. I'm not sure what colour they will end up yet but the process has begun.

I went on camp with the art fibre group over the weekend and that was a lot of fun. I caught up on all my journal quilts and have good ideas for a couple more as well. I never seem to have the time when at home despite the perfect set up. Something always gets in the way!

Anyway, the weather was perfect and so was the wood fire :) I didn't get to do the dyeing but I did so much else that it doesn't really matter. Hopefully I will get some dyeing done this weekend (but I'm not holding my breath). I did use one of the really good discharge fabrics I did last year and it is one of my better efforts I think. I'll post a photo when its done as I still need to add some embellishments. There might even be the odd photo on the other site in better definition yet :)

This photo was taken a week back and she has grown again since then! This was her first look at a mirror.

Enjoy.

viv

Time flies!

2011-05-18T09:47:00.000+12:00

Its been waaaaay too long since I posted here but, really, nothing much has happened except that I got almost a week of full time relief etc and had no energy left for anything else.

The kitten is growing madly along with living up to her name - Sprocket the rocket :) I took her to the kindy for a day and she just loved being round the kids who were very good with her. This one is definitely a people cat which is good since I run a part time shop.

The shop has reverted to a bedroom whilst we renovate James room - it needs a new floor and all the scotias, skirtings, door frames etc done so at present it it a wasteland with a geological hammer in the middle (great for breaking up old concrete which was under the old chimney). Aty least the shop isn't cold and damp! And he gets to share with Sprocket too.

We tried out a new bread recipe last night - I don't think much of it so far. Its looks as if it will be like a brick and definitely not soft and light. Might be ok hot - with soup :)

And some photos :)

Two of the shotover river with a rather smudged jet boat - I was in a rush and hadn't time to change the settings and one of the class I took at symposium. I have been on that jetboat trip - it is scary and fun :)

viv

Sprocket

2011-05-08T20:46:00.000+12:00

There is a new kitten in the house. She is really cute, tabby and either fast or asleep. She is called Sprocket and is about 7 weeks old and is asleep on my shoulder right now.

There are some photos :)

She is a moving target!

viv in nz

Skilly 1996 - 2011

2011-04-28T22:53:00.000+12:00

We had to say goodbye to Skilly today after almost 15 years. She had an incurable cancer that was suffocating her slowly at first but then really fast at the end. She was put to sleep today to stop the suffering and I still can't quite believe that she won't be on our feet tonight as usual. She was found in a rubbish bin at only a few weeks old. We lost her for 3 months when we shifted 7 years back and thought we wouldn't see her again then but she found her way back. Now she will stay in the back yard under the strawberry plants.

viv

The last photo I seem to have of Skilly is also the last photo of Chainsaw. Its almost like they couldn't live without each other even though they didn't do more than tolerate each other.

We will miss her,

viv

Symposium

2011-04-26T11:09:00.000+12:00

I had a really great time at the patchwork symposium in Queenstown. I am only sad that I didn't get to spend some time with Ms Lottie but at least I did get to meet her.

We spent the first few days at the crib of a friend (holiday house) The views were great and it was nice to be out of the tourist area for a bit. We were up early every morning and I did quilt angel for a couple of days as well as trying to see other things. The angel job was pretty straight forward and mostly consisted of fetching lunch, morning tea and anything else people needed. It allowed me to see what others were up to without being up to it myself and, in some ways ,this suited me better than actually doing the class. I did get a class at the end of the week and this was useful if not quite my thing (the class was booked by a friend who couldn't go).

So now I have an oilstick and the need to add a few more as finances allow along with a few new skills. There are some photos for the second class I angeled for which I will post for them to see and this class would have been my pick really - lots of modern stuff and abstract stuff and fooling around with fibre - right up my street :)

I think this site will temporarily become a travel photo place for a bit as I got lots of nice pics and want to talk about them rather than just shove the lot up all at once.

viv

Potatoes

2011-04-09T18:58:00.000+12:00

These are some of the spuds we got from the garden this year. This particular batch came out of one straw bale which Matt used as an edge to the main garden. He dug two little holes in the top of each bale and planted a seed potato in each hole with a couple of handfuls of soil, watered a couple of times and left them to their own devices. So this lot is from just two seed potatoes.

I think you could say this is a success :)

viv in nz

Worstershire sauce

2011-04-02T16:26:00.000+13:00

This is for Mickle and anyone else who likes a sharpish sauce on things.

I made around 6 litres of the stuff just because we use it lots. The recipe I use is very easy and requires no special effort but it will smell out your house. Great if you have a cold :)

I mostly use my somewhat elderly Edmonds cook book recipe and then vary it a bit. I also double the recipe so I only have to make it about once a year.

3 onions (chopped)
4.5 litres malt vinegar (1 gallon)
4 tbsp salt
3 pounds apples (chopped cores, pips, skins and all)
2 pounds brown sugar
1 orange chopped skin and all
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp cloves
A good splosh of fish sauce or oyster sauce if you like

Put everything into a large pot and boil slowly for 3 hours.
Strain and bottle. Seal when cold.

I used cooking apples off our tree, bugs and all and strained it all through a calico bag I usually use for shopping :) The bag is now an interesting shade of brown with splodges. I did squeeze the bag too as clarity is not necessary to this. I used recycled beer bottles with those resealable tops to store it in. Matt has made a point of getting his beer in these just for the bottles and even though he probably only gets beer about once a month, we now have a good collection of them.

enjoy

viv in nz

This is Chainsaw.

We do miss him even if Skilly doesn't!!!

This week I....

2011-03-27T01:15:00.000+13:00

Got the oven installed and working. Made a huge batch of apple preserves. made 14 bottles of worstershire sauce, helped James make apple ketchup.

I also found a good local source of soap nuts and lots of other stuff too, went to the farmers market (where we succumbed to bacon butties) and did a short supermarket trip (3 items only).

Tomorrow the boys are going to ride out to visit their friends - one at Port Chalmers (14 kilometers approx) and the other at Aramoana (lots further). They have to ride home too but we will take them to the top of the hill to give them a head start going out. The only rule (apart from road rules) is that they get back by dark and have their cell phones with them (emergencies only). This will be the first really long run they have done so will be interesting to see how they cope. It'll be interesting to see which way they come home. The short way has a huge hill, the long way has a good bike path for half the distance and is flat. Their choice :)

The photos are holiday ones from china town in Arrowtown.

viv

Work even

2011-03-21T01:47:00.000+13:00

Its been an odd sort of week. I filled in with an elderly friend because her normal carer (also a close friend) had caught a cold. That was two mornings and then I got a sore ear/throat and figured I might not be a good risk either so Matt filled in for the third day. Then I did my normal classes who are doing well with their knitted socks. Then I got a relief day at the kindy (fun) followed by the funeral of my favourite Uncle. Not the way I like to finish a week!

That got me through to Friday where I found another friend had lost her boss suddenly to a heart attack.

On top of that I was trying to finish up some preserves and jam and the oven had to be prepared for installation which meant the kitchen has been out of operation for a couple of days - the sparky hasn't showed up yet!

So there are two massive sheets of jib board in the kitchen blocking all the cupboards and all the shelves are off the wall and stacked in various parts of the house. The breakfast stuff is on my work bench and I can never find what I need when I need it. One of the good things was a trip to the warehouse where for once, I got a pair of sandals which fitted - that was freaky as my feet normally fit nothing and then, when we came to pay for them, the price was $2.20....Huh!!!

Oh and there was a bunch of men running up and down the street clad only in wigs and scarves. I got some photos but my camera isn't working properly so they aren't as good as I would like. Living on Baldwin Street can be 'interesting' at times :)

viv in nz

preserves

2011-03-13T00:05:00.000+13:00

That elderberry jelly lead to all sorts of other things - like bottled fruit and a free preserving kit from a friend (yay) and 20 odd bottles of preparation etc, etc. So now I'm a bit tired (to put it mildly).

Tomorrow is our first real session creative art wise for this year - mostly due to the rooms still being painted after their flight over the fence. I have exactly zero things to do (not counting the odd ufo of the more mundane variety) so I will take my knitting (James rather boring but necessary sports sock) and the felting gear. Buzzing round like a flea in a fit does exactly nothing for my creative side, just makes me tired!

Anyhow here is a photo or two of the community centre in flight to add to the one I posted before.

viv in nz

Elderberry jelly

2011-03-04T12:55:00.000+13:00

Matt picked a lot of the elderberries along with most of the pears so I am busy making elderberry jelly and bottled pears. I think my hands will remain a sort of muddy purple for ages. The next thing is all those apples falling off the tree. I'll use some in the elderberry jelly as a setting agent and the better ones will get themselves bottled. There seem to be a good number this year too. Last year was so poor I let the birds have what there was.

I strained the elderberries through a nice piece of cotton which I have sprinkled with salt. Hopefully there will be a dye result from that. Probably muddy purple :)

We also cut the first bunch of celery - very nice and crunchy. I intend to use some of the tops for soup - I have a soup base in the fridge (ham bone from christmas, boiled) so it might be vege soup for tea round here.

The potatoes from the front gate did exactly one dinner. Better than nothing I suppose. They were very nice though. I'm of the opinion that potatoes are not the best thing to grow in a small garden because they just don't give enough back that is special for the area they take up. I'd rather grow greens and other roots and buy the potatoes from the market. However, a small number for special events (christmas etc) is always welcome.

The corn James planted has actually developed a few flowers! You never know - there might be some sweet corn yet :) The lettuce is still going strong and so is the silver beet (swiss chard) much to the disgust of the kids :) However it can be disguised suitably with a bit of effort and it is free so they just have to live with it!

And that is the news round here :) I can't wait to see if that elderberried cloth works out!

viv in nz

The photos are from Karitane last year

Earthquake

2011-02-27T17:47:00.002+13:00

Well things are moseying along same as always round here. The new exhibition has been up just over a fortnight and seems to be popular with the tourists which is good. I have handed out lots of cards and I think we may get one or two new members as well.

My Uncle says that the house owned by my cousins in Christchurch is green stickered which means it is liveable - just! There is a sea of sandy silt in the back yard which their small dog thinks is great - beach day :) The house is fairly extensively damaged but, being an old Victorian villa in wood, they will repair it. Their street is mostly impassable but they can get out. They now have power but no water or sewage. They do have a well in their backyard though and have built a long drop toilet.

The set of flats next to them are so badly damaged that they will have to be demolished along with half of the city as far as I can make out.

The positive is that only one person known to our family has been badly hurt (The brother of a friend of my sister) so it is property damage that will be the biggest loss. I haven't heard anything about the state of the other relations houses but they are ok. I shall no doubt find out in due course.

My brother in law has driven his tanker up there several times and says that it seems as if the ground is always on the tremble but there was only one mild 'real' earthquake whilst he was there. He had a number of stories from people who were there at the time and I gather it was just unbelievable how much things moved around. It will be a long time before things even start to get back to normal I think.

viv in nz

The photo is Trotters Gorge just out from Palmerston

Photos of the exhibition

2011-02-18T17:37:00.002+13:00

The main site is taking its time due to the people concerned being away so here are a few pics taken with a decidedly downmarket camera. They didn't come out so badly though:) The link has a number of other photos - mostly by James (14).

The top is one of mine and so is the bottom. The middle is one by Rowena that I just love :)

View the rest of the gallery here

The big event

2011-02-15T19:25:00.000+13:00

Well, we have finally had our bi-annual exhibition and I have spent the last couple of days setting it up here in my shop space. It looks good but not as good as it did in the bigger space in town. Still, its not half bad :)

I let James leave his one club today on the understanding that he find another closer to his tastes to be a part of. He really needs to be out there and somewhat social just to balance the acres of time he spends glued to that darn computer!

Things have been somewhat mad round here and I can't really believe it is so long since the last post so I apologise for that. However, things will get back to normal (if there is such a thing) now and probably not be as interesting either (but somehow I doubt that).

Anyhow, there should be some great photos coming up at the other site artfibredunedin.blogspot.com so if you want to see what I have been up to - go check it out.

Lake Hayes

Meanwhile I will find a photo or two for here :) The top one is us and the house. The council has replaced the messy street planting since then so no more free rosemary.

viv in nz

Back to school

2011-02-02T16:04:00.000+13:00

William is back at school today and James goes tomorrow so a new year is started - the last we will have with primary school as William will be at high school next year too.

That means less expense for school but probably more for other things. Also it means I get some time to myself except on Tuesdays when I teach. In fact Tuesday looks like being booked up solid for everyone except Matt. I think that might be out take out or left over night somehow.

I have finished the sewing for the end of the middle section for the quilt but have yet to join it in. Today has been a bit of a no hope day - no energy, a blood test for me and mum, the plumber inspecting a couple of what I hope will be minor leaks and Matt going out to a client. I think I forgot to take my asthma meds which hasn't helped either.

Oh well, there's still some of the day left :)

viv in nz

The photo is one half of our community center in transit across the fence. The other half followed and they ended up just behind the crane on the left. This means that we no longer have to go through the main school grounds to get to it which is a vast improvement (or will be when its finished ).

Another year

2011-01-29T12:23:00.000+13:00

Well, as usual my birthday was wettish and generally nasty. This happens nearly every year as we always seem to get bad weather around this time. So now I'm one year closer to 60 but I still don't exactly feel any different except for not being very agile and having the usual trouble with hands (that has been ongoing for around 20 years now so nothing new there).

We have a large exhibition of our work coming up in early February which will be good. It is an accumulation from our first two years as a group with one or two challenges as well. There will be photos on the other blog :)

Nothing much else to report except that the oven should be here sometime next week (possibly) so I will be able to bake again and make bread properly (I've been reduced to making buns for the last 7 years). It will also mean that the kitchen will get a mild rearrangement too - or things might not fit. Can't see that extending to the floor though, or changing the door so it doesn't go through Williams room! He will just have to live with it for a bit longer. At least he doesn't have to share a room with James. (Too much mayhem that way lies!!!)

There are some photos of the quilt top I am assiduously hand piecing at the moment. This is only at the half way mark on the second round. There will be one more round after this so that it gets big enough for our bed. I may yet go completely nuts and hand quilt it too yet.

viv in nz

Weekend mayhem

2011-01-24T14:49:00.004+13:00

I spent this weekend at a working bee with the group so I was out from Friday night until late on Sunday and only came home to sleep. Consequently I didn't see the house until this morning and then had to spend quite some time clearing up the muddle. However, we have managed to get a new (secondhand) oven and a new toaster (flybuys) and a new (secondhand) hand mower and a benchtop oven (guess what - secondhand!) which will do until the oven is fitted and hopefully nothing else will break!

The to be fixed list read like a houseful of appliances but, so far, the cost has been minimal for which I am grateful. Only the washing machine has cost a bit in repairs. We have been lucky and have some great friends too which all helps :)

The list so far....
My sewing machine
The petrol mower
The benchtop oven
The electric mower
The toaster
The washing machine
My camera (cry!!!!)

The only thing I haven't been able to replace is my camera and I really miss it big time as I never have liked using Matt's one.

Now we are aiming to get James room finished as it is rather damp and we found two tiger slugs, which are enormous, on his floor! Fortunately he rather likes wildlife :) They have been given new homes outdoors. Once that is done, we can aim for the new shower and then there will be no place left for wildlife to creep in except by the actual doors and windows if left open.

Anyhow, 0ver the weekend I got into the hand pieced quilt I have decided to do for our bed and I think it is going to look really good (especially if you like a cheerful orange :). I put some of the bigger panels together just to see and I think I'm going to like the result - I certainly do so far.

It was supposed to be a preparation time for the upcoming exhibition but I already have most of my entries under control so I just beavered away in the corner with my bits and pieces. It was nice to have the uninterrupted time just to get on with things.

This is the bus stop at the Arrow junction where we caught the bus home and yes, it is the middle of nowhere.

Have a nice week

viv in nz

Trip to the Catlins

2011-01-16T12:22:00.005+13:00

We did a trip down to Blaclutha first and visited the local handwork group where we saw lots of objects made by others which is inspirational for our own work too. We had lunch with them and then the whole lot of us went to a local workshop for wood turning. There were lots of interesting things here and I was given a set of lino cutting tools to try out for wood cuts. I will have a go at this at the upcoming long weekend for our group and I cannot say how grateful I am for the loan.

We then carried on to Owaka where we visited an exhibition at the museum (I'm not convinced about that stuff but it was interesting) and then went on to a small local shop/home belonging to one of our members.

There we were regaled with chocolate cream cake and tea and there was a lot of general chit chat about this and that. I borrowed a book on handwork and have already made my way through the accompanying manual for a mystery quilt. My effort is looking good but very orange at present. The next layer should tone it down a bit. I'm thinking this will be a good addition to my library so I am looking for a copy online. The technical stuff is excellent.

All in all, the trip was extremely useful and I'm glad I didn't miss it.

Photos for the trip can be found on the link so I will just add a few holiday snaps here. The hat beard combination is one of six I made as Christmas presents, all different and all warm and silly :)

viv in nz

garden stuff

2011-01-07T00:46:00.005+13:00

I finally got round to taking some photos of the garden with the main gardener and (non) helper. The back yard is finally beginning to look more like it should and may give us a few veg later but more likely, no much until next year as it has taken a while to get it dug. I might even have my long promised steps by then and not have to risk sliding down on my behind :) (It has happened)

My confirmed convolvulus hunter hard at work :) The old apple tree looks to have lots of fruit this year so there will be apple jelly again with luck. The pile of gravel was scraped off the other garden bed because it used to be the end of the driveway but, being that the last vehicle to go there had to be removed with a tow line, it hasn't been used. It makes a really good garden and Matt is going to extend it further up the drive yet to give a bit more space.

Feel free to visually edit out the weeds :) And the very large, overgrown hedge which actually gives a lot of protection so it will stay although it might get trimmed back a bit.

I also finished one of my felted pieces which has been waiting since forever - at least it feels that way. I haven't completely finalised my list of pieces for the exhibition yet so will need to get onto those too. I won't post photos of those because the exhibition photos will be far superior to anything I can do.

For those interested the site is artfibredunedin.blogspot.com so you can see what other stuff I get up to.

viv in nz

I'm baaaaack:)

2010-12-29T16:57:00.007+13:00

The holiday was great if a trifle hot! We walked by the river, went up the gondola, swam in the lake and caught up with the odd relative or so and generally had a good time.

Poppy, my mil's dog, will miss William who walked her at least twice a day. I suppose we ought to consider a dog but it is really too small round here and I don't think the finances will stretch to it anyhow.

The boys swam in the river and in Lake Hayes but it was very cold so they didn't stay in long and took ages to actually take the plunge and go in. They also swam in the indoor (heated!) pool for an entire afternoon and successfully turned themselves into prunes :)

I did lots of drawing because it really is a spectacular place. The new pencil is really nice and gives a softer effect than the old one although it isn't as delicate.

The bus trip was long but bearable and we did walk quite a lot when we were there although the car got used too mostly because everything is so far from everything else. Lots of photos to follow along with a few here from the day we went up the gondola.

viv in nz

Holiday

2010-12-14T23:36:00.005+13:00

We are off on holiday for a week starting this Friday. I have a friend to look after our place so my triffid of a tomato will be ok along with Skilly and the hens.

We will be spending Christmas at home though so that should be good too.

I spent most of today working at the kindy which was fun. I only do the odd relief stint there and hadn't had anything for several months so it was nice to catch up with the children who have grown out of all recognition since my last work. It was fun and we all made Christmas bells along with the other stuff. I am getting a handle on what these age groups are capable of and hope to have a little input too so that when they get to my senior classes, they will have the skills I am presently having to teach, already in place. Which, in turn, means that we can really tackle some great projects without worrying about who can or can't use scissors properly. (There seem to be more left handers than normal in my upper group and they really need different scissors to get good results.) Correct use of tools should start very young as it is annoying to learn when older and far more difficult to master.

The top photo is my baby cherry blossom tree doing its thing beautifully and the other is the side pocket of my strawberry tower which I colonised with these tiny pink things which had been living in a broken pot for some years.

viv in nz

Holidays and garden bits

2010-12-07T13:31:00.005+13:00

The boys only have a few days of school left now and we have already planned a holiday at Grandmas new house in Arrowtown. This will be the longest time we've been away for over three years and I am hunting round for someone to water the triffid (tomato) inside and feed the animals etc. I am hoping a friends daughter will live in for the week.

Matt has dug the garden free of gravel (it was supposed to be part of a driveway but proved a bit steep for general use.) and planted two rows of potatoes. It is a bit late for general planting but we will try a few things as you never know. James, at 14 is into computer games etc but has also claimed a plot to plant things in and has done a really good job of laying it out, weeding and planting. He has yams and sweet corn in his plot and they are all sprouting merrily. William has merely shoved a couple of extra strawberry plants in his plot so far.

The lettuces are still producing madly - poor James! He really doesn't like lettuce much! There are also peas and garlic although not in large amounts yet, along with a large contingent of parsley plants from the ones that went to seed last year. We all like parsley chopped through our mashed potato so no doubt it will run out as usual :)

We are down another elderly hen so there are only three left now. I think its time we sourced some more but not until we get back. Skilly has decided that the big chest in the front hall is a good spot to view everyone so I gave her an old rug to keep her off the rather elaborate carving and she now thinks it just purrrrrfect :)

The photos are one of the more interesting cars to go up the street and almost the last photo of Chainsaw with Skilly lying in front of him.

viv in nz

Baldwin Street

2010-11-23T13:27:00.003+13:00

We do live on the steepest street in the world so things can get interesting at times. There are a number of photos of crashed cars as well as a plethora of weird and wonderful happenings, some of which predate us and some of which I have witnessed over the seven years we have lived here and the 30 odd years I have spent in the Valley.

There is the Jaffa race of course. That is a yearly event in July and coincides with the chocolate festival. There were two races this year - one with the normal orange jaffas and one with lilac ones to celebrate the 10th year of the race. We scored some chocolate to compensate for the inconvenience of having our street access blocked for half a day. I'm not sure on the numbers but it was standing room only - estimated at about 8 thousand.

In the last year there have been two car incidents. Neither were serious fortunately. The first was tourists who lost it further up and took out a large chunk of railing, garden and left a big hole in the neighbour's hedge. The second was some nitwit trying to do a u-turn after light rain on the very steepest bit. He wrote his car off on a lamp post (which was undamaged and so was he).

There was the idiot sliding down the street in a recycle bin (not a wheelie bin) which broke. I reported that one as it wasn't their bin and they cost to replace. And finally there was the stupid teen who was riding down on his bike without using his hands - he ended up under a parked car with some fairly nasty injuries but fortunately not fatal or permanent damage. Just broken bones and gravel rash.

On a happier note there was a segway -I think there's a video on u tube - an electric wheelchair, a pair of stilts, a pogo stick and various skateboards, bikes, unicycles and a pair of training ski (he was no fool and decided not to go from the top).

There was also a world record attempt to ride a motorbike down on one wheel. He then rode back up still on wheel just for the fun of it. He was a proper stunt rider though and got a fairly massive audience as it was reported in the local paper.

Then there are the 40,000 odd tourists....

This street is interesting to live on!

Our house is on the wiki page but the photo needs an upgrade. We have been doing it up slowly and the roof has been renewed although the colour is still white with lacework. It was built in 1912 so I think we will need to give it a birthday party for being 100 fairly soon :)

viv

Boats

2010-11-18T13:51:00.003+13:00

I haven't been doing very much recently so I thought I'd share an old story of a family trip to the Falls Dam when I was still a teen.

The dam itself is a fair way off the beaten track but it is quite attractive in a barren kind of way with a group of fishing huts as the only hint of civilization. This construction was made for mining and then used for agriculture. It is only a very small lake by most standards and takes about 30 mins by sailing boat (slow sort) to get from one end to the other.

It was a warm day but heavily overcast which is unusual in central. The water was mostly pretty shallow so it was also warmish which made the idea of sailing on it pretty good. My brother was crewing for a sunburst dinghy belonging to a friend and we had the optimist because Dad hadn't finished building his sunburst yet. We also had a picnic lunch and the whole family and various other people too so it was a real outing for the Maniototo Yacht club.

Things got off to a good start and the boats were launched for a short sail before lunch. Dad took the first go as it was his boat and Phil went out with his friend. The rest of us set up the picnic and decided that the rocky shore was not a good place to swim - too many weeds and heaps of jagged rocks. We then sat down to wait for the sailors to return.

Dad was first back and he called for some help so that he wouldn't bash his newly painted dinghy on the rocks. We went down to help and he decided, whilst sailing up and down along the shore, that he would throw us the painter (rope) so that we could guide him in. ( I might add that we were fairly new to sailing at this point and about as far from expert as is possible without actually tipping the boat every time we got in it.)

He aimed carefully at the shore and made what he considered a good throw. It fell way short so he gathered it up and by slowing down the boat to almost a stall, he managed to stand in the centre, hanging on to the mast with one hand to help his balance. Then he threw the rope....

The precariously balanced boat (for those who don't know what an optimist is - its about the size of a one man rowing boat) promptly turned turtle, captain and all, backwards. There was a loud splosh and the rope reached the shore.

We pulled the bedraggled captain out of the lake along with his boat and gave him a towel. Fortunately he had left all his valuables in the car because he didn't want them getting wet!

At this point the other boat hove into view carrying two more casualties. Their mishap was out of view from where we were but must have looked hilarious to the wildlife. Phil had been manning the jib amidships whilst his friend operated the tiller. They had rocketed down the lake in fine style with a few jibes which required split second timing. The idea was that the main sail was allowed to fly across to the other tack while Phil had the job of releasing the jib sheet and flying across the boat width changing ropes as he went and then leaning out as far as possible using the rope as support.

This was fine and allowed for much speed but on this one occasion, Phil missed the rope in passing at a million miles an hour and went completely over the side.......loud splash!

To keep the boat upright, his friend had a firm grip on the main sail but with the disappearance of his counterweight, the boom slammed back across and gave him a nasty blow on the head. He was lucky not to be knocked out. He regained control of things and picked up Phil and in a sadder but wiser way, they returned for first aid and dry clothes and lunch.

After lunch, Dad decided to go out again and do a spin round the lake before giving me a go so, still in his somewhat soggy clothes, he hopped in and, mindful of the rocks, asked Phil to push him out a little before getting under way.

You have to remember that this is an artificial lake so when Phil went to push him out, he got three steps into the water and then promptly disappeared. Apparently there was a small, invisible cliff just off the shoreline. So Phil got another impromptu bath!

Things settled down a bit after that until it was my turn. This was the first time I had sailed a boat on my own and I was a little nervous. Not for my safety, we all had life jackets and we all were very good swimmers, but for my pride!

I got a good start and sailed round the lake doing quite well I thought. Then I had to come in but every time I turned in, the following wind pushed my bows under the water and the boat started to act more like a diving submarine. I yelled for instructions eventually as I was by now sitting waist deep in water (there wasn't a seat at this time). Dad had to run up and down the shoreline yelling instructions at me and try to boost my confidence until I got the nerve to do what he was saying. I got very wet but I did make it back to land under my own steam. Needless to say, I never forgot that set of instructions!

By this time everyone was either wet or damaged so we set to packing everything up. We left just as the foreboding clouds decided to rain heavily but it was accounted one of our most successful picnic days despite the various accidents along the way.

Unfortunately I have no photos available of the yachts so the photo here is on our street and just shows the end of our veranda.

viv in nz

garden bits with felt

2010-11-13T16:21:00.004+13:00

I did a few more small landscapes in felt inbetween filling a little of the skip - Matt did most of it. I think this felt thing has rather become a fixture especially as I have no sewing machine at present - it broke a couple of weeks back and I haven't heard about it since (and am not enquiring too soon because there is no money to pay for it anyhow).

I have to say I like the small wet felt pieces which I can compose at about the size of the average postcard with lots of detail. I'm still perfecting things so there is the odd mess where something has gone a bit weird. I can embellish them too if I think they need it.

Apart from that - I've been getting into some christmassy things for the children to compose during the last few weeks of school. They will make a nice change from the grandma's garden quilt which we finally finished about a week back. Its off being quilted now. I'll post a photo when it is finished.

So far I have got them making little christmas trees in fabric (polar fleece at present as it doesn't need backing and these are my 8 year olds) and the 11 - 12 year olds are knitting a small angel although I am considering letting two of them (the worst knitters) make trees too. Its all good fun and will give them one or two nice things to use as christmas presents.

The two photos at the top are from a rather nasty forest fire over the back of the city. No housing was involved but we were drowned in smoke for several days. This was last summer and I forgot I had these photos - they look pretty spectacular but the smell was much worse!

viv in nz

The Dunedin Botanical Gardens

2010-11-08T22:59:00.007+13:00

A friend and I went to the gardens as we do most years in the Spring and wandered round looking at the flowers - mostly azelias and rhododendrons this time as we were too late for the cherry blossoms. I took a few nice photos so here are a few to brighten up the day.

Since then we have spent most of our time filling a skip with rubbish from the back yard - mostly old hedge and stuff from the house renovations. Way too much for composting unfortunately so this time its off to the landfill.

viv

RHUBARB

2010-11-03T20:47:00.004+13:00

We have been harvesting rhubarb for about a week now and our small patch is starting to run down so not much more to come for a while. I think there may be a case for a few more plants as we all like it :)

Matt has started to clear the bottom of what was to be the driveway but which ended up too soft even with a ton (literally) of gravel on top. He is going to convert most of it into veg garden by creating a raised bed on it and building a small brick wall (recycled chimney) on the boundary with a gravel path. Should work ok and gets plenty of sun too.

We got four bales of straw and placed them along the edge of the cleared bank to make a raised edge for the other garden. This should last until we can afford to put in a proper edge and will then be converted to mulch (if it hasn't already).

We also planted a quince tree but will need to wait several years for that to be of any account fruit wise. We hope to add a greengage and a green apple of some sort along the same bank where the old hedge was. A row of fruit trees is a lot more useful than an old hedge!

My inside tomato is already two thirds up the window and starting to set fruit. I had to use some digit control on a bunch of aphids so it must be that season again!

Two of the four old potatoes I planted have reached the surface at the front gate (they went there because it happened to be clear of weeds for a change). I also planted the remains of an old packet of seed, (peas and beans) and some of those look to have sprouted too despite the expiry date on the packet being about two years back. There was an old garlic that had sprouted too so I broke that up and planted it amongst the dahlias and it seems to be doing well too despite being the wrong time to plant it.

Spring has sprung. I even filled the wheelbarrow like I said I would, with lettuces and pansies. They will be big enough to harvest the odd leaf by next week from the looks of it.

So there you have it. For once we should have some of our own produce to eat :) Even the odd hen is laying the odd egg!

The photos are of our old rhododendron tree (about the same age as the house we think - 1912) and an iris that lives under the pink thing in front of the rhododendron.

viv in nz

Felt photos

2010-10-30T23:55:00.007+13:00

I finally got some photos of a few of the felt items I have been working on. Some are posted on the other site as well (Artfibredunedin.blogspot) but I thought it would be good to have them on here too.

The larger items I did before the extended playtime event and with the Steiner ladies. The smaller items are from the playtime and the book I have done since. The beaded and free motion quilted piece was the last one I did before my sewing machine died. I am still without it because money is tight round here and 26 cents doesn't fix a machine. Maybe next week will be better!

Anyway, enjoy the view.

viv in nz

The rooster

2010-10-28T11:38:00.002+13:00

Over at Frugal Kiwi I got reminded about one of the stories that go with our hens.

This was some time back when we were living out on the Otago Peninsular in a very small 1871 cottage in poor repair. It was an idyllic spot with a stream full of crabs and whitebait and the odd eel. We even spotted an octopus or so and various fish. There were canoes we could launch off the front lawn when the tide was in half way and paddle down under the road bridge and into the bay. (Any higher and the boat wouldn't fit under and lower meant you ran aground ).

However, to get back to the main story, we had gained a few chickens from a friend. There were two hens and a rooster all half-bred bantam crosses. The ladies were very prolific and managed to raise 18 chicks in one nest and 12 in the other. Overpopulation ruled!

Fortunately most of these offspring turned out to be hens but as we were severely short of space, we gave one hen and her 12 chicks away and kept the other hen. The extra roosters would be for the pot. Once the hens were grown, we made our choices and gave the rest away along with a couple of the roosters. That left us with five hens and three roosters.

We let the two young roosters free range permanently and caged the hens and the senior rooster each night. This worked well for about a year and then things changed - for the worse. The large white rooster started acting up and beating up the senior rooster. That couldn't continue so we decided he just had to go.

The deed had to be done after dark as he was impossible to catch until he'd roosted for the night so we kept an eye on him until he settled and then planned the assault with the neighbours in tow as backstop and because they owned a large machete to do the chop and for moral support (we had only done this once before).

Tim, the neighbour, was a tall thin person looking rather like he should be in a monastery of the more laid back sort, so he got the job of trying to get the bird first. It was a bit out of reach however and departed rapidly for the hills followed by various bits of profanity.

Tim extracted himself from the tree along with Matt, who had been acting as backstop in the other side of the tree, and we all set out in search of the missing rooster. Tim still had the machete in his hand as we all wandered round the local houses looking for that rooster.

I often wonder what the people in the b&b next door thought when Tim wandered up to their door, in the middle of the night, complete with machete, and asked if they had seen a white rooster go past :) Must have made their stay 'interesting'!!

We did find the rooster a few minutes later in somebodies back yard and dragged it back to face execution. That went without a hitch and the result was a pot of chicken soup. Most useful thing that rooster ever achieved.

viv in nz

Felt

2010-10-16T19:40:00.005+13:00

I learned how to make felt last week. It is something I have wanted to know about for some time but have not had the opportunity to try. I created two pieces on my first effort, one of which is rather nice although it is by no means finished yet. Then, over the long weekend workshop, one of our members taught us how to do the really fine felt and I created an orange piece that I hope to turn into an iris and a couple of leaves to o with it.

After that I got sort of keen (understatement) and have spent the last day or so composing a book made from felt with a selection of my samples as content. I mostly used brown wool for the pages but I did the cover in a reddish pattern with flame coloured pieces. The book turned out rather soft and tactile but has stiffened up a little since I added the samples.

I will photo the whole thing when I get the chance as well as getting the Trotters Gorge photos on here. In the meantime I have hunted out a view of the Quarry Gardens. These are a major part of my view from my living room window and are nice to walk through too.

viv in nz

time flies

2010-10-13T14:42:00.002+13:00

Time just flies when you are having fun. I just spent four days at a sort of camp for arty fibre types. There are now lots of half finished projects waiting to be done and a few that got finished. It was great to spend all that time just doing stuff and hanging out with others and their stuff. Lots of cross fertilization going on idea wise as well as lots of how to for stuff not yet attempted.

I hope to get up some photos soon but need to finish a few things yet :)

viv in nz

Season open

2010-10-04T13:42:00.004+13:00

Well that was a great first day - not! Two mini angels and a scarf for a grand total of $16.

Its been no better since :(

As a consolation, here are a few good photos of this and that. The top one is the front veranda with my wheelbarrow full of petunias. This year I hope to fill it with various lettuces and maybe a few violas.

The bottom photo is taken out at Aramoana which is a stunning place although also notorious for a mass murder some years back - theres a rather good movie of it now.

We mostly go here for picnics as it is only about 20 minutes from home.

The rest of the week just has to get somewhat better!!! I'll write about the other nasties later.

viv in nz

shop content

2010-09-29T16:14:00.008+13:00

I thought I might put up a few photos of the shop. These are not very recent but the stock doesn't change all that much. Most of these were taken by the kids just because they could :)

Actually, when I look at this, the stock has changed but is exactly the same if you know what I mean. And we are open again for Christmas although not all the time - just when I'm around to man it. Any locals wanting to find me in - just send an email first so I will be there :) Or a comment as I do check them.

viv in nz

kiwi feet

2010-09-24T15:51:00.003+12:00

Two photos of my knitted kiwi which I sell in my shop for $6.50. Which is why I don't use anything too expensive :) Looks a bit rude...

viv in nz

The long drop affair

2010-09-23T00:53:00.004+12:00

I was reading a post on another blog today and it reminded me of a certain emergency that happened during our honeymoon camping trip.

At the time of this event, we had been traveling for several days in our old car with a tent in the boot and an assortment of old camping gear mostly from the dim dark age of the fifties. There was a set of old tin plates and mugs, a thermette made by my grandfather, a pup tent from a really cheap box store along with a home made fly constructed out of a cheap tarpaulin and two broom handles and an inflatable bed which had a slow leak.

On our first night we had found a wonderful (free) camping spot with the usual fixtures - a tap on a stand, a long drop dunny (toilet) and a few concrete block barbecues. It was also raining rather hard and had been doing so all day so there was an inch or so of water in the bottom of the barbies and no dry fuel. My husband attempted to light some of this wood with some dryish twigs to no avail but did manage to heat up the thermette with twigs so we dined on cold spagetti and warmish cocoa. The fly turned out to be very useful as it was substantially larger than the tent and gave us a short veranda so not too much mud came inside. Having nothing better to do and not much light we simply went to bed.

The second night went much better as we had collected some dry wood at one of our scenic stops and we were able to have a proper fire. This was good as although the rain has mostly stopped, it was now extremely cold. It was here that the superiority of the long drop had to be overcome. It was a nice concrete block building with a handbasin and a working tap. The toilet was the usual hole with a seat but was enclosed in a concrete surround and was several feet deep.

It was whilst using this amenity, in the middle of the night, that disaster struck and the wallet fell out of my husbands pocket and down this inaccessible hole. We looked at the hole for a while as we could see the wallet at the bottom in the torchlight. It had fallen to the side of the main pile of excrement but was out of reach. I was a woman on a mission at this point as all our necessary stuff was in this wallet so I hatched a plan of rescue.

We first hunted through the woodpile for the longest branch possible that was rigid enough to not bend under pressure and to one end attached a pair of pliers. These happened to be very stiff so they stayed open unless pulled. To the unattached handle I tied a long piece of string and then took a loop around a handy twiglet. We lowered the entire thing down the hole and got the jaws around the edge of the wallet and carefully pulled the string to close the pliers. Once closed they were probably stiff enough to stay shut but I tied the string anyhow just in case. The wallet remained with the pliers and we regained our bits. I might add that juggling a torch, a piece of string and a branch in a toilet with your husband in the middle of the night is something that is hard to forget!

I washed the whole thing in hot water and antiseptic but it really hadn't suffered much. And that is why I will always put a ball of string in any emergency kit I make up.

The trip was wonderful too but I will always remember it for the time we lost the wallet down the long drop :)

viv in nz

The photo is one taken from the top of Mt Cargill last year.

Any old thing

2010-09-18T10:02:00.005+12:00

Mother is a bit better. At least she can hold a sort of conversation now and she can stand with help and a big list to starboard :) She has lost so much control that knitting, which she is so fond of, is no longer an option. That is a major downer. I hope she will be able to get home again but have to face the fact that she may not be able to cope without special care.

Life goes on but does become somewhat restricted by age.

I am going to post a few pretty pics just to cheer things up :) These are all taken from our house during what I call sunset season. Around the end of autumn and ditto spring.

viv in nz

Bike in pond

2010-09-13T23:13:00.003+12:00

I thought I might have already told this tale but it seems not so here it is.

The whole thing came about some years ago when I was still doing some astronomy with my brother and the local group. Although we were amateurs, we did do some fairly important stuff for professional groups from time to time. Mostly routine stuff that didn't need high powered equipment but just time and inclination and a modicum of equipment. The event involved this time was a reasonably rare occultation and we were sent out to a distant and isolated area to time said event. As a convenience I offered my brother a lift so he came out to my place on his motorbike which at the time was a substantial 1000 model and rather heavy. Due to the soft ground he decided to park the monster on the edging of my small fishpond which was all rock.

We then ate dinner and set off in my car, collecting another bod en route along with a telescope and box of bits. The weather did not look wonderful so we had rather a low expectation of any return but thought there was just a chance of a gap in the cloud. So there was - about 5 minutes after the event! Murphy's law strikes again with that well known line - The thickness of the cloud cover is in inverse proportion to the importance of the event!

We hung around for a bit looking at stars in a sort of desultory fashion as the moon was far too bright for anything really good and then packed up and headed for home. Slowly and in a very conservative manner as petrol was running a bit low (forgot to check) and there wasn't an open garage for eons. We finally made it into town and to the only 24 hour garage, then trekked down home again (I was living about 15 minutes out on the wrong side of town for this trip).

It was now just past one in the morning so I made us a cup of cocoa and offered the use of the spare bed for the night but my brother figured it would only take a short time to get home at that time of night so he geared up and went out to the bike. I didn't actually see the next bit but apparently he flipped up the stand and put his foot on the same rock it had been sitting on all evening. Said rock promptly left for the inner reaches of the pond taking his foot with it...... and the base of the pond was very slippery!

He was lucky in two respects. One - the pond was only about 8 inches deep and two - he had his helmet on which saved his head from damage on the rocks at the far side of the pond. (It really was an insignificant sort of pond - more like a muddy puddle and I filled it in eventually.)

Next thing I knew there was a beeping of the horn and I went out to see the bike plus rider in the pond with the upper side leg waving round in mid-air. I had to get into the pond myself to heave the thing off him and then it took both of us to get it out.

We reparked the bike very carefully and went inside. He was wet from top to toe so I handed him a bath towel and sent him off to the shower whilst I went hunting for some clothes that might possibly fit and a dry set of socks and slippers for myself.

He ended up in a very short t shirt, a pair of old pyjama pants in a fetching paisley pattern complete with paint splatters as I'd been using them as overalls over my normal clothes (I believe they originally came from my grandfather!) and a sloppy type of jersey complete with clowns :) I should explain that I am under 5 foot tall and he is nearer 6 feet and what you might call of generous proportions.

He stayed the night!

Most of his gear was dry enough to wear by the next morning - we had cleaned off the mud etc and hung it to dry- so he was able to make it back in time for work. The bike was unharmed but he decided to dispose of it anyhow as it really was a dog to handle on our sort of roads and replaced it with a rather nice 350cc. I think the fishpond finished off his love affair with large bikes for good!

viv in nz

The photo is Skilly (short for skillsaw) our younger cat. She is now 14 but this photo is a couple of years old - not that she has changed much! I chose this because she was found in a rubbish tin by my brother when she was only a few weeks old and he donated her to our house. I later got him back by donating our then elderly and cranky old cat back to him as she wasn't getting on well with our young cats and toddlers :)

Oddments

2010-09-09T10:37:00.003+12:00

Mum is still struggling to be understood but is clearly there and understanding us. She should make a good recovery hopefully.

On the better news front I have now got an amplifier to replace the old one that was one large hummmmmmmmmmm. I have two channels again as well so I can listen to Pink Floyd again :) Along with the rest of my collection of classical etc. It is still an elderly machine about 17 years old but as my cd player is more like 30 years old and so are my speakers - it is still a baby.

It is Williams ballet exam tomorrow - grade 4 and I hope he remembers the theory this time - last year he froze solid even though he knew everything backwards. I think the examiner was a bit of a dragon :) The photo is from 2 years ago. (Note the forgotten feet!) I must not have one from last year. He looks much more dance like this year at 12. He even remembers he has feet mostly now. Sometimes he remembers he has hands too :)

viv in nz

Mother

2010-09-07T22:30:00.002+12:00

Just a short post to say that my mother was taken to hospital this morning with a stroke. It has affected her speech but it is too early to say what will eventuate out of this.

viv

Earthquake2

2010-09-06T18:05:00.004+12:00

I have heard from the closest cousins in Christchurch via my mum and my Aunt and they are all fine. Their beautiful old villa has moved on its foundations but still seems intact so that is all good news. One of my sisters friends has lost a house and she hadn't heard from others yet. Most seem alright but probably lacking in crockery I'm thinking.

Its a good thing the building codes are so strong round here. They may be a nuisance but they do work even in so called safer places like Christchurch (ha!) That is necessary in a place like this where earthquakes are a regular occurrence. We have always had earthquakes so don't find them frightening round here but, of course, ours are mostly of very little account.

There is a minor fault system which cuts across the seaward end of the city and topples the odd chimney now and then and a deep trench off shore. The volcanic stuff is Miocene I think and all very extinct at present. There is a thought that if the big fault along the coast should change direction and reactivate, that would reactivate The volcanism but I suspect its not something we have to worry about at present.

The kitchen is still awaiting the removal of a door and the addition of a semi outside extension of the main hallway so the floor is still a big mess and so are the two old windows which don't function at all. The door to come out is the one main entry to the kitchen at present and leads right through a bedroom which is annoying to say the least! (It is supposed to be a dining room but we needed the bedroom much more.) The final plan is to have a big conservatory attached to the front of the kitchen but that requires finance that we don't have.

I was pleased to get the laundry out of the kitchen but have to say I think its even worse in the bathroom at present. There is exactly enough floor space in there for the bathmat and nothing else - about a meter squared on a good day! Its a good thing we don't run to large people :)

A new shower is the hoped for next improvement - can hardly wait even if it does mean I have to tile it myself.

The photo is our house before we put a new roof on it and removed the last chimney.

viv in nz

Earthquake

2010-09-04T10:28:00.005+12:00

An interesting night. We were woken up at about half past four in the morning by a loudish noise and lots of shaking and rattling. This was followed by a brief period of swaying like we were on a ship. After a moment it dawned - oh yes - an earthquake. It wasn't very bad here but I think Christchurch would have got a pretty good shake up - thats where the earthquake was centered as I discovered when I went on line.

These are quite common around here but are normally just mild to the point of almost undetectable. This was quite a good one :)

I've always found these things to be interesting rather than scary although I have to say I've never been in a really big one - that would be scary!

Wow!!! I just saw the coverage of poor old Christchurch. Its a bit of a mess. Hope the relatives aren't too damaged. Seems like nobody has died at least.

The photos are a sort of before and n0w on my kitchen. Not finished yet but at least it works better now and I don't have to use the laundry tub as a kitchen sink :)

viv in nz

Madness quilt

2010-08-31T22:07:00.003+12:00

I have been working too hard today for much but I did find this pic of a quilt I made by hand a couple of years back - that is I finished it a couple of years back. I think I'd been at it on and off for about 8 years before that!

I was a bit deranged when I designed it I think!

Of course I just had to get the obligatory ladder into the one shot that looks ok :)

viv

Chooks

2010-08-26T20:18:00.005+12:00

The hen run is still rather emptier than it was with both the old rooster and hen (over 10 years old) dying followed rather surprisingly by the young rooster. That was unexpected so now we have to consider what to have next. I still like the idea of fresh eggs every day even although I can't eat them (allergic). The boys still devour what the elderly girls provide so the need is still there.

I think I'd still prefer bantams just because they are less destructive in the garden when let out and I'm hoping that perhaps one of the old girls (yougest is 6, older three are 8), might oblige by being broody with a new batch of chicks.

The senior hen (named Houdini because of her escape antics when younger), has started to crow. It looks a bit odd but I think she feels that as the dominant hen she should stand in for the deceased males. She sounds quite realistic but quite a lot quieter than the real thing.

The photos were mostly taken by the boys a couple of years back.

viv

Pumpkin soup the easy way

2010-08-20T18:25:00.004+12:00

Todays photos are Karitane beach north of Dunedin

Take a pumpkin of any size, shape or type and chop, peel and core it. Small pieces for fast cook or big pieces for slow cook. Add one or two carrots, sliced and one or two onions, sliced. Cover with beef stock and cook on stove top until tender. Blend and serve with salt and pepper to taste and a swirl of sour cream if you happen to have some or some grated cheese if you can be bothered :)

I have been known to add a little fish sauce for extra bite or a splash of worcester sauce. I have also been known to add a leek or two and a clove of garlic if I felt like it.

A large pumpkin might go towards two pots of soup or some roasties. Apart from getting the #$%^%$ skin off the pumpkin, the whole thing can be done in about 30 minutes flat from go to serve. Which is great if you have unexpected guests (I fed 8 peeps with one pot the other day)

Hint - If you are doing the fast method it might pay to fry up the onion and garlic in a little oil first. It cooks down better that way. Or you can just add the onions/garlic to the stock when you prepare that! (if its home made that is).

viv in nz

Sunday - again!

2010-08-16T00:58:00.004+12:00

And tomorrow its back to work although not for the usual stuff - there's a meeting instead.

We did a birthday party yesterday in rain and dense fog. This did matter as the boys (and girl) were going to walk the Mt Cargill track top down. Well I got them there ok and the view was....minimal. The fog also made driving rather interesting! Shame in some ways although m did get a few nicely atmospheric photos.

They got to the bottom in about an hour flat. 12 year olds move fast! Then I collected them and fed them pumpkin soup and omlettes with cheese and a caramel slice pretending to be a cake with one beeswax candle on it (because I couldn't find my birthday candle stash). They didn't care as long as there was something to blow out. That was it. There was a little computer time for a couple of later pick ups and they all went home happy - no sweets, no party bag, no junk and most of the presents were hand made by the kids themselves and were a minimal part of the whole deal.

I've come to the conclusion that complicated parties just aren't worth the finance. They just want to do things together - mostly active things!

viv

More moutains

2010-08-12T11:58:00.004+12:00

I've been really working at the dyed cloth with lots of free motion embroidery and I have to say I think it looks not too bad. I moved the sewing machine to a better surface and the improvement is much greater than I thought. I also took a class in edges and finally learned how to get to the rest of my fancy stitches :) I could have just read the manual of course but it appeared to be in chinglish. Or maybe japlish :)

For years and years I've only hand sewn things so this rather cheap and nasty machine is the first I've tried to use in my arty stuff. I think I'm getting to like it :)

The piece of cloth was one I did some time back and then put away because I made a real mess of the upper part. It just looked wrong. I finally decided to cut it into two pieces and remove the top bit altogether. Much better. The pieces are not large - just a bit over A4. I haven't decided whether to add beads etc yet. I'm going to hang them where I can see them and contemplate the whichness of the why until it resolves. The one on the left has photographed better than the other for some reason. I seem to have lost too much detail on the other - maybe I do need to embellish this one :)

viv in nz

green mountains

2010-08-09T20:14:00.005+12:00

Potato mountains no less. A great way to eat yummy spuds so I thought I'd repost about this.

Apart from that nothing much has happened round here and I don't have anything of burning merit to say :). I was working rather a lot last week (kindy kids are great fun) so there wasn't much time for anything else. However I did spend Sunday at the fibre arts group and achieved quite a lot. I assume a post will go up fairly shortly about that at the site and I know there was an occasional photo taken (not by me :).

We are considering the ways of doing some snow dyeing this winter but the snow has been a bit noticeable by its absence. Chilly bins from inland might have to be resorted to yet.

i learned a heap about beading from an expert instead and that was really good. I have done quite a lot of beading but it is nice to know some of the proper techniques - especially the one for making straight lines - mine always tend to look too organic even if I don't mean them to be.

I think I'll add a Chinese garden photo from last year. This is the Dunedin Chinese Garden and it is rather good.

Green living

2010-08-05T09:54:00.002+12:00

These are photos of our local gardens during rhododendron week last year. Can't wait for this year :)

One of the things which really annoys me about trying to be green is the number of sites that suggest you change this and that without a thought about just how this and that can be made affordable. As a person of limited means I find this highly irritating as I have no way to get to the supposed nirvana suggested.

The suggestion that most green livers come from the middle classes has an obvious basis in that only this group can afford to be green. The rest of us just have to be brown I suppose... This is not to say we don't live as green as possible or that there aren't good sites out there for everyone else. It is just an attitude which seems to be on the rise - a snobby sort of thing that says we're trendy and hip because we can afford to be green.

We need to rethink some of the attitudes we put out there and perhaps take a closer look at what we are really aiming for. Possibly before the whole thing becomes a sort of green washed nightmare instead of the planet saving we thought we were booked for.

viv

Mt Cargill with plastic

2010-08-01T10:50:00.004+12:00

I keep thinking I should be a little more serious on this site but then there are so many really good sites out there that I think I perhaps should give the really serious stuff away :)

On the other hand, I do try to live by all those lovely green principles and cut my planet space to that which I feel I can live with. Plastic is a bit of an issue at present. Quite a bit of the stuff we use just doesn't come any other way for those of us who are monetarily challenged. It would be easy to live without plastic if we could afford the hand made bread (mine or the farmers market) and the expensive veg instead of the baggies of cheap seconds which only come in plastic but these are out of reach as long as the boys are eating like young horses.

Then there are the battles you just know you will fail at. Like biscuits. They come in plastic and I have no way to make them at home at present because we need an oven first. The small benchtop one I have just doesn't cut the mustard when it comes to baking. Men just don't seem able to resist the biscuit aisle :) The one plus is that the local dairy at least sells their sweets loose in paper bags! (although some are individually wrapped at point of manufacture just to annoy)

Its these little things that get to you when trying to make a difference.

Anyway enough of that. I still have a heap of photos to share so hope you like this one. It is the view from the top of Mt Cargill. There is a really nice walking track down into our valley from here that the kids love to do. We mostly get dropped off at the top and then picnic at the bottom (a whole 5 minutes from home :)

Harbour views

2010-07-28T17:58:00.005+12:00

These a photos of the Otago harbour that I took about a week back on a cold and frosty morning when I went to work early. I occasionally aide for the kindergarten and this was a particularly nice sunrise mid winter.

The Dunedin Rudolf Steiner School really has a wonderful position!

viv in Dunedin

Lantern Festival

2010-07-26T23:01:00.004+12:00

Every year the local Steiner school has a mid winter lantern festival with shared food and all the lanterns the children have made. They also gave us the odd bit of music this year and a few traditional songs to walk with. We did a nice tour of the soccer grounds in the dark and this year there were no high winds to blow our lanterns out :)

DH took a photo of the tree dwarfs with their little lights set up for the kindy kids. They are a nice bunch of 3 and 4 year olds and I have been aiding occasionally with them which is fun.

The senior class made paper ball lanterns this year, each with a star sign relating to the child. William was very proud of his.

viv in nz

My work space

2010-07-23T22:22:00.008+12:00

One of the blogs I read (Down-to-Earth) has a segment on where you work so I thought I would post a few photos of my/our livingroom/workroom/bedroom etc. We have a very small house with four of us trying to live in it. One room is also dedicated to the shop during the season so we don't have a bedroom. Thats why the bed lifts up onto the wall. We hope to enclose the veranda sometime and set up the shop there to free up the extra room but I'm not holding my breath :)

The big side window is a double glazed wonder that I got with the proceeds of the first year of the shop. Income has been a bit erratic since then but is still better than nothing. The patchwork pinned on the curtain is one I woodblock printed last year and is slated to become our new hall curtain.

Hope you enjoy this lot

viv in nz

Jaffa race

2010-07-22T20:04:00.006+12:00

Every year for the last 10 years there has been a jaffa race down our street. For those who don't know jaffas are orange coated chocolate balls that are traditionally rolled down the steps in old movie theaters to annoy. 25,000 went down this year. It is a charity race and you buy your number for $2.

There was a cherry picker placed in our driveway so we scored a free bag of goodies and a ride up in it after the event :) Gave us a nice view of our hot water solar system and the new roof and the old veranda roof we can't afford to replace yet!

You can see jaffas in some of the photos if you look hard.

There were about 12000 people in the street which was a bit crowded but fun.

viv in nz

Photo

2010-07-19T00:57:00.002+12:00

That was just to prove I could put a photo up :)

I may just do it again..... Nice !

This is one of my friends roses from last year.

photo x2

2010-07-15T20:30:00.003+12:00

photo take 2

Dust bunnies

2010-04-01T16:34:00.002+13:00

They are still growing along with the socks. I even put a pair in the shop! I have been doing some miniature quilts which are neat fun. (At last - some uses for all that sketching I've been doing ).

The arty farty group has now been relabeled Artfibredunedin as the web site is called this. For anyone wanting to see, it is mostly stuff we do and as we are doing it.

I am off to watch the boys class at ballet next - its parent watching day. They limit parents because the rooms are not large so we get to see about once a term. William is grade 4 this year and starting to really look like a dancer. Will be interesting to see what happens next.

viv in nz

side effects

2010-03-16T09:37:00.002+13:00

I finally got off the horrible drugs and onto some that don't seem to react much so i'M MUCH HAPPIER this week. No more painkillers necessary....yay!

Now I need to get some fitness back and things will get back to more or less normal. It does bring home to you that death is a possibility and nearer than you think. Not a pleasant thought really but one everyone has to consider eventually. I no longer think of myself as bullet proof (although I never really thought that) and now have to face the fact that I am no longer young and that I've probably lived half my life already. That isn't comfortable and I can see why people stick so strongly to religion as a sort of prolonging of the inevitable. I have no answer to give here either as I am only human and don't presume to know everything. I think I belong to the wait and see school of thought :)

The other result has been several pairs of socks...its something to do when you have to watch the dust bunnies grow along with the weeds :)

All in all, its nice to be almost back!

viv in nz

ill

2010-03-10T11:03:00.002+13:00

Got a bad reaction to one of the drugs - not sure which yet. Males are very trainable in cooking but tend to be sketchy on clean up. Will write more when I feel better.

viv in nz

hospital

2010-03-01T21:29:00.002+13:00

Well, there it is. Heredity finally caught me up and put me into hospital for several days.

It all started with one side of my body getting pins and needles right down to one half of my tongue. That was a bit weird but it passed off really quickly and I thought nothing of it. Two days later the same thing happened only this time the whole side lost strength and I couldn't stand up so we rang the help line and as a result of that, went straight to the emergency room. I got taken immediately for a blood pressure test and when that came out at 235 over 170 they put me on a bed and gave me some drugs. They also put in a line and took a few blood tests and urine tests (good thing I needed to go anyhow) and then left me to my own devices for a while before repeating the blood pressure test.

That bed was the most uncomfortable thing I have ever had to lie on period! The only thing worse was the blood pressure tests. Because the pressure was so high, they practically removed my arm to get any sort of reading. I still have some tenderness even after a week.

Fortunately I had grabbed a book as we left home so I didn't have to stare at the ceiling too much. Unfortunately, my head was so bad I couldn't read easily and my memory for what I read also seemed somewhat lacking so I spent a few hours talking to the guy in the next bed who was there with more or less the same thing as me. He went up to the wards at three in the morning but I had to wait until well after nine before they found me a bed.

Friday was a bit of a nightmare punctuated by one of the nicest nurses I've come across - a Buddhist nun no less! My head felt like someone had poured concrete into it complete with a thick headache and you could have fried an egg on my cheeks. Very unpleasant. I was given a stack of pills to take but I didn't really begin to notice much difference until Saturday. By that time I'd had a brain scan and an x-ray as well as another visitation from the vampires taking blood samples (complete with a bat shadow on their equipment cart!)

I can say that the food was pretty good, the staff were great and really friendly and I have some new friends from the other beds in the ward (there were four beds in my ward but only three were in use while I was there).

By Sunday I really was a lot better although my blood pressure was still 170 over 80. That at least was nearer to normal and I hoped to be let loose on Monday although I wasn't holding my breath. I was now allowed to ignore the red bracelet that said I was at risk of falling - yay - and did a lap around the corridor to celebrate including a visit to my friend from the emergency room who also hoped to be let loose on Monday. I think I have to learn all about movement again because that just tired me out completely.

So Monday came and the consultants and their students came and discussed me and said I could go if the physio said I was safe to do so. They gave me a prescription and that was it except that I had to walk another lap with a really nice physio and go up and down a number of stairs so she could check my balance. That was ok so they turned the stroke help people loose on me and when they were done I was free. Sort of!

I now have a thing to sit on in the shower, instructions for gentle exercise, information on exactly what an ischaemic stroke is, a contact to help the kids understand what it is and how to deal with stuff and several numbers to ring if I need anything.

Since then I have been dealing with extreme fatigue, gentle exercise and males who cook only under protest and haven't the faintest idea about cleaning up and putting things away :) I must say I have a great support system of friends and family. I also had an ultrasound of my neck which was in the clear so I don't seem to have ateriosclerosis, just hypertension and as I said at the start, that is hereditary in our family. I was just hoping to be one of the unaffected lucky ones :)

viv in nz

stuff

2010-02-13T11:58:00.003+13:00

Thanks for the comment Cath - I've been a bit slack on here recently. Nothing much to say and all too much to do.

So..... we had a really good Christmas followed by a heap of crappy stuff including a leaky hot water cylinder, a broken car, a lack of funds due to someone else not paying their bills, a kitchen sink disaster, a vet visit for elderly cat and on top of all that, the insulation people were due and we had to clean out the cellar which was a complete mess and fill a 9 cubic meter skip with old hedge and general rubbish. And all of the above happened inside of a fortnight.

Results were;

A new cylinder bought with a small mortgage extension and we have to take the supplier to court to get our money back.

The cat is on thyroid medication (oh joy....) which requires a tablet daily for the rest of his life and we have to save up to get his teeth done. I suppose that isn't bad considering he is 15.

A new secondhand double stainless steel sink and bench unit is now operational. That was an epic. My brother and brother in law were going to put that in for my birthday as it only required the u bend to be attached. Unfortunately, when they took the u bend pipe off, it fell through the floor. Unfortunately when they retrieved it they found it hadn't ever been attached to the drain.....unfortunately that meant they couldn't put the new one on which meant that unfortunately we had to pay for the plumber to do it and also we unfortunately spent a week!!!!! with no water, hot or cold, no sink and absolutely no way of washing things unless we went down to the stream! The only saving grace was the cold tap on the bath which, by some miracle, still worked. Oh and we were so short of money that we couldn't eat out except for fish and chips once. I hope I put enough unfortunatelys in there :)

(Anyhow I now know why that piece of garden is always so damp. We just thought it was the overflow which also goes there.)

Insulation underfoot and overhead. Should be set for next winter :)

A driveway clear of enormous old hedge plants along with lots of blood, sweat and sore bits and a much tidier cellar.

A car that sort of goes but which won't get another warrant of fitness so in about 2 months we will have to resort to feet, bikes, buses and the occasional car loan.

Holiday? What holiday!!

viv

new year

2010-01-01T23:16:00.001+13:00

Happy new year :)

viv

arty fibre group

2009-11-29T15:15:00.002+13:00

We had a great time dyeing lots of cool patterns last weekend. I could get to like this a lot!

Apart from that things are just the same and totally different if you know what I mean :) The two boys (hubby and youngest) had a blast at the Steiner Olympics in Hastings and now we are into end of year concert/performance season. We have done our french horn (James and me) thing already with the Saturday morning music class for the old folks in the retirement home next door to the classes and now have one last performance for family and friends plus a small party next Saturday. The ballet is putting on Cinderella this year so that will also be next weekend (a bit rushed for my liking but at least William doesn't have a major part this year!). There is a concert for the cellists (William again) next week some time or the week after and there is the school camp for the last week of school. After that it will be Christmas already!

Then we might get a holiday but I'm not holding my breath as sales are well down this year and there is still renovating to be finished.

As for meaningful thoughts - not just at the moment!

viv in nz

2009-09-18T22:28:00.002+12:00

Doesn't seem like so long since I was in here but the dates have changed rather a lot!

Renovation has taken another stride onward with Matt moving into James old room and us converting what was supposed to be a bathroom into a small but adequate bedroom. It's going to be mayhem round here this weekend but I should be able to open the shop again by the end of it and Matt should have a good workspace too. I also hope to get the small bedroom lined properly but am not holding my breath because that is one heck of a work load!

We seem to have a surplus couch and fridge out of things so may have to consider where they get to live or whether they just get disposed of. The piano has to go next door too (it is my mothers and she is next door and does think she can fit it in which is good.).

One more week until the end of term for the kids and maybe they will get to go skiing with other grandma but that all depends on things like snow etc. Only one term left of primary school for William and one of intermediate for James. It doesn't seem that long since they were toddlers! In just over a week we will have a teenager!!!

viv in nz

Stuff

2009-09-01T16:16:00.002+12:00

We finally got a lift up bed in the living room so we now have an actual living room during the day. It isn't one of those fancy jobs but just a box with hinges so it is still visible to all. I'm intending to cover it up with a curtain/board arrangement complete with some permanently attached art.

Matt is going to shift into the back bedroom - he hates being on the street frontage and visible to all passers by. (there are thousands too) I quite like it myself but can understand where he is coming from and James certainly doesn't mind either. It will also give him a bed for emergency nights so he won't wake me if he is late and a place to nap after said late nights :)

We planted the crab apple tree and now are hoping to add several more trees. The plum is flowering in the bank so maybe this year we will get to see what it is! It was self seeded but can stay if it is a decent one.

viv in nz

stories

2009-08-20T14:01:00.002+12:00

I thought I might put down a few things from my childhood just because Sharon reminded me of how much fun country fairs/shows are.

These were major events in our calendar as they gave people the chance to show their stuff, meet everyone, eat candy floss and ride the fairground rides and maybe even win a kewpie doll or two.

My preparation as a primary school student was to plant a garden from a school package and show the results in situ. I also got to decorate a saucer with flowers and make a few things. I won the button hole and spray contest every time - I was good with flowers.

The town hall would be decorated with flower arranging, vegetables, preserves and handwork, knitting and sewing. My mother won overall three times I think but never entered the cooking/preserves because although she was a good cook she said her stuff wasn't pretty enough. She mostly won knitting, embroidery, flowers and that sort of thing. She has a stack of first prize cards along with seconds and thirds - sometimes for the same competition. I have a small stack of these cards myself hidden away.

After that, we would go look at the sheep, cattle and pigs etc. Sometimes there would be a wood chopping contest and those were almost my favourite (after the hall displays). There was always horse riding and off to one side there was a small fairground with carousels, coconut shies and, if we were lucky, a small ferris wheel. It was a difficult choice as to which ride to go on because we only got a small amount to spend. Dad always got us candy floss though and several times won us toys (he had a really good aim).

There was also fizzy drink which I didn't really like but was part of the whole deal. That was the only time we got fizzy so it was a bit of a novelty. (now it just seems every day which is a shame really). And then we would go home happy.

My brother had a favourite part too and that was the tractor and implement displays. They were great shining beasts to us and sometimes, if the man in charge was in a good mood, we would be allowed to sit in or on them. They seemed very high to us and made us feel important.

Later as a teenager, I got to enter the embroidery contests at the main Otago fair and this was a big deal as I was in the senior and open grade and I won three major prizes. I got a stack of book vouchers for this and lots of kudos. I also annoyed the embroidery teacher as she didn't know I had work like that due to the fact that I was relatively new in the school and was catching up on some basics in her class. She neglected to ask about what I'd done previously as she knew I had no formal lessons and just assumed I was a beginner. I was too shy to say anything because I always felt inadequate for my lack of qualifications. She was so mad with herself because I was apparently just the sort of student she dreamed about and she had me for two years and I wasn't returning. My loss too of course. I don't think she would ever make that mistake again.

The agricultural and pastoral shows still happen although they have lost their importance with easy travel available for all. I suspect that fuel availability may influence their renaissance and that will be a good thing as it does help draw the communities together and prevent too much isolation.

viv in nz

No drive????

2009-08-09T09:44:00.003+12:00

I've decided to list the trips our car does for the week just to see what we can achieve.

So here it is.....

Monday - school car pool in the afternoon (17 km round trip)
Tuesday - morning and afternoon school car pool (34 km)
- ballet pick up pool (8km)
- St Johns pick up or drop off pool (4km winter only)
Wednesday - Afternoon teaching and car pool (17km)
- Orchestra drop off or pick up pool (8km)
Thursday - Afternoon car pool (17km)
Friday - nil
Saturday - music class, ballet class (20km approx)
Sunday - nil

Fortnightly meeting for Matt (8 km)
Twice monthly patchwork meetings (2km average)

Those are the trips I can't get out of mostly. Seems a lot but will hopefully improve next year at least in the summer when the boys will be on their bikes. Bus transport round here is expensive and inadequate which is a shame. There are also some massive hills to traverse for most of these trips which means bikes can be more of a nuisance than a help - only the fittest can ride Baldwin Street and the school at the other end is up the second steepest street here. Night trips for the boys are out - they are too young yet although growing up fast :)

I do plan all my shopping trips around these other trips so nothing is generally done with single trips. The large tripping stops with School holidays too at which stage travel becomes very infrequent.

viv in nz

work

2009-07-11T22:40:00.006+12:00

Well, I got through that shift more or less intact. This is definitely not my favorite thing but needs must and all that. The boys are out at grandma's farm until tomorrow so it is quiet round here and I will hopefully get their rooms a bit better set up by the time they get back.

We have finally moved William out of the old bathroom and into what we hope will become a nice private bedroom in a few days. At present it is still half passage between the kitchen and the rest of the house. At least we can now take a shower when we want (solar water allowing) instead of waiting for William to not be in bed or something (there was a curtain between him and the shower/hand basin). His old space is now the hall cupboard and already packed with stuff...sigh!

Sometimes it gets a bit hard to be poor and have unfinished bits of house but we know that eventually it will be a good space to be in. Especially the new bathroom and the revamped kitchen. We eventually hope to add a conservatory/dining room to the kitchen with a connecting door to the front of the house. That will increase the floor to about 1500 sq feet. We will move into James bedroom eventually when he leaves home and that will give us back our living room/work room which has our bed in the middle at present. In the mean time we hope to install one of those beds that transform into a book case by day :) We have some time to go as James is just coming up 13. A spare bed in the computer workshop (Matt works from home) should solve the problem of an extra bed for emergencies.

Then we get to improve the outside. We need to make raised beds at the low end of the grass and do some sort of drain as it is like a swamp at the moment. So is the hen run. Matt and a friend are going to work on that tomorrow.

There is always something to do.

viv

Time

2009-07-02T08:42:00.002+12:00

I had a little time
I used a little time
I'd like a little time
To take a little time
Just to live!

I have now completed my food safety certificate so I am free to serve the public their pies at the local dairy. Now I need to complete their course on weekly gambling and I can work shifts on my own. The pay is minimal and irregular but heaps better than nothing. I keep wishing Matts work was a bit more regular too. That way we might have a finished, winter proof house.

Anyhow we are trying to get Williams bedroom done because everyone is fed up with him being in the cubby hole in the bathroom. It means extending the outside entry way at the back so that we can get to the kitchen/toilet without going through what will be his room. We will close up that door completely then. It means a somewhat colder trek to the toilet as the outside passage won't be insulated but that is just tough! The kitchen is always icy in winter anyhow (and baking hot in summer) so that won't change....unfortunately.

Plastic usage took a bit of a hit this week because I did a massive sort out. At least I can say it was mostly old plastic!

viv in nz

plastic for a week

2009-06-03T11:57:00.006+12:00

I did this for the Fake Plastic fish. It covers the whole family (4 of us).

Monday - lolly wrapper (behind child 2 bed) trash
- milk bottle (they only come in plastic here unfortunately) recycle
- cheese wrapper ( only plastic here too) trash
- bread bag (I wish someone would do paper at a reasonable price!) trash
Tuesday - 2 muesli wrappers (kids lunches) trash
- 2 lemsip packets (bad cold) trash
- sardine tin cover (why???) trash
- 2 pie bags trash
- bag from salt trash
- plastic shopping bag from butcher (this will change!!) trash
Wednesday - 5 wraps off peanut slabs (boys) trash
- pastry bag (freezer and old) trash
- frozen peas bag trash
- mince bag trash
- jam top (must look into alternatives here) trash
- cake wrap (indulgence) trash
Thursday - bottle top trash
- milk bottle recycle
- organic bacon bag trash
- polystyrene tray and wrap (no excuse really) trash
Friday - tetrapak trash
- bread bag trash
- tag trash
- biscuit bag trash
- meat bag
- old shopping bag trash
Saturday - bread bag trash
- piece of tape trash
- cake container
Sunday - 4 pie bags trash
- milk bottle recycle

weight minus recycle 1.2 oz

There was some paper which I didn't count but not a huge amount. There was a cardboard box too which got missed for weighing. That got recycled too. The recycle truck caught me out :)
Looks like I need that new oven to bake goodies in. I only have a bench top one at present and it only does bread buns and cheese on toast really. I think I can cut out the meat bags at the butcher. The hens get all the scraps. This was a fairly typical week on the whole except for the trip to the bakery which seems to have delivered most of the excess plastic.

viv in nz

not much

2009-05-28T22:21:00.002+12:00

Everyone has mostly got over the cold bugs. The weather has improved to cold but clear and sunny (if you can penetrate the pollution from all the fireplaces out there! And a kitten has turned up. Its too young to be out so some kind teens picked it up and knocked on doors up and down the street unsuccessfully. So we took it for overnight and will give it to the SPCA tomorrow. It isn't wild so hopefully somebody will claim it. I'd take it myself but our older cats are not at all willing.

viv in nz

Snow,ice etc

2009-05-20T16:30:00.003+12:00

Its winter again and I have a cold. The heater is on and I still need a blanket (better slippers would be a help.) The cat (Chainsaw) has buried his nose in his tail and James is in the bed also with a cold and off school for 2 days. The washing is dripping rain and ice on the line and the items I did bring in needed a spin to remove the excess water from the extra rinse cycle outside.

Its supposed to improve tomorrow.

viv in nz

school again

2009-04-30T08:58:00.003+12:00

The kids are back to school this week. yay! I love them heaps but they are noisy in a small house even though they spend heaps of time outside. The weather is packing up somewhat after a really hot autumn patch which ripened a lot of my tomatoes. I think these late, hot times are getting hotter and later every year along with drier periods. Not a good look.

I've been making trading cards after a class of arty fartyness. They are a great way to try out new techniques. I have some 'interesting' results and will make more as it really is fun.

viv in nz

School holidays

2009-04-19T21:48:00.002+12:00

we now have the usual two weeks of mayhem whilst the boys are home. I do the juggling act of trying to keep them off the computer/tv when its nice outside and try to keep them fed and watered. I think I need a maid around now.

They did go away with Grandma for three beautiful days which was absolutely marvelous. They had a ball apparently. Lots of tramping and beaches and waterfalls and caves.

Matt cut the last of the hedge which was blocking all the light to no real purpose. We are going to plant some fruit trees along there instead as there are no near neighbors on that side. That way we get some return on it. Probably apples and plums I think with some lower growing gooseberries, cranberries etc.

There was a bit of drama when he hit a wasps nest. Fortunately no-one was stung and we applied some poison to it overnight. We now have to decide how to cope with a driveway full of old hedge plants. There are too many to compost - would take about 6 years I think. A friend will take the big stuff for her wood stove but that still leaves heaps!!

viv in nz

preserves!

2009-04-12T23:25:00.007+12:00

I just finished two big jars of peaches. Then I went to the living room for a cup of tea. There was a large crash. Now I have only one jar of peaches and a sticky floor - what a waste!!!! Far as I can make out the jar broke with the heat of the fruit even though it was pre-warmed.

Very irritating to say the least.

I got a lot of Autumn pics at the local gardens today so will post a few. The colours are still a bit muted but that is normal for this area. (We have lots of evergreens).

Council rant

2009-04-06T12:15:00.003+12:00

Well, they gave me a form to fill in regarding their proposed plan for the next year and I told them exactly what I thought of it. Basically rubbish! They are stealing all our money to build a totally inappropriate stadium which will only be used about 14 times a year and will have only an average of about 4,000 attendees per game and we have to pay 198 million for it. That means that our house rates (tax) will increase lots for no perceivable gain just so little empire builders can say "Look what we've got". Our whole population is only 130,000 and rather a lot of us are poor and will never be able to see a game anyhow. Our one aim now is to not vote for any of the supporters of this stupidity ever again.

And for this they've bartered our souls without our support or consent.

The PTB are mad!

viv

Wednesday

2009-04-02T00:32:00.002+13:00

The middle of the week already and all I seem to have done is make apple preserves and worcestershire sauce (very yummy but it did stink the house out with the vinegar). I've got cucumbers and onions soaking in brine for preserved relish tomorrow and I suppose I might look into some more jelly - this time as fundraiser for the school.

Autumn is all go go go round here. Even the tomatoes are going to have to be delt to shortly and become green or red relish (mostly green from the looks of things).

The craft class children have finished their work bags and pencil cases and are moving into crotchet and knitting next with the odd cross stitcher as well. All looking good so far.

We are doing the puppet show again and this time I get to be Snow White with the odd bit of dwarf and handsome prince. Unlike me, she's very pretty. It is fun doing these plays for people.

We are also going to get rid of the car before it finally bites the dust. We will share the car my mother has next door with my brother and buy a couple of new bikes. I mostly take mum places anyhow so not much will change. None of us are big car users.

viv in nz