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
Sunday, September 18, 2011
The Gutbuster
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
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
Saturday, September 17, 2011
'bread'
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
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
Friday, September 2, 2011
September already!
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
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
Monday, August 15, 2011
more snow
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
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
Friday, August 5, 2011
Hospital - again!
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
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
Monday, August 1, 2011
Finished - well....
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
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
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
DIY
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
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
viv
Friday, July 15, 2011
cold
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 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
Friday, July 8, 2011
Sprocket
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
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
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
kitten
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
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 :).
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
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Socks
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
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
viv
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Wallpaper
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
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.
It was soooo worth while to be part of this though.
viv
Friday, May 27, 2011
I'm growing says Sprocket
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
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
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Time flies!
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
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
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sprocket
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
There are some photos :)
She is a moving target!
viv in nz
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Skilly 1996 - 2011
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
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
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Symposium
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
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
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Potatoes
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
I think you could say this is a success :)
viv in nz
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Worstershire sauce
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!!!
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!!!
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