Weddings and wet weather

Boy, am I glad the dogs got a big huge run at the dog park with my twinnie and Brody yesterday, and then another big run this morning down at the beach. This afternoon is wet and cold and we’ve been told to expect snow to 200 metres, which means we might cop a few snow flurries as well (as we sit about three hundred and fifty metres above sea level). They are now suitably tuckered out and all have a spot somewhere, where they are snoring away. Chookies to are all locked up in their coop with some nice warm mash – at least they also got a run round and a peck of some grass and bugs before the wet weather set in.

Darcy loves watching tv. Seriously. Her favourite programmes are Country Calender and America's Funniest Home Videos. Who would have thought? Just had to share. LOL.

We’ve always been very fortunate that in wherever we’ve lived we’ve had great neighbours. This place is no exception and yesterday one of our lovely neighbours got married. The wedding was small with only thirty seven guests and was held in a stately home in Fendalton. As it was a second marriage for them both it was very relaxed, but extremely meaningful and the small number of guests also gave it a very intimate feel. After the ceremony canapés and drinks were had and everybody was standing/sitting around chatting, when, yes, that big aftershock hit. I was not impressed to find myself standing under one of the two chandeliers…they were swaying like nothing else, and if they had come down…A bit of plaster fell off the ceiling, but other than that once it was over, and the guessing on the Richter scale started (you know you’re from Christchurch when…LOL), the show must go on. We stayed for a while longer before taking our leave, as I so wanted to get home to our fur babies. And they were very very pleased to see us when we did.

I have a scrappy day planned on Tuesday with my twinnie and possibly her neighbour (that’s Heidi if you didn’t know lol), so should have some creations to show you next week. I have a few on the go, but don’t actually like any of them, so they will be finished and filed and never make it to the world of online life.


I’ve a list of things to get done in these holidays, but most importantly I get to spend some time with my nephew and his partner, who will be down for Easter. Can’t wait to see them and spoil them rotten.


Have a good week all.

Yep, more chicken photos...

Yes, it's my chickens again, but better photos this time and you can see her pretty green feathers. I now have the flock that I was after. Today Donna and I took a drive a couple of hours North and picked up three more orpingtons. One has been badly picked on - chickens can get quite nasty and pull out all the tail feathers of other chickens and this is what's happened to her. She's now in her own cage in the coop with the others. This should give her tail feathers a chance to grow back - they will be fine milling around outside together, lots more space outside, and once her feathers have grown back, they will leave her alone. Mind you it wasn't my birds that did it to her, but she needs a chance to rest and recuperate. The breeders I got her from have two hundred chooks in groups of about twenty or so. The other two I got are fine - they are all much younger than my first two girls, but in a few months, with good food and care they'll all be a box of birds (pun intended lol)

The other collage is just some shots I took when we stopped in a little town called Culverden. Just because I could!

These photos are some of the pages of the birdcage album I did at Louise's class. I like how it turned out, but I'm reminded that I'm really not a mini album or off the page kind of a girl lol. Still I guess it's always good to push your boundaries a bit.

One week of term to go, can't wait for this term to finish. It's been full on and the kids are getting really tired with lots of 'she said, he said' dramas going on, which aren't the norm where we are. Lots of our families have had others staying with them because of the earthquake and it all takes it's toll for both families especially when you're a preschooler, so a couple of weeks off with a change to routine, usually a much more relaxed, not rushing to get out the door to school or kindergarten, means the kids come back refreshed and excited, ready to learn once again. And so do the teachers lol.

Oh I better go, Donna is on dinner duty and she's calling my name...

Have a great week.

New babies in the household

Meet my new babies. Two beautiful Orpington pullets. The black one, who is now named Shania is about six weeks older than the splash coloured one (which is white with splashes of black or blue on it). My splash is called Faith. Yep, there is a bit of a country and western singer theme going on here. I have three blue orpys on order (since last November…didn’t realise my chosen breed would be that hard to get). They will need names too, so a bit of research is needed. Donna thought one of them could be called Dolly. Nope, sorry, I don’t think so lol. Now these girls have spent their lifetime (October and December born) in a coop, never free ranging. They are pretty scared of the big wide world, so I’m glad the school holidays are only a couple of weeks away and I can spend time getting them used to walking and pecking on grass.

The photos don't really do Shania justice - she is gorgeous, with striking green and black feathers that glisten in the sun and reflect light. I will have to practice my chicken photography. Sorry, you'll have to look at them for a while yet LOL.


Well the twinnie challenge this time round was to make five cards. I did make five, then I threw one away. One of the criteria (which is very loose at the best of times lol) was to use stamps and colour them in – I did. And the four year olds at work could have done a better job. So four cards it is.

My plan for this weekend is to finish the book I made at Louise’s class a couple of weeks ago. Just the journaling and the roof to go. The journaling is printed but needs to be cut into strips and glued and the roof is cut, just needs to be glued. Might even get a layout started.

This last week has seen Lyall and I relaxing up at Hanmer Springs. We hit the hot pools and even went down the new twirly whirly slide…about twenty times lol. Wouldn’t want to be going up those stairs with a southerly blowing, you’d turn into an ice block! Being a bit more alpine than us, means autumn is starting to hit up there – glorious colours abound on the trees and that lovely light that only comes through in autumn is just gorgeous. Best of all we got to sleep in and just relax.

We got home though to find the water pump has been damaged by the latest aftershocks and so had fun trying to get a plumber to come and sort that out. The plumber had fun trying to get a water pump as they are, as you can imagine, in short supply. However it did get sorted and we certainly aren’t the only ones who are now starting to find things getting more and more damaged. Funny things too – we have one side of our tv cabinets doors lower than the other… However you find out who your friends are - thanks twinnie for offering your shower, washing machine etc.

Dogs are all good. Archie is going through the teenage years. This basically means he has really selective hearing and is pushing the boundaries lol. The sheep poo in the paddock next door is much more important than listening to Mum. Trouble is the little bugger can fit through the fence and since we haven’t done half as much obedience training with him, his recall isn’t great, even with a packet of something yummy dangled in sight lol. Will have to work on this.

Right, better go and get that book done.
Have a great week everyone.

What a short post...

I don't like card making. I envy all you clever ladies that can make cards. I've managed two this week. I feel like I've spent hours on them, it looks like I've spent minutes on them. Two down, two, to go. Then this challenge is over. Over and out. LOL.

I also managed to get a couple of layouts done to go up in my local scrapbooking shop. I should have got photos, but oh well, they'll be back home in a few weeks.

That's about it this week, not that I haven't been busy, just nothing worth writing about really...

Welcome to my scrappy space

Last week Vicki challenged me to show my scrap room – so here you go!
When we first shifted down to Christchurch and I was around at Vicki’s I was totally taken with the cute cubes she had as storage in her scrap space. So I pinched that idea lol. On the way home from her place I stopped and purchased a few and then got Lyall to make them up for me – couldn’t have him getting bored you see ; -) Now they happily sat on top of my table up against a wall, with everything in handy reach until September last year. You all know what happened September last year. And from then on every time we had an aftershock I had visions of these cubes coming down on top of me. For my birthday this year Lyall changed my scrapping space, and I feel much safer in there now – the stuff can fall off the shelves but the shelves themselves would need a lot of force to come down – and by the time that happened I’d either be under the table or out of the room altogether lol. It also means I have a spot for my sewing machine, cuttlebug etc to be permanently out – that’s in the hope that I’ll use them more 

Our other challenge to ourselves is to make cards. I’m so not a card maker. I so admire you out there who are. And these cards have to be flash. I tell you, I’m struggling with this one lol. Challenge, challenge, challenge alright!

This is the sketch challenge over at Scrappin Patch.

Today has seen me busy making tomato sauce. I’ve not ever done this before, but I’ve been given so much fresh, organic produce from the parents at work, that there is no way I’m letting it go to waste. So lots of pears have been stewed and frozen and the tomato sauce has been simmering away. One of the Mum’s at works said “don’t worry about boiling your bottles etc – put them through the dishwasher without soap, and that sterilises them for you!” Now that’s modern technology at its best I say!

And on that note, I’d better carry on with it – have a great week everyone.

Sunday goings on...

For those of you who read this lovely lady's, then you'll know what was up for the latest twinnie challenge. If not, we decided we had to use all those ornaments that looked great when we brought them and still look great now, because they just sit in our scrap rooms looking pretty lol. So this layout has seen the sewing machine (which I must say, I'm getting much better at using now it's permanently set up), the cuttlebug, dimensional magic...I also popped it into one of the March challengs over at Scrappin Patch.

In other news...well actually there's no other news. Been busy working, dog walking, grocery shopping and doing all the normal stuff that it takes to run a household. Though today Lyall and I did have a nice lunch at a local pub, just to have a complete break from all the earthquake news happening around the world. An hour or two of eating, drinking and watching horses on tv lol.

Have a great week everyone.

And I don't have a title for this...

I ache. All those muscles that you don't use often, now ache...a couple of hours driving around our paddock on a tractor yesterday did that. Along with a couple more hours on the ride on mower doing the lawns. Nothing votaren and a good sleep won't fix lol. And because he could, Lyall left a happy face in the paddock, about eighty square meters of happy face. Of course the only vantage point by which you can see the happy face is about three thousand feet...hope when the planes fly over (depends what the weather is doing as to whether planes fly out our way or not), anyway, hope the people in those planes have a wee giggle when they see it.

It was great yesterday morning to catch up with Vicki and Brody for some much needed hooning around at the dog park. Boy the river there is just the best, the dogs absolutely love it. Love how the retrievers and the labs just own it lol. Also was good to get some more cat bikkies and dog bikkies at Animates for half price. Any bag, any brand, any size, all half price for the residents of Christchurch. Thanks Animates.

See those groceries? This lovely person asked if she could pop some money into my bank account and I'd go shopping and get much needed supplies to send into Christchurch via the Rangiora Express. So this I duly did. At the front entrance to our two supermarkets was a list of what was currently needed, so I followed that and filled up with Nicki's $200.00 donation. Way to go Nicki!

This morning Donna and I headed up to Sefton. That's about a twenty minute drive North for us. A tiny little rural hamlet. They were having a local fair, with running races and pony rides and highland dancing. Bacon butties by the local school and home made baking by the local church ladies. We had a wander round and brought the requisite fundraising raffle tickets, along with a pumpkin so I could come home and make pumpkin soup. Which I did. There's a dusting of snow on the mountains - snow and pumpkin soup just go well together lol. Don't think the snow will last long, weather is meant to be warm again lol.

See a couple of the Prima team are coming to NZ and Scrappin Patch are hosting them...gotta go to that me thinks!

Oh and off to Hanmer in a couple of weeks. Lyall's work has rented a holiday home up there. All Christchurch staff with their family, get four days, three nights up there. We get the company car and fuel card, food vouchers, entry to the hot pools...as a thank you for all their hard work over the last couple of weeks. Great way to show appreciation.

Have a great week everyone.