Category Archives: Life

Stories about every-day life.

Everything I ever needed to know about quilting…

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… I learned from these women.

These are some of the members of my stitching group Village Quilters, who meet every Tuesday from 10am to 2pm. The meeting room we hire is part of a renovated church building and it’s lovely and light – just right for a craft involving decisions around colour and placement. I don’t know if it’s obvious to you, but when I look at this picture I see women sharing ideas and knowledge. Everyone is in conversation with someone else, and they may be discussing just about anything quilt-related, and a good deal that probably isn’t.

I have received advice on the colours of fabric that might look good, had my layouts rearranged (for the better) and learned how to join my quilt bindings with an almost-invisible diagonal join. I have had great discussions on books and have a long list of titles I now want to read; I know which current movies to see and which to avoid; and I have learned the recipe for lemonade scones. Above all I have learned that a group like this is a fantastic support network, caring and sharing love through quilts with its members, their families and the wider community.

 

At the Expo

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While most of my friends may find it hard to believe, I CAN get up early when I have to. Here’s proof – the dawn sky yesterday, as I left for Wellington. Isn’t it lovely? Slightly foggy and almost ethereal.

The reason I left so early? Destination Wairarapa invited Fantail Grove to be one of their ‘tasting partners’ at the Women’s Expo. They choose a different providore from the Wairarapa to share the stand each day. It means they can be located in the popular food section, and also attracts people to the stand. So glad they invited us this year!

To say it’s a “lifestyle” expo is an accurate summary. There were exhibits from service organisations like Women’s Refuge, Hearing NZ, and Breast Cancer NZ; stands from financial and life planners; products for the home and garden; educational institutions for women and their daughters; clothing, jewellery and other accessories; lots and lots of yummy food and drink – and other products that defy categorisation! It was a feast of colour and the buzz of conversations between visitors and stall-holders was constant.

Barbara (of Destination Wairarapa) and our stand at the beginning of the day – it didn’t look quite so tidy after a day of tasting, brochure-collecting and competition entry form-filling!

Although it would be hard to spot any in this picture, there were some men brave enough to attend – and some of the stalls were being operated by men (the one next to us was being run by a mother-and-son combination – not so unusual you might think, but the son was only 11 and he did an awesome job!).

After a day of this I was absolutely exhausted! I haven’t even unpacked the car yet – that will be a job for Monday. So thankful that I have tomorrow off work to recover further – but I also have to say that I enjoyed every minute of the expo and meeting so many lovely people.

Sharing the space

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I knew that time was running out.
I knew it was selfish to have all that space for craft.
I know I started it by giving him lessons for Christmas last year.
Since last Tuesday the craft-guest room upstairs in the garage has also been home to this….

I’m getting used to the muted bang, thump, clash when Richard goes to practice (not game to be in the room at the time though!). He is so very pleased to have a drum kit at last I can’t really be sad that “my” space is now “ours”.

Goodbye craft space. Hello hobbies room!

Adventuring

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Last week it was finally time for our hay to be cut. This usually happens in mid January, so it’s very late this year (blame our ‘summer – what summer?’ weather).

As Ninja (the kitten) has been growing up a feature of most days has been a walk down the property (10 ha so lots of it to explore). I call “Ninja! Walkies!” and her small black frame appears from wherever she’s been sleeping, as she is eager for these adventures.

Once the hay was cut I wanted a photo for my Project 365. The hay paddock is beyond all our tree plantings, so it would be further away from the house than Ninja had been before, but I knew she would enjoy the trip, and I was interested to see whether she would play with the cut grass.

Past the olive trees (stopping to climb one or two of them), and into the first hazelnut plot. The nuts are ripening and falling thick and fast – the ground under these trees was clear a few days before the photo!

Through the long grass…

Time for a short rest and a look around…

Past the burn-up pile…

Running around and over the dirt-pile, trying a bit of digging too. Does your cat love loose soil and like to dig, roll and play in it?

Finally next to the hay paddock. These wide open spaces feel a bit scary though…

Definitely too scary for a small black kitten! Time for a hasty retreat!

Maybe next time we go down (to count the number of bales, now it’s all been parcelled up) she will be a bit braver and stay long enough for a photo.

Wedding!

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We’ve all been taken up in the fun and fervour of our friends’ wedding. We have supported this couple (especially the groom) through a long-distance romance and engagement, and were so happy to help make their day really special.

Richard was Best Man, so had to craft a speech. Much thought went into this and there were several drafts:

I made boxes that contained the wedding favours – using my Silhouette machine, this template, and Stampin’ Up Pool Party cardstock.

We travelled up the island to south Taranaki and saw the damage done by last week’s storm in the region. We timed our arrival for the day before, so we could help set up the reception venue. When we had all finished it looked so pretty!

The boxes acted as place-cards and contained a mixture of sweets. The groom couldn’t decide what was the most quintessentially New Zealand sweet, so there was a mixture: Minties, Jaffas, Milk Bottles, Pineapple Lumps, and Sprats (tiny Chocolate Fish). The bride provided Macadamia Nut Kisses – only available in Hawaii.

After the previous stormy Saturday we were all thankful the wedding day was beautifully fine. We paraded for a group photo outside the motel:

(Richard, Ed, Ed’s girlfriend Christina, me)

After a beautifully-worded ceremony, the words were said to make this pair ‘man and wife’:

Doesn’t the groom look totally in love with his bride? So that you can see how lovely she  is, here’s a photo just of her from the reception:

She is listening to her new husband’s speech and preparing to make her own. She had to cut her own short as she was so near tears (of joy!).

Richard did a great job of his speech, and of actually making it. He wanted to be sure there were some laughs, and he certainly hit the spot:

We all had such a great time – it was hard to come back to work-a-day life this week.

High Tea

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I’ve never been to ‘High Tea’ before, but I knew it was posh, so I made sure I flossied myself up:

I met my friends (the Scrapmates who had been at our place last month) at the James Cook Hotel’s Whitby Restaurant. Very classy – I’m glad I dressed up! Once we had all arrived and settled at our window tables we ordered tea from a selection of ten choices – I had Green Tea with Jasmine – and coffee for those who just couldn’t do without. Then the plates arrived. I shared a gluten-free platter with Kris:’

As the food was so exquisite, I took close-up photos of every layer. It tasted as good as it looks!

We were there for over two and a half hours and discussed all manner of things, as we tend to do. The world set to rights for at least five minutes, we left for our regular lives, encouraged and enlivened by our get together.

Close Encounter

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Right from the start, our kitten Ninja has been fascinated by Martin the lamb. At 8 weeks old, on only her second visit to ‘the outside’, she tried stalking him.

After six more weeks of experience, Ninja is now an old hand at lamb wrangling (although she still hasn’t decided quite what to do with him)!

Blast from the Past

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We had a stall at the Martinborough Fair yesterday. It’s great fun meeting lots of new people, as well as old friends. Ed was one of my helpers (along with his girlfriend – they did an awesome job) and it was such fun to run into Debbie, one of the women who worked at the daycare centre Ed attended for nearly four years as a pre-schooler. The last time we saw Deb was at Ed’s 5th birthday party. We are now planning Ed’s 21st.

Deb is the same height as she was 16 years ago.

Ed isn’t!