3 months later....

Have had a bit of a hiatus, I know. Didn't help that I was away at the beach for all of January and then again for some of February. I had no internet access at all for all of that time. Must admit I din't actually miss it at all as I spent a great deal of the time ensconced with a good book. It's been a long time since I have had the time to just laze and read.



Haven't stitched in months. No desire to at this stage either but no doubt once the cooler months get here I will pick it up again.












Remember my potager that Tony built...well here it is a few months later. Nicholas and Sarah are very proud of their sunflowers and corn. We ate the last of the corn last night. I have now pulled out the dying plants and will replant with dwarf beans, mesclun and lettuces. The kids are right into gardening and they get such a buzz out of growing their own food.

Tony and I have finally set a date and we are getting married in October. We would have liked to do it earlier but I am doing a post grad certificate through university and that finishes then. Didn't want the stress of organising a wedding while I should have my head in my books. So we have decided to go to Rarotonga and have a romantic Pacific Island wedding at http://www.royaletakitumu.com/index.htm It seems ages away but no doubt the time will fly by.

I am back...

Well I have been offline for most of the last 3 weeks. Major shit happening in my life which is now all resolved. I am so looking forward to 2007! It's gotta be better than this year!!

I haven't stitched at all. Poor old Coffee Menu is languishing and gathering dust. However the garden looks fantastic and I have been away at the beach with Tony and the kids. So not all bad!

Have got back on my bike again after a long hiatus. It's great to be cycling along the country roads with the sun beaming down. Roll on summer! Not training for any rides, just enjoying the fresh air and keeping fit.

A sad day here

Tony and I went off to the beach for the weekend sans children. Our first weekend off, just the two of us, in 6 weeks. Had an awesome time there. I love the Mount as it is called amongst the locals. We have a permanent site in one of the caravan parks and it is only and hour and fifteen to get there so we make the most of it once summer starts to show.

Unfortunately we came home to find our beloved cat Tiger had been hit by a car and was killed. I had to get the kids back from my ex's to tell them. What a rotten end to the weekend. They, of course, were devastated especially Hannah. She was ok today until little Miss Sarah pretended to be Tiger and pounce on Hannah! It was kind of funny but poor Hannah just lost it. I swear I don't know what I am going to do with that girl! She is mischief personified!!!

Well the girls cleaned up

It was the long awaited Pet Day today. Peeked out the window when I got up and it was raining hard. Great I thought...what a start to the day. However, by the time we got out to the school, the sun was poking its nose through the clouds and the rain held off until just after it finished.

There were three classes...Most obvious pet, leading and rearing. The children were divided by age so we had 4 groups. The winners and second place getters for each age group then all compete in the same ring for champion and reserve champion. Hannah got 2nd in both most obvious pet and leading and reserve champion for leading , and 1st and reserve champion in rearing and won the Senior Cup.
Sarah got 2nd in most obvious pet and leading and 1st in rearing. Both girls were competing against one another in the championship ring so a bit of sibling rivalry was going on. She then went on to share the Junior Cup with another boy.

So we have Group day next Wednesday which is where all the schools from the region come together and compete. Then it's all over and they can become lamb chops! Nah, just kidding.

See, I have managed to stitch...

albeit not a great deal. Here is a progress piccie on Coffee Menu.

Hopefully the two headless ladies will have heads by tomorrow. I am enjoying this design, but just wish I had more time to sit and stitch.

Coffee Coffee Coffee

I am trying to give up coffee. Not because I want to as I hopelessly addicted to the stuff. However, I was recently diagnosed with a health issue and a couple of the recommendations (along with a host of other things) are that I give up coffee and alcohol or at least limit them. I knew I drank far too much coffee. It wouldn't be uncommon to have 9 or 10 cups a day. Talk about wired!! So I have weaned myself right down to one cup a day and have switched to decaf for the rest of the time. The day would not be the same without my morning coffee.

Do you know how awful that first cup of decaf tasted. Blech! However,
Moccona make a really nice freeze dried decaf that is very palatable.

Now the alcohol might be a different story. With summer coming up you can't beat a nice G & T in the sun. Poor Tony got glandular fever about 6 weeks ago though and isn't allowed to drink for 6 months. I'm thinking "Yay I have a sober driver now". Truth is I probably am not going to benefit from that at all lol.

Kids perked up yesterday so we went shopping for new clothes. I cannot believe how quickly they grow. Mind you their father is 6'5 and I am 5'7 so the odds are stacked against them for being short. Hannah, who is nearly 10, wears the same size shoe as me!! Crikey knows what she will be wearing as a teenager. Actually I couldn't resist buying this T shirt for Sarah, my youngest, that said " I am bad at being good and good at being bad". It just sums her up perfectly.

School holidays are here

First day of the school holidays and I have 3 sick kids. Yay! Could be making a visit to the dvd store later I think. :-) I love having the kids at home though and spending time with them. And the 2 weeks will go way too quickly.


I finally finished planting out my potager. I just told Tony what I wanted and he built it for me. I wanted something natural for the paths so used shredded cambium bark. Have snow peas and French beans planted to grow up the taller climbing frame, gherkins at the other end on the smaller frame and then all the summer vegies we love to eat...tomatoes, capsicums, chillies, radishes, carrots, zucchini, corn, carrots, lettuces, mesclun, rainbow chard and of course a few strawberry plants. Have sunflowers and herbs to plant yet. The biggest problem will be keeping the cat off the seeds. Don't they just love that freshly dug soil!


It was such a beautiful day yesterday. I came home from work and Hannah was cuddling her lamb on the back deck. It looked so relaxed and I am sure it had drifted off to sleep before I got snapping with the camera.

Haven't made much progress on Coffee Menu, but might take the opportunity today to sit and stitch. Have a couple of days off now. I just been so tired that I have been going to bed about 8pm every night! That used to be my stitching time.