Little mother...and a scavenger hunt

For those of you who have been asking about my little mother, she is doing well and talking about going back to her own home at the weekend. She takes care of all her own personal needs and is walking well. She hasn't walked for so long she had to ease back into it and now walks around the yard and up and down the footpath outside the house. I'm sure she will cope well with the help she has coming in and with my brother and me keeping an eye on her. We have a hospital visit this afternoon just to check all is well. Thank you for your care and prayers.

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I didn't think I was going to get all the photos this month but I enjoy the photo challenge and was determined to take part. Last night I found my final picture. Once again some are from the archives but I think there is only one I've used before. Most are new. I hope you enjoy them.

1:  Relaxed

This is our old boy, Claude, not long before he began to lose condition prior to his death. One of his favourite places when he wanted a snooze. The wood chips under the fern still held the heat of the sun as did the large stones. Very comforting for an old fellow. We miss him even though he has been gone a couple of years now.

2:  It begins with an M

and it's Mum, aka my little mother. She was only young when this was taken, in her early 30's I think, and looking at all the nappies on the line I'm guessing this was not long after my youngest brother was born. It was hard work with all those cloth nappies to wash every day but a fact of life. I rather like this photo of Mum, a peek into life as it was only half a century ago.

(I hasten to add that is not our house in the background

 but part of the neighbouring property).

3:  Time for...

...a hot chocolate on a cold winters day. We'd been out shopping and it was time to warm up. Really delicious and I love the marshmallows on the top to sweeten it rather than using sugar.

4:  Tangerine

I'd been wondering what to put up for this prompt and was going through some photos and spotted a pop of tangerine in this picture. We held a country gospel service at church a couple of weeks ago and one of the singers was wearing this lovely tangerine top :)

5:  It begins with an O

I was trying to think of something out of the ordinary for O. I thought I could look for something 'oresome' as a famous sportsperson once spelt it but then decided to just go for 'ordinary'. So this is my ordinary kitchen table with an ordinary bowl of fruit on it. And of course there are oranges in amongst the fruit. 

It also has some O shapes in it such as the table, place mats, fruit bowl, grapes and cake plate, none of which begin with an O.

6:  Whiskery

This is Missy. Isn't she gorgeous? I was visiting a friend when Missy decided to take advantage of the sun and leapt up on the back of my chair. I was going to put up a photo of one of my brothers, he has whiskers and looks like Santa Claus. Unfortunately he looked a bit cross in the photo I had so I decided on Missy instead. We can call her face whiskery I think, and she's cuter than he is anyway :)

7:  Lace

We went into the Octagon a few years ago to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the gold rush in Otago. Of course a lot of people were in costume and character and my GKB was chatted up by a 'lady of the night'. This is her back view with the  bodice all 'lace'd up. 

8:  Bridge

A road/rail bridge over the Taramakau River on the West Coast of New Zealand. Yes, this bridge is shared by trains and cars, trucks etc. There are barrier arms at each end of the bridge to stop road traffic if trains are coming. We always found it exciting when we were kids and wondered whether the car wheels would get stuck in the rails. When we went over at Easter a new road bridge was being built alongside this so I'm wondering how long it will be before this bridge is no longer in use or whether it will still be used for rail traffic.

9:  Letters

How to be original with this one? This may not be terribly original but while I was thinking about it I realised that whenever I was sitting in the doctors waiting room  I looked at a large wall hanging (about cot quilt size) with the alphabet on it, so I went in and asked permission to photograph it. What makes this a bit unique is that all the letters are orientated to New Zealand flora and fauna, that is why I study it. I always admire the work that has gone into it, all the individual panels have been beautifully cross stitched. People are so talented.

10:  My choice

My GKB took this photo of a goldfinch under our rose bushes. Isn't it beautiful? It was feeding on the chickweed that I had been thinking I should get out and remove very soon. We have never seen goldfinches on the property before and if the chickweed is what is attracting them then as far as I am concerned the chickweed can stay!

joining everyone at:

I live, I love, I craft, I am

for the monthly photo scavenger hunt

Brightening up a dreary day

It's a dreary day at our place today,

a touch of autumn perhaps.

The temps have dropped a wee bit

and it's forecast to be this way until at least Friday.

So after lunch my GKB said he might go

 up to the Sallies, an op shop, to have a poke around.

This is not my favourite way of passing 

time but I go along anyway. I find I enjoy

 it more each time I go and I think that

 is helped by the fact that they seem to have

 new managers and the store is quite well set out now.

We parked the car and as luck had it 

we had to pass the '$2 and Gifts' shop.

So in we went to have a look.

We have been looking for a cat ornament of some

 sort to put where we have buried our Claude.

This was grandson's (his true owner) request. 

And we found one in here. And it's ginger 

as Claude was, but with more white, Claude was

 totally ginger, but it will do the job well.

Grandson can paint over the white if he wants to.

And of course the danger with these shops 

is that you find all sorts of things you can't

 go home without. Especially if they are 

Christmas decorations on sale. I can't resist them.

But the little haul I came away with cost under $10.00

excluding the cat. A bargain in anyone's language.

Two angels, two snowmen and a porcelain Santa.

I can already see them on my mantle piece next Christmas :)

We did eventually get to the op shop! 

My GKB and I like to poke around in different areas. 

I head for the china and browse the books

 and he heads for the gadgets and cd's etc.

He found himself five DVD's and we have tried

 them all and they are in good working condition.

I think we'll be watching 'High Society' on Sunday

with my little mother if the weather hasn't picked up.

If the sun is shining we'll sit outside and chat.

And this lovely trio is what I found. 

It's a Royal Albert, Old Country Roses. 

I think it is beautiful and my GKB shouted it for me!

I think I'll keep him :)

joining Martha over at:

Martha's Favorites

and Stephanie at:

roses of inspiration

And that's it for today.
Keep warm if you're in the snow, 
keep cool if you're in the sun
and I'll see you back here next time.
Diana

Thanks and a reading challenge

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who made such 
kind comments on my previous post about Claude. 
Your kind thoughts are really appreciated.

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I have decided to take part in the Mount TBR 

reading challenge this year.

I will be aiming for Pike's Peak level which is 12 books. 

Books I already own, not new ones I might buy, or library books. The idea is to reduce the number of unread books you own and I guess in that way to declutter your bookcase just a little. 

If you're interested and want to know more
 about this challenge go here.

I have found 10 books so far that I want to attempt and there are another two that I have seen just recently and which have disappeared again, so I should complete the twelve okay.

I won't list them here though, but will try to remember to mention them as I cross them off the list. Currently I am reading '30 Days to Understanding Church History' and although it might sound a bit dry I am enjoying it. How much I will retain once I'm finished doesn't really matter these days - this is just for interest. And it takes 30 days to read if you do a chapter a day.

I think that's about it for this week

so take care and I will see you

all here again sometime soon.

Diana

Claude

We went out this morning and found our old cat Claude had died in the night. He was 17. He had been failing in the last couple of weeks and we had just decided last night that the good thing to do was to have him put down. He didn't give us time and we found him lying in the sun on the back lawn when we went out early this morning. He was always an outside cat and had only just begun coming indoors in the last year, having discovered beds and couches and cushions. We buried him in the back garden and will put a stone over him as well so we know where he is, and so we can show our eldest grandson, who he really belonged to. 
We are a little sad today so this is just a short post.

Diana

Catching up

Finally - the jigsaw is finished!

I almost gave up about halfway through 

when none of the pieces fitted together :)

But I decided that a few bits of coloured cardboard

 weren't going to beat me, so I kept at it.

In all it took six weeks!

I said I thought it would take all winter, 

well it took half the winter.

There is one piece missing but my daughter, 

who owns it, didn't think that was too bad 

as she bought it about thirty years ago.

Claude helping

One day this old fella decided to give me a hand.

I was worried he would leap off and take it with him, 

but no, he just sat and inspected it, then 

 slowly stepped onto the couch and went to sleep.

Mack having cuddles

Do you remember Mack, my grand daughter's wee Chihuahua?

He is finally out of his cage and walking again.

It was a long three months for him and everyone looking after him.

He still has to be careful, try telling that to a dog 

who has been locked up for so long. I'm pleased all is well.

Monica and Ben

Now this same grand daughter has just become engaged :)

Her and her beau make a really nice couple 

and we are thrilled for them. So I need to go shopping 

for a nice engagement present for them.

Not easy as they have been living together for 

a couple of years now, but I will find something.

Eldest daughter is moving house, she going into a smaller place because it will just be her at home before too long.

What has a crocodile got to do with that you may well ask?

Well I don't know whether there is any lawn at

 the new place and she loves this piece of garden art.

But knowing her she will find a home for it,  

she's much more creative than I am.

 I haven't joined Martha at Tea Cup Tuesday 

for a while so I wanted to today.

The tea pot is made in Japan and was a gift.

The tea cup is Queen Anne bone china, 

quite a pretty cup with the dainty blue daisy pattern.

It once belonged to my middle sister who left it 

with me when she moved across the ditch to Aussie.

I have one or two others she left as well 

and I will show you them another time.

Joining Martha at:

Tea Cup Tuesday

and Stephanie at:

roses of inspiration

That's it for today.

Have a lovely week 

and I'll see you again soon.

Diana

This is the day...

We had another dump of snow over the weekend. 

Now don't laugh at me you people who live where snow

 is a feature every winter. 

We don't get a decent dump very often but this winter

 I've lost count of how many snowfalls we have had. 

Five or six I think. 

At the weekend it was below 200 metres, 

which meant that it settled here.

Little mother decided she wouldn't go to church, 

she didn't want to risk falling. Very wise.

 

Out town is in a rural area although it is now classed as a city suburb and we are on a plain surrounded by hills and mountains.

Which still have quite a bit of snow on them.

The higher hill suburbs are still covered as well and I'm pretty sure

 the kids have had a day or two off school this week.

Earlier in the week when we went outside, 

the snow had gone from around about but it was still cold.

We'd had minus 7 C. overnight and a good, hard frost on top of it.

The picture above is of frozen raindrops on a small tree next to the fence.

Today I noticed the aloe vera was turning black,

I rather suspect it had frozen solid with the frost

 and cold and died when it thawed.

I'll have to get in and cut that out, but not for a day or two,

 it's too cold for me to do any gardening yet.

I thought I'd go for a walk along the flood bank today.

Let me tell you it was very a short walk. 

The wind was very cutting.

I stayed there long enough to get a couple of pictures of the ducks,

 who didn't appreciate me coming along and disturbing them.

They went down the bank, into the water and up the other side.

Oh well.

Then it was back home for a hot cuppa,

which is one of the pleasures of the colder weather...

...along with not having to make excuses for reading,

 watching telly, doing jigsaws, taking up knitting again

 and just generally slothing about.

And it's a good time to eat all that comfort food

 you go without in the warmer weather!

I think I told you that our Claude has only recently 

discovered chairs, couches and beds.

 During this cooler weather our outside cat 

has been found occasionally on the end of our bed,

 particularly if I won't move and let him sit in my chair.

I know, I'm mean.

But despite the cold, most days I still manage to say

'This is the day the Lord has made, 

I will be glad and rejoice in it'.

Ps. 118:24

Joining in with:
roses of inspiration

Have a lovely week,
keep well until next time,
Diana

Bits and bobs

It's been a bitsy week so this post will be a bit bitsy too.

We have just had a lovely Easter Weekend.

 The weather behaved and it was only slightly autumnal,

with warm sunny days and only a hint of rain in the evenings.

We were able to sit outside to enjoy our coffee 

and the company of my eldest grandson and his partner.

They arrived on Friday evening after a long car trip, 

made longer with all the people and places they stopped to visit on the way down.

They were busy playing Easter bunny and dropping off baskets on their way.

This one was for my GKB and me.

We have enjoyed tucking into it

 but I'll have to get out walking

 to make up for too much indulgence.

*****

Claude

Claude found it very hot and one day he was spreadeagled

rather inelegantly on his back on the mat catching the breeze. 

By the time I crept past him to get the camera 

he decided to change position and I missed it. 

But here he is anyway, I haven't posted a pic of him for quite a long time.

He's not looking too bad for an older boy :)

*****

Grandson always goes around to visit his great grandmother, my little mother, 

and she had a box of his things there that she had found out in the garage.

He came home and said "Here you go Granma, these are the souvenirs

 I brought back from Singapore for you and Grandad."

He was in Singapore about seven years ago 

so we all had a bit of a laugh about that.

Both the paper weight and the ashtray 

have the Singapore merlion on them, an intriguing creature.

*****

I thought I'd show you this little demitasse tea set I have in my china cabinet.

When we were first married my GKB saw them on sale

 and used to arrive home every Friday night with a cup and saucer.

 I have another completely different set as well and I'll show it to you another time.

I've just noticed tonight that one of these has a tiny chip, bummer :(

They have Japan stamped on the bottom, 

 and when you look at it the pattern is Japanese style.

I think it could be lustreware but not really sure,

but I think it is pretty.

*****

That's it for this week. 

I hope your Easter was enjoyable, ours was. 

We started with a Maundy Thursday shared meal at the church, 

met with church family on Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday 

and spent time with family relaxing over a lovely weekend.

sharing with:

Martha's Favorites

Until next week,

Diana

Three little kittens

Our stray mother cat (from last year) has been back and has brought a trio of pretty kittens with her. While our Claude was out and about she went into the neighbours' wood shed and took over his nest. 

Our old fellow, Claude

We know this because the neighbour told us that Claude had walked into their lounge, found a sheepskin covered arm chair and made himself at home for an hour. This became a habit (it's just as well we have accommodating neighbours) so they decided to investigate and found the mama cat with her babies. 

kitty #1

kitty #2 aka Fluffybum

After a couple of weeks she brought them out to play in the sun and eventually they were wandering over to our place and helping themselves to Claude's food and water. He didn't mind for a start but when they got bigger he wasn't quite so tolerant and began to box their ears.

third wee kitten, I'm camouflaged - you can't see me

Two of them were quite bold but the third was a timid wee thing and it took a long time for her to come with them. She had a sore eye and I don't think she could see as well as the other two.

Eventually I had the job of catching them and taking them to the SPCA. One got away in the house and I finally caught up with her her in the bathroom. She was a cutie.

I'm hiding and you can't see me

The fluffy kitten was taken on by a neighbour so that left only the third wee girl to catch. Not an easy task. But I did it and took them on a journey so they could be vaccinated, desexed and re-homed. 

Fluffybum and kitty #1 waiting for Claude to finish eating

I now have the mama cat giving me the evil eye from over the fence!

Till next time,

 Diana

Missy the manx minx

We have been kitten sitting for a few days. 

Missy is an 8 week old manx kitten
 and she had fun trying to demolish the Christmas tree.

When that didn't work she decided to climb to the top,
 but couldn't quite get to replace the star.
She did manage to dislodge 
several decorations  on her way up though.

And after swinging on tinsel and lights for a while

she collapsed in a heap on the back of the couch and slept.

Oh, Claude was not impressed 
that we had a kitten in the house, 
even a female one.

Keep well as you prepare

for the new year

Diana

Oh, the weather outside is frightful,

... it's been raining solidly for over 48 hours,
and the state highways north and south are closed again
 - this time by flood waters. 
But that didn't stop me going out

 for lunch today with my good friend, Bon.

About once a month we head over to Green Island

 and have lunch together at the Trading Post.

outside the Trading Post today

We usually have a toastie and tea (for me) and Bon has a cappuccino or latte or some such drink with hers.

You can't let a little weather stop you from having fun.

One year, it was going to be this one but wasn't,

 I am going to take part in the midwinter polar plunge. 

Well that's my plan anyway, part of my bucket list.
 It was like this the day it was held 
and I didn't realise it was on. 

That's my story anyway, and I'm sticking to it.

When I got home who was sitting, 

all wet and bedraggled, on the step?

Just Claude...who wouldn't come in, 

because strangely we like our doors shut 

when the weather is is wet and cold and windy.

He likes the doors wide open in case 

he spots a set of legs he doesn't recognize 

and wants to make a bolt for it, 

regardless what it is like outside. 

Feijoa tree

There is an upside to all this frightful weather though.

The neighbours feijoa tree is dropping fruit 

left, right and centre, over our fence.

Eldest daughter is coming over  to take some home, tomorrow, and I think I will make some into chutney this year. 

Not jam, last years didn't turn out too well.

There has just been so many windfalls

and the tree is still laden. 

You can see the fruit in the photo.

I can do a jigsaw or two without feeling

 as if I should be doing something more productive.

 This one is interesting and a bit of a challenge.

It has 11 pictures on the box

 and none of them are what you put together

...but are all in the completed puzzle somewhere

And I don't fell guilty about reading a book or four.

The first two in this pile are good stories

 but quite hard to read,

 a little strange I guess, 

and a bit different to what I normally read.

But that's not a bad thing.

And if all else fails, and there is nothing on telly, 

we can always hunker down and watch a DVD.

Have a good week,

Diana