Swede, bulbs and jigsaws

 It's been so cold this winter we haven't done much except hunker down at home and go out when we've had to. It's been wet and cold and sunny and cold and night time temps below freezing at times. That means it's cold when we get up but the living area is warm as we set the heat pump to come on about an hour before we rise. 

I've finished one jigsaw and got another on the go but I don't know how far I'll get with it. DIL Sofi gave it to me, it was one they were discarding  at work, and I've already had one shot at it. I didn't finish it that first time and I seem to be doing even worse this time around. I've got the border finished and a few pieces in and about 840 pieces that don't fit anywhere at all :) Never mind, I'll plug away and see how I go. I'm not promising I'll finish it this time either. 

Jacqui arrived in for a chat and a cuppa yesterday bearing gifts. Half a swede, that will be nice in some vege soup, she'd got three from a roadside stall, and a boot full of spring bulbs. She's going to sort the bulbs out and bring some back for me. They'll look nice out the front when the jonquils die off - daffodils, gladioli and pink and white hyacinths. 

Just for something to do we went in to the Warehouse and had a wander. We came home with a new toaster, which we needed and a new blouse for me. I decided I needed a light long sleeved top for when we go over to Aussie next month. Their temps have been a lot cooler up north than  normal this year. Sometimes down in single figures.

I've also worked a few extra days in the shop as well and last week I had a wee fellow come in with his mother. They wandered around and picked out what they wanted and then while Mum was still browsing he came up to the counter and put his sticker  book on the counter and said "Now you pay for this." I smiled and said "No, I haven't got any money." With that Mum arrived at the counter and paid and he was happy. He was only three and knew when you went to the counter someone paid. I guess he thought it was me, because he didn't have any money :) His Mum and I had a wee giggle about it.

And with that I'll finish.

Keep well, keep warm - or cool - and I'll see you next time.

Diana

ps. Texas you are in my thoughts and prayers.

A blah day

  It's been a cold, wet and miserable day.  My GKB Bob had an early appointment so he was up earlier than normal. When he left home the temp was -2° C. That's 3° warmer than when he got out of bed. I think our high for the day has been 2°. So a good day for inside stuff. And today I had plenty to keep myself occupied. 

When Bob left the sun was shining and although it was cold I thought I might get a load of washing out and, maybe, even dry. Didn't happen. Just as the washing finished the clouds came over, not from the south which is normal, but from the east. Low, grey clouds. They looked like snow clouds to me and the breeze coming ahead of it was bitter. With the clouds came drizzly, sleety rain which has continued all day. So the washing is draped on the clothes horse, in line with the heat pump, and will hopefully be dry by morning.

I've also spent part of the day preparing a one pot meal for Friday Light, an outreach group which meets at one of the local churches once a week. It's so much easier to prepare these days, when they first started we prepared meat, potatoes and veges and it was quite labour intensive. I only cook once every couple of months now so it's no hardship. 

There's also a jigsaw on the go so I got some of that put together. Still a way to go but getting there. 

And I finished my book. I'm sure I've read this one before but I quite enjoy Donna Andrews' books, they're light, easy to read and humorous. Good for giving the brain a bit of a rest if you've been studying or just reading something a bit intense or challenging.

Did I say I was planning on stewing more feijoas today? Well that didn't happen. By the time I'd cooked the meal and done a few chores I just wanted to relax for a bit. But I'm sick of them covering my bench so I think I'll need to get into it tomorrow and as the forecast is for more of the same what else will I do?  I picked up about four dozen today so took some down to Friday Light, hopefully someone there will enjoy them.

And so I think I'll finish there.

Keep warm if you're in my part of the world

 and whatever else you do look after yourself.

Diana

Hello there

Oh dear, it is almost 2 months since I last posted but I promise I have been busy. And I have called in to see you all now and again. We have had computer problems as well and I'm not sure whether or not I'll be able to post any pictures, but I'll have a go :)

*****************
Our new great grandson, Arlo, has been out to visit. He is growing so fast, it's hard to believe he is nearly 3 months old. Winter is cold and flu weather and so we have been very careful in our visits with him. My GKB has been down with a really bad cold twice this winter so we haven't seen the wee man as often as we would like.

Back in April I showed you a panel from a crocheted blanket that I am cross stitching on. My middle sister made it over 20 years ago but I never got the stitching done. Well now it is completed and flew out of town with my middle daughter yesterday to await the birth of another great grandbaby. Due tomorrow. But they live in the North Island so we won't see so much of this wee one.

When I had finished the blanket I decided it was time to do something a little more relaxing, craft is not my thing, so I have finished a very busy jigsaw. Fun. Although my daughter in law says, "Jigsaw? No way, Mum".  :) Unfortunately it had a couple of pieces missing but that added to the fun, I don't think I'll keep it though.

 

Yesterday I thought I should start going through the boxes of Mum's writings and photo's etc that have been sitting in my spare bedroom  for over a year. Mum wrote poems and short stories, none published, and a lot of them for her grandchildren. Now said grandchildren would like copies so I need to find the ones they want and do something with them. I have a little pile, about six inches high, of folders and notebooks I need to go through. I have up to three versions of some stories so far, not all in the one place either, so I can see I am in for an interesting time. It will be nice to eventually have my spare room back :)

And that is it for the time being. 
I will try to get back a bit sooner next time. 

Until then , keep well.
Diana

Randomosity

I'm feeling a bit tired this week so I have just picked 

some random photos to post and will share them with 

Five on Friday and Friday Foto Friends.

My GKB playing at Shantytown on the West Coast. 

I will one day do a post on Shantytown as  promised

 but just now my head is not in the right space.

Some cute coffee mugs I was given during the past year that have been sitting in their gift wrapping. I finally decided they could go on a shelf in the kitchen along with one or two others I have.

New Zealand won the America'sCup yacht race this year and yesterday there was a parade in the city to show it off to the proud locals. It has been paraded through several of the bigger cities during the past week and ours was the final one. DIL was  in town and took this picture, the young captain is just obscured by the trophy. Unfortunately my GKB has been a bit under the weather so we didn't venture in this time.

Talking about the weather, we have just had an arctic blast travel the length of the country and  so we had a bit of a snowfall. Not much here but it has been heavy throughout the rest of the country and because most of our city is built on hills it was covered. Once again we haven't been out taking photos, decided it was best to stay home and keep warm. My GKB just took this nonsense one of our picnic table in the yard.

Because it has been so cold I have been doing jigsaws, a good winter pursuit. I just finished this one and today put it away and started on another one. When I finished I had two pieces left over, it wasn't until after I took this photo that  saw the hole in the middle. 

I fixed that but still had another piece left over from a totally different puzzle. Weird.

My GKB seems to be besotted with starlings, he finds the markings on them quite fascinating. This one was spotted (in more ways than one) on a neighbour's chimney pot, feathers ruffled to ward off the cold. Isn't he a beauty?

And seeing as starlings are critters I think I would also like to join Eileen for Saturday's Critters.

Winter activities at home

Yes, I do in fact, spend time at home and in the winter

 it is a matter of finding things to do on long dark evenings.

So, no. 1: I like to read. This is the latest book I have finished for the reading challenge. A Fistful of Summer by Peggy Dunstan. 

It is a collection of short stories written by a New Zealand author and based on her childhood in Christchurch and Wellington. Although set a decade or two before my childhood days,

 probably in my mother's, I could relate to it and so 

thoroughly enjoyed it. I may have to read it again.

No. 2:  Now I don't neccessarily like to knit but have found myself enjoying it more now that I am not trying to keep my family warm with nice woollen jerseys. It was such a challenge to make sure they all had nice new jerseys for the winter, then as they got older there were those  jackets worn by Starsky (or was it Hutch), and everyone had to have one or they would be the only kid in school looking uncool. I find it more relaxing these days and as well as the snoods for my daughters I have knitted this beanie hat. I will probably put it on a bring and buy table later in the month.

No 3: I quite enjoy doing and completing a jigsaw. This is the latest one and let me tell you it took me as long, or longer, to do the sky as to do the rest of it. The one before this was shades of white and grey with a little bit of blue, this one is shades of pink and peach with some darker shading. I pulled out the next one in the pile and it was shades of white and grey with touches of gold! No! I wanted a change so have opted for a more busy one, I've done it before quite a while ago but am finding it more challenging this time.

No.4: I have had a few cards to send out this month, bereavements, birthday and invitations. But finally they are all done. Well no they are not really, next week youngest grand daughter is turning 18.   So I will be on the lookout for a nice card for her over the next few days, and a gift to go with it. I can't believe how quickly these kids have grown up.

And so to no.5: Once a month I am rostered on to help in our church hall in the kitchen, I generally enjoy this particular evening out. An alternative church service is held each Friday night and I usually make a dish and take it down. The service is attended by some of the more marginalised people in the community some of whom travel out from the city to attend. They start off with a cuppa and a sing along followed by a bible teaching, then they have a hot meal followed by another cup of tea or coffee. It's my night tonight and I have made a big fish pie. It looks a bit pale in the picture but is set to go into the oven to brown up before I take it down. Maybe I'll grate some cheese onto it as well.

And that's my five for this week.
I'm joining Amy and friends for: 
Five on Friday

Diana

Busy, busy, busy...

...that's the way my life has been for the past fortnight and so I'm sorry, I haven't had time to just sit and write about my road trip yet. But I will get around to it eventually. Tomorrow I head south again for an overnight stay about an hours drive from home, with a group of girlfriends. Then I just want to hibernate at home for a week and catch up with my GKB :)

So without further ado here is my little collection of miscellany

 for Five on Friday over at Amy's blog.

1) The top two pictures are gifts I received from 

my girls for Mother's Day. Loved them.

2) It must be winter, I have started this jigsaw, 

all shades of pink and peach :)

3) Last Saturday evening Sis took Little Mother, my daughter and me to the ballet. She was the only one who had ever attended before, but we all enjoyed it. I have to admit though that I kept waiting for them to burst into song - I'm a fan of musicals. The ballet was The Wizard of Oz.

4) Feijoas - there is an abundant crop on the tree and even just picking up the windfalls we are getting a medium 

sized bowlful daily. I have been giving them away 

as well as eating them, I haven't had the time to cook

 any in any way but hope to be able to at least stew 

some next week. The tree belongs to the neighbour

 and overhangs our driveway. In the summer it is full 

of waxeyes darting about looking for insects.

5) And finally Leo. Leo is my friends' cat who I've written 

a couple of posts about in the past. Leo walked over 

the rainbow bridge yesterday afternoon and will be sadly

 missed by everyone who met him. He was a real character. 

RIP my little ewok.

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

A Daybook entry...

Not a lot has been happening this week, it's just been one of those ho hum weeks. 

Not that I want a lot of drama, ho hum is good occasionally.

So this week I thought I might join in with 

The Simple Woman's Daybook.

So let's get going.

For Today - 30th June, 2015

 Outside my window... the sun has just set, it is dark and cloudy
 with a tinge of red across the top of the hills
and a cool breeze is blowing. The street lights are on.

I am thinking... it's time I went out to the kitchen
and dried the tea dishes and put them away in the cupboards.

I am thankful... my house is warm, dry and mostly weather proof.
I'm pleased we got the insulation in before the cold of this winter arrived.

I am wearing... blue jeans, blue long sleeved tee shirt,
 bright red socks and white sneakers.

I am creating... I'm not creating anything as such
but I am trying to put together a jigsaw belonging to my daughter.
It is a snow scene and apart from sunlight on a misty mountain
 it is shades of blue, white and grey.

 I think it will take me the rest of the winter!

I am going... to take a break and make a hot ginger drink.

I am wondering... whether writing this piece on Tuesday evening
 is okay because even though it is Monday in the US
it is Tuesday evening in my neck of the woods?

I am reading... Unafraid by Francine Rivers. 
I have only just begun it and so far am enjoying it.
It is one of five novellas telling the story of five women from the bible.
This one is about Mary the mother of Jesus.
I have already read one of the others and found it quite intriguing
 even though it was a fictional account based on the bible telling of the story.

I am hoping... the next few days stay nice and sunny
and we have a little bit of warmth in the sun.
And that the wind stops blowing up from the Antarctic. Please.

I am learning... to live a contented life post retirement :)

In my garden...The jonquils are through the ground
 and beginning to make a bright show along the front of the house.

Otherwise it is in its dormant state as it is winter 'down under'.

In my kitchen... I have a bench covered in feijoas ready to bag up
 and take down to the church for whoever wants them.
I'm the only one here who eats them and
there are far too many for me. All windfalls.

A favourite quote for today... a hand up is better than a handout.
I have no idea who said it originally but I think it is a good philosophy.

A peek into one of my days... What did I do today?
It was sunny skies and a good wind so the beds were
changed and washing all hung on the line to dry.
I picked up my friend and we went around to my mother's
 house for lunch and to watch a devotional video with her.
Then everyone piled into the car and away we headed to do the weekly grocery shop.
Back to my friends for a hot cuppa, dropped Mum off
with her shopping and then home again by about 4.00pm.
Cooked tea and cleaned up, husband is away out, I'm bathed and relaxing.
All is well.

One of my favourite things... a lovely hot bath on a cold winter's evening.

*************

I'm also joining Stephanie over at 

The Enchanting Rose for her weekly gathering:

Roses of Inspiration

That's it for this week folks.

Keep well 'til we meet again.

Diana

Days of our lives...

As I said last week it is autumn in the south.

Today you'd be forgiven for thinking that winter had arrived.

The temps have dropped and the wind and rain have been howling through.

As usual for Tuesday I went to little mother's group 

and then took her out to do her weekly shopping.

I thought she might decide to stay home by her fire, but no, out we trotted.

Being so cold and miserable when I got home I decided it was time to get out

 one of the jigsaws I kept at home and started doing that.

It's only 500 piece so shouldn't take too long - I hope.

Buuut there's a lot of water all looking much the same, oh well.

When it's finished I'll put it in the library at church with the others.

Of course it was Mother's Day at the weekend 

and my girls and some of their kids arrived out for a visit.

I was given lots of sweet stuff, yum, 

and some smelly candles, yum again.

And my son skyped from Japan just before they arrived 

so everyone had a good catch-up.

I had taken my little mother to church in the morning 

and she had already gone home, so she missed them all. 

She always likes to go home early on Mother's Day 

to be there in time for my brother and his partner arriving.

Our middle grand daughter is turning 18 this week

so we are going out with her next weekend for an evening meal.

We gave her an early birthday present.

You may think this is a funny gift to give an 18 year old 

but she was really thrilled as she is going away this week for the course

 she is doing and was hoping to borrow some of our luggage.

And when she graduates she hopes to be travelling some more.

So what else would we give her? And blue is her favourite colour.

What else have I been doing? 

Well I was given these...

...quinces, apples and pears fresh off the trees.

So I have been peeling, stewing and freezing a lot of it.

Some of the apples and pears I kept to eat, lovely and sweet 

even if they had to be washed or peeled to get the bird poop off. 

I have to admit that I gave most of the quinces away, not all of them though.

Because they are such an old fashioned fruit 

and not seen much I think they are probably an acquired taste,

 especially for younger people.

I gave them to some older ladies I know 

who were really quite thrilled as they hadn't had them for years.

One was going to make jelly and the other was going to stew them whole.

Everyone has different ideas about what to do with them and how long to cook them.

I just stewed the ones I kept and froze them with the other fruit.

My little mother gave me a teaset a week or two ago. 

She had already given me one she knew I liked, or what was left of it...

she used to have tea parties with some of her great grandchildren 

and I rather think they were broken then. 

So I am on the lookout for replacement pieces for it.

Anyway  here is the newest one. A Yamato fine china.

It's black, white and silver and I think it is rather elegant and unusual.

 

Unfortunately I'm not too good at taking photo's at night

(something I'll have to try and remedy) 

and the trim looks gold here rather than silver.

Oh, an update on Mack, eldest grand daughters wee dog.

He is standing on all fours again to everyone's relief

 but still has to be confined to his cage for a few weeks yet.

So no drastic decisions have to be made :)

joining with:

roses of inspiration

Martha's favorites

 Well I think that's it for tonight,

 so until next week I will say goodnight.

Diana