Monthly Archives: March 2015

Prognosis

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The asthma adventure will last for at least five days. We have five days of redipred so that’s five days of vomiting. Oh, yay. But we are at home, not the hospital so that is a major thing to be grateful about.

The first load is already in the machine and his booster is drying in the sun. Hooray for sunshine!

I can also verify that vomit slides off an Under Armour storm hoody just as well as water. In case you want a product recommend. Plus it’s fluro yellow, the kid can’t get lost.

MISSING: One eReader. Reward.

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It’s not really missing. It’s just that my morning routine went to custard, as it was rubbish & recycling day. I got home later than usual last night (league season training has started) & the Screaming Teen hadn’t done his chores. I didn’t notice until nearly six this morning but punishment will be cleaning their bathroom – and he hates that. Consequences!

So I got to work, settled in then realised at breakfast time that I’d left it behind on my bedside table. I have read nearly every word in the printed Herald today and am jonsing to pick up where I left off – re-reading a Nora Roberts standalone, Black Hills. There’s a good review here:  As the reviewer says One thing that you never fail to do is make the setting come alive. The South Dakota Black Hills have never sounded so welcoming, so engaging…

I do wonder tho at the thought process (or lack of) that goes into covers. This is the original (I edited my file to show this cover):

black hills proper

And then there’s this one (I think this is local to Australia & NZ) – Hills? What hills?

black hills no hills

And this one – hills but a distinct lack of clothing budget…

black hills skank

Maybe I’ll get some more planning time in while I wait between appointments. Here’s hoping!

WIP Wednesday & Smalls SAL check in

Posted in freebies, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, Smalls SAL, stitching patterns by

Hello!
I’ve been very busy, in between painting the house, refereeing the brats, work and the cricket world cup (& amazing laugh filed brunch with stitching girlfriends) but I’ve completed my Small this month.

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This is a Joan Elliot design from the same book as the Orient piece. Much nicer to stitch! This is on a simple 6*8 frame for Sarah, one of my work mates who has a gorgeous garden. It’s her birthday on Sunday and I wanted to give her something special.

I’ve decided to stitch the rest of the bead stars on Stargazer. I’ll pick up some invisible thread to do that with. In the meantime I started one of the free cherubs from the Mirabilia site.

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I’ve changed the background colour from 310 to 823. So far I hate the hair colour but let’s see how adding more colours changes it. I’ve already frogged a section due to cricket excitement so that’s not a problem anymore.

I’ve also tentatively decided what to stitch for the Round Robin. I’m very lucky as Zeb is lending me some of her charts to snip some small portions from. As of today, this is how I look:

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What do you think? I am short one section still…

You Can Quote Me

Posted in You Can Quote ME by

OLW Have Courage & Be KindOn Wednesday night I went with my darling Louise and semi-adopted Aliese to the Chick Flick choice, Cinderella.

I can totally recommend this movie for your child, teen, whatever – as long as they’re female. Little boys will be making barf noises in the background as this movie is unashamedly romantic and fluffy, and the only sword scene is just fencing practice. As with most Kenneth Branagh directed movies, it’s lush, textured and beautiful and as with most Disney traditional movies, there’s the theme rolling through. In this case, it’s one we should encourage our kids to adopt as their motto.

Have Courage, and be Kind.

WIP Wednesday

Posted in Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

2004freeWell, I did get some progress done on Jug, but forgot to take the photo this morning *facepalm*

My work piece is the 2004 Mirabilia cherub. I’ve opted to use DMC 823 instead of black in the background, & I’m sure that won’t be my only conversion.

If you want to stitch along, visit http://www.mirabilia.com/category/free-graphs/ to download or view any of the other free charts.

and in SQUEEEE! news, I have been accepted in a Mirabilia/Nora Corbett Round Robin (RR) group for this year. Really excited – now I need to chose parts of 7 pieces to have stitched, plus choose a fabby, plus choose & stitch the border…pressure’s on! but so much fun.

I’m thinking my theme will be small things – as sometimes it is the small things that really grab me in a chart. Like the arch in Rose of Sharon. The White Rabbit in Fairy Idyll. That sort of thing. Feel free to chime in with suggestions!

New Tank Additions

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On Sunday we drove past the Hollywood Fish Farm in Mt Roskill and had to make a stop. After the great pH debacle (lost six fish) the tank was looking more than a little empty and it wasn’t hard to convince Si that we need some more fish (he enjoys looking at the tank, but doesn’t like any of the maintenance or feeding needed).

Mase wanted to check that Big Clary was still alive (he is on a morbid drive at the moment). She/He was. Phew. I don’t want to be having that conversation – which I nearly did after Z casually commented that BC would feed a small family (he’s right, but it wasn’t the right place or time to open his mouth!).

This store is so relaxing. There are marine, cold water, tropical (high or standard ph) and turtle set-ups. Like Animates, you can buy a huge range of extra stuff but the fish range is a bit wider. I FINALLY got myself a Port Hoplo catfish (I’ve been wanting one for about 2 years). B chose a shark – I did manage to talk him out of another Red Tailed with the help of the sales assistant (they are more aggressive than other small tropical sharks) so he had a specific Rainbow in mind. Si chose dwarf gouramis but as they are reasonably expensive we’re going to get another two next month – he came home with a Cobalt Blue which shimmers beautifully. He looks grumpy as tho – like the cat!

All three seem to have settled in nicely, eating and not hiding in the caverns of the plane. It’s nice to see some more colour in there. The kids have already named them – Spot, Sharkie & Blue. No points for guessing which is which.

rainbow shark cobalt hoplo

Perhaps as it is St Paddy’s day we should have brought in something green…

The Highs & Lows of Being One Kid Down

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hobbesSo Auckland has been on the outskirts of a tropical cyclone. This is so typical and highlights the week that Z will be away on his school camp. It always rains cats & dogs when he goes to a camp. However in the hills around Rotorua he’s more likely to be comfortable than he was for that week on Motutapu (an island in the Hauraki Gulf). The one night he’s scheduled to be out in a tent is forecast to be okay, but I sent him away with a decent sleeping bag.

TUI RIDGE PARK Tui Ridge Park is located on Oturoa Road, 17 kilometres north of Rotorua. It is set in a 170 hectares of bush and native forest on the Mamaku Plateau. The school sends 12 Year 8 classes to this camp (six classes at a time).

Accommodation Accommodation is in separate dormitory buildings for boys and girls. The dormitories have bunk beds, are carpeted and have heat pumps. Mattresses are supplied, students need to bring their own pillow and sleeping bags. There are shower and toilet facilities with each dormitory. Heat pumps on a school camp?

Food Tui Ridge camp is a fully catered camp. The food is mostly vegetarian, tasty and plentiful. A typical lunch would be pizza, salad and potato wedges. A typical dinner would be nachos or macaroni cheese and dessert. This is going to punish Z – he HATES cheese with a passion. I did write that down on the notes tho. I guess he can pick it off or eat a lot of fruit.

Programme The programme taken by trained instructors is designed to enhance the skills learnt and practised in Year 7. Activities include high ropes, abseiling, rock climbing, mountain biking, orienteering and archery. There is also a fitness trail and confidence course on site.

But here comes the real reflection.

Plus Column: I don’t have to think about who is on dishes (it’s you all week, B). I don’t have to wake him up for four mornings. My washing load will half, until Friday anyways. I gain back at least thirty minutes tonight, as there is no late swim lesson (they’ve just cancelled all the lessons today – so I gained 2 hours. Early dinner + bed is now planned!). The fights will be few & far between (Z & M have been at each other for weeks now).

Minus column. I don’t have the morning cuddles. I don’t have the evening cuddles. There are no impassioned book discussions. There will be noise from B about the dishes (altho he won’t consider cooking for one little moment). The house won’t be vacuumed except by me (Z loves that chore). There will be a gap for five days that I can’t fill.

Annnnd the Saturday stress has started

Posted in league, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, sport, stitching patterns by

Today’s post comes from Northall Park – yeah I didn’t know it existed either! Simon is in the middle for a pre-season Glenora v Glenora game, Bran is running one side line and the rest of us are settled in for a hot 40 minutes.

I’ve found myself a shady spot right next to the school playground. Mase is making friends (that’s my mum. She’s going to give me a new brother. I am? News to me, kid) & Zac is thinking about his creative writing prompt. Bats v Spidy. Who is the best a fighting crime? He thinks Bats. I’m undecided.

I think I’ll make pancakes when I get home.