Author Archives: paulainauckland

Perfectly Covered in Grace

Posted in cross stitch by

a lesson to be learnt here – thanks Daleen for sharing what is so, so personal. And Yay for Mr Right.

Joanne Jamis Cain's avatar

Christina's Rose

Our guest blogger today is Daleen of Sunday’s Child. She and I met four years ago through WordPress and have become great friends. Listen to her message today- it’s awesome. Love, Joanne

Hi, I am Daleen and I am persnickety.

Over 34 years of married life, I created the ideal time table. The perfect schedule. A well oiled, finely tuned machine.

Once a month I clean, vacuum, scrub, fuss and fluff the front entranceway. No matter what state or country we were/are living in, or the size of front entranceway, I buff and puff. I change the wreath or decor with the season. You will never see Fourth of July bunting still hanging on the 6th of July.

On the last working day of the month, I take a personal day. Facial, pedicure, manicure, hair (cut, color, highlight, hot oil treatment etc). I bike and rebound and get fresh air and sunshine.

Our master…

View original post 1,605 more words

July WIPocalypse Check In

Posted in cross stitch, WIPocalypse by

Wow – July’s full moon has been beautiful. I’ve seen quite a bit, as I drive in the dark to the base pool.

I have got thru 3 rotations of stitching this month; a chunk of Persephone, over the mental hump of Afternoon in London and up to Maleficent in Raven Queen’s first page. Just quietly, I’m impressed I stayed disciplined enough to stick to those 3 at home.

IMG_20160707_210254

IMG_20160714_203305

IMG_20160721_191737

Now I missed the June check-in – Topic:  Do you find yourself more productive with stitching in summer or winter? I am finding I am about the same this year, altho we’re really early into Winter down here. Making the commitment to record my projects and using Instagram has stopped a lot of my usual hibernation.

July – Topic: (two options) If you are participating in the Olympic Challenge, tell us about your plans – which type of challenge you’ve selected, the pieces you’ll be stitching on, etc.  If you are not participating in the challenge, tell us how this year’s stitching is going for you so far, and if you’re meeting your stitching goals so far for the year. Having given up FB, I’m not participating in any challenges or SALs. This year was all about taking a breath, altho I did commit to “16 in 2016” finish count.

  • Mirabilia 2004 Cherub
  • Chinese Year of the Monkey ornie
  • Nora Corbett Lily of the Valley (my last round robin contribution for that round)
  • Noel Mini Sampler ornie
  • Lizzie Kate Up in the Treetops ornie
  • Hands On Design Plenty – FFO!
  • Mill Hill Fireflies – FFO!
  • Pickle Barrel Noel ornie
  • Cross Stitcher Bunny wooden ornie

That’s nine finishes, and none will take much to FFO really apart from sending the cherub out to the framers. I’m OK with not having a big design finished in 2016, altho I do suspect I will finish Mermaids of the Deep Blue. And if all goes to plan this week, I will finish stitching the 4th of the Mill Hill ornaments and bead all four before next Friday.

Whatever happened to WIP Wednesday?

Posted in cross stitch, me, weight loss by

Long story short – this is one of the last hang-overs I had from FB. Right now, I simply don’t want to update my WIP when (for this month anyway) my rotation finish date is the very next day. This may change; I do post more often on IG or maybe it will be my Work WIP Wednesday?

IMG_20160717_085256.jpg

Here’s my stitch calendar, for anyone who is interested. July doesn’t have heavy goals; to simply be loyal to one WIP each week at home, and to bead the Mill Hill ornaments I finished stitching last month. Simplicity is key, especially when your current season includes school holidays. I need to get out my WIP pile and work out who will be what week next month  – altho it will probably be Persephone for the first week again. A “tick” indicates that I stiched on my home WIP that day – satisyingly, there are more ticks that I hoped for!

On the being honest about my weight loss front, I had an amazing loss despite feeling blah towards the end of the week and my Sunday/Monday migraine. Another 1.5kilos – 3.3lbs, for a total of 3.9kg or 8.6lbs, very nearly Mase’s birthweight. My polar shows that I was particularly lazy some days (pretty shameful days actually) so the loss was a big surprise.  I’m going to reward myself at the 5kg mark with a Pandora five charm – they don’t appear to have a ten so not sure at that point what I will do! I am still struggling to fit in all the food (my rep says about 80% of who they see are actually not eating enough to kick their metabolism into gear, and isn’t that interesting?) but I am trying.

Tourists in our own Island

Posted in books, cross stitch, family, grateful, me, photos, travel by

My rotation plan has gone out the window- well, not entirely but there’s an edit. When we checked the referee’s draw on Thursday, neither Si nor B had been allocated games, so we decided to escape Auckland for the weekend (thanks Emma for feeding the fish!). We knew the weather wasn’t going to be sharp anywhere we went, but it’s all about the adventure. We don’t know how many more weekends we will be able to get away as a family of 5 (B plans on finding an apprenticeship for 2017) so we want to take advantage of the opportunities. Raven Queen is too unwieldy to do in the car (32ct dark fabric? ah no) so I picked up Afternoon in London. I needed a jump to get over my stitching hump with this one.

We booked in at a little cottage in Opua, in the Bay of Islands. It’s just before Paihia (too touristy) and it’s where the car ferry for Russell leaves from. Small, but we could see ourselves retiring there. They even have a Stitch & Bitch session! Sadly we did not win lotto so that dream will wait a while longer. Even in the gloom the view from up on the hill was engrossing and I spent time at the windows both mornings. My only complaint would be that the kitchen doesn’t face that view.

Saturday we were all up early so we jumped in the car, planning to get to the northern most tip of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. Mase wanted to be the first boy to have been at both top & bottom of the islands (he’s forgotten all about Stewart Island!) & goal achieved. We did stop wherever we felt the need – lots of junk shops & second hand bookstores. I found some haul too as well as a very thick bio on Mary Magdalene (amazon link here).

Williams House, Paihia – part of an Anglican Mission
sailboat under repairs at Opua
Wesleydale Memorial Church, Kaeo-KeriKeri parish, c 1820’s – & still in use
Simon mourns the ruins of old houses

The Cape was a bit different from what Simon remembered as a teen. The parking lot is now well back from the lighthouse (a ten minute walk) and the entry has been all tourist-fied with piped in traditional Maori music and planned plantings. Never mind. Once you’re thru that, it’s raw and as it should be.

where the two seas meet

The lighthouse is smaller than I thought, much smaller than I remember Castlepoint being. Sadly it’s operated by remote computers now, but I could imagine the loneliness a keeper would have experienced. It’s so open and you can see where the two seas meet – Tasman on my left, Pacific on the right – and recall the Maori myth about this being the departing place for the spirits of the ancestors, as they made their way back to Hawaiki (better story here).

20160709_145257Being back at work is kind-of a letdown. I would much rather be back at the lighthouse.

and lastly – Mase reenacting the story of Jonah…

20160710_102353

Sharing is Caring: JOYFUL WORLD – AUGUST PATTERN — The Snowflower Diaries

Posted in cross stitch, freebies by

My dear Stitchers, We are in the middle of summer and it is time to release the August pattern of my JOYFUL WORLD calendar! I chose one of my furry friends for the main role, a border collie!:-) You are welcome to stitch along this calendar in our Facebook group here: CLICKYou can also download the patterns…

via JOYFUL WORLD – AUGUST PATTERN — The Snowflower Diaries

PSA about Dishwater

Posted in books by

A lot of what I am reading lately comes up with a description about a character having dishwater blonde hair. So I got annoyed enough to google the description.

All I can say is EWUUU and seriously, change your dishwater. It ain’t cleaning nothing if it’s this colour.

Current culprit: Just One Thing by Holly Jacobs. It was a Samsung/Kindle freebie this month. I don’t know yet if I’ll finish it.

Main read: Master of Shadows by Neil Oliver. I’m only in chapter two so we’ll see how that goes.

Current Favs

Posted in family, goals, grateful, me, weight loss by

IMG_20160702_090214We had an amazingly beautiful, clear weekend here in Auckland. On Saturday, most council grounds were closed, so we only had to get to Si’s line (that game was on TV, and certain people (coughmeaswellcough) have taken delight in commenting), B’s line and Zac’s school rugby game. I did a lot of driving tho and not much walking.

This is from the top of Metcalfe hill – I thought the fog looked like an ethereal wave taking over the city. That’s Rangitoto on the left; you’d usually be able to make out the Harbour Bridge in the middle – not today!

Sunday after chores I chose to head out to Bethells Beach – still my all-time favourite place. The tide was all the way out, so we explored rock pools and the caves.

IMG_20160703_184259.jpg

It was surprisingly busy (even tho it looks empty in the shots) with full carparks – so probably a few hundred people there.

And my week was alright too – making the decision to put myself first above work has meant that I’ve already made a difference. I’m trying to get out for longer at lunchtime but as I do generally walk with someone else that can be a compromise. But Monday I could only manage 4 lengths – today was 10. I’m getting there.

 

Something too good not to share

Posted in Uncategorized by

So here in NZ there’s a media group looking at more than just teh academic profile of schools. Stuff sent semi-comedian Guy Williams (the add-in of the Jono & Ben show, it’s well worth looking up some of their clips on You Tube) to Swanson School – Mase’s school!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/education/81201580/comedian-guy-williams-hosts-the-kids-panel-at-an-auckland-primary-school

Can’t say that I disagree with young Nixon’s view of our current PM; and Charlotte’s view of the world is pretty cool too. And Oshiana’s parents must have shed a wee tear.