Author Archives: paulainauckland

You Can Quote Me – Exhibition Drive walk

Posted in books, family, steptember 2015, You Can Quote ME by

As always, YCQM reflects some portion of my One Little Word for 2015, Serenity. This week it was about re-charging myself, body and soul, ready for the new working week.

exhibition drive mapYesterday we combined family time (sans B, who spent the weekend at his friend’s new home & told me this morning (by phone thankfully) that his clothes really need washing and they are really, really ripe due to helping carry a dead sheep – oh yay!) with Father’s Day, Steptember and my love for the Ignite shoes that Puma gave us last week. Zac found a walk in the Ranges book that I brought Si a few years ago (it’s here: https://www.paperplus.co.nz/book/walking-the-waitakere-ranges-9781869664268 or you can google search individual walks) and we drove over the hills to Titirangi.

Because Si has his knee strapped up, we parked at the Shaw Road carpark, which is roughly halfway along the walk (the red marker). We walked towards Titirangi, turned around then completed the walk.

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Exhibition Drive is now closed off, but it used to be part of the road from Titirangi village, over the Waitakeres to Swanson. It’s now been replaced by Scenic Drive, but a few driveways still come off it. But because it was a road, it’s wide enough & smooth enough for running, pushchairs, wheelchairs and cycling. There are a few parts when you can see the old road base poking thru but it’s very safe for the whole family.

The road follows the old tramway, which was set up to transport parts of the pipeline that used to bring water down from the hills. The cast iron pipes are visible for most of the walk; they were forged in England in 1912, shipped to Auckland port, railed to New Lynn, horse & dray to Titirangi village then the horse-drawn tram finished the journey to the site.

20150906_135504At Jacobson’s Tunnel (length 527m, all by hand!!) you can still see part of the tram tracks. There are valves along the pipeline that the kids had to play with, either for removing caught air or isolating water at that part of the pipeline. It’s OK – these sections aren’t in use!

20150906_125322One of the felled trees on the path – Zac & Mase look like midgets! We couldn’t count all the rings.

20150906_140502And the view at the end over the Manukau Heads. Gorgeous.

And she’s done!

Posted in conversion details, cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

Yay for Saturday mornings with no sport.

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And a close up:

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I did change out some beads, more because I had them to hand but they fit so well on this fabric. Everything is still Mill Hill.
16603 became 03016.
18828 became 00143 (happily the packet I didn’t use for Stargazer).
In the bubble trails from her fins, I used 00150 instead of silver and 00161 instead of 02010.

I do feel a little stupid in that she’s been sitting in a bag for a year, and it was only a week to get a finish!

Book Review: Anchored by Kayla Aimee

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Subtitle: Finding Hope in the Unexpected

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Subject: 234.2 Christianity, grace

Recommended by: Jessica Turner @  www.themomcollective.com

Author blog/website: www.anchoredhopebook.com/

I love this book. Love love love. Not only is KA informative, sarcastic, clever & so obviously real, she’s funny too.

Blurb: Poignant and humorous, Anchored recounts Kayla’s gripping story of learning to navigate her newfound motherhood in the most unexpected of ways. With vulnerability and plenty of wit, Kayla lays bare her struggle to redefine her faith, her marriage, and herself in her search for hope.

For anyone who has felt their faith in God falter, Anchored extends a gentle invitation to join her as she uncovers a hope that holds.

ForParty

There isn’t any hiding of the pain – and with any premature birth there is always going to be pain and uncertainty – but a 25 week birth? I can’t imagine the terror. I have been lucky to have relatively easy pregnancies and births – and even luckier to be able to take my children home soon after. Not 100+ days after.

A good lesson that I took from this was that having FAITH doesn’t protect you from pain (I know, should have paid more attention to Paul’s journey, right?). That FAITH is holding onto God even through the pain – or most especially during the pain.

A keeper – 4 stars. You can start it now by going to KA’s blog and downloading the first chapter.

Non-affiliate links are used in this blog post.

High 5 4 Friday!

Posted in family, grateful, High Five For Friday, me, steptember 2015 by

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My list is a little late today but that’s because I have so much to be grateful for!

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A day off. It meant walking to school with Mase ( in my new Puma Ignite shoes, I love them already). Talking. Taking time to smell the flowers (he’s hamming it up for y’all. I told him I’d post it on the blog). Unexpected time with my daughter and watching then play. Getting to 10000 steps for Steptember.

It’s been a really good day.

Book Review: The Dirty Life by Kristen Kimball

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Subtitle: On Farming, Food & Love

Publisher: Scribner (Simon & Schuster)

Subject: 631.584 – agriculture biography

Recommended by: Elise Cripe @ www.elisejoy.com

Author blog/website: www.kristinkimball.com/

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Well, there was precious little food in here – certainly no recipes like in “The Feast Nearby”. Kimball still writes as if for a magazine audience and at least she isn’t shy of writing about her failings (especially emotionally) but there were many times I just wanted to shut the book and move on. I do think that I would have been better to leave a decent gap between Feast and Dirty – more because I enjoyed Feast so much – so that’s my take-away lesson. Leave gaps!

However she does describe the characters beautifully and I really did enjoy that aspect of the book. 2 stars from me.

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett by

So as I’m in between round robins and I felt kind of stupid having all those beads and something that was nearly a finish so…

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I finished her hair this morning. Just a tip: of you’re planning on stashing a WIP for any decent period, highlight where you get up to. That’ll save you a few hours!

Her tail is beading up quickly, as I’m only attaching them with a half stitch. All shiny!

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Steptember is coming…

Posted in me, steptember 2015 by

and I signed up, along with a couple of workmates.

steptemberFrom Wednesday, 2 September I will be taking on the challenge of completing 10,000 steps a day, for the entire month of Steptember to raise vital funds for the Cerebral Palsy Society.

The average office worker only takes around 3,000 steps per day, so 10,000 steps a day is going to be quite the challenge.

But it’s for a very worthy cause.

Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in childhood. One in two people with cerebral palsy are in chronic pain due to the tightening of their muscles. Many will never be able to take a single step without assistance.

If you’re not sure where to start, a donation of $55 could support research actively preventing CP in newborn babies

You can donate to my fundraising page: (http://bit.ly/1JuNI9k)

Any amount you contribute would make a huge difference to children and adults living with cerebral palsy and of course encourage me to complete my 10,000 steps per day!

Thank you so much,

Paula

P.S. You’ll receive an automated receipt as every donation over $5 is tax deductible (NZ donors only)

August WIPocalypse

Posted in cross stitch, grateful, Mirabilia, WIPocalypse by

WIPocalypse is a monthly-ish blog hop hosted by Measi.  This moon’s task was to choose a WIP and tell the story.

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This is Mediterranean Mermaid. Long time followers will know all about her; but for everyone else, this is why she’s still a WIP.

Our youngest, Mase, often has asthma flareups. Bad ones. End up on nebuliser ones. It’s long hours, often alone as there are other children at home, so I had to have a project that was permanently packed & could go anywhere with me. Lynne suggested Jug (as in, she carries an amphorae).

But so far in 2015, and with winter nearly over, we’ve kept Mase under control. Small flares, nothing major. Poor Jug hasn’t been worked on for nearly a year (I even brought the beads earlier this year in preparation),

It’s hard to feel for her tho!