Category Archives: grateful

it’s a holiday weekend, so it must be raining…

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And yup, there it is. I’m sitting at my kitchen bench, working (of yes I am!! 6 sets of reporting are done & dusted) and looking east to the City. I’m halfway decided that the little bit of light that I can see is the glow from the street lights. I’m not going to be seeing this colour today but I will be dry (disclaimer, I didn’t take this shot. It’s from Vincent’s very beautiful blog, https://vincenttack.wordpress.com/2014/10/22/nog-6-dagen/ ):

sunrise in aucland

Saturday and I’m winning

Posted in family, grateful, league, me by

Out of the house before 8:30. Z to one muster, B over an hour early to his first ref assignment and we were late to M’s muster at Ellerslie.

But all settled down and M actually was player of the day!

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Back to Fowlds just in time to see the ref call the game off after the second red card to Z’s opposition. Z was at the bottom of the heap so it was a good thing I missed that bit!

Wendys to reward both for their efforts then back to Cornwall to watch B ref the second of his games.

Now I am more than ready to head home for a cuppa & a little bit of lazy. How was your day?

Catchy

Posted in grateful, music, Saturday Share by

We’re heading into winter down here, and some days just need that little beat of sunshine added to them.

Then I saw something on Caroline’s blog and oooh light bulb! I’m going to play with this, but even tho Caroline doesn’t know me, this is a Mary Poppins of a play list.

Spring 2015 Playlist

Take a listen; then Shut Up & Dance With Me!
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Or shuffle from side to side. That’s okay too.
Thanks Caroline. Hope you feel blessed today.

We Will Remember Them

Posted in family, grateful by

Today marks 100 years since the start of the Gallipoli campaign. It’s now generally recognized that there were massive mistakes made, but we gather at cenotaphs all over New Zealand and Australia to mark the sacrifices of the young men who left their homes and families, traveled to the other side of the world and fought for King & Country.

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A phamplet covering some of Grandads writings

I personally don’t have memories of any family members who fought in WWI but both my grandfathers were present in WWII. Pa was a driver; while not on the front line fighting his war must have been horrific. Grandad McLean was a sapper who was present at El Alamein & acted as his troupes medic. Grandad came home on the hospital ship “Oranje” which left port in July 1945. Grandad wrote prolifically while overseas and then revised everything when he got home (removing the redacted words) so his diaries are very complete.

Today I miss my grandparents & wish that I could have shared then with my children.

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Packed service at Swanson RSA

If you want to know more about the ANZAC tradition, take a look here: http://www.anzac.govt.nz/significance/index.html

To the men & women serving my country today, thank you.

I went a little bit mad…

Posted in grateful, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

One of the ladies in our group decided to de-stash. I only brought one piece of fabric but….

PersephoneMirabilia Persephone kit: Like the lotus flowers behind her, with their blooms growing up from the darkness, Persephone emerges from the underworld once a year to return to her mother Demeter and herald the beginning of spring. Surrounded by cranes, symbols of happiness, good fortune, and longevity, she embraces the beauty of the Victorian era in her aquamarine gown while she contemplates the luscious pomegranate and the coming harvest.

md130lgMirabilia Biancabella kit: In honor of her mother who stitched in the palace orchard, Biancabella visits the place where her mother once pricked her finger and made a wish. Her heart’s desire was to be granted a lovely daughter with skin as white as the fragrant snowdrops at her feet, hair as black as the friendly raven who perched above, and lips as red as the crisp apples that hung from the branches around her. She holds the last apple of the season aloft, admiring its succulent scent, wondering if it possesses the power to bring her a true love in spring. I have a mirror shaped frame, I think her face/hand/apple will be perfect but I’ll have to stitch over 1 or on 40000 count to fit it in!

md111lgPeony Garden: Exuberant double blossom peonies create a purple haze at twilight. With names like “Cup of shining night”, “Story Enchantress” and “Red embroidered needles ball”, it is no wonder that the peony tree is the center of every spring imperial garden. I’m going to reverse this one so she faces Damask Roses.

md1Damask Roses (v excited, this one has just been discontinued and Wichelt do not ever, ever re-print or load as digital): A Grecian beauty clasps a bouquet of pink roses to her heart, her gold-banded teal gown draped in serene folds about her as she dreams of days last spent with her one true love in this very topiary garden. There are no beads on this design– the textural interplay of carved stone, shimmering silk and soft rose petals is embellishment enough.

md6Christmas Elegance (again, I think this is now discontinued): Glorious gifts await on the lap of the emerald-gowned heiress who sits beneath the softly falling snow on a starry Christmas Eve. Who would guess from her beaded and bejeweled opulence that she waits each year at this time to spread lavish holiday cheer among those less fortunate?

md69Cinderella: “She made her escape as lightly as a deer. The Prince followed, but could not catch her. Only she dropped one of her glass slippers, which he picked up and treasured. Romantic quote taken from: Quiller-Couch, Sir Arthur. The Sleeping Beauty and Other Tales From the Old French. Edmund Dulac, illustrator. New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1910. I needed a second copy of this one. The one I have is tatty, being about 5th hand and not cared for at all.

mermaid l mermaid a mermaid d

And the mermaid letters A, D (I shall extend this into the P as this still hasn’t been released) and L. I’ll convert anything red into “traditional” mermaid colours and use lots and lots of Kreinik, as you do.

That’s 9 charts. Oh. It’s a very good thing I am not participating in “stitch from stash” & that both my birthday & mother’s day are coming up soon. Told Si & the kids that they don’t need to buy me anything, i’m so very happy with this haul!

Most of the text above was taken directly from www.mirabilia.com – usually there’s a little tale with every design. I wish there was a noracorbett.com with the same!

not sure what’s up?

Posted in books, family, grateful, league by

Well, you’d be in good company. I am still exhausted despite having four days IN A ROW away from work. Alex is sure it’s a lack of vitamin D (we work down Skid Row, there is NO natural light) but I go for walks every lunchtime and basked in the sun over the time off, like a fat fluffy cat. I am going to schedule in a haircut and optician to eliminate both from the potential headache causes but I am beginning to think it could be the medical treatment I opted for in November.  The haircut however is totally necessary – the ends reach my waist and if I don’t fasten it up at night I roll over and yank it accidently – not conducive to a good night’s sleep!

banshee

Not sleeping has been partially caused by a Banshee binge or two. Or three. I love that show, especially Job. Hoon Lee plays him perfectly; snide comments and all (even that 80’s electric blue eyeshadow). Also I loved Outrageous Fortune when it was on our TV screens (so very, very stereotypical West Auckland) and the same guy, Antony Starr, who plays the lead character Lucas from Banshee played the twins in OF.  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2017109/ I am also reading heaps of magazines and other fluffy things, altho I have the latest Nora Roberts & Karen Kingsbury’s downloaded to my Sony, ready for when I can concentrate on something that is more than 1500 words.

Saturday games went well; Z’s team is now 2 from 2 and mine is well, playing. It’s non-competition and I think it will be a few more weeks before the focus goes on participation for a couple of the families. I have now been doing the manager role for long enough (and there were some AWFUL parents last year) so I have gained a certain numbness when it comes to behaviour. Not every kid can play a full game and I juggle – and I only wish that they would notice that my kid is always rotated off for a period. However this year’s batch is so much nicer & considerate and I shouldn’t have any sideline worries.

B also had his second ref assessment and it appears to have gone OK – either that or Craig was being too generous, shivering away in his overcoat (& looking at Mase eating his ice cream like he was from another planet – Saturday was not tropical at all in Auckland!). I was grateful to not be watching his game (B was probably thinking the same LOL) as I am so nervous that he will let something go and/or cop abuse; too many people think they know the rules and aren’t smart enough to actually shut up and learn for themselves. It’s too easy to blame someone else when your kid drops the ball repeatedly! It’s even easier when you know the kid that is the ref – this particular game was Z’s team so some of the adults involved have known B since he was eight. One more positive assessment to go.