Category Archives: grateful

The Hux Part Deux & WIP-yesterday-was-Wednesday # 214

Posted in cross stitch, family, friends, goals, grateful, me, Mirabilia, music, Nora Corbett, stitch from stash, stitching patterns, weight loss by

About this time last year, I climbed the Hux with the BBM crew. This year, as a family we decided to do it again, opening up to whomever wanted to meet us but not letting the lack of “me too” hold us back.

The Hux, or Hakarimata Mountain summit climb, can be divided into two portions. There’s the relatively easy walk to the site of the 1922 dam (nice waterfall is just past this) or the more strenuous climb to the summit. 1K almost straight up, 1349 stairs.

http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/waikato/places/hakarimata-scenic-reserve/tracks/hakarimata-summit-track/?region=waikato&park=c46c7395-d05d-44ff-b48a-66d228a7e77e&activity=walking-tramping#activitypanel

Because I haven’t been very active, my personal goal was halfway plus two flights. I kind-of bullied Karl into the same (he originally had halfway) but then we just kept on moving. And moving. And after about an hour, we were there (Si & Mase had done it 1.25 times by then & Louise & her friend A were a little behind us). Woot!

On the way up I’d seen part of the Tuakau and some Rewa league boys & on the way down, some of the Hamilton BBM crew. It’s nice to see familiar faces but even more so, nearly 99% of everyone else on the Mountain is also doing it tough, no matter how you measure them from yourself. There’s a lot of encouragement & good vibes.

On the WIP front, my work/travel piece is still Little House Needlework’s Bethelehem. I’ve finished with the lettering as of last night and YAY it well fits into the fabric with plenty of room. And I got some progress in on Fairy Idyll – not visibly much as it is such a big piece, but counting & double-counting has got me to the far right. Sorry for the crinkles – I am also stitching this one in hand.

Music wise I am slow to the party & have just discovered Sam Hunt. Gorgeous voice and a STORY in the song? Yes please. Also Do Right by The Glades – she has a beautiful voice.

WIP Wednesday #213

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, family, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitching patterns by

Look at me, blogging on the day I should! Almost a grown-up.

Stitching wise, I haven’t got much done at all. I took a half-day Friday feeling unwell, and have been this way since. I’ve been to the GP and have tablets, spray & ear drops – she thinks a combo of inner ear infection & sinusitis, yum – and blood tests for thyroid & iron & other stuff. I’m slowly getting better but it’s 11am & I’m desperate for a nana nap. So slow is the word for today.

20180124_110030.jpgOn Ashley I finished the blend in the bow, the apricot roses and the greenery in her bouquet. Maybe 250-300 stitches? And I didn’t do anything more on Bethlehem.

I did go to the Corsini exhibit on Saturday with Lou & #masetheace. He was pretty awesome for his first classical art exhibit, lots of questions but he was quiet, respectful & didn’t try to touch anything. More than I can say for some other kids. What is up with letting your child TOUCH a 500 year old fabric wall hanging (close up of the stitching below)? Or letting your child scream in an echoing room & ignoring the 50-odd other people who paid to see this exhibit? Rant over. Take in some of the gorgeousness – and if it ever leaves Florence again, take the chance & view. Well worth it.

WIP (cough) post-Wednesday #212

Posted in cross stitch, DIY home, family, grateful, House, me, stitching patterns, work by

Apologies for the lateness but – yeah. Life.

This past week has been really odd, frantic busy & I haven’t had much stitching time at all. I finally started Little House Needlework’s Bethlehem & this is all I have managed, in between swearing & work, while in my little office.

We finished the work at the MIL’s on Tuesday, just in time to run home, clean up & shoot into town to see Jimmy Carr at the Aotea Centre. Another night without eating (trying to get parking & pre-pay so we didn’t get towed ate up the time) but it was so worth it. I know he’s crass & non PC, but his humour is on multiple intellectual levels. And his reaction to hecklers is spot on. I laughed until my cheeks hurt & very nearly at crying point. And we had a late night visitor – those stripes look odd!

Last night MIL and the boys arrived home – hooray! She kept on saying she’d loved what we had done, but then spoiled it a little by commenting about our wanting to sell it. For the fifty-fifth thousandth time – it’s not us thinking about selling. Grr. She has a lot of trouble just being grateful & that is getting to me. After all, that space was original 1979…it was well past due!

I don’t see much stitching in the next week either – I want to go to the last days of the Corsini Collection at Auckland Art Gallery. It closes Sunday but I plan on going Saturday with Mase in tow.

Blurb: From the private collection of the eminent Corsini family in Florence, Italy, comes this fascinating exhibition featuring Renaissance and Baroque painting by artists such as Botticelli, Andrea del Sarto, Caravaggio and Pontormo.

The exhibition provides a window on the family’s continuing passion for collecting art, their support of artists, and their ongoing loyalty to the city of Florence, which has prevailed through the devastation of WWll and the inescapable forces of nature during the flood of Florence in 1966.

Portraits, landscape, mythological and religious paintings, as well as sculpture, works on paper, furniture, costumes, embroidery, games, kitchen equipment and a lavish dining room set for six, will portray the life of this family at the Palazzo Corsini and their patronage of the arts.

WIP Wednesday #209 & #passthestash

Posted in Christmas, cross stitch, embroidery, freebies, grateful, Smalls SAL, stitch from stash, stitching patterns by

Woot! I have had a bloody good Finish week. Both Jamaica Santa’s are FFO, one on my tree and one ready for Aliese; and even better, Believe is an FFO as well! I found a funky frame at Living & Giving (it’s by Umbra) that was cheap, as one piece of glass was broken. You’re supposed to put the photo between the two pieces of glass, but instead my sandwich is the perforated paper, glass then a piece of thin, sturdy card. Doesn’t it look cool?

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I’m also very, very pleased to have nine (now ten!) stitched pieces on display.

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My work piece therefore is new – it’s one of this year’s Lizzie*Kate Coffee Time designs. I’ve even coffee-dyed 28ct white Lugana to suit, & I’m using the Gentle Art threads I used for the Mia Mermaid. They aren’t very variegated but they are nice to work with. Progress shot next week!

What this means is that Believe is ready to #passthestash. I use a working copy, so the chart is pristine. The leftover DMC floss & beads are included; some will definitely be enough while others will need to be sourced/exchanged for what is in your stash. Entries are open from now until New Year’s Day 2018 & I’ll get Mase to randomly choose someone next week.

Comment below – do not mention the word G I V E A W A Y or I will delete. Let us know what you would give to someone who doesn’t believe in Santa!

WIP Wednesday #207

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, family, friends, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin, stitch from stash, WIPocalypse by

So. Here we are again, heading into the silly season. We’ve had a busy week. There’s been a lot of Tag going on (tag is the summer version of league, no tackling but it’s very, very fast flowing). Lou turned 23, & we had a family lunch at hers. Being in retail, work is ramping up so I’m trying to find moments of peace. Like looking at the Pohutukawa (or New Zealand Christmas Tree) at the supoermarket carpark. I even took some stitching into the Shine assembly at school last night – Z was rewarded for having already banked a merit NCEA credit going into year 11 (which is when most NZ children start NCEA/GCSE type standards). He’s got 7, being assessed for another 5 & needs 80 in total by the end of next year.

Stitching wise, it’s been good when I look back. Still too many things for my liking are in the WIP phase, but I got a mini finish – Rose of Sharon for Becca’s RR. I have this one in my stash & Simon has asked to add it to my list – does 2019 look good for you hon?

I have started (at Becca’s noted disappointment that it wasn’t finished) to complete Ashley’s Roses. It took a few hours to mark what had been done on a copy of my chart (yeah, another in my basket of Mira), then floss check to make sure any batch changes wouldn’t affect the overall look. I’d rather frog at this point than later! So this is my start point, I only have a few additional stitches in so not worth showing any progress. I do want to get this way to Melinda in January, so she remains my at-home focus piece.

Also not worth showing any progress on is Jamaica Santa – pathetically I’ve managed only another thread length of beading. But Believe only has one more colour to do before I bead that, and the Honey Pots (work) are taking shape also.

My 2018 plans are starting to come together also – but you’ll have to wait until Jan 7th, the opening WIPocalypse post for that. Are you joining us for year seven? ANNNND Stitch From Stash is opening for sign-ups for the first six months of 2018. Look for the group entitled “Stitch From Stash 2017/2018” to be included in the ongoing saga. There are other groups as well, but Stephanie is such a good admin & this isn’t a pressure point, so I’m continuing where I am.

Book Review: Things We Set on Fire by Deborah Reed

Posted in books, grateful, growing by

things we set on fireBLURB: A series of tragedies brings Vivvie’s young grandchildren into her custody, and her two estranged daughters back under one roof. Jackson, Vivvie’s husband, was shot and killed thirty years ago, and the ramifications have splintered the family into their own isolated remembrances and recriminations.

Sisters Elin and Kate fought mercilessly in childhood and have avoided each other for years. Elin seems like the last person to watch her sister convalesce after an attempted suicide. But Elin has her own reasons for coming to Kate’s side and will soon discover Kate’s own staggering needs.

This deeply personal, hauntingly melancholy look at the damages families inflict on each other—and the healing that only they can provide—is filled with flinty, flawed, and complex people stumbling toward some kind of peace. Like Elizabeth Strout and Kazuo Ishiguro, Deborah Reed understands a story, and its inhabitants reveal themselves in the subtleties: the space between the thoughts, the sigh behind the smile, and the unreliable lies people tell themselves that ultimately reveal the deepest truths.

 

MY THOUGHTS: This is my first Reed read (ha!) but not likely to be my last. I’ve enjoyed the way the author can weave past & present very, very smoothly and the way that life is portrayed as a cycle.

I actually found part of that cycle woke memories that I try hard to keep buried. Being raised primarily by a (at times) mentally unstable parent is not easy. Not to put down the character of Vivvie, but I saw similarities between her and Kaye, especially when Vivvie was at the end of her coping times. I know why Vivvie took the actions she did; & I strive to be the opposite in my life. Perhaps I’m trying too hard, but that’s not an open conversation for a blog!

I guess everyone carries a burden of some kind.

 

Four stars, easy to grade, harder to read.

 

I read this book as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription.

#craft31days day sixteen

Posted in Christmas, cross stitch, family, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, photos, travel by

Not a lot of stitching tonight, maybe 80 stitches in all?

The main reason is that Si is sick, so after swimming lessons I drove back into town so B can go to his Force Fit meet. I walked around Silo Park & the Wynyard Quarter back towards the CBD. #masetheace wasn’t too happy as I only let him use the elevator twice, & forbade him from interupting a yoga class on the most amazing glass viewing platform (there was plenty of room for us anyway) but I enjoyed the fresh air.

And summer is coming! That top left photo? That’s the pohutukawa starting to bud. Its our Christmas tree, as its covered in gorgeous red flowers during December. Old Maori tales say that if the tree flowers early, we’ll get a long, hot summer. Yay!

#craft31days day fourteen

Posted in cross stitch, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitch from stash, stitching patterns by

Saturday! Saturday! Oh bliss.

I did my volunteer shift collecting money for the Breast Cancer Foundation outside the local supermarket then (more bliss) I WENT SHOPPING BY MYSELF & GOT EVERYTHING ON MY LIST & ONLY THE THINGS ON THE LIST. The key word here obvs is “myself” 😂

This afternoon was lovely & warm; I got three loads of laundry dry on the line, everything unpacked & snack bags made for the week ahead; dinner; cleaned up after the boys (there’s only a little more gib to go up & next week I’ll be painting) & some stitching in while watching Maleficient. I’m a sucker for fairy tale adaptations.

And as I said on IG, it’s like Border Bliss. I worked my way around and the bits ended up in the right spot. Hooray!

#craft31days day ten

Posted in cross stitch, embroidery, family, grateful, House, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, stitch from stash, stitching patterns by

Wow! We’re almost a third of the way thru the month & I’m pleased to see I’m sticking every day. It’s the little things, but I love the feeling of accomplishment.

#craft31days & going hard… The bathroom is fully done with the tile slate (the Screaming Teen couldn’t be bothered getting out clamps so used #masetheace as a weight on top of my freezer!!!) & half lined in gib.
Second large portion of #fairyidyll is also complete down to the wisper back stitch. Really happy with how this is working up & looking.