Category Archives: grateful

Sharing Is Caring; Time to vote with your remote, people.

Posted in friends, grateful by

Before tonight’s zinger..which…I’m fired up tonight, so get ready…. But first, I have some incredibly exciting news to share. I just found out that BeautyBeyondBones was ranked in the Top 25 Eating Disorder Recovery Websites on the World Wide Web! So thank you with all my heart for taking the time out of your […]

via The Exploitation By “To The Bone” — BeautyBeyondBones

WIP (somewhere it’s still) Wednesday…

Posted in conversion details, cross stitch, freebies, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, work by

I just found this in the drafts – whoops!!

I had a full-on day yesterday, so apologies for not writing. Hubs packed/left for a work trip (solo parenting, oh yay); I had work, I left work early to look after sick MIL & sick child, worked at home, did three loads of washing (did I mention sick child?! I meant, SICK child), stitched a little, forgot to eat lunch, found warm clothes, left Screaming Teen in charge and went to the British & Irish Lions game at Eden Park (thank you adidas crew). If you want a match report, go HERE

As you can see, primo seats, right on the 22 and UNDER COVER. The only wet was from beer spillage when the people in front of me cheered. Unexpectedly, the Auckland Blues won 22-16. Personally, used to rugby league referees, I thought this one sucked when it came to positioning. He appeared to be in the way multiple times so kudos to the players, having to add “don’t pass to the dude in white” to their thoughts every time they passed from the base of the scrum or a ruck.

Stitching-wise, I am nearly completed all the DMC in Andromeda’s rock. I have decided to change out the charted green to a Kreinik to give gloss, like you could expect from wet seaweed/mussels, and eagle-eyed punters will see that I have frogged the lilac in the waves on the left & worked out that I will replace this with 3752, which is in the same depth group.

The image on the right is very true to the colours of the fabric, which is Country Stitch Antarctic Storm on 28ct lugana. Catherine likens it to DMC 800 and that’s pretty much what it is, just slightly darker as I specifically requested.

http://www.countrystitch.com/Handdyed-Fabric/Handdyed-Fabric-Antarctic-Ice

 

WIP Wednesday 

Posted in books, cross stitch, embroidery, grateful, me, Mirabilia, Nora Corbett, round robin by

It’s been a big, big day. I’ve had some problems with one eye and today was the retinal exam. Anaesthetic drops and dilation drops later, & I looked like a Snapchat filter. 

You’re not getting that photo. No. 

Eventually I got home (cloudy day & I looked like a wanker wearing shades on the train). I couldn’t read or do anything for about 3 hours, but eventually I could cope with the light and started to be able to focus.  Big print on the kindle, but a win. 

I also remembered a wonderful opportunity I had in 2011. Sir Roger Moore had just released his autobiography (read it, you’ll howl with laughter) & I was working for Whitcoulls. We hosted him and after Shanee & I got an autograph & a photo op. I gave him a copy of Hairy Mclary to read to his grandchildren. RIP, Mr Bond. ❤

This afternoon I’ve managed to get some stitching done. This is Emi, a Nora Corbett bewitching pixie. No conversions, as its part of Julie’s RR. Sorry, I don’t know the fabric details!

WIP Wednesday

Posted in cross stitch, family, friends, goals, grateful, me, Nora Corbett, photos, round robin, sport by

Hello you lovely people! How have you been? I’ve had a pretty busy week, all in all.

  • Watched the first rugby game of the season (Waitakere beat Avondale college, hooray!)
  • Picked up my new toy, a Galaxy S8+. The camera is amazeballs. The moon shot was on auto; imagine if I had taken the time to not have post bootcamp wobbles and had changed to the proper setting!
  • Ordered MIL her Pressie Box, which should be ordered today. http://www.thepressiebox.co.nz for some beautiful things and great customer service.
  • Watched the first hockey game of the season (I fail, I keep calling the ball a “puck”. And Icing is of course not a thing).
  • Survived both Normo’s birthday set (49!) and my own (shared with Lavinia, we had 10 minutes of EMOMs). Not surprisingly, didn’t go to the small session last night!
  • Started my portion of Julie’s round robin. Si liked the colours in Emi, so that is the Nora Corbett pixie that I started.
  • Made another flosstube video. Mase made a cameo appearance. Look for Paula SewScrapMuse on youtube. Yes, my accent is “cute”. Huh.
  • And 3 year anniversary with WordPress. I don’t miss Blogger at all!

Me at 43

Posted in grateful, me by
we all made it to the top!

Taken from the 100 Things About Me list that’s available in many places online 🙂  I left the original numbers, just to confuse y’all.

  1. What is your name? If you haven’t worked this out by now, I feel sorry for you!
    6. What is your favourite vegetable? I’d say tomato, but that’s a fruit. Kumera?
    8. What is the worst exam result you remember ever getting? C, in sixth form physics. I giggled my way thru the exam (apologies classmates) and am still amazed I passed on about 4 hours sleep that week.
    10. Can you swim? Like a fish. Except for the breathing underwater bit. I haven’t mastered that.
    13. Who is your favourite comedian? I love Michael McIntyre. And Jimmy Carr. And the writers for Pixar. And Sarah Millican. Sarah Pascoe. More the English style rather than ‘murican, altho Dane Cook can be pretty damn funny too. I don’t like comics who feel the need to explain the joke.
    14. Who is your favourite politician? Helen Clark. She rocks, despite not being currently “in politics”.
    15. Who is your favourite historical figure (been dead for at least 100 years)? Jane Digby (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Digby for a quick look, but definitely check out Mary S Lovell’s book)
    19. Who is your favourite mythological god or goddess? Cassiopeia
  2. Who is your favourite woman of all time? My MIL Carol. I love her.
    21. Do you agree with “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”? Nope.
  3. Do you agree with “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”? Yes
    31. What is the worst movie you have ever seen? Happy Feet (Si says the best part was the credits)
    32. What is the worst TV show you have ever seen? Any sitcom that gets re-written. LEAVE IT ALONE!
    33. What is the worst book you have ever read? I’ve read some shitters lately. Sense & French Ability is the most recent (it IS a book, altho I can see why M might think it’s p*rn. Easy mistake, babe.)
    34. What is the worst song you have ever heard? MMM-Bop!!! Apologies if you get an earworm.
    35. What is the worst sport you know of? Darts
    36. Who is the worst movie “star” ever? Tom Cruise, Ricky Gervaise…
    38. Who is the worst author ever? I would give kudos to anyone who finishes writing a book. I may not read it, but kudos anyways
    42. If you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? Scotland
    46. If you could change any one thing about your country, what would it be? That a minority of the minority seems to be able to rule change.
  4. If you could change any one thing about international politics, what would it be? Trump winning.
  5. If you could eat an entire cow at one sitting, would you? Ah no. Hooves? Ick.
    51. Have you ever illegally downloaded music/TV shows/movies from the net? What is this, a setup?
    53. Have you ever gotten any points on your driving license? No
    54. Have you ever stolen anything from a shop? Yes
    55. Have you ever bought alcohol or cigarettes while underage? For myself, yes. I started Uni too young. Corrupted.
  6. What’s the furthest you’ve ever been from home? Singapore
    62. Where have you visited that you would like to go back to? Jenolan, in New South Wales.
    63. Where would you like to visit that you haven’t yet? Norway
    64. Where is your favourite place in the world? Bethells Beach
    68. What is your favourite way to travel? If I can’t get there right now, Instagram and books.
    75.What was the last song you listened to? “River Lea”
    76. Was it any good? It’s Adele. What more do you need to know?
    77. What was the last computer game you played? On my phone – Bloons Tower Defence 5
    78. Did you do well? Yes – and ashamedly I’m hooked on those cute monkeys.
    89. Do you believe in democracy above all other systems of government? Yes
    91. What is your favourite movie? The Labyrinth, close second is The Princess Bride
    92. What is your favourite book? The Little White Horse
    93. What is your favourite song? Oh, heaps of love but no one single favourite. Recently loving Ed Sheeran’s Nancy Mulligan. Now that’s a love story.
    94. What is your favourite city? Auckland, NZ – love coming home
    97. Are you glad these questions are almost over? oh yeah
    98. What are you going to do next? Count to make sure I’m at 43..
    100. Give us a quote to end on…”Let not your heart be troubled” – John 14:27 NKJ

Where I Am At Home

Posted in DIY home, family, grateful, me by

On her blog this week, Tsh Oxenreiter is celebrating the release of her new book, At Home in the World. I picked up (totally cover lust) Notes from a Blue Bike a while ago and liked it.

On her blog, Tsh is inviting people to write about three things:

  1. Share about a place where you feel at home in the world.
  2. Write about a city (of any size) you love. (there’s prompts for this submission)
  3. Tell me whyyou’ve chosen to stay wherever it is you call home…

 I’m picking number one. And for me, number one is Te Henga or Bethells Beach, Auckland.

IMG_20160703_184259

It’s a wild, windy West Coast beach with all that the geographical location implies. There’s no swimming here (except in the lagoon that is formed by Waitakere River) and the surf patrol is only during the high season. The coffee cart is in the clearing next to the main carpark – and often the eftpos is down, so make sure you take some cash & don’t expect to be able to use cell phone data or WiFi – and the public toilets are paved with the black sand from where people have showered or simply rinse their feet off before going home.

Walking down the sheltered entry you could be forgiven for thinking there’s nothing much going on here. The carpark may be full but it’s rare that you’ll encounter someone else, except when the tide is out and all the kids want to explore the cave. Dogs run freely down the south end of the beach, wheeling around like the gulls they chase, bouncing into the surf after tennis balls and driftwood. If you want to explore, head left at the heads and climb over towards Ihumoana Island (now fenced off due to rockfalls) and further north, past Kauwahia Island and surf at O’Neill Bay.

Head right, and stretch your legs down towards the old wharf and the caves. You can keep going, moving down the Hillary Trail for hours or days. Your head will clear of anything and you’ll come away reinvigorated. It’s a great place to walk & talk to God, to your significant other, to your kids.

Resources: http://www.waitakere.govt.nz/cnlser/pbr/plans/pdf/tehenga/rmptehenga_pg9to20.pdf

 

The Hux or Why I’m Walking Funny…

Posted in cross stitch, goals, grateful, growing, me by

I blame Loren. She’s got me into this mess. But Hello, I am achieving things. I’m even starting a bucket list.

at the start
stairs, stairs & more stairs
love the quotes
looking east over Ngaruwhaia
Zac & Mase at a waterfall
we all made it to the top!

Remember how I am part of BBM, or Buttabean Motivation? On Sunday, a portion of us met at the Brownlee Ave carpark in Ngaruwhaia to encourage James, a Hamilton #BBM crew member, to tick off one of his goals – to climb the Hux. He’s the big guy in the white singlet in the photos.

The Hux, or Hakarimata Mountain, 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. No points for guessing what we did. 1K almost straight up, 1349 stairs. Kudos to the Department of Conservation team who maintain the track!

Being honest, I have to admit that by the halfway mark I was pretty much done psychologically. My calves HURT despite frequent stretches and I was sucking back water. Also, being girly, relying on my Evian facial mist to keep me cool. Si was carrying the backpack luckily so we weren’t really limited. It was at this point we kind-of ditched the main group. One of the wall quotes was the Henry Ford comment – Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right – and I took that on board. If I knew I could finish, I would.

Mase had run on ahead with Normo (a fellow westie) and Wayne, Zac following but I needed to pace myself. Si and I broke it down to 2-4 sets of steps, stretch, another 2-4 sets & encouraging each other along. Poor Si had run almost 25k the previous day, refereeing at the last day of the Tongan Tag tournament, so his legs were pretty tired anyway.

It took us the better part of 50 minutes to get to the summit; surprisingly the recommended time. I thought that I would have held us back. The view – stupendous. It was an almost perfect day (on a totally clear day you can see as far as Ruapehu, one of the Central Plateau volcanoes).

 

It took another 40 minutes for James to make it up. The majority of the group was with him, and we all gave him a round of applause and a high-five gauntlet as he came thru the last portion. You could see it meant a lot to him, to have achieved his goal, and that made it worthwhile in a lot of ways.

So next on my list? The Rangitoto climb. Pinnacles, Tongariro Crossing, the Auckland version of Coast-to-Coast. Round the Bays (at a walk). Waitakere’s Slip Track, and from Bethells up to Scenic Drive. I think that of those, probably RTB and Slip Track will be the easiest to implement.

WIP Wednesday 

Posted in cross stitch, friends, grateful, round robin, Smalls SAL by

Look! Aren’t you proud of me? I am posting on the proper day! 😎

I have a couple of things on the go right now. This is Emma Congdon’s Home Sweet Home from an issue of Cross Stitch Crazy. I’m not in love with the colours yet but it’s a good project for work (I finished that Mill Hill fireflies & it’s ready to bead):

At home I am working on Jacqui’s round robin. She’s chosen Passione Ricamo for her designer, and I’ve chosen the least fussy chart from the selection. It’s Into the Darkness but maybe it won’t look so witchy as the original when I’m done. 

Andrea’s stitched the one on the right. I wish I could show you the sparkle; those roses are back stitched in Kreinik or a Rainbow Gallery.

I can’t wait tho to get back to something Mira.

Lastly, here’s some Stitch Porn. This is amazing. I want!