Home & Family TO BE FIXED – Page 24

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Rotation, Travel

New rotation plans hatched!

20 January, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

While sitting in traffic yesterday afternoon I mulled over my current rotation, and I’ve decided to try cutting back a few slots and see if that works. This way I’ll get through my pieces more quickly, and hopefully have some quicker finishes, which means I can then add more new projects into the mix … rather than having so many projects on the go at once ‘cos I just wanna stitch everything NOW 😉 I’ve removed the “kits/classes” and extra “UFO” slot, plus one focus piece and smalls slot. I’ll finish my current rotation until the end of the list, then I’ll look at starting this new one up.

Anyway, this is what my half-asleep brain came up with while driving, I just have to think it through a bit more when I’m more awake to see if it will work (I’m still half asleep today too), but at the moment it’s incorporating all the WIP’s I’ve currently got ‘on-the-go’:

Focus piece
Smalls/ornaments/gifts etc
UFO’s
Canvaswork/Specialty stitches
Focus piece
Charity stitching
Mirabilia/L&L
Smalls/ornaments/gifts etc
Focus piece
Band samplers/Specialty stitches
Quilting/Stumpwork
Free choice
Finishing session (just for 1 or 2 days, not 10 hours)

I’m still doing my SAL pieces separate to my 10-hour rotation slots, which will add more variety until they’re finished. At the moment that will mean focusing on the following projects in my rotation, with those in brackets are like to be the ‘next in line’, along with my SAL commitments:

Egyptian Garden Mandala
Stitching Leporello & gifts (then Lavender Rose Sewing Case)
Nature’s Resting Place (then a ‘mystery’ UFO)
Flight of the Bumblebees (then Sapphire Star)
Egyptian Garden Mandala
Charity stitching
Winter Queen (Angel of Love)
Strawberries So Faire & gifts (then My Treasures Workstation)
Egyptian Garden Mandala
Le Jardin Silk Sampler (then Golden Garden Sweet Bag)
The Blue Collection quilt
Free choice (undecided yet but probably a small Just Nan or Drawn Thread)

* SAL Wednesdays – Macaw with Carina
* SAL Thursdays – Bordeaux Sampler with Carol
* SAL monthly – Needleroll SAL
* SAL monthly – Christmas ornie SAL
* Round Robin – Quaker Friendship Sampler

And I’ll finish with another quote I really like:

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.” Hugh Downs

Staying with friends in Fiji taught me that material possessions etc do not maketh the man and make you happy – it is how you view life that makes you happy. They took me into their home when I had nowhere to go, and showed me a world of kindness and love rarely experienced by many. They accepted me into their family circle, and will always leave a mark in my mind and on my heart. I shared Christmas Day with them and experienced Fijian culture at its best, within the true family setting. I know I’ve talked of this before, but that quote brought thoughts of them back again. I managed to repay their kindness by paying for their food while I was there, and when one of the brothers lost his job during the ‘George Speight coup’, I paid for his daughter’s school books and stationery before I left so she could continue her education that year with a good start (even though I was a student then myself, with no income … thank goodness for Visa!). Here’s a photo of us on Christmas Day with an amazing feast of local delicacies (all the photos are clickable for bigger versions) 😀

Also, sitting outside my temporary home having a kava party with the boys … the guitars were playing well into the early hours of the morning (I think I eventually slunk off at 3am and it was still going strong) – I don’t know how they can drink so much kava, it’s dreadful stuff! The only time I’ll drink a few is when they’ve thrown a party in my honour, and I’ll do it as a sign of respect to them, but it’s downright awful!

Now here’s one of one of my favourite Fijian couples – Dokko and Ana … they call me “Ana” in Fijian, instead of Anne, so we say “Tai-Ana” to each other, ie “my namesake”. We always tried to make a special trip to see them as they’re out in the islands, and Ana’s face always lights up when she sees us, and cries when we leave – she has a big heart, and I always love to see her.

And lastly one of Mum being treated like a Queen at a party they held for Mum and Dad, as they greatly cherish and respect their elders – something else we could all learn from them, as that seems to be disappearing in our modern society! Mum and Dad hadn’t met them before, so I promised to drive over from Nadi to Suva to introduce them, and they threw a party in their honour. Mum loved it all, but Dad was bored stiff, as for the first time they didn’t bring their guitars … poor Dad – but Mum and I adored it all and lapped it up!! The lei she’s wearing around her neck is called a “salusalu” and is traditional in the part of Fiji they come from, and they made it especially for Mum, as well as some exquisite woven bags … I should take photos of them next time I go home, they’re gorgeous!

Sorry, didn’t mean for this post to be so looooooong! 😉

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Stitching Smalls

It’s Friday!!

19 January, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

And you have no idea how wonderful it is that it IS Friday! Day 7 today, with 5am starts, and it’s been a killer of a week with the heat etc. I had a very stressful day at work from the minute I walked through the door at 4.55am – Heathrow airport had bad weather with planes diverted to Stanstead, and I was the contact to liaise the rebookings etc … got some very lovely praise in writing from both the Supervisor in our office and the main operational guy in Sydney for the job I did (geez, I’m gonna start getting a big head soon LOL), but it hit me like a ton of bricks once the day finished – I feel totally drained!

Then after work I had to make a side trip to Wonga Park to drop off a boot-load (trunk-load for those of you in the northern hemisphere) of pet food off to the Blue Cross – we had a charity collection at Christmas for this animal shelter, and I finally found the time to drop it off. It took me in the opposite direction to home, and a 2-hour round trip, but at least it’s done. I didn’t realise how close I was to Frazier’s folks, so I made a quick phone call to see if they were home so I could catch up … alas they weren’t, but we made up for it tonight and chatted for 1 1/2 hours on the phone – unusual for me! It was actually lovely to catch up with them, as I haven’t seen them for close to a year, if not longer. When I move back to my old area, I’ll have to pop out and visit them more regularly again. I was very touched when they told me off for not asking them for help when I told them I was moving out due to financial difficulties, and said there’s always a room at their place if I ever need it, for as long as I want – that’s incredibly kind of them!

When I finally got home this afternoon I was so exhausted I actually felt really queasy, so I went straight from the front door to the bedroom, and flopped out to sleep for 2 hours – I’m still quite shattered, but at least the queasiness has eased off. I don’t know if I’ll get much stitching done tonight, though, and only managed one strand of silk in Bordeaux last night. I’ll post a piccie later if I get chance to do any more, as there’s not much to show right now.

Talking of stitching – for CathyMK, you’re right the Treasures Workstation is the one by Judy Odell. I signed up for this months ago before going on the Wagon along with the first SAL Yahoo group, and never could decide on the threads to use. After trying to find a blue thread to substitute for the CCN ornie last month, I came across a Stef Francis thread (Bluebell) that KarenV sent to me, and think that would look beautiful for the flowers – I just have to decide which green thread to use and whether to use a contrasting thread as well. But I’m a lot closer to at least starting than I was a few months ago! LOL. I want to make a concerted effort to get this stitched soon, as I have the finishing kit all ready to go, so there’s no excuse after paying all that money out for it … and it’s such a gorgeous project 😀

I also found out the fabric I used for Egyptian Garden for those who asked … I used “Midas Touch” 32ct Belfast opalescent by Silkweaver – I originally ordered the Lugana version of it, and found it was too tiny to stitch on for the over-one, as the threads were quite clumped together, and the Lugana colour was too pale and apricot-y for my liking too … the Belfast is much darker and better for the project I think. Sorry for the delay in finding the answer for you! I still have no idea what the heck I’m going to do with the original fabric, and think I may try to dye it a different colour … I’m really not sure!

Rightio, time to go settle down for the night – I think I’ll crack open a bottle of Chardonnay to help with the chilling out process … that’ll be one less bottle to pack later teehee. Talking of which, Sheree is calling a real estate agent today about a property that sounds really nice in Blackburn South which comes free next week … we’ll have to see what comes of it, but it’s closer to my old neck of the woods and looks quite modern – she specifically wants somewhere with two bathrooms, and we both want three bedrooms, which makes it harder to find somewhere, but this one seems to fit the bill … fingers crossed … It’ll be so nice to be closer to my buddy, Sharon 😀

Cross Stitch, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Best laid plans gone awry

18 January, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

Today I finished work at 1pm (yep, the one great thing about starting work at 5am is the finish time!), and I drove straight over to David Jones at Chadstone shopping centre, to suss out and likely purchase one of these little suckers …

Blue Nano Silver Nano Pink Nano

So, what happened? Well, I know you’ll be really surprised to hear that I was going to buy the beautiful turquoise one, but I’m also quite taken by the simplicity of the plain silver one … oh decisions, decisions! What made it easier to decide today was that there was only colour to choose from, and one colour only … yep, you guessed it, bright fuschia pink! What do you think I did? Those of you who guessed I bought one anyway don’t know me very well … I tucked my tail between my legs and moseyed on home again, after asking the sales guy to call me when they got more in 😉 I’ve decided I was already happy to spend an extra $50 myself towards my voucher, so with the money from Mum, Dad, and the ‘Smithies’ added in I’m thinking of still chipping in and getting the 4GB option instead of the 2GB one. At least them not having one in stock means it gives me more time to get the money together 😀

In stitching news, nothing to report today except after seeing Carol’s progress on Bordeaux, I realised I’d totally screwed up band 3 by using the wrong thread for the leaves … which makes sense when I think about it – which means I have to do some frogging … bugger! 😦 It’s also a stinker of a hot night in this little flat, so I can’t see me doing much stitching again tonight – I’ll try for at least an hour, then I’ll do a bit more tomorrow night as well to make up for it before I take another progress piccie.

I’ve been craving red meat all week this week, and I have to say since my freezer got emptied I haven’t bought any red meat into the flat … while I was at ‘Chaddy’ though, I picked up one whole marinated lamb steak to try, and two lamb shanks to cook up on Sunday afternoon – I’m drooling just thinking about it. I used to be disgusted at home when we had our cat Rio – because I was the only one in the family who really loved lamb, I rarely got lamb as a food choice, while the precious cat got lamb every week, the little sod … not to mention the fresh whitebait and prawns, he got better fed than we did!! LOL. Here he is hogging the chocolates one Christmas haha.

Rio with the choccies

Anyway, talking about steaks, I’d better get mine cooking so I can still sit down and have an hour’s stitching before bed!!

Before I forget though, the decision was taken out of my hands by SB&B about continuing my monthly Mystery Bits wishlist … you can’t have a wishlist anymore, and can only choose up to 3 threads you’d like to collect, so I’ve cancelled it. I’ve been a bit annoyed the last two months, as three months ago I asked if it was possible to focus on sending all the overdyed threads on my list instead of other items, which was OK for one month, then the last two months I’ve received a mix of allsorts again, and not the threads I really wanted. In some ways I’m glad the decision has been made – now I’ll just buy them as I need them, and forget about SB&B 😀

Food, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Sing along with “Hot Chocolate”!

15 January, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

“Everyone’s a winner, baby, that’s no lie …”

eXcel award

Well, OK, maybe not everyone … but today at work I received my “eXcel” award from December, which included a $150 gift voucher from David Jones, a hat to mark the occasion, a lanyard for holding my ID tag (not pictured), and a little clip-on travel reading light. It was all very exciting … BUT it turns out that wasn’t actually everything that today’s little ceremony had to offer …

It was also announced that I had been selected as the overall winner for 2006 for our office – which was a total unexpected shock, but a very very nice one! I received a letter, which says the following:

“It is with great pleasure that we advise that you have been selected as the eXcel Spirit of Customer Services Annual Winner for 2006. You have been recognised for your consistent and outstanding service excellence to your colleagues and customers alike. We thank and applaud you for your commitment and contribution.”

What else can I say but “wow!!!” – I’m absolutely chuffed! 😀 The prize for this one is a bit different – I get flown to Sydney during a weekend in March, along with the other winners from all around the country, where we’re treated to overnight accommodation at a 5-star hotel, and a ‘red carpet event’ somewhere. One year they were picked up in limos and taken out, and another in horse-drawn carriages before going on a harbour cruise with dinner and drinks. We also have to have a ‘photo shoot’ some time next month for publicity brochures etc … it’s all rather exciting! I haven’t been able to afford to get my hair cut for almost 3 months now (I used to get it done every 6 weeks) … I think I’d better go treat myself quickly haha.

I just called Mum and Dad to let them know the news, and I got some awesome news back in return – apparently I’d been given $50 from my ‘aunt’ in NZ for Christmas plus $50 from Mum and Dad, which I knew nothing about, which will pay the outstanding amount from my gift voucher so I can get an iPod very very soon … woohoo! (oops, I’d better stop skipping around the flat, or it’ll make those cracks worse!! LOL)

Now, on to other things … my biscuits went down a treat at work the other day, so I thought I’d share the recipe for anyone who’s interested. Here goes:

HONEY COCONUT BISCUITS

125g (4oz) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons coconut
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1 cup coconut, extra

Cream butter and sugar, add egg, beat until light and fluffy. Add coconut and honey, beat until combined. Fold in sifted flour, mix well. Roll teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls, then roll in extra coconut. Place on lightly greased oven trays, at least 5cm (2in) apart. Cook in moderate oven (190-200C/375-400F) for 15 minutes. Cool on trays.
Makes about 35

Rightio, off to play with my stitching tonight … I’m having a night off the computer seeing as I was up to all hours again last night playing with my template and sidebars etc. Anything else that needs tweaking can wait for a while, it’s time to play with needle and thread 🙂

Of course first I have to step back down from Cloud 9!! LOL.

Cross Stitch, Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Works in Progress

“It’s good to be back …”

12 January, 200725 February, 2012 Anne S

A HUGE “g’day” from Elwood!!! Yep, this is actually me sitting in front of my very own PC in my very own little flat – no, Houston, we no longer have a problem – we have a phone line!!! 😀 The phone technician called this morning to see if I was home, and if he could come round … his job today still went ahead, but he finished it sooner than expected, and was able to fit me in woohoo!!! 😀 Unfortunately the phone jack is now right in front of the front window where the Christmas tree usually sits, so I’ve had to spend just under $40 for a 12 metre extension cable and double adaptor, seeing as my computer is miles away, and the double adaptor I had already got was for the geriatric phone connection originally in place – now we have a snazzy new one.

I’ve already made one call home on it, and exercised the phone line for almost 2 hours chatting to Mum … and here are some photos expressly for her – the latest on my wall cracks. The first one also includes a great shot of the newly finished phone connection (I still have to vacuum up the mess and move the furniture back), as well as the lovely new crack I have along the middle of the wall, just nicely in line with the height of the sofa.

Next up is the top corner of the same wall – the window is now so out of plumb I can’t actually close it at all, and the phone technician reckons the floor in the corner is actually on a bit of a slope now hmmm.

Next is the corner behind my bookcase which divides the lounge and dining rooms.

And lucky last is above the balcony door frame. Some of them actually look worse in real life than they do in the photo … yep, definitely a good time to be looking for somewhere new, before I end up making an unexpected visit to the downstairs neighbours by landing on their heads!!

As for stitching, not as much to report as expected … here’s the latest progress photo of Bordeaux Sampler – I stayed up last night to finish of the over-one parts, and it’s been put away again until next week. You can see by the groups of grapes down the left hand side of the border where the halfway mark is, so I’m now very very close to it 🙂 Don’t worry Carol about not being in the same place – I know you’ve been very busy doing gift stitching … it’s still nice knowing you and Leslie are stitching it as well, even though we don’t have a designated night for it 🙂

Lastly I can show the latest UFO I’ve finished – this Cream Button Bag by Shelley Warner was from a Guild weekend Retreat in Auckland … it just has to be made into a bag now, but that will happen on one of my ‘finishing’ slots in my rotation. It’s pitiful how long this has been sitting around, as it only had four leaves left to be completed and the buttons added – it only took about 1-1/2 hours to finish!

This week I also started a SAL with Carina on the Ross Originals Macaw – it’s hardly worth showing a progress piccie, as there’s only a few stitches to show for it … but by next Wednesday there should be something worth showing, as that’s our new SAL night 🙂

Rightio, now it’s time to get the icing ready for a chocolate cake I made this morning … I’m not a baker by any stretch of the imagination, but I figure my skills will never improve if I don’t give it a go, so I’m stretching myself a bit. And the guys from work are going to be my guinea pigs to help save my waistline 🙂

I also made Honey Coconut Biscuits which are quite yummy … and a case of 2nd time lucky! I was making them on Wednesday morning to take into work, but the final ingredient was self raising flour, and when I was sifting it I found a big clump of insect eggs … everything ended up in the bin. Then I finally made them again last night, and managed to have an accident with the oven tray – while taking it out of the oven the heat started coming through my right hand, so I tried to jiggle it a bit in my hand, only to have the whole thing start slipping … I automatically grabbed it with my left hand, only to remember I didn’t have an oven mitt on it – let’s say I remembered bloody quickly!! Luckily I have a heap of ice cubes ready made in the freezer, and I ran a 1/4 sink of cold water and dumped every single cube into it – the throbbing pain was insane, and it’s no wonder people sometimes don’t survive major burns due to the shock from the pain! Anyway, it seems the ice bath really helped, as today it’s only slightly tender and the blistering is thankfully in places that is letting me have full use of my hand … phew!! I even managed a bit more stitching on Bordeaux after the accident, I think more to take my mind off it than anything else 😉

I still can’t switch to (non)Beta Blogger, and I’m getting sick to death of clicking on the “we are ready for you, switch now” blurbs … this kept happening for a while before losing my phone access, and it’s still happening. It’s getting a bit annoying, but perhaps I should just ignore the prompts until it changes into something nasty, like a final demand letter 😉 Either that, or start looking at alternatives, as I understand a few people haven’t been able to comment on my blog for quite some time 😦

Well, no more chatting for me – time to get moving, as I have an early shift at work tomorrow (a mix of 8am and 5am shifts for 7 days), and I still have some housework to finish … as well as organising some rental alerts on a few suburbs, and to get that icing done.

Oh boy, it’s good to have the ‘net at home again!!! 😀 Mind you, with 1160 unread feeds, I’m sorry but I really do have to mark all as read and start from scratch – it’s just too much to handle. I hope I won’t miss too much by doing that 😦 Hope to catch up with you all again soon 😀

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, PhotoHunt

PhotoHunt – Annoying (& Silly)

16 December, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

This week’s theme is “Annoying” … there wasn’t much I could think about this week for annoying that I could actually take a photo of, so this is the best I could come up with … it was incredibly “annoying” finding this great big bolt head sticking up out of my tyre driving home from work after night shift – and even more “annoying” having to buy two brand new tyres out of it (although admittedly I’d been thinking the tread was getting low on them anyway). Sorry for the poor shot, but my camera battery died and I couldn’t take a clearer one.

And an archival one just in time for the festive season – here’s my Dad, the Christmas fairy … my choice for the “Silly” theme. It’s amazing what a party at the local RSA will make you do!

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Feel free to skip this post …

11 December, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

This post may be exceptionally boring and draining, so you may want to skip it today! Don’t say I didn’t warn ya!!

First off, though, this piccie is for Wendy … I keep forgetting to answer your question about where my stitching spot is (from the lounge Christmas photos) – in fact I don’t sit on any of the lounge suite at all, but rather in my recliner which is facing the TV and the rest of the lounge … I have a special stitching corner which is permanently made up all the time, just ready to plop down into – and my 2nd most critical corner of the flat is off to the right of my stitching chair in this photo – my computer desk 😀

Well, today was an interesting day, and I’ve had some very interesting discussions. I finally pulled my head out of the sand today before work to get my tyre replaced (I was on a 2pm start, so plenty of time) … lucky me, though, ended up having to get not just one, but TWO tyres replaced!!! Yup, it seems the right-hand front tyre was getting rather bald and needed to be replaced … what can I say, but life just keeps on getting better and better! LOL. I had to get on my mobile to transfer over the $100 Mum had paid me back from a credit card charge I did for her as my emergency food money if I ever got totally desperate (thanks Mum, love ya!) … I had refused to touch it, as I may need it down the track … well that day was today. The rest of Mr Taxman’s money I’d put to one side plus the emergency money has totally wiped out my bank balance yet again – woohoo!! I had to warn the sales guy I’d just had to transfer the funds across, so hopefully it will go through … leaving me $5-10 in the account double woohoo! So now Mr Taxman has to wait longer, and I’m back to square one again trying to find $500+ … and in my rebellious mood today I say “b*gger you Mr Taxman, I’m going shopping for veges this payday, and I don’t care less what you think about it!” {{big raspberry}} Thank goodness Payday is overnight tonight!!!

I’ve also come to the realisation that I just can’t get ahead living on my own, and I’ve started putting out some feelers about options. Sheree from work, who was looking for a flatmate months ago, is apparently looking at moving out yet again, as her new male flatmate is really inconsiderate with her being on shift work (at least we have that in common, so there’s a basic understanding there between us). The only problem is that she’s really fussy and wants a really ‘flash’ place to live, so it wouldn’t necessarily be a ‘huge’ saving overall (she’s paying $200 per week for rent at the moment in a sharing situation as opposed to my $245 on my own yikes!!). Anyway, I’ve set the seed for her today and I guess we’ll chat about it more at some stage after Christmas.

The 2nd alternative is to pack up all my stuff into storage and go house-sitting for a while. One of the girls from work is doing it (she’s the one who used to flat with Sheree before), and the outgoings are very minimal, but the downside is that you’re constantly on the move to different places. Still, there’s no rent to pay, and unless it’s a ‘longer term’ sitting job there are no other bills (apparently most people if its 1-2 weeks sitting don’t charge you for electricity usage etc, but she’s in one now where she’s there until February and the charge is $30 a week to cover bills … that’s pretty minimal considering there’s no rent to pay as well!). I used to do house sitting for my boss back in Auckland every now and then when I was younger, so that’s not a major issue for me – the big downside would be not having internet access regularly, and I’d have to go to a library or somewhere to get online … and a major part of what’s kept me from going insane here is the support and friendship of you guys online!

Then again, if I’m saving that much I could look at buying a laptop and signing up with “Unwired” which is wireless internet – and my internet connection would travel with me … while it may be incredibly inconvenient for a while, it would also give me a better chance of getting ahead financially for the longer term, and I’d definitely have to take that into consideration, I guess. I’d have to cost up putting my things into storage etc too … anyway, it’s all food for thought I need to mull over … ‘cos at the moment I’m just going backwards every month. This option would still give me the sense of freedom in that I’d have ‘my own space’, but there would be the odd day where I wouldn’t have a roof over my head (although Ali at work has said I’d be more than welcome to stay with her in Seaford during those times – that’s incredibly sweet of her!).

One thing that almost brought me to tears today was the generosity of a fellow blogger … I have some extra Christmas prezzies now sitting under the tree – and after the shock of having to buy two brand new tyres this morning, opening my mailbox afterwards was a huge morale lifter. I’m being good, though, and not opening anything until Christmas Day – then the contents will be revealed both to me and you 😀 But I have to say, Katrina, you really really made my day today – you’re just gorgeous, and it couldn’t have come at a better time! {{hugs}}

In fact, I’m now sitting here in tears writing this. So much for that fighting spirit, huh? I think I’m finally reacting to the stress I’ve been feeling just lately, but repressing … and just writing about Katrina’s generous gifts has sent me over the edge emotionally … but in a nice way haha.

Anyway, sorry for the waffling – just the thoughts running through my head today … as is typical of me, I don’t hide anything, and you get the full story with everything – putting things in writing is a great method of ‘purging’ for me, so this all helps. I’m so sorry I’m not as full of life as I usually am … and I was hoping to get over all this negative stuff a lot more quickly than I have – I think I’m coping really well, then something else happens to knock me sideways … hopefully I’ll get the fighting spirit back again tomorrow, ‘cos tomorrow’s another day!

Thanks for all of your comments, and hanging in there with me through all this ‘cr*ppy stuff’ – it has really helped! {{hugs}}

Home & Family TO BE FIXED, PhotoHunt, Travel

PhotoHunt – Red (& Old)

9 December, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

PhotoHunt | PhotoHunt

This week’s theme is “RED” … going by the current festive season, I’m sure there will be a few Santa suits on the blogs, but I opted for something different. This is a friend ‘Sha’ at her wedding not long before I moved from Auckland – my first Indian wedding, it was a wonderful cultural experience and this photo in no way does her stunning outfit justice! 🙂

My second choice for this week’s theme is a scene from outside the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tsai Temple in Hong Kong … I took this photo just because of all the red colour that was predominant 🙂

And lucky last, here’s another archive theme – this one is “OLD” … again I had a few choices for this theme, but I opted to use this one, which is one of my all-time favourite photos I’ve taken … “keeping OLD traditions alive” – starting a fire in Fiji 🙂

Finishes, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Picture heavy post!

5 December, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

I remembered to take a piccie of my wee Christmas tree during the daylight yesterday – even though it’s only tiny (121cm/4ft tall), it really makes my place feel festive 🙂 My dream is to get a bigger tree, though, so perhaps next year I’ll be able to treat myself 😀 I love the LED lights I have on this tree, they really pack a punch at night!

This piccie is very very sad 😉 I bought this half tree last year in the sales when I decided to start making Christmas ornies myself … last year I just made the one, and it looks so lonely on there all by itself! LOL.

I figured the little half tree would be good just especially for my home made ornies, until I can get a bigger tree later (and I figured it would take me quite a while to stitch enough for a bigger tree). But because it looks so sad, I just HAD to put a couple of my ornies together yesterday to give that poor orphan ornie some family to play with! 😉 Not entirely thrilled with my choices of finishing, but they’ll do (I’m going to replace the white cording on the pinkeep one to a dark blue cording instead next year – hence the reason they’re just pinned instead of permanently attached, although I like the pinkeep look!). I’m stitching one each year for myself with the date on it, and this year that’s my Elizabeth’s Designs Christmas tree one.

Actually, these photos make it look like they’re all taken on different furniture! In fact the left one is hanging off my stitching recliner, but the other two are hanging off my lounge suite … the true colour of the suite is midway between the two piccies – I can’t get a true life piccie of that any time I try!

I have to admit, I really really miss our Christmas ornie SAL on the FGBB – it was a great motivator to get something stitched every month. As soon as the BB stopped, so did my ornie stitching 😦 Maybe I need to set myself a weekend every month and get back into it again next year! Hmmm …

The rest of the photos are for Mum’s sake … my little flat is coming apart at the seams – literally! The landlord is aware of the surface cracking, and he reported it to the Body Corporate months ago, but it’s got a lot worse recently, so a call to the landlord is in order again, me thinks. Apparently all those beautiful avenue of elm trees out the window are what’s causing the subsidence … thanks to their far-reaching and huge roots! Mum reckons I’m going to wake up one morning with the roof on my head LOL.

Rightio, back to it … I’m not sure what, but I know I should be doing ‘something’ – I had a shocking nights sleep last night, so I’m feeling a bit aimless today … fingers crossed I’ll be able to nap for an hour or so later on before work 🙂

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Christmas in Elwood

4 December, 200625 February, 2012 Anne S

I’ve had a very lazy day today … but tonight I put a bit of effort into getting my Christmas decorating almost finished – I just have to stuff a Christmas tree Mum made for me, which will sit in the middle of my dining table, plus finish of a couple of Christmas ornies I stitched during the year for myself … the following photos are mainly for Isabelle who wanted to see my decorations once they were up 🙂

First of all my little flat’s lounge in all it’s glory … and the Christmas tree with it’s animal guardians – I couldn’t get a good photo tonight with the lights on (well, it’s actually just after 1am), so I’ll try to get a better photo tomorrow.

As you can see there are little bits of Christmas all over my small space – and here are some of the pieces in detail (this isn’t all of them, but I’m starting to get tired, and think I should hit the hay soon – I may put some more piccies up during the week).

And now “something I prepared earlier” …

Since stitching Coffee Menu I haven’t picked up a needle in this whole time – I’ve been having way too much fun getting the RAK Registry together. I spent 2 hours chatting to Mum today on the phone, and was telling her about it, and she rightly said it sounds “right up my alley” … any excuse to organise something and make lists haha.

Actually, Mum also told me I should share this little story with you as well … as you know I’ve been struggling a lot financially over the last 1-2 months, and haven’t been buying any groceries except for milk and the occasional few onions etc, but living out of my pantry and freezer. Well, the main contents of my freezer have been chicken breasts … about 3-4kg of chicken breasts, to be exact! Mum said to me a few weeks ago, “you must be sick to death of chicken by now!” … “you’re not kidding”, is my reply. Well, here my sick sense of humour kicks in …

My bathroom is a combined laundry/bathroom (typical apartment), and I have my cat basket and supplies sitting in the laundry tub while waiting to get a real life kitty to take up residence … anyway, as I’m climbing out of the shower a week or so ago, I look over at the pile of kitty stuff, and think to myself, smirking, “oh well, if I ever get desperate enough for food, there’s always that big bag of Hills Science kitty biscuits” (not that I would ever actually do that!!) … and I grinned a bit … then I read the label, and totally cracked myself up and howled with laughter … the flavour just HAD to be “Chicken and Rice”!!!!! You probably had to be there, but Mum and I shared yet another chuckle about it today – it’s true that things have to be really really bad for me to lose my sense of humour! I get that from my Mum, we can usually find something funny in most things 😉 And yes, my sense of humour is definitely starting to return, and things are brightening up 🙂

I must say though, a week on Tuesday I get paid, and I’m going to go mental shopping!! After finally paying Mr Tax-Man, I’m going to go crazy buying fruit and vegetables!!! That’s the one thing I’ve really REALLY missed – I’ve pretty much been living on protein and carbs for the last 1-2 months, with the occasional frozen vege and tinned tomatoes thrown in, and I am seriously craving salads! I could quite easily sit down right now with a whole head of lettuce and scoff the lot in one sitting!! I’ll still be frugal for quite some time, if not right throughout 2007, but I will definitely be having one huge salad for dinner a week on Tuesday! 😀

Anyway, I guess I’d better hit the hay and get some shut-eye … I’ve tried to keep myself awake really late tonight, to try and get myself into the right frame of mind for tomorrow, as I’m back on overnight shifts again – oh yippee I start work at 9pm and finish at 5am for 4 nights … that should keep me out of mischief this week, and I might actually get caught up on those 600+ blog posts I’m still trying to read hmmm 😉 In the meantime I hope life is treating everyone well 😀