Christmas Ornaments, Cross Stitch, Friends & Family, Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Lavender, pinkeeps, stitching pals, taupo, Travel, Travel - New Zealand

Napier/Hastings … part 1

Anne S

We had a lovely drive to Napier/Hastings in the Hawkes Bay.  It normally takes 5-6 hours driving time from Auckland (not including stops along the way), and the weather was great for driving.  We drove via Matamata to Taupo, where we had a wee break and a wee wander – and just a general “wee” at Taupo’s “Super Loo” ;P

Lake TaupoView from the shores of Lake Taupo

After we had a cake and coffee at a Robert Harris Cafe, we called up my good pal Katrina to let her know we were on our way to visit … I’ve been very lucky in that every blogger I’ve met to date has been truly lovely, and Katrina is no exception – she’s one of the loveliest ladies you could meet!  When I was flying over to NZ I’d already decided it would be nice to get away for a couple of nights to have a mini-break, and Mum agreed it was a good idea – I’d already decided where I wanted to go … Napier to visit the gannet colony again, and double bonus because Katrina is just a short hop further south, and I really wanted to catch up with her again (you may remember we met for the first time in Melbourne a while ago now) 🙂

As we were driving into Napier, we came across Whitebay Lavender Farm on the main road into Napier, and I just had to stop and take a photo or two … I just loved all the rows of lavender growing – just beautiful 🙂

Lavender farmWhitebay Lavender Farm

Unfortunately it took us a while to find a motel in Hastings, but once we found a nice one (Omahu Motor Lodge – we can definitely recommend it) we grabbed the keys and high-tailed it back into the car without unpacking so we could not waste any more time before visiting Katrina.  We also had a lovely treat in store, as we had an additional guest visitor of Kath!  What a lovely surprise … and yet another lovely blogger!  Hopefully we’ll see Kath gracing our shores across the ditch for an Aussie get-together … the sofa bed’s always free for you, Kath and Katrina – you’re welcome any time! 

Katrina Anne Kath and baby HannahKatrina, me, Kath and Hannah

As well as catching up with my stitching pals, we did of course get to meet in person the lovely Glenn, and the adorable Hannah … who was immediately monopolised by the Dragon haha.  We also got to see some of Katrina’s beautiful stitching in real life, and Kath’s latest Christmas tree creation which is gorgeous (check out her blog to see a photo).  Thanks again ladies for a lovely visit – I’m just sorry I wasn’t as lively and chatty as normal due to a bit of over-tiredness … let’s just say we didn’t take any rocking to sleep when we got back to the motel – a quick bite to eat and we were both out like a light!

While I was visiting Katrina I gave her a Christmas ornie that I’d managed to finish just in time before travelling, as well as a very belated birthday present (I’m just dreadful at meeting my commitments of late hmmm).  Katrina’s photos are much better than mine, so feel free to wander over and have a gander.

Ornie for Katrina

Pinkeep for Katrina

I was also spoilt by receiving an ornie made by Katrina – I’d drooled over these when I saw them on her blog recently, not knowing I was going to be one of the recipients.  As with all my hand-made gifts, I’ll treasure this one dearly, and may even leave this one out year-round – thanks so much Katrina, I love it! Unfortunately, though, I just realised I haven’t taken a photo yet – I’ll remedy that as soon as I finish my unpacking and will add to a later post! 😀

Auckland, Christmas, Fireworks, Home & Family TO BE FIXED, Travel, Travel - New Zealand

Back home again … and Christmas in the Park

Anne S

Here I am sitting at my computer desk at my little flat – I got home last night, after having a really awesome time back home in NZ.  I took oodles of photos so I could document all or adventures, so I may have to spread them out over a couple of posts.

I guess I should start where I left off last time … last Friday we drove over to our closest family friends for a BBQ (including Dad).  It was really wonderful to see them again – they are the only people I “have to” see when I fly over, even if it’s just a flying visit I try hard to make sure we call round to visit.  They’re just like our family (in fact probably closer than family), and it always feels as though I’ve never been away when I see them, as there is such a level of comfort there.  It was great to see Bradley and Danial to see how much they’ve grown up, and of course always lovely to see Heather and John, Tracey and Glenn.  I always have such fond memories of our get-togethers.  Unfortunately I neglected to take photos, but Tracey took some, so I’ll have to try to get some copies down the track.

The next night (Saturday) we headed off on the train to Christmas in the Park at Auckland Domain.  We were very lucky with the weather, as the forecasted rain held off and didn’t show itself at all during the day.  I’m so glad we went (Mum and I), as it was a really super show.  Unlike Melbourne, these shows are free entry with donations made to a charity on the night by way of buying glow sticks and Santa hats etc.  They say Auckland had a record crowd this year, with approx 150,000 people there … can’t say I noticed all the people as we were in our own little bubble enjoying the atmosphere, music and gourmet delights we’d taken along in our picnic hamper (along with a delightful bottle each of red and white wines to wash it all down with!).  Following are a couple of photos from the night:

I thought some of you in the Northern Hemisphere might enjoy this one … Santa comes to visit in all his glory in the middle of summer for us – while you’re sat huddled in your jumpers (aka jerseys, sweaters, pullovers), we’re down here in our singlet tops and shorts, but still following traditions with the Santa hats and trees etc 🙂

Carols in the Park crowd 1

Crowds starting to fill up in front of Auckland’s Museum – the concert is held in the Auckland Domain, a large parkland which is usually just used for recreation and sporting activities (especially cricket)

Carols in the Park crowd 2

And here’s the stage itself as people are starting to fill up the spaces

Carols in the Park crowd 3

Lucky last, here is the Christmas tree once the lights have been switched on, and the evening finale of fireworks (which were disappointing compared to previous years, but still awesome to see – and guaranteed to bring the childlike glee from the depths of my soul).

Carols in the Park Xmas tree lights

Carols in the Park Fireworks

We didn’t get home until just before midnight, and had an early start the next morning, as Mum and I hijacked the car for 3 days and drove to Napier/Hastings for a mini-break … which was absolutely awesome!! That will be the topic of the next couple of posts 🙂

Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Two more days then Carols in the Park

Anne S

I’ve been having a really lovely time here visiting in NZ.  Yesterday I got Mum teed up with broadband internet, and we got her a wireless modem which means my laptop also works over here for internet access as well – it rocks!!

So far Mum and I have been spending most of the day shopping, which is very unusual for me.  I’ve been getting a bit fed up of public transport and walking but Dad didn’t want me to use the car as the carparking is so bad locally now that you have to pay for parking at Manukau City.  Yesterday and today, though, I got to drive the car and I loved it!  It’s so much better being able to make a decision where to go and just go there instead of having to walk for miles or waiting for ages for public transport!  It’s especially lovely to drive my old baby again – this is my old car from living in NZ that I gave my Dad when I left … my old Mazda 323, ah heaven … 🙂

Mum and I have really enjoyed wandering around the shops and catching up, and my suitcase will be full of cheap shoes on the return trip – Dad has been OK for the first few days, or perhaps I’ve just been more tolerant … until tonight.  It’s been pretty good this visit, though – the last time I came over here was 3 1/2 years ago, and I had to leave the room after 24 hours to chill out before I lost my rag with Dad … this visit it’s taken me 5 whole days before I lost my cool and had to leave the room tonight after telling him to get a grip and chill out.  I should have remembered all those childhood Thursdays when Mum and I used to vacate the lounge really quickly as soon as 10pm arrived, so we weren’t up to see Dad on his return from a drinking session at the RSA – geez, it’s amazing how quickly those memories come flooding back!  Thursdays used to be my favourite day of the week ‘cos Mum and I would hang out together in the lounge – the rest of the week we all spent the time in our respective rooms separately … no “family time” in this family! 😦

Tonight has been the only down time so far, though, and the fun parts will hopefully continue.  Tomorrow we’re off to have a BBQ at our closest family friends’ home – time will tell whether Dad will go, as he usually packs a sad and pulls out ‘cos he doesn’t feel like going (for years my friends didn’t think I had a Dad ‘cos he never came to anything), but regardless Mum and I will go and have a good time.  Saturday brings the Christmas Carols in the Park – Mum and I used to go to this religiously each year, and I’m thrilled that I’m here for this year’s concert … fingers crossed the rain holds off for the night!  I feel like I’m a little kid again when the fireworks start at the end of the night – I can’t wait!!

Sunday morning will see us taking off in the car for a very early morning start, when we’ll be heading off down the coast to Napier/Hastings, when we hope to visit Katrina on Sunday afternoon.  On Monday we get to do my choice of the holiday, and visit the gannet colony at Cape Kidnappers – we’ve done this trip once before, and I loved it, and I really wanted to see the gannets again and take some more photos.  Afterwards we’re probably going to head over to New Plymouth, as we’ve never been there before, where we’ll overnight before heading back up north to Auckland.  I then finish off the trip with a day of work in the Auckland office on Wednesday before flying home again on Thursday.

I’ve been feeling quite sentimental about this whole visit – I’ve loved retracing my footsteps among my old local haunts and seeing how things have changed … I’ve also loved hearing all the Kiwi accents without having Aussies being rude about it … it’s surprised me how happy I’ve been to be home and how the smaller things have touched me.  For instance, just seeing the sparrows flitting around the garden (we rarely see sparrows in Aussie) warms my heart – and as soon as my feet got out of the car when I first arrived home on Sunday I was thrilled to see big fat bumblebees buzzing around the flowers (I only ever see the little wasp-looking bees at home) … such simple little things, but such simple joy they bring …

Alas Thursday arrived and brought with it the emotional dark clouds, but tomorrow is Friday, and chance to put Thursday behind us for another week … thankfully I will be leaving before Thursday evening next week, so this will be the last one I have to endure for another couple of years!  Apparently I have to return in two years time for Mum and Dad’s golden wedding anniversary … better start getting the valium ready now! 😉

For now, however, we have lots of fun to look forward to … then I have to work out how I’m going to get all this shopping home!!! 😀

Gifts TO BE FIXED, Home & Family TO BE FIXED

Stitching day at Karen’s

Anne S

Today I had the most wonderful day in the company of stitchers and patchworkers at the home of Karen of The Stitching Post/Dragonfly Dreams fame.  The company was awesome, as always, the food sublime, and the chatter endless and interesting.  It was lovely to see some finished works as well … and I was seriously tempted to mug one of the patchworker’s quilts she was paper-piecing – you don’t have to think too hard to guess it was in scrumptious blues!!

As we were saying goodbye at the end of the day we got chatting about sewing machines, and how I really do dislike my el-cheapo one I bought on sale at Spotlight – and that I seriously miss my old Janome machine.  You may/may not remember that my old faithful machine I’d had for 20-odd years finally gave up the ghost just as I was putting my belongings into storage … so I splurged on a cheapo one to tide me over until I could afford another good one.

Anyway, Karen then surprised me by saying she had an old spare Janome just laying around and she’d been wondering what to do with it, and would I like it?  My jaw just about hit the floor – and the wonderful kind soul that she won’t accept any payment for it, rather that it’s in thanks for doing the model stitching for her.  I was seriously gob-smacked (and still am!), and I actually felt quite choked up when we picked it up from the shop on the way home.  Karen, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so very very much … I’m actually now looking forward to stitching again with it – I’ve got pile of gifts I’ve been wanting to get finished, but I haven’t grown to love my own machine yet and therefore putting off using it ‘cos I just can’t get the tension right.

No piccies yet, as I really need to get cracking and do my packing for my holidays – my flatmate will be enjoying the peace and quiet until I get home again … and I’ll probably be offline for a while longer.  I’ll post piccies on my return, along with some holiday snaps – but I couldn’t go without acknowledging my unbelievable gift!  😀

Calico Crossroads, Cross Stitch, Finishes

Summer Grace

Anne S

Just a quick note to show my latest finish – the final stitches went into this piece on Sunday night, but I haven’t been able to take a good photo of it yet … so these photos will just have to suffice.  It doesn’t do the colours justice, as the green fabric is a lot richer.  Oh well, crappy photos are better than no photos at all … and it’s possibly going to be the final photo (if not post) before I head off on holiday. 

Summer Grace 1
“Summer Grace” by Calico Crossroads
stitched on a 32ct hand-dyed linen by Silkweaver
(whose name escapes me right now – Summer Meadow maybe??)
with recommended threads and MH Treasure (sheep)

Summer Grace 2

Summer Grace 3

Summer Grace 4

I may try and scan this one later, or use my Nikon camera and see if I can get a more accurate result – my Lumix does a fantastic job of the close-ups, which is why I bought it, but the colour representation leaves a lot to be desired most of the time for these types of photos 😦

Food, Hunter Valley, Sydney, Travel, Travel - Australia

Sunday … not quite a day of rest!

Anne S

I just realised I haven’t finished posting about our girlie weekend away last weekend … so here’s the final instalment – that is, if I can remember everything now!!!

After imbibing a fair bit of vino on the Saturday, and the fact I was driving, we took it a lot easier on the Sunday as far as alcohol intake was concerned.  That doesn’t mean to say we cut back on the places we visited or the enjoyment we got … we sure as heck made the most of the day, and couldn’t have crammed any more into it if we tried!

Our first port of call was into the nearby factory showroom of the Hunter Valley Chocolate Company, where we sampled different fudges and chocolate – and we all came out with little packages of fudge for a treat when we got back home.  We’d been told there was a chocolate fountain there, where you could dip in strawberries and marshmallows, but alas we’d been wrongly advised.  We did find out, however, that they had another shop at one of the vineyards, so we added that to our “must do” list for later 🙂

Then we continued on to Adina Wines, as Lisa wanted to try some Pinot Gris/Pinot Grigio wines, and none of the vineyards we visited on the Saturday has this varietal.  Adina was on the way to our next official destination, so we called in for a spot of wine-tasting for Lisa.  It worked too, as she happily came away with some spoils from there, as well as learning the differences between the Gris and Grigio names (one is from the Italian region, and the other French) – good to know they’re essentially the same thing!

After Adina, we continued to our first destination, which was Drayton’s Family Wines (you may remember the name as the one in the news a couple of years ago when there was an explosion in the vineyard where the one of the vintners was killed and someone seriously injured/burned) – I totally fell in love with a Chocolate Port that I’d bought from Flaschengeist in Melbourne, but haven’t been able to find who actually makes it … anyway we heard that Drayton’s do a Chocolate Port so that was our first official port of call.  Unfortunately the port was nothing like the one I loved, so it didn’t come home with us … however after sampling the “Christmas pudding in a glass” I fell in love with their Muscat, so that was my treat for the morning.

Our next stop was a few metres up the road, back to Robyn Drayton’s where we’d bought the white port from the previous day.  Our plan here was to have a Devonshire Tea – and it was as scrummy as we’d hoped for 😀

Robyn Drayton

After our Devonshire Tea, we drove back to Pokolbin Village Shops where we spent a fair bit of time in the Smelly Cheese Shop sampling cheeses and stocking up on some to bring home.  We also bought a few more gourmet delights as well, finishing off with a Gelati.

After the shops we visited another winery – this time Brokenwood Wines.  I tried their Sangiovese wine, while the girls tried a few of their whites.  I don’t think we bought anything from there (shock, horror!), as you can generally buy their wines from bottle shops at a much lower price.  Most of the other vineyards we’d bought from only sell from the cellar door.

Our final wine stop for the day was to Peterson’s Champagne House, where Hunter Valley Chocolate Company had a lovely shop set up … along with their chocolate fountain, woohoo!!  It was a compulsory purchase of strawberries on a stick covered in warm chocolate from the chocolate fountain … sheer bliss!  We then popped really quickly to the next door building to check out the sparkling wines (Katie’s favourite) where both of the girls came out with a bottle of Blush each 🙂

We finished the day off with a spot of girlie pampering at the local Reflections Day Spa where Lisa and I both had a 1/2 hour relaxation massage, and I had my eyebrows shaped and eyelashes tinted … what an awesome end to an awesome weekend!  (I’d really hoped for a remedial massage, as I’ve been suffering quite badly with neck pain and stiffness over the last couple of weeks, but the guy who does them wasn’t there that day – a relaxation massage was a good alternative, though).  After our relaxation we drove home singing along to Christmas carols … life just doesn’t get better than that!! 😀

It’s only the second ‘real’ girlie weekend I’ve had (the first one was having a weekend away at Toowoon Bay in October), and I hope it won’t be the last … it was awesome!!!

Since we’ve been home I’ve done one whole row of about 20 smyrna crosses for my current stitching projec, and that’s about it!  My stitching has been non-existent, so I hope to get a couple of hours in this morning to make up for it.  Then the rest of the day will be spent doing housework and getting the place ready to have the Christmas decorations put up, so not much stitching to be had this week, me thinks.  Next weekend is a write-off as well, as we have our Christmas party on Friday night, followed by a stitching GTG at Karen’s on Saturday (really looking forward to that), followed by a holiday back home – so you’re unlikely to see much posting from me between now and Christmas … with any luck, thought, I might get a tiny bit of stitching done in NZ! 😀

Flowers Trees & Gardens, Photo Hunt, PhotoHunt, sculpture, sik sik yuen wong tai sin temple, Travel - Hong Kong

Photo Hunt – Metal

Anne S

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This week’s theme is “Metal” and here’s a metal sculpture from the Enchanted Maze Garden in Victoria:

metal 2

And my second choice is this metal urn at a temple in Hong Kong used for burning incense – I don’t know why, but I really love this photo, with just a faint hint of the incense smoke burning.

metal 1

Flowers Trees & Gardens, Food, Friends & Family, Hunter Valley, Sydney, Travel, Travel - Australia

Saturday’s adventures (photo heavy)

Anne S

Saturday morning we were awake bright and early – with enough time to shower and have a leisurely breakfast before we got picked up by our tour bus. We chose to travel with the “Cheers Bus” for a vineyard tour. I was really impressed with the entire day – the choice of vineyards was excellent, the driver extremely knowledgeable, and loads of fun had by all. We were 11 in total on the tour, with the remaining 8 all girls having a family weekend away (aunts, sisters, and cousins) – it was a total hoot!!  I’d definitely go with them again, and in fact we’re already considering a return trip ‘cos there’s so much still to see!

After picking up the other girls, we ventured out to Ivanhoe Wines – we had a private room set aside where Anne taught us about tastings and how to do it correctly to get the best out of the wines. We then set about with some wine tasting … not bad going at 10.30am!! haha. I must admit there were two of the wines that I loved, so they joined us for the van trip (in fact I fell in love with something at every single place -and have to admit spent up larger than planned).

Ivanhoe 2

Ivanhoe 1

Our next stop was the Iron Gate Estate – this had some of the most delicious wines, albeit expensive, and I loved them so much I bought two bottles of two of them … just divine! If Mum’s kind to me, I might even take a bottle each over to NZ to share 😉

Our host at Iron Gate was Jason, and he was another winner – the information he gave about the wines was superb, and even had us LOL when he picked on a couple of blonde comments from one of the girls in our group … she was lovely but oh so dopey haha. After the wine tastings here, and after spending up large, we were taken behind the scenes to the back room to see the modern vineyard at work – we got to see the stainless steel vats and oak barrels and learned each step of the wine making process … it was very educational. I have to admit I also fell in love with the building and the decor itself, and took loads of piccies here, so I’ll have to share … I just love the attention to detail they have to create a relaxing and stunning atmosphere (this is where the photo-heavy bit comes in!!).

Iron Gate 1

Iron Gate 3

Iron Gate 2

Iron Gate 4

Iron Gate 5

Iron Gate 6

Iron Gate 7

Iron Gate 8

Our next port of call was to Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard – the views at the top of the hillside where the vineyard is perched on is spectacular, and we had to get the driver to take a photo of us all posting in front of the view! We also nearly killed our driver off as he had to carry our purchases out for us … we made the most of a discounted sale!! We had a private area at this winery as well, where we were taught all about their wines – to be honest the guy who lead this talk was quite pompous, and none of us knew where to look as he sat in front of us on a barstool with his legs parted almost into the splits … after sampling so many wines we also got a bit of the giggles, so that helped to throw some joy into the proceedings …

Audrey Wilkinson 1

Audrey Wilkinson 2

After Audrey Wilkinson we headed off for a 1.30pm lunch at the Potters Hotel & Brewery – here you could sample beers if you wanted to, as they are a micro-brewery brewing their own beers. I just had a teeny tiny sample of their “Bock”, which is a black beer – it was reasonably nice, but the ladies at the table who’d bought samples of the other beers weren’t nearly as impressed! The food here was OK – my lamb shanks were tough and dry, but the other meals seemed to be OK. It was definitely a great idea to have a full meal at lunchtime, to help soak up the alcohol, especially as we were planning to stay in at home for our evening meal.

Potters Brewery

Back on the road once again, we headed to Lucy’s Run vineyard … this winery doesn’t advertise at all, and isn’t even listed in the phone book – they only make approx 800 cases of wine annually, but oh boy they’re good wines! The owner is an ex-Cathay Pacific pilot, who not only makes wines but also marinated olives, olive oil and Dukkah … we were in sampling heaven. Another two bottles of wine, a jar of olives and some Dukkah fell into my bag, I don’t know how!! I forgot to take any photos of this vineyard (or the next one, come to think of it – me thinks the wine tasting was starting to take its toll haha).

After Lucy’s Run, we drove to our supposed final vineyard for the day – Ernest Hill Wines. Yet again, the wines were superb, and another two bottles fell into my bag. The host was fun and informative, and we learnt even more about wine. While we were there, the driver found out I love white port, so he sneaked in an unplanned stop especially for us on the way to our final stop … we went to Robyn Drayton Wines, and I have to agree her White Port is the best in the land … seriously!!! Although a little expensive, it’s well worth it!  It comes in a glass decanter, and we all loved it so much the three of us all came home with a bottle! When tasting we were told to only drink half of what Robyn poured for us, then she squeezed a couple of drops of fresh lime juice into the remaining port, and oh-la-la what a wonderful blend that is!!! Sheer bliss!!!

Our final stop on the bus tour was to the Pokolbin Village Shops, where we had cheese tastings at the Smelly Cheese Shop … next door was also the Gelato shop, and Chocolate and Fudge shop … gourmet heaven!! And yes, we all found something here to tempt us too!

After that we waddled back to the bus to be chauffeured home to our respective residences. We then got our dinner goodies together and headed into the common lounge room where we spread out our banquet, cracked open a bottle of wine (after chilling out a bit over a glass of lemonade), and ended up in the lounge for the rest of the night. We got to meet one of the other couples staying there, and spent a few hours in their company while we ate and drank. Here’s a view of our antipasto supper with lots of fresh cheeses, pate, crackers, Turkish bread and dips, cold meats, vegetable crudites, fresh fruit (kiwifruit, grapes, strawberries) … and just for me, blue cheese, various stuffed olives, semi sun-dried tomatoes, stuffed bell peppers, artichoke hearts and fresh dates (the others don’t like any of those, so that was my own little treat plate). We’d also bought various types of chocolates, but by then we were too stuffed to eat any, so finished off the night with a glass of the complimentary port instead 😀

Sovereign Hill 2

Girls Weekend Away 1

All-in-all a VERY good day enjoyed by all 😀

After