Noeline's Flash New Car!

Noeline (from my work) got some new signwriting done on her car yesterday - how cool is this?!

No hiding now, Noeline!

And as for me, well I've been sewing beads (yes, sewing beads - a good combo for me, cos it combines my two great craft-loves of sewing and beading!). This is my first pendant, using a Malachite cabachon with Green Agate beads and glass seed beads.

It'll go on sale on my website tonight. I'm working on my second pendant tonight too :)

Addictive personality? Moi? I'm sure I don't know WHAT you mean...!

~A

Giggle Wednesday

Not much to update just now - been busy with custom orders and trying new beady stuff (fun fun fun! Very time-consuming though). So, for now, I'll just leave you with a scene from the movie "What Happens in Vegas" (Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz).

The movie wasn't really "all that" (ahem) but this one scene just CRACKED. ME. UP. I mean it - every time I watch it, it makes me giggle (or maybe it's just my sick sense of humour?!).

You be the judge :)

Red Friday

I received this email today and felt moved to share it with you...

"Last week I was in Auckland attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Kiwi who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said 'hi,' the little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, who didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 5 months now. As the mum was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mum was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'
The mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum. I was standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier then turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our serviceman/women, and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be a New Zealander.

RED FRIDAYS

Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing red every Friday. The reason? Kiwi's who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions.

Many Kiwi's, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of New Zealand supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every Kiwi who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make New Zealand on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football team. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before New Zealand is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...'We need your support and your prayers'. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.

IF YOU AGREE -- SPREAD THE WORD. IT IS YOUR CHOICE. THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- Lest we Forget."

I'm wearing red this Friday and every Friday from now on. Are you?

~A

Galavanting again

We went to Taupo today, to drop off my Mother in Law, who was being collected by her cousins from down the line (she's staying with them for a week before she flies home). So we took advantage of doing those things that you do when you go to the Big Smoke (ie: somewhere larger than where you live). We bought the kids school shoes (winter ones, as school is back tomorrow after the holidays and it's winter uniform time). We went to McDonalds (treat for the kids). We looked at bookshelves (but couldn't decide which one to get so didn't get any). Stuff like that.

Then we headed on to Rotorua for a stopover on our way home. The weather was atrocious - wet and windy. Not a good day for shopping. I went looking for a winter coat but couldn't be bothered actually putting much effort into it, so came home without one. Ended up finding a nice bookshelf/display unit for the living room in Rotorua (success at last!) and bought a new lamp. When I can't find anything to buy for myself, I inevitably buy something for the house. It's a diversionary tactic. Also got a great coffee from The Fat Dog cafe in Rotorua on our way home - so love their coffees!

What I learnt on this trip: I need to sort out a playlist for the kids on my iPod. Got so sick of flicking between their favourite songs! I think it will consist of their most-requested songs, which currently are:

Dancing Queen - Abba (have the "Mamma Mia" movie to thank for this - Georgia's hooked)
Accidentally Kelly Street - Frente!
1973 - James Blunt
I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker - Sandi Thom (seems to be a perennial favourite)
Maybe - Opshop
Eye of the Tiger - Survivor (this one is getting REAL old - Cammie's obsessed since he saw Dean from Supernatural doing his thang...now we get Cammie's leg-air-guitar several times a day, complete with his rendition of the song...my ears!!).

Kids eh?! What are ya gonna do?

Finally downloaded my photos from yesterday's ANZAC Day service here in Opotiki as well, they came out quite well I thought:

The Cenotaph after the official ceremony and wreaths had been laid:

Cammie proudly shows off the miniature medals belonging to my Grandfather:

The townsfolk turned out in force - so great to see:

Currently pouring with rain as I write this - perfect time for me go to bed :) Nothing beats the sound of rain falling on the roof to lull me to sleep (one of my all-time favourite things!).

~A

ANZAC Day

Ode to the Fallen

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

ANZAC = Australian and New Zealand Army Corp*

(ANZAC Day - 25th April)

*To read abit about my own family's war history, go to my ANZAC Day post from last year.

Thank you, Pop. Love you and miss you always x

~A

"Life's That Way" by Jim Beaver

I've just ordered this book from Amazon.com. Yes, I know - I have to wait...again...and you know how much I love waiting!!!!!!!!!!!

But, once again, I think the book will be worth it. I've read all the reviews on Amazon, and everyone gave it 5 stars, so I know it'll be a goodie.

There is an incredibly indepth and very interesting website devoted to it, just CLICK HERE. Reading the excerpt from the book made me tear up, so God knows what reading the actual book will do to me. (I even made Willie sit down and read the excerpt and he agreed it would be a good buy, and will probably end up reading it after me).

Oh, and as a wee sidenote: only one more sleep till the new Supernatural episode - I'm like a kid at Christmas, honestly, it's quite ridiculous. *Yay!*

I'm getting a little worried about the pile of books on my bedside table...I no longer think it's safe and if it topples over in my sleep it may actually kill me. I need to make some serious inroads with my reading to reduce this Occupational Safety & Health hazard, before the OSH dudes turn up and do me for "workplace endangerment" (does sleeping count as working? I do have jewellery-related ideas pop into my head when I'm dreaming, so maybe....???).

~A

This is seriously GOOD STUFF

Honest Guv - try it. It's delish!

And if you do - let me know what you think of it! Cos we luff it.

I only have one complaint - it doesn't last long in this house :(

~A

A Love Song for Bobby Long

We stumbled upon the DVD "A Love Song for Bobby Long" quite by accident (ie: I sent Willie along to the DVD shop a few months ago and he came back with this - he said it was on the "highly recommended" rack. All I can say is: I must've been feeling brave at the time - usually his choices are somewhat...well...let's just say, not what I would have chosen...ie: usually crap). Neither of us had ever heard of it, but it actually sounded alright.


After watching it, we both agreed - best movie we'd seen in AGES! Fantastic cinematography, beautifully acted and well written - it really captures you and you're gripped to the screen for the movie's entirety. Don't misunderstand me - it's not an action flick. It's more like one of those movies that takes you by surprise - it's so beautiful to look at, the story just creeps up on you until you're almost holding your breath at the conclusion. I have no idea how it managed to escape our attention until now (it was released in 2004) - talk about a well kept secret. Or maybe it's just that we don't get out as much as we used to *shrugs*.

Stars Scarlett Johansson, John Travolta and Gabriel Macht.

If you're looking for a DVD to truly entertain you, do yourself a favour and rent or buy this movie. We are now proud owners of the DVD, and have lent it to so many friends - every one of them agrees with us.

If you do rent/buy this DVD, please leave me a comment to let me know what you thought of it.

Happy watching :)


~A

Twitter...ing

Y'know how I am abit obsessive/compulsive? (You should by now). It was YouTube, not long ago, before that it was "Supernatural", then recently the whole "fan fiction" thing. Before that it was...well, I forget. But you get the idea.

Well, my "next thing" is Twitter. I'd heard about it before, obviously. Never really "got it" though (it takes me a while to catch on). Then, this past weekend, I was on Twitter, following the lucky girlies that were at the Sydney Supernatural convention ("All Hell Breaks Loose") - and I was hooked! I mean, there it was, in real time, all the latest news from the convention - how cool, it was like I was THERE, for goodness sake! Incredible!

So, now I have a Twitter account :)

If you want to check out what I'm up to, go to www.twitter.com/pallinad (seriously!). It's too much fun (it should be illegal...but I'm pretty sure it's not).

And you know what else is addictive about Twitter? The celebs that have Twitter accounts! I mean...?????!!!!!! So great to see what they're all up to from day to day (even hour to hour, some of them!). Here's a few that I found that you might be interested in (there are heaps more):

Rove McManus (I'm following his 'tweets' cos I love 'im - he cracks me up!)
Oprah
Demi Moore
Rob Thomas (ex Matchbox Twenty, one of my favourite bands)
Ellen DeGeneres
Ronan Keating
Betz White (my felting guru)

And I also found one for Jensen Ackles (Dean from "Supernatural" - duh) but I'm really not sure if it's kosher or not...will keep an eye on it, just in case ;)

So, I put a link to my Twitter site on the left hand side of this blog page, if you wanna keep up.

And now, back to my Twitter search :) (And yes - crap on TV just now...and all the chocolate easter eggs are now gone *sob sob*)

~A

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

It was the Sydney Supernatural Convention this weekend ("All Hell Breaks Loose"). Poo. So wish I was there! But, the next best thing was following the fan's updates via Twitter - cracked me up, you could almost feel the excitement! And how great is technology that we can get INSTANT updates about what's going on? I love the 21st century :)

Hmmm. What else did I get up to? Well, saw "The Fast and The Furious 4" movie - quite disappointing, to be honest. I saw F&F 1 and 2, skipped 3, and was really looking forward to seeing 4. The race scenes were awesome (specially the street-race thru the city!) and I really loved the opening scene (hi-jacking a super oil tanker IN MOTION in the Dominican Republic) but the story was severely lacking. The chicks were there for....? Why where they even there again? There was precious little interaction between them and "Dom" (Vin Deisel) and "Brian" (Paul Walker). I must expect too much I guess...kinda hoping for abit of a plotline as well. Silly me. Still, was great to see Paul Walker and Vin Deisel together again :)

I really love action movies. Not all of them, mind you. Van Damme and Segal leave me cold. I also will pretty much see any movie that features race cars (I'm a petrol-head at heart). Not to say I don't enjoy a good weepie as well. I would say that "The Notebook", "The Lake House" and "Atonement" are pretty well up there on my favourite weepie movies list. Chic Flicks - can't beat 'em!

Spent this morning reading the Sunday papers, drinking coffee and watching DVD's with the kids. It's the simple things I love! Can't remember the last time we had time to have a leisurely breakfast (Willie cooked, he's good at breakfasts...now if only I could get him to try cooking dinners once and awhile, life would be just peachy!). Also watched abit of the Hamilton 400 (V8 Supercars race through the streets of Hamilton, for the uninitiated) on TV.

One of the things I laughed my butt off in today's paper would have to be the ad below (for MediaWorks Radio). Not much to laugh about in the papers these days, but this just made me giggle :)

"How to Speak New Zillund"

A - is for Arm (uttered when thinking)
B - is for Bull (what you're charged for the meal)
C - is for Cuds (children)
D - is for Donut (long version of "don't")
E - is for Ear (what we breathe)
F - is for Fush (sea creatures)
G - is for Guess (used for cooking and heating)
H - is for Hull (land which isn't flat)
I - is for Ice cream (what I do when the All Blacks lose)
J - is for Jug (type of Irish dance)
K - is for Ken's (popular holiday city in Queensland, Australia)
L - is for Lust (something you write before going shopping)
M - is for Milburn (Capital of Victoria, Australia)
N - is for Nutter (to have a yarn)
O - is for One doze (a pane of glass in a wall)
P - is for Pigs (found on a clothes line)
Q - is for Quad (sland term for a British Pound note)
R - is for Rung (piece of jewellery)
S - is for Sucks (the number after five)
T - is for Tin (the number after nine)
U - is for Undies (West Undies. Good at cricket)
V - is for Volley (area between two hulls)
W - is for Windy (a girls name)
X - is for Xylophone (it's the same in any language)
Y - is for Yuppie (an expression of delight)
Z - is for Zilland (New Zilland, obviously)

Hehehe! I so love this! I remember when i first went to London, I stayed with some friends (also Kiwis) and they seriously hassled me for my "accent". I remember thinking "pot...kettle...black??" but they'd been there for about a year before I arrived, so I guess, to their ears, my accent was pretty "fresh". When I first went to Scotland, I had to really alter my way of speaking so that the SCOTS could understand me (now, what the hell is that all aboot then?!). Willie (bless him) thought I must've been a "posh Kiwi" :) Awwww....that's luv for ya!

I'm off now, to sort out the bombsite that has manifested itself in Cammie's bedroom..."Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" indeed...

~A

School Holidays

Yep, school holidays this week (and next). I have this week off with the kids, Willie's got school-hol-duty next week.

So, what'd I do today, with my "free time"? Well, in a nutshell: laundry, tidying up, more laundry, more tidying up...and watched a couple of the earlier episodes of "Supernatural". Was going through withdrawals after a week of no SN - what can I say? Tried to pick up a few clues as to what may be happening in the season finale of Series 4 next month (only 4 episodes to go!!) but didn't really pick anything up that I didn't already know. Poo.

I really hate suprises. I always read the last page of a book first. Depending on how that goes, I decide whether or not to actually read the book. I also search out spoilers for SN whenever I can - there is a HUGE fandom out there, and we love theorising! It's great for people like me :)

I'm also a tad depressed. There is a "Supernatural" convention in Sydney in a few days and I won't be there. Which sucks out loud. Vic and I have agreed that we'll go to the next one if there's another one in Aussie - which we hope will be next year, as there will probably only be one more series after this one (don't even get me started on that one..."depressed" doesn't even begin to cover it).

So, I guess I have that to hang on to. It's a big "if" though.

Tomorrow I'm planning abit more fun with the kids - a bike ride, the playpark and a picnic lunch :)

And somewhere in all of that, some "me" time...if I can even remember what that is? My "me time" lately seems to consist of docking my iPod into the speakers in the kitchen and listening to "my" music while I make dinner. Sad or what?

OK. Enough whineing and bitching. Moving right along...

But to end on a high - the weather has been fantastic this week! We're meant to be in autumn now, officially, but apart from the cooler nights/mornings and end of daylight saving, I can't see any other evidence of it. It's been glorious sunshine for weeks!

Yay for a New Zealand autumn/winter!!

~A

Road Trip!!

Hehehe - what an awesome weekend! Took to the road at 5pm on Thursday night from Whakatane, and headed south. Travelled via SH1 down through Taupo, and arrived in Wellington at midnight. Kinda barrelled through really, cos we knew it was gonna be a long one, and we knew we could afford to take our time coming home on the return trip, so we just concentrated on getting there. As quick as possible.

Managed to find Amanda's apartment in central Wellington fairly easily (despite the fact that we took the wrong turn-off from the motorway - whoops!) and after several frantic texts to Amanda, we found her!! Simple really (duh!). After unpacking the car and catching up, I think we hit the hay around 2am.

Amanda's apartment was amazing - on the 5th floor, and right opposite Te Papa (the Museum of NZ, right on the waterfront). The views were incredible!

The kids loved the balcony (I'm a sook, I stayed clear - way too "out there" for me!). I did find this movie poster abit disturbing though...! Quite "in yer face" when it's right opposite the window! Now, if it was the Winchester boys, then it'd be different LOL!

Stu arrived mid-morning and we then hit the Top 3 from the kids' "to do" list - the cable car (very cool):

The views from the top were amazing!

A bus trip back to the apartment to collect the cars (here's my "special boys" LOL). Keep in mind - we did this for the kids, but Willie seemed more excited (?!) - Stu's just taking the mick!!

And then Wellington Zoo (I love this photo - incredible!):

Such a great day!

The boys decided they'd do a "reccie" around town and see if any of the pubs were open, so Amanda and I could do our "girls night out" thing. After a couple of hours, they came home with the news that almost everything was shut. Blah. So, a night in front of the telly it was then! A few glasses of wine and "Road Trip" on DVD (most fitting) were the go. Very relaxing.

We headed out to Tawa on Saturday, in search of an elusive "Scottish shop". Eventually found it, but it was shut (typical!). So we headed back into town and squeezed in a visit to "Cool Brittania" (UK shop) in Taranaki St (just around the corner from Amanda's apartment) - I can't BELIEVE how much Willie spent in here....! Talk about missing "food from back home"! Crazy stuff.

Then we headed on up to the Wind Turbine - where the views were fab! Such a beautiful weekend, weather-wise, we were really lucky.

Just look at the view from up there!

And on down to Miramar, and "Scorch-O-Rama" cafe in Scorching Bay. Amanda and the kids had fun on the climbing thingy - LOL!

That night, Amanda and I decided we'd go out on the town. We hit Courtney Place around 9pm and seriously thought we'd be home by 11pm. But...we had alot to catch up on, a few bottles of red wine, and then toddled along to Molly Malone's to round off our night. We found out that all the pubs were closing at midnight because it was Easter Sunday then, and thought it might be fun to stay till midnight cos then the boys wouldn't be able to do their Big Night Out (evil eh?!). Anyway, just before midnight we met up with 3 very hungover Irish boys, visiting from Brisbane (and Tipperary). Turns out they were a right laugh, and we decided to go to a local pool hall once Molly's closed at midnight, where we played some VERY BAD pool for the next few hours LOL! Note to self: I DO NOT play better when I've had several glasses of wine...despite what I thought. Oh, and thanks to Chris (Maireadh's b/f), who gave me a few pointers and didn't give up on me :)

We hit McDonalds for a late night snack about 4am, then stumbled up to the apartment. God bless Willie for not laughing out loud at the state of us (and for staying up till we got in, just to make sure we were OK). Luv ya babe!!

Sunday was fun - despite everyone being sure I was going to be a no-show for the harbour cruise, I proved them all wrong!! Must've been the few glasses of water I'd had the sense to throw down before bedtime (up there for thinking, down there for dancing). I was actually feeling pretty OK by lunchtime. The 45min cruise on the "Wellesley" was very relaxing:

Although Georgia got a wee bit bored:

We had a bbq round at Stu's place with Rach and Mark on Sunday arvo, which was fun! Then we headed on down to the Basin Reserve to watch the Night Glow ("Balloons at the Basin"), which we all agreed was AWESOME! Here's a vid that Willie took - you can see Amanda and the kids dancing to the music :)

We cosied in that night, back at Stu's, to watch "Righteous Kill" (the new Pacino/DeNiro movie) and have a few bevvies. Not me tho - I had coffee :D

Monday afternoon we headed off home. Went via the Rimutaka's and State Highway 2, which was a first for us. We went into Martinborough for a look about:

We stopped at Carterton when we saw this great wee garden centre/shop/cafe on the side of the road - the kids loved the Flintstones-style "car"!

We ended up in Masterton for the night. Watched a movie at the motel that night, which we both quite enjoyed. It was "In Bruges" with Colin Farrell and Brendon Gleeson - so funny! A really good movie, would recommend it.

On Tuesday we spent the morning checking out Masterton, then took the short cut from Ashhurst over to Feilding, where stopped for a late lunch. The scenery on that road was incredible - so beautiful at this time of year!

When we left Feilding and headed north to Taupo, just look what we stumbled across...yes! The famed Mangatainoka and the Tui Brewery - you should have seen Willie's face!! We stopped (no time for the tour, but we did have a browse through the shop and to take a few snaps):

Yes, just like it looks in the ads!

And I did the touristy thing and made Willie stop at Taihape so I could snap the "big gumboot" too...hehehe! I love road trips!

Finally got home around 8pm that night, tired but happy. It's a long way to go, but it was a great 5 days and seeing Stu and Amanda again was great, as expected - promise we won't wait that long next time guys! But, I think we'll be checking out "grab-a-seat" for cheap tickets instead though...less time travelling means more time in the Big Smoke! Yay!

And finally, here's a group shot. Again, thanks guys for an awesome long weekend - luv ya's :)

~A

Bead Swap 6 - results are in!

Woot woot! Just had the most AWESOME long weekend in Wellington (but more on that in tomorrow's post!) - came back to the news that our results from our Bead Swap 6 are in and they're AMAZING! Well done to all the diva's who participated this time round - you guys rock!!

CLICK HERE then click on "Bead Swap 6" folder to see all the entries!

The theme this time round was "rainbow" - here's what I received:


And here's what I made - a great bracelet that's just chock full of colour! I received two sets of beads - some felt beads, and some tiny Swarovski crystals - in the rainbow colours - and 20cm of chain.
The challenge was to use all beads and chain received, and to make whatever we wanted to out of them. So...I sewed the felt beads onto a 100% woollen felt base, then used rainbow wool roving which I needle-felted to the base, around the beads. Then I sewed the chain, the crystals and a few little seed beads onto the base. When it was done, I used blanket-stitch to secure the felt backing to the bracelet, then attached the silver toggle clasp by using ribbon clamps. Voila!

One gorgeous, very tactile, very warm (hehehe!) and lovely, bright bracelet :) I'll list it this week on the website for sale.

More tomorrow!

~ A

Earthquakes, Wellywood, Easter and Suchlike

So, I'm sitting here wondering what to blog about. I mean, I have so many options (not!). We're off to Wellington tomorrow to spend some quality time with our friends Amanda & Stu. On the "to do" list is:

- cable car (kids idea)
- bus ride (what can I say? My kids are simple creatures)
- the zoo (Cammie wants to see monkeys...again)
- the big ballooning thingy at the Basin Reserve on Easter Sunday (Stu says they have bouncy castles...that was all he needed to know)
- girls night out (can't wait!)
- boys night out (ie: girls turn to babysit)
- hitting Cuba St shops (woot woot!)
- miscellaneous fun and frivolity.

It'll be a hellish drive, no doubt, as we're doing it all in a one-er. Probably take us about 6-7 hours. Oh joy! Luckily, Cammie has his iPod and Georgia has the portable DVD player (SUCH a good investment!), so hopefully that'll keep them entertained until "dark-time" (as Cammie calls it) then they'll crash out. We're gonna try to make it to Taupo before stopping for dinner. Pity we'll be driving down the Desert Road in the dark, as it's always quite scenic through that way, with the mountains looming in the background etc.

I'm waiting for the washing machine to finish so I can dump all the clothes we needed to wash at the last minute into the dryer. I'm so disorganised - it's not like this weekend was a last minute thing. I think I need to start making lists for myself again cos this mental "to do" list thingy just doesn't seem to be working for me.

Anyway, Vic and I were just MSN'ing about earthquakes while I kill time and wait for the washing cycle to finish. Turns out I'm a real freak (according to her) cos I love earthquakes. This, apparently, is not a "normal" (whatever that is) thing. I kinda knew this, I must admit. We get our fair share of earthquakes down here, and I always find them just a TAD exciting. I think I'd be one of those weird folk that chases tornado's, if we had them in this country. I think it's just the awesomeness (is that even a word?) of Mother Nature that has me in awe. I can promise you - I'm not "on" anything!! I was here in Opotiki during the Edgecumbe earthquake in 1987, and it truly WAS awesome. Kinda scary too.

We were just discussing earthquakes in general when there actually WAS one! Not here though, but Vic felt it. Freaky or what?! It was a 5.0, 20km deep so I can imagine it was abit shaky over yonder (Gisborne). Certainly shook her up :) Didn't feel a thing here though, so I'm feeling abit disappointed to be honest. Darn it!

Anyway, on that happy note...Wellywood, here we come! They've been known to have their fair share of earthquakes, as Vic reminded me, so maybe I'll get lucky ;)

Wishing you all a very happy Easter weekend - will fill you in next week!

~ A

DIY...it's in our DNA

You know that Mitre10 ad? "DIY...it's in our DNA"?



Definately agree with that. I've long been renowned for not buying something that I could actually make myself (much to Willie's disgust, at times, and usually accompanied by much eye-rolling).

But us Kiwi's - we can do anything, right? Well, I think so anyway. Just look at Sir Ed and Mt Everest. And I'm not even gonna go there about the whole Wright Brothers debacle...it's still Richard Pearse in my book. What a hero!

Anyway, as I was saying - DIY. Definately the way to go. If you don't give it a bash, then how will you know you can't do it, eh? This is the attitude I was born with. I'm pretty adventurous. I'll try most things at least once (unless it involves bungy jumping...I don't do bungy...and yes, I do realise the irony in that, seeing as AJ Hackett - Kiwi, of course - invented said jumping). I will happily stand on the platform and cheer you on if you wish to indulge though (and I have, numerous times, to numerous friends/relatives/unknown crazy people).

So, recently, when we bought our new lounge suite, I realised that our old footstool just didn't cut it anymore. I'd re-covered this beastie at least twice since we bought it about 8 years ago, not long after we came back to NZ (Willie found it in an antique shop in KatiKati - I think it's Kauri?). It was originally a piano stool, but one afternoon in a hormonal flash of brilliance (I was pregnant with Cammie at the time), I decided we needed somewhere handy to store all the nappies/wipes/creams/changing mat/etc that new babies need, so we didn't have to traipse off to the other end of the house (and Cammie's nursery) every time he needed to be changed. So I got out Willie's hacksaw, carefully measured - twice - ("measure twice, cut once" as my Pop, a joiner by trade, always said) and lopped off the legs, thereby creating a footstool with storage capacity. Voila! Oh yes, it was a proud moment :)

Off I toddled to Spotlight (my Mecca for all things crafty) and bought half a metre of gorgeous red and cream upholstery fabric and a couple of packets of those little upholstery nails. Magic.

I set about transforming the old footstool immediately. Took the old fabric and nails off and put the new fabric and nails on. Took me about an hour and a half and cost me under $20 (that's NEW ZEALAND DOLLARS people - "cheap-pence", as Willie says). And I must say, the difference is amazing! Adds a boost of colour to the living room (new suite is chocolate brown leather) and, with a few added throw cushions in varying shades/patterns of red/cream, it's all come together rather well, if I do say so myself.

Here's the new, improved footstool. What do you think? I love the pattern - very "Charles Rennie Mackintosh" (whom I love).



Just goes to show how far a little imagination and alot of (DIY) attitude will take you :)

~A

PS: The ad vid's for you Mum - I know you love it!!

Meaningless Drabble...but oh so fun!

I must be insane. Or, at the very least, mentally unbalanced (slightly). It's 1am and here I am, watching that hysterical interview from Rove a few weeks back, with Lily Allen (via YouTube), actually "LOL"ing. I so love Rove! The girl interviews so well, I love it!

Anyway, decide for yourself - I'm off to bed :D



PS: I agree with Carrie et al - LOVE the shoes doll!!
PPS: Rove's "peonie" questions - LOL!!!!!!!

~A

Winter's Coming

Not exactly a great weekend here - I was felled by some nasty bug that just made me feel totally exhausted. I hate being sick. Not fun. Anyway, feeling better now, so that's a good thing. Ready for another busy week :D

Even though we had the most GORGEOUS day here today, I spent the day listening to music and chilling out inside, trying to get my strength back. Hard to believe that winter is on it's way officially now - we put our clocks back last night so daylight saving is now over.

Not that I hate winter - especially here in the sunny Bay of Plenty. Our winters are actually quite sought-after - I certainly rate them much higher than winters in Edinburgh! No snow. Lovely blue-sky days (even if the temps are a wee bit lower). The smell of smoke from the log-fires filling the streets. Cuddling up on the sofa in front of aforementioned log-fire. Electric blankets to keep the bed warm so it's nice and cosy to climb into. All good stuff!

Anyway, this is one of the songs I listened to today that I haven't listened to in awhile. Another old favourite for abit of post-sickness-comfort :)

New wallpaper

Noooooo - not in my house, duh! On my laptop :D

Whaddaya think? (Vic??? Any comments? LOL). Ahhhhh...nothing I love more than opening up my laptop and having the Winchester boys staring back at me.

And yes - it is kinda distracting (but sooooooo in a good way!).


Mmmmm...time to do some more "work" hehehe...

~A