Snapshots: January 2015

Here are some snapshots from my phone and Instagram. Summer has been great so far - it's been really warm and with my long Christmas holiday, I had a lot of time to relax as well as getting jobs done.

• This is my summer book stack. It's a mixture of library books and loaners. Picks of the bunch so far are Days of Blood and Starlight, Icons and The Giver. I still haven't read The Fault in Our Stars, Doctor Sleep and Gathering Blue, but the rest were average.

• Lui is SO HAPPY when it's warm. He just flops onto the nearest couch and sleeps all day. He wakes up to eat and then sleeps some more. Often he can't even be bothered to tuck his legs or tail in, which leads to some very odd poses.

 • The sunsets lately have been amazing.

• A posy of flowers from Mum's garden. The roses are Compassion which have a beautiful scent.

 • I bought myself Decorate With Flowers as a Christmas present and didn't even crack the cover till after the day. Such self control!

• The flower garden is full and abundant.

 • It's relaxing to stroll around the potager in the evening.

• I love my calendar for this year... each month has a different animal portrait. Disapproving deer is disapproving...

 • There are a few more things to look at in town these days. New Regent Street is up and running with a fresh paint job and some pretty Christmas lights.

• I love this mural by Rone.

 • Dahlias in my German pottery vase. I thought it looked like a painting even before I added the filter.

• Another gorgeous sunset.

• One way to beat the heat is by mixing up refreshing drinks. This is a raspberry and basil mojijto. Don't forget the mint!

• You know it's summer when you find chewed up cicada wings on the kitchen floor. Thanks Lui!

And just like that, the weekend was over. Hope you've had a good one!

August snapshots

So it's the end of August already! I've been a bit slack with my blogging... it's that time of year when I'm sick of winter, drained of motivation and just waiting for the extra daylight hours to kick in again. There's still a month to go till daylight savings (I'm counting down) but today when I got home from work there was enough daylight for me to go out to the garden and harvest a leek and some broccoli. It's such a relief to be able to do that! That and other small things, like emptying the rubbish bin or fetching something from the garage, are just so much easier when it's daylight. So bring it on.

Here are some of my recent pictures from Instagram. (At first I thought Instagram was just another trend but now I'm really appreciating it as a quick and easy way to document daily moments...If you want to look me up on Instagram I'm here!)

Hellebores are still the flower of the moment but their time is nearly up. My favourite this year has been the picotee - white with a dark purple edge - which looks gorgeous glowing in the garden, in a vase, and floating in a teacup so you can better see its pretty little face. I also got a new hellebore - Tutu - and it was so potbound that the first thing I did was soak it in water, then slice down the middle to create two plants. They didn't flower much after that but I planted them out in the garden and they'll be away next year.

On the crochet front, I made a couple of dishcloths. I'll do a full post about them soon as they turned out well. The pink one above made a pretty scalloped pattern.

And last weekend I assembled a flat pack bookcase for my reading corner. I ended up with 20 dowels left over, which I eventually realised were supposed to help anchor the shelves to the walls, but I couldn't be bothered redoing the whole thing to put them in. They were completely missed out of the instructions which were hard to follow anyway - you know those line drawings which make it look like the whole thing assembles itself! Anyway, it feels very sturdy so I happily filled it with all my books. There is a little room for expansion but not very much, so I'll either have to have a purge or buy another bookcase. The book stack above is my latest library haul, this should be just enough to last me a month as long as none of them turn out to be duds (they haven't so far).

That's about it for the last week in winter! I probably shouldn't be in such a hurry to wish it gone, as there are plenty of jobs to get done, like cleaning the glasshouse, before the busyness of spring arrives. But actually I can't wait!

The last week in May

Here are some of my phone photos from this week. I'm still trying to unpack and organise the house. I also had to finish painting the french door frames, and as you can see, the paint hadn't finished drying before Mr Lui came wandering through. Little paw prints all over my new floor... bad kitty! A little bit of baking soda on a damp cloth took it right off though luckily.

I've started a new crochet project! More on that later, but it's a blanket. Makes me happy to be working on another one. 

I found some cushions and blankets to unpack this week! Made me feel much better to have some handmade goodness on the couch again. Lui approved too and could hardly wait for me to get up one night so he could steal my seat amongst the cushions.

The weather has been changeable - northwesterly storms ahead of southerly storms, red sunrises and frosty mornings, apricot sunsets, stormclouds followed by rainbows. Winter is here though and it's time to get used to frosty mornings again. I wish I knew where I'd packed my winter woollies like my hats and gloves, and my winter duvet and pyjamas! This weekend I'll be having a good dig through the boxes in the garage, here's hoping I find something useful and not just more stuff that needs to be organised away...

Nearly time

You guys... it's nearly over! We're moving back home this weekend. The earthquake repairs are finally done and the house is freshly painted. There are a couple of door and window frames that I need to finish that weren't part of our repairs and I'll be getting onto that as quickly as I can so they're ready before winter. Then it's getting the house in order again... unpacking all the boxes and stuff that was crammed into cupboards, putting up the old curtains again (or maybe new ones? If I'm lucky) and rearranging the furniture.

These are some Instagram photos from the last few weeks. I had a bucket of feijoas to deal with. I made some feijoa chutney which turned out nice - sweet and spicy - and ate quite a few of them with yoghurt. The rest I eventually chopped up and put in the freezer. I have a recipe for a pear and gingerbread upside down pudding that's really good, and I'm thinking the feijoas would be an interesting substitute! In the meantime I have lemon drizzle cake to have with my coffee while I flip through some pages of garden inspiration.

The vase above is the one I mentioned in my last post. I love the geometric textured pattern, and it's a great way to display the last single blooms of the season.

We had to remove our lino in the kitchen for new flooring. It was leaving sticky white patches behind until I remembered that my craft heat gun was stashed in a cupboard nearby. A blast of heat made the lino lift quite easily - hooray!

Autumn's on its way out and mornings and evenings are chilly. I love a pile of handmade quilts and blankets on my bed. Can't wait to start a new blanket... just let me at my yarn stash!

Watching the days go by

It's been an unsettling few weeks, waiting out the time until I can go back to my home again. In two weeks' time we should be able to go back in - whether or not the house is completely finished, as these things have a way of taking longer than planned. I'm dying to start a new crochet blanket! I was happy to finish my Summertime blanket but I miss having something I can just pick up and work on without having to think about it too much! I've done a few small projects... a coat hanger here, wrist warmers there, and I've made some rounds which will become a cushion when I can get home and go through my stash to find some stuffing. Then I'll go through my stash and find some yarn for a new blanket. My stash! I miss it so.

I did pack a few small projects to bring with me including my Project Life album. I've only got November and December to finish for last year and then I can start on this year! It's a bit of a joke isn't it... but the finished result is worth it. There aren't many flowers in the garden here so I picked some foliage and teamed it with cyclamen flowers from my houseplants and rowan berries from a neighbourhood walk. The berries have lasted well and I've had variations on this arrangement going for several weeks.

Last week I went window shopping at The Tannery, a Victorian-style shopping arcade that's been developed recently here in Christchurch. It's a lovely way to spend an afternoon, much nicer than a mall. I wasn't going to buy anything but I found a gorgeous vase (photo to come later) and then remembered a voucher I had in my wallet from Christmas... saved for just such an occasion. So I managed to go shopping without spending any money... always a plus!

In other news, we've had three heavy rain storms leading to flooding in the past six weeks. What the hell, weather? If it's not one thing it's another, that's for sure, and I wonder what winter will bring...

These photos are from Instagram where I'm entertaining myself these days. Is anyone else on Instagram? I'm here.

Progress on repairs

 We're nearly halfway through the earthquake repairs on our home, and things are moving along! Every time I go to the house something else has been done. Probably the most dramatic of which was the removal of all the bricks on this end. This was necessary for the jack 'n pack - basically the floor and walls are jacked up, then packed with a strong timber to level them again. Then new bricks are put back on again.

 We used the opportunity to make a couple of adjustments to this area. I'd always been frustrated with the lack of light in this room - it faces southwest, has small windows, and the previous owners had built a cupboard in the corner to house the washing machine. Convenient, but it blocked another window! So the builders have removed the laundry cupboard which will be relocated to the small porch outside our back door.

Above is a before and during picture. You can see what a difference it's made just removing that cupboard!

This is the back door. It was so badly out of alignment that we broke the lock trying to use it, and had to put this bolt on in order to secure it. After the jack 'n pack the door fits perfectly in its frame again!

 Instead of reinstalling the small window, the builders put in a lovely big window that I'd purchased beforehand. And not only that, a set of French doors! And soon there will be a deck running the length of this wall.

See how much beautiful light is coming into this room now. It's made such a difference. The best thing is that I can now see the garden out the windows.

I'm counting down the days until I'll be back home again... the job is almost halfway finished (I hope!) But I know it will be so much better when everything is fixed and improved. And, although it took so long to get started, I count myself very lucky to live in a country where we actually do get earthquake repairs done. There have been so many terrible earthquakes around the world recently, and my heart goes out to all affected.

Temporary accommodation

As I mentioned last time, our earthquake repairs are finally underway. It's been quite the process getting to this point - we were originally told that our repairs would start in September last year and I spent quite a bit of time getting ready for that. But that ended up not happening, and everything went on hold for a few months. 

After the big earthquake in 2011, my house was damaged along with thousands of others. In New Zealand we are lucky that earthquake cover is part of our house insurance, so it was always known that the repairs would be done, but no one realised quite how long and frustrating the process would be for everyone! I'll cut a long story short and say that thanks to my builder's determination to start the job we managed to push forward and get going on things. I'd been slowly packing my belongings into boxes (since last August!) but there was so much stuff... plus there are always the things you can't pack till the last minute... not a fun job and I'm not really anticipating the unpacking with much joy either!

I found a house to rent not too far from home. Luckily our insurance company also pays the rent for this place. It's an ok place to stay in - it's furnished and comes with phone, power, internet and Sky TV - so there's plenty of entertainment, but it's just not home! I brought all my houseplants and put them on the windowsill so that helped a bit. And of course, we brought Mr Lui. He took a few days to settle in but he's fine now, sleeping on the couches like he owns the place. And when he's not on the couches he's on my computer case, an even better bed apparently.

I miss having a big crochet project like a blanket to work on. Since we are doing a few renovation projects on the house my spare money has to go towards that, so I'm not going out to buy yarn for a new project. And my stash yarn is all packed! So in an effort to create something cheerful and colourful, I've been painting my nails. Nail polish is cheap and there are plenty of ideas on Pinterest.

So that's the update from the holiday house. There are plenty of things happening at the real house too - I'll tell you about them soon. I also have some updates on my vege growing this season. In the meantime I'll be scouring Pinterest for manicure home decorating ideas.

March flowers

Here I am with my March flowers post, sneaking it in on the last day of the month. It's late because, after being delayed for six months, all of a sudden we got the go ahead for earthquake repairs to our house, and I had to pack up the house, store the contents, organise accommodation and then move into it. It's kind of surreal... after so long it almost felt like it was never going to happen, and then I basically had a week to organise everything... well there's nothing quite like a deadline to spur you to action!

I took these photos in the first week of March and most of them are still flowering, though some are fading a bit. Clockwise from top left: autumn maple leaves, lovely scented cyclamen, an unknown clematis that I grew from seed (not sure if I like the yellow flowers to be honest), scabiosa seed head, white rose that I grew from a cutting, astrantia, penstemon Blackbird, polemonium, scabiosa, cosmos, lavatera, delphinium. In the middle is an arrangement of astrantia, roses and some flower/seed heads which blew down from a tree in the storm.

I'll be back soon with an update on the holiday house we're staying in, and some progress on repairs to our home. (I miss my garden!)

Getting the bash from Mother Nature, again

 A week ago we had a pretty big storm here in Christchurch. Thirty six hours of rain and gale force winds quickly became known as a "one in 50 year event", and that was later upgraded to a "one in 100 year event". It was a rather eventful couple of days in the city, as rivers burst their banks and streets were engulfed in flash flooding. (Above is a small creek which burst its banks)

 All was ok at my house luckily. We had a sodden back yard, since drainage seems to be an issue after the earthquakes (my theory is that liquefaction blocked all the tiny cracks and channels that rainwater used to use to drain away), but the house and garage were safe and dry. Not so for many whose homes were close to rivers and creeks, or were just in low lying areas.

(Above is the aptly, ironically named River Road. The actual river is to the left of the trees.)

 I went for a walk in the afternoon when the rain finally cleared. I'd been lucky and stayed at home that day... I'm glad I didn't have to try and drive through this!

Debris was everywhere, leaves and branches and fallen trees. On my way home I picked up this bundle of chestnut branches that had been knocked to the ground. They make a nice decoration, but are also a reminder of yet another extreme weather event. It seems to me that these once rare, "one in 100 year" type events are getting more frequent - whether it's earthquakes, rain storms or snow storms, we seem to get something every year now! Hopefully that's it for this year and the rest of it is mild and tame... but with an ex tropical cyclone possibly going to hit this weekend, I somehow doubt that will be the case. Time to buy a new umbrella!

Daylight Savings

Now that daylight savings has ended and the evenings are darkening, I can't deny it: winter is coming. I'm trying to adjust but I always find it difficult in the first couple of weeks, when the nights are crisp but not yet freezing, and I have the feeling that if only it wasn't pitch black outside there's so much I could be doing. Even inside it's hard to settle, when each room requires heating and curtain pulling, so I pace a lot and stare at the curtained windows. It's hard to focus and impossible to decide which project to pick up, let alone work on it.

My book hoarding urge is very strong right now. I want books I know I will enjoy and I also want comfort - blankets, cushions, the fire going, bright lamplight. Baked puddings with custard.

Sitting on the couch, a book in hand, a blanket on my feet and a cat nearby... there are certainly worse ways to spend an evening!

Getting things done

I've been having some busy times of late. It's that time of year when you suddenly realise you're on the cusp of winter. Pretty soon there will be no daylight in the evening, the days will be cold and short, and every odd job that's lying around will be put off till the following summer. So I've been trying to finish as many odd jobs as possible.

There's a lot to do in the garden of course, mainly weeding. Also spent annuals to clear out and replace,  winter vege seedlings to nurture, shrubs to move and bulbs to plant. In anticipation of days and nights stuck inside I've increased my houseplant collection. Some potting on and arranging needs to be done with that.

I did a bit of sewing and some Easter craft (more on that tomorrow) and the craft room is once again a bomb site. (Not that it bothers Mr Lui.) I also made hot cross buns and they were just gorgeous fresh out of the oven. I'm actually planning to let a few go stale so I can make a bread and butter pudding from them... yum!

And of course, every time I visit the potager there is end-of-season produce that needs to be dealt with...

- basil (make pesto; freeze leaves)

- tomatoes (dry; make relish; eat as many fresh as possible)

- cauliflowers (chop and freeze)

- sweet corn (remove kernels and freeze)

- some ridiculously gigantic carrots that I'd forgotten about (??? I don't even know what to do with them all! Add grated carrot to every dish I cook I suppose)

- apples (cut out codling infested bits, stew then freeze; make cider with the rubbish ones)

- peppers (chop and freeze)

- chillis (chop, carefully, wearing gloves, then freeze; dry the late ones)

So there is a pile of produce on the end of the bench awaiting my attention, and as soon as I deal with one thing then another takes its place. Can't complain too much though as I'll be heading into winter with a freezer full of my own produce, and that thought is very satisfying.

I've been a bit late with replying to comments and visiting other blogs. Sorry about that... I don't think it will be long before the change of seasons means I'm spending much more time on the computer. Until then I'll be outside enjoying the golden days of autumn or in the kitchen dealing with my harvest.

2013 - the year of unfinished projects

I spent some time this summer cleaning and reorganising my craft room. It's not finished yet, unsurprisingly, and I also came across many unfinished projects strewn around the room. Some I've discarded in a huff, some are just taking their sweet time, and one or two I don't even remember starting. I realised that for the sake of being organised I need to either throw these things out or finish them, so I decided to make a list here and attempt to finish them off at the rate of one a month. I'm not good at finishing projects for some reason - I seem to get three quarters of the way there and run out of steam, or interest, or supplies, or something. So that's my goal and I'll see how I go. The trouble is that exciting new projects are always coming along and capturing my attention, so hopefully I can squeeze those in as well!

So here are the 12 Unfinished Projects of 2013:

Ripple Blanket of Doom

Started in October 2009! It's an easy pattern but the problem is that I've made it much too big and it feels like I'm not getting anywhere with it. Also, the sage green yarn I was using has been discontinued so I either have to find a replacement, or cut my losses and just finish off the blanket as is.

Summertime Patchwork Quilt blanket

Started in September 2011. I still enjoy working on this from time to time but blankets are just so slow if you want them a decent size!

Rose necklace

This was fun at first but then I got bored. I have to make one more ball, one more pink flower and one more double sided rose, then string them all together and embellish with beads.

Rag doll

Nearly finished, I just ran out of stuffing! And I might make her some clothes.

Happy Things embroidery sampler

I like working on this, I think I just put it aside to work on something else.

Little Embroidered Christmas Tree ornaments

I remember making a big batch of these for a swap in 2009. I fully intended to keep one for myself but I also used them as Christmas presents so the one for myself never quite happened.

Polka dot skirt

I made some easy elasticated skirts over summer and now I'm trying one with a pattern! Well, it was getting late that particular night and I was tired so when the cat decided to wash himself in the middle of the cutting station, I quickly agreed to put this off till another day.

Granny Square Skirt

I started this one as a bit of fun in March 2011. I now have absolutely no idea where I was up to in the pattern.

Fuzzy Fingerless Gloves

I don't remember starting these, but it will be good to finish them by winter.

Row of Hearts cushion

Well, this one hasn't been abandoned, but I might as well finish it so I can move on to the next thing!

ATC display frame

I have to be in exactly the right frame of mind to sit down and draw or paint. We'll see about this one.

Wooden birdhouse

It just needs a coat of paint and something interesting for roof tiles. I can visualise this one in my head but I haven't gotten round to bringing it to life yet.

So those are the projects in no particular order! I'll aim to post about them at the end of each month. The first will be the Row of Hearts cushion, because the end truly is in sight for that one.