last one of the decade

and here we are, December 31, 2019, closing out a decade............

It  was always suggested that hindsight is 2020.... but tomorrow IS 2020.  

Will it be insightful?  Will we still draw on lessons of the past?

No matter what, there are always reasons to be thankful, grateful and blessed, ......every day, always.

I'm hopeful  for better days ahead.  

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

December 24th

To friends near and far,

wishing you a very Merry Christmas

and

Happy New Year!

December seems to arrive with a flurry (not the weather outside) and all the days are busy....or so it feels like.   Tomorrow is for new joy (in watching little ones open their gifts), happy moments spent with family and good food to share.  We will raise a glass to remember Christmas's past and those no longer sitting at our table but always in our hearts.

We continue to be:

thankful,

grateful,

and blessed.

Always.

it's beginning to look like

I might survive these technology changes.   

I've limped along with the old computer and setting up a new one.  Procrastination  at it's best.......99% of files were transferred, on the home stretch then stalled with the "Have I forgotten something?"   This morning the old beast did a series of 'bad behavior' things and in a 'mom' voice THAT'S IT!   Order will be restored, soon.   I won't even mention setting up a phone, that's for another day.

Last week we put up the outdoor lights.  So nice on the many dull days to look out and see the lights glowing (and this is before 3 pm on the grey days).  photos to come.

The tree is up but not yet decorated.  Lot's of time, right?

In the meantime Christmas tunes play on the radio while I knit another row or two.

Stay safe and warm.

on this day

oh so long ago, back in 1989 in  Papatoetoe, Auckland  we got married!

And here we are 30 years later.....just where did the time go??  So many memories of moments, travels and family members  most now gone

So cheers to us, for many more anniversaries to come.

And how will we celebrate today?   Maybe lunch out or order  dinner in.  Simple pleasures.

welcome to November

Happy Birthday to my daughter!   A mere 44 years ago my dear daughter was born......and that makes me well  a bit older now doesn't it?

October slipped on by.  Lots of spinning done and yarn  wound in skeins.   Let the knitting begin!

This past week has been quite loud with fireworks.  It started last weekend (or a bit before) heralding Diwali celebrations and has just continued on to Halloween.  Even in the wee hours this morning fireworks were still being let off.

And now that the calendar has turned over to November, the retail world seems full on to Christmas.  No bah humbugs here......

Again this year I'll try to make our Christmas more home spun.  Simple pleasures.  Less stress. 

Speaking of simple pleasures.....Walnut and cinnamon biscotti....just the right amount of crunch.  This batch didn't last long.  Definitely a new favorite.  I've two batches of the make ahead dough in the freezer too.

Seems we have at least two more times of changing the clocks.   Although legislation is in the works to stay on daylight savings time, we're not there yet.  And  so we fall back an hour on Sunday. 

Borrowing from a blog friend  (Four Miles North of Nowhere), every day we should remember to be:

thankful

grateful

blessed

till next time, 

take care .....

bye September

It's been a busy few weeks.   And here we are, September 30th.

So nice to finish recent spinning projects.  Bit by bit  there are improvements with my hand spinning.

I was lucky to welcome a Lark spindle to my spindle flock.   Ms. Lark is wonderful!

And on my needles a shawl wrap.  Thus far it's an evening project with a simple pattern repeat.  It's sure nice having spun this yarn and now getting the pleasure to make something.

To mark the day, it started out with frost on the rooftops (and I might add this is far too early for this) along with single digit temperatures so indoors it felt much better with the space heaters going.   In between indoor stuff...laundry...making a pot of soup, making mac and cheese bits..........all good so far so I decided to time to head outdoors and enjoy a bit of sunshine while cleaning up plants.   From there it went downhill quickly.  Sully usually steers clear of bees, wasps, the large, lazy bumble bee  well except for today.  He lunged at a wasp and ended up with a mouthful of said wasp (which was spit out).  As far as we can tell in checking him over he didn't get stung.  I'm not sure if he less impressed by the experience or my giving him some liquid Benadryl.   To make amends, he got a lick of ice cream.  Seriously, it's like talking to a child "Didn't I tell you not to ".....

well onward to October......Happy Fall!

dusting off the cobwebs

I'm still here.   July became August and now  here we are mid September.


This summer tried new recipes.....variations of fermented veggies (yum), ginger bug (still on the go) and cauliflower pickles (crunchy and oh so good).   My fridge is getting a bit full.

Lots of hand spinning.  Tour De Fleece in July was a blast.  My plyboard has been put to the test  and it works!   Now I'm considering a smaller version, a turtle board.  More to come on this.




Late August we enjoyed whale tails.

And a ride through the trail of tall trees.

Bring on fall!!  Soups to make, knitting to do, fresh bread to bake  and  fresh coffee to brew.
More coffee please......

where is summer?

Out on the west coast summer has yet to find it's way for anything more than a day or two. I guess compared to heat waves, earthquakes, floods, etc. this is quite ok thank you.

Tomorrow brings the Tour de France.   And the Tour de Fleece......and so it begins...

Welcome Summer!

Simple pleasures in the garden....Spurt II works well, beans and tomatoes are doing well and
the canna lilies have come up.

It seems that every day we have 'seasons'...sunshine and a hint of warmth then clouds and wind.  For late June 11 C in the morning...brrr.  Pour another cup of coffee please.


Sometimes a plan comes together.   I wanted a small plyboard for the turtle singles (what you get when spinning with a Jenkins spindle).   After looking at many diy ideas online I came up with this.  In the process I discovered that when buying a length of wood check the actual measurement!!  There is a difference between advertised  and actual . 

The green board lives with me and the brown one was gifted to a friend.

My May June challenge on the Ravelry Jenkins group is complete.  The 4 oz braid of Balsam is done.
Next up a spa day (final wash/dry for skeins of yarn).  Today might be the day!

Next up on Ravelry will be the Tour de Fleece.  July means lots of spinning (with new roving to try) while enjoying the Tour de France.

now it's back to the garden to pick fresh herbs....

till next time.....

a minor reprieve

Yesterday was too hot, 30 C and it lasted well in to the evening.

At 9 am it was 26 in the family room so with reluctance we brought out the ac units.  One minor detail...we forgot where the drainage hoses were put...  eventually they were located, set up and water puddles cleaned up due to the error of our ways.   With the ac's up and running it made a big difference inside  One day's use won't add too much to the hydro bill (here's hoping).

And this morning, a lovely light breeze and cooler.  21 at the moment.  This is how it should be.

Time to water the tubs on the patio.

till next time....