I'm glad we have weather

 This is what the sky looked like towards the south  this morning while we worked our horses in the pony club arena, before we left for town.
Meanwhile, heres a joke we read about Mississipi- I've changed it to Murchison. A Murchison couple came out of the divorce court and the man said, "Stop crying. So we got a divorce....You're still my cousin."

 This is what the ground looked like when we arrived home in the afternoon! Powder, beautiful white powder. It'll be ice tomorrow.

Hope it's warmer where you are!

Clearing the fog ? Coming through the fog? Naming the fog?

What  IS this blog about. Today I feel like blogging, which is a first for weeeks. This is because I have questions and dillemmas and talking to cyberspace may help. Pen and paper help also and these will be included in the calculations. I say calculations because it feels like I am in the middle of a big maths problem. Not strictly numbers, but logistics and time and money and effort and love and faith and it all feels like a calculation, a cogitation.

That was the weekend. Today is the following Friday. My life doesn't feel like a maths problem today. And how did I solve my problems? I simply put one foot in front of the other and kept on moving. Literally and figuratively along through each screaming, glorious, stubborn moment of my whole life till now. Here are some morning photos of my road and some afternoon photos of creativity and the cat who would not look at the camera- looking at the camera. Can you tell which is which?

Winter is finally here

 As you can see from these shots there is snow on the hills all around us. This is the first glorius clear afternoon we've had in while. There's been lightning and thunder, hail and RAIN and, need I say it, snow. But I'm glad. I love the conrast of the seasons. The first shot is to the East and the second shot is to the West. So respectively towards Nelson and towards the Coast.

  

This is Salsa who we've had back in for more anti-biotics and to re- assess her state.  

Her wound has not yet healed and she had started having trouble eating hay. After a week  she is starting to look better.

 not                                  

I'm having trouble, that's why I haven't blogged for so long.

 I went here for a three day Restoritive Practice workshop. It was great. This is Kaiteriteri from outside my room in the morning.

I'm having trouble with this blogging lark. I'm just not that much of a gas bag about myself and my doings.
Hey you can play spot the difference in these photos of a mobile I made for the daughter of a friend's baby.

more cupcakes

I only put cupcakes on my blog because thats all I ever cook with the kids. Ha, no.They go on because they are so colourful. These were made for a fundraiser for school camps. (Kids pointing at the ones they like.)

They have done a good job, those kids.

These are some 'duds'. They look ok to me, but the kids said the actual cake wasn't up to scratch.

We have also made toppers for these cupcakes. Some cute, some whacky. I'll photograph them today in situ. That's all for today folks.

Ma's Birthday

Well, it's Mum's Birthday today!! We went to town and we all 'got things'. Mum had her teeth cleaned and her plate reshaped, then she had her toenails manicured at the chiropodist, then we picked up new glasses for me. Ones that stay on my face the whole time-progressive and pink and plastic. No more taking on and off, on and off, breaking the frames, peering over the top of, standing on the glasses, falling off my head. Yay, life gets simpler and more complex as we age I thingk! 

This is a photo of me taking a photo of my noo glasses, cleverly stretching out my 'softening' face . Not bad.

This is the trio in the front, driver, navigator and spotter. They do a splendid job, while I lanquish as much as one can wedged between walking frame, shopping and stuffed toys- more on that in a minute.

This is the view from the newly revamped pub at Kohatu. Really nicely done. In keeping and not trying too hard at anything.

This is us- well Bob and Granny- but you can see my coffee- having a Birthday lunch. It was ok,  but we think the people are new at the game so  for just three of us we waited a long time. Never mind they will probably get better and we wish them well because it's got all the elements of a go ahead concern.

 I said we all got something and I wasn't lieing. Mr Shortstuff got 4 new stuffed toys from the recyclers- for wait .....$1. Bargain.

We let him have them one at a time. This is number one once we got home. Dog heaven.

And my darling? Well besides a day with us he came home with papers to fill out to become a 'licenced building practitioner'. And here he is filling them in.xxx my darling. See his lovely shirt and waistcoat he pur-chased in America.

By y'all.

P.S. There will be a free giveaway for anyone who can tell me how old Mum is. No, not really, just playing 'real blog person'!



What's new?

I'll tell you what. Bob is back from the States and he had a fantastic time with horse people and horses, and a not so fantastic time feeling lonely sometimes especially amid far more people and traffic than he is used to. What's also new is that we have both been a bit coldy, snuffly, headachey. Too bad. I take paracetamol, nap in the afternoon and get over it. Bob sweats it out at night, ick. Anyway here are some pictures from over the past couple of weeks when I haven't blogged and even one from way back. I just liked the colour. AND specially for the blind or partially sited an upside down photo. I know, I do my best to increase my audience. This is a morning shot 'Sun through Fog'. Taken a couple of weeks back. Back then I thought winter might actually happen. I have my doubts- it is so damn warm. I love frosts, fires, ice, snow even, getting warm after a cold walk, comfort food, no weed growth. I'm beginning to feel cheated. But next week it is the shortest day and maybe the saying "As the days get longer, the winter gets stronger' will kick in. Here's hoping. Many of you wont agree.

Hey did you notice something odd about this pic? No worries if you didn't. It's especially for you.xx

I've added this because this is an OLDEY but a goody, simply because I like the colours in the picture and the shape of avacados and also they remind me of our friends Brett and Jane who grow them. Too bad they also remind me that the weather is not much different to what it was back when Bob brought them back from Golden Bay over a month and a half ago.

This is a Moth Orchid in my Mum's room that has finally flowered again. My brother and his family gave it to Mum probably four years ago now. It is generally a regular flower bearer- well once a year I guess. Beautiful plant.

Hey, who's that English Professer/Beekeeper giving feed to Sassy and Princess? OMG It's Bob! Back from America and looking...British. I don't get it.
But there it is.

This is Sassy. She is a sweetie, but surplus to requierments so she is for sale. We'll help her find a good home.

And finally  a new Geranium I bought for Mum to repalce the Mother's day Chrysanthemum, which is now in the garden. It lives with the Moth Orchid. I hope it will be very happy. I love Geraniums. So does Mum. Luckily.

Happiness is colour (or color-for my American friends)

Well, no I haven't posted recently. I've wondered about that and it wasn't until Bob said so to me this morning on the phone that I thought about getting back to it agagin- Bob's still in USA. back soon tho!

And I realised that actually I'd been quite busy with other things. The top shot is a typical interaction between friends.

 This shot is a fabulous morning sky that did produce rain in its wake. And we are still in the thros of that precipitation two days later.

 This pic is a cakestand I made out of card and old National geographic maps and paint and glue. Taken from a pattern from a book called ? I left it at school. The kids are funny though. I thought it would inspire them to see one finished. It actually seemed to have the opposite effect because they are actually finding it quite time consuming and fiddly. They need to 'cowboy up' those kids. they give up too easily. I wanted to challenge them. Its part of a cake decorating unit I'm doing. We make cakes, decorate them, make props, set up shots and photograph our stuff. They made the paper butterflies/flowers. That was almost under challenging. The thing about teaching is that you can never pitch it right every time. So hanging in there and keep throwing stuff their way is as good a plot as any I reckon. Some of it, done with good humour and good management is going to stick!

 These are hand sewn/handpainted floorcloths I'm working on. Took them to show my sewing group the other day. They liked the idea of floorcloths. They hadn't heard about them before.

And this is a painitng on a cupboard in honour of a famous old blues song. I listen to the Old crow Medicine Show Version quite a lot.
Why the cat? Why the cupboard. Why is a crooked letter and zed is no better.

Fairies like the rain

Eatly morning after RAIN

It even got to be a bit more than this, but the bucket didn't leave its spot.
These sre pretty pictures. I guess the little spots are rain reflecting the flash.
Or fairies.

Friends and Animals

This is Paula at her place. I visited and we ate lunch. She's been cleaning up after not living there for a long time.

These are dog family. The yellow dog, Meg is the daughter of our old dog Tigger and the dog down the road Digger. The big black tan and white is Rig, son of Meg and a local farm dog. He looks like he's thrown back to Digger! The short ass is Yours Truly.

Boo at play- he loves straps and strings, chords and things that just peek out from behind things. Those are his favourite things.

Here he is asleep in the dog kennel, which Shorty avoids like the plaque- that and his harness. Shorty's theme song is 'Don't Fence Me In'. We sing it every night together after dinner.

The heater is a favourite animal hang out early in the morning before I light a fire (if I light a fire, it's been so warm!). This is a picture of snuggling not wrestling which is actually very rare.

The Game I used toLove to Hate..

 Yes, Bridge, the game I used to love to hate. I just didn't 'get it'. But I am starting to now. Sorry Ma, as you say, your kids are late bloomers. Ma's old friend Bunty died this week. They played Bridge alot. I think she may have been the last one of that era of Mum's friends. My heart aches. For this afternoon I also made some savories from an old recipe of Nan's- they were in the oven when I took the pics. While making them I had this real sense of nostalgia and thanks for all the lovely afternoon teas both sides of our family were good at creating.  

Ingrid in the pink and Liz in the foreground. Mum tackling a cream cheese and pineapple sandwhich.

Animals are good for old people

And I'm sure old people are good for animals!

Beauty for Bob.

Flash

Call me simple..

Call me simple but I am happiest it seems when I am quietly observing the creatures I live with, the environment around me, drinking tea when I feel like tea, coffee when I feel like coffee and making what I feel like making, when I feel like making it. Like Shorty early on a Friday morning

 or me making stuff late on a Thursday night. Work in progress.