A play day and a sunny trip North

After  returning from palmerston north I decided it was a good time to do a bit of playing with creativity.. this required tidying up the house a bit first, and doing a few errands and visits with friends but then my inner child let loose a bit and I spent a few hours painting fabric with my friend MArgaret. The flood of posts on FB regarding the bushfires continued to bother me, so I took the opportunity of following up one suggestion - the Wollongong Modern Quilt group are going to put together quilts from blocks sent to them - each block to have a tree on it.. so i tried out a couple of things and made two.

some of our painted fabric - 

My tree blocks for the bushfire quilts.

My next task is to make the denim bib front pinafores for the girls.. I need to make a pattern first.

I dragged myself away from the design table and headed up to Mangawhai via Kaukapakapa and the home of one of my former engineering students - great talking to someone who is making a real difference as a teacher and mother. Then up to the good company of Gil and Dorothy - we sat in the sun and just watched the scenery, boats and people - gorgeous afternoon, then had the buffet dinner at the Golf Club.

While they headed off to play golf on Saturday I enjoyed the idyllic windless sunny day with several walks, a little reading, a trip tot he local market and more walks and even a bit of sunbathing. It was the best day so far in January apparently and lots of people out to enjoy what for many must have been the end of their holidays.

Sunday dawned gorgeous again so I took the canoe out with Gil on his stand up paddle board - I went right up the estuary, past the farm - looking at all the new houses and bringing back some memories of earlier walks, paddles and pipi gathering. Back for morning tea and then Dorothy and i went out again - another gorgeous paddle - the arms remember how to do it, even if it had been months or even a year since they held a paddle. The tide was helpful and really relished the clean air, seeing all the families and people out enjoying themselves.  So hot by early afternoon there was lots of lying around reading, sketching, little walks with lots of ball throwing and cold cider.... and watching Serena Williams win the ASB tennis tournament in Auckland. her first major win in three years apparently so she was pretty excited about it.

Bye bye Mangawhai!

Monday morning was again glorious but decided my arms might not appreciate pushing them again, so took a leisurely time packing up, another walk and then headed home. Took a bit of a detour when I found myself nearly into Warkworth - the Tomarata road must have taken me out further down than I thought, so I headed over on the Kaipara Flats Tauhoa road to get back to SH16 - but didnt realise it got narrow and metalled - bit of a giggle but I pulled over well in time when a really big truck with a huge water tank was sighted coming the other way. easy trip home, no problems and not too tired. Traffic was easy!

Catherine had another birthday ! and sent some photos of the family - gosh how they have grown -
All looking good!

They take this shot every year - Havent they shot up!

All taller than Mum now! and Josh is taller than Dad? Well done Brett and Catherine.

 So home again, pick the beans, water the garden - not quite Australia brown but definitely needs watering!

Christmas and New Year

 I got back from  my Christmas trip to Palmerston North yesterday and the topic on everyone in Auckland's minds today is the weird colour of the sky as we are covered by a smoke cloud from the Aussie bushfires,. It is overcast but from 2pm it has been a weird yellow grey.  It is good that my family are safe but I am aware that they are vulnerable. The images we are seeing are horrific and I think everyone fears fire. What will be, will be,  and I am not sure that prayers or rain dances will bring on the rain, but I do hope they get some relief soon.

One of my ex students Kirstine and her lovely family who live round the corner.

Before Christmas I had a few lovely visits with friends, family and Christmas gatherings. I had made some self imposed deadlines like deciding to make dresses for the girls and home made fabric Christmas cards for some local friends which kept me rather busy, but I did get the fruit cakes made for essential people like brother Gilbert and the local motorhome company who look after me when i have queries or little problems with the campervan.

Walk at the Botanic Gardens with Sculpture in the Park exhibition with friend Karen and her mum

Dorothy and Alfie

I left in the afternoon of 22nd and my trip down to Palmerston North was in beautiful weather. The time spent down there was busy as usual. Nana duty is 24/7.
We all camped out at the farm for Christmas Eve and although it was very basic camping, no fancy amenities, at least I had the campervan to sleep in and a toilet. The kids thought it was great fun which was the best present Jonathan and Amy could have. Presents on Christmas Day were a success and so was our fairly straight forward Christmas Dinner ( Jonathan did get his Turkey).

Amy on her new favourite toy - a borrowed bulldozer/digger - she made good use of it for the week!

Camping with the bare necessities at Bush Lane on Christmas Eve

The Team! Jonathan, Annabelle, Cordelia, Callum, Amy and her son Marcus

Marshmallows always go down well

Callum decorated the pavlova for Christmas night

Cordelia in her new skirt and top( I made)

Annabelle chasing her new drone in the dress I made.

Other activities included me taking the kids down to Waikawa Beach to Boat Day where the hit of the day was friend Kurt's blow up water slide followed by a dip in the spa pool.

I took Cordelia for her promised overnight adventure in the campervan and we went to the Woodville Ferry Reserve by the Manawatu river - spacious, lovely camping and surprisingly empty for the "busy" season.

In true Godfrey tradition they rebuilt a dam on the river.

Donkey rides through the bush track adjoining the farm

We made several batches of muffins and biscuits, as I took fresh bread rolls, muffins and made hot coffee for the workers out at the farm each day. They rode the donkeys a couple of days including on the community walking track through the bush reserve adjoining Jonathan's property at Bush Lane,Mt Taylor - about 5 minutes out of Feilding. The kids enjoyed cooling off in the little river that runs through Timona Park in Feilding, in all their clothes ( but I had a change of clothes and towels in the car)

Everybody helping fill in the hole
with little stones and the dirt.

Digging out the residual soil in the hole

When possible Jonathan had Callum helping although Daddy proved very capable and was hanging gates, fixing worn out valves on water tanks and in this case putting in a fence post - using a powered post hole borer.. I guess I shouldnt have been surprised when the fence post proved to be perfectly  vertical!

I did fit in a couple of visits to friends, and was amazed as usual by the talent of my friend Griet - she is so creative and talented with her "textile art"

The Rangitikei River - if it had been warmer
I might have gone in for a swim.

When the kids had returned to their mum's I packed up and started the trip home. I overnighted at Vinegar Hill Domain on the banks of the Rangitikei River - one of my favourite spots. Then an easy trip home the next day although lots of wind. All well when I returned, and my garden is not very tidy but it had beans and courgettes in abundance.

Our spot beside the river

Pre- Christmas busy

This is surely the season - I dont go near shopping malls if I can help it, and this year I am trying to make most of my Christmas presents myself  . my contribution to trying to combat senseless consumerism... Unfortunately that often means I make extra deadline for myself.

The first Christmas card I finished

Since last blog entry I had a long weekend trip down to see the grandchildren and the family - it was a busy weekend with children's activities, and visits to friends and the Bush lane property on which Jonathan and Amy have made great progress ( the first Barn/shed should be up by now).

At Taupo - all the  paddocks around were filled with the yellow Broom flowers

My major recollection of the drive down was the abundance of the yellow flowers of Broom - just everywhere in the middle of the island... it may well be considered a pest but it is nicer than gorse and makes a wonderful spectacle at this time of year. The weekend included - dinner with my friend Christine who has just sold her house and going to buy into a retirement village, visit to Bush Lane, visit to Dog Show at Masterton with children to see Robyn's little dog doing brilliantly ( Baby Puppy in Show, visit to the Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre ( fantastic display of birds in natural habitat - even a white kiwi), then swimming carnival at Feilding, well deserved dinner of fish and chips! and after school on Monday swimming, beginners Cricket training for the girls and then Cubs with Callum. Nana had some nice quiet time in between while the kids were at school.. The children are at the age when nana is still a very desired participant in their activities.. I love it!

At Mt Bruce wildlife centre

A kakapo - first one I had seen live... 

Yes, they have goats! 11 of them and maybe more coming - they are good escapees!

The site for the first building - ready and waiting!

Successful day swimming  with their swimming coaches

New dresses - smocked by my friend - my two little princesses.

Cordelia learning to bowl

Annabelle learning to hit the ball

Callum pulling the chariot at cubs - they had to use rope lashing to hold it together

 The rest of the month has been sewing various little jobs, some Christmas presents and finishing off and using up  fabric, meetings about our exhibition for next year, giving out scholarship money to some very deserving women for university study, a residential weekend with the School of Philosophy, and gardening, and visitors, trying to get those Christmas presents made, and reading ....

The days are racing past and just had Peter Godfrey jnr to stay overnight as he is en route to a dentist in Auckland, now it is a couple of Christmas parties and still trying to finish off all those Christmas presents... why did i decide to make fabric Christmas postcards!!!

This one was for me - had the fabric for 8 years!

Update early November

Well today I took the campervan   round to a company which does all the maintenance and conversion of campervans. They have been helpful in the past = there are all sorts of little jobs that I dont always know how to do eg there were two loose fittings and I didnt know how to stick them down and then I was worried about a catch on the fridge that wouldnt lock and needed to check the heater system. Great  = all sorted and I didnt pay anything -  there was a DVD and TV in the van and I had never used it so I gave it to the chap who fixed the bits for me - and he also installed a 12v outlet which will be useful int he back of the van for a little fan and for recharging phone etc.

For the last couple of weeks I have been finishing the projects I started at the Quilting Symposium - I was determined to get those done this time!

My Symposium project that is now finished "Elephant on Parade"

Another symposium project finished "Ghost ships in the Orient"

At the weekend I went to the Quilting Guild and we handed in our Recycle, Reuse and Reloved challenge -  a 12" square little quilt using only reused or repurposed fabrics or other bits. One of mine was based on   used T bags and I included some of Mums bits and pieces - Not many of the members did it which was a pity but I liked mine and Margarets and  one of our friends who is a new member did really well.I also gave a little talk and some samples of projects you could do with Border print fabrics. So it has been a really intensive sewing time....

These were the ones handed in by members

My T bag based - Memories of Mum

This one was called Faded Roses II

Then I went out to join the Sanskrit weekend - good company and studied and carefully translated a verse from the Aitareya Upanishad...sounds a bit boring but it is an amazing language - thousands of years old without changing and with incredibly well organised rules of grammar (4000 rules!). And the School of Philosophy house at Glendowie is a beautiful setting looking ouit over the Waitemata harbour.

 So this afternoon did a bit more tidying up and dumping stuff out of the garage including another trip to the Salvation Army shop with all sorts of bits... starting to get more space  in the garage. Amazing how you can only really declutter in stages - sometimes you just dont feel like parting with some stuff and then later you can. I will take the old tent and some of the camping gear down to Jonathan and they can use it hopefully in the summer out at Bush Lane. Apparently the digger which was supposed to be laying the base for their shed was doing well until it rained on Saturday.

And tomorrow I have a meeting of our little committee organizing the exhibition for next year... but later in the year I will head off south to spend a few days with the family. Looking forward to it - 

The garden has some plants in it and the bit of rain we have just had should see everything get started.. need to get those blueberries netted and maybe the blackberries as well. I did net the strawberries and it is good to beat the birds to the yummy strawberries.

Callum's visit

After one day to recover from Symposium and put stuff away Callum arrived on Tuesday morning. Bright and chatty, it was a real pleasure to have his company. One on one time with Nana is fun.
We went shopping for all his favourite foods and then to Bunnings to buy my fence paint.
 Home again and after lunch we did some waterblasting... 9 year olds dont last long on physical work.. but we did get done the bit I had decided to tackle.

Wednesday was up early to go to the pool, and he was insistent I did laps with him, so after a very long time away from swimming laps I was in there - Callum can go almost twice as fast as I can but it was good exercise and I should repeat it - definitely stretches the muscles! We returned home, gave Tui a quick cuddle and then in to the train station and off to the city.

Skytower was his destination of choice and it was quite impressive - lots of kids around but a beautiful fine day and the magnificent view - I havent been there for a very long time so was pleased to go...

His favourite photo - the Lamborghini in the foyer of the Sky City hotel

Looking down the lift shaft on Sky Tower

View from the 51st floor

Then we thought a ferry ride was in order so walked down to the ferry buildings and caught the ferry over to Devonport - lovely warm afternoon, and the bit of nice beach was exposed - Callum discovered he could skim stones and I was astonished to find I could too! So we used up every suitable stone on the beach I think....

by the time we got back on the train we were a bit ready for a quiet night.. Yes, he did deserve to play on the computer for a while.. but it was a great day.

Thursday we had just enough fine weather to put the first coat of paint on the fence - the waterblasted wood soaked paint up and a fair bit of paint went everywhere but the fence, but a good exercise...
Then we made cheese muffins - he ate at least half the batch...and then round for a quick reunion of the quilting ladies - we showed each other our results from Symposium.
Then, with the weather looking a bit drizzly we decided to visit Robyn and cuddle the new puppy - she is gorgeous - and on to Miranda to the hot pool - the biggest outdoor thermal pool in Australasia...nicely warmed up we had fish and chips for dinner at Kaiaua and home .

I didnt have overalls - so old T shirt!

Callum with 10wk old Indy

Callum with Indy and her mother Supreme Champion Kate

Callum flew home Friday morning - he is amassing some frequent flyer points! A very enjoyable time had by all.

Meanwhile, the girls spent the week with Jonathan and Amy and from some photos it appears that donkey riding was high on the agenda - Cordelia is an enthusiastic rider, at present after her broken arm Annabelle sometimes prefers to walk one of the donkeys.

I am now catching up on all the other activities in my life, but after Quilting Guild yesterday I came home and put a second coat of paint on the fence, and this morning had a lovely  birthday morning tea with Dorothy and Gilbert and a very pleasant walk with the dogs around Westhaven. Good walking paths and safe for the dogs - very pleasant  morning. The kids phoned this morning and sang Happy birthday and I got a nice message from Sammy in Australia.
All is well in my world - although the body is a bit tired!