Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Again We Shake

As many of you have heard, Christchurch has again fallen to it's knees following another catastrophic earthquake. Although smaller than the September one, the devastation is far, far worse. 

Before I go on, I will firstly say my family is all alive and accounted for. Sadly the same cannot be said for many families tonight and my heart goes out to them. I also want to thank all of you who have contacted me asking if we are safe and well. 

Holly and I were sitting eating lunch and Isla was napping when it hit. I grabbed Holly and put her under the door frame, ran to get Isla before running outside. As I left the house, the cliffs that surround our suburb crashed to the ground, engulfing houses, but by some miracle, narrowly avoiding the local school by meters. My neighborhood is shattered. We have no water, no power and no sewage. The streets are ripped up, sand and water has liquified to the surface. Everything we own is now broken on the floor of our house. We have liquefaction under our house and cracks in our foundations. We spent a dark, long night cuddled up with our girls in the little sleep out at the back of our property, which we reasoned was the safest place.

Tonight, after a very long drive across our devastated city, we have made it to my parents, where we will stay for the foreseeable future. 

Please, keep Christchurch in your thoughts tonight and pray for a miracle with 300 people still missing.

I will update as I can but now is a very trying time and I need to attend to my girls who are so very scared. 

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

4 Seasons

Summer


Late summer and the fruit is ripe for harvest.

We now have a fridge full of plums and peaches, courtesy of our parent's fruit tree's. The girl's love it, being able to grab one whenever they feel like it. To enjoy the sweet, soft juicy centres. We have so much fruit at the moment, I don't quite know what to do with it all.  So if you have any good fruit recipes, I would love to hear them.

If you have a seasonal post of your own, I would love you to link up.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Flea Market Finds


I think these two have to be the cheapest finds I have ever come across thrifting. A small rimu plate and bowl. Both only measure about 15cm across, making them the perfect size for little hands. They need to be sanded back but with a coat of beeswax, I am thinking they are going to look lovely. The perfect addition to the girls play kitchen.

So how cheap were they? I paid a grand total of $1.

More flea market finds here.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Out Of The Blue


Funny how a few simple words uttered by a virtual stranger can change everything.

Late last year, it was pointed out to me that one of Holly's eyes often rolls in. I am embarrassed to say I had never noticed. I guess when you spend all day everyday with someone, their idiosyncrasies go unnoticed, as you tend to see the whole person rather than the individual parts, if that makes sense?

I didn't really think it mattered too much, a lazy eye. It was a part of who she was, something she might grow out of? I thought I would mention it next time we saw our doctor. But he spotted it first, as soon as he saw her. Six days later we were sitting in a consulting room at the hospital while they preformed eye sight tests on my sweet girl. I knew it was bad, when, with her good eye covered, she could not make out the pictures until they were little more than a foot away from her. But what came next stunned me.

'Legally blind in her right eye'

How did I not know? She has spent everyday of her life with me, almost three years and I never knew my little girl could only see me with one eye.

Suddenly though I feel like my rose coloured glasses have been swiped from me and a lot of things make sense. Holly has always been cautious and shy of people, she often trips over her own feet and gets annoyed when I try to guide her out of the way of others coming towards her. Now I see these things for what they are. Not cute character traits but rather the result of her compromised eye sight.

She has a long road ahead of her, ahead of us. To try and reclaim some level of sight in her eye. The doctor spoke of further testing, patching, an operation. It all feels a bit daunting at the moment but if it means she will be able to see better, it will all be worth it in the end.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

My Creative Disaster, Formally known As My Creative Space


It is not very often my crafting goes bad, which is a good thing. Because, if it happened to often, I think I would be put off for life!

Last week I started knitting a little toy for a friend. Lots of fiddley little bits. As the knitting was nearly finished I thought to myself 'gosh, this would look really cool felted'. I should have stopped that line of thought then and there- hindsight is a wonderful thing. So I set too and began felting but alas it appears the wool I used was not very colourfast and quickly mottled in the hot water. Ever the optimist, I thought 'oh well I will just dye it back'. Well that did not work, as it is still very blotchy, just a much darker shade of blotchy. And, to top it all off, I now have smurf blue fingers for my efforts.

Lesson learnt.

Monday, February 14, 2011

4 Seasons

Summer


Summer sun. I love it. Warm and welcoming from dawn to dusk. I love being able to wake up in the morning and not have to worry about feeling cold. I love that feeling of warmth on my skin and how it turns my shoulders a lovely golden shade. 

Sometimes it really is all about the simple pleasures.

If you have a seasonal post of your own, please link up-



Friday, February 11, 2011

Simplifying


For most of my adult life I have lived by the mantra 'a cluttered house is a cluttered mind'. I have always felt more at peace when my house is in order. However, since the arrival of my second daughter, just over a year ago, I simply have not had the time and the junk has slowly accumulated.

This week I decided to change all that and the de-cluttering has begun! So far this week I have cleared over 100 items from my wardrobe and half a dozen shoes, all of which are now listed on trade me. I have cleared a dozen books from the girls book box and given them to charity. I have sorted all the girls current clothes and put 2 bags worth in the charity clothing bin. I have dumped 2 bags of junk from both my bathroom and laundry cupboards.

I think I am on a roll!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

4 Seasons

Summer


My sister and I took the little ones blueberry picking at a local farm. Blueberries are Isla's favorite food, so she could not believe her luck that she could just grab them in abundance off the tree. It did however mean that I had to keep a close eye on my picking container as she was forever trying to carry it off. 

The blueberries are so sweet at the moment, and just delicious. We have been eating so many that I think we may end up going back next week to pick more as I had been hoping to freeze some but I don't see that happening from this batch.

If you have a seasonal post, would love you to link up.




Sunday, February 6, 2011

Flea Market Finds


Lots of baskets this week. How excited I was to find them, all in excellent condition, ranging in size and shape- just perfect for  for this little space-


Play is just so much easier for the little one's when they can find what they are looking for.

Tidying up is so much easier for me when everything has a home.

More Flea market finds here. 

Saturday, February 5, 2011

One small Change- Solid shampoo


One small change, simple really. This month I am swapping from regular shampoo to a solid 2 in 1 shampoo/conditioner. This little bar lasts up to 100 washes. Less packaging equals less waste, and that my friends, has got to be good.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

A New Cardigan


This week I have been knitting a new cardigan for myself, using this pattern and knit from cleckheaton country wool. I was a tad lazy, rather than working out the maths on increasing the chest measurement from a 31 to a 36 inch bust, I have instead chosen to use double 8ply on a larger needle. This has increased my stitch count by about 1/8th, so I am hoping it will work out ok fit wise.

I am just loving how it is coming along and can't wait to get it finished. Sadly though, I cut the end of my finger and it is hurting too much when I knit tonight, so may have to leave it a day or two, which is so frustrating when I am on the home straight!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

4 Seasons

Summer


We have spent this morning cutting all our lavender to dry. The littlies love this task, Muma cutting, Holly bunching and the little one generally just having a blast running round with sprigs of lavender. By the end, we have quite a few good bunches. Which when dry, will I am sure, find many uses in our home. And as an added bonus, we all smell like lavender today, gotta love that.

If you have a seasonal post of your own, please link up.


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