…"I can tell that we are gonna be friends". #1 arrived home from the framers, a very welcome addition to the family on its temporary resting place atop the piano. (The photographer is the very talented Rebecka of Vintage Fairy Tales, and I am glad and honoured to say she is my friend.)  It's actually a dark walnut frame, although you could be forgiven for thinking it's black. I'm sure the sample wasn't quite so dark.


What a week it's been in our little slice of paradise with the constant rain, flooding, and the inevitable slips. We personally only experienced the rain, the slip was around the corner a way, and the only flooding we had was confined to the wood shed from the water pouring down the slope into it, although the old roof sprung a leak in the living room the other night. My beloved was despatched with a ladder and bucket into the ceiling so the problem was minimised quickly. All fixed now and the rain has finally stopped, hopefully for a while, but probably not. A good time to stay home, keep the fire stoked up and sew. The children have had a very confined school holiday, but at least it didn't rain on Sunday for the annual Easter egg hunt. Small mercies… 


xx 

The past two weeks have passed by at lightening speed. What have I been up to apart from the usual work, home, trying to juggle everything stuff of life? Well, one thing out of the norm was a costume for a ballet recital that was made after much procrastination on my part. I have a fear of sewing lycra which I'll have to get over as there'll be a few more costumes to make over the coming years. The two performances of the Yellow Brick Road were performed without a visible hitch last Saturday and I had one very happy little girl. She has no fear of being on stage and I'm in awe of her confidence. Here's Miss M doing a twirl before we rushed out the door on Saturday night in all her Munchkin glory. Today was the first day of the school holidays. Rain, wind, cold, DVD's, and a roaring fire. I'm sure the girls will progress to the dress ups over the next few days where the munchkin costume now lives.

                                                  

And what else has been happening? On a particularly dreary day after my last post I had a wonderful surprise. All that we usually receive in the mail are bills, but on this day a large envelope arrived… 

...all the way from Sweden, half the world away. The postie had gone out of his way and put it on the front porch, out of the rain and I was grateful that he did. Inside was a beautifully handmade card that now sits on the mantelpiece with some other much treasured things. 

                                                

Also inside is something I'll share when it arrives back from the framers, which should be this week. So exciting!

I went fabric shopping yesterday so this week my old, faithful sewing machine (that detests Lycra) is going to be dusted off again. I found some colourful brushed cotton for some new Pyjama pants for the girls, and some other gorgeous fabric for something else, for somebody else. Secret Squirrel…  

xx

We've just had a wonderful child-free weekend away. It doesn't happen very often, so when it does it's embraced wholeheartedly. We escaped to Wellington via the Wairarapa. I've covered a lot of kilometres around the land of my birth but I had never had the opportunity to travel this way before, and I'm so glad we did. The first night was spent in Greytown, a gorgeous, quaint village. History has been preserved in the buildings, most of them lovingly restored. Great shopping and I'm still pondering on a coat I saw in the Trelise Cooper outlet store. Its price being the equivalent of 2 weeks groceries for the family is why I'm pondering and not wearing. Discovered also was a shop that sells limited addition Gary Tricker prints. I've loved his work since I first saw them as a teenager at an exhibition I was helping install and I've regretted not buying one then. Regrets really are a waste of time so I'll be back.

We awoke to a beautiful day on Saturday for the trip across the Rimutaka ranges to the city. Featherston is a little settlement at the base of the foothills and, apologies to any one from there, it's the rough diamond waiting to be polished, compared to it's neighbours of Greytown and Martinborough. We passed an old boarded up building and my heart skipped a beat; I pleaded with my beloved to turn the car around so I could snap this.  In my minds eye I can see this little gem restored. I'll need to win the lottery this coming weekend…

…I digress. Over the hills and far away we reached our destination. The much anticipated first glimpse of the harbour as we sped down the motorway, Somes Island in the middle of the shot…

… Ian Athfield's ever growing house on the hill above the motorway. I'd love to explore it as it's always intrigued me…

… finally we were there, a speeding fine later, but that's another story. The hotel we stayed at was overlooking the harbour and close to all we wanted to do. Roamed Te Papa and spent some time taking in the Brian Brake exhibition. Found a great cafe for lunch, FINC(food inc. I think), and an even better place for dinner, Monsoon Poon, and my cocktail of the moment, an apple martini. Monsoon Poon call it a Jimmy Choo with a lychee at the bottom of the glass, and chopsticks to fish it out with. I'm not advocating drinking alcohol, but it was divine. Our party of 8 walked dinner off and found another couple of bars that weren't populated by very enthusiastic youth. One of them was down an alleyway with men smoking cigars outside, speaking with Italian accents; very Sopranoesque. We didn't, or couldn't, stay long as they had a private party arriving. I wonder who they were, the mind boggles.

Breakfast in the morning at another one of the many to choose from cafes by the water, and then another stroll. Wherever you go throughout the city there is sculpture of one form or another and it makes it a very interesting and inspiring environment; this is one of my favourites. It appears to float midair and is so delicate looking.

I'd like one of the Nikau palm sculptures in my garden, aren't they grand. So we left fair Wellington on another sunny (slightly breezy) day, eager to return soon, and have more time to wander. To steal the words from the Monsoon Poon steps, love u long time.

Glad to be home though. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too.

xx