Grandma and her boys

Thursday 13 December 2007

Eric arrives soon

Eric will arrive next week for Christmas vacation.

We have been offered a house to stay in for the rest of our stay in NZ.

Our good friend Prue is going to UK to visit with her Daughter for Christmas, so we are going to house sit for her. There will be the garden to water and flowers to deadhead and generally keep the garden tidy.

It will be great to have something to do outside again.

Christmas is coming

Yes! it is suppose to be coming but as normal we are finding it difficult to get the same Christmas feeling as we use to have in UK....why!! you may ask...well it is Summer here and Christmas is supposed to be in the winter after all.
The decorations are up and the sun is streaming on to them through the windows, all the doors and windows are open and most folks are in teeshirts and shorts.
Christmas lights are up everywhere but you have to go out late at night to appreciate them.
Just to prove it is Christmas here as well, this our front door with it's welcome wreath.
Christmas shopping has gone well and I have actually enjoyed it this year, and it is almost complete.
The family will all come here to Rotorua so we will have a house full ....6 adults and 4 children...... a Christmas celebration like we have not seen in a long time.

Friday 7 December 2007

Rotorua NZ

So, here I am in New Zealand.
The weather has been great until yesterday when the big black clouds rolled in dropping there contents and the winds decided to blow, but the gardens need it and the farmers as all ways.
The roses in the garden are a picture and this wind is doing them no good at all.
Lets hope it subsides a little as this weekend is the time I have promised Ben a trip to the beach in the camper van. Here is the van I am living in very comfortable and have been very happy wandering around in it. and so far I have not taken up offers of "inside" beds from friends and neighbours.

The house and garden have changed a little with a "new family" living in it, with all their "stuff" around the place it has taken on a new look, so it was quite easy for me to come back here as it did not look much like our house on the inside. The garden is much the same but on a spare plot of land, we have the making of a fort for the Grandsons to play in. I am given to understand there will also be a sand pit , so we look forward to pictures in the future of the finished items.


Friday 30 November 2007

Christmas gifts

Ben on his new bike  ............... Bet this is the first Christmas gift photo's you have seen of 2007 gifts

Alex on his new bike
As Alex is not quite into bike riding yet he has a push rod and handle on the bike but it will not be long before he his off riding on his own.
The push rod on this bike also operates the steering so easy for the person in charge of him.

Home in New Zealand

As most will realise from reading the date, it has been ages since posting on the blog.
There has been good reason for this as we have been on our travels.

We came home to NZ to attend the wedding of our niece Kerry to Daniel


as you can imagine the bride looked stunning and it was a beautiful day

Our grandson's Ben and Alex where ring bearers and looked cute in their tuxedos.

Eric then flew back to Dubai the following day, but I stayed in NZ where I am bumming around in the camper van staying here and there.
I have just spent 5 days at a beach resort where the van was parked within 10 meters of the beach, the weather came to the party and was beautiful. I had my bike along with me and managed a ride every day, I also swam in the hot pools each evening and did a fair amount of walking.
Iain and Claire and the boys joined me for the day on the Sunday when the weather was at it's extra best, my niece and her family who live a few kilometers away from where I was camped also joined us for a BBQ in the evening.

I have spent a few days with Kathryn and Steve and the boys, where I managed to do Christmas shopping for them all. The boys had new bikes and we helped with a new BBQ for the grown ups. I bet you wish you could do your Christmas shopping in one day.

Eric will be back in time for Christmas, when we will have the first family Christmas where we have all been together for years... to many to count, but of course we have 4 extra little folks around this time, Ellis 6 , Ben 4 , Harvey 3, and Alex 2 so it is going to be a real child orientated time.
The silly season starts here next week with the commencement of Christmas Dinners and bashes, I have 4 to attend so far. Of course not a thing to wear, but being summer that is really no problem.

Sunday 11 November 2007

From a new Gmail user.....

That is it...the Yahoo debacle that they call an email server has had it's day in this house.
It has been getting worse each day some days I could not even log on to it, then others when you are working on it it closes down or does not another move when asked.

Now they have finally cooked their goose when they changed the format and I had moving adverts all across the screen which you only had to scim across with the mouse and up popped another...so bye bye Yahoo for the period we are staying in Dubai..

Hello Gmail...now..., listen here you have to live up to the wonders that people keep telling me about you.

I have had 2 days of trying to work out your system and I am getting there, I keep re- listening and watching the "getting Started" video, I have pressed the help key quite a few times, but there are somethings you need to look at like

"you can not select a list of the addresses you wish to forward to" you have to write each one individually. Now come on even Yahoo had that!!



I will give you a fair try , but you have to remember you are not talking to a whiz kid here but someones Grandma and I can get frustrated with new things, I am getting to that stage in life when I like things I know ( unless I am learning a new Quilt Block or technique).

With Love from a new Gmail user


A Picture just to remind you it is only 45 days to Christmas.

Thursday 8 November 2007

Shame he does not get a bedroom


Our Grandson Harvey asleep under the table, seems Harvey did this maneuver himself.

Time for a Hair Cut or my frayed nerves



Now a hair cut or trim is not a major thing where you live, but here in Dubai for a Expat woman it is traumatic.
Finding a hairdresser who can speak English is the first hurdle, when you have convinced yourself that you have achieved that, you go on to the actual sitting in the chair....then the real trauma begins......my hair is in a bob it is straight and grey and I would like to keep it like this but all hairdressers seem to think they know better... ....so after a shampoo where she tries to convince you that a colour would be good and why would you want your hair natural colour.
No one has natural colour hair now, this is very old fashioned, she has now written you off as a waste of time, you are not going to spend enough money in her salon. So back to the chair.

Questions begin ..

Me....have you cut straight hair before..
Girl....Yes! madam
Me.....like mine
Girl..No madam

At this point you want to get out of the chair ASAP, but you are tied in with the flumptious gown and heavy weight shoulder cutting mat and dripping hair. So you think okay we will talk our way through this.

Me....Please do as I say
Girl... Of course Madam
Me ... I want you to cut it same shape as now but taking off only 1/2" inch just a trim not a restyle.
Girl... Of course Madam you will have a good cut and look beautiful.

Now you know she has not been listening or understood what you have said and you now realise her English is just the pleasantries, and her sales talk at the hair wash station was learnt parrot fashion, because that is what her boss has taught her to say.
She Picks up her scissors and begins to part the hair, it is like a horror film.
I always come away with shattered nerves and a near disaster of a haircut and not quite but almost near to tears.
Now I have had 5 haircuts here each has been as good if not better a disaster than the last.

Now resulting from all this trauma, the good side of this story is Eric is becoming a great hand at trimming off the long ends straightening the back pointing out bad areas and generally soothing my frayed nerves when I get back.
So I think he will re-train in Rotorua as a Ladies hairdresser so get in line and make an appointment.

Sorry no photo of my disasters but here is a really cute one of Ben having his hair cut and there is no trauma in sight and the barber is definitely cuter than the girl who cut my hair yesterday.


Wednesday 7 November 2007

Must be the coming season



I am not one for cute sayings and twee poems but this one somehow hit home.
 
Around the corner I have a friend
In this great city that has no end
But the days go by and the weeks rush on
And before I know it a year has gone
And I never see my old friends face
For life is swift and a terrible race
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell
And he rang mine - we were younger then

Now we are busy, tired old men.
Tired of playing a foolish game,
Tired of trying to make a name
Tomorrow I say "I will call on Jim
just to show I am thinking of him"

But tomorrow comes and tomorrow goes
And distance between us grows and grows
From around the corner, yet miles away
"Here's a telegram sir" "Jim died today"
And that's what we get and deserve in the end
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

MORAL
So stay close to your family and friends
for they have helped to make you the person you are today.


Saturday 3 November 2007

November Already News update.

It is November already and the weather has cooled so much, in fact today there was no sunshine it was very cloudy and quite cool...the tiled floors were cold to our feet and Eric even put on a pair of slippers.
To all those who have given us Margarita recipes we have finally found the correct mix.
We had to buy a new liquidiser a strong glass one to crush the ice, and of course the correct glasses to drink from. I am sure we could have had them for weeks at a hotel for what it has cost us to have half a dozen at home so far.

Not long now and we wing our way to New Zealand ( again) for Kerry and Daniel's wedding, Eric will do almost a "U Turn" and come back here after 4 days and I will stay to bug the life out of people till after Christmas. I am looking forward to a nomadic life in the camper van for a few weeks and may be to take the older grand kids with me at weekends, albeit one at a time.

Christmas.
Will see Eric back again, to have all our family in one house for the "big Do" and Santa's visit.
 

Saturday 27 October 2007

Hash Event


This weeks Hash event was the 1500 th run for the Desert Hash.
There was approx. 65 people there all sporting their new teeshirts.
The main event at the meeting was to change over the Mis-management Team this comprises of a Grand Master the one with the big mouth and Hare-raiser the one who gets the run setters, Social organiser and the important Hash Cash person who looks after the dosh. There are more but can't remember them at this minute in time.
Now the big news is Eric has been made Grand Master, so he is in charge, so a couple of pictures of the occasion. A warning new shoes are a NO NO on hash, turn up in them and you have to drink your beer from them be warned.

Sunday 21 October 2007

Updated picture


This an updated picture of the plants at one end of the balcony, taken at night so may be not the best picture we could have taken.

Saturday Trip to the Plant Market

Our Balcony is becoming a jungle with plants.
It all started a few months ago.
We went to a friend Malcolm's "60 something"
birthday party in Abu Dabi, where on his balcony he was growing every thing you can imagine from flowers to trees and fruit and vegetables, Eric was so impressed with what you could achieve on just a balcony he vowed there and then to do the same.
Now Malcolm has been in his apartment for 7 yrs so we have some catching up to do.
So with no more ado when we got back to Dubai we made a purchase of our first plant a lilac coloured Bougainvillea, over the months we have gained more and more we now have them all shapes and colours.
We gave tomatoes a try but they just got burnt out of the pots, we may try another in a month or so when it is cooler. One of our latest plants is a 3ft high Gardenia we guess it may be white or cream coloured when it finally flowers
 
Today's purchase was 24 marigold plants and a dozen others that we have no idea of the name of, so we are going to bring back a garden book from NZ in November.
Plus some liquid manure there does not seem to be any here and the plants must need feeding, we have a few stick tomato food we found, so we have tried giving a stick of it to the bougainvillea, we are not sure it is the right thing to give them, but we guess some food is better than no food, and they are flowering well
The balcony garden gets watered every day if not twice a day, we must be impressing the neighbours as a couple of them now have plants on their balconies. The other nice thing is that they are so cheap to buy, so if they do pop off we can replace them. The 24 marigolds cost us about $8 or $9 a small price for the enjoyment they are bringing.

Saturday 20 October 2007

So what happened this weekend



Another weekend over.


The weather is beginning to cool off now only 34/35 degrees most days and dropping to 25 at night almost winter like. But it is making it just nice to sit on the balcony in the evening, so with a glass of wine and some nibbles this is where we will be found after 7pm most evenings.


We had a hectic weekend one way and another. Thursday saw us sitting on the balcony for an hour and then we wandered to the local Indian Restaurant where they do a weekend buffet, we partook of this and while we were eating we had a text to visit Phil and Tika for a drink so we meandered to their house and sat outside till 12.45am just passing the time talking and drinking, so civilised.

Friday we hosed off the balcony and got rid of some of the sand, which did me no good at all as I started a slight asthma attack so a couple of puffs on the inhaler was called for....

The company Eric is associated with here...who act as their agent were celebrating 25 yrs of being in Dubai. So in the afternoon we were invited to a Desert Safari, you go out into the desert and ride buggies and things in the sand and generally play around, after there is a dining area with cushions and low tables where you dine and drink while watching Belly dancers. Now...you would be correct in thinking the dancers would be Arab ladies, yes!! No!! the Arab ladies don't like to do it any more so this girl was Russian...someone has to do it we guess.

So, because of the nature of the event in the sand, after my attack in the morning I made the decision I would not partake of this event so stayed home, the sand is causing me a few problems with the breathing on occasions. Eric went off with 80 Indian Bachelors and a few Indian ladies who were wives of managers, Plus the Big Boss Gurgit and his wife Pria. Although he said it was totally boring, it was also interesting. Seems the Indian Ladies don't dance and only the men get up and dance very erotic dancing to the Disco music, all the women stay seated and watch them. The food was Yes! you guessed Indian and the drink flowed well so I think he had a good time, besides being bored. But it was a long evening 4pm...11pm rather to long he thinks.

Thursday 18 October 2007

BOM Quilt and the head aches

As published in the past, I am doing BOM( block of the month) for Dubai Quilters this year.

It is amazing how many people can look at the same instructions and read something totally different. I have just had 2 days of sorting through emails that commented on instructions......these were read by people and each came up with a different problem from them. I assumed because so many were finding snags that there must be some.
After almost a partially sleepless night and best part of worried day that I had done something totally stupid............ I spent 4 hours today going through something that was correct in the first place....but it is amazing how other peoples views can change your own until you no longer believe in yourself.
It finally was an instruction written by the person who designed the original pattern that was at fault. I also assumed that the designer would have got it right.

The moral of this missive..."Never ever assume anything"

Sunday 14 October 2007

Bahrain Marathon Relay



While we were in Bahrain last year Eric ran on the Marathon Relay, doing two legs for different teams.


Now we are here in Dubai he has got a team from Desert Hash to compete in Bahrain.
There are 16 of them going for the weekend on 23rd November, the race takes place in the desert at and around the area of the Formula 1 circuit.

Here is Photo of some of the team, and we will update you with the results etc after the event.

A Busy week





It seems a long time since I updated but we have a really good excuse.
We had a visit here in Dubai from some very old friends...now that is not that they are old..just that we worked out we have been friends for 31yrs.
Geoff and Yvonne are from Shrewsbury in Shropshire UK ( originally from Birmingham and not lost the accent either) Yvonne is a sun worshipper so where else could she go...but visit us here in the Middle East, where we could almost 100% guarantee her sunshine, and we did. It even became to hot and she had to retreat inside, now where has she been before that that has happend.

We had a great time showing them the "building site" Dubai really is, plus also the fabulous buildings the like of never seen before, including the tallest building in the world, standing at 157 floors. We ate at some of the best Hotels and local cafes. The only down fall if there was one was it has been Ramadan while they were here, which meant no eating and drinking during the day out of the home....but on the other hand think of the hundreds of Dirhams and inches on the hips saved, not buying all the coffee and yummy cakes in all the millions of coffee shops here.
They got to swim in the Gulf and attend a Hash House Harriers run, plus a birthday party of a hasher that they did not know...but there that is Dubai for you. They took a Abra ride across the creek and a BIG BUS tour of the city, plus every thing else we could cram into 8 days.

We even orderd an immense sand storm just to show the other side of the Middle East.

So today we packed them off to the airport to catch an Emirates flight back to Birminham, we hope with fond memories of their trip to Dubai. So just as a reminder here is the ceiling of the Persian court of Ibn Buttuta Mall. Also the Elephant from the Indain Court.





Thursday 4 October 2007

One positions goes and another comes in it's place

This morning was committee meeting for Dubai Quilters Guild.
I was pleased to report that BOM went well and that there was just 4 kits left and I know of at least one person who wants one when she returns to Dubai in a couple of weeks...
So my job is almost complete just a case of hand out the monthly instructions until February, which really can be done by anybody.
So I sat back and listened to everyone'ss reports, resting on my laurels...then wham!! a wake up call.
The Dubai Quilt show came up on the agenda which is held in May 2008, and before I could say yeah! or nay! I seemed to have the job as Show Team Leader /coordinator. So another big learning curve coming up... But at least it keeps me off the streets, keeps my mind active and holds the Alzheimer at bay. So if you have any knowledge of setting up shows and exhibitions
please get in touch with me......
This picture has nothing to do with Dubai, it is Rainbow Quilters Rotorua NZ handing over the children's quilts made for the Children's ward of Rotorua Hospital last year.
I had a hand in making various blocks included in some of these quilts.

Monday 1 October 2007

Block of the Month


BOM as it is known in the quilting world...

A few months ago I was at a meeting of Dubai Quilters Guild...nice morning met lots of lovely ladies all nationalities, saw some beautiful work...now some how it seems I volunteered to do the BOM for the coming year..

Oh well !! I am up to this, so after months of shopping and searching for fabric, threads and embroidery rings and Pellon, I finally produced a BOM.
Yesterday was launch day..we actually sold 20 of the 24 kits so someone liked it. I produced it in 2 combination of colours. Creams, browns and flowered orange/purple with a Dark green,
also in lighter greens, lilac and a flowered green and lilac so 2 completely different looks.
The quilt you see in the picture is just a variation of a theme just to show the embroidery on panels to the guild this colour way was not a choice.
So I am waiting with bated breath to see the first few blocks at Guild next month

Sunday 30 September 2007

Grandma's journey home Saga


Or rescuing Grandma,

I am back...with the cold and chest infection, if it was around I picked it up in the week away, .

Had the worst day ever when I left NZ........must tell you about it, even if it is only to make you smile...it is okay you can do that ......I am actually laughing about it now.

Air New Zealand were cancelling flights left right and centre due to a fault with a planes undercarriage failing, a plane had to land day before with no undercarriage, so all planes of that design taken for checking that was good and reassuring.
Great, everything was going okay packed and just off out to do final shopping, when I have a call from Kathryn..."have you checked your flight from Rotorua to Auckland as they are still cancelling flights" , so slight detour and go to Air New Zealand Office.
Just my luck on day I leave every thing up to the 2pm was cancelled from Rotorua to Auckland and they could not guarantee the 3pm which I was booked on .......so at 12noon we had to make the decision to drive or not...yeap! we drove 3 hours to Auckland arrived in plenty of time all "hunky Dory", you would think the day would go okay from there but NO.... Iain and family dropped me at the door only 2 hours to go no need to stop, said goodbyes and they winged their way back to Rotorua.
What you need to know he has no mobile as only resident in NZ a week and that had to be organised ...and not on the priority list.... easy he said " you could live a few days with no phone". So gave him said Sim card to use till he gets organised as I leave him at airport.

Checked in.... went to pay my 25$ exit tax Oh!! " ;^***%" I had left my wallet in Iain's car and had NO money not a cent or credit cards, No Airport Tax no leaving Auckland........ easy just call him back. No such luck my phone now has Dubai Sim card in, NZ Sim given to him to use, yeap! you guessed it Dubai phone does not work in NZ and I then remember he has NO mobile phone on him in which to use the said Sim card ***?!!** my Language is now getting really choice.
Solution!! call Kathryn who lives and works in Auckland, I then looked for a kind person on a desk, any desk I was not fussy, who would let me make a local phone call.......8 desks later all had refused, I would not have minded if it had not been a FREE local call . Come on Auckland where is your kind helpful side, not a good introduction to NZ for a visitor...luckily I was not a visitor.
Finally found a nice lady on an information desk so called Kathryn at work in Auckland she rescued "grandma" with money and a shoulder to cry on just 45 Min's before take off of Emirates flight. ( Another month and she would have been living in Hamilton 1 1/2 hours away...so I counted my blessings) So panic over and we took off on time.....
So somewhere in the air is my wallet and all my cards including all driving licenses winging its way to me by FedEx.....thanks everyone for every thing you did on that day...Love Grandma x
Gee was I glad to see Dubai yesterday.

Ngongotaha, Rotorua




So we made it, a kind neighbour Lynne had put some essentials in the fridge so a cup of coffee was the first thing on the agenda.

Then the re-organisation of the house so everyone had a space of their own. The boys now had a bedroom to themselves, Grandma and Grandpa's stuff had to be moved and packed way in Grandma's study, plus precious goodies that were valuable or sentimental also had to be moved out of harms way, so Iain and Claire could relax a little, with a 6 n 3 year old boys you just never can tell what will happen next.
So we spent a day or so shopping and getting sorted, IRD Numbers, house and car insurance sorted, bank accounts etc.
Iain managed to get to Pom's office to see where he will be working and to introduce the family.

Over the week we met with most of the family and all the kids were introduced to each other.
I managed to catch up with a few folks also, from Embroidery Guild and a couple of friends, but 8 days is so short, never mind I have 7 or 8 weeks from November to January to catch up with everyone.

So good luck Iain and Claire, take care of our house but enjoy it!!

Arrival in NZ


After 17 hours flying I arrived in NZ with Iain and Claire,Ellis and Harvey. All very tired and excited. We were met by Kathryn and Steve and the boys with a bit of an emotional welcome.

After spending the night in Auckland with Kathryn and Co we headed off to Rotorua. Kathryn had collected the campervan on her way through Rotorua a while before our arrival, so with my car and the van we transported the 5 of us home with all the cases from Dubai and UK.

Saturday 29 September 2007

Family time in Dubai






On September 14th


Iain and Family arrived here in Dubai at midnight to 30+ degrees


The next 3/4 days were taken up with swimming and sightseeing and eating, and generally experiencing Dubai, the traffic and building site that the city is....but they enjoyed the experience, on the 18th September we  ( me and them ) winged our way to New Zealand

Wednesday 12 September 2007

Just 2 days to go

Lake Taupo - NZ

It is just 2 days now and Iain and Claire will be on their way to New Zealand.
We are sure they are excited and apprehensive all at the same time. They will never take such a large step again in their lifetime.

After 6 yrs in NZ we can see all the advantages for them and the boys, it is not a place to get rich quick but the lifestyle is just great.

New Zealand still offers " that pioneering feeling" of the past immigrants who started to migrate to Australia and NZ in middle 1800's.....can you imagine the time they had, life would have been so hard for them. Luckily things have changed.....

There is temperate climate, the pace of life is slower, a lot of emphasis is still put on the quality of life, not the materialistic side, family values still count and so far the youth culture problems that Europe and other countries are suffering are not predominate in NZ, of course there are problems socially but to a far lesser scale than other places.

Different nationalities live in harmony side by side, this is made easier as we are all immigrants the country does not really belong to anyone race, although the Maori believe the country is theirs they actually stole it from the Moriories ( I don't know how to spell the name) a couple of hundred years ago so they are migrants of a sort as well. In any case they sold out to the British for protection, guns and blankets in 1840 something
Living in New Zealand is like living in the 70/80's with 2000 technology, values are definitely different, professionals live in the same street as the factory worker, Government housing, grouping one social class together is a thing of the past, of course there are areas of lower income families but there is not a class structure like there used to be and still is UK.
Everyone is valued for what he or she can offer to the country, it is still a young country and people can still grow with it.
New Zealand prides it's self with it's clean green attitude, if you have never been there you need to put it on your "Bucket List " I know of no one who has been to NZ who has not come away without a love for the country, it has such diverse scenery from Fiord's to Desert, the rainbows are something you must see.
No.... the NZ tourist board is not paying me, it is just pride for the country we have chosen to live in.


Friday 7 September 2007

Ben and Alex



OK !! it is a bit Cissy I admit.
Girls all over the quilt
But it is not that bad.

Red Quilt




Many years ago I saw this pattern at a craft fair, and thought Yes! if I have a Grand Daughter this would make a lovely quilt for her, the panels would be hand stitched with love by Grandma.
Now we all know that most of life is not a choice .....at least somethings in life are and others are not and the sex of your Grand kids is one of the no choice ones....

So after 2 grandsons I thought oh well !! may be next time and the pattern went away in the UFO box ( unfinished objects to the uninitiated)
A couple of years on and 2 more Grandsons appear so the quilt stayed unfinished.
But I needed stitching and stuff to bring to Dubai so I decided to finish the quilt, it has changed to make it a little more masculine....the original had lots more flowers bands around the borders.
So sorry boys you are just going to have to love it at Grandma's house when you visit.

A Pool

When we moved into the apartment the management said there was a pool we could use for a small fee, when we tried to obtain membership for this pool...Yes!! they had changed the rules .... Seems the folks in the older blocks wanted the pool exclusively to themselves....BUT after 8 months we have beaten them....................Friends from Hash, Tika ( Napal) and Phil ( Wales) have moved into a villa in our complex around a fabulous garden and pool, they have purchased for us an electronic key to the gate.....so now we have the pool at our disposal.
Goes to show there is a way around every thing, it is not what you know in life,BUT who.
Thank you Tika and Phil our grandkids will love you for ever, so will we....

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Barbie Hash









The ladies who hash, or wives and girlfriends of hashers, have formed a group called  "Barbie Hash"

we meet of an evening once a month where we run, walk or talk and someone, normally the host cooks a meal, or orders in what ever she chooses.
Everyone wears pink and we drink out of glasses that have a picture of Barbie on them,
in the past we have gone ski-ing ( yes! here in Dubai) and they have gone bowling, had a normal hash night with a run.
Next month they are renting a stretch limousine an hour to tour Dubai then stop at a hotel for a buffet supper all you can eat and drink. A great group there are at least 7 nationalities represented. The ages range from twenties something to a couple of us in our 60's.

This photo is taken at Mona's from Thailand who cooked a fabulous meal. She is in the white teeshirt
Tika ( from Nepal/ HongKong) Mona and myself don't have our pink tee shirts yet.
 

Bens Birthday


Happy Birthday Ben,

wow! does not seem like 4 yrs ago that I was chasing around New Zealand to be at Ben's birth.....But what an experience that was...if you have never been at the receiving end of giving birth ( rather than the producing end) it really is something wonderful you have missed in life I can highly recommend it...it adds a whole new dimension to giving birth...


Tuesday 4 September 2007

10 days to go

It is just 10 days before Iain and Family arrive here in Dubai. On route to NZ.
We are getting excited about showing them around, as this will likely be their only one trip to Dubai in the next decade. They have 2 children to educate and raise and as we all know not a cheap thing to do.
They were hoping to go to Wild Wadi...a water park really for adults as some of the water slides reach a 80 kms an hour speed.....but sorry to say the park closes on the 15th for 15 days overhaul etc and repairs.....so sorry boys we will have to go to Dreamland instead same thing different place.

Don't forget you will not see much of, if any of this in the future

Silky Pillows

The Inner Wheel Club of NZ had a project going of making "silky Pillows, these were used by ladies who had, had breast ops..... they helped with the protection of the wound and kept the arm away from banging on the site of the op. In Rotorua we took on this project and to date have made many many such pillows.
The Quilters Guild here in Dubai was approached by the Breast Cancer Society, to ask if we could make something similar, the commercial one that is available was not a good design or fabric, it was oblong and made of a cord type material which would have irritate the wound, so I told them about the NZ ones. I emailed my Inner wheel club in Rotorua, and Noreen Fitzsimmons kindly sent me a pattern.

We are now on the road to make 40 of them as our first "package"
So Ladies in New Zealand we have spread the word and the deeds.
Pillow made by Dubai Quilter Guild

Saturday 1 September 2007

All things are moving

Today we have heard Kathryn and Steve have sold their house, ( may be we can touch them for a loan ..........) so they are moving to Hamilton to take up a new job, about an hour south of Auckland which will bring them closer to us in Rotorua, now we will only have to travel just over the hour to vist....BUT

What about the airport? What about the car being left in their garden when we are over seas? What about the pickups from the airport or the over night stays not only for us but the rest of the family on their way in and out of the country ?

Now, did they think of all this before they took this gigantic decison to move, did they ask for our thoughts have they come up with an alternative for these services they have been giving....... I think I can guess the answer....***!!*!# or something like that.

So we wish them well, and know they will love being out of Auckland all that traffic and the crowds of people, will be no great loss. I know they will enjoy Hamilton a lot for everyone to do, a lovely park and of course the river, a Quilt Guild for Kathryn etc. Also every thing will be almost on the door step, nothing will be far from home.

Thursday 30 August 2007

The Other people in our life

I make it sound as though there are only the four of us in our family, but of course it has grown there is Kathryn's partner Steve a full Kiwi I believe 3rd generation, and Iain's wife Claire from good old UK, we could not have asked for two better additions to the Breadmore Clan........
That was of course until the Grand kiddies started to arrive. Firstly there is Ellis 6 1/2 .....Iain and Claire's eldest, followed by Ben 4 .....Kathryn and Steve's number one son, then along came Harvey 3 brother of Ellis and finally Alex 2 Ben's play mate.
These cousins so far have not met each other , but this will all change as Iain and family emigrate to NZ in 3 weeks time. It will be just wonderful for Grandma and Grandad to have all the little ones on one continent. So another big pull to return home for.

Ellis






                                                                               Ben

                                                                   Harvey
Alex and Dad




 

Wednesday 29 August 2007

Hash House Harriers/ There they go



Or H3 as most runners know it.
Sunday is hash night here in Dubai, when Eric spends a couple of hours in the desert running a hare and hounds route, normally about 6 or 7 kms.
After the run they stand around in a circle with a large bonfire ( for what is it "not hot enough here") and tell stories and get a "down down" ( a beer which has to be drunk straight down ) often sat on a block of ice ....don't ask me why !!!! for any misdemeanor the RA ( chap in charge) can come up with...it is all very light hearted and fun.
Here in Dubai there is always food afterwards as well... a BBQ or a curry, bought from an Indian restaurant which arrives in big pots similar to the ones school dinners used to be served from.

It is a very social evening and is open to anyone who wishes to come along, once someone has run on hash they learn about every hash in the world and there are some hundreds in different countries, so where ever you go you carry your kit with you in case it is hash night where you are.

I go along as mentioned before as the driver........Dubai has a Zero tolerance on alcohol and if you are caught drinking and driving it is jail for 18 to 30 days on top of that you spend up to 18 days in jail before you get to court......it has happened and there are people in Dubai who can tell you about it.
It is so strict that if you are involved in a bump with another car, you are both breathalysed regardless of whose fault it is...and bingo if you have been drinking.....bye bye for a while.
Drinking here is not legal unless you have a licence or are staying in a hotel, of which we have not or do either......a licence is obtainable when you get a residence permit, which we still do not have.....so as far as the law is concerned we should not be drinking. Oh Yeh!!

Tuesday 28 August 2007

BOM Quilt


Yesterday I collected the BOM quilt from the quilters.

She has done a really nice job of it...... I feel that it has been a little over quilted, but nether the less it looks great, so I spent the rest of the day putting on the binding.  So now it is ready for the meeting in Setember. Oh! I hope the members like it.

The few who have seen it are ready to purchase the kit, so hopefully the others will be also.