Grandma and her boys

Thursday 30 September 2010

Letters to Juliet

Hello... I am way behind the rest of the world again..hey whats new!!

Raining today and cool evening expected so after a trip to the post office I decided to go to the video shop...TV is a dead loss and had seen all my DVDs a hundred times.
I saw the shorts for Letters to Juliet ages ago but never managed to make it to see the movie.
There it was on the shelves at the Video store... so along with 4 other DVDs ... on a school holiday special for $10 I bought it home....So if you have not seen this film it is a MUST see ....
So are you a  hopeless romantic? Do you love chick flicks? Do you believe in true love, destiny, and second chances? Well, I admit straight up, I am and I do and I loved this movie!
It is now my new favorite. Nothing new . . . still the same predictable scenario, but if you connect with characters and enjoy wit (in its many art forms), you will most likely enjoy this story. It was so interesting to see how the refined, gentle Vanessa Redgrave managed her grandson in such a quiet manner.  I also dare you to see the movie with out a shedding a tear .. so have your tissue at the ready.


Book to Movie:
The book, Letters to Juliet by Lise and Ceil Friedman, is not like the movie, but instead tells the origin of the idea behind it. A review told me that this book is a volume that contains hundreds of these letters from ladies all over the world.... ( God bless Google )
I didn't realize there was a real place where "every day, letters, frequently addressed simply, “Juliet, Verona,” arrive in the city. They come by the truckload, in almost every language imaginable, written by romantics seeking Juliet’s counsel. Most of the missives talk of love, of course -- love found and love lost, love sought and love remembered. And, amazingly, not one letter goes unanswered." 



Now I have added Verona and Senna to my Bucket List  which already contains Tuscany. . . and maybe, just maybe, I might make it there some day and get to eat some really delicious Italian dishes.

Have a great weekend. I understand the sun is on it's way to New Zealand

Monday 27 September 2010

School Holidays

This has been the first day of the school holidays and Ben and Alex are here for 3 days while Mum and Dad are at work..would you believe the sun has shone all day and we have been up to 20 degrees today.


Besides sitting on the garden fence which they seemed to enjoy and spent quite sometime doing ....
We have been swimming in a hot pool and walking along the lake front and for quite a long bike ride this evening to use up that last ounce of energy, bedtime was so easy as everyone was completely pooped.....


Tomorrow ...the  choice for the day is to play Mini Golf and go up the Skyline skyride.

Now Grandma has to have an early night to be ready for tomorrow.

Thursday 23 September 2010

Same as before in fact --- more of the same

Cherry Blossom in the snow in Central North Island

The weather is something one normally talks about  when there is nothing else of interest .. but Oh! this is different....
Wild weather is battering much of New Zealand with power cuts and a tornado in Taranaki - and there is worse to come they are telling us.... Wow !! this has been a week of weather.


Snow is falling in the central North Island where they are preparing for some heavy dumps.
On the Desert Road, temperatures plummeted by around seven degrees in an hour. Although the road remained open today, tomorrow could be another story.
They predicting more snow tonight, right through the night until tomorrow and into Friday morning even.
The weather as I write, as seen from the satellite. Not looking good....


In Taranaki the clean-up continues after a tornado ripped through just south of New Plymouth, downed power lines and brought trees down. Then to top it off  snow also dusted the region.
Powerco says 80,000 customers have suffered power cuts at various times since the weekend weather bomb. Two thousand were without power today, mostly in Western Bay of Plenty, Wairarapa, Manawatu and Taranaki.

Trees have fallen on top of cars around Auckland, power lines are down over roads and roofs have been blown off houses.  A section of the roof at Auckland Airport's domestic terminal has also come off. Maintenance crews are repairing the damage and monitoring the situation with more winds forecast.
With a set of cold fronts forecast for the next few days it will be a while before these storms blow over.

Talk about doom and gloom.... Tens of thousands of lambs have died over the past five days after snow and bitterly cold weather swept over the south island. This is going to cost the farmers dearly and the cost of lamb in the supermarkets will rise..
The safest thing in this weather is to stay inside basically and keep battened down.
Me I am warm and cosy and only venturing out when needs demand... and praying for the sunshine, this is so not like New Zealand in September  it is suppose to be spring with blossoms and sunshine .. School holidays start this weekend  lets pray it all changes by then.

Sunday 19 September 2010

Rain, Rain, hail and gales

What a weekend we have had rain, gales and hail on and off all weekend.The house has been battered and the gardens are full of twigs and half branches of trees ( luckily not mine).

Saturday the Rotorua boys Ellis and Harvey had a knock out football Challenge ( soccer ) all day ... after an hour of winds that were horizontal that was burning the face and rain that was more hail than anything, I suggested to Harvey ( youngest of boys who could not stand up straight in the wind) that may be he and I should go home...he needed one second to say " Yes please Grandma" he was in the car in a blink of an eye lid... I think Dad ( Iain ) who is one of the teams trainers was pleased he did not have to keep an eye on Harvey as well as his team.So Harvey and I spent the day stitching, he made a purse from felt and decorated it in buttons. As we stoked the fire during the day we thought of poor Ellis playing in this freezing conditions.

Results were Ellis and team Ngongotaha won the knockout, he finally came home with 3 medals..... Today Sunday was prize giving for the end of the football season here are a few pictures ....

Me and my coach Dad ( Iain)
 Ellis was top scorer with 55 goals this season


With team members


Ngongotaha Football Club

Now a team photo for both boys....




Harvey is the blond next to end on right hand side.

Thursday 16 September 2010

Finally it is finished



A couple of months ago I attened the New Zealand  Embroidery Guilds conference for  best part of a week in Hamilton, had a great time and learnt a whole lot, was taken out of my comfort zone on one class but I will get there and finish that item in the not to distant future....promise.
Drum roll please........ Tadahhhhh!!


So what have I finished ... My Punto Antcio Class piece .......this class was taken by Marjorie Irwin and we had a great time for 3 days


Tuesday 14 September 2010

Good News Day

Today Iain and Claire and the boys got the go ahead on their mortgage for this house..... Whee !!! no more rent     ( which is such dead money).
They have been here in NZ 3 yrs exactly and we always said it would take that long to settle and sort themselves after leaving UK, and now it is done. They both have good jobs and the boys love school and every thing about the outdoor life of New Zealand, Iain is a volunteer Fireman and Ellis represents Rotorua playing soccer
So here are a few views.... no work inside to do but lots in the garden. but summer is coming and lots of willing hands.




Monday 13 September 2010

Some times life gets in the way

This picture of Steve, Ben and Alex sat by a river has absolutely nothing to do with this post I just think it is so relaxing looking and contemplating the flow of water.      Sometimes one has to stop and look at things that are relaxing
as this life and the world are just on one big whirl 24 hours a day
So what is whirling today... I am in the middle of trying to organise myself a break in Australia... should be easy one would have thought...ugh!
Have sorted a few dates etc checked on the flights and almost decided the area to travel to...
just about to book tickets, when someone reminds me of  two ( yes 2 !! )  commitments not in my diary ... so now it is back to the drawing board... I guess I should count my blessings that I have such a full and busy life, of course I do ... so now every thing about my break  has to be moved further backwards .. so I have blocked off the diary for the week 24th  - 30th so far I can think of nothing that should get in the way .. but hey!! who can say. So fingers crossed this time.






Saturday 11 September 2010

Need a break to where ?

I need a break, but where ?
I keep thinking about it and have decided yes ! go for it

I have been thinking about Australia

I don't know where I want to go in Australia, Or what I want to do,




So what do I have ... I have air miles, I have time ... I have about 10 days late October or early November  OH! and if I am in your area  may be call in and say hello to you.
So I am open to suggestions,  by the way it just me on my own and  I am happy to drive and I would love for the sun to be shining I am not into beaches ... as in sun bathing but love to walk on the beach.. I would love to see the real Australia not necessarily the tourist points.


Friday 10 September 2010

Hamilton Quilt and Craft Show

Yesterday with a car full of ladies we made our way to Hamilton.

It was a good day and I actually only spent on what I had decided on before I left home, that was a stock of even weave Linen in a selection of colours. I really was not tempted by anything else.

I was rather disappointed in the show this year, I would guess the economic situation has hit a lot of companies as there were so many stalls missing this year from Australia.
There were many more from NZ attending this time , which was good to see.  But it was just the same old same old , nothing new in fabrics or ideas could have counted the BOM's on one hand, and saw no new patterns of any great interest.
Every machine maker was there and quite a few long arm quilting machines,  embroidery machines were  everywhere... Being an embroiderer I think this is cheating... but there are those that find them best thing since slice bread of course. Also enough bead stalls to sink a battle ship.

Quilt Show...

This also was small against other years but some lovely work on show.
Good to see lots of NZ work, and Anne Gregory from our Quilt group won  the  ANZQ top prize for hand quilting  and the junior prizes were also from Rotorua schools.

This was my favorite in show.... sorry don't seem to have the details of who made it  and of course the picture does not do it justice. It won a few prizes in Australia.





The sun is shining

The sun is shining this morning ...doubt if it will be for long as the clouds are rolling in as dark as can be.
I have a flower box in the centre of my back yard out where I hang the washing and all the chores get done, it is planted with bulbs and spring flowers then a lavender takes over in the summer, today it is in full bloom with Freesias and Polyanthus.


I usually bring in the Freesias as they have such a glorious perfume so here is my frist picking to go inside.













Tuesday 7 September 2010

Just a little reminder ......



If you are hoping to start or finish items for Christmas you have  just...... 15 weeks.....

Something for me


A few weeks ago my friend and I were stitching together and while looking through my needle case for a particular needle, she mentioned that my needle case was beginning to look shabby and very well past it's use by date..... Making things for myself is not a common thing I do, I make so many items that are for gifts and swaps of course I enjoy doing this.... the one thing I do keep when I make them is bags... I have bags upon bags and had to put up a special hanger to hold them all.
So I decided to make a new needle case and here it is ... sorry the pictures are not the best I think I may need a new camera  ( wish list item).





I really put all the trimmings on this one including a magnetic fastener .. I used a necklace fastener for this purpose as the bag fasteners were to heavy and to large, the great thing is when you close it, it automatically clips closed so nothing falls out. I still have to put in a retainer for the small scissors ( note the safety pin) I am thinking a nice decorative piece of elastic.
I even went over board and did a new pincushion and scissor fob ... I have no reason why for the pin cushion will probably never get used as I have my old faithful one.



Whose life have you touched ....


Yesterday I was talking to a friend about the earth quake in Christchurch about how one would like to help but really we do not know how,  finally we decided it was difficult to help from a distance but we would stay in touch with the friends we knew there and give moral support where possible.
Then later in the day I received this story from my friend Kathi in Kuwait via the email, and thought it was so just right for the occasion... so am publishing it for you to read also.....



THE OLD PHONE ON THE WALL.

 HELLO
When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighbourhood.. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.
Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply any one's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbour. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlour and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlour and held it to my ear. "Information, please" I said into the mouthpiece just above my head.
A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.    "Information."
"I hurt my finger..." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.
"Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
"No body's home but me," I blubbered.
"Are you bleeding?" the voice asked.
"No,"  I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
"Can you open the icebox?" she asked.  I said I could.
"Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice..

After that, I called "Information Please" for everything.. I asked her for
help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math.
She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.  Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called,  "information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"
She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, " Wayne , always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."   Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."
"Information," said in the now familiar voice. "How do I spell fix?" I asked.      
All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest USA
When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed my friend very much.
"Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I  somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me..
Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle . I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialled my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."
Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well. "Information."
I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying,  "Could you please tell me how to spell fix?"
There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."  I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?" 
I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your call meant to me.  I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls." 
I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.  "Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."

Three months later I was back in Seattle . A different voice answered,  "Information."  I asked for Sally.  "Are you a friend?" she said.  "Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, “She said. "Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."
Before I could hang up, she said, "  Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne ?" 
Yes." I answered.  "Well, Sally left a message for you.  She wrote it down in case you called.
Let me read it to you."

The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."
I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

So never underestimate the impression you may make on others.. sometimes we don't even know we have touched their lives be it in a big or in a small way.
Whose life have you touched today?