Birthday gift...

Today is my friend Sugi's birthday ... tomorrow at Friday Stitching we will celebrate with cake etc.
I have made this work pouch for her ... 

the front has a Pukeko bird ( NZ bird) and the inside has lines of pockets for your thread cards  a place for your needle and pins and a pocket for your work in progress.

 I have added a Brizillian Embroidery Kit .. Sugi enjoys this kind of stitching.

Seems a long time....

It seems like ages since I wrote a post and looking at the date of the last one it is.....

So why ... well  life has been busy ... not sure with what but busy it has been, I know because I have been falling into bed each night  quite exhausted. So let me look at my diary ...what did I do ??

So  this could be boring ....

On the Monday I had a lovely lunch with my Brother and Sister in law, the same evening I had Charter Night Dinner with my Inner Wheel Club  ... If I remember I thought to myself I don't need to eat another thing for at least a week.
Tuesday ..  car to Hyundai to be serviced ...and no I did not manage get the price down and yes !!! it was more than they quoted, this really pee's me off I can tell you... mind they did give me car to use all day as I was so busy and they could not give me a definite time to collect my car.

 Later same morning  was Museum for  an hour  in  my voluntary position as a guide.
 Afternoon was stitching with a group of lovely ladies .... The evening was Patchwork group ... I think if I remember bed was welcome that night.

Wednesday was Embroidery Guild which is all day and evening ... no worries here as I enjoy Wednesdays this has to be my first love on the hobby side.

Thursday was a "boob squeeze"  in the morning ... Ladies this is Breast Cancer month please remember to go ... I am a survivor of breast cancer of 26 yrs .... you can be one to ...  if they get it fast enough.

Later same morning Committee meeting for the Arthritis Exercise Pool group of which I am the secretary.
If I remember rightly I may have managed a bit of house work in the afternoon and some food shopping.

Friday Morning shopping with a friend and then  at 12 noon  for an hour .... we went to a small concert that is put on about  once a month ... supporting local talent.. this day was 2  classical singers lovely young ladies who are tutored by a  local  lady ... they  need to get  practice with an audience and a young pianist who is just 15 yrs old and amazing ... this takes place in a  city centre church and the ladies from the church put on a lunch so that workers can attend in their lunch hour.
 Afternoon saw us at the garden centre .... some geraniums  for the front door step  ( love scarlet ones) and two  rhododendrons for a new bit of the garden
Friday evening I stitched regularly  with a few friends we used to do a "late nighter" ... but we are all getting older now and the late nights do not work anymore on a regular basis.

The weekend Saturday and Sunday was spent at the caravan with the Hamilton Grandsons and their parents ....
Sunday evening I gave in to  not watching the Ruby world cup bit  ( 5 weeks and I have not watched a match )  So I sat through a boring match and watched France almost cream the All Blacks. I guess the boring bit is the fact that I do not like Ruby it is a licence to injure each other  in my thoughts.
 I know you are thinking ...how can you say such a thing in when you live in a country where the government  will allow changes in  the school holidays to fit in with  Ruby matches.  Uhmmm!! makes you wonder dosen"t it!!

Then we arrive at this week ... almost a repeat of the last except the committee meeting was  for Embroidery  Guild ..... I have managed to finish the by annual District Newsletter for Inner Wheel which I do as I am District Editor ...
 Oh! and I have also managed 3 swims .
I can only function with a diary by the telephone ... basically if it is not in the book it does not get done.
What is it they say ... if you have a job for someone  ask a busy person to do it ... I think I must be that busy person.
Oh !!  by the way it is Thursday and I have to finish designing posters for our Embroidery Exhibition .. and do the Minutes for the Arthritis meeting,
So if you are still with me here at the end of this post ...you deserve a drink... tea, coffee or what ever is your tipple go on spoil yourself.

Very industrious.....

Since living on my own I am getting  very good at cooking for one ... I managed to get down from 4 to 2 when Kids flew the nest .... and now I  am alone and I have to go from 2 to 1.
It is not easy ( as I am sure many will vouch for me on this )  but I have worked it out okay ( only taken 2 years) trouble is you see it's teaching old dogs new tricks that can be tricky.
I know of many people on their own who do not cook at all ...bar the odd  egg or two or beans on toast or tin of soup.

Every now and again I have a Cook In Day I make either  a beef casserole, a Chicken one , and may be a veg one and a chilli con carne.... each one of these I make for 4 portions.... I have collected take away plastic containers and I freeze them in single portions .... I then take one and defrost  then add cooked potatoes or a dumpling  or rice  what ever the dish calls for etc.....and there you have a hearty meal in minutes when you are tired and can't be bothered.....

Today I  have done the Beef casserole 3 portions for the freezer and one portion for dinner tonight of course and a fresh pizza sauce ready for the week ahead..

Beef Casserole just follow your favorite one but make sure it has plenty of gravy so you can add to each container.

I do a good line in pizza sauce which I keep in container in the fridge... this is very useful at lunch time or when hunger pangs strike .... and so much nicer than the bought stuff. A snack will take just 2 or 3 minutes to produce I also keep small  size pitta breads in the freezer I split them from the 8  packet into 4 x 2 breads in zip lock bags and freeze. They will defrost when they are toasted.

I also keep ready grated mozzarella cheese in freezer ....  you can't have a pizza with out the mozzarella ( I shake it up now and again when I go to the freezer to keep it loose)
 I can then just take out just as much as I need for a pizza.

Simplest Pizza Sauce in the world.....

Chop an onion  and fry ( but do not brown) also garlic if you wish but optional
Add a tin of chopped tomatoes
a teaspoon of sugar and any herbs you like ....  ( you need the sugar believe me it makes tomatoes taste perfect)
simmer until sauce thickens stirring on occasions 
once thickened add seasoning  ( remember it thickens on cooling also) ...

Cool put in a plastic container with tight fitting lid ..... in coolest part of the fridge it  will keep for a good week or more and come to no harm .... give it a stir each time you remove some..
Take a pitta bread and lightly toast it ... but not crisp ... large spoon of sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese and anything else you wish ...grill for a few minutes till cheese melts. Ummmmm!!
You can also use a thick crusty bread or french stick they both work as well.

 It beats the proverbial cheese or ham sandwich lunch.

The master piece ....

This is Alex's master piece ... I traced a picture from a colouring book of  Lightening McQueen from Cars movie ... (now come on own up I bet  you have all seen it at some time).
He actually stitched it using a frame hows that for good training from the word go he also had good tension and stitch length.

Well he has finished it and here it is all framed ready to take home

I have a companion for a few days....

My Grandson Alex 6yrs old...
We think he has had enough of Holiday Care for a bit ...seems he gets tummy ache each morning and gives lots of reasons why he should not go.

So Grandma to the rescue again.... I suggested he came and stayed with me for the rest of the week ... to give him a bit of one on one with just me and the cat. This will be the first time he has been away by himself and he was excited about doing it

We had dinner tonight at the coffee table watching DVD of Nanny McPhee, he asked if that was okay that we were not sat at the table I assured him it was okay as it was a special time with Grandma.

This was all arranged so fast ... that I had things to do in my diary already so I decided he could just accompany me to everything.
So this evening he came with me .... and wowed the ladies of evening Embroidery Guild with his grown up conversation and stitched himself for an hour or so. A picture of this at another time.


After only being here for a few hours he has learnt to make a pot of tea and drink 2 cups himself ...seems he is a boy after my own heart, he also managed a cup at Guild along with a couple of biscuits.

So here he is all tucked up in bed and sound asleep, as tomorrow is going to be another busy day.

Somethings confuse and annoy me !!!

I do hope you will not end up as confused as me by the end of this post.... I have to confess I am not up on cars and engines etc.... so here goes I will do my best to explain..

Two years ago I had a new car a Hyundai Tucson City .... nice,  white and just a  big enough engine to get me out of trouble when I  need the speed  also  carries enough people for my needs...
Lucky girl I was ... and most likely the last brand new car I will have  so it has to last me.

So what is there to gripe about I can hear you say... well I today booked it in for a service it will be it's second one ... I have done the correct mileage etc .... So off to the Hyundai Garage I go ..... when I asked for the service I decided to have the Gold one the top price at  $180 advertised  behind the receptionists desk.....  I thought I was being really generous to my car thinking  only the best will be good enough.

To my surprise the receptionist told me it will be $345 ... a little taken back I asked why it was so much considering their top service was only $180 ....  She said " because my car was only 2 yrs old and still under warranty" , now may be I am just a mere female but for the life of me I could not grasp why this made a halfpence of difference. Surely they will give it the best service with the Gold one as that was their top service.
 NO !!  I was wrong that price was only for cars older than mine or out of warranty or not a Hyundai ... so because my car is still under Warranty it will cost double the price. 

When I asked what I will get for the extra charge ... it was not very much more than the Gold Service  BUT it will make my warranty continue for another  year as I will have had it serviced at the  Hyundai Garage.

  I hope you are still with me and  I have not lost you !!!

So it seems to continue the warranty I have to pay more for my service for 3 yrs, there seemed to be no argument that worked with the girl she just stuck to her practised spiel.  It also seems that if I don't have the $345 service my warranty will be null and void from this day forth

For some reason it is still bugging me ... but you have guessed it I had to relent and book it in.
So really the warranty on the car is not given to you at all when you pay mega bucks for the new car  ... you have to pay for it in the long run of things... sometimes companies get you which ever way you turn.
Hopefully by tomorrow I will have calmed down a bit and will see sense.... may be!!!

Some good ones here..... Paraprosdokians

PARAPROSDOKIANS:

Definition: "Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or
phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous
situation." i.e. "Where there's a will, I want to be in it."


OK, now enjoy.

1. Do not argue with an idiot.
He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound.
 This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong..

5. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

6. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

7. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,'
 and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

8. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism.
 To steal from many is research.

9. A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

GO ON SMILE YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO........................

Santa Sack Swap

I can not believe that I am bang up to date with my swaps....

This Santa sack and pressies are off on their way to my swap partner in Australia
 ( I did say I was going to post last weekend but my life got in the way)
They are going to arrive very early ... we were suppose to send 2 parcels a month but my partners  family life was interrupted and she had to take a long trip overseas ..... so I have not sent for the first  few months as I was supposed to have done.

Now my making and purchasing is complete so they can all  wing their way to their new home to be stored in time for Christmas  .... I just hope Cheryl remembers where she puts it "oh so safely" when December arrives.

NO PEEKING .. just a little feeling and shaking is permitted  Cheryl.

Amazing how you see yourself in your children

A picture of scones that has nothing to do with this post other than it is food .... and makes the mouth water, think I may make some.

Now my Daughter is going to get fed up with me nicking her posts ...but I just have to show you this one...   Sometimes we see our self in our children, sometimes good sometimes bad ... this one I had a good laugh at ... things that you think do not make an enormous impression on your children at the time show they do when they come back in later life.

Now I grew up the eldest with 3 siblings and my mother was very hard on us in all sorts of ways and she ran a very tight ship, my Father was away at sea so she was in sole charge so to speak  ... but the one thing she did do was run a cafe in the kitchen not only for us kids but my Dad as well....

 I sometimes watched her cook 3 or 4 different meals at once pandering to all our likes and dislikes ... I vowed when I had kids this would not happen and it did not with in reason just as DD says in her blog ... Read on all will be revealed.

 NOT  A CAFE 

When I was little I always remember my mum saying at dinner time "this is it, I do not run a cafe"
Whatever was served for dinner was it, she was not making 26 different meals for 4 people just because 1 person didn't like/want/fancy whatever she had decided to cook for dinner.

Now I am a mum I am sticking to the same rule. After having to decide what is for dinner for the last 8 years, believe me when I say, I am not mucking around with dinner, this is it, like it or don't eat!

So we have stuck to the same rule, we cook one dinner and that is that.
However I am prepared to adapt what I am cooking, if it is simple, so everyone will eat this one dinner.

When the boys were younger they didn't like the chilli as hot as we did, so I cooked the chilli basic, took theirs out and then added more heat to ours. No worries there as we all still had the same thing just adapted slightly.

I have found 2 pasta bake sauces in the supermarket which we like. However Ben does not like them, so instead of not having this dinner anymore because of that, then I have adapted.
I cook the pasta and fry the chicken.
Then I serve his pasta into a bowl and place chicken on top. Then I tip the sauce into the remaining pasta along with the chicken and everyone else has pasta with chicken with sauce.

Both bowls then get baked in the oven and hey presto we have a dinner that everyone will eat and everyone is happy when going to bed as they are full and satisfied.
To me this is not bowing to their every whim, just adapting slightly to have a pleasant family dinner that everyone will eat which leads to a happy home environment.

Now if they said they didn't want it all together and wanted a totally different dinner then ........tough, this is dinner, eat it or starve!

From Kathryn @ Life Today

Gee it makes you proud as a Mum that something has made an impression on their life
What is they say ... if a guy wants to see his wife in 20 years time ...look at her Mother !!!

How did I name my blog

Over at Sweet cinnamon Dawn has been wondering how people named their blogs.....

So here goes ..... here is mine.

It was about 7 yrs ago I had started to read a few blogs and was also about to go to Middle East again for 3 years ( Husbands work) my daughter has started a blog and I thought if she can do it so can I....
So in Bahrain where we started this period of time I started documenting our travels
so ER & LJ Travels   ( Eric and Laurie) was born, I started with our doings and travels with pictures .... We then moved to Dubai  and after a bit it became a diary for my Quilting and Embroidery and from there it has evolved I have often thought about changing the name ... but have not thought of one yet that I especially like ....

A request .. There must be one

Good morning from a wet and very windy Rotorua ...

I have a request I need a pattern for a machine cover.

I know you are all going to say that's easy no problem ...  there are hundreds of them on the market or even,     Hey! come on design your own.

Well ! my dilemma is I have a Brother QC 2000 sewing and quilting machine  ( as above) and it has the extended table ... it is far larger than all the patterns I have ever seen and I would just like to put out a feeler to see if there is one that is in existence before I have to get down to the drawing board myself... getting lazy in my old age..Ha Ha!    Now the machine cover is no problem  ... that only comes when I try to design the extension for the table part on how to support it. So if someone out there has or knows of someone else who has over come this dilemma I would love to hear from them.

I really can not believe that such a expensive machine comes with a silly flimsy plastic cover and it does not even cover the table as well..... which by the way is in situ all the time. My machine has now been waiting almost 2 yrs with no cover except a piece of fabric draped over it when I remember to put it on .. but if I had a really NICE machine cover which I am willing to make ..... I know I would use it..... I have even aked Brother if they have a cover or design and they said they are not in the market for covers just manufacturing the machines ... sorry.