Two classes finished ....

This last weekend saw the second class in the Gary Clarks  White Work ... it was a good class and  learnt a lot ....

Faye Laing the tutor with Beth and Erica

Other than the centre Flower the rest of the piece is free style stitching

We are getting there ... but will take a while to finish ... then comes the "What do you do with it bit "
I really don't want another cushion so may be mounted  and placed on a covered  art board will have to wait to decide I guess

It is offical .....

Okay it is now offical ......

I Hate this new Blogger Dashboard ... I can't find anything and it is frustrating the heck out of me ...how do you feel about it ?????

I just have to share this ....

For all you mothers who have son's ... God Bless Them.

20 Things a Mother should tell her son


1. You will set the tone for the sexual relationship, so don't take something away from her that you can't give back.
2. Play a sport. It will teach you how to win honorably, lose gracefully, respect authority, work with others, manage your time, and stay out of trouble. And maybe even throw or catch.
3. Use careful aim when you pee. Somebody's got to clean that up, you know.
4. Save money when you're young because you'll need it some day.
5. Allow me to introduce you to the dishwasher, oven, washing machine, iron, vacuum, mop and broom. Now please go use them.
6. Pray and be a spiritual leader.
7. Don't ever be a bully and don't ever start a fight, but if some idiot clocks you, please defend yourself.
8. Your knowledge and education is something that nobody can take away from you.
9. Treat women kindly. Forever is a long time to live alone and it's even longer to live with somebody who hates your guts.
10. Take pride in your appearance.
11. Be strong and tender at the same time.
12. A woman can do everything that you can do. This includes her having a successful career and you changing diapers at 3 A.M. Mutual respect is the key to a good relationship.
13. "Yes ma'am" and "yes sir" still go a long way.
14. The reason that they're called "private parts" is because they're "private". Please do not scratch them in public.
15. Peer pressure is a scary thing. Be a good leader and others will follow.
16. Bringing her flowers for no reason is always a good idea.
17. Be patriotic.
18. Potty humor isn't the only thing that's humorous.
19. Please choose your spouse wisely. My daughter-in-law will be the gatekeeper for me spending time with you and my grandchildren.
20. Remember to call your mother because I might be missing you

WITH LOVE FROM  MUM xxxxx

Oh no I don't think so !!!

OK who did what to my blog ... I am not sure I like this new look dashboard ... but then I have not looked at it properly yet ... I did manage to post the last post on it  and of course this one  ... but that was surely more luck than judgement.

Birthday Duck Race

Once again .... I am going to be in real trouble  ... my Daughter beat me to this post .... there I was all set to post on my niece's birthday duck race ... pictures at the ready   ... then I thought why re invent the wheel ... so here is her blog with a few  alterations on relationships of course....   forgive me for the plagiarism Kathryn.

My Niece Lucy 25   seems to have set up an annual duck race for her birthday.
This year was the  3rd time it has been held.

My Daughter  cross stitched this for Lucy's Birthday

 

A BBQ lunch by the lake, followed by a manic family duck race down an inlet to the lake.

Decoration and dress up of the ducks could get you added bonuses or it may even hinder you floating abilities in the race.

What ever happens, a lot of fun is had by all.
This last weekend was the momentous date in time and once more we gathered as a family to have mad antics and joviality.

This years birthday cake was cupcakes with ducks on

Grandson Ben ..........Yummy

Then it was on to the racing....

The ducks get thrown from this bridge

float down this water

mad race to the end

My great Nephew at the end rescuing ducks before they disappear out to the lake!

Ben's got stuck in a bush and never finished so mummy to the rescue

Go mummy ( my daughter)

At the end, Ben got a little too close to the edge of the lake and managed to slip in, so here he is in a towel and my nieces  shirt!
Luckily it was a glorious day and it didn't bother him too much.

Great fun was had by all, roll on next year, more rivalry and mayhem to ensure

Car dents

Three years ago I had a new car ... may be the last new car of my life ....

Well !! my story goes  ...over the 3 yrs I have managed not to bang or dent the car myself I have been careful where I park it and make sure I back into nothing (a story of my campervan that my grandkids do not let me live down ) But others are not so worried about how they bang my car especially in carparks .... The Mall in Rotorua has very narrow parking spaces ( fit in more cars was their object I believe). I have collected a few dings that have gradually gone rusty.
So while I was away on holiday I gave my car to a local Panel and Paint man  ( friend of my son's) who took all the scratches and small dents out of my car.... looked great on my return.

Till last week when I opened the electric garage door into the front of the car ... I had parked it may be just 2 inches to close ... thus I now have scrapes along the front bumper ... I have come to the conclusion that this car is destined for scrapes and scratches. Lucky for me the bumpers on new cars are made of plastic so will not go rusty ...Wheee!!!!!

Collecting stuff together

This coming weekend I am going to be doing a class  called  ..........Corded White Work
It is actually a 2 weekend class so weekend after next as well.

Some time down the line in a few weeks I hope to produce something like this ....

Or like this 

 I saw this work at an exhibition in Tauranga last year and we finally tracked down the tutor Faye Laing who will be coming to our guild to guide us through it..

More Birthday gifts

My stitching friends ...we meet on a Friday evening  ....  each time one of us has a birthday we have a birthday evening with a supper and pressies on the nearest Friday from the birthday .
This last Friday was my evening and I recieved the following gifts.... well almost...  one thing is missing.

This set was from Mhairi, she says I am always making sets for other people so this one is for me in some of my favorite colours and small prints ....Thank you Mhairi.

This bag and lavender handcream from Sugi along with some lovely small print fat quarters there was also a bar of dark chocolate but I had eaten it before I remembered to take pictures  ... my favorite  smell is lavender   Thanks Sugi.

Flowers for Easter

Three left over Caroline roses  placed on the kitchen counter

I have always loved arranging flowers I did do course in UK many many years ago and also joined the Church Flower Association   .... I used to enjoy flower festivals, I remember the one we did in our village Keyworth Nottinghamshire,  5 churches took part, each church decorated the whole place with flowers ( I  do have photos but before digital camers  ... I will have to scan some).

This weekend my church were looking for volunteers to help with decorating for Easter ... so I went along and helped, I really enjoyed it  ... we only used flowers collected from our gardens.

My arrangement for the alter shelf

 I hope you all had a peaceful and happy Easter

Ladies all done

I have finished my Sue Thompson Ladies ... I was thinking on what to do with them.... may be a bag or cushion but Fiona the member of Guild that guided us through this project had put some of her girls on art board ...
so I decided to do the same they are on a A4 size stretched canvas ..

 Not sure where they will live yet though.

I have had a small hand bag charm for years now and it just suited this work  .... I knew there would be a use for it if I kept it long emough

I just love their boots

Lucky lucky me...

This lovely cushion arrived in the post ... a birthday gift from my friend Shelly in Australia.
She knows I like anything that houses on it. It is stitched beautifully ....
I just love it ... Thank you Shelly xxx

Milk how much would you pay ???

 

I have been away all weekend at a Inner Wheel National Conference in Napier, the Art Deco town in the North Island. The weather was beautiful and the company was great along with all the good food.

On the Saturday afternoon 4 of us escaped and went shopping ... naughty ....  I know but that is what you do when they give you no free time.

The shops are great in Napier .... but there was one fly in the ointment....

We stopped for a drink at a cafe .....   Cappadonna  was it's name,    tables and umbrellas on the side walk lots of cabinet food and a menu board as large as the wall it was on....
"This is all very interesting " I can hear you say.

Well 3 ladies ordered coffees and I ordered a tea .....    coffees $3.80 each and tea $3.80 not bad we said to each other as these can cost between $3 and $6 each in different places.

The lady behind the bar asked me if I wanted milk with my tea  if so what kind ..... fat, fat free, skinny , soya etc ... you know the thing I am talking about. "Yes please" I said  " I don't mind which kind of milk"  She then proceeded to ring up my bill.... "that will be $4.80 for the tea" she said . After I showed her the $3.80 quoted on the menu board she proceeded to tell me that "milk is extra in tea
and that there is a $1.00 charge" .
 We were all flabbergasted I can tell you I asked if she was joking and she said with a very stern face "NO" ....Well you can imagine 4 ladies stood with their mouths open ... after a minute of  our shock and a few comments from not only me but others...... she asked with not so nice voice did I want the tea or not as she had other customers ... I was very dry and needed the drink so I said "Yes please and do I get  half a litre of milk with my tea " to which she was not at all amused ...  I wonder why not ??

WELL!!!  the upshot of all this is I recieved a small jug ...  a smaller size than an egg cup with a table spoon of milk in it.  We decided not to persue the matter  I drank my tea which was quite nice and proceeded to tell everyone we met.   One nice lady suggested that we wrote to the Napier Chamber of Commerce and also the Napier local paper along with a copy to the cafe.  I am still thinking on this one and I think I may well do it.

I hate to imagine how much a litre of milk would have cost at a  $1.00 a tablepoon  ... I know every business has to make a profit  BUT this is beyond all reason and basically fleecing customers.

What would you have done or do now ???

Thank you

Thank you for all the good wishes and messages I have received today .

My daughter came and took me to lunch.

Then  this evening I am out to dinner and a movie ... busy busy day it has been lovely with the sun shining and all is well with my world.