Our four little monkeys

It took me 5 attempts to get a good photo!!!! trying to get them all looking at the camera is just about impossible

High on the Hills of Little old Le Bons Bay(sounds like that song from the sound of music!!!)

Today we took a walk up to a beautiful part of Le Bons Bay that has just recently been purchased by a conservation trust and is to be shut up as a reserve,and eventually it will be able to be enjoyed by groups and families...My partner John is doing some of the maintainence on the hut and some work clearing tracks and also some predator trapping, so the reason we went up today was to check the traps..the kids had fun playing in the cabin as well as outside in the wind!!! We did a bit of a spring clean in the hut and also sat and read the Saturday paper while the kids were busy, there is a loo(for the busting children) and also running water in the hut and a gas cooker so the kettle can be boiled for a cuppa tea!!
The kids had a blast and when we said it was time to come home they all went oooooo do we have to!!!

I can see a few weekends being spent up there...but I ain't staying up there till I know theres no rats or mice in the hut(there was plenty of evidence thats for sure),we have put traps up there today so hope we get rid of them...We hope to spend more time up there as time goes by and will be a great place for a group to go and stay....space for a tent or two around the hut.... just need to get the generator going again and we will be sussed!!!

A project completed in 3 days!!! (evenings)

I have just finished this cute little hat. I had a hankering to knit and try to needle felt a design on it...and guess what it worked!!! I had to stitch a bit of blanketing on the back for the wool to felt in properly as when I first tried to needle it in it wouldn't stick as well as i wanted it to,but the end restult was great

BLOG BLOCK

Sorry to anyone who reads my blog!!! I seem to have bloggers block...I started off with a hiss and a roar and at present can't think of the right thing to post...so will try hard in the next few days to get my  *$#@! together.....Doesn't mean I haven't been doing much cause I have but maybe not much to report that any of you may be interested in.....anyway give you a photo of our yummy dinner the other night...chicken stirfry on rice

Did anyone else listen to the interview with David de Rothschild????

As I was winding my way around the beautiful eastern coast of Banks Peninsula while posting 140 rural customers their post (thats my other job when not at home doing home stuff!!!) I was fortunate enough to listen to a cool interview with David de Rothschild it was all about his expedition around the pacific ocean in a boat made from 100 of 1000's of recycled plastic bottles  there mission is to make people aware of the importance of recycling plastics or better still to not use them at all....it would be well worth listening to the interview if you didn't hear it or check out the plastiki blog site www.theplastiki.com 

time for a blog update...must have been busy,its been over a week

Well the holidays have nearly ticked on by and the kids have had a pretty fun filled holidays..Zac and Zoe went to Timaru with their Dad during the week to visit their Granny and came back full of smiles!!! ( thanks Granny if you read this...they are always so excited about coming to see you...especially Zac but I think the  excitement comes from the pocket money burning a hole in his pocket!!!  and of course seeing you..)
.While Zoe and Zac were away, John and I went on a road trip(and train trip) to pick up our new car from Blenhiem ...we stayed at Frans on Monday night and caught the early train to Blenhiem picked up the car then drove to some dear friends for the night in Kaikoura,thanks for the great catch up you guys and of course it is never long enough!!! We love our new car very different to what we are used to driving...
While we were away we did over a few op shops and I picked up a couple of cool half aprons, and an even cooler green paisley dressing gown,its made from viyella(100% wool) the kids think I'm a bit mad if I wear it and I think John does too!!!! But too bad I will do what I want...I also got heaps more cushion inners to put new covers on...so its all good
The rest of the week the kids have played and we now have Jade and Hayley here for the weekend...

Today Carmen and Zoe and I went for a horse ride, Carmen first ride in 5 1/2 years!!!! she breeds ponies but doesn't ride them....So she had a great ride and will probably have a sore backside tomorrow!!
The last photo is of a piece of art Zoe made the other day its on a canvas covered in material and then lots of little bits and pieces placed on it...

Hope your weekend is going well................

Well the sun is trying to shine today rather watery though...
so have to wait for a  while to make a plan for the day....

Been busy over the last few days made another couple of cushion covers and the front of 2 more needle felted brooches...along with looking after several children, doing plenty of cooking, isn't it amazing how hungry the kids are when they are home!!! usually I send them to school with a packed lunch and half of it comes back home but when they are home they begin to eat me out of house and home!!!

Nothing beats the look on kids faces when they cook over an open fire

Get this....2 mothers, 4 children,1 dog, 6 cows, in a paddock with a bonfire hoping to cook Damper.....children get hungry....fire still raging....too hot to cook anything....

A bit of improvisation goes on and ta da we have a nice little bed of embers in an old kerosine tin which we found in the paddock...The kids found a good cooking stick each and I guess the photos show the rest.....Yummy(partly blackened, partly doughy in the middle Damper scones on a stick... The kids had a blast so did the mothers... lots of laughter and many burnt looking creations....especially Janes she insisted cooking hers on the very large roaring bonfire...But we had fun, we were outside(even though it was raining a bit) in the fresh air we were warm(very hot red faces and hands and we laughed heaps...what more could you want for a day in the school holidays 

Happy Rainy School Holidays

Well hope the whole holidays aren't like this in the weather department.....I am going to have to plan a few indoor projects for my two to do cause the "I don't know what to do" has already set in.
Maybe I should write a long list of all the things they can do and  each time they say that they have to go choose an activity off the list....

Heres a few things I might add to the list for rainy days

****Sewing(Zoe has a very cool old sewing machine to use)
****Needle felting, this is something both my kids love to do
****Knitting
****Drawing
****Making a felt softie
****Baking something yummy
****Playing Lego,  playmobil, sylvanian  families
****Making a collage out of magazine pictures
****Writing a letter to someone
****Building a big farm with all the beautiful blocks and animals they have

I think this list idea is quite a good one because they so often forget about all the toys they have in the cupboard and just need a nudge in the right direction....My two little lovelies play together so well unlike a lot of siblings and considering I have a boy and a girl and the 3 year age gap I feel very lucky that they do get so involved in their games together...Alot of people comment on how well they get on and that they wished their kids did the same... I couldn't imagine it any other way they have always had a real close bond and I hope that it lasts forever!!
Heres a photo of them this morning...its nearly 11 am they are still in their PJs  but so involved in a big game with all their Lego how could I stop it ...although i will have to soon as I have jobs outside to do in this horrible weather that I will have to drag them along to...Feeding the horse, feeding a friends cats and taking some photos of a house I need to list on trademe for rent....
Anyway hope all you parents are having a nice time with the school holidays....I do love not having to rush in the mornings...

Some more needle felting

Over the last few weeks I have completed these needle felted brooches, They are felted onto check wool fabric and then backed with felt and blanket stitched around, hope to make enough to sell in our little shop we are planning   to open in the summer....

I have had a great day thanks to my lovely man

Today Mr Me went off to Christchurch (1 1/2 hrs away for those of you not familiar with where I live) to pick up his girls  and he took my two with him, they were all going to the movies (shrek) and doing the grocery shopping before coming home....so I have had a day to myself....and what have you done I hear you ask....well it was so frosty outside this morning that when I looked out the window I decide that I didn't really want to venture out to soon...so all the dishes got done, the vacuuming  got done, the washing was put on and ready to go out the pile of washing got folded and the pile of clothes in each bedroom got put away, then off outside after a cuppa to hang out the washing( I am sure plenty of you like to hang your washing out to try and dry but some days I do wonder why I bother!!! the sun was only on the line for a 3 hours,not enough time to dry Jeans thats for sure!!), so since hanging it all out I have now brought it tn and hung it inside to dry...should have just done that it the first place!! Blah Blah Blah...washing smoshimg you either love it or hate it depending on your mood
anyway back on track....the horses got their hay( after I had to walk about 2 kms(slight exaggeration) to the top of the hill to find them and bring them down.... my choosen 2 out of the 4 of them got to come down to the house for a brushing session and a bucket of yummy food...wonder if the other 2 that were left behind are mad that they missed out...might be there turn tomorrow...funny story(if you like horses read on ....if they bore you stop reading now....) my little minature hates having a cover put on but somehow I managed to a bout a week ago to put it on him...well guess what now I can't take the damn thing off!!!! I can't put my hand down to his chest to undo the strap!!! he pulled me halfway round the paddock and ripped my hands to bits(another slight exaggeration)  so haven't tried again...will have to wait till my right hand man can help me....

Naughty pony on the right!!

I have been down to photograph a house I am going to list on trademe for rent (anyone out there with primary aged children wanting to rent a house in lovely Le Bons Bay????) I have since gone to upload the photos I took and realised that I didn't have the memory card in the camera so that was a big fat waste of time!!!! have to go back down tomorrow...
So all in all a pretty good day and made even better by the fact the sun shone all day...

Wasn't I a lucky girl!!!

Yesterday I was given a very nice gift from some friends as I had looked after their horses for 6 weeks...I didn't really expect anything in return but when they asked me what I wanted I said that she could teach me how to make cheese which we are going to do in the spring...but they also gave me what you see in the photo,a lovely basket full of goodies(2 bottles of fresh cows milk, a large jar of their own honey, truffles, some beautiful homemade herb and cumin cheese spread,a bunch of flowers , a pack of their cards(they are both artists),a lovely handmade paper notebook,and a sketch pad each for the kids as they know they both love to draw)  Lucky me...I will look after their horses anytime!!!

Yay the sun is shining today!!

For the first time in what seems weeks the sun decided to come out. I read in the paper that the east coast is to experience drizzly foggy days until the end of the year(yes see that the end of the year!) It better not I say.

Anyway out in the sun we all went today,I've taken the horses covers off so that they have a good dose of Vitamin D and me and Fran and the girls went down to school to see Zoe and Zac and Mum who is down there as a teacher aid to dear little Niamh,Na'uli had fun being pushed about in Niamhs wheelchair by the school kids and Sofia was also having a lot of fun interacting with the kids..

Zoe and Willows enrollment at Brownies

Yesterday we took Fran,Sofia and Na'uli over to Akaroa to see Zoe and Willow become Brownies, they had a small enrollment procedure where they had to recite the Brownie Promise(cute) I imagine some of you old time brownies may know this little saying!!

What to do on a rainy day in the weekend

As per the kids request we made gingerbreadmen and shape biscuits