Garden Helper

I've not been much help at all in the garden lately. It's too hot, I get sleepy really quickly and I can't lift anything heavy!


But the good news is that G has another helper whose always keen to assist in anyway he can...

There's also a video but I can't for the life of me get the embed code to copy across properly. Here's the link if you want to have a look... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL9FL-0jCaY

So as Graeme trims the branches from the trees, Rhett pulls them across the lawn and shakes them (I think it might be to make sure they are dead?!) and then the branches are pulled to bits until he finds a nice chewy bit to sit and chew...for hours.

It sure helps us fit the debris in the green waste wheelie bin but makes a mess of the lawn!

I think he might be a bigger help than I've ever been!

I might be trying something new this week - more regular posts - I have a recipe to share and some general chit-chat so I'll try and post at least once more this week.

Sunday Strolling

It is past time for a new post methinks. The trouble is that the last one was so epic that I'm not sure how to match it. So I won't even try! Instead I will talk about this weekend and what we've been up to. Very mundane and ordinary but a nice way to document normal life.

Yesterday I started off with a little baking after a lazy start. I made chocolate chip cookies which were delicious and then had a go at making Quiche which made a yummy lunch.

In the afternoon Graeme headed down to Wellington with some soccer team mates to watch the Phoenix Game so I had a few hours laid out before me with no real plans. After dropping him off at the other side of town I decided to do a little bit of shopping on the way home. And I found these beautiful socks! Two pairs but I wore one of each for photo taking! Aren't they cute? I also bought some colourful bowls for the kitchen and some craft supplies amongst other things.

And then I didn't really do much at all. Read some inspiring creative blogs, had a bubble bath and read some magazines. The time flew by really and I couldn't quite believe half the weekend had been and gone already.

Today started with a lazy morning and my normal Sunday morning chat with my Mum.

The sky was looking grey and the forecast was for rain but I had a desire to be outside even if it meant being rained on. So we loaded the dog in the car and headed over to Ashhurst. The weather held out and it was a lovely relaxing walk.

We walked through the woods and along the gravel road and through the fields and up the steepest hill ever and finished at the cafe for refreshments. The good thing about Ashurst Domain is that a lot of the fields and paths are sectioned so we can let the dog off the lead for a run knowing he can only go so far.

One of the usual sectioned parts had some unexpected inhabitants this time. It was full of baby cows! They were gorgeous. We were a little worried about the dog with them as he had never been so close so he was kept on a tight lead and was very well behaved. The cows tended to move out of his way but as I brought up the back slowly, taking pictures as I went, they were more interested in me! This one (below) actually got so close to lick my bag and hand!

And this is the view from the top after the steeeeeep hill. For those of you that have been to this part of the world - this is actually the Manawatu Gorge in the background. A very windy stretch of road that can be hair-raising to drive!

When we got home we were all feeling rather tired about our stroll in the fresh air so we've had a rather easy-going afternoon. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been playing on TV so we've had that on in the background between grocery shopping, folding washing and dinner preparations.

And now, it's soon to be tidy up and bed time. The end of another weekend. It's a shame. I enjoy being at home with my boys and pottering around. I'm feeling tired just thinking about getting up at a respectable time and going to work. But we have to keep the dog in food somehow :-)

It's nice to keep note of what we've been doing though. It will be interesting to look back on in time to come I imagine to see how things have changed.

And one more picture to show you. This isn't a project from this weekend but I did get around to photographing it yesterday so wanted to show it off. I am far too lazy to do this kind of work in the hot summer sun. This is the work of my lovely husband - last weekend. The mulch on the beds kept coming down to the grass and you couldn't see where one started and one finished. It made cutting the grass a little difficult. So we bought the edging and Graeme spent a few hours fitting it around the curves of our back flowerbed. I love it - think it's a nice finishing touch for the garden and makes the lawn look even better when it's freshly mowed!

And that's me for now. I seem to have got my photo taking inspiration back after a couple of months off so I am hoping I can keep taking photos to share on the blog. See you soon.

Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a wonderfully festive Christmas wherever you may be.

Love and slabbers,

from

K, G & R

xxxxxx

Birthday Blog

Today is my 28th birthday. I must say it's been quite a strange birthday. Not bad by any means, just strange with everything else we've got going on at the moment!

I finished work yesterday so I could take my birthday off but Graeme was still at work today. He was also out for pre-wedding drinks with the football lot last night so was perhaps a little worse for wear this morning (!) but still managed to wish me a happy birthday and show plenty of enthusiasm for me opening my presents and cards before he went off to work.

I did well with presents and got some books, a CD, some British chocolate, a Kate pen, a gorgeous tiny plate to keep my rings on when I'm not wearing them, some British pounds and some cute heart window stickers. Lucky girl :-)

As it was Graeme's last day at work - they held a morning tea for him and had decorated his desk 'wedding style'. I went in to see everyone and must say Graeme looked very fetching in the veil they made him wear :-) I didn't have the camera with me...and even if I did I'm not sure he'd let me publish the photos!

After leaving Graeme to do some work I took a stroll back to the car via George Street which is a lovely little boutique-y type shopping street. I decided I may as well spoil myself just a little and had a stroll round the shops.

I bought a few 'nick-nacks' including this tiny K & G - sorry for the bad quality photo. I collect K & G's and have them scattered about the house! The little symbols on the G are 'Buzzy Bees' - a true kiwi icon.

I also couldn't resist this sign as soon as I saw it! And I didn't know Rhett could read but he obviously can because he has been in and out of the back door all day long. And it was raining so I had to dry him off everytime he came in! He really does have ants in his pants at the moment. I think he is picking up on my slight anxious/stress/worry-ness that's in the air....it's all getting a bit close now and I am feeling a little restless myself.

And finally - here's the freshly dusted and reorganised mantle piece with my birthday cards. They're not all here yet - apparently there's a couple more on their way over with my Mum.

And that was my 28th birthday :-)

Looking Forward

I promise I will consider going back to the Holiday in Review posts at a later date but at the moment I am trying to focus on the future and the things we have to look forward to.

Namely, this time in 3 weeks, fingers crossed, I will be Mrs Graeme ;-) (by the way - that could very well be the most amount of commas I have ever put in one sentence!)

Graeme is on his way back to NZ as I type and I cannot wait to wrap my arms around him and give him the biggest hug ever in the history of the world. I have a fortnights worth of normal hugs to give him let alone all those ones I was desperate to give when things were tough and we both needed it.

It's been so strange in the house without him. Me and Rhett have been wandering around aimlessly quite a lot - both expecting him to be here somewhere and then remembering why he isn't :-( But we have lots of great family and friends sending messages and emails and tweets and all sorts of things that keep us smiling. And we have some great locals nearby as well.

So yesterday (Sunday) we took a walk down the river with our neighbour and his dog Ramses. Rhett was most excited about riding in the back of the ute and had his head stuck off the side the whole way looking at where he was going and breathing in all the fresh air. (Can you believe this is the dog that once used to be sick just looking at the car?!) We walked for over an hour and a half and it was nice to be out in the air and watching the dogs sniff everything in sight and go paddling every now and again.

By the time we got home and washed the stinky water and mud off Rhett I managed to snap a quick photo of us both enjoying the long awaited sunshine while Rhett smelt nice and before we both collapsed to relax after our eventful day :-)

Just Because...

Because there are 70,000 things going round in my head right now and I haven't had a minute to sit and sort through the Ireland photos to do my Dublin post let alone any others.

But I just had to get some photos off the camera to email to a friend and I saw this one and it made me forget the 70,000 other things and smile.

And perhaps you need to forget some stuff and smile too...

Something new - video blogging

So much easier than a large flowery description and a gazillion photos.
Here's the lounge:

I blinked and when I opened my eyes again 9 days had passed...

....and other excuses about why it's been longer than a week since I last posted include:

* a 15 hour work day in Auckland + an afternoon arrival back home the next day
* two days + 1 night in Wellington for work
* walking by the river with my boys and taking photos of windmills
* fun new squeaky cow toys to play with
* taking Rhett-ster to the vets for his annual check-up and jabs and getting a clean bill of health
* deciding to decorate the lounge and dining room when the pair of us have more days away from home than we have at home between now and Easter
* making copious amounts of chocolate cornflake cakes...just because they taste good
* trying to plan a wedding
* hand making envelopes because it's really quite fun
* framing the coolest art ever - personalised especially for G from me
* baking bread
* drinking wine for the first time in ages and miraculously not getting a hangover
* spending 2 hours on the phone to an old (that's a reference to the length of our friendship and nothing whatsover to do with the fact she is older than me!) friend

It's not just Graeme that's awesome at the moment. Life is pretty damn good too. Busy as a beehive but good with it :-)

March = Autumn

As our seasons are in reverse to the northern hemisphere that means that March is the start of Autumn. It feels a little autumnal at the moment. There's a few leaves falling from the trees (more to do with the wind then the actual change of seasons I think) and it's starting to feel colder in the evenings and first thing in the morning.

In previous years we still carry on having some nice sunny warm days throughout Autumn and that's what I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this year.

I'm feeling a little cheated by summer this year - it hasn't been nearly as nice as previous years. Too much wind and rain for my liking.

But the weather is what it is. I can't change it so I shall try not to moan and just enjoy what is.




I have the day off today as I worked yesterday (Sunday). I flew up to Auckland (on an obscenely early flight) to see another group of our volunteers off. Apart from being really tired from an early weekend start it was a good day and got even better when I settled down with a book when I got home and realised I didn't have to go into the office today! On the flight back from Auckland I managed to get this lovely shot...

I think it's official - I am addicted with taking photos from planes :-)

In other news we currently have two dogs which is lots of fun! Our neighbour is away so we are looking after his dog for 3 weeks. He's quite different from Rhett. The main difference being that you have to coerce him to eat! After nearly 3 years of Rhett scoffing anything that falls in his bowl or anywhere on the floor within 3 seconds it is a big change. And we have to remember to feed the dogs at a time we can stay and make sure it's Ramses eating his food and not our greedy dog! Mostly they are well-behaved together but there's quite a few mad half hours and tugs of war just like this one....

It should be an interesting couple of weeks.

We're both fairly busy at work at the moment so we will be trying to make the most of the weekends to make up for long hours during the week. Hopefully that means we will have some good photos for you over the next wee while.

Just a quick one

I really did mean to do a longer post today with a few more photos but we just had a complete computer scare. I logged on earlier this evening ready to download my latest photos from the camera and blog with them when I couldn't access our Shared Pictures file - aaaah! Cue full panic! We did back this file up a few months ago but I had a major fit when I realised that we hadn't backed up any of the latest Australia or South Island pictures.

Luckily after Graeme had a long look and tried various things he managed to restore the folder but now he needs to get on the computer to do some work plus we need to run a back up of our photos!

So - if you are reading this - please learn from our panicked lesson and back up today :-)

I'll leave you with this...some stormy clouds over the wind turbines at Ashhurst on our walk with Rhett yesterday.....

Blogging on the road...

I am writing this post from a motel in Wellington. I am excited because my Mum is due to fly into Wellington just after midnight tonight! It's been over 9 months since I last saw her.

We are staying overnight in Wellington and then hit the InterIslander ferry tomorrow across to Picton. I have to go over to South Island for work and Mum is coming along for the ride! It's going to be great! I will have some company for all the long driving and Mum gets to see a lot of South Island for a fraction of the price it would normally cost!

It will be weird being away from home and Graeme on my birthday but I have booked Mum and me to do something pretty cool to try and make up for it. We are going to be in Oamaru so we are going to see the Blue Penguins which are gorgeous! I had my photo taken with one on my lap when we first arrived in New Zealand and it will be even better to see them in their natural habitat!

I am also keeping my fingers crossed that we see some seals in Kaikoura and some snow capped mountains as we drive around!

I will try and post as we travel round... so watch this space!

Of course - there was a certain someone who didn't look happy when I started packing my suitcase....

Have a good week!

A week off in photos

Hmmm, haven't taken as many as I would have liked due to batteries running out on me and bad light but here's a few which help summarise a pretty good week off!

There's been lots of laying about and relaxing:

There's been a bit of walking (but thankfully no running into big stinky ponds due to the wound!)

And of course there's been running around with large sticks and chewing them:

And there's been some cracking weather - it's been up at 18 degrees - in May! Which is the month between Autumn and Winter here. I got a shock yesterday when I got in the car and the temperature was 23! But it soon cooled a little once I was on the move - it's just where the car had been sitting in the sun.

I've also been taking pictures of yellow things the last couple of days. I once read somewhere that yellow is a very insprirational colour and that Roald Dahl wrote his stories on yellow legal pads with pencils (I'm sure it was Roald Dahl but feel free to correct me). Of course - I then went out and bought yellow legal pads and waited for inspiration to strike.

It does every now and again but lately it's been the yellow outside that I find pretty inspiring...

The Dark Lord is currently in Palmerston North (plus a trip to the vets and a week off)

Yep - you heard it first here - Voldemort is in New Zealand...and not only that...he also zapped my dog and left a Harry-esque lighting strike atop his paw.

Poor Rhett - although it seems to be me that took it more badly. I was the one the vet took the time to calm down on Saturday morning while the dog just enjoyed all the treats, cuddles and attention coming his way!

Luckily - the vet didn't think it was serious enough to warrant putting him out and stitching it up - she gave us the option but we went with option b - the much cheaper for us and less stressful for pooch - antibiotics and twice daily cleaning with salt water - ouch! So far he's been a trooper and let's Graeme squirt salt water in his cut while I hand out the treats. Ah yes - he is loving the treats!

So we'll give it a few days and see if it starts to heal. He is going to have the coolest scar ever!

In other news - I have this week off - woo-hoo! (Can't remember if I have already mentioned that?) So there may be one or two posts up this week - we shall see!

I have planned a busy week of (but not confined to):

• sleeping
• watching movies
• baking
• scrapbooking
• taking photos and learning how to take better photos
• decluttering (not fun but it's desperately needed!)
• and basically having some fun, rest and relaxation

Graeme is going to be at work for the most part although he is off Wednesday. If the weather is bad we will probably hire a Nintendo Wii from the video store and have a play. If the weather is good - who knows (it probably would have been a trip to the beach or a river walk but the vet's advised us not to let the dog swim until the wound has closed over).

Right - I am going to go and be wifely and start making dinner before Graeme gets home from work (making sure of course he realises this is not going to become a habit!)

Edit: Forgot to mention - the tooth ache won over and I ended up at the dentist last Thursday. I ended up with my first ever filling...and without an injection - it hurt! But as the dentist said - it was worth putting up with 5 minutes of pain while he drilled etc then have my face frozen for a few hours (from the injection). And I have to go back for a couple more in a couple of weeks....between vets and dentists bills the bank balance is taking a whollop lately!

Baking - part deux (sort of!)

I went back to basics with the baking this weekend...chocolate cornflake cakes - yum! A throwback to my childhood. I remember making these with my Mum when I was wee...except I was too much of a weakling to break up the chocolate (same goes today - G did it for me). And for those of you who think that is Smarties on top - you would be wrong...they are pebbles - how totally wrong is that name?! Even so, they are very yummy and such a comfort food! The chocolate is Belgian style and delish. G refuses to take any to work to eat for morning tea but will happily eat them at home. I have no shame and will be taking one to work with my packed lunch tomorrow!

And here's another photo for you - from a walk along the river last weekend:

The dog actually run straight into the water for like the first time ever!It was nice and sunny and we had a good walk. Didn't get out this weekend for a walk though because it's been so cold. We put the electric blanket on the bed today - that's how cold it's been. Freezing....it seemed to change so suddenly and it's not been a great week weather wise (unless you like heavy rain and chilliness). It did give me the perfect excuse to curl up on the couch and watch a DVD yesterday afternoon though while Graeme was out getting muddy at the soccer.

Hoping for a good week coming up - it's all change for me at work with a new Manager starting tomorrow and also it's a 4 day week due to ANZAC day on Friday. Fantastic - I'm ready for a long weekend!

A new addition coming to our house in the near future...

...I bet that title got a few eyebrows raising!



Here's is the first picture of the new member of the Stalham-McCrae household:

We won it on Trade Me today and are just waiting to hear about when it'll be delivered. And then of course - it's a matter of working out how it works...and using it!

This is all part of my plan to look good in a wedding dress!

Maybe the next post will show a picture of the dog using it...if we can get him anywhere near it!