Tokyo, Christchurch and all

Just had a day trip to Christchurch, escaping the rain for a hot sunny day. Despite staying out of any major affected areas there are still signs of the earthquake in the number of missing chimneys, the partly fixed roads, roadblocks manned by soldiers, and parks filled with silt 'volcanoes' from liquefaction. With The Palms, Merivale and Eastgate Malls damaged, South City and Spotlight blocked off, and the city centre (as the mayor put it) munted, Westfield Mall was even busier than normal. Even for someone who usually enjoys shopping it was 'let me out of here' time. Catching up with two sons and mother-in-law filled up the day and it was nice to head home even if it was still raining.
Middle son is back in Tokyo and keeping an eye on news on the radioactivity front. To him and his friends the government warning that tap water is unsafe for young babies translates into 'no one is drinking the tap water'. Luckily he has supplies of bottled water to use instead. Here's hoping that is as bad as the situation gets.
Using one weekend day for travel does not leave much time for anything else. Quilting has been taking a back seat lately so today I was determined to do something. Yay, the mystery quilt borders are finally finished. Two more to add to my stash of tops that will be quilted one day. After that it was back to using up scraps in a pioneer braid which is one of about three scrap projects on the go to try and demolish the pile of leftover strips and squares that always collects in the basket under my sewing table.

Hours of sewing and only two braid lengths done. No wonder I need more days in my weekend!