Let's hear it for long weekends....

If only they weren't usually so wet! One of life's eternal questions. Why is it always so wet on weekends and the sun shines when you have to go back to the salt mines?

Jean returned from Brisbane where the weather sounded little better, bearing gifts of t-shirts, opal ear-rings and duty free Baileys.

Then he was off again to prune trees at our Nelson house in the pouring rain as their weather was equally bad. Fortunately it fined up enough for his visit to the Blenheim airshow on a boys day out with a friend.

One thing about wet weekends is that there is a perfect excuse to sit and read NZ Gardner and dream rather than actually getting out in the garden. To me gardening is just housework transferred outdoors.

So it was a weekend for crafts. One pair of socks finished, a second pair started,  one scrappy quilt top ready to border and a blue scrappy almost done. Not a good photo, but the idea is there.

Not much else to do but read, so how about this for a list:

Someone else's son - Sam Hayes. A bit of a twist on the usual crime story.  A reality TV host who interviews families she considers losers, or criminals, has her only son stabbed and goes on to try and find out the truth of his death. The truth turns out to hold yet another twist. A gritty depiction of bullying of two teens who don't fit in, the lack of communication in families, even those who appear to have everything,  and the violence surrounding even young children in some areas of the society depicted.

Treachery in Death - J.D. Robb. Another enjoyable read in this series. This time the focus is on corruption within the police department itself. Eve's sidekick, Peabody, is given a greater role in the case.

Daughters-in-law - Joanna Trollope.  A story of evolving family relationships as the mother of three sons finds her control slipping away as they each get married and form new relationships of their own.

29 - Adena Halpern. A lightweight story about a 75 year old who, on her birthday, wishes to be 29 again for a day.  When her wish comes true she finds her life is not as carefree as she thought it would be. Some fun arises as she interacts with her daughter and grand-daughter and they all learn more about each other.

To the Moon and Back - Jill Mansell. Totally indulgent, fluffy romance with well written if a bit stereotypical characters. The sort of book you can pick up and lose yourself in for a while, not a lot of action, but a pleasant read all the same.

So that was my pick-and-mix of reads for the weekend. They have been piling up on my bookshelf calling out to be read. That is the trouble with working in a library. So many interesting books cross the desk and demand your attention.

It's been so wet I've even been reduced to doing housework and baking. Now it's time to ice the chocolate slice and put a roast chicken on for dinner. A long work week doesn't usually leave me in the mood for such indulgence. For a change the smells in my kitchen are wonderful.

Cold, wet and miserable

Jean has just set out for Christchurch to catch a flight to Brisbane for four days for a work course. Recent temperatures in Brisbane have been around 26, so I'm sure they'll find time to go walking round the city in the sun. Meanwhile here this weekend has felt like the start of winter - cold, hosing rain and no sense walking round outside anywhere. I did suggest I could go too, especially as our wedding anniversary is on a day he is away, but instead I get to stay home and mind the store, so to speak. I seem to have lost the shopping gene lately, but my travel bug is getting stronger instead. Time for a trip away somewhere interesting. It was going to be Tokyo, but perhaps not!

Earthquakes rumble on where all our sons are living. Christchurch had another 5.3 last night which cut power to one son for an hour or so. Japan had another over 6 last week which our middle son said was time to go under a desk and then decide work was over for the day.

Here it is just revoltingly wet so I have the choice of housework or reading and craft. Hmm, decisions, decisions....

I have been working on my bag of fabric scraps which are slowly turning into this

I also have one sock knitted, so I can have one warm foot. Just starting another one with this lovely wool which makes its own stripes like so

Naturally I also have reading lined up and I am currently in crime mode. Just finished Linda Fairstein's latest, Silent Mercy. I usually enjoy this author, but found the religious history in this one a bit too much for me.
Next is Stuart McBride's gritty Shatter the Bones which so far has all the hallmarks of his usual dark crime tales. I think after that Vicki Myron's story of Dewey : the small town library cat who touched the world should be a light read. Who needs television these days?

Winter is in the air

This blogger has been missing in action as the time has flown by. Two weekends ago I dragged my growing pile of fabric scraps to the local high school for a quilting day. The weather outside wasn't wonderful but inside we were fortified by yummy, warm,  just-baked biscuits filled with chunks of chocolate.. There went the benefits of walking all week, but they were just too good to resist.
Last weekend we paid a visit to Nelson for the first time in a while, taking a drive past our house there, checking out some shops, keeping my library card alive in our local library, and having a good honest lunch in the local Stoke Bakery. None of the fancy overpriced food here and we enjoyed it.
As the reason for our visit was to catch up with friends visiting from Australia we had booked a motel out of town. The Tapawera Settle was about the only place available in the area we wanted, although locals later recommended the local hotel. Being a country area we were not expecting high standards, and the price was comparatively cheap, which was just as well. The campground itself was fine, and would probably be a nice place to stay if you had your own campervan.

This composite picture skews the size a bit and makes the room appear bigger. The double bed had my husband's feet hanging over the edge all night, the wardrobe was the 'handyman's dream' in the far corner, and cooking with the microwave or toaster oven would have been an interesting exercise in logistics considering the available bench space. Add on some noisy guests who had a yakfest close by until after midnight, and a helicopter parked nearby which started up and took off around 7 a.m. and it was a really restful night. I guess our tastes have gone upmarket these days and you get what you pay for. We thought we had met the best when we stayed at the Paraparaumu Motel (avoid unit 13 if you have to stay there at all) on our recent trip, but I think this is a tie! Oh well, add it to the rich tapestry of life's experiences!

My latest craft craze, aside from quilting, is knitting socks. Blame an American friend who sent me some sock wool which knits itself into patterns without any effort on your part. I should have nice toasty warm toes for the winter by the time I have finished.

The temperatures here have definitely dropped and, despite the sunny days, we can tell that winter is on its way. A great time for catching up on reading which I have done in the past few weeks. Georgia's Kitchen by Jenny Nelson is a chick lit / foodie cross, a light read for those who enjoy the details of cooking and restaurants; The Kills by Linda Fairstein' and Jonathan Kellerman's new book Mystery both provided a crime fix, although I felt the Kellerman was not the best he's written; a Stargate book, downloaded to my iPad, is my equivalent of Mills & Boon, enjoyable to me as I enjoy sci-fi, but not taking much effort to read.

My current book is Promises, Promises by Erica James which looks like more chick lit and I have just downloaded the latest Stephen Booth The Devil's Edge.  Waiting by my bed are Silent Mercy (Linda Fairstein), Shatter the Bones (Stuart Macbride), The Shelly Beach Writers' Group (June Loves) and Dewey : The Small Town Library Cat Who Touched the World (Vicki Myron).

My husband is off to Australia on a course shortly so, with these books, my quilt scraps, and a freezer full of leftovers I am all prepared to fly solo for a few days.



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!



                               

The week that was....

Another week gone by. Does anyone else feel as amazed as I do that we are almost a quarter of the way through the year again already? Despite turning on hosing down wet weather for the visit of Prince William, we have since had several gorgeous days. Today the sea across the road is blue, the sun is shining and the West Coast bush behind the house looks stunning. Days like this the Coast is a great place to be.

Number two son in Japan abandoned Tokyo after a day of shakes and caught a shinkansen to Osaka for a couple of days. Not long after he headed even further away to Fukuoka to visit a friend. This weekend he has begun the trek back to Osaka and perhaps Tokyo. His parents would probably rather he stayed out of there a bit longer, but his job and apartment are there, and so far the news is not too bad. I guess at 28 he is well used to making his own decisions, but parents always worry about their 'babies' regardless I think.
Here's hoping the Japanese manage to stabilise and control their nuclear power plant before too long.

Not much energy for quilting this week, having worked a full week and then a Saturday morning as well. The mystery quilt borders are still lying across my sewing table and no blue strips have been cut. Does finishing a sleeve for a winter jersey count?

I did take time to play ladies for an afternoon at a Home Hospice fundraiser. Afternoon Tea As It Used To Be saw a large group of ladies attend a catered afternoon tea. We were served cups of tea in fine china cups and treated with cake stands holding tiny sandwiches, pikelets, cream cakes, truffles, and other such delights. All thoughts of calorie counting went out the window as everyone enjoyed an afternoon of indulgence and being waited on.

When there's no energy for craft, there's always time for reading instead. Finished Harriet Evans and Claudia Carroll, plus the latest Diane Blacklock The Right Time. This one I thoroughly enjoyed. A tale of four sisters, each in a different stage of relationships - about to get married; separated; married but with problems; and 'the other woman' outside of a marriage. The personalities are so well written that this was the first book I have read for some time that I have not wanted to put down until it was finished. Definitely a 'chick' book, though.
It didn't take long to read Wally Lamb's Wishin' and Hopin', a lightweight, short novel giving a slice of life in the 1960's. As it's an era I grew up in, even though not in America, I probably enjoyed it more for being able to recognise aspects of the era.
In contrast my next read, Sophie Hannah's Lasting Damage, has a plot so convoluted with twists and turns that I find it hard to make sense of it and I am a third of the way through. So far none of the characters is particularly likeable, and I would almost label it tedious, however, it holds enough interest for me to want to find out what is really happening.

We've just heard from the son in Japan that he is on his way back to Tokyo. It appears even the French friends are confident the situation is stabilizing. I wish I was as confident, but time will tell. At least the local charlatan Ken Ring is not predicting another earthquake there!

More earthquakes - now it's Tokyo

Just as everything is as settled as it can be for the Christchurch side of the family, the earthquake strikes in Tokyo where our middle son is working. Fortunately, again, all is OK. He was apparently at work when a MASSIVE (his capitals) earthquake set their building rolling for quite some time. After that it was a one hour walk home to his ninth floor apartment as all the subway lines were shut. Nine floors up he says the building is gently swaying now and again meaning not much sleep. Major damage is miles out of Tokyo and the ramshackle buildings he thought would be damaged have apparently been built to take earthquakes so they are still there.
My husband made the brilliant comment that as all the rest of the family had been 'quaked' it must be our turn next. He knows just what he can do with that comment!
This weekend he is off pitting his wits against the salmon at Lake Mapourika. To date the salmon has won, and I don't quite know what we would do with a whole salmon anyway, but he will have fun.
It amuses me when I hear comments about quilting along the lines of 'why would you want to cut up all this fabric just to sew it together again'. I figure standing for hours in a cold river tossing out bits of line, only to throw back what you eventually catch, is in much the same league.
Anyway this weekend I intend to cut up and sew together some fabric in the hope of finishing the borders on my mystery quilt tops. Then I have a lot of blue and white fabrics selected to begin a log cabin quilt for my mother-in-law. She liked this one I made in the past so I will probably copy it. Time to cut up a zillion strings of fabric.

Personally I prefer the zing of this one which I made for both my son and my nephew, but she will like the classic blue and white better.

Before I do that it is blob out time with two books I need to finish this weekend. Harriet Evans' Love Always which so far promises to be a love story intertwined with a tale of family secrets coming to light. Then, in what I feel might be lighter mode, there's Colette Caddle's Always on My Mind. Both are a total contrast to Down Among the Dead Men by Michelle Williams which is on my iPad. The writing in this is not the best, but it's a fascinating tale of a year in the life of a mortuary technician in England, best read in small sections.
So now - lunch, reading, quilting and just possibly, if I really have to,  a very little housework.

Christchurch shakes on

Another quake last night which I felt here on the Coast. My son called it a doozy, and I'm sure everyone is just wishing they would stop already.
Eldest son now has his father's bike, his work is re-opened, power and water (at low pressure), back on and food in the house. He is one of the luckier ones. His workplace has also organised showers, washers and driers for their workers and good on them for being proactive.
Youngest son lives in an area which had very little damage at all and for him life goes on much as normal, with the addition of being 'all shook up' several times a day.
Mother-in-law, with food delivered by Jean, now has power and water back on, and a chance to be taken out shopping with some stores re-opened.
We have many who have fled Christchurch here on the Coast and you can tell by some faces that they are shattered. Our family are some of the lucky ones. From all we hear Christchurch seems like a city of two halves. There are areas where people have lost everything and other areas where it is as if nothing has happened, at least in the way of damage.

Keeping in touch with those in Christchurch each evening, plus work with a staff member away, has meant little energy for quilting, which somehow doesn't seem too important anyway. Must get back to it though as it serves me as a great stress relief. I brought back fabric from the North Island to make into gifts for those we stayed with, so the placemat-making production line is going to have to swing into action.
This is usually my weekend for a quilt retreat in Marahau, out of Nelson, but having just had a holiday I have to skip it this time. Nothing like a weekend sewing, with no household distractions, to get heaps done. I will be hanging out for the next retreat in Nelson in July.

Taking up a lot of spare time at the moment is the new toy - the iPad. I have loaded on more word games, Solitaire and Sudoku,  which can all be great time-wasters. The excuse is it is keeping the brain active! There are also several downloaded books ready to read when I finish the supply of 'real' books I have on hand. I've found an iPad app which lets me check out my Google RSS feeds, plus added a dictionary, thesaurus and calculator. Then there is the app which gives me a series of Monet paintings to explore and an iPad version of Stumbleupon. If you have never tried this out then, depending on your point of view, it is either another time-waster or a form of serendipity as you are led to many websites you might otherwise not come across. The choice of websites depends on the initial interests and topics which you set up.

Naturally I still make time for reading and at the moment it is Lee Child. Just finished 61 Hours and moved on to Worth Dying For. Despite the formulaic style they still make fairly satisfying reading without making great demands on the brain. 
I've also just scanned Martin Hawes' Twenty Good Summers which poses the question of how to spend the years left to live as we get older. It's rather intriguing to look at life in terms of the number of summers which may remain, but rather depressing to find that you probably have to spend most of the few you may have left working just as hard as usual. Guess we just have to win Lotto.