Garage Sale results

After going to the quilting garage sale on the first week I was here I had a real urge to do a bit of stitching and so this:-





became this:-









I just need to put borders on as well as use the four left over blocks as corner stones and I will have a very nice lap quilt to remind me of my adventures in Dallas.

I would have liked to finish the top off properly while still here, but I have already sent the rest of the fabric on their way and it may just be that they arrive in New Zealand before I do - now that would be a nice surprise.

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

and we have lots of pictures to share:-

David's birthday when friends came over on the Saturday to share the evening with us:-

You can find the images here.

One of the gifts that David received was a father/son project which meant that Jackson ended up painting some model cars.

You can find the images here.

Last night we went to The Magic Time Tunnel for dinner. A family entertainment style restaurant where the waiters dressed up as characters from well known movies/children stories. Our waiter was dressed up as Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean - other well known characters were Alice in Wonderland, Tinkerbell and Little Red Riding Hood.

Jackson ordered the children's drink in green but when it came he was not impressed. Kathy, however, thought the drink to be quite nice with lots of fruit juice.

David took my photo in the foyer looking at the would be bookcase. Each of the books were sawn off at about 3 inches depth but carefully place to look like the real thing. I wonder who had the job of deciding which books to wreck and fix in place.

There was an artist in the foyer doing caricatures for a fee of $5. Brennan thought it worth spending $5 of his allowance so that he could take home a momento of the evening.

You can find the images here.

The Birthday

Friday was David's birthday and we celebrated at home.

Lisa's friend, Amy, joined us for the evening. I cooked meat loaf, a favourite of David's and we enjoyed our time at home together.

The patio furniture was already a gift for David but there were other gifts to share on the night.

Jackson was only too happy to help David with his stash:-






and watched on carefully as the presents were opened:-

The Birthday 02

I had prepared a photo album for David with a combination of school records and family photos:-





Jackson showed a keen interest in every page of the album and was quite sure that all the photos were of Jackson on his own or with his brothers. I think he must see a family likeness between himself and his father.

The Birthday 03

Lisa had organised a lovely surprise amidst the presents.

A photo taken of David and Jackson when they were on holiday in New Zealand for Christmas 2008. David and Jackson are standing on the beach at Mt Maunganui and Lisa has captured the moment perfectly:-





The photo has been enlarged to a 16" x 24" image on canvas and is ready to be hung.

The Birthday Cake

No birthday would be complete without a birthday cake and this one was perfect for the occasion:-





David with Brennan and Jackson patiently waiting 'til we get to eat the cake.

The cake is called a bundt cake and had a hole in the centre. It came from a shop named www.nothingbundtcakes.com.

A light chocolate cake with chocolate chips very fresh and very nice.

The Big 30

The main reason for coming to Dallas this time was to be here for David's 30th birthday on Friday.

One birthday present was delivered today in the form of the 3 piece patio setting with 2 small and 1 large coffee table.

The delivery alone was quite an event and Jackson took to the new furniture straight away:-








The furniture is very comfortable and I can see many a bbq meal will be fixed and eaten in the patio:-















This evening David, Lisa and I sat and chatted on the furniture while Brennan and Jackson played together in the swimming pool.

The temperature had been over 100 degrees again today and so it was still quite sultry outside during the evening time.

Cooking Pancakes with Jackson

When Jackson stayed with me in New Zealand for Christmas 2008 we made pancakes together and it seems to be something he remembers because we have been making pancakes together in Dallas.

See all the photos of the event here.

The Man Kitchen

David and Lisa had been telling me about the 'man kitchen' before I got here and I have had the benefit of a number of grills that David has cooked since I have been here.

Us girls do the salad and David cooks the meat. Seems to work well.

In this case it was rib eye steak and it was delicious:-









Have to have a man fridge in the man kitchen so cool drinks can be at hand.

So you thought multi tasking was only for the girls

David is working from home today and had to take a conference call so here he is phone in hand and not one but two laptops in hand. How is that for multi tasking?:-

The simple things in life.........

This morning we were at the dining table and I noticed a movement outside and when I looked, there was a small frog out on the patio:-





The photo is not clear but a frog nevertheless hoping to find a home under the outdoor fridge but I don't think there was enough of a space for that to happen.

After a little while Jackson and I went out on to the patio and he noticed a cat in the yard. I only had to offer a word of greeting and the cat was right there to have a chat with us:-








After a good while of purring and fussing the cat was on its way.

Next Jackson decided he would like to go for a swim. I offered to sit at the side of the pool and keep an eye on him. A pair of water wings and Jackson was away once more.

After a while the rest of the family arrived, suitably attired for swimming and joined Jackson for a lot of fun together:-





Ah, for the simple things in life - so much fun.

Another day in Dallas

Yesterday began with a visit to Farmers Market to buy some lovely fresh household supplies including yummy smoked chicken which we were later to have as part of our dinner.

Following on from that we went to Frisco where we met up with friends, Kathy and Kevin at David & Busters (D&B's) for lunch. The restaurant is set up with family entertainment in mind. Eat here, spend $10 on your meal and we will give you a $10 card entitling you to go to their arcade filled to the brim with games intend to entice and amuse.






Our meals were brought to us on this massive circular platter which was set on a portable table so that service could be provided to all participants at the same time.




Part of the decor of the restaurant was stained glass work and although the lighting is not too good for this image, it did have a nice effect.




So, once the meal was done it was time to be going to the arcade to do battle. David and Jackson are heading for the time of their lives in this motor bike game.

Home made pizza for the family

Yesterday I offered to make homemade pizza for the family, so after my quilt shop treat I embarked on the endeavor:-





It had been quite some time since I made pizza but it all seemed to work even if the family did have to patiently wait for the outcome - oops probably should have been another photo opportunity - but it all got eaten so I guess that means it was okay.

Notice the new hi-tech chef with the iPad at hand to follow the recipe on screen - who ever would have thought......................

Another happy day in Dallas

Yesterday I went with Lisa to a number of craft stores but I wanted to return to Quilt Country in Lewisville to follow up on buying a Go-Cutter, especially as they were being sold at a 40% discount.





The shop front for quilt country.

In the midst of my purchase I had a need to visit the bathroom and bathrooms in American quilting shops have to be seen to be believed. This one was decorated in a Statue of LIberty theme. The reason I am including this is because, on my return from the bathroom, I happened to spot these two rows of large tables being filled to overflowing with bargain quilting items.

When I enquired further, I was told that there was going to be a garage sale at the shop, starting Friday. The contents of the sale were from the stashes of the 20 employees of the shop and their employer was only too happy for her staff to be doing this once or twice a year.

I was able to purchase a couple of items on the spot but payments had to be in cash which I did not have much of at the time. Needs must be for me to return this morning so I returned with David and shopped until both of our arms were full then we had to join the queue which seemed to stretch someway back into the shop. After quite a long wait I emerged, very happy with my purchases, even though I had only skimmed the surface of what was available.

Lisa took a photo of me sorting through some of the stash:-





This little bundle was US$1.00:-





Haven't counted yet but there is probably 80 pieced squares in this bag alone.

Squirrels

When I arrived here I remember asking if squirrels were in this area and was told no, but Brennan and I were sitting at the dining room table this morning when he said he had seen a movement outside.

He seemed to think it might be a cat but when we investigated it was a pair of squirrels. Apparently they thought that the swimming pool doubled as a drinking hole. One of them appeared to be on guard as the other took a drink:-




Then the pool cleaner arrived and the moment was gone.

A Water Baby in the family

I have never been fond of being in the water but that is not to say others don't like it. David and Lisa have a lovely pool in their yard with a separate part that can be used as a spa pool if desired.

On one the particularly hot days recently, David, Jackson and Brennan spent a couple of hours in the pool:-



Jackson was ready for action well ahead of the others.




Once Brennan and David arrived it was all go. Jackson was at the side of the pool and jumped in quite fearlessly. Seconds late he came up for air and realized he had forgotten to put his water wings on. He scrambled out of the pool, sought my assistance to put them on and then he was away. Jumping in, playing for a while and then back to more jumping.

David had just bought a floating basketball hoop and so David, Jackson and Brennan had a great time trying the concept out.

Back in Dallas, again

My second morning back in Dallas and grandson, Jackson, walked me down their street so that I could take some photos of houses in the vicinity.



This is just one of a number of houses I was instructed to take photos of by Jackson.

All too soon............................

those autumn colours will be gone.

Day by day we are noticing changes in the garden. Autumn colours are still happening but as the leaves fall it is inevitable that soon it will all be gone and the winter rest time will be here.

Sister Linda spotted amazing colour changes in the leaves on our hydrangea bushes and so we tried to capture some of that on camera before it disappears altogether.

Those Autumn Colours

My sister and I have taken to going for early morning walks in recent times.

This has provided a fresh opportunity to soak up the changes in nature as we approach winter.

From soft bright yellows to fiery reds, I have appreciated the change of seasons more this year than most.

Our new neighbourhood sports a wide variety of shrubs and trees contributing to this panorama but today's image was taken right in our own garden.

As the sun was setting the tree on the left picked up and reflected the light and made a lovely contrast to the surrounding landscape.

Mum Welcomes Cooper

No, we have not added a dog to our family but this is probably the next best thing.

Our hairdresser recently bought this delightful puppy for herself and when she came yesterday brought Cooper with her so we could become acquainted.

Cooper was only too happy to sit on Mum's lap while he took in his surroundings.

He is mostly Maltese Terrier with a little bit of Bijon Frise and is just a delight.

If we don't have a dog as a pet this surely has to be the next best thing.

Bye, Bye, Boris

Today was Boris's last day with us and I thought I would try to capture a few pictures before departure.

As always, he was a bit camera shy, but I did manage to get a couple of shots with his eyes open even though the morning sun was against me.

A little later I noticed he was taking a nap on the cane chair that was one of his favourite spots and seemed a fitting last shot to take of him.

The buyer had sent a cage for him and I was successful in placing him in it so my sister and I could transport him to the airport for a 40 minute flight to his new home.

He was not happy about the car trip one little bit but imagine my surprise when I turned in the car to see that he had forced the cage door open and was making a bid for freedom.

Oddly enough Bella had done something similar before she left us, forcing a bar in the cage to manage an escape before being recaptured for departure.

We were able to pull over in the car and get Boris back in the cage and I held the cage with him in it while we returned home to reinforce the door before embarking for the airport once more.

This time we were successful and after a bit of paperwork he was on his way. Last reports he was tentatively surveying his new surroundings.

Have a long and happy life, Boris, we wish you well.

Boris and Bella

When we decided to combine households, combining cats did not seem to fit. Two cats in a house is good but four - just a tad too many, I think.

So, after postponing the hour, Bella and Boris were advertised on Trade Me (our New Zealand brand of eBay) and I had well expected Boris to be first to go.

In fact, he did sell first, but the buyer has asked me to hold him until the end of the month, when he will be air freighted to Wellington for a new life.

My sister spoke to the people at our local vet clinic and told them we had a cat looking for a new home and amazingly, via word of mouth, an expression of interest was made for Bella and she actually went before Boris.

For one normally so shy and retreating I was amazed at how readily she took to her new cage and seemed really interested in what was ahead for her in her new life.

She has a new home, backing on to a reserve which I feel will suit her fine. Her new owner lives on her own and once Bella has adjusted to her new life style will probably think she is in cat heaven.

Today's image is the last photo I took of Bella before she left us.

Christmas in our New Home

When the children have grown up and flown the coup, the need for presents and Christmas Trees and decorations is not quite the same, but family connections are the constant, for me, anyway.

With three sons in Sydney and one in Dallas, there was not going to be a get together with them this year, but, instead, our brother Norman was with us and it is many a year since we have shared a Christmas with him.

This was our first Christmas in our new home and so we shared a lovely, relaxed day. Just five of us with some visitors who came briefly for a midday drink.

Sister Linda cooked up in great style with what has become something of a tradition in our branch of the family, roast turkey with all the trimmings followed by lovely trifle, strawberries and cream.

The table was set in classic style and with a lovely outlook whilst we ate, what more could we ask for.

There is a small established rose garden on our new property and Linda was able to pick two beautiful apricot roses at the point of perfection. They had a delightful heady scent and harmonised just nicely with the table setting.

'Twas the night before Christmas

when my sister, brother and I went for a walk up our street.

On the way we observed this blow up nativity scene which took me on a trip down memory lane to Dallas, Texas some four years ago.

I was visiting my son and daughter-in-law for Christmas and their street had similar adornments in most of the front yards.

For me it was something totally new and I had decided that this was something that happened only in America. Not so! Someone in our own street, in our own town, in New Zealand obviously likes to do the same thing.

Along with the sentiment of the scene, Merry Christmas everybody!

Another of Life's Little Surprises

Just recently our garden presented us with another lovely surprise.

We have had a succulent growing in a pot which looks like a miniature of a cactus you might find in the desert in the northern hemisphere.

I don't recall it ever having flowers but, suddenly, this year the circumstances must be just right for it to do so.

The blooms are majestically red in colour and with the use of my brother's new camera I thought the images I took were particularly good.

We're Moving House

We needed to get an en suite done for my Mother before we could entertain moving to our new home.

As I write, the bathroom alterations are in progress. We are assured they will be finished for Friday and so, crazy as it may seem, we are moving on Friday.

It will be so good to pool our resources and put our energies into getting our new home in order as well as the garden area.

My image of the day is that of sweet peas. This is only the second season I have grown them and I have to say I love the mix of colours as well as the heady perfume they surrender when in full bloom.

I think we can find lots of space for sweet peas to be included in our new garden too.

Gazanias, Gazanias and more Gazanias

Gazanias are another plant which I did not think much of at first but which have taken me by surprise.

The ones pictured today came with us to our current home in a copper pot from my Mother's place.

I am not sure how old the plant was when we came but this is its third summer here and the blooms this year are the best yet, with masses of buds just waiting to pop open.

I have bought gazanias in hanging baskets and then transplanted them into other parts of the garden during dormancy. The rewards have been more than I could have asked for.

One plant in particular did not have any flowers at all when I transplanted it and I was convinced it would never come to any good but yesterday I was in the garden and there were at least six of the loveliest, brightest gazania flowers you could hope to see. So nice to have such pleasant surprises right here on our own door step.

These plants are such good value. The ones we have start to flower in the spring and will continue, most probably into autumn. A brief respite for winter and they will be back, as bright and cheerful as ever.

The Humble Cornflower

Last year was the first time I planted cornflowers.

I was probably influenced by my sister who had embarked on creating her own wildflower garden and cornflowers were an integral part of the whole scene.

I had not given much thought to this plant becoming part of my garden but I decided, because they are some of the taller annuals that I would use them as a backdrop to other plants and when they did flower I was pleasantly surprised.

Not only do they provide a good backdrop they flower prolifically over a long period and so I have come to believe they are really good value in the garden.

The other thing I hadn't appreciated about them was the lovely range of colours, soft pink, bright pink, lavender, deep purple and last but not least the true cornflower blue.

I try to keep up with removing the dead heads and am amazed at the number of buds that continue to appear.

Being cornflowers they volunteered to come back in the same spot as they had been last year, so this year I now have them in two different parts of the garden.

The new plants for this year are near the front door. They have taken very well and the flowers are in abundance.

If we were going to continue to live here maybe cornflowers would eventually take over the whole garden but with plans to move on I guess we will never know.

If you look really closely you can see a bee on the cornflower in the bottom right hand corner.

Accidental Gardener?

I am never quite sure how to describe my gardening abilities but sometimes the things I like best in the garden happen more or less by accident.

Last year was the first time I planted poppies and I just loved them.

I had to give them another go this year but was not at all confident that I would do as well a second time around.

More by good luck than good management, I decided to plant some dwarf echium in amongst them and what a pleasant surprise, when just this last week I noticed these lovely lavender shaded flowers appearing just below the poppy flowers - magic. I had no idea what a lovely combination they would make - just a bit of accidental gardening, I think.

My Sister Said,

that I should have yellow flowers at the door to welcome prospective purchasers to our home.

I found these Osteospermum at one our of local plant shops. Lovely daisy like flowers in the palest shades of yellow. Very warm and inviting.

Fortunately the transaction for buying them was pretty well stress free. On two previous occasions I have bought this plant at other stores and when I got to the checkout they had great difficulty in being able to process the transaction. Something about the name of the plant that doesn't seem to sit well with having it in the database for the checkout. Glad it did not happen this time or I may have given up on ever buying this plant again.

In spite of its warm and inviting flowers, I did not get any visitors for open home today. Hope the flowers still look just as good for next week.

The View From Home Is Better

My sister, Linda, and I had the opportunity this week to go and spend the night at The Chateau, courtesy of my son, David, and his wife, Lisa.

It had been a Christmas gift to Linda and her husband but he was not well enough to go so I got to go in his place.

The Chateau is a lovely old hotel, built in the 1920's during the Great Depression to provide employment for some in difficult times. Built along the lines of the Art Deco era, the decor and ambiance is just lovely.

Our room was well appointed and we dined in the Ruapehu Room. The food was excellent, our surroundings very peaceful and throughout the evening there was very pleasant piano music to listen to.

The Chateau is situated in the Tongariro National Park at the base of the three mountains grouped there, Ruapehu, Ngaurahoe and Tongariro.

Normally the views are spectacular but for all of our visit was overcast and so we did not get to see much of them, but never mind - we knew that we could see the mountains so easily from afar when we got back home.

If you ever happen to be in this part of the world it is well worth a visit to The Chateau, even if it is just to sit in the lounge, look out the windows at the view and have some tea or coffee - the peace and tranquility will do your heart good.

The weather is miserable here today. In fact we have had several days of inclement weather and it is not over yet. However, the month of November was particularly dry so the rain is welcome for both the gardens and lawns.

To brighten my day I have been looking at photos I took in our new garden.

The foxglove is out in abundance at the moment and is looking very pretty and bright amongst the green foliage.

The reason for our weekend at our new home.

My nephew, Graeme, had entered the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge.

This challenge has been going since 1977 and now attracts over 11,000 participants from all parts of New Zealand and from overseas as well.

It was the first time for Graeme and he got such a buzz out of the whole event that he is keen to do it all over again next year.

The route around Lake Taupo took approximately 7 hours to complete and Graeme said it was a tremendous feeling to come back into the Taupo township and pass over the finish line.

By going to our new home for the weekend we were able to give Graeme and his family the use of our unit which worked out well for all concerned.