The View From our Place

Our place of residence, a bed and breakfast, is built against a cliff face.

As you walk up the stairs from the bedrooms you see the flora, in abundance climbing the cliff face:-



My photography does not do the cliff face justice but it seems to stretch a long way:-



Apparently what we see at the top of image is the edge of rainforest.

From there the marmoset monkeys come for banana treats from the breakfast table:-



I have also sighted bright coloured butterflies and birds but the weather is against us at the moment and will have to wait for the clouds and rain to clear before we see more of that.

The temperatures have been quite mild since arrival, today a little on the chilly side. Today it is raining and it remains to be seen whether we will be able to go out at all. Along with the rain there is a definite chill in the air and I am grateful for the warmer clothes that I brought with me.

In Rio For a Special Occasion

Two days ago, David, Lisa and I arrived in Brazil. The reason, to attend the wedding of my oldest son, Aaron.



He has found a lovely Brazilian maiden and we have arrived a week ahead of the wedding to do a few touristy things and to meet and get to know the bride's family.

All credit to them, they know some English, and have been excelling themselves in trying to communicate with us. Far better than me and my total lack of speaking Portuguese.

Aaron's fiancee is doing her best to talk to us and it has been amazing to me to see Aaron speak in their language. When he arrived in Brazil, the first thing he did was enroll in a language school and it was one of the best things he could have done.

The wedding is on Saturday and then they fly to Sydney the following week for a second ceremony with friends and family.

Following that they will visit with us in New Zealand, spend some time in Australia, catching up with friends and then on to London and back to the reality of work.

How Times Have Changed

When I visited Dallas last July I had just been given an iPad and there was not one in David's household.

Jackson tried mine out and now they not only have one but two of these devices.

He is very clued in about what you can do with the iPad and yesterday while using mine he very quickly knew what to do to find some free games to play that were age appropriate:-



One of his favourite activities on the iPad is to check out a website that promotes families playing board games rather than watching TV:-

Http:www.gameswithyden.com
David and family have quite a number of very good board games and, if possible, they choose games where all participants work together for a common cause rather than competing against each other.

Is This the Next Rudolph Valentino?

When you have finished swimming in the pool, you just have to dress up, don't you?:-


When Jackson came to visit with us in New Zealand when he as three we made pikelets (or pancakes as we call them here in Texas) together and it was something that has never been forgotten.

Yesterday, before I had finished my morning ritual in the bathroom, there as a tap tap at the door and there was Jackson, wanting to know if Nana could come and make pancakes for breakfast.

Bathroom routine was speeded up somewhat for the more pressing challenge of the day. Jackson now has more dexterity in the mixing process which was good to see. He just loves being involved in the making of the pancakes and so pancakes it was for breakfast.

Summer Time in Dallas

May in Dallas and the weather is warming up for summer.

Lisa and I were out and about yesterday and at one time the temperature outside was in excess of 100 degrees F.

Jackson and Brennan have found a fun way to keep fresh in the pool. What is supposed to be a basketball hoop is a fun way for them to cross the pool together.

Location:Robinson Terrace,Rangatira Park,New Zealand

You have heard of lollipops, well how about cake pops?

While Lisa and I were out yesterday we stopped by at Starbucks for some refreshing drinks and Lisa asked if I would like to try a cake pop.

Being me I had no idea what a cake pop was but I was willing to give it a go.

Mine is the pink one on the right. Quite a nice bite size treat to have with a drink when you feel like a snack but not something too big. I enjoyed mine.

From Quilt Block to Quilt

Our local quilt group does a monthly quilt raffle at the moment.

One of the committee members, Julie, provides the group with the pattern and instructions and whoever is interested can make as many blocks as they like and enter them into the raffle.

You get one draw for each block you enter so the more blocks you make, the more chances you have of winning all blocks made.


This block had particular appeal for me. It is called Disappearing Nine Patch and is relatively quick and easy to make. The theme for the block was to use conversational fabrics so that the blocks could be made into an I Spy quilt, a great favourite with young children.

I made 4 of this particular block and entered 2 in Linda's name and 2 in mine.

There were enough blocks made to divide the raffle into 2 draws and Linda won one of the draws.

She was gracious enough to let me have the blocks so that I could make them into an I Spy quilt for my grandson, Jackson, who I will be seeing in about 24 hours from the time of writing.

So, one block became one quilt:-


Backed with polar fleece, I hope it will ecome a favourite cuddle rug for Jackson and that there will be plenty of opportunity to play I Spy or any other game that may take his fancy.

Goodbye to Taupo - for now..........

Last autumn I used enjoy looking at this tree at the end of our street.

The way it is situated with the low stone wall and the fallen
leaves I found very appealing.

In spite of the enjoyment I never quite got around to taking pictures.

This year we have had a severe storm recently and a lot of the trees in our neighbourhood have already shed more leaves than usual, including this one.

Even so, with less leaves, it is still a pretty sight.





I will be away from Taupo for three weeks, travelling to Dallas and then on to Rio de Janeiro and I know that by the time I return all signs of the beautiful autumn colour and leaves will be gone.

I am glad to have captured the moment today.

It will be great to be away for this time but I will miss my family, home and the lovely location we live in.

Just in Time

Recently Linda purchased this panel of quilting fabric and thought it would make a nice rug for Mum for the winter ahead.

At the time she was able to find some lovely, soft and warm fabric to back it with and it has already been used to snuggle under on these cooler evenings.

The Autumn Winds Do Blow

Autumnal change has been happening where we live.

The tree in the image can be seen from out kitchen and I have been enjoying watching the colours change from day to day.

The leaves had been gathering on the lawn and I had been thinking of gathering them for our compost bin. I was not quick enough.

Tuesday turned out to be a very stormy day with strong, gusty winds. By early afternoon the power went down and did not come back on until late that night.

The next day when I looked out all the leaves on the lawn were gone. Saved me the time and trouble for gathering them but they would have been a nice addition to our compost.

1 Doyley = 4 Mug Rugs

Ever since I wrote about Linda making mug rugs I have been wanting to have a go myself, crazy quilt style.

Recently we were in an op shop (thrift store) and I saw this sad looking doyley with some lovely hand applique work on it. It had a hand bound scalloped edge. I bought it for the princely sum of 50 cents.

I had it sitting around for a while but decided it was time to do something with it so one doyley was repurposed to become 4 mug rugs crazy quilt style.

Cowboy Quilt

When I visited Dallas last July I sent home a large package of fabrics that I bought at a garage sale from Quilt Country in Lewisville.

We have had a lot of fun with these fabrics and we still have heaps left to be used.

One of results was the quilt on the left.

Our sister Barbara is very fond of cowboy themes and, within the stash of fabrics, we found strips of fabric featuring cowboys and cowgirls together with matching strips of floral fabric that seemed ideal for a quilt for her.

Sister Linda made up the quilt for Barbara and when I went to stay with her last week the quilt was on the bed I slept in.

Barbara was able to obtain a quilt cover to put under the quilt as well as matching sheets making the cowboy quilt look quite special.

Have a Heart for Pike River/Christchurch

Late last year I wrote about the results of the call for heart blocks for the Pike River mine disaster.

The response has been huge and has now resulted in quilts being made for families impacted by the Christchurch earthquakes.

We have been involved in some way with some of them.

Our home quilting group, Sweet Peas, are making some quilts and our local quilting group, Taupo Quiltmakers have been involved in the process as well.

The quilts photographed have been machine quilted by my sister, Linda and I bound the blue and yellow one.

The many variations on a theme have been fascinating to observe.

Family Visits

Family get togethers need to be treasured as the years go by and although not all of the family is here, five out of eight is pretty good considering our homes are quite far apart.

Brother Norman is from Christchurch and his home suffered some damage in the recent earthquakes but he came through a lot better off than many.

Linda is standing on his left and yours truly on the right.

Sister Barbara is sitting with our Mum.

More family to visit this week but not sufficient for another family portrait like this one.

Seasons Come and Seasons Go

As I read blogs from the northern hemisphere I am aware that spring is on its way and with that the wonderful birth of new life as gardens spring to life after a long, cold winter.

For us, autumn is drawing to a close. Leaves are turning to the ember colours of a dying fire and the flowers of summer are beginning to fade.

A few weeks ago we changed the plants in the pots at the front of our house from the petunias of summer to pansies.

It has taken a while but suddenly the pots are being filled with the lovely, happy faces of the pansies that will cheer us through the winter months ahead.

Moving to Higher Ground

Our recent influx of visitors necessitated a few things being changed around and so our huge roll of quilters wadding ended up on our work table in our quilt studio area.

Cats love warm soft places and Cici thought this was just the best place to be.

The wadding had to be returned to its home, otherwise I am sure she would still be sleeping there.

After our visit from Ricky, James and Amba came to stay.

I realised after they left that I had not taken any photos of them together.

The next best thing I could come up with was a photo of Amba with Linda.

How is this for a Saturday morning? Lying in bed with the two best cats in the world by your side, laptop at your feet and Saturday newspaper for a leisurely read.

I thought it was lovely that Amba felt comfortable enough to lie on the bed next to Linda and chatter away to her like they had been friends for years.

It was a lovely visit and we look forward to more of the same in time to come.

Time to Come Home

It is always lovely to welcome members of the family home for a holiday.

Ricky needed to 'chill' for a week so we enjoyed his company and he took advantage of the autumn sun on our lawn overlooking the river.

In between sleeping and relaxing, watching a few movies, Ricky also took cooking lessons from Linda and went home inspired with new recipes in hand.

Ricky's respite is over but brother, James, is on his way over this weekend and we are looking forward to that as well.

In the garden......again

Nasturtiums do not feature often at the top of the list when talking about annuals but they do have a loveliness all of their own.

They are supposed to be easy to grow, in fact, the worse you treat them the more they are supposed to reward you. Such has not been the case for us.

Nevertheless, we tried again and this summer we have had some measure of success.

I bought a couple of punnets of nasturtiums and planted them without separating them and within weeks we had a mass of nasturtiums showing off lovely yellow, orange and burnt red flowers.

To see the yellow ones pictured trailing over a retaining wall was truly delightful.

We hope that now we have managed to get them growing this summer that they will continue to self seed in coming years.

Ruby thought............

Ruby thought that maybe I was being mean to Kaiser by depriving him of the sunny spot he had found on my laptop table.

Does he look deprived stretched out in comfort on my bed?

A cat might get the hump temporarily from being taken away from a nice spot but it is amazing how quickly they can find comfort somewhere else.

This cat is worth a photo a day around our home.

Lap Dog, Lap Top or Lap Top Cat?

Our Kaiser cat could provide us with a pose a day with the many different spots he finds to while the days away.

Today he found a lovely sunny spot by jumping up onto my laptop table attached to my Stressless chair.

I am not even sure the table was made to bear his weight but he seemed comfortable enough.

However, I did think we needed a solution so I closed the curtain and he moved to a new location.

Worth Replanting

When we lived in our previous home, we had a small garden and so plants in pots became the thing to do.

We have a much, much bigger garden now and so pots are becoming less important in our lives.

One of the plants I had success with in a pot was a calibrachoa with beautiful deep pink flowers.

I asked my brother to plant it into our garden here and in the last few weeks it has taken off and is looking more splendid than ever.






But wait, there's more.

Lurking behind the calibrachoa is a concrete cat in a very relaxed state and he just happens to be positioned next to the catnip plant that some cats really love and have been known to get high on.

Could our concrete cat have been indulging? After all the catnip is reaching, tantalisingly so, towards his mouth.

Mug Rugs

I understand that mug rugs have been around for a while but they are new to us.

A small quilting project, they provide an ideal way to try out new quilting designs whilst being able to complete relatively quickly.

Somewhere between a coaster and a place mat, they provide a nice snack place for your coffee/tea with space for a treat to eat as well.

You can make them in any colour and any design that you choose. Just for starters Linda made a few:-

This one Linda made for me with fabrics of my choice - love it!











This one belongs to our Mum - perfect for her.











Just for fun. This one was made from scraps from a quilting project featuring Kaffe Fasset fabrics.









Maybe you like the concept but not for your favourite mug. Another use could be for a home base for remote controls.

Bringing Back Memories

When we were young tomato sandwiches were a real treat.

In those days tomatoes were seasonal and with the warmer weather and fresh tomatoes available what could be better than thick sliced white bread, butter and fresh sliced tomatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper.

Linda planted a Super Tom in a tub on our patio this spring and yesterday harvested the first of these tomatoes so that we could have a real taste treat right down to having the white bread sandwiches.

Homegrown, no sprays, fresh from the vine - delicious!

Sometimes the simple things in life are the best.

The Present That Gives Year After Year

Four years ago three of my sons came home for Christmas and one of their gifts to me was a lily.

The seasons come and go and when it is dormant I forget about it altogether, and then, each Christmas it surprises me with its return.

It is a wonder I have not thrown it out during the winter months but it is a survivor and gives much pleasure with its lovely bold colours.

Likewise, my sister was given a lily plant as a free gift when she made some plant purchases from an online gardening company. Just recently the lilies have returned on this plant and they are magnificent with the the added bonus of a lovely scent.

Moments of time..........

Christmas 2010 was relatively quiet for us - no visitors - just the four of us, but it was lovely and relaxing and we enjoyed the occasion.

On both sides of Christmas we had a succession of family visiting and so, over the past six weeks we have seen all five of our siblings which has been really, really lovely.

Nice to share these moments of time with our family and also nice to capture moments of time from the flowers in our garden.

Yesterday I took this photo of these beautiful, velvety flowers from our garden and today they were spent. I was really pleased I had captured the moments they were able to give us.

Clown Quilt

I have shared before some of the amazing quilts that our friend, Debbie, has been making.

This is the latest and it is just super.

Bright, cheerful and big enough to fit on a queen size bed.

It could make an wonderful wall hanging.

Debbie wants to sell this quilt and has listed it on Trade Me in New Zealand.

Generational Change?

Recently we were visited by our niece, her husband and three children.

The eldest, Jason, approached me with a small pack of cards and asked if I would like to watch him play solitaire.

I thought we could go one better than that and he could play solitaire on my iPad.

The fascination and concentration was there - I wonder if playing with real cards will ever be quite the same for him again.

Our Silk Tree

The previous owners of our home did some excellent planning with layout of the home to maximise on things like sunlight and views.

In the patio just outside our sun room there is outdoor furniture and a silk tree was planted to provide shade in the summer and allow the sun to come through in the winter.

The silk tree has just come into flower and has the most delicate pink flowers which glow against the light green foliage.

When I look at the contrast in colours it is the sort of thing that makes me want to do a bit creative embroidery, it is so pretty.

The branches in this image are just outside our sun room door and seem to be saying let us come in to share your world.

We are glad the silk tree does its bit to make the patio a better place for us.

Part of the Cycle of Life?

When I watched the movie, The Lion King, I really liked the opening song, The Cycle of Life. Always thought it to be very pertinent.

What that has to do with a kettle you may well wonder.

The first time I went to visit with David and Lisa in Dallas they had a kettle on their cook top for heating water for cups of tea.

It always seemed to take ages to heat up the water and so I recommended to Lisa that they get an electric kettle as I felt it would do the job more efficiently.

Lisa bought the kettle and to this day they still use an electric jug.

However, Linda and I recently acquired an induction cooker for our kitchen and discovered that water could be heated faster on the cook top than in the electric kettle, so guess what we bought? A kettle for the cook top.

It clears some bench space and works efficiently for us - so it would appear that we have gone around one cycle of life.

One of our brothers came to visit recently and was coming to terms with the workings of an induction cook top. He wanted to know if he could use a 'real kettle' (meaning the electric one) but too late, we have entered the new cycle of life and there is no going back.

Our very own river

There is always something of interest to be observed overlooking the beginnings of the Waikato River from our living area.

The water coming into the river from Lake Taupo is managed, not far away, by a control gate.

In these photos, firstly of a lone fisherman and then of some prospective swimmers, the water is low but when the water is released the beach and the rocks where the fisherman is standing, disappear under the water.

The colour of the water in the image with the swimmers is more true to type. Most of the time it is more aqua in colour than rich blue.

In addition to would be fisherman and swimmers there is the constant flow of kayakers as well as people stopping off for a picnic or, sometimes, a bit of freedom camping.

We are in the middle of the Christmas/New Year holiday season and this spot is a frequent stop off point for visitors.

Vegie Gardens and Christmas

One of the lovely things about moving to our home was the established raised beds for a vegetable garden.

We still have a lot to learn to make the most of this asset but we have already had some lovely results.

I planted peas and beans on each side of the trellis to the right of the garden. The peas took off but the beans had to have a second planting to get some results.

The peas have grown sufficiently to give us fresh peas for Christmas dinner - the beans have a way to go yet.

Our brother planted Cliff Kidney potatoes for us and again, there was sufficient for us to be able to dig and get fresh potatoes on Christmas morning.















The result - Beef Wellington, served with crushed new potatoes and fresh peas with carrots. Linda says it is one of the easiest Christmas dinners she has ever had to prepare and it was just lovely.



The white with gold trim Christmas table linen was enhanced by an arrangement by Linda, of red and white petunias, also from our garden.








Christmas would not be complete without dessert and it certainly looked as good as it tasted - pavlova roulade with fresh strawberries soaked in a little cointreau.