One Day After Another

I took this photo yesterday  - the sun was shining but we could hear thunder rumbling as well.

The storm's lightning set fire to a school hall out the other side of the city, but we had nothing here.

Decluttering my things continues, with added importance now as Son has decided to get new carpet put down through the house.

Today I emptied this China cabinet, ready for a granddaughter to collect.

A few of its contents I will keep (it was packed with stuff), and put into my own display cabinet.  Granddaughter will take some, but most of it will be getting donated. 

I see our lemon tree (or, rather, I could smell it) is flowering again. I love having lemons in the garden. 

I hope everyone is having a happy week. 

Margaret xx 

Ice Cream Maker

It seems that every time I donate something, I come home with something else!

Today, I dropped off five bags of goodies to the Habitat For Humanity store and thought I did really well not to enter the shop.

But then I went to K-Mart department store to buy coathangers, and found this little cutie to bring home as well.

It is an Anko Mini Ice Cream Maker. It only makes a cupful at a time - perfect for me and my half-cup-only size desserts. 

And I can make it with healthy ingredients like yoghurt and real eggs.

It's always exciting to have a new toy to play with!

Margaret xx 

Labour Day

It was Labour Day today, a public holiday created in 1899 to celebrate the creation of an 8-hour working day.

Today, most seem to celebrate the weekend as the start of summer - a time to get the beach bach ready for lazy summer weekends.

Son and I spent the afternoon watching a live replay of a Formula One race at Mexico City.

It was an "incident filled" race, testing the skills of some of the drivers to the limit.

Millie was more interested in snoozing on her towel.

The weekend forecast of stormy weather fizzled to a normal bout of wet windy weather.

These petunias were oblivious to it all.

Have a great week everyone. 

Margaret xx

An Old Blanket

When one starts cleaning out things, it is amazing what can be found lurking in dark corners!

I only have a single bed, and my preference is to use blankets instead of duvets although it is difficult to find the right sizes (most have too much or not enough tuck-in).

I found this green blanket in a storage box. My mother-in-law gave it to me about 30 years ago - it was threadbare then (it even has a few holes), so I shudder to think how old it actually is.

It is the perfect size for my bed, and still quite warm (the tag says 100% wool, made in England).

I'm now thinking I may use it as a template to cut down a couple of double-bed size woolen blankets that we received as a wedding gift (over 50 years ago!).

I'm not sure whether to bind the edges with satin ribbon or learn how to do blanket stitch.

Has anyone ever tried doing this?

Margaret xx 

Out Of My Windows

I woke this morning to rain on my bedroom windows.

It sounded heavy, but it was only a shower.

The sun was shining by the time I had breakfast, although it was quite windy and our wind chime was tinkling away in the background. 

Lunchtime, and the skies were overcast and there was a strong blustery wind blowing. 

The expected rain disappeared in the wind, with only a few showers passing through.

We have thunderstorms forecast for tonight, so we will wait and see whether they eventuate or not.

Margaret xx 

Stormy Weather Forecast

We have stormy weather forecast for the next few days, so I ventured outdoors to enjoy the sunshine this morning while it lasted. 

The wind was already picking up and clouds were rapidly gathering in the sky.

I harvested our first two strawberries for the season, and picked some flowers to bring indoors. 

Our skies are now (at 4.30pm) dark grey and covering the sky, and rain has started to lightly fall.

Margaret xx 

Pretty Flowers

Our skies have been overcast for a great part of today, but they were sunny late yesterday afternoon when I went for a wander around the garden. 

The colour of this ice plant is spectacular - but only in the bright sun. The petals remain closed up when there is not much sun around.

These geraniums are outgrowing their tubs, but are still making a wonderful display. 

Mittens likes to walk with me when I'm outside.  Here she is, checking out the strawberries. 

The petunias in the hanging baskets are slowly coming out. 

This cosmos brightens up an otherwise darkish corner.  The vibrant colour makes me smile. 

A garden can certainly be a source of great happiness. 

Margaret xx 

Weymouth Beach

I have visited Auckland throughout my life, but have never been out to Weymouth Beach (near the suburb of Manurewa) before.

My friend and I made a short visit there yesterday and stopped at a few different spots along the coast.

Although close to the heart of the city, this residential area felt quite isolated at times although there were lots of people (often with a dog) out walking.

We saw cabbage trees in flower,

watched a pair of Paradise Ducks find lunch on the incoming tide,

and had our own lunch at Clendon McDonalds. 

Finally, we made a visit to Martha's Backyard, a Mt Wellington store selling American goodies.

I was very good and never bought too much  - although there does seem to be a lot of chocolate there!

It was a pleasant day out, the company was good, and it is always exciting to be exploring somewhere different. 

Margaret xx 

Care Of Nails

"You should be careful to cut your toe-nails frequently, every week or ten days, and they should be cut square across the top, not rounded, and with sharp scissors.

Finger nails should also be cut about once a week to keep them in good order.  They can be rounded to the shape of the finger to prevent the corners catching and getting torn.

Biting the nails is very bad for them."

The toon tree is slowly turning from its spring pink to its summer green

This week's quote comes from the 1961 "Girl Guiding - Centenary Edition" by Lord Baden-Powell of Gilwell. 

It is a reprint of the 1938 edition, revised from the original 1918 book.

Some advice does not change very much over the years!

Margaret xx 

Morning Sunshine

This geranium can be seen out of the window above the kitchen sink.

Its vibrant colour makes doing dishes more pleasurable!

It was 100% humidity and 7 degrees Celsius when I first went outside this morning. 

That usually means fog, but today we had heavy dew instead.

I thought the dewdrops settled on the edge of the grape leaves were pretty in the early morning sunshine. 

The sparrows are nesting in the neighbour's aloe trees.

This one was chirping as he sat up the top and surveyed his world.

The blue skies soon disappeared into cloud and it looked very much like it would rain. 

But, in the end, it never rained and the day turned out sunny with clouds.

It was quite a pleasant Sunday in the end.

Margaret xx 

Curious Cat

I was getting my dressing table ready for sale and pulled out a drawer to clean it.

Quicker than you can say Jack-and-the-Beanstalk, Mittens was through the opening and exploring the cavity.

I think she was looking for a place to sleep but in the end she decided the bed was more comfortable. 

Trust a cat to pick the best spot for a snooze!

Margaret xx 

Shopping

I've been shopping again!  The first purchase was a new garden chair for myself as the old one was in danger of collapse.

I think it sits well in my little garden, and hopefully will last 10+ years like my last chair did.

My other purchase was a German-made crystal basket that I found in the thrift shop I'd just donated three bags of stuff to.

One thing into the home for several things out - I'm choosing to class that

as progress in my ongoing declutter battle!

Margaret xx 

Twenty Years

My beloved father passed away twenty years ago today.  It seems so long ago and yet my memories of it are like they happened yesterday.  

My father was a hard-working dairy farmer for most of his life, having bought the farm from his widowed mother after he returned from duty in World War II.

In this old 1972 photo, he is 'teddering' the hay.  Grass would be cut and then teddered to scatter it around the field so it would dry better.  This would be done at least twice to help it dry faster (the machine on the tractor would be configured differently to how it is here).

Here he is raking the hay up into rows ready to be baled.  The tractor was a Nuffield, a true work horse on the farm for many years.

The cowshed on the far right was a walk-through.  Whole milk was collected daily from the shed by a milk-tanker, supplying the Waharoa Butter Factory (now defunct).

The farm was around 120 acres and the herd normally was around 120 cows.  Bulls and heifers were also kept on the farm, along with a couple of steers and a few sheep that were destined for the freezer.

I feel I was fortunate to have grown up surrounded with farm life.

Margaret xx

Another Apron

Finally, I have finished sewing up another apron made from the fabric of a duvet cover I found in a charity shop. 

It might take me weeks, but I only stitch for short periods at a time and usually not every day.

The main thing is I enjoy the slow pace of hand-stitching and not having any pressure to finish something. 

I continue to declutter a little each day, and unearthed my mother's old china pincushion (the pins go in the back).  

I remember this frog from my girlhood and it has always intrigued me.

It is going to live in my own sewing box now.

Margaret xx 

Choosing Good Or Evil

"In each of us there are latent possibilities for good, also for evil; for progress upward,  or retrogression downward.

We have been given freedom to choose whether we will encourage and develop the higher side of our nature, or give way to our lower instincts. 

And whether we desire it or not, we are always cultivating one side or the other. There is no such thing as remaining stationary in the life of the soul; we are either going up, or down."

This quote was taken from Volume II of a compendium that I date to the 1920s.  It is comprised of a year's issues of the "Women's Magazine and Girl's Own Paper."

Happiness comes from making right choices!

Margaret xx 

Bathurst Day

Once a year I like to settle down to watch Bathurst 1000, Australia's premier V8 Supercar road race up and over Mount Panorama in New South Wales. 

I have watched this race on TV for many years now. Cars have altered a lot from how they used to be.

Much safer now, thankfully. 

It takes around six hours for the drivers (with co-drivers) to finish the 1000km race, so I am posting this before the end!

Last year, over 200,000 spectators swarmed over the mountain to watch the cars speed past.

I'm not sure how many there are this year. 

Watching the race is a great activity on a wet afternoon - or even on a sunny one!

Margaret xx 

Busy Decluttering

My days are keeping me busy as I am getting into sorting and cleaning things.

I alternate between physical things, paperwork, and what's on the computer.  That way I'm not wearing myself out and my brain doesn't have to disappear into la-la land from too much concentration!

Some of the paperwork stuff I haven't done for a long time.

For example,  I haven't updated my address book since 2013 (it was something I used to do every year).

It feels good to be getting things sorted out.

I hope everyone is staying safe and happy.

Margaret xx 

Car Wash

I really didn't intend to go out today, but decided on the spur of the moment to go and have my hair cut.

That was when I saw a sign at Te Awa (The Base, Te Rapa) for Espresso Car Wash (who do it by hand, not a machine) - and my poor little car was badly in need of a spring clean.

Nearly two hours later, after a complete wash, polish and inside valet, my car is so clean and shiny.

I am thrilled - it is like having a new car to drive.

 

Now all I have to do is keep it that way!

Margaret xx