Christmas Sparkle

well, I have not been able to decorate with Christmas decorations at home, but just look at all this Christmas spirit at my workplace. It is simply amazing!!! We all took part in a competition for one part of our regional office over this last week, and it has been wonderful watching the work areas being transformed. The imagination of my colleagues has been overwhelming, and everyone has embraced this challenge and had such fun. Each "pod" is made up of 4-6 work colleagues whose desk and work spaces are close together. Being a Government Department - we have an open office policy and plan. So each pod has got together, dreamed up a theme and then got to work. For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, you will need some imagination, and remember that we have Christmas in the sun, hence the BBQ and beach themes. There is even an environmentally eco-friendly theme. Anyway, here are the pikkies;

these are the co-workers from my "pod" - we are known as the Health team as we are all related to Health & Disability issues in some shape or form - we do a lot of serious work, but we also know how to have a bit of fun now and then..

and this is the centre of the Regional office area -

a little fireside corner for the pressies..
this is the BBQ at the river and reflects our summer Christmas camping holidays...
and this is Santa's eco friendly mode of transport - likely to take him a very long time to deliver presents on Christmas Eve on this - hope he is a fit bunny!!!!


and these are just some extra shots...



OOPS, tablecloth a little bit crooked huh!!

and the renovations just go on....

well, slowly, and very slowly things are taking shape - or colour - or lack thereof. Once we get all the furniture and furnishings back in I am sure it is going to look great! What an absolute mess to be living in however, there is just a fine dust that goes everywhere, finds its way into every drawer and wardrobe and cupboard, and coats just everything. If you have ever renovated I am sure that you can associate with this. However, it will all be well worth it and hopefully in the next week or so it will be all back to normal again, well as normal as possible 'cos once this is all completed we will all put out the Christmas decorations up...


who would want to have a baby in the weeks before Christmas - what kind of madness is that... Of course any child is a wonderful blessing at any time of the year. My youngest daughter, Janet was born on the 17th Dec, so her birthday is coming up in the next few weeks, my baby girl will be 26 - where did all those years go!

Anyway, our friend Richard had a 50th birthday party on Saturday night just past, it was a themed party - so we all dressed as wannabees (I wanna be...) - dearly beloved went as a Christmas Cowboy, and I went as Peter Pan's nemesis - Tinkerbell. he he he...
With all the house renovations going on inside I have not really been able to get too much stitching or sewing done, so outside to the garden... it is now looking quite good, lots of roses out, the peonies have all now finished, but all is looking green and gorgeous. Dearly beloved and I barrowed 4 trailers of bark mulch on Saturday, so all is looking good, and hopefull weed free for quite a while. It is raining now, so great for watering!
This is the next area (above) to get a bit of a clean and tidy up - with luck this is where we will have Christmas day - and lunch, if the weather is good. And who knows we may even barbecue yet. I know that must sound really foreign for those of you who spend your Christmas in the Northern hemisphere, and not used to being in summer weather, and hopefully it will be a truly wonderfully sunny day!!

December tomorrow!

well, like most of you, I am asking - where has the year gone huh??

but we are getting closer to Christmas... and that is very exciting. I haven't even stated my Christmas shopping yet, but at least I have ideas in my head about what to but and for whom, so that is the hardest part done. I would like to get some of the shopping done before the shops get to to busy, but also, I like to leave some to the last minute to get that real Christmas feel.

I have been really lucky to have participated in two swap recently - well 3 actually. No 1 was Helen Stibbings Anel Swap - and a very big thank you to my stictching angel - Bonnie Landry of http://calamityjanescottage.blogspot.com/

No 2 was the Vinatge Pink Christmas swap arranged by Jennifer Smith - http://www.roseylittlethings.com/ - and I have posted ny gifts to my swap partner - so I hope that she gets them very soon and enjoys them, it was hard to find vintage in New Zealand, we have so few shops, and those that we do - you need to poke around to find what you maybe looking for, what fun!!!

The 3rd swap is the snowflakes and sparkles swap - organised by Momma Holly - http://mommyholly.blogspot.com/

and again I have just posted off my goodies to America, can't wait til my partner gets these goodies...

on another Christmas note I am sorting thru this basket of fabric to look at what I can do in the next few weeks...


and I have this to work with also....

and this is what my sewing room looks like at them moment with all our house renovations.. the painters come in this week so then maybe can put up the Christmas decorations - YIPPEE!!


and then my dining room can look more like this!
and my pocket book slightly emptier!!!

have fun over the week everyone.

'til later,

Shiree

so much to do and so little time!!!

well, it has been such a long time since I have been on here, and just so much has been going on.

We are in the middle of renovations in our lounge area, and there is stuff everywhere, and you know it - one job leads to another to another, it just goes o and on and on, and what seemed to initially be a relatively simple process becomes quite involved. This is the work in progress... so far anyway..

before...

and now...


Still heaps to do, and we are currently waiting on the next phase which is the gib stopper and then the painter.. with stuff everywhere it has been difficult to find the time for stitching etc, this is the sewing room/study - kinda hard to move around in huh


but this




has become this!


Every year we travel an hour up the road to Oamaru and attend the Victorian Heritage Ball, where everyone dresses up in Victorian garb, and we all look lovely and do all the old waltzy dances. Such fun. There is a whole week of celebrations in Oamaru..,

and this is my man - handsome dude huh!!


well, with not too much happening today being a Saturday n all, and handsome dude has left already for a full days rowing at a local regatta, I am off to spend the day (well part of it - as much as I can) in the garden - another area looking slightly neglected,

catch ya!

Shiree

Dusky Trail bike ride

well, what a weekend! and a lot of fun!!

We started the weekend with a long promised sleep in - well at least 'til 7.30am, but that is a good sleep in for us॥ then we drove to Clyde (2hrs) and biked the millennium Trail from Clyde to Alexandra - a nice cruisy bike ride,


and a good warm up for Tim's row on the Sunday - 17km from Cromwell to Clyde.



He was not smiling quite so much at then end I can tell you -

anyway this is the view from the Dusky Trail summit, worth the bike ride up really.. quite spectacular। This was Monday's effort..

and this is 3 of us at the summit on a lollie stop! Gotta have that sugar fix huh.
It was hard at work today - wanted to be outside in the garden, it was such a lovely day, although likely not the best place for me as wearing that muscle back top, I got my shoulders sunkissed! so just a little pink - will be lovely and tanned tomorrow. that is Karl with his back to us - He does not like his photo taken..

I have spent the evening tracing out some stitching, although I have just looked at Helen's (hugsnkisses) blog ( I need to learn how to hyperlink these??) and she has just released some amazing patterns - can't wait for these patterns! They have some lovely 3D flowers that are just so so cute...

well, it is late Tuesday night now, and it was such an early start leaving Twizel at 4.45am, for the 3 hr drive home to start work at 8AM, but certainly worth the extra effort to spend another relaxing night and a great way to end a wonderful weekend - back to work for a rest now - (HAHA) - roll on 3 day weekends tho, I am really a great fan of that idea.

Catch ya later,

cheers, Shiree

p.s। just checked my e-mail, and my stitching angel has just posted my parcel from America - oooh how exciting, I cannot wait and will be checking my mail box eagerly!!! Thank you angel!! Also cannot wait to see who you are... if it was not so late I might be tempted to check thru those blog sites yet again.

yay for long weekends!

I am so glad to have got to today.. it has been a really very long and busy week indeed. Working full time, keeping up with builders, house renovations,gym,gardening, blog land, housework, stitching, sewing, schedules,.. just takes one's breath away. So I really am looking forward to the weekend to having a catch up, best of all is my planned sleep in for tomorrow - I am very likely to wake up at the usual time - 5.30am ish, but I simply do not have to get up which is the best bit. And if I feel like it, then I may grab the morning newspaper, a cup of tea.. and just ENJOY!!! and I know just the spot!



We are heading away for the long weekend (Labour Weekend in NZ), but we are not off until mid-morning tomorrow. So I have tonight to get my stitching to take away organised. I am really lucky that I can stitch when we travel, in fact I get quite bored and agitated sitting in the car doing nothing. So I need to make sure that I have enough plus a little extra to take with me. Heaven forbid that I should run out before the weekend is over. Although, it may give me some time to catch up on some reading..

I should be able to find something from this pile..



My garden is looking slightly better this week, after some serious attention last weekend and during the evenings this week. It is so good to have daylight saving, and get more time for being outdoors in the evening. Still quite a bit to do 'tho, and I have decided to pull out and redo a whole bed area.. not quite sure how I will redo, still considering.

It really is rather lovely 'tho as we are into late spring now, and the garden is looking great. These are the last of the spring tulips..



We have a rhododendron festival locally in the next few weeks, so lots of garden type things to do and see, ....



..and talking 'bout gardening. maybe that' where I should be now, ... have fun - I will!!

Shiree

new bikes!

hello again,

it has been a bit since I last wrote on this. I am still getting the hang of it, and I must admit I have been spending a lot of time looking at other blogs. What a big blog land out there!

We have had builders in our house this week, what a mess.We are having the ceiling in our lounge relined, and extra insulation added so come next winter we will be nice and toasty warm. SO not too much sewing done at all, although I did manage the other night to find a quiet tidy spot and sit and do a little bit if stitching. So soo many projects to do....

Anyway, last Sunday we decided that we would treat ourselves and buy new bikes. Next weekend, we are off to Clyde to bike part of the rail trail, Tim is rowing the long distance race from Cromwell to Clyde (all by himself in a single scull - good luck to him I say!!), I really am an avid supporter of this rowing, so I shall be there with great gusto to cheer them on, and will be at each end of the course to help them on & off the water. Son, Cam is rowing also, I think he is part of an eights' crew. They look so spectacular those big rowing eights so watch this space for some pikkies after the event.

and on the Monday -'cos it is Labour weekend and Monday is a public holiday - Tim and I and 2 other good friends are biking in the Dusky Trail ride in Twizel - 44km up hill and down dale - very undulating area. So what fun huh.have a look at this website

but I am sure that I will get some stitching in somewhere along the way!!!


These ares some of the photos from our biking trip in Croatia recently - 6 of us biked an old Napoleonic road (left over from the time way back when Napoleon was in Croatia, and it was all rocky and up hill,






you can see by this last photo how hilly it was, and we all ended up pushing our bikes, (that is me on the side in the lavender top), but it was good to be able to say "done that!!"

cheers, Shiree

well, ... the days are passing by so quickly indeed, another weekend has come and gone, and back into the working week. I so wanted a sleep in on Saturday, but my dearly beloved would not let me rest, and we were up early me for a gym session with my personal trainer, and Tim was off on the harbour rowing

It has only been a week since we have been back from our holiday, but I have been busy reliving the memories by showing off our photos to everyone, workmates, parents, friends, quilting group,...
It has been real fun sorting thru them and putting them in an album.

It was our friend Pete's 60th birthday over the weekend, and we helped him celebrate. we travelled to this lovely old homestead where we had a terrific lunch,


and then we walked around this lovely old garden...



Several of us then stayed on for a light evening meal, and stayed the night, sitting up talking to the wee small hours.

...not too much stitching done this weekend, so I have heaps to catch up on, but I did manage this for my stitching angel॥ I do hope that she will enjoy it!

and of course there are other goodies as well, I really need to get these in the post this week! She does like blue she says, but then so do I!

Until next time, have fun all,

Shiree

back from holiday...

Well, holiday over, but it was absolutely GREAT!!! I just love travelling and seeing different parts of the world, different people and sights etc. Romania was very different from Croatia, both in people, and the landscape. We did enjoy both I would have to say, but certainly the cycling and cruise tour in Croatia was a bonus. We met some really wonderful people who just made our holiday that little bit extra special and enjoyable.

...this photo is of Count Vlad's Castle in Transylvania - this was so pretty and not at all what one might expect for Dracula to be living in. OH the romanticism of it all. and a pretty little village also where they had a market selling lots of local souvenirs.


and what could be more perfect and peaceful then this shot!!

We walked the old town wall of Dubrovnik, the heavens opened up for us at the worst time possible, and we got absolutely drenched, however, it was not so cold, so we dried off pretty quickly। ..the only rain for the entire holiday - not too bad.

... and of course, time for stitching for my secret angel...

२ sleeps to go!

excitement all round - on Friday we are off on holiday for 3 weeks, heading to Romania and Croatia for hopefully some summer or the end of summer anyway.. at the end of our winter.
I just wanted to share what I was up to at the weekend, we travelled to our holiday home in Twizel,
and had the most wonderful time, both in regards to weather, and the things that we managed to do; several bike rides around the canals, lots of gardening, and some quilting as well of course.





these 2 above are Natalie Lymer's Truly Scrumptious -
and this is my version of Leanne Beasley's "Flowers and Flutterbuys!!

Both these quilts are made using Moda Jelly rolls, they are so easy peasy to use...

'til later,

Shiree

well hello there

Blogger beginnings -I guess this is going to take a wee while to sort out and get in the groove!! but here goes, they tell me that I can talk really well, and the words do literally just slip off my tongue, so it should not be too much of a problem to just sit and type huh!! I think that this will be lots of fun, and I am sure that my family is going to have a bit of a laugh at my expense, isn't that right Janet?

We are heading off on holiday on Friday evening, after Tim and I have finished work, although I have to say, currently it feels like there is much work to do before we go, both at home and at work. Anyway, come Friday, we are hopping on the big silver bird, and winging our way across the other side of the world to begin our Romanian leg of the journey, and then off to Croatia on our cycle and cruise tour of the Dalmatian coastline.

And of course, I will have my stitching with me, particularly for the long haul flights, which are just so so tedious without such a diversion, and of course it is such a pleasant way to spend some time in total relaxation. Just the way to start a holiday.

I have been playing around with my new camera over the weekend, so I hope to download some weekend photos and share them with you very shortly.

be back soon,

'til then,

Shiree