just another manic monday, wish it was sunday

that's my funday - well Sunday was funday, and so was Saturday... let me take you down a country lanejust sit back and enjoy this spectacular countryside...

take a left turn here...

and down the drive..

watch where you drive please..

what a georgeous bunch of gals huh!!! (L-R Jackie, Carole, Colleen, Me, Deb & Darlene).

and didn't we all work hard,

and laugh loud and lots.. (Darlene & Deb)

even these guys thought we were pretty funny

I found a WIP cross stitch that I bought while we were holidaying in Norway in 2004, it actually is an advent calendar when finished, so thought that maybe this might be a good time to get into it!! I had a love/hate relationship with it all weekend but was happy to say that I had actually doen something other then sleep, eat eat eat, and stitch!!!


check out Cherry Pie Quilt Patch, Cheryl and her husband Bruce are the most wonderful hosts, and keep you well fed and entertained for what was an absolutely marevlous weekend!

have fun,

Shiree

me and my friends... and I do have some

well, at last! the end - or almost - of yet one more week. 10 more to go until the end of September and I can join Rowing Man in Twizel -you will all be so sick of hearing about this very shortly I can tell -

Anyway, off to Levin with miss over excited who you would think never gets out of the house - well at least of late since she is recovering from back surgery, and banned from driving...

So... 4 of us are attending the quilting retreat at Cherry Pie in Levin, (me, Colleen, Deb n Darlene), I have been looking forward to this for ages, and I know that the others have been too.... just what we all need I am sure.

I need to pack some of this...

and some of this...
into one of these.

Usually I am pretty ace at packing, whenever we travel overseas, I can usually get my bag at about 10-14kgs, however, my # 1 daughter (eco-woman, aka tree hugger), wants me to take some of her stuff up for her. She is currently living in Wellington (and I pass through Wellington to get to Levin), while she is doing some further study at Victoria University. She wants a duvet cover, inner, bike helmet, and several other bits n bobs as well...

It don't fit well!!! Hrmphh...

Have a real fun weekend!

Shiree

Finally caught up...I think?

WOW, I cannot believe how long it has been since I posted. The last 10 days or so have all just disappeared on me, never to be found again.

This arrived in the mail from Noela last Friday, I never got home from work until quite late, (met a friend for an early snack dinner - the most delicious scrummy corn fritters with a really yummy homemade chutney - just divine, and then my sister arrived and we went off for a wine - she has teenagers and was feeling like some time out! - and then Rowing Man arrived home from week 2 in Twizel after 3 hr drive, very tired but full of his week and wanting to spill all) -

- so I never got to open this until Saturday morning. Isn't it so scrummy - thank you so much Noela. This was the Paper Bag Swap organised by Maree ... I love all the redwork, and I have really enjoyed visiting Noela's blog.. Thank you ever so much Maree for organising this swap!

...and my Christmas in July (organised by Karen), swap partner Deb, sent me these goodies, she got to post about them before I did! ...'cos I am such a sad slacker..... look at the lovely Paris Pillow.. isn't everything so georgeous.... hmmmmm might just go look out that flat white,

I just love Leanne Beasley designs!!!

...and these are some of the swaps that I have been working on... furiously....

so much to do and sew little time...

and this is a sneaky at my Christmas in July (organised by Stephanie & Linda) ...

and this stitchery for my other Christmas in July swap, organised by Karen... (I am hand delivering this one as the recipient, Darlene, is away this weekend at the same retreat that I am off to at Cherry Pie Quilting in Levin..

Finally these are now already wrapped up and in the post! YES!! Got carried away and bit off a bit more then what I could realistically chew, but there you have it. To be honest, I didn't think that I would still be working full time, or at all for that matter. Really thought that by now I would be ensconced in Twizel being a SAH something....

anyway, on that front - Rowing Man started his new GP role in Twizel 2 weeks ago. I went up for the first week (annual leave time 'cos not yet left job); because he has not yet found anyone to take over his seat in his practice at Outram, where he has been for the last 22 years, and has only got a mix of part-time locum cover, he is working every Monday there, and then Tues-Fri in Twizel. Now for those of you who are not familiar with this territory, this is at least a 3 hour drive. So the plan is except for every 4 th weekend when he is on call in Twizel, he is coming home Friday evenings, leaving at 7pm, and staying down in Dunedin working at Outram Mondays (doing some on call work Mon evenings or over the weekend), and then heading back up to Twizel on Tuesday mornings leaving at 5.30am. The only bother with that, is that we have had some really doozy frosts of late, and temperatures way low ... like -9! Frosty cold.

My challenge, and no choice really about accepting it 'cos I need to support my man! ... is to make sure he has clean laundry and plenty of food for the week! Hmmmmmmm more grey hairs coming on I feel, or wrinkles or something. And I don't sleep that well when he' s not here.

SOoooooo, I will be staying at work at least until the end of September, keeping the house in Dunedin, and Rowing Man is commuting. Long distance relationships - SUCK already! .... 10 weeks to go and counting!!!

Have fun!

Shiree

what a week -

It is snowing in Twizel, as you can see, I took these photos yesterday lunchtime, and it has been steadily snowing ever since, so much more snow cover now, I am about to go and meet Rowing Man for lunch, so will see just how much snow is afoot today...

not sure how we may fare on the road back to Dunedin, will check that out on Sunday, but Rowing Man needs to be the bum on his seat in Outram (no locum cover), and I really sorta need to be back at work too..

these footsteps lead somewhere nice and warm,

Someone, who shall remain nameless (very kind quilting friend currently recovering from very recent back surgery), sent me the pattern for Millie's Garden, oh no she cried, I shall put that away for a rainy day, (or did she really mean a snowy day!@#$%) - anyway, I just could not resist, and have been putting these together.... don't they look cool!

I am doing this quilt with my good friend Margaret, who is not among the snow, in fact when I last heard from her (which was yesterday actually), she was sipping some sort of alcoholic beverage on the Queensland Coast...
The snow affected the TV reception last night, as any resemblance of a picture was so pixelated and garbeld like aliens from you know where, and the then reception died altogetherfor all 3 channels - haven't checked to see if it is back today or not.... so I was busy stitching this last night,

and this, just need to get this off an in the mail... I so should have been working on this and not Millie's Garden!

and I really need to get into gear with this too,' cos this needs to be posted Monday!

and these need to be put together


cannot figure how I ever manage to fit in a work day! Oh well, off to lunch

Have fun, Shiree

will you look at this!!!

Have a looksee on over here at Lori's blog, what a wonderul place for inspiration, this is a must see place to visit - indeedee!!

She has so many wonderful places to visit, so many tthings to show you, you will be there a while, so make a coffe, settle in adn hop on over...

And look at her giveaway while you are there..

new beginings

well, we are off to Twizel tomorrow night after the days work, YAHOO

Rowing man starts his new job on Tuesday, after such a harrowing week and weekend,

Friday, one of the locums organised for working Tuesdays, sent Rowing man an e-mail - yes did not even have the decency to phone!, and said that he was too burned out and was unable to do the locum that had been arranged - how do you manage to find a locum at such short notice, when there is such a shortage anyway!!!!

anyway, to cut a very long harassed and extremely stressful story very short, Rowing man, after many many phone calls, managed to find another locum to work Tuesdays for him for the next 4 weeks at least....

so tomorrow after work (likely to be about 7pm), we will head off for Twizel for the next week, wel,l back in town next Sunday afternoon (lateish).

soooooo, maybe not able to check up on any postings, or bloggings or e-mail maybe, depends on what access I can manage, Rowing Man takes his PC and we have remote wireless access, but he is usually busy himself, and by the time I get a looksee it is ususally close to home time so I don't bother... we will see, so maybe I will hook on and maybe not...

anyway, if I don't, I am sure that I will catch up with you all anyway,

have fun, Shiree

T'was the night before Christmas

and all through the house…..

not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse….

her sugarplums have been folding and packing and finally they are ready to show you this…

pop on over to Helen's blog... this is her newly released BOM.

Isn't this just the most wonderful Christmas Quilt ever!

oooohhh the wish list just keeps on growing, look at all that wonderful stitching, my fingers are trult itching!

have fun, Shiree