Yusss! Love that rhyming title!
So as I was telling you earlier, we tend to buy our own birthday pressies round here! I know, very boring of us!! I thought I'd show you what I've gifted myself this year.
I love her humour and I love gin and tonic, my summer drink of choice.
Second choice was easy when I saw this lovely offering from Frank n' Dean. Awesome! Now I shall never forget a birthday again!
My third and final choice for my presents-for-myself is coming from far away. I'm still waiting for it to wing its way to me, but I'll let you know as soon as it arrives.
I'm really stoked that I got great gifts for me, but also that I can support small crafters and designers while I'm at it! Makes me feel good inside.
ps. Dear Colleen has a tote bag available now with profit going to Oxfam for the Gulf oil spill...check it out here and here.
It's a nice day today. Got a few jobs done this morning. Mother nature seems to have forgotten its supposed to be winter and the sun is out and beautiful. My lunch of leftovers looked so pretty I thought I'd share it with you.
I wish there were more hours in the day. Specifically those hours in between when the tea dishes are done and bedtime. Those hours fly by! And they are the only hours lately in which I am getting any crafting done. Its not the best time for me to craft, my tired eyes often let me down. My brain often lets me down when I'm trying to sew at night and I'm coming to the conclusion that its best avoided if I don't want to have to spend twice the time the next day fixing up mistakes!
.: Last night's paper crafting :.
Often I do manage to get on a bit of a roll with something though, and as midnight approaches I know I MUST go to bed, or I'll pay for it the next day.
But oh how I wish for more time for makin' stuff.
.: I have two things today that I love: tea, tea and more tea, for a tired mama of a teething baby, and a husband that did the dishes and folded the washing :.
Slowly but surely I'm getting some stock together for some local markets this coming summer. Last night I was playing round with the presentation of my stock, bagging it up and putting it in baskets and bowls working out how to display it nicely.
Do any of you experienced market people have any advice for me?! And also as a buyer, what do you look for in a stall, what draws you in?
It's fun getting it all set up....Hopefully I'll have lots of bits and pieces looking great by the time summer rolls round.
I really like the side of my fridge.
It's that little office-y part of the kitchen that everyone has. You know the place where you put the mail, and the bills to be paid, perhaps a calendar and your little lists and notes for the day. Pens, rubber bands, twisty ties, tissues, cell phone chargers...all that exciting stuff.
Sorry for the flare in these images, bright sunlight coming through the window behind, and no curtains on that window I'm afraid. This is my noticeboard. It's made from an old frame I've been dragging from house to house since I was a teenager. I took a piece of polystyrene and covered it in some old wrapping paper and cut it to fit in the frame. Hey presto! Noticeboard - done.
The lovely little bits and bobs are from my mum-in-law and my sister-in-law (but lets just call her my best mate, cause she is!). Aren't they cute!! Also a wee note from Frith, I received her craft-it-round gift the other day - love love love!
The covered letters are also from my bestie. And the wee kiwiana post card, from Dee.
So there you go. The side of my fridge.
If you are lucky one day I might show you the front and the back too.
Hello! Sorry I have been away a little more than usual recently. This is of course due to all the walking! I've had two big walks today, trying to get a bit ahead, as there is rain forecast later in the week. Thanks for all your lovely and supportive comments here! Great advice.
Today I moseyed down to the post office, vege shop and library. I usually visit these places once or twice a week.
And here's a pic of the beret all finished and blocking away nicely on a dinner plate.
Did you know you're not supposed to begin a sentence with 'And'. I did. But I continue to do it all the time. I'm a rebel like that.
So first up I'll apologise for the lack of craft going on over here at Green Valley Crafts. Sorry 'bout that. On a brighter note, there has also been a distinct lack of baking, resulting in a husband asking in a very sad voice every night if there is anything to have for pudding. This is a brighter note for me because I'm losing it. The baby (and other) weight, that is.
I've become who I really didn't want to be, that mama trudging round the supermarket in sneakers and track pants (you can call them yoga pants if you like, but they still don't flatter.) I haaaate my sneakers. I hate sneakers in general.
But they are comfy and encourage me to walk. And that's what I'm doing, and why the lack of crafting and a bit less posting. With the babe in the buggy I walk, walk, walk. Reading a post here and there finally gave me that little nudge I needed to get on my way. I've lost about 1kg in the last week and a bit. I've set a goal to lose at least 10kg by Christmas. Even better would be 13kg.
To me that number seems quite ambitious, I've never lost that much before, but I think its achievable. Then hopefully I can dig out some of those clothes that have a little more style out of the wardrobe and feel better about myself. Because that's really what its all about.
So here's a pic of my favourite made-by-me summer dress and a goal to be wearing it on Christmas Day while enjoying a moderate size piece of Christmas cake and a sensible slosh of sparkling wine.
PS...feel free to go crazy in the comments and leave me all your weight-loss tips, words of encouragement and healthy recipes! I'll take all the help that I can get!
I am here. And I am doing things. But they are all surprises.
I really REALLY want to show you what I'm making for craft-it-round, but I'll leave it as a surprise for those yet to receive their parcels... By the way I have put up some of the goodies I've been getting up here if you want to peek...
Along with craft-it-round, I'm preparing a couple of parcels for a couple of friends...
My letterbox has received some more love this week. Awesome! But technically this first package wasn't for me.
Don't know about y'all but hubby and I are a bit different when it comes to our birthdays. We celebrate our respective special days within a few days of each other, so its usually a joint effort when it comes to a party or gathering of some kind. As far as presents go, for each other, we're pretty bad. Its like "hey Hun, I just bought myself something for my birthday, you can give it to me okay?" No surprises round here!
And this is how it came to pass that some Cd's arrived from the USA yesterday for the boy's impending birthday.
But see the thing is, Ha! I love this kind of music just as much as him. So really, its like I get double presents! Score! I don't really know any other girls who particularly like 'indie' or 'alternative' music as much as me. As such I don't know if anyone out there will really be interested, but I'll continue on all the same... these particular new Cd's are Wolf Parade and Fruit Bats...
I was first introduced to these bands when I was managing a cafe in Christchurch and we provided some catering for a record company who were visiting town. I helped carry the food out to the car for the customer, as anyone would do, and he was so impressed with this customer service, he reached into a big box in the back of the van and produced a smaller box which he gave to me, along with his thanks and his business card. Not wanting to look to keen I gave him a wave and headed back down the road with this treasure in my hand. Once inside the cafe door I ripped into it and inside were 11 brand new Cd's!! Woot! The record company were Sub Pop. When I got home I told hubby and gave him the business card and he told me my customer had been Jonathan Poneman, the founder of Sub Pop.
Holy cow! So now I totally win in the 'cool' stakes of degrees of separation. This guy signed Nirvana and Soundgarden back in the day, and in 2010 Sub Pop have bands such as Iron and Wine and The Shins on their books. Anyhow...what was my point? I forget, but I never miss a chance to tell that story. Probably the most famous person I've ever met.
I love it when you buy something and they enclose some little extras! Especially when its badges.
This next pick might give you a clue as to what I've bought myself for my birthday this year...
Anyway I've held you up enough, I'll let you go now and get back to folding the washing or playing with the baby. Have a great weekend, and check out this song if you get the time xx
The Daphne is almost in bloom around here. Daphne is my favourite of all flowers I think. It seems delicate but hardy and I love its sweet scent.
It reminds me of the neighbour I had as a child, as she had a plant near her front door. Her name was Vi, and she was like an extra Nana to me. When I came home from school, I would often pop over to see her and she would give me clinkers and licorice bullets out of the jar on top of the fridge. She had curly blonde gray hair and smelt faintly of Pall Mall cigarettes. My brother and I would go watch her feed the chickens in her garden. I don't know what she did as a job, but now I am older I think of her as an artist. She painted and made stained glass. I still have things of hers I have carried with me in my travels over the years. Such as this chair.
When I was about 13 Vi died, and a few years later we moved house. A few more years later, I left Nelson and went off to university. Eight years beyond and I found myself doing what many young people do, and I returned to my hometown to have a baby. Not only did I return to my hometown, but to the exact same house, in the same street I grew up in. My husband and I now rent this house from my parents.
I love living in these familiar surrounds. I watch the sun and the moon move through the same sky, over the same hill, that is etched in my memory so much so that it is a part of me. I love knowing just how to lift and push to get the back gate to open, which windows are stuck and can never be forced open. I like that perhaps my daughter will go to the same school I went to, just down the road and round the corner.
Recently a new lady moved in next door, and in a nice twist of fate, she got some chickens. And the Daphne flowers again.
Round here, that counts as a clear desk people.
And once I've got a clear desk, I'm afraid that means it's tidy enough to start messing it up again.
But while its still looking somewhat presentable, I found a few cute wee images I wanted to preserve.
Some days it can be hard to find something I love. Today is one of those days. The babe has been inexplicably waking in the night, which has led to me being on antibiotics for my 5th bout of mastitis, and I've just discovered the bathroom sink has been leaking into the cupboards below for god-knows-how-long and half the stuff in there is mouldy. All the while thinking about the fact that tomorrow should have been my Nan and Grandad's 60th wedding anniversary. So today its as simple as being thankful for a cup of hot blackcurrant and five minutes sitting on the deck soaking up the winter sun and looking at the hills before I get to scrubbing again.
In my efforts to tidy the room, I've found myself stuffing things into the scrap basket until it was so full that bits keep springing back out at me. So it's time for a scrap project. Many of these pieces are very small, but I just can't bring myself to throw them away. I'm thinking I'll cut some shapes out for some toys and maybe for a change mat or two. Do you have any other scrap-busting ideas for me?
The song today is an oldie but a goodie, and its a cheesy kinda thank-you for reading here. Your little comments always brighten my day, and help to keep me sane in my days home with the babe. Happy weekend xx
With all the snail mail that's been coming and going here lately, I have had more use for my gratitude wrap. I made this a while ago, and its roughly based on Amanda'sversion.
I make most of the cards I give to others. When I've had a bit of a card-makin' session, I'll put all the completed ones in here with their envelopes. Then, when I need to write one I can just pick up my wrap, make a cuppa and go sit somewhere and put pen to paper. It's a nice little ritual.
