Saturday, December 4, 2010

ads

Mine, after your post, Marion, tells me what to do if I want to move to New Zealand!!

4.5 days to go before I retire. Yippee!

I can take a hint !

The Google ad. following my last post, asked if I would like to turn my blog into a book.....?!?

Marion.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Therapy..

I think that posting about the mining accident, has been helpful to me over the past two weeks , so thank you for bearing with me... In such a small country as ours, it really did seem to affect everybody. Yesterday there was a moving "West Coast" memorial service. So sincere and unsophisticated.

This from todays newspaper : " It was a day of for weeping and holding each other. A day for standing together to show support and solidarity. About 10,000 gathered at the Omoto racecourse near Greymouth, to honour the 29 men who lost their lives two weeks ago at the Pike River coalmine. in the Paparoa Range. On a glorious, sunny day, the West Coast community was joined by dignitaries from around NZ and overseas to remember men who went off cheerfully to do a day's work and never came home. Powerful speeches, prayers, hymns and songs combined to create an unforgettable , poignant service that all NZ hopes will provide some comfort to the 29families who have lost their loved ones.."

DH and I watched it all on TV. I found it very moving. Set in among the hills, the race course provided a perfect setting. There were 29 tables set out in the front and the families had covered them with things of particular significance to them. The singing was unaccompanied and led by locals. School children sang a beautiful song about life on the West Coast, and moving words of hope and encouragement were offered from the dais. A day to remember.

Marion.

Another one for Marion & others


This was sent to me yesterday. It is taken in Prince Edward County which is on Lake Ontario east of the city of Toronto. The filtered daylight is a reality for us as a rule for most of December and January. The sun starts shining again in Feb. But it is pretty, isn't it.
Sunlight helps us all, Sara.
Doris, you're always learning something new in sewing...good for you.

Rosey (again)

Cold in Fla also

Burrr. . . . It was 82 on Monday, and about 36 last night. Lots of wind for about 48 hrs. and cooler weather. The sun is out, so that makes all the difference. It is a windy 50 out there now. My DH and his college friend are going to play golf today, then drive up to Charlotte, N.C. for the Fla. State-Va. Tech game on Saturday. They have their heavy gloves, coats, etc. out to take with them. DH's heavy coat had a hood on it also.

I wouldn't be able to take the gray sky for months at a time. Virginia was that way when I was growning up there. Maybe that was responsible for depression starting for me. So thankful for sunny skys.

Jane in N. C. did you get any of the flooding and storms that went your way? Hope nobody got flooded out.

Since DH and friend just drove off, I'm going to finish up the fleece jacket I've been making. (The quilty room doubles as the guest room) Tonight is our quilt guild Christmas party, so want to be able to show it.

After I do the hem in the jacket I'll make a heart block to send to N.Z.

While DH is gone over the next few days I plan to get all the decorating done, except the tree. He took the rubbermaid bins out of the attic just now.
OK, that's about it for me! Hot tea with O.J. is my drink of choice in cold weather. Going to microwave another cupa.
Sara in Fla.

weather, sewing, etc.

Jane in NC - Good to know that you survived the foot surgery. You've been on my mind, and I'm relieved to see you are up and about, and posting here.

Marion - I'm so sorry about the mining tragedy. Bad luck sometimes seems to come in waves. Please continue to post about your weather, even if it is hot & dry. It is nice to be reminded that it is summer, somewhere, while I am wearing my wool socks, silk long underwear, and flannel-lined pants. I mentally imagine I am down under, and thaw out a bit. ;o)

Kathi in Idaho - Wow, that is some snowfall. We've had a few like that, too, darkness and all, but they are not the norm in Tennessee. It got down to 26° here last night, and we should have a solid week of cold-ish weather. Our autumn lasted a long time this year. Actually, our autumn was short---summer lasted a long time!


I am half-way through "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo". It has been on my to-read pile for a while, and I finally made time to begin reading it over our Thanksgiving weekend. Everyone else I know has read it and recommended it. It is an easy read, quite engaging (no spoilers, please) I have "Guernsey L&PPP Society" on the pile to read, too, along with a Maeve Binchy book. Not enough hours in the day ...

I am off to a doll-clothes sewing class today. The teacher has tons of experience at making doll clothes for her daughters' American Girl doll (18" size doll). I am taking advantage of the learning opportunity while I can. I may never have a granddaughter, but the sewing technique is different from adult clothing, I guess due to the smaller scale. I'm never done learning…..

Realities of snow dwellers

Marion, I love reading your posts...the nice thing about the board is that it represents all kinds of weather, all kinds of different living conditions; all kinds of different people and their live's experiences. Jean, who has daffodils in February far to the north and west in Canada, where the climate is temperate compared to the rest of Canada, is under snow...unusual for her at this time of year...or she has been...maybe it's melted by now. Down east in New Brunswick, because of the oceon effect, the winters are very heavy with snow. Here in Ontario, we can have a very 'wintry' winter with lots of snow, too. The city of Toronto, less so because of Lake Ontario and many of the storms that come through do so on the south side of L. Ontario and hit Cleveland and the Buffalo areas. If Russell still wants to experience snow, you know where to come. Just ask him to bring a shovel, high snow boots, snow pants, heavy jacket, woolen toque (hat), scarf, heavy mitts (waterproof helps) and a willingness to spend several hours each day it snows outside pushing a snow blower. He will need lots of books to read and be prepared to haul wood for four months or more of the year. Also, he may suffer sun deprivation by the end of January so he may need an anti-depressant or a good bottle of scotch. He may become withdrawn and not wish to see people (living in the country, that is) and feel isolated because of the many snow storms. But, otherwise, he can appreciate the utter beauty of winter while sitting in the midst of it or he can look at pictures, such as Kathi's posting....note...the heavy grey look to the photograph is not underexposure...it is reality. No, please don't stop contributing to the board. I wish more people would. If they tune in to read it, please contribute. Our lives are no more interesting than yours...

Rosey

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Oh ....so beautiful though....

Kathi, thank you for posting the lovely photo. A snowfall like that makes everything look so fresh and clean. I do know that it doesn't last like that for long but it is magical for awhile. We seldom get a real snowfall here but I do remember, as a child in England, the fun that we had in the snow. My mother used to say that the best place for snow was on a Christmas card ! Rosey, the conditions you describe made me shiver with cold. I hope you were safe out there on the roads.

I went into Rangiora on Tuesday, to drop off my "hearts ". It was nice to meet Shirley Goodwin. She's definitely a "woman on a mission" and already busy dealing with incoming heart blocks. There was a photo and an article about her quilts, in the paper yesterday, so she is getting lots of publicity. I'm sure that your ""hearts" will all be welcomed and used. There are so many disasters happening around the world, with sickening regularity. It's somehow reassuring to know that people can still react with kindness, even to complete strangers in such a far off place as NZ.

Loved the book Rosey, thank you.(Major Pettigrew's Last Stand) A perfect book for last w/end when I was able to take time out and enjoy it. I certainly "recognised" some of the characters ! It made me smile.

A busy week with end of year and Christmas get-togethers.. NZ closes in January , or so the saying goes , so it all has to happen before Christmas.

My name has appeared, far too often on this page in the last little while, so I'll sign off for now and make room for more interesting posts !

Take care.
Marion

Winter has struck with a vengeance!



This is what we woke up to this morning. We don't normally have snow for another month in this part of Idaho. This is our second storm of the season, sandwiching 0*F temps. I'm pretty much ready for a trip to the tropics! The older I get, the less I like the snow and cold.

Kathi

Four heart blocks from Canada

My three quilt ladies who come here every Wed. morning to quilt/sew were met at the front door with.....having prepped one already who brought the necessary fabric, tools, etc......do you want to make a whole quilt or just one block. So, four small heart blocks will go into the mail from Ontario, Canada this afternoon for New Zealand and Shirley Goodwin's project mentioned by Fran below. It is a very tiny contribution to some child's Christmas which in no way will ever make up for the terrible losses faced by the families of miners. I'm sitting on the packet now squashing the air out of it. Believe me, that's a very big squash!!

Grey, drizzly day here and the part of winter no-one likes. Snow makes things look pretty and clean. We have hints of snow tucked in and around the bushes and long grasses but otherwise, we're looking at freezing rain, which makes driving treacherous. A good day to stay home, which I'm not doing unfortunately. The only thing that makes our winter more bearable this year is knowing that Vancouver Island has had more than it's share of snow before us, which is rare in itself. Even more rare, Jean can't crow about her fine weather out there. She starts having daffodils in February out on the west coast of Canada. Go figure. She's a whole lot further north in the hemisphere than we are here in Ontario but she has a 'stream'...not the Gulf Stream...flowing by Vancouver Island......which makes the weather temperate there....what 'stream' is it, Jean?

Rosey

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Social networking !

Thank you Fran, for posting the information below. I have just spoken to Shirley...wow ! She's sounds as if she's human dynamo ! She has had messages from all over the world and seems very able to handle all that. She has the local paper coming around today to do an article on this project and she plans to ask local quilters to join her for a "sewathon" this Friday and Saturday. She has contacted suppliers and has had backing fabric and Dacron donated from quilting shops. She plans to have 15 quilts finished for Christmas, for the 15 children who have been left fatherless. I have no doubt at all that she will accomplish that. I am working on hearts myself and will pop them in next time I go into Rangiora (15minutes away) If I can't join her on Friday or Saturday I'll bring some hearts home to assemble here. It was great to hear her enthusiasm and "get up and go " . Reading her blog page gives you some indication of her determination to get things done.

Summer has arrived and we are all running for cover ! We are not used to these very hot days. The garden is beginning to wilt. I know how it feels ! Hopefully it will last long enough for us to get used to.

Three weeks today we leave for Christmas in H.K. with DD#1 and family. Lots to do before then so I'd better get moving ! Have a good week.

Marion.