Friday, January 31, 2014

It took awhile to get onto the Posting page today....

Why is that I wonder ?

Great to hear from " Jean in Mill Bay... "  I always thought Mill Bay sounded so interesting...Welcome back Jean, love to hear more of your life there.

For those who expressed concern about my DH paying money "up front" to the timber man...well... he SEEMS alright, but hasn"t yet arrived to do the job !  His story was that HE had been ripped off by a client ! Someone who got a lot of work done, then told him he was going into liquidation and couldn't pay him...leaving him(the contractor) with wages to pay and machinery to keep going ...will we ever know the truth ?  DH was quite offended at my suggestion that he may have been taken in...!!    It's all supposed to be happening on Monday...lets hope it does !

Rosey, your week has been horrendous....Living with a man with no computer and no land line, plus the sub zero temperatures, would be challenging (to say the least...and probably, the least said, the better...)   "Character building" would be another way of looking at it !..Here's to better times...   I fear that my computer is probably in the same state as yours...can't quite face that one yet but..the time will come...

Took a very rare trip into Christchurch yesterday to replace a hand splint.  I went to a Hand Clinic a few months ago, and the splint has made such a difference.  It stabilizes the lower joint on the thumb and makes gardening and sewing possible... designed in the Netherlands and made in the EU. $120..  Unfortunately, Holly, our naughty dog, chewed it into a thousand pieces while we were out one night last week.  We found the remains on our return.  My fault, for leaving it outside (I had been gardening)..I suppose, but I was not pleased. !   The roads in the city are still a mess and it's hard to plan a route with any certainty, due to  road works.  Three years this month, since the big quake. Makes me wonder how long it takes for poorer , less developed countries to recover from such disasters....

Saturday afternoon here and I plan an afternoon off... maybe I'll play with some fabrics or something equally soothing.

Enjoy the week end..
Marion.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Memories...

Good timing on the mention of Sondra! I am working on a wonderful project, just filled with memories. I have finally pulled out the maple leaf blocks we swapped at Rosey's Retreat and have them set together with a lovely panel. Just outer borders to go and that should be done by the weekend -- pictures to follow!


All the little name tags bring back such good memories! I wonder where everyone has got to now?


Jean

Monday, January 27, 2014

It's beyond me.....

I have been trrying to post a colourful photo, to cheer my freezing friends overseas....    It's impossible for me to understand how hard it must be to live in such temperatures ....day after day... with little or no sunlight. Remember that each day brings you closer to Spring !

  Sorry about the "no show" .. my photos aren't where they should be and I can't access them...I'll get himsef to try to make sense of it all, he's the one who puts them onto the computer....

I've been busy in the garden, it really is too big for me and it's not easy to get help. I used to have a lady who came for a few sessions in the spring and again in the autumn, but she has now got a full time job so I won't be seeing her again.  DH simply says he doesn't "do" gardening....!?!  

The "wood man" came yesterday to discuss working on the fallen trees.  He, and his heavy machinery , will be here on Thursday, to start the work. He wanted $4,000 in the hand, to seal the deal...sounds a bit dodgy to me... I hope he comes back !

Better give the house a bit of a "lick and a promise" before going out into the garden again... The DH doesn't "do" housework either..!!

Have a good day.

Marion.

No snow here.....we had a bit more over the weekend but brutal cold temperatures....-44 Celsius with windchill which is just about the same as Farenheight temp.....I think Rosey may be getting a bit of break from the cold ....from weather map this morning it was a bit north of her and south.....

January has been and always is a long month....but the sun is trying  to  shine earlier and a bit longer....

One son has a few days left in Costa Rica and another leaves tomorrow with 2 sons for a Disney Cruise for a few days......things we never did when they were young so I am happy for them that they are able to do so....the five and six year olds are excited to say the least...  The remaining son is still working so that is good...being in a trades career (plumbing) doesn't always guarantee year round employment so he is happy too.

DH has ventured out and I made a list of errands for him...no sense for both of us to be going out !

I am off to the sewing area....turning on the extra heater tho....


Sunday, January 26, 2014

Checking in . . .

Our weather is crazy.   Today we reached 64°F and tomorrow night the temp will plunge to something around 5°F for the low and stay below freezing temps for the next couple of days.    This time last year, my daffodils had sprouted six or seven inches high already.  This year, the sprouted an inch and a half,  and have stayed put.  Those sprouts are all frost bitten and brown.  

The gold finches are eating me out of house and home.  LOL   With the really cold days,   I have to refill the Nijer/thistle seed feeders every 48 hours.    Poor things, if they have nothing to eat then they cannot create body warmth to stay alive.   I am going broke feeding them.   ;-)

Some of you will remember Sondra H. in California.   The first time I met Sondra,  my DH had a convention in Monterey and she and I met up for coffee.   This was a few years before Rosey's Retreat, where some of you have met her.   Sondra's DH has a conference to attend here in Nashville, and she is coming  with him.    Tomorrow, we will spend the day together  at quilt shops & having lunch.  I'm looking forward to it.

My sister and her DH return from their 2-week cruise of New Zealand and Australia today.   I pick them up at the airport in a few hours and am looking forward to hearing about their trip