a little shelf decoration

a perfect place to hang some paper bunting

thanks Traci, they're perfect!

Carole x

a few more photos

If you happen to be in Taupo during symposium call in and take a look at the tutor's 

exhibition and let me know what you think of mine up close and personal!

Carole x

working on an exhibition piece

The tutors at national symposium in July need to submit an item for the tutors exhibition. 

I think you might have seen glimpses as I've progressed. 

I've reached the stage where I need to embellish and you know how much I love to embellish!

I'm using vintage buttons, ribbons, cottons and laces and little bits and bobs that blogging friends have sent me.

Each addition adds charm and interest. 

The piece is going to be about 25" by 30" and is starting to come together nicely. 

I'll be back with some more photos soon.

Carole x

this and that, oh and a wee canoe trip - wanna come along?

First off I just want to say thanks to all those who have left me comments over the last few weeks. I love reading them and hearing what you're up to or what you think of things. I seem to have also received loads of spam comments of late, not sure if it's happening in general all round the blog world or I've been singled out for some extra attention? So if it gets any worse I will have to make the comments a little more challenging, sorry.

Ready to head off

It's been a pretty hectic few weeks and some how I can't see it slowing down much! Last weekend Mr M&M and I did a canoe trip down the Whanganui River. I have never done it before, despite living in Whanganui for 16 years. Both Mr M&M and our youngest daughter have done it many times and know the water way and rapids well and are skilled paddlers.

Photo bombed!

There were 7 of us doing the trip and I thought I'd share a few pics with you. The trip was to be 3 nights camping along the river with 4 days of paddling. Getting in at Whakahoro and getting out at Pipiriki.

Day one on the river

Every day was scorchingly hot. No breeze, just hot searing sun. We stopped often to swim and to make cups of tea. We had a 10km paddle to do. Some of the gorges we paddled through were amazing. Tranquil and quiet with only the sound of wildlife or water to be heard. There were a lot of wild goats grazing in the upper part of the river.

The M&M family

Of course I didn't take many photos as my camera was stored safely and when I did get it out I didn't have my glasses so I couldn't tell what I was taking a photo of anyway!! LOL But I had to catch a pic on the power house in the back of my canoe! (My hero).

Mangapapa campground for the first night

At night we heard kiwi calling and moreporks. And there were plenty of possums in the trees around us and at some campgrounds we noticed little foot prints in the sand which probably belonged to rats. The evenings were warm, but the ground was hard! My sleeping mat just didn't replace my bed at all.

Early morning vistas

Every morning we waited until the mist had risen and the sun broke through. We took our time getting on the river and we ambled down the river stopping frequently to swim and stretch.

Day 2 on the river

You can see our canoe was packed with our gear. Our sleeping bags and tent gear was in the big barrel and our clothes were in the small barrels. Our food was packed into the chilly bin.Although the river levels were the lowest they've ever been, there was enough water in the rapids to swamp our boat if we weren't careful.

2nd night at Mangawhaititi

Our campground on the 2nd night was gorgeous in a grove of native bush. However, it was the most difficult to get to. We had to haul the barrels up steps built on the side of the cliff face. We paddled 30 kms during the day and it would be fair to say we were all ready to crawl into our sleeping bags and sleep!

Track into the Bridge to Nowhere

On the 3rd day of paddling we stopped so that some of us could walk into the Bridge to Nowhere. This bridge was built over the Mangapurua Stream but there are no roads to or from it. It's really popular with the tourists and the jet boat companies bring them up several times a day.

Standing on the Bridge to Nowhere

It took us about 30 mins to walk to it. I found the bridge a sad reminder of the people who had once lived in the area. In 1917 soldiers returning from the First World War were given land in this valley to farm. In 1935 the government of the day decided to build the bridge and make roads to open the area up providing a route for the settlers of the area to reach the river and other towns. But the area proved to be so remote and unfriendly that the government never built any roads.
About 30 families took up the offer of free land and went about clearing the bush, building homes, farming stock, building a school and trying to survive. But the conditions were tough, especially during the winter months. They were isolated and it was difficult for them to get out and for supplies to reach them.
By 1942 most families had walked off the land only 3 families remained and as a result the government decided to no longer provide support to these settlers and closed the settlement down.  Now all that remains is some signage with settlers names and the bridge. If you hunt carefully you may find an old brick chimney, or an exoctic tree amongst the natives.
I think it's sad to think of how hard life here in the valley would have been and what a raw deal these hard working families got.

Bridge to Nowhere amongst regenerating native bush

It would have been an amazing feat of engineering to build the bridge in the 1930s. We walked back to our canoes to meet the others and have some lunch and a swim. Today was a 25 km paddle.

Tieke Marae

Our last night on the river was spent at Tieke. The campground joined a marae (a maori meeting house). The campground was packed with tourists and suddenly it didn't feel like a wilderness trip any longer. I enjoyed looking at the caving and in the morning we watched to mist rise. To me the meeting house looked like it had the perfect place to be, amongst all the native bush and ferns. I wondered how many of the tourists appreciated the beauty of the place, or if it was just another place to sleep en route to the 'get out point'?

The view from Ngaporo campground

Our last day on the river was another scorcher and called for more swims. This is the view from Ngaporo campground and one you find on all the postcards, we never stayed here, but it would have been very nice. Perhaps next time? We had 15kms ahead of us to paddle. From here down there were lots of jet boats on the river shuttling people to and from. We had to make sure we didn't get tipped out in their wake. I thought they were a little disrespectful to all those people using the river in canoes.

Pipiriki Landing

Then at 4pm we quietly arrived at Pipiriki, a place of much activity during the early years of the river. It was well known for it's huge guest house Pipiriki House, which burnt down many years ago, and for the house boats which moored between Pipiriki and Whakahoro. In the early 1900s it was very fashionable to take a trip on the Whanganui River and stay in a house boat or at Pipiriki House.
We were all exhausted and looking forward to cool showers and machine coffees! It was an amazing trip, no one came to grief, Mr M&M and I never fell out, and we had some great company along the way.

Well I've run out of time, and you're all probably exhausted too! lol
Gotta run, back soon,
Carole x

Welcome to March

It's here. Already. The year is moving way too fast!

I need to do more of this. 

 

Starting today.

What are you going to do more of in March?

Carole x

lost in the little corners of the garden....

There are loads of wee areas of the garden that are gorgeous and encourage 

you to stay a while.  

Lots of trees to wander around and under.

I'm easily distracted as you well know. How am I ever going to cope?

Carole x

Another nice day in paradise

The great outdoors calls. Shame I have to go to work!

Carole x

I need a little nap now....

You'll be very pleased to hear that my sewing room is starting to look more user friendly now.

Welcome to my sewing room. Of course there are still boxes to unpack, but I'm feeling like ignoring them for a while :)  I found the one that had all my cottons packed in it and the one that had all my sewing notions, which is most important.

I also have the t.v. and a large sofa in here so it's very comfy. Maybe too comfy? Never mind. I think there are going to be way too many distractions. Out the large picture window is a beautiful wee garden nook.

And if I look out the double doors, I'm confronted with this view...

See what I mean?!

Back soon,
Carole x

A little tree love...

tree love

Isn't this tree just magnificent? My little cottage is slowly coming together. This weekend my project will be setting up my sewing space. How exciting is that!

Carole x

Okay, so I'm probably boring you now!

But honestly there is so much to discover. 

There are lots of lovely places to play if you were a child. Under the large plane trees where it's darker and there's lots of leaf litter, there are secret places. 

Where the light filters through the leaves.

Where the birds flick through the leaf litter and then sit amongst the branches somewhere above my head and fill the air with song.

And then in a patch of sunlight a pretty fuchsia blossoms with delicate crimson flowers.

Okay, enough already. 

Need to do some stitching!

Carole x

I feel like I live in a park!

Chestnut tree

I want to say thank you to all those who sent me emails and left comments wishing us well with our shift. It was lovely to read them and I was touched at the lovely comments. I am thankful to have such lovely blogging friends. We are now settled in our wee cottage. Although it's been exciting all the way, it's been a hard shift, physically. I think I broke every fingernail at least once, every bone in my body ached, why on earth do I have so many boxes of books and magazines? Slowly the boxes are being unpacked and homes found for most things. Although I had a 'pre-throwout' I may also have to have a 'post-throwout'. :)

wood stacked by the old wood shed

 Every time I sit down I see something that needs to find a home and since I'm very easily side-tracked, I'm up and down and doing a multitude of tasks at the same time! Since we've been here we haven't eaten one meal inside yet, it's so nice to sit out on the deck and listen to the cicadas, their summer songs are deafening!

the old weather station

Slowly my sewing things are being unpacked too, can't wait to sort through everything. But for now I'm going to share a few photos with you that I've taken around the property.

Carole x

Goodbye Palmerston North, Hello Levin!

Goodbye Palmerston North. 

I will remember the gorgeous strawberries, and the sheep with the lovely personalities, 

and the time it snowed and the party for my 50th birthday. 

And I'll remember the days I spent hours of back-breaking work planting bulbs, cried over the death of a newborn lamb who didn't make it, and cried over the death of a mother ewe. 

There are lots of memories I'll take with me. And lots of those memories I've shared with you all along the way. 

But now it's time to make new memories.

Hello Levin!

Here's the driveway to our new cottage and I know it will be the home of many exciting and wonderful memory moments!

When I next post here it will be from our new home.

See you soon!

Carole x

Checking out our local hot spots....

Thirty minutes walk from our new home is the Kimberly Reserve which has a gorgeous river running through it, freedom camping facilities, bush walks and a lovely dog walking area.

In the other direction, thirty minutes by car is this little beauty, Waitarere Beach.

Be still my sea-loving heart! :)

Carole x

trying to keep my sanity.....

stitching.....

a few snatched minutes here and there, need to get it finished as I'm going to need loads of lovely cushions in my 

new cottage and on chairs outside in the garden.

home made focaccia bread.....

because I just can't live on love alone!

Carole x

As you can imagine.....

Things have been a little hectic round here as we prepare to shift.

Honestly, I'm totally over this packing business. We have so much clutter, -very important can't live without clutter that I am sure that we will never find space for it all in our new cottage. (Mr M&M would roll his eyes at this point and claim that it is I who have the clutter!)

I have been ruthless (as much as a hoarder can be) and have thrown out boxes of "junk" I have even packed my car to overflowing and taken lots of goodies to the local Hospice Store. I know it feels like I'm having a personal purge, if one can have a personal purge? lol

This is all that's left of my sewing room. It took me 3 full days to get to this stage! The most traumatic event was finding a new home for the sheep. There were a couple of very naughty, trouble-making sheep, who went for a wee ride to visit the butcher. But my gorgeous sweet little twins and their friends were not to be eaten. We wanted to find a good home for them where they would be able to graze away the rest of their days.

Eventually we were relieved to find lovely lady who owned a large orchard and wanted some sheep to keep in it so that she never had to mow it. We bundled them into the trailer and took them on a road trip to discover their new home.

Here they are finding their way around, checking out their new paddock and the lovely lush green grass. They look as though they hardly even remember me. Which I must admit, didn't help matters. I bawled my eyes out all the way there, while they were unloaded and all the way home. Made an absolute total fool of myself.

I'm fine today. There are too many empty boxes waiting!

Carole x