Sweet Mary

A day out with my husband today as we are both working this weekend. These special days always involve morning coffee somewhere nice and lunch also. We had the coffee at a new cafe overlooking the water in Napier, it was so pretty on this sunny day but as I forgot my camera you will just have to take my word for it. These days also involve a good rummage around a few secondhand/opportunity shops where I am nearly always guaranteed a "find". Today it was a bag of Black Doris plums (my favourites), a cute vintage childrens book, 2 big bundles of willow twigs for the fireplace and this gorgeous mirror that will look even more fab after a paint job. Sum total for my haul was $13.20. Perfect.

I love collecting things and I especially love collecting fabric and things made out of fabric. Some of these quilts were bought new and some were made by myself and one or two of them have been rescued from secondhand shops. The second shelf down holds two small quilts on top of two larger ones. These are the most precious ones in my collection as they are the two I made for my children when they were very small. They were my first attempts and not very well made but bring back so many good memories every time I handle them . Even though they have been washed many times I am sure I can still smell my babies on them. When not in use my quilts have often been hidden away but not any more. I am now the proud owner of this lovely piece of furniture bought from Redcurrent . Every time I pass I have a quick glance over my quilts and smile a bit to myself. My sisier-in-laws birthday today and as she had given me the idea for this style of peg bag I thought she should receive the first one....

My friend Peter gave me a copy of his absolutely fabulous Soup book - its packed full of his great soup recipes and a good bread one too. He publishes it himself but you can download it for free so click on his name to find out more about this very clever man. Thankyou Peter.

Since Christmas I have done a lot of this - reading books. I used to read a lot and then I sort of lost my way with reading for a while and now I am back into it with a vengance. I can't seem to stop! Well actually I have put a stop to it for a week or so as I really must get back to creating a few more handmades for sale. I started by giving my work room a much needed sort out. In the busy weeks leading up to Christmas I seemed to be always dumping something in there or pushing something else to one side. With a clear space I started on this baby quilt for a friend's grand-daughter. The first grand-daughter got a very pink quilt so this next one is getting something a little different. I am in a red and blue phase. These gorgeous buttons are not actually for the quilt but just happened to be sitting on the table after a quick rummage around a local charity shop A girl has to play a little as well so friends came round for lunch yesterday to while away a few hours on a perfe...

Honey came home from work earlier than usual on a very hot Hawkes Bay afternoon so there was only one thing for it - a walk on the beach at Waimarama ending with fish and chips for our dinner. Its a half hour drive from our house, through the hills to the coast to this beautiful beach. There is that thrill of excitement as you come out the other side of the hills to wind your way down to hot sand and pounding waves. SHOP = Fish and chips for dinner but walk first. It was so hot when we got there at 4pm that we just sat for a while watching the waves, the seagulls, the people and talking. All very mesmerizing. This little lad epitomizes one part of summer at the beach - another part is me sitting on the warm sand and moaning that "things" are biting me! On our journey back home we pulled over for a pic of this glorious view of the Tukituki River valley - the beach is the other side of the far hills. We came home tired and sandy and later, both fell asleep in front of the t...

We have had very high temperatures in Hawkes Bay recently but first thing in the morning, when its cooler its nice to potter in the garden, picking flowers and vegetables and talking to the cats. We never use the front door as the driveway leads you to the back door but its a lovely cool spot to sit at most times of the day and always seems to have these great looking shadows filling it. The sweetpeas needed picking and they will need picking the next day and the next... A mug of fresh coffee really adds to this pleasant little pastime With all the doors open to catch any passing breeze I decided to not only take the Christmas decorations down (a few days late!) but to sort them into colour, mend any broken ones and make up a box of unwanted decos for the charity shop. We have an enormous collection of decorations which we add to every year - its only mean't to be one each year but a few extras always slip in, including a handmade by myself and usually one from a very dear frien...