Thats the ballet recital over with!

Saturday afternoon and Saturday night saw the Ballet recital in full swing. After many weeks of rehearsals the shows were as entertaining and proffessional as we have come to expect. We love our ballet teacher!! Alexandra was a little star and looked too gorgeous for words. She was keen and well mannered and no tears or tantrums (a feature of the little ones ballet class!) were in evidence. But then she has always been fantastic at the ballet.

I was the backstage Mum - something I am very good at now and had been through the last week of rehearsals so I was so glad to just watch the show on Saturday night. Alexs class went on to the song of "Edelweiss" and the sight of these gorgeous little girls, dressed as white flowers and with their big eyes and looks of fear/ happiness and or shyness had the crowd aaahing. I shall quite miss when Alex is too old for the littlies group as they really steal the show every year. Ballet starts again in two weeks and Alex is going up a class.

Now that the ballet is over with I have a week to organise the Halloween/Guy Fawkes BBQ/party. A week should be long enough...right? The gorgeous hubby filled up our pool and the girls immediately went for a swim in the freezing cold water. Frozen they may have been but they stayed in for ages ! Every year there is some problem or other with the pool. It is concrete and old (about thirty odd years old) and maintenance is an isue. Every year the problems seem to centre around leaking and no change so far this year. Gorgeous hubby goes on and on about this and threatens to turn the area into a vege garden and it becomes his "main thing to focus on". Already he has started... Its only been full two days... He keeps looking down into the pool area saying "Its leaking" "look its still leaking" and then first thing in the morning (the pool is next to our bedroom) "its been leaking over night" I finally lost it. Loving the gorgeous hubby and falling for his many charms every day, acknowledging he is the best looking man in the world and knowing he is kind, sweet, generous and domesticated still does not stop me from finding this everlasting moaning at the pool irratating. So i said to him in words that may or may not have included swearing said "Stop ?"*8& going on about the pool I have had &&&*%$ enough of it already" I was not in the good books. Hes still gorgeous (!) And the pool is still leaking. I know Ive just looked out the window....

Simple things by Georgia aged just 7

This was written by my eldest daughter, Georgia aged 7. She wrote this by herself about what she will do once we are living on the farm. I find this so lovely and wanted to share it . It is such a gorgeous thought in my head now. My daughter doing the following:

"The farm in my head"

In my head I am thinking about the farm. Just me and the noise of my pony. What would it be like at the start of my new life? I would be riding at a school of beautiful ponies, only just hearing the breeze just like my old life only better. Me and Alex at the farm just beginning a new life at my farm. Life at my farm with my family enjoying the life of all the creatures that we heard calling to us, only to have fun. having fun at the farm it was like me and Alex were going through prickles. The cats were running free in the paddock. If only I had that stuff happening to me right now.

I want to be sitting under a shady tree ona hot day with my pony in the paddock with me reading my stories.

Some of my creations so far..

I thought being new to this blogging thing that I should post some of my work. i go through phases, dolls, prim, stitcheries and always back to quilts and patchwork. Right now Id like to have a go at making patchwork totes and I would also like to sew some clothes for my girls, but havent really done sewing like this since i was 15 and even then I wasnt pretty munted.

Now I am working on what to do with three years worth of scraps and lengths of Christmas material bought post christmas sale. The first thing I am doing is to make Criss cross coasters as seen on a http//allsorts.typepad.com/
The wind is blowing and my little Alex has had a fever on and off for the entire labour/Hawkes Bay anniversary four day break. Last night, due to the wind (that she is scared of) she climbed into our bed. It was like sleeping with a washing machine!! We were black and blue this morning. I LOVE lying in bed listening to the wind and the rain but not like this!!
This week brings many long ballet recital practises and for some of them I will be backstage.The theatre is about half an hours drive from here and I expect to be very busy and when Im hanging around waiting I will take along my Seasame street quilt, which I am now hand quilting. I am really keen to finish this! But am dying to start something new. maybe my jeans and plaid quilt that I intend to make from charity shop clothes. Ill try to get Halloween over with first!

gorgeous girls posing for their christmas card

We have taken about thirty photos for this years xmas card...this one didnt make the grade but we think its gorgeous just the same...

Rustic Raggedy I called this one. I went mad on dolls for a few months and made all sorts but now back to quilts.....

Heres one I prepared earlier. Its quite big enough for a single bed but I added tags and hung it up in our soon to be renovated hall coverering a rookie gib job the gorgeous hubby did . Im working on the girls Seasame Street quilt and want to post it next time if finished (fingers crossed)

I fell in love with annie dolls and made these .

A year ago I couldnt stand Annies...isnt it funny how you can change!

October, Halloween, crafting and ballet recitals

Its spring in our tiny corner of this tiny country and it is beautiful...and HOT!! 21degrees today and windy and humid. Very late October "labour weekend" weather everyone is mumbling. But call me weird I love the wind. The clothes on the line drying and smelling gorgeous, blossoms flying through the air. And talking of blossoms is it just me or are these gorgeous little charms more beautiful than ever. The pinks seem so soft and candy floss like this year. Perhaps its just age creeping up on me and making me realise the beauty in nature.
Its the last term of School, and the girls have gone back to their small country School. Little Alex, just five is finding school a breeze and is so happy and settled there. Georgia at 7 is so confident and reading so well now. -Sigh-Where DID my babies go?
I recently joined a fantastic online site called Simple savings and it has catapaulted me from wanna be frugalist to absolute frugalist. At last my simple life becomes clear. I joined so that I could take the first steps towards our small farm that I want us to be on in a year, but I love the self sufficient lifestyle and simple living. I was born and bred on a farm and its how I was bought up anyway ...how did I manage to lose that way of life I wonder?
Quilting takes up my spare time (Actually I have to set my goals before I sit down to quilt otherwise the house stays dirty). Quilting while watching my favourite Dr Phil from 1pm to 2pm seems like leisure to me.
I also have finished another UFO, a doll from Maryannes Dolls and things patterns that has been in the cupboard for a while but was bugging me. So out it came. Now if I can just figure out how to get photos on this site I will post pics of my crafts.
The quilt i am doing is a frugal project made up from an old Seasame street flannette sheet both the girls have used and abused for seven years but it onlu had a wee hole in the middle. Far too good for rags so I have been very frugal and made it inot a quilt with cheap matching flannel for the sashings. I seem to be hopeless at the whole samwhich thing and so I am cheating by using quilted calico. I really enjoy handstitching and hand quilting and so far have managed to do the whole quilt by hand. I cnnot these days bearto watch tv without a quilt, doll, patchwork or knitted something to work on. Just CANNOT bear it. "Why be sitting when you could be knitting" as the saying goes.
I also began making my own soap. I have a castille, basic and lavender soap curing in the cupboard and have come to a respectable agreement with caustic soda. I told my family that they are all getting soap for Christmas this year but they have areal issue with the caustic soda no matter what I say.
October is so busy for our family. Ballet recitals and several dress rehearsals, Halloween (our first ever Halloween party) and Guy Fawkes party ..to be held very beginning of November but all the preparation is October, and my 41st birthday (Affirmation: i enjoy getting older, I enjoy getting older..)
Gorgeous hubby started to clean out the pool today, must have been the hot weather and upcoming parties. And I cleaned out fire place for the last time so summer must really be around the corner.
I l0ve enjoying the seasons and the various celebrations of the year. it gives such substance to the year instead of arriving at New years eve and saying "Where did the year go?"
Christmas is the BIG event I just love. Straight after the Halloween/Guy Fawkes party I will begin to decorate and prepare, BUT more about that next month..