~*And The Earth Shook*~

UPDATE.....

Since I wrote this post there has been 563 quakes in Christchurch...

I was woken this morning at 6.30 by a phone call from my Mum, believe me I know when I receive a call this early the news can not be good. I immediately thought of my Dad (thankfully he is fine) I did not however expect the reason for the call........  Christchurch my beautiful home City was hit by a 7.4 earthquake at 4.35am this morning the worst earthquake in over 80 years. I turned my TV on & was horrified at what I was watching, it looked like a bomb had hit. My Brother & Sister in law luckily didn't have too much damage to their home, my Sister however has lost everything. I managed to ring her a while ago, she is naturally a mess, in tears as she told me she had lost all the china that was once our Grandma's, she just kept saying *It's all gone Lyn, all I had left of Grandma is gone*..... I told her they were alive & that is all that matters, she said Bruce (her hubby) thought they were going to die. They are still getting

after shocks, the first was 7.1 they are now down to 5. people over there have said the noise of the quake
was deafening, some saying it sounded like freight trains others like jets. Roads have opened up one where a car was swallowed a metre deep into the hole. Christchurch has so many beautiful old Gothic style Heritage buildings so many that have now been damaged, even our stunning Christchurch Cathedral has damage. Flooding has occurred in quite a few suburbs, there is no water, electricity & sewage pipes have broken. To say this is heart wrenching form me is putting it mildly, I cried when I saw the damage, I cried my eyes out talking to my sister all I wanted to do was give her a big cuddle & tell her in the end it would be alright.
Luckily there have been no deaths, a man is critical after a chimney fell on him, amazing really after all the devastation.  Kiwi's are use to earthquakes, we are taught in school what to do when one hits but I don't think anything could have prepared them for this one, it was always presumed our Capital City Wellington would cop the *big one* it is well over due, even Nelson where my Mum & Dad live is over due for one, not Christchurch. I remember as a child a rather big one but nothing like this one, I can only imagine how terrified they were. A state of emergency has been declared, tomorrow they are expecting rain.
I ask you to say I pray today for everyone in my Home City, but especially for my beautiful sister Sue......
                                                  

~*Back Doing What I Love Most*~

The last couple of days I have been back doing what I love most of all...... sewing! Sunday is Fathers Day down under & this year it is very important to me to give my Dad ~something from the heart~ Early this year my Mum & Dad had to have their beloved dog *Cindy* put down which was very hard for them both, they had to say farewell to a much loved family member. So I decided to make my Dad a cushion with their gorgeous pooch taking centre stage.



I had taken this photo when I went home early last year & after a fix up using Paint Shop Pro printed it out onto fabric & started sewing. I decided to leave it plain, no ribbons etc, it is after all for a man!



I have also made a cushion for my Aunty for her birthday this is a black & white photo taken when she was quite a lot younger, a photo I have always loved of her.




So after the housework has been done (yuck) I will be back onto PSPro trying to get my head around a programme that most of the time has me baffled but at the same time can be a lot of fun trying to work out um!

Wishing you all a great day - the LAST day of winter here - yes sooooo looking forward to Spring.....

~I NEED To Get this Off My Chest~

In my last post I told you all that for last 3 or so weeks I have had Shingles well now I need to tell you all WHY!!!!!! Last May a man that has been a friend to my Darlin' for the past 30 years & who I thought was a friend of mine for the past 20 years suddenly started *bad mouthing* me to our friends & whoever he thought would listen. This is a man who used to visit me twice a day every day, who I listened to all his problems & went out of my way to help him with his problems until I couldn't help him any more. He decided to cut himself off from me but at the same time hoped he would not only cut me off from our friends but also come between my Darlin' & I. For my Sweet that was the last straw & he cut all ties with him after quite a nasty argument. So when my sister was over we found a letter under our door (a very nasty letter) blaming us for his misery plus letting us know we had *failed Toad* (our very close friend who died at the end of last year, & this man's brother).

That letter he wrote hurt more than anything has in a long time but we got on with life. Then suddenly I found a large rash on my right arm which over the days travelled onto my chest, I became very tired & I couldn't lift my arm, couldn't sit or lay down without being in severe pain. I also realised that since May I had begun to bite my nails again, something I hadn't done in years, but the biggest thing I realised was you can fool your Conscious Mind BUT YOU CAN NEVER EVER FOOL YOUR SUB CONSCIOUS MIND. I had been telling myself this man was not going to bother me when in fact I was falling apart inside. Tonight he decided to get in touch with us again, why am I surprised he sent us nasty text messages, in the end my reply to him was GOODBYE!.I don't feel any better, I think I need to say this to his face but he won't face me so am wondering if it will ever be solved?????? I DO however feel better for having written this down, who knows maybe this is what I have needed since May..... Thanks for listening.......

                                              

~*I Have Shingles*~

For the past three weeks or so I have had ~Shingles~. I was 16 the last time I had this strain of Chickenpox & had forgotten how painful it can be. This time I have it down my right side the blisters forming mostly on my arm & chest which have now become very itchy so am hoping the worst is over. This time last week I could hardly lift my right arm, my whole right side was in pain & found it very hard to stay awake during the day. I normally survive on around 6 hours sleep a day but lately have been ~hitting the hay~ by 8.30 every night.

Am looking forward to getting back to normal soon......

Hope you are all having a great day.....

~*Two Very Special Visitors*~ .....

Last week we had a couple of very special visitors stay here...... my beautiful sister Sue & her Hubby Bruce. It had been 10 years since Sue last stayed here & 19 years since Bruce had. Neither of them had ever met Dylan and it was 15 years since they had seen Taska..... far too long........

~ Bruce, Sue, My Darlin' & Ryno~

To make it even better how Ryno arrived back from his holiday to the US while they were here, the only one of our kiddies they didn't get to see was our Mick, Lisa & our Grandkiddies. The weather couldn't have been nicer except for one day where it rained & was cold but we still had a great time getting out & about relaxing & catching up on all the years.

Next week is Sue's birthday so I made this little Sweetie up for her..... while she was here I showed her some of the images I had printed onto fabric & as this was her favourite one I thought it would be perfect for her......

Spring is just around the corner & I cannot wait for it to arrive I feel it has been a very long & cold winter this year, yesterday was in the mid 20's, my Jasmin is out in bloom (a sure sign Spring is on the way) as is the orange tree & a few other spring bulbs...... with it I feel like I am coming out of hibernation...... I have been away far tooooooo long.

Hope you all have a lovely sunny weekend....

~*What Lurks In My Garden*~........

Yesterday as it was a lovely sunny day I decided to get out in the garden.... I have heaps of Agapanthus that I wanted to dig out & as My Darlin' had fixed my new you beaut shovel from Bunnings (I broke the handle the first time I used it) I decided it was time to get into it. So after a couple of hours I had removed a fair few of them plus some other plants I no longer wanted in the garden. The weather turned overcast & cold so I decided it was time to call it a day & make myself a pipping hot cup of coffee. I was sitting down talking to My Darlin' when my leg started to itch........ looking down I saw this.......

Now I'm sure I have told you in the past I am terrified & I mean TERRIFIED of spiders so can you imagine my reaction..... screaming, jumping around, heart palpitations, until in the end I just felt like throwing up....... my biggest fear has always been to find a spider on me & to think it had been there for a while made it even worse..... so next time I get out in my garden I will be wearing gardening gloves & My Darlin's gummies......

Hope you are having a great week.......

~*My Heart Is Very Heavy Today*~......

Let me tell you about a very special Man who came into our lives 5 or 6 years ago........ His name is Andy........ who was born in England met a beautiful Lady named Jan, married, had children & eventually immigrated to Australia. So 5 or 6 years ago they bought the corner shop which has always been known as *Shop 36* which is about a 5 or so minute walk from my home. I have always taken the walk up there at least 2 or 3 times a week for milk & bread & I like so many people in Coffs became close friends with Andy & Jan. He has a very broad accent sometimes making it hard to understand the words that flow from his mouth but one look at his face would tell you whatever he said meant that he was saying something that needed a laugh in reply. Eventually we all learnt to understand them or perhaps the accent softened a little. OK so being a true Pommy he lives & breathes Soccer...... do I need to say more, can you imagine in your head what it is like to be around him while the World Cup is on..... nah I don't think I do...

Around 2 years ago Andy discovered he had Liver Cancer & being the Optimist that he is knew he would beat it.......... we all watched this beautiful man who by the way was shortest, thinnest but super fit from playing his beloved sport, gradually lose his hair, weight & strength to be able to work. Jan & his many workers kept the shop going, always with a smile on their brave faces.

It has been a couple of days since I went up to *Shop 36* it has probably been a couple of weeks since I last saw Andy...we talked about the world cup.... he telling me the Pomms were going to win, me telling him the Kiwi's (New Zealanders) were going to, boy did he laugh at that but neither team progressed to the top 16.........

Today I learnt Andy died ...........he is 52........ my heart is really hurting........... for his beloved Jan, for his kiddies, his many many friends (me included) customers, his family *back home*, but to me the saddest thing is he did not get to see who will win the World Cup............ no maybe I am wrong there....... he is on is long walk to heaven........ he will get there before the games finish.......... he will KNOW ahead of time who wins.......... I forgot to ask him who he would go for in the final game..........

Forever in my heart......XXX

~*Our Weekend Away*~......

Do you remember the post I wrote about the weekend away at Annuaka Resort that our son Ryno gave My Darlin' & I as a surprise? well...... we went, we saw, we relaxed, we pampered & we LOVED it...... Like most of the Suites there ours was amongst the Rain forest, such a peaceful place.....

Our bedroom had this large spa set in its own corner, I was amazed when I filled it up the water was blue a real aqua sea blue......... the photo above was taken looking up at the glass ceiling..... nothing like sitting in here with the jets blasting full bore, laying back & looking up at the twinkling stars in the sky.....

Our dinner was just out of this world we sat at a table which looked out to the ocean & afterwards went for a very romantic stroll along the beach......

We also explored the rest of the place finding a total of seven swimming pools all laying under more rain forest & three spas set in grotto's....... I have to tell you I could very easily move on in there tomorrow..... we found this walk way the next morning......... followed it & found......

This gorgeous little Chapel......... I remember years ago not long after the resort opened friends of ours were married in this tiny church......... sadly the marriage didn't last & as much as we enjoyed our weekend here I couldn't help but notice that it was starting to look a tad rundown, the Chapel was all dusty inside, it looked like it hadn't been used in years, furniture in our Suite was starting to break, a lot of the beautiful filigree woodwork had been broken from previous guests...... to me that was sad a lot of time & money had been put into Annuaka, it needed some TLC.......

That aside we DID have a great time staying here & would go back again.....

Thank you again Ryno we love you xxx

*~A Complete Makeover*~.........

Hi yah Sweeties......... how'd yah be.... as my Dad would say......... Me well I have been flat out which is the reason why the posting has been a tad on the lean side lately. If you scroll down to my last post you might remember the cane lounge I was giving a make over...... She has in fact been finished for a while now but as is the norm with me after I cleaned the front Porch to get it all spick & span for her grand arrival, I noticed that everything else on it was looking in need of a repaint not to mention the painted floor boards..........

So off My Darlin' went to Bunnings to get the paint as I had run out after painting the lounge, & I set to scrubbing the floorboards & chairs. Next day I was all set to go............ it rained! The next day......... it rained, in fact 4 days in a row, so I patiently waited for blue sky to come out. Finally the sun came out & I was down on hands & knees painting. Three coats later & the floor was all done..........

The next week was spent repainting the chairs & coffee tables during the day one coat a day although by now it was getting pretty hard to keep the patience thing going......... sewing the new cushion covers at night.

I had bought two Euro cushions for the lounge & could not believe it when they were a tad too small so ended up opening them both at one end & sewing an extra strip of fabric in between them both & stuffing it full of super soft wadding........ fun to do on a machine when the cushion becomes very long.

Even the little boy on the pedestal was scrubbed down with bleach to make squeaky clean again as he had grown green, something I don't really mind but just kinda looked out of place with the white & blue.........

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this lounge with its big squishy cushions, it is just soooooo comfy....... perhaps too comfy, I laid down on it the other morning with my cuppa coffee & a really good book & actually fell asleep....... or perhaps it was due to the fact that I was up until nearly 4am painting the last chair either way I am not one to sleep during the day, so have resisted the urge since then to lay on it.........

Every time I have made new cushions for out here they have been pink to go with the house but being a true lover of Blue & White I just HAD to have a change, even the coasters on the tables are blue & white & the flowers are my favourite Camelia's in my garden which are always the last to bloom, a gorgeous white with just the tiniest dab of icy pink in them. At the moment the fabric is a bit bright but come summer & the sun with fade them to the perfect soft blue........

So what do you think.......... was the long wait worth it......... I hope so, OK so now you all know what I want you guys to do........ leave me a comment & tell me what you think..........Oh & I am still flat tack painting, I have redone an old mirror & am on to my second one.......

Hoping YOUR creative juices are flowing........

~*She's Coming Along Just Fine*~.........

Do you remember this cane lounge I showed you a couple of posts ago well she has finally started her make over. Because of the rain we had been getting I couldn't get out & scrub her, finally yesterday arvo the rain stopped long enough to start. Once she was scrubbed clean I moved her into the garage to dry.

I was up until 2.30am this morning giving her her first coat of paint, kinda thinkin' she's looking better already. Today she received the second coat. One more to go tomorrow & I'm kinda hoping My Darlin' will find the tome tomorrow to make the new base up for me. Two big squashy cushions to sit on & she will be all ready to put out on the front Veranda if she doesn't take up too much room out there...

Am really in the mood at the moment to do up all the things waiting patiently in the shed for me next I think will be a gold & black mirror which needs painting..... white of course..... OK so I'm off to find some fabric for the cushions......

Hoping you guys are having a creative weekend......

~*Feeling Soooooo Loved*~

If you follow my little Blog you will know that our 2nd eldest son Ryno moved over to WA at the start of last year which is a very long way away in this huge country. I have considered myself very blessed this year as he has returned home nearly every break he has had & as he is currently renting his house out he has stayed with us, just pure joy to me. This break he decided to stay on site as he was offered 3 weeks extra work, being one never to turn work down & as he is off to the US in August for a holiday the extra money will come in very handy. I received a call from him last night which I didn't expect as most of the time he cannot get reception on his phone being in the middle of nowhere asking me what My Darlin' & I were doing next weekend?? As My Darlin' has spent the last few months working on Saturdays we no longer make plans for the weekends unless it is weeks in advance, so the answer was *nothing yet, why*? To which Ryno replied *Is you Comp on Mum*..... Me *yep sure is*...... Ryno * need you to go into your emails*...... a few seconds later there I am opening the email he told me to & asking him *what is this*.......????.




Now before I go any further I need to go back to May 6th which was My Darlin's Birthday & the Thursday before Mothers Day. Ryno had not planed on coming back East that break but as these are important dates in our family he forked out the $900.00 to come home. He felt bad that he didn't buy us any pressies........ having him home was enough. So what was the email all about.........


The photo above is where My Darlin' & I will be spending next weekend......... all expenses paid thanks to Ryno. I sat there last night reading this email from Aanuka Beach Resort which is here in Coffs, & the only way to describe how I felt..... sooooooo very very LOVED! We have this large Suite with a large spa under a glass roof amongst the rainforest all to ourselves, no kiddies, just us, I am still pinching myself here. After I had stopped thanking Ryno over & over all I could think to say to him is *I Love You*....his answer.....*I know Mum, I Love You Toooo*. I don't think I need to tell you how I feel right now........

Wishing you all a great weekend & hope you feel as LOVED as I do right now xxx

~*Keeping Calm Can Sometimes Be Oh So Hard*~

.......but I'm trying real hard here, honest I am. Quite some time ago I posted about repainting my hallway it was out with the green & in with all cream & white. Now I had promised the after piccies but just before I was to post them my computer crashed & I lost all my photos...... The other day I had a friend over with her young son & it wasn't until they had left I discovered (to my horror) that the little sweetheart had drawn on every single door jam in my hallway, all SIX of them with pen, not just drawing but going down through to the grain of the wood! Now when I paint I give each wall three coats & all window frames & door jams five coats as they usually get the most wear so here I am looking at all my hard work wrecked with steam coming out of my ears, suddenly I realised the whole lot had to come off & be re sanded & repainted all over again GRRRRRR. So today I decided to get in & started after doing the housework.... bad move...... I managed to strip one complete door jam & sand the grooves out, because of the layers of paint I had to use a scraper & then sand but the mess was incredible, little flakes of paint everywhere! I also have one side of another doorway done but to be honest my heart just was not in it today.I had really wanted to get outside & scrub down the cane lounge I showed in the last post & start painting her but today felt like Winter had arrived...... I awoke to it flogging down rain & cold, so there went that idea!

The photo above is the only one I have left of the hallway when it was finished...... the skirting boards are still green as the floorboards have yet to be polished & would take all the paint off, the old cane chair used to sit on my front Veranda, I made a new cushion cover for her & placed her here.......... a great place to sit with a good book........ Tomorrow if the weather is sunny I will be outdoors, if not back in my Hallway scrapping away so long as my aching shoulders let me.....

Wishing you all a great night....xxx

~*Dear Abbie*~............

I have not posted very often this year although I had intended to, if not every day then at least every second......... funny how things don't always turn out how you intend them to huh? Truth is the great *feeling* I had at the start of the year pretty soon went by the wayside & it wasn't until the other day that I finally, nearly half way through the year, realised why. If you are a regular reader of my little blog you would know My Darlin' & I lost a very close friend at the end of last year & although we still do & always will miss him & think about him daily, we both realised he would not want us wallowing around in self pity being miserable, in fact he would have said to us * take a tablespoon of cement & harden up* & get on with our lives. However....... sadly there are some people who have not been able to do this, they cannot move on & one in particular has been visiting nearly EVERY day since Toad died, his life seems to have come to a standstill & I became *Dear Abbie* to him & therefore my life also came to a standstill because it was like all my *happy thoughts* were being sucked out of me....... Suddenly last week for one reason or another he came between My Darlin' & I, he has been bad mouthing me to all our friends & so it seems cut all ties with us! At first this deeply upset me now, well I have taken that tablespoon of cement & just want him out of my life, simple, it is after all too short. There has been so many things I have missed out on posting.......... our Dylans 9th birthday on Feb 14th (he was quite upset about that), our 19th Wedding Anniversary on April 13th, a tribute to my gorgeous Mum on Mothers Day, truth is I have realised I cannot be around depressing people, all I have done is shut my myself away from those I love most & for what, to try & help someone I have come to realise does not want to help himself. So onwards & upwards.........




In my last post I showed you all the sweet little chair makeover & thank you for all your lovely comments, anyway I bought a mag last week with this sweet chair (not exactly this chair) & how's this........ prices start at $375.00....... yeah right as if I can afford that..... boy do I feel good right now knowing mine was not even a 68th of the cost.....




So my latest project will be the beauty above............. cost so far zilch thanks to my neighbour....... as they say *priceless*............

~From *Tacky* to *Elegant~.......

Do you remember these oh so Tacky fluffy covers? I remember them used for toilet seat covers (with matching mat of course....) cushion covers, rugs in fact anything & everything was made out of the stuff.... About once a month we have Dinner with friends at their home & the first time we went I discovered this quaint little chair stuffed away in a corner.... well it was instant love & before I could even open my mouth to enquire why it was shoved in the corner Sandy blurted out about it being the most ugliest thing she had ever seen....

Now just to help her out & save her a trip to the tip hum hum..... I told her I would quite gladly take it off her hands....the look on her face spoke volumes, yep she thought I was completely & utterly mad....... or that mt taste was in my erm you know where or both...... anyway that night as *she* sat patiently waiting for me by the front door i left via the back, can you believe that?????

It was awhile until we went for dinner again but this time she was brought home & placed in my bedroom much to my Darlin's horror. So she sat & sat & sat until finally one day I started to *pretty her up*....

The first thing to come off was the purple fluffy cushion cover of course .......

Which was replaced by a pretty rose print & new padding......

Suddenly she looked 90% better already....

Next came the sand blasting, followed by etching primer & lastly a few coats of white oil based paint left a few days to harden & then she was ready to bring back into the bedroom.....

My Darlin' was quite surprised by how she looked after her makeover, no longer *Tacky* now more *Elegant* just like she should have always looked.

Sandy called in yesterday & I showed her the finished result...... so what was her reaction?

*I still don't want IT back* now I am asking myself *Where is HER taste*?......

So now I am on the look out for a dressing table to match.... you know the sort..... white with rounded corners & triple mirrors where Ladies used to sit in the 50's & 60's to apply their makeup sitting on one of these chairs...... I wonder where it is.......


Hope you are enjoying your day especially if you are doing up a small treasure you saved from going to the tip.........