Monday, January 7, 2013

Happy New Year And All That!




Here’s hoping you had a wonderful and relaxing break over the Christmas and New Year.  Our Christmas was poignant because one of our daughters was about to spread her wings and take off for her big OE.  She has left our shores now and we don’t know exactly when she will return, except that it will probably be once her money and visa run out.  Here she is with one of her sisters when we celebrated a vintage Christmas.
 
 The leaver (on the left) and the stayer (on the right) wearing vintage dresses kindly donated by friends.  

I don’t usually rave in the blogosphere about particular shops but I have to make an exception for a jewellery store in Auckland central called New Jewellery.  I had a piece of jewellery which all three of my daughters coveted and had made off with at various times over their lives (see the wishbone daughter on the left is wearing), and it occurred to me it would be a special gift if it was reproduced so that they each could have their own.  Indeed it was recreated perfectly for them and I am ashamed to say on my trips to and from the store I became enthralled by the jewellery on offer there.  Whether you fancy a piece of art deco-esque marquisite or a representation of something “kiwiana” such as a Fletcher top dressing plane, you will find something there to take your fancy.  I was bewitched by a snail ring which has now made its way to my finger and sits snugly there every day.  Plus a few other items which eventually led me to declare, upon picking up the jewellery ordered for my daughters, that I was never going to darken their door again because it was becoming ruinously expensive.  (To make things even better, there is a beguiling dog called Chelsea who may greet you when you visit.  All in all a perfect retail drawcard.) 

Once Christmas and airport drop offs were over it was time to go to Shoestring and put the final touches to the sewing room.  After an extensive search for door knobs for the new storage cupboards we finally settled on these, which came via Trade Me.  It didn't occur to me until they were installed that the clock faces complete with second hand dial could create a certain sense of urgency in the sewing room … the tick, tick, tick of the seconds passing by and so on.  


But they are very cute and the whole room is a great success. 

Cleverly concealed within the storage cupboards are the sewing machine and overlocker, music close at hand and all closed away once the sewing session is over.  (That is the plan anyway, and it is always good to have some kind of plan.)


 Comfortable for sitting and stitching - and the cats love to sit there too.

 Treasure box waiting to be filled - no doubt it won't take long, something more to search for at the markets
 A place for all the green glass to nestle

Storage space for all the essentials - a place for everything and nothing in its place!

I fear I shall begin to neglect the garden and need to be shoehorned out of the sewing room because it is so inviting now.  On the other hand all my materials are bundled away firmly behind the cupboard doors and it may be something of a struggle to locate the exact thing required to start a new project, which is probably a good thing given my propensity for starting and not finishing. 

In the garden the seed raising continues, the lilies are all blossoming and putting on a wonderful show and also the gladioli (which I used to loathe but am now so fond of).  
 The most fragrant

 The most prolific
The most exotic and fascinating - in a kind of creepy, poisonous looking sort of way

The rotating compost bin has turned out to be a wonderful addition and a true friend of the gardener, it really does speed up the composting process and I confess that I do go and feel the warmth and give it a good spin more often than is strictly necessary.  It could be that the grass is mown more often than before too, just for the pleasure of putting more into the compost bin and giving it a good spin.  Some visitors don't share my enthusiasm and for some reason don't want to plunge their hands into the depths of the bin to feel the warmth or inspect the steam rising softly into the air, quite unfathomable why this should be so.  Madame La Poste had a look of disbelief when I invited her to share the experience, she is a more refined creature than I shall ever be - but more of Madame La Poste soon, she has been a veritable fairy godmother to me of late and bestowed treasures upon me.


In amongst all the busy times of the festive season I hope you had a moment or two to sit and relax, recharge your batteries and enjoy gazing into the middle distance.  Here's wishing you a healthy and happy New Year.