Oh, and...

The internet dating is going pretty well, thanks! But if I ever meet a man who actually spends his weekends in Wellington it will be a miracle!

I keep forgetting to tell you Eddie did win the music prize at school at the end of the year, and was suitably chuffed. He's doing music in the year ahead at high school this year....so he's on his way! He went to a NZ music gig about a month ago, and hung about til he could meet Liam Finn. Liam recognised Eddie from his You Tube cover, and told him that he was really impressed. I think I may be more excited about this than Eddie was. I'm not allowed to wash the beautifully autographed tee-shirt though. Heh!

I found a Hardy Aimes Saville Row suit in an op shop. It fits oldest son as if it was made for him. Amazing

Garden blues

This is the view from the seat at the end of my vege garden. Isn't it great? This isn't a good day, the southerly is rolling in, see those clouds and that rain over there? The sun sets behind those faraway hills. That's my roof at the right edge of the picture. We're facing the wilderness that is my down-hill neighbours garden. They never ever set foot there. Honestly, not in 10 years have they been there. I clamber over sometimes to cut down the gorse and the fennel. If I live here for another 20 years I'll claim it and plant a native forest or something.

We have our backs to my uphill neighbours. A nice young couple with their almost 2 year old moved in about November. Before them, the house was empty for 12 months. Before that it was home to an old lady, who'd lived there for over 50 years. She told me tales about the neighbourhood and the garden...she had great photographs of when our houses were built (in the 1950s). Well, of course, because she was in her 80s, and then it was empty, there was no gardening going on next door for a good 10 years. Over the last 6 weeks, the new owners have been making up for lost time. They've slashed and chopped and utterly changed the landscape.

It used to be that I couldn't see their house. Now I can see all of it. There is a public path that goes up past their house, and last week I realised that you can now see my garden and my house, right into the lounge, from the public path. I've begged them to leave alone two of the pohutakawa trees that march up the boundry between us. They've cut down kitty's favourite limb of another pohutakawa. He keeps going over there and sniffing around it where it lies on the ground! I've told them quite firmly but politely that I think they should leave one tree alone (although they've trimmed it heavily) because I think it's holding up their property above mine. They were sad when I pointed out they'd chopped down a pretty good apple tree and a beautiful rose. I managed to save the pear tree though!

Actually, writing this is cheering me up a bit. I'm devastated about losing all that privacy. I loathe how they can now walk up and down their path and look into my lounge. I have been playing more music, loud, because I can hear all their conversations at their front door with no trees in between us any more. I went into the garden to take the pictures before and scurried inside again becos I didn't want to get into a conversation with them.

The worst thing is, that just as I was getting to be able to plan new planting, and maybe buy a beautiful garden seat, and start living out there, rather than just working my butt off out there, it's become - well, not what I expected I guess.

On the upside, they're good people, I like them, and I've let them know, gently and without confrontation, a bit about how I'm feeling. You'd have to stand still, on their path, or the public path, to have a really good look at my garden or house, and not many people are going to do that. The light's changed at my place, there's probably more sun, so that's probably a good thing on the whole (but not good for one quilt that used to hang in a more shaded spot).

And the moral of the story is, be careful what you wish for. Because I used to wish I wasn't surrounded by gardens that no-one cared about. Ha!

But hey, look at that view. Come have a g&t up there with me sometime.

Come and see my garden

Everyone who knows and loves me has been bored silly with tales of how I've worn myself out, hurt my back, given up swimming on Saturdays.....all because of my garden.
Here it is. Best it's ever been.
While I've had bursts of gardening over 16 years in this house, I never made it a priority. And then I moved out for a year, a couple of years ago now, during which time the lawns weren't mowed, nothing was trimmed....well, you can imagine. So I have toiled for about 12 months now.....let me show you around.
This is the very top of my long skinny section (block to you Aussies) and it's the home of my vege garden. The wind has wrecked the beans, the peas have fallen off their stakes, but there are beetroot, spinnach, carrots (must thin them out), leeks and lettuce. It's the third time (different houses) I've made a vege garden. This was a very low budget dig-up-a-patch-of-grass kindof garden. It's fun! There's a seat at the end there, it has the best view, photo to come in another post, and gets the absolute last of the sun. Sunset and a glass of wine, here I come.

This is to the right, and below the vege garden. That's a nice sunny seat to sit on. See that sloping bare earth? I'm growing to sow grass there, and plant 60 daffodil bulbs and let them naturalise. My very own daffodil lawn.

This is directly below the vege garden. It's a very steep bank. I've planted hebes, that are low growing and will spread out. 'Otara' which is a deep purpley blue, and 'champagne' a small white flower. I planted spreading rosemary too....so eventually it will all be covered. There's room for a ground cover rose I think. I'm going to find a yellow one.

This is my lovely yellow tree, in the front garden this time, taken from my bedroom window. That's an old bathtub I uncovered from the grass and weeds, with great crops of parsley, sage, chives, mint and a cute little bushy basil - Greek basil I think it's called.

and then, looking just to the left of the herb bath planter, here's the front lawn, and the bin I filled today, in one last big clean up. it's the third bin I've filled, and I've driven my packed car to the tip over a dozen times. Bamboo grows madly on that patch I've cleared today, so there'll be spraying and digging for a long time to come til it's gone for good.

Haven't I done well? And you know what, I did every single bloody inch of it ALL BY MYSELF!

But suddenly, just as becomes less toil and more pleasure, it's going horribly wrong. Which I shall have to make another post to tell you about.

Quilts make the best presents

This is a special little quilt, recently given away.

The centre block was beautifully x-stitched by my co-worker, and I put it into a quilt, which we gave to our project leader to mark the end of our collaboration. Each of the fabrics has a special meaning - there are vegetables, pigs, wine labels, words, and cars and trucks too. I can't explain them all here, 'cos we don't blog about work.....nope! Those are 2 inch squares on point, so you can see it's pretty small. I was glad I got my quilt maths right and the design worked out. The recipient was uncharacteristically quiet after we gave it to him, and he hung it on his office wall immediately.

Quilts really make the best presents, even when they're very small.

Want

Mad Men Barbie.
Cool!

via Obsessilicious which is one of my daily reads, pure inspiration!

I need to go to London

I need to go to London.

I was last there in 1986.

Yes, exactly...high time I returned. To be honest, I've had lots of other places on my list of places to go, until now that is.



"The V&A will present its first ever exhibition of British quilts, with examples dating from 1799 to the present day......Earliest examples include a sumptuous silk and velvet bedcover, with an oral narrative that links King Charles II's visit to an Exeter manor house in the late 17th century. Recent examples will include works by leading artists such as Grayson Perry and Tracey Emin and commissions for the exhibition by a number of contemporary artists including Sue Stockwell and Caren Garfen."

Read more at the V&A website here
and check out what's in the V&A shop in support of the exhibition here. Fabric! Books! Oh my!

My house doesn't really need a new roof does it? There isn't much rain getting in, really there isn't.

I need to go to London!

Sewing clothes...

This is New Look 6976.

I made myself one!

It's a lousy picture (I don't have access to any editing software), but I love my top. It's a viscose chiffon, very fine, kinda floaty, but it's nice, and it fits!!

I'm getting better at that. More to come.

I think I should get contact lenses. What do you think?

I sure do need some new glasses anyway.

Dreams are free. Actually, let's call it a planning discussion.

Yes, I'm auditioning photographs for my internet dating profile. Sigh!

A sunset coloured quilt!

Think I might hang this on the bright bright yellow wall in my lounge.

Lovely

Autumn sunsets are often pretty, maybe it's just that they're getting earlier so I notice them more.

Hello, my name is Pixie, and this is my blog. Possibly someone is still around to read? I'll try posting and see if you turn up.