I gave up dairy

I gave up eating dairy products.
Only I forgot.

I bought beautiful marinated cows milk feta, for making lunches to take to work. I always take my lunch. It's part frugality and part diet control. So I buy beautiful things, like expensive marinated feta, to put in salads, which taste like a treat, and still cost much less than buying lunch.

And I bought ice-cream (for the kids you understand). It was cheaper to buy a 2 litre tub than it was to buy them icecreams. So I served up 3 bowls, and about half way through, I remembered. I don't eat dairy any more.

Can I tell the difference? Ask my colleagues. I'm coughing again. Dairy really doesn't go with one of the drugs I take. Medicinal, prescribed drugs that is, of course, every bloomin' day!

So, guess I'll start again. I've given up dairy products. I don't eat them any more, from now on. Well, maybe when the feta is all gone. It's raining and gloomy today, so giving up the icecream doesn't seem so bad.

9977

There have been 9977 visits to the Pixie Post.
No, not all of them are from me.
Blogging is ..... is.....well, it's more bloody use than Tim's list by the looks of things.

wow. 2 picture-less posts. wonder where the camera and the cable are?

wardrobe essentials

Happy New Year! Yes, I'm a bit late, the New Year is 1/12th over already. That sure went fast. The Pixie Post was closed during January. Thanks for coming back.

I'm thinking about clothes. I got rid of heaps while I was moving, so my wardrobe is pretty much pared down to things I actually wear. That's a bit scary. I'm gonna have to stop procrastinating and do something about it soon, cos I'm rapidly running out of decent things to wear. I'm planning to sew. I used to sew clothes, and then I started making quilts. So my plan this year is to get my clothes sewing mojo back.

Today I've searched out Tim Gunn's 10 essential items every woman needs. Do you have them? (Well you know, assuming you're a woman of course...)

• Basic black dress (yep, but it's probably a bit fancy/low cut to be 'basic'. I've only worn it a couple of times, but I love it)
• Trench coat (nope)
• Classic dress pants (well, yes, but they're a bit shabby)
• Classic white shirt (I don't usually wear shirts, do I have to try to find one?)
• Skirt (now skirt I can do, quadruple skirts, easy. I like skirts)
• Blazer (Oh Tim, style icon, you don't really use that word do you? I got jackets, but not a perfect jacket. Just that's-not-too-expensive-and-it-kinda-almost-fits-me jackets)
• Day dress (yep, and it's lovely, really it is!)
• Cashmere sweater (no. could we maybe settle for mohair? Oh that's right, I had one, it was beautiful, but it got washed and you wouldn't believe how that stuff can felt and shrink. sigh)
• Jeans (well, yes, but they're a bit shabby too)
• A comfortable alternative to a sweatsuit (what? there's an alternative to track pants and hoodies? Oh. I'll have to find out what that is)

What do you think? Just one shirt with the pants and the skirt makes a wardrobe? I dunno if that would get me through the working week. It's not a bad list to start with though, is it?

How did you do?

stuff

There's been a lot of stuff going on:

• pulled the carpet up
• took it to the tip
• recycled a whole lot of clothes
• cleaned the oven
• cleaned the bathroom
• cleaned the fridge
• paid some bills

and it's only lunchtime! Sheesh. Tomorrow I'm driving to the beach. So I'll be gone for a week or so. I'll be swimming in the sea, lying in the sun, hanging out with my kids and drinking with my brother. Yay! Now, off to get the vacuum cleaner out.

Moving right along

I knocked down the wardrobe so I could shift the bed, and today I'm going to pull up the carpet. Then I can make a place for the sewing machine and the computer. See, it's all a question of priorities. How can I move into my house without a place for the sewing machine and the computer??

Oh yes, Christmas happened, squeezed in between work and moving. It was very pleasant. There was turkey and roast vegetables, it was all very simple, the least gourmet Christmas dinner I've ever cooked, but it was very very good. The boys got a Wii, and I love it, a lot. Good job it's gone to their Dad's house with them. I got lots to do today. Thank goodness the beach holiday is booked.

I've got another car load of things to shift, and then I have to clean. Clean everything! Moving right along.

Here's a NY photo, cos it's one of my favourites. Taken on Broadway. Glad I looked up!

Saturday

The birds love the flax flowers. See this one, a starling I think, with his beak deep into the flower....and here he his, looking around. The orange on his head is pollen. No wonder it makes some people sneeze! and here's the same flax bush, at sunset. These pictures are grainy, pushing my little camera to its limits, but I sure do love that camera. What did we do without digital cameras?
There are lovely garden pictures to be seen over at the quilting orchardist. Tell her I said merry christmas!

Oh, I bought the house. Obscene amounts of money have been in and out of my bank account in the last 24 hours. It went a bit pear shaped along the way, the bank made a mistake, and my lawyer earned her money. But I bought the house. I'm going to MY house to sleep in MY bed on Christmas Eve. Nice.

I forgot to tell you, I now have a Graduate Certificate in serious work stuff, from the Queensland University of Technology, ahem, with distinction. No more essays. You can help me fix up the bathroom and the laundry instead.

I'm trying to show you a picture. Playing html. Well, here's a link in case that didn't work. I swam a long long way on Sunday. From Hataitai beach (where it says Evans Bay Parade on the pic, to Oriental Bay). It was great, I loved it. Yes, I'm quite probably mad. 3.8 Kilometres. took over 2 hours. Felt like a real achievement. Phew. Love my wetsuit!

Have just about bought the house, from my former partner. We're finalising property documents. It's okay. We had a very funny laughing conversation today because the documents required us to write down when our 'long term relationship' began. We settled on the date we kinda think we first moved in together. February 1989. Shucks. Ahhh life!

NY

Just indulge me for a minute. Here're some NY photos. Some things I don't want to forget. Look, out the window of my plane. It can't be! Surely it's not. It's Central Park. OMG!! I can't believe it.


Where's the hotel? I can't find it. I'm wandering the streets of Jersey City, looking over the river at Manhattan. So beautiful, a perfect night. Where's the &%$#@&* hotel though? I found it eventually, by retracing my steps back to the train station and starting again. But I'm kinda glad I got lost and spent some time (at least an hour!) with that stunning night time view.

The Staten Island Ferry. It's free? really? I just get on here, and gaze at the view? And suddenly there's Liberty. There aren't even many tourists around, we're almost alone. Now that's an icon. That really is.

And this place. Just like in the movies. And right next to Anthropologie. Oh my.
And this view. Just a smidgen of it in this picture. It was fabulous up there. No King Kong about though, except in the gift shop.
Central Park, Strawberry Fields. A pilgrimage on behalf of the Beatle- loving youngest son. Thank goodness he sent me there.

Hey girl, what's it like to be in New York?

New York City.

Imagine that.

Can't get that song outta my head!

I did it!

swam like a mad woman, from Devonport to the Viaduct. very pleased with myself. navigation skills need some work, but I did okay. floating around in the middle of the harbour thinking 'good grief, look at me, there's the sky tower, and there's the bridge' isn't the most competive behaviour. lots of good food, friends and a little drinking did me no harm! it was a beautiful Auckland day, the water was warm, 1200 swimmers finished the race. The next one is in Wellington, I ought to know where I'm going there, and knock 10mins off my time. no trouble.

busy this week. big work stuff. buying a house, maybe...perhaps...depending on the valuation, and agreement with the ex. This could turn into a diy decorating blog.

won't it be nice when this year is over and the next one starts afresh? didn't I say that last year?

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture with Lyrics

Have you seen this?

oops, I need to practice the video thing. But look at the next post. The clip's been viewed over 4 million times, hmmm, so perhaps you've seen it already. But it's fun.

The risotto of the day is asparagus and chicken. It's good! Especially with Gershwin playing loud, and a nice cold sav blanc. I've saved you some.

I'm going to pack now. Wetsuit, goggles, swimsuit, cap, towel. I'm going to Auckland in the morning to swim across the harbour on Sunday morning, from Devonport to the Viaduct Harbour. What was I thinking? Kindly send 'swim faster' vibes when you wake up on Sunday.

swim swim swim. Photo by Reuters

trains

I've spent much of the day listening to train talk. Me oh my, the things I do! Here're some trains for the train lover (though you'd deny that, wouldn't you?) that visits here on rare occasions.

The Napa Wine Train. Sounded like fun.

The commuter train, from Menlo Park to San Francisco. I counted 18 laptops from my seat. My laptop-less seat. Get on the train, get on the net. Looked good to me.

Nice station.

This Napa bus thinks it's a cable car.

A real San Francisco cable car, with turntable. There was a friendly policeman helping to push.

We came down there....down that Wellington-like street. The cable car driver was great fun, giving all the tourists a laugh. 'Move on down', he said, 'there's coffee and donuts down the back!'. He enjoyed himself at the top of the first downward trip, taking hands off hand holds and repositioning them safely, and getting strangers to hold backpacks belonging to the standing outside passengers, so they weren't sticking out too far into the traffic. Very cheery.

The foody post

There were some memorable meals on my US sojurn. In Menlo Park (which is close to San Francisco but is a whole other place) I had the best Indian takeaways I've tasted. Really. They probably came from Palo Alto, nearby. We went on the beautiful drive to Napa Valley, via Pete's coffee in Berkley (I was so spoilt!). We saw a beautiful olive oil shop in St Helena, up the highway from Napa. They had tiny cubes of bread and little bowls for tasting. Lovely infused oils and vinegars. It was lots of fun tasting them all. Almost every store seemed to have a 'help wanted' sign. Plenty of jobs going......
This is my very decadent chocolate kahluah cheesecake, enjoyed at the end of a long lunch with fleagirl. Couldn't eat it all. You must go visit her and read about the tour of the San Francisco seafood spots that she took me on. It was a great day, we laughed a lot. (I'll tell you more about the people later, they need a post of their own!).

I had some great diner breakfasts in New York. Dreadful coffee, as everyone warned me, but some great eggs and bacon and fried potato things. I love going out for breakfast. In New York there was also dinner in china town, in a restaurant that had a little english on the menu in it's window. Lots of fun, plenty of stories and laughter, and the best tofu I've ever had. It was perfectly silky, with chilli flakes, and just the right amount of green! We had a sweet and sour pork dish, and beautiful, beautiful eggplant and peppers stuffed with a shrimp mixture. It was fantastic.Look, I found some crab in New York! This was a sneaky picture taken at Whole Foods in Chelsea, New York (near the quilt store). They had cheap NZ Lamb in there. I thought the store was beautiful, but it wasn't organic produce like I know it. The organic fruits and veges looked very processed to me, I'm used to associating organic with produce that looks like it came off a tree in the backyard. Lumpy and bumpy and irregular, like it ought to grow. They had a beautiful bakery, but it was the crab that was hard to resist.

I had a hot-dog from a stand in Central Park. It felt kindof compulsory. It was dreadful! I had a hamburger in a cafe which was huge and delicious. I did have some good coffee in a french cafe near Washington square, and I managed not to set foot in a Starbucks. Oops, no, that's not true, I went to one in the Rockerfeller centre. Far too busy with far too much to do to spend much time sitting still in cafes or restaurants. I did rip an apple cake recipe out the New York Times in a cafe at JFK airport though. I hope no-one noticed.

On and on

I broke the lawnmower blade.
The cricket loving boy had a massive tantrum and refused to go.
The ex has got a girlfriend.
One of my favourite colleagues has resigned.

Oh well.
It's fixable. It's over now. I must reap what I sow. He'll keep in touch.

Which second sentence goes with which first sentence? Life goes on.

The trouble with travelling is that you have to come home. I've been amazed to realise how much of me is used up by work and kids. By just doing the things I must do. I'm still okay. It's still hard work being okay. Does it get better, or do I just get used to it?

Yep, more travelogue to come.

The New York Quilty Post

I flew into New York on the night of Halloween. The train rides from JFK airport to my Jersey City hotel were particularly memorable. I was just about the only one on the subway not in costume, and not headed for the parade in Greenwich Village. I had a great time on that little journey. People were friendly, chatty, fun, and sober....or they had me fooled. "Where you from, you not from round here" "Nooooo Zealand, howabout that".

The next day I walked the length of Broadway, and took myself to the American Folk Art Museum to an exhibition of antique quilts titled A Legacy in Quilts: Cyril Irwin Nelson's Final Gifts to the American Folk Art Museum. They were extraordinary. Worth my trip. Really. Many were familiar, I'm sure they've been much photographed, and I've probably seen them before. To get so close, to such works of art, of such great history. Well, I enjoyed them enormously. This was one of my favourites. You can see more on the museum website.

Then I went to meet Mary. I was late, I got the subway in the wrong direction. Didn't make that mistake again. Anyway, Mary kindly loitered and eventually spotted my lime green bag, so we had coffee and talked and talked and walked off to a lecture she'd heard about. We went to the Fashion Institute of Technology, to see Kaffe Fasset.

Kaffe was promoting his new book, which is about knitting. He's a great speaker, the slides he showed were extraordinary. I confess I've seen him speak before, here in Wellington, but I enjoyed seeing him again. His messages remain the same....colour, glorious colour.....and just do it, focus, and get on with it. Yes sir, doing my best. Mary wrote about it here (scroll to Nov 6). And Kay wrote about it here (scroll to Nov 2). The next day we three went shopping. I met them here:

(after I spent the first part of the morning taking myself up the Empire State Building. Well, me and 100 other tourists).

I bought this book. This wonderful, beautiful, heavy book. It's here on Amazon of course. I can't recommend it highly enough. It has quilts from 10 years of the Quilt National exhibition. It's just beautiful. And it has lots of the quilts I saw in San Jose, so that makes it even more special to me.Then we went to Soho, to Purl. Ahhh, Purl. First, the yarn store, where Mary and Kay bought beautiful things and I took photos. Kay interpreted for French tourists also buying yarn. She should've got a commission I reckon.

And Purl the fabric store, just up the road.....both very small stores, but perfectly formed. You haven't heard of them? You're not reading enough crafty blogs then. Here's the link to their blog. You can find their online store via that link. Yes, I bought fabric this time, pinks, chocolates, and teal/duck egg blues. Beautiful. Soho is where I'm going to stay next time I'm in New York.

The San Francisco quilty post

I had Saturday 27 October twice. Once in NZ flying out of Auckland on an 8pm flight. It was fun to meet some old friends in the departure lounge, on their way to NYC to run the marathon. In San Francisco I had another Saturday. J picked me up at the airport at about midday. J is one of my email buddies, we recognised each other instantly. It was like seeing an old friend you hadn't seen for a year or so. Easy, relaxing, heartwarming, lots of non stop conversation. It's a real joy to have friends who welcome you into their home.

J whisked me off to the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles. (Driving on the wrong side of the road. Oh my!) It wasn't a big gallery, but it had an important exhibition titled Saturn Returns: Back to the Future of Fiber Art, to celebrate its 30th Anniversary. I saw this!

Constructions 77 Nancy Crow

There were also memorable quilts by Susan Shie, and Ruth B. McDowell, Katie Pasquini-Masopust, Yvonne Porcella....lots of famous names. Side by side! I tried hard to behave, but it's quite possible I grabbed J's elbow and said "oh my stars" in a very gushy voice. Quite possible.

The next day we went to do all the touristy things in San Francisco. (Another post!). But she also took me to Britex fabrics. 4 floors of beautiful, perfect, fabulous fabric. The website is beautiful, you must go look.

The shop guy made me take a picture with him in it!

Can you believe I didn't buy anything there? No, nor can I. I was completely overwhelmed, I couldn't make a decision. A couple of fabrics linger in my memory. I should've bought them. Perhaps it was jet lag. But now I know Britex exists, and they have that wonderful website.....well, I'm making no promises.

Yes, I am home

No, I don't know that guy, but he wasn't moving!

I know, I need to tell you all my stories....I think there'll be a whole series of posts. See, I'm full of promises.

I spent 4 nights in San Francisco, and 4 nights in New York, and I met up with lots of friends and saw all the famous sites. I loved it. I had the best time. The best.

The Love sculpture is in New York on the corner of 6th and 55th. I was there. I can hardly believe it. Travelling does nothing to ease the wander-lust does it?

No more sleeps

Start spreading the news, I'm leaving today.....

I'm going to San Francisco today. Well, late this afternoon. Can hardly believe it. Now the essay is done, work is over for a week and a half, and I've decided to flag the swim training session this morning (oohhh naughty), let me tell you about it.

I'm an internet junkie from way back. Bless the Smithsonian for putting pictures of their quilts on the net in 1994, it's all their fault. I'm typical, I'm told, because women like me quickly adapted to email, because of the networking thing. Well, yeah!

In 1996 I was pregnant with Edward (who was supposed to be Emily!). Hoorah! I was working full time, and I had a 2 year old, so I guess I wasn't seeing too much of other mothers. I remember feeling tired and stressed. I got onto a mailing list (nope, don't remember how....) of women who were also pregnant and expecting babies at the same time. We were from all over the world. I often had email conversations with Fiama in Florence, Italy at 9pm my time when she was just finishing breakfast. There was someone from Singapore (Rita?) and a lovely woman who lives in Sydney, but most of my new found correspondents were from USA and Canada. There were some falling outs.....oh, email flaming was rife, but the hurt was genuine, and offshoot groups moved into new lists, eventually finding a home in a Yahoo group. We're still talking, a smaller group of us, and there's a new message on the list just about daily. As you'd expect with a bunch of women, there've been more births and some sad and shocking deaths. We've stuck together through divorce and new marriages, major illness and scary accidents, through tiny triumphs and big milestones. This group of women has been one of the constants through my last 11 years, and they have moved me to laughter and to tears. While the focus of the group was to talk about the kids, as they've grown, the discussion has ranged away from them more and more. Teenagers and men in the lives of these lovely women would be horrified to know some of the topics of conversation!

So, I'm going to San Francisco today, to stay with one of these friends, and tomorrow we'll be joined by a few more. Then on Wednesday, I'm off to New York, to meet up with even more, and some of the 10 year olds too.

There have been some negative and viscious comments made to me about taking this trip. Of course, there are many more sensible things I could be doing with the money I'm spending on making this connection, particularly at this interesting point in my life. But what the hell. Life is short, and difficult. I'm going to celebrate these friendships while I can. New York has been calling to me for many years.....so I'm going to check it out. These people aren't strangers, they've been my friends for 11 years. I've worked hard and saved hard. Nay-sayers be dammed. I've got my credit card and my passport, a list of phone numbers and addresses.......I'm off!

One lovely friend predicts I'll be having adventures with a fireman or policeman in New York. Another reckons I'll be shipped off to Guantanamo Bay and he won't be seeing me for years. Hmmmm. I'm going to a quilt museum in San Francisco, and having a long hard look at the water between the mainland and Alcatraz. There's an ocean swim race there every year.......

There's a new exhibition of antique quilts at the American Folk Art museum, and I've promised Edward photos of Strawberry Fields in Central Park. I'll be the one with the lime green bag and the big grin.

See you in about 11 days.

Yes

Dear internets

I am sorry for neglecting you. I've read all your news and enjoyed your emails. I have written 3204 words of my last essay (yes, the LAST essay), and it just needs tidying up and some reference checking etc etc. The boring bits. I keep thinking how wonderful it will be to have this over with.....and then I remember I need to get on with it, so it will be over with, if you see what I mean. Anyway, it will be over with tomorrow, I reckon, even if I have to get up really really early, and go to bed really really late!

Look, there have been things going on while you weren't looking.

There was the sunrise, a week or so ago. Beautiful. Wellington days often start out gloriously at 6 or 7am and then deteriorate. Been happening a lot lately. But last weekend the sun shone and the wind blew from the right direction and I swam around the lighthouse, two days in a row. Yes, with a bunch of other mad people. Now, that was good. That was really good. Took about an hour. Will be aiming to do it (it's 2.8 k) in less than an hour. I'm going to swim across Auckland harbour at the end of November. I am! So, lots of training required. I'd show you a picture of the route, but the links aren't working. Have to take a picture myself.

I enjoyed the last of the daffodils. Arent' they pretty?

I've been making risotto. Leek and mushroom this one, dairy free, lots of good vegetable stock and white wine. Yum! I like making risotto, I like the contemplative nature of all that stirring. Especially with good music playing (loud), and a glass of wine in hand. Come visit sometime, you can talk to me while I stir.

I've been working my butt off too. I went to..........and met with............I even answered a few questions from.............I've written so many...........and helped coach.........then watched...........on tv. High excitement. Oh you'd be so proud dear internets! Can't tell you though, can I? Cos we don't blog about work. No, we don't.

Only 3 sleeps til I'm off on my adventure. San Francisco and New York. Little me! In New York! I'll stop by and tell you about that before I go, because that's worth a post all of it's own.

Yes, I am going to finish the encyclopedia of me. I've got it all worked out. There's u, v, x, y and z to go. Hmm, guess that'll be the November posts taken care of. There are quilts involved, I promise!

Oh, and men? Weird. Don't understand them. Going back to not even trying. And that's all I'm saying.

love Pixie

xxx

I'm in a hole

It's dark in here. Lonely too. Bugger it.
Hang about while I figure out how to get out. I know, I'll finish the essay, then I'll go to San Francisco and New York. And remind me not to talk to my Mother for a while will you?
That oughta work.

Let me just record a few moments that've made me smile of late:

• I sent a text to the Saggitarian one night while I was at the bus stop. "why do buses always come late?" I asked her, just to pass the time. "perhaps they haven't met the right passenger yet" she replied. I laughed out loud. on the bus. shocking. probably scared someone.
• School holidays. rained continually. Oldest was mellowed out on the sofa, listening intently to the Frank Zappa cd he got from the library. He enjoys the weirdness. His little brother, appalled at the music, was under the kitchen table holding up signs saying "on strike". I just live here, okay?
• All Blacks vs France playing loud on the radio at reception at the pool. A few of us fresh from the sea on the way to a hot shower. Stopped to listen with about 10 others, in various states of dress, from the gym and the pool, halfway up the stairs, leaning on the desk, all absolutely focused on the commentary. Radio is so great.

I'll be back, thanks heaps to those who've cared to ask where I am, or in some cases, demand that I get blogging again...which is probably the same caring kinda thing.