Last you heard from me...

Last you heard from me I was procrastinating by unicorn.  The unicorn is still not finished, but I have a good excuse.  December saw us off to the South Island for three weeks camping.  We came back home for several days over Christmas and then went on our usual summer holiday camp - two weeks in an Uncle's paddock with all the extended family.

On the way to the South Island I dropped my two sewing machines off for servicing.  Today, finally, I'm picking them up.  I've got itchy fingers and am dying to see that unicorn finished!

So here's a few photographs of what we got up to in the South Island:

We took 'The Hippo', our trusty four wheel drive camper to get to those spots less common.

Here she is, unfolded in all her glory on the shores of Loch Katrine. 

One of the most stunning places we got to was up the head of the Godley river.  

Summer hadn't quite reached up there and there was plenty of snow to keep the temperatures down.

And because it was early in the season there was no fire ban so we got to enjoy cooking over flames.  

My son got to gut his first deer.  He wasn't too squeamish and the back steaks were delicious.

The Hippo even got us into Fiordland, which didn't disappoint with it's scenery. 

Nor with it's sandflies!  So we only stayed one night before we scrammed out of there as fast as we could.

Boat Renovation Update

I took a quick look around the boat this afternoon and snapped some pictures for an update.  We finally feel as if we are getting somewhere.

The main saloon was blue...

and is now white again.  Crisp, shiny, bright white.  I worried that stark white would be too cold, but I love it.  It enlarges the space so much, brings in heaps of light and it just says 'boat'.

The galley is painted too, white again.  There will be wood trim around the edges of the ceiling - helps hide the cracks and the power cords that will be run through soon.

And we've painted the roof of the wheelhouse (you would not believe how stained and revolting it was - probably from years of nicotine as the captain smoked while steering the boat - lucky no smell remains).

The old floor in our forward cabin has been ripped out ready for a new one.  I love seeing the big heavy timbers of her keel.

There is a staircase to get to the top deck now instead of a dodgy ladder.

And the staircase has a new hatch through to the top deck.

But the most substantial progress of all?  In the once-was-fishhold, we now have the beginnings of walls and doors and we have new floor to walk on.  This will be the kid's cabins and playroom.

Exciting!

After a long, tiring month, I'm now have two weeks of annual leave and the kids have two weeks of school holidays.  So I'm not sure whether I'll get heaps done, or nothing at all.  Stay tuned!

What we did...

...for three weeks.  

Wading at high tide.

Too many riding on the 'gator'.

A birthday in the paddock.

Canoeing on the stream.

Horseriding with the bestest Uncle. 

Toasting marshmellows

Lying around doing nothing.

Admired the view.

Swinging.

Teepees. 

There was also pool swimming, beach swimming, eel feeding, flounder hunting, fishing and lots of smoking of fish, good food, cousins and aunties and uncles and friends, hammock swinging, puddle jumping, stitching, spinning, one collapsed gazebo and a lost then found pair of glasses from falling off the jet ski.  Best Christmas camping trip yet.  See you again next year.

Stressfully squeezing in some fabric dyeing

Hand dyed fabrics, silk habotai on the top and cotton sheeting from the pink down.  And my cute little storage bucket.  I feel a few more of these might just have to be made...perhaps in graduating sizes?

So I managed to get the little fabric buckets (because that's what they were if you were trying to guess) finished in the nick of time for the kids to take off to school in the morning.  

I had chosen the highly patterned fabric for mine, but of course that's the the one BOTH children wanted.  I got the orange hatch mark fabric in the end.  

The outside is made of a heavy linen and the contrast fabric is on the bottom of the bucket as well.

  Suz asked why there were three?  Because my daughter had a new graduate teacher this year and so had an older teacher helping out every week = two presents to stress me out!

Holiday prep is kicking my butt.  That's why you got the terrible iPad photo and post the other day.  I feel like I'm a wee bit stretched.  But it's really my own making.  Why on earth I would try and fit a little bit of fabric and thread dyeing in when I have a to-do list that just squeezes onto an A4 sheet of paper, I just don't know.  

But today was the first day of school holidays for the kids and I'm on annual leave for the next couple of weeks so that's making it easier.  

All the presents that had overseas destinations have been organised and I'm well started on packing for our annual camping trip.  

I've been a bit of a grinch and said no to a lot of Christmas functions and that's helped ease the load too.  Why do we feel the need to go to party after party after party?  I could go to at least three work related do's if I so felt the need!  But being the bosses wife, I do have to make an appearance at Hubby's work BBQ tomorrow - I'll put my non-grinch face on and fake it!

I hope to be back with a few more posts, but if I'm not Merry Christmas or happy whatever-you-happen-to-celebrate and keep it safe, people.  I want to see you all back in 2014!

Photography

Today was the last day of school holidays.  Big sigh of relief from me!  Yesterday we thought we'd make the most of our last day with visiting cousins and get out and about.

My hubby picked us up from Parekura Bay in his boat and took us for a short trip to Urupukapuka Island.  Looks really picturesque, huh?  Well you could lean at about a 45 degree angle and not fall over...howling gale!

We took a walk to a slightly more sheltered beach where I practiced my photography.  These are variable oyster catchers.

The endangered dotterel was tricky, they don't stand still for long.  He was flipping seaweed over to look for critters.

Aren't these colours intense?  And not a photoshop in sight I promise!  See the shags?  (Comorants, for those non-Kiwis).

Here they are closer.

And closer still.

They were having trouble drying their wings because the wind gusts would buffet them too much.

And just a couple of shots of a couple of my beautiful nieces.  They sometimes sit still longer than a dotterel...

It was a beautiful day despite the wind.  And then we finished it off with scallops for dinner.  Yum!

Gelli Plate Printing with Kids

This afternoon I wanted to bang my children's heads together.  Instead, I pulled out my new-ish Gelli Plate and did some monoprinting on paper with them.  After a while we got pretty creative - if I do say so myself...

Volcano.

Chinese gate for my son's valley of bones (don't ask).

Skull for the same thing.

I think this is one of my favourites.

Clean up involved a small glass of Lemocello for me, a pastry brush that is now relegated to my studio instead of the kitchen,

and two kiwifruit ice blocks for them.  School holidays are almost over, phew.

Yesterday, Suz from 'all the good ones are taken' and Mathea, a new quilting friend, came over with their kids in tow.  We talked quilts and the kids played and played and played.  Big sticks were involved, dirt featured too (so much that I saw them running around with swimming goggles on) and play wrestling on the trampoline.  My boy had so much fun and today is sporting a neat wee black eye, must do it again next holidays!

And just because they are not all bad, here are some cute things my kids have said lately:

Son asked, "When will pussy cat stop mulching?"  That would be moulting!

And my girl asked,"Where is the fly stabber?  I need to get that fly!"  Hmmm, fly swatter perhaps?

Across the Ditch

Hmm, what to write about first?  Well, I guess I better explain where I've been for the last few weeks.  My Dad turned 70 this year and we decided it was time for a family get together.  We haven't all been together in the one place for about six years!  All my immediate family live in Australia now - I have to break out the passport to go visit my brothers and sisters :(  So our little family crossed the ditch (that's what we fondly call the Tasman Sea) and spent ten days on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts of Australia.

The kids were extremely excited to be having a plane ride - they can't remember their last one.  And the first plane we ride on is a little one from Kerikeri to Auckland, just one seat each side of the aisle, which makes is a bit more exciting.

We had to spend a day in Auckland due to a passport issue.  (Warning: check your passport expiry dates CAREFULLY!  It is not good for stress levels to find out you have an expired passport the day before you fly.)  But we made the most of it with a trip to the museum and a trip up the Skytower.

Dad's party was a great success.  The log cabin quilt I've been working on was presented to him.  My eldest sister made half the blocks and on the back are blocks from members of the family with names, handprints and pictures.  He loved it!

This is my Dad, my step-mum and all my immediate siblings.  I don't know how my half-brother managed to get out of this photo, and my step-sister was the one taking the photo.  Of course there were plenty of little children - all cousins - running around too.

We had a trip to Australia Zoo - the home of the late Steve Irwin.  Not cheap, but really worth it for the kids.  Lots of animal experiences.

And a great show where a 4-metre long croc named Graham (not sure if this is a great name for a crocodile) tries to eat his keepers.

Later in the week we borrowed my parent's camping gear and headed to Great Sandy National Park with two of my sisters and their families.  I got to see a snake in the wild.  I think it's a carpet python - not poisonous.  It was hanging out in a tree where we were waiting for the ferry at Tewantin.

Camping at Great Sandy National Park is only accessible by 4WD because the beach is the highway - a little bit different!

We camped and swam and ate and saw a whale and lots of birds - and cleaned out about 2 tonnes of sand from our belongings when we got back.  So much fun.

And there was the obligatory theme park visit.  But I had cut a deal with Hubby!  I took the kids to the zoo while he went swag (a kind of iconic Australian camping bed and tent all rolled into one) shopping, and he took them to Dreamworld while I went fabric shopping.  I reckon I got the better deal!

Phew!  That's enough photos for one day.  I'll show you the few fabric goodies I picked up another day.  We visited my husbands cousins as well so we really filled up on family on this trip.  Now we are getting back to reality.  It's school holidays for the next two weeks so it's an easy transition really.  It's nice to be home, just a little bit cooler!