Subterfuge on an International Level

 

What do you do when you want to send a parcel to a blog friend, but do not know the address ? I did know that “A” and “B” were close friends, in distance and in heartfelt friendship, they shared some very special times together,  although A had moved a good distance away some time ago.

Contact friend  ‘A” and ask if you could  please send me the address for friend “ B”. Yes, but I will contact B  first and ask if that is OK. It was OK , after some probably funny emails between A and B. The first parcel was sent some time ago.

“B” had no idea that the parcel would come from NZ!!!

The email of thanks, told me  a gift that is hand made with love is special, and I had tears as I read those words,  in December 2015.

A  few  weeks  ago I wanted to send a parcel to Friend A. Now I contacted friend B and asked the same.Again, emails sent and received,  I truly thought that A would realise who was sending it.NO. I am so happy it was a real surprise.

Sue Beedoo lost her dearest horse Star after a very short illness. Sue is friend “A”. I had a wall hanging that seemed to fit in with my  thoughts , and after emailing B, and attaching a photo of this,  B  thought the name “ Memory Tree of Love” might be suitable.

The extra leaf outlines were added, they do look more like hearts,  but I thought that names could be written in there, and I know Star and others will have their place on the tree.

And, again, I had tears as I read Sue’s email to say this had arrived, and how it was so special .Her thanks had words from her heart.

One of the huge pleasures in life is creating something, being happy with the result,  and knowing that someone a long,long way away will  realise that blog friendship is so real, no matter the distance, the fact we will probably never meet, maybe a phone call or FaceTime talk if very lucky.

Some of the bags that have flown  to all places North,South,East and West.

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ Distance is a true test of how far love can travel”

Greetings from Jean

Did Boris find a Fairy ??

 

The Autumn warm days bring out mushrooms,  toadstools,  and some beautiful  shades in the leaves as they change colour.

On the front lawn, a red mushroom took Boris’ eye, he investigated, then left it alone. Not sure of the name for this, but guess it might be one of the poisonous variety.

Three more Brunsvigia  josephinae have bloomed, and in a pot I am sure they will not get lost in the jungle of weeds that appear like magic after some rain.

Cheery trees line our driveway, and the leaves change colour in varying stages.

We have had rain, wind, gales further south, thousand of lightning strikes further north, in the middle of the North Island  we escape the worst of the worst weather.

I have done a little sewing, my fab merino fabrics from Levana in Levin arrived, biscuits went down south to Victoria University, posted Monday, arrived Tuesday, not sure how many might have been devoured.. I meant eaten, on Wednesday

.Life continues at a slower pace, Hugh has another hospital appointment next week, I am hoping we do not have to go to Wellington again.

I think of Fort McMurray, no words are adequate to say how we feel . I see that the Otago Rural Fire Authority  is sending parcels of goodies to the firefighters at Fort McMurray. Below courtesy of the Internet.

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Although the two Otago rural firefighters had not been based near Fort McMurray, they had worked with some of the incident-control team members now coordinating the current Canadian firefighting.

"At Otago Rural Fire we know the people fighting this fire and we know how much messages of support mean to them,'' she said.

"We've been getting donations of items that are quintessentially Otago to show our support for the region.''

These items included coffee, rugby balls and chocolate.

She joked that pineapple chunks and peanut slabs were "secret weapons'' in rural firefighting, and they had both been included in the care parcels.

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I hope the caring thoughts and good wishes from all over the world are helping to lighten the darkness of all those in Fort McMurray. Care,love, support, and   immense kindness , to those who have lost, to those who have helped,  and all those who continue to battle the fires.

 

Quotation of the day, a Jewish  proverb,

“ I ask not for a lighter burden,

but for broader shoulders”

Greetings from Jean

Ripples on a quilt

 

The pattern on this reminded me of when my Grandmother told me about playing “ Chucky stones in the Clyde” this was back so many years when she lived in Scotland. I have tried to do what we call Skipping Stones, but didn’t manage to get many skips at all.

This was another stunning pattern from Sandy at

 Upstairs Hobby Room 

and we are so lucky to have her share with us the BOM tutorials. I did a trial with 2 blocks, quilted it,and didn’t like it at all, so tried this with a spiral .If I said I was happy with it, that would be an understatement. This is maybe the one I like the most of any recent sewing and quilting projects. I started the spiral by having the centre printed onto paper, then stitched through the paper with no thread. This gave me a good start, and with the  guide bar, managed to keep the width between the rows fairly even. The walking foot was so good, and not a pucker on the back.Wow, maybe that is a first.

An inside shot , and a second one outside on the lawn, in a sheltered spot, away from the southerly wind.

I wanted to do an OOB, or Out Of Bounds, but have run out of time.We are already into the 30th April,and the link is for the 29th, so  I am very happy NZ is a day ahead ( almost).

Quotation of the day, author unknown,

The greatest challenge in life

is discovering who you are….

the second greatest

is being happy with what you find”

Greetings from Jean

Lest We Forget

25th April, 2016.
Dawn   Services  are being held  in so many places, cities, small towns and villages throughout New Zealand this morning. We remember those who served, those who gave their lives, those who came home, and the families of them all.
ANZAC,  the acronym from the initials of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, the formation of Australian and New Zealand soldiers who were grouped in Egypt before the landing on Gallipoli in April 1915.
The Red Poppy is the symbol of remembrance, and the poem by  Lieutenant John McCrae “ In Flanders Fields” was written  after the burial of a  fellow officer  during the second battle  of Ypres in early May, 1915. Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He was born in Guelph, Canada on November 30th, 1872, and died on January 28th, 1918, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, in France .  
Quotation of the day,      ( Courtesy of Internet)

from Lieutenant Colonel  John McCrae,

Greetings from Jean

Fairy Tales and other things

 

All Good Fairy Tales have a wonderful ending. My laptop is back, Open Live Writer is installed, some quilting blocks have been sewn, and all is good in the garden .

A frost the other morning gave the lawn a magical look, with icy crystals adorning every stem of the grass.

I have been busy sewing the April blocks for One Block Wonder,  some more stitching needs to be done. Another stunning pattern from Sandy at  Upstairs Hobby Room.This is 6 blocks, pinned, and maybe I will make another 3 to square it up,Border fabrics auditioned at the right hand side. That little flash of lime green to “zing” it up!!!

 

Joyce cannot resist the local Garden Centre at Mitre 10, and this is the second stunning Streptocarpus plant she  has arrived home with. These photos were taken outside, about 5C, and no frost today.

 

Happiness is having your very own laptop, sending home baking to Josh at Vic University, knowing Danielle did so well with her horse Joey the other day, and having the fire lit on a cold morning.

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ Be happy with whatever unfolds in your day,

accept changes, and look always

for the good in everyone you meet”

Greetings from Jean

One Plus One block for March

 

March seemed to fly past, daylight saving has ended, April Fool’s Day had no dramas at our place, and the  March block is all finished. Late afternoon  photos, a little breeze, and Boris on standby for any assistance he could give.

The One plus One block went together so well. NO points this time, easy seams to match, and as always Sandy from Upstairs Hobby Room  gave us another stunning  design. No snow to use as a background, just trees or green  grass. And Boris had to put in his usual “ paw’s test” and passed it as OK.

 

The beautiful Brunsvigia Josephinae is blooming again this year.It needs a hot dry summer ,“tick”, lots of sunshine ,“ tick”, and resents being moved, “tick”.This was a bulb from our dear friend Hec in Rotorua, it has been moved 3 times, but has stayed  put in this part of the garden for a few years.

Quotation of the day,author unknown

“ Nature provides us with glory,

all by herself”

Greetings from Jean

Laptop Problems

I have been missing my laptop so much, the dreaded error message, " Critical Issue Died" came up, so it is away being fixed, and I hope back this morning.
I  am using Hugh's, but a larger keyboard means I hit the Caps Lock so often.
I am slowly catching up on all your news since Monday, lots to read.
Meantime a photo from the past of a tulip in our garden.

 

Quotation of the day, from an elderly aunt many years ago....

 

" You don't miss the water  till the well runs dry!!!"

 

Greetings from Jean