Unity, loyalty, standing together.

 This morning I watched the inauguration ceremony of the 46th President of the United States of America,

 A ceremony like no other,  Joe Biden,  a speech from his heart, Kamala Harris sworn in as Vice President, previous presidents in attendance, a cold raw morning as roads were closed, National Guards by the thousands keeping watch, the temperature dropping, snow hovering,  our reporter Anna Burns Francis reporting from a distance.

I hope so much that this will be the start of a peaceful country for all my friends in the North, the end of riots,  racial discrimination, shootings, and you can all have days with safety, security, and much more . that should be the right of every person.

8 Celsius there, we have the same or less down here,  but with a warm heart I wish all of you in US happiness, safety, good health and more as the start of the next 4 years unfolds.

Quotation of the day,

" Lend a helping hand, accept a helping hand"

Greetings from Jean

 

The End of the Year 2020

 This has been a year  like no other, but blog friendships remain constant and true, as our distances across the  miles and oceans  are but a fraction of time as we write and talk.

I still have a lot, well, a massive pile of UFO to complete, and will wait until my eyes " Can See Clearly", as the song says. There have been  some wonderful quilt along blocks, some finished, the Tour Blocks of USA are continuing, and should finish in about July 2021.

I wish you all a Happy New Year, with health as it should be, families safe at their distance, and all doggies, cats, horses and fabric projects keeping you happy.

Here in the garden the flowers continue to show their glory.

Tall Hollyhocks and the lemon Lily tower above the other plants, standing a little to the right of our darling Moxy.

The white Hollyhock has the most delicate pink tinges.

These are so tall, and  will grow taller.Sheltered by our friends' garage, they have not needed stakes so far.

The Lily has about 30 buds, slowly unfolding.

Morning shadows as I ventured out earlier, we have birds in the one tall tree, and lots of orange Day Lilies scattered throughout, some will get dug up for friends soon.

Thank you all so much for your continued loving comments and words, our friendships cannot be described adequately, but if I try hard, words like " Unique, lasting, loyal, constant, true, caring and loving" come to mind.

May you all have a Happy New Year, with your families staying safe where-ever they live .

Quotation for today, author unknown, 

"Wishes for Health, Happiness and Memories filled with Love and Joy."

Greetings from Jean

25th December 2020

 Ans so the Christmas Day unfolded, with a  grey sky turning to blue and the sun rising in the East. The flowers in the garden continue to show their colours, and all is well.

I wish you all Season's Greetings, for a safe and Happy Christmas, travel restrictions mean so many of you will not have family visiting, but love travels across miles and oceans always.

The best present of all was given to me by a surgeon from Spokane, Washington. 2 weeks ago .  She is now at Whanganui Hospital in the Opthalmology Department The lovely lady looked into my eyes, and said I am on the list for cataract surgery. Probably within 3 to 4 months, so there is time for me to get all the fabric sorted, tidied up, and  prepare myself for  surgery. 

Thank you all so much for the continued friendship , this is something we all value, share, and treasure 

Quotation for today.

" May the gifts of Peace and Happiness be with you, wherever you live "

Greetings from Jean

QAL by the sea, in the year 2020

 This year there was another fantastic Quilt Along, By The Sea. We received a block each week, then after 4 blocks, had a link up party. The talented designers gave us some wonderful ideas along with their own colours, and now the grand finale has arrived. I have sailed up to the line at the last minute, rain today, more tomorrow so the photo is a little dark. My editing skills on the Macbook need some serious practice.

However, here is my rendition, with a look back at my Dad and his boat he built, " Lady Grae" a link to my Mum as her name was Grace but she was so often called Grae, the four corner blocks with ferns, reminding me of the NZ  fern logo so many of our sports people have on their uniforms, and the outer border, it reminded me of the Northern Lights, so a link to all my friends in the North

Quotation of the day

"Never leave anything until the last minute, that might be too late"

Greetings from Jean

Moxy's Story.

Thank you all so much from my heart for all your loving, caring and so thoughtful words. Moxy was such a vocal boy, and always told us when he was coming in, or going out, or just plain wanted a meal. A friend called in last Wednesday with these roses from her garden, we have shared our cats' lives and losses for some years now. Then on Friday his previous Mum called in, roses also from their garden.

 He has a long story that began in Australia in 2007, he was microchipped and registered at the Australian Animal Registry in August the same year. Soon, he was flown to New Zealand where he was a stud cat for 2 years or so. He HATED being kept in a crate, not sure how large it was, but maybe not much room to walk around,. He escaped several times, and when he was found, several miles away, the first owner said to the new ones, " You might as well keep him, I will have him castrated so you cannot use him  for breeding"

His new family moved to a country area ,  several miles from here, then back to our small township, and they are living 5 houses up the same street, just on the other side.

He was SO loved, and was named " Pat" as after being a crated stud cat, it took at least 2 years before they could pick him up or pat him, so it was PAT me if you can.He shared his home with other cats, and last Christmas his Mum and Dad were away for one night,. During that time some other animal came in, mauled one of the other cats badly, and Moxy fled. We did see  him wandering up and down our street, walking into gateways, coming to our back door, and we  wondered where he had lived. Many phone calls, internet and lost pet searches, but no luck at all. However  the local vet clinic had been notified, maybe his description was not matching their details.

Shortly after this he came in the back door, very cautious. He was hungry and so happy to have a feed. 

A few weeks later I took him to our vet clinic for a check up, as by this time he was sleeping inside. ' I don't suppose he has a microchip? "  I asked. The vet scanned him and sure enough, he did. A quick check up and the  registration number wasn't found in the New Zealand Registry.  I came home and did some research, looking at every registration site, and finally found his number, registered in August 2007, in Victoria.

Roll on another week or so, and one morning about 7 a.m. I walked up the street calling him, as he had wandered out. There he was with his previous Mum, she said " Are you calling your cat" Yes, I wondered where Moxy had gone. She replied " Well, actually he is our cat and we call him Pat" Oh dear, he should go home to you, and then she told me about the Christmas saga,. She thought he was too scared to go back and suggested we keep him. His Dad has since said " Well, I have never been dumped by a cat"!!!

He did go next door, and  loved our bird bath for a drink and almost a dip. Maybe his last photo in October.

On Tuesday afternoon, I saw him by our front gate, just sitting quietly. About 5 minutes later, I left the dinner cooking and looked down our drive.   I cannot describe my feelings, and thank you all so much again for caring, sharing our loss, and more.  Phone calls, emails and texts have all shown me how much  our family and my friends care, all over the world and here in NZ., Our friend Lance came and dug a grave, and Hugh has made a beautiful varnished name sign.

Life must continue, and after my Dad died, I had the honour of donating his bowling bag and set of outdoor bowls to the club he had been a member of for many years. The words I spoke went something like this...

 "Do not hide my name away, but speak of me with love,  continue to do what we once did together  and have memories of all our happy times."

Quotation of the day,

Memories are golden, store them safely, visit them every day, with joy and sadness mingled together.

Greetings from Jean .

Moxy, July 2007_ 17th November 2020

 Late this afternoon we lost our darling Moxy, I found him lying by the side of our street. He  was probably hit by a car, no marks, and his little face looked like it always did.

Our home is so quiet, time will heal.

Meanwhile, I am well and thank you all so much for your words, emails, comments and inspiration to get me motivated again.

 I think the stent surgery  was really successful,  but I have taken longer to feel fit and confident to go walking again.

I have been doing some sewing, a Quilt Along with blocks featuring seaside scenes, and for all of you in USA, the  Around The Block, with each 6 inch block featuring something special from each state. This will take so many weeks, and  will no doubt get finished  well into next year. For each of these, the designers have given some outstanding and amazing designs,  The seaside blocks need to be assembled  by mid December,

Quotation for today, 

" Love unconditionally,  and  remember the  happiness of earlier days"

Greetings from Jean

Thank you, thank you all SO much

Hello friends, here in NZ and world wide.

Thank you all so very much from my  heart, my repaired and working heart, for all your loving, caring, thoughtful words .emails, and phone calls.
They have boosted me, and given me the assurance that love does conquer all.
I was talking to our son-in-law this week, he had a heart attack on 25th April, and has a stent in the same LAD,. I said I thought a few days at home and I would be bouncing back better than ever, like a spring chicken,BUT, that didn't happen. He is a whole lot younger, and he said the same.
So we are both taking one day at a time.
This was the view when I bravely looked out the window as we neared Wellington, on 19th June,  probably somewhere along the Kapiti coastline.

Before this it was mostly clouds.

The lovely young lady I met in the same room at Wellington went home to Nelson, and as I do, I wanted to post her something hand made. But she said " I don't need a little something Jean, your friendship is ample" However I like research, and should have been a detective or sleuth. I knew  that they lived south of Nelson, and the  type of business, so after consulting Yellow Pages, phoned the first one on the list.

"Hello, I am Jean in the North Island, This might be a really wild goose chase " Paul said, tell me. So I did.

How could I be so lucky to hit the jackpot first time, Kaz's partner's sister worked there. So now I had an address to post off the secret surprise. I sorted out some goodies from the " Spare Parts" department,  Fleece hat and matching neck warmers, mitts, phone charger holders for the staff, where Paul was so helpful, and off it went.

Then I got the phone call, 

"Jean, Corey came home and told me I had a present, and the others all got one too, Thank you SO, much, I am so spoilt "

Next thing, I see photos on Facebook of them all, but the funniest part was the banner beneath the desk at their work place.

" IMPORTANT, no claims after installation"

I had to laugh, does this apply to a heart valve transplant or a stent!!!

Just to add to the local drama, at the weekend I developed a constant cough, sore throat and mild fever. So arranged for a Covid Test. Let me tell you all, the swab  down your nose is no fun, the strong taste, the stinging of  whatever is used as a fixing agent, it was ghastly.

28 hours later, a phone call, negative result.Huge sigh of relief all round.

Next weekend I can now celebrate my 80th birthday ( How did that happen ) , a very small gathering at home, family can now arrive safely, and I can blow out some candles.

I think of how life can change in a flash, and how we share and care, I am so grateful 

The quote for today comes from Jake Bailey, the gallant student who faced a massive challenge  in 2015,   and underwent aggressive treatment for Stage 4 Burkitt non-Hodgkin's lymphona.

He was  Head Boy at Christchurch Boys High School, and came to the prize-giving in a wheelchair. He has written a book, is a public motivational speaker, and gives us all a huge lesson in life and how to face adversity  at the highest  level.

"So be gallant, be great, be gracious and 

be grateful for the opportunities that you have"

Greetings from Jean