Off To The Hills!!!

This week Hugh and I will be in the high  hills , just south of Waiouru. I will not be doing any blogging from there, as we have to go in by quad.
And in the nasty  places I will walk!!! Photos next week will explain this. The track  is steep in places, windy, ( that is curvy, not gusty!!!)
and has corners where you want to hang on for whatever reason.
During the last few weeks we have  met wonderful people, some N.Z.er’s, a couple from Scotland, and yes, they knew Cambuslang where my Mum was born
     A few weeks ago we  had a day out, some of it “Off Road” according to the GPS


Then I saw this in a paddock close to the road. An old Holland Baler, they  were used in the 1940’s !!!
The oblong bales get tied with good old baling twine, that is used later for all sorts of jobs on a farm.
Before the automatic tie system, one man had to sit at the back, on one side and tie each bale as it came out . Yes, we had these bales on my Dad’s farm at TeHihi, and in the early days we shared the baler, with the Conning  and the Paul families.
Later Mr Conning had his own baler and he came to each farm in turn. So much better than from further away in Pukekohe.


The three men were happy to pose, and agreed very nicely to their photo being in my blog.
I hope the rain held off long enough for them to get the baler fixed and all the  hay   done  before dark.

Further on was a little house, right on the side of the metal road.
I wondered what stories it held. I’m sure it offered comfort and warmth in the cold winter days
many years ago.

Quotation of the day,  from  William  Wordsworth,

“ Dear God! the very houses seem asleep:

And all that mighty heart is lying still !”

Cheers from Jean

They come, and They Go!!

 Our guests came in and found a  quiet part of the garden. They are off again today. A short  stay.
Our next guests were Jessica and Victor from France. Their campervan had engine problems, and our local BJW team  fixed it up and they were on their way South.
  Enjoy your holiday , I  hope the weather stays sunny and warm for you,  your blog will keep me up to date with all your exciting adventures.
you can find them here, at
http://tetealenvers.fr
Translate if you need to.I did!!! Wonderful photos of New Zealand, for us and their family and friends back home to enjoy.


Ryan, Alana and Lewis are from Christchurch, living in the home on wheels while the
earthquake damage to their home  is repaired.
Lewis is ready for anything with a big stick  in his hand.
Lawrence and  Tanya, hope all is well when you return home.


Monday 6th January, and here  are Lisa and Christian from
Germany. They have seen much of NZ, and are  travelling North.
Visit their blog at
http://amanderenendederwelt-eintraumwirdwahr.blogspot.com
Again, stunning photos seen from a visitor’s eyes.
Happy and safe travels for both of you.
Christian, after your morning trip around our streets in the  Porsche 911,
the van will seem more practical, if not so glamorous



Our dear friend Damien was here on  his way to the  Porsche Car Club meet at Taupo.
He was very generous, and that day gave Christian the driver’s seat, and  later on Hugh
drove for a short while on  their way back from Kimbolton, Apiti and surrounding areas.
Here is Laurie from  Ngongotaha, on her way south for a few weeks of  rest, ( not sure about that??) stitching and travel.
I hope you meet your fellow bloggers on the way Laurie, Safe travel.
look at her bike, when will Laurie fit in time for pedal travel???
Laurie’s photos and stitching news  are  at
http://breadmoretravels.blogspot.com


The day is drawing closer and the machine is having a rest from the FMQ  February challenge of  FEATHERS !!! No one said it would be easy, They were so correct.
The pictures below (fabric only at that stage) are a tiny preview of the 100th post giveaway.
Sewing is started, and looking good. More photos to come on the day.
There will be a NZ  “Goodie”  and an overseas   “ Goodie”  as well. Keep looking.

Quotation of the day from  John Keats , 1795-1821

“ Much have I travelled in the realms of gold,

And many goodly states and kingdoms seen”

Cheers from Jean

Silk Fabrics in Bright Colours

  A few years ago our younger daughter was in India, at Bangalore, for her work.
Not far from there was a wonderful place where you could choose silk, the colour, the pattern, and it would be made in your own design.
These shades were “on the shelf “ and I’m sure  such a small selection of  what was available.
The colours seem perfect for the FMQ challenge for 2012.
I choose the cinnamon one, and bound the square in gold. I used  a viscose/rayon thread, with  clear Gutterman in the bobbin,
on the Bernina I threaded the bottom thread through the hole in the bobbin holder.The needle size was a 70, and  i had no problems with either thread.
The silk does fray easily, and was sewn up with a 1cm seam.When the 12 blocks are done, they will finally be sides on either square containers
for my sewing shelves, or pockets on bags.
The January challenge was to do a FMQ leaf pattern. After several trial blocks on cotton, this one went well.
Close up of a leaf with a vein. A friend who is a cabinet maker, of superb furniture, looked at my trial blocks and his comment" The lines on the veins are not together!!! " WOW, I will wait till I have the next one past a trial stage before I let him near it.

I might have to put this on Facebook also, will need to read the details.
Some of the blocks on the Facebook page for this challenge  are beautiful, but for a newbie at this, I am happy!!!
Which colour will I use for the February one??
photos below courtesy of the Internet. Silk fabrics by the metre
 and torn silk strips... Would these be from  selvedges, or across the
fabric? And what would I do with them??? Plaited handles? Woven
over a plain fabric?Used for strippy squares? I know if I had them here, they would be used
in all their glorious colours.
Colours, so many to choose from, maybe better that I do not visit there.

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ Life is like a rainbow:; you need both the sun and the rain to make its colours appear”

Cheers from Jean

Cool mornings, hot days

This morning we had… wait for it…, 3.5C, so a bit cool, well very cool for January.
What would it be on the track we walked the other day??
We met many people on the way, a young man going to take water samples from streams,
others who had walked from the North side of Ngauruhoe, skirted the edge of Tongariro, down to the Oturere hut, then to Waihohonu, and then to the Desert Road. a good 3 day trip, one day was a 7 hour tramp.
On the way in, we met the Fanstone family on their way out,, along with Jackson Anderson from Sydney,  they  had stayed overnight in the Waihohonu Hut.
Leah and Jez, Jake, Kiri and their cousin Jackson stood with that magnificent scenery as a backdrop.
A backpack each,hats,  and warm jackets in case the morning was as  cold as today.

Thanks, family .




A fireplace that might have given a hot meal, light in the dark, and welcome heat on a cold day.
Through the trees dappled light, making pretty patterns with leaves and gravel on the track.




Hugh already has the book out and the next tramp is planned.

Quotation of the day,  from John Keats, 1795-1821

“ A little noiseless noise  among the leaves,

Born of the very sigh that silence heaves”

Cheers from Jean

A One Day Tramp

On Wednesday Hugh and I set off, to tramp to the Waihohonu Hut, in the Tongariro National Park. This is situated at 1104 metres asl. We started off bright,, checked the  GPS , and took some photos .
The view from  the car park, with tussock, and Mt Ngauruhoe in the distance.

After many footsteps, some deep DOC steps, a small detour where there had been a huge washout, we arrived at the hut. “ It’s a mansion” were Hugh’s words.Bunks to sleep 28, gas burners, solar powered hot water, a huge stack of  firewood for cold days and nights, and the stunning views from the windows.

We ate lunch, and fortified, started the return trip. It was  5.6 km each way,
and back at the wagon congratulated each other. Well Done!!!
On the way up  we met a family, names to be given, so photo will be in another post.
Our water bottles were almost empty by the time we left the hut so Hugh refilled his
by the fast stream.
Here they are Lori, pics for you,(at Skoog Farm), they do keep the water or juice cold for a good while My one at a well known Sports’ Store was almost twice the price of the coloured ones at our local pharmacy.

Tributary to the Waihohonu Stream.

This is a first, I have taken a video with my Canon Ixus 800  IS, loaded it onto YouTube,
HERE IT IS  !!!
Back home, long time friend Ross and Olive were waiting, a stop over on their way south.
A delightful dinner at Bulls, and  then this morning another Goodbye, Safe travels.

Quotation of the day, from a song written by Cole Porter, “ Don’t Fence me In”

“ Oh, give  me land,lots of land under starry skies above”

Cheers from  Jean

A Day at The Beach

Hugh and I had a day away from lawns and  garden weeding , and started at Himatangi Beach,  went up to Foxton Beach, where the Manawatu River comes out to the  sea.  The beach  has some steps that beckon the hot traveller, the  surfie, or lady on the quad, to walk up and return with cool ice-creams. Delicious!!!
Further along we stopped for sandwiches, a  cool  drink, more photos, then went  to the Rangitikei River outlet just north of Tangimoana.
Kapiti Island in the distance, and closer up, an English Pointer, who very nicely stood still
for his photo shoot!!!


On our way back to the wagon  Luca and Oscar whizzed by on the bike.
Luckily they stopped where their family was, and so politely gave permission for photos. Thanks Luca,
That is the BEST SHOT of the day. Hope you do read the blog and see yourself in photo and print.


Hugh, with melting ice-creams,  BP Surf Rescue, with the lookout perched high on his chair.
Patterns formed after sand erosion. Driftwood was everywhere, high up,
low down,  some not far from the high tide water line.

Anyone can surf, even the dogs. They are there, one white, one brown, so enjoying the frolics,  the darker brown one came out first , the white one harder to find in the sea.



There was a heron in the wetland area.  And in the small estuary, an area so safe  for the younger ones, was a  young lady  , a very capable paddler.

   

Oscar’s friend lay quietly, and very soon they all went home.

A great  day, with the heat about 30 degrees Celsius. I was so lucky, Hugh handed over the driving to me,
the sand was firm, no banks to go up, no deep water to cross. I  enjoyed that so much. Thanks.Hugh.

Quotation of the day, from Lord  Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron, Poet Laureate, 1809-1892

“ And the sun went down, and the stars came out far over the summer sea”

Cheers from Jean

No Power,No Blog, No Dinner to Cook.

No blog, no power for hours today, we had the good old kiwi standby, fish and chips, then watched TV with generator power. Three homes here, we all feed off the same pole, had the power cut off after someone ran into the concrete power  pole. No-one badly  injured, but there were  the police, the  ambulance, fire brigade and power company. They finished the power pole installation and check list in the dark.  Wonderful men who have been on standby all  week after huge winds, volunteer men with the fire-brigade, some of them were here last November,Police men who came rushing with  sirens going, road closed as the power cable was dangerously  low over the road.We can be so thankful for all services who come,assist, comfort people, and hold their hands.
I am not the only one who has had problems with blogger, cannot open another blog, cannot post a comment. Maybe  Wordpress would be better.
Keep watching, I see that #100 will be coming up soon. I will have something for a kiwi reader, and something that can be posted overseas to anywhere in the world. Watch for details, snippets of what the chosen gift will be !!
On that note, my blog has opened up so much of the world to me,friends, news, I learn of other countries, their winter scenes, travel, quilting, photography,  and all other interests,
  and now wonder " What did I do before this?"

DO NOT ask Hugh about this thought please !!!

Quotation of the day,  some fitting  words, that fit the day so well,

 the power board man walked back with me to our front door

to check that our  power was on, and all was safe to use again.

 and he commented on the light( via  generator power)  he could see through the window.

From Shakespeare, out of context from "Romeo and Juliet"

" But,soft! what light through yonder window breaks? "

Cheers from Jean.