the river

spot the nose

C and I had a picnic lunch at Selwyn River today. We managed to escape the easterly wind and find a secluded spot. Lucy retrieved sticks and chased butterflies while we waded in the impossibly clear water. The wildflowers down there were so pretty! I love exploring days, do you?

mini break

Now that I'm back to the office grind I thought putting up some pics of our weekend would be a nice way to rid myself of the back-to-work blues. Here is a wee montage of our mini break at the top of the South Island.

the view from our bedroom at the beach house

lake rotoroa, a stop worth making

the sandflies were out of control

what a view

the house we stayed at in Riwaka was i.n.c.r.e.d.i.b.l.e

little kaiteriteri

C's beach feet

my beach feet

mint berry frappe

Fzzzz, its been hot. As I mentioned on my last post I was going to try out a Mint Berry Frappe. It was delish and sooo refreshing. Here's the recipe for my cooler-downer.

Few tips of mint - save one for the garnish
A handful of frozen berries (you can get these in a bag from the supermarket)
3 or 4 ice cubes
4 freshly squeezed oranges

 

Chuck it all in a blender and ta-da! If don't want such a thick result add more orange juice. Next Frappe will be pineapple and mint with a sneaky dash of vodka.

vitamin d

To become a brooch

unfinished daffodil day

I have been trying out my embroidery skills using inspiration from the stylish Melissa. I'm quite pleased with the results and how easy it was. I used standard DMC cotton and scraps of calico.

Outstanding day today, you would think we are in summer already (short-sleeves!). C and I helped clean up the neighbourhood this morning (was a bit icky at times) and spent the afternoon soaking up the vitamin d in the backyard, bliss.

on the side

tomato and zucchini gratin

This is a really simple and very flavoursome side dish. I started making this a few years ago and we tend to have it once a month. This recipe is for two people.

Olive Oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 zucchini

2 tomatoes

Preheat your oven to 180 celcius

Wash your veges (especially if from the supermarket)

Put around a tablespoon of oil in the baking dish and add your crushed garlic. 

Slice zucchini and tomato (around 1/2 cm width - try and keep this consistent)

Layer the zucchini and then the tomato (if you are feeding more then keep alternating the layers, adding crushed garlic between them)

Sprinkle grated cheese on top and bake in the oven until the cheese is golden brown and the zucchini is cooked. 

Back at work yesterday and quite a shock to the system! Most of the snow has melted now but is creating a new potential hazard. See the pics below:

the river two days ago

 

 

the river now!

golden brown

 

I wouldn't normally go for yellow or brown things and I picked up this fabric at a jumble sale with no real project in mind. However after some washing and drying to remove the smell, and 40 mins of sewing, I think the stripes worked really well for this carry bag. It's a great size for library books/market shopping.

It's day two of the snow. It is so thick now that if I venture outside I have to tuck my pants into my socks a la Tintin. Note to self - purchase galoshes. Hot blackcurrant has been keeping my insides warm and cabin fever is yet to set in. Glad I have a pile of books, plenty of work and a project (a new purse) to keep me occupied. Oh and (I couldn't forget) Happy Birthday Jumon!

button it up

Buttons are versatile (not just for securing one bit of fabric to another!), and this is the latest way I have been using them. I got the ring pieces for around $5 ea, superglued a fabric covered button and then another on top. Easy peasy finger accessories.

You would think the world was ending with the state of the supermarket today, at the second one I visited (no parking at the first) I couldn't get a trolley, had little to choose from on the shelves and spent more time in the queue than in the aisles. With my little basket of food I was part of the minority as most people had more than one trolley. It was panic shopping at the disco for the on-coming snow storm. A fellow basket-person behind me assumed it may be a grocery/metservice conspiracy in an attempt to bump profits. Interesting theory.

Looking for some toe tapping jive funk? You may have heard it, but crank it up and get your groove on for your saturday night.

in winter wonderland

Last night C & I flew in late from a wonderful weekend in Auckland (I will gush about Waiheke another time) to snow starting to collect on the road on our drive home. By midnight there was almost 10cm on the ground and when we woke up the backyard was this:

I remember the total excitement as a kid waking up and seeing your own home transformed so silently overnight into a beautiful white playground.

The snow continued to fall and the neighbourhood was full of squeels of delight from kids frolicking.

With the roads covered there was no work, or leaving the house at all, except to get milk at the dairy and a wander down the street through the slush. An inconvenience, but absolutely the best kind.

A day stranded meant that I could finish this book that I got at the airport:

Wendyl is so inspirational and I thoroughly recommend you visit her site for handy tips for reducing chemical inputs into your home. I am looking forward to trying her recipes for cleaning and am even trying to figure if I could fit some chooks in the backyard.

The rest of the day was spent working on my knitting,

 rescuing animals - we are now officially dog-sitting - hello zita!

and making peach and pear crumble.yum.

As for the weather, lets see what tomorrow brings. Secretly I'm hoping that we may have another day stranded as I have some felt work that I wanted to do and a skirt to make that I have been meaning to put together for ages.