Watch that sun ...

Wow, I just heard that my sister's best primary/high school friend has only weeks to live. Skin cancer - she is only 37yo.

Wow, I know they keep telling us, but when it hits that close it really makes it real :(

So listen to the ads, cover up and wear that sun screen!!!

Go Paula!

Our first gold medal at the Paralympics, won in the cycling by Paula Tesoriero. I would say, I was surprised to hear her name mentioned as we were half watching the Opening Ceremony - but my natural reaction is more "wow, we always said she'd do something".

Paula was one of my original Rally girls - Every Girls Rally, that is - a bit like Girl Guides but run by the church, I was a Rally girl that went onto to be a Leader right up until my married family life got too busy. I haven't seen or heard of Paula for years, but back then she was an incredibly gutsy determined little girl. When we played games, she often won, and if she didn't she always gave it 110% to make sure she was just like everyone else.

So no, I wasn't surprised to hear her name - but happy to hear that that little girl really had come along way, just like I expected her to. Congratulations Paula!

No snow like Pauline ... but ...

TWISTER!!! ... well, we're pretty sure it was a twister, we live close to the beach and am thinking we are in the direct line of storms meeting from either side of Kapiti Island and making a twister - about 7yrs ago we had our front gate ripped off from a freak water twister.

I was at home with Josh last night when what I thought was a huge (as in OMG, that wind hit HARD) gust of wind bringing in the Southerly storm from the South Island hit. David came home and asked if I'd seen the front gate, it had been whipped backwards and broken it's post.

We got woken this morning by the boy next door knocking on our door to ask if we'd see our backyard!

Next door neighbour's tree uprooted ...

and landed on our garage -

and our outdoor furniture (one table broken) knocked around, AND our back fence blown right down -

We don't know for sure if it was a twister, but we're pretty certain it was - you can actually see the path it has travelled, our neighbours in front of the neigbours with the tree, didn't have any damage at all - it looks like it landed on the road in front of us, raced down the side of our house, and then turned and ran down the fence line, there are a few fences looking down that way that have been damaged.

Pretty scary stuff - I'm glad I didn't realise what it was when it actually hit!

Hello :)

How about I just pretend I've been here every day for last, um so many, months?

I have been stitching, but not a lot, since I've joined Stampin' Up (loving it!), I've been doing a lot more cards and scapbooking. But, you'll never catch me watching TV in the evening without stitching in my hand! (... of course, I work 3 evenings, have workshops and meetings ... which = not as many evenings in front of the TV as I'd like!). I can't say anything is particular grabbing me right now though, I think I've lost that stitching mojo for quite a while now.

Anyway, I DO have an update :) ... because I can't "just" sit, and because I've always admitted to being a stitcher who just enjoys the de-stressing process, I've been stitching on Faery Tales. I've just finished page 2! (well not *the* page 2, but a whole second page of stitching). When I started this, I started it about 3 times, the fabric was wrong the first couple of times, then I started and realised I had the fabric the wrong way ... so when I finally started it, again, I started on page 2 - I just couldn't bear to re-start page 1.

So this is page 2 and page 8 (I think) - I think I'll work on page 1 and 3 at the same time next.

AND ... there are 40 pages ... I wrote down the date on the chart when I started page 8 - it says 12 October 2007. That is seven months to stitch one page, x 40 pages - well, you do the math - it could be a LONG time before this one is finished! LOL

Funny enough though, I'm really enjoying stitching it - I am definitely in a rhythm with the colour changes and the one over one.

So, enough chatting - here is the updated picture -

... and because I was taking photos this morning to try and do something for my Mother and MIL for Mother's Day this Sunday - here is an updated picture of the kids ... yep, they've grown!!

Now, if I'm really good ... I'll try and update my stitching once a week or so, we'll see - no promises!