Three years in Canada!

Yesterday was exactly 3 years since we landed in Canada. After a couple of nights in a B&B back in 2005 we moved into our 'empty' nest, the girls and I saw it for the first time! It took another four weeks for our furniture to arrive from England which is funny when we remember it now, a bit like camping indoors! Craig viewed 40 or so properties up and down the valley prior to our arrival and was lucky to find the house that has become our home that we all love and have enjoyed over the past months.

Last Friday we all felt a little 'empty' after saying goodbye to our family visitors. The lake cottage was vacant until Sunday so we decided to make the most of it all day Saturday, rather than let it stand empty. After swimming and boating we watched a late afternoon video called 'Fried Green Tomatoes'. I hadn't seen it for ages and had forgotten how sad it was - oops! Such an enchanting and emotional movie though, now I want to watch Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, which I haven't seen before. Finishing the day with a final BBQ, before heading home to put Archie to bed. He is such a funny creature of habit and starts to get fidgety at around 10pm, wanting to go to bed! We leave him purring contently in the mud room with his little bedtime biscuit treats until 6am the next morning!

Funny little Archie

Craig was back to work on Monday, it was a beautiful day so I took the girls on a drive with a picnic lunch which we ate alongside a field of wheat! Amber had her camera with her and we took a few impulsive snaps. The rest of the week was fun too with temperatures still soaring to 30 degrees, we headed for the beach up at the lake a few times and both girls had friends over to visit them. I busied myself building up stock for my shop which is in a virtual comatose state at the moment, normal for this time of year.

Two of my good friends, Kathy and Keriann have recently taken this 'personality test', it seems to be doing the rounds on several blogs at the moment. My friend's personality summaries were pretty accurate so I decided to have a go myself just for fun.
This is what it says about me:
Hazel's personality type:
Quiet, kind and conscientious. Can be depended on to follow through. Usually puts the needs of others above their own needs. Stable and practical, they value security and traditions. Well-developed sense of space and function. Rich inner world of observations about people. Extremely perceptive of other's feelings. Interested in serving others.
Careers that could fit Hazel include:Interior decorators, designers, nurses, administrators, managers, secretaries, child care/early childhood development, social work, counselors, paralegals, clergy, office managers, shopkeepers, bookkeepers, homemakers, gardeners, clerical supervisors, curators, family practice physicians, health service workers, librarians, medical technologists, typists.Encouraging to see that I have delved into a few of my suitable career options at least! Have a go by clicking the link and see what it comes up with for you. Jemma and Amber had very interesting results I must say.
In the garden this week the white Hydrangeas are in full bloom as are the lilac and white Hosta flowers, with the heavy rain fall yesterday they are looking quite refreshed after a long dry spell over the past 3 weeks. This however is my favourite flower of the moment. A single beautiful blue Delphinium given to me by Tony, my next door neighbour. I am going to keep the seeds when it wilts and plant them in our garden for next Spring.

On the fruit and veggie front, the strawberries have been polished off, hand picked cherries have been eaten in abundance and we have been harvesting our home grown spinach, cucumbers, lettuce, Swiss chard, beet greens and spring onions on a daily basis for several weeks now. The 3 different varieties of tomatoes are looking promising and with a few more days of sunshine should be ripe for the picking in the not too distant future - yummy and ever so healthy too

Harvesting the last of the baby spinach
Poor Amber got stung by a bee on the instep of her foot on Friday - OUCH!! It was day before we were due to visit Halifax for Jemma's pre-birthday 'look and see' trip. Amber was adamant that we should all go, even though her foot was blown up like a balloon. Amber is allergic to bee stings, which is not dangerous as long as she doesn't get stung near her mouth, nose or throat. I managed to organise a wheelchair at the mall for her to sit in, as she really could only hop along, but she opted to 'hop' instead. Hence a somewhat disastrous venture for both girls (we live and learn as they say) Jemma has decided that she doesn't really need a cell phone after all and would rather wait until she goes to University next year. Her final AP Biology mark came in the mail a few days ago, she was expecting a 3, hoping for a 4 and ended up getting the highest possible score of 5!! Such a clever bean.
I had a 'tiny' windfall recently, winning a $50 Amazon book voucher for 'house of the week' on a photo website. It will come in very handy for Jems next lot of AP text books for Chemistry and Calculus plus a couple of other books, yet to be chosen.
My oh my I am rabbiting on this morning!!
If you're still awake I hope you have a good week :)
Hazel xx

OUR SPECIAL VISITORS ARRIVED FROM OVERSEAS

Taken on the last day (Amber behind the camera)

It's not often that I go for two whole weeks without writing a new post, especially at this time of year. With family and friends visiting from overseas I decided to hold off for a while.

The first guest to arrive at the very end of June was our friend Dave. An English man who moved to New Zealand around the same time we did back in 2002. He lives in the village of Havelock North where he has a beautiful home and garden bursting with indigenous trees and even has a lemon grove! A retired British Airways engineer means that he gets to travel the world for free, usually in first class!! Something we can only dream of, having only ever flown in economy seating. Dave did a little sightseeing whilst here and spent plenty of time with Craig driving around the local area. He was so sweet, helping with the mowing as well as treating us to a couple of meals out.

Lunch at 'The Port' with Dave

The same day of Dave's departure was the arrival of Craig's sister Tess with her family; hubby Mike and children Leah, Jono and Rachel. All the way from South Africa, they had already visited relatives in England for a few days prior to landing in Canada. Jem and Amber were a little nervous after over 8 years apart and hardly knowing their cousins. They needn't have worried because within a few minutes everyone was relaxed and the bonding grew from there. They spent the night with us and we had breakfast on the deck in the morning sunshine. As there were five of them they decided to rent a place up at the lake for the rest of the week, just 6 minutes drive away and very handy. A sweet little hexagonal shaped cottage right on the waters edge.

With the weather being pretty much 'perfect' the whole week there were plenty of things to do; swimming, canoeing, pedal boating and even indoor games when it got too hot or during the only rain shower one morning. Five of them playing 'Twister' was particularly entertaining!Craig took Tessa and Mike out a couple of times to see some of the touristy places; Lunenberg, Chester and Mahone Bay. They also stopped off in the city of Halifax on the last day to visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, which featured a comprehensive Titanic exhibit. A last request was to view a 'big' shopping Mall in the city. Couldn't have them leaving thinking our kids were deprived of retail therapy :D

We all enjoyed a day out in New Minas meeting up for lunch and then going on to do some strawberry picking at Dempseys farm.

All 9 of us having lunch in Boston Pizza

Most evenings were spent around the BBQ at the cottage, relaxing with a glass of wine and a cold beer or on our deck with the children eating under the trees on a picnic blanket.

Under the variegated Maple tree as the sun went down

I could go on and on, with so many funny and heartwarming things I noticed and heard when they were together. This has been a holiday full of precious memories as they all slip into adulthood. A blast of uninhibited fun, the way it should be for children, especially cousins so close in age.

'The Famous Five!'

Jono (13) Amber (14) Jemma (16) Rachel (13) Leah (15)

Their visit exceeded our expectations and I really hope that they enjoyed the holiday as much as we did. My only sadness is that Durban is so very far away and I now have a couple of teens who are going to miss the cousins they only knew through facebook until this week.

You never know though, maybe we will win the lottery and get to see them all again one day in the not too distant future.

Hazel xx

Time for Peonies and Strawberries

The peonies are out in full bloom, right beside our strawberry patch.

This is our second harvest of strawberries since planting them last year and they have come up a treat, giving us about a punnet full every day. Craig has been very diligent in keeping them free of weeds and watering them regularly.
I do love peonies, ours are mostly white with just a few pretty pink ones. Big and frilly with such a wonderful scent.

I asked the girls to take some photos for my blog and they were happy to oblige. As you can see below my two teens are literally 'jumping for joy' with the anticipation of enjoying the summer holidays.Amber is away on another camping trip this weekend. She has gone with her best friend Marcy and her family, for four nights. They are staying in a caravan and not a tent, so it will certainly be more comfortable than her last trip and of course no hiking for hours! It feels a little strange walking past her bedroom in the morning and not seeing her tucked up safely in her own bed. I took Jemma into town yesterday and my heart skipped a beat halfway there, for a split second I thought I had forgotten Amber at home! Guess I am not getting any younger and quite possibly becoming slightly 'dippy' :(
A happy ending to my raccoon tale from last week. After the trauma of the first lot we were on the look out for family number two to follow. I am happy to say that they did all manage to vacate the barn safely. This was taken whilst they were making an attempt during the daylight. We believe they left one evening after dark. Those little ones took their sweet time plucking up the courage, doing a few practice runs! We went in and out with duvets in bin bags like yo-yo's for several evenings in a row. Whether these made for a safe landing or not we will never know for sure. Finally on inspection number three, there was no evidence of them living in the barn anymore. The mess they have left behind is another story! The neighbours must think we are completely bonkers. Raccoons are a real nuisance locally and most folk would like to be rid of them.
Next year we need to put chicken wire around the 3 Coppola's on the barn roof peek, to stop them breaking in again. It has been entertaining while it lasted.

An anxious Mummy watching her two little ones cling on to an overhanging ledge above a shear drop of about 25ft!

I am going to do my proud Mummy bit now and say how thrilled I am that both Jemma and Amber were awarded 'Honours with Distinction' at the end of the school year at each of their schools.
Amber got the highest average in her year 98%!! Considering they have both had busier than usual social lives recently. Jemma also with her advanced courses and other 'distractions'. They have my permission to polish their halo's this week!
We are all looking forward to our visitors arriving this week and are hoping that the weather will be kind, so we can spend plenty of time outdoors.

Love and kisses
Hazel xx

School Holidays - Yipeee!

Friday was 'officially' (according to the calendar) the first day of summer here in Canada and the beginning of the long school holidays too.
Jemma completed her final two exams on Wednesday and can now breathe a little easier, for a while at least. She has not had much luck so far finding a summer job, but then jobs are pretty scarce in the valley (as Craig and I already know) We may well have to put a time limit on her laptop these school holidays, encouraging her to do other stuff, like this wonderful baking she busied herself with on Tuesday.

These delicious looking cream puffs were made especially for her chemistry class

pre-exam breakfast! Miss Jeffrey, Jemma’s favourite teacher, will also be her teacher in Grade 12 for food science. All the students were asked to bake or buy something as a contribution. Yikes, I hope the exam papers didn't get too sticky!!
Amber has just a couple of days to go, she is a little nervous at the thought of starting ‘high school’ after the holidays. Or perhaps it’s the getting up at 6am to get ready for the early bus? Poor Amber, mornings are NOT her favourite time of day, she seems to naturally be a bit of a night owl and perks up in the early evening dancing and singing with bundles of energy.
My morning walks up to the wood have became ever so slightly less appealing recently, after the man who moves all the apple crates in the orchard told me he had spotted a big black bear on my regular route! Craig tells me reassuringly “You will be just fine, as long as you make lots of noise while walking”
I don’t think random lyrics, spontaneously blurted out mid song on my Ipod count somehow. I have been known to wear Archie’s collar around my ankle with bells on, perhaps not loud enough? More ideas anyone??
Moving on to smaller and somewhat less threatening furry friends.... (advance apologies for rambling)
Every year we have a resident racoon living up in the top floor of our barn, previously referred to as a ‘he’. It is in fact a ‘she’ we realised after the first year! Using the warm loft in the spring, whilst pregnant, before leaving to find herself and cubs a new home up in the woods. Each evening about the same time, she climbs down alone, rather precariously, avoiding the overhead electrical wires scaling the wall and then trots off to find food. This ritual is a great source of entertainment for Archie our cat, who sits watching on his stepping stool, glued to the window.
On Tuesday evening we spotted ‘two’ mummy racoons on the top of the roof with four babies!! (we had never seen little ones before) They had decided that this was the night for evacuation. We all watched, holding our breath as the sun was going down and the light was getting dimmer. First mummy, then two babies, trying desperately to copy, by clinging on to the side of the wall. One of them got caught in the wires, so mummy had to go back up and untangle the little guy. He was then so scared that he wouldn’t move for ages. Finally he completed the descent, followed a little too quickly by baby number two who lost his grip half way down and fell into the bushes luckily and not onto the concrete below! Mummy rushed around, followed by the other little one and we all smiled as she emerged with both racoonlets running alongside her - Ahhhh :)

I did a bit of machine sewing this week for a change, the Martha Stewart toile style cotton napkins that my friend Rhonda bought me about 2 years ago finally got opened up and utilized. Not for wiping tomato sauce from our mouths, instead I turned them into cushion covers for the outdoor chairs. They match the brolly and are nice and comfy on our botties too! We were invited across to our neighbours Tony and Marjorie today for a BBQ on their pretty patio. We don't get to see them during the winter, so it was lovely to catch up again.This evening at 10pm I can see the silhouettes of the second Mummy racoon and her two babies. They all chickened out on Tuesday, after watching the first lot struggle. Looks like tonight it’s their turn to brave the wall, they can't stay up there forever. Amber and I went out earlier and put a couple of soft duvets wrapped in garbage bags at the bottom of the wall, just in case! Yes I know, we are a couple of softies :D
Hazel xx

The new deck!

A deck we can indeed be proud of!After repairing the back wall, because of rotten wood it gave us the incentive we needed to re-do the tired old deck that had been standing for many years (scroll down to see the 'before' pic).

By the end of summertime the wood will have cured and we can then paint the trellis and railing white to match the front veranda.

Mid week we celebrated with a family BBQ, using the basic table Craig put together last year and the rickety kitchen chairs. On Thursday our teak patio set arrived to complete 'the look'. Although personally I prefer a lighter wood, it will fade in time to a lighter shade and I am NOT allowed to paint it!!

Over the next few weeks we hope to soften the surrounding area with lavender bushes against the railing, sweet peas growing up the trellis and a couple of strategically placed planters.

The project I did tackle mid week, with sandpaper and paint is this small chest of drawers picked up for just $12 at a yard sale on the way home from Halifax last weekend. OK, it is perhaps a little more 'shabby' than 'chic' and has found a nice home in my laundry.The laundry incidentally seems to be the stop gap for any second hand piece of furniture entering our house, before it gets moved somewhere else! I decided to paint it a pale Robin's egg blue (following a little mid week live chat with my uncle Tony in Spain!) The drawers are perfect for storing beach towels, sunglasses and citronella candles in Summer, or mittens, hats, brollies etc in Winter.

Only a few days now before the girls finish another school year. Amber moves up to the high school in September after spending 3 years at middle school, where she seems to have become a fully fledged Canadian :D

Jemma will be in her final year at high school, before hopefully going on to University!! Jemma was given the good news that she has been accepted on 2 more AP (Advanced Placement) courses; Chemistry and Calculus, having completed her AP Biology this year, she realises that a hectic year of studying lies ahead. Jemma is the only student with 3 AP courses in the school and we are very proud of her. Major hints have been dropped that she would like a cell phone for her 17th birthday in July. Amazingly (for a teen) she has managed without one so far, so we can't complain. Craig will be taking an in depth look at all the plan options so we don't get diddled with a long term contract that has the dreaded 'small print'!

Still fighting the bugs! A few are hanging in there, even though it has soared to 29 degrees some days. I now have quite a collection of citronella candles and torches and some excellent mosquito cream from a company called Watkins. It doesn't pong as much as some of the sprays, the fumes can be pretty horrendous.

In case you wondered what became of the little shelf unit a couple of blogs ago. I painted it the same shade of blue, (my favourite at the moment) after removing some of the partitions first.

Hmmm those little animals do seem to get around a bit!!

Phew did I perhaps overdo the photos this week?

Hazel xx

Ambie's Special Day

Amber survived her Duke of Ed trip a week ago, arriving home 5 hours later than scheduled, quite bedraggled and exhausted. The weather was much worse than the teachers had predicted, they said it was one of their more difficult challenges. Everyone got soaked to the skin in the very heavy rain, a couple of kids even fell in the fast flowing river! Amber was a little quiet on her return and so glad to have a soak in a hot bath and climb into her own familiar bed for a good nights sleep. Even with bug spray and face net she still got practically eaten alive, with the insects being particularly prevalent this year. Don't think she will be keen to go on another camping trip or hike anytime soon!
Yesterday my adventurous daughter 'finally' got to celebrate her postponed birthday. A 'half birthday' for the first time this year. She requested a trip to the City to do some shopping. Having already conferred with Jemma we bought the dress and ballet flat shoes that Amber really wanted, that was her first surprise. Her second was an unexpected digital camera of her own. Now she can snap away to her hearts content and hopefully download some more great shots onto her deviant art site. The girls wanted to shop alone (parents in tow not cool at this age).

Girls who do like to shop!
Craig and I did our own thing, lunch at an Italian restaurant and plenty of time in Michael's, a huge craft store, book store and diy shop.We picked the girls up after they had 'shopped til they dropped' and had enjoyed their lunch together at Manchoowok.

On the way home we stopped off at a cute old 1950's diner for desert, coffee and to listen to old tunes on the juke box for fun!
It was a great day, although a little weird and I suspect that she will want to go back to her usual December 1st birthday, even though it is close to Christmas it is the real day.

Next week I will try to report on our deck, which is coming along very nicely, unless I manage to sneak a picture in here mid week :)
Not long until our overseas visitors arrive, Dave from New Zealand on 29th June followed by Craig's sister Tessa and her family of 5 from South Africa. I am sure there will be lots of juggling with cars and children with who wants to go where, as well as all the cousins finally getting to know each other after 7 years!

Hazel xx

One blustery day.......

.....we put up our lovely gazebo to protect us from the mosquitoes.

After writing such a chirpy post last week I can now tell you that our gazebo didn't get a lot of use this year! Craig and I spent over an hour assembling it and managed to sit inside for one cup of coffee before an unpredicted super strong wind blew in the following day, and did this!! It took us much longer to dismantle the tangled collapsed version, as all the screws and metal bits had buckled and jammed. There is also a huge tear in the canopy :(
However, on a more positive note, the building of our new deck is now in progress. The back wall of the house has been repaired after the wood was found to be rotten (hence a few leaks from driving rain in the Autumn last year) The pink and white blossoms look very pretty this week and opened up 'after' the strong wind, but just in time for the apple blossom festival in the village this 
weekend. Amber left this morning bright and early on her Duke of Edinburgh award hiking trip up in Kejimakujik National Park. I drove her to school to meet up with the other 

participants. She looked a little nervous, as did her friends. They didn't seem too excited about the 5 hour hike or spending the night in a tent with the predicted heavy rainfall. The biting insects are out in full force so she is armed with a strong repellent spray and a rather fetching mosquito head net! This weekend was supposed to be her 'official' birthday (postponed from Dec 1st) so actually she is 14 and a half tomorrow! But, because of the hike we will celebrate next weekend instead by taking a drive into Halifax and having lunch out.
I began my painting project (the Old Canadian Crate Company shelf unit) yesterday. This turned out to be a mistake, those sneaky little black flies were quietly landing on me and I am now sporting some huge and ever so itchy bites on my neck face and arms. I am told that I will gradually build up a tolerance to them and create my own antibodies? Not sure I am entirely convinced of this theory.
The HB's are still managing to feature in my posts after I sold two of my 'new design' this week ;) Hazel xx

First Summer BBQ

Feels like it really is Summertime this weekend! Saturday morning I took the girls for a little shopping and in the afternoon after washing all the bedding, storing the electric blankets in the attic (yay!) I did some ironing outside looking at this view, while sipping a mug of Tazo wild sweet orange tea with a lemon slice - bliss!

Craig busied himself in the garden planting more veggies and mowing with a contraption called an aerator attached to the tractor. I know that secretly he loves doing this ! This morning Craig and I were awake early enough to catch a few local yard sales and I spied another little wooden shelf unit for five dollars. A fun project to work on later in the week :) It most definitely needs a coat of paint and then the question is what shall I store in it? A BBQ of our own is something we haven't enjoyed for a long time, in fact not since leaving New Zealand in 2004, when we left behind a flashy red gas one. This weekend we unpacked a small, humble charcoal Weber BBQ! It worked a treat and after rustling up a quick salad and fresh bread to go with meat, it was a fun and memorable 'first' family BBQ of summer 2008.

Earlier in the day we assembled the gazebo, which has been stored in the barn during the winter. So nice to finally have a little haven outdoors where we will be protected from the black fly and mossies! Now I did promise myself that my hummingbird posts were finished, but after capturing a couple of feisty males today fighting over a drink! I thought I would share them with you....

They remind me of tiny fairies from a childhood storybook.

Hazel xx

Song: Balloons and Champagne by Ephemera

Blog Anniversary

Tomorrow, May 19th it will be exactly one year since I began writing my posts on blogspot. The topic of my first post was, wait for it......
HUMMINGBIRDS! Now there's a surprise :D

One of the precious birdies, feeding in our garden this morning

Couldn't resist snapping a quick photo of Archie this morning, the sun was streaming through the window, and of course being a cat he plonked himself in this warm spot.

"Does my bum look big on this?"

The morning was crisp and fresh after a few days of rain and my early morning walk (pre-blackfly waking up) was fun, especially stepping in time to my favourite Ipod songs. Gabriella C., Duffy, Leona, Madonna, Britney and Justin T. I returned a little muddy to a very quiet house. Craig was only slightly later waking up and spent an hour chopping wood with a couple of neighbours.

My special girls surprised me over coffee with cards and gifts for my postponed, but official 'Mummy's day'. Jemma amazed me with a very useful and pretty home made present. It's a special filing system designed for my tiny animal patterns! I am forever misplacing a guinea pig's ear or a squirrel's tail, as the pieces are so small and fiddly. They had been all bundled into a box in plastic envelopes, in no particular order. Normally I am really organized, but for some strange reason this particular element of my business had been overlooked. My daughter is obviously pretty observant.

My new super cute and oh so useful filing system!

Both Amber and Jemma made beautiful cards with very sweet words and I love them both so much.

As if I haven't shed enough 'happy' tears today, we are watching 'PS I love you' this evening, I have read the book so will have a box of kleenex at the ready.

Can't sign off without mentioning that I lugged this cabinet down the stairs from the landing to the kitchen this afternoon. I emptied out my patchwork quilts and linens to make way for some crockery instead. I think it gives the kitchen a more farmhouse country lived in feel.

Hazel xx

Our little birdie friends have arrived!

Just as predicted our very first tiny hummingbird arrived on schedule this week. Mother's day to be precise and in an incredibly strong wind too! Although both hanging baskets and the strawberry feeder were up, the poor little mite found it an impossible task to land, so her visit was brief. Luckily we all saw her whilst we were having our lunch in the kitchen. I will try to capture her on camera soon.
Yesterday my books arrived from Amazon and I love them!

I have only allowed myself the luxury of a quick flick through them so far, taking a couple of photos . I'm not sure when I will actually get to have a go at some of the many lovely projects in the two sewing books, but I will most certainly some time in the future. So much eye candy, here is a page inside 'sew pretty homestyle'

I usually read novels and only just before bed, my latest from the library is called 'My sister's keeper' which I am enjoying, but seem to be taking forever to finish it!

As I didn't write a post on Mother's day here is a vintage ad from a magazine, framed and hanging in the laundry. It reminds me of my Mum and I back in the 70's. Funny thing is I still love to iron :)

This year for the first time ever on Mother's day both my daughters' were snowed under with school work and sporting activities. So it was decided (my suggestion I admit) to postpone any fun stuff til next Sunday. I have really enjoyed reading about other blogger's fun days with their children.

As I wasn't blogging this time last year, or at least not on blogspot, I want to show you my home made gifts from last Mothers day (little proud moment). I use them both on a regular basis in my sewing room.

A cute business card holder made by Amber at school

Some covered wooden pegs in a decorated tin from Jemma, these I use to hold my embroidery thread, receipts, squares of tissue etc.

 Hopefully this weekend I can squeeze in another post, we are hoping to be able to get outside without being blown away :)

Hazel xx

It's trailing blue lobelia time of year :)

It was such a lovely weekend that my blog post was once again put 'on hold' for a few days. Craig kindly brought home two hanging baskets with pretty blue trailing Lobelia flowers. They have become a summer tradition and are to be hung on the side veranda, along with the white pots full of purple and lilac pansies. The flowers seem to flourish all summer long and we enjoy them almost as much as the humming birds do. Incidentally, the little ruby throated hummingbirds are due to arrive next week. We are prepared and have even bought another feeder in anticipation of their hunger after such a long flight all the way from Mexico!
I diverged a little from my usual painting of furniture this week (OK I did give a small side table the robin's egg blue treatment). This time instead of painting I 'covered' a couple of old wing back chairs. They had been left behind when we bought the house. No longer wanting to look at (in my opinion) ugly blue velour fabric I had moved them into the basement (much to Craig's horror when he came home from work) a few months ago. This gave the parlour a 'spacious airy feel'. Perhaps 'sparse' was a better description? But, after finding some new cream cotton slip covers on 'e-bay' they have now had a facelift and the chairs are back where they belong. They are very comfy and make excellent reading chairs. After trying out my newly acquired 100% wool felt, by sewing a couple of animals, I found it wonderful to work with. Quite pricey compared to my wool-mix felt and not such a large selection of colours. I ordered some small squares in brown, cream and honey. I will be sewing a selection to list in my shop when the demand is higher during the Autumn months. Here is a tiny honey bear!

Amber had a tiring day last Sunday when she took part, along with a few friends, in her 'trial' Duke of Edinburgh Award - hiking trip. This was to prepare them for the real thing in June. She was loaded up with a 35lb back pack, plenty of water, medical supplies, granola bars, sleeping bag etc. The day was hot and even though they were in forest for a good part of the 5 hour walk, it was exhausting. She seemed pretty good once home and only a tiny bit cranky and tired. She was even able to take part in track and field events the next day (oh to have such stamina!)
You may remember that I received an Amazon gift certificate for my birthday back in February from my friend Sandra. I have known Sandra since I stayed in her London home as a lodger, back in 1988! Well, ever the procrastinator when it comes to buying stuff for myself I have hemmed and hawed over what to treat myself to. Not wanting to buy a novel, that I could just borrow from the library, I decided on some carefully chosen home and craft books :) I am awaiting their arrival, but here they are: I spotted a couple of them on other peoples blogs where they got good reviews.

Easy Cottage Style A nice coffee table book to browse through!

Sew Pretty Homestyle Eager to get my mitts on this one for inspiration :)

Sublime Stitching Something I haven't really tried before, but always fancied having a go at some contemporary embroidery designs. Today is cooler, after a string of warm pleasant days, there are so many things I have been able to do 'outside' my imagination has been running on overtime (no lewd comments please) Ironing, cutting out felt, recycling old tee shirts with pinking shears to make great cleaning cloths, scrubbing sneakers, washing the car inside and out, painting (of course). I could go on ....

This weekend Craig and I plan on doing a spot of yard sale hunting, always on the look out for a piece of furniture that needs some TLC.
Hazel xx

The daffodils are in bloom!!

Archie just couldn't resist investigating this morning.

This week has been one of varied activity in the Rethman household. The girls have been busy at school, Jemma is revising for her upcoming Biology exam in May and Amber with track and field practice several times a week.

The materials for our new deck arrived, so Craig spent most of Saturday rearranging the garage and sorting out junk for the annual Spring clean up collection. We are down to our last cord of wood now and rarely need to light the woodstove.

I am as happy as Larry to have a paintbrush in my hand again!

After waiting patiently through winter I finally got around to painting the chest of drawers in my sewing room, covering the ghastly orange varnish with a calming antique white, it's actually a bit darker than it looks on this photo.Following the painting, yesterday evening I set about filling the drawers. Sorting out a trunk of memorabilia I came across my old 'scraps' collection and my serviette collection too :) In the 70's I spent a year in Stavanger, Norway attending the local elementary school. Little girls were still very young at heart in those days (no computer, tv, celebrity magazines) Initially I didn't understand a word they were saying of course, we played with my Pippa dolls and loved collecting things. So, coming across the pretty collection of over 70 serviettes/napkins, from that year gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

The 'scraps' or 'glans' as we called them, were a huge a source of excitement at the age of 11. Every week I would take my Kroner, skip down to the local store and buy some carefully selected scrap sheets. Then I would meet up with my friends where we would swap some and carefully arrange them in our precious books. Even back then I had a fondness of the cute pictures of children, animals and especially the vintage ones! Oh and I do still have a few of my Pippa dolls hidden away in a box :D

I have another friend who has just started blogging. Kathy, who now lives in Sydney Australia. I met Kathy about 18 years ago, before we had our babies, but we only started corresponding on a regular basis about a year ago, through emails and facebook! We have discovered that we have so much in common it's quite uncanny. I only wish we lived a little closer. Both our families left SA for the same reason, the safety and future of our children (I lived there for 2 years when my daughters' were toddlers). Somehow Craig being held at gunpoint a couple of days after we had bought a house in a leafy suburb called Rivonia put a kind of dampener on staying! I became a little paranoid, totally over protective and felt like a prisoner in my own home. On that same note, my poor Mum and Dad had their home broken into last week, luckily they were not harmed as they didn't actually go into the room that was being ransacked and the intruders took off (with computer) after being disturbed. This followed another nasty incident a year ago when they were held at gunpoint in the city by five men, who took their wallets, bags etc. Now they are a little more 'aware' of the dangers and have upgraded their home security to include panic buttons and perimeter beams! (a way of living I couldn't handle) I may be living the 'simple life' but I do at least feel safe (except perhaps for the odd black bear in the woods this time of year)

Hazel xx

Writer's block?

I have been a little 'lost for words' (the written kind) this past week. Partly due to the fact that the sun came out for 3 days in a row and I wanted to be outside. At this time of year it can be highly unpredictable from one day to the next.
I attacked the veggie patch with relish, revealing some healthy looking strawberry plants that have not only survived a few feet of snow on top of them, but appear to have multiplied too! After crawling about on my hands and knees and raking out thousands of leaves, the strawberry patch now looks quite respectable. Craig came home early, which was a nice surprise and joined in. Even the girls donned bikinis and sat on the bench after school on Thursday.
Naturally along with the arrival of sunshine my windows were quite embarrassingly in need of a clean! especially on the outside. Dragging my trusty old shabby chic stool, rubber gloves and spray stuff, I methodically rubbed each and every window until my arms were practically dropping off. Not a job I enjoy, but crucial to get out of the way before the 'black fly' season hits. These tiny little blood suckers look so harmless, but give the itchiest bites that last for ages. We still have a couple of weeks before they invade us, so every minute we can get in the garden before then is precious. Today I even did all my ironing outside, while watching the little dopey bees flying around and the orchard activity in the distance (pruning I expect).
Moving on from my domestic doings. My friend Keriann and my sister Heidi have both started their own blogs, so now there is no excuse for having zero comments on my posts ladies (hint hint...) Even if just to say hi :)
One of my favourite artists is a French lady called Francine Van Hove. Craig and I bought one of her prints many years ago called 'The pink pillow'. This month I ordered another print for the lounge. Making use of a huge frame that had been lying in the basement (picked up at a yard sale last year) I hadn't got any further than giving it a quick coat of paint. This piece of art, which arrived in the mail from art.com is called 'Sphinx with dictionary'.
A close up. Amber had a new haircut this morning. It's still long, but with lots of layering going on and a side swept fringe, sorry 'bangs' as they are called here! I remembered to take along my camera and take a quick snap outside the florists across the road from the hair salon. On the subject of flowers, my dried hydrangeas have lasted remarkably well through the winter, though I am looking forward to real live ones in the garden in a few weeks. Thank you for listening again!
Hazel xx