Triumph and Boiled Lettuce

I have been so grateful for the world of blogging in the 

last few weeks. Reading the lovely posts of my blogging 

companions' creativity & everyday adventures has kept 

me anchored & sane.

We have been facing the most terrifying & stressful of times.

My poor darling has endured the most despicable work

related bullying over the last few years.

 Finally, this week, a number of nasties have concluded & 

at last been fully disarmed.

We have discovered through this time that we are both

strong & capable but also sensitive & vulnerable.

We have held on tight together & come back round once 

more to being so grateful for the simple, beautiful things

in life & for a love & friendship that has endured

& deepened despite the storms. 

"Grow old with me the best is yet to come"

I didn't fully understand how this would be 

until more recently.

When your children leave home everyone bangs on 

about the "empty nest syndrome" & the major upheaval

that this will be in your small wee menopausal life, 

 just the same as they always tell you that you better

hang on to every minute of your children being small 

"because they grow up sooo fast".

What no one ever says is that it's ok to wish your 

kids would grow up sometimes & that the adult relationship

that you get to have with them after they have left

home will be with you far longer & possibly be much 

more satisfying than you could ever have

imagined all the while that you were all growing up

& struggling through the early years together.

The thing is there are always

new miracles,

fresh starts

just around the corner..

let's hold tight to the wonder of the simple things

.....these really do look like fairy's hats
don't you think?!

And just look at Archie who I found in a 

recent NZ Gardner mag

bet he never imagined he would ever grow such a carrot!

I found these in a sheltered spot in my garden 

this week..

sometimes it's just seeing things in a new light that helps

although I am not very good at change, without it

there are so many things that we would miss out on.

The last few weeks have been profoundly wet & sometimes

very cold which means in spite of the feather duvet inner 

& snuggling up together we were still a teeny bit cold. 

Then I remembered the magnificent wedding cover 

that I had 

carefully tucked away in the linen cupboard.

It is just so exquisitely hand made.

I bought it at the Antique

Centre in Napier a few

years ago

now you see without winter I might never have retrieved this

beauty from the cupboard & marveled at the workmanship

and been just warm enough when covered in such loveliness!

a surprise bloom..no wonder she's called "Dove"

Today we headed down the road to a local car boot sale

but found that it wasn't on this week so we popped in to a 

garage sale on our way home & Rob came across this

well treasured National Cookery book by Una Carter

"medalist"

not so sure that we'll ever make the stewed brains or the 

 cooked lettuce & probably especially not the boiled

cock's comb but it is quite an astonishing thought that

this one cook book embodies the cookery life experience

of another woman in another time..

I didn't get out & about much this week but I did pick up

this vintage teapot at Connections. There was just something

so familiar about it. It'll at least make a good prop for 

a new tea cosy perhaps.

a bit chilly to be swimming just now I would have thought

but then who would imagine that this little one would 

be having ago just now too..resilience!

Vintage Green

What is it about vintage green?

It just somehow seems to evoke feelings 

of fresh wholesomeness & goodness.

We live in an old bungalow that's had a few adjustments 

made to it through the years so we have ended up 

with more of a cupboard than a real laundry. 

Mostly it works pretty well but as winter approached

& the drafts returned we popped on our best

"make do & mend hats" & came up with this 

handy solution to the really big sneaky draft 

that whips through those laundry doors.

Firstly I gathered up my vintage "greens"

A dear old blanket with a few little flaws..holes & stains..

and a lovely old marcella that had badly faded in places

and was past it's best Convent days

then, not feelingly too badly about the sacrifice, I took

out my measuring tape & scissors & made a particularly

heavy, draft thwarting curtain which was then cleverly 

hung on a piece of pipe (just the right size) that

had once belonged to an outdoor umbrella.

Two little wooden brackets & we are all set : ) 

Now, this little laundry is really just fine, as I mentioned

 however, for quite some time now old "Bob the builder"

has been restoring the most awful old shed that's attached 

to the end of the garage & creating the most useful 

& vintagy space that we call "the Larder".

It's all coming along quite nicely & so are one or two

Christmases, but I now have some very handy little indoor
washing lines for just such a dismal, damp & dreary time..

do you notice some more touches of that green?

It's everywhere!

some of my favourite Sanderson just wore

right out out from being arm rests on the

couch so "he" suggested that we 

repurpose the best bits

 

...now that the damage was done & the blanket was

indeed "chopped" I found more & more useful little 

jobs for it to do

 lining the inside of my tea cosy

backing my new little crocheted
flower brooch.
I had so much fun making this
& am grateful to Attic24
for the best crochet tutorials!

just love it on my vintage green velvet coat!

so I made a few more crocheted flowers & pinned
them on my woolie op shop hat but then it got freezing
so I wore it all day selling mandarins.
I wonder if anyone noticed the pins?!

"that" Kaitiaki arrived right in the middle of
all this vintage green & crochet.
He played with the cars, did a few flips.
demonstrated his strength,
held Pop's hand a lot, ate his lunch all the while
pouring tomato sauce from a wee glass jug & got

carried away making a fabulous "cration" like Katie's

I was so glad that I had my camera with me when
my lovely friend floated by while gardening
last week..ah the scent of luculia..

once home,in spite of the mud I was amazed to

find so much edible colour in my home garden

and these little treasures..are called "earth gems"
I found them in Bellatinos in Havelock North
(just in case you're local) more about them soon!..
Hope you've had a good week : )

Whimsical Tea Cosies and Vintage Inspired Calendar: July

www.houseonthehill.co.nz

 

 A couple of weeks ago, I reserved 

this zany book at the library

(essential the reservation.. it's very popular!!)

Ah, I so fell in love with this

so out came my wool & 

my knitting needles

& some more wool was bought,

especially since Spotlight 

had all yarn at 1/2

price for a day or two.

 Then what should I see,

but the

Vicar Calling for Tea 

at Magpie Chic

 Her dear Magpie Chic mum had just made her this : )

however..I find I am still positively crap

at knitting! So in the blink of an eye 

the knitting needles

were sent away in disgrace

and my dear trusty crochet

hooks retrieved for service.

Phew... the book also has 

patterns for crocheted flowers.

Here was a completed rose 

flaunting itself shamelessly

atop a teapot.

Bit of a trick all this wool!

But that looks better!

I (we! Matt gave me a hand) lined this

old suitcase with this lovely old

lavender wallpaper

 so that now the suitcase is upcycled

& the yarn has a new home

Yes! I thought with relief, we can do this after all : )

I made up the body part & lined it with a wee 

piece of lovely old green vintage blanket,

blanket stitched the two together

& attached the roses to the top..

now here's the trick..the instructions were odd

so I made a little blanket platform for the flowers

to sit on & blanket stitched around that edge too

so that eventually I ended up with this!

Vintage button to secure the front

as we don't want to be revealing 

too much cleavage now do we!

I have also been making crocheted

flower brooches but I will have to save

that for another post!

I did however, find this lovely old 

basket at the Sallies recently

It's in very good condition.

Plastic lined but no tears. 

I have a feeling it has quite a bit of age on it.

What do you reckon?

Matariki and New Beginnings

Now is the time here, of Matariki. 

Celebrations of the New Year, new beginnings.

It makes sense really, the time of harvest is complete, 

the days have drawn in. 

  It is winter. The earth draws breath & rests..

so now is the time to take stock for the coming year..an

important time in the Maori calendar in New Zealand,

which has lead me 

to thinking..of community & the gathering together

& strength of women.

As we were walking this week I came across this

extraordinary painting on display in the window 

of the Information Centre

 It speaks to me of wholeness & empowerment through

each season of a woman's life.

 Women who know their own strength

& enable & nurture others.

Women who continue to bloom even in the winter

in spite of the rain.

even in the dark, continuing to be light

(yip we had an unexpected power cut)

warming others, warming themselves

Communities & families are held together by the strength

& love & resourcefulness of women.

All honour to you dear one. 

Thank you for taking the time to be here.

You are just lovely!

Did you know that violets drink from their flowers.

When next you pick a bunch dip their wee heads in a 

glass of water. I had a happy accidental drink from such a

glass after dunking violets once..the fragrance in the water

was astonishing. 

Your sweet violets will last several days longer this way.

I just adore the fragrance of daphne don't you.

This one is a white one but the scent is still 

just as divine. I keep visiting everyday

wanting to hurry it up... open!

Like when I was little & I would squeeze 

the feijoas daily until eventually they were

soft & fell off not from ripeness but from 

bruising!

Women bring so much fragrance, beauty & colour

in to the world. 

You can hardly see my curly kale but it is

the most remarkable mahogany colour.

The teapot just wanted a turn in a picture.

there's an empty section just down the road..today 

I went & rescued some of the camelias.

The pink flowers are roses still 

flowering in my garden..Monsiuer Tillier again.

The jelly I made just yesterday from the last of the

guavas, several crab apples & a japonica apple..

I just love this sweet book

I read this page the other day

& thought I must share it with you.

Click the picture to enlarge if

you're having trouble reading it : )

you are my sunshine...have a wonderful day!