Mail love

Oh how I love my mail box looking like this!

Graphic novels for school - from $6.61 to $7.71 - why are there so many rubbish school libraries around when books are this cheap? The boys especially are going to go nuts over these!

Mail from #postcircle from Scotland and with gorgeous stationery too!

And this must be the best $16.69 I have ever spent on a knitting book - lots and lots of sweet quick projects. I can see myself driving to buy more cotton this afternoon.....

And pancakes made by the teenager. Yum.

A day in the country

We went not quite an hour north today to a small country township called Matakana.
A delightful little place with a Farmers Market held every weekend, a gorgeous stationery shop and amazing bookshop, plus a few other boutique shops - gorgeous place. Over run with traffic and people and apparently this was a quiet weekend.
Afterwards a quick look at Goat Island Marine Reserve, but with sunshine, then sideways rain , then sunshine then more sideways rain repeated multiple times, we didn't stay long. A must go back to place in summer. Great snorkelling but when Ryan saw an octopus int the sea, he was outta there! Hilarious!
I love drives like this and came home with gorgeous stationery, red roses and soap from the markets and stationery shop Red Letter.

ANZAC Day

A day late as we have been out at Karekare where there is no Internet service. (a joyful occasion for the boys I can tell you! They struggled for the 24 hours we were ther but it was good for them!)

ANZAC (Australian/ New Zealand Army Corps) is a remembrance day on April 25. Itis n April 25 as that was the date in 1915 in which NZ and Australian troops landed on a beach in the Gallipoli Peninsula around 4.30 am (hence we have dawn parades) and either drowned as they got out of the boats due to heavy backpacks or were shot dead from all angles as the beach was in a cove. NZ lost around 2700 men that day, Australia more. The Turkish lost around 86,000 men.
So we remember this day every year in NZ and Australia and on the beach in Turkey.
The poppy is the flower we use as this was the flower in the Turkish fields too and we also bake ANZAC biscuits too, as these were sent over to the soldiers from NZ. ( not my best AnZAC biscuits I have made... I burnt the first batch!:( )

I have been to many parades as a scout leader but yesterday dropped off Kieran to the usual Avondale parade.

We took,some photos off the Avondale war memorial and today the one at Karekare on the beach.

I talk a lot about this day to students at school and there are many wonderful books on the topic too. I will find out the titles of 2 new ones just out which I think are the best I have ever seen.

I spent too long attempting to knit this cardigan at Karekare and gave up. Then this afternoon, once home, spent too long on Ravelry looking for another pattern to knit too. Patience does to come easily to me sometimes!

Most people

Most people would think I am very lucky sitting here for the 3rd day in a row knitting, cross stitching, reading, knitting, writing letters and more knitting! (boys are brilliant at doing their own thing...)
Day 3 of the school hols with hideous weather! Really it is just best to stay in and do all of the above!

I am bored though! I know people who have jetted off to London and Amsterdam and Istanbul and China and Vietnam these hols. Sigh.

I did go to the dentist today! I need two little fillings and will also get a clean but after not having gone for several years and only having one filling at the moment , it is okay. It will take my entire week's wages to pay for it ... Dentist bills are shocking in NZ!

Joshua and I suburb hopped on Monday to Ellerslie - I am attempting to go to suburbs that i do not usually go to. Dang - I forgot the camera! Great embroidery shop, butchers, incredible magazine newsagent with back issues galore!!! Bought a new pattern and some threads - it is the best embroidery shop I have come across anywhere !

Tomorrow we might go to Karekare for a day or two - raining or not!

Low on photos at the moment ! It is all rain anyhow!

Snuggly inside

It has rained and rained and rained. (came late today so I did manage to get washing dry outside first).
A day spent knitting another sock, starting another Toshette fingerless glove, cross stitching, writing a letter and blocking my shawl.
Boys kept busy with friends.
I did an impulse shop this afternoon and managed to get my winter wardrobe (2 skirts and 1 pair of shorts) bought in one swoop in Esprit. With the 3 light merino jerseys I bought weeks ago, I am sorted for winter. I also got my boots back from being re- heeled.

Talked with the brother in Switzerland too - my nieces are nearly ready to go to the village school where everything is done in German. They have spent nearly a year in a German learning intensive primary school. What a great way to do it - every child immigrant to NZ should go to one of these and learn English before mainstream school. It would fix the ESOL battles at schools!

They will never come back to NZ to live and are far ahead of any NZ kid in what they know and have seen - this is the 3rd country they have lived in. They have NZ passports but will tell you they are British. I am gobsmacked at the amount of money European countries give families too just because you have children whether it is a child benefit or child care fee money - NZ is so back wards in this respect! They value children and stay at home mothers! I think poor Christchurch ( and the bloody rugby world cup) has sucked up all our money!

It does make me think seriously about uprooting us all again and going to live in another country again... We have almost left it too late as the serious GCS exams start next year for our oldest.