A blog note from Christchurch/ winners

I'm in Christchurch (with my luggage via Jetstar).

Man you should see the central business district. (only seen at night so far). Decimated.

Want to park your car? Park it in whatever empty plot of land you want.

Freaky all over.

Winners of my 2 giveaways-

Stationery - April

Craft - Christina Lowry.

Send me your addresses ladies and I will post items off to you!

24 hours and a dishcloth swap!

We have had a very stormy 24 hours with a massive amount of rain.

Most of us kiwis are per- occupied with the Americas Cup boat race, which while a week ago we only had to win one more race town the cup, in the past 7 races this seems to have totally eluded us. It is getting a it painful to watch or listen to and I did turn the radio off today at school... Last race tomorrow and a definite winner. Oh boy....

Blossoms out side on the peach tree.

Head over to Leonie at http://kiwiatheart-leonie.blogspot.com.au/ for a great dishcloth swap. I'm in! Something to do in the hols. 2 more sleeps and it's a long awaited weekend in Christchurch for me - hip hip hurray! 

Miss Beatrix: #PostCircle

Wanting some snail mail? This is fab - I joined but have had a not so promising group and only one person has kept up writing....


Miss Beatrix: #PostCircle: #PostCircle is a group where we send and receive lovely post... just because! This is how it works: If you would like to...

Trumpeting along!

The middle kid does everything! Soccer (4 times a week in winter with games and 3 practices), futsal, scouts, trumpet, running at school and sailing (in summer.) 

Something might have to do one day, as the homework piles up and exams get more important in later years. He loves everything and has done everything for years (bar trumpet which he is in year 2. We will probably buy a trumpet at the end of the year, but at $1000 plus.... Hmmm. He needs to play and practice a lot for that money!!!)

Thankfully my other two kids do no activities (their choice.)

I finally got to see him play in his school concert band on Friday after school. (an hour drive from my school to second school and then to his school! Crazy!!) it was fantastic.

I love kids playing an instrument! I am hoping the younger kid picks up drums again an another year or two. I played piano and flute for 8 or so years. It is great hearing an instrument in the house!

Playing on

Great to see the car mat that I made 13 years ago still being used! The carpet mats back then were horrendously expensive! I really do think the price of toys and baby items has dropped dramatically over the past years. (best toy investment we ever made was the wooden Thomas the Tank Engine train set - hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars spent on that I'd say!)

I really should say it is GReAT to see the nearly 10 year old still playing with toys - he does spend too much time in from of a screen sometimes I think!

It has done well. We have an enormous collection of matchbox etc cars (what with having 3 boys!).

I did do a clear out a while back and took 4 shoe box fills into school as well. (kids there go gaga over them!)

The mat has lasted well. Any toys in your house still going strong many kids and years later?

2 very favourite things

Knitting!  Finally blocked my cardigan after school today. (oops still outside and it will apparently be 4 degrees tonight! In Auckland 4 degrees!) Not my favourite - I thought about un - doing it for the second time ....

And a cowl started and finished in a week all ready for my mum's birthday next week. I have lots of this wool left, so need to find a pattern for something else to knit with it.

And I started a wee cardigan for my niece Pippa over the weekend too. Gorgeous 100% merino wool at $3 a ball at the last Knit World sale! 

Mail - real letters in the letterbox today. Two from long standing pen friends (1986 / 1991 ) in Australia and Christchurch (via Boston) and a new pen friend from England. Yay! School holidays in a week or so - double yay - so I'll scribble madly then! (although I am off to Christchurch to stay with that pen friend. We have met many many times all around the world!)

What are some of your favourite things?

Reunion

I went to a school reunion over the weekend. On impulse. I had forgotten about it after hearing about it months and months ago, until a friend rang me up on Friday night and asked if I was going.

30 years since I started form 3. Not at this school though (although this was a gathering of the 1983 3 rd formers, but I wouldn't fit anywhere else , so went.)

Funny things school reunions. Since I started in form 5 , I didn't know huge amounts of people or remember many people.

It is a bizarre thing being hauled out of a South Auckland high school in your 5 th form year (co-ed) and being put into a state girls school in one of the wealthiest parts of New Zealand. Even if I am white it really was a culture shock. These girls did homework! They wore raincoats and used umbrellas. They went clubbing in form 4. Their older brothers and sisters drove them places over the weekend.

I did okay at school- not wow, but okay and still got into university, went to teachers college for library studies etc.

We all lead different lives. Several have had hard lives. But I still looked at all my classmates there and still saw lucky, privileged people. Who still may not realise how lucky they are because of where they went to school and where they grew up, that they had opportunities from the start.

I think growing up in South Auckland and then being hauled off to the other side of Auckland has taught me a lot. It taught me that I value education very very highly and I do think it matters who your children go to school with and where they go to school. I see too much apathy in education and having been on both sides I do feel like shaking people! I get very frustrated at kids missing primary school as think it can be more important than high school in some ways. They will not catch up at high school. There are thousands of kids being failed by our education system in NZ (and by families too.).

I loved this second high school - i probably never caught up (having been above average at my earlier school and barely average at the 2 nd one.) but it opened my life to more opportunities and some great friends!

It is now a school of 2200 , still getting some of the highest results of any girls schools in NZ. A huge school with double and triple story buildings. And many memories.

A glance at a day

Views of the library - the first run of stocktake completed with 600 books misplaced - best result ever. ( it will go down by a lot hopefully!!)

Will scrutinise misplaced list over and over and re- scan and re- scan and re- scan and up - end classrooms eventually... But we have 11 weeks left , so lots and lots of time! Series that I know things are missing from will be stockpiled and quarantined....

Breakjamas day - meeting teachers at school at 7.15am and walking down the road with them; then the entire school walking back to school - all dressed n their pyjamas for the day!

And the outstanding child made me surprise marmite toast (at 6 am - I am not a morning person but was so stunned sat up n bed and gobbled it down! ) - so so sweet.

Day ended well for him with a principal's award! The 2nd omen two months! And the principal mentioned the brekkie in bed too. :). Happy all round.

Weekend plans anyone?

A glance at a day

Views of the library - the first run of stocktake completed with 600 books misplaced - best result ever. ( it will go down by a lot hopefully!!)

Will scrutinise misplaced list over and over and re- scan and re- scan and re- scan and up - end classrooms eventually... But we have 11 weeks left , so lots and lots of time! Series that I know things are missing from will be stockpiled and quarantined....

Breakjamas day - meeting teachers at school at 7.15am and walking down the road with them; then the entire school walking back to school - all dressed n their pyjamas for the day!

And the outstanding child made me surprise marmite toast (at 6 am - I am not a morning person but was so stunned sat up n bed and gobbled it down! ) - so so sweet.

Day ended well for him with a principal's award! The 2nd omen two months! And the principal mentioned the brekkie in bed too. :). Happy all round.

Weekend plans anyone?

Meet the bookcases

This week at school I have started the annual library stocktake. I know I am very early at starting. I mean business. There are over 8500 books in the library and another 20,000 to be scanned elsewhere in the school. Then the missing list. Then the hunting. Then the re- scanning. And more scanning. And more re- scanning. Until I am satisfied that I cannot find anything else!!

I always find lots of gems while stocktaking and always haves good sort out and sometimes a bit of a cull. Kids do not need old tatty books.

This has lead me on a journey around my house after school.Come on in and meet our bookcases.

In the lounge we have the master bookcase. The one my Dad made for us as a wedding present . The one that takes at least 4 adults to move. At least. Some of my childhood stuff. My travel books from living overseas. My collections of Tim Winton, Kate Atkinson, Margaret Mahy, Bill Bryson, Emily Perkins.

We havea set of readers that I read at school. LOVE!

Over in the corner I shelve my collection of Margaret Mahy, Kyle Mewburn, Joy Cowley, Gavin Bishop. Everything I can buy of these authors! I have my craft, knitting, sewing books. Some of my favourite novels. My Little House on the Prarire collection. Lots and lots of autographed books too!

Above the mantel piece a few very favourites - Michael Morpurgo collection. Some more signed stuff.

Over I the side lounge , my Creative Memories scrapbooks. ( several are in main lounge too.)

Let us walk into the kitchen - cookbooks. Every single Jamie Oliver one. (bar his new one which I must buy!)

Let us walk in number 3's bedroom. This bookcase has half emptied out now. His favourites? Kyle Mewburn dinosaur series, National Geogroahic, Dorling Kindersley Eye Wonder series. (gems - being re- published at the moment!)

Down the hallway into the first teens - his favourites include Louis Sachar, Wimpy Kid, Big Nate, John Marsden, Andy Griffiths.

The other teen did not want his bookcase  shown - his favourite ever series - Nicholas.

And the bookcase in my bedroom? The stationery bookcase!!! (with other stationery in baskets and cupboards ....)

What do your bookcases hold? Do you buy books every month?? What are your favourites? Your collections?

Let's do a bookcase trawl through each others houses! Link up below and join in!