I am back! Wow - a month later!

I cannot believe it has been a month since I last updated this! Time flies!!! I need to get into the habit of doing this more regularly! I have an i-pad - I am NOT a fan of it at all and feel it can be very limiting!!!! I need to find out if there is even an app that can let me update this on there! And learn how to e-mail photos from there too - if it can be done!
The house, the house. Still not living in the new rooms but we are using the bathrooms now. All finished bar the electrician doing the final wiring to mains - all switches/ lights in as of yesterday but they don't work! All painting internally and externally done! Still need to buy carpet - we know what volume to get as of today and still need to choose curtain fabric to get them made by my aunt! And the hallway floor needs to be re-laid - polished and polyurethaned several times! School hols in 5 weeks - I am sure we will be in there by then!
Really cannot wait to move bedrooms around and throw out more un-needed junk from the rooms!

Been to live soccer and cricket matches with the NZ teams; school board meetings at 2 schools; first lot of studying finished and back to tutors to mark (haven't done any study all week...); knitting jersey and cowl; have been doing an embroidery night class and the usual not enough time to do everything at work!

 the boys bathroom - it is as big as a bedroom!!

 Already had middle child fall off the deck backwards! Oops!!

Also have taken part in a couple of swaps in the past month - one gorgeous "Play it forward" parcel arrived today! Details coming!!

Long weekend over

had our 2nd long weekend in a row. It was Waitangi Day in NZ - a treaty was signed back in 1840 and it is a public holiday here. The significance for most New Zealanders is a day off work. We are mostly not a patirotic bunch and there is no flag waving. If anything it is a day of protests.  I'm afraid i have forgotten mostly what the treaty is about and need to do some reading of Claudia Orange's Treaty of Waitangi which has sat on my bookcase for years.  I am sure that ti will be covered in my Mauri Ora course in time.

It has been a weekend of some scrapbooking, but I didn't really have the creative juices flowing so packed it up. I usually only do it 3-4 times a year now and do 50 plus pages. Did possibly 20 very quick plonk day pages from our Netherlands trip but it needs the journalling still and they are average pages...

had the headline letter in the NZ Herald today too - about cycling in the Netherlands and how cyclists rule over cars - how I wish it was so here! Actaully went for a cycle up to Mt Eden today too!

How we are living at the moment:

 new gorgeous bath tub in bedroom

 looking up to new extension

 new 2 nd bathroom tiles (huge bathroom!)

 new bedroom

 laundry in kitchen

 sunlight in new bedroom

 dishclothes I knitted/crocheted in use!

 yummy mini banana loaves - great for school lunches!

 linen cupboard in 2nd lounge

 choosing paint colours!

 new tiles in 2nd bathroom

 i make a mess when baking!

baking mess!

I am now un-ravelling a jersey for 2nd child which I started last year. Having to un-ravel to put stripes in sleeves as have run out of wool of main colour and sicne I bought it many years ago, am unable to get same wool! I hope this works!!! Still need to finish socks and round scarf!

4 day week coming up - yippee! At least I have sorted piles of books on my library desk!

have a good week - Kimberley

Lazy days

Spending 3 hours at work and then it is just myself and one child at the house which is being renovated a bit more day by day! About 6 guys here today all doing their thing - wow - we have 6 power points in the bedroom alone!!!
The other 2 children are over on the Shore. I will start school full-time on Thursday ; eldest starts tomorrow - still need to get his textbooks from the university bookshop tomorrow.
And the 2 younger donot start their school until next Thursday - welcome to independently run schools in New Zealand! No overpaid administrators or superintendents here thank you very much!!

So it has been hours of photo developing; figuring out how to start a crochet square in the rounds after not having done if for a while; grocery shopping; cleaning; more cleaning; out a house we haven't been in for 2 weeks and OH! - a school library blog up and running too! Yay!

Photos! December 2011 /January 2012 craft work! I have done something these holidays!

School Libraries

I have sat down and went to start teaching myself how to upload photos here . BUT you cannot do this via an I-pad!!! I honestly go totally nuts over this thing too much as it is so, so limited in what it can do! I am not good with technology when it doesn't do what I want it to do instantly! I think I am pretty good with computers too ( self taught several library systems especially and even learnt something new on my library system on Monday!). Will have to wait later tonight when I can use son's laptop!

Library opening during hols hasn't really been a success sadly. I am totally over swamped with new books and still have a bucketload to spend from my ASB grant, sothey will keep on piling up!! I can import onto computer in seconds, but it is the processing which takes ages when in the volume I have! I have been buying for other parts of the school and have even given whole grants away to other parts of the school! It is all for the students benefit. I possibly might do one grant this year for a security system, but I am not entirely convinced a security system would work as any child anywhere figures out how to bypass them!! And it is the processing with tattle tape too which is impossible for one person to do!

It is all good! It is a fantastic library with the latest in books and really probably is not used at all to it's full advantage!!! There are too many new books you could just about say! I need to make a culture of reading for both the teachers and pupils. On the last day of school, I gave every teacher a book ( wrapped in Christmas paper) to read over the summer. I know the principal and a deputy principal have read theirs - I wonder how many other teachers have? So few read full stop in my opinion....

Lots to think about. With so few students in, I have been making series boxes - photocopying front covers of a series and bunting one or more in a nod. It just helps them be more visible to students rather than the traditional fiction layout. I noticed 2 weeks ago when in Christchurch, that their new replacement city library as all the junior fiction all face out instead of spine out! I would so love this at my library!!!!
Plus putting out new book after new book after new book after new book! My covering fairy Nova has been working hard for me! She is a GEM!!

I have been reading Michael Morpurgo books! They ALL are brilliant - one of the best English children's writers out! One of his books " The War Horse" is currently at the movies. A brilliant read. Reading the sequel " Farm Boy" at the moment.



Off to crochet - quite addicted

It really is Creative Chaos!

hooray - I have just won some handmade goodness from "Mad About Bags" blog! That is so cool! I did a swap with tarcy last year around the Rugby World Cup and got some gorgeous items from her then!

We are out of our house and house sitting friends while they are away. Our back part is being renovated with a new bedroom, ensuite and walk in wardrobe, plus new bathroom for boys and a laundry cupboard! It WILL be fabulous. Our new laundry is going to be huge and we decided to bung a few shelves in there - more storage! yay. We will be homeless from next weekend though... might be a motel for a week or two!
it is so much work deciding on new bathrooms, flooring etc etc

I have just knitted my first ever dishclothes - one from an Australian panda cotton; the other from a gorgeous UK organic cotton! will pop into the Pt Chev Craft Shop this afternoon and buy more cotton and maybe try and crochet a few - will be quicker! I am pleased that I have taught myself a new stitch - double moss.

I am actually at school now - we have opened the school library during the hols to try and keep the students reading - very, very quiet with 8 students through the doors so far! 40 books out - better than nothing!

I need to post photos! I am still working on my round scarf.

Hope everyone enjoys the last 2 weeks of school holidays!

Kimberley

Happy New Year!

It is a new year! I am not really setting any resolutions but will make goals!

One is to make more things - The Little Craft Shop in Pt.Chev is having some crafty nights making stitch samplers/ little wallets with a clasp / patchwork etc. I will definently sign up for several classes. Will be good to do a night class and something to help me keep the stress down after a school day!

I have also signed upt do the Mauri Ora course through the Te Wanaga o Aotearoa. It is amazingso far, learning about Papa and Rangi, Maori stuff in general. This will be a great help with school plus for my professional library registration whichis up in September! Registration will be a huge amount of work!!!! I need to think very seriously about what I want to achieve at school this year too!!!

Will finish my cross stitch befor the holidays are out and hope to have it framed too!

Builders are starting work internally next week - about a week earlier which is brilliant as we have accommodation earlier which is fab!!!