At the farm...

We had a very magical childhood in may ways...living in a small rural community on a wee piece of paradise called "Bannockburn" in Ngatimoti. We had ponies and chickens, pet lambs, calves, piglets..cats and dogs, rats and guinea pigs and pet eels...and me, two brothers and a sister (Hi Poppy Black). We could play in the creek, ride imaginary (and real) ponies, skate on roller skates found in the dump, pick carrots from the garden and have outdoors tea parties. We had a milking cow, plenty of eggs and fresh fruit and veges...it was lovely.
Mum and Dad still live on this wee piece of paradise.
We have come out here (R, Stellar and I) to be part of the welcoming committee when Mum and Dad get home from their first ever overseas adventure...an 8 weeks trip to the UK and part of Europe. They sound like they have had a wonderful time...in some ways it seems like they left just a week ago, and in other ways it seems like they have been away for ever.

So, I am using mum's computer for this and have found a couple of cute photos of their beloved pets...Daisy as a puppy and then as an adult, with the troop of cats...it is obvious from the second photo that the cats rule the roost...they are all such good friends but a stern glance from Oscar (the Godfather...a chocolate spotted Oriental Lynx) will see Daisy skulking away...

The big reveal...

Well, here I am. I decided it is too hard to have a blog with a million potential photos, and not show yourself ( as I feature in so many of our photos...many of the horrifying self portraits). I figure no one is actually reading this anyway (except for family and a very exciting comment from Tracey, a Blogger from Australia).
Anyway, needless to say, the photo includes my darling dog Stellar.
Not much to say tonight. It has been a busy week so far as I am managing another service along with my own one. I think I have done more this week that I have for the past 4 weeks. I love doing something new, I like to be busy and be challenged...it makes me so much more efficient.
I took Stellar for a walk up the Maiati after work, there is a great flat track that winds up the valley by the river, of course Stellar can't resist having a swim so she had a nice hot shower when she got home. The detachable shower head thingy makes it very easy to wash her...she just sits in the shower and enjoys the warm water..apart from putting her paw over the plug hole every now and then, it is much easier that a bath (though I am sure Stellar would prefer a bath).
Day three of the Fatty Challenge, we had homemade pizzas for tea and of course I ate far too much but it was light on cheese and only had veges on it...so not too much damage done I guess.
Was very excited to receive my first ever grown up magazine in the mail, thanks to my dear sister who gifted it to me when she won a subscription to New Zealand House and Garden by being selected to be on the readers panel. She already has a subscription (as I am sure most of the people who would have submitted stuff to get on the readers panel..they should have awarded the selected people a new kitchen or something)...anyway, the magazine is thick and glossy and full of magical houses and fabulous gardens. It used to be a bit too grown up for me...possibly described by me as a magazine full of expensive wanky crap only the rich could afford but now it has great stuff for the every day collector of fabulous stuff...so THANK YOU to my darling sister for this wonderful gift! Love youxx

Paintings...

Today I thought I would put a few photos of my paintings on here...back in 2003 I held an exhibition at at Cafe in Dunedin and sold 6 of my paintings, the profits from this essentially paid for my ticket (well, quite a bit of it) for our big OE...a year working in Dublin, Ireland.
I really enjoy painting and have my easel up in my "studio" aka spare room all set to go for some more painting. I paint what might be considered slightly strange things...animals in kitchens...and then more of a NZ native theme..my exhibition was called From Treetops to Tabletops and here are a couple of photos...excuse the quality ( can click on them to enlarge), but you get the idea.

My sister over at Poppies and Daisies has the large rabbit painting...the rabbit is her precious Merlin, who is a dear large old bunny. The one to the left ( in the photo above) and the one below both sold to a Lawyers office...I hope they enjoy them and that they are still hanging there!!

This painting sold to a man and his children, he wanted to buy in as a tribute to his wife who had recently died of cancer, I think it was going to be given to her workplace as a thankyou for all their support of her and her family. I am pleased it went to people who could see a meaning in it.

So..that is a wee sample of my paintings...I most like using colour and trying to paint animals...usually minus their legs (so head shots etc) as anyone who has ever attempted to draw an animal will know how difficult legs are to draw!! I have a donkey and a goat hanging in our house...never tried a dog...maybe Stellar will be my muse??

How is the Fatty Challenge going?? Pretty good...was very well behaved yesterday and went for a good long dog walk, resisted the urge to devour a king size Cherryripe bar that is sitting in the cupboard. Today was pretty good also though the evening is yet to pass. I even ran a bit on our walk today so that is remarkable in itself (and Stellar was most impressed)!!

That's it for now....

OH...haven't bothered to take nasty pants shot yet..too cold to get changed, I am sure you understand.

Posting from work...

Ok, I know I should be working but it has been a tough morning so I am taking 5 minutes out to see if I can write a post from work...it seems so, though no photos will be attached.

It is Day One of the Fatty Challenge, which is being undertaken by myself and my lovely sister over at Poppies and Daisies (if I knew how to create a link I would, but still learning).
So far today I have had Special K and some yoghurt for breakfast, plus a cup of tea and have just eaten a banana...in WW terms I would calculate that to be 4 points so far...I am STARVING!! One of the big problems with doing something like WW is that your whole world revolves around food...how many points, what to have for a snack, what is for tea...you think about it ALL the time. I don't want to be like that.
Actually, I wish I could just be happy with who I am and the way I look already. OK, I am a few kgs over weight but not too bad. I think this is a problem that arises when working with too many females. They just seem to be obsessed with it. I would have thought this would have been a younger persons problem (me being 34 I consider myself young still) but it appears not, the Admin ladies at work range from me up to 60 and all go on about weight all the time...it really is quite tedious and boring and I ask myself why I even bother getting caught up in it?

My honest reality is that I would like to lose 5kg, not because I want to be skinny (cause lets face it, 5kg would not put me anywhere near the skinny category), but it would help me fit the lovely clothes that I have in the spare room that I wore 2 winters ago when I felt good about myself. Now everything is a bit tight, a bit short and a bit bulgy. 10kg off would be marvellous and I would be feeling like a supermodel but I will be realistic and strict...I have until July 10th when I go to America. I want to buy some new jeans over there so losing the muffin top would help with that task.
I actually have some pants that will be a good guide. They were a fantastic fit two Winters ago, now tight...nasty tight...so if they fit by America time, I will be happy. Maybe I can take a photo in them (nasty) and post it...plus one each week for progress...yes, that is what I will do.
I will apologize now for the nasty tight pants shot that will be posted later!!

Now...back to work....

Sunday...

Hi there,

I am having a bit of trouble with my blogging...the whole photo loading thing is annoying. I am doing this with Picassa but I can't seem to write something then load a photo so have to chose them all at the start then write something.
Can't be bothered messing round with it so will just do this for now and think about it tomorrow... even the text looks different typing it like this so who knows what will happen when I publish it, oh well...it is Sunday and I can't be arsed worrying about it. I hate Sunday, it means work tomorrow, and even though I actually quite like my job, I would rather not go...ever.

So, today I went for a walk up the Maitai. The photos attached are actually from another venture up there...the first is Stellar playing the the river (her favourite thing to do) and the second is the view from the top of one of the hills you can climb up. Today it wasn't just me and Stellar, sister in law, M and her dog Flynn (a lab/kelpie cross) came along as well. We strolled in the sun for about an hour and a quarter. It was a magical day and annoyingly the rest of Nelson decided to come along for a walk, bike, run or to simply drag their vile children or decrepid relatives along. We also encountered dozens of dogs of varying degrees of friendliness and had a very pleasant walk.

I am mad with this cause my photo won't move....

This afternoon I pottered about in one of the spare rooms which I have set up as my "studio"...really just a bedroom with an easel, my sewing machine and a heap of other stuff in it.
Then we went to see a movie called The Ironman, which is one of those comic based movies which I usually treat with some distain (well, think The Hulk...what crap)...anyway, this was great, good action, good but not dumb special effects and a witty, fast paced story line..and don't forget Robert Downy Junior who was HOT....
Right, must be tea time. I am starting the Fatty Challenge with my sister...not a very PC name but who cares, it's her challenge. An attempt to get healthy and look fabulous and feel great about ourselves. Anyway, my typing fingers won't work which just makes me mad and there seems to be no spell checker so I will go now...more talk about the Fatty Challenge tomorrow.
May I just sign off with a photo of Daisy...I love the setting!!

Goodbye...

Guess I had better update my Blog, nothing more disappointing than having favorite blogs you read and then when you visit them they haven't been updated for weeks (or even days!!).
Saturday was a lovely day here...the weather was fab for the end of May, warm, blue skies...perfect.
I took Stellar for a walk, she is joyful to walk as she is always so pleased and grateful. She wears a harness because she hasn't always been such a joy to walk...she used to pull like a train so we got a lupi harness...fantastic. Now she just trots along and can investigate things without me tugging away at her neck. Another shortcoming of dear Stellar is her "pin head"...she has a narrow head so can easily slip her collar unless it is done up so so tight it makes her eyes bulge like a pekenise.

Today I would like to pay tribute to Stellars vet, Martin Collins, who died today. He had been diagnosed with melanoma some time ago and was treated but I guess it never really went into remission.
Stellar and I were Martins last appointment on his last day of work. He gave her a hug and said how hard it was putting your trust and life into the hands of others, as he was due to go to Wellington for aggressive treatment of this horribly aggressive illness. Martin always treated Stellar with such gentleness and respect. He gave her cuddles and always commented on how gentle she was...he also never failed to comment to her ever growing girth. Martin, you were a sweetheart and a gentleman and I am sure if you were treated with the same care and respect and love you always treated your patients with, you would have been in good hands when you came home to say goodbye to your family. Stellar and I say goodbye.

Daisy and Stellar

OK, looks like I am going to be writing a lot about my dog, Stellar., who is a 2 and a half year old Chocolate Labrador. Lots of people comment that she doesn't look like a purebred lab...well, she is meant to be. Her muzzle is a bit long, her ears too big, her tail too thin, her legs a bit lanky and she is HUGE for a female lab, but I don't care. To me she is perfect and I don't give a sh*t if people think she is a good example of a labrador or not.

I am not obsessed with my dog, though my husband and family might disagree...

Anyway, here she is with her friend Daisy, who belongs to my parents. Daisy came to visit the other day with my brother who was doing manly things like fixing the car and installing a new shower head. While I was busy I noticed the dogs had disappeared...where could they be? I found them on the spare bed (note the gorgeous Wallace Cotton bed linen)...Daisy, who is not allowed on the furniture at her house, seemed to show no guilt at being caught sleeping on the bed...and here is another one of them giving each other a kiss...


I did a bit of creating yesterday. I have an amazing sewing machine that arrived one day in the post...my darling husband bought it for me as a surprise. My old sewing machine came from a second hand shop and was purchased using the winnings from a night at the Dunedin Casino on the blackjack table...no, I am not a gambling freak...just a fun night out many years ago..SO...the new machine has so many features it is hard to know where to start and I have a million ideas and need to just play and make small quick things to learn to use it...anyway...I made a small fabric panel (leaf idea sort of borrowed from my sister even though she said no copying to anyone...but I am sure she won't mind for a dog toy)...and decided to add it to another piece of fabric and make a toy for Stellar...so here is it...pretty rough...


So..after abusing many crappy toys I have purchased for Stellar, saying things like, they must have been sewn up by a one armed blind person who was using spiderweb for thread due to their lack of robustness...I handed it over... it lasted only about 20 minutes...she carried it around for a bit, rested her gorgeous chinny-chin-chin on it and I proudly thought "she loves it"...then she destroyed it...nice.

Testing...

Just seeing if I can work out how to add a photo...

Ok...my photo has been added...now I need to work out how to move it...oh, you just click and drag...handy...

This is my darling Stellar who is asleep in our bed. She is my darling (so is my husband)...I love her more than I thought possible.
I will write more in a minute, just want to post this and see what happens to it.

Where to start?

Hi there,

Welcome to my Blog...I am not sure who I will tell about this yet...might just be the ramblings of a mad woman. Who knows what I will write about?

I am a keen reader of several blogs, including that of my sister, Poppy Black over at Poppies and Daisies (will I learn to create links?)...I also love reading about people living the good life over in the UK. My favourite blogs include those who write about their creative exploits and share their crafty ideas, and those people who love their animals and treat them as they deserve to be treated, as one of the family...

A few things about me...

• I am a middle child...this means I am an organizer, a worrier, a "band aid" person...I try and fix things and make them ok for people...I am also easily frustrated, short tempered at times and a bit disorganized (despite being an organiser)...I get anxious and can't sleep the night before a holiday.
  
• I love animals far better than people...bad I guess...I would rather see people die than animals (Hmmm...might be too early to share that kind of information!!)
• We let our dog, a Chocolate labrador sleep in our bed...nothing makes me happier than waking up and the view from my pillow being chocolaty velvet ears and a brown leather nose on my pillow, and my husbands head on the pillow next door.
• I like food...a lot...
• My ex boyfriend was a creep...and I have enough tales to write a book about him...will write a few posts about him in the future..you will laugh...I do....
• I work in health and am a Manager, I manage people who are in general, older than me. It is a weird thing, I have no desire to be a leader but it seems to come naturally, but it is all an act.
• I am a HUGE fan of reality TV, I would watch it every night if I could. I am addicted to Project Runway, The Amazing Race, Biggest Loser and Americas Next Top Model at the moment..oh, and don''t forget Survivor. But my all time fave reality show has to be "So You think you can Dance"...or maybe Big Brother...I don't know...there are too many, they are all good.
• I don't really have a great use for friends. I like my own company, and that of my dog and my husband and my family. If I never see another person outside of work, that would suit me just fine.
• I would like to travel more...I will tell you about our travels...and our upcoming trip to America.
• I love to sew, be crafty and paint. I wish there were more hours in the day. I wish I had a wee studio in the country and enough talent to make money.
• If I won Lotto I would buy some land and have an animal sanctuary and adopt all sorts of animals that need love and a comfortable home.
• I am afraid to have children just in case I love my dog more...I hate kids...I am missing the cluck factor...and am afraid it will never kick in while the biological clock keeps on ticking.
• I use far to many of these ...........

My husband, who likes to cook and usually makes tea while I walk the dog, is serving up the chicken ravioli...my mouth is watering...so will sign off on my first post.
I need to find out how to attach photos...maybe next time.

M