Deserted Wives...wives have desserts...

The Deserted Wives Club met for the first time tonight...hopefully it will be the only time! Andreas was the only deserted husband left at home, as all our other hubbies are away.  Nick and John left early on Monday morning to drive a truck to the north island to deliver John and Joan's household goods to a storage facility (so with Nick being away, bible study was cancelled, hence our free night on Wednesday); Mark and Graham were off hunting with a group, and Rene with a different hunting group.  The ladies gathered for a dinner and craft time at Liz's place.  First order of craftiness was to try fix up Liz's boots which suffered the injustice of the potroast bag exploding all over them (and the floor, and the bench, and the cupboards), leaving great oily splotches all over them.  Joan and Betta took up the task of rubbing cornflour into them which will hopefully absorb and break down the oils.

Liz stands back while the rest of attack the deliciousness that is roast beef and veggies. Yum!

The glass is never half-empty with Aaron...

Dishes in the dishwasher, pudding done (thanks to Viv, a blackboy peach crumble), we tucked into the crafting.  Everyone had different things to do - Betta showed Danielle how to crochet, Joan had embroidery, Liz made some amazing paper creation thingie, Viv was scrapbooking, Bronwyn produced an array of cards, I did some hand sewing, and the boys and Genevieve made cards for Father's Day.

"Some kind of celebration"

...at least that's what John said when he announced from the pulpit on Sunday that the ladies would be gathering at Ballantynes for afternoon tea come Tuesday.  What he forgot in the moment was that his lovely wife Joan was celebrating a birthday!  I couldn't stay long as I needed to fetch the boys from school, but it was super to join this special group of ladies for a short while.  I sat opposite Cynthia who graciously posed her hands on the teapot for a photo.

Joan looking contemplative...we will miss her steady company and wisdom as she and John are shortly to relocate to the North Island.

You're a winner!

Frockstars 2013...remember the ugly dress that became something wearable?  Judging happened yesterday and I'm thrilled to say that my frock won the "Envy Award"...the dress that the judge most wanted to keep for herself!  Now I'm not sure that I want to instigate envy in anyone, but still, I'm thrilled to have won a category :)

So, what's next then?  I found this old coat at a second-hand shop which was begging for a make-over.

 The fabric is lovely - wool, I'm sure, in a blend of burgundy, red, brown, cream

It took all of Saturday afternoon to take it apart, which was when I discovered that there wasn't as much usable fabric as I'd hoped...so Saturday evening was spent puzzling over the new pattern pieces on the lounge floor.  I also used a pillow-case in co-ordinating colours from the same second-hand shop, and the coat's original lining made up the rest of my lining.  All I needed to buy new was some interfacing.  Now I'm ready to sew!

About time

Well the blog is slipping!  I claim the excuse that not too much photo-worthy happens in winter, so posts are few and far between.  We're into week 3 of term 3 and so far so good.  Our days are now rapidly lengthening, with more than an hour and a half of extra daylight since the winter solstice and the anticipation of even longer evenings when daylight savings starts at the end of next month.  With the angle of the sun at the moment, we often get lovely sunrises and sunsets (assuming that we do this happening which lately has not been the case with a lot of rain, cloud and drizzle). 

 Our Friday night pizza and movie tradition continues...with the exception of my departure mid-movie to attend orchestra practice - my second term of involvement with the Youth Orchestra of South Canterbury as a first violin.  This term we're playing a selection of movie favourites - our favourite is surely the Hobbit Suite!  We're also doing Forrest Gump, the Wizard of Oz, Les Miserables, and Harry Potter, amongst others.  Speaking of the latter, we've finally allowed the boys to watch the first in the Harry Potter series of movies.  This has followed years of putting it off, but Nick would like to take the 'learn to discern' approach in this case.  We won't allow them to watch all the movies as they progress from a PG rating as the themes are more developed and darker.  Afterwards, while I was still at orchestra, Nick and the boys washed and dried dishes over a conversation discussing the themes and controversies.

Sewing has really been keeping me busy lately - since Frockstars, I've made three more dresses, a skirt, a blouse, and a waistcoat for Nick.  I'm redeeming the time spent at the sewing machine by listening to audio books - have thoroughly enjoyed "What did you Expect", by Paul Tripp, on the topic of marriage.  It has been a real eye opener and cause for much heart searching and repentance.  I would highly recommend this book, audio or otherwise, to every married couple who are earnestly seeking to honour God in their marriage. 

Nick was happy to stand in the drizzle for the few minutes it took to get this pic - helpful that the model is so photogenic!

Ten days with Vijay

Nick arrived home on Friday night after his week in Palmerston North, bringing Vijay Chandra home with him to spend the next ten days with us.  Vijay is a pastor in Fiji, and we've struck up a partnership with his church in support and prayer.  We had a good number of invites from church folk for Vijay for teas and things, some of which included the whole family:
Saturday night we were at Graham and Liz for bacon butties...

 ...and ate lots of chocolate.  The Gregories were just recently returned from Auckland and neither was feeling very well, so we kept it an early night.

Sunday lunch was a great gathering at the de Beers' home.  I had already prepared a goat curry on Saturday, so we took that along and joined it with meals from the Phillipses, Niewoudts, Danielle (Andreas was away in SA) and de Beers.

Matt showed us their two new pets - giant Flemish rabbits. 

Monday night we had a delicious meal and wonderful fellowship with Cynthia...

...and the boys found an alternative use for Jenga blocks.

On Wednesday afternoon we were treated to lunch at the Phillipses and a few rounds of table tennis.  Good to spend a relaxed afternoon in the "greenhouse"!

On Friday we had planned to spend the day in Tekapo and hopefully see some snow, but shortly after turning off Highway 1 onto Point Highway, our van's engine came to its end with a frighteningly large cloud of smoke and a lot of noise.  Thank the Lord that we weren't far out of town at all, and could easily have walked to the Gregory's house.  As it was, we phoned Graham and he quickly came and collected us and took us home.  The van was towed back to our house later in the afternoon, so instead of Tekapo we providentally spent a more profitable afternoon at the Moore's home.

And then, finally, Sunday lunch was at the Kempf's home.  Vijay commented that he brought the sunshine with him from Fiji; we thanked the Lord for the great weather which meant that our guest didn't spend all week shivering! 

Vijay was collected by shuttle bus early on Monday morning, coinciding with the boys and I leaving for our first day of Term 3 - thus ends our winter holiday, and our time with Vijay. Until next time!

Much improved

Woohooo, my frock is finished!  Aaron has been at a holiday club the last two days, and I dropped both boys at the swimming pool yesterday afternoon, giving me a big chunk of time to sew.  I'm pleased with the result although it's far from perfect in many ways (especially the one armhole which is bigger than the other - how did that happen??).  I'll post it for judging in a week or two.

I was particularly pleased with the peter pan collar; I posted a FB update a few days ago referring to Granny's handkerchief - I do mean, quite literally, just that.  I used two unused hankies which belonged to my granny.  They fitted in well with the point of the dress, which was to recycle and  upcycle.  I kept a lot of the original dress - I loved the belt and buttons and pleats down the front, so the work was already largely done for me.

As part of the competition I have to send in a photo of the dress being worn, and since I know that many of my readers will ask for the same thing, I've included some pics here.  I know they're tiny, but use your imagination.  In the absence of my regular photographer who is currently in Palmerston North for a week of School of Theology, I employed Caleb and Aaron.  Aaron impressed me with some great shots, with just a little direction from me.  He spotted some of the locations and arranged me as he saw fit.  Caleb was the props-man who ate most of the bread we had intended for sea-gulls, and found little else to do other than hold the lens cap.  It was super fun!  Really enjoyed the amazing weather too - we're in for a few days of clear skies and mild nor'westers.

It's been reported yet again

We're nearing the end of Term 2, with the last day on Friday.  The boys received their mid-year reports today, and while Caleb was at his violin lesson (the first one back since his broken arm and last one before the holidays), we went over Aaron's report, doing Caleb's when he was home later.  They did well although both realize that they can do better and will need to up their game if they want to excel.  We are, as always, very proud of them both. 

A golden day

I mentioned Les and Marg on the blog a week or two ago, who have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. We threw a small gathering to mark the very special occasion by way of a 1960s wedding reception...hosted at Andreas and Danielle's home, with instructions to dress appropriately.  What a fun afternoon as hippies and vintage arrived!  

We decked the happy couple out in a bowtie and veil and took some pics outside before heading in for the solemnities...

Grant played a wedding march; Rene gave a speech and Matt prayed... 

...and then we took the whole group outside for a photo.  Cynthia lent me a bridesmaid dress that she wore in 1959 - the pink number was quite something!

Hats, oo-la-la!

Ryno and Marianne styling, man!

Cynthia, what a darling lady - she has several hats and items from her younger years which are all hugely in fashion right now - if only we could convince her to bring them out more often!  Loved this pink Jacqui-O creation.

Olive and Joan produced this marvellous wedding cake, and everyone else brought a plate of eats.  Much to be thankful for ;)

Chrissy pulled out her beautiful voice and blessed us with a song item.  Wow, this lovely lady can sing!!

Les and Marg cut the cake - then Les gave a short speech which had us in stitches. 

We were also thrilled to watch their wedding video and have a look through their album.  Marg was a gorgeous 19-year-old bride!  We pray that the Lord would grant them many more happy years together.

Caleb's arm: the final chapter

Yeah, six weeks and one day after breaking his arm, Caleb could get his cast off. Independence Day! (Okay, I spelled it right that time, Dad and Mom). We were in and out of the hospital in about 20 minutes, after the orthopaedic surgeon did a quick check that everything was working properly. His wrist is stiff and will need some time and gentle physio to get it loosened up and back to normal, but the recommended treatment is vacuuming the house!  Caleb looked at his arm and was shocked to see how thin it looked...actually it wasn't much different from his other arm - he just has slender arms! 

Help help (not me -> yes me!)

I'm always the worst person in an emergency - I panic at the sight of blood and want to turn inside out at the thought of broken bones and misshapen limbs.  My lack of first aid knowledge is partly to blame, I'm sure - you want to act quickly and do something useful but have no idea how to help so instead run around like a headless chicken, the intensity of flapping arms equalling the level of concern.  Great visual display but not particularly useful to a victim.  Time for some first aid training :) The school booked me on a comprehensive First Aid course - an intensive 12 hours spread across a day and a half.  It was awesome!!  I totally loved it and came away with a good knowledge of first steps to take.  The CPR practice was exhausting - I had sore stomach muscles after just four sets of compressions and breathing!