Sew-sew low-low

So, firstly...the 17-lines-of-stitching cushion turned out really well despite several of the threads breaking and needing redoing and the frustration thereof. As soon as that was done I tucked into a Euro-sham cushion cover for the bed, but since I don't have an actual inner for it yet it will lie dormant! Of late I've been battling my old enemy: Depression. Usually it stays well hidden behind the bouncy exterior, but to be true to you, readers, I'm not really all that perky (at least not all the time!) The extended fruitless job hunt, the grey skies, small health issues and I suppose a genetic tendency toward it all came together to have a party. And just how many cushions can a room need? I've been desperately reminding myself that God is faithful, good, kind and that His purposes are my ultimate goal. It's just difficult to be playing the waiting game. But so help me Lord, I'll stick it out and remember Your promises! Apart from the Word, I'm also thankful for the friends He's put around me who seem to pop up with a word of encouragement or just a spot of silliness at the right times.
The high point of my day was calling in at the boys' school again for more photography - specifically of music lessons but I happened upon an art class too. Always fun seeing Caleb and Aaron in action in their school surrounds. Caleb acts like the other kids in pretending I'm not there but Aaron's eyes, no his face, no no, his whole body lights up when I sneak into their class. It's so sweet. Quickly grabbed what shots I could of them while no one was looking :)(Above: meet Hannah, who has taken to snarling and/or growling at me. I haven't figured out why but in the meantime I'm doing it back).
Nick, meanwhile, left late afternoon for more lumberjack stuff. Or does lumberjackness refer only to the actual cutting down of trees? I'm not sure, but he was home late with a trailer load of really huge pieces of tree which still need chainsawing and splitting. I love the smell of fresh pine, even at 10 o'clock on a crisp, moonlit night.

Just picture it

Well I spent the largest part of the day putting together a photo album which has been pending for about a year. Got nearly 100 photos printed (on special at 11c each, now was a good time) to finish off the collection of 'best of 2009' photos, which then had to be sorted and grouped and arranged. Ran out of photo corners quite soon but the hard part is done, really. Also spent some time sifting through 1,000s of pics on the Mac to pull out my favourites for 2010 which will then receive a similar treatment. The boys had a 'play date' with some new friends Ben and Josiah after school so I only collected them at 5. They enjoyed their time there and had also had a good day in school by all accounts! No Monday blues for them. We are so thankful that Caleb is making friends this term - I think with a new class and new groups forming he has been able to find a niche better. After tea Nick got the boys engrossed in a game with bionicles and shooting and weapons and things - all very civil and peaceful actually despite the object of the game! I started another cushion cover while they were so amicably occupied but have given myself a rather tricky task of gathering up 17 lines of stitching across quite a heavy fabric. Oi!

Double the inspiration

Sunday School, doctrine class and the Adult Bible Class all started again today after the very long holiday. Our Sunday School classes have shuffled about a bit and completely mutated in form now, with mine expanding from 4 at the end of last year (it doubled in size over the course of the year) to 8 at the beginning of this year. I'm pleased to say that Caleb is in my class now and he, along with several other chatterboxes, certainly adds some interesting flavour to the class. Continuing with our missions month, we watched a powerpoint presentation on the ministry of the Cubao Reformed Baptist Church in the Philippines - very inspiring. I twisted Danielle's arm into coming around in the afternoon again, so she joined us for a very strung-together meal of baked potatoes (some were homegrown) with cheese or pasta sauce, stir-fried veggies and frankfurters. It sounds better than it looked on the plate :) We started discussing lamp shades and the possibility of home-made ones as I've been wanting to do something for ages with two wooden bases which are sitting uselessly in the cupboard and eventually had a light-bulb moment with an idea for constructing a frame (many hands make light work). More on that in the next couple of days when I'm satisfied with the end result. Watched the second part of the Taliabo story in our afternoon service.

Pigging out

How do bumble bees fly with their huge bodies and tiny wings? God put some of His creatures together in such a humorous way, I'm sure - or does the impossibility of such a clumsy insect simply serve to point out that God's design by far supersedes our engineering abilities and understanding?
Had a good family day at home for the most part - at one stage Aaron was doing homework, Caleb was reading, I was sewing and Nick was mowing the lawn. All good domestic bliss! Nick found that some of our potatoes were ready for harvesting and gathered in a sturdy dozen or more. In the evening we packed off to the Camerons for a Swiss meal - never had had such a thing so didn't know what to expect but had taken big appetites just in case. Good thing because we ended up eating heaps - it's similar to a fondue thing where everyone cooks their own stuff on a communal griddle thingie, with individual mini pans tucked under the griddle for grilling cheese and putting it all together. It's a grand idea and worked well, even for the boys who thought that cooking their own stuff was da boss, like, yo. Two pigs arrived during the eating (I mean this in the literal sense, not that we became pigs although there might be some question in this regard) and were duly housed and watered. The Clevely adults challenged the Cameron adults to a game of Taboo, following on from our enjoyment of the game on Friday. It's always interesting to see who the real competitors are and who the players-for-fun are. I confess I fall into the former category and had to restrain myself from post-mortems on each round, and filling in answers for the other team! An excellent evening all round, thanks Matt and Rachel.

Young at heart

The skies were gray; it was chilly and dark and I felt somewhat gray myself. Just one of those days where you'd like to stay in bed and not be bothered by anyone! Felt a bit better by afternoon time though when I met up with Rachel at 2.30 to look at a house. Went directly to the school after that and waited for the boys for quite some time, especially since Aaron decided he needed the loo right after the bell went. Just got home in time to collect Caleb's piano things and his scooter and helmet and rush him off to Joan's for his lesson. At 7.30 we had our first youth group meeting for the year - we've had some ad-hoc gatherings in the past but have now formalized a fortnightly meeting. At exactly 7.30 we were still the only ones there - Nick had brought his electric guitar and amp and got himself mic'd up and everything to sing to an empty church. But a few minutes late(r) we had 8 enthusiastic high-schoolers. Had a short time of worship followed by a half-hour Mark Driscoll DVD which was excellent, then popcorn and juice and games. We taught the kids Taboo which went down well especially for those who could get past the nerves and giggles and actually describe the given objects! Good fun and we look forward to the next one.

Arr, me hearties...

(Well the title has little to do with the post but read it with much pirate expression anyway). Dropped the boys at school then came home to do work on the brochure for the school. Nick was the speaker at their chapel service (assembly) today and taught them a new song which involves jumping about and waving of arms - quite fun. We had to be back to collect the boys an hour after that so instead of going all the way home (all 9 minutes of the drive), we browsed around the Crow's Nest for a while. Nick found some great books, four for $1, for the boys. My bathroom projects are now complete (well, for now anyway until the next idea falls upon me) so here is the whole effect, complete with Nick at the computer in my craft room just across the passage from the bathroom.

Some ol' sticks tied t'gether

Okay, for you crafty people who've been asking if the driftwood project was successful...yes it was! I have another bathroom project on the go so will photograph again in the morning with the completed effect. Caleb asked what it was, looking very unimpressed by the whole thing. I told him it's a vase; he asked how on earth it could be waterproof. The simple answer lies in the cut-off plastic ice-cream soda bottle around which the pieces of driftwood have been glued. I found some sticks in the garden onto which I've hung a few fish to complete the marine effect.The boys have been duly enrolled in the Timaru School of Music held on the Waimataitai School premises; Aaron in ukulele and Caleb in violin. They start lessons next week and are super excited. Caleb will continue with piano this term as well. Had our church QGM this evening...sometimes the talk is arranged like our chairs - circularly! But it was a good meeting with positive outcomes.

Early morning Patiti

After seeing the boys off at school, I hovered around for a while to take photos for the brochure I'm working on, specifically looking for parental interaction and involvement. I settled myself in the main approach to the school; I wasn't really surprised by the funny looks, apologies for being in the way, and parents simply running out of the frame! Went home via Patiti Point to collect some driftwood for a little project I wanted to try out which I put together this evening - will post photos tomorrow if it's successful (I'll only know tomorrow when the glue has dried!). It was a stunning morning for being out on the beach and appreciating the salty smell of the ocean and fresh breezes. Did some school work at home between hanging up two loads of washing, then was back at the school at 2 pm to finish off some other stuff there. The boys came out of school in high spirits as usual, having had a good day.

Lime Lite gathering

And following yesterday's extreme heat, we had rain, rain, rain, cold and rain today. We were very happy to have it and I don't think anyone complained about wearing winter woollies. I did some work at the school today - I knew there would be too many distractions at home, especially as an on-line baking ingredient order I made arrived with the early courier! Made a batch of biscotti after lunch - they really are such a treat with a cuppa. Shirley collected me just before 2.30 for a ladies' coffee afternoon...almost all of the ladies in our church gathered at Lime Lite for a casual get-together - we are blessed with a lovely group! Thank you ladies.
Bronwyn, obviously I missed what you were saying here as I was taking the photo - but I'd love to know WHAT you were explaining to Nyree and Joan!Petru...such a typical view of you, laughing heartily at something!Thanks Nyree for posing so graciously and unselfconsciously for me.The skies cleared after tea and it turned out to be a very mild evening...perfect for Nick and me to restring the washing line out back. It seems that no matter how many house jobs we get done, there are always more waiting!

40.3

It was hot today. No really, it was HOT. If anyone ever remembers anything about 6 Feb 2011 in Timaru, it would be that it was a hot day. The nor'wester had blown in early morning and even at 9 am it was hot. But not as hot as later. We had Murray taking our morning church service with a presentation on the work of Simon and Annie Pyatt in Indonesia, and then he preached a solid missions message as well. Being the first Sunday of the month we had church lunch together and then went our own ways mid-afternoon. Danielle visited before the afternoon service so we could sew together, and with Andreas still in SA we didn't want her spending Sunday alone. We managed to cut out and sew a simple dress pattern which she had bought and although it still needed some finishing touches, we were pretty pleased with the accomplishment! It was during the afternoon that we started getting alarmed and quite bothered about the HEAT - did I mention that we had a hot day? We thought perhaps that we were just unused to anything other than chilly, so I had a look at the weather on-line and was amazed that it was up to 38C. It wasn't just hot though - even the slight breeze was hot, so we had to keep all the doors and windows closed. Sometime late afternoon the temperature peaked at 40.3C; Timaru ranked as the hottest place in NZ. We took the Mac along with us to the afternoon service as we were going to be watching a missions DVD - instead of projecting it and using the top hall, we shifted to the basement which is freezing in winter but perfect on a hot day. Because, as you know, today was one of those days. It was bliss to be cool. The DVD, the Taliabo story, was very moving, even for us non-first-time-watchers. It was still cooking outside after church so Nick took the boys and the Phillips offspring to the beach, where it was windy AND hot. Meanwhile, I got picked up by my chauffeur and whisked off to a coffee shop with Bronwyn and Danielle - just us three ladies. Spiced chai lattes, yum! Thanks Mrs K...that was awesome. Some time during the evening the wind finally changed - we've never been so grateful for the cool southerly!

Sausage balls, missions and plum fantastic

Matt arrived early this morning to sort out some insulation under the house. Caleb and Josh came along as well and the four (or six) boys got good and dirty creeping around in the dusty little spaces. I was indoors for the most part, carrying on with some more sewing - I'm on a bit of a cushion-update project. Had to unpick myself from the sewing machine for some kitchen time, trying out a sausage cheese ball recipe I found on the Ideas Magazine website. When Nick first saw the tube of sausage meat I had purchased he had said he'd rather die than eat that stuff, but baked into this format they were a hit all around; I had to rescue most of the batch for church lunch before they got devoured. February is missions month in our church and for tomorrow we have a representative from New Tribes Mission coming to preach and share about a missionary family that we support in prayer. The rep and his wife, Murray and Heather Burnett, are both involved with the mission and had come from Christchurch especially for our service but spent the night parked in John and Joan's yard in their campervan. We went around there for tea which gave us opportunity to meet with this wonderful couple before the service. Joan's impromptu meal was amazing but the dessert capped all - a plum sundae with so many layers and bits it was difficult to keep track!

Bought is nice but home-made is cheaper!

I was supposed to be temping today as well but yesterday they realized that I wasn't needed after all (hard not to take that rejection personally :) ) so spent the day at home catching up on home stuff. I had a few photos printed at Harvey Norman and wandered around their furniture section while I was waiting, picking up ideas. Saw the most beautiful cushion but for $69 it was never going to be coming home with me! I set to work making my own version of it with curtaining offcuts; I shall henceforth call it my 'Waterlily Cushion'. For anyone with about five hours to spare, here's a step-by-step making thereof:
1. Select a nylon fabric and cut out heaps and heaps of little circles - mine had a radius of 1 3/8" and I needed 96. Easiest done with some form of circle-cutting implement.2. Melt the perimeter of each circle to prevent fraying.3. Prepare the back and front of the cushion according to desired size - mine was roughly 17" x 11". I used four buttons for closure but a zip would be equally suitable.4. Measure and mark on the front piece where each circle needs to be stitched, using the same spacing as the radius measurement (ie the centers of my circles were 1 3/8" apart.)5. Stitch each circle in place using a bead as the center.6. Sew the back onto the front, right sides together - taking care not to catch any of the circles in the seam.
7. Turn right side out and insert cushion inner. Sit back and admire your handiwork!

I can see clearly now...

I spent just a little time at school this morning, leaving early to get some grocery shopping done before an afternoon of temping. After Nick fetched the boys from school, he took Caleb to collect his new spectacles. The poor boy has spent the last two years peering down his nose at people through glasses which were never properly fitted for his head - having acquired them on St Helena, there was no option to have them adjusted as they were simply sent from the UK after the optometrist's visit. SpecSavers does the whole catootle with cutting down the arms, adjusting the ear piece curvature, setting the bridge pads etc. So there we go - no more little professor Caleb!

Happy snaps

I took my camera to school this morning and spent two hours wandering from room to room, capturing kids and teachers at work. Not many parents have the privilege of seeing their own children up close in the school environment - it was fun to go into their class and see what they were up to. Aaron wanted to show me his work; "Mom, Mom, look here", he said. "You have to call me Mrs Clevely", I replied...he thought I was joking. My absolute favourite photo from the morning was this one of Mrs Thompson with one of the Room 1 girls, who also happens to be the shortest girl in school. Actually I think she's the shortest girl ever in the history of school - such a cutie.Danielle came by for tea this evening as Andreas has left suddenly for SA on a family matter. She brought her guitar along and Nick gave her a few pointers, but she's actually already very good! Some hidden talents there, hmmm... (Oh, and what did we have for tea? Nothing other than my familiar lasagne!)

Tea with history

My duties at school became clearer today as I was given a project which will likely fill the remainder of my hours at the school - involving photography and GIMPing to produce a marketing sort of brochure thingie. It's just my thing and I'm totally stoked. Still spent most of my time with Mrs Thompson's new entrants today though. And Aaron has already misplaced a pair of socks, although he did find his jersey which was lost on the last day of last year!
We had a tea date with Mark and Pam Cvitanich in their lovely home here in Timaru and chatted away about churches past and present, people that we know, families, and so on. Pam made a delicious Croatian pasta dish after which the boys' stomaches were too full to accommodate a caramel pudding. We took along my St Helena scrapbook and so could discuss the island in full colour and great detail. Super to renew an old acquaintance - we look forward to the next time!

Yeah yeah, back to school

Day 1 of Term 1 of Year 5 for Caleb and Year 4 for Aaron. Both boys were looking forward to going back to school after the 6-week summer holiday, and both had a good day. Although they're in different years, they are physically housed in the same classroom and sit two desks away from each other. I'm pleased that they are together again and can talk about things that happen in their class during the day; after school they made a beeline from the trampoline and between bounces discussed school, life, art and world hunger. Or it might have been just their own hunger. I wasn't sure what my involvement with the school would be this term as my teacher-aide contract was not renewable due to my charge moving to the north island for extended medical care, but apparently I was granted two weeks' paid notice so I have 30 hours to spend at the school. I started out in Mrs Thompson's class (where I felt right at home) as no one seemed to be quite sure what else I was meant to be doing. It's so lovely to see the bright faces of these little kids, so eager to have their minds filled with learning!

Bless this home

The first thing to happen this morning was an inquiry into our well-being following news of storms and flooding in NZ. We have not been affected thus far, with the severe weather all happening on the north island (we're south island). Apparently there was some gale-force wind expected later in the day in Canterbury but so far no more than the usual wind has happened. People are slowly re-emerging at church after their holidays, and I'm pleased to say that MRBC now serves proper plunger-coffee after the morning service! We'll see if the biscuits can also form part of the weekly fellowship :) It was good to have some long-standing acquaintances at the morning service, by way of the Cvitanich Seniors, who Nick and I know from waaaaaaaay back in South Africa. They have been in Timaru for a couple of years and we've been trying to connect since we got here, but with everyone being busy and all it's just not happened yet. We look forward to seeing them again in the week. We paid a visit to Dries and Kristi and the boys who have just moved into their new house - Kristi has done a remarkable job already of making it home in the week that they've been there. Had a super visit and ended with Nick praying for them in the new home; we know that they will be a blessing to many as they practice their wonderful South African hospitality.