Just a catch up

a amazing autumn sky

dave attempts to steal food

This post and I hope you bear with me, is a bit of everything. I did go up North to see my mum, which was wonderful, sad and the best thing I could have done. I spent 5 days with my sister, and her daughter my niece Clare (who I wanted to adopt, not having any daughters I discovered the pleasure of the company of a 21year old girl.) My mum and I did speak, albeit mostly me, as she struggled to talk, but we understood each other. I spent time with my sister who has taken on the organizer for all the things one must do in the circumstances. Dad at 87 was exhausted and at times lost as he slowly realized his wife of 63 years was actually going to die. She's always been a bit of a Houdini, escaping cancer (twice) and heart disease, but alas not this time.
We thought about taking a photo, while we were in the Hospice, but in fits of laughter we thought it highly inappropriate, we did have lots of laughs, knowing mum could hear us although not able to respond. The last thing she said to me, as the Contessa and I were looking at her was "my two gorgeous girls" so we knew she hadn't lost her sense of humour.
I will be going up sometime this week for the funeral, the cost of inter island flights is so prohibitive, so many people who would wish to be there wont be able to be.

things for the grand-niece

the day after some night before

So here are the photos of things done, thrifted, seen etc. I hope they don't shoot of to the top of the post that would look trivial. There is a Aussie called Rove who always at the end of his show used to say "hug your mother for me". so I shall leave you with that. Love Aunt Bee.

Sorry about the absence.

I apologise for the absence as I haven't had the brain for blogging. I will be going up North tomorrow to see my mum, it's been a stressful 3 weeks. The Contessa has been carrying a load of responsibility for organising care for mum and dad. Tough old bird that she is she has kept on going but is now fading fast. The old bird is mum not the Contessa who is a tough younger bird. I have got things to show you, but not today as I'm sadly not organised. My mum was a very into op shops and thrifting, she loved old things, things that had use and a history. This legacy she handed to me, as it isn't the Contessa at all, so in my mum's spirit I went to the Bookarama on Saturday. For the measly amount of $23.00 I got heaps of books and mags,  some copies of Dish (NZ food mag), some "jolly hockey sticks" boarding school for girls, 50's and 60's books  and a AC which I probably have but I bought anyway, and some old crochet and knitting books and patterns. I have started another crochet blanket to use up my yarn, it started out as random piece but I have colour coded it, and I can't help but not look for more yarn to add to it. Whenever I try to be free and bold and let things go there own way I fail. So much for thinking I'm a free spirited, relaxed kinda of  person, I can't let go of my inner control freak. Oh it's my birthday, I have only one wish, and that is for mum not to die on my birthday, I think I would cry for a 100 years. I hope you get what I mean by that. Thanks for the support, hugs to you all, I'm still reading blogs, enjoying your creativity and thrifting finds and happy that thousands of miles away are like minded people just as odd as me, I mean that in the nicest possible way. Love Aunt Bee.

Having a break.

I am having a break for a while, as my darling mother is dying. We are ready to fly up at any moment, so it's all a bit stressful at the moment. My mother is a remarkable 95 years old, born in a tiny place called Coolacly, Co. Galway, Eire, in 1916. A amazing woman, who emigrated to New Zealand with Dad in 1955. She is a very lovely, elegant lady who after two major battles with cancer and also heart disease is losing her final fight with (bloody cancer, sorry but that's how I feel about it).
So I shall return when it a good time and will keep reading your wonderful blogs during the coming days, as she was loved cooking, gardening, and family, but not crafting alas, a brilliant knitter of socks only,   I still remember the mittens she made for the Contessa and me that had pointed thumbs, which when you could get your thumb into them  cut off your circulation. Love and hugs Aunt Bee.

A glorious spotty tin and bits and pieces.

Found this cake tin at the Warehouse, a spotty mug, and a

Miss Marple DVD (Julia McKenzie),while shopping for slippers, I shouldn't be let loose at night in the "big red shed". 

This was going to be a hot water bottle cover, till I learn't we no longer have a hot water bottle, so is now going to be a scarf.

Lovely mags, couldn't resist

Strawberry Bakewell, not as nice as the raspberry

Chocolate Cola Cake

Belly dancing is not my forte.

It is much harder than it looked  or that's my excuse

The bride to be and Kashmir (probably real name  Noeline)

Sadly this is all I've found this week.
It's been very hard to find anything at the op shops or indeed the market this week. I have noticed that people everywhere have found that op/charity shops are charging like wounded bulls. Yes I know there is a recession but that means less money not more, and as it is donated goods and they have volunteer labour, the prices they are asking are ridiculous. Aj dropped down to our local op shop some surplus linen and they said drop it there and carried on talking, he was shocked and said not even a thank-you. Tell bring up your children to use their manners and then they see older people not using any. Grump over.
The tin I did find in a op shop, I need it for the rolled oats which I buy in bulk for baking and muesli making, I love oats, cheap, nutritious and useful, having said that just watch them invent a worldwide excuse to raise prices, like they do for rice, coffee and flour.
I did go yesterday to a hen party, for a friend, so civilized it was held at her sister's house from 2-6pm, half afternoon tea (delicious), half belly dancing class. Not sure middle-aged female Kiwis have any natural ability in this dance form, but a lot of fun.
This of course was on St Patricks Day, a lot of green been worn, but because of the lack of pubs/bars the men didn't go out, the earthquakes have curtailed much of a social life for many. The local mall has a third of the shops closed as off last week, due to earthquake damage, my supermarket was closed as I reached the door a fortnight ago for repairs, this all happened suddenly in a few days. We did have 2 last night, both over 4 just a little reminder, too not say what I did on Thursday, "it starting to feel like the quakes have finished", not surprisingly Matt (a co-worker) threw a dish cloth at me. That's it, I'm sitting in the morning sun, thinking about the day in the kitchen I have planned, I have Granny Smith apples to turn into pie, Black Boy peaches and pears to stew and freeze, by popular request another Bakewell cake,(strawberry this time) and Brownie 's to bake. The garden tidy-up to supervisor, and the pulling out of the sweet peas and tomato plants to actually do myself, I can get my hands dirty sometimes, just not often. I love Autumn, the leaves are turning and dropping, the sun is definitely lower and setting earlier, there has been a hint of frost some mornings and the clothes have to be taken in off the line my 4pm. Enjoy your day. Love Aunt Bee.

I'm quietly proud of this post, can almost get this computer to obey me.

Aj, loves to cook and gets my obsessions, as he loves PS3 games. 

Be patient with me, the new computer is wonderful, but how to retrieve my photos to my blog is eluding me. Wonderful week, everyone enjoyed the party, which was great. The weather has been appropriately Autumn with a capital A, very cool and  a couple of frosty mornings. I did go to the market and bought two tartan blankets, one for our bed and one to hang over the couch for snuggling in the evening as I don't want to put on the heater until it's really cold. I bought a book (Margery Allingham ) and a large cane basket in which I have placed all my yarn which I'm not in using my current project. Three eggcups, yes I'll admit this is now a serious obsessional collection and nothing else as I had run out of money (bugger) I found lots of things I really liked there, but had not a brass razoo in my purse. Managed to get out this week with two clients to a local conservation area, we had bought bread for the ducks......... there was a sign saying do not feed the birds as we are trying to attract native birds only, ha ha they obviously think we don't know our native birds, because the only native birds were Pukehos (not terribly nice birds in the behaviour department) and the rest were introduced ducks and swans, so we feed them, naughty some of you may think, but we were discrete (we hid the bag of bread when someone walked past)  and it's good to break the rules sometimes.

The well fed birds

I washed the blankets as soon as I got home.

I have just taken a Raspberry Bakewell Cake out of the oven, courtesy of BBC Good Food site, it smells and looks delicious, it's one of my favourite food sites. Bought a new knitting magazine, bad Bee, Ideal Home and BBC Homes and Antiques........don't look at me like that, you didn't stop me did you, oh I must curb (note not stop) this magazine craving.Now I'm warning you about the photos they will either come out fine or be a nightmare, but I will work it out just may take me awhile, remember I'm the only failure in a class of 32 people taking  Computers for the over 50's. Love Aunt Bee.

I gave it a good wash and it contains all my yarn

My camera is dead

My camera is dead and it died last night at Tom's 21st, so no photos for prosperity, I'm a bit sad about that but it was a wonderful night. The weather was horrendous, a weather bomb,( a present form Australia) hit yesterday and even though Christchurch was the lest affected, we had freezing SW winds and rain all day. We changed our plans from outdoors for the young people, to in the the garage and oldies indoors. We had a wonderful time, although we had the usual not inviteds turn up, but Baz and Aj didn't drink all night so they could handle any situation,  Baz and Aj plus others saw them off the property, unfortunately they stayed down the end of the street screaming and kicking cars. The young people called the police.But  we thought they had moved on before the police turned up, total morons. Tom's friends were wonderful, funny, crazy and able to mix with everyone and have a good time. I of course am knackered, I was up cooking at 6am, everything was prepared on Friday, so it wasn't a hassle, having a theme helped, restricted the alcohol and food to Mexican, and it proved a hit, although I say that with the remains of the huge chocolate cake and chips/nachos, and salad too last for a week.(hope not).
I also gave out cake to people I knew had children, I used to love when Mum and Dad had been out and bought us leftovers home, I hope that isn't just a NZ thing.
The day here is very cloudy and I can see the clouds been hurtled across the sky at a amazing rate of knots. Autumn is truly upon us, we have South Africa here to play cricket and Super 15 has started so that's par for NZ, as I have said before our only chance of winning the cricket is to freeze the opposition, a ploy we have used successfully in the past.  
I am starting the clean up, words fail me........... I've been to the garage, and the young man that bought the troublemakers has just been and picked up his bag which he left here, he apologised for their behaviour, but said he had spent the night in the cells, we didn't know they had been arrested as the had gone around the road, but as they were going to steal a car earlier in the night I am pleased they got taken in. Right I'm ready to go, but first I think I'll go back to bed for a 10 minute snooze.........I have even had the electric blanket on last night, I shall get up and clean up later or maybe tomorrow, that's what the Mexicans say, isn't it ? Love Aunt Bee.