Spring has Sprung

Well the weather is finally warming up & since daylight saving started I am finally beginning to feel like Summer might actally arrive in NZ.

Had a few ups & down in the last month.  One of the downs being a car accident which wrote off my car.  Got hit from behind ouch!  Only suffered a wee bit of whiplash & bruises but could have been a lot worse.

Must admit I was quite sad to see the state of my car.  This had been my 1st ever brand new car which I had for just over 3 years & it still felt like new.

Then came the tag wrestle with the insurance company & then having to hunt for another car.  Finally settled on another new one yeah!!!.  My hubby's fault he talked me into it LOL.  Ended up buying the latest version of  the same car except this one is a hatch.

The kit I used for this page is called Vintage Boy by Courtney's Scappin.  A superb kit. Really love the elements in it.  So hard to find good kits for boys.  Thank you Courtney!

On a brighter note it's school holidays at the moment & we enjoyed the company of our grandaughter Darcie for 5 days.  Always good fun spending time with the grandkids.

Next week we are off to spend a few days in New Plymouth to check out the gardens & Mount Taranaki then we will continue to Wanganui & spend a night my my friend from SBF XGURN66.  I am so looking forward to meeting Joce & her husband.  Then back up the Island via lake Taupo to stay with a very old friend Cherry in Tokaroa before meandering back home.  I am really looking forward to the break & taking my new car on the trip.  Should be a good test drive for it.

Look forward to telling you about our trip next time. Hugs, Mary

Roll on Summer

Still wet & rainy in NZ.  Yesterday we woke up to a small flood in our bottom paddock which kept rising until the river started to overflow it's banks.  The cows were safe on high ground. They are so inquisitive & kept checking out the water.  Our house is quite high & well out of the flood zone so nothing to worry about. This happens from time to time when we have constant torrential rain.  It had receded to just a small pond this morning.  Roll on Summer I say.

Seeing all the Summer pages on SBF got me scanning some of the old photos of when the kids were young so of course had to scrap a page LOL.

The one below is our eldest Vincent when he was 1 year old taken in January 1973. This little guy loved the water & was totally fearless. Mmm sounds like my grandson Gage LOL. Anyway I digress. We spent most of our Summer holidays at a rugged West Coast surf beach called Piha where my husband Bryan was a volunteer Life Guard.  When we took Vincent to the the waters edge he just crawled on in. The waves would wash over him, I'd pick him up & wipe his face. Put him back down & he'd be straight back in again. Man you had to watch him like a hawk anywhere near water.  Being able to scan & scrap these old photos brings back such wonderful memories.

I scrapped these photos twice, The 2nd time I played with the colour.

Greetings from a Wintery NZ

Winter has finally set in here in New Zealand with some beautiful frosty mornings over the last few days. At least they turn into sunny days even if it is still a wee bit cool for my tastes.

It doesn't snow in Auckland so I shouldn't complain as at least I get to spend more time scrapping.

Finally got to tidy up the vege garden for Winter this weekend. A bit late I know but up until now it seems to have rained every weekend since Autumn. Got rid of all those weeds, hubby dug over the patches not being planted, then we spread sheep pellets & finally a layer of pea straw to keep the worms warm so they can work the ground over the rest of Winter.
Lots of self seeded lettuce growing so we can still enjoy our salads which is a good thing when one is trying to lose weight. A continuous battle there LOL!

School holiday's in NZ at the moment & we enjoyed the company of our grandaughter Darcie for a few days. Watched her play soccer which is always fun. Reminds me of when our kids were young where every Saturday morning was spent at either Soccer, Rugby or Hockey.
Took her to see the last Shrek movie which I think was every bit as good as the 1st.

Running a series of Art challenges at Scrapbook Flair over the next few months. Love seeing how creative the members are. The 1st one of sketches has produced some amazing works of art.

That's about it for now - Mary