Funny neighbours

Last night when we got home, there was a plastic bag with a parcel in it and a card attached to it at our post box. I opened the card and this is what it said:

To J & A,
This morning I witnessed your black cat with the white paws, soiling in my garden. The evidence is contained in the jar.
This garden, a rose garden, is a memorial to our deceased infant son and it distresses us greatly that your animals soil in it and destroy the plants with monotous regularity. It is not only a health issue but incredibly destructive. Today I have lost 3 Petunias last week 6.
Today I retun to you the evidence. The next time I will be seeking reimbursement. Your animals are persistent offenders
Regards
K

Now this lady lives across the road from us. Her next door neighbours have four cats and our neighbours have two. This lady lives on a corner property and has no fence or wall or hedge around her house. She goes outside and shouts at children/teenagers if they dare to walk on her lawn. She had shouted at my boys before for looking into someone else's car. I could tell you more but you get the gist.

I laughed when I opened it and threw "the evidence" in the rubbish bin. I am going to offer to get her some lion "doo" from the zoo as I believe that keeps cats away. I also wonder why she just doesn't turn the hose on the offending cats!

Actully, if she has time to check out "the offenders", gather up "the evidence", write a letter about it, and then deliver "the evidence" and the card, I think she needs to Get A Life!

PS Thanks for all your opinions and laughing with me! I phoned the Zoo and can't get pure Lion "doo" unfortunately. Roo (and others) have said moth balls. We've decided we're going to ignore her - how is she going to "seek reimbursement" anyway?

Summer's on its way

It was a beautiful day today, even though it was a bit windy. We went about half-an-hour up the coast to Queen Elizabeth park and had a bbq picnin with some friends. And I left my camera at home! I was a bit annoyed with myself at that.

We have three weeks to go before the seniors go on study leave and my full time employment ends. It has been busy and tiring but I have coped so far and I have enjoyed it.

Some Layouts

Four layouts from last weekend. One right out of my comfort zone (6x12) inspired by Meek and I actually like this size for a few photos. The photos are from the Crown Range Summit in January and it was very cold up there. No wonder the road is closed sometimes in winter. I like the smaller size for fewer photos and can see myself using different sizes in my 12x12 albums - yes I know that some of you think that's amazing for me to admit and are laughing right now!




This one is our day in Bluff and I used a Becky Higgins sketch for it.

The next two I used our new printer: Kaikoura Blue to print in colour on a transparency and Seals to print on Bazzill Bling (I had heard this was impossible). I am very pleased with both results

I will enter Kaikoura Blue at NZDares for their two colour challenge - hope it fits - I have used blues and brown - even the printing is blue

Sad news

We had to have a funeral today - Tae didn't make it. He/she was fine at 12.30am when I got up to check but by this morning he/she wasn't alive anymore. The boys said they weren't upset, but they arranged a funeral this afternoon (private) and buried the bird. There is now a small cross over his/her last resting place. Birds are very fragile creatures so A. thinks this one just died of a heart attack.

Long weekend

I went scrapping on Saturday and even did a 6x12 l/o ala Meek! I will post it here when I take a photo of it.

Sunday we watched the Springboks win "we are the champions ...of the world" as I keep telling someone at school who gives me a hard time! :-) We also went to the Town Hall Land of Hope and Glory organ recital (totally wrong music given the Poms didn't win) which was fantastic. Dinner at Strawberry Fayre afterwards was yummy.

Monday we painted the stairwell and passageway but had to buy a new ladder before that could happen. It went really quickly and looks great.

Today the boys were playing down at school and found an injured baby bird. They brought it home and we have been feeding it and giving it water. We made a "nest" and it seems to have gone to sleep. The wing is very badly damaged and A. seems to think it won't fly (if it lives). If it does live, we will take it out to Nga Manu the bird sanctuary. It has a name: Tae - short for Tae-Kwon Dodo (from Ice Age) as it cannot fly. The boys have been feeding it mashed banana off an ice-lolly stick and giving it water from an eye-dropper. It has been eating and drinking.

Jen - this is for you

Here's my Cuttlebug - there are some plastic plates that go through with the embosser or die shape and come out the other side all done. The card is the one I made last night - nothing stunning I know, but Ross was happy and much cheaper than buying a card

Just want to say one thing ......

thanks Kerrin!

Ordered

I forgot to add that I ordered a Wishblade! I have been looking at a Craft Robo, but essentially they are the same machine and Esselte NZ is bringing in the Wishblade. It means that there is local support if needed rather than having to go back to the suppliers in Australia. Andrea at SBO is ordering it and it should be here in Mid-December!

PS I am seriously thinking of getting a Cuttlebug too because I love all the embossing folders

Home from a weekend away

The plane to Christchurch on Friday was delayed by almost an hour and when we finally boarded it was on a tiny little 68 seater with propellers! So a deap breath as there was no one to hold my hand on take off and landing. I arrived in Chch and Irene was waiting for me in a complete state as she had left her medication at home. We set off for SENZ and Irene ended up taking the wrong turn and I saw a medical centre. We went in and they suggested that Irene phone her doctor and get a script faxed the the pharmacy there. Once we had that sorted out, Irene was able to relax a little and we headed to SENZ. We had about an hour to walk round before taking up our first job manning the information and left coat and bags table. At the end of the day, we headed back to our cottage picking up some take-aways on the way.

We opened our bottle of Fraise and tucked into our feast - dukkah, sundried tomato pesto, hummus etc and we had a real banquet.

Saturday we were working for SBO except for the class we had booked. The class was dreadful - did not match the class description at all and I walked out early. I wasn't the first to go, and Irene said a number of people left just after I did. It was very disappointing as the class was taught by a well-known scrapper whose classes I have enjoyed in the past; using old Chatterbox product and no technique taught at all. I could only call it cr*pbooking. I did complain.

Back to working at SBO and I got a quick lesson on the Cricut and the Cuttlebug from Lara. I ended up selling one Cricut and two Cuttlebugs so I was very proud of myself. At 5pm when SENZ officially closed, Irene and I did our shopping and put it under the desk. I loved working for SBO and working with Andrea, Nik and the rest of the girls. We all sat together at dinner that night and shared a few bottles of wine and LOTS of laughs.

Sunday morning we had a photography class and I learnt that I really need to play with the settings on my camera. We had a spare hour before our last hour at the information table.

I had a wonderful weekend and I'm really glad I worked for SBO. I met some ladies at ChCh airport who had been at a number of SBO classes over the weekend and they were very impressed. They loved the clear, consise instructions; they loved the new product and they loved being able to buy another class pack as well as any other product used in the classes! So take a bow, Andrea and SBO tutors - you've earned an excellent name for yourselves out there!

So no projects to show, but in my shopping I bought some to make and will upload them here whenever I manage to finish them. I am looking forward to having SBO in Wellington next year - I'll start planning the fun now!

Oh yes ... go the Boks!

End of the Hoilidays

Well, it's back to school for all of us tomorrow and a hard term ahead for me. The seniors start their finals on 19th November so there is work to finish as well as revision to do to make sure that they are all prepared. I am also taking over two other classes from someone who left and I think those two classes are going to get a shock when I expect them to work! I will be full time for 6 weeks and then back to slightly longer part time hours. I do expect that it's going to be hard on me.

It is SENZ next week and I am meeting up with Irene and we are doing Mandi's photography class; Kerrin Qualls's patterned paper class; working for SBO and working at the main door. So we will be busy but in a good way and able to meet and catch up with lots of people. Most of the ladies from the SBO Forum are wearing a pink ribbon so that we can recognise each other. I am really looking forward to a weekend away but already my three boys are asking me for suggestions as to what they can do while I'm gone.

And then what can one say about the upsets in the RWC? I think now our hopes rest on South Africa but I won't be getting up at 2am to watch the game!