Blog carnival time!

The topic for this months Blog Carnival is:
In the southern hemisphere it's autumn right now, the days are shorter and the nights longer.

1. What's something interesting you have found out about living 'down under'? (yes the water does go down the plughole the other way :-) ) :)
2. If you have travelled 'down under' what did you see or do?

I chose these topics to show the international flavour of the EtsyBloggers team :-)

When my parents said we were emigrating to New Zealand this is what (as a 15 year old) I knew:

My granddad and uncle worked at the Captain Cook Museum in Middlesbrough, so I knew about the Moari people wearing grass skirts.
I knew about Captain Cook because the area that I grew up in in the North of England was known as 'Captain Cook Country'.
I saw Auckland on the TV once when the French bombed the Rainbow Warrior and I heard a lot of: "Oh, you're moving to New Zealand... isn't that attached to Australia by the Sydney harbour Bridge?"
(it's not by the way - Australia is a different country and a good couple of hours aeroplane ride away :-) )

A (ahhmm) 'few' years later I know that New Zealand has the most amazing unspoilt countryside in the Alps in the South Island, 90 mile beach in at the top of the North and the plains of the desert road in the middle. I enjoy going on holiday in the country I live in, even though I sometimes would love to pop to a country pub in Britain or a castle in Europe. So the most 'something interesting' thing that I have found out about living down under is that a new (in terms of history) country is just as beautiful as an old country. They just have different beauties.
Oh - and I personally think that southern hemisphere makes better red wine ;-)

Etsy Bloggers Carnival!

Yep possibly the worst team member around, I've finally got around to get into the blog carnival - and I even offered to host one in May - wonder if the organisation of it will do my head in? :-)

So this months blog carnival is this:

The first Public Library (in the US) opened on April 9th, 1833 in New Hampshire
1) What fond memories do you have of your public library and reading?
2) Peterborough is the town where the first library opened. What's your town known for? Show us around!

I thought I do number 2 - and living in between 2 towns and in the middle of nowhere I found it a bit tough - should I talk about Pokeno Sausages and the enormous ice-creams that everyone who travels over the Bombay Hills stops for? 

Or should I talk about Mercer cheese?   

And just up the road is Bombay well known for it's posh restaurant Bracu and Simonvich Olive estate 

Or should I share pictures of cows? (what I see from my windows)

Then I thought I'd do fond memories of my library and found myself 2 hours later still on google maps going up and down the main street of my home town in England on some kind of enormous trip back into my teens! 

And so here we are - in the middle of fab food country!

Mercer cheese has won awards

And pokeno bacon make the bestest sausages for local New Zealand pork

A Taste of Rural New Zealand
As you travel south from Auckland, friendly country villages along State Highway One welcome travellers with tempting food options, local produce and craft stores.
Bombay is home to New Zealand's largest olive estate, producing award-winning olive oil skin care products and an excellent restaurant.
Pokeno is a favourite stop known for its generous servings of icecream, its locally produced bacon and sausages and friendly country village atmosphere.
Mercer, beside the Waikato with its Dutch cheese shop is a 'must do' in any itinerary.

 Enjoy having a click on the links and seeing my part of new Zealand :-)

Inspiration

It's about time I got into my etsy bloggers team routine again.  I missed last month because of the laptop being stolen, and now with the new one there is no excuse!

The theme:
What item are you working on?? What is your inspiration for this piece??

Well I'm working on lots of stuff as usual, however my 'thing' at the moment is felting.  I'm really enjoying making things and popping them in the washing machine with an old towel and seeing how it comes out the other side.  I've had a couple of bombs, and a couple of dead cool things :-)

My inspiration comes from loads of places on the interweb, though mostly from the pictures of the fabulous and creative people on ravelry, Drops Design and interweavecrochet

Books and Movies in a Carnival

Howdy Doody - It's a blog carnival time

the subjects:

1. It's back to school time...How are you preparing to get the kids or yourself back to school?

2. What was your favorite BOOK, MOVIE or GETAWAY SPOT over the summer?...

1 = no kids = no school, me working (also = no school)

2 = no summer!

So anywaysup reading and watching watching movies are 2 of my fav things to do along with crocheting.... and luckily you can do this in winter too :-)

We've loved watching the MidSummer Murders on DVD on a Sunday afternoon when it's pouring down outside and the fire is blazing (we get these in box sets from the library for a couple of dollars for the week) fabulous murder mysteries from the British countryside. And of course anything with Audrey in it is brill!

I love most books - and this winter I've discovered audio books and I've been listening to anything by James Patterson on the way to and from work (40 mins each way means a book in a week and a bit) again, thanks local Pukekohe Library :-)

My fav author also had a new book out which I love and tried to eeeeeeeek out and then I got all excited and finished it dead quick :-)

Brrrrrrrr & A Dream Vacation

As I was driving to work this morning the ice was falling off my car and I was trying to compose my etsybloggers blog carnival entry for this month.

The current topics to choose from are:
1) It's summertime, a time to get away from it all. Do you have a dream vacation?

2) Are there any special (or not-so-special) traditions that you and your family do while away on trips?

Andrew and I have known each other for 2 ½ years so have yet to get content for number 2, and so even though we are in the middle of winter in the southern hemisphere Ihave chosen number 1

My fingers are tingling from the cold as I type, so my immediate thought is that my dream vacation includes lots of warm sun.
Then there is always my dream destination - Egypt, which I’ve

blogged about before

Then I put my positive hat on (it’s a nice warm crocheted one)
And I came up with this…
(Warning: The following paragraph may induce nausea in those slightly jaded by life or if you are hung over)

My dream holiday is one where Andrew and I have a ball
We enjoy spending time together,
We go for lovely walks in the countryside or on the beach
We eat delicious food
We relax by reading or being creative
We discover amazing new treasures
We go places we haven’t been before together

And you know what….. we can do that any day of the year, we just have to decide too

Slippers, Sneezing & a Shawl

My sister is in her 3rd year of studying Ayurveda which is a type of medicine which originates in India. I have terrible allergies and so she has been helping be with my sneezing, and because she's still a student she doesn't charge. Which is not so good for her, and great for me :-)

As a thank you I've made her these amazing granny square slippers. Amazing because I can't decide if they are incredibly ugly, kitsch or cool!



Also I've dug out a hairpin crochet loom that I bent out of a piece of metal a few months ago when I discovered hairpin lace and am going to make myself a shawl. I hardly make things for myself, so this is a special treat :-)



Other things on my mind.... I need to do a blog carnival to keep in the Etsy Bloggers Team (which totally rocks!) and so I need to put myself in a summer holiday mood, and I'm finding it a little tough since it'e rained every weekend and we've had the fire blazing - fingers crossed for this weekend :-)

Where in the world?

It’s the Etsy Bloggers Team blog carnival for February

“Of all the places in the world, where would you like to go and why?”

The answer?
Egypt.
To see the Pyramids and the Sphinx.

I can’t stand sand between my toes and yet it would mean going to the desert
I have an enormous fear of boats, and yet I want to cruise down the Nile
This desire goes against all that I would look for in a holiday, and yet it remains
I’ve been wanting to do this for as long as I can remember
Why? I have no idea

Perhaps I was an Egyptian in a previous life
It’s definitely a strange kind of pull, makes for some great day dreaming though