Bunch of Reeds

Lazy Blogger

2009-06-08T10:20:00.004+12:00

Well i'm feeling like a very lazy blogger and person in general, but the sun is out today and i've got 5 minutes to spare so thought i'd write something, even if it's nothing much at all.

Winter has most definitely arrived in Wellington. We've had cold days for a while now but, even though the sun is shining (thank goodness for that by the way), it's almost 10.30 in the morning and the lawn is still frosty. Daniel couldn't get his bike started this morning so was forced to take the stinky old bus!

Life has been busy here - i'm starting to realise that when you have children, life is busy - but we had a good weekend. Amy spent a few hours with her nana and poppa on Saturday morning which meant the lawns got mowed and a slow cooker meal got prepared. Amazing how fast the time goes and how strange it feels when the little girl isn't in the house!

We also had visits from my friend Alexis and from Amy's grandad so it was an easy weekend.

Not a lot of craft going on in the house but we did make our first (and second) batch of roti over the weekend. It's so easy and they turn out just like they're supposed to. No time to photograph them as they were gobbled so fast but you can find the recipe here if you want to give them a go. Not healthy though. And super tasty. You have been warned.

Belated Mothers' Day Wishes

2009-05-15T08:48:00.005+12:00

Okay so I know this is long overdue but it's been quite a busy little week with lots of outings and even some real design work getting done around here, but I had to post a pic of the absolutely beautiful bunch of flowers my dear husband bought me for my very first mothers' day. They arrived a week ago and are still going strong.

I had a lovely first mothers' day being spoiled by Daniel and catching up with the other mums in the family. We hosted a mothers' day afternoon tea at our place on Sunday and I made these delicious Gingerbread Cupcakes (with ginger caramel frosting). The recipe is one I saw on Good Morning a while back by the extremely talented Tamara Jane. You can find this recipe and others on the TVNZ website.

Anyway, belated Mothers' Day wishes to all the mums out there :)

Rainy & Uninspiring

2009-04-29T09:27:00.002+12:00

Well the last couple of days have really felt like winter is upon us. And I am completely uninspired. I'm in one of those moods where it feels like there is nothing to do. Even though there is lots to do. So i'm doing nothing. Except surfing my favourite blogs and feeling worse because everyone else seems so much more productive and creative.

I could be hemming my new jeans. Then I could wear them. I could be putting the elastic in Amy's longies. Then she could wear them. I could be making more nappy boosters. Because we need more. But i'm not doing anything.

We are going out for lunch with mum and our old neighbours today and i'm thinking it will do me good to get out of the house. I didn't yesterday because we had coffee group here and i'm definitely feeling house-bound.

Craft 2.0

2009-04-12T09:53:00.003+12:00

Yesterday my friend and I went to Craft 2.0 at the New Dowse in Lower Hutt. It was my first expedition to the event and well worth it. So much inspiration to take away - as well as a few goodies as well :)

As I expected, Miss Amy did quite well. I bought her a lovely chocolate brown pixie hoodie from Lone Moose, a wee monster that we have named Vince - because he reminds us of the main character in the game Voodoo Vince - and a set of decorated pegs and twine for the future hanging of Amy's artwork.

I only went $6 over my set budget so i'm pretty impressed with myself. Haha.

Poor Grandad Jim

2009-04-09T09:42:00.002+12:00

Daniel's father broke his leg last weekend out walking the boys (two lovely labs named Tarn & Flint). I don't think it was a bad break - can't have been because he actually walked back to the car, drove home AND walked up treacherous stairs BEFORE calling Charlotte (Daniel's sister) to tell her he'd hurt himself. A tougher generation I guess?!

Anyway, today i'm grounded because Daniel has taken the car to take Jim to the hospital to have his proper fibreglass cast put on. I'm nervous about this because it means Daniel has to piggy-back Jim down and back up treacherous stairs. Hope they made it down okay ...

Today is a good indoors day anyway because it's grey, rainy and cold here. So I might get on with my knitting and maybe even crack out the overlocker to make some more boosters for Amy's nappies. Maybe.

Sad Revelation

2009-04-02T16:10:00.003+13:00

Okay so since posting the last post i've been surfing through some knitting sites and made a very sad revelation. I've been knitting my longies wrong! This being my first project on circular needles, I didn't realise that, because you don't turn your needles over, when knitting in stockinette stitch you just keep knitting. As evident in the previous post's photo, I was knitting one round and then purling one round ...

I suppose this revelation is somewhat fantastic for future projects because I hate purling. But it sucks for this project. I can't carry on with this new knowledge. So will start again. One week of knitting down the drain, but it's a learning curve right?

Now I just need to find out how to wrap stitches properly so as to eliminate the holes problem next time round ...

Almost One Week Later

2009-04-02T15:24:00.002+13:00

Well almost one week later and Amy's longies are coming along quite nicely despite the fact that i'm a painfully slow knitter and i've messed up all the wrap stitches on the short rows - cleverly concealed in this photograph. Ha.

But I do have a plan. Felt patches of something cute to cover up the wee imperfections. Sheer brilliance. Hopefully they will turn out okay in the end and the patches will look completely intentional. Besides, 7 month olds can't be picky about their clothes, right?

Banana Loaf and a Project Started

2009-03-27T12:14:00.003+13:00

This morning I made a yummy looking banana loaf. I was going to make a banana cake but it used too much butter - so I hope the banana loaf tastes just as good. The kitchen certainly smells tasty.

Amy helped by playing happily in her exersaucer in the kitchen.

And last night I officially started my aforementioned knitting project. It is a pair of longies for Amy which I am knitting in a gorgeous multi-coloured NZ wool which is 30% Alpaca. I have always loved multi-coloured wool and this one is extra scrummy in autumn shades.

Rob the Architect is Coming!

2009-03-26T09:53:00.004+13:00

Today Daniel is taking a half day off work so that we can meet up with Rob the Architect and move forward with our house designs. We've been dreaming about this for ages and although we're not exactly calling in the contractors, it feels like steps are being taken. After almost 6 years in our lovely little house (and several sketch pads of ideas and dreams) Rob the Architect is coming to take our brief and draw up our design!

We caught up with Rob the Architect back in December but since then have come up with a completely different vision for our home that we hope will be possible and not require a 1 million dollar mortgage ... hmmm. Daniel bought a fantastic little programme off the internet called My Virtual Home and we've created a walkthrough of our dreams with it. No doubt Rob the Architect will be subjected to the walkthrough this afternoon.

Anyway, it's very exciting.

And, completely unrelated but always topical, little Miss Reed is starting to want to do things herself. So grown up holding her own bottle and sippy cup!

One Small Step

2009-03-25T13:01:00.000+13:00

Well, feeling pretty good about myself this afternoon after attending my first Buggyfit class. Amy was really good and managed to last for most of the class before getting fed up and needing to come out of the buggy. Meant I didn't get through all of the triceps track - oh well! Haha.

Must make the effort to go again next week. It's good for me in so many ways and I suppose i'm setting a good example for the little lady as well. Must now go and rest up. That knitting might get started this afternoon after all.

Buggyfit

2009-03-25T09:28:00.000+13:00

Just had to do a quick post to mark my first foray back to the gym since having Amy - hopefully that makes it sound like I actually went to the gym a lot before having Amy! Ah.

Anyway, the local PIN group has started meeting on Wednesday mornings for a Buggyfit class prior to a relaxing coffee and muffin at the local cafe. Not sure how Amy will fare because she's pretty hungry for attention at the moment - and doesn't really like being in her buggy - but you have to try these things at least once don't you?

Oh ... Sunday night blobbing on the couch with knitting turned out just to be Sunday night blobbing on the couch ... so aforementioned knitting project still not started. Do have an excuse though - am still deciding on which size to make and so need to consult my friend on this first.

Excuses, excuses.

A Busy Weekend

2009-03-22T20:10:00.000+13:00

Well it's been another busy weekend in the Reed house but it's definitely been a good one. Always good to have Daniel home for a couple of days and this weekend was no exception.

Just had to post a few photos of the little girl being tickled mercilessly by her dad and loving every minute of it!

Also couldn't resist taking a photo of all my scrummy MCNs on the line yesterday - I decided to do a big wash of all 17 nappies and give them a good old airing in the Wellington wind.

A real highlight of the weekend was going out for our 2nd anniversary dinner. We are real homebodies so don't go out for dinner often - less than before now we have a 7 month old - so it was an occasion. Two years have gone by so quickly and a LOT has happened in that time - not least of all the birth of Miss Amy. Mum & dad were kind enough to babysit for the evening, having already babysat for an hour during the day while we scooted off to Bunnings for some last-minute bathroom paraphernalia - hope to post the 'Yay! The bathroom is finished' post soon. Daniel and I escaped to one of our favourite restaurants - Taste in Khandallah Village. The food and service were exceptional as always and we even enjoyed a few wines, including a lovely dessert wine, the name of which I can't remember. No hope there i'm afraid!

Off to blob in front of the tellie in traditional Sunday night style and think about starting my knitting :)

The First Post

2009-03-19T09:54:00.000+13:00

Well i've finally found 10 minutes to sit down and write the very first post for my very first blog. And like most first time bloggers, I suspect, i'm wondering what in fact to write here.
It feels like the first entry into a personal diary but with the possibility that anyone out there might stumble across and read what I have to say. That's somewhat scary stuff but perhaps i'm flattering
myself that anything I might blog about would be remotely scandalous or even mildly interesting to anybody else!

So anyway, after that initial rambling, i'm going to try to approach this first post as if it were my 101st post ...

Max went missing yesterday.

Max is our younger, fatter, cuddlier, soppier cat who went missing about 9 months ago causing myself and Daniel (my husband) undue stress. And, probably because I was pregnant and all hormonally unbalanced, caused me to undertake a full-scale search, dropping fliers into the surrounding letterboxes (about 60 of them!) and then door-knocking with my dad in a vain attempt to uncover his whereabouts.

Turned out he had got locked under someone's house - we could tell this because he smelled like the underside of houses do, all musty and dusty - and actually returned home while my dad and I were out searching for him. Suspicious? Yes.

But this year's adventure wasn't nearly so extended and Max returned home this morning full of noisy hellos, hungry, thirsty, tired and smelly!