Things aren't always what they seem.

Outside the library in Hastings is a large pile of books, until on closer inspection it turns out to be a Telecom box.

Bargain Kitchen

No this is not my house. This is the kitchen we just bought from Trade Me. I know this is taking my door collection to another level. But you got to admit we got a bargain. Some of it is a bit tired, but with a bit of care and attention and a few pots of paint it should look great. And before you ask, yes I did measure.
With the kitchen came - the sink unit, a glass wall unit, a microwave cabinet, 4 larder doors, cladding for the sides of the larder, cooker hood housing, dishwasher, bench (work) tops, oven, hob, drawer units, hob splash back etc. etc. and all in beautiful rimu.

There was really only one part of the kitchen I wanted. The oven and the hob which have had a full life and will just need to go to the dump, along with most of the bench top. The remaining bench top is going to be used in the laundry. Now on a slight sidetrack - we were looking at bench tops in the local DIY mega store yesterday. Do you have any wooden bench tops I asked. Oh yes here is one right behind you they said. Oh no I said I wanted real wooden bench top. But that is a real wooden bench top they said. Really said I sceptically. Yes they said, feel underneath you can feel the real wood. How much is that I said. $5000 for that piece they said. As we wandered off bemused we wondered how on earth they had managed to turn a lovely big lump of wood into a horrible plastic like very expensive lump of wood. If anyone out there knows where we can buy wooden bench tops that have not been messed about with please leave me a comment. Sorry for the sidetrack, now back to the bargain kitchen. The microwave unit, the cooker hood housing and the splash back are going straight back on to Trade Me to be sold on as we don't need them.

The double drawer dishwasher has already been sold on Trade Me. The buyer is going to pick it up tomorrow morning. We have a newer model one already in our existing kitchen.

But what about the part of the kitchen that you really wanted I here you say. Here it is a wonderful 2010mm long glass doored wall cabinet. I have been looking for one for my kitchen for soooooo long. Its cool to find one at last. Don't you just love to stand around watching a man work.

I could not wait to get him out of the way so I could move all my china over.

Last time Peter installed a kitchen for me, he started before Callum was born and finished it when Callum was 4. Just in time for us to sell the house and move out. I really hope that this time things move a little faster.

The Perfect Spot and the Perfect Hubby

Because of the changes in the kitchen my lovely pine shelves had to find a new home. Poor Peter had to cart them all over the place while I made up my mind. After trying every wall in the house Peter suggested the end of the hall. The perfect spot. I think they look great there, but they needed something below them. Again Peter had the perfect idea to put our old pine chest of drawers, which was hidden out of the way, underneath it. What a perfect hubby. I am so pleased with the result.

Peeling away the layers

The foot stool in our lounge was looking a little tired, grubby and drooping. Now usually I just remove the old outer cover and staple a new one in its place. This time when stripping off the old cover I found that the foam on the inside had started to disintegrate. It was time to just go for it and strip the whole lot back to the bare wood. A very messy job. While I was peeling back the layers it was like peeling back layers of my memory. The stool originally belonged to my parents, I can't remember how I ended up with it. I think I remember playing on it when I was little. Turning it upside down and pretending it was a boat. I know all my children did that.
I replaced the foam with a cut up babies cot mattress, that has been hanging around for a long time. Then covered the foam with a plain white cover. It looks like a new stool already.
Then put the new top cover on and stapled it down well. The cats like to pull themselves around the floor under it so the cover needs to be very firmly attached. I was really pleased with the result.

Ranna the cat seems to be pleased with the result too.

When is a beetroot not a beetroot.....

The answer is.... when its a chioggia. This weeks lovely bunch of beetroot turned out to be a lovely bunch of chioggia beetroot. I did not notice until I had cooked them.

I love the colour of them, especially the stripey rings.

I added spring onions, salt, pepper, olive oil and a tiny amount of red wine vinegar. Yum, yum, yum. Not as good as normal beetroot, but almost.

After leaving them to soak up the flavours for a couple of hours, they changed colour to this lovely pink.

Mis-measurement and a Small Confession

I bought a couple of doors recently from Trade Me (New Zealand's version of Ebay), very very cheaply thankfully. Unfortunately, I did not get my measurements quite right. Width wise they are perfect, but as you can see from the photo, I forgot to double check the height, hmm not much you can do there. Luckily, I have a wonderful husband who when we got the doors home and put them where they are meant to be, he just laughed his head off. Now for the confession time. Its actually not just a couple of doors.

There are this pair of french doors, which will one day be installed in the study.

A couple of frames that came with the doors. And another door that is too tall!

This pair of doors that are hiding in the sewing room hidden by the laundry pile.

This one that is right size but needs to be stripped, re-glazed and installed in the kitchen. It also really needs a new handle.

This pair of small glass doors, which seemed like a good idea at the time. I could go on and on and on. All together I have 11 doors, only 7 of which actually fit. It is a standing joke in my family that I measure after I place the winning bid in the auctions. It is also a standing joke that I keep buying doors. My idea for the unfitting doors is to contact the local recycling yard and see if he will swap them for some that do fit. If not I guess we will have to resell them on Trade Me.
Not content with doors I also have a four door cupboard that will have a paint makeover, new handles and end up in the sewing room. A couple of sets of shelves that came out of the bathroom when we renovated, also waiting for a paint makeover.

And finally a desk I picked up for $20. This also needs a makeover. There is just never enough time.

The Visitor Returns

Our visiting hen has returned again, for another visit. Not really supriseing when she gets hand fed in our garden. We found out who her owners are, she belongs to a family who live at the other side of the creek. She usually lives wild in their paddock.

Sometimes you just need to look up.....

Yesterday, after eating my beetroot sandwich (excitieing life I lead), we went throught to Napier. Peter and my youngest went to see a movie and I went for a swim. My swim was a lot shorter than the movie, obviously. So while I waited I sat in the park, read a book and watched the world go by. This picture is the view above me as I sat and chilled out.

Sometimes you just need a beetroot sandwich.

Yesterday I bought a bunch of beautiful beetroots at the farmers market. As soon as I got home I popped them into the pot and cooked them. I really needed a beetroot sandwich for lunch. I don't know why, somtimes you just do.

Another Interesting Visitor

This evening we had a visit from a hen. Or should I say the guinea pigs had a visit from a hen. She was a very, very pretty hen.

Peter tried to persuade her to stay by giving her the guinea pigs food. Which she found very acceptable. She had a walk around the hutch trying to get in, while Terry and Ray bounced up and down squeaking at her.

Then lay down for a nice little sleep, before disappearing off where she had come from. Unfortunatly she did not leave us any eggs.

Grazing

When I am wandering around my garden I like nothing better than to be able to graze as I go. Its one of those good things about summer. Picking plums straight from the tree.

And yes it did taste as good as it looked.

Today's Daisies #96

Today's daisies from the beach beside Napier. We rushed there to go to the movies to see Avatar. Unfortunatly the cinema was fully booked. We were a bit amazed, a Wednesday afternoon, about a month after the movie came out and still fully booked. We were forced to do a little walk along the walkway. Not too far, just far enough to find some daisies.

One of my favourite smells ,,,,,,

I love the smell of sweet peas. Need I say more.

Just when you would rather not .....

Just when you would rather not have your photo taken ...... out runs a man with a camera. Now take a good look at the picture above of a women gardening, in the rain and mud, with a broken big toe, moving stuff she asked the man to move three weeks ago. Then take a look at the picture below of a man gardening, sitting in the sun with his cup of tea.
Actually this is not really true. He has just spent a hard morning sanding the rest of the front of the house ready for painting and deserved his seat in the sun with his cup of tea. I am just being cruel to him, because he took pictures of me in the rain.

Lisa's Quilt - Getting it together

The fairies have been placed on their blocks. I used some fancy quilting stiches from my lovely sewing machine to go around the edges. The rows have been stiched together. Hopefully it will be finished this week, or maybe next week, or the one after that.

A Prickly Visitor

Mr or Mrs Hedgehog snuffling under the bamboo.

The Girlie Pigs (and Caramello)'s Big Day Out

The girlie guinea pigs had a big day out in the hedge this week.  One evening I went to feed them.  Hmm, I thought,  where are they and wandered off, wondering what was rustling the hedge.  Later on I took them a lettuce and found that the girls and Caramello were outside their run trying to get in to eat their evening meal.   They had all escaped  and had a day out in the hedge.  There then ensued a bit of a kerfuffle to persuade them to return to their nice run.  This involved some more lettuce, a brick to hold up the edge of the run,  supervision by Buffy the cat and a trip to see the boy pigs in their run.  Needless to say, I did put a seperator in the boy's run so that the two groups could just look at each other through the chicken wire.  When I say look, I mean shouting from the boy pigs and cowering from the girl pigs.  Once the girls run was repaired they were able to return home again.  Poor Terry has been shouting for them ever since.  Everytime I pass his hutch he breaks our in a chorus of eee-eee-eee.  Which I take to mean, "Where are those girls, bring back those girls right now, I want girls."  Poor Terry, he looks so determined to find all those guinea pig girls.  All I have to say is  -  No Chance.