Craaaaazy

***HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY***

to my baby - Caitlin!

I do not know where the years have flown to - and can hardly believe this day has come!

Love you very very much - you have grown into a beautiful young woman!!

Today is going to be lots of fun - with your *full english breakfast* to start as ordered by you.

I imagine there will be dips in the pool as the forecast is HOT HOT HOT.

Then tonight, cheese fondue and chocolate fondue for dinner with lots of family and friends.

Of course what would be a birthday for you with out lolly cake - but as it is your 21st you ordered that AND Pavlova - so we will all be on a diet on Friday!~

 

 

Of course I would be remiss if I did not also wish Happy Birthday to Mike Skinner who is celebrating his 21st today as well - for the 20th time.   Lovely to have you staying with us for your shared birthday with Cait - and yes you can blow out some candles too!

Happy 4th

 

We are having a lovely long weekend - catching up on stuff - sweltering in the heat and spending lots of time in the pool.   Last night we had friends over for pool time and a BBQ - lots of fun and very relaxing.

There is a local parade today at 10 - which we have never seen because normally we are away - so we might take a gander at that - and then maybe some fireworks tonight.

Have fun everyone, be safe and enjoy time spent with friends and family

Off to La La Land!

in a couple of hours, for fun in the sun!    Our great friends from NZ are over with their kids - and we are spending a few days with them down in LA and then coming back here on Friday with them - they are here for another week.

Can't wait to see them and their A DOR ABLE boys Jake and Declan, and we even get to celebrate Jake's birthday cos it is tomorrow!

 

TRYAHWYANHAR - Saturday!

which should also be called Ya Gotta Have Friends part 2!  

We had to head up to Sacramento to look at a car for our friend Simon - who is thinking of buying it and shipping it back.   Can I just remind me you how truly awful the weather was here last weekend?

It was a not a quick drive - every time we thought the weather could not get any worse it did.   And then it got windy(er!).  It was not really a jaunty country drive!

But we got there in the end - and checked out the car for Si (which he has now bought!).   

This car place had some droolworthy cars - I could have easily driven off with this Stingray

 

or the Racing Porche

or one or all of these Ferraris!

Did everything we needed to for Si - including taking the '73 Firebird for a test drive and taking a video of it and more pics for him and then headed back.

Stopped at Applebees (blah) for some lunch and then on the way back pulled into the Nut Tree *LOL*   

We were right by my friend Terri's house so we got to stop in and see her house - and finally meet Super Mario (her hubs) and as a bonus Brittny was there too!   YAYY    Even better - I GOT PRESENTS!!!

HOW freaking ADORABLE IS THIS???

Terri made this Cricut Expression cover for me.

I LOVE IT!!!

She knows me so well - the green is gorgeous, the print is gorgeous, I love the ruffle and the fabric rose.        SHE ROCKS!!  

She is starting a business selling these - so I will let you know when it is up and running.  I saw some of the other ones she has made and they are all adorable.

THEN.... I got another present!    Terri and Brittny had been to a couple of garage/estate sales the day before and Brittny spied this vintage Pyrex casserole and bought for me WOO HOO!

Had a fun hour or so chatting away and then it was back on the road again.   We were home around 7.30 and tired -  so no scrappiness done by me today :-( BUT Miss Terri had done some scrappiness for me - completing a sample album for a class.  LUVVERLY

 

 

SPA TREATMENT umm does sitting in a car seat (which doesn't vibrate or massage) for 7 odd hours count?

LUNCH - Applebees - on the way back - it was so so

DINNER - leftovers - humph!!

DESSERT - a lolly in the car does not count!!

PRIZE WON - nein! nein! nein!

Sláinte

and a Happy St Paddy's Day to you all!

You just know I love today - with all the green - I think it should be renamed St Shells day!

Our friend Mike is here from NZ, but flies out tonight - so as yesterday it was St Patricks Day in NZ - last night we had a good old fashioned Irish dinner of corned beef with all the trimmings washed down with a shot of whiskey and some Guinness!

Aye Begorrah and yummy it was too!

 

Regular postings on the blog will happen soon - and Wednesday Winner will restart next week!

An update of sorts

Doing ok down here - although the aftershocks are unsettling at times.   M&D have power and water - although we are having to boil everything.   Their hot water and hob are gas - and all gas is off so no hot water since the earthquake.   Gas will not be coming back anytime soon - as so many pipes are broken and it is too dangerous.

As I said on Facebook - amazing what you can do with a bit of kiwi DIY. We have just all had showers using the solar shower which we filled with hot water from the jug - but when (if!) the sun comes out today we will fill it and leave it in the sun.   A slow trickle from it but it did the job.   I actually suffered through cold water with a bit of force to rinse my hair - and then warmed up with the shower.   It did the job and I think we all feel better now for being clean.

We can survive cooking using the oven (electric) the microwave and the electric frypan.   I guess though we have to just hope things keep coming back and there is not a big enough aftershock to close everything down again.  That is the hard thing - not really knowing when if another aftershock is coming and how big or how long it is going to be.

I am just gutted seeing how many buildings are destroyed and still coming down.   I don't think the Grand Chancellor is going to last and they don't even know if everyone is out of it.   The road the house Mike and I lived in when we were first married, .. so many beautiful old homes are destroyed - I wondered if our old place was still up?

Both my brothers have been out helping where they can, digging long drops - shovelling liquefaction - mud/silt/crap away from roads and houses.   I would like to go and look at some of the places but I think it is too soon - and would be too upsetting.    But overall in M&D's new house we are doing well - and so far no damage to their new place.   My uncle and aunt were not so lucky - their house is totalled - as are 2 of my cousins, both brothers workplaces are wrecked, my nephews flat, my brothers garage - but we are lucky - no deaths.  I think though when the final death toll is in - and names released - everyone in Christchurch will know someone.

A very good friend of my parents is lucky to be alive - she had been at lunch with her sister in the 2nd story of the Old Post Office in CAthedral Square, and they were walking back to their car via Chancery Lane - when it happened.   If they had been 1 minute earlier they would have been crushed by the buildings that fell in the lane.   They were thrown to the ground and saw the cathedral come down :-((   Her car is still somewhere in town no doubt crushed but she is alive.

So many beautiful historic buildings and churches just gone.   The church my parents were married in - the oldest Methodist Church in Christchurch - gone.

So many stories of survival and bravery - sadly compounded by so many horrific stories.  But amongst it all - come the stories of help - the newly formed Student Army - 100's of students shovelling and helping whereever they can.   Australia sending over teams of specialists and police to help.  

  When you see some of the images it looks like Christchurch City has been bombed.

 

Thanks everyone for your emails and comments of support.

I AM HERE in Christchurch

arrived around 8am this morning (11am yesterday pacific time).  

My parents were pleased to see me and so far they are ok.   They just moved into a new house Valentines Weekend so most of their things are still in boxes which probably saved a lot.  I think being in a new house and new subdivision has saved my parents a bit - so far no damge to the house.

Luckily my parents still have power - although no gas, and no hot water.   They have running water but it has to be boiled several times before drinking.

I have not ventured into the CBD of ChCh and nor will I - as it is not safe and really you just get in the way of rescue teams.

To be honest it will just be heartbreaking to see so much of my beautiful historic city destroyed.

Unfortunately a lot of what were rescues are now recovery missions - with such sad stories.

But even on the ride back from the airport - and later when we tried to get some petrol for the car - there is damage well out into the suburbs as well.  The death toll is still rising, and many many more just missing.

There have been plenty of aftershocks since I arrived this morning - but they seem to have lessened from yesterday.   However this happened last September as well - then they came back - lots of them.   I can only hope that does not repeat.

I am sure you understand that while I am away there will be no Wednesday Winner. 

Whirlwind!

It has been an absolute whirlwind the past two weeks - and even more so the past 5 days.

Sadly I say goodbye to my friend Shelley today as she flies back to TN.

The winner of the green bag will be posted later today and the new Steal of a Deal will be up then too!

Hi Ho Hi Ho - its off to the Retreat we go!

today I set off for the first retreat of 2011.   The forecast is gorgeous for the weekend sunny, blue skies and highs in the mid 70's.    I imagine Presentation will already be putting on a great show of spring blossoms and spring flowers - it always does this time of year.   I have my great friend #Shelley M here from Tennessee so it should be a lot of laughs over the weekend - and we have a certain *flat* friend with us who no doubt will get in lots of trouble!!

 

Remember you have until Monday to catch the Steal of a Deal - 30% off with the code STEAL at checkout.

 

I will be back late Sunday night - but I have set up some blog posts for while I am away with more pictures and yumminess from CHA booths - so keep checking in to see more of the wonderful new lines coming out - and all the fantastic samples like these from Kaisercraft's new Nans Favourites.

 

 

 

The Travelling Shellbillies Tour hits the road again!!

so watch out world - well SJ anyway! 

  That is me on the left, and her on the right.   The person in the middle would like to remain nameless at this point *LOL*

As I type this - Shell M #2 is on the first leg of her flight here.    She is coming out from TN to come to the retreat this weekend and has added a couple of days to either end.

It is going to be 5 days of lots of laughs and no doubt trouble!   We have not seen each other since I went to her retreat, when she lived in Colorado.  The forecast for while she is here is wonderful - blue skies and hot sunny days.

While she is at my retreat I promise not to do this to her!

It's the first snow of the season she says.  

It won't be much she says.

Lucky if it will even lie on the ground she says!

YEAH RIGHT!

All this came down in the space of about 8 hours!! 

 
We had to end the retreat early, half of the cars had to be towed out and it took me nearly 2 hours to drive back to the freeway - the whole mile or so it was - in near white out conditions!

Which reminds me - what rental car company in a state like Colorado - does not supply any sort of ice remover for the windscreen!!!

I did discover something though - Crocs - make good snowshoes!!