Fa la la la la

Boxing Day has dawned cold and grey pretty much like yesterday. Nothing like crappy weather to slice a little of the Christmas cheer away. Yesterday had all the ingredients of a fine Christmas - family, friends, presents and lovely food. I was a tiny bit disconnected as I had reignited my old back injury on Christmas Eve (putting towels in the linen cupboard), so was in pretty bad pain all day and found it hard to relax and enjoy myself. The good thing was that I had to keep active so ended up co-ordinating the present distribution, table setting (in part), dishes and dessert preparation etc. Nice for my mother to have a bit of a break as she has taken on her hosting duties with great energy and commitment. Had a great conversation with Louisa in the morning a chat with Karen and Anna and a visit from Alex, Oliver and Joseph, a family lunch then Marie-Anne and Martin for a delicious light evening meal. Dad had given me some pain killers for my back and although they dulled the pain it wasn't until MA doled out some more heavy duty jobs did I find any relief. Shame it kicked in about 9.30pm. Still a bit sore today but will be up at the chemist getting some more little white pills today. Aaaaah the relief. This is going to be a giant post so grab a coffee...

FOOD

This is the delicious green bean and feta salad I made for Christmas lunch. I used a citrus dressing for the warm beans then left them to cool. I crisped up the panchetta and sprinkled that along with the other ingredients and left it to rest. Other food delights of the day included bbq spit roast turkey. NOTHING beats this. Dad used the Jamie Oliver method of carving and the result was superb. My mother's Christmas pudding is by far the most delicious on the planet. It is an old family recipe that it is best not to know what is in it....a heart attack on a plate. Fresh new potatoes loving grown by my father....later used for an evening potato salad. YUM!

PRESENTS Nic and Ben received the presents of the day. My dad had made the both the most gorgeous treasure chests out of wood, leather, copper and whole lot of other stuff. Inside each one was an eye patch, chocolate money and other treasure, pirate hats and stickers and an 'x' marks the spot cloth. These photos don't do them justice but they really were gorgeous. Other good presents of the day for us included my new MP3 player, with tonnes of features my new slimline Samsung T10 is gorgeous. I loaded up a whole of stuff last night and spent an hour with my eyes closed on the sofa listening to 'my friends', long lost after leaving my last MP3 player on a plane in September (I hope the bastard who took it has choked on the headphone cord). I took a few risks this year buying three of my friends some art and decorative art. Instead of playing safe I thought I would try something different and loved doing that. I hope they loved what I did too. There are too many other things to describe without making this into the longest blog post in history.
PEOPLE Here are some shots from the day. My mother at the head of the table, relaxed and happy...

Having been up since 5.30, Nic was less than co-operative for the photos and this was one of the few printable ones from the day. He is still being a total s^&* as he just can't sleep in or take ONE minute out of his day to rest and revive, consequently today is proving to be very hard and it is only 9am!!

Delightful Olivia sharing some ballet moves and being a vision of serenity and happiness all day.

My dad wearing the very aptly labeled 'Grumpy Old Man' apron. Although he was the consummate host yesterday, bad table manners and wriggly children are not his bag.Three gorgeous boys at the beginning of the day. Oliver, Nicholas and Joseph looking very cool on the sofa.What an angelic pose from Ben. Amazingly for a three year old he kept that white shirt white all day. Yay Ben. Didn't eat his lunch though but there you go...well just the chipolata which he tried out in his eye first...

Finally a few pics from around the house. This is the embarrassingly sad Christmas tree especially for Louisa who needs a laugh. Having red walls in our lounge is really just a year long Christmas decoration waiting for some bling.

The mantelpiece in the dinning room with a few of the lovely red cards we got this year

Right, I need to get on as we are having Jonty's family over for turkey and trimmings tonight so I need to get the dishes done and start planning the menu...a bit behind myself today but it should be pretty easy with excessive amounts of food in the fridge and pantry. I hope everyone had the Christmas day they desired. Love Sally

Picnic on the grass

The last lunch date before Christmas was a wonderful hour of lunching in a sunny spot on the banks of the river, sheltered from the wind and all traffic it was a perfect place to picnic. Alex was the initiator of the picnic and gathered a lovely bunch of friends to enjoy a quite interlude in a busy week. I took a couple of pics on my phone. We had bubbly too, yum.

Lovely baby Lily joined us too

BTW, this is my 200th post!! Thanks to everyone for popping in for a look and a comment. I hope you are enjoying visiting.

AFFIRM

Me and Aurelia setting up the stall. She is a great gal, another privilege to work withA few Saturdays ago I had the pleasure of attending the AFFIRM festival in Aranui representing our library. Every year I go to this event and always get a huge blast out of it. Aranui is the suburb in Christchurch that has the highest deprivation levels in the South Island. The people live hard lives and you feel you are not in Christchurch at all. This year we gave away boxes and boxes of books to families. One per person and they loved them. One 9 year old boy pointed to a book and said 'mum, they have this at the school library', I said, 'would you like to have and keep it?' He nodded and smiled quietly, absolutely overwhelmed and happy to own such a gorgeous book. I almost cried and felt privileged to be able to do this for a living.
This was a great performance by Wainoni school. The dances had a Maori and Samoan flavour and the kids had such fun, and so proud.

All our visitors were friendly and fun to talk to and this community is fantastic. We so want to build a library here and we know it would be a great asset to the community. Once you have spent a day with a community such as this you lose all judgement. You have to be able to walk in other peoples shoes to even half way understand the hardships some people face.
This little guy couldn't wait to start reading

The lady who lunches

Well that would have to be me. It would be a little odd not to be over indulging at this time. Today we went for brunch at our friends and are just home at 5.45 after a lovely afternoon whiling away our time on the puffy leather sofa chatting and sharing stories while the children delighted in the freedom of distracted parents. A great bunch o kids. The food was the basic brunch fare of a very long tradition, eggs, bacon, hash browns, tomatoes etc. A glass of bubbly to wash it down and some sweeties and we are done for the day.

In the past week I have dined at various locations around town and thought it only proper to share these experience and practice my reviewing skills.

First up - Holy Smoke Smokehouse 650 Ferry Road Christchurch
A stunning renovation of an old building, stylish and buzzy. Very noisy with wooden floors and a lot of chatty people. The menu was delicious looking and with a full diary of lunch dates, I decided to go with the Caesar Salad...no egg but but with hot smoked salmon. It was small and perfectly formed except for the absence of the dressing!!! The dressing is the key to a successful Caesar without a doubt. So nice but not perfect. The only thing that really let the whole event down was the 50 minutes!!! it took to get our meals....at lunch. We were obviously a work group and had to rush our meals to get back to work. Lovely fresh smoked food though.

Next up was a snack lunch at Daily Grind in the city. It used to be full to the top at lunch time and was the brainchild of this very cool guy (read hot) who started up a small bunch of them. Anyway, although the food was edible, again really small and the place was really dirty. The tables weren't cleaned and there was dirt and dust all around the till. Felt grimy.

Next up our leadership team trekked down to the Bicycle Thief for our annual last lunch. Highly anticipated with many good reviews...including mine, it was a busy place and the food was tiny and mine was tasteless. I had a salad with fish - Blue Cod which was delicious. But there was not one ounce of seasoning on any of it. I licked my lips thinking about the broccoli and almond salad with greens and marinated beetroot. Not to be. No almonds, no dressing, soggy cold broc. Bloody hell. AND it took ages AGAIN!! We were obviously a work group and again had to rush meals. Apparently the chocolate torte and tiramisu were delicious. I have had several excellent evening meals at this restaurant but wont be going back for lunch. Very disappointing. Put a real dampener on our lunch.

Right, next up was 'Cup' a cafe on the hill over looking the city. It was a gorgeous hot day so we sat outside for a business lunch and the food, service and company were all perfect. We had a divine smoked salmon salad with lovely dressing and fresh new potatoes that were slightly caramelised. Excellent.

Finally I met my friend Jackie for a quick lunch yesterday and we popped into the Lotus Heart. A vegetarian haunt that is always busy and food is always absolutely delicious. Go here and enjoy your food and sweet service by the sari clad followers of Sri Chimnoy.

So, in all a range of food and service, lots of good conversation and a few extra centimetres on my waist.

Saturday

I love Saturdays and last one was a very interesting and diverse day. I had the privilege of attending the AFFIRM festival in Aranui for work. I will talk about that later. Nic and I also got to attend Olivia's ballet recital. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the whole thing because we had to get ourselves across town for my team's Christmas do at Simon's. Here are some pictures of our day. You can see Olivia in the centre of these photos. She was adorable and concentrated very hard on her moves. I think she has a future in this art as she was fantastic.
Jonty and Nic sitting on the new deck at Simon's. He has spent the last year renovating his house and garden and the result is brilliant.
Oh yes, we also got our tree on Saturday. I call it 'Jonty's revenge 'as it is a skinny scrawny little thing that can barely hold half of our decorations. With me usually buying a giant bulging tree that takes up so much space and looks divine, he had the opportunity to choose and he got what he wanted. Not a big deal in the giant scheme of things and a win for him so I laughed and still enjoy looking at what we could get on it. I think it is a bit of a tart of a tree with very loud red lights that might have to go next year. Will post a pic sometime in the next week or so.

just finished reading #4

Being Emily by Ann Donovan

I loved this book. Recommended through the Christchurch City Libraries best reads of 2008 webpage, I devoured it in a few days. It is written through the eyes of a lovely young Glaswegian woman coming of age as her mother dies and her dad has a meltdown. The story is written in the Scottish vernacular so you have to read hard for the first 10 or so pages but after that it is a breeze. A bit like Shakespeare and sub-titled movies. Lots of lovely moments, funny bits and interesting turns. 'Emily' refers to Emily Bronte the author's idol. Not sure how well that was done in the book and the links were tenuous most of the time, however, it didnea matter. A really lovey holiday or weekend read. Totally recommend.

'Tis the season to be roly poly

After spending 6 months this year hard out dieting and reaching an acceptable happy place, I am now drowning under the weight of Christmas cheer and it is killing me inside and out. I know this blog is about happiness but jeepers! Mind you, there are people who are not drowning in Christmas cheer so I am lucky I guess. Well, that sorted that out. Remember this?

Just finished reading #3

Not really just finished, about week or so ago and since then I have been struggling to settle into something. I think I am really tired and needy. Anyway, I read 'Show of hands' by Anthony McCarten. Set in London it is written by a New Zealander and the film version had a couple of kiwis in it too. Anyway, it is about a bunch of people who enter a competition to see who can keep their hand on the car for the longest and ultimately win it. It is obviously a book about people and relationships and all the things you would expect from a single setting book. It was a a bit like a play, you could make it into a play. There is the sub plot of the owner running though it too which I thought was a little light and ended boringly, however, the whole book was an OK read. I got into it but wasn't thrilled by it.

Caramel

Last night Alex and I went to see the Lebanese film 'Caramel'. I had no idea what it was about which is a preferred state for me as I like the unfolding of a story and don't want to have too many preconceived notions of what I am about to see. Anyway, the story was set in a beauty shop and centred around the lives of 5 women of various ages all on some personal journey or other. I love traveling through the movies and the Beirut in the film was scruffy and interesting. What I thought was most interesting was the religious diversity and inter generational expression of this, also the language was a Lebanese French hybrid, not surprising as the French did colonise Lebanon, a fact that I am ashamed to say, I did not know previously. The 'Caramel' is what the women use to 'wax' and had all kinds of symbolism around it but was not over stated. I thought the film was gentle, sweet and subtle and a really liked it.

rain

It rained last night and it was a bit cold and wet this morning. Now this in itself is reasonably unremarkable. However, there are many reasons why rain today is a good thing:

1. The garden REALLY needs some help

2. I had to take the car - normally wouldn't but I have a hell head cold at the moment and a cold bike ride to work was not an option. I did get to park and walk which meant I got some exercise which is important

3. I could wear my gorgeous red boots which are not a summer clothing option

4. To match these boots I got to wear my stunning silver tights

5. It is not the weekend - no public or private outdoor events were harmed.

So, some very light and banal reasons why it was good to see some rain.

Photo credit www.quietlywild.com

Musical notes

I know this is a total cliche of a title but there you go. Sunday was the day that Nic had been practicing for for many days and the first time I had felt nervous in a very long time. Nic was part of his music teacher's students recital. As the newest and possibly youngest of the performers, he was up pretty early in the piece and he did a great performance. Like most of the children he made a little mistake in his first piece but settled in for the second and third and did a fantastic job.

Julie was suitably excited to have her students playing on a brand new Steinway grand piano...worth more than our house...no toilet though. Anyway, 'The Music Centre' needed people to run the piano in so was happy to rent the piano to our little group. All of the children played beautifully with each on being more accomplished than the one before. It was a lovely experience and I was so proud of Nic getting up on stage and performing, although obviously excruciatingly embarrassed and nervous, he did so well. Jonty took some pictures but in deference to his son, he didn't use the flash so they are fuzzy.

splish'n and a splash'n

We had a lovely mother and kids picnic lunch in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens today. It was supposed to be warm but I didn't think it was. The water was frigid but the children were very happy to splash about and play in the pools. It was a lovely relaxed time with friends and the children had a blast.

three day weekend

There is nothing like Show Weekend in Christchurch. It can be the best of times or the worst of times. This weekend was fantastic. The ingredients to make it so...friends, family, beach, sunshine, socialising and yummy food. Show Weekend at its worst is all about the weather. This is primarily driven by our expectation that IS going to be hot nor westery weather. Nine years ago we were relying on the weather being fantastically warm as we planned our wedding. But alas, it was freezing cold the day before with rain non stop pelting down. Considering we had planned an outdoor wedding with no alternative venue, it was a tense time. However, the milky sun did appear and we had a lovely day but it was touch and go and very cold. Luckily, as Jonty often says, 'we have our love to keep us warm' oooh.

Although it is only nine years - not an anniversary of significance, I am poking about looking for the remnant's of our special day. Here is our wine list I found the other day. We also had a large amount of bubbly too. 75 bottles of still wine in all and we had quite a lot left over. I wonder what we would choose today.

Riesling
Giesen 1997
Villa Maria Private Bin 1998
Robard and Butler Dry Riesling $10.95
Chardonnay
Robard and Butler Gisborne Mendoza 1998
Lindemans Bin 65 1998
Sauvigon Blanc
Corbans Hawkes Bay 1998
Longridge Hawkes Bay Oak aged 1998
Matua Valley Hawkes Bay 1999
Cabernet Sauvigon
Rosemont Estate Shiraz Grenache

Robard and Butler Cab. Sav. 1995

Jonty has also started scanning the photos and here is one of all of our families joined together for a great photo. Only one has passed away since then which is pretty good going. Jasmine looks so young here...don't we all?!

Hats off

A friend thought I might like to see this and I thought you might too. I hope I am this lively when I am 90. Think I might have to start dance lessons soon.


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Artist as self

Over the past week I have been thinking about art and artists. Several things have sparked this train of thought. Firstly, having the pleasure of listening to Emma Perkins talk and read from her work at conference last week (fantastic) and secondly, coming across my old photography teacher's website and blog (thistonybridge).

This is a photo off Tony's website and is has a copyright and so all credits to him. Don't want to breach anything here so being very careful...

The key to being an artist as I see it and I am sure this is not a new thought by any stretch of the imagination, is the liberal helpings of 'self' that make up the work. Well of course I hear you say, who else? Listening to and reading the words of these two artists is becoming part of an undressing of the heart and soul and knowing more than you might know about yourself or people you love. So this got me thinking about what it takes to be an artist and whether these random traits I have come up with are the pre-requisite or the product of being an artist mmmm...

So to be an artist you need to be...

• talented


• self absorbed/aware (in a good way)


• in touch with yourself and your demons


• a show off (in a good way)


• really clever


• brave - prepared to let the world into your inner self


• growing and evolving


• hard working

Thank goodness for artists and writers...

Relating those thoughts to the world of blogging which for some people is an opportunity to write and express themselves and for others it is a diary/journal exercise and for others it is the long afternoon talking about shit while drinking red wine....a bit like this post. I wonder how much people really reveal in their writing in the blog format. As a blogger I leave lots of stuff out and just do some surfing on the surface of my life, others I read reveal almost everything including intimate thoughts and feelings. (No matter how much you leave out I am sure that in itself is revealing.) Others, as I am sure you are aware, use the Internet to reveal every bloody thing they have - if you know what I mean? I guess I am wondering if the Internet has turned a whole of people into show offs and the rest of us into voyeurs? Just a thought.

Back to earth

Here I am back again, no longer having my food and domestic needs catered for by others. Sitting in my messy little house with the smell of fresh cupcakes, listening to the radio, reading stories to Nic and contemplating the result of our general election.
Living in a democracy is a great thing. The people have spoken and the National party has won the election. Most of my friends and family will be delighted as they are National supporters. I am not. My values stem from a different place and do not sit well with those of the National party. However, they do sit well with those of my friends. So, I am thinking is it about interpretation of values? And when push comes to shove I am thinking that in this country we all feel pretty much want the same thing and it is the interpretation and the delivery that differs. In saying this I wonder what the differences will actually be and who will really notice and what the real impact will be. I wonder and look on with much interest. It is good to have change so perhaps this will be good for all of us.
On a totally different subject, I have been checking out the Feedjit application on my blog and love looking at who is visiting my blog. I can see there are people lured by the promise of an interesting story about Dan Carter and must be horribly disappointed when the read the real story. There are also quiet repeat visitors who come regularly and read and leave. I wonder who these people are and why they return. This being a blog set up for friends and family I am delighted to know there are people out there in the world who enjoy popping in for a wee look. I am a blog reader too and silently partake in others lives, feeling their pain and celebrating their joys from a very long way away. It is all very interesting.
The pictures accompanying this post are of some of my library friends

Not a missing person

Tomorrow morning I am off on another work trip. This time a week in Auckland attending the LIANZA conference and then tacking on two days to visit some libraries and meet with some colleagues from the Auckland area. I could really do with not going and at the tired end of the day feel like staying at home and hanging out in the garden. It is looking stunning right now and I can see there are going to be beautiful rose blooms bursting forth while I am away.

Thinking about being away I think about missing my family, and I don't really while I am away as long as I am busy ALL of the time. This means company from dawn till dusk and beyond. As soon as I am on my own, I do 'miss' and that is when I pick up the phone. Every night I ring home and chat for a few minutes. Once I have my fix, I can then carry on. If I am traveling by myself I am a basket case. Can't stand being on my own.I don't feel like I miss my friends and family who I don't see for various reasons. In saying that I miss them DESPERATELY when I am with them because it is when I am having just the loveliest time I realise how much I love being in their company and what has been missing in my life, if you know what I mean.? My theory is that I have developed a zone in my head where I put the hard stuff....it could be called the 'missing' part of my brain.

So I do really miss people but only when I see them. I have never really been an 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' girl. I try to enjoy the place I am and not pine the place I am not. I just love the company of the people I am with and hope that that is lots of my friends and family as often as possible.

Labour day

If you are a regular reader of this little blog you will know that all summer I talk about the beach and the great days we have there and I make no apologies for that as it is just the best part of our life. Today was the first day of summer fun this season and we shared it with Ruth and Simon and family as well as Lesley and Julian plus Alex, Pete, Oliver and Joseph. It was a busy day with our neighbours coming and going as well. Perfect

This weekend has been a weekend filled with people and it has been great. Nic has collapsed into bed after playing for hours and hours all weekend. Here are pictures of some of the fun things we got up to...

Jonty's first surf of the season

Hut building with Morgana

Fishing with Alex, Owen and Rachel

Building with Oliver, Joseph and Olivia

Just finished reading #2

I managed to finish two books today. Reasons? Sunday is my 'sleep in' day and combined with a late night last night for Nic it meant no movement in the house until 8am. With sleet, rain and hail lashing the windows I felt well within my rights to lie in bed for a couple of hours reading. Jonty and Nic were up and the fire was on slowly warming the house.

I completed what I call a 'sorbet' book. The one you read between two weighty books. Something to clear the palette, light and refreshing. Today I laughed my way through the final chapters of 'Fearless fourteen' by Janet Evanovich. I have read all but one of the previous 13 titles....I skipped 13 as I just couldn't face the sameness of the stories. However, 14 was a bit more interesting and funny to boot. So that was my sorbet.I also managed to read another in its entirety which was pretty easy considering there were lots of recipes and travel notes - well written and sweet. 'The cookbook tour' by Flip Grater, whom I mentioned in my last 'George and Helen' entry, was the perfect quiet Sunday read. I did get very peckish reading it and had to stop and make butter bean fritters for lunch just to get through the book. Not a recipe in the book but a made up one seeing as there was no corn in the house. Met with great approval from the blokes so was a good attempt. Made a salad thing to go with it to provide a bit of crunch and semblance of healthy eating. Flip toured NZ solo in her Lada called 'Lada' to play a few gigs and decided to use the tour as an opportunity to collect some vegan and veggie recipes along the way. Consequently the book is an interesting combo of a road trip, musings of a muso and cookbook lover. Perfect for a cold Sunday.
I love libraries because when you get someone into your head, like Flip, you can go online and reserve the book, the album and whatever else you can find and continue the tiny obsession for a little longer. I am about to start another book but haven't decided what yet so will get back to you on that.

Now the sun is out and the boys are gone for a few hours so after reading on and off during the day, it is time to get stuck into the ironing pile. Ahh reality!

Secret

Wow, I am half a day through a special day. A day of annual leave all to myself. I have discovered the secret of 'at home' mothers and now I know why they would never want to go back to work. I am, of course assuming that most are at home because they can afford it and that shopping is part of the package. So far today I have dropped Nic at school and chatted to his teacher about her upcoming trip to Europe and North Africa. Sounds like bliss. Then I had to pop home to get Nic's lunch box which I had forgotten. It is not normally my job to fill the backpack so missed it. No problem though, nothing to rush off to so popped home and back to school for the delivery.
Then I took myself off to a lovely cafe near home (Piccolo) which I had heard about but not had time to get to. While I drank a fantastic smooth and entirely delicious (Underground Coffee) long black, I flicked through the pages of the latest URBIS magazine which I normally try to read for work but seldom get to. Got to have a brief conversation with a couple eating breakfast together. While sitting there I sent off a few txt's. Then realising I didn't have the credit card I called Jonty and popped over to his work to pick it up. No problem, nothing to rush to.

After a quick visit, kiss and cuddle with my darling I popped out to the French Bakery to pick up some pizza bases for flatbreads I am making for an Italian pot luck dinner we are hosting tomorrow night. While there I whipped out to Aramunga to get some bunches of gorgeous cream and red roses. Lovely! Couple of mothers there with small children enjoying the space and the lovely flowers.While I was out Ferrymead way I thought I would pick up a mask for the masquerade ball I am going to at the LIANZA conference next week. What fun I had trying all the masks on. No hurry, nowhere to go. What a pleasant experience. I also popped into the stunning Casual and Country design store. Being surrounded by stunning Designer Guild fabrics stimulated my senses and I left having spent no money but feeling very calm and happy.
From there I popped to the Mediterranean Warehouse to pick up some amaretti biscuits and then cruised home to make a lovely Ricotta and raspberry trifle type thing for the Italian dinner party. While in the kitchen I whipped up a batch of biscotti and some bright yellow lemon curd. Threw a couple of loads of washing on the line as well as listened to some entertaining and interesting things on National Radio.

Right now I am listening to Shona Laing chatting away. Might make myself a lovely sandwhich for my lunch. Loving this day. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to give up my job but now I know why 'at home' mothers walk around with relaxed looks on their faces and are a little smug as they congregate in cafes after dropping the kids off at school. They have a secret and it is all about having time to themselves. I have achieved in one morning things that would probably take me about a week of dashing from place to place getting what I need, baking at 9 o'clock at night and not spending time with my boys to achieve. I wonder what the afternoon holds. I think it will be forshortend with the school pick up only about 1.5 hours away. No worries, no rush, no where to be.

Please note: This is not meant to be offensive to my 'at home mother' friends and I know it gets lonely and boring sometimes but really, the good times are really good, especially when the sun is out.