If variety is the spice of life.................

Then last weekend  I was a spice rack!!
On saturday we started the day at home doing our own chores of feeding out, getting cows and calves in, milking and feeding calves.  Then it was off to Urenui to milk goats for Mum and Dad.  (They had a 80th birthday to attend.)  Really Mike and I just took directions from the boys as both knew what to do!  I think Mike has a new appreciation for our cows!

 then we fed goats,

Then we fed the kids  (-they are very cute).................................. 

 We stayed the night and got up at 5.30am to a cooked breakfast (thanks Mike and Poppa-yummy bacon and eggs) then hit the road as we were off to Te Kuiti to crutch (dag) the ewes before lambing.

The boys got to relax for half hour during lunch!  (We had a tough boss!)  Then after we finished crutching we drenched and vaccinated them, then returned them to their paddocks. 

 We moved other cattle on the farm and with a few other jobs that popped up, we ended up leaving late!  We still had a 3 hour drive home and cows to milk and calves to feed.

I took these photo's of the calves on Monday!  It was too
dark on Sunday night.

I must admit it was about midnight before we got to bed on Sunday night and I did sleep well! (apparently I snored and kept someone awake-but it can't of been too bad I didn't wake myself up???)   But I loved every minute of it!  As a family we had a lot of laughs which makes work enjoyable and fun, to me there is nothing better!!

Enjoy your week,

Michelle.

Part 2 of Christmas in July.

So this is what I sent my partner Sue.

All wrapped and ready to send..........................................................

Chocolate is a must!

A felt Santa.

Table runner ( Michelle's- Rag tag stitchin design)

Snowman spoons to hang on the tree.

I enjoyed this swap, so once again thanks Cheryl.
Enjoy your Friday, Michelle.

Christmas in July -pressie time!!!!

This Year I joined Cheryll's Christmas in July.  If you visit the link tomorrow she is going to have some links to see all the gifts!!  Above are my beautiful gifts from a lovely lady called Lyn. ( PLEASE Lyn if you are reading this please leave a comment with your blog name so I can form a link on this post.  Because with all my showing off today I have lost my Christmas card with your blog address!!!!)
 Don't you just love the reindeer- a perfect candle mat!  And beautiful stitching on the tree and this very cute tray (with chocolates-which won't last!!)   These are going to be a great addition to my Christmas decorations this year!  Thanks Lyn, I love all my gifts!
A little about the swap-it was a Secret Santa swap, so the gifts we made went to someone else, we had to make 3 hand made gifts to send to our partner and it had to be posted on the 15th July.  Now the gifts I made I will post about tomorrow as the lady I made for hasn't posted yet (I do hope she has it!!)  And I would hate to ruin the surprise!!
Make sure you go to Cheryll's link tomorrow to see the beautiful gifts!!  Thanks Cheryll it was a great exchange !!!!
Enjoy your Thursday, Michelle.

Thanks Lyn for the address.  If you would like to see Lyn's blog, just click on her name.

Where does time go ??

It has been over a month since I blogged, I can't believe how time has flown??  On the craft scene I have been working on some secret Santa business which I will be able to reveal on the 25th July !!!  I joined Cheryll's Christmas in July swap. ( 3 homemade Christmas goodies), being the Christmas lover I am I just could not resist this one!
Apart from that I had the flu for a week and it knocked me on the couch and took a while to get full energy levels back, we had family down for a weekend ( my house was full -it is only small!) for the All blacks vs France rugby test.  We have also been running around with kids sport,

we also had a billet for a couple of days with a rugby exchange-this was fun !

 And on the weekend we celebrated my nephew's birthday.  So that is where my time has gone, with the cows looking closer to calving soon I will have to manage my time better to get as much crafting as possible done before we get into the full swing of calving.  I have a KHS project to do before Monday as the girls are coming here to meet.  Can't leave my project  till Monday as I will be in Auckland all day Sunday and I will need to get food ready for the girls-our meeting's are all about the craft as well as the food!!
Enjoy your week, Michelle.

Claire's pressie.

 It was Claire's birthday last month and this was my pressie I made her.  You can't see from the picture above but the vase sits in a hole.  I delivered this a little late, but Claire loved it!

  These are the last of my pink roses, (they are a favourite!)  The garden is looking more and more like winter!  I do miss my roses over winter.
Enjoy your Wednesday, Michelle.

KHS - Cutlery

Cutlery was the theme for KHS this month and above is one of my efforts,

then this smaller one.  I think they are going to look great on my Christmas tree and they also double as my Christmas project for June!

And this was my final project, I think the silver is much nicer than a plastic plate holder.  So I think I will be making some more of these!  Next on my show and tell is Claire's ,

the photo does not do this justice!  She has beaded some of the wire on this wind chime, it looks beautiful!

And finally this is what Michelle did, we all got to go home with one, to add to our hot chocolates!  KHS was held at Nicky's yesterday who has just moved to a new home.  A very sweet bungalow style house, sorry no photo's as she is still unpacking. Although she did not do a cutlery project she did dish up a beautiful roast lunch-so we let her off!!  Hope you all have a great week, my has started off great!
Happy crafting, Michelle.

Oops a daisy............

 This is my new favourite shop!!!!  It is such a gorgeous wee shop, with sooooo much eye candy!!  It's hard not to spend some coin when you visit!  And it is owned by a lovely lady called Zena, this shop is like her personality-you can't help but get drawn in by her.  She told me she only buys what she likes and lucky for me I really like all she likes!  I have been lucky as hubby and family have brought over the last 18 months my pressies from here!  I have been so spoilt!

This is Zena (I do hope I have spelt her name right??) behind her counter, I visited last week as I had a voucher to spend!  There was so much I loved and finally decided on this very cool chicken wire shelf!  It is sitting on the counter.  Can you see Zena's tool box in the background, filled with ribbon and other goodies to gift wrap! What about that beautiful old till she is using?

 So this is the shelf....................................................................................

So if you are going through Te Kuiti, it is well worth a visit, she is on Sheridan Street (side street off main street), in fact there is four gorgeous shops all together, including a quilt shop!  So pay them a visit you won't be sorry.
Enjoy your weekend, Michelle.