Settling in.

Of course I went op-shopping in the school holidays. Actually I can't let a week go by without visiting one somewhere along my route. But I mostly leave empty-handed.
Not this time;  look! a wee box of vintage glass X-mas ornaments. Well nearly all of them glass. Not the big strawberry or the golden apple. The old ornaments have quite pretty pastel colours.
 I would really like it to be Christmas this week, what with the snow on the mountains and the fire on, and no festivals until Halloween, or Guy Fawkes. Never mind.
 Another handful of coloured knitting needles with black knobs on the ends. Nice to display in an old vase.
And some pretty doilies and a blue rosed curtain off-cut.

More rain. This is what happened to a house just down the drive from our house. The garden gave way... That's their outdoor deck lying there amongst the dirt and rocks and trees. Bulldozers and trucks were busy since the small hours in the night. Somehow it doesn't look like steady rock underneath; surely that's not a safe place to build a house? Who gave permission or checked... They'll have to reinforce all the sides now.

Look who's in our little tree-gully, Mr. Woodpidgeon, or kereru He is eating the young leave buds.
This bird is a native, and is twice as big as the tui. Actually they get really fat and you wonder how the branches don't break or how come they are so agile when they fly. They are sort of like those big fat bumblebees , that seem impossibly supported by flimsy wings.
 They don't make much noise, except for the loud whooshing of their wings.

They used to be trapped and eaten by the Maori and the old colonials, but luckily they are now fully protected. Many native trees rely on these birds for spreading their seeds.
They have the most beautiful green and purple colours.
This guy didn't stay very long: probably not enough berries to eat here.

My little project for the holidays was making a new handbag for myself with all re-used materials. That's the blue-rose curtain fabric, a strong turqoise linen blend and a cotton sheet with blue roses for the lining. I used purple zips, they "popped" with the turqoise, and some 60's laces to decorate the outside wallet.
I  can sling it across my chest for hands free walking, handy for when you walk back up the hill.
Very satisfying to sit in my workroom listening to music or National Radio, making stuff!