My quilting thoughts and inspirations sprinkled with a glimpse of life down on the farm

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Family Time

Before I get on with the rest of my news, I'll share a couple of sewing photos, then you can skip the rest of the blogpost if you're not interested!
These two pillowcases are the only real finishes I have for January. I had pulled the fabric and had it was sitting out for nearly a year waiting for some sewing time!
So even though it was January (and not December) it was time to sew them up and get them onto a different pile!
Cute Christmas fabric - I'm not even sure how it came to be in my stash, but it's out of it now —
You may remember that last month I declared my Boxer floor cushion finished. Of course it was - except that it had no inner. I have now made an inner and yaay the cushion is now properly done. It's perhaps a little over full but I think it will squash down with use —

Here is a line up of other cushions I've made over the years —
The Boxer is a decent size; it really was like making another quilt —
I haven't counted up this month's blocks just yet so will need to do that asap, before I forget.

On to other news. Today marks 10 years since Dad died. To commemorate it we arranged a family weekend down at Taupo.
We drove south through heavy rain on Friday. Little did we realise that there was a trail of destruction behind us - flooding, slips, accidents. It wasn't until later that night that we learnt of the horrific wet events unfolding in Auckland and surrounds.
It was wet (but not as wet) in Taupo too but we all managed to have a great weekend. There is a lot of geothermal activity in Taupo so the swimming pools at the resort were delightfully warm and well used by most family members. Indoor activities out and about were frequented too. 
For the most part, umbrellas were the order of the day —
Visiting Huka Falls with the MOML and YD —
Hard to see from my photos that the falls are quite impressive! The colour was beautiful, too.
This was not impressive! We paid to go for a wee bush walk to see the geothermal activity. Considering Taupo produces about 20% of NZ power by geothermal power, we were expecting more than this!
Sunday was our 'official day'. We all went through to my hometown (Tokoroa) and visited Dad.
My siblings, Mum, and I (You can possibly see that Tokoroa has a very colourful cemetery. Bright flowers/colours Everywhere) —
We went to a local park where there is a plaqued parkbench and a grove of Hazelnut trees planted in his memory. As you can see it was getting wetter then. The planned picnic was canned but we did take over a coffee shop for lunch!
Quick visit to Pinetree Man - Dad was a driving force behind this (and a supplier of the shed space for it's construction!) —
 That evening we had a private buffet dinner in the resort, which was a lovely way to end the weekend. 
Nephew getting hounded by his (second) cousins!
It was amazing that most of our family was able to attend, aside from my brother-in-law who spent the weekend pumping water out of his orchard, and my brother's US family stayed home awaiting a new arrival - any day now.
And we all had so much hanging out time, just chatting and catching up with each other. Just fabulous and a great way to commemorate Dad.
It was a long holiday weekend in the Waikato, Auckland and Northland so none of us had to leave until Monday. Us Northlanders were a little concerned about the road closures and detours on the way home so we all took off pretty smartly in the morning. But everyone got home safely and without too many dramas.

Another wave of this atmospheric river is due to hit the northern part of the country tonight and a State of Emergency has been declared for Northland in preparation for anticipated rain overnight. [I have just heard that we will not be getting quite as much rain as they feared.] Here on the farm the river is already well up and our pastures are very sodden so it will be interesting to see what sort of flood we have tomorrow.

'til next time,
happy stitches,

20 comments:

  1. Sounds like a very lovely time spent with family

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  2. What a wonderful way to commemorate your Dad. The weather over your way has been something else. I gave my fingers crossed that all is back to normal when we arrive in a weeks time.

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  3. sounds like it was a fine time all around....lovely photos of everything!

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  4. The pillow cases and cushion turned out very nice. What a wonderful weekend commemorating your Dad. How special to have so many family members attend. I hope the rains do not cause you trouble on the farm. Stay safe!

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  5. glad you were all able to meet up - or most of you that is. So much rain - I did hear about it on the news the other day.

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  6. So good most of the family could GTG to remember your Dad.
    Fun pillow slips you’ve finished and the huge Boxer floor pillow looks great.

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  7. Oh what a delightful family time you had--even with worrying about the weather a bit--
    I miss big family gatherings--that we has when I was growing up--but now all the family has either died off or is scattered all over the place!! so thanks for sharing yours with me--
    take care--hugs, di

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  8. What a fabulous get together and special way to remember your Dad.... how lovely.... I have been seeing bits about your weather on the news.
    Your cushion couch is looking good.... lots of fun to be had in that pile!
    Hugz

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  9. Looks like a lovely way to commemorate your dad and to build wonderfully happy memories for the children.
    Hope you're not too wet.

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  10. Yes, the Auckland news was so disastrous over the weekend. So pleased you all got home safely. Thst was such a lovely weekend you and your family had.

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  11. I’m sure your dad was smiling down on the gathering. I hope the rain isn’t too damaging for you.

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  12. Great cushion collection and the boxer does look stunning now he is all padded out.
    What a lovely way to commemorate your father. Stay safe and dry. xx

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  13. Apologies for being a slack blog reader lately.

    What a wonderful way to commemorate your father - he sounds like a great man.

    Love your collection of cushions - are they all dogs?

    Hope all is OK where you are - we have seen some dreadful footage of Auckland.

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  14. Oh my, those cushions are amazing!! So glad you had a lovely family together time despite the weather. Weather disasters are happening worldwide and it is so distressing. I wish for a quick recover for everyone. Have a super day!

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  15. Raewyn - what a terrific way to commemorate your Dad! I hope the flooding does not get much worse for you.

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  16. Your collection of cushions is amazing, I love the large boxer one.
    Thank goodness you were able to all get together for this very special occasion and escape the worst weather.

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  17. What a great reason to take some travel time. Sorry to hear about all the disasters and flooding. I love your cushion collection!

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  18. The pillow cases look good. I find i am always catching up on Christmas items well after the event.
    And the finish with the Boxer pillow looks great, too. The collection is wonderful.
    It looks like you had a lovely family get together. A very special event.

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  19. Hi Raewyn, your pillows all look good. I'm so happy that you had a safe weekend with your family to remember your father. Good luck dealing with the abundance of water!

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  20. sounds like a wonderful family time..........

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