Town and Around

 We have been busy lately, tooing and froing all over the place.  Last week we met our caravan club friends for lunch down at Denny's in Porirua.    Denny's is a casual, family style restaurant, with quite an extensive menu, something for everyone's tastes.  Our group of 20 was spread out over three tables, and the restaurant was fairly full with other family groups too.  Our members are spread out geographically, some driving over the hill from the Wairarapa, some from the Horowhenua, Kapiti, and the Hutt Valley.  The serious business of checking out the the menus took place and we all made our choices.  It was roast pork for Robin and salmon for me.  It took a while for all the 20 meals to be delivered and the noise from our tables certainly decreased while we ate our lunches.  A few ordered dessert, some had coffees and we were all happy little campers indeed.  Robin can never pass by a chocolate sundae, and I finished my meal with a coffee.

Chocolate ice-cream sundae for Robin

With the meal finished, we said our goodbyes and went on  our way.  While we were down in Porirua I wanted to call into Pete's Emporium.

All sorts of goodies are sold here, and the haberdashery section is wonderful.  Aisle after aisle of delightful things on offer, buttons, buckles, lace, cord, ribbons, fringes, all sorts of things to tempt you.

Lots of wonderful goodies here

I was after some wide green ric rac for a project I'm working on.  Luckily I had taken some completed green blocks along to get an idea of the shade I wanted.  Once home, I washed it straight away, just in case there was shrinkage.

Just what I wanted

On Saturday our town hosted "Age on the Go", with various stalls offering services to the older people in the community.  Robin was helping at his Menz Shed stall.  Menz Shed is a country wide group, also found in Australia, I believe, which offers friendship and fellowship, and a place to do practical skills such as woodwork and metal work.  They also do community projects.

Menz Shed members with some of their work

While Robin was on duty I wandered around the hall I came across a couple of ladies selling quilts, bags, and other small items.  They call themselves M & M.

Lovely quilts for sale

I was looking for a particular stall, "Grandparents raising Grandchildren" and had a nice chat to these ladies.  I had previously donated a couple of children's quilts to this charity down in Kapiti so was pleased to see that there was now a local branch.  "Would you like some children's quilts?" I asked.  They certainly would, and were so grateful for my offer. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to have your retirement turned upside down when you find your grandchildren in need of your care.  Sadly, most of these children need care because of drug and alcohol use  by their parents.  I often make children's donation quilts so will be more than happy to pass some on to this wonderful group.

A wonderful charity

Another stall I was happy to stop and chat to was Age Concern.  I am a member of this group and go along to their rooms for a weekly gentle exercise class, aimed at helping with balance.

Age Concern for seniors

After walking around the hall I was ready to sit down at the pop up cafe for a coffee and a muffin.  This cafe was run  by young people training in hospitality, cooking and kitchen management skills at a local polytech just down the road from us.  A friend came to join me too, and we had a lovely time chatting away.

I was back at Age Concern today to attend the newly set up Arthritis Support Group.  Just a small group this time but hopefully the attendance will grow as the months go by.  

So that's what I have been getting up to lately.  I'm still doing some quilting, and knitting.  We are off for another short trip in the  caravan shortly so must make sure to take my knitting bag with me.

Sew Wot Tuesday

It's that time again, and the Sew Wot ladies  met at our home this time.  It was nice to welcome Mary again, who hadn't been able to join us for a few weeks.

Welcome, all

It was a fine but cool morning, with a nippy wind blowing.  The heat pump soon got things warmed up inside. Jude received a couple of late birthday gifts, a pretty kit for a purse, and a big bucket of Liquorice Allsorts, purchased from our local RJ's Factory shop.

Happy Birthday Jude

Jude wasn't the only one to receive birthday gifts.  I was presented with a couple of early presents for my upcoming birthday later in the month, and I decided to keep them till the actual day.  How exciting!  I'll enjoy opening these on the day.

For my upcoming birthday

Although Mary had been unable to join us for a while, she certainly hadn't been idle.  Her knitting fingers have been busy and she showed us what she had been working on.  Four pairs of socks, and three pairs of thick cozy slippers.

Mary has been very busy

Mary had also brough along her brown and cream  quilt top.  The main body of the top had been stitched, and Mary added  machine applique motifs to the borders when she felt well enough for a stint at the sewing machine.  

Mary's quilt top

We can always count on Carol to have some knitted donation toys to show us.  These three had the cutest sleepy face expressions, and will be going to the Neo Natal ward for babies.

Carol's knitted toys

And I showed my recently completed pirate quilt top, now layered up and pinned and ready for quilting.

Here come the pirates

Helen had brought along her hexagon quilt to show Jude, who had expressed an interest in doing something similar.  Not for me, all those tiny pieces have to be hand stitched together.  This technique holds no fear for some, as both Mary and Helen have made a couple of these quilts already, and Helen is working on another now.

Helen's pretty hexagon quilt

We all had our knitting out, and sat and chatted away.  Helen and Jude told us about their recent trip up to the Quilt Symposium in Cambridge.  Gemma had a fine time checking out the ladies, sniffing their bags, and then decided to settle down next to Heather.

Carol, Heather and Gemma looking on

Of course we had morning tea

After a couple of date changes, we finally settled on a date for our Christmas break-up lunch which suited everyone.    Our diaries are starting to fill up with pre Christmas outings.  It was a lovely morning, so nice to host my Sew Wot friends again.

Watch out for Pirates

 Watch out - the pirates have arrived, rattling their cutlasses and flying the Jolly Roger Flag!  These pirates were a RSC start in January this year.  I had a piece of pirate fabric and cut it into squares to make Happy Blocks.  All the colours of the rainbow were not represented in this fabric, so I made blocks bordered with green, red, yellow and light and  dark blue.

Pirate blocks bordered in green

As the  months rolled by the other blocks were made in the appropriate colours, and then I had fifteen.  It was time to assemble them this month, I decided.  I also had another piece of fabric featuring pirate ships, so used that as a border.  Both of the pirate fabrics were given to me from the stash of my elderly neighbour Dorothy, when she was moved to a rest home a couple of years ago.  It's good to put some more of her kiddies fabrics to good use.

Pirate top assembled and the binding made

I'm pleased with the progress, now have to get this layered up and quilted.  Hopefully in the next few weeks or so.

Spring has sprung here is New Zealand, and our clocks have moved onto Daylight Saving time.    Some people are opposed to this, but I think it's great, meaning even longer Spring and Summer twilight time.  Trees are in blossom, Spring bulbs are flowering, the birds are singing, what could be nicer.

My friend Dot and I checked out a newly opened and refurbished cafe on a rather wet morning this week.  The building was the old Court House from many years ago, and is surrounded with lovely rose gardens.

Courthouse Cafe

The cafe was certainly busy, full to overflowing, and I imagine many people were like us, checking it out to see what it was like.  Our morning tea was very nice, people kept coming and going, it was a  very busy place indeed.  The only downside was that there was no off street parking available, so we had to find a park on an adjacent street and walk over.  Not so  bad for us, but elderly people using walkers or sticks may find it a bit difficult.  Yes, we decided, we would go back again.

Beanies and Donations

 I've been (slowly) knitting beanies using some donated wool from a group which does knitting and sewing for those in need.  Beanies for men were needed so from the big box of wool I chose some brown and a smaller ball of cream.  This group does good work for the community but the day of the week they meet doesn't suit me so I've decided not to join them after all.  But of course I needed to pop in and return the beanies to them.  I managed to get three large and one child's beanies out of the wool I had, with just a tiny bit left over.  So I'm really pleased with that.  

Beanies for donation

I've also donated the remaining two unicorn cushions I made earlier, these are going to Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, and I'm sure a couple of young girls will enjoy them.  The drop off point is a wool shop in Paraparaumu Beach, which worked out well, as we were traveling down to the area to meet friends for lunch.

These two will be finding new homes

We met our friends at Club Vista, a place we hadn't visited before.  The lovely big windows in the restaurant have a great view over the Returned Services Memorial and Kapiti Island in the background.

Club Vista and the views from the 1st floor restaurant windows

We enjoyed a wonderful meal with our friends, a great lunch, and it's always so nice to have a good catch up with old friends.

Sew Wot Tuesday

Coming home from our recent Safari trip away, I had to convince Robin that we really didn't need an extra day away.  After all, it would be such a shame to miss my two weekly Tuesday Sew Wot get together.  So we returned home on the Monday instead - thank you Robin.   This time we met at Carol's home.  It was Jude's birthday, so we got to watch her opening up the Sew Wot's gifts.  I'm sure it is just as exciting for us as it is to the birthday girl.  

So what did we have for Show and Tell?  First up was a pair of orange socks Heather had made for herself, using up some odds and ends of wool.

Heather's new socks

Heather had also finished another pretty lap quilt.  This is the backing, isn't she clever!

Heather's lap quilt

Carol had another lot of baby singlets and toys, all packaged up ready to be sent to the Neo Natal ward in the hospital.

Baby donations knitted by Carol

Jude had completed two black pillowcases to go with the quilt she showed last time, these are for her grandson.

Jude's pillowcases

The six of us chatted happily away, busy with our various knitting projects, and then it was time for morning tea.  As it was Jude's birthday, she was presented with a cake complete with birthday candles, and we all sang Happy Birthday to her.

Morning tea

As always, we enjoyed a lovely morning together.  Thanks so much to Carol for being the hostess this time.

More Safari Travels

 Akitio on the coast was our next stop  This is a sheep and beef farming district and the small town has a school, volunteer fire brigade, a motor camp and a freedom camping area by the beach, and not much  else.

We found ourselves a site with  plenty of room here for our group.  Water, rubbish bins and a toilet block was available, but unfortunately the weather was not kind to us at all.  The beach was covered in driftwood and bigger logs, no doubt washed ashore after a storm.  

Akitio Beach

It was just one night here, so we packed up and set off again, to arrive at Te Paerahi Beach, Porangahau.   Along the way we stopped at the site of "The longest Placename in New Zealand".  There is a nice large area to pull off the road and check out the sign, which was very long indeed.

The name translates to "The place where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, who slid, climbed and swallowed mountains, known as land eater, played his nose flute to his loved one".  The story goes that Tamatea was so grieved over the loss of his brother that he stayed at the battle site for some days.  Each morning he would sit on the hill and play a lament on his flute.

That's a very long sign

Te Paerahi Beach was another freedom camping area, not one we had stayed at before.  A toilet block was available, plus a drinking fountain, but no tap water available to top up the vans.  There were other vans staying there too, but still plenty of room for our seven vans.  The wide sandy beach was beautiful, and most of us strolled along it during our stay here.  There were no piles of driftwood cluttering up this beach, unlike the previous one we stayed at.

Te Paerahi was a lovely sandy beach

Gemma enjoyed relaxing on the caravan bed as a sliver of sunshine came through the window.  Cats always find the best spots for themselves, don't they.

Gemma's happy in the sunshine

The last stop on our safari was two nights at Takapau camp.  It was nice to be on  power again, as we were still experiencing cool weather.  We ate together in the hall on Saturday night, enjoying our local fish and chips.  Then everyone was invited to share an embarrassing story.  I started the ball rolling when I related my tale of woe as a young Mum driving a car with L (learner) plates, remember those, plus two kids and two dogs.  I was traveling up the Wairarapa side of the Remutaka  Hill when all the traffic came to a standstill.  When the cars started off again I found it impossible to do the dreaded hill start and kept sliding back, getting closer and closer to the car behind me.  Finally, the driver came to me and offered to start my car and drove it to a flat pull off area.  I was mortified, and stayed put till all the traffic had passed by, before slowly driving home to Lower Hutt.  Other embarrassing tales followed, most of them long forgotten and buried in the subconscious, as it turned out.

Sunday was a free day with people out visiting friends and family, or in our case, a little shopping and attending to the laundry.   These are always busy places and many locals come to use the machines.  I took my knitting along while I waited and did some rows on my pink socks.

Sock knitting in the laundromat

The grand finale was dinner that evening at Sawyers Arms in nearby Tikokino.  Once again, many muddy gumboots were left at the door.  The pub was quite full with patrons  and our group was seated in the dining room on a long table, which suited us fine.  Menus were studied, our choices were made, and generously heaped plates  arrived at the table.

It was a lovely evening, thanks were made and we were presented with a pretty card, signed by all the attendees on the safari.

Thank you card 

Everyone departed on Monday morning, and the gusty wind made towing a little difficult.  We stopped at NZ Natural Clothing shop at Norsewood  to make a couple of purchases, two nice warm plaid shirts for Robin, and a big kg of cream wool for me, for a future project.  As a thank you for our purchases I got a pair of cozy socks, printed with caravans.

My purchases

A little further on we stopped for lunch.  We had planned ahead and made some bacon sandwhiches before we broke camp to eat on our way, and they were very tasty indeed.   Then we drove up and over the Pahiatua Track, and we were on the home stretch.  As much as I always enjoy our trips away, it's always good to get back home, safe and sound again.

Caravan Safari

 Robin and I are leading a Caravan Safari with our caravan club friends through coastal Wairarapa.  Taking them along roads not traveled, and places yet to be explored.   The drive took us through some pretty farmland, with plenty of cattle and sheep grazing contentedly.   Our first stop was Alfredton Domain which has overnight free parking.

Alfredton was formed in 1868 and was part of the Small Farms Association.  These days it is a tiny village with a school and a church.  The Domain is an attractive place with ewes and small lambs everywhere.  The calls of our beautiful native bird, the tui, were heard overhead in the large trees.   There is a plaque honouring the pioneers who laid the foundations of the district.

 Next stop was Pongaroa.  For such a small place, there are quite a lot of interesting things there.    In the middle of the village is a sculpture to commemorate a famous son, Maurice Wilkins, who was awarded the 1962 Nobel Prize together with his colleagues when they discovered the now familiar double helix of DNA.

Tribute to Maurice Wilkins

The local pub, the Pongaroa Hotel,  has an interesting history, starting life as a BNZ bank.  The bank closed in 1936 and was used as a private house for 12 years.  It was then converted into a hotel, then a tavern, then back to a hotel again.  There are many interesting historic photos inside the building including bullock teams hauling huge loads of native timber to the mills.  You know this is a rural area when you see the gum boots (Wellington boots) all lined up at the door.  We settled down in the dining room, checked out the menus and ordered our meals.    Generous country sized servings and very tasty indeed.

Pongaroa Hotel

We found out that our club member Helen grew up in Pongaroa so knows the area well.  When having a coffee in the local cafe, she mentioned that she worked in the building as an after school job when it was a country store.  I couldn't help myself and had to purchase a tea towel to mark our visit here, after all, you can never have too many tea towels, can you!

My new tea towel

The following day was clear but cold, and we packed a picnic lunch and the folding chairs, and headed off on an adventure.  Off we went to show our camping buddies the beautiful Waihi Falls, about a 45 minute drive from the camp.  The majority had not been there before.  The walk down to the falls was down a steep track, and I counted 105 steps.  Of course it was much easier going down than clambering back up.  We all walked at our own pace and the walking poles made us feel a little more secure.

Waihi Falls were a sight to behold, roaring with sound as the water thundered 25m over the edge, sending light spray around to land on our faces.  Such a magnificent sight, so doubt the recent rain fall had made the flow even stronger than usual.

Waihi Falls

Our safari trip is half over with even more adventures to come.  It is good to come exploring to visit places a bit off our usual itinerary, and even better introducing these places to folk who haven't traveled this way before.  

Believe it or not, I have taken three pairs of socks, at various stages, away with me.  But I've only knitted a few rows so far.  Never mind, the knitting projects are there for when I need them.

I've got three pair of socks on the go.