Project Life: Week 23

I’m back again with the next weeks update.  This time it’s Week 23 which was June 1st to June 7th.  Since it was a long weekend we start off up in Whangarei at my Dad’s place.   Here’s an overview of the week:

Before we had arrived, Dad and Jan had put a few things aside for me to look at in case I wanted to keep them and hidden within the box were some wonderful things including my grandparents marriage certificate and a copy of both of their birth certificates written in fountain pen!  There were a few photos of me and my sisters when we were little and some of my girls… and then I found a real treasure!

There was a wonderful photo of my Dad and his siblings.  Apparently none of them like the photo but I totally love it!  My Auntie Shirley looks EXACTLY like my cousin Gillian did when she was a little girl and if I didn’t know better I’d have sworn that Auntie Alice was actually my cousin Jennifer!

I have seen photos of my Dad when we was young… I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few photos of him in his teens but I’ve NEVER seen a photo of him when he was a little boy so this was pretty wonderful for me.  Here’s a closer look at the photo:

I had to leave the original photo with Dad since we were on the bike but I’m planning a road trip in October to go and see him and then I’ll definitely be looking at getting this photo framed.  In the meantime I took a photo of the photo and it hasn’t turned out too badly.

Moving on now… Mike and I got our stuff packed and got on the road to head home again.  On the way we did a few stops including a couple of cheese factories - I love visiting all these little places that I’ve always wondered about but never actually stopped to visit.

As we were heading towards Auckland we spotted the satellites at Warkworth and Mike decided to take a little detour so I could get some photos.  I wasn’t sure if the satellites were for TV, radio or telecommunications so I asked Mike and as quick as a flash he said: Don’t you know that they’re DEATH RAYS for blowing up aliens before they reach the Earth and they’re our LAST LINE OF DEFENCE? 

Honestly!!  This man just cracks me up!  He’s so funny… and he says things like this all the time!  While we were standing there a vehicle turned up with a father and his little boy.  They were obviously doing the same thing we were and Mike and the Dad said hello. The next thing I know the Dad is telling his son that the satellites were DEATH RAYS!  Mike hadn’t even mentioned Death Rays to him but they were clearly reading the same book LOL  To his credit the son just rolled his eyes and said ‘Really Dad’… clever kid!

We got back on the bike with Mike feeling quite pleased with himself over being ‘proved right’ and we headed off to Auckland to have lunch with my Auntie and Uncle.  It was a great trip back although it took quite a lot longer then we had anticipated. 

Here’s a closer look at the start of the week:

My kitchen mixer had a good workout this week.  I also used my lovely new Mothers Day cookbook and tried a new recipe: Ginger Treacle Spice Loaf… and oh my goodness it’s GOOD!  It tastes like old fashioned gingerbread and I’ve now made about six of them so it’s definitely a favourite in our household.

I also made a lemon syrup cake and somehow Krystal, Chris and Julie must have known I was baking because there was a knock on the door just as the baking was cooling… talk about good timing!  They’re all very willing taste testers and everything got a big thumbs up.

This week I finally opened my new Big Shot machine.  I bought it just as I was moving back to Rotorua in December.  Spotlight were having a big sale and since there was no Spotlight in Gisborne Mum very kindly picked it up for me… and it’s been sitting in the box ever since.  I still haven’t unpacked my craft room!  I needed some die cut trees for the kids Autumn poetry so it has officially been open and used now and it’s a fabulous machine!

This week saw the birth of Chris and Sue’s precious wee girl.  I haven’t met her yet but Mum has had cuddles and Auntie Daphne hasn’t stopped smiling since she was born… actually I don’t think Auntie Daphne has stopped smiling since she found out she was going to be a Grandma!  Chris and Sue are both completely besotted with their daughter and I know they’ll be wonderful parents.

Here’s a closer look at the rest of the week: 

I found a really neat card for Chris and Sue… loved the photo on the front and when I read the inside it said Congratulations on your new feet… I knew it was the card to get.

On the weekend we were very domesticated.  There was more cooking and household chores plus Mike and Toby went to the landfill to do ‘manly things’.  Toby ALWAYS goes with Mike to the landfill but this time Mike had the work ute and Toby really wasn’t sure about it.  He kept looking and sniffing but he definitely didn’t want to get into it.  In the end Mike had to lift him in!  Super funny to watch!  I don’t know if Toby’s pride was dented to much or if he was just pleased to be going with Mike.

Mike also got busy reinforcing the gate.  It’s a REALLY heavy gate and it’s been putting lots of pressure on the rock wall.  Unfortunately the bolts holding the gate onto the wall seemed to be pulling away so Mike dug a hole for a new post and concreted it in.  Then when the concrete had set he bolted the two posts together and now the gate is as good as new.

We also spotted a sale at Briscoes (strange but true!).  Mike and I bought ourselves a new casserole dish and a ribbed pan for cooking our steaks.  They’ve turned out to be a great buy and out steaks taste even better now.

So that was our week.  I hope you’re all having a good week and keeping warm xx