wordful wednesday: i think my cats have mental problems

there really isn't too much more to add, other than the fact that the box has now

BURST ITS SEAMS

unsurprisingly!!!

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

photostory friday: a journey soon begins

i don't remember miss 12 having crooked teeth when she was this big, but then again, she was only a baby - with baby teeth!

(was there ever a cuter photo?)

but then she lost those teeth and got some bigger ones

(awwwwwwww...)

and then i blinked and it was yesterday

and now my baby has a set of 'railway tracks' that you wouldn't EVER want to put a train on, because these tracks are so crooked, that sucker would run right off into a ditch!

as well as these few brackets on her bottom teeth, she's wearing a plate on her upper jaw which prevents her back teeth from meeting, so once her teeth stop aching and she's off the smoothies, she will attempt solid food, but will have to settle for eating like a hamster for the next few months!

Hosted by Cecily

wordful wednesday: happy shortest day

for yesterday

i snapped this pic (then photoshopped it a bit) on the way past our botanical gardens, yesterday at lunchtime.

i was on my way BACK from the orthodontist (miss 12)

and on my way TO miss 20's new FLAT!

yes, my eldest baby is moving out

there's so much to say about it, but that's a whole other blog post

...and seeing as she's moving out NEXT WEEK (before we head off to australia for our winter getaway), i'll save it for then

suffice it to say, i'm very happy for her (and depending on her behaviour) even happier for me!

while she's deciding whether she actually needs me to help her move out, i'm going to start enjoying lighter mornings and longer days.

i love it when the shortest day is also a sunny one.

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

photostory friday and the suitcase

during my recent clean-out, i found this suitcase

i bought it back in 1982 before my first trip overseas (which was also my first time on a plane!)

although it's of no practical use anymore and had it's 'day' (today it wouldn't last a 30 minute flight between the north island the south island), 'back in the day', this was a good suitcase, and it's certainly done some miles!

"you can't throw it out mum!  it's vintage!  it's COOL!"

...the girls cried when i said it was going in the bin

...and i guess they're right

just look where it's taken me

first of all it took me here

you can easily spot my parents and me by the silly hats we're wearing...

(i have no idea who the other people are)

the suitcase took me here too

(the silly hats came as well)

then my suitcase took me to london.

if i was hoping that my photography skills would be improved on the other side of the atlantic, i was sadly mistaken

up until the very month we were in england (april 1982), you could walk right up to #10 Downing Street (where the british prime minister lives), but wouldn't you know it, the bloody argentines went and invaded the falkland islands (a british colony), and #10 became off-limits.

of course, these days it looks like fort knox, and i'm guessing it's been that way since 911

but i digress!

my suitcase took me here too

i think there's a lot more metalwork around this these days too

then my suitcase got on a boat and took me here

check out the dad and son short shorts in the background

how cute are they?

from wonderfully romantic to dark and depressing, my suitcase took me here

this is checkpoint charlie

checkpoint charlie was the name given by the western allies (UK, USA, France among others) to the best-known berlin wall crossing between east and west berlin during the cold war.

if it looks cold, dark, scary and depressing - it was.  this, and the next 2 photos were taken from inside the tour bus, which wasn't allowed to STOP, and we certainly weren't allowed to get out!

and this is the brandenburg gate

ironically, it was built as a sign of peace 

it was built between 1788 and 1791 and is made up of 12 DORIC columns

back in 2002 (12 years after german reunification), it was privately restored at a cost of $US6M

and this photo needs no explanation at all

i'd love to know what this place looks like now!

back to my suitcase!

by now, it was in search of a pleasant diversion

and it found one!

from hot to not

i discovered (just today when i was writing this post)

that mt titlis was the sight of the world's first revolving CABLE CAR.

mt titlis is in the urner alps of switzerland.

of course at 19, none of this interested me

i was only interested in the fact that the mountain had the word TIT in it

after cold, it was back to hot, and my suitcase took me here

then home again

Hosted by Cecilyand Lisa

wordful wednesday: recession tip of the day: have your 12 year old cut your hair

i thought mr scrappy might have lost his mind when he handed our 12 year old the electrical thing that buzzes to cut his hair.

miss 20 usually does it, but she's hardly ever home these days and he got sick of waiting and was too stubborn to go pay for a haircut!  perhaps that's because i kept suggesting it!

i cut his hair ONCE.  i took a TEENY tiny CHUNK of hair out of the side of his head and he never let me near his hair again.  some people are so fussy!

i wasn't bothered - it's not a skill i particularly wanted to work on anyway!

anyhoo - i watched through parted fingers, but wouldn't you know it - she did an AMAZING JOB!!!

i think she may have knocked miss 20 off her perch!

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

photostory friday: high tea

last saturday my email scrapbook group the 'scrapmates' (most of us live in wellington) went to high tea.

it's on our hometown bucket list.  i should point out that no-one is infirmed or terminal - just that we decided as a group to come up with a list of places in our hometown that we haven't yet seen or been to - and GO and SEE them!!!

today's stop: Martha's Pantry for HIGH TEA

i'm so glad i DRINK tea, coz this place is wasted on coffee drinkers!

and wouldn't you know it - i ran into a friend there - and he was drinking COFFEE!

he was the first to admit it was sacrilege.

cute tea cosies like this were bountiful

little posies of flowers on every table

cute racks with hats on the wall

i was wondering who would end up sitting at this table

would it be a couple on a saturday morning date?

it was a couple of girlfriends. i did not stick my camera in their face, so you'll just have to imagine them sitting here

then the food came out!  the waitress said - "don't take any pictures of me!"

are you wondering why the waitress would say that?

oh yeah - side bar: fresh scones with jam and cream

and mini cupcakes and rocky road and double chocolate brownies

ALL in bite-sized pieces, coz we're LADEEEEEZE

THIS is why the waitress didn't want us to take her photo, because as soon as the food came - out came the cameras!!!

and here we all are

this is how happy i was to be at high tea!!!!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

wordful wednesday: i didn't 'before and after' anything this week

but i DID take this very cute pic of my kitties

it's not like they don't have plenty of beds and laps and sofas to choose from, but sid and molly (either independently or together) love to climb in this empty washing basket.

sometimes i leave it in the family room if i'm in the middle of taking clean clothes off the drying rack (which is in front of the fire).

at least they don't sleep on a pile of clean clothes which i would then have to wash again!

aren't they cute...

for more wordful wednesday, visit angie over @ seven clown circus

photostory friday: just when you thought you knew me

the 'spring-cleaning-in-autumn' continues unabated

...next on the list was this bookcase in the hall

here's the before shot

during the clean out, i came across these titles (among others):

"inner simplicity"

"just a mother"

"children are from heaven"

"around atlanta with children"


"the 1994 unofficial guide to walt disney world"
(back then, the maximum attendance on a single day was 92,000)
it'd love to know what it is these days

1993 Atlanta Business Chronicle "Book of Lists"

"my year of meat"

"wuthering heights"


"the glen-devon mystery"


"understanding the new mathematics" (NOT MINE!!!)


tim allen's autobiography
steve allen's autobiography


"red hat linux secrets"
PHP and MySOL (see post entitled "as if i needed reminding that i'm married to the original geek")

"A multimedia guide to using the internet" (complete with interactive CD)

"really useful: the origins of everyday things"

(did you know, that in 1931 Dr Earle Haas filed a patent for his "catamenial device"

(aka a girls' best friend)

"101 uses for a severed willie"

"the new zealand wine book"

all of 'those' dan brown books

most of jack higgins' books

all of wilbur smith's

most of oprah's book club early picks

and a really old atlas

ANALYSE THAT!!!

oh, and here's the 'after' shot:



and here's the pile that's going to the thrift store

if you've hung in for the entire list, there's a little kiwi giveaway love for the first person to reply in the comments section with the answer to this question:

WHAT DOES 'CATAMENIAL' MEAN?

Hosted by Cecilyand Krista