Take A Walk With Me

I thought I would take you on a walking tour of the village I live in called Pirongia. So pop your walking shoes on and lets go. I've organised some nice sunny weather for us and we might see some spring flowers and a few of the locals along the way. We will turn right out of my gate and in front of us you will see Mount Pirongia. This a volcano but thankfully a sleeping one.

Some days we can't see the mountain at all or we might see the top but not the middle or maybe just the middle with no top, all depends on the weather. If I'm looking out my kitchen window I can just see the top of the mountain, on a good day.

At the other end of my street and across the main road there is a very popular cafe that locals and people passing through enjoy eating at, The Persimmon Tree Cafe.

Walking along the main road now we find the Memorial Hall dedicated to those from the area who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars.

On the last Sunday of the month you will find it very busy with the Pirongia Country Market.

On the 28 September I am looking forward to the Pirongia Annual Craft Fair. I have heard that the main street is closed to vehicles and it is lined with stalls. It should be fun so I had better start saving my pennies. 

Anyway lets move on. Next stop is the 4 Square which is very handy to grab a few things from especially when you are baking and run out of ingredients. The closest big supermarket is 10 minutes away in Te Awamutu so the 4 Square can be quite a busy little shop.

Up the road a bit more you will find the Pirongia Visitor Centre with the trig point, that used to be up the mountain, outside.

Next door is the volunteer fire station. When there is an emergency the siren goes off and it can be heard all around the village. We haven't heard it much lately but in summer in went off at least once a week.

And next door to the fire station is the Birdsong Gallery where New Zealand crafters can sell their creations.

Let's cross the road now. You will find the Mountain View Bakery that has lots of scrummy yummy treats inside and along from that is the Pirongia Village Cafe.

If you are after something a little stronger than coffee to drink we could pop into the Alexandra Hotel for a beer or wine, a meal and a game of pool or to watch the rugby. If you fancy fish 'n' chips then pop round the back to the take-aways window.

The older building to the right is the original Alexandra Hotel which is now an antique shop.

Head north then turn right and along the road a bit is Pirongia School for children in years 1 to 8. This is where my two boys attend school. After the children have finished here they go to college by bus in Te Awamutu.

Are you keeping up? We are about half way round. 

Keep walking down the road and you will pass the petrol station, mechanic and puncture repair depot.

We are heading east now and if we kept walking you would eventually get to Te Awamutu but we are only going as far as the Alexandra Cemetery. We can't go in though and have a look around because I have the dog with me.

We have also passed the dog and cat boarding kennel and cattery. My dog loves going here for his own little holiday and the lovely couple who run it are fantastic.

I haven't stopped to show the beautiful spring flowers that we have been passing so here take a look...

. 

... pretty, aren't they?

Right, enough dilly dallying taking photos of flowers lets get going. Turn around and let's be pointed in the right direction.

We will turn left and going south along McClure Street you will find a daycare and a hair salon.

We are nearly home and now it's time to meet one of the locals.

This goat lives at the other end of my street. At the moment he is in a paddock which is a nice change for him as he is usually tethered on the other side of the fence. In the other paddocks around him there are two HUGE bulls, a pig and some sheep. The goat has a sheep to keep him company in this paddock but it was camera shy. 

Ok, lets walk the final few metres back home. I know you are dying for a sit down and a cool drink but before you go inside please stop and admire my first flowering bulb.

I have other bulbs popping up here and there but that's a story for another day.

Bye! See you again soon. Thanks for dropping by and walking with me I hope you enjoyed your tour.

 

 

WIP's and UFO's

How many of us creative people have WIP's and UFO's sitting around somewhere, probably in a cupboard or stuffed in the bottom of a bag? How many of you recall a WIP or UFO but wouldn't have a clue where to start looking for it? Does your conscience ping you every time you start something new knowing full well that another project is just waiting patiently to be finished or worked on? What makes us put down a project that once captured our eye and move onto something else? Hmmm... I wonder.

What is a WIP and an UFO I hear some of you ask? A WIP is a Work In Progress and an UFO is an Un-Finished Object. Is there a difference? Yes, of course, but how long is it before a WIP becomes an UFO and can an UFO become a WIP again? I think a project becomes a UFO when you pop it somewhere where it doesn't see the light again for a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g time. However, if you bring it out again and do some work on it, it upgrades to a WIP!

I have one such project that has had a recent upgrade from UFO to WIP. After about 12 years of languishing in a drawer this quilt top is being brought back to life.

It will be a wall hanging and I have the perfect bare wall just waiting for it. I think that was the problem with it in the first place and why I never finished it before - I just had nowhere for it to go! So the other week I assembled all the necessary equipment to make a sandwich out of it - a quilters sandwich that is! The top, the batting and the back. Lots and lots of safety pins to keep it all together and scissors to cut the backing fabric to size.

Thankfully I have a long dining room table that I can do the pinning on. I have to do it in sections as it doesn't fit all at once but it is easier than doing it on the floor especially when there are pets who would walk all over it or even find it a nice place to curl up and snooze. (I know this from experience.) So a couple of hours later it looks like this - 

Sadly after this step was completed I haven't had a chance to do any more to it... But it is on my mind, I'm just waiting for the spare time to start the quilting.

I do have two other UFO's to show you.

A cross stitch that just needs the back stitching detail finished and then I could get it framed and on the wall. This is well over 12 years in the making. I should have a closer look at the pattern to see how much more needs doing.

And this,

Just a few more characters to make. I remember when I started this project, I spent quite a bit of time searching for the 'perfect' yarn to make each person and I put all the colours I needed for each character in a separate bag and labeled it. If I picked this up again I would have to remind myself how to knit!

There are a few WIPs going on outside. 

We are levelling out the ground outside the lounge to make it into a patio. The dirt that is being removed from here is going here...

And here...

And the bark from here is going to the previous picture. This area used to be where the previous owners had a swing and slide set but I have an idea to transform it into a garden with my inspiration taken from a recent visit to the Hamilton Gardens.

It won't be as grand but it will divided into quarters with some sort of decoration in the middle. 

I'll keep you posted as these projects progress.