Greetings lovely friends & readers
Even though we are now well into July, it's time for a bit of a June recap. (warning - rather photo heavy)
We had a family day out to "the big smoke" of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, about 2 hours north of us. First we visited Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World. I last visited here when my 2 sons were aged 4 & 8 years old & my brother took us all as a treat. I had been wanting to take my 2 Grandsons for awhile now as I felt they were really good ages to enjoy it.
The boys both loved it so much & all agreed their favourite of all was the Penguin enclosure.
Sid found a new friend 😉
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| Eldest son taking photo is not in pic |
Next we drove into Mission Bay & had an early lunch at the Bald Eagle Diner. This was fun & then a walk along the beach front back to our vehicles.
After lunch we visited the Auckland Museum & saw the Dinosaur Exhibition amongst other wonderful displays. I took 98 photos of our day out so I have just tried to pick out a few special ones to share with you.
I loaned my dear friend Claire a Simply Vintage Magazine - the same copy I used to make this primitive pumpkin.. When she posted it back she included "extras"
The sweetest fabric pear & a matching miniature quilt in autumnal colours - she had sewn both items for me as a thank you for lending her the magazine. Needless to say I have offered her several other copies Any Time She Likes! 😉
I completed an Order for my lovely friend Shirley for 4 lavender/lace coathangers along with some more Mothball sachets. When I posted my Mothball sachet recipe on Instagram I received orders for 24 of them.
I celebrated another birthday in June - 63 years around the sun! Happy Birthday to Meee! We had a family tea celebration planned but had to postpone due to Alec developing Whooping Cough, so youngest son Kayne came to visit me after work with Sid.
We managed to have our postponed pizza dinner last night & my daughter-in-law made me the most delicious carrot cake 💝
With some birthday money I treated myself to this expensive-but-gorgeous book above. You can buy it in New Zealand from * Here *. I drool over the pages & want to make Everything in it!
When I cleared out Mum's house in early March I bought this old silver tray home with me - Mum used it to sit her toaster on for as long as I can remember. I sanded the rust off, chalk painted it & applied a sweet lavender transfer.
It is school holidays here in New Zealand so I have been on Granny duties. I took both boys to Extreme Edge Rock Climbing last Thursday & they had a wonderful time until it got super busy with other kids.
They very much enjoyed the coin operated air hockey game.
I let them choose where to go for lunch & of course they choose that old favourite McDonalds. I didn't mind as I rather enjoy their fillet of fish burgers & fries.
A Little One Update:
Well I would love to tell you its all going tickety-boo but unfortunately it is Not. Little One is fine & living his best life but Blackie & Pippi are most unhappy & they have not learnt to get along yet - it's over 6 weeks now. I tried tough love the other day whereby I shut Little One in the cage above right, & shut Pippi in the same room so that they could get to know each other through the cage but it was traumatic & the most traumatised of all was Me! Having said all that I did read this online (read the highlighted part) & realise it is still very early days. So I shall persevere & in the meantime, continue to eat chocolate (!!!) 😐 Thankyou as always dear friends for stopping by today,
Wishing you a wonderful week ahead - remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,
With much love & friendship to you all,
Julie & the (3) furry ones x0x0x
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My Bestie just took her grandkids to the dinosaur exhibition! They went to the Egyptian one too! I love the look of your new book. The authors name is pretty appropriate! Lovely tray too, Julie. Sorry about the Traumatic Trio! Hope they find a peaceful resolution soon!Have a good week Julie. xxx
ReplyDeleteForgot to say Belated Happy Birthday 🎂🎈🎂
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday! Your new book looks beautiful. I'm sure you'll have many happy hours with it. You've had a good time with the grandchildren, too - happy days! I was just reading something about introducing cats - https://www.paws.org/resources/introducing-cat-to-cat/#:~:text=It%20takes%20most%20cats%20eight,cats%20must%20be%20re%2Dhomed
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY tooooooo yoooooooo, looks like you had a great time .
ReplyDeleteLove the photos , the boys loved it I can see by their faces .
Great job on the silver tray and coat hangers . Hoping the cats get along soon. Hugs June.
Oh! First of all....Belated Happy Birthday..63..Goodness Julie..
ReplyDeleteCatching me up..HeHe! :).
And 98 photo's, so we've got a few more to see then....
There lovely, looks like you all had a super day at 'The Sharks
Mouth'...Love the look of Sid's friend, and the size of that sharks
jaw, is amazing...a bit 'down in the mouth'..HeHe! :).
And the size of that Dinosaur...Wow!
Though l could'nt quite see you up the rock climbing face Julie...Is
that you up there on the left...??? :O).
Must get on, l'm off to visit a sick friend shortly, June was not a good
month for me...four of my close friends, including my ex wife all died,
and all younger than me...'say-la-VEE'... l suppose...! :(.
✨💛✨💛✨💛✨💛✨💛✨ ✨💛✨💛✨💛✨💛✨💛
PS...Let the pussy~cats get on with it Julie...No need for any cages etc..
They'll sort them selves out..A few rough and tumbles, but that's to be
expected...Bless..!xxx
Oh what a time you are having with your felines, Julie. Reading the article it seems as if it could take a while for things to settle down. Such a lovely friend to gift you those lovely pretties to say thank you. Fun times with your family in Auckland. Sid and Alec would have loved the dinosaurs exhibition. May I wish you a Happy, Happy Birthday, dear Julie. I smiled at the photo of you, Sid and your son. That book looks like a beauty. I look forward to seeing what beautiful pretties you will fashion from this book.
ReplyDeleteYou are doing the most wonderful job with little one. I admire your patience.
ReplyDeleteJulie, it has been decades since I enjoyed seeing the National Aquarium in Baltimore Maryland. There are more closer but I have yet to make myself go,lol. I enjoyed seeing the boys in this environment. Fun for all. And your birthday! Better the cake later than never, and carrot cake on top of it all. Have fun deciding what to make out of the new book. Here it is high humidity time. and the again never ending rain. The farmers are late reaping wheat and we hope it has not started to sprout in the head. It happens in this kind of weather. Me, I bike when I can get out and then putter in my small flower beds and patio pots. Reading as much as in the winter, too. I hope all 3 cats will soon get to know each other. On dear Poppyq site, John of "I have 3 cats" is a foster home for cats and he always writes about the long time it takes new ones to get to know the permanent ones. Lynn and Precious XX
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Lynn & Precious. I really enjoyed the Aquarium myself & the boys especially loved it. It was not cheap to get in but very well worth it & wonderfully set up. I had been wanting to take my grandsons for nearly a year now & we finally got there! I will go look up that blog that you refer to in regard to the 3 cats. I think I know the one you mean - he may be able to give me some tips!! xx
DeleteHappy Birthday (I hope there were lots of treats for you as well as the rest of the family)! I am sure that eventually the cats will learn to tolerate each other but it does take time (and is stressful for you!) It will get better - keep telling yourself that! In the meantime, it's nice to hear how well Little One is doing.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes
Ellie
Happy Birthday Julie.... you have been having a busy and exciting time!
ReplyDeleteHugz
Wonderful post Julie, so good to see you all out and about exploring. Happy belated birthday Julie, it was wonderful to catch up. I hope the cats sort themselves out soon and give you some peace!! (Or that you have a great chocolate supply!)
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful photos of great family time. Happy birthday to you Julie...love that book! I do hope Alec is better now....not a pleasant experience. Your tray and pretty coathangers are beautiful. I do hope your kitty trio start playing nice soon. BTW chocolate makes everything better lol! Xxx
ReplyDeleteThat was such a fun post! Loved seeing your family and the boys on vacation. You stay so busy! Hope the kitties work everything out and become best friends. Good for you for not giving up. I love that last paragraph...yes do continue to eat chocolate. That usually helps. :)
ReplyDeleteFun with grand kids it is the best!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kim ... you are SO right - it is the best!!
DeleteBusy busy but a lovely time being had. I love your gifts and the pretty coathangers are so lovely. xx
ReplyDeleteA belated Happy Birthday to you Julie, looks like a great time was had by all on your trip to the big smoke, I remember going to that museum in primary school. Beautiful book you treated yourself to. Hope the kitties learn to get along, or maybe the little one needs a new home.
ReplyDeleteHi Julie, what a treat going to the Aquarium, many years since i have been there but remember it being a tremendous treat. It's so lovely to see the joy in the boys faces. Love the silver tray update, it looks great. Good luck with the kitty cats, I like what Willie had to say. So sorry to see Willie has had a rough time of it losing friends.He doesn't even mention going to have a cup of lemon tea, so sorry Willie.I loved the coat hangers you made and as you know I have kept more than one or two for myself in the past. That book is superb isn't it, I haven't started anything out of it yet but will do so whaen hopefully I get some mojo back,
ReplyDeleteGosh your GSs are getting so big. It looks like a fabulous family outing up to Auckland. And belated Birthday Wishes. Lovely you were able to have a belated celebration for it. Your new book loos GORGEOUS!! Haha and the repurposed toasted tray - great remodel. I hope your beautiful cats sort themselves out. No advice from here I'm afraid. We had 'house cats' (voluntarily) going down to the sheds to live as they couldn't get on!
ReplyDeleteJackie has left a new comment on your post "A June Recap":
ReplyDeleteThe aquarium visit looks like a great deal of fun. The boys are just so happy there.
Lots of lovely items to look at and the hangers are very nice.
God bless.
Hi Julie - I am to the east of you in Tokoroa - I saw your comment on Margarets blog, so thought I would pop over and visit - nice to 'meet' another Kiwi in blogland. I am also a crafter, but currently on a go slow thanks to covid :(
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Maxine
Oh I am so behind with my blog reading! A very belated happy birthday Julie. Looks like you have been having lots of fun with the boys. Those lace hangers are gorgeous. xx
ReplyDelete