We've arrived.

Well, we made it!

The very long journey from Timaru to the Isle of Man is finally over. I've now had two good sleeps and am feeling recovered, functioning on Manx time once more.

We left Timaru on Saturday lunchtime and drove to Christchurch Airport. From there it was a flight to Sydney on an almost empty plane, followed by a very full 14-hour flight to Dubai.

By the time we landed in Dubai, all thoughts revolved around one thing: sleep.

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We had a 20-hour layover in Dubai and had booked a hotel room, hoping to catch up on some much-needed rest. Unfortunately, sleep proved elusive. Between the excitement of travelling, unfamiliar surroundings, and body clocks that had absolutely no idea what time it was, we managed little more than an hour or so at the start, followed by another couple of hours later in the day.

Fortunately, we had packed toothbrushes, travel-sized essentials, and a change of clothing in our carry-on bags. That turned out to be a wise decision, as our main luggage wasn't available during the stopover.

Dubai itself was hot. Very hot.

The temperature was around 35°C, but with the humidity it felt closer to 44°C. A short 7–8 minute walk was enough to convince me that air conditioning was one of humanity's greatest inventions. We were more than happy to step into the cool comfort of the Metro station.

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One of the cabin crew had suggested a trip to Dubai Mall, so we decided to take the Metro and have a look around.

The train ride itself was fascinating. I attempted to take photos through the windows, but the decorative patterns on the glass had other ideas. The pictures didn't work out, but the views certainly did. Dubai's skyline is something else entirely.

After another walk—this time through covered, air-conditioned walkways—we arrived at the mall. We could have used the moving walkways, but chose the old-fashioned method instead and stretched our legs.

The mall is enormous. I don't think we saw even a quarter of it.

I had heard there was an aquarium, though, and that was high on my list.

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As luck would have it, The Cheesecake Factory sits right beside one of the huge aquarium viewing panels, which is open to the public.

While eating my burger, I found myself watching sharks, rays, and countless smaller fish glide past. It was certainly one of the more memorable lunch views I've ever had.

There was something oddly relaxing about sitting there, tired from travelling, watching the fish go about their day while the world bustled around the mall outside.

We spent a few hours wandering, window shopping, and taking in the sights before eventually heading back to the hotel.

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The shorter flight from Dubai to Manchester passed in a blur of snoozes and David Attenborough documentaries. Anyone who knows me won't be surprised by that. I could happily listen to David Attenborough talking about almost anything.

When we arrived in Manchester, we managed to get onto an earlier flight to the Isle of Man, which turned out to be a very good thing indeed.

The weather over the island was dreadful. Thick, thick fog.

As it happened, our flight was one of the very few to make it in at all, and the last plane to land that day. The pilot found a gap in the fog and somehow got us safely onto the ground. I was very happy to see Ronaldsway Airport appear out of the murk on Monday lunchtime. That's Monday midnight NZ time.

Unfortunately, our arrival wasn't entirely trouble-free.

When the luggage started appearing on the carousel, my suitcase arrived safely, complete with Jiffy's wedding quilt. Tony's suitcase, however, was nowhere to be seen.

That was a worrying moment, as his case was carrying Kaiy's quilt.

Thankfully, the mystery was short-lived. We discovered that the suitcase had been left behind in Manchester, and the following day we received a phone call to say it had arrived and was ready for collection.

What a relief that was.

By then, Tony was very pleased to be reunited with both his belongings and his razor, and all of the quilts were once again where they were supposed to be.

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I did take plenty of photographs along the way, but thanks to Tony's current photo-management system, which involves uploading all images to 'the black box' at home, then downloading them to this machine, then, then, then. I haven't sorted them out yet, in fact I swore and gave up!

To be perfectly honest, it's all far too complicated for me right now.

I'll save the photographs for a proper photo-dump post once we're back home in New Zealand.

For now, I'm concentrating on enjoying my visit.

My brother already has a list of treats he'd like me to bake, so I suspect there may be some kitchen adventures ahead.

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The most important reason for this trip is, of course, Jiffy and Jonathan's wedding.

At the moment, Jiffy and my dad are away sailing somewhere along the west coast of Scotland. They'll be back next week, and then the real family catch-ups can begin.

Until then, I'm settling back into island life, enjoying familiar faces, and appreciating the fact that the journey is finally behind us.

I'll be back with more news soon. Right now, I'm going for a walk. I might visit some of my old haunts. 

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From chores to treasures and back again.

 Phew — what a weekend. After seven short‑staffed shifts in a row, I was more than ready for some days off… though they turned out to be just as busy as the workdays.

Saturday started early when the first of two loads of laundry went into the machine before I went walking. Then the moment I walked back in from my early stroll I headed straight into the kitchen. A lemon cream pie was assembled, a huge roast of lamb tucked into the oven, a batch of feijoa jam bubbling away, and a chocolate slice cooling on the bench. Chooky was on Zoom, so I perched the laptop on the window ledge and had cheerful company while I worked.

Once the kitchen marathon was done, I claimed my chair and stitched hexies for a while. Then it was back to chores until our friends arrived — ready to help us tackle that enormous piece of lamb.

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And about those friends…

While I was working last weekend, Debbie and Ange went to the Altrusa craft sale — and they thought of me.

Ange gathered a bundle of batik pieces.

I’m sure I’ll find a use for them, but for now they’ve been squeezed into the batik drawer. Funny thing: I just took two queen‑size quilts out of that drawer, but you’d never know. It’s still very full. Shh… don’t tell Tony.

Debbie scored on my behalf too — a quilt kit.

The fabrics in the kit are batiks of course.

Debbie also found these two bundles of fabric.

She knows I'll use them up. 

Then came the big find. The pair of them were poking about together when Ange spotted a box tucked under a table. She pulled it out for a look… and they both agreed instantly it was a Loulee box. For the bargain price of $10, they brought home someone’s abandoned scrappy hexie project.

The papers are made from old school exercise books — little maths problems and rows of neat handwriting on the backs.

Some hexies were sewn into strips.

Some into larger pieces and there were piles of individually stitch basted hexies too.

Of course I tipped the whole lot out for a play and a tidy and then packed them neatly back into the box

A treasure, truly.

I have some incredibly thoughtful friends.

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We had a lovely evening with our friends, and after dinner we even played a game of Snakes and Ladders. Simple fun, but so good.

This morning it was back to chores — plenty to do before the children arrived. I got a chicken casserole into the oven, then we headed outside to finish the last few jobs before our big trip. The children came, lunch was eaten, more games were played, and now the cleaning up is done. Another quick trip out to the garden saw all but one task completed. That will have to wait until a trip to the hardware store.

Time at last to sit and sew. I need just five more hexies on my latest creation, and then it’ll be ready for quilting.

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2 more shifts at work.

6 sleeps.

A Different Kind of Morning Walk

This morning’s walk was a little different. It was still dark when I left the house, the kind of soft, in‑between darkness that feels like the world hasn’t quite made up its mind about waking. I turned left at the end of the road and headed down the hill into the scenic reserve.

The rain must have visited overnight — puddles glimmered faintly on the path — but the sky held itself together while I walked. Under the trees it was very dark, a deep, quiet sort of darkness that presses close but never feels unfriendly. The canopy above me turned the world into a shadowed tunnel, but the first hints of dawn were gathering behind it, just enough light to guide my feet.

The birds were waking too, shaking sleep from their feathers and chattering softly as they prepared for the day. Across the ravine, human life was stirring: warm squares of light blinked on in distant windows, and the faint smell of woodsmoke drifted toward me as someone coaxed their fire back to life.

As the daylight grew stronger, the reserve began to reveal itself. Colours slowly separated from the darkness — greens, browns, reds and gold.

By the time I climbed back up the hill and headed toward home, it was fully light. Not a bright, sunny morning — more of a soft grey, the kind of overcast day that feels gentle rather than gloomy. I’m perfectly fine with that. I did my garden chores yesterday in the sunshine, and my town chores are already ticked off.

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While I was in town yesterday, I looked out over Caroline Bay from the rooftop carpark.

The circus is in town. No, I didn’t visit.

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Today feels like a kitchen‑and‑sewing sort of day. On the sewing front, I’ve laid my crochet aside for now and picked up my hexies again.

Three of the four sides are now straight — well, as straight as a hexie can be. A little more work on the final side and it will be ready for quilting.

But first, I have a bowl full of feijoas waiting for attention. Some will become cakes, and some will head for the freezer.

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Nine more work shifts.

15 sleeps.

I might be getting a little bit excited. 

Crochet progress and counting down.........

Between work, walks and chores I've been picking away at my crochet projects. Retro Rescue is complete.

It's not huge, a nice lap throw size, or maybe even a good size to keep a little person warm in a cot.

I did a few rounds after joining the squares and finished it off with a cute shell edging.

Tada!  Done.

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Next, I pulled out a bunch of squares I made last year?

Maybe the year before?

Whenever, they have been sat waiting for me to use them. I figured I could do something similar.

After joining them I did a couple of rounds, then decided to add a round of smaller squares. They won't all be the same, I'm still using up scraps and leftovers. So this is going to be a very colourful and scrappy piece.  I have no plan regarding size or where to go after this round of smaller squares, I'll keep you posted once I decide. For now, I'm happy to have it on my lap on cool evenings. 

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We've been busy in the garden, today we cleared the small greenhouse. I picked 4 ice cream boxes of chilli peppers; they have all been diced and popped into the freezer.

The feijoas are starting to ripen, but I suspect that I will miss out on the main flush of them due to our trip. I'll let the neighbours know they can collect them. 

Our veg beds had a good tidy up and a mulch of leaves laid on them to keep the weeds at bay. 

There are one or two other jobs that need to be done before we go, but not today, time to sit and have a cuppa and pick up my hook.

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Has anyone else noticed that more and more comments now have a 'no reply' email address on them? I get my comments forwarded to my outlook inbox and usually reply from there. I generally manage to find the correct address as we have been emailing each other for more than a few years now, but it is so frustrating when we used to be able to just click on reply.

I do wish Blogger would get it's act together and stop changing things. 

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3 weeks today.

21 sleeps.

The Water Tank Walk.

Today is a very grey and overcast day, I'm so glad I took my phone with me yesterday to take photos of my walk.  I live in the burbs of Timaru and it really only takes a few minutes walking to get out of town and into rural areas. Eleven minutes sees me at the entrance to the scenic reserve if I take a left at the end of the road. If I turn right instead it takes just a few more minutes to reach green fields.  A peep through a thinner layer of hedgerow reveals equestrian land. There are lots of stables and grazing around town. The famous racehorse Phar Lap was born here in Timaru. 

As I walked my eyes were drawn to the colours of Autumn all around me and one particular hedge made up of bottle brush. Such a vivid red.

And there were berries too. 

My path continued and I saw this notice painted onto the ground...

Of course, there is always a golf course on the edge of town.

The foot path and road run right around the golf course.

I could see the pond and looked out for ducks, but there were none, I couldn't even hear them.

But there were Pukeko.

A water loving bird native to New Zealand.

I was delighted to see a whole family of them. 

As I carried on along the path, I could see the water tank in the distance and soon came upon it.

Much of the town's water runs through this tank for treatment before heading on along the pipes to our homes.

If I keep going along the road, things get a little more rural.

But I went around the water tank and along the road that divides the golf course.

Now it was on both sides of me.

On we go, straight ahead.

Soon the golf course came to an end and properties began to appear again. Some of them have rather iconic mailboxes.

In between those properties I could see countryside and waaay over there in the distance is the Pacific ocean.

Then I was back in the burbs, so I put the camera away. 

The cones?  A blocked drain, there was rather leafy puddle around it.

My walk took me just over an hour and was a very nice change of scenery.

Todays walk? It will be a half hour walk to work for a meeting, then another half hour walk home again. Nowhere near as exciting or scenic. 

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Before and after my walk yesterday, my time was taken up with chores and the grocery shopping.

Today I hope to spend some time sewing after I get home from the meeting. 

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A Sweet Little Kitchen Moment

 I mentioned the other day that I’d found eggs going for half price at the supermarket. Well honestly, what was I supposed to do — walk past them? Leave them sitting there on the shelf? Not a chance. So home they came with me, and suddenly I had enough eggs to open a small café.

Tony is rather partial to an egg custard, so I asked Co‑Pilot to help me adapt a recipe to make it keto‑friendly. What a hit — Tony absolutely loves it, and it’s definitely going on the “make again” list.

Here's the recipe, just in case you want to have a go. 

Keto Egg Custards. 

Ingredients

6 eggs

2 cups cream (heavy or pouring cream)

3–4 tbsp erythritol or preferred keto sweetener

1 tsp vanilla extract to taste

nutmeg (optional, for sprinkling)

Instructions

1 Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Place 6 ramekins into a deep baking dish.

2 Whisk the eggs, cream, sweetener, and vanilla together until smooth — no need to whip air into it.

3 Pour the mixture evenly into the ramekins. Sprinkle nutmeg on top if you like.

4 Create a water bath: pour hot water into the baking dish until it reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

5 Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the custards are just set with a slight wobble in the centre.

6 Cool, then refrigerate. They freeze beautifully — just thaw gently and warm if desired.

I wanted to make individual portions — partly for portion control, partly because Tony is not exactly known for stopping at “just a little bit more.” I went hunting for ramekins, only to discover that half of mine were already in the freezer full of keto crumbles, and the other half had migrated to the mancave where they were bravely holding screws, washers, and mysterious bits of model plastic. We’ve talked about that… clearly with limited success.

Anyway, I suddenly remembered a stash of small preserving jars that were just the right size, so I fished out a few and got busy. They worked a treat. You could also use pottery teacups or any small oven‑proof vessel you’ve got lurking in the cupboards.

I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as Tony did.

A Frosty Morning Finish.

 This morning I headed straight into my quilting room as soon as Tony left for work. The sun wasn’t up yet and the room was cold enough to make me question that decision, but I knew that once the sun crept over the horizon it would warm beautifully.

As I stitched, I watched frost bloom across the neighbours’ rooftops.

A blackbird settled into the wedding cake tree to supervise my progress.

It’s only a small quilt, so by the time the sun finally reached the windows and started to warm the room, I had the quilting finished and spread it out on the floor.

Time to trim and bind — which meant moving to my other sewing room on the opposite side of the house. Another cold room. Another layer of determination. But it didn’t take long to get the binding cut, joined, and sewn on.

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With that done, it was time for a walk.

I headed into the scenic reserve again, soaking up the warmth of the sunshine and enjoying it so much that I made the walk longer than planned. I arrived home just in time for lunch: a bowl of homemade chicken and leek soup that hit the spot perfectly.

After eating, I settled into my comfy chair and closed the binding. Then it was back outside to the sunshine and a visit with Old Man Tree.

As I turned to come back indoors, I spotted the bench my boy Joe made me as a Christmas gift years ago — still sturdy, still loved. It felt like the perfect place to photograph the finished quilt with the shadows cast by old man tree adding a little something to the final result.

Once I was back inside, I picked up my Retro Rescue crochet and added a few more rounds — the slow, colourful exhale at the end of a busy, creative day.

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And that wraps up the last of my three days off. Back to work tomorrow, though I’ll keep chipping away at my Retro Rescue crochet in the evenings — it’s the perfect companion for these cooler nights.

And now that we’ve finally stepped into May, the countdown is officially on.

29 days until our flights.

It's beginning to feel very real.

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Another Busy Day Off.

Another day off, and somehow another busy one full of chores and crafting. Tony headed off to work at 7.10, and as soon as he was out of the door, I got started.

First job: slicing a courgette and getting it seasoned and into the dehydrator for chips.

Eggs were cheap in the supermarket yesterday — usually they’re over a dollar each, but I found some for less than fifty cents. I bought two trays. They weren’t short‑dated, but I wanted to use some anyway, so six went straight into a batch of keto egg custards for Tony.

He loves them, and he had one after tea. Good job I hid a few in the freezer.

Next up was a cheese and onion quiche, using keto wraps instead of pastry cases.

I had a slice for lunch after a very long walk through the scenic reserve — but not before making another batch of my chocolate slice and doing a few domestic chores.

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I was out of the door by 9.30. It was a beautiful day for walking. I passed the old schoolhouse, now the art society club rooms and the meeting place for my local patchwork group.

Then down the hill and on and on. I could bore you with photos, but I won’t. I did enjoy seeing the trees changing colour though.

After just over an hour and a half, I was home again, had a quick early lunch, then wandered out into the garden. I sucked up the leaves on the lawn — the machine mulched them nicely — and spread them over the veg beds. Then I planted some Ixia bulbs in with my pansies and had a general tidy‑up.

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Incidentally, I came across this wee plant hiding under the hellebores a few years ago and have watched it grow very, very slowly. It’s creeping this way and that, but I still have no idea what it is.

Any ideas?

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By 1.30 I was back indoors showered and refreshed, with a cup of tea nearby and settled into my chair. I pulled out the kiwi quilt and stitched on the last of the legs — it didn’t take long. Then came the batting situation. I had two largish offcuts, neither wide enough, so a bit of cut‑and‑shunt was required. Once that was sorted, the quilt went onto the frame.

I chose a new‑to‑me quilting design, one of the Meredith England patterns from the bundle I was gifted many years ago.

I managed two passes before Tony appeared looking for his tea.

More about that tomorrow.

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