GOSH, HAVE JUST CHECKED THE TIME LAPSE

IT APPEARS THAT MORE THAN A COUPLE OF MONTHS HAVE PASSED SINCE OUR LAST POST.......................HOW DID THIS HAPPEN????????????????????

WE'VE BEEN BUILDING A HOUSE, WHICH HAS HAD MORE THAN IT'S FAIR SHARE OF DELAYS WITH 2 MAJOR EARTHQUAKES & LOTS OF AFTERSHOCKS BUT WE ARE FINALLY IN & BUSY SORTING OUT ALL THE "STUFF"! SOME PICCIES BELOW ...MUCH TO MY HUSBAND'S DISGUST THERE ARE CERTAINLY MANY VINTAGE ITEMS IN OUR NEW HOUSE, NOT HOW HE THINKS IT SHOULD BE BUT EVERYONE WHO SEES IT LOVES IT!

I'VE POSTED A COUPLE OF PHOTOS THAT SHOWS YOU CAN MIX OLD & NEW, HANDMADE & SHOP-BOUGHT & IT GIVES A HOUSE SOUL.

CERTAINLY VERY MUCH TIME TO GET SOME WINTER PROJECTS UNDERWAY; PUT THE LONG-AWAITED ITEMS ON THE ONLINE SHOP & GET THE MOJO BACK. MANY ITEMS AWAITING PAINTING, COVERING, YOU NAME IT, THEY ARE WAITING & OF COURSE WE HAVE CUSTOMERS WHO WANT TO BUY STUFF OVER WINTER WHEN THE BARN IS "CLOSED" (OPEN BY APPOINTMENT OF COURSE)!

WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK OF CLASSES IN CRAFTY ENDEAVOURS THIS WINTER????? WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ASK ABOUT MOSAICS, PAINTING FURNITURE, SEWING, ETC.....& THEN THEY WANT TO KNOW IF WE RUN CLASSES BUT WE NEVER HAVE BUT THINK THIS WOULD BE A FUN THING TO DO IN WINTER WEEKENDS OR EVENINGS, MULLED WINE ANYONE???????????????? LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS.............

IT'S ONLY "STUFF" BUT IT DOES MATTER.....

THESE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF BARN GIRL NOELINE'S VERY HEAVY SIDEBOARD WHICH SHOWS THE SEVERITY OF THE QUAKE. IT TAKES A COUPLE OF MEN, STRUGGLING, TO LIFT IT & IT WAS JUST TIPPED OVER. UNFORTUNATELY IT CONTAINS NOELINE'S COLLECTION OF ROYAL ALBERT "SENORITA" CHINA + MANY OTHER TRIOS, TENNIS SETS & NUMEROUS VINTAGE CRYSTAL BOWLS......GONE.

WE KNOW IT'S JUST "STUFF" BUT IT STILL HURTS TO SEE IT DESTROYED.

CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE

TUESDAY 22 FEBRUARY, VERY VERY BAD DAY FOR CHRISTCHURCH. I'M SURE NEW ZEALANDER'S HAVE BEEN SEEING THE MEDIA COVERAGE OF THE SITUATION IN CHRISTCHURCH SINCE THE HORRIFIC 6.3 MAGNITUDE QUAKE AROUND LUNCHTIME ON TUESDAY. OUR CITY IS A DISASTER ZONE, MANY DEATHS & LOTS OF HOMELESS FAMILIES, WATER & FUEL & FOOD SHORTAGES, AFTER-SHOCKS CONTINUE TO FRIGHTEN EVERYONE & THE RESCUERS BATTLE ON, ENDANGERING THEIR LIVES TO HELP OTHERS.

IN THE STRANGE WAY OF HUMANS WE TRY TO ACHIEVE SOME SEMBLANCE OF "NORMALITY" AMONGST ALL THIS & FEEL IF WE CAN JUST TRY & MOVE THROUGH EACH DAY WITH SOME ROUTINE WE WILL SURVIVE. THERE IS A SURREAL FEELING AS WE WAKE ON THE SECOND DAY AFTER THE EVENT & TRY TO GET OUR HEADS AROUND WHAT IS HAPPENING & HOW WE ARE EVER GOING TO REPAIR THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF DAMAGE, BOTH TO PROPERTY & PEOPLE.

I ENTERED THE BARN VERY ANXIOUSLY ON TUESDAY EVENING - NOT BECAUSE I WAS CONCERNED SO MUCH WITH THE DAMAGE I'D ENCOUNTER BUT THE FACT IT IS A VERY OLD BUILDING & I DIDN'T WANT TO BE IN THERE IF IT STARTED MOVING AROUND AGAIN. I'VE POSTED SOME PHOTOS OF THE CURRENT STATE OF IT........I'D LIKE TO GO IN & START CLEANING UP AS I THINK THIS HELPS TO GET YOUR HEAD SORTED BUT DON'T WANT TO DO IT ON MY OWN AS IT'S VERY UNNERVING WHEN AN AFTERSHOCK HITS & EVERYTHING JOLTS & CREAKS.

ALL THE BARN GIRLS ARE THINKING OF EVERYONE WHO IS HAVING TO ENDURE THIS SITUATION & WE KNOW THERE WILL BE MANY WHOSE LIVES HAVE BEEN AFFECTED IN VERY TRAUMATIC & SAD WAYS; HECK, SOME PEOPLE ARE STILL IN A MESS FROM THE QUAKE LAST SEPTEMBER BUT THIS ONE IS SO SO MUCH WORSE.

TAKE CARE ALL.

BARN ON SUNDAY

I WAS ROSTERED IN THE BARN THIS PAST SUNDAY & AS IT WAS A FABULOUS DAY & I'M AN OFFICE-DWELLER WHO WANTED TO BE OUTDOORS I FOUND SOME "TREASURES IN THE MAKING" IN ONE OF THE GARAGES.............PHOTO SHOWS THE "BEFORE" SHOT......I WILL POST THE FINISHED "UPCYCLED MADE-OVER" PHOTOS AS THE ARTICLES ARE COMPLETED....................

BLOGGING HELP!

CAN SOMEONE OUT THERE IN THE HUGE WIDE WORLD OF BLOGGING HELP ME? I FOLLOW & VIEW A NUMBER OF AWESOME BLOGS AROUND THE WORLD & WOULD LOVE TO ADD THEM SO THEY SHOW WHENEVER SOMEONE VIEWS OUR BLOGSPOT - WE'RE ALL FOND OF THE SAME KIND OF STUFF SO IT'S A FANTASTIC WAY OF BEING INTRODUCED TO NEW BLOGS...............TRY AS I MIGHT I CAN'T FIGURE HOW TO DO THIS.......IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN HELP ME TO DO THIS, PLEASE?

YES, WE'RE STILL HERE............

GOSH, WHAT CAN I SAY. NOT SURE WHAT HAS HAPPENED BUT REALLY HAVEN'T HAD THE BLOGGING, EITHER VIEWING OR POSTING, VIBE FOR MONTHS....EARTHQUAKE FALL-OUT? BUILDING A NEW HOUSE? ISSUES AT WORK? SORRY BUT HAVE BEEN VERY NEGLECTFUL OF THE BLOG BUT HOPEFULLY AFTER SPENDING THE WEEKEND IN THE BARN, SORTING IT OUT, WEEDING OUT THE OLD & MOVING STUFF THE MOJO IS RETURNING....HOPE SO! IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME "BETWEEN DRINKS" FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING, NOT LITERALLY. IN FACT SINCE THE EARTHQUAKE I THINK A RESTORATIVE WINE OR TWO HAS BEEN THE ORDER OF EVERY DAY. MUST SORT THAT OUT THIS YEAR TOO!!!

ANYHOO....THIS IS A WEE PAINTING & RECOVERING PROJECT (I'M SURE YOU CAN FIGURE THE BEFORE & AFTER SHOTS) FROM THE LAST WEEK WHICH I REALLY ENJOYED DOING SO AM KEEN TO SEE WHAT I FEEL LIKE DOING NEXT.

NOELINE HAS BEEN SEWING CUSHIONS FROM VINTAGE FABRICS YESTERDAY (STEAMING 36 DEGREE TEMPS) & TODAY (POURING RAIN & 14 DEGREES, GO FIGURE) SO THEY'LL BE SNAPPED SOON TOO SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT YOU CAN PICKUP IN THE BARN.

I'LL POST SOME PHOTOS TOMORROW OF THE "DECLUTTERED" (IN A GOOD WAY) BARN.....I'M SURE IT WON'T BE LONG UNTIL TREASURES START FILLING IT UP, THANKS JAN, SHIRLEY, NOELINE!

THOSE PHOTOS I PROMISED............

TOMORROW...........

SORRY, PC RUNNING ON ISLAND TIME, TAKING LITERALLY 10 MINUTES TO UPLOAD PHOTOS SO I'VE DECIDED IT'S BEDTIME & I'LL TRY AGAIN WITH THE PHOTO POSTING TOMORROW.............NIGHTY NIGHT.

SORRY, VERY TARDY ON POSTINGS!

HI ALL, WELL YOU'D THINK ME BEING ON HOLIDAY FOR THE PAST 2 WEEKS WOULD MEAN LOTS OF BLOGGING BUT NO SORRY....THE WEATHER HERE IN CHRISTCHURCH HAS BEEN GOOD SO OUTDOORS I'VE BEEN SORTING OUT THE STORAGE GARAGES, HMMM LOTS OF PAINTING, SEWING ETC PROJECTS THERE TO KEEP US BUSY FOR A WHILE!!!!

THE BARN IS LOOKING VERY "FULL" AT PRESENT SO WE'D LOVE YOU TO VISIT (REMEMBER WE'RE OPEN FRIDAY - SUNDAY 11A.M -4P.M. PERHAPS YOU COULD TICK SOME PEOPLE OFF YOUR CHRISTMAS SHOPPING LIST & ALL WITHOUT SPENDING MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF YOUR HARD-EARNED DOSH IN THE MEANTIME.

HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL OUT & ABOUT SOON, ENJOY THE SUNSHINE. I'VE POSTED SOME CURRENT PHOTOS OF THE BARN TO BACKUP MY SPEECH ABOVE.

GORGEOUS GIRLS

YESTERDAY WE HAD A VISIT FROM A LONG-TIME BARN CUSTOMER, FRAN, WHO ALSO BROUGHT ALONG A COUPLE OF HER GIRLFRIENDS. THEY HAD BEEN ATTENDING A 3 DAY CONVENTION OF THE "RED HAT SOCIETY LADIES".....HENCE THE FABULOUS ATTIRE! THE GROUPS OF MATURE WOMEN MEET ON A REGULAR BASIS FOR SUPPORT, ENCOURAGEMENT & FUN & THEY MUST ALL BE DRESSED IN PURPLE GARMENTS & RED HEADGEAR. GOOGLE "RED HAT SOCIETY" TO FIND OUT MORE.

A LITTLE BIT PRETTY, A LITTLE BIT RETRO....

SOME COMPLETED BARN PROJECTS

HERE ARE SOME PHOTOS OF WHAT PROJECTS WE'VE COMPLETED FOR THE BARN OVER THE LAST WEEK (THERE ARE MANY MORE BECKONING....) - WE'RE GETTING BACK TO NORMAL AFTER THE QUAKE & THE BARN IS OPEN SO PLEASE COME & VISIT US, BOTH NEW & OLD BARN FRIENDS ARE SURELY WELCOME!