Have been neglecting this blog a bit lately as I just plain didn't think it was pretty enough. Plus I wanted to use the name 'Tea with Llamas' which is what my old travel blog was called. Too good of a name to waste, I reckon. So come join me over on my new blog for much of the same - plenty of knitting, a little travel, wine when I get the chance, and snaps of that gorgeous fat bunny :-)
http://teawithllamas.blogspot.co.nz/2013/03/januaryfebruary-knitting-snapshot.html
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Seeing things from a different angle...
I work in one of the most beautiful buildings in the country. Seeing it every day, it is easy to forget that, until a tourist comes in, snapping photos, in awe of the place.
This week I saw it in another way too - from the point of view of an 18 month old who's just started to walk. What a cool playground with seemingly acres of springy carpet to run around on, huge mirrors to check yourself out in, bollards to crawl under and comfy chairs to clamber over.
We didn't even make it to the park as someone just didn't want to leave...
Goals for the month
I can't believe we're over half way through February already. Sometimes it seems that one work day just melts into another and before you know it, another week has gone by without achieving much. By achieving much I mean in a personal, outside-work sense. My routine more than occasionally feels like work, sleep, eat/cook, try keep the house in a relatively clean state and knit when I can.
So to give my free time some direction, I have a few goals I want to achieve by the end of March.
So to give my free time some direction, I have a few goals I want to achieve by the end of March.
- Get my full drivers licence (my restricted expires in March!). I need to book a couple of lessons and sit the test.
- Finish the hat/cardy/bootie set for my friends' baby
- Finish the fingerless mittens I started last winter
- Knit another nappy soaker
- Knit a leaving gift for a friend
- Plant up my winter garden (lots of spinach!)
- Invite some people over for dinner
- Make time to exercise 5 days a week (swim or bike or jog)
- Do something touristy in Wellington I've not yet done
- Start making most of our bread again (even if I have to cheat and buy a breadmaker)
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Latest knitting
I finished my garter stitch scarf. Now to drop it into knit world without walking out with more yarn... It was a charity knit for kids can. I'm not feeling charitable enough to make another though. Garter stitch is definitely not my favourite look.
Today I cast on a little baby hat to match the puerperium cardy. I'm thinking a honeycomb cable with seed stitch inside. We'll see how it ends up looking...
Trip home
My wee holiday on farm was great. I got a lot of knitting done, went to the movies, had a lot of good food and wine, went fishing and just basically hung out. Here's a few photos. I'll caption them on the computer tomorrow.
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| Mum's making me a cardy in zealana heron, sigh. Feels so light and soft on. |
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| So many courgettes in the garden |
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| ambrosia with homegrown blueberries |
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| one of the snapper I caught |
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| chooks |
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| wish I had this garden |
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| kingfish |
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| Puerperium cardy + my cat (had her for 14+ years now) |
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| hanging by the pool |
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Back home and knitting
I'm staying on the farm for a couple of days. No work means time for knitting...
It's starting to look more cardigan like now. Half way done! The big question is what buttons am I going to use? !
Samoa planning
My favourite thing in the world to do is do plan travel (well, apart from actually travelling). I'm really excited to have 2 weeks in Samoa this May. Because it is my fourth trip over there I wanted to do something a little different. My first option was to go to American Samoa which is only an 8 hour ferry ride away from Independent Samoa. It sounded pretty appealing but was looking to be a bit pricey as there is no beach fale kind of set up over there and I'd need flights to get off the main island to where the apparently gorgeous beaches are. So I decided to save it for another trip.
Option B which I have decided to do, is to turn the trip into a cycling holiday. It adds a physical challenge to the trip. I'm not crazy though so apart from my first night which will be in Apia, I'll spend the entire two weeks just biking around the one island. This means there are 6 proper cycling days and the rest for rest, recovery, snorkling, sunbathing and drinking coconuts. So a little crazy, and a lot relaxing.
I really like to try do my holidays on the cheap and treat myself with a couple of luxuries.
My return flights from Auckland to Apia cost $400.
My flight Wellington to Auckland is $35.
I haven't booked a return flight back from Auckland as I'm waiting to see what comes up on Grabaseat.
Two weeks cycle hire is $230.
I have a $50 a night budget for accommodation. I know for a fact that some will be cheaper than this and perhaps one will be a little more expensive. Accommodation over there is in a hut right on the beach and includes breakfast and dinner.
My splurges will be a dive trip, and probably dinner at Aggie Grey's resort on my last night as it's right by the airport, it's a great way to kill time before check in.
Of course I've budgeted for a vailima (beer) once or twice a day too!
My favourite thing about going to the islands is that packing is a breeze. I take carry on only to force myself to pack light - this'll be even more important as I'll be carrying it on the bike. This is my all encompassing packing list for my Samoa cycling holiday.
Option B which I have decided to do, is to turn the trip into a cycling holiday. It adds a physical challenge to the trip. I'm not crazy though so apart from my first night which will be in Apia, I'll spend the entire two weeks just biking around the one island. This means there are 6 proper cycling days and the rest for rest, recovery, snorkling, sunbathing and drinking coconuts. So a little crazy, and a lot relaxing.
I really like to try do my holidays on the cheap and treat myself with a couple of luxuries.
My return flights from Auckland to Apia cost $400.
My flight Wellington to Auckland is $35.
I haven't booked a return flight back from Auckland as I'm waiting to see what comes up on Grabaseat.
Two weeks cycle hire is $230.
I have a $50 a night budget for accommodation. I know for a fact that some will be cheaper than this and perhaps one will be a little more expensive. Accommodation over there is in a hut right on the beach and includes breakfast and dinner.
My splurges will be a dive trip, and probably dinner at Aggie Grey's resort on my last night as it's right by the airport, it's a great way to kill time before check in.
Of course I've budgeted for a vailima (beer) once or twice a day too!
My favourite thing about going to the islands is that packing is a breeze. I take carry on only to force myself to pack light - this'll be even more important as I'll be carrying it on the bike. This is my all encompassing packing list for my Samoa cycling holiday.
- backpack to put it all in
- passport, eftpos card
- flight details, TRAVEL INSURANCE
- camera, charger, SD card
- water proof small bag for passport/camera etc
- snorkel gear
- shoes - 1x jandals, 1x teva reef type shoes for cycling
- 3/4 leggings for cycling x2
- singlets/t shirts x4
- cardigan x1
- lava lava x3
- dress x1-2
- underwear - 3x bras, 6x undies
- summer PJs
- togs x2
- quick dry towel
- sunglasses
- insect repellent, lush 2 in 1 shampoo bar, kathmandu landry liquid/body wash, sunscreen, lip gloss, comb, hairties, papaya balm or vicks for mozzie bites
- water sanitation tablets
- empty water bottle
- socks for the plane (I get cold feet)
- 1x book (can swap it at book exchange half way around the island)
- knitting
- sense of adventure
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