Japanese wrapping cloths are the perfect solution to too much fabric.  I picked up some old* curtains made from barkcloth, knowing that a friend was collecting this fabric.  It has bubbly slub that just invites touching.  Barkcloth is a little thicker than some typical furnishing fabrics and strangely, is the drop cloth of choice for many a thrifty painter as demonstrated by these...

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  The Trout Hatchery was one of our favorite stops on our holiday. Just south of Turangi, it makes for a great break after the long desert road. Right from the start, with circling trout greeting us at the entranceway bridge, the kids were transfixed.  After walking through the static displays of photos and fly fishing paraphernalia, it was on to the model...

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We have returned  home from a well earned holiday.  We stayed in the sweetest batch on the shores of Lake Taupo.  From the minute I saw the rack of mint green crockery in the kitchen, I knew I would love the place.  The batch bore the patina of years of getting away from it all - a TV that gets "both" channels, radios...

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There is a spiky, self sown plum tree stretching over our herb garden.  As I weed underneath it and cursing at the spikes, I wonder if this is the year that we cut it down or replace it with something a little less ferocious.  Then over the period of two weeks, each January, the green plums turn a glowing yellow and the tree...

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 It's the Twelfth Night.  Does anyone else get excited about this?  Other than Utah School Boards*?Our decorations stay up until  the last possible day.  Today we packed them up,and tucked them away until next December.  The Christmas CD's get a last little work out and we take a moment to celebrate yet again. This afternoon we had a Galette du Rois (King Cake)...

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From the moment I saw this tapestry in a local antique shop I knew it was asking to be a cushion. Just over two years ago, I started stitching, wresting and getting it so very wrong that I had to put the project away until I had the courage to pick it up again.  Sometimes, the best design decision is to start again. ...

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Some times the large hill behind my parents' house just demands climbing.  With sturdy shoes, sunblock and cameras, in hand we took off.  The view from the top is just breathtaking with Palliser Bay streatching out below us.  On a clear day you see all the way to Mt Tapuaenuku, in the South Island's Kaikoura range. Rocks and hills dominate the landscape here. ...

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