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) to celebrate the arrival of the three kings.  E hand crafted a crown for the occasion, complete with stickers.  I had been aspiring to try the recipe for years.  In the absence of a silver charm, a plum stone was hidden in the pie, waiting for the day's king to find it.  While the kid's weren't too fussed about the almond filling, they were delighted when Granddad found the stone and was presented with the crown.



*  For a little giggle, check out the story about a Utah school and a "controversial" Elvis version of The Twelfth Night.
* I've used the Nigella Lawson recipe from "How to be a Domestic Goddess".  Of course it was a little over the top in the sweetness department and with the filling bubbling over the tin.  Next time I will halve the filling.

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. 

Starting again consisted of completely unpicking the boarders and replacing the washed out linen boarder with black velveteen.  I am sure the dear Pierrot is much more at home in the lush velvet tones.  While it matches nothing in my house, the musky pink piping was well worth wrestling with.

I have a series of vintage tapestries lining up for attention now.  An overly fitting tapestry has been converted for my parents' Christmas present.  I promise I will share as soon as I can catch up with it.

In the mean time I have learnt:

• Tapestries are fragile, this one needed to be basted to a duck cloth backing to avoid any seams stressing the embroidery
• Do not try to straighten the tapestry
• Dampen the tapestry and then gently iron to find it's true shape
• Draw lines over to square up - do not cut
• Then finally - start sewing on the boarders
• The sewing shop may tell you that piping doesn't need to  be on the bias, but it is better
• A zip provides a more even finish compared with my carefully chosen buttons

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.  The rock formations to the north are the beginnings of a sedimentary pinnacle formation.  We can sometimes spot goats scrambling amongst them.

The girls did a fantastic job, climbing to the top with only minimal carrying.  While it looks as if we are about to walk into nothing, the farm track in fact takes a few steep curves before delivering us back home.