Where I Live aka Playing with Google Maps

This was inspired by the Our Blog 2 Yours post over at the SSD Blog. I read it and decided this was my chance to play with the Google Maps satellite images of my area. So here you go, for anyone who doesn't live around here and is interested in where I live.

We moved in July 2006, to this house which has a backyard for Marcus to play in and the living area and bedrooms all on the same level, something we didn't have at our last home. We moved in there when I was pregnant, but we didn't know it at the time and didn't have plans for children at that point, so we didn't take bedroom locations for a baby into account when we made decisions.

It was okay while Marcus was a baby and in a basinette in our bedroom, but once he was ready to move into his own room (which was downstairs) and old enough to want to play outside (which was a bit of concrete courtyard or a patch of grass beside a shared driveway) we decided it was time to look for somewhere else.

We found this house through a friend and it's working out beautifully. We'd still like to buy our own place one day, but with the outrageous house prices in Auckland at present and the fact I can't work, it's not in our present budget plans.

So here are some pictures, zooming in on our house.






(Click on this one for a bigger version)



Yes, that's our house. We're the one on the corner. That little blue spot is the swimming pool, with the bedrooms at that end of the house and the living area facing the street where the house takes on a T shape.



Just be aware that this last photo (taken from the side street, showing the living room over the garage and Marcus' bedroom to the right behind the tree and the little outcropping sunny spot in our bedroom to the right of that) was taken before we moved in, while the previous tenants were still living here. They didn't take care of the place properly and the messy lawns, rubbish in view etc, is due to them, not us. We do take proper care of the place, I swear. (I don't understand how people can fail to take care of and pride in where they live, whether they own it or not, but obviously it happens.)

All My Layouts

I'm kind of embarrassed to post all my layouts here - not because I'm ashamed of them or don't like them, but because I don't want to bore any of the people who read this blog (and I realise there are probably only about three or four of you) - so if you ever want to see what else I've done, you can check out my Flickr gallery.

My layouts on Flickr

Tree Repair

Tree Repair
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

For the Sweet Shoppe Designs Inspiration Challenge #6 (7th Mar 2006)

Be inspired by your car. Our dash is dark grey, with green numbers on the clock and orange on the pointers on the dials. So here's a dark grey, green and orange page.

Credits~
Stitching comes from "Fab" in the "Back in Black" collection by Amanda Rockwell; black and green papers from "Fresh" in the "Back in Black" collection by Amanda Rockwell; orange papers from "Fun" in the "Back in Black" collection by Amanda Rockwell; tree from "Felt Christmas Trees" by Amy Martin; alpha is "Between the Lines" by Katie Pertiet; frame from "Island Blues" by Lynn Grieveson; font is Sketchbook.

Too Cool

Too Cool
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I loved this photo when it was taken and I love how the LO turned out.

For the Sweet Shoppe Designs Recipe Challenge #4 (7th Mar 2006)

Credits~
Alpha (recoloured) is from "Crazy Little Thing" by Dani Mogstad; ladybird is from "Flitter" by Amanda Rockwell; everything else is from "Spring Collection" by The LilyPad Designers; font is Century Gothic.

Immortality

Immortality
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I got myself caught up loading my LOs to Flickr yesterday, so thought I would share a few favourites. I've had the idea for this one ever since I scanned some old photos for my mother, including the ones of her and her mother on their wedding days.

Journalling~
We carry different names, yet we are linked, back through the ages, daughter to mother to grandmother and beyond. Peggy Hazel Johnstone became Peggy Hazel Carpenter. Pamela Ann Carpenter became Pamela Ann Blackwell; Kerry Anne Blackwell became Kerry Anne Dustin.

Credits~
Background paper from “9th Avenue” by Iron Orchid Designs; frame from “Vintage Frames” by Andrea Burns; lace from “Fun” in the “A Mother’s Love” collection by Amanda Rockwell; swirl is from “Warm” in the “A Mother’s Love” collection by Amanda Rockwell; dried roses from “Beloved” by Josie Celio; paper flower from “Chelsey’s Dream” by Michelle Coleman; clock face from “Margo” by Eve Recinella; fonts are Mutlu and Edwardian Script ITC.

Butterflies and Books

We got ourselves a swan plant a month or two ago, in the hope we'd attract a monarch butterfly or two and get ourselves some caterpillers for Marcus to watch grow and turn into butterflies.

We're now on swan plants numbers 4 and 5 as the first two have been eaten to bare branches and the third is quickly going that way. We've had 2 butterflies hatch now (on is currently sitting on the deck railing getting ready to fly away and looking beautiful), we have 2 chrysalises (or whatever the plural of chrysalis is) and about another 9 caterpillers so this experiment has been a great success. Marcus is fascinated and Dave and I find ourselves rather captivated by the whole process as well.

If this keeps up it will have been a little expensive on swan plants at about $6 a pop, but otherwise most satisfactory.

I remain exhausted and while I've been doing some reading, there hasn't been much else going on. I thoroughly enjoyed my week away staying with my parents - especially teh 24 hours spent on the way home with my niece who is adorable - but I'm paying for less sleep now.

I picked up two new released before leaving town (copies for me and my best friend down in Palmy) and we both read them and got a chance to talk books, something we don't do much now we live so far apart, although we did constantly when we lived in the same town. I loved J.R. Ward's latest, Lover Revealed (along with a whole lot of other people) and also Nalini Singh's second, Visions of Heat. I also skim read my way through C.E. Murphy's Thunderbird Falls and I'm still not sure if it was worth it or not. A pity, as I really enjoyed the first one. Getting tired, I've read a couple of quickies, including Stephanie Rowe's Date Me Baby, One More Time, which was silly, but fun, quick and perfect for that moment. Now I'm on a reread.

I loved Tanya Huff's Vicki Nelson books when I read them (as they came out in the nineties), so I got my hands on Lifetime's new show based on them, Blood Ties. The pilot was based on the first book and I thought they pulled it off quite well. I'm sorry they took out the whole joke of Henry being a bodice ripper romance writer to update it to creating graphic novels, but can understand why. I think the casting for Mike was great and Vicki and Henry are both quickly growing on me.

So I went and pulled out Blood Price, the first book in the series. I'm totally loving reading it all over again, both because it holds up nicely after 15 years and reamins a very good book, but also for the back-to-the-past feeling it generates. Maybe, especially when I'm tired, I should try rereads more, instead of feeling guilty about the growing TBR and thinking I have to read from that. I don't know yet, but I shall continue enjoying Blood Price all over again.

Silly, but it was fun

Guilty Pleasure
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Guilty Pleasure
For the Sweet Shoppe Designs Sugar Free Challenge #6 (7th Mar 2006)

Guilty Pleasure

I was just reading the lastest book in this series this week and reflecting that I look on them as a guilty pleasure and then along came this challenge. What else could I do?



Journalling~
I know these books aren't exactly literature. The writing is capable and competent, but isn't going to win any poetry competitions. I admit they're a bit over the top - okay a whole lot over the top. Well into soap opera territory even sometimes, filled with immortals and demons, gods and goddesses, Greece and Ireland and Alazka and Atlantis, good and evil and even some shades in between. There's a hunky, tortured hero who's 11,000 years old and a whole variety of couples with enough obstacles keeping them apart to build a mountain to rival Everest - and still they all get their happy ever after ending. There are embarrassing covers I wouldn't want to be seen in public with (although the more recent releases are generally more decent that the awful early ones) and some rather tacky titles. There are confusing and complicated family trees that really do rival thoses on most soap operas, rivalries and plots and evil machinations. But you know what - I don't care. I can dive into this complicated, crazy world and have a great time reading the latest installment (or rereading a previous one) and enjoying every word and every moment. I like trying to figure out what is going on in the bigger picture, who is really who, what is going to happen next to a whole cast of characters and, of course, the big questions of who Ash is going to end up with and if Artemis is going to get her comeuppance.
These are my guilty pleasure.



Credits~
Background paper and fill paper for title from "Be My Valentine" by Lisa Whitney; photo cluster is "Realistic Shadow Cluster 1"; single frame cut from the same cluster; heart from "Genuine Spirit" by Michelle Coleman; flower from "Joshua's Day in the Sun" by Michelle Coleman and Diane Rigdon; stitching and flowers from "Stitches and Flowers" by Mindy Terasawa; ladybird from "Flitter" by Amanda Rockwell; fonts are KGD Butternut Script and Unnamed Melody.

Blood Lines - Eileen Wilks

The "e" in the author's surname is a typo that was on early promo pics including this one.

Blood Lines
Eileen Wilks
9/10
(Moon Children, Book 5 - that's counting the short stories, which Wilks does on her website - www.eileenwilks.com)

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I wasn't so keen on the previous book in the series - still a great read, but looking back the story wasn't so much my thing. Now, we're on track with what is now clearly a long term story and our main characters are beginning to find out how serious things are.

The action here is shared between Lily and Rule and Cullen and Cynna. Clearly, Cullen and Cynna are going to get more "screen time" as their roles in the coming future build. That's fine with me - I like both pairs of characters and I'll be happy to spend time with Cullen and Cynna - so long and Lily and Rule don't get dropped completely.

The world is changing - magic faded out of the world about 400 years ago and now it is coming back. The goddess who is the Lupi's enemy is determined to take and gain power and needs Lily to do it. And things are only going to get more complicated.

I really liked this book, because the series is going somewhere now. I guess for Wilks it always was, but the readers can see it now. I can't wait for more.

Oh, and some of Grandmother's secrets are revealed. There are dragons. And it looks like we should see more of Molly and Michael eventually. That will be great as I loved them. The last line of their short story is the best last line I've ever read, I think.

The City, Not Long After - Pat Murphy

The City, Not Long After
Pat Murphy
8/10

I really enjoyed this. It was kind of weird and quirky in a most delightful way. My only disappointment was that the ending didn't seem to match the rest of the book. More accurate, the very end did, but the few pages before as the "current time" action ended, just sort of ran out of steam without the delicacy of the rest of the book.

The characters were all delightful - and the descriptions of their art and their weapons, both variations on the same thing, were beautifully done.

Each person was well described, not only in who they were at the time of the story, but in how they came to be that way.

A lovely story, if not exactly straightforward, kind of like the title, which I love.

Our weekend

We've had a busy weekend, this time around.

On Saturday, in what was close to a spur of the moment decision, we decided to go to the Airforce Open Day at the local Base. We had a lovely time - Marcus loved the planes and coped surprisingly well with the noise. Dave took a number of photos, but unfortunately discovered when he came home that Marcus had changed one of the settings on the camera and it wasn't set up properly.

The photos still came out okay, but they were Kerry-quality photos rather than Dave-quality photos. I'm planning to do some layouts using them, but I've been very tired since my busy weekend, so I haven't done much of anything since, but here's one to whet the appetite.



I got sunburnt on one arm, but otherwise we were pretty well sorted for an impromptu outing. We all had sunglasses (Marcus didn't wear his), Marcus and I had hats, we had the stroller and my stick and everybody had shoes (not always the case in this family). We stayed a couple of hours, but by lunch time it was getting very full of people and we were getting tired, so we decided that was a good time to head home.

Sunday, we considered taking Marcus to a train open day, but decided he had done enough the day before - besides, as much as he loves looking at trains, reading about trains and playing with trains, he's afraid of the real thing, so we're going to wait until he's a bit older and will actually enjoy a train ride.

Instead, we went for a drive to Barbara's Books, retail home of my pusher (she pretends she's a bookseller, but it's all about giving out the next fix) to pick up a couple of books for me. This is a specialty bookstore that carries US release SF/Fantasy/Romance and Barbara keeps a lot more people than me in books. So this means I visit there quite often. Often enough that as we turned into the carpark, Marcus announced "Barbara's House". I guess I really do go there a lot!

For the curious, I picked up:
The Dream Hunter by Sherrilyn Kenyon. This series is so my guilty pleasure. If I wanted to, I could pick huge holes in them all, but I don't. I just go along for the ride and have a great time as I do.
Full Moon Rising by Keri Arthur. Barbara conned me into this one. It's the first in a series, so if I like it I'm in trouble.
Must Love Dragons by Stephanie Rowe. Another Barbara recommendation, this is actually the second in teh series, but she assured me it stood alone and I didn't need to read the first.

We got home again to find - to my huge embarrassment - that the friend I'd invited over had been there for a hour and I'd forgotten all about it! Happily, she'd settled in a chair by the pool and read happily. She was just getting ready to head home when we got back. So we did what we had originally planned - watched the latest two episodes of Grey's Anatomy to get all caught up. We'd known the last three were a group and had watched the first, then decided to wait until we had both of the next two to watch. I'm very glad we did, as if we'd got to the cliffhanger ending of the first one without the next, we would have been very stressed. (I don't want to spoil anyone still to watch the eps, especially friends here in NZ where the show isn't up to that point yet. If you've seen them, you know what I mean.)

That was quite enough happenings for one weekend for me.

Paper Moons' March Madness Day 4

Anna has the most beautiful little wings on her blog today. Go and take a look.

Do I have a cute son or what?

Sleep Anywhere
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Sleep Anywhere
For the Sweet Shoppe Designs Sweet Inspiration Challenge #5 (1st Mar 2007)

This was inspired by this page. The border has only been added to show the edge of the page.

The word I've replaced in the poem is "cats".

Journalling~
After I spent ages trying to get you to take an afternoon nap, you fell asleep on the floor all by yourself, in the middle of your toys. You were so cute I had to take your photo.

Credits~
Paint and paper strip from "Gettin Edgey" by Lauren Grier; journalling strips from "Journaling Strip Templates" by Kimberly Geswein; stitching is from "Traditional Stitches" by Melanie Willmann; white out was made for me by mamacrina at DST (thank you very much); fonts are Century Gothic and KGD Kerry Print.

Dawn Star #009

Dawn Star #009
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

This is my progress after the February SAL with the CC bulletin board. I can see the top of her head now and I'm really pleased with how it is looking.

See my comment about Alpine Seasons. I look at this and just want to stitch more, but I know I can't at present.

Alpine Seasons #014

Alpine Seasons #014
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

The beginning of part 9. I look at this and want to stitch more now, now, now! But I'm sticking to my hiatus. I have to. Don't want to, but have to. I hate being chronically ill.

Stitching (lack of) progress

I am very, very (very, very, very, very, very, very) reluctantly taking a break from stitching. I love it, I love all my projects, but the physical effort involved is too much for me at present. It's not that I am totally flattened no, but that I feel the need to be proactive and once I start stitching I get pretty obsessive about it and do too much at once.

I think that must be why I was only getting in one or two stitching sessions in a week - becuase I went at it too hard and too intensively once I sat down to do it. So I'm going to take a break and do some reading and scrapping (I can't stop, really I can't) and hope to come back to the stitching in a few weeks at a more healthy pace.

The downside of this is that I think I already have the stitching DTs. I miss it and desperately want to pick something up, but my physical reaction to that desire is just to feel tired. Which is why I've made this decision.

Of course, that doesn't mean I'll stick to it. I make a lot of plans and don't stick to them. (Have you noticed that?) I am going to say it is because the reality of my life and health changes them, but it's probably just that I'm fickle and have no stickability. Or both, of course.

Llama and Alpacas

Someone has just posted the cutest layout over on DST about llamas and alpacas. Do go and take a look. It's brilliant.

Scrapbooking Stuff

I've just downloaded a lovely freebie from Anna Benjamin's Paper Moons blog. She's having a "March Madness" month and giving away something each day. Yesterday was a lovely paper set and today some matching little circular frames shaped like flowers. Go and take a look, give her some love and take home some really pretty goodies.

I applied for a scrapping creative team today. I've never done anything like it before, so my stomach still feels a bit fluttery, but there's a first time for everything, right? Teresa Ferguson, who makes fantastic layered templates - I've been using them for some of the SSD challenges - is looking for a team to use and promote her templates. I don't know if anything will come of it. I suspect getting chosen the first time to try applying is kind of like getting a book published the first time you submit it and that rarely, if ever, happens. All the same, I'm going to keep my fingers crossed and see what happens. I did feel I needed to explain about my health, so I don't know if that will count for me (I'm honest) or against me (I might be unreliable) but I wouldn't have made the application if I didn't think I could handle it.

I've been way behind posting layouts here - do people even want to see them? - but my Flickr gallery is finally up to date, so if you want to take a look at what I've been up to, have a look at my Layouts photostream. I'm not going to inundate the blog with all the backlog, but may post a few favourites.

I did one I just love of my brother and SIL and niece, but I don't know if they'd want me to post her baby pictures, so you'll just have to believe me when I tell you it turned out really lovely. I'm going to see my SIL in two weeks, so I'll print the few layouts I have that feature their family and give them to her.

March Releases from Character Creations

Birch Fairy - Carol Covey
Butterfly Fairy - Carol Covey
Mermaid Reflections - Carol Covey

As always, details on the news page.

Sharing book covers again

The lovely new covers to Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy, which I started reading today, have inspired me to start putting up covers on my other blog - A Cover a Day - again.

I don't promise it will actually be a cover a day - it may be seven covers one day in a week, or just random covers at random intervals - but I am going to do better.

Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop

I started reading Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop today. This is the first in her Black Jewels Trilogy. I've had a number of people recommend it, but it always seemed like it might be a bit disturbing and dark, so I left it alone.

Late last year, [FantasyFavorites] read it and while I didn't, it was clear nearly everyone really enjoyed it. To the point the two sequels have been voted into the group's reading list - Heir to the Shadows for this month and Queen of the Darkness for May. Over Christmas the friend who fed my fantasy reading habit when I was a broke teenager also recommended them, so I decided to reserve the first one from the library.

I started it today and I'm already totally hooked, even if I've only been able to read around Marcus' demands for attention. (Aren't they supposed to need less time as they get older, rather than more?)

The dark themes are there, but so far it hasn't been graphic and nasty, which is what I don't like to read. I'm fine with that kind of thing if it is't show to me in gory detail. The best stories are the often the ones where the fight is against something that deserves to be fought against - if that makes sense.

Unfortunately, I'm not reading an edition with the lovely cover above. That isn't even going to be published until later this year. It's also a trade paperback so I'm going to be buying the 3-in-1 omnibus that is the best price, but I do love these new covers. Instead, I've got the kind of skanky US mass market paperback cover.



You can see all three pretty new covers for this series over on A Cover a Day... I'm intending to start putting up covers there again. I don't promise it will actually be a cover a day - it may be seven covers one day in a week, or just random covers at random intervals - but I am going to do better.

Ford Prefect

Ford Prefect
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I first read "The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy" many, many years ago when the book first came out. I was always amused by Ford's choice of name, and when we visited a nearby car museum for my DS's birthday I actually saw my first Ford Prefect. I immediately knew I'd have to scrap it and here's the result. The quote reads "The information he had gathered had led him to choose Ford Prefect as being nicely inconspicuous".


Credits~
Template by Teresa Ferguson; background paper, photo mat paper, yellow swirl paper and torn cardboard from "A Beautiful Mess" by Lisa Whitney; outer red circle paper from "Be My Valentine" by Lisa Whitney; all other papers from "Artsy Fartsy Volume 2" by Lisa Whitney; fonts are FG Lova, Data Control and Bogusflow.

Character Creations Stitch-A-Long

Some of the lovely ladies over on the Character Creations BB have set up a SAL for CC designs for the third weekend of the month.

So I have pulled out my Dawn Star and I'm currently working on the top of Mel's head.

I decided about 10 days ago to try yet another version of a rotation. I'm still to find something that works for me, but I guess each option I discard is something I don't have to try again.

Anyway, I decided that I would work on a focus project during the week. That project will be on the scroll frame and be an over-2 project. Right now it is Alpine Seasons and my goal is to keep that the focus until it is finished. After that I'll probably go to Mirabilia's Cinderella.

Much as I just love my over-1 art conversion WIPs (that's Defender of the Kingdom, Dawn Star and Aries), I've found that a couple of days at a time is a good amount for me to work on so I'm going to do those on the weekends. I've set up a schedule that keeps Dawn Star on the SAL weekend and overall gives me two weekends on Dawn Star, two on Defender and, if there's a fifth weekend any month, I'll work on Aries.

So I stopped work on Alpine last night (I've just begun with the first lot of trees in part 9) and pulled out Dawn Star this morning. However, I've found that the weekend doesn't necessarily provide a lot of stitching time since everyone is home. Given that NZ is in the first time zone in the world, I've decided to make my "weekend" be Sunday and Monday as that way I get one day on my over-1 projects where I have the house to myself. As long as I don't need to sleep for the day (something I often need to do on Mondays) it should work out well.

I'll aim to post a picture of the current status of Alpine and my weekend's progress on Dawn Star on Monday night or Tuesday morning.

Follow up on Pompeii Garden

My lovely Dave just proved he reads my blog (I knew he read my LJ, but didn't know he bothered with the "crafty" one) by buying a Lotto ticket to finance my purchase on Pompeii Garden. Of course, now we just have to win! I'm rather suspecting we won't and I'll just have to keep drooling, but I can still dream for another hour. :-)

Playing the blog game

I'm playing the From Our Blog to Yours game with Sweet Shoppe Designs again this week.

There were two questions posted over there for answering.

1. What are you doing this weekend?

My quick and cheeky response is "as little as possible". Being in New Zealand Saturday is almost over as I finally get organised enough to type this, but that's okay. We did have a pretty laid back day today.

I got my "Ford Prefect" layout done which was satisfying.

We took Marcus to the park in the hope there would be enough wind to fly a kite, but there wasn't. He played on the equipment at the park - he even had a swing which is a major, major achievement for a little boy who used to scream if put in a swing. We then went for a bit of a drive and once we came home Dave and Marcus went swimming. While they did that, I did a bit of stitching and watched the latest episode of "Bones".

There's cricket on tomorrow - the next NZ vs. Australia match being played here in Auckland. My goal is to laze around and watch it and do some more stitching, but of course, whether or not that happens will probably depend on Marcus.

2. What other hobbies do you have as well as scrapbooking?

Well, this is my craft blog (I have a livejournal as well and each one reaches a different audience, so I try to at least vaguely keep up with them both) and anyone who has read it for a while we know that scrapbooking is my latest obsession but it is most certainly not my only one.

I've been an obsessed cross stitcher since I was seventeen, and that's a long time ago now! For anyone who wants to go and look, I have a gallery page that has older finished projects and links to my current galleries on Flickr.

After getting a job in an embroidery and patchwork store, I learned patchwork and while it isn't an obsession, it's something I still enjoy and I make a quilt now and then - the latest being "Marcus' Very Quick Bed Quilt".

I'm an avid and obsessed reader as well - mostly SF/fantasy - and I have lots of good intentions about posting about the books I read here, but I'm afraid I don't necessarily keep it up and that's why I put the Library Thing widget in the sidebar, since I use that as my reading list.

I've tried my hand at a few other crafting things in my time, but these are the things that have "stuck". I'll actually be perfectly happy not to add anything else as I don't enough time or energy as it is these days.

Pompeii Garden

Oh wow, over on the Chatelaine BB, Margit has posted her current progress.

Go and look!

It is so beautiful. I really, really want this pattern, but it and the materials and just SOOOOOOO expensive.

I think I need to go out and buy a lotto ticket - and then win!

Oh well, I can drool instead, so long as I keep a safe distance from the keyboard.

For the record

The exhaustion won. I went back to bed and slept until about 1.30pm, then rested for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to go and get Marcus from daycare.

I did finish my current book though, which was very satisfying.

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs is an excellent sequel to Moon Called, her earlier novel about mechanic Mercedes Thompson, who has been raised by werewolves and finds herself caught up in the doings of not only the local werewolves, but the vampires as well. Add in the fact that Mercy is a coyote shapeshifter and Briggs has built a fascinating world that is peopled by fascinating characters.

I really enjoyed it and decided to be generous and give it a 10/10 rating.

On to The Rest Falls Away by Colleen Gleason.

A Little Obsessive?

Do you ever feel like your so-called "hobby" has a got a bit obsessive?

I'm on a total scrapbooking kick right now. I'm having so much fun with the Sweet Shoppe Designs challenges - to the point I've done one twice! - and finding myself nicely challenged and having a great time.

But...

I feel like things are a bit out of balance, especially since I'm supposed to be a good girl and get plenty of rest in order to stay functional. Instead I want to sit down at the computer and play with pretty pictures.

On top of that, I'm spending money on digi supplies. Not an absolutely fortune (in fact, not all that much compared to what some people seem to spend), but probably more than I really should.

I have other things I want to do - read some books, stitch on a heap of things, even - gasp, horror - try to keep the house tidy and do some work, and I only have a small and limited amount of energy. I should be spending it more wisely and probably on my family.

But...

I'm having fun.

It's a dilemma.

Oh and by the way, last night I bought a bunch of photo clusters from Nancy Comelab.



This is one of her new clusters - aren't they just so cool. I've been drooling over them all for a while and now she's having a great deal where if you buy $10 worth, a 30% discount kicks in. She's also have a fantastic contest. Check out her blog for more details.

Defender of the Kingdom #008

Defender of the Kingdom #008
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

This is my first two pages finished, and it now shoes some of Aeron's hair and the very top of her forehead.

I have the standard pattern and I've cut each page in have horizontally since that gives me a more comfortable amount of pattern to be working with at any time. So this is two of my pages, which would be the same as approximately 1 page of the actual pattern as I bought it.

Started Part 9 of Alpine Seasons

Alpine Seasons #013
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Here, finally, is my picture of the fnished part 8. I found I needed to take a break from stitching before doing any more, but started the next part tonight. I was hugely relieved to find that the inner border joined up properly when I got around the part that was already stitched.

I've got that inner border about half done, so I'm hoping I'll be able to finish that tomorrow and then be ready to start the next group of trees.

What kind of cookie...?

You Are a Jam Cookie

On the outside, you project a straight-laced, innocent vibe. But on the inside, you're complex, exotic, and full of flavor.

What Kind of Cookie Are You?

This came from the Sweet Shoppe Designs blog, where they're playing a share it around kind of game. SSD is my new scrapping place on the net. They relaunched their site a couple of weeks ago and I love the new look, I love the designers, the whole thing. They're also holding some great challenges that I'm really enjoying doing.

When Scrapmommies folded, I didn't find another place I felt comfortable enough to really join in until now, so it's a lovely feeling to have found somewhere that I do.

I'm feeling very, ah, stretched by the latest challenge, I must say. I hope to have it done by the end of the weekend, so will post here once it is done.

I didn't have the energy to start part 9 of Alpine Seasons this week after all, so I'm planning to take a rest from stitching over the weekend and hopefully I'll be feeling ready to get going on part 9 by Monday.

My House Really Looks Like

My House Really Looks Like
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

For the SSD Not So Sweet Challenge #2 (take a photo of life around you "as is" without setting anything up). The scary thing is that the room got even WORSE after this. Oh yeah, I have a three year old.


(Edited to add - I just found the spelling mistake in the cat label and will fix it in the print version so please ignore it.)


Credits~
Paint strokes from "Brush Strokes" by Kim Hill; alpha from "Fun" in the "A Mother's Love" collection by Amanda Rockwell; paper from "Sunshine" in the "Project 26" collection by Tracy Ann Robinson; tear action by Atomic Cupcake; font is KGD Kerry (aka MY FONT!!!).

Much Loved

Much Loved
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Journalling~
This much-loved and rather battered teddy bear sits on a chair in my mother's bedroom, dressed in his wooly vest. He's always been around and while I knew he was Mum's teddy when she was a girl, I never thought about it very much. Last October when I went to stay with my parents, I took our scanner so that Mum and I could scan some of her old photos to preserve them for the future. When she found this studio picture of a smiling little girl and her bear, she pulled it out of the suitcase and showed it to me with great delight. So here is teddy when he was still new and my mother as a child in a smocked dress and bonnet. All these years later she still has the same lovely smile and teddy remains as much loved as ever, as his place of honour in her bedroom proves.
7 Feb 2007


Credits~
Paper and clock face from "Margo" by Eve Recinella; photo frame from "Vintage Photo Frames" by Andrea Burns; alpha is "Card Stock Alpha" from the "This Love" collection by Dani Mogstad; flower brush is from "Sunprint Stamps and Brushes" by Katie Pertiet; negative photo frame (recoloured) is from "A Little Something Fab" by Kim Christensen; "P" alpha tag is from "Backyard Explorer" by Lynn Grieveson; pin is from "Attachments" by Maryann Wise; torn cardboard from "Dishelved" by Shawna Clingerman; flower from "Lamington" in the "Project 26" collection by Tracy Ann Robinson; vintage paper is from "True Blue" in the "Project 26" collection by Tracy Ann Robinson; font is MA Simple Pleasures.

Seasoned Traveller

Seasoned Traveller
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Seasoned Traveller

Scraplift of Gina Miller's Naughty or Nice?

Journalling~
Seasoned traveller at 7 1/2 months - 12.8.04

Credits~
Square paper from "Suddenly I See" in the "Everyday Inspiration" collection by Meredith Fenwick; other papers from "Secret Garden" in the "Everyday Inspiration" collection by Meredith Fenwick; scallop from "A Fresh Start" by Gina Miller and Vera Lim; lace from "Fun" in the "A Mother's Love" collection by Amanda Rockwell; words from "Joy" in the "A Mother's Love" collection by Amanda Rockwell; heart from "Everyday Romance" in the "This Love" collection by Dani Mogstad; alpha from "Wild Love" by The Shabby Princess; ripped notepaper from "Fremantle" in the "Project 26" collection by Tracy Ann Robinson; swirl from "Noosa" in the "Project 26" collection by Tracy Ann Robinson; font is Sara Elizabeth.

I did it!

Whoo-hoo! I've just put the last stitches in part 8 of Alpine Seasons. That makes me officially 2/3 of the way through, although the parts have been very different sizes, so that doesn't really mean anything.

I've been doing it while watching NZ play England at cricket, in what looks to be a pretty balanced match. I'd love to stay up and watch the whole thing, but I've still got a bit of a tummy bug (more details on my livejournal) and should probably be a good girl and go to bed.

All the same, I got caught up in that "just got to get this finished" state and kept on until I was done.

I'll try to take some photos to share tomorrow. Lying on the sofa watching cricket I might be up to, but that's about it.

I also did some work on "Defender of the Kingdom" at the weekend and have to take a picture of that as well. I've finished my second page (although I have cut all my pages in half to make them a size it suits me to work with) and have some of Aeron's hair and the very top of her forehead stitched, which is rather exciting.

Marcus' "Very Quick Bed Quilt"

Marcus' "Very Quick Bed Quilt"
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

For the first time in a very long time, I've been doing some patchwork.

When we got home after Christmas and the weather began to heat up, I realised Marcus didn't have anything to sleep under that was cooler than his duvet and bigger than cot-sized.

So I went on a rampage and made a quilt (hence its name). It took me two weeks and I'm very pleased with how it turned out considering I haven't done patchwork in literally years and I didn't use a pattern.

Clicking on the photo while take you to its Flickr page, where there are a few details about making it.

If you go here you can see some more photos of the quilt, including a cute on of Marcus in bed under it.

Dawn Star #008

Dawn Star #008
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

My last catch up post for today. I hope to have some photos of Marcus' quilt in the next week or so.

Right now I'm doing some scrapbooking as a break from patchwork, quilting and cross stitch, but I do have HAED's Defender of the Kingdom out and I'm determined to get Aeron's hair done before going on to something else.

Dawn Star #008

This is as far as I got with my stitching over Christmas. When I got home I went a bit crazy trying to make a quilt for Marcus (which is done now and I hope to have photos soon). So no more than this yet.

The photo is a bit dark but it does show how it's looking. It's hard to photograph since it is all still such soft colours.

I'm joining a SAL for Character Creation designs which will be on the third weekend of each month, starting in February. I'll be doing Dawn Star, so there should be updates at least once a month now.

Seventh Guild Friendship Sampler

Seventh Guild Friendship Sampler
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I was also the last stitcher for this one. The row of bargello before mine was much bigger than everything else and looked a bit odd to me, so I tried to tighten it all up again with the row of key pattern to finish it off. The original stitcher had used the blue thread for the dividing row at the top and then left instructions for the middle dividers to use the multi-coloured one and the last one to be blue again. That's why the bottom is blue, not because I'm colour blind.

Sixth Guild Friendship Sampler

Sixth Guild Friendship Sampler
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I was the last person to stitch on this one, so my row of little oak leaves finished off this sampler. I called it's owner and didn't get an answer, so must remember to do so again so I can give it back to her.

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2006
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

No explanation needed really - the family on Christmas Day. Me, Dave and Marcus, then my sister and my father on the sofa. My mother is missing because she's the photographer.

Credits~
Template is SketchPLATE07 by Anita Stergiou; everything else is from “Merry Little Christmas” by Michelle Coleman.

There's Something About Red

There's Something About Red
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

This was a Christmas present for my mother. She loves wearing red, and when we found this photo she showed it to me, telling me it was clear she must have got the liking for red from her mother. It was clearly a significant photo for her, so I scrapped it and gave her the layout for Christmas.

There’s Something About Red

My mother with her parents (probably in the '70s going by her clothes), showing that a liking for red may be genetic.

Credits~
Papers and "love" element from "Rouge Flirt" in the "Personality Collection" by Meredith Fenwick; brad from "Hippie" in the "Personality Collection" by Meredith Fenwick; transfer from "Grounded" in the "Personality Collection" by Meredith Fenwick; camellia from "Faraway Friends Camellias" by Lanne; butterfly from "Unconditional" in the "A Mother's Love Collection" by Amanda Rockwell; ribbon from "Avec Amour" by Isabelle Cyr; dried rose from "Beloved" by Josie Celio; heart charm by Miss Mint; alpha is "White Vellum" by Miss Mint; flower pin is from "A Day to Remember" by the Sweet Shoppe design team; font is FG Lova.

Bye Out

Bye Out
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Finally, Kerry gets her scrapping mojo back and uploads some more layouts. This is based on the lovely photo we got of Marcus in the pool and I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Journalling ~
22—01—2007
Today was the first day you weren't scared of being in the swimming pool. Instead, you had the time of your life. You quickly got the hang of swimming and could soon kick well enough to paddle around the pool with your water wings and swimming ring. You certainly didn't want to get out. When we suggested it, you said very firmly, “Bye, Out”. Just to make sure we got the message, you added "Bye ladder” even as your teeth were chattering with cold. You are clearly a natural water baby.

Credits~
Journalling tag from “His Day Out” and staples from “The Photo Shoot” from the “Expecting Sweet Stuff Collection” by Christy Lyle and Robin Carlton; hanging tag from “Ronnie’s Jewellery Tag Assortment” by Ronnie McCray; summer button from “Seasonal Elements” by Lisa Whitney; alphas from the “I Live Collection” by Tracy Robinson; everything else from “I Play” in the “I Live Collection” by Tracy Robinson; font is Amano.

Water Baby

There's a very cute picture of Marcus over on my LJ.

Elf Princess WIP

Elf Princess WIP
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Elf Princess (art by Carol Covey)
WIP by Erin
Stitched over 1 on 28-count linen using tent stitch

Erin posted her WIP on the Character Creations Bulletin Board and very kindly agreed that I could show this off on my blog. I'm delighted with the way this is turning out, and fortunately so is Erin.

I've just been taking a look at my LibraryThing pages for 2006. So here's a quick summary...

I read 109 books in 2006.

Of those, I gave 22 a rating of 10/10.

There were 7 I gave up on and failed to finish.

My lowest rating was 2/10 on one of those 7 which I hated with a passion and don't understand why people like the series, although I appreciate that some do. That book was "Dexta" by CJ Ryan.

My 10 favourites of the year, in no particular order and with series grouped as a single entry were:

- Ship of Magic / The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
- Earth by David Brin
- The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
- Lover Awakened by JR Ward
- His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
- Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear
- Crystal Dragon by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
- Tinker / Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer
- The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
- Moon Called by Patricia Briggs

Of those 12 books...

- 4 were rereads and the other 8 were new books
- 6 authors I had read before 2006 while the other 4 were new to me this year
- Only one was a stand alone, while all the others were parts of series, either as a tight set such as a trilogy (4) or an ongoing series on undetermined length (7)
- 10 were fantasty, 1 was science fiction and 1 was paranormal romance

Dawn Star #007

Dawn Star #007
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Here's my progress at December 28th, 2006. I was going to post a picture earlier, but I kept thinking "just a little bit more, just a little bit more" and didn't stop for a photo. Once I had the background done and a hole for the purple sphere, I had to fill that in before taking the picture.

So here it is. This is probably about a week's work. I'm just loving working on this again which is probably why I've got such a nice amount done.

I'm glad I chose to bring this project on holiday with me and I have at least another week before I'm home again to be tempted by anything else.

Dawn Star #006

Dawn Star #006
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

I'm afraid this isn't a new picture. This is where I was up to on Dawn Star when I put it away last.

It's the project I brought on holiday with me and I did some stitching on it yesterday. So I figured it was a good idea to put up the last progress picture. When I put up a new photo - probably just after Christmas - there will be something to compare it to.

I'm loving making progress on Alpine Seasons again, but it was also nice to pick up some 1 over 1 and get to work on that. The only problem is that I'm currently doing light colours on a light background and the lighting at my parents' house isn't absolutely spectacular, so it's occasionally a bit of a challenge.

Wow!

My layout of Marcus trying to unlock the front door just got picked for pachimac's scraplift challenge. Since, in a way I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing, this is totally amazing.

It's challenge #38 over here.

Wow.

Escape Artist

Escape Artist
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Journalling ~
5 October, 2006
Leigh came to visit today and let you play with her car keys. After a little while I went to see what you were doing and this is what I found. You took your stool from the laundry to the front door, climbed up on it so that you were tall enough to reach the locks and tried using Leigh's keys on the door. I'm not sure if you thought you were locking or unlocking it, but you were very involved in what you were doing. I'm now very careful to make sure you can't get out that door any time as I don't want you to get onto the street. A little Houdini is something I really don't need.

Credits~
Sketch*PLATE 5 by Anita Sterigou, including stylised flowers; everything else from Winter Whites by Christy Lyle and Robin Carlton; fonts are Jeana and Mom's Typewriter

Alpine Seasons #012

Alpine Seasons #012
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Further progress on part 8.

I now have about 2/3 of the hills and plants done and I'm a little over 1/2 done for this part. If you compare this photo to the previous one, that's what I stitched today.

Stitching done and photo taken 10 Dec, 2006.

Alpine Seasons #011

Alpine Seasons #011
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Progress of part 8.

I now have the summer trees and some of the mountains done. I love how the trees look, but I really hate stitching them.

Photo taken 10 Dec, 2006

Alpine Seasons #010

Alpine Seasons #010
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

The inner border completed on part 8.

Photo taken 7 Dec, 2006

The Ice Dragons Kingdom #005

The Ice Dragons Kingdom #005
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

My latest progress on IDK. I'm now up to working on the dragon itself.

Photo taken 1st December, 2006.

My November Reads

As always, ratings reflect my enjoyment rather than a carefully thought out analysis of the integral quality of the book.

1. The Runaway Princess by Christina Dodd (6/10)
Romance. Good light reading for when I didn't feel up to reading much, but certainly not the greatest thing ever.

2. After Midnight by Teresa Medeiros (8/10)
Paranormal Romance. Fun tale as big sister tries to figure out if little sister's potential fiance is or isn't a vampire.

3. Someday My Prince by Christina Dodd (6/10)
Romance. Follow up to The Runaway Princess. Again, okay light reading, but nothing special.

4. Until Death We Do Part by Sherrilyn Kenyon (9/10)
Paranormal Romance. Short story in Love at First Bite Anothology. It was actually a good little story; deliberately Romeo and Juliet based on Dracula's daughter and her star crossed lover. Both "survived" their untimely deaths and are still fighting about it today, but need to make up.

5. Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts (7/10)
Paranormal Romace. This is Roberts' first attempt at some kind of vampire/fantasy tale and while I think she flounders a bit at first, she manages to pull it together at the end. Six people from across time and two realities are pulled together to fight an evil vampiress. This book sets up the basic story and tells the first romance between two of the six.

6. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (9/10)
Fantasy. Great story where a condemned prisoner (murder in self-defense) in a very constrained society is given the opportunity to escape execution by becoming the leader's poison taster. She soon finds herself caught up in political and personal machinations and needs to save the country and herself.

7. Tempting the Beast by Lora Leigh (6/10)
Romantica. Romantica is best defined as light erotica and I'm kind of embarrassed to having read this on a friend's recommendation. I was actually surprised to find it was pretty good. (Okay, my prejudices are showing I guess.) The world building was unexpected fascinating and I want to know more about what happens next. But the heroine had a really stupid name.

8. Dance of the Gods by Nora Roberts (7/10)
Paranormal Romance. The second in the trilogy after Morrigan's Cross; Roberts has herself better grounded here and it shows in a better book. Of course, the set up is done now, which probably makes it easier as the six prepare to the final battle to come. Besides, who isn't going to fall for a guy who can turn himself into a dragon? The Buffy-esque heroine certainly does.

9. Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder (10/10)
Fantasy. In the previous book, the heroine found she'd been kidnapped from another country as a child and has mage powers. In this book she is returned and has to try to find her place among people who remember her but she can't recall. I've seen people say they didn't like this book as much as the first, but I actually liked it better.

10. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (10/10)
Fiction. This is one of those books that defy categorisation. A biographer is called to write the life story of a famous author who is now dying and finds herself caught up in the tale of a strange, disturbing family and its secrets. Fascinating and compelling, I highly recommed this one.

11. Banner of Souls by Liz Williams (6/10)
SF. Far future tale of a young woman who finds herself guarding a girl who may or may not have the power to stop a deadly future. The world building in this one is great, the plot is solid, but I found it lacking something. Others may not.

12. Hot Spell by Emma Holly et al. (8/10)
Romance Anthology. I read three of the four stories in this and really liked them all. I'd never read Emma Holly before, but enjoyed this one. However, it suffered, as many short stories do, from needing to have characters fall deeply in love in a couple of days. The Lora Leigh story was in the same series as the book I read earlier in the month as was a solid little Ortale. I mostly wanted to read the Meljean Brook short story as I read her blog and this tale is her debut and set up for her first full novel out in January. I really enjoyed it and have found a new author to read. The fourth story I skimmed a few pages and wasn't interested. Note that all the stories in here fall into the "hot" category.

13. Orign in Death by J. D. Robb (9/10)
SF/Mystery. Another satisfying visit with Eve and Roarke. This time a plastic surgeon is killed and suspicions are raised about what he might be doing in his spare time, especially once his connection with a geneticist is discovered.

14. A Hard Day's Night-Searcher by Sherrilyn Kenyon (4/10)
Paranormal Romance. Another Dark-Hunter short story, in the My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding anothology. I felt this one was pretty much a waste of time, written for the anthology rather than from any need to tell the story. I'm really glad I got the anthology from the library and didn't spend my money on it.

15. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams (10/10)
Fantasy. This was a reread and I loved it as much as the first time, if not a bit more. I know some people find Williams a bit too wordy, but in this case it works for me. I've put Stone of Farewell on the TBR as now I need to reread the entrie trilogy.

16. The Sharing Knife: Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold (8/10)
Fantasy/Romance. Bujold has said this book was an opportunity to play and see if she could write a story where the romance gets less overshadowed by the plot and characters, as usually happens with her. I think she's done a good job, although the book doesn't feel as if it has quite as much depth as some ofher others. All the same, the world building set up is solid, the characters are nice people and I look forward to the rest of the story. The book was cut in half for length reasons and it does stop rather abruptly with a lot of the romance sorted out but most of the plot still awaiting its turn, so it's worth being aware of that when you start reading. The second half, The Sharing Knife: Legacy, comes out next year.

So all in all, a very good reading month. A bit light on content at the beginning, but some great reads. My favourite for the month was probably The Dragonbone Chair, with Magic Study and The Thirteenth Tale tying for second.

Charcter Creations December Releases

Spark Bearer - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Star Walker - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Strands of Starlight - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law

We also now have gift certificates - and they're 20% off between now and Christmas.

As always, details on the news page.

Blood, Sweat and Tears for little reward

Tate Hallaway/Lyda Morehouse has just made a post on her blog about the near impossibility of making a full time living as a writer.

Reading it, I was inspired to comment, and rereading my comment before hitting submit I decided I wanted to post it here as well, just as a general reflection of life.

Go and read her post, but I think my response just about stands on its own as well.

I fully understand that this is true and I've always been happy to cry "that sucks" on behalf of all and any authors.

I just realised as I read your post that I mean that on a really true, deep and fundamental level as well as on the immediate response one.

After my family and friends, books and the people and stories I find within them are one of my greatest joys. It is totally unfair that the people that sweat blood to give me that joy are so poorly rewarded when others get outrageous amounts of money for seemingly ridiculous things - and certainly ones that don't give such great joy to others.

Yeah, that sucks.

Oh dear

Martina, of Chatelaine Designs, has just announced that the 2008 mystery will have a Celtic theme. I know that's just over a whole year away, but I'm in so much trouble. I love things Celtic.

Maybe I'll actually be well enough to do some stitching by then.

Maybe.

If I'm lucky.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Saw this format on another blog and I'm going to try it to get me back into commenting on books.



Title: The Thirteenth Tale

Author: Diane Setterfield

Author's Website: www.thethirteenthtale.com

Year published: September 2006

Is this book part of a series? If so, which one? What book is this in the series? It's a stand alone novel

My grade: 10/10

Why did you get this book? I don't remember exactly, but I think I saw good things about it on the net. I'm always a bit cautious of well hyped books, but this one sounded rather good.

Do you like the cover? Yes, I do. It works really well for me - but then, it is books, isn't it?

Blurb: Vida Winter, a bestselling yet reclusive novelist, has created many outlandish life histories for herself, all of them invention. Now old and ailing, at last she wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. Her letter to biographer Margaret Lea - a woman with secrets of her own - is a summons. Vida's tale is one of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family: the beautiful and wilful Isabelle and the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline. Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling, but as a biographer she deals in fact not fiction and she doesn't trust Vida's account. As she begins her researches, two parallel stories unfold. Join Margaret as she begins her journey to the truth - hers, as well as Vida's.

Did you enjoy the book? Yes, I did. A lot. This is one of those books that reaches out, grabs you by the throat and won't let go. I started it last night and read a good hour or more later than I intended. I then finished it this morning, mainly through turning on the TV and letting my son watch kids' shows so that I could keep reading. It was one where you aren't quite present in the real world while you're reading it and need to keep going until it is finished to figure out what's going on and get back possession of your own brain.

Anything else? In the hands of a less skilled author, this could have been no more than an overly melodramatic story. Setterfield makes is so very, very much more. Even if you're not sure this would be your kind of book, give it a try. Either it will grab you or it won't. It certainly grabbed me. My only other comment would be that I think the book's website is one of those flashy ones with little or no useful content. Save your time for reading the book instead.

Character Creations November Releases

Dark Angel - Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Daisy Bay, Revisited - Wendy Leach
As always, details on the news page.

Kerry

Christmas 2005

Christmas 2005
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Christmas 2005

Journalling ~
Joy to the World
Christmas Day 2005

Credits ~
Sketch is SketchPLATE01 by Anita Stergiou; everything else is from Celebrate by Tracy Robinson; font is Beautiful ES; gold action from Atomic Cupcake.

Christmas Party 05

Christmas Party 05
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Daycare Christmas Party 2005

Journalling ~
9th December 2005
You loved your very first Christmas Party. Nana Jill, Grandad Ross and Mummy all came to share it with you. You ran and jumped (and did a bit of enthusiastic yelling as well). You sang songs with the other Fantail Room children - and then Father Christmas came to give out presents. You went up happily all on your own when your name was called and got given your present. (I think you would have liked to try again when it was the turn of
other kids as well.) Nana helped you unwrap your gift and inside was a brand new Maisy book just for you.

Credits~
Based on sketch by Lie Fhung, but altered to suit the layout; everything is from Christmas Time by Karen Hunt; fonts are Pea Lacy and Pea Stacey’s Doodles.

Moa Rider

Moa Rider
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Moa Rider

Journalling ~
Potter Children’s Garden
Auckland Botanical Gardens
Saturday 7th October, 2006

Credits ~
Background and black paper and paua for title from Pacific Paradise by Lauren Bavin; frame and raffia from Pacific Dreams by Lauren Bavin; fonts are Another and Dyer

Cake

Cake
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Cake

Journalling~
You had a Brum cake for your second birthday and you loved it. You loved it so much you even cried when the checkout girl at the supermarket put it away in the trolley where you couldn't see it. I put two candles on it and together we blew them out. You helped me cut the cake, even if I wouldn't let you play with the knife like you thought I should. We gave pieces of cake to everyone at your party. I think you liked the lollies around the edge and the picture more than the actual cake, but that's okay. That's how it works when you're two.


Credits~
Template is from Simple Scraps Vol 7 by Dawn Wilson; all papers are from Meredith Fenwick's new collection Everyday Inspiration; alpha is Funky Basic Black by Gina Miller; font is Century Gothic.

Five Days is Forever

Five Days is Forever
Originally uploaded by rocalisa.

Five Days is Forever

This is my third layout using a photo from this moment so clearly it had a huge impact on me.

Journalling ~
Five days is forever when waiting to hold your child.
Mummy's first cuddle ~ 3rd February 2004

Credits ~
Background paper and heart doodle from Baby Love by Crazy Universe Kelly; Flower stamp and washer from Quiet Comfort in This Love by Dani Mogstad; Footprints from A Baby Boy Story by Jen Reed; Word art from Word Bits by Trish Jones; font is Adorable