My Boy - HIS blog... Introducing Entering The Ring...

Hi Folks...

Im writing today, in the hope youll drop by to check out my sons new blog.
Its called ENTERING THE RING, and he is blogging so he can express how he feels about life in Christchurch, write some book reviews, (hes an avid reader), and lots more.
His blog begins with his autobiography, which he has done for part of his school homework... So please, if you get a chance, pop across to his blog and have a read. He has LOTS of photos to come, and hes an entertaining chap mostly *grin*... Ok, Im probably quite biased...But he really will appreciate your taking the time to have a look!

Sniffling...
Weve all got a rather nasty sneezy, snotty cold at the moment. It knocked us all for a six this weekend, but Im picking the worst is over for Mr 11 and he will be back into it tomorrow. Miss 5 slept for almost sixteen hours, and woke blocked up, so here we go again. Its a strange time of year to get sick, no?

Weird Weather
Weve had the weirdest weather in the past few days. Hot sun and singing cicadas, through to scared birds and very rumbly thunder and rain... Its a crazy Summer weve had, if thats it all over with. I sure hope not :)
The tomatoes are starting to colour up, slowly. We have big ones that are just starting to turn, so fingers xed we have enough warm days left to get them all through...

Weekend -We went to the Botanic Gardens to see the new Memorial Gardens and The Festival of Flowers that is on at the moment. Beautiful! We went on to the museum, and they have some awesome displays. Theres the Wearable Arts display which is gorgeous. Exquisite details that you just dont get to view from seeing the awards on TV. The intricate details and the colours and textures are amazing. Of course the touch screen monitors draw the children to them, as they are totally interactive and the interviews about what inspired the designers is really cool!!

Then theres the Christchurch Earthquake display. Wow. We were blown away by the coverage. Everything. From the dear old battered spire of the Christchurch cathedral that lies in state as you walk in, to the shoes that the Rescue Dogs wear, the boots that the Search guys wear, and everything in between. Theres a toilet bike (yes, really!) and so much info about the whys, the wheres, and the hows. There are again, touch screen monitors which allow access to lots of footage that wasnt seen, the Forensic examiner talks about their difficulties and findings, there are videos of when the eq happened, there is Police Comms coverage that you can listen to. All in all, we were really quite impressed... And rather subdued when we left...

The thing that helped us *Happy Up* was seeing the kids in the butterfly house. The ladies there are awesome, helping both kids hold monarch butterflies... Awesome. Our kids know the importance of butterflies, and they hold them in some reverance, knowing they need to be gentle with them, and they always comment when they see them... Here theres a room you can go in and watch the butterflies as they do their *thing*... Theyre raising awareness of the butterflies, which is so very cool... Youll find more information about them in the link below

THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY NZ TRUST

Out In The Garden...
Planting Winter crops like brassicas, more carrots and onion, we have a large group of cabbage and brocolli. I havent planted caulis because I know our dear Miss B from along the road has them covered, so we will swap. I have lettuces planned too, and I must remember to re sow the carrots and onions in a few weeks so we have continuous sowing before it gets too cold...

Raspberries that were cut back have gone mad. Suckers everywhere, some of which Im going to pot up to sell... That was always the intention, and we have many bushes now. Awesome. Some are Autumn fruiters, so it evens things out nicely. The tansy buttons look great, by way of companions to the raspberries, but they need to be kept an eye on as they grow so quick...

Well more from me when I get to lend a camera. I must buy myself one... I just dont seem to have any luck with them lasting more than six months, for some reason.

Love to All,
Keep Smiling
E BUTTERFLY
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PS Please... take a look
ENTERING THE RING by Taurus Hunter

Finding The Sunshine - Links - Good Things Happening...

Turn your face towards the sunshine,

and the shadows will fall behind...

Some Links -

COUPLE ON LONELY STREET

LIVING ON THE EDGE - 1 YEAR LATER

SCHOOL ROLL AFFECTED - FALLING NUMBERS

RECORD NUMBER OF PRESCRIPTIONS

PSYCOLOGIST GIVES LESSONS ON COPING

QUAKES LONG TERM TOLL

 

Hard to find the Sunshine in Christchurch - apart from the intermittent, sometimes fleeting sun we get outside, the news media seemingly focus on the negatives of our City Rebuild.

Things like crime and domestic violence, depression and PTSD are on the rise, there are holes and cracks in peoples lives and homes, unemployment is rising, and now our city Mayor and Councillors are at odds.

It really does seem sometimes that the negativity is never ending.

Im taking myself away from the negativity.

I limit what we watch on TV, tending to spend more time away from the news, not reading the message boards and such. Its called self-preservation, and I think my Garden is more deserving of my time.

It isnt my lack of empathy, but rather the opposite. It affects me greatly to hear the sadness, the unhappiness, the suffering of others... I wish they had positive things to fill their lives with that provided people with a feeling of peace and some Hope! I saw this quote above today and thought it was perfect!

So Im turning my face towards the sunshine... let the shadows bugger off and leave me to it~!

Some Good Things...

Well. We spent the weekend boiling water, because as Murphys Law would have it, the gas bottle ran out on Friday night, and ... they dont deliver until Monday, if I ordered on Monday, it would probably be delivered on Tuesday. BUT - Monday was a Holiday --- Waitangi Day. So, it was a lick and a splash in boiled water over the weekend, it just shows how you can get by if you have to...

Doesnt sound so positive does it? The positive thing was, we managed, regardless. When I rang, I was far further in credit in my account than I thought... Its the small things that count, and this made my day when I ordered the gas bottle... Small Steps... and boy hot water out of the tap ROCKS!

NOTE --- We seem to have another cluster of Aftershocks happening at present. There were a few mid 4s last night I think - I didnt check the size, but you get good at gauging whats what depending on how fast you have to move to the door before it stops :-)

If youre in Canterbury - KEEP YOUR EMERGENCY KIT WELL STOCKED and BE PREPARED. It isnt doom-saying or building negativity - it is REALITY.

THE REALITY of our situation is - We live in a city on active fault lines. We need to be prepared at all times.

SOME ITEMS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR KIT -

3 litres of water per person, per day for at least 3 days
Toilet paper
Batteries

Torch

Radio

Buckets

Plastic bags for waste/rubbish

Non-perishable foods for at least three days

Warm Clothing

Stable Footwear

Blankets

Tarpaulins

Medications

First Aid Kit

DONT FORGET Sanitary items ie pads, tampons

Nappies

Formula if required

CAT AND DOG FOOD and Water for your pets...

**************************************

BIG TOMATOES, and little ones - Yes, theyre growing. We have some Big Boy Tomatoes, Russian Reds, Purple Calabash and Tomato Chocolate, theyre all big ones - Slowly theyre turning and colouring up, and we are enjoying the variety... The ones we are eating almost off the bush because theyre so sweet is the Jaune de Coeur du Pigeon - theyre small, pear shaped and very yellow, extremely sweet! We are going to save some seed from these ones so we can enjoy them again! Very nice on pizza!

Dinner!

The smell of basil, tomatoes, garlic and red onions was delish when we made our pasta the other night. We added chopped ham and some cheese sauce, YUM! Everyone wanted more!

You never find hairs on an elephant

but you always find hairs on an ape

and it's only the hairs on a gooseberry

that stop it ftom being a grape

Ive been potting up some cuttings from our berries in the hope they might take. Ive got some gooseberries, some raspberries and lots of strawberries. Im promising myself a proper bed for the strawberries this year, rather than just popping them in. They were an impulse buy at the supermarket, and I really needed to be better prepared. Im working on it :)
The pumpkins continue to do really well. Im so pleased. I get the biggest sense of satisfaction when I see how big theyre getting. Squash, I think *Golden Nugget* reminds me of my father. It was a variety he used to grow when I was young. I remember him bringing them inside, and me running my hand down the wrinkly hard skin. We have some green ones with yellow bands down them too.

Im not sure of variety because whatever I thought I was growing hasnt turned out that way!! I had thought I was growing a Winter Deluxe Pie, but it doesnt look that way yet... Time will tell :)

The lavender (grosso) has grown very well this year. I just took some snippets off the bigger plants, and shoved them in my shaded area. Theyve grown miraculously. Im so pleased, lavender is my favourite plant...

And I see we have some success with the other cuttings too, mostly fuschia, unknown varieties, and some roses.

We picked up some nigella seed pods yesterday on our way home from school. Theyve got cunning little black seeds inside, and Im saving some for next season. They were growing on the side of the path, and obviously have come from someones abandoned redzone home, amongst some calendula and some other flowers. There is also a huge feijoa which Im keeping my eye on. Id like to take cuttings, but Im not sure yet just how to do that... Im reading :)

Amazing how despite the conditions, the plants keep going... Theres a huge pile of liquefaction in the middle of our local park. Imagine my surprise (and delight) to recognize a growing vine of pumpkin, complete with big yellow flowers, growing up like Topsy, right there. Awesome.

I do wonder how long it will last before someone decides to uproot it, run over it or pluck the flowers from it... Thats Life.

Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better...Albert Einstein

Well, I guess its time to stop talking about things and get out there...

There are weeds calling my name, and the breeze has dropped for now.

I hope things are going well for you, and your garden is bringing you joy.

Love to all,

E BUTTERFLY
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2011 leaves with a Shake... so what will 2012 begin with?...

2011 is leaving.
Well, ceasing. And The Bitch doesnt want to leave us without a decent farewell - We got that!
Today we had a 4.82 that the USGS recorded as a 5.2! Some serious shaking, more damage for some, liquefaction for others - us, the lucky ones, just a stern reminder that Mother Nature Lives Beneath.
After a drive yesterday, we realised sadly, that yes, there are changes being made in Canterbury, but our neighbourhood is now looking like a series of country lanes, empty houses on funny angles, broken bits and bumpy gravel roads and neglected spaces where gardens still bloom regardless. Sad and Forgotten for the most part. The people who drive by, are just there just to look, to Thank God, maybe, that it isnt them?  and then they drive back from whence they came.

Did the Mayans truly predict that The World Might End in 2012? Im sure the Mayan who was in charge of writing the numbers at the time, lost count of where he was, and then decided, he had to go to the bathroom. When he arrived back, he looked at what he was writing (The Calendar) and shrugged... Meh. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time, but Im over it... and off he went to lunch. Never would he ever guess that he left us all hanging...
Ok, so thats not it at all, but we will never know :-)
Im picking The Changes that are spoke of,  have begun already. Theres an air of unrest right around the world.  Chaotic Economic changes, Natural Change, More water, less food, more people, Earthquakes, Floods, Famine. Civilization is Changing.
It is all part of an energy that means we MUST assimilate Change - Into our lives, our homes, the way we educate our children, technology, it all will change.
Change never happens without some sort of negativity or positivity to activate it. We need to get used to the changes, and its tough!
Its what they say - What doesnt Kill Us, Makes Us Stronger.
Im about as Strong as I can be. No - possibly not, but lets not push that to trial.

... Out with the Old, In With the New...I just want to cruise - no - sleep! through the end of 2011. I do not like New Years Eve at all.
My family are not entirely with me, and never are now theyre older and have Social committments. New Years Eve for me brings back sad memories of people dear who are no longer with us, of past Memories that bring home how much I miss the ones I love.
So Im a sad sack, and I ll be happy just chilling with the littles, watching some TV, then drifting off...

OR WILL I?
This year in Christchurch, it seems half the world wants a reason to celebrate... and why not?
Weve had some kind of wacky stuff to deal with  this year...
On with the good stuff - Celebrate Your New Year Cantabs~!
Parties on each side of the street here, and lots of music.
Someone was jamming on an electric guitar before - It sounded awesome, even from here, and Im picking it was a few houses down. The unfortunate thing, is that next door have Elton John on Replay, and the two playing alongside one another makes me want to run for cover :-)
Shouting can be heard, (the happy kind) and lots of families walking in the night air. It isnt dark or cooler yet, at 7.30pm its a nice time of night for a stroll around our neighbourhood...
Let the celebrating fill your heart, and let go of the fear - not just here, but whereever you are!
We got through, we will continue to make good.

Love, Light and Blessings
HAPPY FABULOUS NEW YEAR

Roll On 2012!!
Love
Earth Butterfly
XXXXXXXX

Berry Beautiful and Other Stuff

Has been one of those fortnights.
Time flew, and before I know it, all the bills are due at once, not good management on my part, but meh. These things happen - its called Life.
Trying to plan for the extras and the imponderables is impossible these days, money is tight, and energy is low.
BUT! Theres always something good around the corner, and ... we have berries.
I happened upon a person who was shifting out of his house, and he in passing, mentioned his garden. We got talking, as keen green garden-loving people do, and we discovered we both had a love of self-sufficiency and all that stuff. He took me to show me his plants. Yes he did. His PLANTS!
He sold me some berry plants and made my week!
I need to get the camera out, but ... the garden has grown immensely just recently. Soon I hope the frosts will be a thing of the past, and I can get out there with my tomato seedlings. Yay!
I have radishes, carrots, silverbeet & chard, onions, garlic, shallots (that might be dead!) parsley, thyme, 2 echinacea plants, some coriander or chervil? I must look again... and a lemon tree, easy peasy peas, scarlet runner beans, borlotti beans, and and and the berries - 4 black currants, 1 boysenberry, 1 raspberry cane, a gooseberry and a red currant. Yay!
So we are heading towards a crop of goodness there... I received some Honey and Pearl corn seeds this morning. I aim to have a good crop there hopefully, I think I am going to need more than 30 seeds however, seeing Miss 5 loves corn, and Im picking the birds might too?

So see, we are down (a little!) but not out, and certainly things are progressing, despite being cash-poor!
Time for a garage sale, a bit of a tidy up inside... Hoo-eeyy! I dont WANT to stay indoors to tidy and clean.
I want to be outside in the dirt and the compost amongst my plants.

Loving the Garden Life.
Hope youre getting along nicely in your Garden... and Your Life too!
Love to All

E BUTTERFLY
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Settling In...and Happy Easter, Anzac Day and All!

A new hollyhock colour sprouted from seed! Already flowering too.

An Easter Hello! to you all out there who are waiting for the Easter Bunny...I hope he has a good map marked with a big X for your place...
Not us, the Easter Bunny forgot this year, but has been busy collecting knitting - gloves and legwarmers and hats, so maybe there will be some hidden chocolate goodies somewhere amongst the wool :)
So not like us, not to have chocolate at Easter, and we didnt even have Hot X buns this year... I dont know why we missed the usual traditions, perhaps it was budget related, more than likely it was because weve been busier this week than most. Or so it seems...

Flowering Basil plants, smell heavenly!

Dill, has rallied beautifully since planted

Dear little fluffy lettuce seed heads wait to be plucked...

Its rained ALOT. The kids have been cooped up and are obviously sick of it, and today it was gorgeous weather, and they still stayed inside - TV had all the kids movies on, and they moseyed between being in the Garden playing and lying out on the bed in my room, watching cartoons and movies, culminating in watching our favourite Forest Gump tonight. Love it. Coffee, Bikkies and Forest Gump.
This week Ive been knitting, and Im enjoying getting some practical use out of my creative ends. Arlais has some new Easter mittens, Im doing some leg warmers to match and the boys have put orders in for balaclavas each...

Still plenty of tomatoes tucked away, growing nicely, still colouring up for picking...

Not a lot to report, we ate Butter chicken tonight, inside I snuck our own veges - still lots growing out there, to my amazement... Some peas, silver beet, some basil and some parsley, and our own tomatoes too.


One Plane, Some Planks and our favourite PJs complete with Gummies = FUN!


Well I hope things settle down weatherwise. It is so nice to be able to go and stroll around the garden and enjoy the warmth of the sunshine... I love these last sunny stretches in between the lumps of rain and wind, soon to be snowy sleet...

Love them!

Thats all for now. Not alot of news to be had.
Easter is for Family here, so from my Family to Yours,
Happy Easter,
Thinking of you on ANZAC DAY too.

Love,
EButterfly
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Catching Up...Baking Up A Storm... Sunday, Sunday!

Its been a while... This new computer is awesome, but its taken me a while to figure out how to get everything on again... Happy is, having a big hard drive for lots of photos...

Sumner Main Street

So... lets see some... We took family for a break out to Sumner, I have to say, it is beautiful out there, even in its delicate state. It was a central part of the earthquake, and I was astounded to see the damage, and yet delighted to see the heart of Sumners shops still buzzing, slowly maybe, but steadily all the same.

Road to Sumner, paved by Road Cones!

Shipping Containers edge the road below the cliffs

Underfoot, the scars remain

The Beach Footie Must Go on!

The shops that remain open are well patronized, and Sumner still has such unique places to go and find all manner of things you dont find any where else...

Cute Kiwiana!



Idyllic Buildings especially this one!

 Im eternally grateful I dont live on a hill overlooking the sea.

You can see the gashes where the rocks have fallen

Looking up at them always did make me nervous, the pigeon filled cliffs have fascinated me, the birds fly out now and again en masse, and now, looking at the piles of rubble along the base of the cliffs, and the shipping containers placed there to make the roads safe... the mind boggles.

Cave Rock - the Cave is now filled with boulders

The iconic landmark as you go through Sumner on the beach, is Shag Rock. Of course, the one photo that *didnt turn out* was the one of the new and changed Shag Rock. It doesnt even look like the same place... The funny thing was, we were travelling through and when I saw it, I took a photo, but there was a sign nearby that I caught right in front of the Rock, so here ya go

 ... needless to say, Shag Rock is now small. Very odd... but still has the Shags...

Life Goes On, so glad to see theyre open and Ok

Little Lady Goes Shopping With Daddy

Doesnt matter the age, the hands both went out automatically to run along the top of the rock walls :)

Spa Pool Anyone?

What a gorgeous day for having a stretch of the legs, and a small road trip from the suburbs. Well, Sumner is still a part of the city, but so different from our part of things...

Eww Ahh, a Tractor... We saw two actually!

Theres still a dearth of Diggers and Council vehicles... If youre missing a digger or two... I know where they are! Oh and Road Cones. Christchurch has a million... or two.

The Substation next to the RSA in Sumner

We made a big batch of cupcakes this week.

Our first ever try. Miss A was suitably impressed, and we packed them up and took them around to our neighbours. Blue and Pink icing too... yum. Just what you need :)

Actually Daddy was very impressed with them... We have promised to make them again. Four dozen small cupcakes, it was fun! Weve made a couple of our Fruit Loaves too. Theyre yummy! I think Im channelling my inner Domestic Goddess at the moment, its so much fun to bake esp when its cold outside... and Miss 4 has been learning about mixing and stirring... she loves sitting up there chatting as we bake.

Pumpkin

Another week of school and theyre off again for Easter break. Two weeks of changing weather - lets just say, its usually crappy weather this break, hopefully this year will give us a couple of good solid weather days so we can get out and about... before Autumn cracks and lets Winter in.

Bergamot

The Easter bunny better pop in too, Ive heard Creme eggs are on The Easter List this year, as well as Golden Bunnies from Lindt. Expensive tastes, my children!!

Look Mummy, Im a bwide!

Autumn Colours

Beautiful Lillies

And after all that, May will slide in quietly...

Signs of Winter approaching - Our Empty Swimming Pool...

Our weekly scoop from the garden... Seed Pods and Veggies

My bull-headed Taurean turns 11 on the 8th of May. He is my Mothers Day present, bless him.
This year I want to make him something special, hes had a whacky kind of year - two earthquakes, lots of responsibility and not as much schooling as usual. He is holding it together, but the cracks are showing... I think we all could do with a holiday, but where to go? Hes asked for books... so easy to buy for :)

The new Echinacea I bought has flowered, three tall (majus var) flower heads which I watched over as they died and dried... I bought them inside and shook them tentatively... Yes!! We have seeds. Im so pleased. I hope they are viable and easy enough for this amateur to grow from... Excited? Well yes! I am! :)

My pumpkin is still growing ... Im cautious, as I know the first frost will kill it, but even to get one small pumpkin would be so cool. Its so shiny and green, its very pretty...

Our bergamot has flowered beautifully (photo above), the flowers dont seem to have seeds which concerns me. I dont know what Im looking for however, so maybe I have just missed them this year... I must remember to *google* them...

Mr Winks

Not a lot more to report. Ive just put some boxes and old towels/sheets out for the cats. It is getting colder at night and now that we have two extras, they seem to fight over the old dry haunts... so theres a new box in the garage, and another under the table out the back in the porch... I have to growl at them for fighting, and they adore me seriously... no, honest, its true. They hang on my every bowl of food.

Heres hoping your week is a happy one,
Wishing you Sunshine and Light,
From My Hearth to Yours,

Winter Colour amongst Liquefaction

Earth Butterfly
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