March 26, 2018 by Born To Organize

In a Vase on Monday: The Colors of Spring

Ceramic chick filled with yellow and white Freesia, Salvia and purple Anemone

I’m joining “The Cathys” once again for their weekly feature, In a Vase on Monday.

I look forward to filling this pink ceramic chick every year. The vase is a gift from Nichole, a family friend and our go-to babysitter when our boys were young. She’s always been a wonderful presence in our lives.

Pink Ceramic Chick

Today’s vase features yellow and white Freesia, purple Anemone and sprigs of purple Salvia.

Spring colors

Purple Anemone ready to open

These blooms have had the benefit of the loveliest, late-season rain here in San Jose. After an unseasonably dry winter, March arrived with a series of storms dumping much-needed snow on the Sierras and bringing gentle rain to the garden.

Wooden eggs and Freesia

Tessa smelling flowers in a vase on Monday

Tessa smelling the flowers (I thought this might be the end of the vase, but she treaded lightly)

Click on over to see some of the other beautiful vases featured on In A Vase on Monday.

Thank you Cathy at Words and Herbs and Cathy at Rambling in the Garden for your ongoing inspiration.

The cutest little end

March 21, 2018 by Born To Organize

A Time to Remember

Our time in New Zealand has drawn to a close, but the memories of this extraordinary trip live on. As Pauline notes “we never know what might happen when we start to blog.”

Her lovely post follows.

The Contented Crafter

I know many of you have followed along with my recent adventures courtesy of those more organised bloggers, Laurie over at Life on The Bike and Alys at Gardening Nirvana who put up posts of such loveliness all I could do was hit the ‘Re-Blog’ button and call it done.

Feb 27 selfie

We had talked about a reunion ever since our first meet up in 2015 and seriously planned this adventure for a year. It seemed a comfortable way off, but fortunately, at the six month mark I had chosen the holiday stay venue, booked the house and settled in to start making ‘welcome to New Zealand gifts’. Two months later of course various accidents pulled me up short and curtailed my arty crafty activities and then time curled itself into a ball and hurtled past me into the future.

dav

And suddenly there I was standing early one evening at an airport…

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March 19, 2018 by Born To Organize

Hobbiton Movie Set: A Gardener’s Delight and a Movie-goer’s Dream

Cheerful yellow Hobbit-hole, Hobbiton, New Zealand

“In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a Hobbit-hole, and that means comfort.”-J.R.R. Tolkien

Adding to my list of reasons to love New Zealand is the joyous Hobbiton™ The Movie Set.

Mike and I spent our last three days in New Zealand on the North Island. We used Auckland as our home base, then ventured out on a couple of tours. Hobbiton was at the top of our list.

Director Peter Jackson filmed the Lord of the Rings Trilogy and the Hobbit movies throughout New Zealand, but he also created a gorgeous movie set on a 1,250 acre private farm in Matamata.

Hobbiton in the foreground, Alexander farm in the back

A wee wooly sheep

In 2010, the temporary movie set gave way to permanent structures and Hobbiton now draws tourists from around the world.

The 12-acre set captures the magic of the movies and books. The walking tour fully immerses you in the experience.

Meandering paths are a hallmark of Hobbiton

Charming village with cleverly aged fence

For this lover of books, movies, theater and gardening, Hobbiton has it all. If I could wave my fairy wand, I would take the tour a second time, but in slow motion. There is so much to take in and so many exquisite details.

Here is a taste of some of the movie magic:

The Hobbit-hole facades are in different scales. Scale varies from 30 to 80 percent. A full-sized actor in front of a 30 percent scale set looks huge. This allows for the use of forced-perspective.
In order to age the materials, set designers soak the wood fence posts in vinegar, then splatter the planks with blue paint, yogurt and wood chips. Soaking the wood in vinegar causes it to expand, then contract with a slight warp. Flecks of blue paint add to the aging process and the yogurt, a natural bacteria, allows lichen and moss to grow along the boards. Magical!
Each Hobbit-hole has its own garden along with props to indicate what the Hobbit does for a living. We meandered past the Hobbit holes of farmers, bakers, and homemakers. I delighted in the wee washing hung on the line, and the charming mailboxes, wheelbarrows and wind-chimes that make a house a home.

Wee washing on the line

Cooper’s mailbox

Directions in Hobbiton

A pair of charming mailboxes

Chess board

Seed store

Wheelbarrow

Hobbiton

What I didn’t expect and absolutely loved were the individual gardens. Hobbit-holes face out of the hillside with sloping, earthen green roofs. Flowers grow along the fence, up the side of the house and in planting boxes.

Charming Hobbiton garden

A nice place to rest and enjoy the view

Pale pink Abutilon

An artist’s retreat

This Hobbit grows flowers and lettuce

Flowers in full bloom

Cheerful yellow flowers to match the house

Sun streaming across the hill

Charming Hobbit-hole

Some of the holes have real vegetable gardens and in the middle of the Shire, pumpkin vines give way to magnificent fruit. You all know how I feel about pumpkins.

Pumpkin vines, as far as the eye can see

A pair of ripening pumpkins

Pumpkins and gourds

The late summer harvest

Vines meandering through the Shire

Pumpkin vines near the lake

Hobbiton employs dozens of landscapers and gardeners to keep things looking authentic. Maybe we can get jobs here, too?

Mike: will work for ale

Mike’s too tall for this Hobbit-hole

Welcome to our home

Alys: will work for flowers

I love green doors

Since the gardens are real, so are the visitors. I spotted bees, butterflies and birds throughout the tour. Aren’t they magnificent?

They call me mellow-yellow

A wee spider at the base of this flower bud

A bee is a gift to any garden

Red admiral butterfly

Cabbage or white butterfly, New Zealand

Monarch butterfly, New Zealand

As the tour drew to a close, we learned that one of the trees pictured below is a fake. Can you spot it?

Three trees in Hobbiton

Updated April 23, 2018. You can learn the answer by following this link.

Our tour ended as we crossed the bridge leading to the inn. The barkeeper offered us a choice of local ale or ginger beer, then we had lunch in a big tent.

The Mill House, Hobbiton

The Green Dragon Inn

Could it get any better than this?

Oh yes.

I almost forgot to mention Pickles the resident cat. We found him like this, eyes closed, paws outstretched, resting by a warm fire.

Pickles the cat at the Green Dragon, Hobbiton

Kitty nirvana

Truly nirvana.

March 14, 2018 by Born To Organize

ScrapHappy March

Today I’m joining Kate at Tall Tales from Chiconia for her monthly scrap-happy blog post. The idea is to make something pretty using leftover scraps. Several bloggers post once a month showcasing a project using scraps of material leftover from quilting or other projects. I’ve been welcomed to post using paper scraps.

I’ve wanted to create cards using scraps for a while now. I think it’s fun and challenging creating with items you have on hand.

This first card incorporates some of my smallest paper scraps from a line by Graphic 45. Each square is approximately one inch (three centimeters), laid out in a three by four grid. I allowed space between the squares so I could score even lines for a bit of texture. I might try using my sewing machine on future cards as well.

ScrapHappy Quilting card detail

ScrapHappy quilting squares

Quilting card

My next card combines a variety of scraps from two paper lines. The colors worked well together. I fashioned it after some of the strip quilting I’ve seen in a variety of blogs. Call me crazy, but assembling these strips had great appeal. I’ll definitely do this again.

Strip quilting-styled card

Strip quilts with heart, also made from a scrap of paper

ScrapHappy strip quilt card closeup

You may have seen the following card in my Valentine’s Day card post. I’m including it here, since it also uses scraps.

I used the lining from an envelope I received last year. It was too pretty to throw away, so I kept it knowing I could put it to use.

The floral paper came from the lining of an envelope

Even scrappy-er. What’s left of the envelope liner

Sizzix Flip-it card die

I made this last card using a sheet of scrapbooking paper left over from a project a year or two ago. I used one of my new dies to punch the word “thanks” out of the blue portion of the paper, then used adhesive dots to make it three-dimensional.

ScrapHappy card closeup

ScrapHappy card

Thank you card using single sheet of leftover paper

Have you made something entirely out of scraps lately? Please share your link in the comments section, below.

From Kate’s blog:

“ScrapHappy is open to anyone using up scraps of anything – no new materials. It can be a quilt block, pincushion, bag or hat, socks or a sculpture. Anything made of scraps is eligible. If your scrap collection is out of control and you’d like to turn them into something beautiful instead of leaving them to collect dust in the cupboard, why not join us on the 15th of each month? You can email Kate at the address on her Contact Me page. You can also contact Gun via her blog to join. We welcome new members. You don’t have to worry about making a long-term commitment or even join in every month, just let either of us know a day or so in advance if you’re new and you’ll have something to show, so we can add your link. Regular contributors will receive an email reminder three days before the event.”

March 6, 2018 by Born To Organize

Loving New Zealand

Looking down over Queenstown, New Zealand

Every cliché you’ve heard about New Zealand is true. There really are more sheep than people, the hills really are that green, and the water really is that clear. New Zealanders are warm and friendly, epitomized by our hosts Pauline, Danella and Jo.

All the stresses of delayed flights and airport checks fell away with Pauline’s first embrace. I’ve been ensconced in a warm cocoon ever since.

Here’s what we’ve been up to since my last post Three Days in Dunedin.

Pauline organized a thrilling ride on a four-seater motor bike known as the trike. There are only seven of them in the world. Our charming guide Andrew met us at the city center known as the Octagon and graciously put up with all our picture-taking. We maneuvered through town, then along the harbour and into the hills for a breathtaking view. I should mention that we were also part of the view, as tourists waved and stared at this fascinating trike. I now have an inkling of what it must be like to be famous. Complete strangers smiled and waved and took pictures of us along the way. What fun!

Experience Dunedin: The Trike

Experience Dunedin Andrew

Trike ride through downtown Dunedin

Pauline and Andrew overlooking the Otago Harbour

Motorbike Mama (snort)

Born to ride

Sheep grazing above the Dunedin harbour

Blogging Babes on the trike

With Pauline, trying out my selfie stick

Heading back to Dunedin

If you’re ever in Dunedin

We were on the road for nearly an hour, wind in our hair, smiles on our faces, laughing much of the way. Experience Dunedin just celebrated their first anniversary. You can see some closeup shots of the trike on their Facebook page.

Back on terra firma, we stopped for lunch. While the others stayed on for drinks, Pauline organized a visit to her chiropractor to help with my gathering pain, the result of too many hours sitting on the long-haul flight. Did I mention the warm cocoon?

We rounded out the day with a walking tour of the University of Otago (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Otāgo). Danella has worked at this beautiful university for a decade.

Danella the trooper, still recovering from a broken leg

I inadvertently set my camera to manual, so many of my photos turned out dark and grainy. Here are a few to give you a flavor of the place.

Clock Tower University of Otago

University of Otago

Beautiful architecture

A peaceful campus setting

If you want to see how a real photographer does it, please check out Laurie’s post University of Otago.

The following morning we were off to Wanaka (rhymes with Monica). We caravanned in two cars for the five-hour journey with several stops for lunch and photographs along the way. Steven is a CB radio enthusiast so he rigged the two cars with radios. We were in regular communication between cars, alerting each other for stops and other practical matters. There may also have been some singing in the round, just to keep things interesting.

As if! It’s all interesting and wonderful. I’m like a mum with a new baby, constantly gushing at the wonder of it all.

I’ll share details of Wanaka and Queenstown in a future post.

Above Queenstown

You can catch up on the start of our journey by reading Three Days in Dunedin, followed by The Drive to Wanaka.

Blogging Babes in New Zealand

Pauline: The Contented Crafter

Laurie: Life on the Bike and Other Fab Things

KPB: Boomdeeadda

March 2, 2018 by Born To Organize

The Drive to Wanaka

Laurie captures our drive to Wanaka today. She’s an amazing photographer and a gifted writer. Come have a look. Alys

Life on the Bike and other Fab Things

After organizing 7 people and packing up 2 cars, we were off to Wanaka (sounds like Monica or Hanukkah). As is typical for New Zealand roads, the route was curvy and the scenery beautiful.

A brief stop along the way allowed Siddy to get a(nother) treat.

By 2pm, we were ready for a late lunch, and Monteith’s Brewery Bar in Alexandra was the perfect stop. We enjoyed puppy friendly al fresco dining accompanied by Murphy’s Irish Stout (for me) and followed by a yummy flat white.

Soon enough, we were back on the road but another brief stop, this time at the Clyde Dam, offered some nice photo ops. The Clyde Dam, New Zealand’s third largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River near the town of Clyde

With 45 minutes to go, we let Siddy enjoy the breeze.

And THEN we arrived at our temporary home.

What an…

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March 1, 2018 by Born To Organize

Three Days in Dunedin

I’m having the time of my life!

In some ways this journey began two years ago. During a Skype session, the Blogging Babes, as we’ve come to call ourselves, dreamed out loud of a trip to see Pauline in New Zealand. In 2015 Pauline joined us on our side of the world for an incredible trip to Virginia and Washington, D.C. Our time together deepened the friendships and expanded our hearts.

Now here we are three years later, meeting up with Pauline and her two lovely daughters in Dunedin, New Zealand.

Mike drove me to the San Francisco airport where I connected with Laurie. Though I dreaded the 13 hour flight across the Pacific, I was in for some lovely surprises.

Putting our heads together at Joe & the Juice, SFO (This one’s for you, Joe)

We got our sillies on five minutes into our journey, before boarding the most amazing airplane I have ever seen.

Air New Zealand flight

Air New Zealand lives up to its reputation in every way. The crew kept us well fed, smiling, drinks flowing and relaxed. We flew economy, or as Mike would say, steerage, but I can’t complain. It was amazing.

With Laurie and a charming photo bomber

This on-board satellite map kept us abreast of our travel

Pauline welcomed us at the airport, then we were off to meet her daughter, Danella and to reconnect with Kelly.

Pauline’s Siddy served as co-pilot

Danella opened her home to us, three women she’s never met and while still recovering from a broken leg. It’s an act of kindness and grace.

Danella and Siddy

She lives in a charming flat, decorated in soft pinks and greens, with a lovely garden out back. She loves garden kitsch, and has since her childhood. I had fun discovering tiny gnomes and frogs among the greenery. They made my fairy-garden-loving heart sing.

Danella’s Garden

Miniature garden gnome

Golden Nasturtium

Just resting his eyes

Stunning geranium

Posing on a mushroom cap

Fairy garden forest

Twins

Blushing rose

The newest addition, a gift from sister, Jo

After a leisurely morning in our PJ’s and a breakfast of tomatoes on toast (thank you, Kelly) we were off to Pauline’s. Pauline’s fans know she’s an artist and a crafter, and her space reflects her kind and creative soul. Laurie’s written a beautiful post with photos sharing that day. Please visit her post here.

Photo Credit: Laurie Buchwald In Pauline’s courtyard garden

Pauline’s daughter Jo and her partner Steve joined us for lunch gathered around Pauline’s home-cooked meal. The pampering continued with charming welcome bags filled with local gifts of chocolates and soaps, along with handmade cards, and art, deserving of another full post. (I have so much to say!)

This photo is back at Danella’s. I didn’t take any during our meal.