September 6, 2020 by Born To Organize

Pauline King: Artist and Beloved Friend

Many of us know Pauline King through her blog, the Contented Crafter. I’m one of the lucky ones that got to take that a step further, not once but twice.

Pauline flew to the East Coast of the United States for a gathering of blogging friends. We dubbed ourselves the “Blogging Babes,” and my goodness did we have fun.

Two years later, we met again in New Zealand for the most extraordinary few weeks of my life. Pauline’s daughters joined us for that second gathering, along with Pauline’s beloved, four-legged companion, Siddy.

Pauline died peacefully this week from complications of a stroke. She passed on her 71st birthday, September 5, 2020.

Pauline’s blog “containing random thoughts, bits of life, creations from my art room, and tales of a cat named Orlando and a puppy named Siddy” attracted readers from around the world.

We learned about her artistic process and got to share in the final results, and when lucky, we were treated to amusing tales of a dog named Sid. What I’ll remember most about Pauline’s online presence was her poignant, funny, and insightful comments left with a generous heart on so many blogs.

In-person, she was a dear friend, a bright light, a good listener, and a kind and kindred soul. I am bereft.

You can click on individual photos to read captions or to enlarge:

Pauline and Siddy, the apple of each other’s eye.

I won the piece on the right in a blog drawing

Pauline incorporated my father’s postage stamps into this stunning, mixed media

In Laurie’s home, Radford, Virginia

Pauline in Virginia

Pauline and Laurie in Virginia

In Washington, DC with Kelly and Pauline

Pauline and Lisa in Washington, DC

One of Pauline’s beloved light catchers

Our first night in Dunedin with Kelly, Laurie, Alys, and Pauline

With Pauline, trying out my selfie stick

Pauline created this gorgeous, Halloween-themed light catcher for my birthday

Blogging Babes on the road to Dunedin

Pauline’s daughter, Danella

Pauline with my husband, Mike in Queenstown

A gift from our New Zealand hosts

In Pauline’s garden with Kelly

Yupo paper design bookmarks, a gift from Pauline

Pauline and Laurie

Pauline King’s gift to my sister Sharon: The Wise Woman

Our final day in Wanaka, New Zealand: Kelly, Alys, Danella, Pauline, Steve, Laurie, Jo, and Mike

Please share your memories of Pauline in the comments below.

She is survived by her two daughters, Danella and Jo, two women who would make any mum proud.

May 23, 2018 by Born To Organize

My Miniature New Zealand Garden

My miniature New Zealand garden started with a sheep.

Glass sheep, crafted in New Zealand

Wooly sheep are an iconic Kiwi symbol of course, but this glass sheep sporting a charming grin is a gift from our gracious New Zealand hosts.

Pauline and her daughters presented each of us with a bag of New Zealand goodness at the start of our visit earlier this year. In case you missed it you can catch up here and here. Among the treasures were Pauline’s hand-made cards, delicious, local chocolates, and the sheep that launched my miniature garden.

Part of the fun of pulling together a miniature garden is using items you already have. If you can pick something up from the garden floor, that’s even better. The challenge is finding small-scale plants and flowers. I wanted to keep this miniature garden water wise, so I used succulents and drought-tolerant herbs. Dried moss defines the grassy area, so it looks like grass but doesn’t need watering.

Small-scale, water wise plants

I’ve found from experience that shallow planters dry out quickly. I wanted to find a container that would allow for deeper roots, but one that would fit nicely on our back steps. I combed several nurseries and garden centers and in the end, I found what I needed in our back yard: our hose bowl. Serendipity!

Hose bowl with the old hose (and Mouse)

I put up with our ornery garden hose for several years, so when it finally broke, I happily replaced it, this time with a retractable one. They don’t get tangled or require taming like the typical garden hose, especially when cold. Further, they shrink into a small space. I store my new hose in a much smaller pot and I repurposed the hose bowl into the base for my miniature New Zealand garden.

Hose bowl hole plugged with perfectly sized jar; lava rock for drainage

What separates a hose bowl from a regular pot is the hole for threading the hose. I easily solved that problem by blocking the hole with a perfectly sized jar, (more serendipity) then lined the bottom with a layer of lava rock. I filled the rest of the bowl with planting mix and then could get started on the garden.

You may remember this photo from Hobbiton the Movie Set.

Hobbit Hole, Hobbiton the Movie Set

I used this image as a starting point for the garden. In addition to the glass sheep, I made a walkway using Pāua shells gathered along the beach. I bought a few more packaged shells in Wanaka. As serendipity would have it, I’m growing New Zealand flax in our back garden. I used that as well.

Here is my miniature garden homage to New Zealand.

(Click each gallery photo for details)

Vintage door stop

Back of vintage door stop ($5 at a local shop)

Toothpicks for window

Broken jewelry finding, formerly an optometrist’s lens

Completed window

Wrapping from potting soil

The glass reflects the flowers cut from the potting soil bag

Beach combing in New Zealand

Polished shells

Mixture of shells line the walk way of dried fern

Broken fountain (back of Hobbit hole)

Broken fountain pieces use to frame Hobbit hole

New Zealand growing in my garden

To create a grassy roof, I removed the bottom of two plant cell packs then placed them on the soil in the back. I left the sides of the container in place. The roots can grow down into the pot, but the containers will hold their shape. The glass sheep “grazes” along the roof.

The Hobbit hole’s hilly roof

I used a small wooden stepping “stone” from one of my fairy gardens for the door. I glued a couple of embellishments from my scrapbooking supplies for the door handle and knocker.

Hobbit hole door

Just like the movie set, the frame of the Hobbit hole is a facade. Pieces of a broken desk-top fountain create the foundation. “Lumber” across the top and sides are twigs dropped from a neighboring pine tree, pruned branches, and detritus from the garden floor. The lower half of the house is covered with dried New Zealand flax.

Broken fountain pieces use to frame Hobbit hole

Hobbit hole facade made from slate, flax, glass, wood, and recycled plant stakes

Hobbit hole window (photo taken before the glue dried, now clear)

The Hobbit window “reflects” a piece of plastic from the bag of soil. The crossbars are yellow toothpicks cut to size with a small plastic clip in the center. Getting the plastic and the glass to stay put till the glue dried proved to be a slippery affair, but I finally got it to hold.

Hobbit hole window

My friend Kelly sent me the small chair and the lantern you see hanging from the house. Aren’t they cute? Believe it or not I had a small, rusty watering can, once planted with a tiny succulent. The scale is off, but I love it there anyway.

Finally, a pair of spotted red and white fungus, similar to what we saw growing in Wanaka. I’ll say it again: serendipity!

More of the natural beauty of New Zealand

Spotted fungus growing in the Wanaka house garden

Sheep grazing above the Dunedin harbour

Winery on the Northern Island

Beach combing

Blue skies, sandy beaches, wonderful people

Looking down over Queenstown, New Zealand

Wooly sheep

I can see the miniature garden from our bedroom and our living room. It’s another beautiful reminder of an extraordinary trip.

Miniature Kiwi garden in the foreground. New Zealand flax growing at the corner of the house

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 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.