Just in Case You're Wondering

I am not still in the same outfit. Nor is there still snow on the ground. However last week we did have a good snow storm which resulted in two snow days. That was grand fun!

Lord willing I will be back this week with some pictures from Edoras. :)

Tiffany

"Summer" WIFD Day 2

Yay! There is still some snow left on the ground today. However the sun is out and warming things up lovely. That means I could go outside without coat or cape to get pictures for today.

Today I'm wearing:

Shirt: Long sleeve tee

Sweater: Knit crossover sweater gotten at an op shop here

Skirt: Chico's Traveler's Skirt (By the way, this is the best purchase clothing-wise I've ever made! The skirt is flexible enough that I can put a t-shirt or a formal top with it and it looks perfect! It never wrinkles. The flow is amazing. I really like this skirt, in case you couldn't tell. ;) )

Shoes: My "Galinda" shoes

I made my first snowball (although dad rightly pointed out that it's technically an iceball :) ) in years and had fun tossing it around.

It turns out that 10 years in Florida did not prepare me, closet-wise, for a real winter. Hopefully I'll be able to put together enough warm winter things for the rest of the week. :)

Tiffany

"Summer" WIFD Day 1

Yes, it is the "Summer" Week in Feminine Dress over at the Sense and Sensibility Forums. However, living down under, we had snow for the first day of the week!

Just a brief description of what I'm wearing:

From in to out: Petticoat

Cammisole

Brown skirt

Bluish/Green cashmere sweater

Red scarf

Green cape

I went with a red and green theme today in honor of the fact that it is the seventh month anniversary of Christmas today. (We are a day ahead here down under.) We just heard reports that parts of the city has 30 cm (almost 1 foot) of snow. Outside our door is about

5 inches!

It was amazing to look up at the sky and see the snowflakes drifting down. Trying to catch them was a bit tricky, but I managed to get a few.

Our backyard currently looks like this.

But the snow is still coming down like this. I can't wait to see the final results.......from the warmth of our house.

And sipping this Pumpkin Soup Mom is making. MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!

Tiffany

And, no, I haven't forgotten about the location pictures. Soon, I assure you, soon.

An Explanation

Well, after three weeks of moving, losing internet for a week, and my netbook refusing to connect to our internet connection, I am commandeering my dad's computer to post a quick note.

So that the first explanation.

The second is that, although the Kiwis claim to speak English, it often becomes almost like a cryptic message that you must decipher. So for when you come visit us here, I thought I would give you some words and their translation so you can comprehend at least most of what is going on around you.

So, in New Zealand you may hear:

"That building was munted in the February one, ay."

The translation:

"That structure is no longer usable after the February aftershock, don't you agree?"

Or:

"Did you bring your togs and jandals?"

Translation:

"Did you bring your bathing suit and flip-flops?"

Or:

"Want some pav?"

Translation:

"Would you care for some pavlova?"

BTW the answer to this is ALWAYS yes. ;)

That is a few of them, and I'll be back later with some more.

Tiffany

Hopefully I'll be able to put up some pictures we took on my day trip to a local mountain for my birthday to a film location. Can you guess where we went?

New Writing Prompt

Remember the writing blog I talked about here? Well, another prompt has come in and I thought I'd give it another go.

Just to refresh your memory: The author of the blog, Stephanie Morrill, gives the first sentence of a story. You come up with the next 100 words of the story. It's not a whole story, just the next 100 words.

So without further ado:

No one wanted to be there. And yet here we all were under the old oak tree.

The field stretched out to the end of the earth. I looked up and drank in the deep blue sky and wild cotton clouds. The sound of the wind blocked out the words that were being read. I breathed in the fresh mowed grass. The scent of the hothouse flowers invaded the clean, cool air.

Suddenly, the pastor's words dragged me back from my desperate escape.

"Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust."

As my father's shoulders slumped, I held my little sister as she started toward our mother's casket.



And there you have it. I can't wait for the next prompt!

Tiffany

So Big!

Just in case you were wondering how that Cutest Little of Nephew of mine is growing, I've decided to show you some comparison photos.

This picture was taken just after Cutest Little Nephew was born:
The size in the onesie read Newborn, but it reached from his chin to his toes.


Now:
It was actually too small to put on him while Mom was there a couple of weeks ago.

So.....How big is Cutest Little Nephew?

SO BIG!

Baby Conversations

My mom went back to America and was able to visit friends and family. She brought back pictures as evidence of the many conversations babies have. Here are a few examples:

"I know the secret button is here somewhere. Then I will reveal the secret stash."

"Wait! You told her!"

"I can't believe you surprised me like that. Who are you?!"

"Oh, Mumsy! It's you!"

"Okay, fine, you guys can have the spotlight now. But just wait...."

"I know how to steal the show!"

"Oh, you want a look, huh. Well, here's a look."

"Oh, you wanted the 'cool dude' look."

"Hey, that was pretty good."

"But I'm good-er."

We interrupt these conversations to let you know that we don't think you can start too early teaching your children that Pavlova is the best dessert (or that it was invented in New Zealand).

It's easy. After you've used a container of Pavlova Magic, take the empty container and put something hard in it. It closes securely, so there is no worry of the object coming out. Then you give it to your baby as often as possible. The Pavolva energy will be absorbed by the baby and they will grow up loving Pavlova. (You don't have to worry about telling them that Kiwis invented Pavlova....everyone knows that.)

"Tag Rags are the greatest! Thanks, Mumsy!"

"You're pretty funny too, Mumsy!"

"Yeah, we're pretty cool together!"

*blows raspberry*

"What? What was so funny?"

"You really thought it was that funny, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess it was!"

Hope you enjoyed the little visit into the world of baby conversations. They are pretty smart little cookies aren't they? ;)

By the way, here is a close up picture of the tag rag Mom made while she was with Shann and her family: