Artistic endeavours

 Bryony has been painting in watercolours.  This is a copy of a screencap (here) from
"The Force Awakens"

She's also drawn some original pictures

Self Portrait

Self portrait, scanned then painted

 Daniel has been learning about Leonardo da Vinci and as a result tried out fixed-perspective drawing (above).  He also made a camera obscura from a freezer box and made this painting (among others) of an old dead cello we were given.

Renee has been copying cat and dog pictures and has worked out how to make them look fluffy

Other news

Hair cuts

Budgie eggs - the kids cooked them (they wouldn't have hatched anyway) and found that the egg-white is still translucent after cooking

Baby rabbits, off to Animates petshop

I finally finished this dress.  My least favourite things to sew: Velour.  Zips.  Chiffon.  So this has been sitting in the sewing pile for months.  But the other day I had a look at it (after trying 3 times to tack in the zip), and at Renee, and decided she could probably wiggle into it without a zip.  Luckily I was right (it helps that velour is stretchy), so now it is done.  My "Couture Sewing Techniques" book was a great help with the rolled hems on the chiffon, too.

Bryony was on supper duty for Homegroup

The boys have been feeding the pigeons at the Botanic Gardens

and we went to Central Otago and got fruit

This plum sauce is from a Nigella recipe, Chinese Plum Sauce - the yummiest ever.

Summer

Bryony has been taking lots of photos of the lovely flowers out just now.

Sunflowers

Hannah grew the sunflowers, along the driveway.

                                                                       Lilies

                                                                         Poppies

 

Grandma Rutherford's dahlia

Mum's birthday dahlia (above) and one which we call "Free to a Good Home" below, destined to be dug out once it dies down

                                                                       cosmos

We've been getting loads of tiny tomatoes from the glasshouse.  I planted lots of Sweet 100's and some Red Russians and Purple Russians.  They're all doing well, as long as we water them daily.

We got 27 kg of apples from this tree but we had to pick them all in a hurry because the tree developed so pronounced a lean that it began to uproot itself.  We've propped it up, hopefully it will be ok.

   
                                                       The retaining wall is finished!

                                           

Grandad on the job trimming the back trees.

We don't really want to be able to see the neighbours' house - the trees will bush up again after a while.  We still have to top them.

                                                                       

The kids have helped dig a huge hole for a woodshed.