Saturday, April 3, 2010

Swinging into Easter

My goodness is it April already!
It's Easter Weekend, Good Friday
We started with a drive up the beach to give our dog pipi a run, a beautiful Autumn day filled with sunshine and warm gusty winds


Dog heaven, pipi loves to run and swim......


The beach is so huge in our lives, Kel needs it to surf , I need it for resources and treasures and Indi needs it to play, and we all love to eat the treats from our beautiful sea.....
So huge and powerful and unforgiving and beautiful and mysterious and inspiring, ohh to be a mermaid....


so much space to just be and contemplate life...


gathering bits and pieces of wisdom as we go....


and throwing back the badies who weasel into our lives.....


eeehhhem  sorry!! I drifted off into dream land there for a bit...
anyway Easter weekend , Yes Easter!
Easter is NZ is completely retarted just like Xmas, it is not spring, there are no baby birds or daffidols or baby anything for that matter because it is Autumn, everything is dying and finished growing, so I always find it really hard to celebrate Easter with passion. You northern Hemisphere people dont know how lucky you are to be so in tune with the ingrained calender!!.  But here we are with our baskets of eggs, still going thru the motions, children not really questioning why it dosent seem to fit us at all!!
Xmas is the worst, Santa in a suit like that would die over here from heat exhaustion, people paint snow on they're windows!!!, we have no mistletoe (never seen it!) or holly, no fire lit nights inside with hot food and drinks.  It sounds so lovely and one day I will be getting my all american Xmas in Colorado, with my carols by the piano in my knitted sweater, but for now I will be satisfied with my Xmas bbq, in the hot sun, with burnt bodies, beer and swimming......a Kiwi Xmas, its like we have finally invented our own rules....
So we decided to do something special every day for Easter, and Fridays plan was swings!, yep the good
old tyre swing, you cant beat it, I did some research on the net and printed up a page for inspiration........
we decided to do two...


We need some good plasticy rope, in lovely happy colours, its 10mm thick...


old tyres from the gas station, it would be great if you could find tyres these days that were'nt steel radials but it seems they are extinct, we will make it work...


we tried cutting with a craft knife...yawn!!! but realised we only had 4 days!
so out with the power tools, a jigsaw is great for this, sooo fast.....


once you have cut 1/2 the exterior of the tyre off you have to pop it inside out!!! not as easy as it seemed, a two man job!!....


POP!  Voila swing....


If your lucky like me your partner will be an ex fisherman and he can splice a rope! so attach some ropes to each side....


Meanwhile grandad is making the other swing, Munchy thinks her Granak is great....


Tie swings with plenty of fraying space, make sure your tree is safe too!!!


and fingers crossed they will put your baby to sleep!!!  hehe
Weeeeeeeee!!!


This is the swing grandad made, it has 4 holes which the rope is knotted inside of, looks hard I know!! there is no excuse for not making this one!!


Ewwww love this one too, and its so versatile, stand, sit, luy, two people, 5 people, 10 people!!!
Ok maybe only 4..... 4 little people!


Man I need a friend : (


Dads my friend : )


This place just gets more fun by the day,
time to swing your cares away xxx


After all that fun it was 7pm and time to go home, see ya tomorrow Nana!
And look at what I awoke to this morning, this is why I love Autumn and Spring....the sun rises are amazing, and because we have no curtains it makes the house glow sooo orange, its lovely...


Well happy Easter everyone, I will post again on our Easter weekend because tomorrow is Munchys 2nd Bday Bbq and easter egg hunt, I will have to show off her beautiful Tinkerbell cake..well beautiful in my mind, we will see how it manifests in real life!!
so until then, I want to see you out there stripping cars of their tyres!!!

P.S. My February Gift has arrived with its new owner, take a look


Enjoy the chocolate madness!!
xxx
Sheree

12 comments:

  1. So loved your posr. Happy Easter, now I want to go play on a swing....

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  2. Oops, that's posT, sorry! Still wanna go swing...Loved your sunrise pic too. Just gorgeous....

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  3. Well it is definitely not flip flop weather here - more splish splash! Have a wonderful time playing on your swings - we don't have a sturdy enough tree in our garden, but we have made a fort in the Leylundi.
    Happy Easter to you and yours on the other side of the world!

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  4. have a happy,playful easter!!!

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  5. your photos are always so soothing to me... I simply love the one of the little one looking at her grandfather after completion of the swing... It is simply priceless... a true treasure

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  6. ~i want a tire swing...thanks for these plans! such fun lies ahead for your sweetpea...they say swinging stays in your system for up to seven days...relaxes the nervous system...so you get the benefit of fun filled days and soothing effects as well...wishing you and yours a beautiful easter holiday...i will send some birdies your way...blessings aplenty and joyous wishes always upon you~

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  7. Swings are such wonderful things! Looks like your little sweetie is having a grand time with her new toy! And, as always, such beautiful photographs! I love Munchy has a terrific birthday and Easter Egg Hunt. Can't wait to see the Tinkerbell Cake - I know it will be lovely. :) xoxo Theresa

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  8. yay the tyre swing!! We have one too. Am loving your happy coloured ropes though.
    Our beloved tyre swing is excellent. By far the most played with thing we have. :)

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  9. You have a knack for turning what would be an ordinary day into something spectacular. Even the tire swing with colorful rope!!.

    I have never given any thought at all about how those who live on the southern part of the world celebrate holidays that are tied to the seasons. I sit here, in my older age, not caring for snow at Christmas, but longing to be were its warm and no thought of snow.

    I am certain that some year you will celebrate your winter in the snow. Sing a louder song so it happens sooner than later.

    Can't wait to see what you have planned for that tot's birthday BBQ.
    xx, Carol

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  10. To wake up to that sunrise would start any day out magically! Gorgeous!!!!

    Happiest Birthday Wishes to Munchy! It looks to me that all her dreams come true already :) Lucky little, Munchkin to have a Mama that is just a big kid herself ;-D

    Happy Easter,
    Cam

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  11. Yes, it's all topsy turvy down under isn't it, and these seasonal festivals don't even work if you just swap them over for the southern hemisphere! We've got rain finally, and GREEN things are starting to appear, new life pushing its way up through the soil just like in the northern hemisphere at the moment...but winter is on its way here! I have decided to have a 'midwinter' festival so that we can enjoy all the traditional Christmassy things in the RIGHT season (and with the added benefit of no horrible Christmas advertising on TV or in shops!) Love your swing...I must admit to be a swing addict, I think it's the most wonderful relaxing thing to do, and I rarely pass up the chance to have a good swing on any playground I happen to pass...and I don't care if people think it's a bit strange seeing a grown woman swinging to her heart's content!

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  12. Look at the SIZE of that beach! The expanse of it makes me swoon. I couldn't be more envious. :)

    We'll be moving up to our house soon and a swing is high on the priority list. Thanks for the ideas.

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