Kiwi Tales

the kiwi down-under

hello kiwi tales readers, sorry long time no post. sue is on her yearly jaunt to the land of the long white cloud. hopefully she will delight us all with her exploits when she gets back. in the meantime, don't forget to check out YanKiwi.com to see what new and fun rubber art stamps and gorgeous wee objects we have to offer.
the yank

Desert Dwellers...we aren't

Welllll... we do live in the high desert but The Kiwi hasn't quite worked out what exactly that means.... Does one have to be high to live in the desert or does the desert make you high?
Either which way The Kiwi is confused AND in the desert, so maybe that gets misconstrued as being high. WHATEVER.
   Writing this from our salubrious surroundings in my ever so comfortable bed at La Grand Motel 6   Mesa, Arizona. Do not be tempted to laugh. The Kiwi can hear you. We did indeed have fine company...NONONO...Not THE Posh one...BETTER.
If you wish to know who else slummed it with YanKiwi send a stamped self addressed envelope with 50,000 buckaroonies to P.O Box YanKiwi and we will share the goss with you. (just joshn) YOU would be surprised people.... shock horror and PINK is all The Kiwi will say. You would have to either bring out the $ or the water-board to get any more info from moi.
Please note: We here at YanKiwi ONLY choose to slum it at the 6's or 8's to check out and report back to our loyal public.
   For those of you wondering why they can't read ALL our comments, it is because we are total control freaks and The Yank is a computer whiz and has the box rigged so only we can see and keep to ourselves your opinions. We do, however, let the odd one filter through, just so some of you can see YOUR name in print. The Kiwi is worried about love mail and can't take on any more responsibilities right now.  Actually people... as I taptaptap I can literally see the spiders weaving their web of words and I will indeed dedicate the next hour or so looking behind the scenes to read all your wonderful words of love, problems and sad little stories.
   Goodness...I digress, It must be the after effects of those large cacti that I nibbled on. The Kiwi had long ago heard rumors of the wonderful medicinal come cosmic experience one got from some cacti...The Yank did tell me to stop but The Kiwi thought it was mostly because she didn't want the responsibility of pulling cacti thorns our of my tongue... silly me.

   Did I mention that we were at the Mesa show in Arizona and had a wonderful response from the crafty ones down there?  If not. We did. We met a lovely new promoter who welcomed us warmly, Thanks Barbara, and a super big Thank You to you yummy folk who visited and supported us at the YanKiwi booth. For sure we will be going to Mesa again and I sure hope I can find the right cacti this time as the one I tried gave me a horrid rash and can't say it tasted nice either.

   Note to self : Contact Charbucks or preferably Deitrichs to get a new franchise or two opened up down there before we come. The Kiwi and The Yank wasted a good half hour looking for a decent coffee. Its almost a good enough reason to go out and buy one of those global positioning dooooduh thingmegigs.
   It was nice to catch up with some pals and share a margarita or two. GEE... I'm really sorry bout the tooth Pinky, I still have the broken fragment in my pocket. If you don't want it, can I use it in a collage?
The Kiwi promises never to share her butter rum toffees with anyone else again, but then again, what goes on in the desert stays in the desert...

Rain Kiwi Style

Did you ever wonder how the color green is really made?
Pure and simple it is because of RAIN.
That watery stuff that comes out of the sky, for those of you that haven't seen it for a while.
YES people, that elusive substance that encourages many a Californian weather fiend to break out into those scary words... STORMWATCH two thousand and something.
Here in New Zealand we embrace rain and cherish the gifts it bestows on us. It cleans, it empowers the plants to grow and it replenishes the water supplies, not to mention it makes heavenly rainbows.
Yes yes yes we bitch about it at times as there is always a downside. However, it is a truth that RAIN is indeed needed and it is a gift from above.
It is my second encounter with rain since being back in dear old New Zealand for all of 20 days.
The Tuis still sing from their rain dropped perches, people still go out about their day and someone kindly bought my washing in when they saw the sun shadow over. All is good back in the land of the long white cloud. No where on earth is perfect. Some places are definately greener than green. New Zealand is sure one of those places with a whole palette of greens. Its just on the other side of the hot side of the moon.

Chaos

The word itself sounds awfully dramatic, the situation , whereupon it's to be described...fitting.
I feel like I ought add another word there, like BRILLIANT or BAM.
Bam will come when we squeeze the last piece of booth content into FLICK the jeep. It will be the sound of the back door pushed tightly shut quickly before the pipe and drape poles slip that annoying inch or so that makes a situation difficult. Get the picture?
YanKiwi will be at the last show of the year in Carson CA. It's only fitting that it was our first for YanKiwi and we finish our first year in biz with a show there...how profound and totally unintended.
Two days after the show I fly to New Zealand to see my Mum, catch up with a retailer or two, and get my fair share of to-die-for meat pies and fish and chips. Are you starting to get the picture of chaos yet people??? Did I mention I haven't packed yet? (and did the Yank mention that she forgot to post this a week ago before the Kiwi left? shhhh don't tell her, maybe she won't notice the post date... uhhh busted!)

New Zealand Calling...

Like any good Kiwi abroad I always keep 1/2 eye open to the price of fares back to the homeland.
Last week it was bought to my attention that for the month of May my fave airline was offering a ridiculous return fare for around $850 including taxes etc. Of course this particular fare contains you with all the other sardines. For a similar price one could also visit our fourth main island, Australia, aka OZ. I wanted to share this with you all because it is not uncommon for the Kiwi to hear that a lot of you out there think it is 5 times that amount because of it being so far away. Granted, it is far away but now with the advent of a TV screen right in front of one's face and numerous latest movies that pause when one needs to snooze and start again when one pushes a button, that 12 hours from woe to go seems to go that much faster. The rewards at the other end are well worth it. Heck. You could be sitting on a tarmac in bad weather here for hours on end or you could be half way around the world...your choice. I'm telling you this now to give you ample time to book.  A bonus awaiting you at the other end is a Stamp and Scrapbook expo called S.E.N.Z. It is one of the two annual events for us like minded folk and it runs in Auckland from May 25th till May 27th. Here you will find the creative Kiwis still enthused at their craft and growing on a daily basis. Stamping and scrap booking came to New Zealand later than it hit America and consequently it is still peaking with much enthusiasm and fervor. There you will meet NZ stamp companies and visiting ones from the fourth island. You can see and speak with the likes of Kathleen Green a contributing artist for Altered Art Magazine and many more local celeb artists. We at YanKiwi have attended the show in the past, and will attend as vendors soon, maybe not this year but hopefully the next. It is always neat to visit all the states in America, shops and shows but it is also refreshing to really step outside the box and get inspired by what other folk from lands far away are doing. I'm really excited at the thought of going home to New Zealand with our business and sharing our wares. We have designed a range of Kiwi inspired stamps to feed the growing Kiwi market and for those who have returned from holiday there and are wanting to create from that experience.
New Zealand anytime of the year is invigorating and for those of you out there who know a bit about the country have surely heard how beautiful it is. Apart from my personal wardrobe, including all the clothes that don't currently fit ( which is the majority) (note...currently working on that) I can personally guarantee you would have never seen so many shades of greens in all your life...ok ok, maybe on St Patrick's day in Ireland but thats it. Pack your brolly, you may hit some rain but HEYYY...its a small price to pay to keep those greens green.

So I joined a gym...

Approximately a week and a half ago the alarm went off at 5.40 am. As if that wasn't torture itself, there was more to come. We pulled on our pre arranged piles of shabby not so chic gym attire and by 5.55 am that very same morning we were on the road heading to the gym. Our fellow masochistic friends were there and we all looked around the room to the sound of disco blasting from the hidden speakers. This was not a dream. My eyes were dancing to the tunes. The rest of me was in shock. Not that I am adverse to getting up early (ish). Its more the fact that I prefer coffee surging through my veins first thing. Not plasma. The mere thought of giving myself over to a machine and having to make the thing move left me with a feeling of repugnance. I pouted but it did no good. I resisted the temptation to just curl up and die and set the machine to its lowest speed and hopped on board. I'd rather be stamping. Hell... I'd rather be cleaning the studio, anything really. I chastised myself for getting so out of shape, I looked at the body beautiful a row and five to the left in front and wished I looked so good. I looked to my love on the machine next door and smiled, maybe grimaced, I cannot remember. Then I looked towards our friends, every one of us at a stage of our lives that have various body parts misbehaving or feeling weaker than we can remember. Not to forget the added pounds life has slapped on our thighs and other areas as time passes by. Bottom line, we had all got to an individual place that had got us to this place, at this time, to work on change for the better.
It was mentioned that we may feel sore, grumpy, and occasionally ravenous for a while and eventually it would get easier. Whilst reflecting on these thoughts I look over to my love gazing at the TV screens on the wall, which of course was better than gazing at the body beautiful. With just a look, ok ok a wee whisper, we both decide to bite the bullet and "kick it up a notch" aka raising  the speed on the machine of torture, not to mention the incline and consequently the heart rate.  Eventually we all seem to come to that place of acceptance and some decide to stick with the cardio whilst some of us move into the smaller work out room only to replace one machine of torture with more ferocious looking ones. I dig deep for inner strength and a second chance. At 7 am we pack up and leave. One whole hour of exercises under our individual belts. Home to the coffee pot which behaved itself and was ready to be poured. We have been back four more times since that first horrid day and we will be going back tomorrow and the day after. I still don't like the machines of torture, I'm still not keen at making coffee wait so long for our morning date. However, I am proud that we are all being consistent, sticking to our commitment and determined to work on getting healthier. I for one want many more years of love and the time and space to create. If this is what it takes, so be it, this is what a gal must do, besides, I've come to believe coffee does taste better with a dash of smugness. Just a dash mind you.