Frock on Friday with few old bags and a cute cat

My return to the blogging world has taken longer than expected.  Lets just get straight to the point and look at what I wore today for Frock on Friday:

This 1980s or earlier slinky polyester dress is one of my favourites - the burst of colours and the geometric pattern never fails to make me smile.  I found the crocheted handbag at lunch time today in the Hospice Shop - isn't it a beauty, not bad for $6! As my legs are not prepared for being completely bare I wore a pair of amazing floral fishnets I bought in a retail store on special for $5.  The ring was made by the lovely Vanessa of Two Squirrels - I had spied this on the facebook page and was delighted that it was still in the shop when I called in a couple of weeks ago.  

New Zealand had a General Election in September and any of you who follow me on Facebook might have seen the various pictures in me when I took part in the "Get out and vote" campaign which I was involved in from mid August until the day before the election.  The best part was when I wore Victorian clothes hired from the local theatre and voted early, which has only been permitted in the past if you are casting a special vote.  I took advantage of early voting to pay homage to Kate Shepherd who was one of the suffragettes who campaigned relentlessly for women to vote and won that right in 1983.


I was happy to be photographed when I voted and even appeared in the local paper!  The photo above was taken at work.The old doctors bag is a family heirloom and surprisingly heavy to carry.  The two photos of my cat Mittens are unrelated to voting, but she sure does look cute!

Carrying on the bag theme I found the most amazing bag at Toffs a couple of months ago....it is styled like a doctors bag, I think it is from Japan and made of beautiful peony fabric:




The last few months have just flown by - I can't believe it was two months ago (August) when I went to Auckland (for the first time!) for a women's conference.  Alas no op shopping opportunities!  The conference was great and the flight there was amazing as the photo of the Southern Alps below shows:


Now its October and I admit, one of my favourite times of the year - Rhododendrons are blooming everywhere at the moment.  I particularly like the pink one above left.  The less than perfect photo on the right is the lunar eclipse which I watched.  Amongst the spring storms the weather has had moments of intense calm, like the night of the eclipse. 

The recent school holidays ensured a much deserved week off work and time spent with my daughter.  Imagine our delight as we drove to town one day and saw this lovely Paradise duck family strolling down a street....

They were walking along one of the most popular streets where students live.  The damaged couch/sofa on the front porch is a common sight along the street, but I have never seen a duck family before!

Naturally, the school holidays meant some second-hand shopping.  One day my daughter and I went to a demolition yard to look for suitable containers for my peonies.  I did n't find any, but look at this fabulous Orion Coal Range.....which regretfully I did not buy.  Dear H would not thank me for making this kind of purchase without discussing with him.  I would like one of these outside on the patio of our new house...I love the idea of sitting outside and feeling the warmth from one of these old stoves.

An actual purchase was the cute sewing basket below left, which has a broken lid.  No matter I can use it for my sewing and crochet essentials which are stuffed onto the bookcase beside where I sit and watch tv, or read, or crochet! 

There have been some unanticipated successes this Winter, for a start, I have already passed my goal for reading 30 books this year.   I don't think I will be able to read all of Stephen King's books as I had originally hoped, though as there are more than I thought and I like to intersperse horror with other types of fiction.  For future posts I have two sewing projects to finish and then share, plus a knitting project as well.  

That's all from me for now - laptop is cooking my lap!  Hope you are all having a relaxing Friday night.  
Bye Penny-Rose