Oh dear....has it been that long...!

I have been nagged by my "2 Michelle's" that I have to start blogging properly!! (So 1 per year is not cool??!).
OK - so this year, Michelle U suggested we get together once a month to stitch (or look at patterns, eat, and ooh and aah over each others treasures!). So my Mum, Nancy, another friend, Jackie and the other Michelle are now trying to meet up each month.
Last month the Michelle's and I went on an op-shop-hop! Such fun!
We started in Stratford, then moved onto Inglewood, then Waitara (what a treasure trove we found there!), off to Michelle S's Mum's for yummy lunch, then into New Plymouth.
What a day!
I think I'm leaning to vintage and retro at the moment - hence some of my collectables from the hop!
To make our stash easier to sort I organised these 3 big bins with our names on! Cute huh? (The little doll is Michelle S's niece!).

Birth of a Blog!

Hello!
My name's Claire and I'm a baby blogger! Please bear with me!
My friends have been telling me I must do this, but being such a technophobe, I'm not sure how I'll get on!!
I may not be good with computers and technology, but I am good a waxing lyrical on things I love - lets see how this goes......
I'm writing this blog in conjunction with my new website for my patchwork store called Cinnamon Lodge. (The shop is in Hawera, Taranaki, New Zealand). In these blogs I guess I'll just be sharing some of my passions and letting you all (if anyone reads this....) know what I'm up to.
Ok - so today I'm sitting in front of the computer loading the website and wishing I could just slope off and read a good book! (I have just finished Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin and am feeling a bit lost). But Mum is looking after the shop today so I can get this done!
I'm gonna post this and see what happens - patience people!