Monday, October 02, 2006

Restoring the Opera House


It's a little known fact that Oamaru (pop. around 13,000) has an Opera House. No really, you can see a photo of it here. Not a soaring architectural wonder like the Sydney Opera House, but one of the magnificent old stone buildings for which Oamaru is famous.

The local Council wants to restore the building, formerly used as a cinema, but the cost to bring it to modern eathquake and other standards is huge- around $7 million. Because this would be a burden on ratepayers, the Council and community are fundraising to raise as much money as possible from other sources.

The current project is selling items on trademe, New Zealand's version of eBay (and only available to Australiand and New Zealand residents, sorry). I have chosen to live in a small community, and want to involve myself in it. Due to matters beyond my control (ahem!), I have not exactly done this yet even though I've been living here for almost a year. So I've donated the above lap quilt which I secretly love, but had no other suitable one available. It's mainly hand-dyed (by me), with cotton batting, and is fully reversible. After all, I can always make another.

Oh...and it's my birthday tomorrow. I've decided to stay at 50 until I reach 60. A chronological holding pattern, if you like. And I do. Posted by Picasa

11 comments:

Joyce said...

Happy 50th Birthday. I have decided to stay 50 until I reach 100. Too bad I act like an immature teenager half the time! Lol.

His Office, My Studio said...

I love the colors in the 2 quilts.

I will be 50 in 4 months and plan on staying 50 until I die.

I am not sure what time it is your way, so I'll say HAPPY BIRTHDAY now.

Françoise said...

It must already be tomorrow down under...
Happy birthday to you!!

Maureen said...

Happy Birthday! Hope the quilt sells for a good price.

NZBC said...

Happy Birthday Shirley. Hope it went well. Just 24 minutes left. Of well - next years. Have just updated my CV, as someone has asked for it. Maybe working in another insurance company by December!!

Zaz said...

Happy birthday Shirley for tomorrow .........have a wonderful day and enjoy being 50 !

Helen said...

Happy holding pattern day. great quilt...and a great gesture to give it to the cause. I hope you've had lots of compliments. have a great year!

Catherine - Mixed Media Artist said...

Happy belated birthday - I'm sure you will do really well with your 50 idea! I'm in the middle of that particular decade and twice in the last week people have found out the magic "double five" number and they have been shocked that I'm that old! Shows you what happens when weight and hair cut does!!!! Along with a few other trends I have set for just me :-)

Micki said...

Happy Birthday, Shirley. Your quilts are beautiful and sounds like you donated to a very good cause.

Diane Doran said...

Happy belated birthday, Shirley, and I wish you many more!

Deb Hardman said...

Happy birthday there girl! & you can always stay girl at heart!
I love reversible quilts. I've made a few. It seems such a waste to not be reversible, since they have 2 sides anyway!
It's really lovely.Why aren't they using Ebay to give the rest of the world a chance?
Thanks for your comment on my strange paintings.