Mid Winter Xmas Dinner @ Joseph Mellor

Eighteen of us went to Joesph Mellor Restaurant for our Mid Winter Christmas lunch we went there last year.We travelled in two cars and a van.The service was friendly, And the company was good.The food was delicious but lots of people didn't like the brussel sprouts, Judy ate ten of them!
We had ham and turkey with roast sliced potatoes and kumera. The carrots were yummy as was the cranberry sauce.


The picture above is of the pudding. It was steamed fruit pudding with a cream brandy sauce. The problem was that some people got meringues and others didn't!
Picture below is David eating a fancy carrot.

May Group Project - One Heart Artwork

This project is one piece of art made up of twenty five individual blocks. Each small block is painted by each person in the group which makes up one whole picture of a love heart.
The picture below is the background painted on already. Each person could paint whatever they wanted on there square as long as they kept the background colours the same.


Pictures above, members painting their own squares. Below, almost finished. It has to be glue mounted on a board yet we will take a photo of it finished and hanging on the wall when we shift to the new premises.

Trip up the Otago Peninsular to Sandfly Bay

It was a brilliant sunny day, but pretty cold. It had been raing and blowing for a week prior, so we were lucky to get a nice day for our planned trip. The week after this trip the weather was horrible again. Marie took the photos of the peninsula out of the van window. We drove to Sandfly Bay and parked the van and car in the carpark. Photo above is of Colin standing next to a tourists van brightly painted wityh Sesame Street characters. The rest of the crew went of r a walk down to the lookout. Pic below, pointing the way ot the lookout. david stayed in the van with Dennis.

We then left and drove to Portobello and had lunch in the park next to happy hens. Some went ofr a walk to the shop, and to the coffee shop. Then we left and took a stop at Glenfalloch Gardens, where most of the group walked through the tracks and enjoyed the changing colour of the leaves.

April Group Project - Decoupage Trays

Trip down to Taieri Mouth

Today we made a day trip down to Taieri Mouth in the Van and a car. It was a beautiful day. When we got to the beach, Nicola wrote 'Stepping Stones' in the sand.


Above, a snack and friendship after lunch.
Below: walking on the beach.

After lunch and the walk, we decided to go for a drive to see about the animal farm that Louise had heard about. It has roosters, Emus, hens, and heaps of other birds roaming everywhere! We decided that it wold be nice to go back for a proper visit in the spring.

Nicola's 40th Birthday Celebrations!

Today was our Activity Assistants 40th Birthday! as well as one of our volunteers a few weeks before. And Two cakes were made to celebrate. One was made by Pam and it was a chocolate beetroot cake with white icing, and the other one was big fruit cake with chocolate icing. At Stepping Stones we celebrate birthdays with a free lunch for the birthday person. and every so often will have a cake and candles for two or three people together.

Easter Bun Baking and Raffle

To celebrate Easter this year, our activity was easter Bun Baking. We used the Edmonds recipe, and although the buns looked nice, they didn't really rise very well. We found out from a news item the next day, that the Edmonds recipe really wasn't that good. We wish we used a different recipe!
We also ran a raffle. We sold tickets for it and the money went towards our group trips fund. First prize was a hamper with fruit and special spreads, anfd second prize was a chocolate boxed treat.

Big Day Out! - Balclutha and Sinclair Wetlands

The was our big trip of the year and was a full day!. We all had a great time, although it was a bit wet in the morning.

Above: looking from the back of the bus as we travelled to the Sinclair Wetlands. The bus driver took a funny way to drive there, and ended up thinking that he got lost. So he stopped to ask for directions from a lady on a horse. The bus drivers name was Max.

When we got to the wetlands, a nice man who was the caretaker of the whole place gave us a great talk on the history of the wetlands, and the wildlife that was there. Everybody was very interested! below a duck at the wetlands. and going over the Balclutha bridge.

After that we went to Rosebank Lodge. The main course was delicious, it was Roast Chicken, almost a half chicken for each person, with potatoes and big carrots. We had apple crumble and ice cream for pudding, the service was fast and efficient.
Below, Eating the lunch, and David at the bar

After lunch we went op shopping! And ended up at the Salvation Army, the the red cross opened for us especially!


At the end of the day we came upon a book sale, where all the books were either $1 or $2.. quite a few of us, spent heaps of money there and got some awesome books!! And finally a photo of Nicola and Louise on the bus.

Apple Crumble, Apricots, Chicken and Paint!

Today we had a chicken apricot casserole, and Marie and Dennis made an Apple Crumble which we served with Icecream. It was delicious, melt in your mouth, tasted yummy!! Kylie said she would like it again.

We also got donated some paint for the group, which we are going to be using for our April project.

Port Chalmers - Cruise Ship Trip

Thursday 26th we enjoyed a trip to Port Chalmers to look at the cruise ship and browse around the shops and galleries.

Below: Sitting at the monument, right: a photo of the decks of the cruise ship

visit to artsenta community gallery

Judy and Nicola took two car loads of stepping stones members to view the exhibition by artsenta members. There were paintings, sculptures and woodwork. The trip was enjoyed by all.

March Group Activity - Compact Reusable Shopping Bags

Our activity for February has been making reusable shopping bags for groceries and also for ordinary shopping, it was even suggested that they would make good library book bags.

Louise made the pattern off a bag she already had out of brown paper, which we used to cut the material shapes.

We used some material offcuts we already had, and also bought some other new funky material. The pic of the smiley face cutout is one Kylie is making. The next photo is of Gails one, she has sewn the facing on the inside and is about to turn it the right side out.

The photos below are of the bag that David finished. You can see how compact the bag is when rolled up, so it stores in your handbag or car easily. You then simple undo the ribbon and dome to roll the bag out.


Below is Leonie, who finished her shopping bag last week, and kindly modelled it for us:


Lois with her finished reusable shopping bag. Also pictured rolled up for her handbag, and unravelled ready to pack her goods in.