SPRUNG A LEAK

 

Last night when we arrived home from the pub, I had reason to go into the garage to find my year planner.

It was leaning up against the internal wall, down by the back door.

And it was wet.  I was like, what the hell?  Why is that wet?

So I pulled the other things out from the wall, and lifted the mat. 

ABOVE:  WATER.  Not a huge amount of water, but still water where it was not supposed to be.

Damn.  I immediately emailed the guy who did the bathroom renovation, as it is fairly obvious that's the only place a leak could have come from.

He's coming this morning to suss it out.

Stew is home today, he's taking a long weekend.

We have some plans, but nothing too riveting.

I might even convince Stew to take a tiki tour out to the beach, or up to Auckland on Monday.

I am expecting a new fountain pump to arrive via courier today from Mitre 10.  If it works, we might have some friends who can give us a hand to do the lifting of the big pot, and getting it set up this weekend.  

...

OFF TO CAMBRIDGE

 

First up, how about some Coco snaps from yesterday...

ABOVE:  WHY?   Mexican standoff.  She does this ALL.  THE.  TIME.  She was right at the full extension of the lead, so I just stood and waited until she went around the pole the RIGHT WAY.

ABOVE: And this stance?  It's called I'm not coming back.  I don't want to go home.  I'm going this way and I'm NOT moving, I'm digging my heels in.  All four of them.  So there.

And lastly for Coco news:

ABOVE:  SPOT.  THE.  DOG.   She blends in so well. Love you Coco. 💗💜💙

Today I am off to Cambridge, to Mosaic Group.  But I am not going to do mosaics anymore.  I am gunna KNIT !  lol  I hope I don't get kicked out of the group.

When I get home... I will take a photo of the hearts on our bedroom wall.  It was too dark last night to get a decent photo.

1 pm:  And, I didn't get kicked out of Mosaic Group.  They don't care if I sit there and knit, or just yak.  It's a social group, there to support each other and have a nice morning together. 

I got half a teddy knitted.

Then came home and immediately went outside to tweak.

ABOVE:  I had thought about the fountains position overnight, and knew it wasn't in the right place.  And I knew where I wanted it.

RIGHT THERE, in that garden, under the kitchen window.  

I am going to screen off the satellite dish somehow too... it's ugly.

ABOVE:  It wasn't that hard to drag the base over to there either.

Two of my neighbours (ladies) saw me dragging it and were worried about my back.  They even offered to help!  But I said no, I couldn't ask them to help!  It wasn't that hard really.

I'd certainly NOT try lifting the big pot though.  That will have to be done by a couple of strong men.

ABOVE:  I had to drag this freakin' pot to this spot too... it wasn't fun I can tell you.  I tried to get it on the hand truck, but didn't have the strength to tip and roll it.  So, dragged it was.

ABOVE: Once the bottom part was in place, I filled it with water, as I wanted to make sure the pump was working.

IT ISN'T!  I have rung Mitre 10 and let them know, as they will have to replace it.  Grrrrr.

It has to be going before we lift the pot on top.  I'm now waiting to hear back from them.  

  

ABOVE: Stew last night, hanging our hearts.

ABOVE:  No more holes all over the wall.  Just one to hang it from.  I've not quite finished with that installation yet.  I'm going to make a black 'frame' that sits out from the main board.  It will tie it into the black light fitting in the room.

But, it can wait for now.  

Now... lunchtime.  Take a break time.  Catch ya later.

Well it is much later.  I had a quiet afternoon, then took Stew to the pub.  Then I visited with the kids, before joining Stew.

We are now home, and looking forward to a couple of hours watching the telly till bedtime.

WATER FEATURE

Our water feature/fountain is arriving this morning.  I'm rather excited to see it in place, and going.

I didn't even know I wanted one, until I saw Lacy had one.  Then I couldn't get my mind off it.  I have always liked having water in the garden, but not fish.  I seem to always kill fish. So, there won't be any cute little fish in my water feature.  Maybe some plastic ducks for Lily to play with? lol 

After that has arrived and put in place, I'm going to fill up the bowl, then turn it on.  Hopefully it goes perfectly.

I might do some grocery shopping this morning as well.  I want to get more salad stuff, and my new favourite salad topping.

ABOVE:  I am loving this stuff, and also Snow Peas.  Just blanched and chopped up a bit.  So yum!  

Just as well I got up bright and early this morning... cos Mitre 10 delivered our water feature really early.

ABOVE:  They were such nice guys too... so helpful.  

ABOVE:  Sadly, they were not responsible for setting it up.  That is up to us.  So at some point we'll have to enlist the help of a couple of strong guys, and get it set up.  It will happen.... 

Now, I'm off to the supermarket.

DOGSTARS:  I feel much the same way about salads, but when you add yummy shit like crispy onions, snow peas, croutons etc... it becomes palatable.

11.45 am: Groceries duly done.  And I just had an early lunch of a salad and left over sausage from last night.  Very yummy with the crispy onions, bacon bits etc.

Now I'm going to take a little break, before moving on to my next job.  Which is something that I've been working on for a few days now.

HEARTS...

ABOVE:  Hey Marie, if ya think my water feature is too big, what do ya think of those? Maybe I should get me some of those?  They would surely fit in just fine eh?  😂😅😂

This afternoon I finished getting my hearts ready to go up on our bedroom wall.  I'm hoping Stew will hang them for me tonight.

Coco and I went for a lovely little walk early evening.  Had a yak with a couple of our neighbours.  Everyone is so nice.

And that's me for the day, nothing else is gunna happen around here.  TV. Farts. Bed.

LORRAINE'S BRISBANE FUNERAL

 

My Sister Lorraine's funeral is today, in Brisbane.  As I was there twice this month already, I'm not attending.  I got to say my 'Goodbyes' to her in person.  Twice.   There is a 'Live Stream' of her funeral, so I shall watch at home.

The plumber couldn't make it yesterday to install the insinkerator, so maybe he will make it today?

I'll have to message him to make sure, as there is nothing worse than sitting around all day, waiting for someone who 'might' turn up, and might not as well.

ABOVE:  I went and bought some wool and needles yesterday, cos I gave all mine away when we downsized.   I am going to start making little teddy bears.  Our village craft group make them, and donate them to the Hospital for sick children.  I might as well do that during craft days, rather than haul my sewing machine down there.  I got some 'happy colours'.  Let's see what I can do with it.

Oh, one more thing I remembered I wanted to tell you.  I'm going to be doing the Trulicity jab on Tuesday and Friday nights.  It works out better that way... I'm not having to take a jab on the weekend.  So tonight will be my first jab in a long time.  I hope it goes well.  

...

11.30 am:  I've been hard out, working in the garage since 8 am.

I got this idea in my head to try and re-jig things in there so I could fit my car in there SOMEHOW.

But after a few tweaks, I realised it simply was not going to happen.

But that got me into reorganise the garage mode, and OMG I've given myself room to swing a bloody cat, or TWO!

ABOVE: The first thing I did was take everything out of this cabinet, and put it in other places around the house.   A lot of it went in the laundry and the cabinet in the bathroom.  All kitchen stuff.

Then I rang the village Maintenance man and asked if the village could use it?  And yep, he was thrilled to take it away for me.  It will probably end up in the Craft Room!  LOL, so I'll still get to use it in a round about way.

ABOVE:  LOOK at all that room!  I don't have to squeeze down two narrow aisles now!

ABOVE:  With some 'squishing', most of my larger pieces of fabric fitted in the fabric shelving.

ABOVE: The rest is in boxes... Fat Quarters, scraps, Pre-cuts,  UFO's, PHD's and so on.

ABOVE:  The best thing is I'm not cramped in my 'work area' now.  

What a fantastic morning I've had.

I'm now going to have a well earned  break, and get some lunch.

At 4 pm I shall be putting my numbing cream on, and covering it with a sticky ... in readiness for my jab tonight.

Before that... weigh in at bloody WW.  I hope to have a decent loss.  

1.45 pm: I just watched the Live Stream of my sister's funeral.  I wish I'd been there, just to stand up and say a few words.  Lorraine and I were the last of our family ... now it's just me.  By 'family' I mean our immediate family.  Mum, Dad, Peter, Lorraine, Vern and I.  I feel sad about that.  I never expected to be the last one standing.

Luckily there's no sweets/cakes in the house... cos I'd have eaten them by now.  Over in Brisbane, Lorraine's family and friends are going to be enjoying a Hangi... dang I would have loved that too.

Time to get up and do something constructive I think.  Get my mind off the sadness.

No sign of the plumber, or word.  Maybe he will turn up tomorrow?  He's got the flu, so best he stay away until he's all better eh?

So, any guesses on how much I will have lost this week?  Bearing in mind you usually lose a decent amount when you start a 'diet' ..... AGAIN.   I haven't changed much, just portion sizes, and less 'snacks' in the evening.  

We were having far too many snacks.

I weigh in at 6 pm, and will be home around 7 pm with my result.

7.50 pm:  Weigh in went well, I lost 4.7 kgs.

I wasn't wearing the same clothes, which would have made a difference of about .700 grams.  I weighed the clothes I was wearing last week to make sure.  So in reality, I lost 4 kgs.   I'm happy with that, but do not expect that much next week.

Stew did me jab, and I didn't feel a thing... which was such a relief.

I just cooked dinner, and now, time to relax for the remainder of the evening.

Catch ya tomorrow.

DOCTOR VISIT

 

I got a text message from the Doctor's office on Saturday morning.  It was informing me that my Hba1c was HIGH, and to make an appointment to see my GP.

Well luckily for me, I had already booked an appointment, for this morning.

So, I shall go and find out just how bad it is.   I'm picking it's pretty bad.

I've not taken any diabetic medication for about a year.  Not since I went off Trulicity.  I was prescribed Metformin, but refuse to take it.

It gives me terrible diarrhoea, and I suffer for days after just taking ONE of them.  So, today I hope Leo gives me an alternative, one that doesn't upset my stomach so much.  Maybe I should go back on Trulicity, and just toughen up in relation to the injection?

I'll see what Leo thinks.

Edited out... sisters funeral is tomorrow.   So I might try going to craft group after lunch.

Then much later on today I have the plumber coming to instal an insinkerator.  We have really missed not having one here.

I think I'll need to get the electrician here at some point as well, to wire it in, and also put an outdoor power point where we want the water feature.  

10.30 am:   And just like that, I'm back on Trulicity!  Twice a week.

Leo said my Hba1c had DOUBLED since I last had a blood test, it's now at 96.  Whoops.  My lowest ever Hba1c reading was 49, when I was on Trulicity.

So, I have to just suck it up and do the injections.

I've got numbing cream again, and Leo told me to keep it on for FOUR HOURS before the injection, then I shouldn't feel a thing.  Righty ho then.  I will do the first one this evening.

Next... I've got a bloody sore shoulder.  Twisted it when moving shit back in May.  Now I have to get an ultra sound (with a steroid injection), fuck another injection!

Next... I have a bloody sore toe!  Yep, I went to the Doctor's with a LIST of things wrong!

So I now wait for an appointment to see a Podiatrist as well.  It might be a corn?  or an ulcer.  Time will tell.   Edit:  After reading up on CORNS on Toes, yep, that's what I've got for sure. 

NEXT:  Little bump on my face.  It's a mole, not looking nasty AT ALL.  So that's a load off my mind.

I am home now, and Lacy is visiting.  I will be going out again soon though, as I want to get a couple of things from the mall.

2.46 pm:  Home from craft group, where I spent about an hour or so helping make knitted teddy bears.  Something I might have a go at in the next few days.

I'm now going to blob out and scroll through You Tube etc.  The Plumber called off sick, he might come tomorrow.  😖😕

PETA:  NO.  Because I am over 65, most medications are free for me.  Trulicity WOULD come at a cost to me though, if I didn't have several 'high risk factors'.   Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Oedema, Blood Clotting Risk, Bleeding Issues etc etc.  So I am very lucky to get it for free.

10.17 pm, and I've been watching heaps of You Tube musical videos this evening.  Some really good singers out there that ya never hear about here in New Zealand.  Sad really.  

Anyway, it's been a pleasant evening.  Time to sign off for the day.

Catch ya tomorrow.

PAVERS

 

Well, we have another day of pottering around in the garden/house ahead of us.

First up we are going to get some pavers to put under the new water feature (once it arrives), and also our brazier.

ABOVE:  Both those blue pots are moving, and so is the brazier.  The umbrella stand is going into the middle where the brazier is.  I am going to get a small table that the umbrella can go down through the middle of.

So lots of plans.

The new water feature is going to be positioned to the left, where the left hand blue pot is.

Come summer, our dining patio is going to be beautiful.

This is the first 'tweaking' of that area too.  Such fun tweaking!

Like a twat, I left the washing outside last night.  This morning?  Pissing down with rain.

So I had a thought...

ABOVE: I got the large blind from the garage, which had no use here, and draped it over the lines.

ABOVE:  How handy is that?  Might not be perfect, but it's going to keep most of it from becoming sopping wet.

I like how I think sometimes.

I'm hoping it clears up at some point, so we can get on with tweaking our back yard.

11.58 am, at Mitre 10. In the carpark. This bloke sees his wife coming over from a distance.  He yells out "Hey, we are over here. Did you get the haemorrhoid  cream?"

Very funny. Like how he thinks.

ABOVE:  Standing in the queue, behind a bloke who took FOREVER to show the assistant what he was looking for.  On his phone for a good 5 minutes at least, trying to find it.  Grrrrr.

ABOVE: Finally home, and we managed to get most of the tweaking done in between heavy showers.

The Brazier looks lovely there, and we got some pretty flowers to put around our fire rock inside it.

ABOVE: The back entrance to our yard is now framed by the two blue pots.  

ABOVE:  I am thinking of getting four different coloured seat cushions (squabs) for the chairs.  There's nothing in the shops yet, I'll have to wait until summer stock starts arriving.  I want them to be bold, colourful and vibrant.

It is now 1.06 pm, and I have lunch cooking.  Salad and meat patties etc.

6.26 pm:  We have had a quiet afternoon, which was very nice.

Around 5 pm I suggested we go down for a bit of exercise, followed by a swim/soak.  So off we went.

I did 12 minutes on the recumbent exercycle, then swam and walked in the pool.  Stew just did some gentle exercises in the pool.

ABOVE: It is so nice having the pool all to ourselves. 

ABOVE: Same with the changing/shower room.  It is such a clean and tidy facility.  

I now smell like Stew though, as I had grabbed the wrong bottle of shower wash.  Oh well, just as well I like how he smells.

We are now going to settle down for the evening, so time to say...

ONE REALLY BIG JOB DONE

 

Yesterday I wanted to make a start on the 'Heart Wall' in our bedroom.

But there was a big job that needed doing, before I could get on with the heart wall.

ABOVE:  I needed to sand the two places on that back wall, where we had taken a light and light switch out.

Lacy helped me haul the mattress, bedside drawers, etc, out of the room, giving me room to work.

The sanding went really well with my little orbital sander.

ABOVE:  There's the 'BEFORE' photos of that wall.

Once it's a bit lighter in our room, I will take the AFTER photos, so I can show you what colour I used, and how it looks now.

I am doing two walls in colour, and two in white.  I will do the two white walls once I've finished the coloured walls.  

Stew's job for today is to instal the drop down clothes line.  It's going to be much better to use than racks, and where we are putting it gets plenty of sunshine.

While he does that, I will get some washing on, then finish the second wall of colour in our bedroom.  

ABOVE: This one was taken last night, when the lighting wasn't that good.  The next one was taken this morning.

ABOVE: And there it is... and we are both very happy with the colour.

I'm not going to finish the second wall today after all.  My arms are really sore.  It can wait for another day, I've got plenty of time to do it.

ABOVE:  I loathe asking him to do anything.  He hates jobs.  And they are always more complicated than one expects.  But there he is, putting together the clothes line.  And the washing is in the dryer, as it's an iffy day weather wise, so I can't even use the clothes line today. 😖😕😓

ABOVE: We have paused for lunch. Gone to a new Kebab shop a couple of suburbs over from home. Stews been here once already, and said it was OK. So now I get to try it as well. 

ABOVE:  WOW!  That Kebab was even BETTER than our usual one.  Solid 10 outta 10.  We could not fault it.  I could not finish mine, or the chips.  Very, very filling.

After lunch, I took Stew to look at 'something' I had my eye on.  

ABOVE:  I bought it.  Now all we have to do is figure out where to put it!

It will be delivered in a few days time.

Late this afternoon Stew finished installing the clothes line, and I promptly hung stuff on it.

I'll show you tomorrow.

Now, we have just sussed out possible locations for the new water feature.  We will consider them all over the next few days.

End of the day... just been watching docos on YouTube... time to sign off for today.

Catch ya tomorrow. 

NITE NITE