THIS WILL BE THE FIRST TIME IN PROBABLY 40+ YEARS

 

Stew and I are going up to Auckland today, to meet up with Stew's sister, Khady.

She's been house sitting out on the coast, and so we didn't get to see her in Wanganui when we were down in Palmerston North the other day.

So we are catching up with her today.

She wants to go to IKEA, which opened at Mt Wellington/Sylvia Park recently.

God help us... because it is bound to be EXTREMEMLY BUSY with Boxing Day Sales and all that.

Last time I went shopping/out and about on Boxing Day?  So long ago I can't remember, but it's got to be 40+ years.

While I LOVE shopping, I do not like it when there's thousands of people crammed into malls.

When our kids had Christmas money to spend, Stew was the one who took them out shopping on Boxing Day.  I stayed home every time.

So, today is going to be 'interesting'.  Traffic is bound to be heavy, parking is going to be a nightmare, and then crowds of people?  We might just end up a bit frazzled by the end of the day.

Or not!  It might not be too bad???  Maybe???

Let's wait and see.

ABOVE:  Ha ha ha!  It wasn't Marley in the dolls pram... Lily got in it, and insisted she was pushed around and around.  Too funny.

10.35 am.

We got to IKEA well before Khady, so decided to have a quick wander.

IKEA is a bloody nightmare.  If you want to find something specific, you still have to walk through almost the entire store to find it. You feel trapped in an endless maze. We will not be eating here. There is a 30 - 45 minute wait, in a very long queue, to even enter the food hall. Fuck that.

We decided to leave the store to wait for Khady.

LEAVE THE STORE???!!!!

That was a mission in itself. We ended up having to get an assistants help to work out how to get OUT of there! 

I don't think we will ever come back here.

It's got some nice stuff, but we are set for the remainder of our lives.

Nice shop if you are still in the 'acquiring' stage of ya life. Prices are fantastic across the board too.

Oh and forget BOXING DAY SALES at IKEA. Not happening by the look of it. ... but I might be wrong. Just didn't see any advertising in the store about it.

Khady arrived bang on 11, and off we went on the merry go round again. This time I saw a few small items worth coming back for, once I have measurements. Just some pantry hanging basket things.  I also have my eye on some stacking boxes for the sewing room.

The food court no longer has a queue at all, so we are in here and about to try the 'World Famous Meatballs'.

Critique in coming soon 😂🤣😅.

ABOVE: The hanging baskets, cup holders etc. Khady has bought one of the white baskets.

ABOVE: IKEA. A funky wallpaper. Stew in the foodcourt. Stew and Khady. And finally, the meatball lunch... which we give 6 outta 10. Certainly not AMAZING. 

Leaving Auckland now and the queue on the motorway to get off at Sylvia Park and IKEA is banked up for miles !  I'm very relieved we came relatively early. 

IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY.... LET'S ALL HAVE A LOVELY DAY

 

GOOD MORNING, AND MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL.

Stew and I hope you have a wonderful, joyful, happy day with friends and family.

We certainly plan on doing just that.

I am putting the turkey in the oven soon, and will be taking it over to Steve 'n' Bex's late morning.

Our Christmas lunch will be with them, and Lacy at some point, and Brylee and Dom at some point as well.

I'm sure we will all end up with over full tummies, and for some, a bit tipsy too.  

Right, I'm off to start the day.  

ABOVE: Our turkey came out so good!  I made stuffing muffins as well.

ABOVE: A new baby doll.

ABOVE: A CUTE COW for our bed.

ABOVE: Lily getting used to her doll pram. 

Bex just said "I wonder how LONG it will be before Marley ends up in there?" 

Nearly lunchtime, I'm hanging out to try the turkey.

ABOVE: All in Christmas shirts.  Spot Dante?  lol

ABOVE: Lacy arrived, but has to eat and run as she's milking cows again this afternoon.  She milked early this morning as well.

ABOVE: I always give Lacy Condensed Milk! 🤣

ABOVE:  funny how I don't mind being in photos anymore. 

ABOVE: Christmas dinner, Ham, Turkey with stuffing, Roast potatoes and a simple salad.  Followed by Ambrosia, Ice Cream, Strawberries and custard.

It was very yum.

ABOVE: Dante is sitting on a little ground seat, and I think we should get a couple for our car.  Very handy to have when travelling, for the beach etc.  They fold flat, easy to store.

ABOVE: Archer and Lily playing on the Splash Pad.  I want one of those TOO!  😂

ABOVE: Liam opening presents...

ABOVE: And of course Miss Emily as well.  It's always so lovely to see them.  Thanks Andrew for bringing them over.

ABOVE: Another view of that ground seat, and Lily being gorgeous.

ABOVE:  Karen, there's Miss Lily in one of the shirts you sent up for her.  Sooooo cute.

It is now 3.20 pm, and we have come home to relax.

And then Brylee and Dom arrived and we had a really lovely visit with them.  We sent them off to visit Steve and Bex next, as we had left their presents over there.  I managed to pass on a couple of Christmas decorations to them too.  Yaa, less to put back up in the attic.

Stew and I just had some left overs for our dinner, and now it's time to chill out and just relax till bedtime.

Catch ya tomorrow.

CHRISTMAS EVE, AND LOTS TO DO.

 

Well, like everyone else, we have quite a few things to get done today.

First up, some grocery shopping for food tomorrow.

Then home to make a dessert (Ambrosia), and stuff the turkey.

I'm pretty sure I have everything else sorted, presents etc. Thank goodness.

Now, here's a few more photos from our day trip to Wellington:

ABOVE:  Wellington harbour.  I like the little rock 'islands'... man made I'm sure,  but still cute.

ABOVE:  Leaving Wellington, driving up Ngauranga gorge, heading to the coast.

ABOVE:  Paremata.

ABOVE:  Still Paremata.  lol

ABOVE: Going down the hill into Pukerua Bay.

ABOVE: Stew taking a photo of a passing passenger train at Paekakariki.

ABOVE: Paekakariki shoreline.

ABOVE: This little building has been here forever!  It's by the railway line at Paekakariki.

It was a really lovely day!

Right, that's me for now... got stuff to be getting on with.

Got on the scales first thing this morning, expecting a gain.  NOPE!!!  Stayed the same.

I'm 'plateauing'  at the moment, which is just fine.  I didn't get to my goal before Christmas, but it will happen.  That goal being lose 15 kilos since August.   But MEH, I'm only human, and I sure in hell ain't perfect.

Moving on.  We thought we'd be clever and go to the supermarket EARLY.  Ha ha ha!

So did every other man and his dog.

It was PACKED.  Luckily the supermarket was well stocked and we got everything we needed.

Got home, unpacked it all then went over to pick up Coco from the kid's house.  She was perfectly happy there, it's such a relief knowing she's in a safe place when we are away.

ABOVE:  We are now home, and I've made the Ambrosia.  Stew is cutting crusts off the bread so I can make the turkey stuffing next.

It's all ticking along nicely.

ABOVE: This fabric shelving unit was pulling apart from the weight of all the fabrics, so Steve said he'd come over and 'fix' it.

ABOVE:  So two hours later I had rearranged things so I could put all the blues and greens on those shelves, taking a huge weight off the other shelves.

Then Steve arrived with some metal strips...

ABOVE: And just like that, crisis averted!  I was worried sick all my fabric would end up on the floor, and the shelving unit would be ruined.  It's just the most perfect size for there!  

Now that's done, and all my recent fabric purchases and gifts (thanks sooooo much Karen) are put away as well, I can relax.

That job wasn't something I thought would be getting done today.

It is now nearly 1 pm, so lunch time.

Well it's now almost 8 pm.  We had lunch out at Fergus, then came home and did a few jobs.  I had a short nana nap, Stew assembled a dolls pram for Lily, then we picked Steve up and went to the pub for 2.5 hours.

ABOVE: Stew and I with our friends Glen and Bronwyn.  They were two of the very first of Stew's friends I met 40 years ago, and they have been steadfast friends ever since.

We love them to bits.

ABOVE: Steve, Stew and Glen in their Waikato Shirts.  Richard was a dirt rotten stop out, and went to some other Christmas Eve function.  Otherwise I'd have had all four of them in their matching shirts.  OH well, another day.

I stuffed the turkey before we went out, so it's ready for the oven in the morning.

Now there is nothing to do.. except relax. And I really need that, I'm absolutely shattered.

Just so, so tired.

And every now and then I feel really ill... I am not too sure why.

If it continues I will see a Dr, cos it's pretty much every day now.  I'm wondering if it's the Trulicity dicking me around?  *sigh*

Just annoying.

And on that less than positive note, I'm outta here.

Catch ya tomorrow.

MORNING TEA WITH THE GIRLS, THEN LUNCH WITH THE KIDS

 

We are homeward bound today, but before that we are joining the girlfriends for morning tea at Columbus in the Plaza at 9.30 am.

Then after that, we shall be having lunch with Mike and Joyce at 'Munch'.  Sounds interesting.  😋

ABOVE: One of the photos from yesterday, me on the 'beach' at Paekakariki ... along the Kapiti coast.

ABOVE: And of course I got some rocks and driftwood from there!  

I'm not going to try and edit the rest of yesterday's photos until we get home.  It's just a bit rushed otherwise.  And I'm tired.

And there will be even more photos by the end of the day!  I do love taking photos  😂😅, but seriously, it does take quite a bit of time to get them on here.

I will update as the day unfolds, as per usual.  

Catch ya later.

9 am. Been to the supermarket for bread. Need it for turkey stuffing, and want it to be a little stale by tomorrow night. 

Meeting up with the girls soon, then we are going back to Foxton!

I decided I LOVED two of the fabrics I bought yesterday and want more, so we are squeezing a  return trip down there between morning tea and lunch all going well. Otherwise we'll go down when we leave Palmy for home. Depends on timing. 

ABOVE: MORNING TEA done ✔️.  Hoping to see them again before we meet up with Mike and Joyce for lunch.

We are now off to Foxton.

SHOPPING ✔️ 

LUNCH WITH THE KIDS  ✔️

Then we left for home. 

Traffic is heavy as we expected.  I don't think we will be home till quite late.

It's ok though, better to meander home and get there safely. 

It is SUPER WINDY and cold today as well. Seen lots of trucks, caravans and boats swaying in the wind. 

8.23 pm, and we are safely home.

It was a good trip home, but we are both tired now.  Five and a half hours is a long time sitting on ya bum!

ABOVE: Sandra and her little dog, Cee Cee, who goes everywhere with her.  Cee Cee is allowed in the mall and coffee shops etc, as she is deemed an 'Emotional Support Dog'.  And she just stays in her sling against Sandra and doesn't make any noise.

Everyone loves her.

ABOVE: She didn't want scone for morning tea today.  She's so damn cute!

ABOVE:  Our lunch with Mike 'n' Joyce was nice, I had a steak !  I virtually never have steak, but it was quite good. 

I'm going to try and add more meat into my diet, I know I don't have enough.

ABOVE:  I know it's just hills, but I liked them. They were just before you get to Waiouru. 

ABOVE:  Mount Ruapehu looked gorgeous this afternoon.

And that is our day.  I'm signing off now.  I've got washing to put on, hang out, unpacking to do etc etc.