I REALLY LOVE THIS ONE!

 

Hi ho, I have a full day planned today.

First up, I am popping into the bank to hand in a form, then I'm off to Cambridge to do Mosaics with the girls.

After that, I'll be coming home to sew. 

ABOVE: There is the runner I made yesterday.  I really love it, so does Stew.  I knew as I was making it, it needed to have a border and points.

Today I'm making another one in the same colourway, I'm not sure yet if it will have the border and points.  

I think I've finally gotten better at doing the points, even though they are still utter shits to do.  

NOT the very end points, it's the other ones, which are not on a 90 degree angle that are the shits.  I've heard a few other sewers say the same thing about 'those' points!  😂😊

Alright, enough about friggin points.  I have to get a move on.  I have stuff to do before heading out the door.

Catch ya later.

1.07 pm.  Mosaics was nice this morning.  I got more of my project done, but it's nowhere near finished yet.

I baked some cookies to take for morning tea, they went down well.

Since getting home, I've been sewing...

ABOVE:  My sewing room view today.  It's raining on and off.  Sometimes quite torrential, coming down sideways!

I hope it clears by Saturday.

I'm going to stop soon for a bit of lunch... then I'll be back to it.

ABOVE:  And there's the 2nd one in that colourway.  It's now 3.50 pm and I'm done for the day.

I am seeing double... must be tired.

It's pub night, so Stew will be home in an hour or so.  

ON TO THE NEXT FEW

 

Yesterday's effort in the sewing room ended well.

ABOVE:  I did get these three Braid Runners finished.  

Today I am going to make a couple of Kiwiana themed Braid Runners.  Slightly more blues than greens.

I heard from the Hospital yesterday.  My tooth extraction is scheduled for bang on the end of this year!  Nervous would be the best way to describe how I'm feeling about it.  At least Stew can accompany me, and not have to take any time off work, as he will be on holiday.

So, as long as I don't bleed to death (lol), I will live to see another year.  A bit nervous about the bleeding issue, but the hospital is 100% aware of it, and know what to do if I do start bleeding.

No more trying to bleed to death thanks!  😉😊

Catch ya later.

Thinking about sewing, then I realised I had several things to get/do out and about.

So off I went.

First stop was the supermarket for some more fruit/meat/veges.

Then for only the second time ever, I gassed up my car with 'supermarket' petrol.

I didn't know how to work the friggin machine, so a kind man came over and helped me.

Even he took a while to get the damn thing to accept my card!

After that fiasco, I went to Chartwell square for a petticoat, to wear under a linen dress I plan on wearing to a couple of weddings early next year.

Next was a calendar for next year, then a hair dye, and finally...

ABOVE:  I got a couple of cute little houses.  Didn't need them, they were not on 'the list', but hey... my Christmas spirit is sure kicking in.  lol

I also did some window shopping for gifts.  

When I arrived home, I had a quick visit from Lacy.  

Now?  Taking some time to just relax, before heading off to the sewing room.

Well, after sewing for what feels like all afternoon, I got ONE runner finished by 6.15 pm!

It's a slightly bigger one than usual, having pointy ends and a border.

I shall show you it tomorrow.

I heard from the organiser of this Saturday's market this afternoon.  Korikori Market, Rototuna, Hamilton.

She has moved us from our original spot to a MUCH BETTER spot!  Seems someone was dicking her around, so she bumped them and put us in their spot!  Nice one.

If you are coming to this market, I will post our spot on Friday, so you can come and say 'Hi'.

Right now... off to relax, watch the telly bla bla bla.

Catch ya tomorrow.

I THOUGHT I COULD

 

Yesterday I went online to see how to oil my sewing machine, cos I am worried about it needing oil.

Seems you can do it yourself with a lot of sewing machines, but not mine.  Damn.  So, scrap that idea.  The sooner I get it serviced the better.  

So, with that in mind...

ABOVE: The runner tops I got made yesterday.  Today I'll get them quilted and bound, then I can churn out a few more before sending my machine in to get serviced.

I hate the idea of not having my sewing machine!

Last night I managed to get a couple of photos of the kids.

ABOVE: Dom used to be so RESERVED and quite.  He's starting to find his feet in our family ...  😂😅😊

ABOVE:  A few snaps of me and the kids.  I feel bad I forgot to take any of Stew and the kids.

Next time darling, for sure.

Lacy managed to come and go unscathed.  Except for the gherkins upsetting her tummy once she got home.  

Well... as already mentioned... I have sewing to be getting on with.

So... catch ya later.

10.30 am.  The morning is going very well.  I've almost finished one of those red/green runners.

I had to do a quick run to Spotlight for more black fabric.  Luckily it's on sale, cos I bought enough to last me at least three months.  (I hope).

DIANNE:  I will explain, seeing as you asked.

Amanda:   Has four kids, Huston, Joel, Emily and Liam.  We see Emily and Joel via our SIL Andrew.

Lacy:  Has three kids.  Brylee, Griffin and Keera.

Kelly:  Has one kid, R.  TOTALLY ESTRANGED from us.

Russell:  Has three kids,  Joshua, S and B.  

Steve, married to Bex.  Has three kids, Dante, Archer and Lily.

Mike and Joyce.  No kids.  Beau is their fur baby.

Brylee and Dom.  Brylee is our granddaughter, who we raised from infancy. We go by Mum and Dad to her. No kids.

Griffin and Tash.  Griffin is our grandson, who we raised from birth. We go by Mum and Dad to him. No kids.

Our 8 'kids' range in age from 45 down to 23, not counting the other 12 grandkids.

I hope that helped?

AIN'T NO ONE BEEN READING MY BLOG FOR 20+ YEARS... cos I've only been blogging for 18 years.   Stalkers still stalking I see.  Dumb bastards can't even get the facts right, on ANY SCORE.

2.55 pm:  And I'm just home from a visit to the Doctor.  I needed to get repeat prescriptions etc.

It took me over TWO hours to get my meds today.  😞😖

I now have a massive headache, and won't be going back into the sewing room right now.

And.... it's now 6.34 pm, Stew is home and I actually did some sewing late this afternoon.

I will do some more this evening, after dinner.

But for now... it's probably time to sign off for the day.  Not much else on tonight except feet up, and relax.

Catch ya tomorrow.

LONELINESS

 

I was watching the tv the other night, when a segment came on about Loneliness.  It is now considered a leading cause of 'illness' in our ageing population.

Seems thousands of older people consider themselves lonely, to the point where it affects their quality of life.

I can relate.

We have SIX ... (raised 8) ... kids and fourteen Grandkids. I didn't ever think we would be lonely.   BUT most days, while Stew is at work, I'm LONELY.

I used to dread when Stew and I are REALLY OLD, because I felt sure we would be very lonely.

Your kids grow up and get their own lives, and move on from YOU.  

Unless you are extremely lucky, and they actually think about you, and care about you enough to visit, ring, or just message now and then.

Of course, in this family, with a few of our kids 'estranged' from us, it's even worse.

And that is one of the reasons why we are moving!

To an area where there's more similar aged people like us, and a community where you can be around other people more.  Where there are community facilities, opportunities to mix and mingle with others regularly and so on.

It's called 'future proofing' our lifestyle, and wellbeing.  

I'm hanging out for the next phase of our lives to begin to be honest.  Being in 'limbo' sucks.

Moving right along now... today I am going to the supermarket first thing, I need a couple more things for baking.  Then home to sew.  I am going to churn out as much as I can in the next couple of weeks.

My sewing machine told me (yes it can message me on screen), that it needed servicing and oil.  So as soon as I feel like I have enough stock again, I'll send it in for servicing.

I had a play with my phone's camera yesterday... tried a few different setting.  It's rather complicated!  I am going to find the time, eventually, to watch some YouTube tutorials on how to get the most out of the camera's capabilities.  But for now...   

ABOVE: A bee that kept still just long enough for me to get a photo.

ABOVE: Our gorgeous hydrangeas.  I will have to start taking cuttings off them soon, so I can put them in our new garden, once we move.

ABOVE:  A blurry bumble bee.   I have only seen two bumble bees this season, and both were very small and thin.  I hope the bumble bee population is ok? 

ABOVE:  I put some string lights through this Christmas decoration.  You can't really tell in this photo, but they look so lovely.

ABOVE: I used the 'NIGHT' setting for this photo, and Telephoto... it came out rather well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR GRIFFIN, have a lovely day, Dad and I love you to bits. 💚💙💜

And that's it for now.

I am getting up and making a move on the day.

Catch ya later.

8.36 am:  All the jobs are done, so I can now go out for a little while.

ABOVE: This Fruit Loaf is a resounding success.  It smelled lovely whilst cooking.  TICK TICK.

I have tasted it, it's not super spicy, so next time I'll add a bit more spice.

It has now gone in the freezer.   It will be interesting to see how it defrosts.  I've never frozen home made bread before. 

Has anyone else?   Opinions?

10.34 am:  And I'm home from a good shopping session.  I skipped the supermarket, cos I was hungry, and we all know what happens when you grocery shop when hungry!  So no.

ABOVE:  I did my banking, then some shopping for Christmas.  I couldn't skip a year of buying a Christmas Friend!

Meet Rascal.

He's probably the one and only addition to the family this year.

ABOVE:  And I got those three salmon pink Xmas Decorations for our bedroom.  They match perfectly.

And now... I'm in the sewing room for the remainder of the day.

2.34 pm:  Been sewing.  And I cooked a mince and tomato stew and put it in a pie.  It's now in the oven, with mini hash browns on the top.  It's looking good.

Now... back to the sewing.

ABOVE:  And there's the pie.  It looks and smells amazing.   And we shall have company this evening to help us eat it.

Brylee and Dom are coming.  Nice one. 

Right, we've had some lovely company for dinner this evening.  Not only Brylee and Dom, but Lacy as well.  

Lacy raided the pantry again, and tucked into some Gherkins.  She's paying the price now... 💩💩💩.   lol

They have all left now, and it's time to chill out until Coronation Street is on, then bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.  edit:  No Coro Street tonight!  I forgot it's only Monday.  *sigh*

YET ANOTHER OPEN HOME

 

Here we go again.  We get up, and make the house 100% ready for our Open Home this afternoon.

Now that I've decided to bake bread, that is one of the first things I need to do.  Get it ready to switch on by 9.30, so it's coming out of the bread making machine at 1.30 pm.

Our Open today is at 2 pm.

Once the house is ready, I'm sure we will go out for lunch, cos who wants to mess up the kitchen once you have it spic 'n' span?

Oh I just remembered something.  I found some of our Christmas stuff in the outside cupboard.  So last night I put them in the house.

ABOVE:  So we have this little sparkly tree, and two of the larger Christmas Friends.

ABOVE: Then I put these cuties in the corner.  Stew just happens to sit there, so I suppose he's a cutie too. 😊😉

ABOVE: And I found and put this thing on the kitchen counter.

I also found the wreath for the front door, so that's up too.

There's a couple more bigger Christmas Friends dotted around, but that's all I've put out.

Everything else in already packed and away somewhere.   

And that's about all I have to yabber on about right now.  

Catch ya later.

12.57 pm.  We get all the jobs done, bread on in the machine.

And go out for lunch.

We arrive home just before 1 pm, expecting the house to smell like fresh baking bread.

NOPE.  All we can smell is something BURNING!  Smoke!!!!

FUCK.

Turns out the bread mixture had overflowed in the machine, and was burning on the elements.

BUGGER, DAMN AND BLAST.

I rush it outside, around the back, out of sight, out of smell.

Stew flings open all the doors and windows.

And I hastily turn the regular oven on, grab some frozen cookies from the freezer and chuck them in the oven.

Rather glad I did them now.

I also sprayed air freshener around the house, to try and get rid of the burning smoky smell. 

I think it worked.

We are now one hour off the Open Home, and I'm feeling bloody frazzed.  

1.15 pm, and up rocks Griffin and Tash!  So we enjoyed a quick visit before shoo'ing them on reluctantly.

Only one group through the Open Home today.  It was super quiet, even on the street.  Usually our road is fairly busy on the weekends, but not today.

It's a lovely sunny day, so people are probably out and about enjoying the sunshine.

Nevermind, one is better than none.

It only takes ONE.

OH and the house smelled lovely after the burnt bread incident.

I now need to get the bread baker back inside and clean it out, ready for next weekend.   I'll be baking the SMALL bread recipe next time, so there's no chance of the mixture spilling over.

I have NEVER had that happen to me before.  First time for everything eh?

I'm now knackered.  Time to just relax for the remainder of the day.  Well, until I cook dinner in 2.5 hours.

ABOVE:  Lunch at Fergus was delicious as per usual.  

Strange seeing a dog allowed into the place, but I suppose as it was 'outside' it was permitted.

Funny how it's sniffing butts!  😂😅😆

ABOVE:  I just love standing beside our Griffin.  He makes me seem SMALL!   I'm not.  He's just a sizeable boy, always has been.

7.15 pm, and I got Stew to bring the Bread Making Machine back in from Siberia.

Then I tipped the revolting uncooked bread dough down the sink, and cleaned the machine.

Then I thought, hmmm... I might cook a quicker loaf, to get the nasty burnt stink out of the machine.

So, a quick look at the recipes, and I settled on a Spicy Fruit Loaf.  Menu # 3.  Only, this dumb arse blonde saw the number 3 and thought it was a THREE HOUR long cook time.

ABOVE:   WRONG.  It's FOUR hours. So I shall be up until 11.30 tonight.  Oh ya.  Though it's not much later than when I usually go to bed to be honest.

Results of this bake will be shown tomorrow.

It's time to sign off for the day.  Catch ya tomorrow.

TAMAHERE MARKET IN NOVEMBER

 

Here we go again.  The first of three Saturdays in a row with a market.

Tamahere today.  And it's about 5.50 am, and we are just getting our shit together.  We'll be out of here in the next 10-15 minutes.

I had a bit of a giggle last night.  I decided to go back to using the house like we are still 'living' here, not just biding time till we move.

So, with a nod to being a bit 'messy'...

ABOVE:  I've left the wooden board ON THE BENCH!  😂😅😂

Yep, that's it.   It always used to stay on the bench, but since we went on the market, it's been in a cupboard.

No more.   I know it's laughable, but seriously, it's about all I can do to mess the house up!

Tomorrow I'm going to get some Christmas Decorations out as well.  Might as well, we will no doubt still be here over Christmas, and why not put some happy Christmas stuff out.  Like we live here still.  Yep.  

I wonder where my Christmas Friends are?  In a box, either in our gym room, or Steve's garage.  I'll find them. 

Right, I better get off here and go to market.

Catch ya later.

... 

ABOVE: Looking good out there. 😊

ABOVE: Yakking with Butch. He's  always here setting up his stall.... and YAKKING! He's a right dag.

ABOVE: Stew helping set up someone else's gazebo. We often end up doing that.

ABOVE: 7.40 am and we are all set up. Waiting for the shoppers now. 

This market is going so well! 

A lady came in and asked if I made all of the things. I said yes, and she said "You are an artist!" 

I was like  nooooo I'm just a sewer, to which she INSISTED... NO, YOU ARE AN ARTIST! 

What a Lovely thing to say.

ABOVE: This is Storm. I wanted to steal him. Sooo beautiful.

Marie: While I fell in love with Storm, his owner was NOT giving him up!  Probably just as well, cos he's a big dog and I doubt the girls would have liked him much, particularly Marley.

Our market went FANTASTICALLY!

We sold HEAPS, and took home more than we have ever done before monetarily. 

This coming week I need to make more Christmas coloured braid runners (Greens and Reds).  They sold like hot cakes!  Plus heaps of bowl cosy's.  Luckily, I have quite a few in me stash, so won't need to make more of them right now.

OMG I'm so tired now.  I didn't sleep well, which is par for the course prior to a market.  I feel 'sick tired', if ya know what that means.  

So, I might just put my head down for a couple of hours.  

7.16 pm:  Well while I did lie down, sleep did not happen.  So I got up and went into the sewing room and laid out my next 5 Braid Runners.

While I did that, Stew mowed the lawns, then did his weekend grocery shopping.

Then we had soup and our fresh baked bread for dinner.

Now?  Just watching TV till bedtime.  I want to go RIGHT NOW, but it's just too early.  I'd fall asleep and wake up at midnight, ready for the 'DAY'.   So, I'll just hang out till 9-10 pm.

Catch ya tomorrow.

WELL DAMN

 

Yesterday I dropped my brand new, OMG expensive phone on the sewing room floor.  Which has a very thin carpet on it.  I didn't think any damage had been done.  (First time I had dropped it btw).

A few minutes later I noticed ... TWO CRACKS in the screen saver.  Well damn!  I will be taking it back to the place I bought the screen saver, and getting a new one.  At least it did it's job and saved the actual phone screen.

After that, I will visit the bank for some small notes for our Market tomorrow.  Ya can't have too many notes for change at a market.

Then I'll pop into the supermarket AGAIN, for a few things to bake bread.  Because on Sunday I'm going to do the bread thing.  *sigh*  I 'borrowed' back our Bread maker from Bex, cos I'd given it to them.

LOL, I also have to borrow a cake tin from her, because all of mine are packed up in a box, either in our house, or Bex's!

ABOVE: I need the cake tin as I'm making a Christmas Cake.  It's a recipe given to me by 'S' from Mosaic Group.  It's delicious, we had some a couple of weeks ago... I just have to do it.  Stew loves a good fruit cake.

12.39 pm and sheesh!

I've done HEAPS this morning.

First up, Bank for small notes for tomorrow's market.  

Then, I bought a new phone case (the third one in as many months!), and a new screen protector.

I decided while the pretty, blingy phone case was nice, it wasn't robust enough at the end of the day. And it was slippery to hold!

So I bought a plain black Otter Box case.  They are the best for being robust.

Supermarket next, where I got the few things I needed to make bread, and I ended up buying a baking tin.  Luckily I bought a large one, the cake is large!

ABOVE: So, at the ripe old age of 66, I'm finally cooking a Christmas Cake!

I'm not sure yet if I will ice it.  I'll ask Stew what he wants, cos I'm making it for him primarily.

ABOVE: The other thing I got done?  I put a loaf of bread on.  It should be ready around 4 pm.

I guess we are having fresh bread and something ?  for our dinner.  😂😏

And now.... it's lunch time.  Off to find food...

And hello, it's a damn quiet day on here ain't it?

Pffffft.  

Oh well...

ABOVE:  While you've been doing whatever, I've been here smelling food cook.  Sooooo yum!

The cake looks great, and the bread too.  It just came out of the bread machine.

I'm not even bothered that it's a little sunken on the top, it is lovely.

I might just cut it soon, to see how it is inside.

I reckon it will be amazing.

ABOVE: And as I expected, it's a lovely loaf of bread.  I made Garlic and Herb bread.  You are supposed to use fresh chopped herbs.  I don't.  I just use dried herbs and it works just fine.

We have had rain all day, sometimes quite heavy.  The swimming pool is full to capacity.

This rain is supposed to stop by midnight, and we are expecting a fine day tomorrow.

Fingers crossed the forecast is correct.

7.42 pm:  Looks like the weather is already clearing.  Yaaa.

Stew and I just loaded the car in readiness for tomorrow's early start.

Now, time to just relax before heading off to bed a bit earlier than the norm.

Catch ya tomorrow.