USUAL THURSDAY AROUND HERE

 

I shall start today with some boring old housework, followed by starting my next runner.

ABOVE:  I have laid out the fabric for this one already.  I'm feeling quite excited to be doing something really different this time.  I even found a nice fabric for the centre piece too.

I'm thinking of adding something (in applique') to the centre piece as well.  but that will happen later on.

I will be taking a break from the sewing at 10 am, and heading down to the Community Centre for Coffee and Chat.

I wonder if the man who was going to take 'The Headmistress' to task at the meeting yesterday turns up.  If he does it will be interesting to see if he says anything about 'it' or not.

I know he owes me and a few others an explanation, after insisting we all attend that meeting to 'support him'.  

ONWARD...

9.10 am.  Housework - Done.

Quick morning walk - Done.

ABOVE: It was looking promising...

ABOVE:  There is a river there... somewhere!

ABOVE:  But the fog was sooooo thick, I couldn't even see the river!  I did a quick walk, until I didn't feel safe, and turned around and came home again.  It was just too secluded, dark and foggy.

Better to be safe than sorry.

I am now heading over to Spotlight for more plain black fabric for the backings of all those runners.  

ABOVE:  Black fabric acquired, and on sale as per usual. Spotlight is now like Briscoes, there is ALWAYS a sale on.  

And then off to the supermarket for FOUR things.

And a MIRACLE HAPPENED.  

I only bought those FOUR THINGS!!!!

Next, off to Coffee and Chat.  Which was nice, not as many there today as it is cold and miserable outside.

Now I'm home and making some lunch, then I can get into Crabby Quarters and get some work done.
Sorry, I forgot to say, NO ... Big Mouth did not turn up.  Funny that.

ABOVE: Today's runner top is done.  I was going to embellish it with a maple leaf in the middle, but now that it's done, I can see it doesn't need it at all.  It's already really beautiful.  

I am now going to take a break until Stew gets home, then I'll take him to the pub and visit the kids.  Just the usual Thursday evening.

11 pm:  Well as I thought, it was a normal Thursday evening.

I got to spend some time with the kids, which is always enjoyable.

Picked Stew up from the pub then came home.  Watched a bit of telly then... off to bed.

YET. ANOTHER. RUNNER.

 

There I was thinking Stew loved ginger cake/loaf, and I put heaps of crystalised ginger chunks in, and on top, of what I baked yesterday.  ONLY to discover he doesn't like crystalised bloody ginger!

WTF?  He likes ginger cake/loaf, just not the chunky ginger.  I'm the opposite, of course I am.  😖😕  So now I get to eat the top half of the loaf, and he gets the bottom! lol

Today I am starting another really GREEN Kiwiana Runner, like the one I got done yesterday.

I think after that one I'll make 1 or 2 brown hued runners, then move on to quilting and binding them all.

That's going to take a bit of time, cos there's going to be about 12 to do.

Oh well, just as well I like being busy eh?

There is the monthly Residents Meeting in the village this afternoon.  I don't usually bother going anymore as they are usually a bit boring.  But I'm going today as I know shit is going to hit the fan!  At Coffee & Chat yesterday one of the men there said he was going to take 'The Headmistress' to task about 'something', and we all should be there to see what's going on.

Hmmmm.

'The Headmistress', as he calls her, is the Chairperson of the Residents Committee, and also the lady who 'runs' our Craft Group.  She used to be a teacher, and you can tell.  Hence the nick name this man has given her.

So... the meeting might be a bit more interesting today.  It's not on until mid afternoon, so I'll be sure and let ya know how that goes... later.

ONWARD...

11.35 am.

I've not started sewing yet.  Instead, I went out to Tamahere (Bower Bird Fabric shop), Matangi (Tis The Season Fabric Shop) and lastly, back here in Hamilton, Backstreet Bargains.

ABOVE:  I got all but one piece of those fabrics from the first two shops, and the last one piece from Backstreet Bargains.

I WISH I had remembered that Backstreet Bargains Kiwiana fabrics are the cheapest anywhere!  I bought some up in Auckland the other day for $36 a metre, at Backstreet Bargains it is $24.50.   Grrrr. 

So anyway, I'm pretty well stocked up again with Blues and Greens.  I doubt I'll need to get any more for the remainder of the year.

Shit it's been an expensive year for my sewing!  New machine and lots of fabric.

I told Stew the other day I'm stocking up NOW, cos one day we won't be able to afford it.  Forward planning and all that.

I've just had an early lunch and will take a little while to relax, then head into Crabby Quarters until 2 pm.

2pm..  the meeting has just started....

AND... I and several other people who specifically attended the meeting today left feeling quite disgruntled.  He who was going to cause a fuss and 'blow The Headmistress up',  DIDN'T. He totally backed down and gave an apology for 'misunderstanding' instead.  WTF?
I was so looking forward to a good, heated discussion.

I have to say it, that particular man is obnoxious, a total bore, and a few other adjectives not so nice, all rolled into one.  Worse, he's a very close neighbour. NOT the one who caused a stink over our shed either.  Seems there's a few arseholes who live quite close to us, sadly.

But thankfully, on a whole, most people in this village are lovely.  

I'm now warming up under my heated throw, cos I got really cold down in the village Community Centre.  When you walk into the Centre from outside, it feels really warm, but once you sit down for a length of time, it's NOT warm.

Remind me not to attend any more of those meetings, they really are damn boring. 

ABOVE: Runner of the day, and I am almost ready to turn around and start quilting and binding them all!

ONE more to make though, a brown hued one.  Tomorrow.

Stew went down to the gym, as he's been doing several nights in a row now.  I joined him after finishing that runner.

Now we are going to be boring old farts, and watch the telly, have something to eat then head off to bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

A LOAF, A HOUSEKEEPER, ANOTHER RUNNER

 

Today I plan on making a ginger loaf/cake.  I had a piece at craft group last week and it was delicious!  So, Stew is keen for me to have a go at making one.

I bought all the necessary ingredients over the last couple of days, so I'm ready to go.

I've got Lacy coming over today I think? Not 100% on that one, she might be coming tomorrow.

ABOVE:  The centre fabric is what I tried to buy more of yesterday.  Apparently it is a Nutex fabric, created 8 years ago.  No longer made, which is so typical.  I find a fabric I love and can only get the very last of it.  😕😔

I managed to get 1.3 metres of it, so possibly enough to use it in 3-4 runners.

I'm looking forward to making it today.

There is a 'Coffee & Chat' meeting down in the Community Centre this morning, so if I get the loaf made in time, I'll wander down there for an hour or so.                                            

I enjoy the coffee and chats.

ONWARD...

9.05 am and the loaf has been in the oven for WAY longer than the recipe said!  It was supposed to be done after 45 minutes, but so far it's been in for 75 minutes, and it's still not cooked in the middle.  Maybe my oven is not as HOT as I think?

I'm keeping a track of how many times I 'up' the time, for next time I cook it.

ABOVE: Finally, after 80 minutes, it was done.  It split in the middle because I had to ram a knife in it to keep checking if it was done or not!  Next time I won't have to do that.

Once it's cooled I'll take it out of the cake pan and ... taste it!  lol

I put chunks of crystalised ginger over the top of it, which wasn't in the recipe, but as L had done it, I did too.

It's a cold, foggy, miserable day... the sun is trying it's best of win.  Maybe in another hour or two it will have burnt through?  But right now, it's COLD.  Probably not as cold as other places, sorry other places.

Morning tea and chat was nice, always some interesting topics discussed.

Lacy did a wonderful job of the housework, and cleaned the exterior of my car as well.

I have another ginger loaf in the oven.  I have changed a couple of things.

1.  Upped the temperature to 180 instead of 170.

2. Put the crystalised ginger throughout the entire mixture, not just on the top.

3. Put the mixture in a cake tin, instead of a loaf tin.  So it's thinner, should cook quicker.

4. Put a tiny bit of Baking Powder in the mix, as it was VERY dense.  

Let's see what happens with that shall we?

Lacy does not like ginger, but she tasted the loaf.  HATED IT.  Weird girl.

ABOVE:   5.30 pm.  I finally got today's runner top finished.  I love it, there's no aqua in this one.  It really is totally green.

And look at that, I FINALLY found the best way to take a freakin' good photo of runners!  On the back of a door.  Why the hell didn't I think of that like... YEARS AGO?

I just need to paint said door white, so it's a 'clean' background.  Maybe I shall do that very soon.

In fact, I want to paint all the interior doors white, so perhaps that will be my winter project.

I am attending WW this evening, just for the meeting side of it, and of course, to say hi to those who I've come to know a bit.  

7.15 pm, and I'm just in from the WW meeting. It was a nice meeting.

And now it's time to wind down for the day, and just blob out.

Catch ya tomorrow.

IS HE FIXED, OR NOT???

 

This morning I am driving over to the lake, having a walk, then going into Frankton to pick up Mc DREAMY!  

FOR.  THE.  FIFTH.  TIME.  He has been backwards and forth from Sewing Machine World's repairman since December 18th last year.

MAYBE, just maybe, this time he is fixed?

I am NOT holding my breath to be honest.  If one technician can't find and fix the problem in 5 months, how can a new repairman do it in a week?  I'm so sceptical. 

Let's hold our breath and see... I can't pick him up until 10am when the shop opens.  I won't be leaving the shop before making the lady test it in front of me, FOR SURE!

If all goes well, I will take Mc Dreamy to the Village Craft Room and use him there. 

Late yesterday I finished the first of two (for now) Red/Black/White Braid runner tops.

ABOVE: And there it is.  It needs to be quilted and have binding added, but not yet.  I'm working on having about a dozen ready for those steps, and do them over a few days.

ONWARD...

ABOVE: He's back! He works!

And I'm at craft group, so I'll do a fuller update once I'm home later.

Well it is much later!   

First up, I got to Sewing Machine World and spent an hour there, getting Mc Dreamy and a few fabrics.  NOT a lot of fabric, but it took forever cos Neil can TALK, and talk and talk!

I told him if he didn't hurry up he was buying me lunch, cos I'd still be there at lunchtime. lol

So he hurried up, but it still took him an hour to cut up about 8 pieces of fabric for me.

After that I went to Craft Group, and made this runner top:

ABOVE: It is very similar to yesterday's one, but not identical.  I used Mc Dreamy, and he went like, well... a dream.  😂😊

Funny story.

The group of us ladies at Craft Group were discussing how we are often asked by various people to 'hem this, alter that, make this for charity' and so on.

I said I always just say NO, cos I'm too busy doing my own thing, or I simply do not support that charity.  Or I don't like that person!

So that was the discussion going on when next thing, a lady from the village walks into our room and starts asking 'any sewers' if we could sew up these dresses for Samoan children???

There was only three of us 'sewers' in the room.  I turn around and catch the eye of one of our ladies and she almost bursts into laughter.  My look must have said it all.

I SUDDENLY HAD SELECTIVE HEARING LOSS... and although the lady asking for us to make the dresses went on and on about it, I just kept on sewing my runner and ignored her.

Once she left, there were quite a few laughs.

After craft group, I decided one of the fabric I had bought in the morning was just adorable, and I thought, I'll go back to Sewing Machine World right now and buy more.

It was DELICIOUS walking back into the shop just to see Neil's face drop!  He thought I was back to say Mc Dreamy wasn't going!!!!

I let him sweat for a minute, then put him out of his misery.  He called me a bad word... in jest of course.

It was a wasted trip, cos seems I had bought the last of the fabric I wanted more of, and there's none left anywhere.  Damn.

I'm now home, and about to unload the car.  I used it to get around today, I had too much to do, carry and so on.

And now, it's 8.45 pm.  We are watching the telly.. and will be off to bed fairly soon.  We are both tired... too many nights with interrupted sleep.  Thanks to the knee pain still.

Catch ya tomorrow.

A LAZY SUNDAY

 

First and foremost for today... we are having a lie in.  Probably not a 'sleep in', as we both tend to wake up at the usual time, no matter what day it is.  Which is a bit of a bugger.

But never mind.  Moving on.

Photos of yesterday's purchases:

ABOVE:  More greens and Kiwiana fabrics.

ABOVE: Then I went slightly nuts, and bought that lot ... to make a few Brown and Gold hued Braid Runners.  I don't know if I have anything suitable for the centre of a runner in those shades. I shall have a hunt in the 'stash' later on, I might get lucky.

ABOVE: Then I spied that Red Tui fabric, so got those two fabrics to make a couple of Red/Black 'n' White Braid Runners.  

Going outside my comfort zone again.  But worth having a bit more variety on the stall I reckon.

ABOVE: We got this funky plant pot at the garden centre.  I'm not sure where it's going yet.

ABOVE: Lastly, this freakin' cute flower/bud holder.  In the shop they had a single flower in each vial... it looked so cute.  All I had to put in them last night was lavender... which were a bit short.  You could buy these in groups of 9/12/16/32 and so on.  There was also a large round one... I was tempted, but as I'm happy with what's on our dining table, I left the large round one there.

I think I have been ever so good not buying much 'clutter' for the inside of the house since we moved, so yesterday felt a bit naughty.  But it's also nice to have a little splurge now and then.

Stew is doing the weekend grocery shop once he's up.  Then later on we are going out for lunch.  

Other than that, we really have no plans for the rest of the day.

I'm hanging out for TOMORROW, when I can go and get Mc Dreamy and bring him home again. 

ONWARD...

11.22 am  and all the housework is done.

I've cut out strips for two red/black/white runners. 

Stews done his shopping. Pak n Save had NO DIET COKE! That's a first, so we are now at Rototuna having lunch, before going to New World for Diet Coke.

We can't live without our DC.

Another very average lunch, at Robert Harris in Rototuna.  At least their hot chocolate was HOT.

Home, and I tried to have a little nap, but nope, not happening.  Stew went out to the cemetary to tidy up his parent's gravesite.  Now he's watching ... rugby.  What a surprise.

I'm thinking of going into Crabby Quarters to start one of those red/black/white runners.  But I'm not enthused right now.

Maybe a bit later.

It is now 6 pm, and I've done some sewing this afternoon.  I have got one new runner top done, and will show you tomorrow.  I'm quite happy with it.  Weird, it's not blue or green!

Now we are settling down for the evening, feet up, blankie on... till bedtime.

Catch ya tomorrow.

DAY TRIP TO AUCKLAND

  

Whoop whoop, we have a full day ahead of us.

We are going to Auckland for the day.

First up we shall be stopping in at Ribbon Rose, which is a huge fabric shop in Penrose.  I am specifically looking for more greens for runners.

Next stop will be visiting Stew's sister Khady.  We are going with her to the Parnell Market, where we will grab some food for our lunch.  I think lunch is going to be in a park?  Not sure, but out and about somewhere.

After that, Stew and I will be heading over to the North Shore to visit my Aunty Joyce.  She has nagged us for years to visit her!  Whoops, just never got around to it.  We see her at family get togethers usually.

So that's our plans for today.

Oh and before I forget it... today marks ONE YEAR in our new home.  That year has gone damn fast!

ONWARD...

9.42 am, traveling along the Southern Motorway, almost at Mt Wellington and we just saw a motorbike rider doing something utterly CRAZY. He was riding along without holding on to his bikes handlebars!!!   WTF?  I can't believe anyone would be so utterly STUPID. 

Nearly at Ribbon Rose,  its been ages since we have been there. I'm a bit excited.  😊

ABOVE: 11.10 am, and our visit to Ribbon Rose was awesome.  The lady who measured out our fabric was the owner of the shop, and she ended up giving us about 3 metres of fabric for FREE! 

She had recognised me from our last visit, she said she remembers me saying "Are you shitting me?", when I found out they were having a massive sale and I didn't know. Lol

We are now visiting Khady. No market visit after all, we got here too late for that. 

5.45 pm and we are finally on our way home. A fuller update once we are home. For now a few photos of the city...

7.20 pm, we are safely home.  I felt so sorry for Coco, I watched her on and off all day. She spent all her time wandering around the house, looking for us.  😕  She was so  happy when we got home.  She's now sitting on my lap, on top of my heated throw.  So cute.

Our day went pretty much exactly as planned... Ribbon Rose, then off to pick up Stew's sister Khady.  We had lunch at the cafe at Palmers Garden Centre in Remuera.  It was very average I must say.

ABOVE:  While at the garden centre, I was so tempted to buy one of those blue Orchids!  BUT, our home would have been too cold for it, and at $89, it would have died and been an utter waste of money.  So sad, cos just how beautiful are they!  I did buy a couple of things there though, and will show you tomorrow.

After lunch, we visited a cousin of Stew and Khady's just up the road from the cafe.

ABOVE: Their home overlooks Orakei Basin, such a lovely view!  That little 'lake' is actually a coastal inlet.  It's where people go to do water skiing etc (mostly).  We spent a very nice hour or so catching up with Ross and Libby, before then heading over to see my Aunty Joyce on the North Shore.

ABOVE: Joyce lives in a retirement village, way, way bigger than where we live!  Huge high rise buildings, probably a couple of thousand people live there, if not more.

She gave us a tour of the main facilities.  It was very nice, but not for us.

The above photo is taken in the main foyer, I loved those paintings.

ABOVE: We only saw one area that had gardens.  There was probably a few more dotted around, but it really just felt cold and impersonal.  Virtually NO trees.  

ABOVE:  Joyce standing in front of the vege planters, she has one.  There's only 6, she was lucky to get one.

Her apartment is very nice, more spacious than our little home and certainly more modern.  I could live in it, but not in that complex.

After visiting with Joyce and her 'boyfriend', we left for home.

The traffic was horrendous getting out of Auckland, then it eased up thankfully.

We got home just in time for Stew to watch the rugby! 

I cooked us a light dinner.

And now I am going to do WORDLE, then browse the 'net.

I will post a photo of my new fabric, and the other things I bought at the garden centre, tomorrow.

Catch ya then.

FREAKIN MOSAICS FOR SURE!!!

 

I am hell fire, bent and determined to GO TO MOSAICS today.

I really, really want to get that damn bird panel finished and off my mind.

I will be staying down in the craft room all morning I suspect.

When I get home from that I will put the new electric blanket on the bed, then head into Crabby Quarters to work on the latest runner.

So... that's me plans for at least the morning.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

11 am and I did the last of the grouting on my panel. Next week I can seal it,  and it will be finished.

As I was down in the community rooms, I popped into the sewing room to see if anyone was in there. And yes, one of the Monday ladies was working on her own, so I decided to join her.

I went home and grabbed all me stuff, came back and set myself up in a new spot, where I had more room.

ABOVE: My new corner of the craft room. 

2.35 pm:  Just home from the craft room, where I spent a very enjoyable time sewing with 'L' for company.  We both enjoy sewing for the love of it, and were perfectly happy sewing and having chats here and there.  We both had lunch down there as well, though mine was just some crackers and hummus.

Now that I'm home, I've cleaned up Coco poop, she's got the shits for some reason.  Thank God she goes outside to do her business!  I found out that the studio camera picks up a person out on the back patio as well as inside the studio. That's great!   

Now if someone enters the back patio area, the camera picks them up and sends me an alert.

Coco didn't rise from her bed until 1 pm today.  I was watching the lounge via the camera all morning, no Coco in sight.  Then she came dawdling into the lounge just after 1 pm and proceeded to check out the doors, the view out the window, then the cheeky tart jumped up on my chair and checked out my computer desk.  Then, backwards and forwards she went, from the front door to the kitchen, then back to the window, my chair and so on.  Luckily the camera does not alert me for the dog.  Only humans.

We are going to Auckland for the day tomorrow, having the cameras on will give me peace of mind, not just for security, but to keep an eye on Coco.  😊😉
4.15 pm, and I've just finished two runner tops for the day.  So that's 5 so far this week.  I'm very happy with that.

The last one I just did, I ventured out of the comfort zone, and used a totally different fabric for the border:

ABOVE:  It isn't just a plain, one colour fabric, and I'm not sure what I think of it.  It looks more yellow in the photo, it's not though.  I'll keep looking at it, and if it doesn't scream hell NO! in the next day or two, it will stay on.  

I'm done sewing for the day now, I'm tired.  Might just sit and do a jig saw, read the news, do WORDLE, and so on.

So, I did all of the above, then Stew arrived home and I cooked us some dinner.  We had beef meatballs in a Teriyaki marinade over UDON noodles.  Bloody yum.

Now?

He's watching rugby in the front room (no surprises there), and I'm watching mindless TV in the lounge.  

Time to sign off, catch ya tomorrow.

HEADSTONE BUSINESS

 

In August, we as a family will be doing a 'formal' unveiling of my Dad/Mum and Sister's combined headstone.   We have been in talks with the Stonemason company for a while now, and it's not actually going that well.

We feel like they are trying to rip us off.  So this morning, before I do anything else, I will be visiting said Stonemasons, to try and sort it out in person.

My niece Rowena has been trying to sort it out via email, but isn't getting anywhere when it comes to explanations on costs not adding up. 😖

Once I get home I am going down to Mosaics to TRY and get more work done on my Bird Panel.  It has sat in the craft room for weeks with me doing nothing with it.  It's starting to bother me, so I really should get it finished.

ABOVE:  After mosaics, I will fix the runner I stuffed up yesterday, then work on this one. 

Further thought on yesterday's main topic of 'conversation'... me blogging past 20 years.  I have a few months to continue thinking about it.  Thanks for your comments.  Yes, it is totally up to me and how I feel about it.  I will see how I feel come October I suppose.  

ONWARD...

It is now 12.25 pm, and I've spent the entire morning out and about.

First up, I got the headstone issue sorted out, and everything should be tickety boo for the unveiling in August now.

Then I came home and went to the Coffee & Chat in the Community Centre.

COMPLETELY forgot about mosaics... again.  😖😂

Instead, I went to The Base and did some shopping.

ABOVE: Stew said he felt really cold last night in bed... so now we have a lovely new electric blanket.  It has 'multi' zones, so if ya just want to keep ya feet warm, it does that.

Ya gotta love Briscoes, there's always a sale on.  I got that blanket for half price, which is awesome as I'd NEVER pay $699 for it!  Like that is daylight robbery eh?

I also got a clock for the kitchen, cos the one that was in there got moved.   I do move things around, just a bit.

Steve and Bex bought me some amazing Wool/Possum socks last winter, and I've been wearing them for DAYS.  They are just so warm, I no longer have cold feet.

Luckily for me, I found the last pair in Farmers this morning.  So now I can wash the ones I've been wearing for days, no more stinky feet. lol

Right, I'm going to have some lunch, then go and unpick the sashings off yesterdays runner, and get on with me sewing.

ABOVE:  4.30 pm, and I fixed that runner.  It looks 'right' now.  

Sitting in Crabby Quarters and I finally notice this:

ABOVE:  I have been out and about all over town, wearing my village name tag!

WHAT.  A.  DICK.   I'm told quite a few of us forget we have it on when we go outside the village.

I wore mine to the Coffee & Chat this morning.  NOT that I really need to.  Most people there know who I am now.  
Stew should be home soon, and I will take him up to the pub. I might even stay with him for a while before visiting the kids.

ABOVE:  Another delightful evening spent visiting the kids.  Miss Lily 'posing'... as soon as I point my phone at her she does that!  She has learnt well off Dante.

She is now stringing a few words together... and she kept saying 'Hello Grandma' and giving me big hugs.  It melts me heart, she is soooo damn adorable.

I spent a pleasant hour or so with Stew and our friends at the pub as well.

Happy to be home now.

Very tired.

Stew kept me awake until 1.30 last night... tonight I am sleeping in the front room.  Just to get some uninterrupted sleep. 

I hope like hell his knee stops paining him so much soon.  I am worried the operation has not helped at all!

Time will tell of course... we have to give it at least a year for optimal recovery.

And that's it, I'm done for the day.

Catch ya tomorrow.