NINE DAYS OFF

 

Starting today, Stew has no work for a whole nine days.

He's go so many holidays owing, he has to take some days off.  So, he's got all of next week off.

We do have a couple of things planned for next week, things that we want to get squared away for the future, but more on that... next week I suppose.  Gotta keep something up me sleeve to yabber about next week right?  😂😏

Back to today.... not too sure really.

Saturday's usually mean going out and about, having a nice lunch somewhere and all that.

I think we will return that piece of Britto ... and NO, I won't be keeping it.  It's damned expensive, so having two the same would be a bit dumb.  We can choose a replacement piece together, which will be nice.  Hopefully the shop actually has a piece we don't already have! 

Seriously, it's getting harder and harder to find new pieces we don't have.

Though in saying that, there are quite a few pieces that simply DO NOT appeal.  Or are HUGE and mega expensive, and I simply refuse to buy them.

We have the Cambridge Trash 'n' Treasure market on tomorrow, so at some point later on we will pack the car, and make sure we have everything we need.  It is almost second nature now of course, but I still get a bit stressed about it, making sure we don't forget anything.

Right, time to get up and start the day, catch ya later.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  11 am saw us in town, exchanging one Britto piece... for two.  Whoops. FYI, they are just little pieces, fit in the palm of ya hand little. 

Then we wandered down to Iguana restaurant for lunch.

ABOVE:  This place hasn't changed that much in 40 years.  The food took a while to arrive, and was very average.  Not photo worthy.

ABOVE: Stew ordered some Koala cloths, which arrived today.  Time will tell if they are any good.  Interesting he bought cleaning cloths... I think he wants to try one on the shower glass.

We have very hard water here, so there's always a build up of hard water spots all over the glass.  

We tried Glassguard, which was quite expensive, to no avail.

Fingers crossed Koala cloths do the trick, cos they were not cheap either.

Has anyone else tried Koala cloths?  

7.15 pm.  When I  have more energy I'll give those Koala Cloths a go on various surfaces.  Right now though, I'm contemplating an early night, as we have to get up bloody stupid o'clock tomorrow.

AND it's going to be FREEZING.

NOT looking forward to that at all.

Catch ya tomorrow, where I will probably be a bit grumpy.

HOW SWEET IS MY DARLING?

 

When Stew arrived home from work last night, he handed me this:

ABOVE: He said it was a 'welcome home gift', and it was appropriate considering my week.

I opened it, saw the picture on the box and closed it again!

It's a piece of BRITTO, a little dog in a dish.  He thought seeing as I had spent a lot of time with little dogs I would like it.  Stew is clearly not up to speed with all our Britto, and what we have.  We already had it!

But never mind, we shall return it next week and get a different one.  

It's the thought that counts of course!  Thank You Darling.  I missed you too.

AND I did bring you a gift as well ... a bag of black jelly beans.   😂😅😆  Not quite as 'special' as Britto... but at least I did think of you right? 

ABOVE: Lily LOVED her huge Stitch toy!  It is bigger than her.  So cute.

The boys got spoilt as well...  $'s for them though, so they can buy what they want.

ABOVE: Bex has been making all sorts of things for her first market in over two and a half years.  Lily is modelling an ear warmer, she looks adorable in it.  

We are both doing the Cambridge Trash 'n' Treasure Market this coming Sunday.  She can set up beside us, that way she has us to help her if necessary.

Now, back to the day ahead. I've got a load of washing to hang out.  A little bit of housework, not much.  Then I can get into Crabby Quarters and put away my latest haul of fabrics.  That will be fun. 

I might even get to finish one of the last 5 runners sitting on my work table?

ONWARD...

12 noon.

Housework - DONE

Small grocery shop - DONE

Washing - whoops, still waiting.

And I'm not going into Crabby Quarters until me jobs are all done, so maybe later on.

Right now, I've just had my lunch, a sausage and some noodles flavoured with sweet 'n' sour sauce.  Very nice on a cold, dreary winters day.

I just spoke with Chris and Sandra as well, and Chris is doing very well.  She sounded really chipper and happy, and she's got Sandra with her, making sure she's OK.  Such a relief all went well.

Now, just fingers crossed for good lab results.

2.55 pm, and I've finally got all the jobs done.

Now finally, I can relax.  If I get the energy a bit later, I'll go into Crabby Quarters to sort out the new fabric.

OR, I'll leave it as a special treat for tomorrow.  Yeah, that's what I'll do.  

I think right now I'll listen to a YouTube doco, while doing a jig saw.

8.34 pm, and we have had a quiet evening so far.

Stew is happily watching rugby, bless his heart.

I've watched three episodes of Coronation Street, so am all caught up now.

Time to sign off for the day, catch ya tomorrow.

HEADING HOME TODAY

 

You should have figured by now that I am heading home today.

Chris is having her procedure tomorrow in the Day Clinic, and Sandra will be staying with her.  So, I feel comfortable going home, knowing she's in safe hands.  The dogs will have their 'Mum' home by the end of the day, so they are fine as well.

I have really, really enjoyed these past few days with my girlfriends, it's been a long time since I did just that.

And of course, seeing the kids again was wonderful.  

And dogs, so many dogs!  Cee Cee, Chip, Beene, Beau and Lacy.  Coco is going to have a sniff-fest all over me when I get home.  😂😅

In the past month - 6 weeks?  I have visited ALL my favourite fabric shops and added to my stash, so that's bloody awesome as well.

ABOVE: This little bag of fabric was from yesterday's visit to Hidden Hollow, which is at Massey University.  

And I think that's a wrap on fabric shopping for quite a few months!

I am looking forward to the drive home, it's a good road all the way and I like driving.

If the weather is good, and it's supposed to be, I hope to stop a couple of times to gather some rocks!  lol

Me and rocks go hand in hand on trips.

ONWARD...

. 1.30 pm. Very quickly... I'm half way between Turangi and Taupo. Making good time.

I made a mistake in my post today.

Chris D is having her procedure TODAY. She should be home tonight though  and has Sandra to look after her.

I wanted to be home tonight as Stew is bloody exhausted. His knee is STILL causing him much pain. Grrrr.

So, home I am headed. I should get there just as he gets home from work.

4.15 pm and I am home safe.  5 and a half hours, with 5 short stops along the way.

ABOVE:  I got a small bag of river rocks on the Desert Road, from a stream flowing off Mt Ruapehu. 

I can't remember the number of times I've done that.  But, it's a few.  😂

ABOVE: Lake Taupo was stunning today.  I got a very little rock and a piece of driftwood here.

I am now knackered.

News on Chris D.  She's had her procedure.  It wasn't pleasant for her, and I think they would have done more if she wasn't in so much pain.  She now has to await results in a few weeks.

Sandra is staying with her this evening to make sure she's OK.

Please no guessing, it's her business.

Stew should be home any minute now, and once he's changed I will drop him off at the pub, come home and unpack.  I might, or might not get over to the kids home tonight.  It depends how I feel in an hour or so.

5.20 pm, and Stew is now at the pub.  I'm at  home relaxing.  I've actually got all my stuff unpacked and put away, and have a big load of washing on.

I will go over to the kids' house at about 6 pm.  I have a BIG soft toy for Miss Lily...

I ended up staying at the kids till it was time to pick Stew up and bring him home.  I am so tired, and COLD, all I want to do now is go to bed.  So I shall.

I'm going to sleep in tomorrow, BLISS.

LUNCH WITH THE KIDS

 

It has been just over 3 and a half months since I last saw Mike and Joyce, so it will be just awesome to catch up with them today.

We are meeting up for lunch, before Mike has work.  He does night shift work, so meeting at midday/early afternoon is best for him.

Before, or after seeing the kids, I want to pop out to the University and visit a patchwork shop out there.  It's a 'sister' shop, owned by the same lady who owns Fox's Cottage in Foxton. 

Sometimes they have different fabrics from their other shop, so it's worth having a gander.

And that's all I have on my agenda for now.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

It is now 2.46 pm.

I've had a very busy morning/lunch time.

First off, I went out to Hidden Hollow fabric shop and got just a little more fabric.  Then I met Mike and Joyce for a nice lunch in George Street, before we did some shopping together.

I exchanged one of the t-shit/bra thingees for a bigger one, then we went to Mitre 10, where I bought a thingee for picking up stuff off the floor.   It is staying here to help Chris get stuff off the floor.

Then I went out to the kids home and spent some time with them and their dogs.

This visit has been not only about visiting humans, but dogs as well! 

ABOVE:  The back entrance to the library, it's got a neat wall art thingee.

ABOVE: A few happy snaps.

 

ABOVE:  Mike and Joyce have Beau, their border collie, and quite often now, they look after a family members dog as well.  That dog's name?

LACY!  She's an SPCA Rescue dog, with three legs. She growled at me!  But I was reassured she would not bite me.

I'm always nervous around dogs I don't know or who growl at me.  But, she was OK.

ABOVE:  Beau and Lacy play fighting.  Beau has a huge advantage.

ABOVE:  How gorgeous is this little family?

Two things to mention about them above...

1. Joyce has been chosen, along with 7 other girls in her Palmerston North Indoor Netball team, to represent NEW ZEALAND in a Tri Nations Netball competition in South Africa in August!  She is an amazing player, and I'm not in the least surprised she's a NZ Representative.

2.  Our son Mike could have DIED last month! He was at work and did a dumb, spur of the moment thing, and nearly got crushed by a machine!  He was left with a gash in his head, and had to take a couple of days off work as he was very shaken.  I hope he's learnt his lesson, and doesn't do such a DUMB ARSE thing again.  101 safety rules should be adhered to.   I had to slap him for being such a twat.

Right, now that's out of my system... time to chill out with Chris for the rest of the day.

8.13 pm... and we are enjoying a nice evening in front of the telly, nice and warm.  It's most likely going to be another freezing night, but at least they don't get frosts too often here.  There was one in Hamilton this morning... ikkkk.

I will sign off for the day now, and catch ya tomorrow.

OFF TO THE HOSPITAL NICE AND EARLY

 

This morning Sandra is picking Chris and I up and we are heading up to the hospital.

We don't know how quickly Chris will get her 'procedure' done.  It could be any time today, or maybe it will be tomorrow.  It all depends on if they can find a bed in a ward for her.

So, fingers crossed she gets a bed, and then has her procedure.  It will be good for her not having it hanging over her head, and will hopefully answer some questions re:  current health issues.

So, that's about all I have for now!  Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

ABOVE: And here we sit, waiting... waiting... for something to happen. It's now 9.42 am. Let's see how long we wait...

11.30.  We sat in the hospital for 2.5 hours, Chris had the usual pre-admission checks, bloods taken and then... she was told to go home and come back on Friday, as the hospital is too full !

So... that's what she will do.

I will still be going home on Thursday, as Chris has our bestie Sandra to be with her.  I really only came down as I wanted to see my friends, and be here if needed to babysit the dogs.  

It sounds like Chris's procedure will be a same day thing, and she should be able to come home afterwards.

It has been so good catching up with the girls, and hearing all the goss... and there's a bit of goss! 😂😅
In an hour or so we are going to meet Sandra again for lunch at the mall.  What shall I have today I wonder?

2.29 pm.  Home from lunch, and shopping.

I had a sausage roll and some hot chips for my lunch.   After lunch we wandered over to K Mart, where I bought this:

ABOVE: There was a bin FULL of them, mostly blue ones.  I just had to get one for Lily!  They were very popular, we saw another two leaving the mall while we were there.

ABOVE: Sandra carries Cee Cee around in a little front pack thing, and OMG, does she get lots of attention.  So many people smile and want to pat her (the dog, not Sandra 😂😅).  She's so popular in the mall, it takes forever to get around cos she's stopped so often.

I got a couple of t-shirts with bra incorporated at K Mart to try.  Chris D wears them all the time, and said they are really comfy.  So, I'll give 'em a go.

Now that we are finally home, we are going to just relax.  It's been a busy sorta day already.

8 pm.  It's time to sign off for the day, a day that didn't quite go as expected.  But, these things happen.

I'm up till Coronation Street is over after 10 pm, then off to bed.

I'm getting a damn good night's sleep on the air bed!  I wasn't sure how good it would be, but it's just awesome.  I'm certainly going to get one for us as a spare bed.

One that self inflates and deflates.  

Right, catch ya tomorrow.

A DAY WITH THE GIRLS

 

LOL,  I couldn't help using the above 'Good Morning' picture.  Very appropriate, except for the togs and ice creams. 

I'm hoping that Chris and I can meet up with Sandra, and maybe Anne as well, for a couple of hours in town, maybe have lunch at the mall etc.

Chris goes to hospital tomorrow, and right now, we don't know how long she will be there.  It might be a day stay, or an overnight thing.  

So, I'm making the most of my visit with her right now.

ABOVE:  Can you get any closer to me Chip?   I was eating, and seriously, both dogs were totally in my face.  They are just so cute, total Shih Tzu hard cases.  I will enjoy spending time with them, and making sure they are OK while Chris is out of the house.

Chip and Benne are full brothers, but look TOTALLY different!  Chip (above) has a really old man face, and he's much heavier than Benne.

There's a really lovely photo of Benne on yesterday's post btw.

Right, that's me for now.  I'll update later on, probably closer to lunch time.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  Me and the girls this morning.  We had a lovely catch up.

ABOVE:  I went to one of my favourite clothing shops here in Palmerston North, Ballentynes.  I found 4 warm, lightweight jumpers to wear under my lovely SCRIBBLER jacket.

I just have to remember NOT to wear them when I'm sewing, cos that just ruins woollen jumpers.

ABOVE:  Sandra and her tiny little Cee Cee, who is allowed in the mall and shops as she is a support dog.

After spending a couple of hours at the mall, I took Chris home, then went out to Foxton.

It's just a MUST DO when down this way to visit Fox's Cottage.

ABOVE: Of course, I managed to find a few bits of fabric.  Building my stash for the day we are existing on the pension and I can't afford to buy as much.  It's a good idea eh?

6.51 pm, and I'm signing off a bit early today.  Chris and I are just blobbing out in front of the tv, watching the dogs play. 

Catch ya tomorrow.

ROAD TRIP TO PALMY

 

This morning I am packing me bags and heading off to Palmerston North for a few days.

I will be leaving around lunchtime, thus giving the roads time to warm up, I don't like driving on icy roads!

Normally I'd never go down that way at this time of year, but I just felt I needed to go.

My friend Chris D is having a procedure done in hospital on Tuesday and I'm going to A) support her, and B) Babysit her two little dogs.

AND... Fox's Cottage isn't far from Palmy eh?  😂😅😉

I am also, of course, looking forward to seeing other friends, and Mike 'n' Joyce.

ONWARD...

11.20 am, and I'm at Taupo.  I left home hours earlier than I anticipated.  Cos, why wait around? 

It's a lovely day, no frost so good to go.

I stopped in Tokoroa and swung by the home my parents built when I was 3 years old.

We lived there until I was 15.

ABOVE: From the outside its hardly changed at all. I got out to take the photo and thought... why not? So I knocked on the door to say hello. 😉😊. The couple who live there now have owned the house for 40 years, and they invited me in! So a lovely chat ensued. He knew my Dad. He knew my brother Peter, who died over 40 years ago! We had such a nice, impromptu visit. We ended up having hugs as I left. So nice.

Now I am about to carry on with my trip down the line.  Just taking my time, enjoying the drive. Traffic is steady.

12.30 pm and I've  stopped on the desert road.

ABOVE: So lucky to have a fantastic view of the mountain today.

ABOVE: I'm sitting watching this helicopter landing with a bucket hanging below it. No idea why of course. But interesting.

ABOVE:  2.30 pm, and here I am, safely in Palmerston  North. I'm going to check out the mall for an hour, then go to Chris's.

ABOVE: So here we are. Chris and Chip, and Benne on my lap. I've been given the 3rd degree... I think I passed 😆.  We are spending the afternoon yakking. 

lol, we are sitting here talking about .... CORONATION STREET!  And how much it's changed.  Chris D hasn't watched it in over 45 years!  I will be watching it this evening  WRONG... ITS SUNDAY EH? , she's gunna be shocked at how much it's changed.  There's so few of the 'original' characters now.  I think Ken Barlow is about the only one from way, way back 'in the day'.  And of course, the story lines have changed dramatically, and the characters.  At one point I counted 11 homosexual characters, and there was always a murder just about to happen, or being investigated.  Shows how much times have changed, for sure.

7.56 pm, and it's a quiet night here.  We are just doing our games/puzzles on our laptops, while listening to the telly.  Time to sign off for the day, catch ya tomorrow.

39 YEARS!

 

Today Stew and I have been married for 39 years.  It's a bit hard to believe, time goes by so fast.  So much happens.  So many moves. Family expands, then contracts. 

I was totally BLESSED the day I met Stew.  He made my life shine again.  We met on the 28th of September, 1985 at around 7 pm. I will NEVER forget that night, our first kiss, our first dance, our first ... NOPE!  lol  THAT came a bit later.  *snigger*

So, we shall spend our special day together, and have a nice lunch somewhere.  

After lunch we will come home, him to watch sport on the telly, and me?  I might try and get another runner finished.

But we will see.

ONWARD...

10.15 am, and we have done the weekend grocery grab.  I wanted a few extra things today, so best to go with his nibs.

We are now twiddling our thumbs till it's time to go to lunch.   Maybe we will go out a bit earlier, as shopping is always fun.   He wants to find a back scrubber thingee...

We found a back scrubber band at Bed, Bath & Beyond at the Base.  

ABOVE: Lunch at The Lookout, it never fails to impress us.  We had Loaded Fries, that meat (Beef Cheek) was amazingly soft and juicy.  We had the Smokey Pork Pizza, with added bacon and mushrooms.  It was the yummiest pizza we'd had in a very long time.  It had caramelised onions on the top,  soooooo good!

After lunch we visited Steve, Bex and family.  

ABOVE: See the 'side eye' !  lol

ABOVE:  Found these in Farmers.  I've been wanting some for bloody ages.  I hope they work.

Shame we ain't got any eggs in the pantry right now.  Stew will get some during the week I'm sure.

ABOVE:  And like, did we need any more dishes?  NOPE, but these are such a good size, lightweight and colourful.  Perfect for small meals.  And cheap as chips from Farmers. Even Stew agreed, buy them.  😊

Now that we are home, it's going to be a quiet afternoon.  I'm freezing, so have me heated throw on... time to do a jig saw I reckon.

8.55 pm, and it's been a lovely day.  Stew is a happy man, our rugby team won.  

Time to sign off for the day.

I've got a different day planned for tomorrow.