NEW WEEK, NEW DESIGN

 

This morning I plan on staying home to sew, instead of going to the Craft Room.

I might head down there after lunch, and just hang out with the ladies for an hour or so.  It's supposed to piss down with rain today, and I am not going to take all my stuff down there in my trolley in the rain.

I used one of the pot mitt sets last night while cooking dinner.  They are perfect for taking lids off hot pots and lifting hot pots.  I will make just a few more, then stop to gauge interest.

I am thinking of taking Mc Dreamy back to be repaired again.  I really would like him down in the craft room, so I don't have to lug Mc 2ie down there twice a week.  It is annoying that Mc Dreamy needs repairing again.  If I do take him in for repair, it will DEFINITELY be for the last time.

ONWARD...

Oh hell... I have forgotten to update. Sorry.

I took Mc Dreamy into the repair shop.

Then I bought some fabric.

Then I ran into a very old friend from TOKOROA, and had a yak.

Then I came home and had lunch.

Then I came down to Craft Group, and I'm still here.

I've made two more pot mitt sets, and started on my next project.

ABOVE: The new projects colours...

Got home... went to the supermarket for cottage cheese.

ABOVE: But its pissing down, so here I sit. Worst part? I'm  busting for a piddle. 😖🥹

It is now 10.05 pm, and it's been a long day.

I finally got what I needed from the supermarket, dodging the rain.

Home and I cooked some apple things.... I mixed up some egg/cottage cheese/almond flour/baking powder and a cooked granny smith apple.  Chucked it in the air fryer and cooked it.  It was rather nice I must say.  That was my 'dinner', along with some grapes.

Not much else has happened for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  I DID go for a walk up the hill... I'm determined to do it for the entire month of September.  I'm hoping it stops being so hard, and making me puffed.

And that's me for the day, I'm off to bed soon.  Because I didn't sleep well at all last night, I'm hoping I get a decent sleep tonight.

Catch ya tomorrow.

SUNDAY LUNCH

 

Today is the Village Lunch that I thought was on last Sunday.  lol

I'm looking forward to it, not the lunch really, but socialising with more residents.  And of course, I'm really happy Stew is coming too.  He's the one who needs to meet more of our neighbours.

ABOVE:  These are the next batch of pot mitts I made yesterday.  I am very happy with them.  Gosh I hope they sell at market!  Otherwise I'm gunna have to gift them all away at some point.

That's all I have for now... so catch ya later.

ONWARD...

2.30 pm. Well the village lunch was lovely, we had two soups to choose from, pea and ham and a vege one. Both were very tasty. Lots of different breads and buns too, not that I  had any bread.

Once home, Steve, Bex and the kids visited us. Steve fixed the lounge door, which was sticking on the carpet, so he shaved it down so it now glides over the floor better. I was having to use both hands and force to open and close it! 

Now they have left, and I'm about to have a nana nap. Or at least a lie down, for some reason I'm tired 😴. 

ABOVE: Steve working on our door...

ABOVE: One troublesome door fixed.  Thanks so much Steve.

ABOVE: My 'Princess Maud' Azalea survived the move from our last address.  I'm so happy it did because I've not seen that one anywhere else.

4.55 pm, and it's so dreary outside.  Cold and overcast, totally miserable.  I'm going to do the friggin hill in a minute, then start dinner.  We will be having chicken pieces, potato pom poms and a little lettuce salad.

9.11 pm.  Well it's been a nice evening, watching TV, doing a jig saw and so on.   I'm off to bed in an hour or so... catch ya tomorrow.

LET'S MAKE MORE!

 I thoroughly enjoyed making pot mitts yesterday afternoon... I wonder if I should make any more?

Perhaps I'll make maybe 4 more in different colours, then take them to market and see how they go.

ABOVE:  I ended up getting seven sets made yesterday. They are very easy and quick to make, lots of fun.

We don't have any plans for this weekend, except the Village Lunch tomorrow, that was the one I thought was on LAST weekend.  lol

IF it's fine, there is a pet meet and greet today as well... it was cancelled last weekend due to the weather being shitty.

So we might end up taking Coco to that.

Ha, seems we do have a little bit 'on' this weekend after all.

ONWARD....

12.30 pm, and we'e had a lovely day so far.  We both went grocery shopping, and got everything we need for the next week.  Lots of fruit and veges!

Then I made two more Pot Mitt sets, and I have two more ready for stitching this afternoon.

AFTER we take Coco to the pet meet and greet.  It's a lovely day out there, so that is ON.

ABOVE:  I decided we should have lunch out today, as a 'reward' for our good eating over the past couple of weeks.  We went to The Lookout, our favourite eatery.

Pork Bao Buns, we both had 2, and Lamb Ribs, again, we both had two.  Stew ate the majority of the chips, but I did have a few.  It was a DELICOUS lunch.

AND I don't feel like I even had a 'cheat' meal!  It was small portions, and healthy... except for the handful of chips.  I am really happy with my choices today.

I'm now going to just chill out for a little while.

COMMENTS:  There seems to be a glitch leaving comments.  I don't know why.  Sometimes it can take a while for these glitches to clear.  Hang in there... it will sort itself out eventually.

So the dog meet and greet... went ahead.  It was supposed to be a 'training session' really.  Most of the dogs there were not that interested in being 'trained'.... Coco certainly wasn't.  😃😂😅  She is way too old for learning new tricks.

ABOVE:  I think there were about 7 dogs there.  And a few other people turned up as 'spectators'... dog lovers obviously.

ABOVE: Coco was not interested in doing a bloody thing except run around and sniff butts, and do her own thing.  I didn't mind at all, as long as she enjoyed herself.

And she did.

ABOVE: There was an agility course, Coco did her best, which meant she didn't do any of it.  But, she DID go through the tunnel!  I was shocked.  And proud.

There was no way in hell she was jumping over the hurdles... I carried her over every one, just so she could say she's 'done it'.  LOL

ABOVE: After the 'training session', we all went for a leisurely walk along the river bank.

Coco loved that.  4 shits later, and we were back at the village.  

ABOVE: some boats roaring up and down the river... hooligans.

ABOVE: A tired, but very happy Coco.  We enjoyed it too... nice to see people who we might not have run into at other social events.

testing..... and it looks like the comment section is back working.  So... off ya go!  lol

I've had a lovely late afternoon/evening.  Stew got to put a shelf in the cupboard under the kitchen sink... poor man HATED DOING IT.  But he did a half decent job.  I've only been waiting for that shelf for 15 months!

I watched a Netflix movie, and Stew watched sport... and now?

Winding down for the rest of the evening ... catch ya tomorrow.

edit:  9 pm.  I forgot to 'do the hill' today... so I just dragged Stew out in the pitch dark night to charge up that hill !  I feel better now.

FRIDAY, FRIDAY...

 

Today I am going to 'do the hill', then pack my sewing trolley up and go down to the Craft Room.

I know there will be at least two other ladies working there this morning.

And I have decided to try making something totally different, just for a change.  I have no idea if they will be saleable on my stall... but if not, I will just use them as gifts.

I'm a little bit excited to be doing something that isn't a runner!  

I will be able to use fabrics from my stash that I don't use for runners... that's going to be fun as well.

I will need to pack myself a lunch... probably a few crackers, cream cheese and relish/salami.

I have decided to add crackers into my 'food choices', as they are easy and you only need 3-4 to be satisfied. 

It is 'weigh in day'... so once I'm up I shall step on the dreaded scales and see if I've made any downward progress this past week.  I'm not expecting much, mainly because while I've not been eating anything 'bad', I've not been eating enough either.  THAT can backfire.

ONWARD...

Well I just got on the scales. I've been on this new diet for 5 weeks and have lost 4.85 kilos so far.  This week's loss was 1.05 kilos. That's ok by me.  If I can continue at that pace I will be where I want to be by the end of the year. 

Gosh I hope I can do it. I've been so UP and DOWN for so many years  it totally does my head in!  I've looked back through this blog and honestly... I really am hopeless. The number of times I've done this is pretty sad. I want so badly to lose the weight and KEEP IT OFF. Why is that so fucking hard for me? 

WHY has most of my adult life been dominated by weight issues? I wish I knew. 

Maybe THIS TIME I will win the battle. 

Time to get up and start the day... its 7.53.

11.55 am.  I went for my hill walk.  Still puffing.

Then on to the craft room, hoping to have company for a few hours, but NO.  No one was there but me, so I stayed for 1 and a half hours, then came home.  I can be lonely on my own just as easily at home right?

At least at home I can watch a movie, or listen to music.

So, I did do a little bit of sewing down in the craft room:

ABOVE:  I saw them on Facebook and was like, hmmmm... interesting.   They are so cute!

ABOVE:  They are little pot mitts!  I think they might be something else to have on our stall.  

I'm still trying to think of the 'right' price for them... any ideas?

ABOVE:  I had some of that egg frittata thingee left over, so I just dumped it on some baking paper and put it in the bench top oven on bake.  It came out really good, and only in like 10 minutes! 

I'm loving that oven/air fryer.  Oh and obviously, I canned the cracker idea today.  Seeing as I was home at lunch time, instead of down in the craft room, I could cook that frittata thing.

8.45 pm...  Usual evening around here.  Watching the telly, doing a jig saw on the laptop, trying to keep warm.  Busting for a wee for over two hours... don't wanna get up.  That loo seat is bloody COLD  😂😃😅😖  But, I better 'go'... before I have an accident!  

Catch ya tomorrow.

ANOTHER SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT ONE

 

And here we are, another Thursday, so another Coffee & Chat.

I kinda enjoyed the C & C on Tuesday, so I'm going again today.

But first... let's get the hill walk done and dusted first... oh yaaa.

After C & C and the hill walk, I will be coming home to do this:

ABOVE:  The 4th Wave Runner, dark blue/light blue and aqua.  I think this one will look stunning once finished.  I laid it out last night, and cut all the strips into waves.

ABOVE: And here's the line up of threads I will be using on that runner.  I bet you didn't even know I alternated the threads eh?  Or maybe ya did?  Who knew???

And that's me for now... I'm off to get the housework done, not that there's much ... then off up the dreaded hill I go.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  9 am.  A village text was sent out 10 minutes ago, to say there was some lettuce and silverbeet available in the foyer from our village garden.  Guess who was first in there?  ME....  And today's lunch is going to be a silverbeet and egg bake thingee.  Yummm, I've not had silverbeet in YEARS... Stew doesn't like it.  Silly really, I could still buy it for myself, but I never do.

I'm off for my walk now.

Well... I got half way up the hill and stopped to yak with a neighbour.  We yakked so long I ended up walking back down the hill with her, then turned around and walked BACK UP... this time all the way.  I was puffed at the top, it's a mean little hill I tell ya.

I'm now going to dry my hair, put my face on and go to C & C.

2.23 pm.  C & C was OK, some lively conversations were had.  Met a new lady in the village there, she's from Whitianga, so we had something in common which was nice.

After C & C I came home and made my lunch:

ABOVE: What would you call this?  Eggs, cottage cheese, almond flour, chopped up salami/onion/silverbeet/tomato and cheese.  Salt to taste.  Baked in the oven for about 35 minutes.  It was nice.  I think it needed a bit more flavouring of some sort... it was just a wee bit lacking on flavour.  Maybe some bacon would have been better than the salami?

Either way, it was perfectly edible, and there's the other half for Stew's dinner in the fridge.

After lunch I did some sewing...

ABOVE:  I just finished this wave runner.  And I think that's 'it' for wave runners for a while.  Not sure what to move on to next.  I'm sure I'll think of something.  😊😉

ABOVE:  I wonder if I can get that put on a shirt???  I'd wear it for sure.

7.45 pm.  Been to the pub, visited the kids.  Home now.  I'm bloody cold as, so the rest of the evening will be spent on my lounge chair with my heated throw on.  I really don't like being cold at all.  Coronation Street to look forward to... after that... bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

FEELING CLEARER IN THE HEAD

 

Every time I attend Weight Watchers, Andrea, the Coach, asks me how I am?  My standard reply?

"STILL FAT".   lol

But I think my careful attention to meals over the past 5 weeks has started to make a difference.

The WEGOVY isn't doing anything that I can feel/tell yet, but my being careful with food intake/portion control etc has made me feel like I have more energy.  And my mind feels clearer too.  I feel more alert, less sleepy, and just better on a whole.

The weight hasn't shifted 'much'... but a little bit.

I'm hoping my hard work and determination will keep me going until the WEGOVY starts 'working' to curb my appetite and help with hunger signals etc. 

Before I do anything else this morning, I'm going for a little walk.  That will include a hill walk, which is kinda unavoidable when leaving this village!  While I loathe hills, I am going to do 'the hill' every day from now on, until it no longer makes me breathless.  I wonder how long that will take???

I'll let ya know.

When I get home, I shall be heading into Crabby Quarters to make a start on two more Wave Runners.  Today's will be slightly different from the last two, as I want to add Aqua/Teal into the mix.

ONWARD...

Well I powered up that bloody hill like nobody's business!  Still puffed at the top, but not winded.

That's a plus for the day.

I am taking a photo of myself (front and side on) at the end of every month, so far I have the 'start' (end of July) and last night's ones.  There is a difference!  Not HUGE, but defo a difference.

I'm happy.

Now... off to sew.

It is now four hours later, and this is what I've done so far:

ABOVE: I've cut out strips and sewn them together to make an aqua type wave runner.  It's not a colour combo I've done before.  I think it looks alright.  

I have stopped for a break, as it is now 2.15 pm, and I was a) FREEZING, and b) hungry.

So I've just had lunch, which was the same as yesterday, and now I'm going to just sit and watch something derrrr on YouTube for a while.  I want to warm up!

I'm also watching little birds play in our bird bath, it's so cute.  I've never seen birds playing in it before.  I was wondering just yesterday if any birds even knew it was there! 

ABOVE: And there is today's effort.  I think it looks so much better 'in person' than that photo shows.  It's lovely and vibrant, and the different thread colours really stand out.  But not in the photo.  

Stew just arrived home from work, and we are awaiting the arrival of our area representative, he's calling in to finally meet Stew.  Area Reps are who you can call on if you have an 'issue'... before going straight to management if necessary. I tend to go 'straight to management'...  😂😅😆.

7.30 pm, and our Area Rep has been and gone.  It was nice for Stew to meet someone else from the village.  We had a very nice half hour chat.

We are now hunkering down for the evening.  I'm looking forward to Coronation Street, as per usual.  How about... I catch ya tomorrow?  Yeah.

A DIFFERENT DAY TODAY

 

If the weather is nice today, all going well.... I am being picked up by Bex and Lily, and we are visiting Hamilton Zoo!

How awesome is that.  I really love going to the zoo... mostly to see rhinos and giraffes.  They are my favourite 'zoo animals'.

So, fingers crossed for a fine day.  I'm not sure how long we will be there, so I might just pack myself a little bit of food to take with me.  I'm not going to expect 'healthy' food at the zoo, that's for sure.

When I get home, I will continue working on the wave runners I started yesterday.

Might do some housework too... cos that shit never ends.  Even in a tiny home like we have.

ONWARD...

9 am... And just like that, the day's plans have changed.  It's NOT a nice day, still bitterly cold with a horrid wind.  And it's raining at the zoo.  So, not today after all.

AND there's something else going on that would have made enjoying the day IMPOSSIBLE.  My mind is bouncing all over the place, and I am very scared for someone in our family, who's going through a health problem.   IF I get permission later on, I'll tell you what's going on.

Until then, just keep us in your thoughts, cos I'm scared.

OK... tests have shown it's not a major... but still have to wait on another test.  Grrrr.... someone needs to SLOW THE FUCK DOWN, and not put themselves under so much pressure I think!

I haven't been that worried about this person in quite a while.

I took myself down to Coffee & Chat to distract myself.  Now I'm going to the supermarket for a couple of things, then I'm coming home and making... Beetroot Relish.  Cos I can.  And I'm hankering after some.

1.10 pm.  The relish is done.  Not sure what I think of it yet.

I'm now making my lunch, a salad with.... beetroot relish. lol

ABOVE: Lunch today:  Lettuce salad, beetroot relish, 1 baby potato, 2 onion rings, 2 chicken tenders and half a pork rissole thingee.  It's rather yum.

4.30 pm:  After my lovely lunch, I felt like sleeping!  But nah, I went into Crabby Quarters and worked on the two wave runners I've got on the go.

ABOVE: And there ya go, two blue wave runners, the same, but different.  They are of a very similar length, but one is slightly wider.   

Tomorrow I am going to make a start on two more... and I am going to throw in a bit of aqua/teal with the blues.

In an hour I am going to Weight Watchers... because I like the company/peer support... no other reason really. It's like a comfortable old blanket, something I'm familiar with and still enjoy, even after about FORTY FIVE YEARS of going!!!  That is ON and OFF though, never for the entire 45 years.  I have made some LIFE LONG friends through Weight Watchers, and that is pretty awesome.

Sandra, Chris, Anne, Michele, Lois, Janene, Felicity, Karen.... GOSH there's just too many to remember all their names! 

RHONDA, does that answer why I still go to Weight Watchers?  lol

8.45 pm, and yep, it did turn out to be a different day today.  Different but not how I expected.  But, all is kinda OK for now.  The person we were so concerned about is still not 100%, but not a lot can be done unless things escalate again.  Then that person will have to go to the hospital for further tests.   Trying not to worry.  

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

MY NEW CHAIR

 

Last night I spent an hour or so making a cover for the new sewing chair.  It's going down to the Craft Room with me this morning.

ABOVE: There it is... the new chair and it's cover.  Nice and BRIGHT....  and in case anyone confuses whose chair it is:

ABOVE: I think that spells it out pretty clearly eh?  😂😅😆

So I'll load it into the car a bit later on and take it down there.  I don't want to walk it through the village, that would look a bit weird.

Once I've done that, I'll come home and load up my trolley, and head back to do some work with Loretta, Liz and Margaret.  Until the other ladies arrive after lunch.

ONWARD...

1.22 pm... and I'm getting lots done today.

ABOVE: One fully stitched, and starting on the next one.... quite a few ladies here now.

ABOVE: The line up of threads I used today.  I went through 5 FULL bobbins doing the stitching today.  That's a lot of thread.

4.45 pm.  I came home around 3 pm, then immediately went out again.  Coco and I went to Spotlight... well, I went inside while she people watched from the car.

ABOVE: Spotlight is now like Briscoes, they have a 'SALE' every single day!  I bought backing fabric for runners, and some machine needles.

After that, Coco and I went over to visit the kids for a little while.

Coco had been cooped up inside the house for days, so I felt she needed an outing.

She loved being over there, sniffing different things, Marley's butt and so on. lol

ABOVE:  Lily showed me her drawings, I said 'Smile for the camera', and this is how she posed.

Head tilted, cheesy smile and now... she has added the bent leg for even more effect!  I'm told she often puts a hand on her hip as well, but not today.  😃😂😅 That kid is a scream.

Dante and Archer were there too of course, but were too engrossed in doing their 'things' to hang with boring old grandma.   And that's OK, it's what you expect from pre-teen/teenagers now days.

It wasn't too cold today, with showers on and off, and a super blustery wind.  But now, it is certainly getting cold.  I've turned on the heat pump and I'm under my heated throw.

Looking at my sewing trolley... which is waiting to be unloaded.

MEH... it can wait.  I want to warm up first.

Trolley unpacked and ready for another day.  Crabby Quarters back to normal, and ready for me to finish today's runners.

Stew arrived home, and we have spent the evening tucked up nice and warm in front of the telly.

Another day tomorrow... so catch ya then.