THAT'S A LOT

 

I started making placemats 3 weeks and 3 days ago.

And so far I have made 67 !

ABOVE: There they all are, minus the 6 I made on Monday, and sold on Monday.  lol

ABOVE: Today I am going to make more in these fabrics.

ABOVE: And finish these four cats ones that got started yesterday.

As it's a 'Coffee & Chat' morning, I will wander down there a bit later on.  It will give me a welcome break from the sewing machine.

I will also go to the bank and withdraw enough CASH to last me all summer!  I need cash for markets, we don't have EFTPOS... we don't do enough markets to justify the cost of having EFTPOS. 

ONWARD...

DOGS.... AND COCO

 

Yesterday I actually got 10 Dog placemats completely finished.

ABOVE:  I thought that was a decent effort.  Blurry photo, sorry.  I will continue working on them today, who knows, I might even get them all finished?

Then I'll see if I've got any more cat fabrics, and make cat placements next.

Coco is getting groomed this afternoon.  I better not forget that and go out.  This is my reminder  😂😅.  The blog is pretty good for keeping me on track with what I'm doing.  lol

I am now 100% positive the WEGOVY is finally working.  I had a very, very small, early lunch yesterday... and then I worked on placemats ALL DAY and didn't feel hungry or want food at all.  I only had some dinner with Stew because I know you should not completely starve.  I'm thrilled to bits it's now working.  Maybe the weight will start to drop a little bit quicker now?  

I HAVE been doing more exercise too, adding in walking with Stew in the evening.  That was something I had hoped we would do once we moved here.  And now that his knee replacement has settled down, we can finally do that.  

It is a really good feeling knowing things are finally falling into place.  

And I am happy here in the village now, that's taken a long time to be able to say with complete honesty. 

Right, time to make a start on the day... or roll over and catch a few more Zzzz's.  

ONWARD...

12.55 pm.  I sewed all morning. Lacy called in on her way back from doing the Hakarimata Track again.  She does it at least once a week now.  AND she runs up and down!  Crazy tart.

At midday I decided to head to The Base.  I needed to get cash out for our upcoming markets and had been putting it off for a couple of weeks.

I get to the bank and head to a teller's station.  There's this freakin' sign there, saying "No Cash Out Facilities Today".  WTF?  It's a BANK, and they won't give me cash?

The staff told me I could still get cash out of the ATM machine.  Yeah right, it's going to give me $5's and $10's then?  I think NOT.  I was really annoyed.  

Now I have to go back tomorrow.  Grrrr.

I've been watching on Facebook the establishment of a new 'Christmas Collective' shop at The Base.  It opened today.  And OMG... 

ABOVE:  It is AMAZING!!!   I have never seen so many Christmas decorations/ornaments/figurines/toys ... you name it, they had it.

It was fairly expensive, but still ... OMG!  I managed to get out of there without buying a single thing, because I just don't need anything.

Though, those little Christmas houses were adorable. I loved the ones on the top shelf, just saying.... 😂 😌😖

FELICITY:  You would go NUTS in this shop!

On my way home I stopped in at a supermarket for some fresh salad stuff, and more cottage cheese.  The cottage cheese is for the Almond Flat Bread recipe.  I use a lot of it now.  Once upon a time I would NEVER have bought that shit!  😂😅😆

ABOVE:  I made more Almond Flat Bread when I got home.   I plan on having some for my lunch, and leave the rest for Stew's dinner.

ABOVE:  And there's lunch, a corned beef salad 'sandwich'.  And I only ate half of it.  I will have the rest for my dinner.

ABOVE:  A very special day for these two... it is their 10th Wedding Anniversary.  And I forgot.  Whoops!

ANON:  The Almond Bread Recipe is from some site on Facebook!

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs.

1 cup of Cottage Cheese.

1 Cup of Almond Flour.

THEN: 

Any herbs/salt, you wish to add. I add about 1 teaspoon of Garlic and Herb salt.

Any cheese you wish to add.  I add 1/2 cup grated tasty cheese.

Blend the eggs and cottage cheese very well, add the almond flour, blend again.  Then add anything else you wish to add.

Lay out on baking paper evenly, then bake at 200 d Celsius for around 20 minutes, or until it looks cooked. 

Ovens vary, so keep an eye on it.

Allow to cool.  Cut  up into whatever size suits you.

I also put the mixture into 'dollops' so they come out round sometimes.

ABOVE: Cutting out batting has to be the shittiest part of this job!  I hate having to lay it out on the floor... it kills my lower back working on the floor.  I cut out 20 pieces today, so that should keep me going for a few days.

ABOVE:  I got 8 more Dog Placemats finished today, and 4 Cat ones.

It's been a long day, and I'm bloody tired. 

I've stopped working in Crabby Quarters now.

Feet up.   Might not go with Stew for his walk this evening.

I'll see how I feel in an hour.

ABOVE: The mad dog took over an hour to calm down enough for me to get a photo of post-groom.  That weird tuft above her eye?  I did that a few days ago when she couldn't see for hair in her eyes.  I got a bit 'rash' and just chopped the hair off.  Mucked up her look for a few weeks I did.  It's just another 'bad hair day', sorry Coco.

STORAGE

 

Today is another Coffee & Chat morning.  So I shall wander down to the Community Centre at 10 and spend an hour listening to various conversations, chucking my 2 cents worth in and then coming home.

And sewing.  I'm determined to get as many placemats ready for market over the next two weeks.  Most of the ones on my work table are more 'tasteful', not loud, bright ones.  

I am still tempted to do some in that new, cute heart fabric... just not sure?  Maybe if I used some of that fabric and mixed it up with some more plain fabric it would work.  

So, that's my plan for the day.  What's yours?  Anyone got exciting shit happening? Dogstars... how's ya film work going? 

I have Stew's car today.  This afternoon I shall, (all going well), be picking up our new bedroom 'drawers'.  They have to come down from Auckland and I have been told they will arrive this afternoon sometime.  Whoop!  I've done some work sorting out my clothes, but have left most of it for now. No point rushing eh?  😂😉

ONWARD...

12.10 pm.  I chose not to attend C & C this morning, the placemats were on my mind too  much.

I continued cutting out and pinning and now...

ABOVE:  I'm in the thick of doing the quilting.  I think I'll be there for quite a while doing that.  And it's really cold in the garage.  I might have to stop soon just to warm up.

Lacy came around and I sent her up into the attic to find something. And she found 'it' straight away.  I was so damn happy, it was something I feared I'd gotten rid of when we moved.

It holds some powerful memories, and knowing I still have it literally made my day.

MORE ON THAT THING on the 14TH of OCTOBER.  It's going to be a 'special' post on that day.  

OK, back to my sewing...

4.15 pm, and I'm making great progress in the sewing room.  Very happy with what I've managed to get done so far on the new batch of placemats.

Now though, I'm calling it quits.

I'm going to walk to the Weight Watchers meeting this evening, and Stew will pick me up afterwards.

It will be a nice distance, probably about 3 kms?  Not 100 % sure, but I know it will take me about half an hour.

6.30 pm, and I'm home much earlier than anticipated.  I walked the 2.94 kms to the meeting (took me 28 minutes), and once there sat a yakked for a little while.  Our usual coach was away, so we had a reliever coach.  And she couldn't unlock the cupboard holding the scales, so she cancelled the meeting.

One of the ladies there heard I was now going to be walking home and offered me a lift.  So I jumped in her car and she dropped me home again.  That was very nice of her, as she didn't know me at all.

Now I'm feeling a bit tired, I've been on the go literally all day.

Time to just sit and do what we do in the evenings.  Relax.  Watch the telly, do puzzles on the phone or laptop and sometimes yak.   

Oh and I forgot to say, I did pick up the new item of furniture for our bedroom after lunch as well.  Stew just got it out of the car.  I will now sit and look at it for a few days until he puts it together in the weekend.  *sigh*

Right, that's me for the day, catch ya tomorrow.

SUNSHINE

 

Quite a few people had expressed concern about the new window's placement.  How I will have sun on my face, get too hot, sun fade on my fabrics etc. 

I have thought of this in depth, and this is my solution:

ABOVE:  Vertical fabric blinds, that are made with 100% sun blocking fabric.  I can have them pulled all the way to the side, to allow maximum sun/light in, or pulled across and angled one way or the other... depending on where the sun is.  I can close them completely when I want total privacy, or when we go away/out.

I can angle them so I can see out, but 'they' cannot see in.  Perfect solution.  I cannot wait for it all to happen.  It's going to make such a difference to my Crabby Quarters.

My sewing trolley is loaded, ready for Craft Group today.  I'm still working on Placemats.  I didn't realise we have a market in just two weeks time... I thought I had more time.  So now I have to get moving, so I have plenty of choice for the summer markets.

ONWARD...

2.55 pm... and I'm home from Craft Group.  I went down at around 9.45 and got stuck into making placemats.  My goal was to get at least 6 fully made today while down there.

ABOVE: I got four kitten placemats made, and two Labrador dog ones. 

And they won't be going into my market stash... because two ladies bought them immediately!

I can't even show you the dog ones as they were sold and out the door before I could get a photo... luckily I can make more of them.  NOT the kitten ones though, I only had enough of that fabric to make 4 placemats.

I hadn't even started making the Labrador ones and they were SOLD... I was like... bloody hell!  OK.  I now need to make more cat/dogs placemats.

But not today.  I'm knackered, after not sleeping well last night , or the night before, or the night before... for months!  I don't know why I'm struggling to get to sleep and stay asleep?  Most annoying.  Oh well.. that's life I suppose.

My appetite has certainly taken a massive dive since getting up to 1 mg of WEGOVY!  I have had three small pieces of almond flour 'bread' for lunch, hardly enough to make a sparrow fart, and I'm simply not hungry!  It's great.  😊  I'm not even thinking of food.  So weird, it used to be all I'd think about when I woke in the morning.

7.05 pm.   When Stew arrived home from work, we went for a walk.  I decided to take Coco with us.  Yeah.  NOT the best idea.  She did really well for the first half, then she slowed and then she started wobbling a bit, so this happened:

ABOVE: She got carried for a while.  Once we got back to the village she walked a bit more.  But I won't be taking her for our walks anymore, she simply can't do it.  Little walks around the village are still OK, but that's it. 

It was a perfect evening for a walk, fine with some crispness in the air.  

And now we are going to settle down and just relax for the evening.  

Catch ya tomorrow.

JUST PUT IT OUT THERE

 

Yesterday when I showed those salt and pepper shakers, and said I wanted some... I KNEW someone would hunt them down for me!

THANK YOU PAULA R from Christchurch... and a couple of other ladies as well.

I now know exactly where to get them:

ABOVE: The only decision now is... which ones? Top ones are from Fishpond.co.nz and the bottom ones are from Fruugo.co.nz. 

You can even get them in coloured glass.  I prefer the clear ones.   I might get both sets, then I can see their size in real life.  Which ever set I choose not to keep can become a gift.  WIN WIN. 

Now what else do I want you to find for me???  😂😅😊  Gotta love my internet friends.  

Now, back to the day.

I am going to crack the whip and get Stew to move things on Crabby Quarter's wall, so the position where the new window will go is clear.

I am 99.9% positive I will get the 'official' go ahead, as the Village Manager simply can't say no,  having already said 'yes' last week.  

AND there has been a precedent set by my other immediate neighbour, who got a new window on a blank brick wall just a month ago.    AND yet another neighbour just in front of our home is also changing his windows to ranch sliders... and getting a new fence too.

So  yeah.... I'm forging ahead with getting our area ready.

That will take up a little bit of time, as I might need to take all the fabric strips off the backing so Stew can move it.  Also, the shelf with the big roll of batting has to be moved as well.  Stew loves me, he really does.  lol

I'm sure he is hoping I don't come up with any more bright ideas.

Can you have too many clothes?  I don't think so!

But in saying that, my wardrobe is NOT big enough, so I am going out to get myself a cheapish tall boy (drawers) to hold all my sweatshirts etc.  They are all piled up in big boxes in the bottom of my wardrobe right now... and there's even more on the top shelves that I can't even reach.

I am annoyed because we 'got rid' of at least two sets of drawers when we moved here, thinking we didn't need them.  Bugger.  

So, I am going to check out, online, what's available and then go get some.

ONWARD...

Success! We looked in about 6 different shops at bedroom drawers and finally found the perfect thing. So happy with it, but have to wait till next weekend before its here, assembled and in place.

STORAGE... is incredibly lacking in our little home. The garage is fully utilized for my sewing stuff. There is nowhere else to store summer or winter clothes not in use. I will be doing a sort out during the week and getting rid of anything I don't still fit or want. But I still need more storage, hence what we bought today. And I'm not gunna show you until its in our room. 

ABOVE: And there we are... the fabric board has moved over, and the window will go above my sewing deck.

We decided not to move the high shelf right now, as it might not even need to be moved.

Another good job done.  And now.. taking a break.  Stew is thrilled to bits, he is now watching rugby in peace.

4 - 6 I lay on our bed and just relaxed.  Might have nodded off for a minute too.  BLISS.

Then Stew and I went for a walk up the hill and visited some friends in the village for a little while. Then we continued our walk for a bit longer before coming home.

Stew is going to cook up some bacon and whatever for our dinner.

I've got my sewing trolley loaded up, ready for tomorrow's craft group.  One less thing to do in the morning.

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

FISHING?

 Well, expecting a 'usual' Saturday morning around here.

Grocery shopping.   Housework.  Then we are visiting some friends who are lending us some fishing rods.

I have it in my head to go fishing!!!!

I miss fishing.  I used to go fishing HEAPS as a kid/teenager, and then whenever we visited my parents at Whitianga.

So, we are going to borrow some rods and see if the passion for fishing is still there?

We will go to a place this morning and get a little bit of 'fishing tackle'... sinkers, hooks, spinnakers, etc.  Just enough to make a little start.  NOT going nuts right now, I might find it's no longer something I enjoy?

Ya never know.  The rods we are borrowing are for casting off from the beach, and that's not something I have done before.  I've only ever fished off a boat.  Could be interesting.

Or not.  😂  Either way, it will be a nice way to pass some time I'm sure.  Two old farts sitting on deck chairs on the beach, eating crackers and cheese, sipping on Diet Coke, watching our rods.    

Imagine it.  

So, with that all said, I better get a move on.  I'm not sure if I'll accompany Stew to the supermarket or not yet.  I might just stay home and get our little picnic shit sorted out.

ONWARD...

Lol...we got the surf casting rods, then went and BOUGHT 2 smaller rods for fishing off peirs and wharfes as well. And bait and the other stuff we might need. 

Now..  we are heading off.  Let's see how this goes 🫠

When I checked the time of high tides today, Google said 1 pm. Google didn't say TODAYS freakin high tide did it? TODAY'S high tide is at 4 pm. So we are killing some time having lunch at the local pub. Crackers and cheese can wait for another day. 😉

ABOVE:   I had the heater all to myself at the pub, it was BLISS.

ABOVE: 'Back in the day', when I was a teenager I used to 'steal' salt and pepper containers from places.  Yep, I did.

If I was still that naughty, I'd have stolen these ones for sure.  I love them. Now I have to try and find some, cos I'd love some of my own. 😊

3 pm:  NOTE TO SELF:  When you decided to go fishing, check out:  A) The tides, and B) The weather.

Because, after lunch it started to rain, and it was clearly going to stick around.  Not only was it wet, it was bloody cold.  So we went for a little drive:

ABOVE: A group of people learning how to surf.  It was a good day for that, the waves weren't too big.

ABOVE:  SHIT weather.  

After having a little drive around, we stopped in at Groovy Rags and I bought a couple of new sweatshirts for next winter.

Then we came home.  It's cold, dreary and ikkk here too.  So, at some point I might get into Crabby Quarters and do something productive.  Or I might have a nap.  Hmmm... decisions, decisions.

Well I did neither of those things.  I sat and scrolled the 'net, watched TV with Stew and just lazed the rest of the afternoon away.

Now... time to sign off for the day.  It's been a nice day, even though we didn't end up fishing.  It will happen another day.

CRAFT GROUP, PLACEMATS, BIG TICK?

 

First up for the day... I will try getting some of that mosaic stuff out of the car!  Certainly did not get to it yesterday.

Next, load up the sewing trolley and head down to the craft room to do some sewing with company.

After that, home to have a quiet afternoon, all going well.

The Village Manager did not turn up yesterday to formally approve the new window.  I hope he makes it today.  We now have the quote for the window, and it is pretty much exactly what I thought it would be.  On top of that, we have the brickies fee, and the building expenses.  All good... all budgeted for.

Bex is a member of several 'de-stash fabric and wool' sites on Facebook.  She showed me some fabrics that were going for 1/3rd of the normal price.  I could not resist... OF COURSE.  😂😅

ABOVE: I just got these two fabrics, and ordered another piece last night via Bex.  That heart fabric is adorable.  I'm bloody tempted to use some of it for .... placemats!  lol  If not placemats, certainly bowl cosy's. 

I have to wash it first though, so it won't be used today.

*  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRYLEE *, we hope you have an awesome day.  

And that is me for now, catch ya later.

ONWARD...

1.50 pm, and I'm just home from working in the craft room with Loretta.  A very pleasant few hours I must say, Loretta is lovely company.  

I got 6 placemats made this morning:

ABOVE:  It was nice to mix it up and not just do 6 all the same.  I wanted to do these ones, then think about what is missing in the line up.  I think I will add in some Black and White ones, and perhaps some Red and White ones.  And Cats.  Let's not forget the bloody cats.  😂😅😐

For now though, I'm taking a break, and will have some fruit.   I had crackers, cheese and salami for lunch, but I miss my fruit.  

5.50 pm, and the Village Manager called in and we had 'the discussion'... and I should get my formal 'go ahead' next week.  

For the remainder of the afternoon I watched some posts from a shop I love up in Auckland.  It's tempting to go and buy more clothes, but will wait until I've lost all the weight I want to ... no point buying shit that might not fit in 3 months eh?

Stew just arrived home from work, so now we can settle down and relax together for the next two days.

12.20 am:  Whoops, stayed up a bit late.  Better get myself off to bed.  Hoping to get a decent night's sleep, that would be bloody nice.

C & C, THEN FINISH THOSE PLACEMATS

 

Well, another morning attending Coffee & Chat ahead of me.

ABOVE:   Then home to continue working on those 14 placemats.  They will probably take me a few hours.

After I've finished them, I will start work on some more placemats, but using different fabrics, and not the WAVE pattern.

One of the ladies in Craft Group (on Monday) said I should make some that were more 'ordinary', to suit people who don't like  bright/busy patterns.   Whatever Lady, but OK.

Ordinary it is.   Gawd how boring.  😖😕

Can you believe it is OCTOBER already?  

We have three markets this month, so I want to have a good stash of placemats ready to go.

At some point I'll take time out, and go for a walk, starting with 'the hill'.  Probably after lunch.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  I think those 6.7 kgs have gone off my belly.  Still got a way to go... slow and steady of course.  But like, I want it all gone YESTERDAY.  😂😖
I'm now back home and working on those placemats.  The village Manager is calling in sometime today to suss out the window size/placement, then he will give me the 'official go ahead'.  I will be asking for it in writing.  I'm not silly, lesson learnt after the shed fiasco.

ABOVE:  2 pm, and they are done.  Yaaa, now I can move on to the next lot.  I have cut out quite a few more in various fabrics, all ready to start stitching.  But not right now.  Right now I'm a bit cold and want to take a break.

It's pub night/visit the kids night, so Stew will be home early today.  I might just be a lazy tart until then.  😊

8.10 pm.  Stew and I went for a walk that ended up at the pub.  I spent about a hour with Stew and the group, then walked home.  Jumped in the car and went around to the kids for a while, then back to the pub for another hour or so.  It was a very enjoyable evening, I even had a glass of bubbly wine.  

Now... sitting getting warm again, and waiting for Coronation Street.

Catch ya tomorrow.

SLIGHT CHANGE

 

Because the sun was shining quite a bit yesterday, I went outside several times to check out how long the sun stayed on the garage wall.

I wanted to make sure that I position the window in the best possible position, to take advantage of the sun as much as possible.

After a few hours of doing that, I realised it would be better sited more towards the middle of the wall:

ABOVE: I took that photo at 1.45 in the afternoon.  As you can see, if the window was further to the right, it would already have a lot of shade on it.  Siting it more in the middle means more sun, and it is not facing right into the pesky neighbour's windows.  

I can't wait for my window.  I will be able to look out and actually wave at a couple of my friends who look towards our place.  And just being able to look outside while working will be wonderful.  I have missed that, being stuck in a dim garage.

Now back to the day.... I will be sewing as I didn't get much done yesterday at all.  And moving things around so my work space is more in the middle of the interior wall.

After lunch I am going over to Cambridge to pick up some mosaic supplies for our village group.  The Cambridge mosaic group is closing down due to the venue no longer being available.  

ONWARD...

2.10 pm.  As is obvious, I've been rather busy today!  I did my sewing all morning, then took off for Cambridge at midday.

ABOVE:  I was given a SHIT LOAD of mosaic supplies!!!

I am going to sort though it, keep some and give the rest to the mosaic group here in the village.

That means going through our back sheds and making some room for stuff.  *sigh*  It can wait, I'm not unloading that lot right now.

I'm hungry, so will have some lunch.

The glazier is coming later on to measure up for my new window.  I'm still very excited about it, and will deal with any heat issues once it's in.  I think some vertical fabric blinds will sort out most of the "sun in my face, getting too hot" issues.  The primary reason for the window is for during winter, when it's really dark and dingy in Crabby Quarters, and to allow some sun in as well.  IT.  WILL.  WORK.  OUT.  I'll make sure of it.

6.20 pm.

The glazing guy arrived around 4 pm, sussed out the job, had a nice yak and then left.  He should have the quote in to Steve tomorrow.

I spent the rest of today sewing, and actually got all 14 new placemats stitched ready for having their backings put on tomorrow.

It felt good to get that far along with them... it was a huge amount of stitching.  I went through about a dozen bobbins full of thread!  Just as well I really, really love the wave pattern eh? 😊😉

I have stopped now as Stew is home and I am freezing.  Time to sit down, put my heated throw on and relax for the remainder of the night.

Catch ya tomorrow.