A CHANGE OF COLOUR

 

Today is ANZAC Day here in New Zealand.  Google it if you want to know what it's all about.

All the shops are closed until 1 pm.

NOT that I want to go shopping, but you can bet ya bottom dollar people will flood the shops after 1 pm.

I'm going to stay home and make a few coasters in a totally different colour way.  Probably pinks/purples/floral, I'll see how that goes.

I found some Dog squares cut out, so I might even do something with them.  They are too nice to be coasters though... hmmmm.  They might even become a runner.

Stew is at a loose end, he can't do the weekend shop, and there's no rugby on!  What a bloody shame.  He might go for a little walk.  I should accompany him, but NAH.  I can't be arsed.  (I might change my mind a bit later though, let's wait and see)

ABOVE:  Last night, it was all about Granddad.  I hardly got a look in with Lily.  

ABOVE: Steve took about 18 photos, just to try and get a half decent one of us all.  Lily and Dante kept pulling silly faces.  Archer finally joined in as well!

ABOVE: This one was about the BEST out of all of them.

ABOVE: This is a nice one of those three, I'm sure Dante does not know how to smile on cue without grimacing. 

Right, that's it for now, catch ya later.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  11.55 am.  This mornings effort.

And now we are going to Tirau for a late lunch and a wander around the shops.

As I said, I don't need to do any shopping, but it's a way to get a bit of exercise (for Stew) and who knows, we might see something we rather like and buy it?  It happens.  😃😅😉

3.50 pm.  Travelling to Tirau?  TRAFFIC for miles!  But, once there we found a park and had a nice lunch.

NONE of their shops were open, so no browsing there.

Came home and went to Briscoes at The Base, where we bought...

ABOVE:  Yet another new iron!  Yep, dropped the last one on the floor, which is CONCRETE... bye bye iron.  Luckily, Briscoes ALWAYS has a sale on, and today's was 40% off everything in the store.

ABOVE: We also bought this for the kitchen... it was FREE considering the discount on the iron.  SCORE.

Now I'm going to take 5 before trying out the new iron on a few more coasters.

Stew is going up to the pub to watch the rugby with his mates... he'll be home around 7.

So nice he can spend time with his mates, and I don't have to listen to freakin' rugby. 

8.20 pm.  Stew wandered home after the first game of rugby... he had a lovely time at the pub with his mates.  He's now ensconced in front of OUR telly watching a second rugby game!

I sewed some more coasters while he was out, but have stopped now that he's home.

I'll do a jig saw and listen to music with my headphones on, I can't stand listening to most sports.

Catch ya tomorrow.

COASTER AS GIVE AWAYS

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE

Dad and I hope you have a lovely day

off from work today.

See you this evening for dinner and cake.

Today I plan on making a few more coasters.  They are rather fun to make, and quick too.

ABOVE: These are the coasters I got done yesterday afternoon.  I think they only took me about an hour and a half.  

Our friend 'G' is calling in sometime today with some mince from his freezer for us.  I told him how much we are paying in the supermarket for MINCE, and he was horrified.  So, as he has masses in his freezer, he's bringing us some.

Nice guy.  He gets his beef from a home kill butcher, so doesn't pay anywhere near as much as the supermarket is charging.  He's an ex-farmer, so has the connections.

And that's me for now... catch ya later.

ONWARD...

9.50 am, and I've just finished all the morning jobs.

ABOVE: And I have a small batch of cheese/onion and bacon scones in the oven.  I will be giving some to Glen by way of a 'Thank You' for the mince.  Oh, and he gets a block of chocolate too.  lol

I'm having to give away all the chocolate (THAT I LOVE), as chocolate simply does not agree with my gut.  NOT AT ALL.

It's so sad.

But obviously, better for me not to eat it.

I am heading into Crabby Quarters soon, I just need to keep an eye on those scones first.  If I get sewing I'll forget about them, and then they will burn and die.

2.50 pm and the scones came out lovely, I had one for lunch with some hummus on it.  It was delicious.

I've been sewing for a few hours now...

ABOVE: Using scraps is a messy business... I am looking forward to tidying up later on.  There's a pile of coasters ready for their backing fabric on the ironing board.

ABOVE: That is one of THREE full boxes of green scraps!  I have FOUR boxes full of blues and aqua.  And at least one box of every other colour as well.

I don't think I will ever use them all.

ABOVE: I got those coasters finished before lunch.  Some dog coasters and blues.

It will be so nice to just give them away and get them out of my house! 😂😊  And it's such a nice feeling giving away stuff, people are just so appreciative.  

Right, I actually stopped working cos I am busting for a piddle, so that better happen RIGHT NOW...   

4.50 pm, and I've finished sewing for the day.  I have to get ready to head over to Steve 'n' Bex's for birthday dinner.  I'm thinking we are having Chinese Takeaways or something along those lines, and of course, a birthday cake.

ABOVE:  I got 31 coasters made today, that's pretty good going if ya ask me.  I will probably spend another full day making more, then I can sit back and relax for a few days.

Well... maybe not.  I'm sure I will think of something I absolutely need to make.  😂😅😉

8.40 and we are home.  Full as a bull... dinner was lovely.  We did have Chinese Takeaways, followed by Chocolate cake AND Carrot Cake.

Really enjoyed spending a few hours with the kids... and now I'm totally knackered.

Early to bed for me.

Catch ya tomorrow.

ANOTHER MORNING TEA

 

The regular Thursday morning tea is on in the Village Lounge this morning, so I shall attend.

I really enjoy catching up with those that attend regularly.

After that, I'll come home and finish those last two Scrappy Dolls, then move on to making some 'Scrappy Coasters'.  I'm determined to start using up some of my scraps.

I have at least a dozen boxes FULL of scraps.  It's crazy how much I have in fact.  I clearly never throw anything out.

It's 'pub night' this evening, so I shall visit the kids before joining Stew.  We've not seen them in a couple of weeks.  Time to catch up.

ABOVE:  Time to fish this out of the linen cupboard... my electric throw.  OMG, it is so lovely.  I have used it for two nights already.  No bitching about being cold from me.  Sorry other people if you are cold.   

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  Just finished these last two (for now).

Loving them.  

Now I have to put me face on and go to morning tea.

12 noon.   Morning tea with the regulars was very nice.  We always manage to find something to yak about.  Sometimes it's just village gossip, which can be rather 'interesting'.  Nothing remains secret around here!

Home, and I've already had my lunch.  Lacy called in and helped me eat it as well.  

She came to pick up a few things.

ABOVE:  It is very cold today, and that silly bitch is in shorts!  She reckons she doesn't feel the cold on her legs.  Crazy tart.

She tried sneaking Coco out the door when she left... I wasn't having any of that.  Coco on the other hand would have gone willingly... traitorous little hussy.

And that is a HUGE tin of dog food in her pocket... Coco can't eat it, where as Lacy's cats can.

Right, back to myself again.  I'm having a little break before I start making coasters.  Will get to that later on this afternoon.

4.35 pm.   I've just come out of Crabby Quarters, after making a few coasters.  I'm quite happy with them.  I will show you tomorrow.  For now I need to get ready to take Stew to the Pub, then visit the kids.

11.25 pm, and I almost forgot to sign off for the day.

But here I am, about to head off to bed and yeah... we had a lovely evening at the pub, and me visiting the kids.

I really enjoy our Thursday nights.

Catch ya tomorrow.

GROCERY SHOPPING AND MORE DOLLS.

 

First up for the day is some grocery shopping.  It's actually been a little while since I did any, and we need a few basics.  I miss BREAD.  A nice hot toasted sandwich is what I'm craving right now.

Cos it's cold.  I might get a few tins of soup too.  Soup and toast for lunch sounds rather nice as well.

And YES, I could make me own freakin' soup if I felt like it. But I don't.  So there.

Late yesterday afternoon I got two more Scrappy Dolls made:

ABOVE: This one's face is very similar to one I made the other day.  It's sooooo cute.

ABOVE: And this one is a variation of one of the earlier ones as well.

I think I am now starting to re-hash the new faces, with some little 'tweaks'.  I'm very happy with the new faces.  I still love the original faces, but these ones are just so sweet.

Once I get home from the supermarket, I'm not sure what I'll get up to.  I do have 2 more dolls cut out ready for finishing, so I'll possibly do them.

Then I will make some coasters I think.

BLONDIE:  I could have sworn I'd shown my new Jacket?  Apparently not.

Here it is:

ABOVE:  It is a 'Scribbler' brand jacket.  Fleece lined, so fairly warm.  It has all the bells and whistles... deep, zippered pockets, inside and outside.  An adjustable hood. Reflectors on sleeves and back.  Ribbed, fitted wrist bands inside the outer layer.  Extra long at the back.  Fitted through the waist (Ha ha, like I have a waist), but it's there if I ever get me waist back.  Water and wind proof.

I LOVE IT.

This design only got released for sale at the end of March this year.  

Scribbler is available in a few select shops.   We got it online ... it's a NEW ZEALAND company, so we have had no problems with them at all. 

I have been warned by a few ladies here in the Village to never take it off and leave it anywhere, cos it might 'walk'....  lol.

ONWARD...

12.30 pm, and I've just finished putting the groceries away.

ABOVE:  I was a bit blown away with how much I bought!  I didn't have a list, just an idea of what we were running out of, and the need for some fresh food.

So... I kinda blew the budget 😖😏.

For a change, I wasn't shocked though.  EVERYTHING costs more now.  

Now it's all away, and I'm sitting down to eat a lovely Ham/Cheese and Pineapple toasted sandwich.

I will stay sat down for a while, then move into the sewing room I am sure.

6.50 pm.  I did some sorting out in the garage this afternoon. I put Scrappy Dolls in smaller bags for market.  I am not taking 20+ dolls to market, so chose some to take, and some to keep here as 'stock'.

I started the face of another doll, then had to unpick part of it as I just hated it.  Luckily it's not ruined the face by unpicking.  I did not finish a doll today, which is amazing.

I could have finished one, but Stew arrived home and I just wanted to stop and spend time with him.

We have just had our 'dinner', and are looking forward to a quiet evening.

Catch ya tomorrow.

PRODUCTION LINE

 

It's a slow start to the day for me.

I'm in no hurry to get moving...

ABOVE:  I have the next three Scrappy Dolls to finish, it's staring to feel like a production line.

There's four more ready to work on as well!  So, once they are done, I can move on to the next project.

Not sure what that will be, I know I have plenty of EVERYTHING, so I might even just make a few coaster as 'giveaways'.  It will help pare down some of the scraps if nothing else.

ABOVE: This one one of the jobs Stew attended to on the weekend.  This MASSIVE succulent was starting to tip over, it is so heavy on one side.

Now it's safe from certain destruction.  I love succulents, and this one must be many years old.  It would have been a shame for it to topple over.

There is a Village Morning Tea on today, so I shall wander down there later.  It will be a nice break from the sewing.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  It's 2 pm.  I've been a busy beaver.  I got the next three Scrappy Dolls finished.  So now there's 7 differing faces.

Who knows how many more I shall come up with?  Maybe a few, maybe no more?

I went down and had morning tea with a bunch of Villagers.  

My plans after than was to catch a bus into town, and go to David's Emporium for more buttons for Scrappy Doll's eyes.  They are way, way cheaper there than at Spotlight.

I mentioned at morning tea where I was going next, and one of the village residents offered to drop me off in town, as he was going in there as well.

So nice.  And off we went.  Once in town, I rang Stew and we had lunch together.

Then I walked to David's Emporium and got the buttons,  and a few other bits 'n' bobs.

ABOVE: After shopping, I walked down to Anzac Parade and caught the Orbiter bus outside the Police Station.  About 35 minutes later I was dropped off, and had a short walk home.

ABOVE: You get to see so much more on the bus.  I really enjoy it.

It is quite a cold day today, windy, cloudy, with odd spits of rain... I'm so glad I wore a decent jacket.  My very colourful  jacket in fact.  Gosh I get a lot of comments about that jacket!  Even in town, complete strangers comment on how lovely and colourful it is!

I am now really cold, so might just sit and warm up before doing much else.

5.10 pm and I just got two more Scrappy Dolls finished.  I will show them to you tomorrow.

For now.. I'm done for the day.

Stew will be home within the hour, so I might just sort out some sort of light dinner for us.

AND NOW THERE IS FOUR

 

My objective yesterday was to do some new Scrappy Doll faces.

I showed you one I got finished yesterday.

ABOVE: The first new face.

After that one,  I did two more.

ABOVE:  The second new face.

ABOVE:  And this is the third new face.

ABOVE: All four Scrappy Dolls and their differing faces.

Do ya think I need more?

Today is craft group here in the Village, and I will no doubt go down and make more Scrappy Dolls, using the new faces.

But first, it's the day I do most of the housework.  So that's what I will be doing for the first couple of hours or so.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

3.40 pm.  Clearly no one missed me?

Pffffffft.

Well, my day went as planned.  Got all the housework done.

Packed my trolley and took off to Craft Group at around 10 am.

I spent 4 hours joining bits of fabric together for Scrappy Dolls, then did three faces.

Once they are made into dolls, I will show you them.  They are slightly different from yesterday's faces, but in the same vein.  Cute.

There were quite a few ladies turn up at the usual start time of 1pm, and we stayed there a bit longer than usual.  Lots of chatter, laughs and lemon cake, of which I had none. 

I'd taken down a salad to have for my lunch, which was rather nice. 

In other news.  I got an email from our bank this morning, seems there's been some 'unusual' activity on our credit card, so they have blocked the use of the card.

Stew sorted it out. Seems two online purchases we made recently got charged TWICE by the retailer.  Just as well the bank noticed before we got a monthly statement.

Luckily also, the bank reversed the charges, and we are not out of pocket.  We now just have to wait for a new credit card ( which we use very infrequently I might add).  I think our days of buying things online are over.

6.50 pm, and I'm ready to sign off for the day.

I did a shit load of work today and am tired.  I doubt there's much on the telly to watch.. as per usual really.

So, might be an early to bed scenario for me as well.

Catch ya tomorrow.

HOW DID HE DO?

 

Blondie asked me yesterday how Stew has coped, being back at work, and at the market yesterday?

He is tired.  His knee still pains him, and it's going to be a long while before he's 'semi back to normal'.

He managed quite well yesterday at market, bearing in mind we share the set up and pack up, and he gets to sit and relax 'mostly' during the market.

Today I think we will be having a very quiet day.

No going out and about, just lounging around.

Well, for him.

I plan on having a go at making a new Scrappy Doll 'FACE'.  Some people have commented that my Scrappy Dolls faces are scary.  So, I am going to try and make one with a less scary face.

So there ya go, my plans for the day.  Keep an eye out for the 'new' Scrappy Doll....

ONWARD...  

9.50 am. There were a couple of other questions overnight about yesterday's market.

1.  The cot quilts got a bit of attention, but no sales yet.

2.  I put out 6 bags, and two got sold.  So a good result.  All up I've made 23 bags so far, and 9 of them are now sold.

DOGSTARS:  Enjoy your time in Louisiana, and yaaa! Another film.

Stew has gone to do his weekend shop.  Then he's gunna watch a rugby game he taped.  After that he's going to potter around doing a few little odd jobs.  

Me... I'm now off to Crabby Quarters.

11.30.  And I was working away on a Scrappy Doll, and get a phone call from one of the ladies here in the Village.  I had forgotten I'd put my name down to go on a little trip to the Waikato Vintage Textile Fair with her and a few others.

So I rapidly grabbed me jacket and bag and raced out the door to meet them down at Reception.

ABOVE:  We all piled into the Village Van (11 seater), and off we went.  That was my first time in the Village Van.  It is a very swish vehicle.

ABOVE: We got there just as it opened, so not too many people there.  By the time we left it was quite crowded.

ABOVE:  This caught my eye.  NOT because I liked it, but because it was hideous. Who would 'wear' an entire animal around their neck?  Like WHO?  It really was ikkk.

ABOVE:  I found this lovely length of black, sparkly lace, which I will possibly put along the bottom of a black shift dress.  I will need to make said dress at some point.

Most of the stuff at the fair was not my cuppa tea.  Lots of vintage clothes/jewellery/fabrics, linen and so on. And the prices?  Outrageous on the most part.

So, I know not to go to another one.  😊 It was nice as an outing with other villagers though.

Stew has suggested we go out to lunch, so I suppose we shall.  But right now, I'm heading back into Crabby Quarters, until he's finished watching his rugby game.

ABOVE: And there is my First NEW Scrappy Doll Face.  Later on this afternoon I will do a second one.... DO YOU LIKE THIS ONE?

8.33 pm.  Well it's been a little while.  We had a lovely lunch out, then came home to do some more work.  Stew did some stuff outside, and I did some more sewing.

Dinner was nothing, as our lunch ended up being at 2 pm.

I'm now feeling a bit off, just tired I think.

I've taken some panadol, so hopefully I feel better once I go to bed.

Stew did well pottering around outside this afternoon, he put our pig weather vane back up, and the glass buoy.  He also did the edges of the lawns and a few other little jobs.

So, we both had a good, productive afternoon.

Now... just chilling out in front of the telly.

Catch ya tomorrow.

IT'S GOING TO BE A WET ONE

There is no getting around it, today is going to be a wet day.

We might be lucky and get to set up without getting wet, but later on in the morning, IT IS GOING TO RAIN.

And it's forecast to just get worse as the day goes on.

WONDERFUL.

And I am crazy enough to still do an outdoor market.

I know Stew is less than keen, but I'm just dead set on still doing the Tamahere market.

RAIN.  HAIL. OR CYCLONE.  Well... maybe not a cyclone!

I am hoping by still going, we show our commitment to this market, and the organiser gives us a really good, new spot going forward.

In fact, the spot she is giving us today IS a good spot... so maybe, just maybe it will become our new spot.  I hope so.

Right, time to be going... wish us luck, and some customers!  Cos, being wet there might not be very many.

ONWARD...

.

ABOVE: And here we are, all set up and ready for the day. We've kept our set up small and tucked in due to the rain,  it is drizzling on and off right now.

Luckily it didn't rain while we were setting up.

In fact, the drizzle has arrived hours before it was forecast.... grrr.

There's about HALF the number of stallholders here today, they don't like rain obviously.  😅🤣

9.07 am. It's stopped raining, for now.  But its cold just sitting here...

ABOVE: It's time for THE HAT. Next market it will be full winter wear, lots of layers. I will enter the ESKIMO phase. Lol

We are very surprised! We have been making steady sales all morning,  which we really didn't expect. There's not been that many people here, yet we've done well already.

Just over an hour to go till we can pack up and get home. 

I was just sitting here bemoaning the fact that I'm short, cos I find it hard reaching up to put up runners. And Stew said "Yes my little quack quack".  Meaning my arse is too close to the ground, just like a duck.

Nice man.   🤣😅😂

2.44 pm, and we are home, unpacked and finally sitting down and relaxing.

We were SO LUCKY today, aside from a brief shower around 8 am, the weather stayed fine.  Cloudy, some sun and not too cold.  I was so relieved.

We totally expected a miserable day, and miserable sales.  But at the end of the day, we did good sales and had lots of lovely people visit our stall.

Now I'm gunna just sit and watch the telly, do a jigsaw and be lazy.   I'm cooking some 'pre-made', frozen Dumplings for our dinner, so that's easy too.

ABOVE: Well... those dumplings will have to wait.

We are at Lone Star for dinner.

I had an afternoon nap and when I woke up, cooking was the last thing on my mind.

Bring on the Lassoo of Hog...

ABOVE:  Well, that was delicious.  You can always rely on that meal being amazing.

And the service was top notch, and the time between ordering and delivery was amazing as well.  

Home now and Stew is so happy... he's watching rugby in the front room.

I'm watching some crime doco on the telly in the lounge.  Perfect ending to a neat day.

Catch ya tomorrow.