THAMES TODAY

 

Today we are going to Thames for a special birthday party.

One of my dearest friends turns 80 today.  I met Frieda when I was around 33, and she was 46.  

She taught pottery at Fairfield College, here in Hamilton.  I went to her pottery class with another dear friend of mine, Hillary.

It didn't take long for Frieda and I to strike up a friendship, that has lasted to this day.

I was her Matron of Honour when she got married.   

So, attending her special birthdays has almost always happened over the years.

I'm really looking forward to seeing her again.  She's one of those friends that you don't have to see all the time, yet you still have that lovely bond with.

Side note:  It's thanks to Frieda that I became a potter and pottery tutor etc for about 20 years.

I still love pottery, but have moved on from that now.  Patchwork is much cleaner! lol

Frieda lives in Coromandel, but the party is at her son's home in Thames.  We will be leaving mid morning, to get there in good time for the lunch time party. 

ABOVE: While at the physiotherapists yesterday, she noticed a teeny, tiny 'hole' in Stew's scar.

She seemed a bit concerned about it, and has told us to take a photo, and keep a close eye on it. And watch for any changes, like spreading redness, increased pain etc.  If we notice ANYTHING changing, we are to go straight to A & E.   (It almost seems silly, it's such a tiny hole!)

Stew's knee and all around it feels HOT... but has for quite a while now. 

So... that's just something we shall be being super vigilant about over the next few days.  Making sure he stays well. 

ONWARD...

A FEW THINGS ON FOR STEW TODAY

 

Stew has a work meeting via zoom between 10 - 12 today.

Then the Village Nurse is visiting him to check up on his knee recovery.

After that he has his next physio appointment at 2.40 pm.

So, a full day for him.

Meantime, I shall be in the background, pottering around in the house and Crabby Quarters.  I've got plenty to keep me occupied.

There's a village morning tea on as well, so I might pop down to attend that while Stew's on his video call.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

A girlfriend in Sydney (Hi Christy), asked me to make her a smaller bag, for using when she goes on trips, for her toiletries and makeup.

Here it is:

ABOVE: It's the first time I've only put one strap on... and it works really well.  I might do more like that.  And that size as well... it's cute.

I also put a small strip of velcro at the top to hold it closed.  I did think of a zip, but that's just a bloody fag.  (in other words, too much extra work 😖😂)

It is now time to sort out some lunch for Stew and I.  It might just be left overs from yesterday.

We used to eat three sausages EACH, but now days?  He has two and I have one... so when ya buy a pack of 6, it lasts for two meals.  Very economical.

Well, all the appointments are done and dusted for the day.

All is going well with Stew's knee, though he has to go back to using one crutch to help him get rid of the limp.  

His leg still needs the support a crutch provides.  I thought that this morning, so was happy when the physiotherapist said the same thing.

ABOVE:  I got a second smaller bag done today on top of everything else.  The heart on the front is also a pocket.  Now Christy has two to choose from, before I post it to her tomorrow.

It is now 4.30, so soon I will be taking Stew to the pub.  I will join him later on, and we might have dinner there as well, like we did last week.

At the kids this evening, talking about Market on Sunday... and Steve said there probably wasn't a market on Sunday, being Easter an all.

So I checked.  He's RIGHT.  OMG I would have turned up there at 6 am and NO ONE would have been there!

Such a relief I found out before that happened.

It's on the 12th, so I have another full week to get a few more things made.

Spent a lovely hour with the kids, then joined our usual crowd at the pub.  Had a very enjoyable hour there, and now we are home.

Time to just relax.  I started a third smaller Tote Bag before I went out, so will work on that tomorrow night.

Right, catch ya in the morning.

STICKY STICKY

 

I mentioned last night that Steve called in with 'something' for me.

He DELIGHTED in scaring me senseless in the process.

What did he bring me?

ABOVE: See his face?  He's so proud of himself.

The shit.

ABOVE: He got me STICKY MATS.  It's to take all the threads and fluff off the bottom of my feet when I leave the garage/Crabby Quarters.

All that shit does not end up inside the house now.

See how much came off my socks when I walked on it last night?  Amazing.

It has 30 layers, so will last a long time.  I'm very happy with it, thanks so much Steve.

I was working on the second Braid Runner Tote Bag when he arrived, and finished it around 6.30 last night.

ABOVE: It's another really delightful Tote Bag.

Today ?

No plans yet.  I might go to the Base to find more knickers.  And I'll make a different Tote Bag later on as well.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

Today Stew is doing something he's not done in 4 weeks.  He's driving his car.  To work for an Easter Morning Tea with his staff.  

As it's his left leg that was operated on, he is perfectly fine to drive an automatic, cos he will only be using his right leg.  

AND all the drugs are out of his system now, and he's been given the all clear from the Doctor for short distances, like around town.

Last night, Stew went to bed early, and we forgot to do my Trulicity injection.  At 11 pm I remembered, and did it myself for only the second time.  It was just fine!  No shaking or major trepidation, I just DID IT.  So proud of myself, I never in a million years thought I could give myself an injection.

Another busy morning for me.  I did some work in C.Qs, then went to The Base and got more knickers, more stacker boxes for fabrics, a couple of new nighties, and three really lovely T-Shirts for next summer.  They were bloody cheap as chips, so why not?

Stew meanwhile, had a very nice morning tea and catch up with is staff.

He found driving just fine, it was and is still, a mission getting in and out of the car though.  He will eventually be all better, I'm looking forward to that day, as is he.

I just cooked our lunch, which was like a 'Big Breakfast'.  Sausages, Baked Beans, Poached Eggs and a scone.  It was very yum.

Now?  I'm taking a mo, before heading into C.Qs to make another bag.   I'll soon have enough to be going on with, and will then get back to making some more Kiwiana Runners.

ABOVE:  Look who turned up after lunch for a visit!  Our dear friend Sharon, from Taupo.  She's on her way up to Auckland to visit her son.

We had a fantastic visit, I'd not seen her in ages as she's been living in Australia for a while.  She's back now for good, so catch ups will happen more often.

It is now 4.40 pm, and I'm about to head into C.Qs and get some work done. Probably.  I might just potter around in there, getting a few things lined up for working on tomorrow. It's a bit late in the day to make a start on much else.

Ha ha... didn't do that either.  I went out and bought a lippy and hair gel that Sharon showed me she had.  In rush hour traffic.  What a twat.

But, I am an impulsive sorta person, and I wanted that lippy and gel.  NOW.

It's now 8.30  pm, our day has wound down, and we are all snug in the lounge watching the telly.

I'm looking forward to Coronation Street later on, then bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

NOT REALLY DOING OUR BIT

 

With the current fuel situation, I've been mindful of not wasting petrol.

Because we only buy small amounts of groceries at each visit to the supermarket, we are going more often. Not exactly saving petrol eh?

Stew eats a shit load of fresh fruit.  So he seems to need to buy more every 2-3 days.

Today, when we go to the supermarket, I'm going to try and find alternatives.  Some fresh, some dried and some tinned.  Hopefully that keeps us out of the damn supermarket so often.

We are trying to combine several trips into one... like supermarket/K-mart for more knickers and so on today.  Oh and yeah, Stew has a hankering to have Subway for lunch.  So we shall do that while out too.

Thank you for the suggestions for Mc Dreamy.  Unfortunately (or should I say fortunately?), he is already back in Auckland!  He got taken back yesterday afternoon by the owner of Sewing Machine World.  AND I've been assured he will be looked at by the technician URGENTLY.  

I am NOT holding my breath on him coming back any time soon.   I will ring Neil and suggest the foot pedal idea though.

I have not unpacked my sewing trolley from yesterday yet... I just kept looking at it yesterday afternoon/evening and thinking... yeah nah.  It can wait.  I shall get to it sometime today.  I will also sort out the next 2 Tote Bags to make... probably using more animal fabrics, cos I've got quite a lot of them.

ABOVE: The haul of Cheese/Onion and Bacon scones I made last night.  They are all in the freezer now.   And on the shopping list is plastic bags, cos I only just had enough for that lot.

Well, that's me for now. 

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

It was 'bring and swap' day here in the Village this morning.  I took down a couple of things, and scored a lovely picnic basket.  (photo later, I can't be arsed getting up again right now).

We went and did our jobs out and about.

Went to K-mart for the knickers I like to wear, more like cycle shorts, but lightweight.  OMG, that section of the shop was in a terrible state!

It looked like someone had been through there and just thrown shit all over the place.  There were three ladies in there, trying to sort it all out.

And, they had none of the knickers I like, so I shall go out to The Warehouse later on this afternoon, as they probably have something similar.

We had a Subway for lunch, which was very nice.  Then on to the supermarket for the basic supplies.

And now... home, feet up and relax for a moment, before I go down to the Community Centre, as one of the ladies is bringing down fresh eggs/potatoes and carrots to give away.

That happens with surplus fruit/veges etc all the time.  It's lovely.

ABOVE: We got a few monster feijoas at the supermarket... can't say I've seen them this big in a while.  They need to ripen up still... I'll be keeping an eagle eye on them.

ABOVE: This is the other end of that Braid Runner that I repurposed into a Tote Bag.  I'm adding some extra length to it, and it too will become a Tote Bag.  

ABOVE: And we went from one extreme to the other!  I've never seen such small eggs. They are from 'fresh layers', so like, very young chickens.

And super fresh potatoes and carrots, all from a resident's son in Ohakune.  So kind they give us these for free.

I am totally done for the day now.  Well, for the time being.  I'm bound to get a second wind a bit later on, and head into Crabby Quarters. 

6.30 pm, and I've just come out of Crabby Quarters.  I got that second Braid Runner Tote Bag finished.  I'll show it to you tomorrow.

Steve called in with something for me as well... and again, I'll show you tomorrow.

He scared the hell out of me when he came into my sewing room!  I wasn't expecting him, and he just stood in the doorway and said "Hello Mother"... and I think I screamed "JESUS CHRIST" very loudly.

Instant HOT FLUSH... grrrr.

He was SO KIND, and waited until I'd finished sewing the seam.  Pfffft.

I am super jumpy at the best of times with unexpected things happening!  Even Stew has to give a whistle or pretend cough before he comes into my sewing room, so not to scare me.

😊😀  Some excellent news:  Stew got on the exercycle this morning, and got FULL ROTATION (on the backwards motion).  He said it hurt like buggery, but he pushed through it.  He also has not used the crutches AT ALL today, even when we were out and about.  So, he's coming along well.

It's time to sign off for the day, it's been an awesome, productive day.

Catch ya tomorrow.

STEW'S LAST FULL WEEK AT HOME

 

Well here we are.

It's the start of a new week, and the last week Stew will be home on sick leave.

He goes back to work after Easter, so 8 more days till then.

Between now and then I will be doing the Cambridge Trash 'n' Treasure market next Sunday.  Lacy will be helping me again.

With that in mind, I'm working on having a good selection of Tote Bags to take with me.

ABOVE:  I am ready for Craft Group this afternoon.  I've got two Tote Bags on the go.  I can't quilt them down at the craft room, as Mc Dreamy won't do the quilting stitch I use, so I've got them quilted prior to going down there.

One of them is a 'repurposed' Braid Runner that I made a little while ago.  It was wonky as hell, and got put in the 'HELL NO' box!  It is perfect for a Tote Bag though, as no one is going to see it's wonky.  It's actually going to look amazing.

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

ONWARD...

12 noon.

I'm down in the Village craft room.

I've had to walk home THREE times already.

Mc Dreamy ...OMG... won't even do NORMAL stitches now!!! Or do reverse.  I am BEYOND ANGRY.

I've rung Neil at Sewing machine world... and he said to return it to them and they will do an URGENT look at it! That will be the FOURTH time he's been sent back to the technician.  

I had to take him back to the house and pick up Baby Brother, so I can actually  sew something today. 

4 pm.   I got two Tote Bags finished at Craft Group today.  That was in between having to traipse home 4 times for this, that, and the other thing.  *sigh*

ABOVE: That was the Braid Runner that was a bit 'wonky' at one end.  It's come up GORGEOUS as a Tote Bag!  I'm rather thrilled with it, and very tempted to keep it for myself.  But, just how many bags does one need?

I'll sell it for sure.  Someone else will love it just as much as me.

ABOVE: A happy, bright Farmyard Tote Bag.  

After I arrived home from Craft Group, we jumped in the car and took Mc Dreamy BACK to Sewing Machine World.  Neil will return him to the technician tomorrow, with an URGENT sign on him.

When I dropped him back to the shop, Neil did a pretend 'ducking' motion... and said he was expecting a flogging! lol

I told him he was lucky I walked the machine back into the shop, instead of sending it through the window!  He knows the story about my Husqvarna machine from YEARS ago.  If you have been reading long enough, you too will know that story. 

I'm not inclined to go over it again. I'm kinda sick to death of sewing machine sagas.

The ladies at Craft Group are eagerly awaiting the next 'episode'.  I'm not even amused.

Now that I am sitting down, I am going to take an hour to chill out, then I'm going to make a double batch of savoury cheese scones.  Some for tonight, and the rest to go in the freezer.

It's been so lovely being able to grab a couple out of the freezer now and then for afternoon tea, or a side with our main meal. 

Scones got made, and are now in the freezer.

We watching mindless TV till bedtime... which is now.  (10.10 pm).  Though, I'll give Stew half an hour to get to sleep before I  join him, as he tosses and turns and does my head in!  That's when he's closest to being stabbed 16 times in the chest!  lol

THAT WAS NOT FUN

 

Yesterday was a bit of an awful day for me.

I didn't mention it at the time, because it was still ongoing.

Trulicity (for me), causes constipation.  Really bad constipation.

I can go for days on end without anything happening ... without taking god awful laxatives.

Then I found .... Whitakers Banana Caramel Chocolate!   OMG a few pieces of that  and ...

The 'dam' breaks.  Yesterday was more than the dam breaking though.  I was 'going' all day long.

It got a bit much in fact.  I'm sure I lost 2 kilos in one day.

I think I overdid the chocolate.  Bugger.

Today, I hope it's over, and I have a better day.

I know what's worse than having the shits all day though... chronic constipation is 100 times worse!

My plans for today ... get the front room back to it's usual state.  I shall fold up the sofa bed, and put the exercycle in that room.  I will go back to sleeping in my own bed... hopefully Stew won't keep me awake.

Then I'm going to take the bird deterrents off the lawn, cos I reckon the grass has taken enough and the birds should leave it alone. 

I've got a bit of housework to get done as well, just folding and putting away washing, and vacuuming.  Stew, the bloody idiot, said he was going to do the vacuuming last night, until I told him NO WAY was he doing it!  

I know the floors look pretty bad right now, with threads and fluff etc all over... traipsed in from the sewing room by me.  But, it's not even bothering me for a change.  But yeah, it does need doing I suppose.

So there ya go, it's going to be a very average, boring day.

ONWARD...

10.15 am, and everything is back to 'normal' around here.   

It took a bit of 'husband brain' to work out how to fold the sofa bed up, but we got there.  Stew can still sit on the sofa with his leg up, so all good there.

The housework is ongoing, I've got a load in the washing machine, the vacuuming is done and ...

ABOVE: The front  yard looks fabulous again.

I reckon in a few more days that grass will be even more lush.  

We are going to The Base in a while, there's a couple of things I want to get, then we shall have lunch at Foundation.  

1.55 pm:  First stop at The Base was Acquisitions, where I wanted to buy some more wax melt things for the Scentsy things.  It's so nice having a nice smell wafting through the house sometimes.

And coming into winter, Coco always smells like... well, a wet dog.  It's not that nice.

ABOVE:    WHOOPS!  Might have seen something else while in that shop.  Ain't their bags lovely?  Well, I think they are very pretty.

ABOVE: There were just a few new Britto characters in the shop.  These two caught our eye and well... they are now in our cabinet.

I might add, the price has gone up sooooo much for them.  I don't know how they justify it.  But I suppose, if you want them, you will pay through the nose.  😖😕😓

ABOVE: Lunch was (for him) a lamb 'sandwich' with fries, and I had the Seafood Chowder.

Fingers crossed I don't get an upset tummy from the chowder, like last time we had it.

It is now 2 pm, and we are going to enjoy the rest of the afternoon chilling out here at home.

The acronym of the day is FISH.  

FUCK.  IT.  SHIT.  HAPPENS.

Or in my case, still happening.  Not fun.

On a brighter note, we both had a lovely nap this afternoon.

9.50 pm, and it's almost time for bed.  I spent a bit of time in the sewing room this evening, getting stuff ready for tomorrow, at craft group.    Then I spent until now watching Crime Docos on the telly.  Stew has been doing his exercises diligently, and now he adds in the exercycle.  He's still not getting the full rotation yet.  I hope he pushes through the pain eventually, and gets there.  Once that happens, it should really start to function better I'm sure.

OK, time to sign off for the day.

Catch ya tomorrow.

I AM GOING TO BE A LAZY TART TODAY

 

As I mentioned late yesterday, I'm having a totally lazy day today.

There will be no housework.

No to'ing and fro'ing.

Nothing I don't feel like doing at all.

I'm happy to report I got EVERYTHING sorted out in Crabby Quarters by late yesterday.

All the bits 'n' bobs I had in various boxes have been gone through and either designated a project (like a cot quilt/Runner/Tote Bag etc), or put in a box for gifting.

ABOVE:  I've come to realise I am a bit of a  hoarder when it comes to left over bits of fabric and batting.

That pile is small pieces of batting that I can stitch together to use on bigger projects, or for bag straps.  I'm NOT throwing it out!

Any pieces too small to re-purpose will be chopped up into tiny pieces and used for Scrappy Doll stuffing.

WASTE NOT, WANT NOT eh.

ABOVE: SEE THAT!!!   I only have 5 PHD's.  One is a Braid Runner 'on the go', and the other 4 are two cot quilts and two single bed quilts.   I am really happy I'm down to only 5.

I have a box of 'potential' Tote Bags as well, which WILL become Tote Bags over the next few months.

I feel fantastic knowing where everything is, what is needing doing or finishing off.  It's a bit like de-cluttering your house, it is good for the soul.

Yesterday I forgot that Mc Dreamy was supposed to arrive back in Hamilton.  As they didn't ring me about it, I wonder if he is back or not?

I will have to wait until 10 am to ring the shop to find out.  If he's back, I will be picking him up.  He is going to become my 'spare' basic sewing machine, as I know all the 'fancy stitches' don't work. The technician didn't know how to fix him.  He had from December the 18th till now to sort it out.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  So my fanatical anti-bird tactics seems to have worked, and we have grass starting to grow!

ABOVE: See?  GRASS.  And no, it wasn't deprived of oxygen under the plastic bins/lids obviously.  Though just in case, I did lift the plastic up now and then.  I was determined to get that bloody grass to grow.  And thwart the birds.  WIN WIN.

In about an hour we are going out to drop off dry cleaning, and if my machine is back, pick it up.

Then we will come home and do bugger all... if that is possible.  Knowing me, I will end up in C.Qs doing something.  I can't help myself.

I simply don't like doing nothing for too long.

I am also eyeing up the interior doors.  I want to sand them, then paint them white.  I don't like the colour they are right now... it's just a wood coloured laminate.  Massive ikkk.  At some point I will take one door down and give it a go, see how much work is involved, and if they sand up easily or not.  

ABOVE: And I have Mc Dreamy back.  Still only doing the very basic stitches, but working.  I have asked the shop to try and get the 'right' part to fix him properly... cos he is worth fixing, IF they can fix him.

I won't hold my breath though.

I made us ham/cheese toasted sandwiches for our lunch.  Tonight we are having soup of some sort (tinned) and home made cheese scones out of the freezer.

In a minute we are going out to G & B's to pick up their exercycle.  IF we find it helpful, and are likely to want to use one more often, we might end up buying one.  We'll see.

5.40 pm, and Yeah Nah.  Already decided we should just use what's in the Village Gym, and NOT buy something that will just clutter up our tiny house.

ABOVE: And there he is, doing his 10 minutes 'half' cycling.  He still can't do the full rotation.  At some point soon I hope he can push past the pain and do it, then he'll really be helping his knee recover.  No pressure Darling, I ain't bought that whip... YET. 😂😅😖

8.25 pm:  We are done for the day.  He's in the front room watching rugby, and I'm watching some twaddle on the tv in the lounge.  Seriously thinking of heading off to bed early.  It's just so hot and sticky this evening, probably not as hot and sticky as other places, sorry other places.

PHD'S TODAY

 

I have FIVE boxes full of PHD's.

PROJECTS HALF DONE.  

And today I am going to be working on finishing a couple, re-purposing them into bags or runners.

One was going to be a Farmyard Runner.  I've cut it in half, and it's gunna be a Tote Bag now.

It is a bit scary how many PHD's I have, and how many freaking fabric pieces I have, just piled up taking up room.

I think my next few months will be spent sorting it all out, and making those bits and pieces into something useful. 

It is WONDERFUL having so much to do! 

But yeah, yesterday I felt overwhelmed by it all.  I must not buy any more fabric until I've got my stash and PHD's down to a more manageable amount, that doesn't freak me out!

Stew had a follow up appointment with the surgical nurse this morning.  She will most likely take the  clear dressing off his wound.  Then we can see what it looks like without the dressing on, which makes it look puckered.  I am sure he will get a good review of his wound, it's certainly looking good right now.

I am going to cook Pork Belly in our oven for our lunch today.  I'm going to use the Air Fry function, which I've never done before.  I have been told I should be able to cook a small pork belly in about 40 minutes in an air fryer, so that will be interesting to see.  Hopefully that works.

Time.  Will.  Tell.

** Christy, no promises, but I'll see what I can do. ***

AND that's me for now.

Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

12.25 pm.

Let's start from when I arose....

We had some very heavy rain overnight.

ABOVE: This bin was outside and it's now got 5 inches of rain water in it.  That's a lot of rain.

ABOVE:  I've spent about two hours in the sewing room, sorting shit out.

Found that quilt top, and have decided to keep it as a quilt, so I can finish it off in the next few months and gift it to someone.

After working in the sewing room I then stopped to take Stew to his appointment.

ABOVE: There's his new knee in all it's glory.

The nurse said the surgeon made his knee fairly 'tight', so it would last longer.

It just means he will have to work harder to get full bend/movement back.

I need to get him on an exercycle more often, as that is the best exercise apparently.

We are going to borrow one from Glen, who isn't using his anymore.

ABOVE: The nurse took off the dressing, it didn't hurt him at all.

ABOVE: There is still a lot of 'puckering', but the nurse said that will eventually smooth out.

Once we were finished at the specialist appointment, we did a grocery shop, came home and I put it all away.

I've now got the Pork Belly in the oven, on Air Fry.  Seems to be working fine.

ABOVE:  And the verdict on the Pork Belly in our multi function Samsung Oven?   It was perfect, and only took 50 minutes to cook, as opposed to 4 hours done 'conventionally'. 

That is so good for our power consumption.

I cooked FAR too much as per usual, so there's left overs for tomorrow.

After lunch I took two hours 'off', and just lay on the bed.  Stew went down to the gym and did the exercycle and walk.  He ALMOST did a full rotation!  Maybe next time he will.

3.30 pm came around, and I headed back into Crabby Quarters and got more work done on sorting out fabrics/PHD's etc.

I also got two loads of washing done, so am feeling like tomorrow I will be doing BUGGER ALL!

I'm really tired.  I know I keep myself fairly busy most days, but the added 'jobs' are having a compounding effect on my energy.  Hence a day 'off' tomorrow.

Stew and I  have had a very nice, quiet evening, him in the  front room watching rugby, and me in the lounge watching two episodes of Coronation Street that I taped.

FINALLY, Megan has been caught !  I've been waiting for that for ages.  They sure know how to drag it out.

Right, that's me for the day, I'm off to bed soon, I'm ready for a good nights sleep.

Locking Coco out of the room certainly helped last night.  Will be doing that again for sure.

Catch ya tomorrow.