TAMAHERE IN FEBRUARY

 

Here we go again, another market, another super early morning start.

I am hoping like hell it's a better market than the last couple. 

At least the weather is looking really good for the day.

Mike and Joyce are visiting this weekend, so we are all meeting up this evening for dinner and a catch up. 

But for now... I better get a move on... shit to do, places to go... sunrise to see.  Oh yaaaa.

ONWARD...

Bloody hell... it was a cold start this morning,  and dark! The sun didn't rise until we were setting up.  No sunrise photo... boo hoo.

ABOVE: Carl, beside us at market, got himself a new chair. I got to pose in it... he insisted.  Lol.  Finally, I look small. 🤪😂🤣

BLOOD TESTS/XRAY

 

We have a busy day ahead of us.

Stew has today off work, as he has several appointments to attend.

First up, he has to get blood tests and an xray done, in readiness for his operation.

Then he's meeting with our Village Manager to discuss 'something'.  Fingers crossed on that one.

If that goes well, I will tell you about it later.

Lunch?  Will be out somewhere nice I think. 

After lunch he has another appointment to attend.  I will stay home while he's out doing that.  

I will probably fluff around in the garage, getting it back in shape for sewing, which I will thoroughly enjoy of course.

ABOVE:  Photos I took yesterday of these areas all back to normal.  I love this little house now, it has grown on me.  Maybe not in size, but it's comfy, and easy to maintain.

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

ONWARD...

11 am, and Stew and I have both had excellent mornings.

He got his medical stuff done, and I got the sewing room back in working order.

I also went to Spotlight for a quick grab of a few things.

While I was at Spotlight, Stew attended a meeting with the Village Manager.

AND... FINALLY.... we have a parking solution!!!

I will no longer have to park way down the road. We have been given permission to pave in front of our house and park my car there!

There was another house here (within sight of our home), that had already done that exact same thing... so a precedent had been set.  The Manager had to concede that, and say YES to us.

ABOVE: That is where my car is going to be parked, just as soon as the Manager organises his contractor to do the work.  We shall be paying for it, obviously. 

I am THRILLED TO BITS that my car will be parked at MY HOME.  No more walking down to it in the pouring rain, sweltering in the heat, and so on.    

A WIN AT LAST.

Now, Stew is having a cuppa tea (ikkk), then we shall go out for lunch.  

ABOVE:  The Foundation ... Fish of the Day.  We both had that, as we wanted to try something different.  It was OK, probably not worth what it cost though.  

We are now home, and Stew has a short break before he heads out for his last appointment of the day.

Once he's left, I will go into Crabby Quarters and get some work done.  Or I might have a nap.  Whatever works.

8 pm, and I did do some work in Crabby Quarters this afternoon.  I made more straps for the gazebo.  Boring, but necessary.

Then I sat and did a jig saw.  lol   

Stew arrived home, and we had crackers/cheese and relish etc for dinner.  Nice and easy.

Stew snuck out to the garage and loaded the car on his own, naughty man.  We always do that together.  Oh well... he must have thought I looked tired?

Now... I'm going to stay up for about another hour or so, then head off to bed.  Market tomorrow.

VISIT TO THE VET

 

Yesterday I suggested to our painter that he take today and tomorrow 'off', and come back on Monday.  He worked solidly for three days, and I thought he could do with the break.  He's retired, so only works part time usually. He was happy to take up my suggestion.

First up for me today ... is take Coco to the Vets for a thorough check up.  She is refusing to go for her walks!  That is so unlike her, she's never done that before.   Something isn't quite right with her.

It might just be her age, she is 16 years old on March the 8th.  Or it might be something else... either way, I'm getting her checked out.

That is at 9.15 this morning.   

Once we get home from that, Lacy is coming over to help me slowly get all the stuff out of the garage.

The painter accidentally pulled the SKY cable out of the decoder box, and it is now broken and not working.   So I also need to ring the SKY people and get a new decoder box.  Hopefully that happens sooner rather than later, as we are having to sit in the front room to watch the telly at the moment.  At least we have that option for now eh?

ABOVE:  Someone is going through a CLIMBING PHASE.   She is climbing EVERYTHING she can!

ABOVE:  She's very proud of her efforts.  She kept dragging our little step stool around last night, using it to reach places she shouldn't.

ABOVE:  YES, there she is climbing the bread racks in the supermarket!  What a handful she is.

YES, we do see the other kids... but they are more 'camera shy' now.  Dante has not had a haircut in a while, and his hair is quite unruly... yesterday he had put some styling product in it and made it all stand up on end.... he looked like a freakin' hedgehog!  

Right, that's me for now... I am going to stay here in bed for a bit longer... browse the 'net, read the news, bla bla bla.

ONWARD...  

11.03 am.  The visit to the vet went SO WELL!  The vet gave Coco a thorough check up and declared her 100% fit and healthy!  No issues AT ALL.  That is such a relief, we have been so very lucky with her health her entire life.

Yes, there's been a couple of little issues, but nothing major.   So she had her anal glands emptied, so should be good for another couple of years.  Fingers crossed she has a couple more years.

After the vet visit, I grabbed some food and came home.

Lacy arrived quick smart, ate food then got into helping hang all paintings, put up the blue glass and so on.

ABOVE:  The tart, hard at work.

ABOVE:  All the Britto waiting to go back in the cabinet.  I'm just looking at it for now.  😂😅😉

ABOVE:  Payment was food!  And a few nick nacks.

ABOVE: Coco likes pie.  

And now, I feel like having a nap!  I was up and putting things back in cabinets, cupboards etc at 7.30.  When Lacy arrived at 9.40 I had done 75% of it.  So I'm a bit tired.

Now I have to wait for the plumber to arrive.   I don't know when that will be.

Our new SKY decoder box is arriving early next week... and most surprisingly, at no cost!  That is amazing.  A win for a change.

Remember the story of me 'never winning anything' after I actually DID win the raffle here in the village last week?

I just found out I have won another raffle!!!  I bought some tickets a fortnight ago to support the Ovarian Cancer Society... so that is just as incredible to me.  I will pick my prize up next week, as it's over in Cambridge.

AM I ON A WINNING STREAK?  Might go buy a Lotto ticket. 😊  

I just bought two tickets in the Heart Foundation Lottery, maybe I'll win a house next!  lol

ABOVE:  1 pm, and it is DONE!  Everything is back where it belongs.

I did cull a few things, so not everything went back up on the walls, or in cabinets etc.  I just wanted to do a clean sweep, and organise things a bit better.

ABOVE:  A lot of serving dishes that never got used have gone into the pantry, that way they are THERE, and can be used easier.

What is the point of having lovely dishes to eat from, serve from, when you never use them cos they are tucked away in a cabinet?  No more, we are using them.

I also gave a lot of thought to my little house collection.  Instead of putting them all back in the one place, I have scattered them around a bit.

ABOVE: While this has been exhausting, it's also been a good opportunity to tweak the shit out of things!

And of course, I LOVE TWEAKING, lol.

I'd love to have a little nap now, but the plumber hasn't been in yet. 

Better not nod off and have him arrive and see me all sleepy eyed like some little cuddly old lady in the middle of the day.  *snort*

7.50 pm.  The plumber didn't arrive until 4.30!  Slightly annoyed but held it in.  He will install our new toilet sometime next week, in plenty of time for when we need it.

I took Stew to the pub at around 4..45, then popped in to spend an hour or so with Bex and the kids.  Steve arrived home after spending an hour with his Dad at the pub, then I took off and joined Stew.

We spent a nice hour with our friends, then came home.  Stew got to eat the food I bought for him this morning (a club sandwich and a Ginger Slice), which he loved.

Now... we get to move into the Front Room to watch TV.  It will be nice to have our new decoder arrive next week, so we can stay here in the lounge, feet up and enjoy our evenings in front of the  telly, and  yakking.

Time to sign off for the day, I do believe I shall sleep well tonight.

EXCITED ... JUST A LITTLE BIT

 

I'm feeling really excited to think that by the end of today we MIGHT be able to start putting the lounge/dining/kitchen areas back to 'normal'.

Jonny has one more top coat to put on the walls in here, and it will dry really quickly.  So, once Stew gets  home from work tonight we can sort out the rooms.

WHOOP!!  I am so eager to get it back how it should be.  I don't 'do' this sort of chaos too well.

Stew told me last night he thinks we should get a new Toilet.  The one here is OLD and LOW. It wasn't on our 'do now' list, but with Stew getting his knee replaced soon, it's not a bad idea.  Using a higher toilet will make his recovery easier.

So, I've contacted a plumber, and hopefully I hear back from him today.

First up for now... get the housework done, then do a small grocery shop.  And get some cable ties ... they are to secure the dining room cabinet to the wall.  We had to cut the other ones when we moved the cabinet away from the wall.  

ONWARD...

ABOVE:

I have formulated a new plan for my morning.  I've managed to get together all I need to go down to the craft room and do some piecing together of braid runners. I have to use BABY Brother, cos I can't get to Mc 2'ie at all. But that's ok, BABY is perfectly capable of doing piecing.

I'll do the grocery shop etc this afternoon.  

Yaaaa, something productive to do.

2.03 pm.  I've just come home from the craft room.

Jonny is finishing up for the day, these rooms are done!  We can put the furniture back tonight and tomorrow I can work on getting everything back in the cabinets, and on the walls.

ABOVE:  I got both these Braid Runners pieced together today.  I'll get back to finishing them probably next week.  We have a busy few days ahead of us now, no time to sew.

It did feel awesome sewing today ... I had missed it.  

Well, I went out and got the cable ties we need, crazy traffic out there, bang on end of school time.  

Lacy has a hurt hand, possibly a broken finger?  I told her to get to the Drs.

So as a consequence, she couldn't come and help with the furniture this evening.

ABOVE: Luckily, Steve and Bex stepped in and came over instead.   They did all the heavy moving  and placement.  Such a relief as my back is killing me, and so is Stew's.  Clearly we are showing our age a bit.  

It catches up with everyone, IF you are lucky.  Some people never get to be old.  I am thankful for every year I get, I'm well aware of those in my family who passed away too young.  (and well, that wasn't what I was intending to yabber about! 😖😐)

ABOVE:  Most of the larger things are back in place, and Stew is working on the shelves in the kitchen and dining 'rooms'.

Tomorrow I will potter around, putting all the ornaments/paintings etc back in place.

It is now 7.20 pm, and I am done for the day.  I certainly can tell I sewed for 5 hours today, in a bloody uncomfortable chair to boot.

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

CAN I GET IT FIXED?

GOOD MORNING... I'm expecting the painter again today. 

It will be interesting to see how much he gets done by end of day.

While he works, I'm off to try and get my laptop fixed. Working on my phone is not ideal for any length of time.

I might even try to get my PC out of the garage, but that will involve moving A LOT OF STUFF!

Remember,  all the lounge stuff is in there right now. 😮‍💨😣

Grrrr... life is a bit frustrating right now.

I need to take a deep breath... they might be able to fix me laptop quickly. 

ONWARD...

So, I get to PBTech at 9 am sharp.  The damn place didn't open until 9.30.  *sigh*

Anyway, I take me laptop in, explain what the problem is, and within like, 1 minute, he's diagnosed the problem!

ABOVE:  It needed a new charging cable!  $48 later, and I'm outta there.  So relieved I didn't drop it off for repair at one of those places that charges you $100 + just to drop it off, let alone repair it.

I highly recommend PBTech on Te Rapa Straight.

After leaving there, I went to say hi to the ladies at Mosaics in our Village, then on to morning tea in the Community Centre.  

Another nice morning spent.... yakking.   😀

ABOVE: Lunch is served.  I indulged for once and bought a sandwich from the Hot Bread Shop.  They are very popular, ya have to get in quick to get one.  

Home now, and watching Jonny painting.  This room is going to need two coats on top of the undercoat... he's gunna be here a while.

I set the wheels in motion on a 'project' I'm hoping can be done here in the next few weeks.  More on that another day.  It might not happen, but if it does, I'll be thrilled to bits. Should know by next week?

ABOVE:  The first top coat is on, and it's looking awesome.  By the end of tomorrow these rooms should be done, and I can spend Thursday and Friday putting everything back.

This afternoon I went down to our library, to keep out of Jonny's way basically.  I worked on the 'anyone can do it' jigsaw puzzle.  I got quite a bit done too.

I'm home now (2.35 pm) and Jonny has just left for the day. 

I can relax for a while.

Yesterday I had a massive headache, today I do not.  I think the primer Jonny was using yesterday is what caused my headache.  It has a fairly strong smell.

7.12 pm, and sheesh, it's very quiet around here!  You all better be living your best lives!

Stew and I went out to our favourite Indian for dinner this evening, it's been a while since going there.  It was SO YUMMY!  I even had a glass of wine.

Home now and looking forward to a quiet evening in front of the telly.  Boring old farts we are.  😂😊

Catch ya tomorrow.

FINGERS CROSSED FOR KJ

 

Today our friend KJ (Karen down in Wellington) is having eye surgery.   I am hoping it goes well, and might even solve a few of her health issues.

KJ... we love you, and wish you well.

I can't lounge around in bed this morning, the painter is arriving to make a start on the interior of the house.  He is starting in the lounge/dining/kitchen areas.  

Because he is a retired person, he doesn't keep 'regular' hours.  He will come and go as he wishes, so I'm not sure how long this job will take.

I hope not too long!  I hate the house being in an upheaval, and OMG, it's certainly that.

I'm not too sure what I will get up to today, besides be here while he works.  Craft Group is on, but I can't do any sewing... access to all my stuff is not possible right now!  The garage is full of all the stuff from the lounge etc.

I might just go down for a yak!  I am good at that.

ONWARD...

11.48 am.  I have been for a walk along the river bank.

For the first time EVER, Coco refused to go with me!  I showed her the lead, and instead of going mental with excitement, she looked at it, then me, and turned tail and went back to bed!

Gobsmacked. 

ABOVE:  So the river was quite high, but not as high as I've seen it before.  Perfect walking weather too... overcast with a cool wind.

After my walk I took my sewing machine boxes over to my friend in Cambridge (she's moving house), then off to Mitre 10 for paint for Jonny the painter.

ABOVE:  So Jonny arrived at 8.45 and was straight into getting this room prepared.  He is now putting the undercoat on.

He said he will knock our lounge/dining/kitchen areas out as fast as he can, so I can get back into the garage.  Nice bloke.

Gutted for my friend Karen.  I just found out her eye surgery has been postponed, due to her surgeon not being able to fly into Wellington, because of the weather.

She will now have to wait for a new appointment.  I hope it's not too long a wait.

3.12 pm.  I went down to Craft Group and just yakked.  It was a small group today, but still lots of laughs were had.

Our painter left at 2.45 pm, so he put in a solid 6 hours today.  He has finished the undercoat in our living rooms/kitchen.  It already looks so much better than the creamy colour that was up there.

Well, I've felt ill since I arrived home this afternoon.  Bad headache and sore stomach,  felt like throwing up. Most ikkk.

As I had sushi for lunch I'm thinking maybe it didn't agree with me? And the paint fumes probably set off the headache.

My laptop isn't charging,  something is wrong with the power cord connection,  so it will be taken to PBTech tomorrow,  hopefully they can fix it.

Now... today is done ✔️.  Catch ya tomorrow. 

NITE NITE.

NOT TOO LAZY A SUNDAY

 

Today Stew, Lacy and I will be moving the furniture in the lounge into the middle of the room. 

I am hoping we can still sit and watch the telly and be comfortable for however long it takes for the painter to finish painting the lounge/dining rooms.

I'm not too sure how long it will take to pull apart the two large leather lounge sets?  They are the biggest items to move.  Stew and I struggled to move the one we sit in, just a small amount, the other day.

They will definitely need to be taken apart to move.

I went to bed last night feeling like our home was foreign, it just didn't feel like home anymore without all our bits 'n' bobs around.

I can't wait to put it all back!

Lacy is due over sometime this morning... so I think we will not do too much until she's here.

ONWARD...  

10 am, and it's done!  Lacy and L came over and with their help the furniture was moved in like 15 minutes flat!

ABOVE:  And now we have to live like this for however long it takes for Jonny to get this room done.  

Now... we have nothing to do for the rest of the day.  I can't even sew... I'm going nuts with nothing to do.

Perhaps a drive out and about somewhere?  Needs to be after lunch, as I already have our lunch sorted.  Bacon/Ham/Cheese toasted sandwiches.  Been looking forward to them all weekend already.

It is a much cooler day today, I almost feel like putting a long sleeved top on!  Summer has been non-existent so far!  We've had the odd really hot day, but not for days on end like you would expect for summer.

3.25 pm, and OMG we have been UTTERLY LAZY this afternoon.  I've been watching programmes on BBC TV, something we don't usually do.  I'm loving some of their programmes.  I think I'll be watching more of them now.

Looking forward to 'DES' tonight.  It's a true crime doco about Dennis Nilsen, a serial killer, played by David Tennant, who I really like.  

11.04 pm, and I watched the first of three episodes on DES.  It as OK, not riveting.  I'll probably still watch the next two just for the hell of it.

I'm groggy tired now, so will head off to bed.  I've been trying to stay up really late, just so I can get to sleep a bit quicker than my usual 1-2 hours.

Catch ya tomorrow.

WHAT DO YOU PAY?

 

Yesterday I was told to turn our air conditioning on, to keep us cool.

I probably should have said this sooner...  I don't like air conditioning, as I always then end up COLD!  Plus of course, yes, I am used to conserving power!

Old habits die hard.

But here's a question for you.

WHAT do you pay on average, per week, for your power?  We pay between $30-35 a week, pretty much year round.  There isn't much difference between summer and winter, as I don't turn on heating/cooling.

I really would like to know if our power consumption is 'normal', high or low.

Today we will take down things that are screwed on the walls in the kitchen and lounge.  Then we will leave moving the furniture into the centre of the rooms until tomorrow.  Stew can roll up the big rug in the lounge and put it in the garage.  I was going to do it yesterday, then I remembered just how heavy it is, and thought, yeah nah.  lol

It is certainly a huge upheaval getting the house interior painted, but once it's done I will be able to relax.  It won't need doing again for freakin' years I hope.

ONWARD...

I know it's 'VALENTINES DAY'... we don't 'do' Valentines Day.  Never have.  We love each other, and don't need a particular, heavily commercialised day to show it.  Each to their own.

ABOVE:  Where has all the 'character' gone?

ABOVE:  Oh there it is!

The garage is full.   And hopefully it won't all be in there for too long.  
Not much left to do tomorrow except move the main furniture into the middle of the room.

Now... we are just killing time until we go out for a few things.  We need a non slip mat for the shower, so Stew is 'safe' after his operation.  I want a small spray bottle of weed killer for random weeds that pop up and yeah, a couple of other random things.  We will have lunch out as per usual.  Might not get Seafood Chowder again though.  That wasn't fun.

1.33 pm, and we are home after a good, productive outing.  We got everything on our list, had a lovely lunch then came home.  The traffic at The Base was crazy.

Our river is swollen, but not as high as we have seen it before.  The paths down by our Community Centre are not under water... yet.

We are now going to have a relaxing afternoon, twiddling our thumbs.  

Sorry to have missed your visit Lacy... thanks for visiting!  lol

Midnight:  We have had a lazy afternoon/evening.

I even had a nap.

Time to sign off for the day.  Catch ya tomorrow.

EMPTY THEM ALL

 Today I am making a start on a BIG JOB.

We have the painter arriving on Monday, so I have to empty all the cabinets in the lounge, the houses, blue glass etc.  Everything has to come off the walls, furniture needs to be placed in the middle of the room and so on.

The painter, Johnny,  is doing the lounge/dining/kitchen rooms first, so that's what I will be doing for the next few days.

Lacy is coming on Sunday to help with the furniture moving.  I might need to rope in Steve as well, cos our lounge suite is VERY VERY HEAVY.  I'm thinking they will need to be taken apart to move.

Back to today though, I will work on the ornaments and paintings etc.

I am going to set up some trestles in the garage to put a lot of stuff on... which means no sewing for the next little while.  *sigh*

It is Black Friday.  Are ya superstitious?  I'm not.

ONWARD...

OMG it is so humid this morning!  I'm sweating buckets.... but getting my jobs done.

I've got the Britto Cabinet empty, and am about to start on the 'dining room' cabinet next.  I've taken down the bigger paintings as well, and will get all the other stuff down later on as well.

I have spent a bit of time pondering the weight loss journey I've been on FOREVER... and wondered if any of you can remember my 'BEFORE' photo?  Way, way back in 2003?

Refresher, not just for you, but for me too:

ABOVE:  In fact, my heaviest was 130, but I lost a couple of kilos BEFORE going to Weight Watchers, lol.  It is good to look back sometimes, to know that while I've gone up and down over the past 20 odd years, I have always kept trying.

I am proud of that.  And I'm feeling really positive right now.  

I am NOT trying to get back to 67 kilos, but at least a healthy weight. 

Alright, enough waffling, back to it.

* Looking at that photo (above),  my face says it all eh?  That was the ONLY time in my adult life I had 'short' hair as well.  I'd cut it all off due to how I was feeling I think... down and out.  Never again will that happen!

ABOVE:  No time like the present, as they were coming down, to wash them.   They were not toooooo bad, but do get grease and dust on them being above the stove and oven.

I am making such good progress!  The lounge/dining room looks so weird without all my paintings and bits 'n' bobs. 

I am taking a break now, as I'm so damn hot.... PROBABLY not as hot as other people, sorry other people.   *I couldn't help myself*

Well, my afternoon was spent getting more done in readiness for the painter on Monday.

I got two loads of washing done, and dry!  Bugger all rain, even though we were told to expect DOWNPOURS, and thunder and lightening.  It might still happen overnight or tomorrow.

We've enjoyed a quiet evening.  I have my fan on me all the time, so I'm OK.  I HATE air conditioning... I actually end up getting too cold!  

And yes, I'm used to conserving power!  It's something I've always done.   I can remember when we had 6 kids at home and our power bill was $30 a MONTH.  And I worked hard to keep it that low.  Now days, our power bill is around $30-35 A WEEK.  And I know that is fairly low by today's standards.

Right, I'm outta here, I'm bloody tired after all that packing up today.

Catch ya tomorrow.