STEWS LAST DAY AT HOME

 

Stew better make the most of today.  It's his last full day recovering at home.

Tomorrow, he's back to work.

And my days get back to 'normal' as well.

Since he's been home, he's lost 5 kilos, and I've gained 4!  Seriously not fair, when we have been eating exactly the same food, well except for meals out.  But basically, the same quantity.

I need to get back to my norm, and have no more freakin' snacks.

I also need to get back to doing regular walks, starting tomorrow morning. Once he's left for work, the first thing I am going to do is go for a walk along the river bank.  I would like that to become a daily thing.  

Today, although it's Easter Monday, our Craft Group is still on, so I shall be going to that after lunch.

I have another bag ready for stitching...

ABOVE:  This one is going to be another lovely bag.  Once it's finished, I think I have one more I want to make, then I'll call it quits on bags for a while.

The only other thing I must do today is post Christy's bag to her in Sydney.  All the post offices were closed these past few days, so I didn't get it done.

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

ONWARD...

Grrrr, the post offices are still closed.  So Christy, your bag will be posted tomorrow.

Next.  I spent a good couple of hours this morning moving shit around, from the outdoor cupboard to one of our Keter sheds.  It's given me heaps more room in various ways, so a major re-shuffle between the outdoor shed, the keter shed, the bathroom cupboard AND the linen cupboard happened!

But, it's now given me more room in the linen cupboard, which was jammed full.

I still have to sort out the linen now that I have more room, but that can wait.

I have my trolley packed for craft this afternoon.

I have lunch (roast lamb left overs) all ready to reheat.

And I'm now just a bit knackered.

ABOVE:  Marley was given her lamb bone this morning.  And she was shut outside to eat it, because Steve (like me), can't stand hearing anyone eat.

There she is, begging to be allowed to bring her bone inside.  She will be waiting forever if she thinks Steve's going to let her in!  lol

Coco hasn't got her's yet, it still has way too much meat on it, which we will have again tomorrow for lunch.  Stew can take his to work.

Thank you for the heads up Re:  Lamb Bones!  Seems dogs should NOT be given cooked lamb bones.  How did I not know that I wonder?  Marley is losing her bone now.

Craft this afternoon was very quiet, just 5 of us.  I finished my bag and came home early.  I've got a grumbling tummy and feel ikkk.

ABOVE: As anticipated, it's a very nice bag.  And a larger size, perfect for an overnight bag, or groceries/shopping.

I am now going to have a quiet time, and hope my tummy settles down.

DOGSTARS:  Stew is now doing 5-10 minutes on the exercycle, and getting full rotation the entire time.  Isn't he doing well!

6.20 pm, and I didn't have a relaxing afternoon.  I sewed up another bag!  Funny that.  It's a much smaller one.

I plan on making ONE more smaller one, then stopping.  I promise.  

The last thing I want is to have masses of bags, and they take forever to sell.

And that is me for the day, I'll show you the latest bag once I can take a photo of it outside.  It's already very dark out, so can't do it till tomorrow.

Catch ya tomorrow.

EASTER SUNDAY

 

No easter egg hunt going on here.

In fact, I don't think we have ever done one.

Just not our thing.

And with no kids at home now, it's never gunna happen.

We will be having a sleep in ... then up to a lazy day no doubt.

Stew is enjoying his last few days off work, then hes back into it on Tuesday.

I got another bag finished last night, after only intending on getting it ready for stitching.  Once I'm up, I'll take a photo for ya.  

I re-purposed parts of a quilt I'd started years ago for last night's bag, and I have enough pieces left to make at least 3 more.  So, guess what I will be doing today?  😂😊

It's gunna be a right bitch if I don't sell any at market!  I think by the time I do next Sunday's market I will have over a dozen made.

I never do anything by halves eh?

MEH... there's a pile of washing waiting to be folded and put away, and dishes on the bench as well.

Steve, Bex and their kids are coming for dinner this evening, I'm going to cook a Lamb Roast and veges.  No point inviting anyone else, as 'they' are always too busy, or have other plans already.

It is what it is.  Kids grow up, get their own lives and move on.

We see it a hell of a lot here in the village, people all on their own in their old age.  It's bloody sad to see.

At least we have a few who we know DO CARE, and will never leave us alone like that.

Right, enough of that, we are happy right now... and plan on having a lovely day.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  FINALLY!  Coco is allowed back on her Dad's lap.  Stew covered his leg so she could get back up on him.  She was so happy.  We just had to wait until there was no open wound at all.  Still taking precautions, hence the cloth over his knee, but it should be ok now.  

ABOVE:  Last nights bag.  I'm so happy with it, and being able to finally use up so many of my PHD's.

I stayed up until 1.30 am last night, just getting more of those PHD's ready for making into bags.  I've got 5 lined up and another 2-3 still to sort out.  All in that 'Nautical' fabric that was once going to be a quilt.

Kinda sad it never became a quilt, but oh well... at least I'm now sharing it around.

ABOVE: 'Nautical' Tote Bag #2 done.  And now I'm taking a lunch break.

Not sure how many more bags I will make before our market next Sunday, maybe just a couple.

I also have a Braid Runner 'on the go' which needs to be finished as well.

So, plenty to keep me busy.

ROBYN:  I have now made 20 bags, and sold 6 so far.

ABOVE: Roast Leg of Lamb with Bacon.  Roast potatoes, onion, peas, corn and cauliflower cheese.  Brown Onion Gravy.

Everyone enjoyed it.

And Marley and Coco both have a bone to enjoy later.

ABOVE:  happy family snaps.  I always forget someone, usually Bex!  So I got a pic of her, and forgot the boys!  lol

It was really nice to have a hand with the massive clean up after such a big dinner.  Lots of dishes... thank you Bex.

It's now time to sign off for the day, and just relax for the remainder of the evening.

Catch ya tomorrow.

SATURDAY.... BACK TO NORMAL IN A WAY

 

Today is going to be the start of getting back to 'normal'.

Stew is going to do his 'usual' Saturday morning shopping at Pak N Save.  I will go with him to do the driving, and help with getting the groceries in and out of the car.

Then we are going out for lunch.  Stew has suggested we go to Lake Karapiro, because it is lovely out there, and we can go for a little walk along the lake edge.

When we get home, I shall get into C.Qs and do some work.

And Stew can relax and get over our outing  😂😅.

I'm happy to report his 'teeny tiny hole' seems to have closed over, and there's no sign of added redness.  That is awesome, one less thing to worry about.

The knee's HOTNESS is perfectly normal apparently, and can continue for months yet.  All good to know.

And that's about all I have for now... catch ya later.

ONWARD...  

12.31 pm. Grocery shopping done and all is away.

We are now awaiting our lunch, at Foundation. I decided it was dumb going out to Karapiro. The traffic is bloody crazy. We went to Spotlight to check out something I've got me eye on, and it was PACKED. You would think the shops had been closed for a week, the amount of people shopping today. 

Travelling up Te Rapa Straight? Crawl.  Stop. Crawl. Stop. Took us 10 minutes to cover 1 km.

The Base is packed out as well. I'll be relieved when we get back home.

ABOVE:  I decided to try something new for lunch today, a Corn Fritter Salad.

It LOOKS amazing eh?

IT WASN'T.

The salad component was nice.

The corn fritter?  Almost cold, and tasteless.  To add insult to injury, it FELL APART the second the fork hit it, so was a damn pain in the arse to even get on the fork.  And the poached egg?  Also cold.

I left 75% of it on the plate and had some hot chips for my lunch.  

SO DISAPPOINTED.   Utter waste of money.

We are now home, and I am going to have a break before doing some work.

ABOVE: Today's bag... a very nice one.

I will probably now go and get another one ready for stitching tomorrow.  

7.25 pm.  I'm done for the day.  I have another bag to show you tomorrow, I got carried away and actually finished it. 

Catch ya tomorrow.

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...

12.16 pm, and we are in Thames. We were very surprised at the amount of traffic heading the same way as us. So much for people staying home to save petrol!  Not that we can talk... as we were on the road as well. 🫤

ABOVE:  Such a lovely group came for Frieda's 80th Birthday.  She is just so lucky to have all her siblings still here, and they all came today.

Plus a few other family members and friends.

AND her daughter was on a zoom link from Perth, so she was 'there' as well.

Isn't modern technology great!

ABOVE: Frieda made the cake, and another family member iced it.  It was delicioius.

ABOVE:  Frieda and two of her sisters.

ABOVE:  Before we came home, we stopped in on the coastline and I grabbed a couple of bags of rocks for our front garden.  When the driveway was extended, the contractor made the garden in front of it deeper, so it needs a few more rocks.

It is now 4.26 pm, and I'm going to chill out for a little while, before doing something productive.  I've got another bag ready to stitch...

ABOVE:  He finally did it!  He got full rotation going 'forward'.  So now he builds on that.

I've been utterly lazy and done NOTHING for the past hour.  And I'm still not inclined to do anything.  I might even do nothing for a bit longer.

9.20 pm:  I'm quite tired this evening, so did not do any sewing today.  I will get back to it tomorrow no doubt.

Off to bed soon, looking forward to a good night's sleep.

Catch ya tomorrow.

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.