A FINISH TODAY

I am expecting to finish the little dragon wall hanging today.
It's looking so cute:

ABOVE:  The baby boy's name is pronounced Lo-rell.  Apparently it's after an American Rap singer.  I'm putting a green binding around the outside this morning, then it will be ready to give to the Mum.

ABOVE:  Bex got this cute little giraffe in the mail yesterday, from her friend Mandy.   Mandy got it in Spain on her recent European trip.  Bex loves it.

Right, that's me for now... I hope everyone is enjoying a relaxing Sunday like me.
(Saturday for you folks in the Northern Hemisphere).

ONWARD...

KIM J, uk :  I haven't done a 'professional job'!  It's nowhere near perfect.  As for what machine I use, I now have a Brother Dreamweaver.  I think they are retailing for around $3,600 here.  
But I have to say it, I could have done just as nice a job using my little Brother machine, which cost about $600.  

I have two machines, one for sewing fabric, and one for sewing fabric onto card.  I don't like to use the more expensive machine to sew on card in case it causes problems with the machine.

I used to have a Husqvarna sewing machine, equal cost to my big Brother Dreamweaver, but it was the machine from hell, and finally after 4 years of massive problems with it the retailer swapped it for my lovely Brother Dreamweaver.

I call him 'McDreamy' ... cos he is gorgeous, and hasn't given me one second's trouble.

Stew and I are off grocery shopping shortly.  I hope it's not too busy in the shop, or I'm bound to get home all crabby.

HOME.  Slightly crabby.... two women in front of us at the meat department... decided to look at EVERY SINGLE package of chicken thighs, and I stood and waited, and waited, and they looked at me and then decided to do it all again!  They took FOREVER to decide on the ONE package of meat they wanted, then they moved on... slowly.

I could have punched them one, I swear to god. Then we had to put up with them wandering slowly in front of us on several occasions.  They even sniggered at our trolleys too... bitches. 

It didn't help one's mood when at checkout the bill was bloody HUGE.  *sigh*

Anyway, it's done for another fortnight, and Steve is cooking dinner.  So time to relax.  Might get to that Dragon at some point too. 

BLONDIE:  I don't think so.  I'll take a photo and show them that way.

LYNDA:  As we end up with two full trolleys, I don't fancy having to push and pull both of them myself.  Though I have done that in the past plenty of times.
We like to do it together, so that's why we do it on the weekends.
If we leave it till the evening when it's likely to be quieter, the shelves are half empty, as is the meat department.

The Wall Hanging is finished.  I will post the final photo of it tomorrow, it will give me something to put on the blog tomorrow!

Dinner tonight (courtesy of Steve) is Pork Belly and vegetables.  We have never done Pork Belly before, so this should be interesting.  A few people have said how lovely it is... time will tell.

PORK BELLY!  I can't believe how much it changes as it cooks!  It starts out so thin and you can't even tell there's any 'meat' there, but it puffs up over almost 5 hours and the meat is there!  And lots of crackling.  OMG everyone loves crackling.

We shall NEVER be getting any other sort of pork roast from now on that's for sure.
It's gunna be pork belly from now on.

End of Day: I pulled my back while grocery shopping, and it's really awful.  I can't even breath or laugh, cough, hiccup without pain.
I've taken a pill and Stew's rubbed some foul smelling shit on me back... so hopefully it will feel a bit better by the time I go to bed.
nite nite

EXPECTING A WET WEEKEND

What a bugger.
It's supposed to rain for most of the weekend.
Typical says Stew.

He's stuck inside working all week, and it's been a nice sunny week.  Now he's got the weekend off, and it's gunna rain.

Oh well.  Nothing we can do about it.
I tried to console him with sport on the TV.  That's his favourite relaxing thing to do.

Here's hoping there's a few good rugby games on for him to watch.

I, of course, don't give a shit what the weather is doing!
I want to finish the Dragon Wall Hanging for M-A and her baby boy.

It's grocery shopping weekend too.  Oh ya. Trying to put a positive on it, at least we get to visit Sylvia Park!  I wonder if there's any new Britto in the shop?
I've not got a new piece in a few weeks now!

ABOVE:  Bex tapes paper down on the high chair's tray and Dante gets to draw.  He loves it too.  He's still not quite worked out which hand to use... so he uses both.  *smiles*

He loved it when we drew some cars and dogs for him, and his name.  He is a very clever kid and can point out things after being told what they are just once or twice.
Takes after his Grandma I'm sure!

Right, I better go and see what's the haps around here.  Can't waste the day eh?

ONWARD...

So far... no rain.  Plenty of wind though, and it's cold.
I've done a wee bit more sewing, and now we are heading out to find me a little iron to use at class.
Where I'm sitting in class I have to squeeze past 2-3 ladies to get to the ironing boards, so I'm making myself a little flat ironing board and taking me own little iron.

No more pissing anyone off trying to get past others.

We might have lunch out too... catch ya!

Ya... we found a cute wee pink travel iron and a small table top ironing board too.  Now we are off to Masala at Mission Bay for lunch.

MASALA Mission Bay.  Sucked.  Food was so-so, service was CRAP.  Stew asked for another serving of rice as the rice given was minimal.  By the time the kids and I had finished, Stew was still waiting for his extra rice... so after waiting 15-20 minutes he gave up and we left.  He (as I expected) told the waiter what he thought of the 'service' and said he doubted we would be back.

It used to be so so good there, but it's under new management by the look of it.  Sad.

Movenpick... nice as per usual, but I couldn't eat all of mine cos of the lunch beforehand.

Never mind.  It was a successful outing.

ABOVE: How cute it that?  It's a steam iron and man does it have a huge burst of steam!  I won't be using it to steam much as I need it for applique work more than anything else.
It's going to be handy in me sewing room too I think, it's gunna take up so much LESS room than the big ironing board.  I'm rapt with it.

End of Day:  well while the family watched a Die Hard movie, I worked on the Dragon Wall Hanging, and I'm happy to say it's almost finished.
Time for bed here...
nite nite

YAAAA... BACK TO PATCHWORK CLASS

Before I get to Patchwork class today I have to dash into Spotlight for a few supplies, then I will be set for the weekend.
I can see this project finished in just a few more days!  I can't wait to give it to M-A for her wee baby boy.

I just hope by then baby will be out of the woods and he can be taken home by his Mum and Dad.  Fingers crossed on that one.  

I've not asked my friend D how things have been going with baby in the last few days, but on Tuesday he was weaned off the ventilator and was breathing on his own.  So small steps towards recovery hopefully. 

I will stop in at the Hospice Shop and see if she's there and ask her then.

I'm totally in love with this little dragon!  I might just have to make another one yet.  lol

What else is the haps?  Ummm...not much actually.  I'm down to half an anti-depressant pill at night and feeling wonderful.  Still no side effects!  Appetite is still the same, haven't actually noticed a drop in it, but strangely enough I'm not able to eat as much as 'usual'?

Don't know if that is down to the decreased medication, or if it's psychological.  Either way, it's a win for me.

Once I'm home from me class I'm going to read a few blogs I think.  Let's see what YOU have been up to!

ONWARD...

Well very good news on M-A's baby.  He's out of the woods and they have both transferred to a 'normal' post natal maternity home.  So relieved.   

Class was lovely again today.  I got half the baby's name stitched on and will finish that section sometime today.

Bex has been a darling and hung out me washing for me... fingers crossed it doesn't rain! 

I'm now waiting for a few eggs to cook so I can make an egg/cheese sandwich for lunch.

ABOVE:  dinner.   I've made 16 of these.  Frankfurters wrapped in bacon then encased in pastry. They have just gone in the oven.

Bex:  "What are we having with them?"

ME:  "Are you joking?  Tomato Sauce of COURSE!"

I think she expected me to add vegetables on the side!  Ahhh... NO.  Silly girl.
It's Friday night.  Anything goes on a Friday night.

Dinner was lovely.  Though BLONDIE, I agree, some onion and cheese would have made them even nicer.

End of Day:  another lovely day here.  Heading into a wet weekend if the weather forecast is anything to go by.
Lovely.
Stew is not impressed.
nite nite

YES, I WILL BE SEWING

I'm not going out today.  It's a stay at home day.  I've got a fair bit of washing to get done, some minor household jobs then on to that cute as little Dragon again.

Seriously ... that's all I have for now!

I know.  Strange I don't have anything to blither on about.

Oh I could mention I've heard from Lacy and Keera several times since they moved to Tauranga.  Keera sounds very happy, she chatted away to me heaps yesterday.  She is picking up words all the time now, so delightful to hear.
Lacy seems to be happier too.  So, the move has been a good thing all round.

Is this likely to be a new 'trend' ? :

Scary.  Saw it on a news site recently.  Might as well share it seeing as I've got bugger all to put on here today!

Catch ya later...

ONWARD...

3.5 solid hours later, and this is how far Dragon has come:

ABOVE:  All the black outlining is done!  I though it would take much longer than that I must say.
Now I'm onto the clouds, then I can add balloons and baby's name.

I have a feeling this little wall hanging is going to be finished by next week easily.

Some good news... my hot flushes have calmed right down!  Maybe, just maybe, I'm finally getting over them?
God I hope so.  Ten years now!!!

Right, I'm off out to get a much OVERDUE blood test done, so I can stop stressing over it.  Dammit.

They butchered me!   The Technician stabbed me once... NO BLOOD.  She stabbed me again... NO BLOOD.
So I had to see the 'Supervisor', who apologised, then stabbed me and found the vein but had to syringe the blood out cos it wasn't flowing.  That stung like bejezus!

I wasn't very impressed... and me arm is throbbing.  *sigh*

At least I managed to produce some piddle for them... score on that one.  

Thank god I only have to do that once every three months.

PETA:  Yep, I had plenty of fluid today.  About 1.5 litres by lunchtime in fact.

Progress on Dragon... I have stopped for the day as I need something to be working on tomorrow at Patchwork Class.

Coco is limping... fingers crossed she's just pulled a muscle or sustained some soft tissue damage.  No one knows how, these things happen.  If she's no better by tomorrow it's off to the Doctor for her.

COCO:  Is much better already.  She's a whimp, so probably hurt it a bit and then did the 'Drama Queen' thing and played it up!  Such a sookie girl.  I'm very relieved she wasn't injured badly at all.

End of Day:  on a whole a lovely day.  I am looking forward to Patchwork Class again tomorrow, where I hope to get heaps more done on the Dragon Wall Hanging.
nite nite

2ND PATCHWORK CLASS TODAY

Today I'm heading out to Manukau to see what I think of the Wednesday Patchwork Class.  If it's as nice as the Friday one, I'm going to join it too!

I am taking the Dragon Wall Hanging with me to work on.  I got a fair bit done yesterday afternoon ... now I have to iron all the individual pieces onto the backing fabric, then do all the top stitching, quilting etc.

What fun.  I love having a special project on the go.

CHRIS D:  if you are reading this... I just want you to know YOU and I can do it again... I have always said that!  Onward and downward Chick.

Weight Loss Support Group girls... sorry for being 'absent' so much.  Lots of stuff been distracting me from the main issue in my life.  Losing weight.
I think I am about to turn a corner and really get serious.   

Stew is doing well... he does some serious exercise in the garage every morning, and I think that's what I need to do more of too.

That Cross Trainer is calling my name I think.
Oh ... and the Treadmill and Exercycle. 
I was saying to Stew last night I want to bring the Exercycle up into the lounge, so I can use it while watching programmes I have taped on the telly, instead of just sitting there.

Sounds like a good idea eh?  I DON'T CARE that it's in the lounge, it's not like we do heaps of entertaining after all!

Right, I'm gunna bugger off and get me stuff sorted out, ready to head off to that Patchwork Class at 9.45 ...

ONWARD...

AWESOME.  I lost 3 kilos this last week!  No idea how.  What a way to start the day.

HI!  Back from class.  Only two ladies in that class, so no trouble with no room on the tables!
I enjoyed myself immensely.  As I was leaving two ladies came into the shop and saw my little dragon and went all ga-ga over him.  They loved him and he's not even half finished!

I must admit he is going to be gorgeous!

ABOVE:  My pozzie today was right on the end, nearest to the irons.  The lady in red is away in a week to Australia for a month, lucky Tart.

I'm not off to make a sandwich for me lunch and watch a couple more Home and Away episodes, before heading down to do some sewing on me Dragon.

ABOVE:  Step one finished.  Now to applique stitch around it all, then add a few balloons and the baby's name.  That is the part that takes FOREVER.

End of Day:  well as per usual, a quiet evening around here.  I didn't do any sewing as planned. There were a couple of programmes on the telly I wanted to watch, so I did.
nite nite

DEDICATED TV DAY!

Today I am going to be an utter SLOTH!

I have at least 10 episodes of Home and Away to watch, so this morning I am going to watch as many as I can.

I might have to go out at some point... not sure yet.  If so, this afternoon will be tv watching instead.

I don't care either way.

My boss at the Hospice shop (D) became a grandmother again on Friday.  Things have not gone well for her daughter or the baby, with baby still being in ICU.   I want to make a wall hanging for the Mum, and put baby's name on it ... that will be my project this week in the Patchwork Class.  

So along with the TV watching, I will be looking at animal characters to find the perfect animal to make into a pretty kiddy type wall hanging.

I want it to be happy and cheerful, and cute.

A couple of possibilities I've looked at so far:

ABOVE:  I quite like the little dragon...

ONWARD...

Well.. I've watched all but 2 episodes of Home and Away and am happy to stop!

I have decided to go with the little Dragon for a Wall hanging.  I took the small picture down to Warehouse Stationary and got it upsized.

I took the dogs with me for a little outing.
As I had to wait 15 minutes for the large print, I decided to see if I had something in the back of me car to tie onto the dogs so I could take them for a little walk.

ONLY thing I could find was a ratchet tie down:

ABOVE:  It worked!  And the dogs loved exploring a totally new area.  It's a park in central Manukau.  I found some pine cones too... they are still in the car, but they will come inside and smell lovely later.

ABOVE:  Dante today at Playcentre, enjoying playing Connect Four with himself.

Getting heaps of the cutting out of the dragon done today!  I've had to stop for now as dinner is ready.  Bex has cooked lamb chops and veges. 

End of Day:  well a quiet evening had by all.  I spend most evenings listening to TV while playing 2048+, my score on my current game is a whopping 15,433,968... and every time I think I'm going to lose I somehow managed to get back from the brink!
I think I've been playing this latest game for about 2 weeks!
I sometimes wish I would lose already!
Time for bed... nite nite

WALKIES I BELIEVE

Because the weather is being so delightful right now, Bex wants to go walkies in the Botanic Gardens this morning.  So... that's what we are going to be doing once the kids have left for school.

One of the ladies I met at the Friday Patchwork Class walks in the Botanic Gardens most mornings too, and said she is sure she's seen me there.  Maybe we will run into her today?

She has a Border Collie that she walks with her husband. 

After that I shall do a few household jobs, have a quick lunch and then head off to do my stint at the Hospice Shop.
I hope it's as busy as it was last week so I'm not bored shitless.

I'm taking my camera with me to the Gardens, I'm told the daffodils are out in masses and are gorgeous.  We will see...

ONWARD...

In case you didn't see it yesterday, I did a photo Tutorial of how to make a club sandwich in a Tupperware Jelly Ring.  So, if you have ever wondered about how to do it... the tutorial is below on Sunday's post ↓ .

WELL... going for a walk has been scrapped.  Bex has a sore ankle and I feel like death warmed up.
Stew SNORED like a bloody freight train all night, so I got hardly any sleep.
If he does that again tonight I'm sleeping in the spare bedroom!

So, it's going to be a quiet morning here... 

I know I'm boring today!  It's gotten cold so I'm  doing diddly squat.  I hope everyone else is having a more productive day?  

I kinda went mad at the Hospice Shop today:

ABOVE:  How cool is all that!  The Tupperware containers, orange candle sticks and bright plate are for Bex and Dante, the rest is mine!
I love the three little dogs and the metal sea horse candle holder.  Two little wooden frames are for Christmas 'Doodles' for family.

I've gotten home quite late so it's an easy dinner tonight,  Beef spare ribs with chips.

End of Day: well another good day here in the H household.
Looking forward to a better sleep tonight, cos if Stewy is a'snoring, I'm in the spare bed!
nite nite

UMMM.... MAYBE OUT AND ABOUT TODAY...

No definite plans for today, but I'd like us to go out somewhere nice.
Maybe a beach, or .... 

Lacy and Keera are now (I presume) living in Tauranga.
As far as I know they moved over there properly yesterday, but I'm not sure.
I haven't heard from her since Wednesday.  Out of sight out of mind no doubt.
I hope her and Keera settle in and enjoy living there.

We will miss them... hopefully they can catch a bus and come back to see us fairly regularly.

I'm still thrilled to bits with my new (but old) computer pozzie in the Family Room.  I can see so much more of what's going on in the house from here!  Up the hallway, down to the front door, and of course the kitchen/Family room.  If I lift me chin a bit I can even almost see Stew in the Lounge too.  

Simple things can make such a difference eh?

I started taking only half an anti-depressant last night... so fingers crossed in another month I will be totally weaned off them!  How awesome will that be?  Heaps.  

I am hoping it will help with my weight issues.  Even if it's only psychologically!  The mind is a powerful thing, and so much is down to how we feel, even if it's not necessarily true.  Your mind can play tricks on ya.

I hope mine does!  I need all the help I can get to turn the weight around, and be heading down again.

Right, that's about it for now... I'm off to see what we can get up to today!

ONWARD...

Pfffft... Stew wants to stay home and do jobs.  So... *sigh*, looks like it's a sewing day for me. Trouble is I don't really feel like sewing.

Thanks for contacting me Lacy.  How is it in Tauranga today?

I know what I shall do!
I'll make a club sandwich tutorial.... off to get the thin sliced bread...

CLUB SANDWICH TUTORIAL:

Use whatever ingredients you want in your sandwich.  

ABOVE:  1. Grated Carrot, Cheese and small amount of Mayonnaise.

2. Lettuce leaves.

3. Hard boiled eggs, mashed up with cream cheese.

4. Chopped up Ham.

5. Chopped up Smoked Chicken.

6. Basil Pesto with Cashew Nuts.

7. Fresh Parsley.

8. If making just ONE club sandwich, you will need two loaves of sandwich sliced bread of your choice, lightly spread with Margarine or soft butter.  Cut the crusts off.

 ABOVE:  drop a few sprigs of parsley or herbs of your choice into the bottom of the Tupperware Jelly Ring.

 ABOVE:  Holding the bread like this...

 ABOVE:  Drop each piece of bread into the Tupperware Jelly Ring with the buttered side FACING UP, slightly overlapping each slice as you line the dish.

 ABOVE:   Add your first ingredient.  Mine is the ham.  Put the next layer of bread on top, buttered side up.  

 ABOVE:  My next layer was lettuce leaves and the carrot/cheese/mayo mixture.  Press it all down with the back of a spoon. Add another layer of bread on top, buttered side up, and don't forget to slightly overlap the bread slices as you go.

 ABOVE:  My next layer is the egg and cream cheese.  Again, put another layer of bread on top, buttered side up. Press down with the back of a spoon.

ABOVE: I did a final layer of ham/chicken and the Basil Pesto, then I put the FINAL layer of bread on... this time.... BUTTERED SIDE DOWN.

ABOVE:  Press the whole lot down. Trim around the edge, press the lid on.

ABOVE:  Place in fridge to 'set' a bit.  You can cut it in about an hour.  

The beauty of these is you can chuck the Tupperware Jelly Ring in the chilly bin/esky and take to a BBQ/Picnic, and they don't fall apart. 

 ABOVE:  Ready to eat.

1. Take the large seal off.
2. Flip it over onto the plate/serving dish, remove the inner seal, then the outer Ring.
3. Notice how it's a bit 'messy' inside?  
4. Trim with a sharp knife.
5. Ready to serve.

You can make it look 'pretty' by placing lettuce leaves/cherry tomatoes etc in the middle 'hole' if you want.  I didn't bother today.

 ABOVE:  Ready to cut.  The Tupperware Jelly Ring leaves you perfect cutting lines!  You get 20 sandwiches out of one Tupperware Jelly Ring. 

ABOVE:  HOW DELICIOUS DO THEY LOOK?

They tasted damn fine too.

Tupperware Jelly Rings cost $40 and they are worth every cent!

Right, there ya go.  Tutorial done and dusted, I'm off to have a granny nap.  I'm cold.

Granny nap.. bit hard when there's so many NOISY people on the property!
Stew mowed the lawns, the kids were playing and bouncing balls on the concrete, Dante was making lots of either happy or crabby noise... so I kinda dozed.  

Steve cooked Sweet 'n' Sour chicken for dinner, it was bloody nice I must say.

End of Day:  spent the evening watching telly, really enjoying The X Factor Australia right now.
nite nite

BYE BYE FRIDGE & SICK KID

First up today, Stew and I will go and get our blood tests done... quarterly checkups due so have to do the blood thing.  Ikkk.

Steve is at work today, so Stew is helping Bex  take our old fridge/freezer over to their storage facility.
On the way they will also pick up a round dining table Steve and Bex bought at the Hospice shop.  
I hope it fits into their storage space!  I don't want anything else cluttering up my home!

While Stew and Bex do that, I shall stay home with the kids.  Dante has been fairly sick this week with a rotten cold.
He's also got a nasty cough and high temperatures.  So he's been bloody grizzly as.

 ABOVE:  Bex hasn't been able to do much these last couple of days as all Dante wants to do is lie on her and nap, or grizzle.

ABOVE: The dogs love to curl up on their knees,  sometimes Dante doesn't mind, and other times he kicks them off.

This afternoon Stew is looking after Dante as Bex and I have a final Tupperware party to attend.  I'm doing a demonstration on how to make Club Sandwiches in the Tupperware Jelly Mould.  I love doing it cos they come out so good!

So, that's pretty much what's happening here today.

Catch ya later...

ONWARD...

Well... the fridge is on it's way to storage and I finally have my Family Room back to 'normal'.  Everyone went but me and Dante.  And now he's miserable... he wanted to go too.

Oh well... he will get over it.

ABOVE: Helping Granddad.  

Tupperware Party.  Went very well.  I did the demo and everyone loved the club sandwiches... as I knew they would.

ABOVE:  Bex took a few photos with her phone.  I'm just starting to make it in this one.

ABOVE:  The finished sandwiches.    

If I get a chance I will do a proper 'How to' in the next couple of days for you.  But it's not rocket science!

Stew cooked dinner tonight, sausages, potatoe/kumera/and carrots baked in the oven with cooked onions and gravy.  Was very nice.

Stew is now watching rugby on the telly and is in his element.  

I'm going to do some sewing.  My frog is a disaster.  Her eyes were 'wrong' so I tried unpicking them... and buggered it up.

So, it's back to the drawing board.  *sigh*, it's not too often I bugger something up I must say.

End of Day:  on a whole, a lovely day.  Got masses of washing out on the line and for once it's not supposed to get rained on.
nite nite