EARLY START

Today I have an 'appointment' with Keera's teacher, bright and early, before school starts. It's to discuss 'where to from here' in relation to her obvious learning difficulty.

She's struggling to recognise words and letters.  She's excellent with numbers and oral language though.

Because of the resent issue with the school, Stew is coming with me, as I don't want to be put in a one-on-one situation again.
That way there's two pairs of ears taking note of what's being said.

I'm told the meeting won't take very long, which is good as poor Stew is crazy busy at work. 

After the meeting I will be coming home to do the housework and so on.

Nothing riveting going on today really. 

 ABOVE:  Dante last night. 

It will be nice to see him and Archer on the weekend,  AND the puppies!  OMG I am going to meet our new puppy on Sunday.  I only have to choose which of the three girls it will be.   And that might not actually happen on Sunday, as they are still far too young to be displaying their personalities yet.

ONWARD...

10.00 am:  And the meeting with Keera's teacher went OK.  No major revelations at all.  She's behind in reading and word/letter recognition... but bearing in mind she's only been at school 5 weeks I'm not going to be pushing any alarm buttons right now.

If she doesn't start picking up soon, they will shoot her into a 'pre' Reading Recovery programme.

I'm so glad Stew was there, it showed we are a united front, and also that Keera is happy, loved and secure with both of us. 

Stew is now at work, kids at school and I'm here... FREEZING!

Seriously, it's a lovely sunshiny day, and I'm freezing?  I can't seem to warm up at all.  My hands are like blocks of ice.  Weird.

1.20 pm:  And I whimped out and turned on the heat pump for a couple of hours!  Feel much better now.

I went out and bought some batteries for the doorbell, then a new collar for Coco... her old one was too tight (happens when her coat is a bit long), then I stopped and talked to a neighbour up the road who's recently had an addition put on her home.

She had to fill out various permits and consents too... but not a Change of Land Use one?  And her permits etc only took about 3 months.

So. The lady at the council might have had her facts wrong on length of time it takes.  But never mind, I'm now waiting for our area to be re-zoned Urban.  Not going to pay through the nose if I don't have to.

Man it's quiet today!  I feel like doing nothing... my hips are sore.  It's almost like how I felt right back at the start of the walking challenge.  Hopefully my hips stop hurting soon. 

TRACY:  I am going for another walk this evening, 7 pm. 
But right now, I'm taking Coco for a walk. 

Griffin's bedroom is only about 10 meters from the family room, but when I want him to come out for dinner, or just to talk to him I have to yell... and yell.... then I give up and go bang on his door and walk in to talk to him.  It does my head in.

So I thought of something over night, and implemented it this afternoon.

ABOVE: I put the door bell ringer in his room, and I have the control by my chair!  Now when I want him, I push the friggin button ... and in his room, the ringer chimes loudly and flashes a bright red light!
Let him ignore THAT!  He can't say he didn't notice it, even with his headphones on!

OMG I could have some fun with this thing!  Like waking him up in the morning when he's trying to get that extra 10 minutes before school... hee hee he.  I'm evil.. yes I am.  *smiles*

8.45 pm:  home from my latest walk... a bit sore but all good.  I'm now only one walk away from being all caught up again.

Coronation Street will be on soon, so I'm signing off for the day.

I walked a total of

168.83 kms this month.

BOGS

Today's mission is to go looking for new...

LOOS

The two toilets in this house are a dreadful design.
The builder who built this house must have got the toilets from overseas, because we have NEVER come across such badly designed toilets!

So... as the carport plans are on indefinite hold, I'm moving on to the next thing on the list... replacing the toilets.

I will be going down to Mitre 10 today to look at all the options, and ringing a plumber to get a quote on ripping out the old ones and replacing them.

That should kill the morning.  After that I don't have any plans till after dinner tonight, when I am going on another walk.

I feel good getting back into the walking... so far my shins are fine too.
Yesterday I got a bit breathless at the beginning of the walk but by the end I was fine.

So... that's great eh? *smiles*

ABOVE:  another comparison photo of my progress so far.  Both goofy faces!  5 inches off the bust, and 4 inches off the butt now.  I wish I'd taken other measurements now, but too late.  At least I took photos.

Catch ya later...

ONWARD...

So... there's certainly a lot of options when it comes to loos!  I have narrowed it down to about 6!
After looking at loos, which felt weird... I had a wander around the mall for a little while.  I'd invited the girls to morning tea, but once again, neither could make it.

Story of my life mostly...  Having morning tea on me own.  *sigh*

Never mind, I came home and have rung a couple of plumbers, and hopefully will see one here soon to do a quote.  

Rather typically, it's bloody raining again.  I have a walk booked for tonight, and the 'Leader' has said she will walk unless it's a storm.  So fingers crossed it either stops raining, or eases up a bit.

I'm freezing right now, so am going to snuggle up in me electric throw and watch something on the telly.  

My throw packed a sad and won't warm up.  Dammit... I really love that thing. 
Oh well... it meant I had to get up and move.

Cooking dinner now... bacon/mince/tomato stew with veges on the side.

Then it's walk time.  As long as it's not torrential out there I suppose.

FINALLY.... SECTION 2I is done!  That was the third time I had been booked to go on 2I, so I'm so relieved to get it done.

Time to warm up again, I'm freezing!  It wasn't even that cold out there tonight, and we were so lucky, there was only a few spits of rain here and there.

COUNCIL PLANNER

First up for the day... kids to school, then off to meet up with the Town Planner.
I've got two things to discuss with her.

One.  The proposed carport.  I need to find out just what we can and can't do.  I'm pretty sure we CAN put a carport in front of the garage, it's within the boundaries/building lines etc.
But I still need to get all the info.

Two.  I want to discuss with her if I need to get a permit to have more than 2 dogs on the property, if I need a permit to become a 'Registered Breeder' and so on.  I have no idea on that score.  I might find out I'm not even allowed to do it?  Dunno.

So that's first up.
After that I will come home and muck around here for the morning.

Then after lunch, I HOPE to go on a walk.  Knowing my luck, it will rain and be cancelled.  That's starting to piss me off.  If it is cancelled I will be getting on my treadmill.  I'm over not getting my exercise!  It just means I won't have anyone to yak to.  *sigh*

There is no Patchwork group in Hamilton today, the tutor/shop owner is away teaching somewhere.  Can't remember .  Shame, cos I missed last week too.

So, that's me for now....

ONWARD...

WELL!
Because our property is zoned RURAL, these are the steps required to get a carport OR pergola put on our property:

1.  Get a Resource Consent  $1,000.

2.  Get a Permit $500.

3. Get an Assessment of Environment Effects for the Landuse Consent Application.  (no guarantee it would be approved, and can take years!).

4.  Get written permission from 'affected' neighbours.

5. Get plans,drawn to scale, by a Draughtsman ($300 approx).

And THAT is all!

If ... IF we were zoned URBAN, we would only need the permit and plans.

In the future, our area will become URBAN due to future housing out this way, so once that happens, we can get a carport, as boundary issues will dissolve.  That could be in 2-3 years, or up to 10.  The Town Planner did not know the specifics.

So for now... NO CARPORT anywhere.  No PERGOLA anywhere.  

ONWARD....

As for breeding puppies on the property, and how many dogs we are allowed on our property... we are ZONED URBAN !!!  Because we have other houses around us, we have to abide by URBAN rules.
So... this is where it is actually OK... All I have to do is apply for a permit to have more than 2 dogs on my property and pass a property inspection, and pay $27 every 3 years.
BOOM!  So we can have Coco, a breeding girl and a breeding boy with no problems.

ABOVE:  Today's walk photo.  I knew it was going to be hot, so I wore shorts.  I still ended up with a beetroot red face!  I wish I didn't go so red in the face when I get too hot.. but it is what it is.
It was an easy, uncomplicated walk today, and we did it in just over an hour.  I had just enough time to get home, have a shower and get back out to pick up the kids.

I'm now having a break before sorting out dinner.  

Dinner done... did a super easy dinner tonight of saveloys/baked potatoes and spaghetti!  Everyone loved it.

Now going to chill out then go to bed.  I'm only coughing every now and then now, so relieved.  And sleeping all night too.  Almost over it... yaaa.

COUNCIL ...WEIGHT WATCHERS AND A WALK

Morning!

After dropping the kids at school, I'm popping into the local Council to get the rules and regulations on car ports/pergolas and so on.

We are still in the planning stages of getting one or the other out the front of our house to cover the cars.

Then I will be coming home to do some housework... and I'll no doubt fluff around the house doing bits 'n' bobs for the rest of the morning.

I have Weight Watchers this evening, I go to the local meeting, but weigh in on Friday in Hamilton.  I don't want to lose touch with all the lovely ladies I've met here.

Then straight after the WW meeting I have a walk to go to.
Again, it's in a SLOW group... as I'm still building back up after being sick for a while.

It's weird, but I almost never actually FEEL like going on a walk, but once I'm doing it, and afterwards, I feel GREAT!  Powerful things endorphins!

So that's pretty much my day in a few brief paragraphs.

What are YOU DOING?  Anything really interesting?  It's gotta be more so than mine surely?

lol

ONWARD...

10 am and I can already say it's been a good morning.
I went into the Council and made an appointment to see the Town Planner first thing tomorrow morning.
Then I got home and decided to re-arrange Griffin's room.  It was doing my head in with no wriggle room anywhere.

Now, it's looking much better, and there's ROOM to move in there.  

It also gave me an opportunity to tidy it up.
That boy has masses of wardrobe room/drawer room and shelving unit room, YET HE LEAVES SHIT ALL OVER THE BLOODY FLOOR STILL!

I'm gunna start fining him, $1 a day for leaving shit all over the floor!  There's just no excuse for it at all.  Grrrrrr. 

I'm really happy now... I can relax for a little while... jobs done.  Well... I do have to hang some washing in the garage, but that's all. 

Ever wanted to KILL A COMPUTER?  I have been going mental trying to get my laptop, down in my bedroom, to load and print some photos.
In the end I gave up and got Brylee to drag the PC back into my room so I could use it instead.

I am so, so angry right now!  I HATE that bloody laptop!  If I ever see the message: 'Google Not Responding' again, I will throw it out the window.  Well... after I get all my photos off it of course!  I mean, it kept saying 'Not Responding' for over half an hour!  Kill it I say.

I think I need to bring the printer down to the lounge... that will avoid that problem again.

I've got to get dinner ready soon, then take off to WW's, then on to my walk.  Busy, busy.

WW's meeting was good.  Then my walk got cancelled as it is raining.  Cross, but nothing I can do about it.  Obviously some people melt in the rain.

So, home and I'm baking an apple and tamarillo pie... cos I can, and I'm now crabby.

WILL BE A LAZY SUNDAY

Meh... it's supposed to be a wet Sunday today.
I feel sorry for everyone doing the half marathon here in Cambridge today, including a large group of our Fat Bottomed Girls!

I would have done it myself (The 10 Km walk) if I'd been totally recovered from the flu, but I'm not.  So I get to stay home.

Fingers crossed the weather isn't atrocious.

So, I guess we will stay indoors and find stuff to do. There is always housework, but something tells me the family won't be too keen on dusting/polishing/vacuming and so on!

I've been thinking about the puppies ... I get to visit and see them first hand next Sunday, so that is certainly something to look forward to.

 ABOVE:  some of the puppies at 2 days old.  Rather cute.

ABOVE:  A nice, recent photo of Lacy too.  She's looking nice and healthy, thank goodness.  I worry about her all the time after seeing her so low last year.
Looks like she's eating well.

And on that happy score, I'm gunna get out of bed and do something.  I don't know what yet... but something!

ONWARD...

So I was right... it has been fairly quiet so far today.  Stew has pruned the big hedge down our east boundary:

 ABOVE:  It always looks so much better when it's trimmed back to the fenceline.   Our yard looks bigger.

 ABOVE:  Stew's handi work from yesterday.  Now Coco can't dig under the fence, and once we get our new puppy, she won't be able to either.

ABOVE: Spring is coming....  the blue tree buds are coming along slowly but surely (top right).

So it's been a lovely relaxing day ... and that's all I have for the day.

INTERNET CAME BACK

Well it took over 7 hours, but we finally got the internet back at home late last night.  Such a relief... relying on your phone to do updates and check emails etc is a right pain in the butt.

So it's back to normal...in many ways.

I felt so happy to get back to the walking group last night. I chose a SLOW walk, and that worked out really good.  

ABOVE:  Our walk photo.  

I am thinking of going for my next walk on Monday night, another slow one.  I don't want to push myself too fast and end up back in bed recovering for longer.

Slow and steady eh.

Both big kids are 'out' this morning.  Brylee is on a date with her boyfriend, they just hang out in town most times.
And Griffin is on a meet up with a group of friends... I think they are going bowling?

So it will just be Stew, Keera and I at home this morning.  I'd like to think it will be nice and quiet... but nah.  It won't be.  Keera has a motor mouth.  It never stops.
She likes the sound of her own voice.

Such a shame Dante and Archer don't live here... they keep her amused and then she doesn't bug us constantly.  *sigh*

I don't have any plans for the day... just taking it easy still.  I don't plan on having a relapse!
I still cough heaps, but don't feel so dreadful now.

Right, better go and get the washing on... we have heaps!   I really haven't done much housework these past 11 days or so.  

ONWARD...

So... I had an awesome sleep last night, very little coughing and NO vomiting.  Such a relief.

Stew, Keera and I did the grocery shopping this morning... one big job done and dusted for a fortnight.

Once home, we unpacked it all, had lunch, then went to Mitre 10 to get some planks of wood to lie along the 'dog fence line', to stop Coco from digging her way out.  She's done that a few times lately.

Hopefully that will stop her.  Stew just has to cut them to fit, then lie them down.

ABOVE:  I gave Coco a Denta Stick.  And she's carried it around the house for almost 3 hours now!  She's had them before and usually eats them pretty quickly.
I think now that she doesn't have to worry about it being taken off her, she can take her time.

After several days of the most gorgeous Spring sunshine, it's pouring down again.  Poor Stew is out there in the rain.

I forgot to take a photo of the dog proof fence line... will have to do that tomorrow.  Stew didn't take too long to get it done, it was a fairly straight forward job at the end of the day.

It's been a quiet evening.  Stew's watching rugby and I've watched Coronation Street and am about to head off to bed.  Looking forward to another good night's sleep.
You don't realise how much you rely on it till you don't get it.

WEIGH IN DAY... AND A WALK

Well... it's weigh in day again... Fridays sure seem to roll around fast!

I took a 'selfie' yesterday, and thought... wow I can certainly see a difference....

ABOVE:  It's certainly noticeable now in my face too.  
You know what I dream of the most?
Collarbones.  Seeing them that is.
I can feel them, but haven't SEEN them in years.

When I can,  I will know I'm where I want to be.

I told you all I was making a Fat Bottomed Girls 'banner' for hanging in my window when the ladies walk by... well I got it finished last night:

ABOVE:  It came out a bit BIGGER than I intended!
But I suppose ... they won't miss it when they walk by.  *smiles*

Cute, funny little story:

The puppy owner 'J' rang me last night.  She had to tell me something.  I was worried it was something bad, but NO, just funny as.
She had sexed the puppies wrong!
She thought the little girl 'bits' were puppy BALLS, so she thought they were the BOY puppies!

So, instead of now having 3 boys and 2 girls, she's got 3 girls and 2 boys!
Which is perfect cos now we have 3 girls to choose from!

And on that note, I'm off to start the day... all the usual stuff...

catch ya later.

ONWARD...

I'm at Weight Watchers in Hamilton. I forgot me book and card... but could still weigh in.
I lost 1.2 kgs, so a nice loss. I might even keep it off if I work hard.

So home and can't update properly as the internet keeps coming and going. Same thing happened yesterday... some problem with SPARK.

Until it comes back properly... this is 'it' 😉

We have a major outage in our area... Im lucky I can still use my phone to update SOMETIMES! We could be 'dark' for a few days!!!

Well.. the walk I went on tonight was 5.8 kms long and it was at a slow pace. I managed just fine... not too much coughing. But now I'm home I'm coughing fit to kill again. My legs are tingling! Totally need to build up the fitness again. 

Winding down now. Still no internet at home, thankfully my phone can be used still.

INTERNET CAME BACK ON VERY LATE

SO YA GET A NITE NITE PICTURE AFTER ALL.

ON THE MEND????

Dare I even suggest it?
But... I think I am on the mend.

I did not cough and vomit much at all last night!
I still slept in the lounge, so I didn't disturb Stew... maybe tonight I can finally get back into my bed!

Because I am feeling just that little bit better, I am going to get a couple of jobs done around the house.  Our kitchen floor is in a diabolical state!  Totally ikk.  So that is top of my list.

After that I will be working on my Fat Bottomed Girls banner for my front window.
There's a FBG group coming past my home tomorrow... I want it done by then!

So, no big plans...  but some for a change.

And that is all I have for now.  

ONWARD...

Well... I got the floors washed.  Then one of the girls from our walking group rang and said meet us for a coffee in quarter of an hour if you are up for it... so I jump in me car and head over to Cafe 9 in Leamington.

I get there, we all get our drinks, me a hot chocolate, and start to chat.

Next thing I know ... there's this red car going by and it kinda just diverts across the road away from us, jumps the curb, plows over a small tree, narrowly misses a lady sitting in her car in the car park, then crashes right into a BBQ table by the park!   I jump up, call 111 and head across the road to assist.

Luckily, the lone occupant of the car seems to be unhurt, but dazed and not quite 'with it'.
He's had some sort of medical event obviously.
He's comforted by others while I relay information to emergency services.

Upshot... he's off to hospital for tests... and my hot chocolate went cold.
By the time the police had finished talking to me, taking a statement etc, all the girls had left except 2 who stayed to actually say 'bye'!  lol

ABOVE:  If it wasn't for that BBQ table, he could easily have continued down that slope and ended up in the Waikato River!

I think I might just stay home a bit longer...

Coco is wigging me out! Now days she spends most of her time sleeping in the sunshine, where ever that may be.
But today... she won't leave my side!
Seriously, I'm doing some sewing, and every time I get up she follows me, lying down right at my feet.
I get up and down A LOT... and she is acting so weird?  Even standing at the ironing board, she's RIGHT THERE under my feet.

I hope she's OK, or I am!  They say dogs can sense things... now she's got me worried.  Or maybe she's just being super whimpy over something?

So, Coco came right when the kids got home from school...  silly dog.
It's been a normal sort of afternoon, did some sewing, cooked dinner, did some more sewing then settled down to watch Coronation Street.

Probably spending the night on the couch again, my cough kicked up a notch after dinner. So frustrating.

NOT REALLY A SHIT STIRRER

But.... I have stirred some shit this week!

On Sunday night I got a phone call from one of the senior, long time members of the Cambridge Patchwork Group, 'S'.

That would be the group that I am considering leaving, as I don't enjoy being there at all.

Anyway... the reason for the phone call was that 'S' wanted me to send out a group email ... to... GET THIS... ask the members to think about, and bring their ideas to group on Monday morning, about how we can attract and KEEP new members!

And also, 'S' wanted to suggest the group offered classes and short courses to members, and new members, to make the group more attractive to everyone.

MY RADAR WENT UP.... and ummm... here was the PERFECT opportunity for me to use my own personal experience to point out how it feels to be a new person to the group!

So I did just that, in a nice way of course, but not leaving out how I felt in any way.
I said it was awful walking into that hall and literally being ignored by everyone, getting a perfunctory 'Hello' from some ladies, and being totally ignored by others!

I pointed out that I am sure any new ladies who have joined lately, and NOT come back have left for the same reason I was contemplating leaving.  The group offered me NOTHING, certainly not friendship!

I did say I thought offering classes was an excellent idea and might help bring new members in, and retain them.

Well... my email was read by all... and I got a few personal replies back.  All were supportive, some were saying they had felt the exact same way and so on.

I couldn't go to the Monday meeting, being sick and all.  So I don't know what went on, but I've been told my email caused quite a stir.

I got a report back from the 'pseudo' boss lady on Monday night.
In it she thanked me for bringing how I felt as a new member to their attention, and what they were going to be doing to try and rectify how new ladies felt.

For a start:

- They are appointing 5 mediators, people who new and existing members can talk to with any problems or issues.

- They are instigating a 'Buddy' system. 

- They are going to re-arrange the table settings so everyone is together and there are not clicky groups of existing friends who always sit together, excluding everyone else.

- They will be offering one big class a term, learning a new technique or a quilt, and some smaller demonstrations during the term too.

- They are considering going on Fabric trips... which is right up my alley!

So how is that!  Talk about a massively POSITIVE outcome.  I couldn't be happier, not just for myself, but for any and all new members.

OH and they sent me a 'Get Well' Card yesterday too!   That might have been a bit cheesy, particularly when they had all signed it!  I feel a bit guilty that I've stirrred them all up.

Now, what is today?
I'm losing track of time/days... what I'm supposed to be doing.
Oh hold on... I'm sick.  NOT doing anything!

This is such a weird feeling, actually staying home and taking it easy!  I must be really sick.
My new fashion accessory is a bowl and towel.  Such a good look.  

Particularly outside the school classroom!
...
.....
.......

Yeah just kidding.  I only take the towel to school.

ha ha ha!

On a more serious note... at around 12.20 am I started coughing and vomiting, and COULD NOT STOP for over 20 minutes.
AND I was getting sharp pains in my chest and weirdly, at the sides of my chest,  up by my armpits!  It was so scary I almost panicked.
I found some asthma medication I had from a couple of years ago, so took a couple of puffs of that... it seemed to help a little.
I'm going to the Doctor today though.
I don't want that to happen again!

ONWARD...

After dropping the kids at school, I went down to the Dr's, with the view that I'd make an appointment for later in the day.
Nope, they saw me right there and then!
I had an ECG taken... which showed my heart was just fine.
The pains were caused by muscle spasms from all the vomiting, which is what I thought they would be from.
My blood pressure is up ... but not too bad.
The Dr has given me anti-nausea medication, to help with the vomiting... so that's great!
I might be able to eat something and have it stay down now.

I've still got a long way to go before the coughing subsides knowing my luck, but it's not like I'm not used to that.  I just hope I FEEL better soon so I can get back to my walking group.

I'm now going to try having something to eat, then have a nap.  Last night I got NO SLEEP at all.  I feel very woozy.

Had a good lunch, followed by an hour's nap.  Still feel like crap, but oh well...  shit happens.

Kids are home, the family room is a tip, Keera's happy though.
Stew is doing takeaways tonight, I'm just not up to cooking tonight.  I can hardly keep awake!

We had KFC for dinner, and so far I've kept mine down!  I even think I'm coughing less tonight.

We've had a quiet evening, no point trying to do much really.  I was going to do a little sewing, but nah, no energy.