HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDRA

Today is Sandra's birthday...SORTA.

Her 'real' birthday is February 29th.. so most years she has to celebrate her birthday on the 28th.

She was kinda hoping for a particular birthday present from her hubby Neil... he gave her his present last night...

ABOVE:  She really, really wanted a new car... he gave her.... a dashcam!  Lol.

I think one day she will get the new car *smiles*

Today we are checking out another patchwork shop then meeting Chris D and Anne R for a birthday lunch for Sandra.

Then tonight Mike n Joyce are coming over for dinner.  I cooked pulled pork overnight and we are having it for dinner tonight. Sandra and Neil haven't tried it before, I hope they like it.

ONWARD...

I'm busy.....

And now I'm not *smiles*.

Sandra did my nails before we left for lunch with Chris D and Anne R.

ABOVE: I have some Skinnies and some SNS. 

We had a lovely lunch at Robert Harris coffee shop.. then we went to a shop in town and bought these:

ABOVE:  They are little fans you plug into your portable battery pack! I got 5! They are friggin awesome.  Sandra got one. Lol

 ABOVE: we visited another quilt shop and I got just a little fabric...

 ABOVE: I ordered the pattern for this cute dog. Should get it in the next couple of weeks. 

ABOVE:  Sandra and Chris D trying their luck. 

Sandra also took me to the local Mitsubishi Dealership to drool over the car she wants to get.... SHE drooled... I laughed cos she's dreaming!

POOR NEIL... she's already worked out a deal with the salesman...

ABOVE:  SEE!!!!! She's a determined woman.   And IT IS HER BIRTHDAY AFTER ALL.

11.13 pm:  Mike visited us tonight... he just left. We had an awesome visit... just so fantastic to spend time with him.

I'm having dinner with him and Joyce tomorrow night.

But for now... it's bedtime.

BIT OF THIS. THAT. AND THE OTHER THING

Yesterday morning, before I left home.. I dropped off the Special Project to my friend's family.
As 'J' is in hospital right now,I couldn't give it to her myself.

But the main thing is she got it.

IT WAS:

ABOVE:This Dresden Plate quilt. It was a project I had started a couple of years ago.... which ended up just perfect for 'J' as its her favourite colour.

ABOVE: Apparently 'J' had asked for a blanket on sunday... so that was perfect timing! I hope she gets to enjoy it for ages.

A couple more photos from yesterday...

 ABOVE: Hot chips from Kinloc Cafe. Overcooked and tasted like old fish. Disgusting. 

ABOVE: At huka falls.... thought about catching a prawn or 5 and cooking and eating them for lunch... but decided I didn't want to on my own.  So got the yukky chips. Waste of money.

TODAY? I want visit the Bernina shop here and a couple of my favourite gift shops too. 

Tonight I hope to see Mike and Joyce.

ONWARD...

Well... it's fabulously COOLER here in Palmy! I slept like a log. Such a relief. Sandra and I are going out n about soon...yaaa!

ABOVE: Well that was fun! Three hours shopping and having lunch. 
I bought a few things... in the big bag is stuff from an Acquisition 'Garage Sale' shop. Awesome stuff at very good prices. I got some birthday and christmas presents from there.

The patchwork shop I wanted to go to has closed down... another sad loss. 

We are back at the house now as Sandra has a client arriving soon
 Sandra does professional nails.

Lovely evening... Sandra cooked a delicious dinner then her hubby Neil dished up ice cream. Stuffed now!

TRAVELLING TODAY

Let's start the day with a laugh:


A brunette goes into a doctor's office and says that her body hurts wherever she touches it.

"Impossible," says the doctor. "Show me."

She takes her finger, presses on her elbow, and screams in agony.
She pushes her knee and screams, pushes her ankle and screams, and so it goes on; everywhere she touches makes her scream with pain.

The doctor says, "You're not really a brunette are you?"

She says, "No, I dyed my hair. I'm naturally blonde."

"I thought so," he says. "Your finger is broken."

That utterly cracked us all up!  Too funny.

Well, except for Brylee. She didn't think it was funny.  But then... she's a blonde.

So am I ... but I do have a sense of humor!

ABOVE:  Taken yesterday afternoon, before the family left for home.  Trust Brylee to get it out!  She does have little fingers/hands though, so easier for her to get in there and get the job done.

ABOVE:  One down ... one to go. For now.

Well... I think I'm about ready to go ... just have to wait until the kids leave for school.
It's going to be a long day... I plan on taking my time, taking lots of photos.
And I also visit my Aunt and Uncle in Kinloc too.

So... I will be updating along the way... catch you later.

ONWARD...

ABOVE: Visiting with my brothers and Dad at the cemetery. They had these cuties for company too.

ABOVE: my old stomping ground as a teenager. Love this lake... we lived a few miles up the road from it. 
Wish I'd thought to pack togs and towel... it was perfect for a swim. 

It's taken me 5 hours to get to Taupo...cos I just spent 1.5 hours in Kinloc with  my Aunt and Uncle.

And I'm just taking me time.

ABOVE: I've been picking up pinecones too.

Well I got here safely. Took me till 6pm to get here.
It rained non stop from Taupo to Palmerston North!  But it was a good trip.

ABOVE: My lovely lake again. My brothers used to climb that bank and jump in. I learnt to waterski on this lake too.

Well that's all for today... catch you tomorrow.

FRONT TEETH...

This is probably one of the last photos of Keera with her two front, (top), baby teeth:

 ABOVE:  They are BOTH super wiggly. Steve tried to pull the left one out yesterday, but failed.  

ABOVE:  These two scrap A LOT. ... so it was lovely to see them so happy with each other yesterday. 

Today while enjoying the kid's visit, I shall be packing.

Tomorrow I am heading down south to Palmerston North for 5 days.  Just taking some time out from the norm, and getting to spend some time with our son Mike, and my girlfriends down there.

So, I shall be getting all me stuff together, ready to set out bright and early in the morning.

I'm quite excited!  It's been bloody ages since I was down there last.  This time I am going in my own car, so I can take my time, stop and start, visit family on the way down and so on.

Back to today... if I get the chance I hope to do some sewing too. 

Right... catch ya later.

ONWARD...

3.00 pm:  And as I haven't updated today, can ya tell I've been otherwise occupied?
Having the family here is lovely... playing with kids/puppies/yakking... it takes up time!

 ABOVE:  Brylee has a girlfriend over, they are eating popcorn and watching movies.

 ABOVE:  Bex has been helping me in the sewing room... well she was until her brother and sister-in-law arrived. Now she's yakking her head off.

 ABOVE:  The rabbit came back.  Steve tried to give it a carrot, it ran off.  Then came back.  I think he lives in our agapantha patch.

 ABOVE:  We now live in a 'Gate House'.  Steve just made another gate so we can keep the garage door open for good ventilation, but the dogs can't wreck havoc inside.  Until the little girls are house trained, they have to stay in the garage.
All 3 dogs sleep in the garage.

But I have a 'thing' about closed doors! So, a gate works for me.

ABOVE:  All done except for the top stitching, which I will get done shortly.
I've already 'pre-sold' a few!

And silence prevails again.  Steve, Bex and kids just left after a really lovely visit.
Stew is watching cricket (no surprises there)... and I am about to go and pack my bag for tomorrow.

Time to sign off for the day.

COMING ALONG NICELY

Yesterday I started the stitiching (quilting) of the dog placemats.
I'm happy to say that stage is now done.

ABOVE:  Now all they need is their backing fabric stitched on and then the top stitching done.  I haven't made up my mind what colour backing fabric to use yet... it won't be brown though.

I hope to get that done today.

They really do look lovely.  I hope they sell! 

My next project will be... probably a table runner or three.

Steve, Bex and the kids are due here for lunch.  I am making fresh scones... cheese ones and date ones.  Steve hates dates, so I have to make two batches.  Not hard to do at all.
Somehow, I doubt the kids will like the date ones either. 

Have I mentioned lately that the temperatures are finally dropping a bit?  Well... they are.  It's almost pleasant by the time I go to bed now.  Such a relief. 

Right, I better bugger off and get a load of washing on... or the kids won't have clean uniforms on Monday morning.

ONWARD...

OH!  Did I forget to tell you about my camera?  When I went to the 'Get off AUTO' class a couple of weeks ago the guy in the shop told me that the parts that Canon were waiting for from Japan had 'GOT LOST IN TRANSIT'... so they had to reorder the parts... and I won't be getting my camera back any time soon!
I was like 'ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?'.

I threw my hands up in the air and declared Canon USELESS... utterly useless.  You can fly little parts like that from Japan in a bloody day... but no, they go on in a container, on a fucking SHIP... and they stop in Australia first... and sit on a bloody dock for weeks before getting forwarded on to here.

I'm still seething about that... but having teeth trouble made me forget for a while!  I just remembered.  Grrrrrr.

They have had my camera and lens for almost 4 months!

Well... been trying to get a load of washing done this morning.  THREE. HOURS. LATER... it keeps going off balance and stopping.  Grrrrr!
It's now after 1 pm and it's still not done!

Steve and family arrived.   I made scones.

ABOVE:  everyone enjoyed lunch.  Dante has a tummy ache.  But, he's also a Drama Queen. So who knows with him!

I'm going to potter around in the house and garden, then do some sewing.

RANDOM AFTERNOON PHOTOS:

 ABOVE:  Dante dusting all the cobwebs away before he would play on the jungle gym.

ABOVE: Lots of puppies and kids.  

I'm making butter chicken for dinner.  Bex is making some naan bread from scratch to go with it.  I'm looking forward to dinner tonight.

Our dinner was wonderful!  Bex's naan bread was amazing... she used garlic and butter to make it taste even more yum.

So tired tonight, no idea why.  Probably going to bed fairly early.

UP IN THE AIR

Well today my plans are up in the air.
I could be going into Hamilton to see a friend and if not, I will stay home and do some sewing.

I have 15 dog placemats half made.  I'd like to get some of them finished by the end of the day.

ABOVE:  I am going through this lot of fat quarters today too... this lot are kid and animal themed, there might be a few good ones in there to turn into coasters or placemats?  
Dunno, it's a while since I rummaged through my fat quarters.

I've got about 8 boxes full.  Perhaps I should check them all out!

The puppies are doing my head in.  They are 6 months old now, and STILL not house trained!
I let them into the house 2-3 times during the day, and one or both of them promptly does this:

 ABOVE: Massive piddles everywhere!  Grrrrr!  I don't know WHY these two girls are so naughty.
They have free access to outside for bathroom, yet they hold on and go on my bloody floor!

I just want them inside all the time, but can't do that till they are house trained!  

I rang the dentist yesterday... have not heard back from them.  I'm hoping, as someone said, it's just bruising and will settle down in the next few days?

I bloody hope so.  I really am getting worn down by the constant toothache.  And it's like, really stressful!

ANON FROM YESTERDAY: While I agree 90% with everything you said in your comment, I will not be publishing it.  Most people know how it is already.

ONWARD...

12.59 pm:  Well I've been fairly busy today.
Going into Hamilton didn't happen, the person my friend and I were wanting to visit was not up to visitors today.

I might as well tell you... my FBG girlfriend 'J' is dreadfully ill... terminally ill.
My 'Special Project' is a quilt that I have made for her, to brighten up her bedroom.

The only trouble now is she is in hospital and not taking visitors right now.

BUT, she is expected home again in the next day or two, so hopefully we can deliver the quilt to her over the weekend.

The sooner the better really, I would like her to enjoy having it for as long as possible.

Onto my bloody tooth.  The Dentist got back to me bang on 9 am this morning.  There is the possibility the pain is due to an infection, so he's put me back on anitbiotics and pain killers.

This needed to be done as I am going away for a few days next week, and do not want it to flare up while I am away.  I will fill you in on my trip away later.

I went out and got the pills, and a few groceries too.  We have Steve, Bex and the kids here tomorrow, so needed to get a few things in.

As I pulled into my driveway and parked, I got to see this:

ABOVE:  He was rather cute, bouncing all over the place.  He wasn't even scared of the neighbour's dog, who was yapping at him!

LOL... I saw that 'cute little bunny' and immediately thought of RABBIT PIE!
But I ain't got a gun to shoot him with. Dammit.

So I've been sewing all afternoon, getting there with the placemats.  Lots of stitching involved.

Tonight instead of our usual 'silly bugger' dinner, I'm trying a little something 'new'.
I'm making spag bol mix then putting it on top of pizza bases.  Cheese on top.

Just a little different for a change.  So sick of our same old stuff.  We are going to brain storm some new dinner ideas this weekend.

Are you like us, and end up having the same meals over and over again?  

I want to bring some new things into our menus.  But not meals that take hours to make!  Or are damn expensive either.

Well dinner was ... average.  It was pretty much like having mince on toast!  Nice mince and nice 'toast', but still average.

I'm now ensconced in front of the telly, it's Doc Martin and Coronation Street tonight, two favourites of mine.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN!

Yep, another one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LACY, we hope you have a nice day where ever you are.
Ya never know with her, she could be under a bridge for all I know.

Joking aside, I know she's not under a bridge!  She's back where she SHOULDN'T BE.  IDIOTS.


Yesterday I started a set of dog mug rugs/coasters.

At the last market, some ladies said it was a shame the mug rugs were not bigger, so they could be placemats.

*sigh*... of course I know if I made placemats, someone would suggest I make them smaller, like coasters!  So I know I can't win, lol.

Anyway, I digress.

I am thinking of doing this:

ABOVE:  If I add a brown piece, they would be the size of placemats.  Should I do it, or leave them as coasters?

I only have 17 of these, each one is of a different dog.  What to do?

If I decide to make them placemats, I will have to go into Hamilton to get some brown fabric, I only have that little bit.  So come on... I need your opinion!  asap

In the meantime, I will finish off those 4 Christmas coasters.

ONWARD...

12.20 pm:  And decision made.  Placemats it is.
So I went into Hamilton and bought some plain brown fabric, and ummm....

 ABOVE: Also a small piece of this fabric, cos it was so cute!  

 ABOVE: Just after I got home it pelted down with rain, big fat raindrops. So lovely.  Now?  Back to sunshine and steam.  Like living in a bloody sauna.  Seriously.

 ABOVE:  Bang on lunchtime, I got a visit from Sarah, one of our FBG's.  She brought around bags full of newspaper... cos she knows we are 'doing' puppies down the track. 
She stayed for a coffee and chat, which was lovely.

ABOVE:  I listed Keera's old school uniform on a Facebook page for Cambridge uniforms, and sold them overnight.  Yaaa!

I'm now going to have some lunch then sew. 

TOOTH:  no pain?  Dammit, I have to say it... I can't bite on the tooth they 'fixed' on Monday... it hurts!  It shouldn't hurt!  It's had it's nerves killed off!
So, I rang the dentist's and they are going to get the dentist to ring me back when he can.

Because I was taking painkillers these past few days, I think that masked the pain somewhat, and I thought it was from the injection site.  Wrong it would appear.

Far out I am so over this! 

9.30 pm:  We've had a lovely evening!  My FBG girlfriend Anna came over for a natter and dinner.  Brylee and Anna's daughter Emily had a nice visit together.  Hide and seek is alive and well in this house! lol
I still can't get over how many wonderful, lovely girls I now know and am friends with here!  

And on that happy note, with the help of some nice pain killers, I will end the day.