SEWING... BOOBS... WALKING

First up for today... 

I will be sewing.

Then after lunch I have to go into Hamilton for my 2 yearly mammogram.  I'm NOT looking forward to that I can assure you.  I tried to get out of it, but the buggers rang me and reminded me ever so nicely that it was a good idea to get it done.

*sigh*.  At least this time I know where to go/park etc.  

After that I need to get more chlorine for the pool before coming home again.

I've organised an FBG walk for this evening too.  Starting at 8 pm, so it will be much, much cooler.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I don't know if it will be a long walk as my friend Sue T is coming along, it's her first walk in a few weeks due to her rolling her ankle and doing ligament damage.

IT'S MARCH TOMORROW!!!  And that means the 2019 FBG Urban Challenge starts in 17 days.  I'm pretty happy about that.  I can get back into a good walking routine again.

SEARCH FOR A JOB:  well that might go on the back burner for a while.  I'm just so busy with the sewing right now, my stock is quite low!  So, I'm going to concentrate on getting my stock built up before getting out there and seeing what's available.

ABOVE:  I found our life jackets yesterday afternoon.  NONE fit Stew or me.  So we will have to buy new ones.  Bloody boobs!  These ones will fit Brylee, Griffin, and other 'average' sized adults, and a small child or two.

At some point I hope to get a waterproof container/pod thingee for the back of one of the kayaks, to hold 'stuff'.... food for picnics and so on.  

I brought the paddles and seats home yesterday from the shop.  We will be picking up the kayaks on Saturday.

ABOVE:  I saw an advert for this stuff on the telly last night, and while it's probably NOT something Kelly should try (!), I might cos my eyebrows are non existent... I am going to try and find some today... and give it a go.

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

ONWARD...

12 noon:  well I've done a good deal of stuff this morning, virtually none of it was on my 'to do' list!  Typical.
I did get a little bit of sewing done though, so I'm happy about that.
I suck at 'free motion' sewing by the way!  I can do it on small projects, but not large ones like the Alien Quilt. *sigh*

I'm off into Hamilton soon... boob squish time.  Oh yaaa.  Can't wait!

 ABOVE:  I arrived in Hamilton a bit early, so parked up by the lake for half an hour. It was lovely, good breeze blowing so cooler.

I had to park on the VERY TOP of the car park building... level 17, which was supposed to be for Staff Only... but there was no option.  

AS for the boob squish, that went well!  Not too painful thankfully.  

After that was over, I went and bought some of that eyebrow tint shit... and yep:

ABOVE: Top to bottom, before, during and after.
IT'S SHIT.  It was not supposed to pull out any hairs... and it DID.  Which really pissed me off cos I don't have many anyway!
And well... it made NO DIFFERENCE at all!
So, I'm taking it back ... I want my $25 back thank you very much.  Very disappointed.

9.34 pm:  And our FBG Social Walk went ahead, and it was lovely.  Next time we will have to set off earlier though as it was dark by the time we got home.

Now... Coronation Street is on and it's chill out time.  Then bed.  
It's been a good day.

SLEEPING IN... THEN WINDOW SHOPPING

Right, this post is a bit late cos I decided to SLEEP IN!  First time in at least two weeks and it's been lovely.

Today I am going into Hamilton to do some 'window shopping' for these:

ABOVE:  Yep, we might get a couple so we can go out on the local lakes.
They are on special at the moment, so now would be a good time to buy.

But I'm not 100% sold on the idea yet... still mulling it over, but it won't harm to go looking.

Brylee starts her new job today!  OMG I hope it goes well.  I want her to be happy and EMPLOYED!

I have no other plans for the day... but I really should stop procrastinating and get on with the sewing!  I'm so bad at leaving stuff till the last minute!

ONWARD...

FIVE AND A HALF HOURS LATER, and I'm home.
I spent a good 4 hours to'ing and fro'ing from various shops getting quotes and looking, looking... LOOKING at kayaks!

I also managed to meet and have lunch with Kelly.  More on HER a bit later.

For now, I'm going to sit down and work out just how much I SAVED ... on the kayaks I did buy!

After MUCH consideration I ended up getting a double kayak, and TWO singles!  That way Stew, Griffin, Brylee and I can go kayaking together!  And other family members can use them too... now all I need is a tent!  I reckon camping and kayaking next summer is highly likely.  FUN!!!

Oh and YES, I got the kayaks pictured above.  WE will be picking them up on the weekend.

Now.. Kelly.
She went to a new place in the mall to get her eyebrows 'threaded' and tinted.  (Bit silly really as she reacts to dye, *sigh* but nevermind)

She asked the technician not to put the tint directly on her skin, and was told OK, not a problem.

She had her eyebrows threaded and tinted.

ON THE LEFT:  two days later, ON THE RIGHT: 9 days later!
She is left with huge scabs, and has probably lost half her eyebrows!!!!

I just hope she doesn't get scarring.

Eyebrows come and go... I hope she's learnt her lesson.  STAY AWAY FROM DYES AND TINTS!

Now it's just after 3 pm and I expect Brylee home soon.  I wonder how her first full shift went?

Addressing a couple of questions:

YES, Kelly went back to the salon and was given a full refund and has had her ongoing medical expenses covered too (AS she should).

YES, Brylee is now working full time, and today went well... though she did get home looking a bit shell shocked!  Too much information thrown at her in one day I think.  She will settle in I'm sure.

And... Coronation Street is now on... so I'm a happy girl.  After that I'm off to bed... bloody tired.

WALKING!!!

Well... first thing this morning I'm off on a walk with the FBG's.  It's a Social Walk, as our Urban Challenge 2019 has not started yet.

I have missed walking over the past two weeks, but being with my Mum came first.

Now I can get back into the swing of things and move some of the weight I've put on.  

Once the walk is over I have a couple of jobs to do in town, then I will be home in time to get my house ship shape again.
Brylee and Griffin did some housework for me yesterday, so there is a little less for me to do today.
But there's still HEAPS to do!  

I have a couple more photos of the weekend visitors with my Mum that I found on the last round of snaps:

 ABOVE:  It took Archer almost two days to finally give his great Grandma a hug, and this one was to say bye bye as he was leaving for home!  He's a rather shy boy is Archer.

ABOVE:  Why is it so hard to get a small group of kids/grannies to all look good at the same time?   *sigh*  That bloody Archer!!!  I said SMILE... he poked his tongue, then grimaced.
And Dante!  What's that look about? lol

So... let's get back to today... and moving on with life as 'normal' again.  

ONWARD...

11 am:  and it's a stunning day today.  Not a cloud in the sky.
This morning's walk was lovely, just over 5 kms and it didn't start to feel too hot till right at the end.

 ABOVE:  I've gained 5 kilos in the past two months, and boy can I see it!  I'm really crabby with myself.  BUT, now that the walking is ramping up again I know I will lose it fairly quickly.

ABOVE: Today's walk was around the little 'lakes' at St Kilda.  It's such a pretty suburb, and the hot chocolate at the cafe afterwards was rather nice too!  Probably won't do that again though ... defeats the purpose of walking!  lol

Now... on with some housework.

OK... so not that much housework getting done.  I've just been relaxing!  It's SO QUIET!!!  
Next thing I might do is start quilting the Alien Quilt.  I would like it done, and perhaps a 2nd one too for the next two markets in March.

Ahhh the modern world!  I just ordered my very first Debit Card online.  Now I can order and pay for shit without using a credit card!  Awesome!  

And now... back to the sewing ...

NOT!  My girlfriend Sue T arrived and we yakked for ages.  So nice to catch up with her after a week.   Just after she left, Stew got home from work.  I  hadn't even sorted out dinner.... so we had chicken steaks and chips for dinner!

It's been a very quiet evening!  Just watching tv and enjoying the peace.  

Time to sign off for the night.  Thankfully it's not stinking hot now, in fact it's much cooler in the mornings and evenings.

WHAT A SCORE! AND BYE BYE MUM

Yesterday I 'won' an Ikea Trundle bed off Pay It Forward.  I was thrilled to bits and Stew and I headed off to pick it up.
When we arrived at the address the lady had quite an assortment of stuff to give away, and we were lucky to be offered a lovely lounge chair as well.

 ABOVE: Archer on HIS new bed.  Well... his when he's here, otherwise it's just a spare bed.  And with all the visitors lately, an extra bed won't go amiss.

 ABOVE: And this is the new chair we were given!  It is super comfortable.

 Now of course, getting a new piece of furniture in the lounge necessitated a bit of a move around of furniture.

 ABOVE: So we took the larger marble top unit out of the lounge and replaced it with the smaller, white one.

ABOVE:  The larger marble top unit is now in the garage.  It got new castors put on it as well... makes it easier to move around ... cos for sure it will be moved around!  That's my 'speciality'... moving shit around!  *smiles*

ABOVE:  Keera sneeking a cuddle in before all the moving around happened.

 ABOVE: Moving stuff.  The guys did it yesterday so that I wouldn't do it on my own during the week!  They know me too well.  I have no patience whatsoever! 

 ABOVE: We pretty much just took what was on one side of the room and switched it with what was on the other side!  Things fitted better doing that.

 ABOVE: Now three people can sit on this side with their feet up and watch telly.  I just love that new chair!  That flower picture needs to be moved... too many flowers in that corner now.

ABOVE: This side of the room looks lovely too.  I shall hang that flower picture over here on the right of the barn door.  YEP, that should work.

Now... it's time to get Mum sorted, fed and watered and out of here.  We are going straight to Starship Hospital to visit family, then lunch somewhere, before heading out to the airport in time for Mum to check in at 3 pm.  She flies out at 5 pm.  

By then I should be close to arriving home all going well.

So... if I'm quiet for the rest of the day... it's cos I'm busy.

ONWARD...

5.45 pm:  And.... I've been home just over half an hour!  It's been a long, stressful day.

I was only 5 minutes up the road on our way up to Auckland when shit hit the fan at home.  Bit of aggro between Griffin and Lacy, which ended up with Lacy leaving.

*sigh* ... nothing I could do so I left it up to Stew to sort out while I continued travelling up to Auckland.

Mum and I safely made it to Starship hospital, where we spent a good 3 hours with family there.

ABOVE:  We have a very poorly wee man in the hospital.  A great-nephew of mine and one of my Mum's Great Grandsons.  
I won't be saying more than that out of respect for his family's privacy.
It was just wonderful that we got to see him and his Mummy though.. special moments to treasure.

After visiting, Mum and I headed out to the airport, where we had a very late lunch before I got her checked in and settled in the Departure Lounge, ready for her flight back to Australia.

OMG it's been a day !  I am so ready to just sit still and try to turn off my brain.

11 pm: off to bed for this girl... hopefully I don't sleep in as I have a walk in the morning.

OH FORGOT SOME!

Whoops... I missed some photos from yesterday, they were in my 'Collages' folder:

 ABOVE:  Bex crocheted this very cute cow for my Mum to take home with her.

  ABOVE: Lacy and the dogs.  

ABOVE:  Just some more general shots of yesterday's visitors.

So today we will have to start gathering up all my Mum's stuff, in readiness for her leaving tomorrow.
I will be taking her up to Auckland first thing in the morning so we can visit a family member in hospital, then heading out to the airport early in the afternoon.  Mum flies out for Australia around 5 pm.  

Once I've dropped her off,  I will come home and breathe... then tidy my house cos OMG it is a mess!!!!  Visitors coming and going for two weeks, endless feeding people, watering people... I'm done.

Tomorrow guess what I will be doing?

SLEEPING IN.  FOR. SURE.

Brylee starts work on Wednesday.

Me?  Well.... I have something to confess.

I turned down the job!

After much reflection, I decided it wasn't right for me, and I would much rather get a job here in Cambridge.  So I plan on delivering my CV personally to several places around town and see what happens.  

It may take some time, and I accept that.  But I will start the ball rolling.

Ha!  For the first time in my life I made myself a CV.  It's probably not very 'professional' looking, but it's mine and I'm happy with it.

And that's all for now... I will be back later.  I will finish the 2nd little wall hanging today then I can show you both of them finished.

ONWARD...

The house is buzzing~! Little kids playing. Adults yakking.  We had a bit more rain overnight, so I don't have to water the garden.

Small elephant in the room:  addressing a comment from yesterday.  No Amanda was not here yesterday.  Andrew was.  They are separated.  I will not be answering any questions on that matter OK?

ABOVE:  Happy to have finished these two wall hangings, my Mum can now give them to my niece tomorrow.

On Tuesday I will be able to get back to the Alien Quilt and a few soft toys for market.  I've sold about 6 soft toys in the past two weeks.
Some to my Mum and some to my niece Maxine.

Just had more rain... but now the sun is out in force.  We are living in a sauna now.

7.04 pm:  OMGosh it's been a crazy, noisy, busy day.  It's been wonderful having the family here.
I saw a trundle bed on Pay It Forward so asked to be considered for it, and got it.
So we went to pick it up ... and ended up with a new lounge chair as well!

I am going to show you that tomorrow, before I head off to Auckland with Mum.

I cooked Spag Bol for dinner, that went down a treat.  The family left about half an hour ago... so it's suddenly very quiet!  I can't believe how much noise three children (and Steve!) can make!

And that's me done for the day... I'm knackered and will be going to bed fairly early tonight. At least the weather has cooled down a bit!  Will make sleeping easier.

WHAT A LITTLE HUSSY!

Marley is ALWAYS wary of strangers coming into the house. Well... strangers to HER anyway.

Her response is always to bark, then growl, then sniff, back away and growl some more.  It usually takes her a good few hours to warm up to anyone she doesn't know.

So, yesterday when Charles arrived I fully expected her to do the usual and bark/growl and get away from him.

NOPE.  She saw him, ran up and jumped up against  his legs, sniffed him.... ran over to me for a second, then jumped up into his lap!

ABOVE:  That little hussy was all over him like a rash!  I have NEVER seen her act like that before.  No way to explain that except she took an instant LOVE for Charles!!!

Charles was rather chuffed that he was accepted by her immediately.

Now, here's a few more photos from last night:

 ABOVE:  Lacy and her Birthday cake.  
I don't know when she would have last had a birthday cake?  Not for a very long time I reckon.

ABOVE:  It was a bloody nice cake too... for a supermarket cake.   
The power went out... so we had pretty candles for  an hour or so too.

Oh something else from yesterday! At Grandmother's Garden (Patchwork Shop) at Gordonton... they used to have two huge boxer dogs. One recently passed away, so they got a new puppy.
Now he was just adorable, and we took some photos of him and the older dog:

ABOVE: The puppy was very hard to photograph cos he simply would not keep still!

I got down on the floor for a cuddle, and the owner of the shop warned me that the older dog would be all over me... but I said I didn't mind.

WELL!  She wasn't kidding!  He tried to lie on me, and proceeded to thoroughly clean my face and ears!  Seriously, he slobbered all over me.  It was hilarious!

ABOVE:  Obviously NOT the most flattering photo of me, but is shows just how enthusiastic Angus was to gimme a wash! lol
I had to hold on to puppy real firm to keep him still for a photo.  It made me want a Boxer!  Such gorgeous dogs.

Now, back to today.  Steve and family will be here for the weekend to visit with Grandma (me Mum).  This morning I'm going to get more sewing done on the 2nd Wall Hanging for Mum.  I got a bit done on it yesterday in between visitors/outings and so on.  It's coming along great!

Oh yeah... here's another photo of the candles:

ABOVE:  Just cos they were pretty! *smiles*

ONWARD...

It's 3.15 pm:  the house has literally had a revolving door of visitors today!  One after the other, groups and kids and more and more!

I have taken dozens of photos, but no time to edit and upload right now.
Just wanted to pop on here and touch 'base'.  

I'll be back later when it's a bit quieter here.

4.45 pm:  I will be doing a big photo update later on tonight.  Right now... I'm just a bit 'wordless'.

Right, some photos of today's visitors:

So... we clearly had a house full!
Lots of laughs, kids playing and NOISE.

But it was lovely.

All is quiet now.  Everyone has either gone home, buggered off or gone to bed.

Well, except for us, my Mum and Steve 'n' Bex.  We are still up watching some tv and just chilling out.

Time to sign off for the day.