SALT AND PEPPER.... NAH

 I'm feeling a bit sick.

Over my hair.

I told the hair dresser I wanted to be BLONDE, without yellow tones.

And this is what she did:

ABOVE:  Tell me honestly, do I look GREY now?

Because that's all I can see.  GREY.

And that's the very LAST colour I want to be!

Where on the colour wheel is BLONDE... compared to Grey?

On the advice of a friend, I have sent the salon an email saying how I feel about my hair colour, and that I want it fixed.  

Seriously, I'm trying really hard not to cry.

I know it's not goddam AWFUL, but it's not what I asked for. I said I wanted to be BLONDE, with no yellow tones.

I'm gunna go grey eventually, but not TODAY.

When Stew arrived home from work last night, before he saw me, I asked him to tell me what colour immediately came to mind when he saw my hair.

HE SAID:  GREY

When we were out at the pub last night, I asked EVERYONE what colour was my hair?  Everyone said GREY.

I stopped in at Steve 'n' Bex's.  They both said immediately, my hair was GREY.

Apart from non-stop staring at me hair in a mirror, and being as vain as fuck, I have nothing planned for today.

YET.

I really hope I hear from the hair Salon.  

The goddam ITCH from hell is so much worse today, yet I've not been in the pool since Monday.

Thinking it might be 'something else'.  I hope it's not my diabetes medication?  And why would it cause problems NOW, after I've been on it a full year?  
Grrrrrr.  I'm desperate for a solution cos my poor fandango is so, so sore.

ABOVE:  I put my hair up again today.  No point wearing it down cos I hate it so much.

Spot the difference?  

Oh and I look so tired today... lack of sleep from fucking itching all night long does that.

I'm now going out to get a few things from the supermarket.

10.37 am:  Thank You to everyone who's said my hair looks 'nice'.

When you leave a salon after spending hundreds of dollars and hours in a chair, you should feel FANTASTIC.  I felt like crying.

I did express my disappointment to the stylist at the time, but she assured me after washing it, it would be 'better'.

I've been around the block far too many times to believe that.

11 am:  I have heard back from the salon via email.  They are prepared to 'fix' it on Tuesday morning.

I have emailed them back, confirming I can attend that appointment, BUT only if they are not going to charge me the full price AGAIN!

So now I wait to see what they come back with.

Sooooooo.... I was in the laundry this morning, getting a load of washing on.  And hmmmm, something hit me in the face.

About a month ago I started using a 'new' laundry detergent.  

ABOVE:  When I say 'new', it's not really?

Same brand, just in liquid form.  We got it from COSTCO.  

Today I am gathering up ALL me knickers and washing them in the 'OLD' powdered laundry detergent.

Cos, at this point I am prepared to try anything to find out what is causing the 'problem'.

11.30 am:  Just in, the salon has assured me there will be NO CHARGE for the appointment on Tuesday!  That is such a relief, as it was horrendously expensive!

I've had a quiet afternoon, just did some sewing.

Then I made us a lovely stir fry dinner, using heaps of veges, chicken and bacon.

And just now I thought I'd read up on Jardiance, the diabetes medication I was put on last year.

AGAIN... the itching problem could be down to THAT as well!  It can cause Urinary Tract Infections (TICK, got my first ever UTI this year) and Thrush (TICK, seem to have that).  I am now going OFF Jardiance for a couple of weeks to see what happens.

I am prepared to try ANYTHING to get rid of this incessant itch!

It has been SO BAD the past couple of days, I'm literally going mental.  The new cream is not doing a bloody thing either.

I'm a right misery guts right now!  I'm gunna drown my sorrows in some Tipple.

HAIR APPOINTMENT

Gosh, I can't remember the last time I had a 'proper' hair appointment!  One where I get my hair coloured.

*sigh* it's got to be well over a year ago.  

I have put it off for that long because it's just so expensive, I felt like I couldn't justify spending that much money on my hair anymore.

I even went so far as buying a Supermarket Box Dye, but never used it, scared I would ruin me hair.

So, I've been waiting a month for my appointment to roll around.  And it's today, and I'm going to thoroughly enjoy sitting on me arse doing nothing for hours on end.      NOT.

But that's what ya have to go through to get it done.  Probably another reason why I don't get it done too often!

Thank God for mobile phones and the internet.  At least I can plug my earphones in and listen to music, or watch a video or three.

I wonder how long this new salon will take?  The last one took 4 hours.

Let's wait and see shall we?

How long does it take to get YOUR hair coloured? Average time ?

The longest mine has taken is 6 hours, cos the salon was over booked, and the stylist kept doing other people's hair on top of doing mine.  It wasn't a pleasant experience.

I've got a few hours to kill before my hair appointment, so I will pop out to Grandmothers Garden in Gordonton for essential Steam A Seam, then get back into the sewing room and work on ... Cats.

So far so good this morning.  I can't say the itch is any better... YET.  But maybe in a day or two?

Gosh I hope so.

I've been out to Gordonton and bought the Steam A Seam, and...

ABOVE:  My lucky day!  They are slowly selling off all their baskets.  So I nabbed three today for only $9 in total.  SCORE!

The shop/house and land are for sale out there, have been for a couple of years now.

If they can't sell it as a business, it will be shut down.

I'm gutted.  It's the best fabric shop around here for miles! And miles.  😓😒😔

ABOVE:  Why... when you are busting for a piddle... do you get held up by road works!!!!!

I only just made it home in time I tell ya.  😂😰

It's now 10.15 am, and I'm having something to eat, and a hot drink before I do an hour or so's work in the sewing room.

Then it's my hair appointment.

It's now 4 pm.  I've been home from my hair appointment for about half an hour, so they did great time wise.  Just over 3 hours!

As for my hair colour?  

I told the girl I didn't want it to be yellow toned, as more often than not that's what I end up with.

So she toned it down... I feel like it's 'salt and pepper' with a hint of purple!  

She said it would 'change a bit' after I wash it in a few days.

So, I am going to show you what it looks like ... tomorrow.

I really want to get Stew's opinion first.  If he hates it I will go back and get it changed.

I'm not even sure I like it!  edit:  I HATE IT.

Well... Stew doesn't HATE my hair, but he knows how I feel about it, and will support me in what happens next.

We went to our local Bar this evening.  Everyone I talked to about my hair agreed with my opinion of the colour.  

There will be a full account tomorrow.

Time to sign off for the day... it sure in hell hasn't ended with me being thrilled to bits with my long awaited hair appointment.

AQUA JOGGING , THEN LUNCH WITH THE GROUP!

 Unlike the ladies at Weight Watchers, the Aqua Jogging ladies have turned out to be very friendly and kind.

They invited everyone to a group lunch after our session today.  At St Andrews Golf Club.

So I've gotta take clothes with me today to change into after my swim.

I'm looking forward to it.  I just have to make sure I make a healthy choice for me lunch.

After lunch I will come home, have me shower then head into the sewing room.

I can start stitching on the first of the 3 Cat Wall Hangings.

I can't do more than that until I pop out to Gordonton for more Steam A Seam, to carry on with the other two.  

Sooooo... I have a full day ahead of me.  Which I love. 

Have you ever been Ghosted?  

Or Ghosted someone yourself?

How do you feel about it?

Is it kind?  NO.

But, is it better than a awkward, stressful confrontation?

I'm seriously contemplating Ghosting someone.

But I'm just not sure if it's the right thing to do.

Scrap all plans.

I'm at the doctors. 

The incessant itching is back.

In fact it only 'went' for a few days.

I dont think it was Thrush after all.

Hopefully the Dr can get to the bottom of it... excuse the pun! 🤣😂😅

It took 45 minutes standing in a queue outside in the cold before I actually got in the door at the doctors. Huge queue of people waiting today. So I am going to be here a few hours I think.

But it will be worth it to get this goddam itch sorted out.

Two hours later and the Doctor thinks he's sorted it out.

The itch is possibly still thrush, OR it could be an allergic reaction to something in the pools OR an allergic reaction to one of my new Diabetes medications, which is known to cause this problem.

So, he's prescribed a new cream to try, and told me to stay out of the pool for at least a week.

To try and narrow down the culprit.

Either way, I just hope the cream works cos I'm completely OVER the itch.  It's driving me crazy.

After picking up my prescription, I popped into Farmers and bought 4 pairs of black tights for winter.

I'm now set for the next season.   

And now... it's lunchtime and I'm starving.

But before that:

ABOVE:  latest photo of progress.  Small and steady losses, as my doctor said today...  that's what works.

He's lost 35 kilos over the past 3 years, so he knows what he's talking about.  

We actually sat and yakked about weight loss, and our personal experiences for a while.  Leo is just lovely.

A super busy doctor, but he gives you the time of day.  He was our family doctor 20+ years ago, when we last lived here in Hamilton.

Right, enough yakkity yak... food!

So me lunch is over, and I'm just relaxing for a while.  Being lazy really.  

I've decided to just have the bare minimum contact with the person who I'd like to GHOST.  I'll be polite.  I'd love to treat her the same way she treats others (behind their backs), but I'm just not that nasty.  

NO relief from the itching ... YET.  Man I hope this new cream works!  

ABOVE:  And that is what I'm now using.  It's a combination Bacterial/Fungal cream, so should work surely?

Time will tell.

I just hope I get some sleep tonight... cos that's been sadly lacking of late.  Nothing like a super itchy nether region to keep ya awake I tell ya.

TMI?   Too bad.  I yak about all sorts on here! lol

And I'm gunna stop yakking now and bugger off.

Catch ya tomorrow.

I can't believe I didn't have to use this NITE NITE picture this 'summer'!  It never got too hot.  So ya get it today, cos it's cute.

SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT

 My latest Kiwiana Runners are slightly different from the 'norm'.

ABOVE:  Can you tell what I've done differently?

I didn't put a border on it, or binding.  It's so much easier to do this way, and quicker, and more economical too.  BUT... still gorgeous!

I utterly love this style of runner.  The colours are so ME.

The 2nd one, which I will finish today, is even longer and slightly narrower too.

I hope they go down well at markets.

Once I've finished that runner, I have an order for 3 Cat Wall Hangings.  So, I think I'll be making about 7 in a row, the ordered ones and more for markets.

Karen D.... thanks for the order.  😊😉💙

Clearly, I will be sewing all day.  I'm not going for a Mall Walk today, getting stuff done in the sewing room is more important.   And as I'm doing Aqua Jogging three times this week, that will suffice.

Teeny tiny yak about weight loss.

I got into a clean nightie last night, and um... excuse me?  It's like so much LONGER now?

What the F?  I shrink a bit and me clothes get LONGER?  How does that happen?

Like ... OK, I get it really.  But it's just WEIRD.

I've got Weight Watchers this evening.  And I always say I don't expect much of a loss, or even a little gain.

But seriously, I was showing a 2 kgs GAIN last week... so I'm not holding out for much tonight.

WHY is it so easy to gain and so hard to lose?  

NOT GIVING UP... I can and will do this.

JUST.  HAVE.  TO.  STOP.  WITH.  THE.  TAKEAWAYS.  And watch portion sizes.  And just try harder.

12.34 pm:  I've been working since 8 am.

I have got three backings done, and one is totally ready for stitching:

ABOVE:  It felt weird putting the word 'GIN' there instead of WINE.  But it's still looking great.

I'm now taking a break.  My back is done for now.

Well, I went DOWN a majestic 200 grams this week! I am ecstatic about that!  No gain this week.

And I'm so glad I don't go to that meeting to make friends.

NO ONE even spoke to me tonight, or even sat by me.  I wish I'd just walked out.

Next week I'm going to weigh and GO.

No point sitting there listening to my own miserable thoughts.

Bitch-fest over.  I'm gunna enjoy a lovely evening with Stew, then off to bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

NEW LIKE!

 I'm going to shock you all.

There's a new drink I'm loving.

Yep.  I'm not just a Diet Coke drinker anymore.

Winter is almost here, and I've been wanting to have a HOT drink.

NOT Hot Chocolate, it's just too sweet.

So, what am I drinking once a day now?

ABOVE:  This stuff.  It's not too sweet, it doesn't taste like coffee much at all.  And I don't give a shit how many 'points' it has, I like it.  It makes a nice change when I feel like a hot drink.

I have Aqua Jogging at 10 am this morning.

But before that, housework is top of me list.

And getting a couple of Kiwiana Runners ready for stitching.

ABOVE:  I got this one ready yesterday, it's long and narrow.  I am going to get another one ready for stitching today.  It would be nice to have them both at Market on Sunday. 

I thought our next market wasn't for a couple of weeks.  WRONG.

It's this Sunday.

We are attending the Woodland's Market in Gordonton.  It will be our first time there as stall holders.  I hope it goes well.

Back to today... I better get a move on if I'm going to get anything done before I head out for Aqua Jogging.

12.15 pm:  My swim this morning was great, a totally different workout today.  There's so many variations of exercises you can do in the pool.

Using pool noodles, hand weights etc.  Makes it interesting.

Once home, it was straight into the shower, on HOT.  I was damn cold.  The pool isn't STONE COLD, but it's not warm either.

Then I had some lunch.  And a hot drink.

I had some of these in the cupboard:

ABOVE:  These are a coffee with Chocolate flavour added, like the Caramel one (top of post).

I thought, hmmm... what would it taste like if I mix the two together?

So that's what I did.

YUMMMMMMMM!!!!

I think I'll do that in future cos it was really nice, much nicer than just the Caramel Latte on it's own.

I can just use half of each 'stick' for one drink, and save the other halves for another day.

Now... I'm gunna head into the sewing room.  I now have two long, thin Kiwiana runners ready for stitching.

6.30 pm:  And all the stitching is done.  And I've finished one and will finish the 2nd one tomorrow.

I'm thrilled to bits with the one I've already finished.  I did something 'different' with it.

I'll show ya, tomorrow.

Stew is home and having some dinner, just left overs tonight. 

Time to sign off for the day, it has been an awesome day.  Busy, productive and happy.

HIT REPEAT...

 Well... .it looks like we shall just be pottering around the house today.

Neither of us can think of anywhere we want to go, or do.

What boring old farts!

I will therefore be working on finishing these:

ABOVE:  I'm very happy with how the new lettering looks.  It's less fiddly to stitch around too.

Once I've done them, I shall be working on some more Kiwiana runners, slightly  narrower than I have been making them.  I've had several people ask for that, so that's what I shall do.

Stew has a job too.  He's going to paint the pieces of dowel that I shall be using for the Cat Wall Hangings.  That will keep him occupied for a little while I'm sure.

Can't have him sitting on his arse watching movies all day can we?  lol

1 pm:  Can you believe we stayed in bed until 10 am!

Yep, Stewie was snoring his head off, and I was on me phone from 7 am - 10 am.

BLISS.

Then we kinda thought we should get up and actually do something with our day.

So Stew did this for me:

ABOVE: 4 lengths of dowel cut to size, eyelets added and painted.  SORTED.

Suppose I should add some ribbon for hanging eh?  Yeah.

ABOVE:  I have finished all four Cat Wall Hangings.  I'm so tempted to make some more now, cos they are so damn cute.  And I'm sure they will be popular at markets, like the last few I've made.

ABOVE:  Cos ya don't see enough of me 'manly man'... there he is making lunch.  

He's a handy man to have around. 😂😊😋

Hello.... where is everyone?  Reading my drivel but not saying hi.  Pfffft.

So Steve, Bex and the boys are here.

We just played a round of Unstable Unicorns.

I have no idea how to play it properly, but...

I WON.

We have stopped now so Steve can cook our dinner.

We are having veges and Pork Belly Bites.

Sounds quite edible.  

ABOVE:  Who's dog is it?  Clearly Steve's when he's here.

She LOVES him.

DINNER:  Was delicious!

ABOVE:  A big bowl of stir fried seasonal veges and pork belly bites on top.  So, so good.

And that's a wrap on today.  It's been a lovely, productive day, and having dinner cooked for us was the icing on the cake.

Catch ya tomorrow.

THE WORST BIT

 

ABOVE:  This is the absolute WORST BIT about doing the Need Wine Cat Hanger.  Cutting out the damn cat!

It is a nightmare.  It is so easy to chop a part off by accident, I have to be so careful.  It's stressful.

Last night I cut out two more with no mishaps thankfully.  

I didn't think I'd be doing any sewing this weekend, as we had planned on going up to Auckland.  But plans have changed.

Now it looks like we will be home after all.

Sad really, cos I was so looking forward to a weekend away.

I'm still hoping we get out somewhere, but probably not far from home.

Actually feeling in a right funk.  So maybe some shopping will help?

I do need some white backing fabric for the Cat Hangers, and some more black thread.  So yeah, a trip to Spotlight is on the cards.  I didn't get there yesterday obviously.

I could buy some dowel for the Cat 'Hangers' too.  Yeah.  That's what we can do for a start.

Something nice to look forward to... our son Steve is cooking dinner for us tomorrow night. Wonder what we will be having ?

2 pm:  Sorry I've not updated till now.

I have been busy getting supplies for the next few Wall Hangings.

Then I prepared two more for stitching:

ABOVE:  I have used a different font for them ... I like the more simple one I think.

I'm now working on the stitching, just finished going around one cat and about to do the other.

Then I'll take a break, cos it's actually quite hard on me eyes and back.

10.40 pm:  Well I got heaps done on those two cat wall hangings.

Young Liam spent a bit of time with us this evening, until Amanda could pick him up after work.  That was nice.  He's a good boy, on his own!

Been watching the telly, there's some good programmes on channel 1 on Saturday night.  Murder/Mystery, my favourite.

But time for bed now, catch ya tomorrow.

DAY OFF

 Four days of exercise in a row, so today I get a rest.

I'm gunna lie in bed for ages.

Read the news. Look at a few YouTube videos.  Bla bla bla.

Just have a cruisy morning.

Once I'm up I shall get the washing out then head into the sewing room to work on the 2nd Cat Runner.

I will get it finished today.

Then I might do a couple more.  I just wanted to have two ready for the next Tamahere Market, as one is pre-sold, she gets to choose between the blue and the green ones.

If I make two more, I can take those two 'spare ones'  to the Woodlands market at the beginning of April.

Stitching around all the cat's sticky out hair wasn't quite as arduous as I remembered, so making them didn't take as long as I thought it would.  Hence my deciding to make 4.

Shit, just remembered I have to make a bigger Zippered Pouch in specific colours for another lady too.  Yikes, I probably should make that first.  Yeah.

And I will need a bigger zip for said pouch, so I gotta go to Spotlight later on now.  *sigh*

What a shame... shopping!  Oh well, someone's gotta do it eh?  😂😅😊

Right, better roll over and get on with being a lazy tart.

ABOVE:  9.45 am, and lying in bed being lazy didn't work.  If I'm awake, I gotta be doing stuff.

So I finished the green Cat 'Runner', which is totally a wall hanging.  I should start calling them that I think.

I even put hanging tabs on it so it's obviously a hanging.  I am going to do that will all my projects that are more suited to being hangers from now on.

The blue one has a hanging strip across the back btw.

Now, I'm going to make the zippered pouch that's an order.

LITTLE DIET YAK:   I think I've totally stuffed up my metabolism.  By only eating a 'proper' meal at midday, and something very light in the evening, I've slowed my metabolism down.  

Too  much.

It worked for months, but now it's not working any more.

My weight loss has completely stopped.  And in fact in the last week or so I've gained again.  NOT a huge amount, but enough for me to feel depressed and hopeless.

So, I need to change something.

I know what to do.

I'm going to have three small meals during the day/evening, to kick start my metabolism again.

Starting today.

So wish me luck, cos I don't want to fail again.

ABOVE:  The request for a bigger pouch was for Purple and Green.  I think that covers it!

ABOVE:  And dammit!!!

I think it's come out too big.  So I shall be making another one later on today.

It's 1 pm, time for a break.

ABOVE:  Well now I suppose I have three sizes.  My 'normal' ones are now SMALL, then there's Medium and Large.

I'm happy with the Medium sized one, I'm sure that's the size the order was for.

I'm sure I will be able to sell or gift the Large one eventually.  I actually love the new ones, the colour way was not one I would have ordinarily have put together, but it works.

It's now almost 4 pm, and I'm doing well with food today.  Just have to decide what to have for dinner now.

It's hard making healthy choices that I LIKE.  And portion sizes much be watched better.

I'm sure I'd started putting too much on my plate again.

The trick is put the food on ya plate, then take at least a third off again.  *smiles*   That has always worked before, so let's go back to that.

I've had a nasty headache all evening, just sat quietly hoping it would piss off.  It hasn't.  Grrr.

I'll be off to bed soon, hopefully that will fix it.

Catch ya tomorrow.