ICE ICE BABY!

 

I moved heavy furniture.

I found BIG DENTS in the carpet.

I pondered what to do.

Then I put the question out there on Facebook.

How do ya get rid of furniture dents on ya carpet?

LOTS and LOTS of helpful replies.

The most common one?

Put ice blocks on them.

ABOVE: So I got out some of Stew's precious ice and dropped a block on 4 of the dents.  Covered them with a cup so Coco wouldn't lick 'em, and left them all day.

And two of the dents were completely obliterated, and two probably need another ice cube on them.  

But basically,  IT WORKED!

How neat, and it was so damn easy.  Now I won't feel bad about leaving dents all over the place when we move, because there won't be any.

Today I am off to Mosaics in Cambridge.  It's a great way to get right away from all that I could be doing here.  A good distraction.

This evening is 'pub night', so another outing to look forward to.  Even though I really only go there for about an hour.  It is nice to catch up with the 'regulars', and share a bowl of hot chips.

12.30 pm and I'm home from mosaics.  I didn't do anything today except yak.  They we did a little road trip out to Matangi, where a lady sells mosaic supplies.

I did not buy much, just these:  

ABOVE:  I'm sure at some point I will use them.

After that little visit, I came home and had me lunch.

Now I'm about to head into the sewing room to get some work done.

After a few months of respite, the dog from hell has started barking again.  I know when my neighbour is not home because her dog barks non stop until she gets home again.

We had the same 'problem' in Cambridge.  That dog barked Mon - Fri, 8.30 - 4.30.  Like clockwork.

God I hope we don't find we have the same problem where we are moving to.  That would do my bloody head in.  At least where we are going, I'm sure it would be sorted damn fast!  It's a private village, with RULES.  I bet one of them is NO BARKING DOGS. (hence why Marley lives with Steve and Bex now).

I was going to sew this afternoon, but I just can't be arsed.  I'm tired, I did not sleep well at all last night.  Too much on my mind.  All going well, my mind will be at ease by the weekend.

Nice evening... very quiet at the pub tonight.  I only stayed half an hour, then we came home.

I won't be up too late tonight, I've got a trip out of town tomorrow.

CATS

 

So often at markets, someone will say "Oh they are so lovely.  But I'd love one with CATS, or Smaller, or, or, or",   bla bla bla.  You get the drift.

It does my head in to be honest.

But, I do think I will make ONE with Cats, to see how it goes.

I have three dog ones at the moment, and they have sat on the stall for months.

I bet if I didn't have them, some bugger would want a DOG RUNNER!

That is kinda how I feel about having a Cat Runner.  I bet once I have one, no one will want it.

But, I will make one, just for the bloody hell of it.

Which means going out today to find a little piece of Cat fabric.

Once that is done, I'll come home and make it up, then start quilting and binding all the small runners I've made the past few days.

ABOVE:  Bedroom #3 is totally empty, cleaned and ready to have it's door closed.

Bedroom #1 only has the Queen size bed in it, which the buyers of the house have bought.  I can close it's door as well.

Bedroom #2 had the single bed in it, and that is all.  We are taking that bed with us.  Basically, that room is done as well.

The Sunroom (top and bottom sections) have a couple of things in them that are leaving for other homes.  So that room is done too.

It is coming together slowly but surely. 

LOTS OF TICKS.  ✔✔✔✔

Worth noting, I am sleeping SO MUCH BETTER now!  I know it's not due to the temperature dropping, it's purely due to less STRESS.  Selling/buying houses is damn stressful.  I hope we never have to do it again.

I'm so thankful to be getting a better night's sleep.

Alright, time to get up and start the day.

12.45 pm.  It has been a very busy morning.

I spent a good two hours fluffing around the house, cleaning, moving stuff and so on.

Then I went to Spotlight and found the ONLY cat fabric they had:

ABOVE:  I just finished making up this little Cat Runner.  

I plan on making one more this afternoon, then I will move on to quilting and binding them all.

ABOVE:  And there we have Cat Runner #2.  And I'm done for the day.

I've been on the go since my feet hit the floor.

Time to take a break.

ABOVE:  Who asked to see the Dog Runners?  There they are.

9.58 pm:  I took another load over to our Storage Unit this afternoon.  It is almost full!

It's been the usual sort of evening here.  I'm watching Coronation Street, then off to bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

A COUPLE MORE

 

Today it is supposed to rain... and I can't wait for it.  It is so very dry now, the lawns all over the place are crispy and near dead.  I think the only thing grown on our back lawn is clover, the bees are having a blast!

Yesterday I got these three smaller runner tops done:

ABOVE:  I think that will be enough in that colour combo for now.

ABOVE:  Today I am going to work on these two Dragonfly runners.  Again, keeping them small.

I am also going out to Bower Bird (fabric shop) to grab some more of the blue/green fabric in the photo above.  It will come in handy for quite a few runners.

I don't need to do much around the house right now, I'm almost at the point where I can't do anything else until we actually move.  I probably have one or two small loads to take to the storage unit, and also a few things from outside that will go over to Steve and Bex's as well.

It is neat that we can put a lot of our 'outside' stuff (pots, rusty bits etc) around the back of Steve 'n' Bex's home.  It means that we have that much less to move 'on the day'.  

There will be no rush to get it all moved to our new place either, giving us time to get unpacked and settled in first.

I'm so damn organised... I want to do it all NOW!  But, clearly we have to wait. 

Right, I suppose I shall roll over and just stay in bed for a bit longer.  Bower Bird does not open until 9.30 I think, so no rush.  I can probably get one more runner top made while waiting for them to open.

10.20 am:  no sign of rain yet.  Might not even happen.

I have just arrived home after a very successful shopping trip out to Bower Bird.

ABOVE:  I got the last of the blue/green fabric, so I'm happy about that.  I also bought a few other fabrics that will tone in nicely with what I'm making at the moment.

Now I'm going to do a couple of jobs around the house, and then go into the sewing room and get on with those smaller runners.

ABOVE:

One massive tick

off my list.

I cleaned my car.

Inside and out.

It had been bugging me for months... it was so dirty.  Usually Stew does it about once a year.  It's had it's 2025 clean now.  😂

I think he 'loves' cleaning cars as much as I 'love' ironing his work shirts!  lol

It's now lunch time, so I'm taking a break for lunch, then I'll head into the sewing room.

ABOVE: And there we have today's three small runners.  That makes six to quilt and bind tomorrow and the next day.

It's now almost 4 pm and we finally have a bit of rain!

I wonder how long it will last?

I'm hoping to get out of watering the gardens.

THIRTY.  FIVE.  SECONDS.  Yep, that's about how long it rained.  Dammit. I'll have to water the gardens now.

Stew arrived home around 6 pm.  We had some dinner then it started raining around 7.  And it has continued raining, not heavy, but consistent.  YES!  I hope it keeps raining all night.  Our lawns, gardens and farms need rain so much.

Watching the telly now... as per usual.  Yakking with Stew about 'what will go where' etc.... making some plans for our move.

And now I'm gunna bugger off, and be back again tomorrow.

STEVE AND BEX'S FAMILY HAS GROWN!

 

I have a bit of a surprise for you.  One I've held off sharing for fear of trolls having a go.

But here goes:

ABOVE: Steve, Bex, Dante, Archer, Lily AND Marley.

Yep, Marley now lives with Steve and Bex.  She didn't even have to change her surname.  😂😅😊

Why?

Because where we are moving to would not have worked out for Marley (or us).   Marley barks when she sees ANYONE passing our home, or when she hears a strange noise.

Where we are moving to, she would undoubtedly bark and cause a problem.  We could not risk becoming social pariahs at our new village, or being complained about.

So, Steve and Bex were only too happy to adopt her.  We sent Marley to them a little while ago now, to see how it could work.

And it's been absolutely perfect for everyone.

Marley cannot see out to the road or footpath from Steve and Bex's home, so does not bark there.

She is loved and pandered to by all the family, and of course, Marley LOVES them all, especially Lily!  It is the best thing for Marley.

Another huge positive, we get to see her all the time.

And finally, and a big consideration as well....

Coco gets to live out the last few years of her life in peace, without being bullied by Marley.  Yes, Marley bullied her.  Coco doesn't miss Marley at all.

She is loving being an 'only child'.  And we spoil her rotten.  She deserves to be spoilt rotten.

Coco will be 15 years old in 5 days.   She spends the majority of her days following me around the house, and sleeping wherever I am.

So that is our news.  

Moving on to today.  I am going to potter around the house, doing a few odd jobs here and there.

Then I will make a start on some smaller runners.

We have been asked on numerous occasions if we have smaller runners?  Last Saturday was no exception.

So I will be making some over the next two weeks, in readiness for our next market at Tamahere.

10 am:  Lots of stuff got done so far this morning.  I'm very happy with my efforts.

Lacy is here, and she just helped me move a couple of things.

GM:  ONE.  MOMENT.  PLEASE...

ABOVE: Yep, he did pull some faces... until I yelled at him.  lol

Lacy and I just spent a couple of hours out and about.  I showed her around the village we are moving to, then we did some shopping, followed by a visit to Bex and Lily.  We took lunch with us, so a nice visit, just us girls.

ABOVE:  Marley has fully embraced being with the kids. So much so, that when I get up to leave, she doesn't even try to leave with me. In fact the little tart refuses to come with me!

3 pm:   I had a nap!  Lay down and was out to it for an hour.  Must have been tired, I've not been able to nap for ages, try as I might.

It never actually feels good when ya wake up again, but never mind.

ABOVE: The first of a run of smaller runners.  It's just the top, not quilted or bound yet.  I'm going to make about 6 in a row then quilt and bind them all in one go.

8.30 pm:  I got a bit more done in the sewing room this afternoon, will show ya tomorrow.

Stew arrived home and we both had some dinner before settling down for a couple of hours in front of the telly.

And that is me for the day.

Catch ya tomorrow.

BYE BYE BLUE

 

A few months ago, I offered our leather lounge suite to Steve and Bex.  But then I changed my mind.

3 days ago we put an offer in on a much, much smaller home, and realised the leather lounge suite would be too big for the lounge there.

So, we again offered it to Steve and Bex, and they are more than happy to take it.  

So today it is going over to their home.  And we shall be keeping the Cream La Z Boy suite.

The house is going to look a bit empty !

But that's all good, because it means we will have that much less big furniture to move in 3 months time.

Downsizing is extremely freeing I must say.  It's like a MASSIVE declutter.  

I really am loving it.

There will be more decluttering going on once we have moved, and can bring back from storage all we have there too.

ABOVE:  I know I posted this back in December, but it's so appropriate for us now, and worth posting again.

I am sure I will 'WANT' more stuff once we move, and have sorted everything out.  Like a new oven, range hood, lights etc.  But all that can wait for now.

Now all I want is for time to fly, and May to get here quick.   I'm not too good when it comes to being patient. 

And back to now...  better get up and make a start on our day.

ABOVE:  And there it goes, the first load over to the kids.  There's probably two to go.

Nice time to do it, not too hot yet.

ABOVE:  Our lounge for the next 3 months.  Not much to move in there now.

ABOVE: Our entry foyer.  COMPLETELY EMPTY!

The new home doesn't even have an Entry Foyer!  lol

We are killing time today.  We are going out later on to check out how our furniture looks in Steve 'n' Bex's home.

So, we went to the mall, had a wander around for about an hour, grabbed a quick lunch (nothing special, just food court crap).

We also went and made sure the Samsung Double Oven is still available (it is), and got a brochure on Range Hoods.

ABOVE:  Waiting for Stew.  Pretty concrete I must say.

Home now, and still killing time.  We might even go for a walk down by the river again, just a little one as OMG, it's a hot day again.

Yeah nah.  No walk, as it just got hotter this afternoon, with virtually no wind.  The heat just simmered and hunkered down.  Horrible.

We visited the kids and admired their new lounge suite, which fitted in their lounge just fine.

Came home and made Vietnamese Spring Rolls for our dinner.  Again, they were just lovely.  Stew appreciated the work involved to make them, but as I said to him, they are no more 'work' than most dinners.

I just finished watering all the gardens and pots.  Time to just relax for the remainder of the evening.

Catch ya tomorrow.

FIVE O'CLOCK IN THE FRIGGIN MORNING!

 

OMG, we are up in pitch darkness!

What the hell are we thinking???

Attending the Morrinsville Country Market means we have to leave by 5.30 am, to get there at a decent set up time.

We are leaving extra early as we have never attended this market before, so want to give ourselves time to get there (it's about a 30-35 minute drive away), and we need time to find where to go.

As you all know, I kinda DETEST getting up early, and this is VERY EARLY.  At least this market only goes until midday.  We will be home by 1-1.30, which gives me plenty of time to have a crabby nap.  lol

I will post a few photos of the market once we are set up and have ourselves sorted.

ABOVE:  well it didn't take us long to get here. And it's still dark.

ABOVE: Still dark... the organizers are setting up. Oh yes, we were the very first people here. Lol

ABOVE: Slowly everyone is getting here and setting up.

ABOVE: His nibs relaxing. It's 7.15 am and we are ready.

1.51 pm:  Home.  Unpacked.  Did a few jobs.

Now... exhausted.  But happy.

We did fairly well at the market.

And that was pretty good as the town had it's A&P Show on at the same time.

So next month there will probably be even more people turn up to the market.

I now reek of dog... cos I bathed Coco, who was rather smelly.

When Stew starts complaining.. I have to act.  😖

Bathing dogs is not one of my favourite jobs, not at all.

The bathroom ends up smelling like wet dog, and so do I.

A shower for me it now top of my 'to do' list.  edit:  Had me shower and cleaned the bathroom... all smells nice again.

Stew is at the supermarket, stocking up on Diet Coke and his work lunch food.

3 pm:  Stew arrived home with the groceries, so I went and lay down on our bed for my 'crabby nap'.  Didn't happen.

Phone kept pinging.  So I'm up.  

We have decided we're too tired to cook anything for dinner, so we are going to our favourite Indian Restaurant instead.  

ABOVE:  Well ... another celebratory glass of wine did pass me lips.  And Butter Lamb.  It is always excellent.  Stew tries a different dish when he has dinner there, but mostly he loves Chicken Tikka Masala, which he had this evening.

Now we are home, and going to settle down and just relax till bedtime.   It is STINKING HOT, but I doubt that will keep us awake tonight.

Catch ya tomorrow.

FIRST COUNTDOWN BEGINS

 

Once the purchase is UNCONDITIONAL, we start the last countdown, which will be:  

Moving OUT, and MOVING IN DAY.  Won't that be fun!  lol

ABOVE:  18 months ago we bought this Peach/Apricot hybrid fruit tree.  It's first season it produced NOTHING.  Kinda to be expected of a very young tree.  

ABOVE:  This season?  Not a huge amount of fruit, but some.   I'm happy we get to taste them before we move.

This morning I am picking Lacy up, then going over to Bex's.  From there we are going off together so I can show them around the OUTSIDE of our new home.

Neither has been there before, so it's going to be fun showing them around.

At this point in time, I will not be sharing any photos, not until it is ours legally.  At the end of May.

When we get back home again, I will come home and do some sewing.  No major jobs today.

12.31 pm:   Well you will be happy with me.  I've done bugger all today!

Bex, Lily, Coco, Marley and I went out to look around the new home.

Lacy couldn't make it after all.

We enjoyed ourselves, and even had a couple of lovely chats with ladies who will eventually become my neighbours.

It seems to be a very friendly village I must say.

I am so looking forward to moving there.

PETA:  We have an area out the back that can easily be contained for the dogs.   We just need to put up a gate.

ABOVE:  Vietnamese Spring Roll ingredients...

ABOVE:  Lunch is made.   And it was delicious.

I shall be making some for Stew's dinner later on.  They are best eaten very fresh.

ABOVE:  Well our coffee table runner is done.  I agonised over what to bind it with... black, multi coloured strip or pinkish.  In the end I stayed safe with black.  It looks great.

I shall make some coasters tomorrow.  edit:  no I won't, I'll be at market!

I'm holding off making chair arm covers for now.

JUST.  IN.  CASE.  I decide to do something else in the lounge in the 'new to us' house.

Today has been very cruisy for me, no rushing around getting some job done.  

When Stew gets home we have to pack the car for market tomorrow.

It is going to be our very first time at the Morrinsville Market. 

ABOVE:  It's in Canada Street, which is off the main shopping street.  Easy to find.   I am hoping it goes well, because we would like to find one more market to do on a regular monthly basis.

7.27 pm:  Stew arrived home and we immediately loaded the car for tomorrow.

Then we had something to eat, and have now settled down for the evening.

We won't be up late considering we have to get up goddam early tomorrow.

And with that said, I'm outta here.

Catch ya tomorrow.