LAST DAY OF THE MONTH

 

It's the last day of March.  And I for one am damn happy to see the end of one of the hottest months of the year.

Hot and dry.  I don't mind the dry of course, even though it's bad for the farmers.

I'm praying we don't have a really wet winter this year.  Last year was too damn wet, like almost every single market over winter was a wet day for us.

It totally did my head in.  

Our second Morrinsville market is this coming Saturday, fingers crossed it is a fine day. 

Right, what shall I do today?  I really have no idea to be honest.  I don't feel like sewing.  Or walking.  Or anything much in fact.

So, I suppose I will report back here later on with whatever I do get up to.  😐

11.50 am.  

I got up late.

Made the bed, put a load of washing on and did a few other odd jobs around the house.

Then I went to the supermarket for a few things to tide us over for the next few days.

I then watched a documentary on YouTube, before thinking about lunch.  Which will be some left over nacho mince in a Pita Pocket.

Not much else to report on ... 

ABOVE: That pretty much sums up my day so far.

I've just not been in the mood to ANYTHING.

I've tidied up all the thousands of photos stored in my computer editing programme, but that's about all.

It did take me a couple of hours to be fair.  But really, it was easy because I just sat on me bum to do it.

I am feeling rather blah today.

ABOVE: I feel like I've been blindsided by quite a few people lately.  It hurt for a while, but now?

TOTALLY OVER THEM, over the utter disrespect. The outright bullshit.  The gaslighting.  The blaming. The lies.  The one sided attitudes.  Never mind how it makes ME feel, right?

Moving on, less will be shared.  Less will be invited.  Just LESS all round.   There is only so much I am going to take now days.  Actually, I'm not taking anything anymore. 

Signing off for the day.  I've go nothing nice to say, so shall just go.

QUIET DAY AHEAD

 OK, it's going to be a very simple day today.

There's absolutely NO jobs needing doing around here.

So, we have decided to go out to The Trade Depot and look at Vanities and Showers.  We are going to re-do the bathroom in our new home, so we might as well do our 'homework' on what we want now, while we have nothing else to do.

I wouldn't mind looking at lights too, I want a really nice light for hanging over the dining table.  

So, window shopping it is.

This afternoon we are going to a little gathering at our new village, so a chance to meet a few of our new neighbours.  It's bloody neat how they are already including us in the village activities.

I think I forgot to mention we have already been to a function there?  A couple of weeks ago, we went to an evening event.  It was quite nice.... sort of.  

I arrived before Stew, and was happily chatting with the people at our table, but no one else came over to say 'Hi' to me.

THEN STEW ARRIVED.  And OMG!!!! Within seconds, I MEAN SECONDS, there was a steady line of ladies coming over to the table to introduce themselves to STEW!!!!    I sat there absolutely GOBSMACKED at their audacity! Their blatant drooling over MY HUSBAND!  Never mind that I was sitting right beside him!

I sat there saying, quite pointedly "HE'S MINE" ladies.  And thanks for coming over and saying hi to me too.   Pfffft.

I can see I will need to keep those HUSSIES under control.  

It was almost laughable, except for the fact that Stew was lapping it up!!!  What.  A.  Shit.

OH yes, a few men came over and introduced themselves to STEW as well.  I got a couple of 'Hello's' from them.   😖😕😂

Back to today, we won't be spending very long at the village this afternoon, as we have Steve, Bex and the kids coming over for dinner.   

I better find a big stick to beat the hussies off with before we go eh?  lol

Time to go... catch ya later.

Small change of plans for this afternoon.  We won't be going to the village get together.  Stew thinks we should just do one or the other, so we choose our family dinner.  There will be plenty of time to get to know our new neighbors later on.

Contrary to popular belief, we did not buy anything today.  It really was just window shopping.

We have sussed out the shower and vanity we will get.   

We have checked out racks for the garage (for storage purposes), grabbed some groceries for this evening's dinner, and come home.

ABOVE: When we arrived home from our window shopping, Coco did this.  She's never done that before (the excessive sneezing).  We thought it was possibly a reaction to one of the medications?   I was going to take her back to the Vet tomorrow.

BUT JUST NOW... Stew went to give her a love, and he noticed a green bit of grass jutting out of her nose!  He pulled it, and out came this really LOOOOOOOONG piece of grass!

OMG that is why she was sneezing, not because of new medication.  

We both just laughed and laughed.  

And I bet Coco is feeling 100% better already.

Why didn't we think to check her nose?  Derrr.

Brylee and Dom called in for a visit this afternoon, before they took off on a hike up some mountain.  Crazy buggers.

Then Steve, Bex and their kids arrived for dinner.

I cooked nacho mince and we all had it with Pita Pockets and nacho chips, sour cream and grated cheese.  Followed by Ice Creams.

A lovely dinner.   

It's now late and I'm off to bed, just a bit earlier than my 'norm'.

Coco has had no 'episodes' since we sorted out the sneezing problem!  Thank goodness.

Catch ya tomorrow.

SECOND TRY

 

Kinda relieved, kinda not.

It is getting cooler in the mornings.  Fogs.  Damp and cool.

Great for walking.

Not so great for doing markets in.

Soon I'll be bitching about being cold, instead of too hot!  At least I'm consistent.

So, the dining suite.  I have been inundated with enquiries and cheeky offers over the past couple of weeks, all WAY LOWER than my asking price. (which was a reduction on the original price anyway)

So I withdrew the listing, then put it back up again at my original asking price.  I'm hoping that someone offers me less than the (new) asking price, without knowing I am actually prepared to drop the price a bit?   It's worth trying anyway.

ABOVE:  This is the Round Table Topper I got finished late yesterday afternoon.  I took a gamble on putting the floral fabric in the middle, I think it paid off.  

Our new dining suite has arrived into Hamilton, so we shall go out a bit later on and pick it up.  It will be staying in the box until we move into our new home.  No point assembling the table for now right?

Coco had her first dose of her medications last night.  It is going to take at least two weeks before we see any improvement (if any).  I really hope for Coco's sake it works.

10 am: So far this morning Coco has not had an 'episode'.  I know it's way too early for the medications to kick in, so just lucky I guess.

Stew is out getting the weekend groceries (mainly Diet Coke of course).

Then we will go out and pick up the new dining suite.

2.14 pm and we have the new dining suite (in 4 boxes) stacked in the garage.  Very handy being in boxes I must say.

Lunch was a kebab at Chartwell Square, and now we are just hanging out at home.  Stew is going to do some lawns/weeding soon. 

I have started another new jig saw, but it's slow going as I'm not really feeling it today.

7 pm and it's been an incredibly quiet day.  We didn't do much this afternoon at all.

So... I'm gunna bugger off.

This evening is going to be spent in front of the telly.  That is all.

Catch ya tomorrow.

RING AROUND

 

My single job today is to ring around moving companies to get quotes for our move. 

It is one job we can't afford to leave off doing for much longer.  I don't want to end up with no one booked in time!

It's a BIG  DUCK  🦆  that needs to get in line.  😊

I hope to get that nailed down in the next few days.

Coco is starting to scare me! Twice last night she had nasty 'turns', where she stopped in her tracks, went like a stiff statue and wouldn't/couldn't move.  Then she huffed and puffed and struggled to breathe.

She's done this before on many, many occasions, but last night for some reason, she scared me.  It lasted much longer than 'normal' for her.

And she's moving much slower lately, like she's just suddenly aged overnight into a really old dog.  

I will take her to the Vet if she gets worse.  

She's OLD.  She's slowing down.  We will just have to love her for as long as we have her now, because I really don't think she's going to be here for the next 2-3 years as I was expecting.

I'm not sure what else I will get up to today, perhaps I'll make another round runner using some of the fabrics I got on our trip.

10.25 am, and it's been a morning.  I got up and let Coco in at 7.30 this morning, and she immediately started with the shivering, shaking, gasping for air, honking like a goose shit.  And it went on for two hours.  So, she's going to the Vet at midday.

I know they can give her medication to help dilate her airways, maybe that will help in the short term.

I will wait and see what they suggest I suppose.

I have also managed to book a moving company in for the end of May.  It was a bit difficult getting a company to do Saturday morning delivery.  And I'm paying a bit more for that, but hey, we do not want to try and do it all on the Friday.

We've been in the situation of having to wait hours on the side of the road, waiting to get the keys to the house before. 

It's just easier to get our stuff taken out on Friday, held overnight, and delivered in the morning to the new house.

Coco has settled down now, so I'm doing some sewing.  She wouldn't leave my side while she wasn't feeling well, poor girl.

It is now 1.46 pm.  We have been to the Vet.

We have had our throat examined, our ears examined, our heart, lungs and all that in between examined.

And now we have some pills to take for the next month to see if any of it helps.

Long story short, she has a collapsing trachea, and there isn't much they can do about it, as I thought.

I was offered a referral to a specialist (NO THANKS), or x-rays and ultrasounds (NO THANKS), or just pills.

Because of her age, seeing a specialist and other tests will not give us any more answers, we know the cause of her distress.  She is too old for any sort of surgery, which doesn't really help in the long run anyway.

ABOVE: She did not like them much, and rewarded them by pee'ing on their floor.  Good one Coco.

ABOVE:  We have Antibiotics, Bronchial Dilator medication and Steroids.  I now need to get a calendar and put down how much, and when each day!  The steroids are started with two a day, then one a day and finally half a day over a month.  The others are just over two weeks.

Still a lot to remember, so yeah... I will have to write it all down on the calendar.

Got 'the urge' for the bathroom on me way home.  Second time in recent history, I made it home, only to 'LOSE IT BIG TIME' before I got to the bathroom.

NICE/NOT.   

Second shower of the day done... and I'm now feeling like ... that was sorta funny.

Thank god I made it home at least.

Coco is now curled up in a ball in the sunshine, happy as Larry.  I hope she stays that way for the rest of the day.  She had me really worried last night and this morning.

LAURIE:  Yep, the vet said Coco would probably be extra hungry and thirsty.  She also said Coco will probably be on steroids for the rest of her life, as her condition will not change.  It is what it is.

OH I just remembered!  The Vet said Coco is probably having seizures as well as having the collapsing trachea.  That explains the episodes where she goes all stiff and extends her neck, shakes and shivers and just breathes weirdly. Poor girl is having a right time of it.  As we all said today, she is simply getting old.  😒😟😢

6.38 pm.  Coco hasn't been able to move much today without having a 'silent seizure' or a coughing fit.  She's really not well at the moment and I feel so sorry for her.

We have a function to attend this evening, so I better get a move on. 

Catch ya tomorrow.

JUST A BIT OF STUFF

 

Well, it's lovely to be home.

But now I have some serious work to do.

While those 'comparison photos' I posted yesterday look OK, I know I'm not looking 'that' good.

We had no holds barred meals while away, and OMG can I tell I've over eaten.

I had already gained quite a bit of weight in the past 6 months, with stress eating.  But now?  I feel pretty yuk.

So, I am going to make a concentrated effort to lose a few kilos before we move, and also do more exercise to be fitter.

There's a few jobs to do around here today, and I also need to pop out to pay a bill.

Before I forget, I took a reading of our odometer before we left on our trip, and when we arrived home again.

We drove a grand total of 1,319 kilometres on our trip, or 819.5 miles.  Fairly impressive.  My butt only started hurting on our last day travelling! 

Right, I'm off to get the washing on the line, and get on with my day.

10.39 am, and all is done around here.  I'm now literally twiddling my fingers, wondering what the hell I can do for the next 50+ days until we move.

I have our dining suite on Marketplace, and the number of enquiries is huge, but no sale yet.

So many damn cheeky buggers offering way lower than my asking price.

If it doesn't go in the next month I'm giving it to the Hospice shop.  It's so frustrating dealing with time wasters.

First afternoon in months I've got a massive headache.  I've taken some painkillers, so hopefully it's gone by the time I want to drop Stew at the pub and then visit the kids.

ABOVE:  Lacy called in this morning to return the house keys.  She brought her little cat ... who did not like Coco at all.  Coco was not fussed by the cat at all of course, I'm sure she would have happily played with her, but Sylvie was having none of it.  She hissed and tried to whack Coco.  

It was nice to see Lacy and get me house key back.  I went out first thing this morning and when I got home I did wonder how I was going to get into me own house!  Luckily, I had the garage door opener.  

I did a bit of back shed sorting out this morning too, and put a big dog pen out the front for free pickup.  It went pretty quickly.   I've managed to give away quite a lot of smaller things that way.

Either on the roadside, or hospice shop drop offs.

Soon there won't be anything left to get rid of!

Well, except the dining suite.  And I won't just give that away to any old Joe Blogs.

ABOVE: Stew sent me this an hour ago via Messenger.

How did I get so lucky?

We celebrate our first meeting on September 28th this year... it will be FORTY YEARS!!!   40 years of being with him, and I wish we had another 40 to go.  He may get VERY OLD AND WRINKLY, but I'd still love him.  I on the other hand, will stay exactly the way I am now of course! lol  As if.

He cheered me up no end with that little meme.

DOGSTAR is working on a film set in Minnesota, USA. She has to supply all the food/drink for the 'stars'.  One of the main stars only drinks DIET COKE!  So she has it ready to pass over to 'them' when needed.  

Today she handed it to 'M' and 'M' was like "How did you know?"  Cute.

Thanks for the comment telling me about it Christine.

So a wrap up of the evening... Stew arrived home, I dropped him off at the pub, then I visited with Steve and Bex.  Steve joined Stew at the pub for an hour, then I took Stew home.

I wasn't in the mood for the pub, so didn't join the guys.

Home now, watching Coronation Street, before going to bed.  Catch ya tomorrow.

TIME TO HEAD HOME

 

We are heading home today.  It has been an awesome break away, something we both needed after a long campaign selling and buying houses.  

It's been good to just get away and forget about it all.

ABOVE: The view from our motel room.  We have stayed here before.  It's not the 'flashest, newest' motel around, but I utterly refuse to spend over $200 a night to sleep in a room and have a shower!   It does well enough of us.

ABOVE:  The fabrics I found yesterday.  I think you can see a trend in the colours.  😂😅😊

They are so lovely.  I can't wait to use them.

Need to get home now. 

ABOVE:  I found a piece of driftwood for the 'collection' on the beach right in front of our motel last night.   

I think that will do for driftwood and rocks now.  😂😊

We will be leaving around 8 - 8.30.  It is a 300 km trip from here to Hamilton, via Taupo.  So a fairly long trip.  We might drop in on my Aunt and Uncle in Kinloch ... if they are home.

12 noon,  safely at Taupo.

ABOVE:  An easy lunch by the lake. 

3.10 pm, and we are about to leave Taupo.  The one and only problem we have encountered this trip has been .... finding places that sell DIET COKE!

We ran out today, and it's taken us a while to find anywhere that sells it, let alone already chilled.  

ABOVE: Saved from dehydration!  They had it at the BP Petrol station at Wairakei.  Now we can head off on our final stretch home.

It is now 6.34 pm, and we have been home about an hour.  Enough time to unpack, get the washing on and then get on here to do an update.

ABOVE: The countryside between Napier and Taupo is gorgeous.  LOTS of mountainous ranges, forestry and farms.  

Quite a few stops and starts with roadworks too.

 

ABOVE: The drain covers in Taupo are rather stunning.

We had a nice lunch down by the lakefront, before going to Kinloch to visit my Aunt and Uncle.

ABOVE: The lakefront at Kinloch, so nice.  

From Taupo to Putaruru there were two really BIG diversions due to roadworks on State Highway 1... which added time and distance to our trip.

On the Napier to Taupo road, there's a waterfall that we stopped at back in 2022.  Today we stopped there again, and I took a couple of photos.   It wasn't until I saw the photos from 2022 that I realised that I was wearing the EXACT SAME TOP today!  lol

ABOVE:  Stew's comparison photos.... I'm so relieved I got him to chop that damn hair off!  He's looking rather dashing now I must say, some weight loss and that Santa Clause beard.  Nice.  😊

ABOVE:  Me in the same top.... the first photo is not a good one!  

There was a lot less water going over the falls today, but it was still pretty.

ABOVE: The very first thing I noticed when we arrived home, a lovely Welcome Home card from Lacy.

She did an awesome job house/dog sitting... THANK YOU SO MUCH LACY.

You can do it again some day.  😊

Coco is in 7th Heaven, back on Stew's lap.  She sniffed us all over when we arrived home, and seems to be happy we are back.

We've had a very calm, relaxing evening, just watching the telly with our feet up.  So nice to be home again.

OFF TO NAPIER WE GO

 Today we start the third leg of our 5 day jaunt around the East Cape.

We are off to Napier next.  This is another stretch of road that I have never been on.   Stew's been on it once, back in the very early 2000's.

So, new territory still.

Once we arrive in Napier, we will have a tiki tour around, before meeting up with GM, who is a regular commentor on the blog.  I have meet her some years ago when she took one of the first puppies from Coco.

Sadly, that puppy died from, I think Parvo?  Now she has George, hence she is known as GM (George's Mum).  I call her Robyn.  😂😊

Her and my Mum used to 'talk' via the blog quite a bit too.  

So, we shall have a lovely day I'm sure.

8.30 am, on the road again. There's been some rain overnight,  so much cooler today. 

ABOVE: Not as far to go today. 

ABOVE: Bye bye GIZZY.

2.31 pm.  In Napier.  Had lunch, and wandered around the shops.  Then did the waterfront, and a little tiki tour.

We are now at the motel and ready for a relax for a while.

Feeling a bit jaded today I must say.

ABOVE: Where the Wairoa River meets the sea.  It was very rough.

ABOVE:  Seriously, I have no idea where this was taken!  Somewhere between Wairoa and Raupunga.  

ABOVE:  We stopped at this pretty little lake.

Nice to see you could actually swim in it if you wanted to.  

There were lots of little fish close to the shoreline.

ABOVE:  Lake Tutira.

ABOVE: There was even a small school group out kayaking on the lake. 

ABOVE:   DEVIL'S ELBOW, in the middle of nowhere!

ABOVE: We had stopped for road works at 'Devil's Elbow' bend on the road to Napier.

It was so pretty looking out over the bush.  They are building a bridge to cut out the bend.

ABOVE: FIRST stop once we arrived in Napier?  The fabric shop.  I found a bit of fabric there, some really lovely stuff.

ABOVE:  It was not very busy in the shopping streets at all.

We went to a cafe for a pie and chips for lunch.

ABOVE: We found these giant chairs along the waterfront.  Only time I'm ever going to feel small.

ABOVE:  My piece of Napier Driftwood to take home.

ABOVE: Nice view back towards Whirinaki Beach.

And that's it for now.  

7.55 pm: And we are just back from having a delightful dinner with Robyn at a very nice eatery by the Marina.

ABOVE: Stew and I shared some Calamari and Pork Bites, followed by a bowl of Chicken Fettucine each.  VERY filling, and very yummy.

ABOVE: Robyn had a monster burger!!!  She took half of it home for her lunch tomorrow.

It was super lovely to catch up with Robyn after so many years.

I hope it doesn't take as long next time.

We are now going to wind down and get to bed fairly early.  There is another long road trip tomorrow.