BACK TO THE USUAL ROUTINE

Today is Patchwork this morning.  I'm not sure what I shall be working on yet, maybe my hexies.  They are small and easy to take down to the hall and work on.

I would love to walk down to the hall where our meeting is, but seriously, it's just too bloody hot!  I really need the exercise, but it just ain't gunna happen.

The Fat Bottomed Girls Urban Challenge should be starting up again in a week or two.  I have lost all my fitness over the past few months and man! ... can I feel it.  I hate that I just couldn't get out there over summer and keep my walking up.

I am not alone though, there were very few of us who keep walking over summer.  It was just too hot!

I think it's still too hot be starting up again, so I hope there's some evening walks planned.


ABOVE:  a quick video of the Blue Springs, such a beautiful place!  

ABOVE:  The countryside has these huge outcrops of rock everywhere.  I find them very pretty.  Am I weird that I just like to look at them?  

ABOVE:  Bottom left, a pair of Paradise Ducks, and on the right, a shag.  There were quite a few ducks around the area.  Nice to see.  

Right, it's back to me day... I need to get the house straightened up before going to Patchwork.  Catch ya later.

ONWARD...

11 am:  And my plan of going to Patchwork flew out the window at 7.30 this morning.
I woke up feeling like utter shit.  I don't think I got even an hours sleep last night.  I kept getting one hot flush after another!

And now I TOTALLY know why.  I ate lollies.  Locorice to be precise.  And obviously sugar makes me get hot flushes!

OMG I felt so bad this morning I lay in bed and just ... stayed there!  Till 10.  Then I got up and started my day.  I felt a bit better by then thank god.

I've turned the watering system on out in the gardens cos I want to move a few plants.  Crazy to do it now, but hey!  I want something done, I want it done NOW.  I can't help how I am... I just have to go with the flow. My brain just won't let up once it's got an idea.  *sigh*

Oh I also moved a couple of things in the family room too... been bugging me so... DONE now.

 ABOVE: This is the garden I wanted to remove a few plants from.  It's getting too overgrown.
I can hardly see our lovely big pot in the back there!

ABOVE:  So, first plant dug up and moved to it's new garden.  Not a problem.

Then I move the HUGE rock slab forward and sit our weta back on it:

ABOVE:  Looking great, feeling very happy with my efforts so far.

Next step was to pull out some of the flax plants and put them in the new garden too...

 ABOVE:  So I grab some flax... and FUCK!  I disturb a paper wasp nest... and the little fuckers take for me in a BIG WAY!

You ain't never seen me run like that before, screaming as I go, and jumping around like a banshee, slapping myself!

I got stung FOUR TIMES  on my legs and once on my forearm.  

OMG... and Vinegar DOES NOT take out the sting, in fact it makes it worse.

It's been about half an hour since I got stung and the worst is over now I think.  Just a mild stinging left.

 ABOVE:  These are still sitting by the door, I'm too scared to go out there again.  

 ABOVE:  only consolation is I got something done!

Time for lunch and a think about my next move!

I spent the afternoon feeling sick as a dog!
Not fun.
So I lay down and just chilled out... ha ha!  Chilled out?  It's got so stinking hot I didn't know if I could even cook dinner!

In the end I turned on the air con and managed to make Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner.

The kids and I even got a bit more gardening done... will show you tomorrow.

And now it's late and again I'm doing nothing!  Seriously, I need to pull finger and do more.

SLEEPY SUNDAY

I'm still in bed, cos seriously, I have no real need to get up!

But I shall, cos my cousin Dulcie and her hubby are here and I should be sociable and polite eh?

They are heading back to the lake to watch their son rowing at some point.  

It has been really lovely having them visit, we don't get that many visitors apart from the kids.

Today?  Not sure.  Stew did all the lawns and so on yesterday, and I got everything done that I needed to do.

So, the day is pretty much whatever we want to do.

Perhaps a drive somewhere?  We will see, but for now, I'm off to socialise with me family visitors.

 ABOVE:  My cousin gave us a pot plant and chocolates as a house warming present!  
Do you think I should tell her every houseplant I ever have dies?
Nah, I shall plant it in the garden, that way it has a chance of surviving! lol

 ABOVE:  I ended up hanging the Polish Pottery heart in the family room... it just did not 'go' with what was in the lounge at all.
Here it looks fine.

ABOVE: And the glass heart and little white hearts got added onto my painting above my bed.  They look good!  This 'painting' has had things added/taken off over the years.  It's like a changing work of art... using mixed media.
I love it.  I made it in 2007 and it has changed quite a few times now.

ONWARD...

10 am:  And our visitors have left and we are contemplating our day.  I've decided we are going to go to the Blue Springs at Putaruru.
They are said to be beautiful.  I feel like it's such a lovely day, perfect for a walk in the countryside. *smiles*

Griffin is not that enthusiastic, but he's gunna get dragged along.  I want to get him out of his bedroom!

2.31 pm:  Home from our little trip.  The Blue Springs are gorgeous... hard to capture just how crystal clear the water is!

 ABOVE:  I'm glad we walked to the spring from the Leslie Road end!  It was only about 10 minutes to get to the springs. 
It is a stinking hot day!

After visiting the springs, we went back to Tirau and had a  lovely lunch... and I popped into the gift shop at the top of the hill, aptly named Notting Hill.

I had completely forgotten they stock Polish Pottery!...

ABOVE:  They had quite a selection, so I mulled over several pieces before choosing this:

ABOVE:  I am trying to remember if you can cook in Polish Pottery?  Anyone know?  I reckon this is the perfect sized dish for just two of us... which will happen one day eh?  ALL.  GOING.  TO.  PLAN.

Those kids have to leave one day! lol

Well the rest of the day has been quiet... so nice.
We didn't even bother to cook dinner tonight, just had left overs from the fridge.

Not really done that too often, but we had a really good lunch so didn't need a big dinner.

I'm watching the very last episode of Liar,  gripping stuff.

SETTLE BACK ... LOTS OF PHOTOS

TODAY'S POST IS .... a bit of everything!  

ABOVE:  WOW eh?  Amazing what a haircut can do.

ABOVE:  That's a shit load of hair on the floor!

ABOVE:  MIKE!  It was so, so lovely to see him again, and spend a good amount of time with him and Joyce.

ABOVE:  The cute couple... Joyce is just as happy as me with his haircut!

 ABOVE:  Pohaturoa Rock at Atiamuri.  I had a view of this rock from our home in Upper Atiamuri for many years.  It's changed over the years, trees have come and gone... with new ones planted over and over again.

 ABOVE:  A couple more lovely views of Lake Ohakuri.
I love this lake.  It holds some very special memories for me.

 ABOVE: When I got home, this panel was waiting for me... I ordered it online.  Whoop!

 ABOVE: I got this VERY SPECIAL artwork from a Gallery in Foxton.  It is a wood round, with a piece of copper on top, then painted.  It's gorgeous.  Utterly my sort of thing.
It's not very big, I have to find just the right spot for it now.

ABOVE:  Mike spied this at Acquisitions in Palmerston North, it was HALF PRICE because one of the yellow 'tufts' had been broken off and glued back on.  We got it cos you simply could not tell it was damaged at all!  SCORE as far as I'm concerned.

ABOVE: Various pieces of fabric I gathered along the way from about 4-5 patchwork shops.

I ordered a little dog pattern from one of the Palmerston North Shops too.  Did I show it to you already?  .... Just checked.... yep I did! lol

 ABOVE:  Another panel of animals, I cannot even remember which shop I got it from.  These are big enough to be made into placemats.

 ABOVE:  I got these from the Acquisitions 'Garage Sale' shop in Palmerston North... along with a few other things that have been put away for Christmas gifts.
These two cuties are going in the front garden,  where plants can't grow due to lack of water.

 ABOVE:  Another tin tray from Streets Ahead, one of my favourite shops in Palmy.
I already have a salmon coloured one, which is a bit bigger than this one.

 ABOVE:  A darling little glass bauble from Foxton.  It will probably end up on the lounge wall.  YES I know... it's most likely a Christmas tree decoration, but I don't care.  It can go on me wall.  Cos, it's my wall!

 ABOVE: These were cheap as, but very pretty.  They will get added onto the wall hanging above my bed I think.
If not there, then maybe on the lounge wall... we will see.

ABOVE: A $4 cardboard box!  Cos it was so darn pretty!  I might save it for the next person who get's married, and use it for the present?  Or I could cover over the 'Wedding' and use it in the sewing room?  Dunno yet.

ABOVE:  LASTLY!... this pretty Polish Pottery dish.  It is definitely going on the lounge wall with my other hearts.

I had always planned to buy another piece of Polish Pottery on this trip away, from a gift shop in Taihape.  But when I got to Taihape, the shop was gone!  I was like "BUGGER"!

But luckily, when I stopped at a gift shop in Palmy that I always visit, called 'Something Different', they had Polish Pottery for the first time ever!  So I did end up getting a piece.  Yaaa.

So there ya go, that's a 'wrap' of me trip and purchases.  Now it's time to put it all away, get me washing done and get ready for visitors tonight.

My cousin Dulcie and her husband Jay are coming to stay the night.  One of their son's is competing in the National Rowing champs out at Lake Karapiro, so they have come down to watch him compete I think.

I haven't seen them in ages, so it will be lovely to catch up with them.

So... I'm off to make a start on the day.

ONWARD...

Been doing lots of little jobs all day. Washing. Cleaning floors. Unpacking. Hanging hearts and Anchor artwork.

Now it's 2 pm and I'm knackered! Gunna partake of a wee nap *smiles*

Sorry I've been missing all day!  We got visitors and had to yak and feed them!  They are staying the night, so I shall sign off now and catch you tomorrow.

HEADING HOME...

So... all going TO PLAN, Mike will be getting shorn like a sheep this morning.
I hope he goes through with it.

Either way, I won't be able to show you until I get home.

There is only so much I can do on my little Samsung phone!

I have been thrilled to bits with how much I have been able to do in relation to blogging using my phone. It is getting easier that's for sure.

Last night after dinner Mike, Joyce and I had a wander around The Plaza. There's an Acquisition store there.  Mike spied an item that was an awesome price... half price in fact... so

ABOVE:  Something else I will show you once I get home! *smiles*

This trip wasn't supposed to be a freakin' shoppi g expedition....I'm pretty bloody broke after the dental bills!

But... Seems I can find bargins and the odd little thing anyway 😒.

So, after Mike's haircut I will be heading home. Again, I shall be taking my time and just enjoying the trip.

ONWARD...

Sandra and I just took the new car she wants for a test drive. Give her a couple of months and she will have it!

Waiting for Mike n Joyce now... IT'S GUNNA HAPPEN !!!

3.41 pm...just a very quick update.
The hair got the chop.
I will post photos etc tonight.

I'm about half way home. Traffic is quite busy. Masses of roadworks too.

ABOVE: Sandra taking her dream car for a test drive. More about that later too.

ABOVE: Lake Taupo... my view right now.

And now I shall carry on...

 ABOVE:  Right, let's get this out of the way... 

YES!

SHE DID BUY THE NEW

MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE !

She has to wait until May for it to arrive.  Poor girl... she wants it NOW.  She's like me, hates to wait.

And now... We have MIKE'S HAIRCUT.

ABOVE:  WE went to the right place!  He needed to be shorn like a sheep! lol

 ABOVE:  He cut his beard off before he arrived at the salon... already a HUGE difference!

Then we have the 'FIRST CUT' video:



ABOVE:  So happy he went through with it!  He had procrastinated about getting it cut for about 6 months... my arrival provided the impetus to go get it done!

ABOVE:  The Hairdresser hadn't had to tackle such a job before!  

ABOVE:  Joyce's face... she was SO HAPPY he was getting it all off.  So was I.

My trip home was uneventful.  I literally drove non stop, just 5 quick stops for piddle/food/petrol.

There was too much traffic for me to want to stop and dither around... I had passed many bloody slow trucks etc, and the last thing I wanted was to let them pass me if I stopped.

As it was it took me about 5 and a half hours to get here.

ABOVE:  I haven't had a chance to unwrap/show me purchases, that will have to wait till tomorrow.

I'm done for the day! Rather tired, it's a decent trip from Palmy in heavy traffic.
Catch ya tomorrow.

HAIR TODAY....

Mike has had long hair for several years now... like lovely, long flowing locks. And a really bushy beard...he looks like a viking!

So last night he told me he was sick to death of it and was ready to get it all cut off.   I'm like YES!!!!

So tonight he's going to get it all cut off, and I am going to video or photograph the process.

ABOVE:  Watching tv last night... the reflection off the screen makes his eyes look evil!  Check out that beard!

I can't imagine how he's going to look with it all trimmed and cut off.

I've suggested he donate his hair to the Cancer Society for wigs... here's hoping he can.

Now as for today... Sandra and I will probably catch up with Chris D and do something together.

I will catch up with you later on...

ONWARD...

We are off to Foxton... there's a patchwork shop there!  How awesome that my girlfriends are happy to take me places!  Love you chicks 💙💛💜💚

Our day...

 ABOVE:  Sandra's new dashcam. There's a lady inside it who keeps saying to Sandra... "You are over the speed limit"... ALL. THE. TIME!

 ABOVE: Found the patchwork shop in Foxton
 It's a beautiful shop. 
My sort of fabrics. I bought one piece of fabric.

I will show you all my little fabric purchases when I get home tomorrow night.

ABOVE: Foxton is a town dominated by Dutch descendants.... hence the windmill.

DANG!!! The hair cut is happening tomorrow morning now. Mike's just finished work and feels it would be better tomorrow morning...when he's less rushed.

So we are meeting for dinner a bit later tonight. 

I will sign off for the day now and be back tomorrow.

OMG I'm at a Korean restaurant waiting for Mike n Joyce... and there's this guy in table nearby and he's slopping and slurping and eating with his mouth open. I WANT TO KILL HIM.

PIG. UTTER PIG.