HAPPY WAITANGI DAY

OR IN OTHER WORDS... HAPPY NEW ZEALAND DAY!  It's a public holiday, so we get to enjoy the day with Stew home, and Steve and family too.

I reckon it's going to be a pool day ... all day!

My word, I can't believe how much use our little pool is getting!  But... that's awesome.

 ABOVE:  most of the girls/kids from Cards in the pool last night... it was so nice!

ABOVE:  The late arrivers for card night.

ABOVE:  I saw this on Facebook the other day... it's pretty accurate!  Made me smile if nothing else.

And that's all for now... I might just get in me togs and live in them today.

ONWARD...

5.50 pm!!!!

Sorry... but I've been flat out all day long!
After getting outta bed, I had breakfast at 10 am, then got a message from a couple of girlfriends asking if I wanted to join then at the movies?

I immediately thought NO, cos the family were here.  But they (the family), said I should go, so I did.

We saw 'The Green Book'.  I enjoyed it, even though it was a bit slow.  It was a nice, thought provoking movie.

Once home at 1 pm, I joined everyone out the back, in the pool and just having fun.

Between me and Lacy 'n' Kelly, we took 341 photos!  I will share just a few today, and show you more tomorrow.

ABOVE:  Kelly and Rena came out for a catch up too... so we had a full pool... again!

Such fun.  So, so thankful for the pool.

I don't think I will ever stop saying it.

ABOVE: Dick of the day. 

I've got chicken pieces in the oven and rice on in the rice cooker for dinner.  Air con is ON.

So hot.  But it's been a fantastic day.

8 pm:  And it's been RAINING in Hamilton, which is only 15 minutes away from here.  And we have none.  That sucks... we could really do with some rain!

Signing off for the day... it's finally cooling down. I'm so tired... can hardly keep me eyes open!

I DON'T WANT TO JINX IT BUT....

It is the middle of a swealtering summer and everyone is HOT as f#*k, and usually I would be dying on a regular basis thanks to HOT FLUSHES.

But... BUT.... I do believe mine are finally easing!!!!

Yep, without wanting to jinx it ... I seem to be only having about 4 a day now!  FOUR!

One when I first wake up, a couple through the day and one when I go to bed at night.  It's magic, amazing and I am so, so thankful!

I do get one if I get upset or flustered still, but I don't get upset or flustered too often now either.  

OMG, imagine how wonderful it will be if they stop altogether in the next year or so?  

BRING IT ON.... or off as the case may be.  *smiles*

Now today.  I'm going into town for morning tea with a couple of girlfriends.   Stew is still home, so he's going to read his new book and just chill out till I get home again.

Then who knows... oh I do know! 
Steve, Bex and the kids are arriving for a little visit this afternoon.  So I need to get the bedroom tidied up for the littlies.  Lacy, move all ya shit again!  lol

OMG... putting the air con on last night was wonderful!  I will be doing it again this evening.

ONWARD...

1.25 pm:  And I'm home from town... had a lovely time.  
SHOCK HORROR!... I get home to the sight of Brylee cleaning windows (OK, I did ask her to) and Stew vacuming!
The house is so tidy.  How cool is that?

And the bathroom is cleaned too!  Score... cos the kid's bathroom was DISGUSTING!
I swear they don't even try to aim/keep it clean.   Teenagers suck when it comes to that sorta thing.

So anyway... I am going to get into the sewing room now and make a start on another cot quilt, it will be good to  have a least 2 ready for Market on Sunday.

- Done some sewing
- Had a swim.
- Steve, Bex and kids arrived.  Had another swim.
- Lacy home from Tauranga.
- About to sort out dinner... which is sausages and chips cos it's bloody HOT HOT HOT.

Oh and it's Card Night, so my girlfriends are coming over soon too!  Looking forward to a neat evening!

ABOVE:  What a wonderful evening!  There ended up being 8 of us girls playing cards... just enough room at my table.
They had a swim before starting to play, the pool was full.

My house was full!  Us (4), Steve, Bex and 3 little kids, Lacy, 7 girlfriends, two extra teenage girls, and another 5 year old too!  That's 20 people in the house all night.  Loved it!

And now... it's 'fairly' quiet as the visitors have left and the three littlies have gone to bed, Steve, Stew and Griffin are in the pool and us girls are doing our own thing before bedtime.

Yeah bedtime..... will be happening soon.  It's been another long, hot day.

YEAH.... SLEPT IN AGAIN

It's easy to do when ya husband is home and you really don't have to get up and do anything!

So, the post is late.  But... it's comin'....

Here's a few photos from yesterday's Pizza gathering:

 ABOVE:  Hayley (in the all black dress) is leaving the group for personal reasons, so we did a whip around and gave her a Thank You gift as she did a lot of admin work last year.
She's me neighbour too, so I shall still see her of course.

 ABOVE: Our hostess provided the bases, all we took was the toppings, and made our own.  It was a neat idea.

ABOVE:  Pip, our hostess was a dab hand at cooking the pizzas in her pizza oven.  Made me want one myself!

She certainly could churn them out pretty quick... I hate to think how many she cooked yesterday, but it would have been over 20!

ABOVE:  This was Pip's Kune Kune pig... all I could think of was bacon.  lol

Last night Stew was yakking with my friend Sue's husband, Trevor, about camping.
We are planning on going camping next summer, probably with them.
They have a big bus they go traveling in.... we can't afford a bus, but I am hoping to get either a little pop top or a decent tent.

Stew's always poo hoo'd the camping idea, but I really want to try it.  

So anyway, after talking with Trevor, Stew is keen to go check out a local camping ground not far from here at Hora Hora.

So, that's what we are doing today... going on a tiki tour.

Griffin is at school today.  Lacy is heading back to Tauranga with a view to moving over there soon.

Brylee will probably come with us.

ONWARD...

I don't know if I mentioned it?  But anyway... two weeks ago I made a complaint to the District Council about the goddam annoying, barking dog next door.
I decided enough was enough.

It has barked EVERY SINGLE DAY it's owners are away... non stop till it runs outta bark, then it moans and groans till they get home again.

They spent A LOT of time away over the holidays... so it barked all through the holidays, and now they are back at work and school... it's going to town again, as per usual.

So, I thought something might have changed after I complained about it right?  Nope.  Nothing was different.

Till this morning.

When Stew and I heard someone yell at it from next door!  The dog started barking at about 8 am, after they all left the house.  But obviously someone was still home cos the dog got yelled at.

ONLY... it's still barking.  Just like normal.  So, I'm gunna complain again.  And again.  Till they do something to stop it.  I've put up with it for over 2 and a half years and I'm done.

1.15 pm:  We've been out and about... found the camping ground out Hora Hora way.  It's small but nice looking.  Might be a bit too quiet for us!

On our travels we ended up at the Arapuni Dam, and we saw a sign saying 'Swing Bridge' so yep... went on it:

ABOVE:  I saw when it was built and was a bit like ... "Hope it's still sound!"

 ABOVE:  An old turbine from the power station.

ABOVE:  looked solid enough!

 ABOVE:  Seriously, it doesn't look as high up as it was!  I don't really like heights!  
Glad we went across it though, it's all experiences eh.

After that we went to the Little Waipa campground.  It had very few facilities, a couple of loos and showers and a BBQ.
There were a few campers there.  It's incredibly tranquil:

 ABOVE:  I suppose if you like camping and just sitting reading a book it would be awesome!  But for Stew and me... we like a bit more to do/see.  So probably won't go and stay there.

ABOVE:  We stopped near Lake Karapiro and saw heaps of baby trout!  Literally hundreds of them.  Suppose that means the river/lakes are healthy!

Home now and I'm going to do a bit of prep for my next cot quilt.

Just realised I have the Cambridge Trash 'n' Treasure Market this Sunday!  Shit that came around fast!  

Had a busy afternoon.

-Put the gazebo up so we could work out a better way to hang cot quilts and runners around the sides. 

-Went to Mitre 10 and bought some ratchet tie downs for the gazebo, they work perfectly!  Will show you next time we put it up.

-Had a swim to cool down.

-Then into Spotlight in Hamilton, and got some essentials for cot quilts.

-Picked Griffin up from Boxing.

-Home.

-Finished cooking dinner and fed everyone.

-Dinner was mutton chops casseroled in the oven.
Now our house is like a bloody oven!  So ... SO HOT.

-Now going to veg out until it starts to cool down, if it ever does.  Shit, I might just turn on the air conditioning!!!

AIR CON WENT ON.... and it was wonderful for a few hours.  Then it got cold!  So weird.  Anyway, it's now bedtime.  Catch ya tomorrow.

NEXT PROJECT... AND A PARCEL

Well... I'm on a roll with the sewing again.
Only now I'm making a few cot quilts.

This is the fabric I am using today:

ABOVE:  It's pretty loud!  Not sure if it will be a cot quilt or a small single quilt.  But it's lovely fun fabric.

Talking of fabric!

HEATHER... your parcel arrived yesterday! Sorry, I forgot to mention it till now .... I was engrossed in my sewing yesterday!

ABOVE:  There is nothing nicer than receiving a parcel in the post!

ABOVE:  It's even better when it's full of fabric!
Such a lovely surprise, THANK YOU  so much Heather!
I will use all of it over time for sure.

So today I am going to nut out a quilt and probably get a few jobs done around the house.

Lacy got home from Tauranga yesterday. With a new tattoo.  I will show you it once she's up and moving!  
Sadly, she didn't find the car part she needed, so was a bit grumpy.  Hopefully she can track that part down soon, or she might be a bit of a pain to live with! lol

And that's me for now... catch ya later.

ONWARD...

1.40 pm:  bit quiet on here girls!  No one around?
*sigh*
Oh well.. I will talk to myself then.

Lacy went to Tauranga and came home with this:

 ABOVE:  Quite a large new tattoo.  Not my cuppa tea, but she seems happy with it.
It's not even scabbing up!  Or sore!

Stew went for a walk into town at midday, crazy bastard!  He decided to buy a book he'd seen a few others reading at work:

ABOVE:  I think I'll be reading it too. *smiles*

Stew and I are off to an FBG gathering later on this afternoon.  It's a Pizza Night, we take toppings and our host will provide the bases and a pizza oven.  Should be nice.  Hopefully lots of the FGB girls will be there and we have a good catch up.

8.30 pm:  Home from the pizza evening.  It was a really lovely afternoon/evening.  Quite a few of us turned up.  Our hostess had the pizza oven all hot and rearing to go, so we all made pizzas and some of us enjoyed a swim too.

I will share a few photos tomorrow... but for now I'm signing off for the day.  I'm all hot and sweaty and want to just sit in front of the fan and cool down.

FIVE DAY STRETCH

Wednesday next week is a Public holiday (Waitangi Day), so Stew decided to take off the Monday and Tuesday too... so he has a five day stretch of no work.

So, hopefully he gets a sleep in at some point!
I'm thinking he will spend a considerable time in the pool... and me too!

Yesterday was Griffin's first full day back at school... and being the obliging kid he is, I got to take the obligatory 'back to school' photo:

 ABOVE:  His last year at school... and he's over 6'3" tall now!  
And Coco loves him.
Better not tell Archer, cos Archer loves Coco more than his own parents apparently!

Griffin saw the Doctor a couple of days ago, and 'forgot' to mention or show me what she gave him till last night:

ABOVE:  I think it's called being 'pro-active'!!!
Not ENCOURAGING any sort of behaviour of course, just making sure he's prepared in any eventuality!  
I think he's got enough to last him the year... I hope!

ABOVE:  This is the little cot quilt I've been working on.  It's for a darling wee baby girl named CHLOE... her Nana is giving it to her at the end of the month.  I love it, it's so very pretty, I really enjoyed making it.

Now I'm commissioned to make another one for a baby boy who's due in July.  That one's going to be fun too... it's going to have a blue/ocean/fishy theme.  Right up my alley!

But before that... I plan on making 2-3 cot quilts for markets.  Who knows, I might even sell some! lol

ONWARD...

3 pm :  And I've been working on a cot quilt ALL DAY LONG.  No breaks till now... cos I'm starving!
So, off to feed the face, then back to it I suppose.

ABOVE:  Today's cot quilt, done and dusted.  And I'm done sewing for the day.  All I can see is black lines!  I had to go over all the black lines to make them stand out!  So... the next one is going to be totally different.
REALLY COLOURFUL.

And now... it's nearly dinner time and I'm knackered.  Signing off for the day.
Catch ya tomorrow.

BLOODY HELL

Can you believe it, the first month of the year is done and dusted!  
At least two more months of summer to get through too... bloody hell!

The 'heat wave' is supposed to abate a bit now, thank god.  

Brylee gets to go out ON HER OWN today, driving herself.  
First day of the rest of her life really as a grown up, independent driver!  Just one left to go now.

Griffin has been swotting for the Learners License, but I'm not sure how close he is to actually sitting it.

Plenty of time yet for him though.

Today I am going to continue working on the little cot quilt, getting some housework done and just chillin' at home.

If it's stinking hot again there will be some pool time of course.  

And that's about it for now... I need to go and check out how Marley is after her operation.  Fingers crossed she's OK.

ONWARD...

Oh forgot this:

ABOVE:  photos from our evening out last night... Brylee certainly was in a better mood!  And HUNGRY. lol

1.50 pm: Today is going well... sorta.
Griffin went off to school, then decided his brand new uniform shirts are too small.  Grrrr... too late to send the one he's wearing today back.

I have done 3 hours work on the cot quilt... and now I'm taking a break for lunch.

TOTALLY forgot it is our grandson Liam's 6th Birthday today too.  I feel really bad about that!
Just too much going on obviously.

ABOVE: The birthday boy, Liam ... with his sister Emily a couple of days ago.... on their first day back at school this year.

Whelp.... been sewing for another couple of hours, and I got the cot quilt finished!
So relieved, it's so hot in my sewing room now, even with a fan on full blast!
I think everyone is suffering in this heat though, not just me.

The dogs are panting non stop too... I've been giving them iced water and HEAPS of ice cubes.  They love it, Marley even dunks her head in it.

AS for Marley, she's doing really well.. not showing any distress from her surgery or incision, that's such a relief.

I'm going to sign off for the day now and just relax.  Under a fan.  And watch Coronation Street... best part of me week!  lol