ABOVE: I don't feel like I got much done yesterday... but that lot took me close on 2 hours. So, I shall continue doing all the edges and fiddly bits, and hopefully sometime today I will get to do some with the roller. THAT is going to be the easy part for sure. Last night I made some tassels for the first time in forever. I don't remember ever making any before, but hell, I'm 61. I'm bound to have, but have just forgotten.
ABOVE: I went out last night (in the dark) to see where this addition would fit on the tree. Stew had to come with me cos I was in me nightie... butt naked under it! lol
ABOVE: Another one worth remembering... and on with our day. ONWARD... 11 am: (feels like 12 !). Daylight saving ended last night, so all the clocks got turned back an hour. And my stomach is telling me about it already. Right. I have sewn my latest addition on the tree:
ABOVE: It looks so cute! While out there I finally got to meet the neighbour on our right... we had a lovely chat. She's got two kids, a teenage boy and a 21 year old daughter. The daughter had moved out and gone flatting just 10 days before 'lockdown'... but she's doing OK apparently.
ABOVE: Mary and Dave stopped to take a new photo for her Facebook group to see. I'm NOT going to add any more to the bottom... that little dog had a piddle on me tree!
ABOVE: The clean up tub is working PERFECTLY.
ABOVE: I have finished putting the FIRST coat on these two walls.
ABOVE: After lunch I shall make a start on doing the edges on the final, longer wall.
ABOVE: Then I MIGHT paint that shitty looking gate. But for now... it's almost lunchtime, and I'm ready for a break. 5 pm: And I've just finished painting all the edges and fiddly bits on the front wall of the studio. OMG I'm utterly exhausted now. I never in a million years thought that by yarn bombing my front tree I'd end up meeting so many people/neighbours!!! Today, because we were out the front quite a bit, we kept having people stop and chat with us! All were so positive and lovely. One grandmother with her three grandchildren said she SIMPLY HAD to walk past every day as the children wanted to see what was new on 'THE TREE'. Then as we were talking to someone else, one of our neighbour's rode by on his bike and yelled out "THE TREE HAS A FOLLOWING"! So funny. Because literally EVERYONE is in lockdown, they go walking and cycling in the neighbourhood heaps more, and that is why we are seeing and chatting to so many people. I've had a brilliant idea for our front boundary fence too. But I'll save that tidbit for another day, when I have nothing else to blither on about! lol MEL: OMG no! I hear TV adds 10 pounds to how ya look!!! I'm already big enough thanks. *smiles* Plus I'm sure a yarn bombed tree is not exactly news worthy. 12.09 am: And it's been a long day. I've been making things for the next tree addition. It involved a kitchen fork. I'll leave you to ponder what the hell I needed a fork for. lol
COPIED AND PASTED FROM A FRIEND'S FACEBOOK: (edited) :
Saving for my memories. ❣️
Bit of history for later. . .
Covid 19 started in Wuhan, China at a seafood market. Hundreds of thousands affected, dead, dying, critically ill although many have recovered. Most deaths are in the over 70 group or those with underlying health issue.
As of today, Saturday 4th April 2020, New Zealand has been in stage 4 lockdown for 10 days.
Government closes the border to every one but returning New Zealand nationals/residents and makes it mandatory to self isolate for 14 days for anyone entering the country. Those without an isolation plan are put into lockdown in hotels.
Panic buying set in during stage 2, 3 and at the start of stage 4 we had no toilet paper, no disinfecting supplies, no paper towels, no laundry soap, no hand sanitizer, no flour or yeast.
Self-distancing measures mean we must each stay in our "bubbles" consisting of households/people living together at 23.59 pm on Wednesday 26th March. We were given 48 hrs notice.
Over 70's and those with underlying health issues or weakened immune systems told to self isolate for the duration of the lockdown where possible.
Tape on the floors at food supermarkets to help distance shoppers 2m (6ft) from each other.
Limited number of people inside stores, therefore lineups outside the store doors.
Non-essential stores and businesses, trades closed.
Supermarkets, pharmacies, dairies only shops allowed to open
Drs and Vets open but must phone ahead, many consultations via phone/skype etc.
Those who are lucky enough to have a job that is able to be done from home without the need to have physical contact are able to continue to work.
Children's playgrounds, bush trails, water activities, visits to the beach, swimming pools, gyms are off limits.
Entire sports seasons cancelled.
Concerts, tours, festivals, entertainment events - cancelled.
Weddings, family celebrations, holiday gatherings - cancelled.
Funerals limited to only those within the deceased's bubble.
No religious services, churches, mosques, temples are closed.
Schools/daycare/uni's are all closed.
No gatherings permitted.
Not allowed to physically socialize with anyone outside of your bubble.
When we are at supermarkets, we are to maintain a distance from each other minimum of 2 m. (impossible to police)
Allowed outside for walks/cycling but must stay within their neighborhood and observe the 2 m rule.
Shortage of masks, gowns, gloves for our front-line workers.
Around the World there is a shortage of respirators, hospitals, nursing staff and Dr's.
Wuhan, Italy, Spain, Iran, UK and USA are the worst hit so far with 1,014,673 infected Worldwide, 52,983 deaths with the youngest victim 6 weeks old. 210,335 recovered. The figures from around the World show a @10% mortality rate. China claimed only 3% mortality rate which is suspected to be incorrect possibly because many died before anyone knew what it was.
In NZ 868 infected and 1 death, 103 recovered ... so far.
Bubbles nominate someone as their designated shopper.
Supermarkets limit purchase of certain items to 2 per customer.
Manufacturers, distilleries and other businesses around the World switching their lines to help make visors, masks, hand sanitizer and PPE.
Phone and email addresses are set up for the public to report anyone breaking isolation rules, not paying workers their government subsidized wage or for those price-gauging others.
Press conferences daily from the Prime Minister.
Barely anyone in the street or on the roads.
People wearing masks and gloves outside.
Essential service workers are terrified to go to work.
Medical workers are afraid to go home to their families.
Those unable to work have $580.80 for fulltime/over 20hrs and $350 for those under 20 paid to businesses by the government, with employers paying workers 80% of their wage.
This is the Novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) Pandemic, which was declared March 11th, 2020.
We have so much! Be thankful. Be grateful.
Be kind to each other - love one another - support everyone. ❤️
Well, wasn't that a long read? *smiles*
ABOVE: 10 outta 10 to this bloke! Snorkel, mask and a rag over the top of the snorkel too! Can you imagine the looks you would get??? Hysterical.
Today we will be washing down the Studio external walls. Stew will use the cleaning brush set and I will do some with a broom.
After it's dry we can paint the edges... which will be fun I'm sure. NOT.
But, it is going to look amazing once it's done I'm sure.
I've got a bit of washing to get done too, and the odd job around the house.
I will leave you with another laugh or two:
yep...
yeah... hands up that's me.
LOL
ONWARD... 12 midday: and we have had a very slow start to the day. But now... we've got a few jobs done.
ABOVE: Stew drilled out the rivets on two window security stays, so we can open the windows wider. It gets so hot in the lounge, kitchen/dining/family rooms in the afternoon, so anything to get more air flow is good. I then gave Stew a quick lesson on how to stitch knitted bits together, so he could add the next addition to the tree: ABOVE: And that was a FAIL. I don't know how he did it, but he stuffed it up, so I ended up having to climb that bloody ladder and do it myself.
ABOVE: I ended up kneeling on the very top of the ladder with one leg and clinging for life from that branch! But I'm proud to say I got that addition stitched on, even if I did feel a bit sick up there.
ABOVE: So, while he failed to get the job done, he's very handy at other things! lol I think I'll keep him. He's now doing something with this thing:
ABOVE: Any ideas people, what's he doing with it? Lovely story from just now. Stew was out the front, just about to come in the front door when a lady called out to him from the street. She wanted to know if it was 'us' doing the tree decoration? He said yes, it was his wife. She said she goes by every day and snapchats a photo of it to share with her friends. They all look forward to seeing what is new each day! She said it was wonderful what I was doing. Awwww. She asked if there was a new addition today and Stew said yes, and was going to show her, but NO! She said she had to find it on her own. *smiles* Now, back to what Stew just did with that compass:
ABOVE: He got our weather vane up! And it looks awesome there. Now? LUNCHTIME. 4.34 pm: After lunch I went out the back and started painting the edges and fiddly bits of the Studio walls. I didn't get too far before stopping for the day. I'm knackered. And I have a pounding headache. It's too damn hot for my liking. Stew made a start on the window cleaning, I think he got the gym and sunroom windows done. He will probably do some more tomorrow. 9 pm: Watching some weird movie, ready for bed more than anything else. I made some tassels tonight, not sure if I've made them before. Might be on the tree tomorrow.
OK... what's the haps today? I'm starting to struggle to come up with blog fodder! Being stuck at home sure isn't conducive with finding stuff to blog about. *sigh* But I will try. Today I'm going to see what I can do with this area of our section:
ABOVE: This area is on the south/east side of the house... by the wood shed and the tin shed. It's kinda a 'dead' area. We are just storing stuff here right now. I'm going to have a go at making it a nicer area today. Just not too sure what to do yet.
ABOVE: A bee on the mint plant.
ABOVE: Some colour in the garden. I'm so happy I planted some flowers. I love the way they brighten up the garden. And that fruit tree is slowly colouring up... still don't know what the fruit is though. I really hope it's a mandarin. We didn't end up having a picnic yesterday, it was just too hot outside. Maybe today we will? And now... I'm going to get up and start my day. ONWARD... 12.35 pm: And I've finally finished the back shed area. Brylee helped me move bricks then she ran outta energy and whimped off to her room. I kept going until it was done. ABOVE: I'm sure you will agree OLD MOO, it looks way better than how it was before I tittivated it. When I came inside and looked at the clock it was actually 2.5 hours I had spent out there! Time goes fast when ya busy. Stew had to go into work again this morning, and he managed to find me an old camera to connect to my computer, so now I can have better video chats with family and friends.
ABOVE: See, it just sits on top of my screen. I was very surprised when I realised I didn't have a camera on my computer! But then, I was used to an ALL IN ONE computer, so had no idea there was no camera till I tried to have a video call with a ZOOM group! Ended up having to use me phone... which was OK. But it is nice to now have one on me computer.
ABOVE: nice to see the boys, and have a conversation with them. Steve is doing well... he still has some pain, but it's not too bad. He had blood tests today, so hopefully they all come back OK. The biggest thing to keep an eye on is his inflammation levels, if they go up... it's not good. So praying they are going down not up. It's nearly Stew's lunchtime... so I shall bugger off and sort out some lunch.
4.30 pm: And... after lunch I sat down and crochet'd a bunch of hearts.
ABOVE: And then I reaslised something. If you are not allowed to touch people outside your bubble, and you're not allowed to pass baking over the fence to your neighbour, etc etc... how could I put the hearts out for children to take? It would be breaching the restrictions, and perhaps putting someone at risk? NOT that I have Covid-19 of course! But I imagined some cop turning up on my door telling me I was breaking the friggin law by handing out woolen hearts. *sigh* So now... I have lots of hearts for the tree.
ABOVE: I only put a smallish new addition on the tree today. I've now got a damn headache and feel quite ill... so I'm gunna have a lie down for a while. Stew is in his office having Friday afternoon drinkies with his work mates. Online of course. I suppose he will be late 'home'. *snort* So after toiling in the garden for ages this morning, I walked inside and immediately thought "Owww, let's have takeaways tonight, I don't feel like cooking". And then remembered. NOTHING is open. Not a bloody thing. So Stew had to go to the supermarket this afternoon, and he brought home stuff to cook a 'takeaway' dinner for us.
ABOVE: Chips, battered snapper and chicken nuggests. The fish was very dry, as I knew it would be. I never buy processed fish from a supermarket. Stewie wasn't to know. The nuggets were delicious. And that's a wrap of the day. Gunna bugger off to bed now. Catch ya tomorrow.
I have bemoaned the state of the carpet in our new home a few times. It IS about 22 years old of course, but OMG it is so dirty! I got some of our upholstery cleaner out yesterday, and had a go at spot cleaning some of the worst places. And I was THRILLED to see the grotty spots come off! There was a really big bunch of spots in the doorway between the lounge and family room... I was sure they were/had been there forever. But no... they came off super quick. So we are definitely going to hire a rug doctor as soon as we can ... like post lockdown, and clean as much of the carpet as we can. Kinda excited cos really, this carpet is filthy! It makes me feel dirty just sitting on it. I am also appalled that the previous owners did nothing to clean the carpet ... even just a little bit!
Stew and I had a conversation last night about how we are just ONE WEEK into FOUR weeks of staying at home. (that's the bare minimum btw) And it's starting to feel really restrictive, we can't go anywhere and it feels so wrong. So ... we are going to have picnics and meals 'OUT'. On our own property. We can have a picnic or dinner: - At the BBQ table - By the pond - Under the trees by our new lawn - Around by the sheds - Under the grapevine - By the studio - On the driveway (and smile at people passing by) - In the sunroom... Hell ... we have heaps of options! I'm going to get out our 'market' chairs and a small trestle table so we are all ready to 'go on a picnic'. *smiles* 1 pm today... hmmmm ... where shall we go?
ABOVE: Interesting. Particularly the advised '2 meters distance' between everyone when out walking/cycling, shopping or visiting the chemist/doctor. It's a real joke. When you are at the supermarket, going up and down the aisles, there is no way you can maintain a 2 meter distance from everyone else! Hell, the aisles are only about 2.5 - 3 meters wide. And there's plenty of people who clearly don't give a shit if they walk right into you, or stand right beside you. I got really angry at a few people yesterday! Same with footpaths, you have to walk off the path to avoid getting too close to people, and sometimes that's just not possible. So yeah, it's a bit of a joke. So I'm going to do my best to not go out again unless absolutely necessary. Today Brylee and I are going to wash the studio walls (external) in readiness for painting. I might even get to do some of the edges with a paint brush? No time like now to get on with it while it's still fine, and likely to dry quickly. I suppose I better go tell Brylee! Oh and make her get outta bed too... before 10 am for the first time in over a week. *smiles* ONWARD... Talking with Stew on his morning tea break, and it would appear we have a window/wall washing brush set that you can clip to ya hose to clean said walls/windows. So I'm going to leave it up to him to do on the weekend. I got outta bed this morning in pain... damn back is killing me. So I took some painkillers and wandered around watering the front garden and pots instead of cleaning studio walls. *sigh* Then I checked on our older neighbour next door who is deaf, got her mobile phone number so we can text each other, and now.... I'm finally sitting down to check out emails, messages and so on. Thankfully my back has eased up and I can actually move without pain again. Yaaaa for painkillers!
ABOVE: While it's NICE that people are enjoying my tree, I wish like hell they wouldn't TOUCH IT! Yesterday I watched a girl stroking it... today? Some mother holding her kid up so she could play with the hearts. Only she was yanking them and I almost yelled at her to stop. Grrrrr. I didn't expect this. I made it clear I was watching by engaging them in conversation... until the mother put the kid down again. *sigh* Now I'm tempted to put up a sign asking people NOT TO TOUCH. What do you think? I might be inviting some twat to then destroy it out of spite though. Dinner tonight was a sweet and sour chicken stir fry, with just a few noodles added to it. Cos I had two packets of pre-cooked Udon noodles that I thought I really should use. It was really yum:
ABOVE: Left to right: Stew's, Mine and Brylee's. Love these dishes. And now... it's going to be a quiet evening, watching Coronation Street later on, then bed.
So how are ya going in this crazy world right now? Everyone coping being cooped up at home? Eating too much? Getting exercise? TELL ME WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO COPE? I am just fine... not much is different except I find it strange not being able to just jump in the car and go shopping or visiting! I am CRAVING fresh, hot chips! The ones I love the best are Dominoes and KFC chips. My mouth is watering just thinking about them. *sob* I will be going grocery shopping this morning, and top of the list is some oven bake chips! These are some flavours that we do love:
ABOVE: These are probably my favourites, I've not bought any in quite some time.
ABOVE: Steve is looking quite a bit better! The bonus for most working parents in this lockdown is they get to spend more time with their kids. THOUGH in saying that, it must be hard keeping the kids entertained with the restrictions in place. I'm eternally thankful we no longer have young kids at home! If this had happened 30 years ago I would have probably ended up in the Psych ward! Today's plans are to do a quick grocery shop, keep working on me tree additions, do more housework, and bake some cookies. Today's might be Oat and Raisin cookies. Nice and 'healthy'... lol.
ABOVE: Well worth remembering when you start going stir crazy.
ABOVE: Just a bit funny. ONWARD... 9.30 am: I've just got home from the supermarket. There were no queues. Quite a few people in the store, probably a few dozen too many? I'm cross as. The only flour you could buy was HUGE sacks full for $29... and NO baking powder. I suppose at least they did have flour, even if many people on the benefit now couldn't afford it! So later on today I will go down to our local store and see if they have baking powder.. or better yet, ring and find out first. Stew is busy working. Brylee is still in bed. And I'm about to work on a tree addition.
ABOVE: And today's addition has three coloured hearts on it. I lost count of how many groups of people (individuals and family groups) stopped to talk, or ran/walked past and said something nice. There were more cars on the roads today... I hope we don't have to go out for a while now. I've given up on finding fresh baking powder, nowhere I rang had any. A bit sad as my baking powder is old and not working too well. Our scones the other day were a bit flat. But, oh well... I'll just work with what I have till it runs out. SHIT... sorry OLD MOO I forgot Ron's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RON... I am sure you had a lovely day with me Mum. Salmon in white sauce... Yum! That was a firm favourite of my Dad's too. I add grated cheese to mine. ANON: Lacy is doing well... though she did stand on a bee or wasp yesterday and cried like a pussy. lol MARJORIE: Wow that was very informative, thank you! My cookie dough is in the fridge 'setting'... I'm making Oat and Raisin cookies.
ABOVE: Steve must be feeling much better! He's fixed their broken down lawn mower and is mowing the lawn. After that he's doing a few odd jobs around the house. So good to see him on the move and outside. OLD MOO: wow no burnt pot, no burning down the house! Well done. ha ha ha
Some good news. Steve has been advised he can stop taking one of the drugs he's on, the one that is most likely causing his added complications (Pancreas, Shoulder and Heart). So fingers crossed those problems ease up? He is knackered after mowing the lawn and fixing a sticky front door, so is now on the couch again. Baby Steps Steve. You are doing well.
ABOVE: I baked, and they are delicious! Stew and I are set for the next few days. I had two and a half trays by the time I had finished. Now I just have to cook dinner. It't going to be a silly bugger dinner: Chicken steaks, chips and garlic bread. Not exactly healthy! But it will be YUM. 11.06 pm: And dinner was nice, though the garlic bread has given me heartburn, so it could be a long night dammit. Catch ya tomorrow.
Parents to several adult kids, and 14 Grandkids (Grandkids aged 2 years old to 25 years old).
WHERE I LIVE:
New Zealand, it's in the South Pacific... and it's NOT a part of Australia! We are home of the All Blacks rugby team, the Kiwi (bird, but can't fly) and lots of bloody neat people!
