DAY TRIP AHEAD

 Today we are heading over to Tauranga for the day.

We are going to do a walk around the base of Mt Maunganui, then visit our friend Jacqui for lunch.

She recently moved into a townhouse, and we haven't been there yet.

No time like the present.

It is supposed to be a lovely day, weather wise, so I anticipate a stroll on the beach might happen too.

Right, that's about it from me for now.

Catch ya later.

...

ABOVE: Bright and early start ... foggy! The sun will burn it off soon enough.  

2 pm. Heading home. Had a wonderful visit with Jacqui. BIG PHOTO DUMP once we get home.

We arrived at the Mount around 8.30, and immediately spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a car park.  It's usual to have trouble finding a park.  Eventually we did, so set off for our walk around the base of Mt Maunganui.

The weather was awesome, not too hot at that time of the morning, with a cool wind blowing.

ABOVE:  A couple of photos of the path... it was so lovely in the shade of the big trees.

There were not too many people on the path when we were there.

ABOVE: Surf was up, so there were heaps of surfers in the water on the main beach.

ABOVE: Here is the reason why it was hard to get a park, even at 8.30 in the morning.

Unbeknownst to us, there was an Event on today.  

Luckily we missed it, and all the people who would have been on the path around the Mount!

As it was, there were heaps of people milling around the finish point even before the event started in Tauranga.

ABOVE: After our walk, we had a wander up and down the main shopping street of Mt Maunganui.  Not much going on there today.  But in saying that, we were there before most of the shops opened.

Then we went to Bayfair mall, where I finally succumbed and bought some new bras!  About time really.  

ABOVE:  Heading over the bridge to Tauranga, from the Mount.

While visiting Jacqui and her daughter Sofia, Jacqui suggested we take a walk down to The Strand.... which is at the bottom of the Tauranga City Centre.

Jacqui lives only 1.54 kms from there, so it was another good walk. (3.08 kms return)

ABOVE:  I spied the perfect shop!   I bet I could find a knife in there to stab Stew 16 times in the chest, WITHOUT killing him!   I only need it to have a teeny, tiny blade!

A bloke on the street told me I'd find a good knife in there!  lol

I explained what I needed it for, and he and the two blokes he was with just laughed at me.

Can't think why?

ABOVE:  I just loved the bottom of The Strand!

They have made it so lovely, with areas where you can enter the water via really, really long concrete steps, and little jetty's with ladders etc.  Lots of playgrounds.  Seating etc.  Just lovely.

I want to live there so much!

ABOVE:  I spied a cute little heart ... so Stew bought it for me.

ABOVE:  Jacqui has a three bedroom townhouse.  It's adorable.  I'd happily live in it.

We are going to make sure we visit her over summer and stay for the weekend.  Just love it over there.

I'm not saying I hate Hamilton, cos I don't.

But Tauranga/The Mount?  Dream location.

ABOVE:  My new hearts.  Bee is going on our bedroom 'heart wall', and the other one is already hanging on the wall in the front bedroom.

And yes Lynda, I will be centring the wall hanging!

ABOVE:  Jacqui had a 'spare' microwave sitting in her garage, and offered it to us.

As I'd wanted another one for quite a while, we said 'YES PLEASE, AND THANKS'!

It wasn't until we got home and took it out of the box that we realised it was brand new!

How lovely was that of Jacqui?

Thanks chick, you rock.

 

ABOVE: Today's walk stats.   Add that to the 3.08 kms we walked in Tauranga, and the 1 km (approx.) up and down the Mount's main street, and the mall we also visited, we probably walked around 9 kms today.

Not bad for a Sunday.  😊

I'm now contemplating doing bugger all else for a while!

8.40 pm:  And I have literally done bugger all since my post this afternoon.

No point doing much else really.   We had a full day and just wanted to relax at home.

I am going to sign off now.

A LAZY DAY AHEAD

 Another weekend where we don't have a market on.

After this weekend, we have three weekends in a row with markets.

So we are making the most of having a quiet couple of days ahead of us.

I plan on finishing the flower cushion cover today.

It's going to look gorgeous!

ABOVE:  I bought this wax burner yesterday.  I now have three.  I just love them.

I have one in the sewing room, one in the family room and one down by the gym room.  My house smells divine!

I have a diffuser as well, but I don't like it.

I'll probably end up giving it to one of the kids.

ABOVE:  Steve and Marley having a tug of war with Marley's rabbit.  So cute.  Marley just loves Steve.

ABOVE:  Last night, post dinner shenanigans.  

ABOVE: The baby belly is getting big!  Bex is 29-ish weeks now.  I still find it strange thinking there will be a new baby in the family early next year!

I will be working on a 'Name' Wall Hanging for the baby soon.  Something else to make that isn't going to market.  

Right.... I'm still in bed and plan on staying here for a little bit longer.  There is no rush to start the day.

9.14 am:   I'm in the sewing room...

ABOVE:  But what is this?   😂😉

ABOVE:  And it is done.  And I'm very proud of it.

I love that I can do this sort of stuff.  😊

ABOVE:  No one tried guessing what the little black lines were.  *sigh*

Bee flight lines ...  so cute.

ABOVE: Just a simple button down back.  

Now... I'm going to work on the Baby Name Wall Hanging.

I will be doing some online searches for Fonts etc first.  Then I can make a start.

LOL.... so now I've got Stew giving me ideas for the wall hanging, AND the parents! 

I think I need to block the buggers out... my creative juices are already flowing enough! 

Just joking family... any and all ideas will be entertained, then discarded if necessary.

I'm happy with the start I've made on the baby Wall Hanging.  I will leave it now, and get back to it on Monday.

Stew and I have had dinner, and now are looking forward to a quiet evening.

Catch ya tomorrow.

LETS GET THE WALKING SHOES ON

 I'm up extra early today.

The girls and I are heading off to the lake for a walk a good two hours earlier than our usual time!

It's in an effort to beat the heat.  It will be interesting to see how I do at that time.  I'm praying I can do it, because that will mean I can continue my lake walks a bit longer.

I have taken some steps to help me cope if it's hot.

I've filled two spray bottles with ice and water.

To spray over my face, arms and legs to keep me cooler.

Here's hoping that works.  

When we get home I will do my usual morning jobs, then get back to this:

ABOVE:  The cushion cover.  It's ready for stitching now. 

It's going to make a 'pop' of colour on the bed, to tie into the wall hanging nicely I reckon.

I should get it finished sometime today.

SHOCK ... HORROR!  Coronation Street was NOT ON last night.  WTF?  It's usually on Tue/Wed/Thurs nights.  

I just checked and it's on tonight?  Weird.  Someone is dicking me around, seriously. 

I take it personally when someone dicks with Coronation Street, just so ya know.  (joking) 😥😛😂

8.55 am.  Gosh we were lucky!  It's raining now, but at 7 am it wasn't.

It was PERFECT walking weather, a heavy cloud cover and NO SUN.

I was in such a good mood this morning, which was weird as I LOATE getting out of bed that early!

But... so glad I did.  So glad the girls did too.

ABOVE:  More often than not, this carpark is full.  No trouble finding a park today!

ABOVE:  Perfect walking weather for me.

ABOVE:  It was a bit weird there not being many people around at 7 am.  We did run into a few people as we went around the lake, but no one that we usually run into.  

ABOVE:  My favourite view of the Hospital.

ABOVE:  It wouldn't be right not to add some babies eh?  Three baby Pukekos with Mum and Dad.  The parents are very protective of them.

ABOVE:  Lacy has pulled a muscle in her shoulder, so she was in considerable pain the entire time we were walking.  Good on her for still coming with us.  I'm sure she would have rather stayed home in bed.  Love ya guts Lacy.

So, my icy water spray bottle was a fail.  It was too frozen to actually spray!  So I took the top off and just dribbled water on myself when I felt a bit hot.  It worked a treat.  Though tipping it on ya head isn't a particularly pleasant feeling.

But, I had fun...

ABOVE:  I even SHARED the love!

I don't understand their faces!

I was keeping them COOL, right?

ABOVE: Today's walk was not about breaking any records.  It was about just getting out there and enjoying our walk/talk/have fun.

Hit repeat come Monday.

It's now after 9 am, and I can go to the Base.

I want to find some bottles that have a spray and fan feature.  I've had one before, so I know they exist.

10.58 :  And I've been to the mall.  Checked out several shops for the fan.  No one seemed to have any.  So I sat down and let my fingers do the walking... on Google.

And found exactly what I wanted at North Beach, a shop that was literally right in front of me!

In I went...

ABOVE:  Just like that... I bought two.  Cos they only had two.  

They have some fun stuff in there, I'll be going back for some Christmas gifts for sure.

Thanks for the suggestions of the K Mart ones.  I will certainly check them out as well.  These things don't last for longer than a year or so, so it will be good to have a couple in reserve.

Now, I'm going to have an early lunch before heading into the sewing room.

ABOVE: Sewing... but might not get it finished today.  

I've developed a bit of a headache, so might have to stop for a while and take a panadol.

Grrrrr.

As I didn't sleep well last night, a headache was probably a given.

I ended up having a good afternoon.  A little Nana Nap followed by a couple of hours sewing.

Then Stew arrived home, and Steve, Bex and boys came over for a shared dinner.

The little cushion cover will be finished tomorrow sometime.  I don't have much left to do on it.

The rest of this evening will be spent watching the telly till bedtime.

Catch ya tomorrow.

I'M KEEPING IT

 I made a beautiful floral runner a while ago.

And I've taken it to market a few times now.

Every time I put it on the rack, I say to Stew how much I love it.  And if it doesn't sell over this summer I'm keeping it.

Well... I decided to just keep it NOW.

ABOVE:  It meant doing a juggling act with the paintings on the wall in this room, but I did it.

Today I am going to make a cushion cover to match the wall hanging.

That will give me something to do for the next couple of days in the sewing room.

It's nice to think I'll be making something for us, instead of for market.

I will replace the blue pillowcases with something that ties in with the wall hanging as well.

There's bound to be something that will work in a linen shop at The Base.  I'll go look later on today.

No walk today.... but there will be one tomorrow.

We are thinking of going really early to avoid the heat.  Both girls are happy to get up extra early for their Mum.  How lucky am I!

I hope I find the earlier time better and cooler.

Otherwise it will be time to say no more lake walks till next Autumn/Winter.

Right, I've a few jobs to get done before I head off into the sewing room.  I'm excited to be starting a new project, different from the 'norm'.

Well it's very quiet on here eh?

Sadly, it's just boring day to day shit now days.

I did get out to the Base to find pillowcases.  I went to every place that sold linen.

And after being gobsmacked at the prices, I finally found some that were an acceptable price, and nice enough colours.

ABOVE:  I'm happy with what I got.  I even got a couple of European Pillowcases, now I have to find me European Pillows.  I know I  have some somewhere. 

I'll go on the hunt after I've had me lunch.  Chicken on a bun.  Made at home.  Cos I'm still keeping the takeaways/cafes etc on the lowdown.

ABOVE:  Thanks to having sorted out my linen cupboards, I quickly found my European Pillows.  I didn't realise I had FIVE of them though.

One already had a white pillowcase on it...  SCORE!

Now I'm going to move on to making a cute little flower cushion cover.

3.45 pm:  I've been working on the cushion cover for the past few hours!

It always takes time, deciding what fabrics to use, where to put them, leaves, stalks and so on.

But it's almost at the stitching stage.

But for now, I'm done.

I might just take a break, cos well... I'm supposed to be taking it 'easy' today.

OH... and just to clear this up.  That bedroom is not the master bedroom.  It is our 'spare' double room.  For guests and visiting family.

Stew got home from work and then headed off to the pub for his regular Thursday night session with his mates.  He was home by 7.45, in time to feed the girls at 8.  They clock watch, I'm sure of it!  lol

Coco goes nuts when she sees Stew... she knows it's her dinner time.

Anyway, all good here.  We are watching the telly, then we will be off to bed.

WOF, DOC AND WALKIES

I plan on getting down to the VTNZ as early as possible this morning.  Trying to avoid the queues... cos sometimes it's out the gate and down the road!

Then I'm going to my Doctor.  He wants to see me to discuss the rise in the HbA1c level.  Like 6 measly points MATTERS?  I know why it went up a tiny bit.  He doesn't.  So I shall discuss it with him.  That, and me annoying right foot, where I had that big blister.  It's still sore and annoying me.  It hurts even when I'm not putting any weight on it some days.  Yesterday it was sore all day long. 

After that I shall probably come home and have some lunch before the girls and I go walkies.

10.46 am: well I didn't get to the VTNZ testing station as early as I'd hoped. But I shouldn't have worried.

ABOVE: There's only two cars ahead of me. I'm told its about a 30 minute wait.

I can happily sit and do nothing for that long.

ONE HOUR LATER...and I have a new WOF. No work necessary.  I'm rather pleased about that.

ABOVE: And now I'm in another queue. To see the doctor. There's a queue outside. We are lined up against the building... waiting for the doors to open. There's 9 people in front of me this time.

ABOVE:  I got to the Doctor's at 12.15 pm.  A full 45 minutes before the doors opened for the afternoon rush.

I thought I was lucky to get a car park right outside the clinic.

WRONG.

My car was used as somewhere to sit and lean against!  I was tempted to ask them to move their arses off my car, but thought better of it.

The only reason I go to this clinic is because the doctor has been our doctor (on and off) for 30+ years, and I really like him.

HE WASN'T ON TODAY.

Like... grrrrr.

Anyway, I did see a nice doctor, and he changed my diabetes prescription to the bare minimum now.

So that's great.

As for my foot, he couldn't see any reason for the pain, and said I should see a podiatrist.

MEH.  I shall wait and see if it gets better over the next few months before I do that.

ABOVE:  I told the girls I wasn't feeling that good today.  And that I didn't want to power around the lake.  It was HOT.

And I started feeling really ill... pounding head, light headed and just ikkkk.

So I gave my car keys to them and asked them to keep going, and pick me up from where I stopped.

So sadly, a shorter walk for me today.  

ABOVE: This Mumma duck only had one duckling.

ABOVE: These ducklings are much larger.

They should all survive now they are past the infant stage.

ABOVE: The girls on the left by the two cars... off to get me car and pick me up.

It took me quite a while to feel better.

I think walks at midday are totally OUT of the question now.   

It was so hot and humid.  I just can't do it.

It's now 3.05 pm, and I'm home.  I've got me feet up.  I've had a very late lunch.  And I'm not moving for a while.  It's been a long day already.

8.53 pm:  I'm feeling decidedly jaded.

Even after doing bugger all this afternoon and evening, I think I'm just a bit worn out!

Stew reckons I need a couple of days just taking it easy... so I will take his advice and tomorrow I won't do much.

*snort*

We.  Will.  See.

But for now, I'm going to bed soon.  I've had a headache since lunchtime and am totally over it.