CAMBRIDGE... THEN BACK TO SEWING

 

Well, it's another cold and foggy start to the day.

And I'm off to Cambridge for another FBG walk.

I don't expect to be home before lunchtime.

Once I am home, you can expect some foggy photos!  Or not, depends if the sun comes out.

Yesterday the fog stayed down ALL DAY! It was horrible.

I am hoping Lacy and Keera pop in to visit me after lunch as well.  I've asked Lacy to do some general housework for me, stuff I find hard on my back.  It might even turn into a regular weekly thing.  I hope so anyway.

ABOVE: This is the Braid Runner I made a start on late yesterday.  It's not finished by any means, but you get the gist right?   I am surprised how much I like it.  Putting Green with Black and White was a gamble... but OMGosh, I do love it. 

I am really enjoying using some of the new fabrics, they give me so many more options in the fabric line ups.

Such fun.

ONWARD...

ABOVE: Today's walk stats.

Another nice distance.

ABOVE:  Another foggy day, by the time I left Cambridge (11 am) the sun was out and it had turned into a lovely day.

On my way home I could see the fog had only just lifted on my side of town.

Now I'm home, and Lacy and Keera are here.  Lacy is doing my vacuuming for me.  Such a relief to get that big job done.

While Lacy did my housework, Keera and I sloped off to the sewing room.  I did some sewing, while Miss Muppet watched Funny Cats, and Musical Shorts on YouTube.

ABOVE: And this is the ONLY way this child should be allowed on the internet... with an adult sitting right behind her!

ABOVE:  Lacy went over and above the 'brief' today.  I'm so grateful she can help me out this way.

2 pm: The girls just left, and I'm about to take a break from my sewing ... time for some lunch.

ABOVE:  Just in, our official walk photo from today.  

Now... lunch.

6.45pm... sewed all afternoon,  and when Stew arrived home we decided to go out for dinner.

ABOVE: no prizes for guessing where we are eh?

We had a delicious dinner at the Indian Restaurant in Horsham Downs, it's rapidly becoming our favourite one.

Home now and all snuggled up, ready to enjoy a couple of TV programmes till bedtime.

HOUSE? OR NO?

 

I only have two things on my agenda today.

One is to pop into The Base and get a repeat prescription.

Two is to sew runners.

ABOVE:  This is the second little House Braid Runner.  It's not finished yet.  

ABOVE:  This is the house I was thinking of putting on it... BUT... the more I looked at it, the more I thought...  I won't add it.  It's just a bit much, and the runner is going to be gorgeous on it's own I think.

I'm glad I kept looking at it, with and without the house.  If in doubt, don't, is always my 'motto'.

Who agrees?  House on, or not?

And that is me for now.  I'm off to do all the usual Monday morning things, then go to the chemist, bla bla bla.

ONWARD...

It is now 11.40 am, and I've been out and about.

AND, I've just finished the next House Braid Runner.

ABOVE:  I did not add the larger house.  It looks fabulous!  I also decided not to do the pointy ends... they are a right bitch to get looking good with the binding!

ABOVE:  The other thing I did do thought was give the little black house a blue roof, to tie it into the rest of the runner a bit more.  I think it looks cute.

And Now I'm off to visit my neighbour with the barking dog...  More on that shortly.

Back from my neighbour's house.  I don't know if I've mentioned it or not?  Since I complained about her dog barking EVERY DAY, sometimes for hours on end, suddenly... NO MORE BARKING!

I've only heard him once or twice in the past FIVE WEEKS, certainly no more than that.

ABOVE:  I am so happy about that, you have no idea.  So I cooked a batch of cheese scones this morning and took them over to her.  With a really beautiful THANK YOU card, just expressing our appreciation for her controlling her dog's barking.

I didn't ask her how she did it, and the dog was still in the house, so she hadn't got rid of him, which I was worried about.

I did have to laugh though... her house is like Fort Knox, dog barriers stopping said dog from getting into stuff!  It looked like MY house.

We have to stop the dogs getting into some places, as Marley is a bloody menace and will nick whatever she can and take off with it.  To chew it to death.

So anyway, I feel like I've done my bit towards being a nice neighbour.

And now it's 12 noon, and I'm going to make some lunch.  Probably a ... cheese scone! lol

STOP saying 'Sorry' about not liking the bigger house on the runner!  I had already decided it wasn't any good.... so you are  not upsetting me!

I've had an interesting afternoon, watching the fog all day get a little lighter, then come down again with a vengeance by 4 pm.  So. Literally foggy ALL DAY HERE.

ABOVE:  I have started another runner, this time in a colour way I've not tried before.  Black/White and Green.   That's a sneak peek at it.

I should get it finished tomorrow, then you will see all of it.  Isn't the little green tree so cute!

Putting the blue roof on the black house gave me the idea to do something similar on this one. Don't worry, there isn't a BIG green tree anywhere.  😂😉😅

WHOOPS, I nearly buggered off to bed without signing off!  

SEWING

 

I'd love to say we have something exciting on today.  But we don't.

I am going to make a Braid Runner or 3.

I had wanted to make one last night, but I got caught up watching the telly, and then I simply went to bed to keep warm.

I think by mid-morning I might have one top part made, so I can show you my new 'design'.  I'm really excited to get one under my belt, and get your opinion.

So, with that in mind... I'm outta here.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  What ya have to do when the sewing room is FREEZING, and it takes a while for the heat pump to warm things up!

It's now almost 11 am and I'm half way through the first new runner.   I will be able to show it to you (not quite finished) in about an hour...

Right, it's 12.13 pm, and I have the first of the 'new' Braid Runners ready to show you.

It is SIMILAR to others I've made, but there's ONE thing new...

ABOVE:  The centre piece is a house fabric, which I love... and...

ABOVE:  I added a larger house as well.

ABOVE: So there it is.  I shall add it's binding after lunch.  What do you think of it?

I'm seriously thinking of adding in some blue on the next one somehow.

We have sausage rolls in the oven for lunch.  I have started 'teaching' Stew how to use the new oven.  I'm sure he will have it mastered quicker than me.

4 pm:  And I've almost finished a second runner top.  I am done for the day now, I don't want to make a start on the next step until tomorrow, when I will have more time up my sleeve.  

Time to just relax for a while.  OH and Stew is cooking dinner tonight.  So I get the night off.  😊😋😌

Well it's a lovely evening, our house is nice and warm, thanks to having the heap pump on all day.

We are now settling down for the remainder of the evening.  We had a very nice dinner cooked by Stew.  Fancy sausages with baked potatoes, onions and mushrooms.

LAST THREE METRES

 

It's another bloody freezing day.  I've not ventured out of the bedroom to see if it's a frost or not, but I'm thinking it is.

My cousin, Debra, is visiting us today, but I told her to not come over from Rotorua until late morning.  The roads will be icy, so best to leave her trip over here until the ice will have gone, hopefully!

Before Debra gets here I will finish cutting out those last three metres of fabric.  Gosh, I really can't wait to get it all done!  I feel like I've been cutting out for weeks.

OH HOLD ON!   I have been cutting out for weeks.  😂😅😉

Yesterday, while cutting out strips, I did the same stupid mistake again.  I cut out the fabric into 2.5 inch strips.  Then I had to cut each strip into 10 inch lengths.  ONLY, once again I did the second cut at 2.5 inches.  Ending up with little 2.5 inch squares.  Grrr.

So I racked my brains on how to avoid doing that again.

ABOVE: That is what I thought of.  Having a visual reminder in front of me.  So every time I need to switch the measurement, I put the appropriate 'reminder' in front of me.

ABOVE: So far, it's working.  It's an added step in the process, but clearly I need it!

I do think I tend to make these silly mistakes when I get tired, and when you have been cutting out for hours, you do get tired.  So thankful I only have three more fabrics to cut.

I may get to make a start on a new Braid Runner later on today.  It's a new 'design' 'I've thought of.  I can't wait to get one done to show you.

I finally got my latest blood test results online last night.

And the only number I was interested in was my Hba1c of course.   Back in March 2022 my number hit it's highest at 121.   Now?

Would you believe it is 49 !!!!!

121   TO   49  !!!

I cannot remember when it has ever, EVER been lower than about 58, and that was considered 'GOOD' for me.

OMG I must be doing something right for once.

ONWARD...

And the goddam cutting out is DONE.

I probably won't need to do any for a few months at least.

ABOVE: All me strips in one place, and organised perfectly.

I dropped my little 2.5 inch marker on the floor.

It was only on the floor for a few minutes.  When I went to pick it up... GONE?

I didn't even hesitate before yelling:  "MARLEY" !!!

ABOVE :  YEP.  She had it and had almost ruined the clip, and half chewed the little block.

She was GONE... bolted out the back door and was hiding down the far end of the house.  Little shit. 

Stew just got back from the supermarket.  Not a lot going on now.  We might take my cousin out to lunch, somewhere nice once she gets here.

4.30 pm:  My cousin just left, after spending several very pleasant hours with us.

We had lunch at Robert Harris Coffee Shop in Chartwell square.

Stew and I had their Chicken Filo Pastry and side salad again.

ABOVE: It was just as yummy as the last time we had it.

ABOVE: Debs and I.   I'm 15 years older than her.  I can remember her as a baby! 

As it's quite late in the day, I'll probably not get any sewing done today.  I'm enjoying the break after all that cutting out.

Maybe I'll start again tomorrow.

8.18 pm:  And I'm freezing, it's time to heat up me hotpods and snuggle up in bed.

Signing off for the day.

NEW RULER!!!

 

Well, I do not have a walk on today.

But, I am going out.

To meet up with Stew in fact.

We have some family business to attend to, then we are going to lunch to celebrate getting a BIG weight off our minds.

It's taken some years to firm this up, but after today, it will finally be done.

DON'T PUT OFF MAKING A NEW WILL... when circumstances change, so should your will.

It is the kindest thing you can do for those you leave behind.  

Yesterday I got a call from a fabric supplier here.  She had talked me into buying a 'Strip  Ruler', so I ordered one.

It arrived.

It is AMAZING!!!!

She told me it would probably drive me nuts trying to work it out, but I watched a YouTube video on how to use it, and I can honestly say, it's super easy.

And AMAZING!

I am very much a 'watch it being done' learner, as opposed to reading how to do it.  So the video tutorial worked for me.

ABOVE:  I did a little video to show you it.  Cos, well... that's what I wanted to do.

And I know some of you actually like seeing me, living, breathing, yakking and so on.  😂😅😉

So there ya go.

Once I'm up outta bed, I am going to cut out the final few metres of fabric with me new ruler, then I can finally make a start on some new Braid Runners.

I now have two weeks to get a few of the new ones made before our next market at Tamahere.

ONWARD...

1.05 pm:  What an excellent morning.

I got a few things I needed from the mall, filled me car up with petrol, then headed into Stew's work to get the legal shit done.

ABOVE: And it's DONE.  All signed, witnessed and stored at Public Trust.  Now we really can relax.

ABOVE: Last night at the kid's.  Miss Lily having her bath in a tub in the lounge.  She loves her baths, she does usually have it in the bathroom.  But it's cold down there!

ABOVE:  Bloody cold this morning!  I even turned the heat pump on once I was up.

ABOVE:  Frosty, crisp and COLD.

I've been cutting out since I arrived home from town, but I've stopped for a while.

When I start making dumb arse mistakes, I need to step back and take a break.

So, I'm sitting in the family room, listening to some music for a while.  

My cousin Debra is visiting us tomorrow.  I completely forgot it is Friday!  Where the hell did this week go????

An hour later, I start cutting again....

ABOVE:  Grrrrrr!  I did it again.  I now have another pile of perfectly square 2.5" blocks.

Instead of 2.5" X 10" strips.

Even more annoying, I don't have any more of that lovely blue fabric.  Grrrr AGAIN.

I really am going to stop now.

BUT also, I really, really want to get all the strip cutting DONE.  I'm totally OVER it now.  So, I'll take another little break, then try to finish it off.

8.38 pm:  well I didn't get it all done.  I think I have three more fabrics left to cut out.  They WILL get done tomorrow morning.  Then I can put all the cutting stuff back in the sewing room and my family room will go back to 'normal'.

I'm surprised I've not found it unbearable having 'things' out of place!  I usually can't stand it.

We had a lovely dinner of beef meatballs in a home made sweet 'n' sour sauce, on noodles.  It was bloody yum.

Now?  Meh, watching TV till bedtime.

A DIFFERENT PLACE TO WALK

 

I had some fun cutting strips last night.

To music.

Which isn't usual, as the volume on the laptop SUCKS, so listening to music isn't an option.

I do have a BOOMBOX, but it refused to connect to my computer.

That is, until Brylee and Dom came over on Tuesday night.  They got it going for me, and I'm now super happy to be able to listen to my music at a decent volume again.

I must remember that Dom is a computer EXPERT.... I never have to worry about computer issues again (hopefully).

While walking with 'P' yesterday, our conversation flowed easily.  He was telling me about how he was offered a coffee from a lady he was doing a job for.  She asked him if he took milk in his coffee?  He said yep.

When given said coffee, he commented how it was the BEST coffee he'd had.

She said, well thanks, glad it came out OK, cos I didn't actually have any milk!

NO MILK?  Perry was confused, as it clearly had milk in it.

NOPE, said the lady, it's got Strawberry Ice Cream in it!

What a brilliant idea!  I'm so tempted to go buy some ice cream to put in me hot chocolate!

This morning's FBG walk is a Social Walk, and it's at Tamahere.  So, much closer for me to travel to.  I can get there in about 12 minutes.

We are meeting at a very popular cafe out there (PUNNET), and doing a 5 km walk around Tamahere, then having morning tea at Punnet.

I'm really looking forward to it.

ABOVE:  Linda, a kiwi chick living in Poros, Greece, sent me a photo of her front door late last night.  She has the Maori word for Hello above her front door.  How cute is that!

I wonder if I will get any more photos? 😊😉

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  Good Morning Dawn P, yes I am still adding photos sent to me.  

And now... I'm off to grab a shower, get dressed and head off to my FBG walk.

12 noon and I'm just home from a lovely morning out and about with my FBG friends.

It was a very crisp and frosty morning I must say, but frosty mornings usually mean a glorious day, and today is no exception.

ABOVE:  Frosty, and I've lost a flower off me sneaker.  Boo.

ABOVE:  A magnolia tree with heavy buds.  And a bird's nest.

ABOVE:  A magnolia bud.

ABOVE: The largest tree house I've ever seen.

ABOVE:  Walking past lots of lifestyle blocks in Tamahere, and we passed two frisky Lamas.

The brown one got all excited, and was very frisky.  

ABOVE: And YES, they BOTH spat at us.  We were going to stop and pose for a group photo with them, but they were too spitty for us!

ABOVE:  I can't think why you would want just two Lamas?  Maybe they are pets?   

ABOVE: Living in Tamahere means being directly under the flight path of all planes coming and leaving from Hamilton Airport.  Wonder if it's annoying have planes flying overhead all day?

ABOVE:  Today's walk stats.  A decent distance, in a really lovely setting.

ABOVE:  Two more lovely photos of paintings done by a blog reader, Coral S (aka Ky Girl).  They are lovely Ky Girl!

ABOVE:  Another blog reader's photo!  This one is from Janice P in Alberta, Canada.  It is her Great grandson Walker (20 months old), enjoying his dinner of meatballs, spaghetti and garlic toast.

I will happily publish more reader photos until the end of today, then I will stop.  It's been so much fun getting them all I must say.  I will certainly do it again one day when I've got 'nothing' going on.  😉😊

2.40 pm:  I've just had me lunch.  Air fried salt and pepper squid!  It came out PERFECT in my handy dandy new oven.

GOSH I am so impressed with it. IF we ever move, I will be getting another one exactly the same.

ABOVE: The official walk photo... faces 'altered' to protect their privacy as per FBG rules.  I actually love doing the faces now! 

ABOVE: Another blog reader photo, we have chooks who live in Sydney! Sent by BLONDIE, the chooks belong to her sister.

I bought a new 'tool' for the sewing room this afternoon.

I'm now working on a little video, so I can show it to you tomorrow.  You will only be interested if you are a patchwork sewer though!  Unless you enjoy listening to me waffle on!  

9 pm:  Stew arrived home from work and I took him to the pub.  While he was there, I hung out with Steve, Bex and kids.

After that, Stew and I grabbed a burger from Burger Fuel for our dinner, and brought them home to eat in comfort.

It is going to be another frost tomorrow, it is already freezing outside!  

Time to sign off for the day.