EARLY START

 Well.... Stew's off to work very early today.

He's got next week off work, so he needs to try and get as much done today as possible.

It's so frustrating.  He's got so many holiday days stacked up, his company has insisted he take most of those days off before the middle of the year.

So, he's been taking off a week every month.  The dumb thing is, he accrues 2 days a month in holidays!  So for every week he takes off, he gets two days back.  Derr.

And then there's his Long Service Leave.  He's got something like 25 days for that too!

ONE day we will go away for a month, and use up heaps of his leave.

But not right now.  Right now we are not prepared to go anywhere like overseas, thanks to Covid and the uncertainty of travel.

And then there's the friggin Russia/Ukraine situation.  Who knows where that could lead. 

I was reading an article in STUFF the other day and they actually put it in writing, that the situation could lead to WW3!  I was like, SHIT!

Surely not?  But who bloody knows.

It's a crazy world out there, and there's some damn crazy, nut case people like Putin pulling strings that could affect the entire world.

Scary shit.

But, I try not to let stuff like that stress me out.  There's nothing I can do about it.

I just concentrate on my family.  This afternoon Keera arrives for the weekend.  That will be lovely.

Until then, I am going to be doing some long overdue housework.  Mostly vacuuming, washing window sills and so on.  Dead boring.  But necessary.

I'm taking a breather from the quilt for the next couple of days. 

We shall just spend time with the kids and relax over the weekend.

I've been MIA.  

Working on re-arranging things in the garage.

I ended up with a surplus shelving unit, so after some more shuffling around, I managed to find a home for it.

ABOVE:  Now Keera's stuff has a new place to sit.

I'm now knackered.  Time for lunch and feet up for a while I think.

I ordered some fabric panels from Gordonton, and they are ready for pick up.  So that's where I will be going after lunch. 

2.20 pm:  Well the girls and I went out to Gordonton for the fabric.  I'm thrilled with it.

Another project for another day.

I'll show you the panel tomorrow.

Right now... I've got a damn headache and just want to lie down for a little while.

ABOVE:  And just like that.... no peace for the wicked.  These two are so LOUD.  

Dinner tonight will be Pork Bites baked in the oven, potatoes and a lettuce salad.

Stew will probably have his dinner then go to bed early.  He's been up since crazy o'clock this morning.

I'm damn tired too cos I didn't get back to sleep for ages after he left.

ANOTHER quiet day in blogland!  Or glitches?  I don't like it when no one comments all day!  Makes me feel like I might as well make this private and keep to myself.  It's gunna happen sometime though, for sure.  I can't be doing this for another 16 years!

I am often thinking, when would be the right time to wind this up?

Seems there might be a problem with blogger?  Either way, if you are having trouble leaving a comment, email me (stewandchris@hotmail.com) to let me know.  At least then I will know you are still around!

And now... that's me day done for the day.

ARIEL

 

ABOVE: And... there she is.  Beautiful Ariel.  Grossly overpriced ornament.  Probably the last one in our collection.  UNLESS some new little ones come in and I can't resist!

I'm going to (hopefully) finish making the blocks today!  Then the fun begins.  Stitching around every single petal/heart/leaf/butterfly etc.

Luckily I really do love sewing.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO OUR GRANDSON ARCHER.

He is 7 today.  Getting to be a big boy.

They are coming here for dinner this evening, which means no cooking dinner for me. They are getting all of us Chinese takeaways (Archer's choice).  Yum, can't wait.

Honey King Prawns and Prawn Twisters are a favourite around here.

ABOVE:  I just stole this photo from Bex's Facebook page!  lol

He's the 'dog whisperer'.

If there was ever a kid that would LOVE his own dog, it's our Archer.

ABOVE:  Well the sewing room has gone from this ungodly jumble of fabrics all over the place...

ABOVE:  To this!  No fabric on my work benches!!!

Which must mean only one thing.

ABOVE:  All the blocks are ready for stitching!

OMG this quilt is going to be bloody stunning.

It's already been quite a mission, but now the real work begins.

Hours and hours of stitching.

I'm a very impatient person, but when it comes to this sort of thing, I don't mind how long it takes.  It will be worth it.

I just got a phone call from Harvey Norman's.

The girl had an installation date for our new heat pump.

I fully expected her to say sometime in July, as she did warn me that it could take up to two months, due to high demand for installations.

NOPE!  18th of MAY!  Wow.  I wonder if they pushed our installation up due to the utter balls up they put Stew through in getting it all organised?  Doesn't matter, I'm thrilled to bits.

I've got a bit of a headache, so will take a break now.  I've been in here working on the blocks for 3.5 hours.  Time out for lunch.

Well I fluffed around all afternoon, didn't do much at all.

Dinner was awesome, and so was the birthday cake (s).

ABOVE: Bex did what I did for the last birthday, and got smaller cakes and put them together.

It works really well.  We had Carrot Cake, Banana Cake and Cup Cakes.

Very nice.

They have now gone home and we are chilling out till bedtime.

TOWN TODAY

 I'm off to town this morning.

We ordered a new Britto figurine, and it's arrived, so I will pick it up. There's been virtually no new Britto for months and months, so getting a new piece is exciting.

I also want to visit the supermarket and grab a few necessities. 

I've been trying to grow houseplants, with limited success.  I've killed more succulents than I thought possible!

But ONE PLANT is doing really well!!!  

ABOVE:  It's on top of the cupboard in our bathroom.... and doesn't get much direct sunlight.  But it's doing so well!  And it's lovely.  

I recently re-potted my 'String of Hearts' too.  I'm keeping a close eye on it, cos knowing my luck, it's gunna die.

It's so weird really, many years ago I had HEAPS of houseplants and they all did well.  Now?  

Yeah, lost me green thumb somewhere along the way.

I might have to invest in a few more realistic looking fake plants!

OK... that's enough waffling for now.

Catch ya later.

OH and I've decided to go with.... QUILT for my latest project.  I think it would be ruined as a Duvet cover... too much washing and wear.  But it was worth thinking about.  Thanks for your input, it helped.

ABOVE:  I only got one Britto today, instead of the two I had planned on getting.

Ursula the Sea Witch was just far, far too expensive!

The prices have gone up and there is just no way I could justify buying her.  Sad.

But I did get Ariel, even though she was also expensive... but not as bad as Ursula.

After the gift shop, I went to The Chemist Warehouse for some essentials... $120 later!

Eeee gads, nothing is cheap, even in that shop.

Next stop was the supermarket for a couple of things.  That ended up being a trolley full. 😕😖

Money just GOES!

ABOVE:  Home, groceries etc away.  Girls are in the sun.

Lunch time.

Oh and comments?  Is there a glitch on Blogger, or am I just friggin boring you?   

ABOVE:  While not finished yet, this is my favourite butterfly so far!  

Working on block number 7.

Two to go before I can start stitching.

Right, block number 7 is almost done.

Dinner tonight is Lamb and Garlic sausages, Kumera Rissoles, Kumera Poppas, Lettuce salad and hot buns.  Well, that's what Stew is having.  I had mine at lunchtime.

The sausages are super strong flavoured, so I only ate half of one.  

I will show you our new Britto figurine tomorrow.  I waited to open it till Stew got home.

It's gorgeous!

ABOVE:  resident tart.... there's not been many left overs for her lately.  Which means I'm cooking just the right amount for Stew and I now!  It's taken quite a bit of time getting that sorted I can tell you!

Anyway... it's time to wind down for the day.

Catch ya tomorrow.

SLEEPING IN

 

Nice sentiment to start the day with.

And sleeping in.

I'm not getting up any time soon.

But when I do get up, I'm doing the usual first thing in the morning jobs.

Then heading into this mess:

ABOVE:  I have piles of fabric all over the bloody place!

I will be really happy once I've got all the fabrics fused onto the blocks.  Then I can put all that fabric away again.

The mess is starting to do my head in.

I'm a clean/tidy freak, so when the sewing room is like this it grates on me nerves.

OH here's a question for you.

I've been pondering if I should turn those blocks into a duvet cover, as opposed to an actual quilt?

The duvet cover would be EASIER to make, and far less time consuming.  The quilt would look more 'impressive', but take me 4 times longer to make.

Either way, it will look amazing on the bed.

So... what do you think?  Duvet Cover or Quilt?

Right, I'm rolling over and reading the news, then snoozing some more I think.

Depends on me foot.  Why do I say that?  Anyone remember?

12.15 pm:  And I've not been a slouch.  I've done all the morning jobs, then straight into the sewing room.

ABOVE:  And I've got two more blocks ready for stitching.

I've not made up my mind about the Duvet vs. Quilt yet.

But I think... it will be a quilt.  But as you all know, I'm notorious for changing my mind. 

Time will tell I suppose. 😆😖

I think the fact that a quilt will take more time is making me lean that way.  I've got quite enough stuff for markets already, so a longer term project might be best.

It's lunchtime, so I will stop for a while and have lunch.  I've made myself a mince and potato pie.  Stew will be getting the same for his dinner.

Most days (when it's possible), I'm having my main meal at lunchtime now.

Seems to be working on stopping me over eating at dinner time.  Win win.

NOTE TO SELF:  Do NOT have a pie for lunch!  It will give you severe heart burn and reflux.

It only happens with home made pies I might add.

I've felt shocking all afternoon, another day feeling ill!  Not fun.

Bex and the boys called in after school, which was lovely.   She got to 'help' me cut out more pattern pieces 😅😋.

Stew just got home from Rotorua, and he's off to do some exercise in the gym room until his dinner is ready.

Right.  Dinner is done.  Husband is fed.  My tummy is finally settling down again, thank goodness.

Now watching Coronation Street, then off to bed.

FIRST WALK IN A WHILE

 This morning I am going to Cambridge to join up with me FBG friends for a walk.

My knee hasn't been so bad these past few days, so here's hoping a nice little walk is fine.

I've not seen my FBG friends for a few weeks!  Sad really, but it was my choice to move to Hamilton, so I really shouldn't complain about not seeing them so much.

We all make decisions that have pro's and con's, leaving Cambridge was an easy one though. We had far more positive reasons to move than to stay there.

It's not that far to go back, and once the Hamilton Bypass section of the  Expressway is finished, it will be easier and faster for sure!  With any luck that extension will be open in the next few months.  

The entire Hamilton Expressway has only been 40+ years in the planning, and about 13 years in construction so far!

KJ:  You asked yesterday if we bought a couch cover?

Yes we did, but totally didn't look at the photo on the wrapping... and it's NOT what we really wanted at all.

ABOVE:  We thought we'd bought one of those stretchy ones that covers the entire couch.  Oh well... this one will do for now, I will get another one off TradeMe.  Then that one can go on the couch in the studio.

Right, I better get moving... I'm really looking forward to meeting up with my FBG friends this morning.

12.35 pm:  Just home from my morning out and about.

First up, the walk was A KILLER!  It was so hot, you'd never think it was May already.

There was very little shade (virtually NONE)  on this walk, and it was 'undulating'... so a few small hills.  I nearly died.

Morning tea at the start was neat, got to chat to my friends.  

AND I was given a belated BINGO CHALLENGE gift from Robyn:

ABOVE: That girl knows me so well!  Such a thoughtful gift of goodies.  Thank You Robyn, you ROCK.

ABOVE:  The walk was through farmland, so we got to see beautiful cows, feasting on silage.  The smell was divine.  Reminds me of visiting my Nana on her dairy farm as a child.

ABOVE:  We were a lovely big group this morning.  My friend Robyn is that tiny thing, slap bang in the middle.

ABOVE:  I was seriously red in the face after I got back to my car!  I'm not doing a mid morning walk again if the sun is out!

ABOVE:  I had to full my car with petrol.  I was starting to think it was never going to end.... the price is astronomical, even with the short term Government subsidy.  

Right, I've got some kumera poppas in the oven for my lunch. Then I'm going to work on quilt blocks.

6.30 pm:  Think I got heat stroke!  I have been sick all afternoon.  Terrible headache.  Lay on the couch feeling bloody sorry for myself.

Did a tiny bit of work on a block late this afternoon.

Am now cooking Stew some dinner.  He's having roast pork, Kumera fritters, smashed roast potatoes, and chuck wagon corn mix.

I'm probably not going to have anything.

My head is still pounding.

Yeah, it's gunna be an early night for me.  Still feel yuk.

Catch ya tomorrow.

JUST ANOTHER STAY AT HOME DAY

 Well... here we are.

At home instead of the beach.

Still slightly crabby about that.

But... the only consolation is that we won't be in returning holiday traffic at the end of the day.

School holidays end today, so everyone who went away will be coming home today.

ABOVE:  Late yesterday afternoon I sat down and traced out three complete patterns onto the Steam A Seam, then cut them out, ready to fuse them onto fabric.

It's quite a shitty job.  Bex helped me cutting them out, so that was awesome.

Today I will try and get 2, if not all three blocks sorted.

Then I only have two more to do.

Then the fun begins!  Joining them together and then stitching all the pieces down.

It is going to be a long process.

Before settling down to work in the sewing room, I'd like to go for a drive here in Hamilton.

A new road has opened and I want to check it out.

It's just an extension of Wairere Drive, connecting up with Cobham Drive... but it's been under construction for a few years.  It means you don't have to drive through the Hillcrest shops any more.  Worth checking it out.

Right... I'm off to start me day.

Stew... I don't have anything for you to do except drive me around!  OH and can ya get something out of the freezer for dinner?  Ta.  😂😆😋

We had two lazy boy lounge chairs in the sunroom.  They take up a lot of room, so I was thinking of selling them on TradeMe.

But Stew decided he didn't want to get rid of them, so we re-jigged the lounge and sunroom:

ABOVE: The two lounge chairs came back up into the lounge, and...

ABOVE: The smaller two seater couch is now in the sunroom.

It gives me a bit more room down there to use the drying racks over winter, which was my main aim.

I don't like using the clothes dryer unless it's absolutely necessary, which is hardly ever.

Now I've got room to put up at least two drying racks down there.  And stuff dries so well there over winter.

Stew suggested we get a couch cover to protect the couch from sun fade and grubby kids.  So we'll do that a bit later on.

We are going to do that drive on the new road, then have lunch out somewhere nice.  So just pottering around the house till then.

ABOVE: we are at Punnet in Tamahere for lunch. It is crazy busy out here! They have a huge area with lots of separate areas of dining seating. Its really lovely, and clearly very popular. 

It will be interesting to see how long it takes for our lunch to arrive.

We had a quiet walk around the Hamilton Gardens lake before coming out here.  It was very busy there too.

2 pm: 

ABOVE:  A few photos of our walk around the gardens.  The bumble bee was so funny, it went into raptures every time it settled on a poppy!

ABOVE:  Our lunch at Punnet.  Without being mean, the Bacon and Eggs was just that.  Stew had some Portobello Mushrooms on the side of his.  The Sourdough bread crusts were so HARD you almost could not cut it.  I was underwhelmed to be honest.  The drinks on the other hand were amazing.

Probably won't go there again for a meal, but would for their cakes.  Which we didn't get any of today.

Now home and and just relaxing for a while.  Such a big meal in the middle of the day just sends me to sleep!

8.05 pm:  And it's been a lovely afternoon/evening.  I've done some more block preparation.  I realised my blocks 4 & 5 were 'wrong' in their orientation.  One I managed to save as I'd not fused the fabric on the block, the other one is now gunna have to be used in another way.  Maybe a block cushion.

So relieved I checked before I'd made 6 the wrong way around.

And that's me for the day.

Catch ya tomorrow.

WAITING... ALWAYS WAITING

 So *sigh*, today we are going to stay home and wait for the heat pump Installation guy to arrive.  He said he would arrive between 12 - 1 pm.  

His job is to work out what heat Pump will fit in the same place as our existing heat pump.

In the meantime, there's housework and making those gorgeous blocks to carry on with.

Let's wait and see what else the day brings.

9.25:  Stew comes into the garage and says:

"What's going on?  I don't know what I'm doing today.... there's no blog post up today!"

I'm like... really?  You look at the blog in the morning to find out what 'YOU' are doing today?

OMG that is rather funny.

So... blogger is being a bitch.  Had problems with it yesterday, and now again this morning.

Hopefully when I hit 'PUBLISH' it actually will this time.

ABOVE: Block number four has this utterly gorgeous flower!  Fussy cut so I got lots with hearts inside the heart.  Too cute.

And a spur of the moment decision ... as soon as the install man has been we are taking off for a little break.

Tauranga.  Stay the night.   Explore the coast North of Tauranga, then come home again.

It was planned for last weekend, but those plans had to change when we unexpectedly had Keera to look after.

It's only 11 am, I do hope the guy arrives closer to 12 than 1. 

We have thrown a few things in a bag ... ready to go.

AND.... 4 and a half hours later and after a very frustrating and avoidable delay, we reluctantly decided to stay home.

All going well... we will have two full days in Tauranga NEXT WEEKEND!

So damn annoyed.

We could have left now and got over there in time for dinner, but we are both just crabby and didn't want to go away in a bad mood.

**  The Installation guy arrived kinda on time.  He recommended a slightly bigger heat pump from what we had thought of buying, so we had to go into Harvey Norman's and sort that out.

There was another 'problem' but it eventually got sorted out.  Nothing to do with the Installation guy though.

We will probably have to wait about a month until the new heat pump is installed.  *sigh*

So.  Fish 'n' chips for dinner, then a quiet evening here.

8 pm, dinner is over.  Struggling to stay awake now... far too much food at dinner time.

I think I will have an early night.  

Catch ya tomorrow.