FRIDAY... YAAAA

Those teeny tiny little seedlings in my plant pots ARE the fern plants I had hoped would grow!  I know this cos one has a tiny fern frond now... and when I touch it, it shrinks away like the 'mother plant'.  I'm thrilled to bits.  I've only done it ONCE as I don't want to stress it out.  There is also a third seedling starting to sprout too.

If I nurture them carefully, and they grow I can give one to Dante and Archer, as they were with me when we saw the fern in the Domain.  

The thistle seeds still have not done a darn thing.  I'm not giving up on them yet.  

Something I'm super angry about right now:

ABOVE:  This is our lovely trolley.  The one that used to have the TV on it.
It's covered in gouges and scratches!!!

MARLEY... it's all down to Marley.
She shoves her toys under it then spends ages 'digging' them out again.

She 'self entertains' herself doing this.

I had NO IDEA she was causing ANY damage to the trolley!  None at all.

Now that I've moved it to between Stew and I, I noticed the damage.  I'm freakin' pissed off.

Now I have to find some way to stop her doing it.  *sigh*

She might be banned from having toys in the house, if she persists in shoving them under the trolley/coffee tables.

This is what I made yesterday:

ABOVE:  A three chicken table runner.  I put gumboots on the middle chicken... for fun. I will be making a few more, so I've got some for my next market, whenever that turns out to be.  Could be many months away.

I'm so lucky I did that big fabric shop at the beginning of the year, I'm not going to run out of fabric for a while.  *smiles*

So... I will be sewing again today.  And of course, sorting out whatever housework needs doing.  

And.. it's Friday, which means... NOTHING!  Every day is the same.
  

***STAY HOME.*** STAY SAFE.*** SAVE LIVES.***

AND....

ONWARD...

OMG I FORGOT STEVE'S BIRTHDAY IS TODAY!!!!!
Whoops. Sorry Steve... my only excuse is... life ain't NORMAL right now.

Have a lovely, lovely day, ya know we love you. *smiles*

 ABOVE: So I'm out at the tree this morning... just finished stitching the latest additions on the tree, and this vehicle goes past.

I've seen it quite a few times, he must live just around the corner.

Anyway, he goes past, but stops about 6 houses down then slowly backs right back up... to my tree.  And he opens his window and says to me:

"Beautiful.  Your tree is beautiful.  I see it every day."

Of course I thank him and off he goes again!

I might have started this tree to bring a smile to 'someone's' face... but it's doing so much more than that!  It's making ME happy too.

ABOVE:  Today's additions are not that noticeable.  A small section up the top, a pink pom pom and around the other side anther little flower.

Right, time to grab something to eat, then off to sew.

6.30 pm:  And I did indeed sew all afternoon.  So lovely tucked away in my studio... watching all the people walking by.

I didn't get another Bird Runner finished today as I wasn't working on it as long as the  one I did yesterday.  I will finish it tomorrow.

Dinner tonight was macaroni cheese, with onion/tomato and sausage added to it.  Brylee cooked it with my coaching. 

It's time to sit and relax, watch some TV and get my poppies ready for putting out on the grass verge tomorrow morning.

HMMM... WHAT ELSE CAN I MOVE?

I really enjoyed moving stuff yesterday!
Today I'm going to wander around and see what else might need re-arranging.

Might as well do it now while Stew's stuck working at home, right?

 ABOVE:  Placing the china cabinet here was a really bright idea!  It is not taking up space in the family room now.

I feel so lucky that we have these 'bonus' rooms in our new home.  I utterly LOVE this house.  I can't say it enough.

ABOVE:  I sat and looked at the TV there, and yeah, *sigh*... DID NOT LIKE IT AT ALL.  Too low.  Jutting out a bit much.
So I thought about it and then got Stew to do this:

ABOVE:  Huge improvement.  If that had been a solid wall, I would have mounted it on the wall.  But it's not, so it just got mounted on the 'shelf' instead.

Problem solved.

So, I talked to Lacy yesterday.  It's looking like a 'GO' for her coming home on Tuesday next week.  Griffin?  Uncertain at this point in time.

 ABOVE:  During lock down... families have been home schooling, baking, getting school supplies sent to them in the mail...

ABOVE:  Going to walks in the dark!  Getting fitter.  Crafting... Kelly has been doing heaps of Diamond Paintings and Bex has been needle felting.

Not sure what the rest of the family have been up to! Probably just chillin at home.  Mike is still going to work, as he's in an essential business.

UPDATE on Steve:  His health is much better, his steroid dose is down really low, so his immunity is not so suppressed now.
He's working on getting fitter, trying to build up his stamina and strength in readiness for returning to work.  He's eating much healthier too, which is having good 'spin offs' with other things.
There's still room for improvement in some aspects of his medical status, but he just has to give it time.

The very best thing though?  He has NO PAIN now.  So thankful for that.

And that's all I have for now... time to get up and start me day.

ONWARD...

We had no condensation on any of our windows this morning.   We also did not have a fog... so until we do have  a fog, we won't know if the DVS stopped the condensation or it was just cos we didn't have a fog?

Question:  Can you have your windows and doors open while running your DVS, or would it defeat the purpose?   Or should you turn it off when you have the doors and windows open?

ABOVE: Today's tree addition is this rusty red piece, with pretty peppermint flowers.

10.30 am - 4.37 pm... I'm sewing.  Still am.
Will be stopping soon to cook dinner.

5.10 pm:  And I'm done for the day.  I made ONE thing.  It's a three bird runner, very similar to the one I made and gifted recently to Anna.

I will show it tomorrow, lol... so I've got something to put on TOMORROW!  *SMILES*

I'm cooking sausages, onion rings, fresh bread rolls and salad for dinner tonight. 
I had 'brunch' so am pretty hungry now.

Brunch seems to work better for me when I'm working.  I start the day with a decent meal, then I can work for 6-7 hours straight without feeling hungry.

Well...Coronation Street is only half an hour long now.  Booo.  It's been an quiet evening, as expected.
I have been craving desserts... but have resisted going and buying anything.   That feels good I suppose.  

Time to bugger off for the night.  I might go to bed early.

HAPPY WITH OUR GARDENS

It's been so nice wandering around in our garden ... it's just so pretty right now.

ABOVE:  I'm so happy with how this new garden is looking, everything is growing.  I expect it to fill out pretty fast.

ABOVE:  All the cuttings I shoved in pots in this area?  All growing!  None died on me.  Shit I have no idea when I got a green thumb.  Weird.

ABOVE: So much colour at the moment!  And I still love our weta.

ABOVE: I finally hung something off this little hanger.  It's right outside my sewing studio.  

Today?  Meh.  Dunno.  Housework.  Addition on the tree. Maybe sewing.  Maybe blobbing out!
Seriously ... every day is the SAME.  I wanna go SHOPPING!!!   I miss wandering the shops.  

Spotlight!  

Fabric!  OMG I miss browsing fabric.

In fact (whoops!) ... I did buy some a couple of nights ago.  Online.  But they won't post it out until we are down a couple of levels.
It's super cute.

 ABOVE:  See?  So, so cute.  I am going to use it to make 2-3 cot quilts.  

The petrol stations have all dropped their petrol prices.  Like HEAPS.  And can we take advantage of the cheap prices?

NOPE... cos we can't go driving around willy nilly can we?  

ABOVE:  So TRUE.  And so frustrating, cos as soon as we are allowed to travel again, you can bet ya bottom dollar those bastards will up the price again, even though they will have no justification to do so.  *sigh*

I've got too much time on my hands obviously... getting all hot and bothered over shit I can do nothing about.  

I  will bugger off and find something to do that cheers me up.  Or ... I might roll over and have another hour in bed.  *smiles*

ONWARD...


ABOVE:  Well after not finding the HRV 'box' that has the filters in it, Stew went up into the roof above the garage.  And it's there.

So, at some point he will have to crawl in there and sort out the filters.  Either replace or clean... not sure yet.  I will do a You Tube search to find out.

You Tube is WONDERFUL for getting information about just about anything!

It is bloody COLD this morning!  Like I might even turn on a heat pump, it's that cold.  I wonder if the HRV system will warm the house up a bit?

11.45 am:  And I'm happy to say I found something to do.
I moved stuff.  Like everyone who knows me, knows I do.

I felt the family room was cluttered.  So I did this:

 ABOVE:  I took the china cabinet out of that corner.
And switched the large 'trolley' for the small one, to put the TV on.

 ABOVE:  I feel like it's lightened up the room a bit.   If we have visitors in those chairs, I will just put my computer over in the corner by my chair... to be polite.  lol  

ABOVE: That's where I put the china cabinet.  I haven't put everything back in it ... yet.  Felt like a break.  And I'm starving.

ABOVE:  Today's tree addition.  Tomorrow's might have flowers.

This afternoon I put everything back in the china cabinet, pottered around the house doing some tittivating ... as ya do.

I cooked corn fritters for dinner.  They were really yum, a nice change from the norm. I put spring onion, red onion and some grated cheese in them.  Brylee hates corn fritters, so she had spaghetti, her 'go to' when she doesn't like what's for dinner.

Stew just did a little job for me... something to do with the 'tittivating' this afternoon.  *smiles*

I will show you what... tomorrow.

Time to sign off and relax for the remainder of the evening.

WELL AHEAD

Because I've been feeling a bit off colour the past few days, I've just been sitting and crocheting mostly.

I'm now well ahead of the game when it comes to additions ready for the tree:

ABOVE: In fact I've got about 6 pieces ready!
The one on the right was a right bitch to do as half the wool I used was a bobbly, stringy ball from my neighbour.  I added it to a vibrant pink I had to make it nice and thick.
Then I stayed up until 1 am making the flowers to go with it.

The only good thing about staying up that late is I actually go to sleep fast!

And I tend to not toss and turn so much cos I'm really tired.

Today I am determined to NOT sit on me bum all day, but get moving a bit more.  I really have been very lazy the past couple of days!

Just not been feeling good.  Hot flushes have ramped right back up again, the acid reflux is chronic and I'm just feeling bloody ikkk. 

Clearly something is out of kilter.  Just not sure what.  Maybe it's just down to being out of sync, life not being 'normal'?

I dunno.  

If it's a cool day (ain't looked outside yet), but if it is overcast I might just go for a walk.  That will be a good start to the day.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  One of the biggest decisions of my day.. what ladder to use today?  Lol
I invariably need one to add stuff to the tree now.

 ABOVE:  A bit of a gathering there today while I was out there.  There was a couple on bikes who had just moved off... they come by and take a photo to send to their family in Kent and Jakarta!

ABOVE:  I added the green/yellow section and a new pom pom today.

I am now going to do a grocery shop.  Getting low on a few things.

I'm annoyed.
I went grocery shopping.

And it was '$5 WEEK', which means some things are CHEAPER.

Yeah right.

I've been shopping at Pak n Save for 40 + years.
I KNOW THEIR PRICES.

So today 420 gm can of Watties Spaghetti were on sale... 3 for $5.  And I was like wtf?

Those cans are NORMALLY $1.49 a can.
So I stood there and tried to take a photo, but one of the employees of Pak n Save saw me and immediately stood in front of the sign so I couldn't. 

Stupid man, I went back later. 

So... Normal price            :  $1.49 a can
Today ($5 for 3) equals   :   $1.67 a can
Individual can today        :   $1.79 a can

NOW get this:

ABOVE:  On their website, you can buy a 'plastic wrapped three pack' of 420 gm cans of spaghetti for ... $4.29!  Making each can $1.43 !

So please, if you are going to Pak n Save... DON'T buy their $5 a week specials, cos they most likely ARE NOT a saving at all.

OH and when I actually asked a supervisor at check out why they had upped the NORMAL price from $1.49 to $1.79... she just walked away!

Yeah.  

Wasn't that fun to know?  Yep.  You're welcome.

10.45 pm:  Well it was a quiet afternoon and evening, I cooked butter chicken for dinner.  It was a sauce mix I'd not used before and it was just so-so.
Still can't find anything to beat the Indian place in Cambridge.  *sniff*   I miss their Butter Chicken.

I wonder if we can drive there once we are in Level 3?

Time to sign off for the day... our Covid -19 count only went up by 5 today!  And 1 new death sadly.

BLOODY OLD AS!

Stew always dresses in grotty old clothes when he's working in the garden.
Fair enough, I do too.

Anyway, I noticed the socks he pulled on yesterday had his name stitched on them.
I asked him just how old those socks were?

ABOVE:  And he informed me that they were 'about' 39 years old!!!  His Mum put the name tags on them for when he wore them to Outward Bound when he was 20 yrs old!

OMG.

Even older?  The grey school socks he wore to Fairfield College as a freakin' teenager.  He still has them.  They have places on them where his Mum DARNED them!  

Who darns socks now days?  I bet virtually no one!

By the way, Stew's full name is DEREK STEWART HARVEY... hence the D S Harvey on the socks.

ABOVE:  My seeds?  The thistles have done NOTHING, and the fern seeds have so far produced two tiny little seedlings.  
Fingers crossed more germinate soon.  

Stew is back to work today.
I plan on doing some sewing.
Brylee can fold the washing, there's quite a pile of it!

At 4 pm today our Government is going to announce if/when we will move down to Level 3.  I hope it's soon so Lacy and Griffin can come home.

I think most of us will carry on as we have been though, staying home and staying safe.

ONWARD...

ABOVE:  6.30 this morning. Yep, a typical Waikato fog.  I was tempted to go for a walk, but decided I wasn't feeling energetic enough.
It would have been awesome though, cos now the sun is out and it's much warmer.

ABOVE:  I was out nice and early this morning putting the 2nd critter on the tree.
Timed it perfectly as an old friend was walking by (Hilary), so we got to have a good chat and catch up.

Now... Stew's had to go into his office as his computer refuses to connect to our internet.  He may have to buy a cable somehow,  OR he will end up having to actually GO TO WORK at the office to keep things up and running. 

I'm feeling less than ideal today.  Had the shakes quite badly until I ate something... and now just feel yuk.  Headache too, which is so annoying.  So, sewing can wait till later. 

And just as I was about to go and lie down with some panadol on board... there's a knock at me front door.

And it's Mary from across the road... dropping this off:

ABOVE:  Wool for the tree!  So of course, I go out and we have a good long chat on the footpath.  *smiles*

Mary and Ian are just the most lovely neighbours.  Ian told me my tree is getting shared via Facebook and so on, all over New Zealand!  AND... the people who originally owned our home (before the people we bought it off), had been told about what we've done to their old home, and they did a drive by before lockdown to see!

And they are also keeping abreast of the tree's transformation via photos sent to them.  

Too funny.   

I only started yarn bombing the tree to make 'someone' smile!

It's now almost lunchtime, Stew and Brylee should be home soon.  We are having left overs from last night for lunch.  Stew cooked far too much.

I better get something out for this evening's dinner... something easy I think, considering lunch will be fairly substantial.

Just 30 minutes to go until we hear the latest news from our Government.  I have this feeling they will extend the Level 4 Lockdown for another 2 - 4 weeks.
But I hope not.

So after lunch today I tried a new crochet stitch, no idea what it's called cos I just followed a You Tube tutorial, and it's in another language so I just watch it over and over again until I get it.  

ABOVE: This isn't quite all the pattern, I just took from the tutorial parts I wanted to use.

This wool is from my neighbour... nice to have some green!

7.20 pm:  Well, one more week at Level 4.  Then down to Level 3, which means L & G can come home and join our bubble.
And for us, not much else will change.
Stew will continue to work from home. 
We will still have to stay home and stay safe.

Not many shops will open... but some takeaway places will be able to open for delivery or drive through.  

So... slow steps towards a new normal one day in the future.

I burnt dinner tonight.  Charcoal is good for ya gut right?  Roughage.  Yeah.

Not much else going on here... Monday night TV sucks.  Might watch something on Netflix.

SUNDAY... JUST ANOTHER DAY

I'm sure almost everyone is feeling the same... there is no difference between the days anymore.

And as there's only so much housework, home maintenance and craft shit you want to do... life is really starting to get boring.

I might have to teach Brylee how to play cards.  God help me.  That might be a mission.

Stew doesn't like playing cards, which is a bugger cos it would be something we can do as a little group.  *sigh.

ABOVE: Yesterday I made 3 new tree additions, so... add them to the two I already had and I've got the next 5 days sorted out.  So no rush to make more today. 

Which means... I really don't have anything much to do today.  Fold some washing?  Do some sewing?  
Let's wait and see.

ONWARD...

 ABOVE:  Finally know.. .YES, it IS a Mandarin tree out the back.  Very happy about that... we like mandarins.

ABOVE:  I hunted out the games.  Might try teaching Brylee Yahtzee  ... hope there's some dice in that box.  Then maybe I will teach her Skip Bo. 
As for what I like to play?  500.  Scum. And a few others I don't even know the name of!  *smiles*

 ABOVE:  Today's addition is a cute little critter in a pocket.  He's stitched on REALLY GOOD, so hopefully he stays there.

ABOVE:  I am super surprised that the tree has not suffered any vandalism!  I really did expect someone to come along and wreck it for me.
So relieved it's still perfectly fine.

Isn't that critter cute?  I've got another one ready to go on in a day or two.

 ABOVE:  Stew, Brylee and I did some gardening this morning.  It was perfect weather to be out there.

 ABOVE:  While out the front... I can't get over how many people stop and admire/take photos of the tree!
We were only out the front for about 15 minutes, and we had around 6 groups stop to chat/take photos etc.  

SO many people out and about on foot and cycles.  Really lovely  to see.

 ABOVE:  OH... there was this bloke who is taking photos of unusual/pretty letterboxes on his daily walks too.
He loves our letterbox.

 ABOVE:  KAREN... this is the orange shrub out in the front garden.  I have no idea what it is!  

ABOVE:  Stew chopped down the last section of that Camellia tree over by the pool.  Good job done.

At Level 3 we might be able to order and pay for some new plants online, and just pick them up from the nursery at an allocated time.

Lunchtime...

MEL:  ha ha ha!  We had a late lunch!  Then I sat down and crochet'd a new section for the tree, then I was tired after gardening/potting around the yard/and so on, so I had a nap!  For like... 2 hours!!!

Yep... a long nap which means, I will be late to bed tonight.

Stew is cooking dinner.  Beef patties, roast veges, bacon sauce and cauliflower cheese.  He's such a good cook.  I didn't even teach him either, he came to me with those skills... among others *wink wink*.  lol

I doubt I will be doing much this evening... except watching mindless TV.  Or playing some game with Brylee.