HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO STEVE.... AND HOW FUNKY!

TODAY is Steve's birthday.  How wonderful that his brother Mike, and Joyce are up from Palmerston North to spend the day with him.

Lacy, Keera, Brylee and Griffin are all here too.  Amanda would have loved to be here too, but a prior commitment means she's out of town.

We will be having a family dinner tonight.  I am popping out later on to get some salads, cooked chooks etc to feed them all. 

Bex is cooking a birthday cake.  Yummy Banana Cake.  Steve doesn't eat much in the way of sweet things, but he does like a banana cake.

Talking of sweet things... it's now been TEN DAYS without me eating a single sweet thing!  I'm feeling rather proud of myself.  Clearly I won't be having any cake tonight.  😋😊😉

A while ago I bought a pottery mushroom from a market.  Can't remember which one!

ANYWAY... I put it in the front garden.

Yesterday when Stew and I came home from town, I noticed some additional colour in the garden.

What is that?  So I wandered over to see:

ABOVE:  Would ya look at that!  Mushrooms (or toadstools) growing right beside my fake mushroom!

And in the same colour too.  Rather amusing I must say. And like... is that weird or what?

ABOVE: These are the new trays we bought to use in our oven.  I love them too!  The fit on one rack, so today I'm going to send Stew out to buy two more.  With the amount of people we often cook for, I need more! 

ABOVE:  Steve took my oven door off so I could clean the glass.  So easy with the door off!

ABOVE:  Look at that.  Not bad for a 23 year old oven!

It's going to be a really lovely day.   Mike and Joyce being here is just so wonderful.
Nothing makes me happier than having family here.  It's all about happiness, laughs and good times. 💙💚💜

Oh I found out the name of my new blue pottery dish, it is from PORTMEIRION POTTERY... and it's highly collectable. NOT that I'm going to collect it.  It is probably very hard to source here in New Zealand.

I  had a look on most sites, Amazon, EBay, Trade Me etc last night and there was none available anywhere!  Well, not that colour and design that is.

So I feel like I have something rather special. 

ABOVE:  I just love seeing Mike and Joyce here, enjoying being with their family.

ABOVE:  Steve has been given some more Magic Cards, from Mike and Joyce, and from himself (of course!).  He's a happy boy.   We  gave him a joke book.  50 Things To Do While You Poo.  We don't give 'big' presents anymore, it's just too expensive with the number of family members we have.

ABOVE:  A sweeping view of our dining/kitchen/family room tonight.  Kinda full of family.

ABOVE:  Dinner tonight was Roast Chickens, Ham, Roast Beef, Lettuce Salad, Boiled Eggs, Tomatoes, Potato Wedges and Hot Salad Buns.

ABOVE:  Followed by a delicious Banana Cake, baked by Bex and decorated by me.  I really must invest in some small candles!

ABOVE:  NONE of us can sing for shit!  But we tried.  Steve had cake and loved it.

Now... we are winding down, the little kids are watching a movie before bed.

Catch ya tomorrow.

CHANGE OF PLANS

 Well, today's plans have changed.

But that is just fine.  It gives us more time to rally our troops so to speak.

Stew took today off work, so that means he and I have the day together.

I love that.  There is NO ONE I would rather spend a day with than my darling man.

This morning we are going out to have a brisk walk along the river side, we hardly ever do that.  Then we will have a nice lunch somewhere, before coming home and awaiting the arrival of Mike and Joyce.

They are coming up for the long weekend, and to just hang out with us.  

ABOVE:  We've woken to a thick fog.  Autumn is certainly here now.  I'm sitting drinking a half cup of Caramel Late (out of a sachet), and I've got me Oodie on.

ABOVE:  And that's me in the big pink Oodie.  I love it!  It's so soft and squishy and WARM.  And yes, I've got bed hair... and I don't care!  

It's a thing.

8.41 am:  And wow!  The fog has come down even thicker now!  I can hardly see my neighbour's house at all.  Might not go walkies down by the river till much later in the day now.  I'm still in me pj's!  Should really get dressed I suppose.

1.50 pm:  And Stew and I have been out for several hours.

No river side walk... the fog didn't lift till very late in the morning.

Instead, we had a good walk around town.  Stopped and looked down some little alley ways...

ABOVE:  This one was off Barton Street.  Not a lot to interest us down here, some very nice boutique clothing shops, that cater for stick insects.

We did however, find a new gift shop on Alexandra Street (Fox & Frame).  I spied a collection in the window...

ABOVE:  Just the most gorgeous blue china!   OMG we I went in to drool.

ABOVE: so ummm... for a person who is trying to de-clutter and get rid of superfluous 'stuff'... I bought more stuff.

JUST this one piece, cos it was horribly expensive.  But I just love it. 

This piece is a cheese dish of all things!

What you see in the window is all she has of this collection.  She (shop owner), bought it while on a trip to England years ago.

I'd love to get more of it... so might have to go back in a week or two.  😂😅😆

ABOVE:  After wandering through town for a couple of hours, we ventured out to The Base, where we proceeded to buy a couple of new oven trays.  Our current tray is getting damn manky.

Then we had lunch at one of our favourite eateries... Foundation.

Not that impressed with them today.

The brought to the table our wedges ... and immediately we could see that they had downsized the quantity.... by a shit load!

Not on at all.  Give you less, charge you the same?  Might not be going back there.  I'm over being ripped off.

Worst thing is, so many places are doing the exact same thing.  Put less in ... charge you more even!  

Right, I better stop bitching.  I've been told all I do is bitch and moan on here!  

4.45 pm:  enjoying a relaxed afternoon.  Steve, Bex and boys are here.  Griffin is here.  Mike and Joyce are an hour or so away.

6.45 pm:  And OMG it's gone quiet!  Mike and Joyce arrived with just enough time to have a quick chat and hugs... then they took off for the Rugby game with Steve and Stew in tow.

Bex and the boys have gone home.

It's just me and the dogs now.

So.... I might just watch a movie on Netflix before they arrive home again.

ABOVE:  Looks like there's a good crowd at the stadium.  I hope they enjoy the game.

ABOVE:  The kick that won the game apparently!  The Chiefs WON in the last seconds.

WALKING

 Today, IF I can drag myself out of bed in time, I will head over to Cambridge for an FBG walk.

It doesn't start till 9.30, which means I need to leave at 8.30 probably.

I'm sure I can be out the door in time!

I will only be doing the first half of this walk, as I did the 2nd half earlier.  So I probably won't hang around for morning tea afterwards.

I'll just come home and get on with something here.

ABOVE:  I'd love to go for a drive!  But... I'd want to take those I love with me.

Life has it's ups and downs eh?  Nothing is ever smooth.  I'm sure we are no exception to the rule.

The 'Waltons' we are NOT!

Who else remembers this totally unrealistic TV Family?

I used to dream of having a family like them.

Jokes on me I suppose.

I feel like my posts lately have been a bit down and negative.  It's just a phase I promise.

Ain't that the truth!

Dang!  I really do have to snap out of this funk I'm in!  Life is too bloody short to let a few arseholes affect my life so much.

Walking away from them feels so FRIGGIN GOOD.

I'm hanging out for the day I am able to share what's been going on!  It's not been, or is ... FUN.  It's downright NASTY.

ABOVE: Bed hair... and she don't care. Lol

I'm now in Cambridge a full 45 minutes too early.  *sigh*

It's a gorgeous day, might get a bit hot on this walk.

ABOVE:  YES!  I did go on my walk.  It was bloody hot as this morning!  And this walk had a couple of really nasty hills too.  My legs might not thank me later on today.

ANON:   Idle threats do not worry us in the least.  I refer you back to my post yesterday...

We know EXACTLY what is going on.

More fool you.

DOGSTARS:  You have NO IDEA how heavily 'censored' this blog is!  OMG the things that are going on a few fronts.  One day I will talk about it all.  But not yet.

ABOVE:  Griffin is down visiting us.  He now has wheels. 

Griffin has left, and I'm just chilling out by myself for now.  I don't really feel inclined to do much, but in a little while I might go and do some more of my puzzle.  

ABOVE: I ended up keeping busy this afternoon yakking with friends on the phone!  I just love that, the support is so appreciated.

My poor jig saw puzzle is so neglected!

Maybe tonight I can work on it?

Our Plans for tomorrow have changed.  But all good.  KARMA takes time.

Well.... it's been a long day!  I'm tired.  Looking forward to bed tonight.

Dinner was sausages and left overs.  Nice and easy.

Catch ya tomorrow.

THIS IS ALL I HAVE

 I'm feeling a bit evil today.

YEAH.  THIS.  

Keeping my chin up, I know we got this. 

Fake it till ya make it right?

I'm smiling.  I'm keeping busy.  No one is going to bring me down for long.

FUNNY BONE?  .... NOT FUNNY.

About two weeks ago I knocked my left elbow on the pantry door.  It hurt REALLY, REALLY BADLY.  Like, it just did not stop hurting for a long time.

I jumped around, gripping me arm;  literally crying, saying "STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP!"  

The pain was radiating up and down my entire arm.  I'd never had pain from a knock to my funny bone go on and on like that did.

Anyway, for the past two weeks my arm has been sore, aching constantly, and there was quite a bit of weird cramping and pains in my hand and forearm.

I thought, never mind, it will eventually stop.

(Stew reckons my ulnar nerve was trapped between my actual elbow bones).

Then on Monday night, when I was out with Brylee looking at her new abode, I knocked that damn funny bone AGAIN!

Yesterday (the day after that 2nd knock), I slowly came to the realisation that my arm was finally no longer aching!

OMG!  I think that 2nd knock to my funny bone probably fixed it!  I wonder if Stew was right, and the nerve was trapped somehow?  Pinched?  Squished?

Oh well... me arm is feeling so much better now.

I just hope I don't do that again in a hurry.

And YES, you needed to know about this.  What if it happened to you?  You now know all ya have to do is smack ya funny bone again to make it all better!   😆😅😂😇

12 noon:  I've had a damn good morning!  Housework got done primarily.  And I watched (for the 3rd time), Bridgerton!

Not all of it, cos that would take all day, but I'm probably about half way through it.

It's so GOOD!

If you've not seen it yet, DO!

This afternoon I shall prepare Stew's dinner, so it's all ready for when he gets home from work.

ME:  I will be off to Cambridge for an FBG walk at 7pm.  Which means I will need to leave here around 6 pm.  Fingers crossed the traffic isn't too crazy.

10.38 pm:  I tried something new for dinner.

It was a cauliflower/bacon/onion bake with a cheese sauce, and baked potatoes. 

And it was delicous.

And that's it for today.

Catch ya tomorrow.

WE HAVE SOME

 Lacy is coming over to visit me this morning.

She's in luck.

We have left overs.

I  don't have much on today.  Thank goodness.

I'm feeling a bit wrung out.  Just over tired really.

Our new mattress topper is wonderful, but when you can't get your brain to switch off, it doesn't matter how comfortable your bed is. 😔

I will be sleeping in today.  Well... until Lacy arrives that is.

And that's pretty much all I have for now!

Catch ya later.

I have my 2nd Market of the year coming up soon!

I'm feeling fairly optimistic it will become a good one.  It's a TOTALLY NEW market to Hamilton.

It might be a flop for a while?  Dunno.  But you have to start somewhere right.

As it's going to be held about three times a year, hopefully it gets known about quickly.

As you all know, I've pulled back on markets lately.

After I came home from Australia, I just wasn't in the mood to do them.  And I didn't feel I needed the added stress.

Now I think I need the added DISTRACTION.

So today I am going to go through all my stock and make sure I have enough for this up-coming market.

It will be 4 months since my last market!  

Oh - this market is on May 1st.  In Hamilton, at St Andrews Presbyterian Church in Claudelands.  Just in case anyone wants to know.

In case you didn't notice, I tried something out this morning.

I'm sorry if I alarmed anyone!  

I was just trying to make Stew an 'Author', so in the event something happened to me he could still do a post for me.

Seems I buggered it up a bit.

BUT... I'm back!

I am cold today.  It's making me a bit crabby.

Actually, just about everything is making me crabby today.

I went for a little walk.  Listened to music.  Didn't help.

Tidied the garage.

Sussed out what I need to take to market.

Only thing I must do is get a 'float' again.  I spent all me float money!

Derrrr.

Cooking me some hash browns for lunch.  Call it comfort food, whatever.  At least it's not chocolate.

Hmmm... might actually make myself a hot drink.

ABOVE:  There is so much choice in my pantry!  Who the hell drinks all this shit?

VISITORS.  Visitors drink all this shit.

ABOVE:  In the end this shit won, cos I just GAG at the thought of drinking tea!  ANY sort of tea.

ABOVE: And without a word of a lie, this was the first cup I grabbed from the cupboard, without even LOOKING! 

Appropriate.  VERY appropriate.

I had a really nice afternoon!  I did some work in my sewing room, got a few more puzzle pieces fitted too.

Stew is due home from Rotorua soon, I've got macaroni cheese in the oven.

Yum!

It's certainly getting cooler now, and dark so early!  I've got winter clothes on now.  How sad, all my summer dresses are put in the 'winter over' wardrobe for the next few months.

I reckon nothing else will happen today, except for dinner and some yakking with Stew/TV, then bed.

So...

DINNERWARE

 I mentioned yesterday afternoon that I had a story about 'dinnerware', following my afternoon tea in Cambridge.

Well... it goes like this:

We were all served food on little side plates.  They were all different, old plates.

I finished my food and was sitting there, looking at my plate.  It was making me feel 'weird'.

Then the penny dropped.

It was a plate from the dinner set my Mum used way back when I was a small child!

I immediately wanted to nick it!  lol

But as I said to the ladies around me, I simply couldn't, as it would eat away at me.  Stealing a plate!  Yeah, nah.

Next thing, the waitress is clearing the tables, and she drops literally half a dozen cups and plates... and they ALL SMASH on the floor.

Me, ever resourceful, thinks I can nick the plate now, and they won't notice, right?

But no.  I still can't do it.

So I decided to take the plate up to the counter and ask if I can buy it!

And that's what I did... and the girl behind the counter said she would go and ask the owner, who was outside doing some weeding of the gardens.

Next thing, she's back, and says "You can have it"!  I was so happy.

I went outside and gave that lady a hug.

ABOVE:  So there it is, a random side plate.  I'm going to put it in one of the  china cabinets, so it isn't broken.

Now, what am I doing today?

First and foremost, I am going over to Cambridge to see a friend.

After that, I will come home and do my usual Monday housework.  Oh Ya.  😁

MY POSITIVE THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

12.16 pm:  And I'm home from being out and about.

It was a good, productive morning.  I got to see a friend I'd not seen since we moved here to Hamilton.

Then I visited Stew and had morning tea with him.... OK... I had Diet Coke, let's get real!

Home now, and I've got washing on, and am about to have a baked potato with baked beans for me lunch.

Brylee is here just to annoy me (she said it, not me!).

Looking forward to wizzing around with the vacuum cleaner later.  Weird.

Dinner is on.

Vacuuming is done.

SPARKLING:  It's super easy to use.  Works on the hard floors just fine.  Empties like a breeze, just open and tip. Light and easily manoeuvrable.  It picks up all the shit on the floor as you would want it to. I have not used any of the attachments yet, but I do believe they will be wonderful too.

I think the most useful thing about it is that it's so easy to use... you just take it off it's charging station and away ya go!  No cords.  No damn hose.  No pulling a vacuum around behind you.

I went out with Brylee this evening. She's been looking for a new flatting situation.  So, we went to look at a house that has 4 other 20 something people in it.

The minute the door opened we were confronted with two really LOVELY young women, who invited us in and proceeded to charm us.

Well, it didn't take much.  We liked them and the house.

Brylee will be moving in over the next two weeks.  She's very happy.

Here's hoping it's a better fit for her.

And that's the end of my day.

Catch ya tomorrow.