GOODIE BASKET ...

Today I'm going out to get some 'stuff' for the basket of goodies I want to take with Stew and I when we go away for our weekend break.

I'm thinking.... nuts, fruit, bottle or two of wine, chocolates, cheese, crackers, pate' etc.


On Friday I will buy fresh fruit, bacon and eggs .... and so on.


I am looking forward to it so much.
Just to relax, no kids, no 'time' issues... just do what we want for two days and nights.  


(and NO, I ain't buying Chocolate 'Body Paint', so there!)


Not sure what else I will get up to today... but I do hope to dedicate a good chunk of time to catching up on some blog reading... I am so behind AGAIN.  *sigh*.... been a bit busy again.


And hopefully I don't find anything else to MOVE in this house for a long time... I think everyone (including me) is over it now!  lol


ONWARD...


OMG I ache all over!  To be expected I suppose.... my shoulders and arms are the worst.... OUCHY.
Photos of what I moved around:

 ABOVE: Yaaa!  got the car in the garage again....

ABOVE:  gym/sewing side.  I've got a bit less room for me craft/sewing now... BUT compromises had to happen.

ABOVE: Griffin's room, which Lacy is using right now.

ABOVE:  bruises starting to show from my efforts yesterday... this arm took the brunt of it.

ABOVE: Steve's room... back where he was originally, and now we have NO ONE sleeping in the freezing garage.
Stew didn't like us having people in the garage AT ALL... thought it was a bit too 'third world-ish'.  So, he's happy now too.


Lacy and I went down to the mall to get me 'weekend supplies'.... 

 ABOVE:  lots of yummies!  NO chocolate sauce to be seen either.  But .... I got whipped cream.... hmmmm.

ABOVE:  I've got the perfect basket for it all too....

ABOVE:  I also found some more of these neat containers, I use them to cook veges in the microwave.  They are perfect for that!

 ABOVE: Brunch in the mall...

ABOVE:  Lacy has caught my 'bug' of taking a photo of EVERYTHING!  LOL

I'm going to have a little 'relax' time now... cos I'm still knackered from yesterday!


SANDRA:  Griffin is on an airbed... in my walk in wardrobe!  FOR NOW.
ANON:  Stew's beer... is still in the supermarket! I didn't want to buy the wrong one, so I'm leaving the beer to him.... though I think he will be drinking rum and coke somehow.


WOMBAT:  now do you REALLY KNOW all that I am packing for our weekend away... hmmmm....  lol.


Spent a bit of time this afternoon getting my craft/sewing area JUST SO... how Stew had it was not gunna work for me.  There is more room now, for me and for people getting out of the car.


The rain finally arrived, been expecting it ... supposed to rain for days now.  


End of Day:  really tired today, everything was an effort.  But at least I got the car in the garage before it really started to rain.
ON TRACK: yep.
nite nite.

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HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY SIENNA AMELIA!

Russell and Tess connected with us over Skype last night... so I got to see wee Sienna the day before she turns 1 year old.


She is just ADORABLE...  it is going to be 6-7 months before we finally get to give her a cuddle.  I can't wait.

ABOVE:  Sienna and her Mum and Dad.  
I can't believe there will be ANOTHER wee baby in their family in two months!  Another one we won't see until around December.  


I bet he/she will be just as darn cute as Sienna and her sister Haylea.
Russell requested a Teddy for the new baby... so I am now on the look out for the perfect teddy (X's two).  Ya gotta have two the same so you can wash one and still have one with the bubba eh?  *smiles*


TODAY:  moving stuff around again.  Probably take me all day.... but it's on me mind, so can't be ignored....   I'm such a pain in the butt to everyone.
Why ... oh why.... can't I be content with where things are just for once????


ONWARD...


Yesterday I told my menfolk I wanted to move the bedrooms around AGAIN... and they kinda ignored my 'request'....
S0... Right now I'm getting LOTS of exercise, doing it myself.  
Cos I am VERY impatient, and when I say I want to do something, I mean NOW, not later.
*sigh*
They know this.  Doofus's.


Lacy has caught the bus into Manurewa, she's dropping off some stuff to Housing Corp.  So it's just me in the house for a while... yaaa.


I've managed to move about 1/4 of the furniture on me own... just having a break before starting again.   
It's HARD WORK!  I sure can't just go full steam ahead anymore... I've got to take 'breaks'.... getting old *sigh*


I'm going to have some bruises me thinks.  Just spent about 20 minutes getting Griffin's big chest of drawers up the stairs.  I took all the drawers out, but it was still a massive job for me.  ONE. STEP. AT. A. TIME...... and there's 11 steps.
I've been counting how many times I go up and down the steps... should be quite a few by the time I'm done for the day!

ABOVE:  the drawers at the top of the stairs.  I would weigh them to see how heavy they are... but I'm too tired.


Lacy arrived back... think she's having a rest now.  Sounds like a good idea.  I'm getting a bit tired.  Might get some lunch... I've been on the go for 4 hours...


5 hours later... no internet all afternoon, couldn't update... so just kept on moving stuff!
Totally shattered now.  Even me fingers hurt.

ABOVE:  very ikkk photo!  Tired, hot and no makeup !  LOL... like I give a shit ... I got heaps done today!  I'm really pleased with myself, and later on I'm gunna have a spa.  


OH AND I managed to cook a huge beef/bacon/tomato casserole too.  1/2 for tonight's dinner with veges, and tomorrow I'm gunna make PIE with the rest.   Yummmm.


I'm so tired I have no appetite for dinner.  So, with all the exercise today, and no dinner.. I might lose a kilo!  That would be nice.


WOMBAT: I'm gunna pretend you didn't say that... I ain't got any muscles.. it's all fat !


End of Day:  what a busy day I've had!  Massive moving around... Steve is back in the 'spare' bedroom, Lacy is in Griffin's room, my car is finally back in the garage, and Griffin?  
He's sleeping in my walk in wardrobe for now!
ON TRACK: too right!
nite nite.

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ARE WE SICK OF GIRAFFES YET?

Well... I hope not!  
They are really fun to make... made two more late last night ... these two are for Miss Muppet's room.... (LACY's Baby)...

ABOVE:  believe it or not, both these giraffes are made using similar purple and green fabrics, but they have come out so different in the photos!   
No idea why, might try taking a better photo of them later when the natural light is better. (done, didn't make much difference)
Does anyone think the bottom one looks more like a horse than a giraffe???


They will both have hearts/butterflies down the side too... at some point!
As I've said before, this is just the beginning of each wall hanging... there is heaps more to do.


Steve went to Hamilton last night to surprise Bex with a midnight feast!  She was working until 11pm and getting home around 11.30pm.... I wonder what she thought of Steve's surprise?


Suppose I shall find out later on in the day.


We don't have any plans for today.... probably just muck around at home... do some odd jobs, some sewing, bla bla bla.


ONWARD...


JOAN:  Bex is a nurse aide..... not sure what the term is here.... anyway, she helps look after people who have had a stroke and are in Waikato Hospital.


It's a beautiful day here... not a cloud in the sky and mild temps.  Love it!


Stew and I went out 'window shopping' for a little garden shed to put the lawnmower etc in... so we can then fit more stuff in the under house store room.
We have too much 'stuff'.... but I don't want to sell or give any more away.
You never know when you might want/need it eh?


Lunch = pizza.
Was nice for a change.  We always get the thin base so we are not eating too many carbs. 


Thinking of doing a bit more giraffe making...


End of Day:  didn't do any more giraffe stuff... had a mid afternoon nap instead!
Stew cooked dinner, so it's been a cruisy day in all.
ON TRACK:  sorta.
nite nite.

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FREAK ME OUT!

I sometimes lie on the couch after lunch and have a 'nana nap'.... before the kids get home from school.
Yesterday I was doing just that, watching some mindless crap on the telly, when I spied something moving on the ceiling... and nearly shit myself !  
It was a ruddy great whitetail spider!

ABOVE:  clearly a whitetail... one of the few poisonous critters here in New Zealand.  They can cause a really nasty bite/infection.  


Anyway... I saw that bugger and leapt off the couch in search of flyspray quick smart.... and flitted him... he dropped like a stone. (well... AFTER I took a photo of him that is!)  lol
I'm still pissing myself hoping it's not coming to get me!

ABOVE:  I've copied some more giraffe pictures off the 'net... so I've got heaps to keep me happy!  


TODAY:  well much to Stew's disgust... I've got some housework jobs for everyone.... once they are done we might just go out for lunch ...


ONWARD...


PINKY:  nope, my favourite animal is a Rhino!  They are awesome.  Maybe I will do some of them after the Giraffes.


Stew and I have been moving stuff around, putting the gym equipment here and there, with the hope that we will have Griffin back in his bedroom by the end of the weekend.


NOW:  we are going out for lunch...


Lunch was nice.  Love Sylvia Park... 
Bought Brylee school winter shoes, then came home and had a quiet afternoon.
Just made meatloaf for dinner tonight... and enough for another two nights next week too.


Gunna go down into the garage now and start on a Giraffe for Lacy, she has chosen the colours... will show ya later.


End of Day:  well... dinner was very nice.... I do make a mean meatloaf!
ON TRACK: yes... as long as ya don't count the piece of Feijoa Cake I had after dinner!
nite nite.

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YAAAA, A DAY FOR ME!

Lacy spent last night with a girlfriend... so once the kids go to school, and the blokes go to work... I'll be on me own.
ALL MORNING probably!


Gotta love it.


Last night I started another Giraffe Wall Hanging:

ABOVE:  He's cute!  Lots and lots to do on him yet... but I think he's gunna rock!


Apart from finding time to do some sewing, I really need to do some housework!
The house is a pig sty!  NO... really it is!  


Now that it's getting so very cold overnight... I don't know if it was a good idea moving Steve and Griffin into the garage.  It's freezing down there!


So I've got me thinking cap on again... which will most likely mean moving stuff AGAIN.
I have a feeling the men in my house are NOT going to be happy with me...


ONWARD...


I went to the mall... posted a parcel to Sienna, it's her 1st birthday in a couple of days!  Man that year went fast.
Came home... and baked a Double Feijoa Cake!  Everyone loves it, so why waste time doing only one!  


Now I'm going to start the next Giraffe... going to get them all to the point where I can do the applique' stitch around all of them in one go.  I have a system...lol!

ABOVE:  Giraffe number 3... he's cute too.  His body is actually orange, but it's come out looking reddish in the photo?  And his patches are actually yellow.  Weird.


End of Day:  a quiet afternoon and evening.  Cooked butter chicken for dinner, it always goes down well with the family.
ON TRACK:  not really... butter chicken, followed by feijoa cake?  was nice though.  *smiles*
nite nite.

HELEN:  Butter Chicken is an Indian dish, small cubes of chicken cooked in a mildly spiced, buttery sauce, poured over rice.  It's to die for!

I am not sure what spices are used, perhaps you can look on the internet?

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MORE GIRAFFE'S, MORE BAKING, MORE OUT AND ABOUT.

 Yesterday I went on the 'net to find more pictures of Giraffes, these ones appealed to me, so I copied them by hand and made them bigger so I could turn them into applique' patterns:

ABOVE:  Lacy likes these ones... maybe I can do purple and green giraffes?  Hmmm... we will see.

ABOVE:  because I'd bought more feijoas, Steve decided to make feijoa muffins. 
He pulled them out too soon ... so they were a bit ikky... then he put them back in the oven and they came out 'so so'.   No where near as nice as Kelly's Feijoa cake..... sadly. (Sorry Steve!)


Maybe if I get a chance I will make the feijoa cake again... might try using Stevia (sugar substitute) and see how it works/ tastes?


Today, I take Lacy to see the Housing Corporation, to get her on the list for State Housing.  Fingers crossed she will get something eventually.


What else?   Oh ... pick the Dude (Griffin) up and take him to his Speld Lesson.


Lacy is going out in the afternoon with a girlfriend, so I might get a couple of hours to myself?


ONWARD...


Time to myself?  Ha what a joke.  I've spent all day running around after other people.
Now I've got Griffin home from his Speld Lesson, and in a little while Brylee will be home too.
THEN I can finally go down to Spotlight and get more fabric for me giraffe's. 


I'm not making green and purple giraffes!  I've decided they are all going to be orange/brown/fawn/yellow/blue... well anything but PURPLE and GREEN! 


Once I've done me giraffes, then I will think about Purple and Green.


We have finally started getting cold evenings and mornings!  Like... I got goose bumps this morning and even thought about putting on a jacket!   Got to love the glorious sunny days still though.
I'm so glad it's not stinking hot still... I was SO OVER summer.


ALZHEIMERS and ME:  nope, I don't think I've got it THANKS.  But then... I forget stuff sometimes.  Is it NORMAL to forget stuff sometimes?  You know what?  I reckon it is. End of story.  


I FINALLY got to Spotlight...

ABOVE:  believe it or not... that blue fabric, bottom left is actually PURPLE!  I'm happy with this selection, added to what I already have it's gunna be fun making giraffes!  I can't wait... might try to do a bit tonight.


End of Day:  managed to do bugger all tonight... except get one Giraffe Wall Hanging started.
ON TRACK: yes!
nite nite.

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BACK INTO SEWING... WHAT FUN

I know I shouldn't, cos I've got SO MANY UFO's in my sewing room... but I did anyway... cos I can!
I started making an applique' wall hanging (or it might end up as a quilt) ... last night:

ABOVE:  a start on a Giraffe.... totally crap photo, took it last night .... will do a better one when the light is better, bit early yet.


I showed it to Lacy, thinking she could have it for Miss Muppet... but the response was not all that enthusiastic.... apparently she would rather something in PURPLE and GREEN.


So.... I will figure out what I can do in those colourways for her.... *sigh*.  Fussy Tart.


TODAY:  first thing we are going to an appointment for Lacy.... so no Hospice Shop for me today.
After that.... We might just have to go down to Spotlight for PURPLE and GREEN fabric!   
What a shame.... more fabric shopping!


You know what?  I had almost forgotten how much I love sewing.... buying awesome fabrics.... I just love it!  It makes me happy.


ONWARD...  


RAINA:  yeah... she ain't got much appreciation ... she's a crabby tart.
WEBBY:  ya made me laugh... Thanks for the 'pity' lol !


Lacy's appointment didn't take THAT long, so I went into the shop and did a couple of hours work.
BEST NEWS EVER:  Mrs Smelly Pants has been suspended indefinitely..... cos she was being verbally rude and nasty to some of our customers.... and it came to a head on Monday and she was asked to leave!   OMG .... she must have been really bad to get suspended!   I only bought feijoas today.. and a top for Lacy.  So, no photo.  na na nah nah.


Home now and it's time for lunch, I'm starving.... 


It's been a nice quiet afternoon.  I copied some giraffe pictures off the 'net so I can make a few more Giraffe wallhangings or maybe a cot quilt?  Not sure yet... can ya have a purple and green giraffe?
lol


Stew just got home... and it's time to dish dinner:  Chicken Drumbsticks slow baked in a Teriyaki Marinade, veges and potato.  Sounds nice eh?


End of Day:  dinner was very nice.  Quiet evening... not a lot happening around here, it's getting cold!
ON TRACK: yep.  Cool eh?
nite nite

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