Too Many Message Boards

Just watched and cried at Bryn Terfel and Andrea Boccelli

Wonderful Just Wonderful and you couldn't help but think about Major Tom

There is a roaring river in our reserve right now... Auckland will be flooding again.

(08-05-2023, 10:11 AM)Mica Wrote: [ -> ]Got this link off Patternreview https://drive.google.com/file/d/1reYVcp2...lEhgC/view 
Patrick from Great British Sewing Bee  fronts it It is about the making of all the military uniforms for the coronation right down to the milling of the fabric, making of the buttons and all the gold silk fabrics . Quite an insight.

Thanks for that link. I enjoyed the splendour of the Coronation parade and that explanation of the symbolism and manufacturing skills was brilliant.

(09-05-2023, 12:29 PM)Oh_hunnihunni Wrote: [ -> ]There is a roaring river in our reserve right now... Auckland will be flooding again.

Yep, according to the news earlier it seems to be all the same places being hit with flooding again, so I hope they can cope better this time around.


Raining here now but did get dreaded groceries & dog walk done first thankfully.

We're back from Hamilton after going out for birthday lunches with our son Wow! The rain! I was driving as MrK hates driving in the city and omgg the flooding we went through. I don't think I have ever driven through flooding like that before. And the idiots who went flying through it.... grrrrr.... It was a slow drive home, we were at anything from 60kph to 80kph.

I chickened out and ordered kitty litter and some cat food online, I do it about once every couple of months to save carting the stuff home on the scoot. And as I'm entering card details I get an email from Pet Co offering me a 30% off code to come back, lol, so I back up and buy a bit extra, and save myself $26 in the process.

Rather pleased with that timing!

Thanks for putting up that link Mica - found it fascinating to watch.

Last time I was in Venice we had a private invite to visit a factory which makes silk velvet. The factory is well tucked away from the tourist areas and even a lot of Venetians don’t get to see it so felt very privileged to be able to visit it.  
It was so interesting the machinery and the whole process is several hundred years old. All very hands on and takes ages to just set up the looms and make it. The colours were absolutely beautiful. 
Don’t know if that is the Italian factory that made the silk velvet for the uniforms but do know that they make velvet for various European and British palaces and the White House.

Im soo thankful we have a drain thingee in the low point of our yard,

It flows from all but one direction here and dutifully goes down the drain.

Glad your trip went well Kiwimade.. Soo many d*ckhead's on the road dont travel to the conditions and sadly probably have bald tyre's too.

Added the elastic to the under skirt turning it into a petticoat. Found a piece of lace, Gathered broderie anglaise type and added that to the bottom of the other one where the lace was falling apart. Had about an Inch spare... Added the grippies to another pair of compression socks... Had to get an extra light, it was soo dark and sewing in black. one pair to go.

Stay safe and dry everyone

morning ladies More rain... this is getting a tad repetitive!

We are lucky we have gravel, rather than concrete around the back of the house so water drains away quickly, even the bigger puddles that we have every so often. Our small rain water tank is overflowing, we use this tank for the garden over summer.

Today I want to plant some gerberas into pots and do a bit more weeding along the roadside, weather permitting. Might as well make the use of the softer soil, it's much easier weeding when it is wet. And it won't be long before the ground is too cold to work with.

Another mouse has been trapped, I guess they are looking for shelter with all this rain.

I saw Camilla had her rescue dogs embroidered onto her gown The Royal School of Needlework id all the embroidery I have their book and use it all the time. It's my go-to when wanting to learn something new or refresh my memory.

Yesterday on FB our council posted the draft copy for the next lot of rate increases. The AVERAGE rate increase will be 19.80%. Some will be paying well over 22%. How on earth are we meant to find that extra $$$ on top of all the other increases. Us rural folk won't have a huge increase as we don't use a lot of the services like rubbish pick up and water but it will still be a reasonable sized one. There is outrage on FB, I just hope that translates into letting the council know officially what they think.

Time to get cracking, there is no rain so I can plant those gerberas.

Happy crafting

Morning everyone

A tad chilly, and still more rain. Oddly I thought there would be more crickets inside but maybe they dont swim well.

Sad news that the boy has been found in the Abbey Falls near Whangarei, bound to be alot of Questions asked as to why they still went in..

And I Agree with the Fire department too, we knew on the weekend this weather was coming.. We certainly have room to improve.

Wow Kiwimade that's a heck of an increase on top of everything else. You would qualify for accommodation costs from Winz as it's something that you Can't not pay.

Off for my annual Diabetes check, oddly my blood sugar levels are at "pre" diabetic levels now, so this should be a giggle.

Then I'll pop up and see MrP. I dont like the winter for home or hospital visiting. It means Im going from cold to hot and back into the cold. And that becomes risky.

Yesterday I was hot and cold all day, Typical Autmn weather when you need 3 sets of changes over the day Lol.

Ohh Matty dropped an F Bomb... but at least he had the Balls to apologise... lol

Have a fab day everyone

Morning all
Heavy rain and thunder seems to have subsided for now cancelled my appointment at 10 as didn't fancy driving  as there was some surface flooding locally

Postponed our shopping trip today as well due to teacher strike so lots of teenagers will be out and about.

Finished quilting 1 baby quilt and 2nd almost done will finish that this afternoon.

Once finished my cuppa I think that I will bake some biscuits.

KM how you finding your new oven?

Enjoy your day

I got my Spark bill this morning. I knew it would be a big one, buying the new phone, so had made extra payments to be ready for the shock. What I wasn't told though was because I made changes to the plan I was on I had to go onto a new one, and pay a month in advance for the privilege. I nearly had a conniption when fronted with $400 and something, but when I checked into it discovered Spark have already thought of the impact this might have and have built in a six month no charge for overdues to give all us impoverished types time to get sorted. Of course it will even out once I catch up, but if I had known this would happen I might have been a bit better prepared.

A bit sneaky of them really, it would have been better to be told. And I have said so on their farcebook page...

Mica, the first banana & feijoa cake I've baked in this new oven has been iced and looking very tempting. The muffins I baked the other day were perfect, nice and fluffy. MrK is very happy with the way it cooks too. The old oven had been slowly dying and we had been adjusting our cooking without realising. It's a Westinghouse, the same brand as our fridge and we have had that for well over 25 years. And I LOVE that I can take the glass out of the door when cleaning it so no icky stuff between the glass and the door.

Spark have always been easy to deal with (for us, anyway), OHH but I agree, they could have warned you about the extra. Forewarned is forearmed as they say.

Warm and blustery here - decided to put the winter covers on my veggie pods - hope nobody was watching after several attempts and having the cover blow back over me I realised if I stood with the wind coming from behind I might succeed .The temperature is supposedly going to drop dramatically
Venetian your factory visit was special - on one of our trips to Japan - my husband worked for the Japanese company who owned the pulp mill - one trip they took me to a silk factory - I could have stayed there a week- watching them embroider was so beautiful - they gave me a beautiful little clutch purse - gave it to one of my granddaughters who does a lot of socialising
Staggering decision to take those kids into the cave -I would have thought the children who were trapped in the cave in Thailand would have been a warning for ever
The house next door to me - well its a little cottage that was destined for demolition but housing NZ were desperate for houses around covid time so they have rented it for the last couple of years for a refugee couple - they speak very little English and keep very much to themselves - except before my dog died they used to call him over when they had a BBQ and give him a sausage - anyway on Sunday I heard a chainsaw start up over the fence - thought he might be cutting up firewood - next thing one of the camellia crashed to the ground - then a beautiful Acer - he then moved to the magnolia and started hacking at that - I shouted at him so he shot up another tree close to the fence - this shows how dumb he was https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/...044922.jpg. I couldn’t contact the owner but thank goodness the saw ran out of fuel
The owner has been trying to get them out - she built behind and intends to turn the front into a garden - I am glad they are going as we are going to put up a new fence when the demolition happens

Thing is I asked the Spark guy what next month would be and he said around $250 so that is what I put in, so it is a bit annoying. Still, being a month in advance will work if I ever decide to go elsewhere for my fibre and phone seeing we have to give 30 days notice of any changes. Heavens, it's like renting a flat, lol... At least I didn't have to come up with a bond... 

Still wild and wooly out.

Home and Happy now.

The diabetes lady said several times, please DO NOT take any insulin any more.. I stopped taking it sometime Last year but if I had a higher than normal test I would take some. But she said that could put me into a very low low. Soo happy about that. And she said if My next 3 month check levels are even lower she will cut the metformin down to once a day too.

She was blown away with the weight loss and the changes so it was a neat appointment. Skipped the smear, will catch it up later.. but she has requested my diabetes eye check too since it hasn't been done since before covid.

The news pleased MrP, for about 5 seconds.... But I stayed for a while before finally coming home.

Yeah when you change things with Spark it messes up all the monthly stuff. Thats why I like Skinny, although they can be tricky to get hold of at times. I only pay $17 a month for my phone, $5 a year for MrP's phone, he cannot ring out
tho. But it doesn't cost anything more for me to ring him. And $5 a month for my skinny jump internet. which you can spend more. But I've only run out once. Skinny runs on Sparks lines.

Glad the oven is working out well Kiwimade. I dont have any numbers on mine, so I just wing it lol...

I am a huge internet user so I have a big plan and am happy to pay for it along with the streaming providers. I am happy with how much I pay and budget for it, but going from back paying to prepaying has thrown a spanner in the works. But it is okay, I will simply adjust the fortnightly automatic payments and catch up in a month or so. My new mobile plan is cheaper than the landline was too, $15 a month instead of $25 so that is good. I may end up dropping back to the lowest one at $13, I'll just see how I go. I get 100 minutes, 100 texts, free calling to landlines and other spark mobiles and it all rolls over. The bit I won't use is the data allowance because I do all that from my home net. But we'll see. It is all test and see at the moment...

And I am getting used to the little flip phone, slowly but surely!

KM - I have a Westinghouse oven and it is so easy to clean - mostly just a wipe down every now and then and the easy to remove double glass is a real bonus. It also cooks really well, I mostly use fan bake. 

That’s aweful Jan, those would be well established trees and if renting he has no right to remove them.

Wow that’s a huge bill OHH hope it evens out quickly.

It would be useful if those who set the charges had a wee lesson in reality & how difficult it can be on a tight budget when anything unexpected crops up; & perhaps complaints from all those affected might get the message across - it would be to their advantage after all to not have people getting behind with payments because they lacked the consideration to be straight with their customers.

Discovered I'd forgotten dog biscuits so had to zip around this morning & get them while they're still on special. Odd weather - a few drops of rain & cold but that's about it..

The poor family whose lad died in the cave - surely they should never have taken those kids in there given the forecast.

Can't help hoping whoever gave the go ahead for that caving trip has the guts to step down.