Good morning.
We've had a good amount of rain in the last 24 hours, including (very heavy) while we were travelling home from Auckland. Lovely wedding and always a happy occasion to catch up with family. Thank goodness it was a straight run home with one more day of the holiday weekend yet to go. It was a nice change to head back to the big smoke which is no longer on our radar with daughter and family living down south now.
It's good to have a declutter Popeye ... I'm sure it clears your brain as well as the space it came from!
The fridge is empty so first thing needed is a stock up on supplies. There will be tomatoes and blueberries to pick and I spied the perpetual spinach going berserk! Washing to catch up with and then the day is mine.
Enjoy the day all.
Morning all
another blustery day here -need to keep doors propped open so that they dont slam.
Roma sounds like you had a nice weekend away so your veges had fun growing.
DD called yesterday afternoon to de-breif about 2 open homes they went too - both no goes.
DG1 (2.5yr) decided she knew how to unlock the screen door and the gate out of the property and took off up the drive full tit. luckily Grandad caught up with her and told her off. Off course there was very loud wailing at being thwarted and DD told her that is probably only the third time she has ever heard him raise his voice - she well remembers
one time when her dad growled at her.
They ended up staying for dinner sausages and a salad and they all enjoyed a bath before going home. They only have a shower at home.
Had a talk with DH last night about downsizing our house as it is starting to get a bit much for him to maintain - if only he would do small bites at a time
Anyway it went better than I anticipated he would like to move up the coast but I want to stay in easy reach of city we will work it out usually it had been me making the concessions but not this time.
enjoy your day
Mica, I've been thinking about the red hardanger you want to stitch, have you thought of using another colour for the fabric like antique white and using red thread? Similar to black/red work.
We downsized our home when our son left school. He had a year working and then left for uni. Am so glad we did. Our old home would have been too big and this house is much easier to keep warm in the winter. I must admit, moving was quite the mission though. OMG MrK had heaps of stuff. He had to downsize from a three car garage to a single garage lol. It took years after we moved here to finally sort through it all. And even now, he's finding stuff, and we moved here in 2007!
Thanks for suggestion KM I have used contrasting threads like that in the past - a long long time ago ie 16 plus years.
DH should be able to trim his stuff as his art gear and golf clubs do not take up too much space. Its me with my sewing machines will need to keep, big SM, backup small transportable machine, overlocker and coverstitch machines. The we have garment fabric, quilting fabric, not to mention patterns.
I think that we need a programme of work and go through each room we do try to keep on top of stuff and pass it on so mini clean up every year.
So getting so over the wind - too unpleasant to be outdoors - the plus is that I have completed the quilt top next step is to decide how to quilt it and then do it
I need a wine tonight .
Wine free night today, along with meatfree dinner, but I have the most luscious nectarine for dessert, so all is not lost! Clear blue skies, not a cloud to be seen, but that wind is definitely there. Might have to check the ground, a breeze dries it out really fast, it could be a hose night...
morning ladies
A lovely cool start to the day. No need for watering the garden as the rain we had the other night is still working it's magic. The wind does dry the ground out quickly though.
Last evening I sold one of our boat rods, the fishing gear is slowly going. I seem to make more sales on FB Marketplace and quicker too.
Last evening all the vegies on our dinner plate were from the garden. Nothing like fresh picked veg
MrK picked our first cucumber yesterday and the apple cucumbers are going berserk. He only planted them a few weeks ago too. Beans are either eaten or in the freezer and the tomatoes are being picked daily. Those little Sweet 100s freeze well and are great thrown into casseroles by the handful in winter. No chopping lol. The blueberries are finally starting to ripen and we had our first handful the other day. They taste so much better than bought blueberries, that's for sure.
I won't be stitching much today as MrK has his hospital appointments. But I did get a big chunk done yesterday.
Happy crafting
Morning everyone
Tis lovely this morning. Had rain overnight here too. So Im pleased I got the back done yesterday.
Not liking today already. Off to Winz to sort out the funeral grant. Im normally confident about stuff like this, but not feeling it today. But Ill get through it.
Have pick ups today which is always good.
Soo much cramp through the night. Going to tell the Dr Tomorrow. I cant keep simply adding salt or Magnesium to my diet. I already take heaps.
Have a fab day everyone
Good morning.
Nice and sunny but I see we are expecting 30 deg!
It's a satisfying feeling eating from the garden KM. A SIL gave us a bag of apple cucumbers ... they are indeed yummy.
Good luck with the WINZ visit Popeye.
Mica downsizing is often tempting for us as well but meantime will try and keep "clutter" to a minimum! DH has far more (engineering) stuff to deal with than I have!
No plan today but some catch up housework won't go amiss!
Son and family have been in close contact with Covid so we will be steering clear of them until the coast is clear. DH still waiting for surgery date which will be close ... certainly don't want to jeopardise it!
Time to get moving.
Have a good day all.
morning ladies
Another nice cool start to the day.
MrK had his melanoma visit at Waikato Hospital yesterday and will need a GA to have it removed along with some coloured radioactive dye to see if it has spread into his nodes. He will also need a skin graft and they will cut into his lymph nodes under his arm to actually see for themselves if the nodes have changed colour from the dye. If it has then the cancer will have spread. The surgeon is a little Scottish woman and she's a pretty no nonsense person. It's going to take a while to recover from this and he will be sore for a while, but she has an air of confidence which helps. It will be done in around six weeks. Am so glad I spotted the changes to his mole, it's pretty nasty.
Today I'll be back in Hamilton doing some drop offs for the FB Marketplace sales we made. I'm only doing drop offs as I need to go to Pak n Save and Spotlight. Also need to pick a few gardening tools up our son borrowed a few weeks ago.
Still beavering away on this table runner. Now I have the first row of hardanger marked out (only in the first quarter of the runner though lol), the next row is easier and has less counting. I've basted more thread to make sure everything is in line and will meet up. So far, so good.
time to get cracking, my first drop off is at 8.30am.
Happy crafting
Morning everyone
Cooler here.
Glad you kept an eye on things Kiwimade. I did the same with MrP. We just cant look everywhere on our own bodies. MrP always said he would die from cancer.
Yesterday I broke. I hate dealing with Winz as much as getting car warrants. I text a friend who came with me. And Im glad she did. Cos I didn't remember a thing when we left. I basically get his Pin money for a month. They dont give you the whole funeral grant. And cos I had the rent in the bank, they consider half of that His Money. I'm not happy about it. May get them to review their decision. Its not what they told me on the phone.
Off to the Drs this morning to get the mountain of forms filled in cos I have to change benefits. And to start with she gave me the wrong forms. I hope he is up on the forms or its going to be an absolute mess.
Got the front done last night. I hadn't seen any weather forecasts and decided to "make Hay while the sun shines'. So a tad sore but it will ease off. Even had a go at the blade with a file. MrP said to just use the grinder, ages ago. but I dont like the sparks coming off the grinder. Never have. I wouldn't even be in the garage when he used it. So I popped a pudding on while I worked lol.
Have a fab day everyone
Morning all
another blustery fine day.
Popeye I am sorry that winz has not met your needs
KM glad that they on top of MrK melanoma. My DH had similar surgery 2022 he said it wasn't as bad has he thought the recovery was going to be.
He had to be resilient because I had surgery the day after himself so we were two recovering crocks together lol
haircut yesterday meant a trip into the CBD no cruise ships in so it was easy to stroll around.
Decided to make myself some swim shorts got the pattern traced off in my size and panties part sewn up. Found some navy blue swim lycra deep in the stash
Next step find a top pattern that I can add a wired shelf bra to to coral the girls.
enjoy your day
Each funeral grant application is different I suspect, relative to savings, costs, and circumstances, but once the changeover goes through popeye, that should be it as far as WINZ goes. Don't forget to check with IRD too, they may have some adjustments to make. I know I got a refund for my friend which helped with expenses, so worth doing despite the hassle.
I have another appointment with my surgeon at the end of Feb to sort out an issue with the new hip, things were going well until they weren't so it'll be good to get that checked out. Meanwhlie the peaches are all starting to blush which bodes well for the harvest. This time last year I lost the lot, this year looks to make up for that. Then I am going to take the prunning saw to the tree, it has branches that overhang the path and loaded as they are they block access because of the droop. As I was watering last night the mirabilis flowers were opening and the scent was wonderful. That are making seed now so I am collecting it and spreading it into other gardens, the flowers are such fun being unpredictable multicolours, but the perfume at night is their true glory. There is something special about night bloomers...
Popeye - I had trouble with Winz when my husband died - they were really accusatory over the payments of his final disability payments - it wasn’t a lot of money and I hadn’t tried to keep money I wasn’t entitled to but they sure as hell put me through the hoops I had to provide bank statements - one copy I sent wasn’t acceptable as it didn’t have the coloured bank logo I had used a black and white printer - until I took my nephew along with me who happened to be a lawyer - funny how quickly it was resolved - I think I had to repay just over $60 .Take somebody with you and query everything that you are unsure about - must say the lady from Winz who helped me with the changes to my pension was brilliant - fingers crossed you get lucky
My old boy had surgery to remove a melanoma Kiwimade - was a difficult time but like you we were very thankful to receive prompt care
Sad to see James Shaw signalling he may be quitting politics - whether you agree with his politics he is another young politician who has stuck to his beliefs-
My grand daughter has sent me some Otago apricots so jam making this afternoon
Back from a scorching Devonport, loaded down with fresh fruit, including watermelon - to go in the fridge. Emergency rations for the next few days. Coming back up Memorial Drive under the ancient pohutukawa trees it was really noticeable just how the trees cool the air around them. It was hot cold hot cold hot cold and breezey. Rather lovely really!
I picked up a bag of scoria to start setting up the Bunnings elevated raised garden thingamies, and a couple of punnets of greens to make a start. Really looking forward to seeing how these go. If they are good, I shall get another couple for next season.
Out tonight going for a curry at a local Indian restaurant. Should be fun...
Popeye, contact CAB, they have advocates who will go with you & help deal with WINZ. Its absolutely outrageous; they are there to help people, not bully them fgs.
KM, hope all goes well Mr KM's melanoma.
Successful hunting this morning; got a Harry Potter board game for eldest granddaughter's eldest lad for next Xmas so that's the main gift for all the great grandkids for next xmas done, just little fripperies to get during the year, & have done both grandkids birthday's for next month so pleased to have it out of the way.
WINZ always gets this way whenever National is in power, they get instructions from on high to come down hard on "rip-off beneficiaries". The toadies in WINZ are always cowed by a voice of supposed authority, and will do whatever the voice from on high says.
National is the enemy of ordinary people.
morning ladies
A lovely overcast morning, perfect for mowing the lawn.
Yep, the rules change when the government changes. I'm sorry WINZ are being as******, popeye. And it's good you took someone with you when you went. WINZ do all this changeover while you are grieving and can't take in what they are telling you so always take someone with you.
I bought watermelon yesterday as well, OHH
$6 for a huge one at Pak n Save. Made a delicious fruit salad using a combination of homegrown and bought fruit with a handful of mint thrown in. A bit of french vanilla icecream and ommggg lol, it was yummmm. I saw a lady put a punnet of blueberries into her trolley and smiled as we are picking ours every second day now.
Time to get as much of the lawn mowed before the cloud cover goes.
Happy crafting
Morning everyone
Looks like its going to be a beautiful but hot day.
Normally Winz has been pretty good for me. But this woman is definitely a "bulldog". She saw me stand up, and still thought Id be able to work. Thankfully I wont be seeing her, she is for the Pensioners. While I was on the emergency benefit, I was still covered by the senior services cos of MrP.
I cried at the Drs, but he has thankfully signed me off. So Ill only have to renew things every two years.
Dr gave me a new pill to try and control my restless legs and cramps.. But whoa the side effects are horrible. Including falling asleep in seconds, making Driving a huge risk. So Ill be taking them back. Ill have to increase my fluid, and salt. I did look in the chemist and you can get salt tablets, so I might give those a go.
A little bit of shopping this morning and a drop off. Sold some Cows lol.. I knew the lady loved cows and she chose the two I thought she would. They have Goofy faces on them lol. She used to be on TM.. TicketyBoo. I still call her Boo lol. She used to always say she was falling off her chair, and handing out Chocolate fish lol
Need to get back to my knitting, But I think First I might see what I can do with this Diamond painting of Madam.
Have a fab day everyone
Well, our curry last night was very enjoyable, the meal itself was lovely - but is it just me getting old these days or do others find noise levels in public places really difficult to deal with? The acoustics in the restaurant meant our fellow diners were shouting and following my companions conversation required real concentration. Maybe it is just my hermit inclinations...
And I ended up with a gallstone episode to top it all off, so awake and cursing at 2am as the cramps made sleeping impossible, until I remembered I still had a couple of the slow release Tramal tablets left over from the surgery - took one of those and an hour later I was dead to the world, lol. I shall get my GP to give me an emergency supply just to keep on hand for next time. There was some paneer in one of the curries so I am guessing that was what set it off. Lesson for next time - avoid avoid avoid!
Still fun though, I must remember to put a good review up on the local farcebook group page, the staff were lovely and looked after us old ladies beautifully.
Good morning.
Sunny and another hot day expected.
We've dealt with both 'sorts' at WINZ on behalf of my mother and for ourselves ... the 'power trippers' and the caring types. It will be good for you to have it sorted Popeye, so you can move on. Good idea to have someone with you when dealing with them, it makes all the difference.
You'll be pleased to have a plan in place KM for Mr K ... my DH has his surgery in 5 weeks (tentative date) a 4 hour operation. I'm trying not to think about the risk involved.
Groceries to get, a library book to return and baking to do. We're enjoying a blueberry pick every 2nd day as well.
I need to find some handcraft to do as well ... I like to keep my hands busy.
Enjoy the day all.