You can never have enough...

[Mica]

Morning all
Fine day

That dyeing sounds like fun, I would manage to get dye where it shouldn't be just cant seem to help it, same with painting DH banned me from wielding a brush a very long time ago. I have dyed using washing machine in past that kept everything contained.

Scored yesterday the electric can opener was on special$29.99 well it seems I had $20 voucher so it cost a whopping $9.99 can't beat that. Now just have to have an excuse to open a can

Picking up a friend this morning and we are off to the gluten free cafe for a cream and jam filled donut 

Enjoy your day

[popeye333]

Morning everyone

It looks nearly clear out there this morning.

Awesome score Mica, I can't use normal can openers now, stupid fingers. So thankful clever people invent these very handy tools.

We have a Town Horse, Only he isn't a live one. I assume he came from a store display or something, he is life size. Before Covid he would pop up all over town, and in some very hard case positions. But He seems to have retired now. I haven't seen him for ages.

Our side of town has a golden dog who we have all decided is quite happy to be homeless. He/She is well fed, but just likes to roam around its followers and visit, not in the cuddly sense cos he wont let you get close, but just enough to show he is doing fine.

It hit the fan with MrP again last night.. Stubborn fool. Reckons he was given one bowl of soup and he was still hungry, I said tell them not me Im not coming up to heat it up.. fed up and very pleased I wont be visiting today. I might just shorten his PJ pants and drop them off on Thursday but not visit. I need to stick up for myself.. But Im a very slow learner.

So just Missy and me today. Ill empty the dishwasher.. That certainly saves a lot of standing.

A friend is buying some jewelry on Thursday so I will be able to get a piece of lamb to roast and some nice Agria potatoes and Kumara and cook up some frozen dinners for when Im recovering from the knee opp. I like to be prepared and it will make me eat better. I'll make heaps of gravy and even do some bangers and mash meals too. Need to look for some containers tho, that will be the hard part.. Oh might ask on FB if anyone has any.. yes I'll do that.

Have a fab day everyone

[Lilith7]

Doing the dreaded groceries this morning I noticed they're no longer selling whole or half caulis at exorbitant prices. They must have realised that virtually no one is going to pay that, so now what they have instead is bags of cauli 'rice'.
I wonder if they'll have many takers.

[kiwimade64]

I saw cauli and half a cauli at Pak n Save for over $5 today so they stayed put. Cabbage (nice firm ones too) for $5. I've never seen cauli rice at the supermarket before.

[JanW]

The cauliflower crops were 99% wiped out - my favourite veggie - the frozen steam fresh cauli is OK if you smother it with cheese sauce .That cauli rice is a big seller along with the carrot and beetroot noodles - they are so expensive but they sell .Leader brand lost all their crops again in Gisborne they are the largest growers of broccoli and salad greens so veggies will have to be brought up from the South Island .Kumera crops have been wiped out - my grandmother used to grow them with seeming ease might give them a try - there used to be huge caterpillars amongst them am sure they had a horn on their head.Sweet Corn is another leader brand crop they grew for the frozen market that will need to be imported - Leader brand have an operation down south maybe they will have to shift down there
completely.
I am 18 and a half today nearly - I am a leap year baby - no birthday this year - used to hate it when I was a kid - my elder sister used to have me in tears when she looked at the calendar and saw I had no birthday - she was a terrible bully - never understood her but I do now she was bullied terribly at school by the teachers because she was left handed - we ended up in the same class when we were about 9 can still see her up at the blackboard being strapped for not being able to write with her right hand - awful
Lots of cats and dogs are turning up - amazing stories they would have to tell if they could talk .Mike King has arrived and set himself up with a lot of volunteers - there are a lot of children who are just bewildered - we were so lucky the Council put big pumps in the inner city after the 2020 flood

[Oh_hunnihunni]

My nasty job drive continues. Today I took my ancient plastic loo seat off and apart and scrubbed it to within an inch of its excessively long life. I had intended to replace it and needed to measure it for that purpose but discovered it was very easy to remove. Still not perfect but it is a lot better now, but I think I'll still get a new one...

My bum will thank me, lol.

[Venetian1]

There is likely to be a marked shortage of a lot of fruit and veg. The rain is playing havoc with tomatoes, I made another lot of green tomato relish yesterday to try and salvage some of my toms. 

When helping my niece move back into her home in January I found that the tenants had thrown potatoes and kumera into the compost and they were sprouting so I rescued some and planted them once I got home again they all are growing well at the moment so hope they continue to do so and produce some good tubers. Never grown kumera before and my earlier potatoes weren’t very profitable but worth trying 

[kiwimade64]

morning ladies There is a chill in the air, it must be autum

We replaced our loo seat a while back, OHH and yep, it made a difference. Eventually, when the bathroom is 'done' we will replace the loo to one of those higher ones. Much easier for creaky knees

I have weeding to do this morning and the dahlias need dead heading. The convolvulus is relentless at the moment. MrK has planted two small rows of beetroot he started from seed. He planted some seed with seed mix and the rest with our compost and the seeds growing in our compost are doing so much better. He's decided from now on, he'll sieve some compost until it is fine and use that for seeds.

Yesterday I finished the fourth butterfly and now need to find some fabric to turn it all into a quilt top. And I'll need to find something to do with my hands in the evening.

Happy crafting

[Mica]

Morning all
Another fine day nippy morning and heavy dew.

Looking forward to seeing your butterfly quilt KM

Terminally tired at the moment so annoying blo.....dy autoimmune diseases
Spentyesterday afternoon listening to audio book, did go to my knit group last night and spent time reverse stitching.

Have a merino top in my mind will do a sketch and colour in as want to use different colours for body and sleeves with striped trim

Enjoy your day

[Roma]

Good morning. 

A lovely day ahead, summer is back for us. 

It's not hard to understand why there will be a produce shortage when we see the pictures. So good to read of the happy animal stories though. I follow a few pages on FB and there are some wonderful groups/people doing so much good for the animals. It's hard to imagine having to think about where you were going to live next,  let alone your pet/s!

Hairdresser this afternoon and will catch up with home stuff.

My cross stitch is growing,  slowed down a bit while watching CTI lately which I haven't watched before.  Susan Devoy one tough cookie! Final tonight will be exciting. 

Enjoy the day all.

[popeye333]

Morning everyone

Slept an extra hour this morning, Probably the cooler tempt.

I did some online window shopping yesterday, Kumara are between $11 and $14 a kilo... Im shocked. So not all my frozen dinners will have them in. Even potatoes are $4 a kilo now.

Growing Kumara in Tyres, as with potatoes is a great space saving thing to do. you just add another tyre and more dirt to the stack. And the heat of the tyres helps them grow.

Its time they took the GST off fruit and veges. It would at least make it easier for people to eat better. And counteract the price rise do to less being available. Sadly it will once again be the shop keepers that get the blame.

Im off to pick up some containers a lady is giving me, this morning. Then I can start cooking and freezing. I did a tally up of the freezers and have far more than I thought I had.. AND found the chicken breasts I thought I had. So Nuggets for tea tonight. Ive wanted them for ages but thought Id eaten all the chicken. The more I do now the easier it will be later.

I watched a couple of very helpful videos online about what to expect with the surgery and how to prepare before it and what exercises to do afterwards.
Im incredibly ticklish on my knees, to the point that I warned MrP that I kick like a mule if touched lol.. So I dont want physios touching me.
Rang my sister in law who is also waiting for the same opp, same leg lol.. She hadn't thought about not being able to drive and her Hubby has stopped driving so she needs to get a plan sorted. That was one of the things the drs on the video spoke of. Get things in place so you dont have to panic when sore, so that's what I am doing.

Watched the opp, lol it looks brutal but interesting too. very little blood.

We have toilet seat raisers on both our loos and they certainly make things a lot easier. But a normal higher toilet would be wonderful. Alot easier to clean that's for sure.

Right better finish my breakfast and go and get these containers..

Have a fab day everyone

[Oh_hunnihunni]

Trouble with taking gst off some things is the inevitable spillover into other products. I know Oz does it, maybe they have some lessons for us.

As for surgery prep, I do that around the time I get summoned to the anaesthetists clinic, that way I know the date is getting closer.

The best thing I have in the flat is my tall perching stool in the kitchen. It arrived when some neighbour had their knees done and got dumped in the laundry when they no longer needed it, so I pinched it and it is a lifesaver for things like doing dishes or watching pots boil, lol. Those things that just require slightly longer than my available standing time. It should make cooking and cleaning up a lot easier when I have the op.

The higher loo is on my wish list. If they had half a brain the LLs would put those in automatically when they refurb the units, anyone can use them and they certainly make disabled life a hell of a lot easier. And they aren't that much more expensive to supply and install.

It's a bit like putting in ramps, or higher power points, because younger folk don't notice the need it isn't an automatic thought when they are designing spaces for us.

[kiwimade64]

I've done what I thought would take two mornings I'm happy and so is the compost bin with all the dead dahlia flowers. Weeding done for another week, maybe two. Gosh the wheelie bin is so much lighter without the concrete fill lol. It takes a bit of getting used to not having it so heavy.

Tomorrow the primulas are going to be divided. From one half dead primula last autum I have enough to cover a small area now. I think I have found it's happy spot I'll also fork in some of that mulch. The ground goes rock hard with the clay and digging it in a bit should help break it all up.

Our ramp was the best thing ever we did to the house! It's so much easier getting anything large inside, suitcases can be wheeled in when people stay and so on. It should be mandatory for all homes

[JanW]

The GST was too complicated in Oz - could never work it out on my checkout tape - if. Lettuce was unwrapped no GST but if it was wrapped or in a bag as salad you pay GST - plain buns no GST but iced buns or hot cross buns you pay GST - milk no GST but if you buy a milk shake GST.Taking the GST off the fuel tax would be easier - it’s a tax on a tax - fuel is only $1.66 in Sydney they pay no GST on fuel tax
If the cost of transportation was reduced especially for HB would make a huge difference - Robie had 120 trolleys stolen over the two weeks - replacements had to come from Auckland which cost $5000 extra for the truck to come the long way round - the trolleys cost $45000 - but it’s not theft in the eyes of the court
Went up to the beachfront yesterday there are millions of apples and onions - the smell is incredible- but a little beach around by the wharf is now sandy instead of shingle so that’s a plus.A couple of cruise ships are coming in next week - the inner city is fine but they normally go out and about visiting wineries etc they certainly won’t be doing that
Had some Flatto peaches yesterday they are nice but I wonder why somebody developed a flat peach

[Oh_hunnihunni]

The flatto came from Japan, in America it is the 'donut' peach. When they first came out I bought a pack and planted the stones, one of which went on to become the fine fruiting (most years) tree by my deck. It's peaches are smaller, not flat, but taste divine, rather like the old Golden Queen which the fruit resembles in colouring, gold blushed with pink. I am going to miss them this winter, I usually have a freezer full by now, but lost the lot in the wind and rain. Still, it makes me value them all the more.

Today's score from the bargain trolley at Hammer Hardware - a pink gaura. The plant lady told me she saw me coming and put it out especially, which of course was a fib, but might well have been true. And I found a gorgeous knitting bag at the Hospice shop so that's it, I have to stay home and buy nothing till next pay, lol.

Such fun...

[popeye333]

I popped out and got 7 containers. So I now have 9 ti fill.

Have cooked potatoes, beans and corn. Defrosted gravy and waiting for the chops to defrost to cook. And once frozen of course Ill bag up and reuse the containers.

Called MrP, back to normal.. its a wonder Im still sane lol.

Made him laugh telling him about the exercises and how my Sister in law hasn't thought about any of that. And I told him I didn't want to go to the physiotherapist cos of My sensitive knees. When we first met I warned him my knees are ticklish and that I kick like a mule, he laughed and remembered that lol

By window shopping online, and making a couple of calls I have managed to find places where I will save $5 per kilo on the lamb, $3 on the Kumara and 80 cents on the Agria potato's. The shop selling the cheaper potatoes also sell meat so I will go there first incase their lamb is cheaper too.

So it saves money and my knees.

Wow Jan that would be confusing..

Did my exercises before.. Time to get up and crumb my nuggets.

Lady just dropped off some more containers awesome..

[popeye333]

Heck there was 6 chops in the pack I got from the food bank.

Ill stretch the veges and make more lol..

off to cook the chops so I can hopefully rest the knee a wee while before I cook my tea

[Lilith7]

I wish I could sleep an extra hour but sadly Madame Le Dog was too well trained by our previous cat & is even inclined to be a bit early sometimes.


Got the front lawn done earlier so at least that's one out of the way, just the dreaded back to do tomorrow if its not raining - so glad I got it done after all the rain or it'd be so long now, I'd be needing a scythe to do it.

[JanW]

Will keep a couple of peach stones Huni and give it a go - they do have a distinct flavour and the flesh is firm - the way they pack neatly into the container must stop a lot of bruising
My Mum grew an avocado from a stone - everybody tried to tell her it would never fruit but it was always loaded - she did the same with a Macadamia - they were more trouble than they were worth they are so hard to crack

[popeye333]

Yep I have a bar stool that I use when needing to do longer things in the kitchen.

The first rest home didn't even have a handle on the wall in the visitors toilets.. I asked the Area manager why when often there are older or disabled people visiting and they need one too. It was there within a week.

I wonder how the meeting there went today..

As the foodbank chops were razor thin I broke one up and added to the two smaller ones. 10 nice meals in the freezer. I did the perfect amount of veges. The potatoes were just what I had, the beans and corn was 10 handfuls each and it was perfect.

One of my Neighbour's has avocado trees, They are fruiting. .

I've done 2 sets of my exercises and with the extra standing Im shattered but will continue.

Missy wants to know why Mummy is cooking tea but not giving her anything.. I pointed out that she had extra breakfast so shouldn't be hungry, of which she isn't cos she is turning her nose up at biscuits.

The extra hour sleep would have simply been cos of the cooler temp. She doesn't like the cold lol