WAITING... ALWAYS WAITING

 So *sigh*, today we are going to stay home and wait for the heat pump Installation guy to arrive.  He said he would arrive between 12 - 1 pm.  

His job is to work out what heat Pump will fit in the same place as our existing heat pump.

In the meantime, there's housework and making those gorgeous blocks to carry on with.

Let's wait and see what else the day brings.

9.25:  Stew comes into the garage and says:

"What's going on?  I don't know what I'm doing today.... there's no blog post up today!"

I'm like... really?  You look at the blog in the morning to find out what 'YOU' are doing today?

OMG that is rather funny.

So... blogger is being a bitch.  Had problems with it yesterday, and now again this morning.

Hopefully when I hit 'PUBLISH' it actually will this time.

ABOVE: Block number four has this utterly gorgeous flower!  Fussy cut so I got lots with hearts inside the heart.  Too cute.

And a spur of the moment decision ... as soon as the install man has been we are taking off for a little break.

Tauranga.  Stay the night.   Explore the coast North of Tauranga, then come home again.

It was planned for last weekend, but those plans had to change when we unexpectedly had Keera to look after.

It's only 11 am, I do hope the guy arrives closer to 12 than 1. 

We have thrown a few things in a bag ... ready to go.

AND.... 4 and a half hours later and after a very frustrating and avoidable delay, we reluctantly decided to stay home.

All going well... we will have two full days in Tauranga NEXT WEEKEND!

So damn annoyed.

We could have left now and got over there in time for dinner, but we are both just crabby and didn't want to go away in a bad mood.

**  The Installation guy arrived kinda on time.  He recommended a slightly bigger heat pump from what we had thought of buying, so we had to go into Harvey Norman's and sort that out.

There was another 'problem' but it eventually got sorted out.  Nothing to do with the Installation guy though.

We will probably have to wait about a month until the new heat pump is installed.  *sigh*

So.  Fish 'n' chips for dinner, then a quiet evening here.

8 pm, dinner is over.  Struggling to stay awake now... far too much food at dinner time.

I think I will have an early night.  

Catch ya tomorrow.

DAY?

 With all the long weekends we've had lately, and Stew being home on holiday too... I'm damned if I know what day it is.

I was totally sure it was Saturday today! 

This week has obviously dragged.

This morning I am going to work on the third quilt block, maybe even the fourth too.

But not before I go out and buy a new iron.

The iron I got from Martyn leaks at the bottom by the power prongs, and it scares the shit outta me... water and electricity?  Yeah nah.

So, that's what I shall do first today.

10 am.  I go to Briscoes for an iron (or two).

ABOVE: For a change there isn't 24+ to choose from!  Only 9!

I chose a cheaper one for ironing clothes, and a more expensive one for the sewing room.

Then I go up to the counter to pay.  But first, I ask the sales lady if they are going to be on SALE in the next few days.

Cos you know, it would be really annoying to miss out on a sale by a few days.

AND the sales lady told me they would be on sale at 3 PM TODAY!!!

So I tell her to hold on to them for me, I'll be back at 3 pm.   😅😆😆

She told me that if you buy something and then it goes on sale within the next two weeks, you can go back for a refund of the sale price difference?  Never knew that!  Worth storing in me head.

After that, I called in on Bex and borrowed her iron for the time being.

Then I popped into Brylee's new abode (she just moved into a new place today).  I took her a pie for brunch.

Now... I'm home and gunna get back to me sewing room.

ABOVE:  Number three.  Hands down my favourite so far.   Looking at it like this, I can see I need to 'tweak' those three falling  heart petals... off to do that before I iron it all down permanently. 

ABOVE:  OH MY GOD!   I love it so much!

No stitching done yet.  Maybe by the time I finish it all I will be totally over it?

But for now?  It's stunning.

Brylee is visiting.  She's entertaining the dogs.  And yakking.  😂😊

ABOVE:  And... bang on 3 pm I was at the Briscoes counter, buying my two new irons.

The combined cost for them was $219.98 ... but I paid $104.98, saving $115.00.

You simply cannot get a better deal than that.

So now... it's take a break time.  I've been on the go all day.

Well.... I added more during the late afternoon... and then blogger ATE IT.

So I can't be arsed adding any more in case it happens again.

We had a lovely dinner, silly bugger type dinner.

Now... watching the TV till bedtime.

SATURDAY?

 Late yesterday I heard from Harvey Norman, where we are getting the new Heat Pump.

Seems the installation man MIGHT call in the next couple of days, otherwise Saturday.

I'm like, damn.  I had hoped Stew and I would go out Saturday/Sunday.  Just leave for a nice weekend elsewhere.

But again, our plans might have to be put on hold.

Typical.

So today I am going to prep that first flower block for stitching.  I'm trying to think of the best way to do the 'Quilt As You Go' for this quilt.

Block by block, or three blocks in a row?  Not sure yet.  But I'll need to make up my mind as soon as I've got three ready for stitching.

ABOVE: Got woken up by this floating by...  beautiful.... BUT LOOK AT MY GRASS!!!

It's amazing.  

So proud.

*snort*

I went to use the iron this morning to press a top I wanted to wear.  It stuck... and wasn't even that hot.

So I looked at the iron's base.

ABOVE:  HORRIFIED!  WTF????  I am so, SO careful that I don't burn anything, stick anything on it, and LOOK AT THAT!

I'm like, GODDAM IT ALL.

ABOVE: So I went down to Spotlight and got some iron cleaner.  I really hope it works.

The lady at Spotlight said it can be something so simple as left over detergent in your fabric, or my husband's deodorant still in his shirts!

It certainly isn't anything I've done.  OMG I'm so damn careful when ironing, because I don't want to ruin any of my fabrics!  

So, I'm now going to attempt to clean my iron.  If it doesn't work, it will be going in the rubbish, like the last dozen (at least).

ABOVE:  Step one:  Apply cleaning cream to a thick, soft cloth, rub hot iron in a circular motion over cleaner and cloth.

Repeat if necessary  ... it was necessary.

Now my iron looks WORSE.

ABOVE:  Step two: wash off all the cleaner, making sure you get it out of all the steam vents.

Tried very hard to do that.  

My iron is now 100% FUCKED.

I'm now crabby as fuck.

Off to find Martyn's mother's iron now... it's in a cupboard somewhere.

Oh and YES, I will be taking that iron cleaning stuff back for a refund.  They sold me something that made my iron WORSE not better.

ABOVE:   My sewing room side kick... wishing she could squeeze through a gap and get outside.  Oh the adventures she would have!

But no.

ABOVE:  Block Number 1 ready for stitching.

I have decided to make all 9 blocks before doing the next step.

So maybe you won't get to see much more for a while.

Correction on yesterday's post re:  Vliesofix.    I use Steam A Seam, not Vliesofix.

Anyway, I was about to run out of Steam A Seam, so I went out to Gordonton and bought more this afternoon.

Then I got on with making the second block.

ABOVE: I'm happy to say the second block wasn't quite so time consuming.  Getting in the groove so to speak now.  Second block got a Bumble Bee instead of a butterfly.

It's now 5.45 pm and I'm buggered.  Stew will have to get his own dinner tonight.  I'm done for the day.

8.45 pm:  I just spent over an hour tracing out the next block's flowers etc, ready for tomorrow.

I also drafted a couple more butterflies and made a pattern of each.

So, ticking along nicely.  Really enjoying the creative process.

But now... it's wind down time, wait to watch Coronation Street, then off to bed.

SEWING TODAY

 I'm really looking forward to making a start on the first block of my next quilt.

Changing those pieces of paper for fabric.

Actually, I need to sort out what fabrics I shall be using first I suppose.

They have to kinda 'go' together.

I'm doing a quilt like this:

ABOVE:  There's a bit of colour co-ordination going on, even if it's not obvious.  I love the pops of blue.  Funny that eh?

Apart from sorting out fabrics, and cutting some stuff out... it's highly unlikely that I will do any actual sewing on the quilt yet.

I'm going to be joining three blocks together, then quilting them, before moving on to the next three blocks and so on.  That way I can 'quilt as I go'.  It will only be my second large quilt done that way.

Sorta exciting.  WELL.... for a sewer it is anyway!  😂😆😋

Of course, before I get to the sewing room, there is always the housework.

OH and getting on the treadmill.  I am starting to do a small walk on the treadmill every morning, first thing.  Trying to get my fitness level back up so I can re-join my walking group in Cambridge sometime soon.

Right, enough waffling..... catch ya later.

11.25 am:  OK, slight change of plans for the morning.

Yes, it happens a lot... me changing my plans.

But life is not set in concrete is it?

Anyway I digress.

I went out looking for the new heat pump.

I think I've sorted it out, but we are waiting for an installation guy to call in and suss out the three options.

ABOVE:  Option 1 is to just put a new one exactly where the old one is.  

Option 2 is to put it further over so that it blows more into the family room, and not at the opposite dining room wall first, as it does at present.

and Option 3 is:

ABOVE:  Put a new one here, so it's blowing directly onto the seating area, and the outside unit ends up down the side of the house (out of sight), not out the front of the house.

So, I'm pretty much twiddling my fingers until I can discuss it with the install man.

At least it's not really cold yet.  I've not been bitching yet eh?  Gimme time.

ABOVE:  Choosing just the right fabric to go where is proving to be very time consuming.  I've only got ONE flower done... and by done I mean the fabric is cut out.

NOT sewn on or anything like that!

It's now 1.50 pm and I'm stopping for some lunch.  

6.30 pm:  And I spent part of the afternoon turning all those pieces of paper and card into proper pattern pieces using rigid plastic sheets.

Then I finished making all the pieces for the first block.

Tomorrow I will stick them all down using iron on fusing stuff. (Vliesofix)

Now.  Quiet evening ahead.  Watch some telly.  Yak with the man.  Etc.

Catch ya tomorrow.

DUCTED AIR CON?

In response to suggestions we get ducted central heating in our home:

We would rather get ONE new heat pump for the family room than pay up to $10,000 (if not more) to keep the entire house cool/warm.

We spend the majority of our time in our family room, so I don't think I want to pay to have the entire house kept at a constant temperature.  

I read up on the cost of running it too... it's not cheap by the sound of it.  Lynda/Cranky ... how do you find it?

When we go to bed we are perfectly comfortable.  He's under the covers to keep warm over winter, and I have a fan on 100% of the time! 

So, while I appreciate the advice re :  Ducted Air Conditioning, we will give it a pass.

Also, our home has ducted HRV, which keeps the moisture levels down, especially during winter.

No crying windows or mould on curtains etc.  That is something well worth getting if you don't already have it.

Stew is back at work today... he's in Rotorua today.

I was thinking of going to a neighbour's funeral today.  I'm undecided on that at the moment.  I only knew him casually.  He, by all accounts, was a really wonderful, loving, caring man.  The few times I met him were lovely.

Funerals are not something I like to put myself through... been a few too many in the past few years.  It would be a bit embarrassing if I started bawling at an acquaintance's funeral. 😕😟

So, maybe I've already made up my mind not to go.

I will make a donation to their chosen charity instead.

There's plenty to keep me busy around here.  Mostly housework generated by having extra's here over the weekend.

I am also contemplating starting a new quilt... Queen Sized.  A Quilt-As-You-Go, so I can complete it myself, instead of paying hundreds of dollars for a 'professional long arm quilter' to do it for me.

I will have to make the pattern for the quilt first, so that's what I will start on today I think.

10.15 am:  I've managed to get heaps of jobs done this morning... including cleaning all the bathrooms.  Shitty job when you didn't even make half the mess.

Now though, I am starting to draft that pattern.

ABOVE:  And it's taken me AN HOUR AND A HALF to work out what size the blocks need to be to fit on the Queen bed!

And then cut them out.

And now... I'm going to work on the actual design that goes ON the white.  

That is bound to take me all bloody day!

The only consolation is that I haven't had to pay for the pattern.  And I'm going to change a couple of things so it's not a total rip off... but really, it still is!  😅😂😋

Any idea what it's going to be?  Not exactly giving you any clues eh?

Sitting in the sewing room, thinking "Shit I'm hungry".  

I look at the clock.  It's only 12.30 pm.  Shouldn't be THAT hungry.

Then I realise that clock hasn't been wound forward for the end of Daylight Saving.

So it's actually 1.30 pm.

No wonder I'm hungry.  I've not eaten at all so far today.  Time to stop and get some lunch I reckon.

ABOVE:  And there it is. The pattern.  Totally IGNORE the colours!  It's just paper and card.

That took way longer than it should have.

But getting things the right size, and in the right place was a right bitch.  And that friggin butterfly's wings?  😖😫😵  I wish I wasn't so fussy, but I am.  

I'm stopping now, gunna put me feet up for half an hour.  Then it will be time to start dinner prep.

We are having roast lamb (pre cooked), baked potato (pre cooked) and broccoli bites.  The Broccoli bites are from a video off Facebook.

ABOVE: Turn the volume off!  It's just the TV in the background.

I think I could have added a bit more cheese to mine.  They are very nice, not too strong tasting.

Nice for a change.

Chopping up the broccoli is a pain in the arse though.  Messy.

So dinner is done.  Dishes done.  Washing in.  Now just watching the TV till bedtime.

PUBLIC HOLIDAY.

ABOVE:  Last night's birthday cake(s).  Because people are fussy, we got three different flavours of cake.

So everyone enjoyed a piece. Left overs of cake went home with Brylee, Steve and Bex.  

ABOVE:  I wonder how many times I've posted a photo of someone blowing out their candles on here?

Maybe one day I'll count them!  lol

ABOVE:  Sorry.... it made us laugh, so I had to share.

Today ... the kids are going to the playground with Steve 'n' Bex.  Stew and I will either go with them, of just hang out here at home.

Nothing is open this morning (malls, shops etc) due to it being ANZAC Day.

(google it if you want to know what it means)

So, we might go out later.  Time will tell.

...

10.55 am:  silence is golden.  All the kids are off playing at our local park with Steve and Bex.

Stew and I are just chilling out wondering what to do with ourselves.  It's weird not having anything pressing to do!

ABOVE:  Laura asked me what was the name of the egg things I used.  There they are... off TradeMe.  I'm sure they are available from Ebay, AliExpress etc too.

OK.  I managed to find one SMALL job that needed doing.

It's something that I was aware of, but it wasn't on the 'must do now' list.

Today, as we really don't have anything to do... I mentioned it to Stew.  And off he went:

ABOVE:  Yeah, this conifer out the front of our home really was calling out for a trim!

It is embarrassing how badly it needed pruning, yet we simply had not got around to it.  I doubt Stew was even aware it looked that bad!

Done now.  

Lovely surprise when the kids arrived home.  They came bearing PIZZA for lunch.

After lunch Steve, Bex and boys went home and we enjoyed a quiet afternoon.

Stew went out and picked up his work car, as he's off to Rotorua tomorrow.

I got Curried Sausages out for dinner.  Stew wants them with rice and veges.  So that's what he shall have.  I'm gunna have them with mashed potatoes.

So Stew read the above and assured me he didn't mind having potatoes, so we both had mashed potatoes and veges.  Dinner was really YUM.

After dinner I did three loads of washing and Stew and I hung it all out.  One less job for me tomorrow morning.  Plus I don't have to wait for the washing to actually get done.  Each load takes over an hour, sometimes 90 minutes depending on what it is.

Now?  Winding down till bedtime.

Catch ya tomorrow.

I FORGOT....AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE

 A long time ago I bought some plastic/rubber thingees online to cook eggs in.  Then totally forgot about them.

Went back to boiling eggs in their shells, and getting crabby as F trying to get the shells off without loosing half the egg.

But, I dreamed about those damn things a couple of nights ago, so found them and tried them out again.

I loathe egg yolk on it's own, so for my egg I put it in the container and shook the shit outta it.

And...

ABOVE: LOOK at that!

Not only did it cook the eggs perfectly ... my one came out 'yellow'.  The yolk is perfectly mixed up with the white.  I'm stoked.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO #5.

STEVE is 35 today.  My god time flies by.

His little family is coming to ours for dinner tonight.  There will be cake.

Not expecting anyone else except maybe Brylee and Dom.  Steve wants to keep it simple, and as it's his birthday ... that's all good, his call.

Now as for today's plans... I think we are hanging around home, Stew might mow the lawns again as they are getting VERY long again.

Keera and I will go and buy a birthday cake for tonight I suppose.

JULIE H:  Instapot?  Hmmm... I think I'm swearing off buying another kitchen appliance!  I've resisted the 'Air Fryer' craze too!

It seems to be the morning/day for little jobs around the place.

Stew has done the lawns, and I've re-potted two plants.  And watered outside pots. 

I bet it rains now.  Certainly has been looking like rain for a while now.

We are heading out soon to look at a new heat pump for the family room.

I wasn't going to get another one till next summer, but it was COLD this morning.

And I'm a wimp.

3.15 pm: So we put off looking at Heat Pumps till later in the week.  I want to speak with the man who serviced our heat pumps a while ago, and get his opinion on which one to get.

Dante and Archer are now here having a play date with Keera.  Steve has picked up the chest freezer, so I've got room back in the garage.

2.29 pm: And Steve and Bex just arrived with all the makings of dinner.  We are now having home made lasagne ... Steve's making it even!

STEVE:  (peeling onions for dinner).

BEX:  "Why don't you put the googles on?"

STEVE:  "Cos it's my birthday, and I'll cry if I want to".

CRACK UP.

ABOVE:  Well Steve outdid himself again.  You simply cannot beat home made lasagne, right down to the lasagne sheets!  Everyone enjoyed dinner very much.

Cake photo tomorrow.

Now though, we are winding down for the evening.

Three kiddos here tonight for a sleep over.

FUN.

KNEE

 At least a week ago now, my right knee has been giving me a bit of grief.

There is a sharp pain in the lower/middle of me knee.  Mostly when I walk, but sometimes just when I straighten it out fully.

Sharp stabby pain.

Enough for me to go 'OUCH!'.  And be more careful and wary of it.

Most annoying.  It's stopped me walking any distance for now.

If it continues, I suppose I'll end up at the doctors, to be told it's just age/my weight bla bla bla.

I know there's no doubt nothing to be done about it unless it gets debilitating.  Such is our health system.

My friend couldn't walk AT ALL before she finally got a knee replacement!

NOT that I need a knee replacement, but yeah.  I know I'm just gunna have to grin and bear it, and hope it resolves itself. *sigh*

Right, bitchy bit over. 

ABOVE:  Got the power reading for the last week.  I get one every Friday thanks to our power company.

And look at that!  Big spike when I was cooking up all our dinners for the freezer.  But NOT as huge as I thought it would be.

In fact, it only cost about an extra $5-6 bucks to have the oven on literally all afternoon and half the evening too.

Today Stew, Keera and I are going for a little wander in the Hamilton Gardens, or down by the river .... then have a nice lunch somewhere.

Possibly at Chartwell Square.  

... Guess what?

We've been out all day... well until now (2 pm).

We took Keera to Hamilton Lake, there's two lovely playgrounds there.

ABOVE:  Keera had so much fun at the kids playground.  She was 'in charge' of the spinning contraption!  Constantly making sure kids got on and off safely.  I felt so proud of her.

ABOVE: The second playground on the other side of the lake was more for teenagers and adults.  It was one where you could do exercises, lift weights etc.  And a Parkour, I think that's how it's spelt?  You could leap and jump off walls etc.

ABOVE:  Keera gave a few stations a go.  I did not. 😂😅😆

ABOVE:  Don't be deceived by the beautiful BLUE water.  It wasn't.  It's disgustingly BROWN and heavily polluted... warning signs everywhere  saying KEEP OUT of the water.  Such a shame it's so hard to keep clean.

ABOVE:  I love this photo.  Keera loved swinging with me in the sunshine.  

After the parks, we met up with Steve, Bex and the boys for lunch at Chartwell Square.

10.11 pm:  Well we've had a lovely afternoon and evening.  Stew and I spent the afternoon relaxing, watching some tv, while Keera spent a play date with her cousins.

Then we prepared dinner, which was pre-cooked roast beef, cheese sauce, veges, potatoes and eggs.  

After dinner we had Bex and the kids here, lots of NOISE!  Now... all is quiet.  Our kid is asleep and we are again just chilling out till bedtime.