You can never have enough...

[popeye333]

Still cold here too
An awesome appointment at the Drs.. Im not off insulin... She said my numbers are good. BP was perfect and 33 kilos off.

So I decided to treat myself. Looked at Nail polishes in the chemist.. When did they hit $20? Went to a cheapie shops instead and got two for $5 lol..

Had a good visit with MrP and Bobbie. They want me to take up tea making facilities.. Cos of the lockdowns they are having trouble getting extra drinks. So will take that up on Friday lol But I dont suppose either of them have thought about Milk. MrP has his drinks black but Bobbie doesn't. Unless she likes milk powder.. I best talk to about it when I ring tonight lol.

Might have to get the heater out tonight..

[JanW]

Good afternoon from a chilly HawkeÔÇÖs Bay - our weather has been extreme - heavy rain arrives out of nowhere and goes as quick as it comes and huge winds that last about half an hour - but today has been just grey all day - Dr Seuss is still rolled up in my WIP basket - everyday I tell myself I will get enthused
My brother went down to Palmerston yesterday to start chemo - he has prostate cancer - it has taken a long time to start treatment because of all the shortages - hopefully no spread has occurred - Mum called him the golden child Mum never left us 5 girls in any doubt - but he grew into a lovely man so she didnÔÇÖt do him any harm
The new kiwis are doing brilliantly - last Sunday my 16 year old grandson had father brother lunch at his college so invited the 12 year old Ukrainian along - they have people come along and talk and the kids get up and talk if they want to - after several boys spoke the Ukrainian boy asked Robie if it was OK for him to speak - he stood up introduced himself and thanked NZ for letting him come - then started talking about what it meant to them - the excitement when their parents told them 3 years ago - then Dad coming with all their belongings but they stayed to finish the school year then covid hit - his mother going online trying to get into MIQ finally they got a spot - the Dad returned to the Ukraine to help them move and war struck - Robie said you could have heard a pin drop in the room as he spoke - then the kids started asking him questions - I bet all those kids went home with a different perspective about life - not sure if itÔÇÖs because they have seen war but they seem to have an inner strength - they play and laugh - miss their Dad .Robie thought there would have been fathers in the room who were anti refugees but they could not have listened to him and not be impressed .The old boy asked me if I could teach him to drive nearly wet myself laughing - I am the worst driver in the world - told him to go and look at all the scrapes and dings
My veggie pod is doing well - had my first purple snow peas - didnÔÇÖt realise you can just cut the outside leaves off bokchoy and it will keep growing
Sad about the little dog being sick - when I lost mine my granddaughter made it much easier by reminding me he would see her grandad when he got to heaven
I am having Kapiti rhubarb and raspberry yoghurt for tea with some cereal so I wonÔÇÖt wake in the night hungry so that wonÔÇÖt take long to prepare

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I have a big pot of mince on the stove bubbling away quietly, potatoes ready for boiling and mashing, and just harvested a big handful of greens to go in with the broccoli. Old style fifties dinner tonight in this house!

I was talking with a friend over coffee today about the living books project running in a UK library, that I read about online. Your Ukrainian lad's talk reminded me of this project. Every month or so the library invites a few living books to come sit at the library and 'borrowers' can sit with them and hear their life stories, ask questions, and generally learn from their personal histories. I have always understood every person has a story, some we would never dream they carry, and how fascinating it would be if we could hear them. And how the world might be a different place if we did.

Just like your lad, teaching just by being himself.

Here it is...

https://www.lksnorth.nhs.uk/blog/posts/a...the-books/

[Lilith7]

That was a great thing the Ukrainian boy did; first hand experiences like his can help the rest of us understand how things are there, especially for those younger ones.

And I like the idea of the library 'books' project.

[kiwimade64]

morning ladies brrrr another chilly start to the day. And no, I'm not complaining lol. I love a good frost, it's one of my favourite parts of winter.

Wow, Jan. The Ukrainian boy was very brave to get up and speak. And you are right, this would have been a real eye opener for the audience. Bravo! to him

I was up early this morning to see the planets align. It was a bit cloudy to see them all but Venus was there with all her sparkle and I think the other planet was Neptune. I saw Mars before I went to bed. Couldn't spot Matariki so will try again tomorrow. Tomorrow morning just before dawn is the last morning for the planet alignment until 2040.

Still no embroidery done. Today though it's the dining room and entrance's turn for a good going over. Thank goodness our home is small.

Did anyone see the Sort Your Life Out programme last night on TV3? Was a real eye opener about how much stuff we can accumulate. I was thinking of one of my sisters-in-law as I watched it. She flatly refuses to part with anything and we are dreading when she passes away. This was my motivation to keep as clutter free as we can as I don't want the kids to have to deal with it when I fall off my perch.

Our son loved his sheets and commented, I was half expecting Star Wars or floral sheets mum lmao. As if I would do that to him... oh wait... yes I would lol. A lot of the staff where he works are sick with colds and his shift was down to less than half with their team leader flaked out on the couch. No one should have to go to work that sick. He caught the cold going round the office but is fine now. All RATs tests came back negative.

Time to get cracking and meet the day. Mind you I've already been wrapped up warm and been outside lol.

Happy crafting

[popeye333]

Morning Everyone

Typing for the second time.

What a Brave young man. I get the feeling her will go Far.

Lol re the sheets Kiwimade. There's always Christmas. lol

I watched that show last night. I admit to talking to the screen.. If she tidied up and put things away in the storage that had that was empty it wouldn't have been so bad. Who leaves stuff like that on the bed?

I dont have anyone to Get rid of my stuff, but I want to downsize and move into a smaller place so stuff has to go. So I might as well get some money back for the stuff..

I realised last night this place is soo bag to heat up and its not healthy to be at 14 degrees during winter. And its a waste of money heating such a big place for me.

I enjoyed the UK and Aussie versions of the show too.. Especially the UK one with Nick Knowles.. I find him yummy but also very kind.

They are talking about foodwaste on breakfast at the mo.. The amount thrown away shocks me.. Ive never been a food waster its one of my pet peeves. Especially when people are going hungry.

Better rattle the daggs.. Need to pop up for petrol and a few groceries before the plumber arrives.

Have a fab day

[Mica]

Morning all
Frosty start here, the k9s are still all hunkered down.

The young Ukrainian lad is going places powerful and enlightening for the students too.

Quilted yesterday not totally pleased with it and another time I would have frog stitched but in this instance finished is better than perfect.

Busy day today, need buttons for knitted hoodie so will pick those up from local emporium before I go do my volunteer stint, the this afternoon taxi service for DH to a couple of medical appts.

Have a good day

[kiwimade64]

Warming up from putting more bird puddings into the feeder. My goodness those birds are hungry lol. And there's an apple we won't eat cut in half for the waxeyes. They give us so much pleasure to watch. The Furry One ignores them and they ignore him so he can be sniffing around under the feeder no problem at all. I was thinking we have only had two rats this winter and one mouse (Furry One dispatched the mouse) so maybe all my trapping and baiting over the years is paying off.

I think that lady on the sort it programme was more than just overwhelmed. She had psychological issues about looking after her kids in the future. The family were very brave to show NZ how they lived.

Fingers have warmed up time to sort the washing.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

We have a hoarder here. She had a very strange childhood and I suspect it goes back to that, the insecurity and lack of trust in the future. I have way too much stuff, but very little of it is valuable. It can all go back go the op shops from whence it came, lol, but those few important pieces are a worry.

Never mind, it is going to be a gorgeous day, if I ever decide to risk the chill beyond these beautiful layered quilts. Last night was not a good one, the bones were misbehaving, so I may sneak in a catch up zizz between then and now. The vacuum cleaner won't tell on me...

[Roma]

Good morning. 

Looking lovely outside with the sun out but I know the air is still very cool out there! Just read of the threat of power cuts with the massive overload at present. We'd be a bit stuffed relying on a heart pump these days!

Popeye do you shut off rooms you don't use to conserve heat? We have a couple of bedrooms that I close off (like a fridge if you go in, lol).

Yes, that food waste is terrible ... I'm pleased I have a compost bin and we also have small food scrap bins for weekly pick up in this area.

The young Ukrainian boy was certainly brave and inspirational to all JanW. I hope he continues to do well in life.

Righto time to get on with the day.

Have a good day all.

[Lilith7]

There's zero food waste here as I have a compost - & a dog.

Freezing again here; I also tend to just try to keep one room warm while I'm in it since it would be extremely silly to heat the whole house - not to mention expensive. In winter I tend to do things like make stuffed spuds of a cold day, because that helps warm up the kitchen.

That's exactly why I'm slowly sorting out my workroom, so the sweetie darlings & DIL's don't have to once I fall of the perch - but its really hard going as there's far more stuff than I'd realised, especially older family photos. I've not seen the sort it programme yet but might have a look at some point; maybe it might help.

[Roma]

Kiwimade, what method do you use to transfer a pattern onto fabric for embroidery or do you just freehand draw? Special pen, pencil?

[popeye333]

Yeah Kiwimade , she had seen her Mum struggled and went without when she was young.

We didnt have much either, which is possibly why I tend to hoard... But No one had stuff on their beds like that surely. To the point of not being able to sleep in it.

Yes even with the hall door shut the Lounge and kitchen is a big area. I almost shut my bedroom door off but I cant completely close it cos Missys tray is in the bathroom. Theres no heat pump so I use a small heater. Only when needed tho.
If MrP was home we would have used it more .

Shopping done. if I took out Missys and MrPs stuff there was 4 items for me lol...

Its a stunner of a day here, if only it wasnt so cold lol

[kiwimade64]

Roma, I use either a heat transfer pencil or trace/draw directly onto the fabric. I bought a cheap light box from Amazon for around $15 a couple of years ago and that lets me trace my design either directly onto the fabric or onto tracing paper (bought that at Spotlight). If you do go the heat transfer way, don't forget when you iron it onto your fabric it will be reversed. I pencil it lightly then flip the paper over and redraw it with the heat transfer pencil. The heat pencil tends to fade quickly in the light so I will stitch a running stitch around the design to give me that extra outline. If using the heat transfer pencil, use a dry iron and iron the fabric first mainly to get rid of wrinkles but it also warms the fabric and the transfer is more effective. A regular pencil works if you want to draw or trace your design directly to the fabric. It's a fuss to do but worth the effort if you take your time. Also, I will draw arrows in the direction I want the stitching to go to help with how I want the stitches to lie. Hope this helps, sing out if you need more info.

---

Roma, I can recommend a book 'The Royal School of Needlework Book of Embroidery'. You may be able to find it in the library, I bought my copy from Book Depository (a to-me-from-me Christmas pressie a few years ago). It's a great go-to reference book and I often flick through it to remind myself how to do different styles. You will see all sorts of different ways of doing the same things on line but I still go back to this book, back to basics so to speak.

[Roma]

Roma, I use either a heat transfer pencil or trace/draw directly onto the fabric.  I bought a cheap light box from Amazon for around $15 a couple of years ago and that lets me trace my design either directly onto the fabric or onto tracing paper (bought that at Spotlight).  If you do go the heat transfer way, don't forget when you iron it onto your fabric it will be reversed.  I pencil it lightly then flip the paper over and redraw it with the heat transfer pencil.  The heat  pencil tends to fade quickly in the light so I will stitch a running stitch around the design to give me that extra outline.  If using the heat transfer pencil, use a dry iron and iron the fabric first mainly to get rid of wrinkles but it also warms the fabric and the transfer is more effective.  A regular pencil works if you want to draw or trace your design directly to the fabric.  It's a fuss to do but worth the effort if you take your time.  Also, I will draw arrows in the direction I want the stitching to go to help with how I want the stitches to lie.  Hope this helps, sing out if you need more info.

---

Roma, I can recommend a book 'The Royal School of Needlework Book of Embroidery'.  You may be able to find it in the library, I bought my copy from Book Depository (a to-me-from-me Christmas pressie a few years ago).  It's a great go-to reference book and I often flick through it to remind myself how to do different styles.  You will see all sorts of different ways of doing the same things on line but I still go back to this book, back to basics so to speak.

Thanks KM, for your very helpful info.  The Embroidery Step by Step Book (Lucinda Ganderton) I bought is excellent with photos of all the different stitches accompanied by the instructions to do them. They are categorised into type of stitch eg Line & Border and Filling Stitches.  Who knew there were SO many embroidery possibilities! My mission is to first finish the last little birds on a fairly elaborate cross stitch I have had for years,to get me back into the swing of it!

[kiwimade64]

morning ladies Happy Matariki! Another frosty start to the day

Roma, I forgot to say yesterday afternoon, if you are looking at buying an electronic light box online, buy the biggest one. Mine is A3 and works fine but my sister bought an A4 thinking that was all she would need. She regretted not having the bigger size.

The birds are very hungry, the three bird puddings and apple I put out yesterday morning are gone already. I'll put some more out for them shortly. Speaking of birds, the great backyard bird count is on starting tomorrow if you want to join in. Here's a link to it https://gardenbirdsurvey.nz/take-part/

The dining room is sparkly to match the kitchen so now it's the living room's turn. Yesterday MrK helped me rehang some pictures that weren't quite right and now I have three lovely frames that can be reused.

I need a new vacum cleaner. My Tellus is well over 30 years old and although it is still going, it's getting harder and harder to buy bags and parts for it. I don't want a stick vacum yet as I like to vacum cobwebs from the ceiling and it has to be a reasonable price. Any recommendations please?

MrK is stirring but still no sign of the Furry One. He'll be burrowed under the blankets no doubt. Time to make a start with the day.

Happy crafting

[Mica]

Morning all
No frost clouded over overnight

Roma support KM recommendation for A3 light box.
KM we have a Meile Cat and Dog vacuum works well although I have left it out on occasion and neither cats or dogs use it  

Not sure what I will get up to today got a bit of paper work to sort out, dogs need a brush DH usually does it but can't at moment.

Want to get more quilting done hopefully this afternoon

Got to get dinner into the slow cooker then we will be set

Have a good day

[popeye333]

Morning everyone

Cold but cloudy here. No sign of a frost.

Kiwimade I enjoyed my Russel Hobbs vac I got from Briscoes, but it was bagless and TBH they are a pain in the butt. Im using an old one we got for the car. I keep an eye out in oppies for bags that I can adapt to work and enjoy it much better.

I must put a picture up to show you the coffee I brought for the July ones yesterday.. Ill edit it to the post when Im done. Needless to say its going back. It was a solid lump and black. And the use by date is September next year. Ive contacted the company on FB as well.

My Aunt "called" me over FB last night. I havent seen her for a very long time cos of MrP being infectious and then Covid. She was looking well considering she was in hospital a couple of days ago.. But it was like we had only seen each other a week ago. And being taught by someone nearly 20 years older than me was hardcase. And she made me promise to "ring" her next week so she knows I can do it lol.
All that family has had covid, the 4 generations, my Aunts house became the "covid" house lol.. But typical of one cousin who like me has always been the Different one, everyone was recovered etc and then he went down lol.

Right I have things to gather before I do my Visit..

Have a fab day

https://trademe.tmcdn.co.nz/photoserver/...531659.jpg

[Roma]

Good Matariki morning.

We have our first frost (evident on cars) but the sun is shining brightly.  Looking forward to a shared pizza lunch at son's ... they have an outdoor pizza oven ... the fire was lit nice and early   Grandies excited.

Thanks for that KM ... sounds easier than against the window (which I've done in the distant past,  lol)!

My tellus was still going strong  (hubby used in man cave until it did die) when I replaced it with a miele (was on special at the time). The stick dyson would have been great but they are pricey.

Better get going,  enjoy the day.

[Oh_hunnihunni]

I went through a series of cheap vacs and got fed up with the price of bags so indulged myself one Farmers sale day and bought a Bosch. Love it. Although working out how to empty the internal duster box thing is a challenge each time, I think the designers came up with that just to tease us. I have a friend who cleans for a number of wealthy clients and she has vast experience with their various overpriced vacs and assures me the Bosch is right up there with the best for longevity and performance. So with luck it will see me out.