Yep beautiful eather again yesterday for a great weekend. Got the gardens tidied up and lawns done. Even did some baking. Found some possible soup recipes on the 'net so will give that a go next week. For now it's back to work with 8 funding applications due in tomorrow. Mostly done, thank goodness, and it wasn't my fault they are being done last minute I have to say!!!

grizzly4 - 2009-03-30 08:11:00

Someone has started a thread about the Purple Patch here in Christchurch! It feels a little weird to see people talking about something I am so closely involved in but a great opportunity to gain some new members hopefully. Working on some dolls clothes currently.

grizzly4 - 2009-03-31 08:38:00

Know what you mean about funding applications What a job grizzly. Must have a peep at that thread. Ha ha. SIL left for work overseas again this morning for a month. M was puzzled this morning when she went looking for dada. She will miss him. Any banging or chainsawing, etc she hears outside she says"Dada" and we usually take her out in her gumboots so she can see what he is up to and get hugs. My son and his family are coming for tea tonight so she can play with her cousins and hopefully be tired out for the first night without him. He was very upset when he left. It is hard on them.

makerealbany - 2009-03-31 10:58:00

I hated hubby being away nights when he was in the Air Force, don't know how they can stand a whole month at a time. Started knitting sox last night to put in the donation box at work. Chocolate brown and bright orange!! Haha. Real 'gumboot sox'.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-01 08:40:00

Nice and bright sox girl Mum rang last night and one of my sister's had a breast removed yesterday and they are unsure about the other one. Waiting for biopsy. Mum is very concerned and I wish I were there but My foot would not handle the trip just now. Although my sister and I do not always see eye to eye, she is one of my baby sister's and I love her dearly. I am going to send flowers and ring her in a few days. It is a cloudy day and bubs is teething and cranky. Will have to keep her busy. So will get out the paints.

makerealbany - 2009-04-01 11:05:00

I am so sorry to hear about your sister and that you are still suffering, too. These things really drag you down sometimes, doesn't especially when it goes on and on. Wonder how Smartgirl is getting on, doesn't look like her computer is up and running yet, or maybe she's just busy. I'm dragging myself back to the doctor this morning to request a referral to ENT at the hospital. A bright spot is that I get 5 days for Easter Weekend this year as work is closing on the Thursday. Yahoo, planning lots of cross-stitch, sewing and knitting.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-02 08:50:00

Hi girls, I am up and running but I have been really busy with grandkids and knitting. So sorry about your sister makereal. Its times like this that you wish you were closer. Miss B (20 months) is teething as well so I know what you mean. Very cold here this morning, 3 deg. First time I put the heating on, but I used the excuse that the girls would be cold without it.

smartgirl - 2009-04-02 09:40:00

Welcome back smartgirl Just arrived home from playgroup. M is asleep. She had a great time today and was talking and giggling as she played tiggie. Have the washing on and Corned Silverside in the slowcooker so all is going to plan today. Ha ha. No 1 girl is finishing work tomorrow and has bubs in 3 weeks now. She has a tiler, builder and plumber working at her house. Her hubby is home again but leaves tomorrow and will be back on the 17th. Only after his Mum blew her stack when he said he won't be home until the 21st. T has her Cesarean on the 22nd. Duh. Some men. We hope she does not go into labour earlier because he is breech. As it is he will be early but the risk is too high not to have a Cesarean.

makerealbany - 2009-04-02 12:37:00

It is getting colder here in the mornings I put my electric blanket on last night. Ha ha. My computer is still being put back together.

makerealbany - 2009-04-02 12:39:00

Thank heavens it is Friday Although we are shifting my son and his family tomorrow. It has been a hell of a week and it has not ended yet. Sigh. My daughter finished work today though so that was great. I sorted out more of my mosaic tiles last night and stopped for a cuppa and noticed the time. 1am. Duh. I had no idea it was so late. Have been up at 6 every day this week and tomorrow is no exception but come Sunday and guess who is sleeping in. Ha ha

makerealbany - 2009-04-03 17:31:00

Hope you girls are having a nice weekend Shifted my son and his family yesterday. Were we knackered. He had to do 3 truck loads. I love their new house and it is only 15 mins away. There were a trillion boxes. My poor DIL will be flat out for weeks. They had 2 big storage containers. Everyone else in the family gained. Ha ha. My 2 grandchildren are teenagers so our new baby inherited a swing set. Miss 15 months got a lovely bike she won't ride for at lest 2 years. I got a large fridge freezer for the cottage as mine are being used by the kids in the house. I have a small one and it is not big enough.

makerealbany - 2009-04-05 10:23:00

Iget sick of trooping into the house For stuff in the freezer. ha ha. He has 4 golf sets. His BILS HAD THEIR EYES ON THOSE BUT HE WON'T PART WITH THEM. ha ha.

makerealbany - 2009-04-05 10:25:00

Sounds like you had lots of fun. My sister arrived unexpectedly on FRiday 'cos her FIL died earlier that day. Long awaited relief for him. Had a family tea last night but it was bedlam with the kids yahooing around 4 year old is quite difficult at the moment and I feel like everyone is on his case!! Emailed another job application foir hubby tonight so that makes 4 companies he's had contact with now. Was offered a sales position outright last week because he had supported a young man on the course and his employers were really impressed.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-05 19:34:00

Nice to get a visit from your sister grizzly Sounds as if hubby has enjoyed the course. Great reinforcement from the guys employers too. Positiveness is what you need to succeed in Real Estate. My 5 year old grandson seems to get a lot of advice about behaviour at the moment as well. He is a normal healthy little boy and parents are inclined to forget their own chilhoods. Ha ha. I am just knitting today, already taken up hems of pants for little Miss and feeling jaded after the busy week I had.

makerealbany - 2009-04-06 10:31:00

I feel the same makereal, I had one extra grandson on Friday night and three on Saturday night. I am not sure who are the hardest, the big ones or the little ones. The big ones fill up the house so much. My wee girls are away tomorrow to Tauranga till next Monday so I will miss them. I had to get their easter surprises sorted this weekend for them to take home plus it is their mums birthday on Thursday so I am really organised.

smartgirl - 2009-04-06 11:35:00

Well done, smartgirl... It's one thing having a 5 day weekend coming up but I have the same amount of work to cram into fewer days!! As well as organise food for DIL's birthday on Friday and her cake. I won an easter raffle yesterday so now have a lovely basket of chocolate to enjoy. Wonder if it will last till easter?! Heehee.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-07 08:13:00

Aren't we busy girls Just noticed my warrant ran out on the 2nd. My daughter got the mail and forgot to give it to me because her name was on it. Sigh. She is frantically busy at work as you are grizzly and heaps of pressure to get things done by Thursday. We have family from Welli up for the weekend so there is heaps to be done. I have only got 4 easter eggs so far smartgirl so you are better organized than I am. I am cooking Miss's fruit to freeze, doing the washing, have the dishwasher going and the hoover is in the lounge waiting. Trying to get bubs to sleep.

makerealbany - 2009-04-07 09:36:00

I am on the computer In the office next to her room so she can hear me. She is nearly asleep thank heavens. We had a 6 am start today. I need some of your lovely chocs grizzly.

makerealbany - 2009-04-07 09:38:00

Hubby passed his Real Estate Sales qualification! So we went out for dinner last night. Lovely meal so didn't need chocs last night. Haha!
Now to get a job before ACC runs out.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-08 08:40:00

7am start today Which is much better. Drizzling, great for the garden and a good excuse to ignore the washing. Ha ha. Nearly finished another jersey for Miss. She is growing so fast. Hard to keep up. Saw some mohair I liked on TM so bid on it since I have made a kind of dent in my wool stash. Lol. Not that you would notice according to my kids.

makerealbany - 2009-04-08 08:43:00

Me, too I've made a hole in the wall of wool I have collected. Need to knit some more before buying anything else. HOWEVER, I have the day off today so while hubby is at the gym I'm off to spotlight to check out polar fleece for 2 year old grandsons dressing gown. I've picked up some nice pieces on TM to make up for the shop but nothing that cries out to be made for him, yet. I have a 'Pig' cake to make for DIL's birthday tomorrow so can look at some litlle things for that as well. AND I want to find a nice jacket pattern for myself as I can't find a winter jacket that I like in the shops (or thats my size!).

grizzly4 - 2009-04-09 10:08:00

It's going to be a Thomas the Tank Engine dressing gown, this one!! Had a rather uninspiring visit to Spotlight, unfortunately despite finding the fleece I liked. I saw some other things I would have liked but nothing was priced. I heard a few women complaining about it to each other as well. Will that shop never learn about good customer service. There used to a whole thread on here devoted to complaints, I thought they might have learned by that alone!

grizzly4 - 2009-04-10 10:42:00

Today will be a cooking day as DIL's birthday tea at their house tonight. We are making a curry, baked potatoes and the 'Pig' birthday cake. It's lovely and sunny here as well so hopefully will get some knitting and cross-stitch in as well. Have a good Easter, ladies!

grizzly4 - 2009-04-10 10:44:00

Happy Easter girls. I am having a quite on catching up with my knitting and doing some more listing. How did the cake go grizzly, sounds neat. Makereal, how is your foot.

smartgirl - 2009-04-10 16:17:00

That cake sounds unusual grizzly Bl dy foot is still the same. Getting used to it now. Ha ha Just another part that needs replacing. Lol. Yesterday No 2 son had a cancerous mole cut out and is sore as hell today. Looks as if he has been in Gang warfare. Poor thing. At the same time 5 Year old grandson was in getting Grommets in his ears and Preggy daughter was getting splints for her Carpel Tunnel. Today she was stripping wallpaper off her bedroom walls.

makerealbany - 2009-04-10 18:52:00

Went up and tried to kick her out of the bedroom In the end she supervised and the kids and I got stuck in . Then no 2 girl arrived to give me a rest. Ha ha. Talk about a family affair. The painting of all the rooms looks fab and she is so pleased with her new bathroom even though it is not finished yet. Going to sit and knit tonight as well smartgirl with my foot on ice. ha ha. Might put some in a glass with an additive tonight. Rare for me but feel the urge. Ha ha.

makerealbany - 2009-04-10 18:57:00

Congratulations to Hubby grizzly Tell him I will have a drink to his success tonight.

makerealbany - 2009-04-10 18:58:00

Your preggie daughter sounds like she has the same 'get up and go' as her mother. There is no stopping your family is there, makeralbany?! Haha.
'Pig' cake turned out all right with lollies on top etc. Next one will be for grandson turning 2 in May. Might have to be a Thomas one to match his dressing gown.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-11 10:31:00

After all that I did not have a drink and fell asleep in front of the tele with my needles in my hands. I must have been tired. Everyone here for dinner tonight. All of my 5 children and their families. Have lamb in the slow cooker, bread in the breadmaker and chickens thawing. DIL is making all the desserts and she is another fab cook. All the housework is done in both places and my girls are shopping with Bubs. I have swept all the paths of bl--dy pine needles and I am relaxing. Might get that jersey finished today. Have 6 things to sew up but saving that until A and bubs go to welli on Tues. I am waiting for my Easter eggs. I always get heaps then the grandchildren eat them Ha ha. I may hide a few. Those dressing gowns sound lovely grizzly. You are a great grandma.

makerealbany - 2009-04-11 13:25:00

Aren't we all? Our spontaneous family tea didn't work out as well last night. Probably 'cos I was so tired. But I'm sure there will be other occasions.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-12 11:19:00

Had a lovely dinner Everyone ate too much but had lots of laughs. Grandchildren always want me to tell stories about their parents when they were kids. I have to be very diplomatic. Ha ha. I still manage to get the grandchildren rolling around about with some of the antics their parents got up to. Also it reminds my kids that they were not perfect either. Lol.

makerealbany - 2009-04-12 12:49:00

Lovely lazy day today Very quiet. Went up to Orewa yesterday afternoon and no 1 girl and I sorted out baby's room. We washed all the nappies, towels, linen and bibs. Today she was going to start on the clothes. He is due to be born in less than 2 weeks and we are just doing his room because of all the renovations. This week we are going to get everything else ready. She has not packed her bag yet. She had her other babies at home so she is finding this caesarean difficult to adjust to. She is a natural Midwife.

makerealbany - 2009-04-13 19:24:00

Will it be a planned Caesar or just when he wants to arrive? Can't believe my lovely anticipated 5 days off are over and it's back to work so early this morning. We have holiday programmes running for the next 2 weeks for school holidays. Have 8.30 starts to do the registrations etc every morning. Yuck! My bed was so warm and cosy. Although having very weird dreams! Must be hormones.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-14 07:45:00

Good news and Bad Baby has turned so daughter does not have to have the caesar until May 1st unless he tries to come before that. It is planned. She is under a specialist and is monitored. It is her age and the size of baby. She is really happy now because she did not want to have him that early. My sad news is I lost Dayla this morning. One of my cats. She was run over at our gate. She never goes on the road so she must have been chased to the gate. I have cried and cried. She was a good mate. Purring in my ear every night. I had fed them and she had just wandered out the door 10 mins before.

makerealbany - 2009-04-14 10:46:00

The courier van came this morning She was a very timid cat about 10 years old, never went near the road. Used to sunbath on the log outside my bedroom window and then bolt into the house. I buried her near the log.

makerealbany - 2009-04-14 10:48:00

My last 3 grand kids were all caesarean. The first was an emergency one so her sister had to be planned and the third ones mum had to have a planned one cause she had been precancerous for 14 years and had to much scar tissue from having too many procedures. Luckily they were only a few days before their due date.

smartgirl - 2009-04-14 11:04:00

So sorry about Dayla! Terribly sad way to start any day. I'll be thinking of you.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-15 07:56:00

Slept in the house Grand daughter stayed the night with me. I could not bear to sleep in the cottage without Dayla purring in my ear. Jed came too. He walks around looking for her. My Lovely neighbours brought me flowers and a Camillia bush to plant over her grave. I am lucky I have such nice friends. Still dopey though thought I had left my watch in my dressing gown which was in the washing machine. It is a new one and I had such a time stopping the bl--dy thing because it has a safety lock blah blah.

makerealbany - 2009-04-15 09:11:00

Finally stopped the thing Pulled out all the washing and it was not in there. Phew. Found it after a search in the cottage where I put it this morning. My daughter wants to avoid a caesar if she can smartgirl. It is the healing time that worries her and baby's reaction as well. We are keeping our fingers crossed. My foot appears to be healing which is such a relief. It is not as sore. I can walk on it now without whimpering in pain. Ha ha. Have a nice day girls.

makerealbany - 2009-04-15 09:15:00

Makereal, I am so sorry about your mate you will miss really miss her. I know what you mean about the dangers but when we had out first one, both mum and mil were together hugging and crying and begging for it to hurry up. Mums cervix was decreasing size and baby (Holly) was in serious trouble. They would not even risk in with no 2 baby. Luckily all three time mums were up and about same day and babies had no effects, all bright little monkeys. I am pleased about your foot, I wish I could say the same.

smartgirl - 2009-04-15 09:50:00

Amazing really my daughter was up the same day as her caesar as well.Still high on adrenaline after the birth, maybe.
I love what your neighbours did for you, makerealbany. Still thinking of you. I am knitting baby sox for the shop currently, reading the book 'Twilight' which came out as a movie at Christmas (haven't seen it yet, though) and still working on cross stitch portrait.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-16 07:45:00

Yes you are lucky if you have good neighbours I have a fantastic one, we look out for each other. I love those cross stitches you are doing grizzly. I wish I had done something like that when my first came along. Now I think I am too behind/

smartgirl - 2009-04-16 08:43:00

Lots of friends rave about Twilight Have not done a cross stitch for ages. Did a lot of sewing up last night. Today was a waste of time. Getting the car fixed and spent most of the day waiting around. Cost me nearly $700. Back brakes needed doing but car is like a dream now. What a difference with the new tyres, etc. Went to my neighbours for tea so that was the highlight of my day. Washing machine is on and I want to spray the carpets before I have my final cuppa of the night.

4

makerealbany - 2009-04-16 23:01:00

Just finished washing one lot of curtains Have to go and pick up parcels at Mail Centre. Drop off Foot Spa for my granddaughter who tore a ligament which mean't she could not play in the Nationals for Soccer this week. She is gutted about that. Anyway she wants some TLC. Take books back to Library and visit my girl. Washed baby's things this morning. Hand washing woollens take time even if they are tiny. Ha ha. Still have one little jacket to do the collar on and the buttons. I have a huge box of buttons and it took ages searching for the right shades and shapes for all the knitted garments. Jed is still missing his mate. He wanders in and out and will not sleep in his chair or on the bed where Dayla slept. Poor Moggie.

makerealbany - 2009-04-17 09:50:00

Hi Grizzly4 Hi Im new to the big smoke of CHCH can you please tell me were the CHCH Purple Patch is please.I would like to go and see what they have there. AS I have stuff here That they might like. Thanks Palmycritter

palmycritter - 2009-04-17 10:20:00

Hi there Girls You lucky thing palmycritter you are near grizzly. Have not heard from you since Aug. You must be very busy. Ha ha. Got a haircut this morning and there were heaps of people at the mall at 9 am. Defrosting my daughter's fridge for her. She never gets the time to do it. Decided to knit bubs a cardi in that fine Merino I got from Christchurch. It is one ply. I have smaller balls about 100 gm that I wound with the wool winder off the reel and I am using 3 balls at a time. I am finding this easier than using one ball. Lol. Still very fine though. Washes up nicely this wool. Very economical wool if you don't mind the winding.

makerealbany - 2009-04-18 14:00:00

Hi Palmy critter the Patch is 378 Ferry Rd, diagonally across from Raeward Fresh. Having an unexpectedly cruisy weekend as middle grandson is sick and couldn't stay overnight. Will settle in and watch the racing at Hamilton this avo on tele.

grizzly4 - 2009-04-19 10:18:00

Lucky you grizzly I wanted to watch the racing but we are off tomorrow night to a Retreat until Wed night. I have washed the dogs to go in the kennels, mowed the rest of the lawns, given cat feeding instructions to my lovely neighbour and her son, packed the car with Baby's gear and I still have my bag to pack. Picking A and M up at Airport tomorrow and going to the Retreat. Daughter no 1 is arriving because they are painting her bedroom and she has to spend the night here so that will be nice. Only probelm teenagers want to come to. Ha ha. Told them they have to clean up after themselves.

makerealbany - 2009-04-19 16:13:00

I watched and heard the racing and caught up on some knitting backlog. I wish is was going on retread with you makereal. What a great idea. Where are you going.

smartgirl - 2009-04-19 23:18:00

Thanks big time to all THhanks for that I will check them out today when I go into town. Or if not later in week.If you ladies want to get together 4 a coffee and chat somewere gives us a message.I'm flex a moment. No Work BUGGER.
Smart girl. I do know about knitting 3 yarns together as I got some nice baby wool fron Napier one time. I had to knit that together to. It was great as I ee doing a shawl with it at the time. Not many ends to sew in that was the best part been in big balls. Have a great day. Raining here a little.Good day for knitting my father in laws jersey.C U L

palmycritter - 2009-04-20 09:32:00