Had a great day girls with my 4 youngest grandchildren at my Son's for lunch. Went shopping for more food, came home and did some work and have just finished folding my washing and now I am off to bed lol.

makerealbany - 2011-03-21 00:50:00

DIL flew down the hallway to where the boys were sleeping last night when that after shock hit! Only B6 woke and he settled back to sleep ok thank goodness. I'm still finding things that have fallen over. My son was doing a late shift at work quite close to the epicentre but is ok thank goodness. My daughter lost her landline again. Have to wonder whether my son's house has finally collapsed after that one!

grizzly4 - 2011-03-21 09:38:00

twas not very nice last night, i have never moved so fast , 4 people and a dog under one door frame, i am totaly over this now, I wan't my life back please.
I have been trying to chase up about whats happening to the Purple Patch, but lawyer for landlord is not returning my calls, so i guess it is a waiting game. Someone tried to burn down the shop next door , so thats more damage, it is never ending.

suzy59nz - 2011-03-21 13:20:00

Oh my gosh girls I am complaining about being sleep deprived and you are going thru hell still. I have had my 3 year old granddaughter today and she is staying the night because her mother is so exhausted. I have bags under my eyes and masses of new wrinkles I swear. I never get to watch the news when I have the kids because I am feeding them at that time. Some people are real swines trying to burn down that shop. I really feel for you girls.

makerealbany - 2011-03-21 20:58:00

Girls, I dont have any words to say, I wish I could help make it right. You are so brave and dont deserve to be living like this. I listen to zb in the car and every afternoon ( it may start in the morning) that have a $3 text in and raise over $100,000 most days for Christchurch. That figure is so amazing but it doesnt make the quakes go away. What rotten dods to go in and try to burn buildings, as if things arent bad enough. I think of you everyday but can only imagine what you have to cope with. Take care and have a great day.

smartgirl - 2011-03-22 05:30:00

Makereal, I know what it is like and that tired feeling. There is only 18 months between H and B and I was working for the first 4 months after B was born and trying to help out all I could to give their mum a break. It does get better and you will forget how hard it is, have a great day, we have hip hoppers this morning. Fun fun fun.

smartgirl - 2011-03-22 05:33:00

So many people are impatient and irritable these days. Doesn't take much to reduce someone to tears because there is no end in sight. In September Red Cross gave $1000 to people without power and water and $3000 to people who had to leave their homes. This time it's $1000 for both situations, probably because there is only so much money but my poor son and his family are struggling to get their bond back as well because the landlord has lost his place as well and moved to place unknown so can't sign the papers. They can't get another place without both lots of money and they see others with the $1000 with new clothes and partying up big time. They are trying to cover their costs here while living with us as well as save because they aren't entitled to the temporary housing assistance 'cos they didn't own the home they lost!!! which would have been paid to me for food and power. There are some bugs in the system that are starting to 'bug' me! They have to find the money for a new fridge/freezer as well 'cos there are no guarantees that EQC will pay out their insurance by the time they can move. And that's if they get a house.... applied for one yesterday along with lots of other people in the same situation.

grizzly4 - 2011-03-22 09:14:00

grizzly, what does the $10,000 grant cover, I would have thought they would have been entitled to that. I feel so sorry for them. I dont blame anyone for crying. I got it wrong about the money It will probably b e about $200,000 at the end of 2 weeks. serve me right for coming on here so early in the morning. haha.

smartgirl - 2011-03-22 17:01:00

Gee grizzly that stinks!!!! They have still lost their home regardless of who owned it. Surely the PO must have a change of address for the landlord. Send him a letter to the old address and see what happens. He must want his mail. Unless he is being chased for debts then he will not have done a change with the PO.

makerealbany - 2011-03-23 01:13:00

Smartgirl M had a full day at Pre School today. Hurrah. Just a trail she loved it but would not eat her lunch the little minx. I spent 4 hours today cleaning my kitchen and lounge. Did all the drawers and found heaps of stuff I had misplaced. Lol. I have just finished my bedroom so am off to sleep now. A job well done and very overdue.

makerealbany - 2011-03-23 01:16:00

I am so going to do that to my house when we are back to being just two again!!!Stocked up on soap and deoderant in my groceries last night thinking I had run out but when I went looking for something else this morning, lo and behold there's the deoderant and bars of soap I had bought a fortnight ago!! Someone had thoughtfully put them away for me in a different place. Oh well, as long as we keep having water i'll be clean for ages!! Haha.

grizzly4 - 2011-03-23 09:13:00

I love finding things I had forgotten I had bought. Found a bag of nice tee shirts which were meant for K but he is too big now so they will go to his little nephew instead. Lol. I have packed my bags for tomorrow. I head down to Rotorua then. I must admit it is so nice to have to think of something else other than my family. Lol. Although Mum is waiting to see me. I will see her tomorrow night after work of course. She just laughed when I told her what I was doing. I just have to sort out some wool to take and I will go to bed. Have a lovely weekend girls.

makerealbany - 2011-03-23 22:41:00

Not sure if you will be online while you are away, makerealbany, but have a great week and take care of yourself - don't agree to doing too much!!!

grizzly4 - 2011-03-24 09:56:00

I am very glad it's nearly the end of the week, I am so tired, it's so busy at work catching up on a months work. My son and his family got a new house today and they are moving in this weekend as the property manager wouldn't allow them to hold it for a week until they got things like a fridge sorted. Still I'm sure they can manage, even if I store some stuff for them and take what they need into work each day for when they pick up B6. I am not even thinking of what it will be like in the mornings not having someone here with me!!

grizzly4 - 2011-03-24 20:26:00

Finding it impossible to get up at my usual time, I'm just not waking up! Very odd for me. Was aware of the 4.3 last night but didn't wake me enough to stay awake. Beautiful day here, so might wash the cars to give the boys something to do, nothing keeps the dust from the liquifaction at bay. Our windows look as if they if they haven't been washed in years. They say we won't have to boil the water in a few days as they have started the chlorine treatment. Can't wait.

grizzly4 - 2011-03-26 10:29:00

So much for washing the cars, and now it's raining again today! Oh well... we went to Warehouse at Northwood instead, I wasn't comfortable to browse exactly but did ok. I still can't do our local mall yet but at least it was a small step and I treated myself a couple of new tops for autumn. It was the first time I have been 'shopping' except for groceries on 2 occasions in 5 weeks!

grizzly4 - 2011-03-27 09:45:00

went to Northwood a few times last week and also Northlands, i hate having to travel that far to go to a mall, i feel safe in Northlands, but no way in this world will i go to Westfields, noooooooooooo way , too big too much glass and too many people, give me back Eastgate please

suzy59nz - 2011-03-27 16:33:00

Well done girls, its best to take small steps. You are doing so well. Grizzly car cleaning must be impossible. How is you knitting going. I bet that helps. Your boys will be the best dressed. Have a great day

smartgirl - 2011-03-28 06:44:00

Both Knitworld and Spotlihjt are closed down here indefinitely. Kitworld is open mornings twice a week at a suburban community centre so we can order wool which is great of them. I ordered the grey wool I needed online and had it arrive very quickly. I can start B6's jacket now. I have been doing wee things to put on TM as my stock from the shop sells on there. Suzy, they can take as long as they like to rebuild Eastgate as far as I am concerned!!!!!

grizzly4 - 2011-03-28 09:51:00

Oh boy, it's hard going at work this week! I'm getting the work done ok but their is no pleasing the boss at all! I know she is under a lot of personal pressure but so are a lot of other people and there is no way we underlings deserve to be ripped up all the time.... there, off my chest now. Thank goodness I have you guys to debrief me. Hehe.

grizzly4 - 2011-03-29 09:48:00

I know how you feel. I really look forward to the days my bosses are away from work, they have not only almost lost their buisness but they have lost their beautiful home too so they are stressed up to the hilt and we are all walking on egg shells around them. Really look forward to my days off.

suzy59nz - 2011-03-29 16:40:00

Gosh you girls are getting it from all areas. It just isnt fair for you to have to go through all this while life for us here goes on as normal day after day. I really wish I could do something to help you both. Just know that I will be thinking of you at work now.

smartgirl - 2011-03-29 21:03:00

Hi Girls I am home again. Grizzly had a fantastic time with my NPO. Fired and hired. Such positive vibes. I had an Investigation to do and I sailed through it with no stress whatsoever. Did all the contracts and have put some great new safeguards in place. We only have one, yep I repeat one of the old school (yell at everyone to get your own way and if that does not work try to bully them) left. Now that she is kinda isolated maybe she will go off and drive someone else nuts. Ha ha. I just kept talking in a quite calm voice and man does that get up her nose. She is used to baiting people until they lose it. With me she has nowhere to go. Funny thing is the rest of the team are starting to quiten down too. I really enjoyed the hiring this time but not the firing. I had a good break from the angels although miss M is having a sleepover with me my first night back. She missed her Nana. Aw shucks.

makerealbany - 2011-03-29 23:35:00

I have no time for stressed people who take it out on others. I do not like bosses who dump frustrations by picking on their staff. As an employer I tried very hard not to let my personal probelms impact on the way I treated my staff. We have just hired a manager to lead the team and I have good vibes abour her having watched her working habits for 6 years. Any way girls I did not knit a stitch but will start tomorrow night. Ho ho.

makerealbany - 2011-03-29 23:43:00

Finding buttons is my problem, more timing trying to find them in my spare room when family is not asleep in there!

grizzly4 - 2011-03-30 09:20:00

grizzly I did not realise both shops were closed, that is a major. So far this year I have only just been able to keep up with my sales and at the moment I am in panic mode with the backlog. I have not spent one 55c to make the trade stand out. I can only imagine where I would be if I had. So if you dont see me on here you know what I am doing.

smartgirl - 2011-03-30 19:40:00

makereal so glad you have the whole thing in control, it must have made this trip seem unreal. How is M going. I have B staying the night tonight as she has a birthday party tomorrow afternoon.

smartgirl - 2011-03-30 19:41:00

I

makerealbany - 2011-03-30 21:49:00

oops slips I can relate to that grizzly. I can never find things in my cottage when I have someone staying. Everything goes haywire. Ha ha.

makerealbany - 2011-03-30 21:50:00

Miss M is fine smartgirl. She goes to preschool all day Tuesday and Thursday now and that is when Mum works so I just mind J. Felt really tired today coming down from the bug rush Lol. Took J for a walk and he fell asleep so I am going to do a daily work in the arvo with him. Maybe I will get fitter which I need to. I have the middle age spread thing happening. Lol.

makerealbany - 2011-03-30 21:54:00

Oh oh my SIL has a digger to clear up as he is doing some more fencing and I have lost my home phone line. Hope he is not responsible. The house phone is working and I have internet so it is most peculiar. We have dirt for miles and all sorts of other wonderful messy things.

makerealbany - 2011-03-31 21:01:00

Men are unbelievably capable of making even more mess when they are 'cleaning up', don't you think. Or when they give you a budget for fixing something there is always so many more things wrong than when they started? I wonder why?

grizzly4 - 2011-04-01 09:45:00

Ha ha I agree with that grizzly. "Mind you it will be worthwhile in the long run." That is usually what they say. Spent the day up at the beach. I have to babysit up there for the weekend so will be back again tomorrow. Just sat and knitted tonight. I have to take my sewing machine up tomorrow because my teenage granddaughter is TRYING to make herself a skirt. It is a school project so I will oversee it. Lol.

makerealbany - 2011-04-02 00:05:00

The never ending roles of being a grandparent, eh? Haha. I hope you have a lovely weekend. We are shifting my son and his family into their new house today, thank goodness it's a fine day.

grizzly4 - 2011-04-02 09:55:00

I have muscles that hurt that I didn't know existed! But at least they are all moved in. Am I happy about it? Not really, the house is an area with ongoing work to be done re water and sewerage, although they have both currently, and the dust is flying around in this nor'easter which will be a worry for both my son and L3 who get hayhever etc very easily. I. is absolutely rapt to have our house back but for me it feels too big now and would be wondering who needs help next if we hadn't given the spare bed to L3 as his was damaged in February and left at the old house. We have had confirmation that all of the blocks of sections along the river are to be demolished and there will be no rebuilding on those sites. It will be interesting to see if they stick to that!

grizzly4 - 2011-04-02 18:56:00

3 streets very close to me are going, i will be living in a park like setting soon lol,it's going to look strange with no houses around. i just hope they knock them down quick and don't leave them empty and run down. I just wish it could be all over and done, it is going to take years, more and more photos coming through from the city , looks soooooooooooooooooo bad. Makes me feel like crying everytime i see them.

suzy59nz - 2011-04-02 22:34:00

Me too! And then other people see them and want to talk about them and I can't cope with that either. If it wasn't for the lovely people on this message board I'm sure I would be truly mad with worry or grief by now. This is truly a great relief to chat away on this.
My knitting from the shop is ticking away on TM as well which is a bit of positive reinforcement. I am starting to get a few orders from people that have already bought as well. Of course there is always someone that doesn't read the auction properly e.g bought a prem jacket for a 'normal' size baby!

grizzly4 - 2011-04-03 09:13:00

Yes A lot of people don't read properly grizzly. Great that you are selling things though aye? Had a great weekend up the beach. Took K for a nice long walk in his pram today. Some people really stare maybe because he is so very cute. Ha ha. Just written some reports and will retire to bed soon. Yes the house will feel empty after having your family there. Know that feeling. Still no darn phone connection. My daughter's went out and they fixed that today and told my irate SIL that my number was not on his list. Bloody idiots. My SIL was so mad. He rang up and complained and maybe someone will come back in the morning. Holes were done for the fence posts today so good progress there. Have a good week girl.

makerealbany - 2011-04-04 00:35:00

Hiya suzy. Good to see you back. Grizzly sent me some photos. Makes me want to cry too. I hope they do pull the house down quick. Empty sections is far better than falling down houses I think. Hope things get better for you all there.

makerealbany - 2011-04-04 00:38:00

It will be great when the house come down and the sooner the better. The less reminders you have in your day to day life the easier it will be. It will be lovely to finally have the parks and all planted up. Those pics you sent grizzly are amazing, is that the mall you were at.

smartgirl - 2011-04-04 04:02:00

No not the same mall, and I don't remember seeing the state the shops were in where i was because there was so much falling glass and ceiling panels etc and all the tables etc were being knocked over so we had to be careful where we were walking. It was lucky we were sitting closer to the big door than we normally do, all the glass fell out of that which is lucky because it wouldn't have opened once the power went off!
Spent yesterday cleaning my house and garden. Very therapeutic and then did a bit of shopping with my daughter and B2. I found a nice pair of boots to go with my new skirt for the wedding which is only 3 months away now!
B2 starts full time at a preschool next to my daughter's work today. It will be so much better for him than the homebased one he has been at since he was 4 months old. Not enough stimulation for him as he has been the oldest there for the past year. Picking him up at 5.30 means my daughter will be home at a reasonable hour for a change now, too. Benefits for everyone!

grizzly4 - 2011-04-04 08:13:00

Boy, is it raining! I have found people I can do washing for, who don't have water or sewerage yet, now that I am not laundering for 6, but it's not going to be easy in this weather. Oops the sun is trying to peek through as I speak, but the forecast doesn't look good for all of this week, really, does it? Maybe I will sell more knitting now it's colder. Fingers crossed, it's great to keep busy.

grizzly4 - 2011-04-05 08:16:00

Women's group is going for devonshire tea at 'Sweethearts' this morning. Doesn't that sound lovely? I thought so , so I'm going too. Just about have the last of 3 jackets knitted up for the boy's Easter presents and wouldn't you know it? I'm 1 ball short of the colour I sent away for!!!! Isn't that always the way. I'm hoping the temporary Knitworld shop can help.

grizzly4 - 2011-04-06 08:01:00

Sweethearts was wonderful! Lovely scones and coffee. Very pleasant morning.

grizzly4 - 2011-04-06 19:18:00

I get the feeling I am talking to myself on here. My latest frustration is trying to buy clothes on line. My favourite shops are in the malls and I'm just not brave enough for that yet. I've tried all their websites, thinking in this day and age I'd be able to view their current ranges but most only have a few things listed. Such a shame 'cos I need a few warm things for winter and I can't be the only one down here prefering to shop online rather than in the few open malls down here.

grizzly4 - 2011-04-07 08:13:00

Boy it's busy on this category, we keep dropping down so far!

grizzly4 - 2011-04-07 18:18:00

think everyone has run away on here lol, wouldn't that be nice. Been so cold this last couple of evenings, got the fire going.
Did you feel the 4.0 at 4am this morning? getting a little fed up of being woken up with a shake.
Got this weekend off work so going to go to the Palms Market day at Shirly intermediate school on Saturday, see whats happening.

suzy59nz - 2011-04-07 21:34:00

Apparently it was mentioned on the radio yesterday that part of the Palms would re-open in 14 days! I had heard that it would closed till August at least? There's just no way of knowing at all is there? My colleagues at work are in a house with no sewerage at all and it could be up to a year, they reckon to clear the pipes. Trouble is their neighbours are elderly with no family support who can't empty their chemical toilets so they have been flushing their normal toilet and doing their washing etc which is all backing up on my friends property. They are having to teach the ladies how to use the chemical toilets and having to empty them for them as well as their own. There are 4 of them living next door. Definitely earning their angel wings, eh?

grizzly4 - 2011-04-08 08:50:00

heard a story like that today, the old lady behind a friend of mine, been using a hole in the ground and really isn't doing well ,she has one of the chemical toilets but no idea how to use or empty it. had a pile of washing and has not been keeping up her hygine, my friend took all her washing and her hubby is going to empty chemical toilet for her, the oldies are going to suffer when the colder weather arrives and they have no heating as chimney gone. Her son came over and dug a hole for her and she has not seen him since, just not good enough.

suzy59nz - 2011-04-08 21:23:00

grizzly4 wrote:

Sweethearts was wonderful! Lovely scones and coffee. Very pleasant morning.

Have to agree with this one, yummy, shame i couldn't eat it all

suzy59nz - 2011-04-08 21:24:00