Yes we had a great day here as well. Had a couple of showers but it was hot. J my 16 year old granddaughter and I took M and J for a waik down to the wharf. It was downhill all the way. So pushing the pram and stroller was a breeze. There was a family fishing and catching fish so we sat and watched, had a drink and of course snacks. Miss M had her little backpack full of goodies. Always prepared at 4 lol. The walk home was a challenge though. J was in stitches every time I said rest at the next shady spot. lol. After lunch everyone went down Little J had a nap while I cleaned up then they all arrived home while J and I were playing in water. We even had the sun shelter up over the fenced in deck. J just loves running out the door. As soon as he sees me picking up the sunblock he is over to me in a flash. Sits down, I lather him up, put on his cat and sandles and he is off. K arrived from the beach in time for tea. Bathing 3 of them is fun too. They are all asleep in the house as M and K love to sleep in the same room. Both of my daughters are working tomorrow so my SIL and I have the three of them to look after. Should be stimulating for the old grey matter. Ha ha.

makerealbany - 2012-01-11 22:30:00

I made use of the cloudy start to the day by washing all the windows outside yesterday. Did a few more of the big ones inside as well then sat in the cool and knitted for the rest of the day. Will be on my feet all day today at the stall. I. and I have swapped cars for a couple of days so I can shift the shop stuff to the Mall and back. I confess to being a little nervous in case something happens to his car in the carpark - you know what mall car parks are like! Speaking of malls, I really hope there are no big shakes over the next 2 days, not sure I'll cope with that at all.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-12 06:51:00

Very long day yesterday. 11 hours in a mall and thank goodness I had made it home before we got that 4. something. Phew. Timing is everything. Back I go today till 5.00 so keep your fingers and toes crossed again.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-13 06:39:00

Hope it was ok for you grizzly. I got up early this morning to bake a cake for M's 4 th Birthday party. This is the official one. Lol. Yesterday was so hectic with the three little ones I knew that if I did not cook that cake early I would get home too tired to do it tonight. Very pleased I had it done. When I got home tonight my daughter had iced it so it is ready to go. We are going to a train track and farm animal place up at the beach. Having the good old barbie and the kids can run mad as long as it doesn;t rain!!!!!!

makerealbany - 2012-01-14 00:21:00

I hope you have a great day today, makerealbany! Sounds like a fun place to go. It was very slow at the mall yesterday so I was pleased to be home and thank goodness never felt any shakes while I was there for the second day. Someone was definitely watching over scaredy cat me, I think. Would you believe I have an order to knit the pieces for a Noddy and Big Ears and then the person who wants them is going to make them up herself. I think the pattern is the same one you have done in the past, suzy. You only have a the kiwi left in the bag and your 2 pocket babies. Time for you stock up again instead of lying in the sun rweading and geting sunburnt. Hehe. We have to try and finish next stage of garden this weekend so we can sew grass seed and empty the lounge etc. It will be a great opportunity to clean drapes if weather stays nice.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-14 09:01:00

is the person mad or something? lol sewing up is just the worst, do you have the pattern grizzly?
sorry no knitting done today, was in the garden, messing about , but didn't do any reading , think i may be a bit burnt , will know shortly when i have a shower

suzy59nz - 2012-01-14 18:16:00

Had a great day today. Fab weather although it seemed doubtful this morning. All of the kids had such fun. Really an interesting place for them all. We paid to hire the site which had a roofed shelter with large tables, etc. It was nestled in the bush and we had a great playground plus all the animals in their cages or not, lol Even the teenagers had a couple of train rides with the little ones thru the area and loved it. Never to old to have fun. We were able to fed all the scraps to the animals as well so minimal packing up to do. They have a barbeque there as well and we did not even have to clean it. Ha ha. I detest cleaning them. Why am I awake now? Because when we got home I fell asleep at 6 and woke up 30 mins ago. Now I need to get sleepy again. Might do some knitting and watch a movie. Ha ha.

makerealbany - 2012-01-15 01:20:00

I agree with suzy sewing up is the worst part. The woman is mad. My legs got a bit burnt today but the rest of me was slathered with sunscreen.

makerealbany - 2012-01-15 01:26:00

I agree with you both about the sewing up and doing the face and hair! Thats why I agreed to knitting the pieces only - I'm not just a pretty face!
You should see our house! From the street it looks like we have moved out! Heehee.The space in my bedroom cupboard that used to be full off Christmas presents is now full of all my breakable stuff from the lounge, dining room and conservatory and the computer is now set up in the bedroom as well. The spare bedroom is now our lounge with our larger breakables. It reminds us of when we used to visit I's Mum in the retirement home before she died. Her room was jam packed! We have hasd to take down all our lightfittings and drapes well which is a great finish to all the cleaning I have done over my holiday. The light fittings are all cleaned and stored ready to go back up and I will start washing drapes today while the weather holds. I hand wash them in the bath and drip dry them hoping the thermal backing doesn't stick together. I try to chreck them constantly. The only piece of furniture we have struggled with is the couch. It is too big so we have taken it from the lounge to the conservatory via the 2 ranchsliders and hopefully the contractors will finish the lounge before starting the conservatory, otherwise it will have to go on the porch under a tarp.No mor room in the garage with the other furniture, motorbike, aeroplanes and shop stock! A great way to live - we are pretending we are camping but with the comfort of our own bed. LOl.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-16 06:52:00

Oops a few typo's in last message and Looking back I never mentioned that the EQC contractors start on our house at 8am this morning. Plastering and painting - doesn't sound like they are replacing the ceiling panels. That end of the house needs scaffolding because of the height and open beams. Once they finish down that end they will do the bedrooms and we will sleep in the lounge. Fun and games. The girls think we are nuts but don't seem too phased by it all yet. Wait till the contractors arrive!

grizzly4 - 2012-01-16 06:57:00

Not looking forward to doing all that at all, still have not heard when our house is being done.
Got up at 3am this morning to let my little dog out and the sky was inky black with a billion stars, it was so so clear, have never seen it like that.
Another lovely hot day so going down to Sumner for a walk on the beach with my mom and the dog.

suzy59nz - 2012-01-16 12:26:00

Sumner?! I don't think you will recognise it? Such a shame, it used to be one of my favourite places to go.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-16 16:22:00

I am a proud Nana of another sweet little girl. Born today by caesarean at 1 30 this afternoon or thereabouts so tired cannot remember. It was a hell of a night and I have had 1 hours sleep in the last 30 hours. Catch you tomorrow. All is well with Mum and Baby.

makerealbany - 2012-01-16 19:51:00

Congratulations! I hope you managed to finish the knitting you were doing for her considering how busy you have been.
All the new ceiling panels are up in the lounge after a long day yesterday and it gets so hot in that room, I felt realy sorry for the guys working in there. At one point I had bulders, a plastere and an electrician here. Full house. Today they are finishing the panels in other rooms down that end of the house and the plaster is back. The panels in the bedrooms have been screwed into place with hundreds of screws!

grizzly4 - 2012-01-17 07:02:00

No I have not sewn it up yet. Finished it at the hospital in the wee small hours but forgot to take a sewing needle. The plasterer won/t be too happy with all those screws to cover over. How darn stupid. What cowboys did they get to do that grizzly, Up at the beach for the nite as I have to drop my grandson off for his lift to work at 5 in the morning. My daughter has a sore throat so I want her to sleep in. Had a busy day with kids and cleaning today. 5 loads of washing,etc. Will be back early tomorrow so I can get some more jobs done. S and little E are doing well but both of them are sleeping a lot which is good. My son is so proud of his girls. Lol I am off to bed early considering the early start tomorrow. lol

makerealbany - 2012-01-17 21:57:00

All the gib is up and the plastere is making his final trip today. Painting starts today and they say that end of the house will be finished by Friday. Which means Saturday we will hire a Rug Doctor while the rooms are empty and Sunday will be spent moving everything to that end of the house. Next week they will repair and paint the bedrooms, bathroom and laundry (which I didn't know was damaged). I bought some crochet cotton yesterday to make a wee pouch with a shoulder strap for my cell phone. Not sure I am totally happy with my first attempt but need something to keep my phone with me and all of my dress pants for work don't have pockets and it's too hot to wear a jacket.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-18 06:58:00

Good idea for the cell phone holder grizzly. I got a cover which is great from the $2 shop but I put the darn thing down and then I have to start looking for it. I have pockets in my shorts at home but it is a pain when I go out. I detest fishing through my handbag for my phone. I am hurredly knitting a blanket for Saturday as I am going to meet my daughter's new niece. She was born a fortnight ago and is the first grandaughter in my SIL's family so they are all over the moon as are we. So now I have 8 grandsons, 4 grandaughters and 1 great grandson. No wonder I am run off my feet. HA HA.

makerealbany - 2012-01-18 23:45:00

Hi ya smartgirl. How are you?

'

makerealbany - 2012-01-18 23:46:00

Phew! That's a lot to be a nana to. 3 keeps me busy enough, although they are easier than their parents dramas. Lol.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-19 06:58:00

Such a nice bunch of guys working on my house! Thetwo who were painting this morning saw me to the door this morning and wished me well for my first day back and they were cleaning up when I got back but asked how my day went and then showed what they had got done today. Very nice homecoming, I must say and my girls hadn't moved from where they were hiding when I left. Jinx in my bed and Flurry in the cupboard, although I have noticed she is brushing up against my black skirt each time she goes in there and she is one of the white ones!! Mac must have stayed outside under her favourite bush. But just like when I say goodbye to family on Saturdays out they all come once the guys drive down the drive. Heehee.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-19 17:38:00

I love the bit about the parents drama grizzly. I can relate to that, lol. Those trademen are nice guys. It will be great once it is all finished. I hope the Land;ord does not decide to increase the rent now that it is all spruced up. Cats and dogs are very social aren't they. My cats greet all the family but Jed is still shy around little J. Paws rubs against little J now. The dogs Paku and Patch love all the family including little J and they do the rounds for the pats. They love the boys because the girls do not throw sticks as far as the boys do lol. Little K is here for the night while his Mum is on the night shift and I will drop him at Pre school Holiday programme in the morning so I am typing in the dark. HA HA,

makerealbany - 2012-01-19 23:30:00

My girls are definitely NOT social. I have one set of friends who Mac will come out to greet and occassionally Flurry, too. But never anyone else. They are all not eating very well and could be a combination of the heat and all the disruption I guess. I finished a hoody jacket last night in purple, lilac and lime green fairisle. Very effective. Have a bootee order for Australia then back on to Noddy and his mate again. I did finish my book with 880 pages the day before I went back to work. Was reading in the morning and went to make my lunch to find the kitchen all sealed up for painting so I took my book and picked up Subway to go to the Groynes to sit by the lake with the ducks in the shade. Haha. 3 hours later book was finished. Might find something a bit lighter to read before starting the next one in the series.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-20 07:09:00

I like the idea of reading in the shade by the lake grizzly. Jacket sounds lovely. Have hardly done any knitting of my babies blanket. Little K was sick today and his Mum is worn out plus she is on the 7 to 7 shift tomorrow. Went up to help her this morning and was going to stay at the beach for the night but the kids here are in Hamilton at a birthday for the night so I brought K back here for the night with me as I have all the animals to feed. By the time I got the house cleaned and 5 loads of washing done the day had gone. Last night I visited our new baby. S and E are at home now. Was very proud of my son as he changed her nappys, did her washing, brought her wind up,etc. Poor S is still sore and moving very slowly. We have to organize cover for some important meetings my son has up here so my two girls and I will juggle the 3 young ones so we can help. It is S's first baby and she needs help. Wish I could clone myself. Ha ha.

makerealbany - 2012-01-21 23:36:00

Glad I did all that washing yesterday. Today it is raining again. Just managed to get K his lunch as he is being a little fusspot today. " No Nana I DON'T WANT THAT FOR LUNCH" Everytime I suggested something.Have ironing to do but not going to do that with master 2 running around. He is a car fanatic and I have cars everywhere. It is like walking a gaunlet. I hope it fines up as that boy needs to be outside in the freshair for awhile and so do I. lOL

makerealbany - 2012-01-22 12:27:00

Congratulations on the safe arrival of your little granddaughter, so sorry mum had a hard time of it all. How wonderful for you makereal. My 6 keep me on my toes and you have double that and more, you are a machine. My boy is due home for the states in two weeks, I cant believe how fast that 3 months have gone. I have two weeks to use his bedroom to sort out a whole heap of clothes and my wool stash. I have decided to give most of the clothes away rather that sell them as even good items go for 1 and 2 dollars by the time I wrap them and drive to post them I will be costing me. But I have two bags of wool and acrylic and heaps of patterns to sell. I was going to do that 2 months ago and never got around to it. Will make a start on Monday. Grizzly your place will be lovely inside and out when the painters have finished plus your gardens. You have probably increased the value of the property for the land lord. Off now to my daughter to have her load some more books on my kindle. I havent managed to tackle it. Have a great day.
I hope your sunburn is better suzy. Jo

smartgirl - 2012-01-22 12:44:00

Boy what a weekend. We are successfully moved to the other end of the house and cleaned the carpets as we went and let them dry in the sun while we went to a BBQ. Didn't get home till 10pm last night to put up drapes and move the basics for over night into the lounge e.g bed, couich, tv and computer. Today we washed the window frames and ledges etc because of all the dust from plaster etc and emptied the bathroom and laundry, took down light fittings and drapes from bedrooms ready for the next stage tomorrow. Don't know how Flurry will cope as she insists on staying in the bedroom cupboard so she won't like it when they start work in that room. Poor thing. She's not eating much at all. It's pouring here with a bit of thuinder and lightening - thank goodness our couch is off the prch now!!!

grizzly4 - 2012-01-22 20:30:00

Oh dear, haven't slept for two nights now. Just can't seem to settle sleeping in the lounge. Neither can the girls and it got so cold at some point. I have early starts all this week because of our holiday programme. It's going to be a long week.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-23 06:02:00

Hiya smartgirl. It is good to hear from you babe. I keep sorting out things and dropping them at the op shop as well. Tee hee. Got home at 11.30 last night. Physically tired but not mentally ( you know what I mean) Having a quiet day today as this SIL is off overseas tomorrow. I am checking on flights etc for my Rarotonga visit next month. Getting a bit excited now. Had an email this morning and now I have to give a speech on the day. MMMMMM. have to do some research for that. Still it will be nice.

makerealbany - 2012-01-23 12:19:00

It was cold here too grizzly. This morning I put on a cardi which is so not summer. My Charity organisation rang and seemed quite shocked that I was too busy to help out. Lol. I have made it very clear that I have family commitments. They have so many paid workers now they can sort out all the probelms themselves. In hindsight I should never have gone back the last time but stupid me felt an obligation. No longer!!!!!!!!I Any sparetime I have will be spent on craft. My hands need the work. Ha ha. Thank heavens for the holiday programme both M and K are off tomorrow. Yippee. Bless you all and so say all us mothers and Nanas.

makerealbany - 2012-01-23 12:26:00

I'll second that. I had to go to the dr this morning for my meds and got the time wrong so made another appointment for this afternoon. Just as well cause since this morning my glands are up, I have a sore throat, headache and general feeling yuck. She have given me antiobotics just in case I need them. That possibly saved another trip. Hopefully Murphys law, I wont need to take the antiobotics. It was very cold here this morning but hot now. There is no sun hardly.

smartgirl - 2012-01-23 16:49:00

Bitterly cold wind stayed all day here, just like winter despite a bit of sun early afternoon. Came home early today and washed another set of curtains but don't think they'll dry. Might leave them out overnight.Silly me did the wrong bedroom first, especially as the painters think they might be finished by tomorrow. I told them they shouldn't get Flurry's hopes up. Poor wee thing, she's a cot case. Had to race to brace a couple of cabinets this morning with those aftershocks, I shoved other furniture up against them while I was at work. I'll be glad when they are in their right place again and secured once more.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-23 17:58:00

Damn, had a second go in a week at flooding my laundry!

grizzly4 - 2012-01-24 06:47:00

Hells bells grizzly once someone does it everyone does. I just missed flooding ours today as some idiot threw a soft baby flannel in the sink and then put a bucket in the tub. It was cold this morning but hot later. J and I had an awesome day together. He is such a little character. Kept bringing me books to read to him whilst I was trying to hoover the floors. Then he worked out how to turn the v cleaner off. He also knows how to growl and boss his Nana around. Poor Flurry hope all that work is finished soon. If we had an earthquake here I would lose heaps as nothing is really fastened down. Made me think about it though.

makerealbany - 2012-01-24 20:23:00

Hope you are feeling better soon smartgirl. My feet are swollen but that is to be expected, lol. I am being careful with the changes in the weather though. When I had to spend all that time at the hospital my throat played up. The rotten airconditioning does it everytime. I sneezed and carried on but after a few days it disappeared.

makerealbany - 2012-01-24 20:28:00

All the work is finished inside the house! Yippee!!!! My girls can relax today as they hasve the house to themselves although we haven't moved everything back yet. I'm off to Willowbank Animal Reserve today with the holiday programme. I will be completely knackered by the time I get back so not sure how much I will move tonight either. But at l;east it's done. Haven't heard about the repairs to the bricks outside or the crack through the garage floor.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-25 07:19:00

grizzly4 wrote:

Damn, had a second go in a week at flooding my laundry!

I call it a forced clean ;-)

suzy59nz - 2012-01-25 13:18:00

Yep and I was right! I had a headache and all my joints felt as if I had been run over by a bus. BUT after tea I. wanted to get the bedroom sorted so we spent 2 hours rehanging drapes, cleaning down window frames and moving furniture. All the big things are back in the house now I have to put back all the books, ornaments, pictures, plants etc. I am working from home today so will do a little bit during my breaks.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-26 07:19:00

Nice one suzy I must remember that lol

makerealbany - 2012-01-26 11:43:00

Went to the beach for a swim yesterday finally. T, J and I had a great afternoon although Little J was not going to let go of Nana and paddle his feet even in his wetsuit. M and K had a ball and poor Aunty T spent a lot of time building sandcastles with them. Got home so exhausted did not even check my emails. Fluffy will be pleased grizzly. Peace at last. I love the emails, sending on the cat ones to my youngest boy. The mad cat lover.

makerealbany - 2012-01-26 11:47:00

Did you find the cats,makerealbany, before you sent them on? The junkyard one was the hardest I thought. Fun though.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-26 17:11:00

Pretty much back to normal here except for the drapes in dining room and conservatory which I want to was first. Took 3 hours yesterday to put everything back in cabinets etc and clean shelves and doorframes etc as I went. Last night hung all the pictures back up as well. I still have all the windows to redo but if it fines up this weekend I might actually the grass seed down for the new lawn. The trouble with doing all the new things and being interrupted with that by all this house stuff (which took up 3 full weekends!) the usual maintenance gardening is way behind now. THings like trimming, deadheading etc. Sigh. It's been a very full on summer.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-27 06:50:00

I am dead on my feet and don't have enough left to even cheer that it's Friday. LOL. Have had to even bring work home to do on Monday, when I had planned a day off. Sigh... oh well.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-27 17:27:00

I am having a run of people buying things on TM and then not contacting me!Grrrr. Is it the time of year or what?

grizzly4 - 2012-01-28 09:59:00

Had a lovely family BBQ at our sons yesterday. It was the weirdest feeling sitting on thise plastic deck chairs when we have a shake. Bit like being on a boat.Lol.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-29 10:42:00

Its not that I am ignoring you grizzly but I have been so busy. Both my daughters have been working hard and both hubbies are away and you know how my life goes. lol. I have not been home long. Took 2 grandchildren and my great grandson to the park this morning by myself. That was fun. Then we cooked pizzas for lunch. Miss M is getting to be quite the little cook. After lunch took M and K for a walk down to the beach while C had his nap. S, his dad looked very relieved when we left. 3 OF THEM TOGETHER IS RATHER NOISY. They had a car show and little K who is two knows most of the cars. I kid you not. People are shocked when they hear him telling me what make they are. He is another very clear speaker and has an excellent memory. Hears it or sees it and he never forgets. We were out for 2 hours and then when we got back A and little J were there and it was time for family soccer. I am sure I lost weight today ha ha. They all went to bed early. Yippee but a really lovely day. Unlike you tomorrow I am taking it easy. Hope the buyers get in touch soon.

makerealbany - 2012-01-30 00:50:00

Yep I am going to bed now lol

makerealbany - 2012-01-30 00:56:00

That sounded very full on, makerealbany. I was a bit down yesterday. We spent the morning trying to get the house back on track, but every job we start leads to something else to be done e.g wiped down the bathroom window frames to put the curtains up again but one of the window catches had pulled out of the woodwork and needs fixing now plus the painters have broken one of the rail holders so we can't put the curtains up anyway. And like the dining room drapes shrunk slightly but the lining didn't so I have to alter the hem on the lining before I can rehang them! All of this has put our garden project out by 3 weeks now, it's so frustrating. I have today off work as our term time programmes don't start till tomorrow so hopefully I can cross off a few more jobs in the house.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-30 07:11:00

So much for a day off yesterday! One of the painters said he was coming to check some extra work for the bathroom but never arrived, the block layer arrived with an hours notice to repair the cracks outside the house and then some other guys arrived with no warning at all to repair the crack through the garage floor!!!!!! Guess where some of our furniture still is? not to mention the planes, the shop stock and the motorbike? Nothing is coming very easy at present. The guys are back to finish the garage this morning plus the landlord, Fletchers and the main contractor are to inspect all the work at 8am and sign it off. I did escape into the garden at one point to cut back one of the big roses and a fuscia. It looks like I'm going to have to pull out a hebe, it's just up and died! Was fine before Christmas, dead as now. Weird.

grizzly4 - 2012-01-31 06:43:00

J ust been fighting with EQC and Fletchers over getting my flu replaced, they took it out when the took down the chimney and now they are saying it will be done when they fix the rest of the house, but that could be 6 months away. Anyway i managed to find out who the installer was
and rang them,( would you believe a Wellington company) they are coming at 8am Thursday. What is wrong with these people that they can't get together and organise things properly...............Eqc say they sent my file through to Fletchers Sept 27th and Fletchers say they haven't got it yet, go figure.

suzy59nz - 2012-01-31 16:32:00

Oh you poor girls. One darn thing after another. It is a lot to cope with. I would feel down too. I had a great day today with little J. Now that M is at preschool 4 days a week it is bliss. Lol. I even managed to cook a cake and bake a Cottage pie for tea.Tomorrow we are going to Mainly Music and then her Aunty will pick her up for the day. Little J goes crazy when his Mum and sister arrive home although he happily waves goodbye in the morning. I need a haircut but I am leaving it for as long as possible before our holiday. Looking a bit scraggy but I just plonk a sunhat on. Ha ha.

makerealbany - 2012-01-31 23:07:00