The sun is shining and I feel ....

Yes !!  the sun is shining and I feel so much better I can move quite comfortably now and put my arm out in most directions except backwards.... have managed to drop some of the painkillers as well. But no bending down yet ...ouch!

There are some freesia out now in the garden ....  will leave it a few days before I try to take a picture then there will be enough to photograph. So spring is almost here, hopefully the frost are at an end, they have seen off my Orchids this year all burnt black by the frosts, such a shame as I have covered them every night Oh! well next year they will be okay fingers crossed.

I also had a go at driving today no problem  ( God bless power steering ) I also had good practise at using only my mirrors as turning in the seat was a difficult maneuver to make ..... my car seat was very comfortable as it has lots of positions ..... including a lumber thing that supports you (hope you like the technical details ..things !)

 I actually drove to the "Polynesian Hot Pools" and had a soak ...Bliss! and then stood under a very powerful shower that was piping hot .. Oh! gives me that lovely all over feeling just remembering it.

Yesterday I had the day at home (obviously no driving then)  I decided to do a little bit of quilting on the machine ... silly move to make ... obviously not 100% mentally with it yet and made a complete hash of it .... so this evening is unpicking or reverse stitching. Although on the picture it does not look to bad ... believe me it is.

I have also managed to finish this needle case I was doing ... I like it very much .... but it will be winging it's way to a swap next week ...        I think.

Reflections on life

Gee that title sounds rather serious ... what I really meant was ...as I have time on my hands with the ribs thing, I have spent time strolling through blogs ...blogs that I can not ever remember seeing before and who I will probably never visit again.

One of these was a chatty blog almost about nothing in general, but there was a picture on it that brought back memories ..... flooding back in fact ... so I borrowed it and  here it is ....

Well....almost 38 yrs ago when darling son was about to be  born, I had a 21 month old daughter already and she had a small carrycot pram almost a carry cot on wheels ideal for the car etc.  But two kids would not be possible with it for when she got tired there would be no place for her to sit ...  remember the days when we walked to do the shopping not popped into the car... in fact popping into the car was not possible as we only had the one and husband needed to travel to work in it.

Well I digress.... back to the story ... so I saw an advert for
 "a Silver Cross Pram Navy Blue perfect condition with extras only 50 pounds for quick sale"
 a bargain I should say so as they were about 200 pounds to buy new ...this pram was every new mothers dream back in the 60's 70's period.
 So I went off and looked at it and was amazed as the pram was perfect and the extras consisted of a complete baby layette (baby clothes)  and bedding, you name it it was there,  baby woollies all brand new and never been worn, plus a pram seat for the end of the pram for a second child to sit on ... as you can imagine I snapped it up.

I felt like the bees knees when I was out walking with that pram ... I looked after it like a chap looks after a brand new car, always wiped it when it got wet etc and cleaned the chrome wheels regularly. When I no longer required it anymore it was in as good condition as when I obtained it and I sold it on for 75 pounds ( due to inflation around that time)  plus all the extras but this time they had been used,
The young mother to be who bought the pram had that " how wonderful"   look on her face when she wheeled it down my drive to take it home.

But one thing will always stick in my mind "why was there so many brand new clothes in it when I bought it"
I never had the courage to ask at the time and it was most likely a very private thing as the pram was sold by a lady who was may be the grandmother ... I have a feeling there was a very sad story in there somewhere... but I will never know, amazing how some memories linger in the back of your mind until you see a picture or you smell a smell  of something that reminds you of the past and they all flood back.

Thank you so much

Thank you so much for all the lovely wishes and thoughts.

I thought the above picture was true to what I am doing today and may be tomorrow and perhaps the next few days ..... but after looking at it closely there is a lot that will not be happening.... curled up in a armchair, you have to be joking   the wooden stool in the kitchen at the breakfast bar is more comfortable at present.

Other than that, it is walking and standing around... managed to wash up but the idea of anything else is not on the agenda for today ... climbing into the shower also did not appeal this morning oh! well will have to go dirty today.

I managed  quite a bit of sleep last night ....Found a comfortable position and all was good getting in bed was okay ... but getting out was a bit of a problem as you can't push upwards with the right arm etc.. ouch! painful thinking about it. and I  have been sneezing a bit this morning which is a bit of a traumatic thing to do.... but all is good other than that.
Have a couple of visitors coming during the afternoon so copious amounts of tea .. the panacea of all ills.

I think for one of the first times ever I am actually feeling my age ... my son reckons I should have an emergency button... you know the ones you wear around your neck ... but I really don't think I am at that stage in my age yet.... !!!!! So perhaphs I don't feel so aged after all.

Oh No!! I can't believe what I have done.....

Just wandered out into the garden while the lunch heated up... whoops!!  walking along the cobbled path don't know how but took a tumble and landed on the steps to the deck right across my right hand side bust area ... ouch!! graised knee, elbow and a small one on the head also hands where I must have put them out to save myself .... how many times are we told not to try and do that .

Upshot to all this ..... after an afternoon at ED......  X-rays and ECG ( just in case I had had a funny turn in the ticker area) I knew I hadn't but they had to check they said .... They believe I have a couple of cracked ribs...
Yes they said "believe"  as sometimes rib cracks don't show on the x-rays   ... so pain killers and rest was the order of the day .... Me! I am wondering how the heck I am going to get in and out of bed ... Oh! well  we will see in a minute, electric blanket is on and a nice cup of tea is made ...so night night.

A quick prayer,          please ... please .... surely nothing else can go wrong I have had enough ... what with the previous injuries etc. Oh! well must just be my turn, but I think I have had my fair share now.

Advice to help the kids of today.....

After the post about Alex quitting school .... it bought to my mind this.
It has to be the best advice I have ever seen to give a older child, may be the back of the toilet door would be a good place to hang it in very large letters , May be with a captured audience  one of them  may read it. 

OR This should be posted in every school or kid's bedroom.


Love him or hate him , he sure hits the nail on the head with this! Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about  eleven (11) things they did not and will not learn in school.
He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!

Rule 2 : The world doesn't care about your self-esteem.
             The world will expect you to accomplish something
              BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school.
             You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss

Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity.
Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping:
They called it opportunity.

Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault,
so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were:
So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room..

Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer.
*This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. *Do that on your own time.

Rule 10 : Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds.  Chances are you'll end up working for one..

If you can read this... Thank a Teacher.
If you can read this in English... Thank a Soldier!
And for life and everything else you have... Thank God!!

Now.... think about this and smile if you agree ...

Hamilton Bloggers NZ

If there is anyone who knows  any Kiwi Mums who blog in Hamilton NZ may be they would like to pass on my Daughters contact      http://benalex.blogspot.com/  she would love to hear from them.

Quitting School .... no not me ..... my grandson

The following is a copy of my daughters blog today...... I thought it was so funny and cute ...but read on ......

Kathryn writes .....

Yes that does say quit not quilt, and no I am not quitting quilting.

Alex however decided the other day that he was quitting school!

I, wanting him to accept the consequences for his own actions, agreed with him ...... however I did have specifications to go with it....

He had to inform his teachers.

He was a little taken back by this and asked me to explain. I simply told him that I was happy for him (my 6yr old) to quit school but that he had to go to school and tell his 2 teachers why he was quitting and then he also had to go to the Principle and tell him as well.

I then said that I was happy for him to leave school.

He thought this over for a few minutes and then happily annouced to me that he had changed his mind and would continue to attend school.

********************************************

Don't you just love the things kids say

A once in 50 years ......

This morning I saw an amazing sight ... snow in Rotorua, this is the Museum ( where I am a guide) this is the first time in the 11 yrs I have been living here that I have seen snow fall in Rotorua ...  yet alone lay.

This snow has come about because of a low from across the Tasman Sea ... so thanks a bunch Australia just because you did not want it ... you let it pass on to us ...just kidding.

Of course I have lived in snow areas in USA and France where the snow could be a meter deep  on regular basis and more sometimes especially in Minnesota .. then the wind / air chill factor came into play.

The only good thing to say about snow ... while living in USA was Christmas ... everyone in Ohio went over board with the outside decorations and we used to go cruising around all the streets to see them ...  a memory that will stay with me for ever.

The wet stuff .... and good news

1pm Sunday afternoon the wet stuff is falling from the heavens so I am not feeling guilty about fiddling with this machine, but I do mourn the old one it was a good friend and travelled around the world a few times with me ... keeping me in touch with everyone.... not many pictures on this one yet  but do have this one of my dearly departed  old friend before it was sent by courier to Wellington for it's post mortem... looking at it one could be forgiven thinking it looks quite healthy

Friday I received  a phone call from the company who do the "post mortem" and they told me what was wrong with the computer and what the coffee did to it ... it is amazing what damage was done by 150 mls of coffee ..... they said the hard drive was intact and the information could be retrieved if needed and they would return it to me by courier at no cost to me ....Whee! State will be picking  up the bill

So yesterday I received my hard drive back from Wellington ... it is amazing how small it is and that a lot of my life is stored on it ...... oh! what a blessing I don't have to re-enter everything from goodness knows where in my brain, my son has a friend who will copy everything from it and put it on a memory stick or two and I can then upload it ..... 

 But I will tell you one thing I will no longer store things on the computer everything from now on will be on a memory stick  even if I have to have a dozen of them, when I think of all those patterns quilting and embroidery that were stored on there I shudder ... some were so special as they had been sent to me from all over the world.... also pictures of my work done over the last few years, although I could live with out all this stuff it will be great to have it back .. there was also hours and hours of work done designing newsletters and other documents, I know I could reproduce them but this will save me days of work being done over again.

So there is a lesson here not only for me but for everyone with precious stuff on their computer.

Second day catch up

Here I am second day of new computer getting to grips faster than I imagined I could or would.....

 So here is a preview of some of the things I have been doing over the last few weeks ...

When you need to take something to do with you or very little time, a pin keep or a scissor keep passes the time ... made these two last week. I always feel it is good to keep something small by,  you just never know when you need that small gift in a hurry.

I attended a Mary Transome Agapanthus wall hanging class....which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The top is just about complete and not a hand stitch in it ... I also changed the colour from Blue or purple to a nice pink flower one of which I have in the garden ... I have promised myself I will finish it in the next 2 weeks... you know how it is ..... just have to set goals.

 Also my Kina is finished .. due to the shine of the threads it did not photograph to well, I will try and take another of it,  for all the hundreds of beads are not showing up ... so it will be experiment time with the camera.

 

A dried flower needle case one of those ones that has been hanging around for ages ... A Mum's Moments pattern, I had it as a gift from a friend and has been on the "To do" list for ever.

The cutest little owls you ever saw each one takes no more that about 45 Min's to complete, this one fits in the palm of your hand  ... the pattern has 5 owls on it from small to doorstop size. The name of the pattern escapes me at present. I actually have done 3 but they would not all fit on the bench.

So I have fitted in lots of little bits in the last few weeks, I love the little things in fact almost becoming the " little bits and pieces queen"

Something to smile about at last ....

This is what has put the smile on my face today Wheeeee!!!!

Did I ever believe that at 60 something a computer would be such a large part of my life

My new computer came today ...now I have to spend time working out how the heck you use Windows 7 after 5 yrs of XP.

Must invite grand son Harvey around he is 7yrs old and knows all there is to know about Windows 7.

So a nice new Toshiba laptop is all mine, it is white but I can live with that ... it is different but I can take change I guess ...... have lots to catch up with and a few pictures of stitching but will have to wait until I find out how to attach camera and down load.

Like many other pensioners it is a life line it has opened up the world to me and my family, it did not matter where in the world we lived we could be instantly in touch .. many of the people we know world wide are now on internet and many of them  have come to the computer late in life some are in late their 70's and  80's years of age.

What a fantastic invention this machine is.......

Hello again ..... Help.!!

Hello again... well life is ticking over with no laptop computer ... the frustrations of this "sit up and beg one " is driving me bonkers... it drops the broadband on a regular basis and takes minutes to open different pages. The only thing I have been able to do is check my emails as long as there is not to many and no attachments.


Update on insurance claim ... mainly there will not be one as  computer is 5 yrs old so not covered, now this is news to me but STATE seem to think they told me in 2007 that my contents insurance had changed and they no longer covered computers on a replace basis ... even if  accidental damage but they do if it is stolen ???????   even though I have full value replace insurance ... so I have no leg to stand on with them  ..
I tried the stand firm bit,  but they are going to win in the end as ignorance is not a excuse in there book ... so looks like a trip to the computer shop  for a new one and it's all down to my bank balance...
Oh! plus the $170 they are willing to give for my trouble ... would like to say " No you keep it seems your need is greater than mine" but then I think NO why should they have it so by tomorrow my bank should be a little healthier.


So hopefully by the weekend I will have a new computer that I will not be able to use as it will have all these updated programmes and I will be confused and stressed trying to work out what is what and where the heck is that button I used to use and where has that piece of writing gone  ... OH! help all those passwords to put in again and all the personal information ...  plus all my favourites.

Take care hope you are all well and kicking up your heals ... I'll be back soon hopefully.