Busy busy Day...

This heart is just lovely ... may be on my to do list very soon ....

Today was set up day for my Embroidery Guild Exhibition, as I am on the committee this entails a lot of work.  It was a long hard tiring day but it looked lovely when we left it at 5pm today.  When I arrived home at 5.30pm  I could not decide whether to have some dinner or have a sleep, so after a toss up  I had some cold chicken salad and then set the alarm on my phone for 6.50pm as this evening was Guild night ... so I had a half hour sleep and then left the house again.

Exhibition is on for 3 days, this year we are having a section on work in progress and having ladies sitting and stitching .... I am looking forward to this as I will be at the show every day  and I will be able to sit and stitch with no guilty feelings from 10 am to 4pm each day

We were so busy I forgot to take photographs ... pictures tomorrow I promise.

Yesterday 22 degrees >>>>>

Yesterday  Sunday was beautiful around 22 degrees and I managed to wash the house down getting rid of the winters spiders and their eggs all comfortably together in their cocoons now all washed away ....how is it that I destroy so many but they seem to increase each year ... I cleared up the now defunct pots and planted some things ready for the summer.....

Now today Monday started off amazingly and was warm and sunshine ... then it all went to custard....

The world went black and it thundered with lighting and hail the size of large peas, what  Topsy turvy weather, I guess we should not count our chickens before they are hatched, like I dreamed it may have been the start of summer this last two days..

How about chapter 2 on the saga of the camper van....

The panel beater today started on the van by taking out all the windows ...whoooops!!! the windscreen shattered as he was doing it ...wheeeee!!!! can't wait for tomorrows episode, This is just becoming one big joke I have to laugh or I will cry..

Just realised why I am working on the election

I have just had a thought ...I know why I am working at the election... to pay for the van work .... it was all planned by someone and they forgot to tell me or let me in on the secrete !!!!

Thank you every one for your good wishes

and your not so good wishes for

HYUNDAI IN ROTORUA

So the run of OMG's continues ....

Not sure why I have put flowers here may be it should have been scull and cross bones.  ... read on

The time has come to put the camper van on the road .... I do this for just 6months a year ...waste of money  for any longer as I can only drive one vehicle at once and only use it in the summer.
So I took it along to the Hyundai Service centre ...yeah! the one who charged me an arm and a leg for a service on the car  ... they had given me a 20% discount voucher so I thought I would make use of it and get the camper serviced and WOF ( warrant of fitness)  easy one might say yeap ! they collected it for me and returned it ....then the shock came !!!!

IT failed its warrant   OH  "*!!**%^^%!!!"   said I.

My van is same as this one ... only it is dark now so could not take picture 

Now I could understand it  if it was mechanical or the floor was dropping out etc etc.   SO what has happened to it ....  it has the minutest amount of rust along the black rubber trims on 3 windows ....
 talk about "nit picking " and also NO water in windscreen wipers this was obviously a carnal sin.....( you would think they had  a tap at the service station and would have topped it up for me ...Nope !! )

 SO THEY FAILED IT.

I took it along to my friendly panel beater and painter today and he could not believe it ....  it is all superficial and aesthetic to say the least.  But because they have registered it failed with the Transport Agency folks ....  I have to have the work done before anyone can pass it as fit for the road. Grrrr!!


I have been spitting house bricks for 2 days now and it still riles me when I think about it. They have just lost a faithful customer  and it was not good PR for I can broadcast it far and wide and it is not the type of publicity they need. What is it about vehicles and me  lately...

So  that is now off my chest ... and I feel a bit calmer to say the least.

I am still here....

I have been reading blogs every day but time has been at a premium over the last week or so ... topped off with a day or two indisposed with a tummy bug that has taken the stuffing out of me literally ... but all is good now. 
Which was good as today I spent the whole day being bombarded with information on
  "How  to Manage a Polling Station"   Yes!!  for my sins I have been chosen to be the Manager of our local Polling Station for 8 days ... now I am not sure how I am going to be doing with this getting up and out every morning .. and the brain is in panic mode with all this information which should not be changed in any way at all   ...  as we were told " if you think you can think of a better way to do it, think again as it's carved in stone"  you know the typical government red tape etc. etc.
So after 11 yrs in NZ,   I am doing my civil duty as they say.  Oh! by the way pays pretty good as well.

I have been reading some interesting blogs, it is amazing what you  find as you blog hop ...  each blogger has a list of the blogs they follow, and just a click brings you up something that sometimes is very surprising, amazing stitchers and patch workers but also some great gardening ones and it is so interesting to read how other people all over the world spend their free time.

One I think you may like to smile at is my Daughters over here  I just love the last few blogs especially the "Worst Parent Award" go and visit she would love to see you.

Birthday gift...

Today is my friend Sugi's birthday ... tomorrow at Friday Stitching we will celebrate with cake etc.
I have made this work pouch for her ... 

the front has a Pukeko bird ( NZ bird) and the inside has lines of pockets for your thread cards  a place for your needle and pins and a pocket for your work in progress.

 I have added a Brizillian Embroidery Kit .. Sugi enjoys this kind of stitching.

Seems a long time....

It seems like ages since I wrote a post and looking at the date of the last one it is.....

So why ... well  life has been busy ... not sure with what but busy it has been, I know because I have been falling into bed each night  quite exhausted. So let me look at my diary ...what did I do ??

So  this could be boring ....

On the Monday I had a lovely lunch with my Brother and Sister in law, the same evening I had Charter Night Dinner with my Inner Wheel Club  ... If I remember I thought to myself I don't need to eat another thing for at least a week.
Tuesday ..  car to Hyundai to be serviced ...and no I did not manage get the price down and yes !!! it was more than they quoted, this really pee's me off I can tell you... mind they did give me car to use all day as I was so busy and they could not give me a definite time to collect my car.

 Later same morning  was Museum for  an hour  in  my voluntary position as a guide.
 Afternoon was stitching with a group of lovely ladies .... The evening was Patchwork group ... I think if I remember bed was welcome that night.

Wednesday was Embroidery Guild which is all day and evening ... no worries here as I enjoy Wednesdays this has to be my first love on the hobby side.

Thursday was a "boob squeeze"  in the morning ... Ladies this is Breast Cancer month please remember to go ... I am a survivor of breast cancer of 26 yrs .... you can be one to ...  if they get it fast enough.

Later same morning Committee meeting for the Arthritis Exercise Pool group of which I am the secretary.
If I remember rightly I may have managed a bit of house work in the afternoon and some food shopping.

Friday Morning shopping with a friend and then  at 12 noon  for an hour .... we went to a small concert that is put on about  once a month ... supporting local talent.. this day was 2  classical singers lovely young ladies who are tutored by a  local  lady ... they  need to get  practice with an audience and a young pianist who is just 15 yrs old and amazing ... this takes place in a  city centre church and the ladies from the church put on a lunch so that workers can attend in their lunch hour.
 Afternoon saw us at the garden centre .... some geraniums  for the front door step  ( love scarlet ones) and two  rhododendrons for a new bit of the garden
Friday evening I stitched regularly  with a few friends we used to do a "late nighter" ... but we are all getting older now and the late nights do not work anymore on a regular basis.

The weekend Saturday and Sunday was spent at the caravan with the Hamilton Grandsons and their parents ....
Sunday evening I gave in to  not watching the Ruby world cup bit  ( 5 weeks and I have not watched a match )  So I sat through a boring match and watched France almost cream the All Blacks. I guess the boring bit is the fact that I do not like Ruby it is a licence to injure each other  in my thoughts.
 I know you are thinking ...how can you say such a thing in when you live in a country where the government  will allow changes in  the school holidays to fit in with  Ruby matches.  Uhmmm!! makes you wonder dosen"t it!!

Then we arrive at this week ... almost a repeat of the last except the committee meeting was  for Embroidery  Guild ..... I have managed to finish the by annual District Newsletter for Inner Wheel which I do as I am District Editor ...
 Oh! and I have also managed 3 swims .
I can only function with a diary by the telephone ... basically if it is not in the book it does not get done.
What is it they say ... if you have a job for someone  ask a busy person to do it ... I think I must be that busy person.
Oh !!  by the way it is Thursday and I have to finish designing posters for our Embroidery Exhibition .. and do the Minutes for the Arthritis meeting,
So if you are still with me here at the end of this post ...you deserve a drink... tea, coffee or what ever is your tipple go on spoil yourself.

Very industrious.....

Since living on my own I am getting  very good at cooking for one ... I managed to get down from 4 to 2 when Kids flew the nest .... and now I  am alone and I have to go from 2 to 1.
It is not easy ( as I am sure many will vouch for me on this )  but I have worked it out okay ( only taken 2 years) trouble is you see it's teaching old dogs new tricks that can be tricky.
I know of many people on their own who do not cook at all ...bar the odd  egg or two or beans on toast or tin of soup.

Every now and again I have a Cook In Day I make either  a beef casserole, a Chicken one , and may be a veg one and a chilli con carne.... each one of these I make for 4 portions.... I have collected take away plastic containers and I freeze them in single portions .... I then take one and defrost  then add cooked potatoes or a dumpling  or rice  what ever the dish calls for etc.....and there you have a hearty meal in minutes when you are tired and can't be bothered.....

Today I  have done the Beef casserole 3 portions for the freezer and one portion for dinner tonight of course and a fresh pizza sauce ready for the week ahead..

Beef Casserole just follow your favorite one but make sure it has plenty of gravy so you can add to each container.

I do a good line in pizza sauce which I keep in container in the fridge... this is very useful at lunch time or when hunger pangs strike .... and so much nicer than the bought stuff. A snack will take just 2 or 3 minutes to produce I also keep small  size pitta breads in the freezer I split them from the 8  packet into 4 x 2 breads in zip lock bags and freeze. They will defrost when they are toasted.

I also keep ready grated mozzarella cheese in freezer ....  you can't have a pizza with out the mozzarella ( I shake it up now and again when I go to the freezer to keep it loose)
 I can then just take out just as much as I need for a pizza.

Simplest Pizza Sauce in the world.....

Chop an onion  and fry ( but do not brown) also garlic if you wish but optional
Add a tin of chopped tomatoes
a teaspoon of sugar and any herbs you like ....  ( you need the sugar believe me it makes tomatoes taste perfect)
simmer until sauce thickens stirring on occasions 
once thickened add seasoning  ( remember it thickens on cooling also) ...

Cool put in a plastic container with tight fitting lid ..... in coolest part of the fridge it  will keep for a good week or more and come to no harm .... give it a stir each time you remove some..
Take a pitta bread and lightly toast it ... but not crisp ... large spoon of sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese and anything else you wish ...grill for a few minutes till cheese melts. Ummmmm!!
You can also use a thick crusty bread or french stick they both work as well.

 It beats the proverbial cheese or ham sandwich lunch.