Part One
Kia ora 
I'm going to try and catch up on some of the posts, so this may be a bit long.
Cherry thank you for the compliment. My acquisition of trivia, comes from a life-long passion to learn and an inveterate nosiness. 
It can be annoying to some peopleas GN has discovered!
Yesterday, Karen told me her son’s middle name was Pontiac because her husband was driving one when son was born. He never tells people from shame. I wanted to say Pontiac was a great leader of his people, a rebel to the British in the 1700’s. I didn’t.
Nfk How wonderful that dear Keira loves the car and has settled with her two homes so well. It says a lot for your own loving nature. Dogs know.
I don't report back on my homecare ladies. They are lovely and efficient when well. I just sign their time sheets as having worked and send them home. If I told the agency, they'd lose a chunk from basic-level wages. You may recall they each have 5 children.
Yes, there are other jobs but none that allow them to work around schools and family responsibilities. That's the only advantage as I often hear tales of how they are abused by other clients.
The fault lies with Admin. Overstretched themselves, they use blackmail persuasion to get long hours from them, especially the tender-hearted Pasifika ladies who won’t say ‘No’.
A typical workday for Artoa & Mepa: Up at 5am, get breakfast for all; do a school run; start work 7am. Work until 3pm, school run to home. Back at work by 4pm until 7pm or later if client keeps them. Home to do laundry, shopping, cleaning etc., usually to midnight.
This is weekdays, Saturdays they work 7am-7pm+ and don’t even have time to eat lunch as Admin schedules them to have just enough time to drive to next client, some of whom are abusive if they are late. Sunday is morning church and afternoon catching up with domestic work but even then, they are harried to ‘fill in’ if another worker is sick.
Sometimes I used to work similar hours when I was younger but I had only 2 boys (who also did housework) and was much younger than Artoa & Mepa. They are heroines – and I get this service free. So I do what I can to help.
Doodle I hope your shoulder is less painful. Pain from draught doesn't take long to hurt either and slumped, exhausted in a hospital chair wouldn't have helped. The heatpad sounds wonderful. I made myself a long, thin wheat bag which goes around my neck where I have most trouble.
End of Part One.
Part Two
"Now here's one I made earlier...."
The brief was to make examples for corsages (including wrist version), buttonholes and table deco. From these, we would choose the best and set to as a group to make the 150 or so needed. It turned out that everyone loved everything!
The theme is Black and Gold but the gold tissue was very dull as you can see and the paper not like any tissue I’d ever worked before.
I ‘stole; some glittery gold table runners (to be laid on black table cloths) from the resource box to zoop them up a bit.
Somehow pink roses got in there (I didn’t do the shopping) so I used a few just as an example.
Time constraints meant many you see are half-finished. The ones on sticks, made from bun cases, were the first and I learned or invented as I went along.
I have to confess I descended into fairly bad language at times, angry at myself for not being able to see what I was doing; getting paper, ribbon and tissue stuck to my fingers every time I squeezed the UHU and forgetting, when the temperature climbed, that if I opened the sliding doors to the deck for air, it would rush in and scatter hundreds of bits of paper, glitter, leaves and flowers all over the living room.
But I enjoyed it.
Poor you Gramaretto it's so wretched having a head cold, especially when you've run out of whisky and honey
I hope you feel better soon.
I got a multi-pack of Berroca from Waipareira, never tried them before but they seem to be helping.
Would that work for you too Gram?
I attended the Waipareira AGM last night and heard they have an ambitious 25 year plan with a more-than-healthy bank account to cope with it.
Sixteen years ago they were working with only collective personal funds and an empty bank account to help vulnerable families in my area.
They have a vibrant team of accountants, financial wizards and and attitudes which has people at its heart so they will neither be done down nor outdone. Lovely, lively young people they are, many from Asian countries who not only adopted 100% this altruistic philosophy but most also learned to speak Maori - it is not compulsory.
Okay, I'll get me coat.........
Very few employees seem to leave; Waipareira is a good employer and totally accepting of all (even my white face I feel quite proud to be part of it all.
The greatest of news, Doodle. We will raise the flag when we get the bulletin tomorrow. Life will be so much easier for you both.
Your florals are beautiful, Kaimona. Anyone used silver tissue paper? I have just binned the remaining two sheets that I had, the smell was absolutely vile - a heady mixture of chemicals and staleness. I was embarrassed to be wrapping gifts with it.
How are you now, Cherry? And Grammaretto - how's the lurgy? We should be loading Jeeves up with a range of medications rather than tipples.
I have instructed him to put on board a bottle of Sloans Liniment for the shoulder, Doodle. (Remember that? My father swore by it to get him badminton match fit).
Best apply it before Mr.D comes home🤭.
Embrocation, Goose Grease, Thermogene - happy, smelly memories
What welcome, wonderful news, our dear Mr D is home at last.
I found a picture of your son, grandson, the two walkers giving him a lift home.
Have you tried easing your poor shoulder under a hot shower?
Berocca is a vitamin supplement sold as effervescent tablets. Many flavours, mine is mango and passionfruit and contains the B Vitamins.
They are sold in the UK but going by this website, seem to make Brits semi-hysterical, so watch that if you decide to take them.
www.berocca.co.uk
They do seem to be very effective though - and sugar free
I'm off for another delightful jab in the eye now but will rejoice all the way at this fantastic outcome for Mr & Mrs D.
Halleluia!
I'm told Amazon-Oz won't post to UK. 
Has anyone tested this?
If it's true and anyone wants a copy of my book, I'm happy to sign and post it direct.
If you don't want to divulge your address perhaps the UKPost office has 'Poste Restante'? Or you may have a P O Box number.
Drop me a line and I'll enquire about postage.
The books themselves are currently selling at between £8-10 so if that's high, wait until after Christmas and I'm sure they'll be marked down
I can sell at £8 +p. Packing comes free.
Through a series of mix ups (not mine this time) the eye was never jabbed, nor did I see the ophthalmologist, instead was haring down the corridor to catch the last shuttle at 2pm just as the nurse yelled at me, 'But he's waiting to see you now!'
By the skin of my teeth I caught my only chance to get home.
I know it's hard at Christmas when much is going on but please, Grammaretto look after yourself.
I was so happy to receive this picture from people I've never met and be told Trevor is the baby's favourite book. What a little treasure he is.
Doodle I would guess this is the way your body is now forcibly slowing you down after the prolonged time of stress and anxiety.
I used to explain to my little boys that our internal soldiers rush to where they are needed and if they are busy keeping us going (or warm, or alert) they don't always have time to fight off germs.
ixion Did we win?
Cherry if we did, that will have cheered you
Hope you are feeling better.
I wasn't too bothered about missing the injection (apart from the rudeness of running out on the doc - I've written to apologise.)
My nurse, Anila, as is usual, asked if I could read the top line (and further) of the Snellen chart. I couldn't even see the wretched chart with my right eye. 
Left did a little better but not much.
I have little hope of finishing It's Funny Being Old but should a publisher be interested, I'd try
But they aren't.
Christmas Lunch at the Sallies was, astonishingly, very poorly attended but the roast lamb followed by Strawberry Pavlova was delicious.
We were each offered new and interesting versions of the NT. I took one for a good friend who will be driving me to the Ball on 8th.
No Doodle not in a converted pumpkin
ixion try putting a ping-pong ball in the bird bath. It'll freak the birds out until they get used to it but it's said to prevent freezing.
Waiheke Island on Tuesday - I'm looking forward to the 2 hour ferry trip.
♪ ♫ "A life on the ocean wave" ♬
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