Not Locked Down but may need to be locked up

I loved that video! Thanks Kaimoana

Wonderful photos too.

I took Kiwi lass to my DGC school concert tonight. It was excellent. I was so proud of them. This is DGS final year at school and he is a phenomenal musician or so the man sitting beside me said!

We jumped sorry exaggeration, I staggered, she hopped onto a bus afterwards but then ran into a firework night disturbance so our next bus was delayed as fire engines and police cars came racing past. We eventually got home at nearly midnight.

Please stay Naughtyneine, we are all interested in eachother and all the goings on as well as being a support in hard times.

Jeeves makes us cups of warming sustenance when we need it.
So it's all good.
Night night! 🌙 😴

Firework "night" here was still going on at 2:35am.


The agency who sends my wonderful helpers held a Christmas party for them yesterday.
Trouble is, the people who organised it (and I use that word so loosely it wouldn't keep up my knickers) decided:

1. To hold it during the day when all the helpers were working.
2. To not text or email them - so they didn't know it was happening.
3. The certificates for 25 years loyal slog service were unable to be presented of course so the agency decided the support workers must take time off (losing money), travel a long way to the central office to collect them

Remember this is the dopey crew to whom a major bank has given an Efficiency Award for the past 4 years.

I know the English languages is changing but does "efficiency" now mean "brain dead"?

My own dear lass heard by word of mouth and turned up.

Hardly anyone was there (quelle surprise) and the office staff were tucking into the finger food like demons because the bread was going hard and the sausage rolls going cold.

Doodle a Skink is a tiny, very cute lizard, 2-4 inches long.

I've had a very good day. We went to the library and saw all my Waipareira whanau outside giving out chocolate biscuits and chicken salad rolls. Much laughter, hugs and joking.

I thought I was to be in a video this afternoon but in fact its next Wednesday, which gives me a little more time to practice my Pepeha. I am very nervous.

This formal declaration of who you are and where you fit in Maori society includes your mountain, river and Marae. It can be much longer but as I have no Maori heritage I use the short version.

Ko Pukematekeo toku maunga (Pukematekeo is my mountain)
Ko Whau toku awa (river)
Ko Ngati Pakeha toku iwi (my tribe)
Ko Hoani Waititi toku Marae (the Marae where I am tangata whenua, or one of the people of the land, which by honour and acceptance rather than birth, I am and where I was a bone carver and student).
Ko Lynda ahau.

Easy enough to say in private but when I know the vid will be viewed by a lot of people, many of whom are fluent Maori speakers, very daunting indeed.
But Maori is very much a no-blame society so I'll get a tick for trying, even if I fluff it.

Kia pai to ra koutou

Just a very quick message from me as I'm really not up to posting properly. 😤

Grammaretto and ixion I'm sorry to hear of your respective losses, good friends are hard to come by. 😟 💐

Naughtyneine, we're happy to have you here, please stay posting and sharing with us.

I hope you slept better last night Kaimoana. 🤞

Doodle, you are never far from my thoughts. I hope you've had a good day today.

Waving to Nfk, NotSpaghetti and Jan 👋

Thinking of you all.

Hello friends
I know I've been delinquent recently but apart from everything else going on in the world I am still having a bad reaction to some drugs. I'm trying to stick with it till next week when I'll see my GP.

Mr S. is nearly himself now and is able to drive as of tomorrow (if he can safely do an emergency stop).
He says that "as he is a doctor" he will sign himself off as fit... - unfortunately I won't allow that and I will wag my finger if i want to because he is not a medical doctor and his drama specialty is not appropriate to driving!

I have been up overnight with the US election. It all seems very sad to me. I won't talk about it here but having lived in America and having friends and family there I do feel quite emotional about it.
Today seems a bit hollow

The pond is on hold as my daughter is working and my shed is at a standstill. This is very frustrating as my builder knows it's not essential so has put other people's leaks and unstable walls ahead of me. I do understand and know he's a kind soul but ....

Yesterday I took my mother-in-law for a cardio check-up. My husband came too as she decided she wanted his support in with the consultant so now we have a better understanding of the issue (ahead, she may need a minor procedure). No action as yet so she has a reprieve for another 6 months. They are really excellent with her and are very helpful and kind

We has two birthdays this week, one the week before and one in a few days. - we spent a jolly few hours with one daughter's family making a cake etc and as we were leaving her 14 year old son said "thanks for coming over and having such interesting chats with us - I've had a really good time."
How lovely is that. 😍
We talked drama, politics, elections, environment, hedge "laws", ancient civilisations, myths and legends, TV series and socks!

I'm sure it wasn't very exciting really!
A happy day nevertheless

Just lost a long post... will be back later...

Kaimoana thank you so much for that video I loved it. Already forwarded it to our son and my friend. I must watch the others.
i think you’re cute might be my scary 🤣
Well what a fiasco that was for the carers. The organisation is dreadful.
Thats an interesting ceremony. Does it mean your accepted as being part of the Maori family? How lovely to be included
Grammaretto how proud you must be of your grandson. Nice you could take your kiwi helper with you. You must have been exhausted by the time you got home. I can barely manage 10pm before I’m nodding off
It was our granddaughters graduation ceremony today. Proud mum and dad went to see her. She wore the necklace DH and I gave her for her 21st and our son wore a special tie in honour of his dad so that DH was included in the ceremony. I thought that was lovely
Dear Cherry I hope you’re ok. We worry about you when you’re not doing so well. Hope things are ok. Much love and cwtches x
Notspaghetti my neighbour’s son has lived in America for years. He has sent her a message saying they are moving back to live with her.!!
Like you, if a project is started I want it finished. Hope the shed is completed soon.
Good you have confidence in your MILs consultant. That always helps
I would take the 14 year olds comments as a compliment that he really enjoyed spending time with you, how nice.
ive had a nice day. Church this morning then out with other grandma this afternoon. I have art tomorrow and haven’t prepared anything. I have knitting to finish and a jigsaw to do plus two books on grief that the counsellor suggested I read. Perhaps tomorrow, I’m sleepy now
Take care all x

Signing in here too, Cherry. Not a lot to report, but pleased Grammaretto and helper had a good concert. His final school being forever, or until, say, senior school? As you can tell, I've no idea of relative ages. Apologies!
How many will you be hosting for Christmas?

Your Agency's planning is beyond belief, Kaimoana. In fact it borders on the insulting if that's how much they value their staff. Hope they get paid a decent wage ... What is the video for? Exciting times. Please ask for it to go on YouTube.
--Like everything else these days. Who needs instruction manuals?😉--

NN, silly. I am one of the newbies here (Lockdown joiner) and have always been made really welcome. Like comfy slippers, plus no sex or violence so nothing to upset the horses. Loss and joy, happiness and sadness, excitement and the mundane: all human life is there - and shared.

Cherry, sorry you're not up to much tonight. Look forward to hearing better tomorrow.

Doodle, Wednesdays are your Church day with friends? Look forward to hearing your news and hoping it was a supportive time.

Thinking of everyone. Just how big and gorgeous is Spud now?😱

Crossed posts again.
In my defence, there was no evening news when I started my draft post after Cherry.
Shows both how slowly I type and how easily distracted I am along the line.
Must try a morning slot some time!

That must have been a special graduation ceremony Doodle. Congratulations to your DGD and to all the family.

My DGS is 17 ixion and this is his last year at school. He's a tall young man with boundless energy. He thanked me for coming to the concert.
I love to be invited. Like you,
NotSpag with your interesting family chats.

I felt sad all day. Was it the American election?, my df death? or that the woman who began our yarn group is moving away and is herself very stressed and wonders how it will work out.
Maybe I was just tired after a busy few weeks.

I found a pumpkin in the garden this morning. I didn't grow it. I have no idea why it was there. Did the elves leave it at Halloween?

I brought it inside and Kiwi girl has made enough pumpkin soup to last a lifetime for ages. There's still some left to make a pie.

Grammaretto - all of them are sad so no wonder you are.

Some people got manna from heaven - you got a pumpkin.
I love punkin soup (as my wee boy used to call it) - what's your Kiwi girl's recipe?

Yes Doodle I'm a sort of honorary Maori .

Glad you had such a good day and how lovely that your grandhildren honoured their Grandad in that way.

You don't have Facebook do you? So you won't be able to see the Waipareira video but it's not going to be exciting, they just want to know how and why I have spent 30+ years in the Maori world.
It's an extremely unusual thing to do, even today; unheard of in the 1980's.

Oh Cherry what a shame you are feeling so down. We send our love and good wishes to you dear friend.

ixion the homecare ladies get minimum wage, however, they can be on a contract which allows them to work only school hours and not many employers do that.
But they shouldn't be treated as if they don't matter.
That's why I try to be appreciative whenever I can.

I was part of a promotional video for them a while ago and because it wasn't about the dozy Admin, I was able to tell the truth.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBLOb57BZpg

There are several things I cannot eat, all of which were on my plate today so a distressing waste of food.
I guess the Sallies cooks can't offer different diets, it's take it or leave it. So I left it.

I'm supposed to be sugar/gluten free too but I ate the sponge and custard with very cold blueberries - yummy.

Gubbins had her birthday party at 6am today!

well hello again
Apologies for not returning last night… my husband was listening to a podcast and, having taken my phone to bed to complete/rewrite my post I just fell asleep!
🙄
Now I can't remember what I was going to tell you.

Wishing everyone a good day today.
Or at least one that turns out to be uncomplicated!

Hosting for Christmas? Not me Ixion. I gave that up years ago when we moved into a flat and our grandchildren grew to be much bigger than me. Since then we have been going to our sons on Christmas Day and Boxing Day except last year when DH was so ill we stayed at home and then he was admitted to hospital.
This year I will spend one day with each of our sons. They are being very gentle with me but I know they are both really missing their dad
Er no sex or violence are you sure you’re talking about the right thread Ixion? What about the hot gardener and the frozen leg of lamb? 🤣
Yes church day was lovely as was today. Art this morning then friends for coffee this afternoon. A jolly time
Grammaretto, it’s probably change. I find that anything moving on or changing now is stressful. That’s a shame about the lady who started the yarn group. Will it continue without her? I do hope so.
Ooh a mysterious pumpkin. I thought perhaps you might rub it and get a wish granted but as it’s now soup I suppose that’s unlikely (or was pumpkin soup what you wished for 🤔)
Actually Kaimoana I have gone on Facebook now. I did it so I could watch some craft videos so I may be able to watch yours too. Most places here offer gluten free food these days I’m surprised the Sallies can’t organise that
Gubbins was obviously wide awake and ready for some birthday presents. Happy birthday Gubbins 🎂🎂🥳🥳
Notspaghetti how nice to just drift off to sleep. Hope you had a good day too
Cherry sending hugs
Mamissio where’s our Spud pictures?

Kaimoana what a wonderful video. How nice to hear you talking. What a lovely voice you have . You looked so nice in your colourful jacket too. Thank you so much for sharing that was lovely to watch xx

I loved that video too Kaimoana. You sound so kind and thoughtful but knitting when you can't see is beyond belief!

I'm hosting Christmas Doodle . I haven't since DH died but as this will likely be my last in this big house, I have asked the family to come to me. Some will.

This weekend I'm driving up north to join a wood firing. This is a potters' get together. The fire has to be kept going all night. Bagsie I don't have to do the 2am shift.

Night night everyone 😴

Ooh, Grammaretto that wood-firing party sound great.

I'd want to stay up all night (as I have so often) feeding the fire and inhaling the lovely aroma of woodsmoke.

Last night I actually did. In the early hours, someone lit a fire and the smoke came into my bedroom.
Lovely I thought, breathing it in - until I realised it was actually from a neighbours wacky baccy

My next post is about my recent quest for an unholey grailbra.
I'll make it a separate post so y'all can just skip it if you want.
It is, cross my heart and hope for pie, all true.

An Uplifting Story

After many years of wearing, washing, sewing and patching my 3 ancient bras, I decided to look for new in my size and price range.

Huh!

I knew it was futile, it always is but I harboured hope in my droopy bosom.

I didn’t want anything fancy; nothing pink and lacey, racy or with peep holes and definitely no tassels.
Nor one with a suspension which could hold up the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
A simple, plain white, soft sports-type would be ideal.

I have a very broad back, a feature my DS2 inherited.
It looks great on him, a 6f 7inch weightlifter.

On me it gives the impression of a short, fat vertical aircraft carrier.

Bra manufacturers have yet to come to the lingerie party.
To them, extra width must mean cups the size of buckets.
But that was not on my bucket list.

Website after website showed nothing suitable.
I felt let down and unsupported.

I sent out an APB (All Points Bulletin) and, hallelujah, found 2 available and ordered both.

I got one and a refund, so possibly I now own the last bra in New Zealand to almost fit me.

Naturally, (thank you Murphy) it was pink, lacy and with a push-up so fierce I felt as if I were peering over Filey Brig (which, incidentally, I climbed when I was 7 months pregnant).

To ease the pain and possibility of multiple stab wounds, I removed a couple of sharp scimitars which then meant the bra had peep holes as well.
It was my downfall (or part of me at least).

The cups, of course, were so large I may have to sew darts in each one to stop my bosoms lurching around like a couple of rabbits in a duffle bag.

At 77 and 10 12ths, my days of swinging tassels are definitely over.

At least in public.

What a lovely "piece to camera" Kaimoana2 - how moving to hear you speak of your support "team" so warmly. I'm sure they were delighted and heartened to hear your generous words. Sometimes the organisation can be very flawed but the service, given by real people, can be extremely good.*

Thank you for sharing

It's always a delight, Kaimoana, to wake up to your welcome overnight (to us!) posts and your bra saga this morning was no exception!
At least you've one to be going on with! Have you looked at Boody bras? They are an Australian company, their bras (et al.) are softy bamboo, like a sports bra so no defined cups as such, and, I see, go up to 4XL, which may give you the back width you seek. Highly personally recommended!
www.boody.co.uk/collections/womens-bras

Ooh look, DD remarked when small, (I don't recall the context) it's got things to put your chests in.

Any prospective homes to have a look at, Grammaretto? I should imagine it's not a great time for the housing market, buying or selling. Hopefully in the New Year, everything will drop into place for you. I hope you enjoy your trip north for the wood firing. Is a corporate approach the usual one for this method? Makes sense! I hope you bag a civilised watch.

I wonder whether Mr.I and Mr.NS have had similar surgeries. Same post op protocols and suggestion of a mock emergency stop before getting behind the wheel again. I think we are running a handful of days behind you in the recovery schedule!

Hope Cherry is OK, match day tomorrow if you're fit, Doodle. Get those Pringles finished tonight😉.

We are awash with fat balls for our feathered friends🤦‍♀️.
Mr. I is the St.Francis of Assisi here. In a move more prompted by lack of reading glasses at the time, rather than hopefully any cognitive blip, he ordered not 25 suet balls but 125.
Got me wondering whether they might usefully double up as dumplings in tonight's chicken casserole ...

Grammaretto you sound pretty sure you will be moving within the year. Have you made any decisions yet?
That firing group sounds fun. Do you sit around together with hot drinks or is there only one person on guard duty at a time?
Kaimoana I loved your uplifting story. You have a wonderful way of writing that’s a joy to read.😊
Ixion I misread your post and thought you were recommending Booby bras! Love that comment from your Dd 🤣
Yes match fit (if you don’t count the large glass of red and the chocolate sundae with chocolate sauce and a flake that I had for lunch) 😮
125 fat balls ! Brilliant I’ll being my catapult and that’ll put the opposition off their stride
Had a nice day today, coffee with friend this morning. Lunch with another friend this afternoon and then a knit and natter.
Have a good weekend all

Doodle

Evening all. Mixed day for me. Quite low this morning but went out for coffee with friends this afternoon which was nice.
Going to church in the morning then going over to DS 1 whose going to help me sort out some photos,
I slept well last night but for some reason I’m struggling to stay awake now, early night for me I think.
Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Pleased you had a reasonable day, Doodle. Is your whizzy light helping as the evenings grow longer, do you think?

I am, I think, brewing a cold as I can't get warm and am shivery and irritable no change there, then. Mind you, hanging around on the terraces for a lacklustre ⚽️ performance this afternoon didn't help.

Please could you send Jeeves my way? I don't think he's visited here before. Anything would be welcome - except NightNurse, which I had an instant very weird reaction to.

Thank you and good night! I'm off. Warmest wishes to everyone.

Ixion, I hope it's just a quick cold if it is one. You have quite enough to contend with.
Get well soon.

Doodle, there has apparently be almost no sun for weeks - it's the longest period of no sun for years (I heard on the radio). They gave a name for this endless grey weather but of course I can't remember it... One village has had less than 15 mins in a week! A bit of sun tends to help lift the spirits I think. Today is grey but tomorrow will be sunny here according to the Met office. I hope you have a bit of sunshine in your area too

Kaimoana2 your bra hunt sounds really annoying. Have you tried "bra extenders"? They hook onto the hooks at the back so you can get a bra thar nearly fits (and at least fits in the cup (without sewing!!), and then extend the back? Here's a photo.
They come in different colours and usually 2 or 3 hooks.