Thumbs up for the Sunny day

There is nothing quite like waking up to a beautiful sunny day to make you feel good about life.  Then there is the teenage son that had to be "special" when I wanted a photo with him all dressed up in his Number Ones for Cricket today.  He said, don't put that on face book, I said ok.  This isn't face book is it??  He forgot to text when he was bowling so I missed seeing him get a wicket and he didn't get to bat as they whipped the other schools private bottom!!!  I dropped him off this morning and my plan was to kill time round some shops before I got the text to go to the game.  I visited only 4 places but had set myself a task to keep things to bargin prices only.  I did rather well I think.

All of this for the grand total of $3-50!!!  

Basket 50c

Egg cups 20c each

Toast rack $1

Letter holder $1

It was such fun trying to find the best priced things and things that "I" liked.

Today was a beautiful warm 25* and had a light breeze.  No wonder everything in my garden is growing super fast.  With all the rain and now the warmth, just about everything has burst into flower.  My Sweet Peas and Poppies are competing in the height stakes and are going to give a grand show when they reach the top of the climbing frame.  Variegated leaves, buds, and blooms were everywhere and willing me to grab my camera, all ready to pose of course.

 

 

Mother Nature has out done herself in my garden this year.  Just about everything is self sown, grown from seeds or cuttings, or I have bought it off this lady who grows everything herself.  No garden centre used here.  I am totally loving my Buddha hiding in my front garden, discretely keeping an eye on the comings and goings at our house.  Hopefully I haven't bored you senseless with the overdose of gifts from my garden!!  Fingers crossed that the Sun will return in the morning and hang about for a few more days.  Hope your week is going grand so far!!

♥ F L O W E R S ♥

make me happy

Detour was worthwhile!!

Heading into work this morning a took a slight detour so I could call in on the Hospice shop in the main street.  I like the back part of the shop, that is where the bargins are hiding.  My outdoor furniture came from there and many a good score has resulted from picking through all the stuff lurking out the back of this shop.

light off

 

Today I found a set of fab bedside lamps that just had to come home with me and only $8 each.  My plan was if TOF went OMG no way then I would flick them off but as luck would have it he is impressed.  So my old ones which are pretty cool can now go on trade me.  These are light weight wooden bases with shell like lamps.

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I also found the cute little Carlton ware leaf shaped dish fora mere $1!!!  If you are prepared to really look then you sometimes will find that bargin hiding amongst the over priced fodder on offer.

The ladies at the counter told me I always find the good stuff and I said it is just luck.

Carlton ware dish with my werthers in it

The round place mats and egg cosy were $1 for the set.  I have seen these before but left them.  The braid and ribbon flowers were $2 for the lot.  They will be great for zhooshing up a cardy.

Work was good today, rather busy for a Monday which made the day fly past.  Have another busy day planned for tomorrow with part of it being spent at Jaks cricket game.  I missed both games over the weekend so feel I should show some interest tomorrow.  Plus there are a few shops to check out near where he will be playing so it would be rude not to visit them. 

Arlo 3 and Kyden 6

My darling little great nephews came to visit on the weekend with my sister (their Granny).  They are such fun and they remind me of my boys when they were that age.  These two lads are getting a sibling next year because baby number three is on its way!!

♥ Goodnight ♥

I have an ironing board but not for ironing!!

What a busy little week last week turned into.  The last few days came and went in a blink of activities.  Trying to remember what I did really does sometimes proves difficult, it is an age thing apparently, but I do remember the important stuff, well the good stuff.  Like I remember going for a job interview on Friday and it was promising, but I'm not bothered either way.  I figure what will be will be so if I am meant to have a job it will happen.  This one hasn't got another office lady in sight, just a bunch of mechanics, so could be the place for me!!!

I also remember going to the supermarket "all by myself" to do a full shop for the first time in 20 years.  I am not a big fan of supermarkets but I survived the ordeal and may even do it again.  But I do prefer to go with TOF we joking call it "Date Night".

That same day I gave wee Oscar a poof and a pamper!!  See I do indeed have an ironing board and it is bloody perfect for grooming the small dog on.  I detest ironing, in fact Jak had a crack at ironing a shirt before he went out last night!!!  Good for him!!

The same day I supermarketed, groomed the pooch, I even "Washed" the car!!  Had to really as I had been out to Webberville through the week and her road is a dirty gravel and dust bath for the last bit, and enough to coat your car in grime.

Oscar is so tiny when he has been defluffed and bathed, and he smells pretty alright as well.

I spent time in my garden, putting in more beetroot that was ready to go from the pots to the garden and I also planted another small hedge.  I cannot wait to have secret gardens in the back yard.  It will take longer than I want but I am working on being patient.

The birds are digging having their bird bath in this spot.  Can't say I mind because you can watch them splashing about when sitting on the deck.  They are quite funny to watch as some get rather carried away with the whole ordeal of bathing!!  All my gardens have rocketed away and I have been picking lots of salad bits and enjoying my radishes.  Want to see???  Sure you do!!!

 

I also remember getting a Clematis Plant in the post from a lady over in Thames which is a coastal town.  That needed to be put in the ground and being the good builders daughter that I am, I also attached a climbing net to the garden fence so when it grows up it can be the climbing plant it is destined to be!!!

I am pretty sure this has blue flowers so it will look pretty fabulous when it does it's thing.  But for the moment it is just a baby in the ground.

Friday night I  helped a good friend of mine price up stuff for the garage sale she was having on Saturday.  She has just been forced to close her business a really nice shoe shop.  Readers digest version is she has been screwed over by the dude she got the Franchise off so had stock to sell.  She has always been good to me so I was only to happy to help and I enjoy sorting and pricing.  Left her place at 11:30pm that night and was back there the next morning at 6:30am to help her at her sale.  She did advertise it as a Shop closure and she was very reasonable.  Like all these gorgeous shoes were only $25 and $35 a pair when they had retail prices of over $100.  Gorgeous scarves were all $5.  But people still expected it for NOTHING!!  It will now all end up on Trade Me.  We did sell quite a bit tho' but of course there is still alot more to sell.  For helping her she sent me home with a bunch of stuff, no matter how much I protested she wouldn't let me go with out it.  So to her I say THANK YOU!!!  Nice to know I was appreciated!!

 Pretty generous thank you don't you think??

Gorgeous shoes, floral tights, cute bag, wicked scarves, and 3/4 fish nets.

There was the normal garage sale fodder for the punters, so we got rid of alot of stuff.  At the end we put the shop stuff back in the house and loaded her little Rav to the roof with stuff for the City Dump Shop.  Good stuff was heading there!!!

My memory must be returning because I also remember fitting in a few sneaky op shops on Friday before my job interview.  Driving down the main street in Frankton I saw a familiar person crossing the road so I hung out the window and yelled out "What are you doing here"???  Yep Sue W and she nearly shit herself!!!  So we wandered about killing the 1/2 hour I had to kill.  She had already been to a few shops and had found me a cushion which says "Born to shop, forced to work".  We laughed as I was about to venture off to find work!!!

I found the fish bottle opener for TOF and these cute little flower and leaf beads for me.  The coffee perc I got for TOF also and today he had a brew out of it.  Quite impressed too.  He went fishing yesterday out at Kawhia, which is West Coast and rugged.  But the good old boy came home with lots of lovely fresh fish so guess what we will be eating tonight for our dinner!!!  Confident I can throw together a healthy salad from the garden, have plenty of eggs fro m my girls, so it will be a Thanks to Mother Earth dinner tonight!!!

I have some seeds to put into seed raising mix and some Capsicums that need to be repotted so that is my afternoon sorted.  TOF is off to watch Jak at Cricket now that he has finished filleting the fish.  More washing is ready to go out so I must get that on the line before the weather gives in to the ominous looking grey sky.  I hope you have all had a nice time this weekend and that you don't have trouble remembering stuff like me.  Nah I am only joking, I think I have developed selective remembering, it comes from living with men.  My parting photos I found the other day and thought I would share with you all.  Me and my sisters and my mum and gran, just a few years back of course!!!

This was taken about 38 years ago when I would have been 12.  Grandma and grandpa has just come back from a holiday in Hawaii. We got loads of gifts, one being our velvet and cane jandals, we were so IN!!

Back row is Grandma, mum, me, Helen (14) then in the front is Diana (16) and our dog Sally.

Back in Grandmas garden a few years later.  This time, Diana (20), Helen (18) me in yellow (16) with Sally and mum (40).

♥ Remember stuff and laugh ♥

old photos will do that for you!!!

Sunny days, shoping, and swanning about in a Park

Like the tree hugging hippy that TOF said I was when he first met me, I got up close and personal with "that tree" in Memorial Park today.  Sue W was desperate to visit said tree so we slipped it into our busy schedule and she wasn't disappointed!!

The weather was PERFECT and it made me think of Lou Reeds song "Perfect Day".  I love that song.  So much so that I will give it a crack at loading a video near the end of this post.

Hamilton has plenty of beautiful Park, Gardens and River bank walks.  I love my City and my favourite Park is this one, Memorial Park.  I have always known it as Parana Park and been a frequent visitor my entire life.  There have been ANZAC Day services, Art Festivals, Bike rides and Picnics.  Such a nice place to just take in the wonderment of the aging but ever graceful trees.

We strolled through part of the park taking in the beautiful day through our cameras, looking possibly like a couple of tourists!!  Of course there was time to pose!!

Sorry in advance to those that object to my small photos but I like three in a row!!  For more pics from the park you can check Sue's ones here .  I walked a little further to take some more pics.

These stairs go from the Park up to the road where one of the many bridges cross the Waikato River.  Thankfully all that was under the bridge today was Pigeons but there was plenty of evidence of what goes on under there after the sun goes down.  Pity they didn't take their rubbish away with them.  When you get to the top of these you get a great view back down the road that runs along the edge of the park but my favourite view is the next one.

These lovely old gates which have been here for quite some time.  We are a young country but to me this is old and wonderful.  Driving down the main street today I pointed out St Peters Cathedral to Sue W, rather small in comparison to what she was used to back in the motherland, England!!!  But still a beautiful old church none the less.

Finally we felt the need to continue on with our shopping and a bit of lunch in yet another park in Hamilton East where a few drunks were hanging out.  Pleasant really!!??  One offered us the park bench he was sitting on - "Hey ladies you can have my seat".  Excellent!!!  My purchases were few today but fabulous.  Have slipped in a couple I got yesterday hence only a few today.

 Billy pot $3 and tapestry braid $1-50 all up.

 Glorious wooden painted bangle $3.

 It seems I have developed a basket fetish!!  $4.

Fine yarn and a small kete for my friend Louise, and another Happy Hen for my collection which was only $3 and had its original box!!

So while you listen to my favourite Lou Reed song you can have a good old laugh at my last photo, me trying to do my best effort at a Helga pose!!!

♥ Yahoo to Sunshine ♥