It's been a weird few weeks...

My last few weeks have been a bit eventful and a bit weird, well kinda.  Started with me getting new carpet in the lounge, just before Labour Wknd, and Pa was here so I didn't need to take the day off work, thanks Pa.  Then we hung out on the Friday cos it was HB Anniversary, can't remember what we did but am sure we did something lol, pretty sure we went out for dinner nom nom.  Then on the Sunday I headed off to Mangakino for a few days, just to chill.  I had the week after Labour Wknd off plus a couple days of the following week, cos why not.

Mangakino was fun.  Didn't really do much, but that's what I like about visiting there.  Caught up with Bro in Taupo on my way through, then we both headed to olds.  Went for a walk along the lake with Pa one of the days, then another went running in Tokoroa while Mum met up with a friend, who I then met.  Then Mum and I went shopping.  

Then I came home for a day before heading to Chch for a long wknd with Bridie.  We may have both under packed for that lol, I put my beanie back and she put her gloves back before we left.  Both agreed that was dumb when we got there as it was cccccooooollllllddddd.  Felt a bit warmer after we went and bought beanies from a souvenir shop lol.  Overall it was a good long wknd, we did lots of chatting (shocking I know lol), some exploring, lots of eating, watching stuff, some shopping, some reading, played on scooters and I went for a run while she watched the All Blacks game.  Slight disruption on our last day when I got a msg that my flight had been cancelled and I was now flying home via Auckland the next day.  Not at all what I had planned but I went with it like I had to.  Air NZ put me up in the lovely Novotel at the airport and gave me a food allowance, which seemed nice and high till you realised how much the hotel restaurant charged and this is where you had to eat to get it charged to room and therefore for Air NZ to pay.  Oh well, I made it work and spent $2 less than my allowance which is all I cared about, I didn't want to pay anything hehe.

Then after coming home and working for two days, I had a wknd which was lovely.  Took myself out for brunch then to the beach to read on one of the days, the other I have no idea what I did lol.  Then work again for 2 days, one of which I didn't feel so great, then was even more meh on Wednesday morning so took at a rat test and have been isolating with Covid since.  Day 5 today and still feel kinda meh, wouldn't be well enough to work even if it was a work day, so tomorrow shall be off work again and go from there I think.

So yeah that's my kinda weird few weeks, started off really well but then took a bit of a nose dive.  Am still doing Marathon in a Month but might not make (probably wont if I'm being honest) the full distance I challenged myself to do.  I think I will make a marathon but not the half again on top of that.  Still happy for donations if anyone is still thinking of donating.

And to finish off here are some pics from Christchurch :)

And a random extra from the fancy dress party I went to recently, am rocking the70s chick look in terrible lighting lol

Marathon in a Month 2023

November is Marathon in a Month time again.  Marathon in a Month is a fundraiser for Cancer Society NZ, where people sign up to walk/run/swim/bike a marathon (or other selected distance) over the duration of a month.  If you choose to do a marathon this works out to be 1.4km a day.  

This year I have roped mum in to take part, she is going to walk a marathon over November and I am going to run 1.5 marathons over the month.  

If you would like sponsor us this would be amazing, but we are also after people supporting us with words of encouragement throughout the month so don't feel like you need to donate money to be supporting us, sending us msgs to keep us motivated will also be needed.

To check our progress, and donate if you would like to, here are the links to our pages:
Me - https://marathoninamonth.org.nz/jilly-miller
Mum - https://marathoninamonth.org.nz/christine-miller
Team page - https://marathoninamonth.org.nz/maycontainnuts

If anyone would like to also sign up and join our team then let me know, the more the merrier I say :)

Ps: you may start noticing that I am changing the spelling of Jillie, I have decided that I am going back to how I like it spelt not how my friends chose to have it spelt.  I don't mind which spelling you use though, and please also keep calling me JB if you are someone who does as that name is still my fav, its just not really used any more... dunno why but am happy for us to bring it back hehe.

It's crazy the difference a year can make

Just thought I would do a positive gluten free update, cos I think my last few have all been kinda on the not so fun side of being gluten free.  Small side note on that, did you know paper straws and laundry detergent can contain gluten?? I know, me neither.  This world is just ridiculous at times.

Anyhow, onto the good stuff.  I have decided it is time I do up my lounge, paint it specifically, so I borrowed a couple of sanders off dad to save me doing all the sanding by hand.  And this time last year I am pretty sure I wouldn't have even been able to hold onto one of them with it going, let alone sand the whole lounge in one go, then follow that with washing my hair cos someone forgot to wear a hat so her hair was covered in dust (whoops lol).  I then did some knitting in the evening cos why not :) Then today I spent most the arvo (well just over 3 hours of it) painting the undercoat layer.  This also would not have been possible this time last year, no way could my hands have held a paintbrush for that long.

So while my super strict gluten free diet might suck, and quite badly at times, it is so absolutely worth it.  Just thought I would share that with you all :)

Anyhoo how are you?  I hope you are well and happy.  I am pretty good, feel like I'm not really up to anything at the moment but I am just sorta doing me things.  Me things like crafting, reading, hanging with friends, going for run when have the time and I feel like it.  Decided against one this wknd but that was cos I wanted to get lounge to the stage that next wknd I can just paint it and not worry about any of the pre-proper-painting stuff.  Am very happy with progress though I did miss getting a run in.  And ok if I hadn't caught up with Penny and Bex ystdy morning, Jenny this morning and Maggie and Paul this afternoon then I prob woulda been able to fit one in.  But me give up catching up with friends, haha yeah that aint so likely to happen lol.

I have survived

Survived what you ask, well another full trip around the sun of course :)

That's right, I aged again last week.  And if I may say so myself I am getting the hang of this aging thing I think, definitely getting better at it.  This year it was a 4 day event.  On Wednesday Bro and I took the day off work and hung out.  We ran some errands, played some Switch and some N64, drunk some cocktails and ate fish and chips (not in that order).  Thursday I went down to Feilding to get another tattoo, this one is a biplane and is very awesome (in my opinion).  Friday Jenny took the day off work and we went out for brunch then treated ourselves to massages, then Jenny and a few friends came round for cocktails and pizza (nom nom slurp slurp).  Saturday Mum and Dad came over and Mum and I went to a Celiac NZ event in Havelock North which was actually pretty good (and I got a bag filled with groceries just for attending, mega score).  For dinner all of us headed round to Jenny's for dinner and she put on a scrummy dinner for us.  And no I am not mean taking my visitors to Jenny's instead of cooking for them, Jenny actually likes cooking just not for only one person, so she likes having more than herself to cook for.  Plus she likes my family (I know, she is weird... lol).

So anyway that sums up my bday for 2023.  And I hope you all had lovely days on my bday as well <3

Just when you think you have it figured out life throws you a spanner...

Wow, it's been ages since I've posted anything.  Sorry about that, time just got away on me (like it does sometimes).  This is another gluten free themed post, I know I am getting so good at these.... lol.

Got some gluten free soy sauce in a recent grocery shop, and decided to have some with dinner last night.  Which I would say went rather well, until I was partway through my run at the gym and realised something was not sitting quite right... got home in time (thankfully), turns out the gluten free claim on the bottle was not something my body agreed with.  Spent a fair chunk of the night awake with a crock gut, thankfully didn't vomit too many times as it wasn't that much gluten that I consumed, but there were plenty of moments when I wasn't sure that I wasn't going to.  Needless to say I had today off work, have been mostly napping and finding energy to get up and get something to drink/eat.  Not sure I will ever get used to how drained eating gluten makes me, the effort it took to just get up this morning was incredible.  And to think before I was diagnosed that was my standard day, no idea how I coped back then but I guess you do what you have to so I just did.

I did some investigating (thanks Celiac NZ website) as I was curious as to how something labelled gluten free wasn't totally gf and it turns out that products made in NZ and Aus have to meet strict criteria to be able to put the words gluten free on their labels here.  However foods imported from other countries have no checks and it's basically a trust thing, I get to trust that they are actually telling the truth and it is gluten free.  Seems like a big trust to me... And I'm not sure I am down for it at the moment, to be honest.  So for the next wee while atlst I think I am going to be a NZ and Aus product only celiac (with a couple exceptions of tried and true brands of course). 

To end on a happier note I have just finished being stage hand for the show Company done at Theatre Hawkes Bay.  It was a fantastic show, great cast and boy did they have good voices (it is a musical).  And unlike some shows I have been involved in, the cast chatted with us backstage helpers which made each night real fun.  Some shows the cast feel they are above us and we don't get spoken to at all unless it's something they aren't happy with.  This one thought we were included, of course we had our own jokes and whatnot, like backstage crew do hehe.  My next show is Jungle Book which is being done through Aubyn Live in September, it should also be a good show.  As much as I say I don't like kids, it turns out kids in a theatre are tolerable so I'm looking forward to it lol.

Take care all, eat some gluten yumminess for me please (pink iced buns, the long ones, with butter on them is what I'm craving at the moment (moment being the last few months lol)).

Another weirdness in my gluten free life

I have been reacting to the plasters that I wear in the last few months, and while it is annoying I didn't really think too much of it.  Then last night I decided to Google if they were gluten free, for a bit of a laugh cos come on why wouldn't they be.  Well it turns out that the brand I like is not gluten free!! I mean what on earth... How is that even possible??!!  But according to Google the companies response to is it gluten free is 'not gluten-free', and according to the celiac forums I am not the only one reacting to this brand.  The good news is that most others seem ok with other brands, just not Band-Aid brand, so I should be all good to just find another brand I like.  A few can only handle medical tape, though am guessing they are reacting to something else as well, not just gluten.

But yeah, just when you think life can't get any more complicated or weird something like this comes along and shows you that oh yes it can.

On the bright note I am finally back to my old average pace for 5km, being 6 minute kilometres.  So I am happy with that and it gives me to confidence to push for further :) just no falling over till I find me some new plasters lol.

Some creative goodness for your Sunday

I have been doing a bit of creative stuff lately, its the WI arts festival on Friday which is the main driver for most the stuff I've been making but I am also doing it cos I want to and its fun.  Thought I would share some of the things I am most proud of with you all :)

1: This is a dress that I finished off today, am very pleased with how it fits and looks on.  Cannot wait to wear it, so bring back some warm weather please lol.

2: This cloak/coat I made from two old woollen blankets.  It is the first time I have ever made bound buttonholes and while a couple of them leave room for improvement I am still very happy with my effort. And also can't wait to wear it though its very warm so need some cold weather for this one, that can wait tho I think, just for a little while...

3: It took me almost exactly 6 months to knit myself this jumper, then about another 6 weeks to get round to sewing it together lol.  I am not a fan of sewing up knitting or crocheting.

4: This is a vest I made for Henry, he's 1.  So I know he'll like it cos he's too young to know any different (atlst in my mind he is hehe).

5: And this jumper was made using leftover fabric from two jumpers I made myself last winter and is for the only small human I kinda like.  She has seen a photo and loves it which is cool.  She also can't believe her Aunty Jilly made it which is cooler lol.

It really is the little things sometimes

I took Freddie to the mechanics today for her WoF and Service and I was reminded why I like my mechanics so much.  When I picked her up they commented that they hadn't met her before (yes they used the word met) and I really liked that they noticed she was new to them and that they therefore hadn't been introduced.  They said she was lovely, which I know but it's nice she was lovely for them as well <3 

They also checked she was my car and that I was to get sent the bill, as if I had brought her in for someone else they could be sent it.  Did not expect them to offer that and while it was tempting to give them someones email addy (like dads hehe) I wouldn't actually do that lol :)

So yeah, my mechanics are lovely, all of them there at that garage, in my opinion.  And the reason I started going there was that the other one I went to gave me a quote for work once (early on in me being over here) and it seemed a bit much to me so I rang Uncle Bob and he confirmed it was likely a 'female' rate and to look elsewhere, so I went to Dave Jones just to see what he would quote (he supports Radio Kidnappers so I figured he had to be a good guy) and he told me I had been given a 'female' price and that it would cost much less.  Costed even less than he said in the end as it turned out I didn't even need all the work done that the first place had said I would, bad first place!!  And since then Dave Jones Motors has been my go-to and I have been happy as (mechanic-wise) since then :) and my Cleo and Freddie have never complained either, I personally think they like the eye candy there lol

My hair is everywhere...

It's not even what I would call long yet but my hair is already getting everywhere, it's insane how much of it is apparently not on my head lol.  I had totally forgotten (as you do) what my hair is like when it is longer so it's been a bit of a surprise that it is getting into everything.  Even the brownies I made couple weeks back managed to get some hair in them, as have some dinners.... doesn't mean I am going to be cutting it again, cos I am growing it, but I may moan about it sometimes lol.

Anyhow this is a gluten free update for you all, cos I figure the world always needs good news and it is now at the definitely good news stage :) I know yay right.  I have been on the strict as gf diet for a couple months or more now, and while it is still tiresome and tedious at times it is proving to be worth it as I have been able to start running again (am up to 5km which I think is still not very far but I try to keep reminding myself its still a good effort lol) and I definitely have more energy at the end of a work day than I used to.  Total plus that :) Have even found that in wknds I am getting way more done than I used to be able to, and the amount of time to recover from doing something is less than it used to be.  Also a total perk, and def a reason to stick with the boring strict gf diet.

I think even my hands are improving, not in everything but I can def knit for longer than I could before and can sew for a decent period not pin then break then sew then break then overlock then break then pin etc.  Now can do pin sew overlock pin sew overlock repeat.  Not endlessly, still need breaks but the improvement is there.  Sadly driving is still not great, but I also don't have a steering wheel cover and used to need one of them before all the other stuff got bad.  Freddie is one of those cars, the ones with the weird sized steering wheels that you can't easily find a cover for, I do still love her though, so have ordered her a cover from overseas and hopefully this will help when it arrives (fingers crossed).

Baking Brownies

I realised that over a year ago I said I was going to make and review WI (Women's Institute) recipes from the Home & Country magazine and while I have been making some I haven't been putting them up here... whoops.  Pretty sure none of you missed them though so that's all good lol.  In the wknd I made the Brownie that is in the latest Home & Garden though so thought I would review it for you all, then that will make 2 recipes, which is almost a thing lol.

The Brownie was super easy to make, like even easier than I was expecting easy.  Pretty much a mix all together, dump in a tin and bake, then enjoy eating lol.  The recipe was for a non-gf version but I just swapped out the flour etc to gf and it was all good.  Would say it was a bit crumbly but that is normal for gf baking so wasn't really worried.  And it just means that you get it eat it with a cake fork which is awesome hehe.  And it tastes real good, well so long as you like brownie it does nom nom.

My negatives with the recipe is that it uses 4 eggs which is all I had and so I am now out of eggs :( mostly cos I don't like going to stupidmarkets (they just take more money than I want to give them) so aint got any more yet lol.  It also makes quite a lot of brownie, so have frozen half, with fingers crossed it freezes well though I can't see why it wouldn't.  Spose neither of those are really negatives are they... lol.

The Recipe...

Brownie:
200g melted butter

4 beaten eggs
2 cups sugar (I used brown sugar)

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

8 Tbsp cocoa

1 packet chocolate melts

Combine wet and dry ingredients.  Press into lined 20x30cm tin.  Bake at 180C for 35 mins.  Leave to cool and sprinkle with icing sugar.

Note:  I didn't do the icing sugar part, as you will notice in the photos lol

Actually pretty tidy baking for me lol, and about to go into the oven

nom nom enjoying it time xxx

Vinyl and a biplane

Finally got some vinyl for my kitchen and bathroom/laundry areas.  Was thinking for ages that it is just a stupid cost and not worth it, then something happened late-ish last year and I decided to go for it, can't member what it was now and it doesn't really matter.  I did have to wait about 3 and a bit months from accepting the quote to getting it laid which gave me time to think oh do I really need it, can I be bothered getting it.  But the part of me that doesn't like talking on the phone decided it was easier to go ahead with it than to call and try and cancel and gotta say its a good thing that part of me won out.  Didn't realise till it was there how awesome it would look and how much it would feel like such an improvement from carpet offcuts on concrete.  It's also rather surprising how quickly I have gotten used to it and now it feels like it was just always there lol.  As I am sure you will agree it looks pretty awesome :)

Now I know some of you think I am a tad spoiled... soooooo this next part might not help with that but just so you know in advance I am more than happy to be spoiled if it gets me things like this :D

A while back, not sure how long ago now, I asked Doffy (aka dad) if he would be able to make a biplane for Glenny, with room for Fishy to be the gunner at the back.  There were of course other requirements, as I am me and it wouldn't be a me request if it was totally simple lol.  And Dof has done an amazing job, and not only my bear loves it but so do I.  

In the pics Big Ted is the gunner, but right now he is on the couch with me and Little Ted is winging it as the gunner (he can't actually see over the walls so he is shooting blindly lol) and Smudge is wing-walking/'helping' Glenny pilot.

Bro is going to paint it for me at some stage, would say its cos he also loves me but is probably more cos I haven't really given him much of a choice lol.  Hey what can I say, I'm a little sister, its what we do hehe :)

note: sorry bout the bad lighting in the photos, I took them the night we put it together and haven't got round to taking any more, mostly cos have been either playing with it or chatting to Glenny instead lol.  The last photo is for size reference, obviously being for my bear it aint a tiny plane...

Last week....

As many of you are aware last week was a bit surreal over here in Hawke's Bay.  We had a cyclone come through (Cyclone Gabrielle if you are keeping track) and it definitely left its mark.  While I was one of the lucky ones who still has a place to call home with nothing in it water damaged there are many out there who are not so lucky.  I also lucked out with the power situation and only lost mine for 6 hours or so.  We did ponder if this was cos I live so close to the hospital but turns out I am not quite that close as I know some people who only lost theirs for 1.5 hours, which is how long the hospital lost theirs for.

Now even though I am lucky, and I might have been playing it cool when people asked how I was, I just thought I would let you all know a few things (don't worry I am still all good).  For starters, Monday night was no fun, AT ALL!!  That wind and rain, just wow!!  I never want to experience anything like that again.  Each time I got up to check stuff I was honestly expecting that my feet were going to touch down on wet carpet.  And the experience of having your concrete house shaking and rattling is not a fun one.  Concrete is meant to be sturdy and not shaky.  Am very surprised the tiles on my roof are still all there (technically actually haven't checked cos not sure I wanna know if they aren't, but there were none on the ground and there are no leaks so I'm assuming they all there still lol).  There was a moment when I thought it couldn't get any worse, then the next gust of wind made me think it was giving up moving just my place and wanted to take the two units somewhere new.  Even if I had been allowed to work Tuesday I'm not sure I would have been any good as was shattered from the lack of sleep.  

I know I am lucky cos I could (and did) go to work from Wednesday.  But there were still the mental side of things to deal with, such as how your friends are.  I knew most my friends were ok, but there were some I weren't sure about as I hadn't heard from them. And I knew it was probably cos they had no reception but it still stresses you out a bit, the not knowing, esp as each day passes.  Finally heard from the last one I was waiting to hear from on Friday evening and it lifted a weight I hadn't realised had been there.  It is also rather surreal and weird going to work like everything is fine when you know that just over there its not, and that quite a few of your friends don't have power, and then work is a bit of a ghost town and there are people on your floor sleeping at work as they can't get home and are pulling crazy shifts to help out cos doctors can't get over, and you know, just stuff like that.

Now for those of you wondering, my lemon tree is fine.  That sucker will survive anything I have decided.  It lost two lemons, that's it.  No branches down, no leaves missing, just two lemons on the ground, and they were two older lemons that were probably just ready to go anyhow.  Typical.

The only item of mine I know of that got damaged is a book I had loaned to David.  It was on his nightstand right underneath the hole in his ceiling that formed when a tree branch fell through his roof/ceiling bringing loads of water and tree debris with it.  So the book is now a bit waterlogged but I figure that just means it has a story to tell hehe.  And no it is not in my place which is why the statement up the top about nothing in my house being water damaged is true :)

But just to reiterate I am fine, I am annoyed mum and dad are temporarily (it better be temporarily) further away now than when they lived in Inglewood but thats a very minor problem.  
Glenny would like me to add that he is fine as well, and that he wasn't scared Monday night, he was just clingy to me cos he was worried I was scared.... (believe him if you like, but I know the truth hehe).

A gluten free update you didn't know you needed

Late last year I went to see a celiac specialist, figured why not since no one else seems to have any idea why things are so wonky with me health wise, what's one more persons lack of ideas to add to the list, or wishful thinking maybe someone does have an idea, and how awesome would that be if that happened. 

Well she had an idea yet it was one I didn't really like the sound of... and that was to go back onto a strict gluten free diet.  Now I am sure some of you are sitting there thinking but you are good at being gluten free.  Haha yeah not so much sadly.  I am good at it for someone who is intolerant but not for someone with celiacs, as I learnt from Ana (the specialist).  Zero cross contamination is allowed so that means no eating out anywhere that doesn't have a seperate prep area and seperate cooking implements (pots, pans, bowls, stirring stuff, chopping boards etc) for my stuff.  And that includes friends and families places.  So big thanks to those family and friends that I told about this and went and got me my own set of stuff so they can cook for me, and bro who cooks for me at mine sometimes cos its just easier.  Gotta say it is weird basically saying to friends that they can't cook for you unless they buy this extra stuff and then don't use it for anything else but cooking for you.  Does make one feel loved when they don't even blink and just go of course and no you don't have to pay me back.

I didn't start this strict gluten free thing till this year, but I did start doing it a bit last year, kinda lol.  Now though I am about 3 weeks into the strict thing and just gotta say that I miss Jarks, and am over cooking so much.  It is hard work cooking most nights, and the hardest part is the what shall I have part I think.  So don't care what I eat most nights but still have to figure something out to cook.  

It will take about 3 months for any changes to really take effect (that's how long even trace amounts of gluten stay in your system), so still have a ways to go before I know if its working but my fingers are crossed.  Ana is pretty positive it will fix the energy issues and thinks it might even fix the hands issue (I did not know this till she sent me the info to read but constantly having small/trace amounts of gluten over a long period of time for a celiac can lead to arthritis like symptoms which when tested for that the tests come back negative, cos its not arthritis).  So fingers are def crossed for something to happen in the positive.

While I would love this to fix everything I am going to be a tad pissed if it does, but mostly cos in the last 5 odd years that I have been having these issues not one single doctor has asked how my gluten free diet is going and how strict it is.  In fact in the last decade of me being gluten free no one has asked me that in a medical sense.  If this could have been stopped sooner and with less stress on my part (waiting to see specialists with all the what-ifs going round your mind is not fun in my experience) that will be a bit annoying.  It will also be annoying to find out that I have been the one causing myself to not be able to do things I love... that will just be sucky as.

So yeah, the HB Gluten Free Fish & Chip Adventure has been called to a premature halt.  But on the bright note there are a couple places I can eat out so it's not a total end of the world.  And I've discovered that I can actually make a pretty good steak, and my wedges are pretty amazing (and will be even more so when I am patient enough to let the potatoes cook properly lol).  I can even make pretty good mashed potato these days (stop laughing ppl who have known me for ages and ages), so I guess its not all that bad... lol

2022 in books

As has become a thing in the last few years here is my last year in books (as according to GoodReads anyhow lol) 

Total books read - 70

Total pages read - 22,976

Shortest book - 71 pages (it was a play)

Longest book - 672 pages (surprisingly enough it wasn't either of the Wilbur Smith books I read)

Average Length of book - 328 pages

Here is the breakdown by genre (my genre grouping, not GoodReads so some might be grouped diff to how others would do it lol):

Fantasy - 24

Chick-Lit - 14

Non-Fic - 7

Sci-Fi - 6

Historic Fic - 6

Thriller - 5

Child/Gen Lit - 5

Classic - 3