Sharing this photo cos I feel it would be rude not too, Napier sunset from Ahuriri this evening, looking all gorgeous 😻😻
Had a lovely dinner at The Gin Trap with Aunty Kay and Uncle Terry who are camping in my driving for the night (in their caravan so fancy camping lol). Was a lovely evening catching up and just general chatting. Went for a wander after dinner and this was our wonderful view 💜
Last weekend Jenny and I went to Rotorua to be tourists. I know, it was a bit of a weird experience for me because I am so used to going there to see Bro. Don't worry we did call in to see him so I could show Jenny his place. Did I give him a say in the matter, nope but I did let him know roughly when we would be going past so he could be out if he wanted to avoid us lol. Pretty sure that is a kind little sister thing to do 😇😆
As I have been to Vegas many more times than Jenny, I was left to plan what to do. Jenny wanted to do a maze which was good cos so did I, but other than that she left it to me.
First off we did the walk around part of the lake from Government Gardens to the Lake Front. Very enjoyable and a nice little wander. Then we headed off to the 3D maze, we picked that one because it is my favourite. Also because the other one is a hedge one and with how much of nature is making me react in a not great way these days we thought it would be best to not have me stuck in a hedge for an hour or so. The 3D maze was a lot of fun. We did get lost a couple times, perk to being tall(ish) is being able to see over some of the walls on the upstairs parts so I could work out where we needed to go to get back on track. We completed the maze, and found most the answers to the scavenger hunt properly (one was found by me looking over the wall lol), and had a great time.
We then headed back to our accommodation for lunch and to rest our tired legs. In the afternoon we went to a cat cafe. I do NOT recommend this experience. I don't know what I was expecting but it was not what I got and I just felt sorry for the poor cats. There were so many of them in the small space and no outdoor area. Not even very many interactive things for them. Jenny said it wasn't a good one, but that they are all pretty similar with the no outdoor area and lots of cats. Definitely not something I support.
That evening we had dinner at our accommodation (same as the first night we were there, we were doing Rotorua on the cheap lol), watched a movie then had a dip in the hot tub/spa. Many laughs were had and it topped off a great day.
The following morning, our last morning there, we detoured to find Fred a tyre cos she had had a something (I don't want to call it an accident or incident, but it was a something) at some point that required me giving her attention and money. Typical female I know... 😜 After this we headed off to a 3D trick art gallery. I wasn't sure what I expected from this but it looked intriguing online so we figured why not (it was also raining so we didn't want to do anything outdoorsy lol). While we were wandering around I must admit I thought it was a bit lame and not worth the entry fee. However once I got home and looked at the photos I changed my mind, it was totally worth it!!! The photos turned out awesome. Everything was just 2D when we were there, but the photos are not. Very cool. Below are some of my favs.
Overall I would recommend Rotorua as a tourist, however most of the activities are quite expensive now. We wanted to do things that were below $30 and we achieved this, but it did take many many things off the table. Doesn't mean I won't be back to do them some stage though 😊
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.
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 :)
This was a joint project, with me and Doffy, that I actually remembered to take a before photo of before we started (purely cos Dof asked for one lol). And thanks to that I can now do a before and after for you all :)
So Doffy was cool and he did the complicated part, the me going I want my bench seat to be a chair and a table can you make that happen? And the answer was yes (like I suspected it would be if I asked hehe) and to me it wasn't all that complicated, prob cos I wasn't around for most of it lol. Doffy might have another side to tell about how complicated/hard/frustrating it was to do...
Once he had done his part I enjoyed sitting on it a few times, but then one day decided that it was a bit old and faded looking and the arms needed sanding anyhow cos the sun had made them dry and rough. And if you are going to the effort of sanding you might as well then paint, cept I didn't want it painted cos that wouldn't be the look I wanted, then I found a tin of leftover stain in the shed and so that's what I used. Used it all up in a couple coats on the chair so had to buy more, did I buy a logical amount... corse not, I bought a way bigger tin than I needed but then I wouldn't be me if I didn't over estimate when it comes to paint/stain lol.
Anyhow here is the finished product, it looks pretty cool I think <3 (ps that's a heart for those who don't speak old school emoji hehe).
So as we all know my birthday is never just a one day event... cos that would be small and boring lol. This year it has been a just over a week event, I mean you only turn 36 once so why not :)
On Sunday last week Bro and I headed off on our mini road trip (just a one nighter). We headed down to Pukaha Mt Bruce Wildlife Centre as our first stop. Now this place was nice enough, but not quite worth the entrance fee that they charge I don't think. Was $22 each, and while we enjoyed ourselves it wasn't quite what we were expecting. A lot of the enclosures were built so well for the birds that we couldn't spot them, maybe we should have stayed longer looking for them but that is not who we are. We did see the signpost for the lookout so we decided to head that way, both pretty sure the sign said 1.5km. We were wrong, the sign did not say that. And there was so much up, and then more up. And then we found a sign that said 500m to go, and that was wrong too. Am absolutely positive that we walked way longer than 500m before the lookout was gotten too. As Bro had headed off in front I actually began to think I had missed a turn off somewhere and that he was sitting there laughing at me, but then I kept going up so I wasn't sure. Turns out the lookout was pretty obvious, so phew on that. But the view was only so-so... And the sign post at the top said that the track was 4.5km in total so somehow we both had misread the sign at the bottom. After our wanderings we headed to the cafe to grab a drink and something to eat, well Bro did, they didn't appear to have any gf stuff and I wasn't in the mood to ask so I didn't.
After Pukaha we headed to Palmerston North for the night and my 'first' bday dinner :) yum yum. We tried a few of the cocktails at Lonestar and I think I had the better ones to the one Bro had, but that was luck as much as anything lol.
On Monday we headed to Waiouru Army Museum, which was really cool. Bit miserable weather wise but once we were inside it didn't really matter. They had some very good displays, and lots of info for those people who aren't like me and actually like reading all that stuff lol. After wandering around the museum we checked out the Mess Tent, aka the cafe. I was in the mood to ask what was gf and got the loaded fries cos they sounded pretty good, Bro decided he would steal a few so got him cutlery as well. When the plate arrived decided he could have way more than a few cos it was huge, and once we tried them we dug in quite enthusiastically, boy were they yum yum yummy :)
After eating as much as we could, plus a little bit more, we headed to Taupo to catch up with Mum and Dad and hit the cd store. Then we headed back to mine :)
Rest of the week was pretty much a pleasant week off. Bro headed home on Tuesday, Wednesday I lost myself in a book for the whole day, Thursday I met what is going to be my new team at EIT and then I hung out with Steph and an awfully grizzly George (her toddler who decided he didn't need a nap, he totally did), Friday met up with a friend for coffee, then went to 3 Wise Birds (a local cidery) to read in the sun, then Briar came round for dinner and a movie night. Ystdy I had a haircut, then I helped with set build for our next production, then Steph and Jenny and I went out for my 'second' bday dinner at Jarks and I got a complimentary bday brownie for dessert nom nom nom, then we went to Aubyn Live to see The Jailhouse Frocks which my friend Sarah was in. A very good day and night :)
Today I have been chilling and doing chores, and this evening am playing D&D with some friends. Tomorrow, my actual birthday, Mum and Dad are coming over and we are going to have lunch (probably at Jarks cos why not hehe), then for dinner Viv and Jenny will be joining us and we will be having cake and whatever I decide is for dinner. The cake is going to have 36 candles on it, cos I can :D
