I’m a spinster :D

All my dictionaries have the below definition for spinster, or one very similar:
‘A woman still unmarried beyond the usual age of marrying’
And when you google usual age for females to be married in NZ you find out that it’s now 28.5, therefore I’m totally a spinster 😁 how awesome is that 😄 I totally thought I’d have to wait ages more before I could rock the spinster title, super stoked I can do it now 🥳

Reflections time

On the 13^th it was one year since I moved into my first home so I thought I would do a bit of a reflective post on the past year. 

Things I’ve learnt:

-Having the internet is actually not necessary, there is loads to do without it and you (well I) don’t miss it anywhere near what I thought I would.

-Having TV is something that you do kinda need, if only for TaskMaster and Formula-E.

-Renovations really do cost way more than you expect, that I was warned about, but the one thing that I wasn’t sure of is that you really do appreciate having them done and it doesn’t matter that you are more poor than you expected cos you have that awesome new or changed whatever J

-Overall I don’t mind being poor, ok so I probably wouldn’t say no to having more money to splash around but I don’t and I’ve found that I don’t really mind overall.  Sure for doing stuff to the house it’s a pain but when it comes to doing things with friends I’ve just become more selective in what I do that costs and I’ve found that I am appreciating the things I am choosing to do more, prob because I have chosen it over something else.  Like going to the theatre over the movies, or cooking dinner for friends instead of going out for dinner.

-I don’t like gardening, even vege gardening.  Don’t get me wrong I like the having food in my garden but I would love it if someone else would come and weed it lol.

-I do quite like baking (not cooking, just baking).  It started cos I was poor but then I found I actually like doing it and eating it I really like.  Is nice knowing that none of the pans or dishes are contaminated with that evil gluten stuff too haha.

-Napier/Hastings seems to be the same as New Plymouth/Inglewood, some people I thought were friends are very reluctant to visit me cos I live in Hastings and expect me to go to Napier every time we catch up.  Good thing I have friends that don’t care J

-My lounge is perfect for dance parties and even though he wont join in I know that Glenny likes them too, he laughs at me enough. I think I would get top marks for effort and enthusiasm from the judges (if there were any) but skill and talent would be bottom marks lol.

-I love living with just me and Glenny and all our other friends JJJ

* Am sure there are other things that I have learnt but I just can't remember them at the moment...

Things I would change if I had to do it again:

-Nothing.  I wouldn’t do anything different, I wouldn’t get a flatmate to have extra money or company, I wouldn’t wait longer to buy somewhere else.  I also would not get a pet, I like that I can do what I want in wknds or after work and not have to think about something that needs to be feed or anything.

Most important massive big thanks to all my ‘slaves’ (even the ones whose work has since been removed by another slave and then professionals) and other helpers.  And thank you to everyone that has come to visit me even though I am on the other side of the Island now (hehe that sounds like I’m not as far away as if I said the other side of the country) J

Working for a radio station is just so hard some times....

No not all the toys are mine..... just most of them lol

And if you would like to see more of what we get up to at work follow us on Facebook, just search for Radio Kidnappers and there we are :D

No longer looking like an ex-rental

Finally got my bathroom done :) there were some complications and some stress but ain’t that the way with reno's, or it seems to be atlst that's what I'm learning. It’s looking pretty awesome, if I do say so myself :D and it definitely makes my place look more like a home and less like an ex-rental.  The hallway has also been wallpapered and is looking good :)

It is certainly nice walking down the hallway now and seeing the improvements.  The kitchen also has all the yuck old lino removed and I have carpet offcuts down which is def warmer on my feet and also looks way nicer than the lino ever did.

My grown up awesome looking bathroom :)

The hallway is also looking lovely now its nicely wallpapered

Kitchen floor, if you interested :)

And for those of you wondering what I did with the old bath here it is, turns out it was one of those heavy as cast iron baths so removing it was a bit of a mission, good thing I know a couple of big strong men who like me enough to help me out (well David did, not sure Dof had a choice... lol) 

Long wknd fun

I had a rather chilled out but fun long wknd :)

On Friday night Steph and I went to a murder mystery night at Theatre Hawkes Bay.  Was real fun, turns out I am just as terrible at solving mysteries when I can ask the suspects questions as when I am reading about it in a book but it was still super fun :)

On Saturday Cleo took me over to Brudda's so we could hang and watch cricket later that night.  I may have slept through most of NZ's batting innings but that's ok cos we still won so I don't feel like I missed too much hehe.

On Sunday it was back home to go camping with Glenny and Snowy.  We set up the projector in the lounge and watched White Collar.  Then on Monday we used it to watch movies :) so much fun :)

Back to work today cos sadly the long wknd was not a forever one :( lol

 Me and Steph in our 1930's murder mystery solving outfits

 Bro's new work boots which I was so tempted to 'borrow'

Movie watching

Love my new kitchen

Kitchen phase one is done :) thanks heaps to Brudda and Dof for all your hard work in making it happen and cheers for letting me think I'm bossing you around :) lol

 

Man I'm awesome :)

Sometimes I'm just so awesome I surprise even myself :D

Finished my coffee table :) I may've got quite a few cuts while making it but it was worth it

Painted Cleo's place this wknd and it looks super awesome, she loves it and so do I :D

Also did some sewing, bit of a half hearted attempt to be honest, couldn't really be bothered matching the tartan or reading the pattern, just winged it. But it also turned out awesome and the tartans are matched, woot woot go me lol

Coffee table

Cleo's awesome as carport wall

My newest pants

Just some cool horses I met ystdy

Sup ya'll

The last week has been a busy one for my place. Pa has been visiting so that means stuff gets done faster than when it's just me. Not only cos he's more talented than me when it comes to that kind of stuff but he also has way more energy than me so more jobs get done in a day :)

Other than the general tidy up stuff that always seems to need to be done, we have also painted the window surrounds (outside) they are now dark green instead of a weird olive colour, the front door is now all white, the bathroom has a door again and it's purple like the rest of the hallway ones, and I have a new letterbox :)
I say we cos I helped with some of the stuff, esp the painting of the outside window bits.

We also caught up with Aunty Pam and Uncle James over Easter when they were over here exploring and we trekked over to Raglan (via Brudda's) to see cuzzie Mark who I hadn't seen in years cos he's aussie based. He was chilling at Uncle Terry and Aunty Kay's for a day or so. Cleo wanted a road trip and it woulda been rude to say no to her as she doesn't get out much nowadays.

My new heater :) 

Testing the letterbox post is sturdy

Looks good with the dark green trim (if I do say so hehe) 

Not the best road trip weather but Smidge was still loving it

Best letterbox ever! :D

These two are just making sure it 'works' lol

Scenic walk to work

This morning I decided to take the scenic route to work so I left home a bit earlier and wandered down to Cornwall Park :) such a nice park, and yes I played the tourist taking lots of photos and being all excited :D but figure that's what life's about so why not :)
And ok so this does not really make a scenic walk to work, just a scenic bit of the walk as it aint a huge park and it does still require me to walk along mostly streets to get to work but I get to miss a block of walking on a street, after going two blocks out of my way, but its worth it :)