Feeling flat

So my darling man has been eating carefully lately and has lost about 5 kilos so far.  As far as I can see he's only given up some beer.  Me on the other hand I've gained a little.  How on earth he can just switch his brain to weight loss and it happens is beyond me but I really must try harder.

My biggest yuk about myself (at the moment) is my waddle/jowl... whatever you want to call it.  I hate that I don't have a defined chin line now. Yes, it's getting old and fairly normal but it doesn't mean that I like it.  Front on you don't notice it but side on it looks awful.  Sometimes I seriously don't understand how Stu thinks I'm attractive.  I'm not going to show you a side view, I'm just too self conscious of it!

On a plus side though my knee is doing really well and walking is not really an issue for me these days.  My other knee (un-operated one) seems pretty good too and as long as I don't push it too hard, it's holding up well.

Apparently some people still can't comment on my blog.  I have no idea why but feel free to email me a comment if you want.

Here's a couple of photos of the puppy "Duke".  Both photos are of the cats scoping him out.  I'll get a close up of him next time I'm there.

~ Lynda

That's Gary (ginger cat) on the left and Lady (grey cat up top) keeping an eye on Duke (black fluffy pup bottom right)

And another, just checking out who the new guy in town is :)

Midweek update

Hello my lovely readers :) I'm home for a few days but we'll be going back to the beach house at the weekend for a kid's birthday party (Stu's great nephew).  I'm just chilling out at the moment and basically too lazy to do much!  I did get the boys from school yesterday and took them home -- I had some stuff I needed to drop off to my daughter.  Oh my goodness I left there so stressed!  The little puppy is not taking any notice of toilet training and with my daughter away at work now during the day they couldn't have got the puppy at a worse time.  

She never wanted the puppy but the others did, of course she's the one landed with all the mess and hard work.  On top of that she was stressing about Cole being rude, F not helping with any jobs now (that girlfriend as a lot to do with his big change) and generally everything at her place had me needing to get out of there!  I'm sure they'll get puppy sorted but seriously it's just not my thing.

We took Stu's Dad to the eye doctor for his second injection and we really won't know until his forth injection in two month's time if this will work.  It's just awful seeing the change in life for him going from being able to drive anywhere, be a celebrant for funerals and weddings, be a Justice of the Peace, secretary to a big club, etc etc to not being able to do any of this.  So, so sad yet he remains upbeat because that's just the way he is.  

There's no other news that I can think of, all is good in my world and I'm still ridiculously excited about getting our motorhome! We are actually hiring one the same exact size at the end of the month for four nights and will be going up north.  Our main reason for hiring it though is to see if it's possible to get it onto our section/driveway etc.  If it's easy we will change our yard to accommodate it.  It it's not possible then at least we will know and find a place to store it between trips away.  Many people in Auckland do that so it's certainly an option.

One little funny, Stu sent me a draft of the email he was sending the bit*ch for the balance of the money owed to him.  At the bottom he put this (but of course didn't send it to her!!!). It's a play on the scene from "Taken" with Liam Neeson..  It did make me laugh :)

PS: I know who you are. I know what you want. You are looking to short pay me. But what I have is a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career, skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you pay me now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you. I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will ... make you pay!

OK, vacuuming to do, washing to hang out and places to go :)

~ Lynda

On my own

Stu took the boys home on Wednesday and I'm here on my own.  He's super busy at the moment at work, you'd never actually believe he sold the business because he is now full time in it.  Yes, the money is great but he has told the owner that he's out of the come the end of the year.  I feel the new owner relies on him way too much and to be honest, he's not taking on the full responsibility of company ownership.  I've had this discussion with Stu and I think he understands now that while it's great to mentor someone there is a difference between mentoring and being like a 'helicopter parent'.   Hey, Stu's just such a nice guy that he thinks he's doing the best thing.

This damn Covid resurgence has me really worried.  My son is living in the thick of it in Sydney and he's unvaccinated.  He has an appointment to be vaccinated but that is not until September!  I also worry that it's only a matter of time before it comes here, this variant is just too contagious not to slip our border controls somehow.  

Our vaccination program is ramping up a little now but so many people are unvaccinated. Heck, we are still struggling to get Stu's 85 year old Dad vaccinated and that doesn't look likely to happen for at least another month or so.  I also worry for Stu and would love for him to try getting vaccinated -- I've heard that in South Auckland they take walk-ins so might be worth looking into.

Then there is Stu's niece who is a Q anon follower and a conspiracy theorist in general.  She is 100% anti vaccine and yells at the TV every time a vaccine advert or news item comes on about it.  She is actually protesting today in Auckland at a "Freedom Rally".  Yep, no masks, no vaccines rally.  She also firmly believes that most famous people are taking 'adrenochromes' -- the blood of children which is harvested while they are stressed.  She knows for a fact that President Biden takes it.  Oh dear Lord, it must be hard living in her head.  

I've been for a few good walks and both knees are doing really well.  My main concern is my 'good' knee and that it stays that way.  

Stu is on his way over here again and will stop and visit his Dad on the way.  

Stay safe all my Australian friends, especially those in lockdown.

~ Lynda

Here are a few photos from my walks :)

I did it..

I made it through six days with the boys.  They were lovely most of the time but at other times they went just a little feral.  I admit that I yelled a little and lost my patience at times.  Thankfully they slept well, eat well and played well most of the time but it was lovely today to see them go home :) Stu has gone back to work and I'm staying on here for a few days then Stu will come back at the weekend and take his Dad to the eye doctor on Monday before we go home.

Yesterday I took Stu's Dad out grocery shopping and also to The Warehouse to get a few things.  It was lovely to help and I know he really appreciates it.

Today Stu has sent off an email to the bit#h after considering his approach for a few days.  Here is what he wrote:

"At the family meeting on the 8th of September last year, you offered to pay for your mother's funeral expenses, and subsequently signed a legal document to that effect.

As you can see from the email below there is no legal or moral reason for you to withhold part of this payment.

I am keen to have this settled as per our agreement so we can all move on.

Please let me know when the balance will be paid to my account."

Short and sweet.  He decided less is best for her.  The email he mentioned is from the estate lawyer and mentions the "number of unfortunate emails" he'd received from the bit#h.  This is more about principle now -- she owes us money, end of story.

~~~~~~~~~

When the weather came right here Cole decided he loved playing Tennis!  He'd never played before but took to it really well.  He played over on the courts for ages with Stu.  It would be a great sport for him to get into.

I had a little bike ride the other day with Charlie and I found it much easier now that my knee has normal flexibility.   Hopefully over the next few days, now that I'm on my own here, I will get in some riding and walking.  I think the weather is looking OK with just a little rain.

Good luck to my Australian friends in lockdown, I hope this all gets sorted very soon.

~ Lynda

Charlie doing some 'scientific' experiments with a little science set he got for Christmas

Cole in action on the tennis court

The neighbour's kids came over for awhile

Charlie up the climbing frame

The boys and the neighbour's kids all playing swing ball

Beach walk today

Loads of big logs have recently washed up on the beach

Terrible weather!

We made it over to the beach house but the weather is terrible... not just here but all over the country at the moment.  We thought about not coming but hey, we might as well be here as at home and if there is a break in the weather the boys have more room to run around here plus we get to visit Stu's father to see how he is going.

The saga of the bitch and her stealing our money continues.  Stu emailed the estate lawyer for clarification about costs and was assured that indeed the estate pays ALL estate costs and nothing was due to be paid by Stu.  We knew this already but wanted to have it in writing.  The lawyer also stated that "as a consequence of a number of unfortunate emails received (from the bitch) I gave her a breakdown".  Clearly she has taken this breakdown and decided to unlawfully withhold money due to be repaid to Stu.   It won't end here.  I'm more determined than ever now that she pay us back.  

In case anyone feels sorry for her, remember she inherited (due to her bullying tactics which threatened to make Stu's fathers life a misery for years) a home now valued at over 3 million dollars and he only got paid out less than a third of that for a lifetime of working.  He was entitled to a minimum of a half but given that he is 85 he simply wanted to move on and not fight.  She knew this and fully took advantage of him. 

Hopefully the boys will behave and we will all have a fun time for the next few days. 

I've had no adverse reaction to my second vaccination except a headache yesterday.  I love that I'm now fully vaccinated. 

~ Lynda

Yesterday I took the boys grocery shopping and then they got to choose lunch... sushi is always their choice and the local food court has an amazing selection of hot and cold goodies.  Yum.

A busy time ahead...

I have the two youngest boys arriving soon and we are taking them over to the beach house tomorrow for a few days.  It will be fun but also hard work, thankfully Stu is great with them so that takes the load off me.  The oldest will be going away with his parents (and possibly taking the girlfriend) up to their caravan for the weekend.  That will be great for them all to have time out from the younger boys.

I also had them this week for a couple of days while my daughter worked -- it's school holidays at the moment but she's having a few days off which is great considering they have a new puppy.  Oh the puppy is gorgeous by the way.  He is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer and a Poodle) and just such a perfect pet for the family.  They seem to be training him well and he can already go through the night!  He can also go away with them because the camp where they have their caravan is dog friendly.

I made the mistake of googling 'snoodle' which is also another name for a schnoodle.  Big mistake, up came urban dictionary meaning and let's just say that it is a sex act between two males.  It did make me laugh though and I had to forward that to my daughter :)

Yesterday I got my second Pfizer vaccination so I'm all done for now.  I managed to bring my appointment forward after getting a link via email.  It was exactly three weeks since the last so ideal.  I feel fine although do have a headache today and a little light headed.  That will pass apparently.

I don't have much else to report... I'm just busy being excited about our motorhome which won't arrive for months yet.  How frustrating but at least we have loads of time to investigate the best fittings and set up for it and also places we can go.  

I'll update in a few days from the beach house (probably).

~ Lynda

Fort building in the dining area, it keeps they quiet for awhile :)

I even took them to one of those arcades which they loved -- not my usual thing (normally Stu) but a Nana's got to do what a Nana's got to do.

One year ago...

Today marks one year since I've had any alcohol.  Obviously I gave up when I was diagnosed with pancreatitis and was told to not drink for 6 months but hey, why not an entire year?  I have no desire to drink again except for perhaps when having a meal out.  I know I'll have one on my birthday next month and it will probably make me tipsy on one sip!

I'm pretty proud of how I've stuck to this and to be honest it's not been as hard as I thought it would be.  The hardest thing has been the complete lack of alternatives when we got out.  Given that I don't drink sugary sodas or orange juice etc my choice has been limited to water, bubbly water and diet Coke.  Yuk to them all really so I usually just settle for a plain water.  Nowhere (bars/restaurants) that I have found has any other diet drink -- it's crazy really.  You'd think there'd be more demand for it but clearly not.

My daughter got their new little puppy on Friday and he is gorgeous.  They are all loving him to bits and I think it is a good thing for them to have as a family.  They are also able to take him to the camp where their caravan is so won't have to worry about boarding kennels unless they go away somewhere else.  I'm not offering to have him... I'll have the kids but not a dog.  

Today Stu went for a flight with a friend who is a flying instructor.  Stu flew the entire way and landed the plane twice.  I'm pretty sure his next step will be to get his private pilot's licence as he just loves to fly.  He did his first solo flight when he was 16 as part of the Walsh Memorial Scout Flying School.  

Oh and one last thing.  Stu's lawyer contacted him about replying to the bitch.  His response was priceless.

"Do you really want me to respond to her? I am not sure she deserves a response beyond something along the lines of “you are a despicable human being but my client is a lot more understanding than I would be.”

Classic.  It did make me laugh.

~ Lynda

What a complete and utter B*tch

Some of you might remember all the dreadful trouble we had with Stu's stepmother's will.  Her daughter contested it and his Dad ended up giving her more than she was entitled to and just accepted enough money to move on.  It now turns out that given the value of the home now he settled for a third of the value when he was fully entitled to at least his half.  Long story, she's a bitch.

Anyway, when my stepmother-in-law died Stu paid for the funeral expenses on the understanding that the estate would pay him back.  As the daughter (aka bitch) was the main recipient of the estate she agreed to pay for the funeral expenses and signed a document to that effect.  Fast forward a year and a half later and she still hadn't paid... until yesterday.  Oh my God, just to prove what an utter cow she is she deducted nearly $2,000 from the money owed due to the following reasons:

"This amount has been calculated based on the breakdown from the estate lawyer where… 18% of the fee was allocated to Stuart’s renunciation.

And a further
15% of the fee allocated to the investigations that were required surrounding the creation/changing of the will.

These amounts have been deducted from the funeral bill as they fall outside of the usual “estate” fee matters and were the result of outside decisions and not the result of actions by ***** or myself."

Seriously?  The first part refers to Stu resigning as an executor of the will after all the duties were discharged.  It was not a role he wanted but did it for no fee and then ended the job when complete.  Of course he legally should not be liable for any legal costs of being an executor!

The second part refers to who knows what?  15% for a fee for creating/changing a will???  There was no change to the will and there should certainly be no cost to him for a will to be created.  This bitch is simply outrageous.  To quote our lawyer when he saw this 

"I cannot follow this email below at all, but at the very least it seems to me to be nickle and diming of the worst sort - particularly in that ***** was part of the process by which the will was put together in its final form".

Yep, a leopard doesn't change it's spots.  Stu isn't going after the rest of the money because the bitch has made her daughter pay ALL the legal costs... long story again.  The daughter simply can't afford to pay.

Unbelievable. 

~~~~~~~~~~

I have had Charlie here yesterday and today as he has a bad cough so not at school.  He's loving having Nana time without Cole.  Thankfully he slept well :)

~ Lynda

This and that

What's been happening?  Not a lot :) Stu is getting better thank goodness.  It seems the athlete's foot on his toe caused the other skin condition.  While that wasn't a fungus, it apparently it can happen at the same time.  He has cream for both and it's all getting better, thank goodness.  

My daughter is doing well and enjoying her job which I think will continue on for awhile... perhaps she may become permanent part time?  I hope so.

They are getting a puppy on Friday for the family -- OMG, I don't envy the work that will involve initially but the boys are so excited and I know she will be a good puppy mumma.  The new pup will be called Duke.

My neighbours continue to piss me off.  The don't garden or help when we do the hedge etc but worse still they are freaking rude.  They never wave out or even acknowledge us, it's really weird.  To think the last neighbours there were bad and I was happy when the house sold?  I don't understand some people.  

Stu's Dad is doing OK given the circumstances.  He seems to have a little peripheral vision but is legally blind.  We took him shopping and he was amazing!  He knows where everything is so you'd never know he could hardly see.  We also made up some more flat pack furniture for him (when I say we, I mean Stu).  I also cooked dinner for him while there -- I know his Dad is so grateful for the help.

My son who lives in Sydney is in covid lockdown and there seems to be quite a bit of infection in the area he lives.  The vaccination there and here has been really slow so all we can hope for is not outbreak until more people are vaccinated.  

I don't have much news about me except that I'm going to find it damn hard to wait for months and months for our new motorhome!  I'm feeling good (healthy) and life is good if just a little boring.  I need to start planning our next adventure!

~ Lynda

Fun times

We took the boys (two younger ones) to see The Lion King on Tuesday night and had a wonderful night -- even better, a night that will hopefully stay in their memory for a long time.  They loved the show... I enjoyed it too but as I don't typically 'love' that type of show, for me it was as good as could be expected.  I did enjoy the second part after intermission more than the first and the staging, singing and acting was amazing.  

Charlie fell asleep on my lap half way through the second half -- he tried so hard to stay away :) Cole on the other hand was a trooper, he LOVED the show and sat forward eyeing up every move. He was fascinated by the technical side of it all and asked so any questions about the staging, lighting and number of sets on stage etc.  He'd been in a bit of a silly mood prior to going and I thought 'oh here we go' but as soon as we went out he was fine.  We had a meal out first which made for a lovely night for us all.

Yesterday my daughter had the day off from work for a hair appointment (made prior to her starting work) and I met up with her later for a few hours shopping.  Shopping for clothes isn't my thing but it was a pleasure with her yesterday as she is in such a good state of mind on her Ritalin and working.  She bought a heap of new clothes in the Zara sale and it was good to be there to say yes or no to what suited her.  Even though I have no idea of fashion, I can certainly tell someone if should wear something or not!

Stu is off at the doctors again this morning.  Last week he developed a rash which has now grown to rings over his torso and arms and now face.  He went to the doctor on Sunday and was told it was ringworm and was given anti-fungal cream.  I believe that is rubbish and it's something else.  Ringworm doesn't spring up all over the body in one go and the cream is making it worse, not better.  There are other things that mimic ringworm so hopefully this time they will test to see what it is.  Poor guy.  I'll update this when he gets back from the doctor. I'm fine and haven't caught whatever it is (yet).

Update:  He hasn't got ringworm, I knew he didn't... (I googled it prior).  It's a condition called Erythema annulare centrifugum.  Non contagious and will fade.  Looking back he's had it before but only in two patches... this is everywhere!  

Stu's Dad had some bad news this week.  He suddenly lost most sight in his only good eye (he lost most sight in his other eye when he was ten due to the measles).  It turns out this new loss of sight might be improved over three months of treatment but he'll not be allowed to drive again.  I just hope the treatment works (he's had the first one).  The problem is a blood vessel/inflammation or something behind the eye.  Poor guy, he's so upset by it all and can only see shadows.  

We may be going over to the beach house today (mainly to catch up with Stu's Dad) but not sure yet.

~ Lynda

Out for dinner before the show -- how lucky are we (Stu and I) to have these boys in our lives.  Special times for sure.

On the way to the show... it was a freezing night!!!

So much excitement for the boys, they'd never been to a big venue before.

We went in early but it soon filled up!

Cole was being a goose :)