Furniture removals are us.

Am feeling somewhat like a pate de fois gras duck and that is without a single easter egg passing my lips to date. It seems like I have been eating all weekend as we have had cousins Bob and Raemond (wave to you both) visit for lunch yesterday, friends of Mum and Clives visit last night, who bought dinner for us (Mike and Marion - beautiful chicken pie and vegies with superb apple pie for desert) and today continuing with a feast of leftovers.

Noticing the distinct drop in temps from Oz, 30C - 19C, it felt like soup weather this weekend, so found ingreds for the inaugural bacon bone soup of the season. I bought a mixture of fresh winter type vegies which Mum kitchen whizzed up, to add to the bacon bone from the supermarket - I nearly fainted at the price. It was $7+ for a flopping bacon ankle - I can buy a roast for $12!!! Note: May be reduced to using bacon stock at that price in the future!!!

In between the visits we have continued to move furniture about - a sleigh bed from Mum's room to brother Brett's, who swapped it with a king single to go in the spare room/dungeon, which meant moving the double bed from there upstairs into Mum's room. The double bed is not in its first flush of youth and has SIX legs of steel with coasters at the end of those. Each foot was affixed to the bed with four screws and the weight of these legs and thier length meant they had to come off for Mum and I to move the base. I started with a spanner and took an hour to get the first leg off! Thinking there must be an easier way I asked Clive if he had any socket wrenches and yay he even had exactly the size I needed (8ml for those playing at home, lol). Such was the speed I was able to work at with the right tool, the whole remaining job took another hour which included hefting the base up the stairs and through three narrow doorways. Mum and I were in hysterics several times as we jostled, changed ends, pushed and pulled the sodding base until we finally made it to her room. The job was completed and I only had 5 screws left over, lol!!! It transpired that several of the holes were covered by fabric that some of the screws would not work in without getting wrapped around the scres slowing things down. In a moment of ' I'm over it' (small hissy fit) I thought, buggar it, three screws will do on some of the legs, especially if they are on tight, and thus the job was completed.

I have also repacked three containers of clothing etc of mine and gone through three boxes of cross stitch patterns - Kay, if you are reading this, you have a Trade Me mission when you get back to get rid of one box of patterns at your leisure, lol. (Bro in law Mark barely flinched when I turned up and lugged the box inside, heh, heh).

While I was out getting the soup essentials, I also went to the local $2 plus shop to get some track pants for Clive and OMG it is child heaven with as much super hero clothing as you could want - there is Ben 10 everything (lots of Bratz and pink girly stuff too) so considered myself lucky to get out of the shop with only spiderman pyjamas and Ben 10 underwear for No 1 grandson, though it was difficult to resist several other items.

Yesterday while looking at the tide going out I noticed what I thought were ducks trawling along the tide line and yes, Mum said that's what they were! I thought ducks were fresh water birds but apparently, six weeks before shooting season each year, ducks turn up here in the harbour. Clever ducks indeed! Am noticing heaps of sparrows and of course the tame blackbirds that live at Mum's (she has one visit inside regularly) as the birds in Oz are all very skittish with no sparrows, thrush or blackbirds to be seen. On another tangent altogether, I never realised how many hills are around Waiuku. I found myself totally surprised at the range of hills on the horizon as I drove down to Otaua which are such a contrast to the flat, see for miles countryside that I have become accoustomed to. I am thinking they are the Port Waikato Hills and they looked particularly awesome in purpley blueish light the other day and a more greeny, fresh look today.

Though no easter egg has passed my lips, tonight I have broken out a box of Cadbury Roses Chocs and am swooning - there are CHERRY RIPE chocs in the box and my especial favourite of the moment - Lemon Cheesecake - a seriously fabulous flavour. In fact there are several new flavours altogether so may have to sample a few more with another coffee, lol.

The only blight on my weekend has been my tangle with technology again - with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The day before I left, I transfered money across to my NZ account only to find that it never reached here. Somehow or other, the bank in NZ would not accept the transfer. Not only that but the Commonwealth Bank has charged me for it not going through and I lost money as they also took the exchange rate out as well. If that was not enough to have me changing banks on my return, today I tried to change money from my current account to my Visa account, and though I tried time and time again, it would not go through. Now I will get charged late fees, blah blah blah,. I am sensing a change of banks when I go back as there must be a more user friendly outfit than this one. I have never had this amount of trouble using my National account in NZ! My Telstra bill is also on line and I cannot access that as I have forgotten what name and password I used to set that up with!!! So much for trying to be organised before I left.

Somehow in my lugging of large/heavy objects in the last two days, I have pulled something in my neck which is giving my gyp. Definitely time for that coffee and chocolate.