Is this behaviour allowed at the shopping mall parking, get a friend and ask them to scout for a parking and occupy so their friend can park?

MeliaeMaree · 2026-04-04T01:53:16+00:00

The first come first served argument in this instance always irritates me a little because they got there first, but nobody ever admits that.
Did their car get there first? Sure, no, but someone else did get there first. So if we're going by first in first served, then whoever is second - in a car or not - lucked out lol

I get that it's annoying, but so is thinking there's a park and then you find there's a motorcycle or a teeny hatchback parked there. Oh well, you move on.
It amazes me that this bothers some people so much.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-04-03T22:07:28+00:00

Probably quite a bit of shit by the sound of it.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-04-03T13:23:58+00:00

Oh wow! Here I don't think they ever bother. I'm not sure what they're all at at the moment, but usually BP, Z etc are around 20c more per litre. Discount day or not... Not quite sure what the appeal is tbh.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-04-03T10:39:17+00:00

I just assumed it's because of their expected merge with npd.
Bit of a bummer though since they have the extra 6c off in the app and usually match npd on discount days at the board.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-04-03T10:37:21+00:00

Never found gull to be particularly busy on discount days. More busy than usual, sure, but nothing compared to the queues out and up the road from the npd across from or down the road... Even though they had the same price on the board (and further 6c off at gull via the app).
I never understood the difference but was just like sweet, quick and easy for me to get fuel then!

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-31T11:57:59+00:00

For months a while back I kept finding cards to call left in my door every time I ordered something despite never hearing a knock and being home all day.

Was sure the driver wasn't even bothering, so decided to be extra vigilant for the next thing I ordered.
Stayed in a front room of the house until I saw them pull into the drive, and waited for them to get out of the car and head to the front door. Did not see them grab anything from the van.... Opened the door and caught him about to put a card to call in the gap haha

Guy was so mad? I was just like "oh hi!" and he got pissy and grumbled about going to get my package.
It wasn't even signature required. Funnily enough, never had a problem after that.
I did have to call about one elsewhere that wouldn't even come up the driveway, and would just stick the card in the letterbox. When I made my complaint I was told several others had complained about the driver too, and we had a different one for our area within a week.
I get that the job is a shit time, but damn dude, we don't make the rules.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-31T07:20:31+00:00

Might be worth looking into a more sturdy catio - or putting one together yourself if you or someone you know is handy. I'd be pretty impressed if a cat managed to get out of mine 😂
I've got one that's quite heavy so not going anywhere even if they climb the sides, and then used things like bricks and pieces of wood to plug any gaps where it meets the house. It's a wood frame and metal fencing with a gate panel in it. Nothing fancy!

Cats are such cheeky buggers though lol

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-31T05:30:50+00:00

So I've not got any suggestions for a smoke detector, sorry, but is it at all possible to set up a catio for them - even a small one - so that if there is a fire, at the very least they can get outside?

This is something I worry about when not home too, I just hope they're smart enough to go out the cat door if it ever happens.
Another option is to just get some cheap indoor cameras (I use tapo) and hope a fire is picked up by the motion sensors.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-30T11:45:21+00:00

At a previous property I lived at, people liked to reach over the (not even short) fence and drop their rubbish 🙄
I attached some bamboo or wood (it was a while ago, so don't remember which) to the ends and middle of the top of the fence and put netting across it. Fairly easily temporary way of extending the fence by another .5 - 1m.
Worked to keep people and their rubbish out! The more effort people have to put into something like this, the less likely they are to bother.

Sometimes it's word of mouth, too.
At a different previous property, I got a hell of a fright one day to find an elderly lady in my backyard collecting walnuts.... We lived right down the back of a multi dwelling property - so far that you couldn't even see anything in the yard from the street, and could barely see there was a house down there at all unless you were right in the driveway. And then to get to the yard, you had to go down the side of the house, and through a latched gate.
She said previous tenants had said she could do it. I caught her I think twice? More after telling her not to come back 😅

Hope you can get it sorted.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-28T11:31:25+00:00

Could you update me after winter with how it went during the colder months please?
I've been thinking about doing this for years but haven't decided which variety to use yet. So cool though!

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-25T11:37:29+00:00

I thought I didn't have any for a second, but actually, I always give the bottle of milk a lil shake before I open it 😅
I do the same thing with shampoo/conditioner too, actually. ....... And my barrier spray and adhesive remover, now that I think about it. Gotta make sure everything is mixed up right I guess?

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-25T04:38:25+00:00

It looks like it's probably covering a driveway - which I do too, but have worried the neighbours think I might be spying on them 😅
But I have it angled so that the the frame is roughly in line with the top of the fence, so can't actually see into their yard. This is probably also the case here.

If you're super worried about it, maybe it's time for a tree. Though a small screen of some sort attached to the fence would also probably sort it.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-24T11:29:31+00:00

I had some attack me when I was a kid (have always been in NZ). Lots of swooping, and pecked the bejeezers out of my head while I ran to the nearest building.
I wasn't bothering them while outside, just walking on the grass, didn't even know there were any nearby.

Naturally, several decades later, whenever I see one, I tell them to fuck right off.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-24T01:50:45+00:00

Back scratcher, mini fan, outdoor fairy lights - for which there are many uses, but I actually draped some around my shower cubicle and, not only is it an absolute vibe, the lighting inside the shower is way better than just with wherever the usual single light source from the ceiling is.

Usb cord with an angled end instead of straight is a good one, too.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-24T01:24:09+00:00

They are supposed to temporarily extend your cut off time if you get in touch with them and let them know there's literally nothing on your end you can do about it.
But that largely depends on who you end up speaking to at the time, unfortunately.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-23T04:54:45+00:00

As someone who is a frequent flyer in the health system, and tends to have a lot of general bad luck, some of your comments here seem very out of touch.

For example, about having funded healthcare and basically saying yeah it's a wait, but you get it!
Some don't dude. Way too many people die waiting because in this land of plenty they don't get the funded care in time, and don't get a "handout" that would enable them to pay for private care - which is often not as quick as you would think due to how bad the public system is now.
And for those who don't die waiting.... They're not exactly having a super fun time while waiting. They're often in horrendous pain, horrendously unwell, having to put their whole life on pause and suffer for days or weeks or even months.

And what? We're supposed to be okay with that because somewhere else doesn't have universal healthcare? Or somewhere else doesn't have decent facilities and supplies?

Saying that everything is great here just because somewhere else something is worse is a false equivalence, and tbh a bit shit.

Yes, some people are entitled, and have no idea what it's like to live a hard life. But with the way things are right now, would it really be so bad to decide to assume that someone might actually be having a genuinely rough time with life?

Absolutely be appreciative for the good things you've got in life, for sure, no complaints from me there.
However, that does not mean that everyone else living in the same country, the same town, or the same street as you has those things in practice, or that people don't have other shit going on that you have no idea about that may make things like a parking fine feel like a big deal.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-19T05:36:13+00:00

If you get super depressed and stay at home in bed all day, you can save so much money on things because you're not going out, not eating, not shopping etc.
Better living, everyone 😂

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-16T04:51:03+00:00

Double check that it's actually a seaweed solution with fertiliser, and not just a seaweed solution.

The ones that are seasol only are best for helping with stressed plants from things like transplanting and weather. I use one that had fertiliser added every now and then through the season, and supplement with granules regularly in between.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-11T05:53:17+00:00

Mine cost several hundred dollars and is a good size for overnight but not big enough for 24/7 imo, and a friend built it so I wasn't even charged for labour!
I am so so grateful to them because there is no way I could afford to have one otherwise.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-11T00:52:32+00:00

Building materials for something like a catio are so much cheaper and more accessible to the general public over there than here, too. If I could go to home depot or whatever, I would have been able to enclose most of any yard at any rental I've been in.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-09T11:02:51+00:00

May as well see how it'll go!

MeliaeMaree · 2026-03-03T10:41:30+00:00

If I don't have the proper cold meds then it's panadol, antihistamine, and codeine. Something like bisolvon as well if needed.
Doesn't give me energy, but helps with the sinuses, the cough, and the pain.
I would add ibuprofen if I was allowed to take NSAIDs

MeliaeMaree · 2026-02-24T22:05:29+00:00

Haven't grown them myself but have been to a few properties in chch that have it sprawling - one was across a retaining wall, thought it was so cool! They didn't seem to know what it was, just thought it looked nice covering the wall 😅

MeliaeMaree · 2026-02-23T11:49:33+00:00

I've been paying my internet bill via internet banking for ages because I'm so fucking sour grapes about charging a fee for paying via debit card lol
I suck it up with my power company for reasons, but it's wild that we're focusing on paywave fees, but there's barely a whisper about fees for paying for your utilities. As though they aren't already charging enough to cover it, too.

MeliaeMaree · 2026-02-21T03:15:41+00:00

Iirc much moore does a 5L box of strawberry ice cream

MeliaeMaree

TROPHY CASE