A Nothing Day

Feeling below par today.

I emptied one box in the art space.

Sold a table and chairs on marketplace. It’s getting picked up tomorrow.

Tried to have some old Royal Albert settings appraised online. Pfft. They charge you an arm and a leg and take you on a wild goose chase in the process. Thanks but no thanks.

Made some banana cookies and choc chip cookies out of cassava flour, coconut sugar, butter and egg - adding the banana pieces and choc pieces last. Quite delightful!

BGWLBH outdid herself with another grazing platter at lunch time and then preparing delicious salads to have with the cold roast chicken that I cooked yesterday.

We’ve enjoyed a couple of pots of tea - me with my detox tea and anti-inflammitea, her with her own special blend that she put together at a tea shop.

It’s not even 7pm and I’m in bed hoping to feel more energised tomorrow. I’ve popped a couple of shots full of tonic water with vitamins D, C, B12 and zinc plus my special concoction of 

• Alpha GPC
• Astragalus Membranaceus Extract
• Choline Bitartrate
• Echinacea
• L-theanine
• Organic Elderberry
• Organic Ginger Extract
• Organic Panay Ginseng
• Vit B6
• Vit C
• Vit D
• Vit E
• Zinc

If that doesn’t pep me up and strengthen my inner health, nothing will!

Hoping I can find the energy and motivation to finish off the art space tomorrow!

Nite all.

Mixed Up Day

Monkey pox of course! 

I was woken at 3.30am by the shrieks of not so psychotic dog Colli, so I had to get up to see what the commotion was all about. Of course it was all about the toileting, so after I cleaned up the mess she’d already made, I took her outside to finish the job and then returned her to bed.

It took almost two hours for me to fall back to sleep and I slept soundly until 9am.

I needed a further 90 minutes to find the motivation to rise and shine.

The chicken broth that I’d set up in the slow cooker the night before was still bubbling away so I took half a cup for breakfast, spent ten minutes prepping a whole chicken and putting it in the oven and then snuck into the art space to start unpacking some more.

BGWLBH was preparing a fruit platter and a grazing platter for lunch and Adoring Husband was out doing yard work.

We all came together to enjoy the platters for lunch and after that, BGWLBH took me on a tour of the garden to meet the newest vegetable buds popping through the soil. Everything is looking great except for ‘Groot’ my carefully selected blackberry vine, which is looking decidedly sad.

I returned to my art space and spent two hours unpacking six boxes and reorganising. Finally, it’s starting to look clearer!

We were expecting the plumber to unblock our kitchen pipes in the afternoon, but we were surprised by his arrival before lunch and he had the job done quickly and efficiently.

At 2pm I sat down to watch my quiz shows, but was reminded about marinating the wings for dinner so I returned to the kitchen and made a hot and spicy marinade, took the whole chook out of the oven and then left AH to clean up the mess.

AH picked up my parcels from the post office and I received the leggings from Exoticathletica. Last week they sent me a top instead of the leggings so I returned them on Tuesday and received the leggings today. That’s pretty efficient.

I also received some art medium with which I’m going to attempt some textured art. My art girls have inspired me with their own attempts and I can’t wait to set up my space so that I can try it too.

By tonight, my tummy was cramping so strongly that I couldn’t eat my dinner and had to come to bed. I’ve taken a Panadol and the cramping has eased significantly so I’m hoping I can sleep and heal and wake up refreshed and as good as new in the morning.

My ‘to do’ list includes washing and more clearing in the art space. I feel like I’m very close to being able to use the space as intended.

So for now, it’s time to sleep.

Nite all.

Tuckered Out

Awake at 5.30am and out the door by 6.30am.

The drive to Maryborough, with all of the roadworks, is currently long and arduous. It is mostly 40kmh and 60kmh so what normally takes 40 minutes now takes 70 minutes.

The markets were a touch disappointing with not as many stalls as the last time I was there (a couple of years ago admittedly).

I still managed to spend money, as I do, but not as much as I wanted!

There was a stunning hand crafted silver, crystal, bejewelled and beaded hanging mobile that took 6 weeks to create. The work in it was beautiful and the items she used to create it were really special. She used mostly blues and I REALLY REALLY wanted it but the price put me off.

It was worth every cent that she was asking and I could absolutely see the value in it but I didn’t know how I would receive that value in hanging it somewhere and just looking at.

The thing is, I can’t stop thinking about it and I feel like it has my name on it 😳

I may have to return.

I started to make something similar a few years back - nothing as exceptional as this one - but the more I did, the heavier it got and I gave up fairly quickly thinking it would weigh a ton by the time I finished.

Now I think I’ll reassess, pull it apart, make some adjustments and have another attempt.

I can’t imagine creating anything that beautiful, but you never know until you try right!? If I can’t do it, then I will hunt that woman down and purchase from her instead.

I also found some nice coasters, a crystal that I intend using in my mobile, some fruit and veg, a shawl that I bought specifically for our morning catch ups at the Lions Park (because it was so cold this week) and I found a van selling gluten free donuts which were delicious!

I took with me, a basket of jewellery stands from the shop, for a lady who repurposes old jewellery into new pieces. It took a while to discover that her stall is inside the church! We were wandering all over street searching for her but eventually we were able to hand them over.

While clearing the shop, I also found a book of art designs belonging to Serenia Blue and the lady who owns that business works at Station Square so I took the book with me hoping to hand it over to her - which I did and she was extremely happy!

During our morning, I received a message from someone wanting to buy the freestanding mirror that I advertised on marketplace so we arranged to meet at my place at 11am. She turned up on time and I made a sale. That almost replaced the money that I spent at the markets!

BGWLBH and I made a zucchini slice and zucchini muffins for lunch and there was enough left over to have with sweet potato chips and salad for dinner.

I have to say that we were all exhausted this afternoon.

BGWLBH kept busy so that she wouldn’t fall asleep and then NOT be able to sleep tonight, AH slept all afternoon in his chair while I dozed on and off on the couch.

I came to bed at 7.15pm and I’m ready to sleep.

This is the Wednesday morning sunrise pic that BGWLBH took …

Nite all.

Busy In Burrum

Out of bed by 8am but after looking at the sunrise photos that BGWLBH took this morning, I wish I’d woken up earlier to join her and Adoring Husband on their beach walk.

It was absolutely spectacular!

We left home at 8.40am, me on my trike and BGWLBH walking to the Lions Park for our Wednesday morning catch up with the art girls.

Along the way, Beauty came out from her house to the footpath to say hello, so we stopped briefly for a chat. It’s been about 3 months since I’ve seen her and even longer since I’ve seen the other babes. It was nice to see her smiling face but we didn’t have time to stop for long.

As we arrived at the park, the wind was quite strong and had a real chill to it. It wasn’t long before I was phoning AH to bring a hoody for BGWLBH and my tea which I’d accidentally left on a shelf in the garage! Lucky for us he is so obliging!

There were six of us at the table. The Silver Fox brought her artwork that she’d created during the week and told the story of its creation. Always entertaining. We all laughed a lot, made fun of ourselves and each other, munched on crackers and dip and after a couple of hours, went our separate ways.

BGWLBH walked home while I rode to the shops to check the mail and grab some meat from the butchers.

The wind seemed to have strengthened and I was pedalling home into a head wind which was tough going! I almost gave up and walked the trike home but I persisted with the workout that the wind gave me and it took twice as long as usual to reach home. It was a bloody relief I tell you!

I then prepared salmon patties for lunch which we ate with a little salad that BGWLBH had made.

After lunch AH returned to the hothouse to continue riveting it together, BGWLBH cleaned the kitchen and got stuck into the housework while I unpacked four big boxes in the art space and found homes for everything.

By 2.30pm we were all buggered so we stopped and planted ourselves on the couch for a cup of tea and a break. We watched the quiz show Pointless.

I unwittingly delegated my house mates to dinner chores and realised as I sat down to eat, that I had not contributed to dinner in any way shape or form! That was a happy accident!

Tomorrow morning we are rising early to drive into Maryborough for the markets so I need an early night.

Nite all.

Girl’s Day Out

It took me an hour to get ready this morning because I couldn’t figure out what to wear!

At 10am we were finally on the road and it was a beautiful day for a drive into The Bay.

We had a long list to check off which started with a stop at Nana’s Pantry and ended with a late lunch at Aquavue.

A good part of our list included requests from Adoring Husband, which ate a fair bit of time out of our girlie day, so next time I will conveniently leave the list at home. 

As usual, I spoilt myself with some personal purchases which included lipstick, storage containers, lotto tickets and a handful of books from QBD.

It was only my second time eating out since the Covid mandates were lifted and it was lovely sitting in the fresh air at Aquavue looking out over the water and enjoying delicious fresh food that I didn’t have to prepare myself.

We took our time and had fun making up stories about the other patrons in the cafe.

I received a message from a gentleman in Maryborough about our old electronic leather couch. I had posted it as ‘free’ on the local marketplaces and ‘Dave’ offered $10.50 for it. I advised him that it was free and he was about to finish work so I told him he would need a strong mate to help lift it and to consider the couch his.

Before he turned up, we arrived home, unpacked the car, put everything away, put new fluoro tubes in my art space and replaced the starters.

Dave turned up with a mate in his red ute. He was a real character and even though they were about our age, they pretty easily lifted that heavy piece of furniture onto the ute, tied it down and off they went.

It was a relief to be rid of the couch and it means I don’t  have to worry about AH moving it or asking favours of people we know.

After our big late lunch, BGWLBH and I didn’t require dinner so I took a beef casserole out of the freezer for AH. That was easy.

We two old birds were completely worn out after our big day out and now it’s time to sleep. Once again, it’s almost midnight!

Nite all.

Another Step

I spent another three hours in the art space today and BGWLBH spent a good deal of time in there being my personal assistant.

We got a lot done but you can’t tell by looking at the space!

BGWLBH prepared another delicious grazing platter for lunch and between the three of us, we prepared bangers and mash for dinner. BGWLBH peeled and chopped the veg, Adoring Husband cooked the bangers on the barbecue and I did the rest.

It was delicious and we ate too much!

Big Brother was our ‘go to’ tonight.

BGWLBH and I are heading into The Bay tomorrow to run some ‘moving to a new state’ errands. We have a long list so I must wear comfortable shoes.

A heads up for the coming weeks … Food Shortages and Grocery Prices to Jump

Now it’s time for sleep.

Nite all.

Another Step

All Cause Mortality 

I was up at 10am.

Yes, Sunday is usually my ‘stay in bed all day’ day but I felt the universe pushing me to get some more work done in the art space, so I reluctantly dragged my sorry A out of bed, made a cup of tea and sat in the lounging corner posting items for sale on the local marketplace Facebook page.

By the time I’d done that, BGWLBH had made a delicious grazing platter for lunch so we all sat at the table savouring all that goodness.

After lunch, BGWLBH took me on a tour of the garden showing me where she had planted all the seeds and where some of them were already sprouting. I reckon we will have bumper crops of everything!

She also showed me how she’d set up the hothouse - she is well established and I expect big things from her green thumbs in the coming weeks!

Off I trotted back to the art space and proceeded to unpack more bags and boxes. I found my little desk cabinet under the rubble and was able to fill it with lots of goodies and manoeuvre it under my desk.

I was able to declutter even further as I worked and tossed even more stuff.

Three hours was enough and I watched the footy all afternoon. I am doing very poorly in the footy tipping for NRL but my AFL tipping is fantastic!

I prepared duck breast with a sweet and spicy sauce, sweet potato mash, broccoli and beans for AH’s and BGWLBH’s dinner. I had some of BGWLBH’s spicy pumpkin soup. Still delicious!

We watched The Voice and felt overwhelming disappointment when they announced Lachie as the winner. The other three contestants had it all over him and I don’t understand how he won. I couldn’t pick who would win out of the other three but I was absolutely certain that he wouldn’t! 

But what would I know? 😳

Now I’m watching Djokovic playing in the French Open. Schwartzman is certainly giving him a run for his money - although the score doesn’t indicate that.

Now it’s heading towards midnight, so it’s time for sleep.

Nite all.