Pop of Colour

I was a pop of colour today!

I wore these together ...

... and pink is very UN-me!

I felt very happy and colourful. I had to go directly from the shop to a Tupperware party and I felt good in my outfit and very comfortable.

Sales were good in the shop, but not as good as you would expect for Mother’s Day weekend.

I had to order new Roz’s Happy Place stickers, some organza jewellery bags, satin drawstring bags, timber earring stands to fit in the glass cabinets and a few other knick knacks, so that was fun.

I haven’t been to a Tupperware party for about 20 years. The only item that they still have from way back then, and which has been around for the 60 yrs that Tupperware has been in existence is this ...

I reckon every family on the planet had one of those in their home!

My Tupperware order was more extensive than I expected, but I got everything I wanted and was not inspired to have a party. 

They seem to focus a lot of their products on microwave cookware. I haven’t owned a microwave oven for 13 years and looking at the poor health of the presenter who has been doing this for more than 20 yrs and does all of her home cooking in the microwave, she is not a positive example of microwave cooking.

She also sprouted old outdated nutritional facts so I was not impressed by the false dietary information she was sharing.

Tupperware are well known for their quality storage containers so I chose a couple of small sets, a whisk, a combination lemon juicer/zester and something else that I can’t remember.

The presenter prepared three dips - 1. roasted beetroot 2. cannelloni bean 3. avocado & basil + grilled chicken skewers in the microwave + Ruby Riccadonna & passionfruit sorbet slushy + GF chocolate cake

All but the chicken was GF and I enjoyed all of her creations.

There was good banter and lots of silliness because all of the guests were my usual art girls and we are very comfortable with each other by now.

It was a nice afternoon.

I was lucky enough to score a lift home so AH didn’t have to drive out to pick me up. She lives 12 minutes out of town.

Adoring Husband prepared his own dinner because my belly was too full of the days goodies to eat.

Now I’m feeling positively weary. I think I’ll sleep well tonight.

I’m looking forward to, at the very least, a lazy start to my Sunday.

Happy weekend everybody!

Nite all.

Another Flourish!

By noon today, I had zero sales.

But I had visits from a couple of my faves, The Brains Trust and Aggie who missed each other by about one minute!

Another newcomer to our town has decided to become a regular visitor. She seems lovely - time will tell.

The afternoon saw customers dribbling through the door and spending money.

I have a number in my head and when sales reach that number, I lock up at the end of the day feeling relaxed and happy. I reached that number today. 

It reached that number because two women walked through the door just five minutes before closing time and spent the required amount of money.

Thank you Universe.

I ordered more stock because my centre table is looking a bit sparse.

Adoring Husband had an appointment early in town which meant that I had to ride my trike to work. That was fine because it’s a nice fresh way to start my day but at the end of the day, motivation to ride is pretty low. 

I decided to use that riding time to catch Pokémon! I’m up to 112 different Pokémon. I have multiples of some of them so my total is 296. I honestly have no idea what I’m doing but I continue anyway.

AH cooked dinner tonight, as he does.

Thank you 😘

We are watching the Sharks vs Panthers nrl game. Sharks are getting thrashed, much to AH’s distress.

Now I’m off to play music trivia.

Nite all.

With a Flourish!

“Flourish” IS my word for the year and today I certainly finished with a flourish!

It had been a pretty slow day and by the time my cleaner (The Happy Hippy) arrived at 1pm, I had given up hope of a big sales day - because people rarely come through the door during the last hour of the day.

For this reason we opened up two small folding tables and began transferring all the stock from the main table in the centre of the shop, so that I could swap the blue table cover for the gold one. I wanted to wash the blue one because I’m pretty sure it has only been washed once in three years!

No sooner had we done that, and four customers walked through the door, including two local business owners looking for special gifts!

The Happy Hippy continued the job at hand while I served the girls.

They certainly boosted my sales to the status of “very good” and today’s takings will cover the stock order that I sent through yesterday.

I spoke to Adele Basheer (creator of the Intrinsic line) on the phone today. She is so nice and she loves the name of my shop! I have an order with her that should be delivered in two weeks.

I used my new blender for the first time today and made myself a ‘mint condition’ - baby spinach, green apple, celery, cucumber, mint and coconut water. It was delicious and my cheap little $50 blender from Kmart worked a treat.

Now I need a new kettle because the spring loaded attachment that closes the lid, completely disintegrated on the old one - which has been used at the shop for almost 4 years and belonged to The Motivator before that.

It’s Beautiful Girl With the Long Blonde Hair’s birthday today. I didn’t mail her parcel until Tuesday which means she won’t receive it til next week, so through a local florist in Griffith, I ordered a big white pot full of different succulents to be delivered this morning. 

She loved it and it’s now sitting on her classroom doorstep.

I also made a video of myself singing happy birthday to her. More of a punishment than a gift lol.

The covid situation is looking a bit scary in NSW and we have everything crossed that Bubbles can still cross the border next month to spend time with us during her holidays.

Now I think it’s time to sleep. I’m feeling weary.

Oh and Hazie is one month old today!

Nite all.

Early Bird

Because I struggle to get to the shop for meditation at the agreed time of 6.45am, today I set my alarm 15 minutes earlier than usual.

It didn’t help 😳

I got to the shop at precisely 6.45am but it was a struggle.

I purchased this from The Gypsy ...

It’s a professional baby doll used to teach parents how to massage their Bub, change nappies etc

I named him Noah and I promise not to push him around town in a stroller. He might come on our road trip in November - I have some fun ideas for photos!

It was nice to have some quality time with The Gypsy before the hoards arrived - although it wasn’t really a hoard because it wasn’t a full house. A few stayed afterwards for a chat and that was a bit of fun.

Sales were good but I had to stay open an extra 15 minutes for a customer who phoned and asked me to put a bag aside for her. She thought I closed at 3pm but luckily she turned up at ten past two so the sale was added to today’s tally. Topped it off nicely.

We got some solid rain this afternoon with a line of storms that swept through south west Queensland.

I cooked up a nice batch of chicken soup this evening using mixed mushrooms, carrot, onion, pak choy and of course, chicken! It was delicious!

A Big Brother hit and now at 11pm I’m ready to sleep.

Nite all.

Back to Normal

It feels like things are back to normal at the shop.

Sales were good.

There were just four of us at coffee this morning because some of the girls are out of town or attending appointments, but it was a good morning.

I had to wait until lunch time to collect my mail because the post office had so many parcels, it took them two hours longer than usual to sort them! 

Maybe that’s why my sales were bad last week! Everybody was shopping online!

My day passed quickly. 

This morning I had bought all the ingredients to make my green juice but the days passed so quickly I didn’t get a chance to make it.

Journaling class went without a hitch and AH and I set up the training room for meditation.

It was nice that AH cooked steak and onions on the barbecue for dinner while I prepared the salad.

A dose of Big Brother followed by bed.

It’s almost 11.30pm and I have an early start tomorrow so it’s time to sleep.

The latest bubba pics ...

Nite all.

What Was I Thinking?

I was feeling enthusiastic and motivated this morning.

An unusual occurrence!

I got up at 8am, removed the dry clothes from the line, chucked a load in the machine, cooked myself steak, egg, tomato & avocado for breakfast, emptied the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen and refilled the dishwasher, hung out the washing and began switching bathrooms.

Except for when we are accommodating visitors, the ensuite bathroom has been used exclusively by Adoring Husband and I use the main bathroom. Our ensuite is very small and doesn’t have enough storage space for both AH’s and my toiletries.

Now that AH has moved to the back bedroom, I decided it was time to switch bathrooms.

I cleared out all the cupboards and drawers in both bathrooms, scrubbed them all clean and then transferred AH’s many toiletries to the main bathroom and mine to the ensuite. I washed the ensuite walls and scrubbed out the shower recess, inside and out.

This took more than three hours and neither bathroom is completely clean yet.

It was time to have a shower, wash my hair and head off to the shop to disassemble the training room and set up for morning coffee and the journaling class.

I usually have AH’s assistance to do this, but I took my time (over an hour) and slowly folded the big tables and moved them against the wall, cleared all the paints, tools, canvases, aprons, tubs and other paraphernalia. 

I set up the morning coffee table and chairs as well as the journaling table and chairs.

Then it was time to ride the trike to where I had to do AH’s job.

I was halfway there when I heard a car horn behind me.

Even though he wasn’t due home until tomorrow, it was AH greeting me. He stopped the car and we hugged and kissed our hellos. He told me to go home and he will resume work in the morning.

I was ever so grateful.

Right now, my body is stiff and aching. I can’t remember the last time I did so much bending, stretching, kneeling, walking, lifting and using body parts that haven’t been used for probably years!

I am looking forward to snuggling into my bed tonight and sleeping soundly til morning. I know my poor old body will appreciate it.

Nite all.

Quietly Does It

I enjoyed a very quiet relaxing Sunday.

The only productive activity I did all day was prepare my meals.

I watched “A Dog’s Journey” which is the sequel to “A Dog’s Purpose” and cried my eyes out!

I watched some football.

I watched a lot of YouTube videos on acrylic art, makeovers, health, and my new favourite thing ... videos of people in other countries watching John Farnham videos of him in concert singing ‘Help” or “You’re The Voice” or “Touch of Paradise” for the first time and having their minds blown.

Adoring Husband had a great time at the wedding in Armadale and begins his trip home tomorrow. 

He got to feed some alpacas and was kicked in the shin for his efforts.

I have nothing more to report.

Nite all.

Art for Art’s Sake

It was a great day for art.

Lousy day for sales - but Howard markets were on and our town is always very quiet on market day so it was expected.

I have to say I’m really tired. At 8pm I looked at my watch expecting it to be 10pm 😳

There was a small group of regulars for art ...

They got to choose the technique they wanted for the day and the results were lovely...

It was well after 4.30pm when I got home and little Colli was very excited to be fed! 

I made my own dinner and planted myself on the couch to watch footy for the rest of the evening.

Now I’m in bed yawning so it’s definitely sleep time for me.

Nite all.

Sterling Effort

At 1.15pm today it was looking to be another zero sales day 😳

Unheard of 😳

So I decided to get the magic brass singing bowl out to do some cleansing and to refresh and renew the energy in the space.

I made up a couple of positive chants and reminded myself and the shop why we were there.

Just after 1.30pm, three ladies from Hervey Bay walked through the door. They come out once a year and always come to the shop, so thanks to them, I did NOT have a zero sales day!

Thank you Universe 🙏

Thanks to Adoring Husband’s impeccable timing with his ‘good morning’ phone call, I was running a little bit late this morning and it was five past nine by the time I opened the shop.

Also unheard of!

Putting my quiet time to good use, I decided renew my passport and was in the middle of that process when The Brains Trust came for a visit.

I always love visits from my girls and we chatted for well over an hour and she went on her merry way just before midday.

Forgetting all about my passport, I made myself some lunch and a cup of tea.

I was on my trike and pedalling home by 2.10pm.

When I arrived home I had to clean up the pee that psychotic dog kindly left for me on the kitchen floor, I did some washing, cooked up a batch of dog food, mopped the laundry floor and the hallway, tried to set up a photo shoot for a photography challenge but gave up.

I hopped on my trike and rode off to do Adoring Husband’s job ... once again it began to rain just as I finished ... but it wasn’t as heavy tonight so I rode home in it, which was quite pleasant.

Now I’m going to package up the dog food and climb into bed.

Today’s bubba pics ...

What a little cutie 🥰 

Nite all.

Strange One

Today was a strange kind of day.

I opened the shop right on time and picked up my mail, some of which was new stock.

Adoring Husband phoned to let me know that the car broke down 60kms from Armidale! The dashboard lit up and the car went into ‘limp’ mode and lost power.

He called an hour later to say that he got it going and was now 30kms from Armidale.

Aggie dropped by for a visit and while she was there, my cleaner (Happy Hippy) turned up, so I gave her a task to do until I was free to set up the training room for Saturday’s art class. After Aggie left, Happy Hippy and I lay down the drop sheet and set up the tables with their protective covers.

Afterwards, HH did some more dusting to fill her hour.

AH called to say he’d dropped the car into the Mitsubishi dealer to be fixed.

There would have been at least 40 people through the shop today, yet I didn’t make a solitary sale!

If I recall correctly, that’s the third zero sales day in almost 4 years.

This is the kind of day where I recite my favourite quote “Being OK if it happens and OK if it doesn’t, is a powerful place to be”.

I’m OK.

I did my shopping, piled everything into the basket of my trike and just as I was about to leave, AH called with a story about the poor service by the dealership but the car was fixed ... thank goodness! The car was only serviced last week!

It was 2.40pm when I pulled into our driveway. Psychotic dog Colli was excitedly waiting for her dinner so I unpacked my paraphernalia and fed her.

I had an hour to play with before heading off on my trike to do AH’s job.

Just as I finished, the heavens opened and the rain pelted down! The receptionist from the Medical Centre invited me inside until it passed. At one point, the rain was almost horizontal!

After about 15 minutes I got to ride home through some fairly big and fairly deep puddles.

I’ve just discovered that I forgot to put my footy tip in for tonight’s game. That’s annoying 😖

I’m off to bed.

Nite all.

Going Solo

I needed a woollen poncho to ride to work at 6.30 this morning!

It’s not as cold as Melbourne, by any means, but 16°C is a big drop from our more recent minimums.

There were only six of us at meditation this morning. 

I think our regulars have misunderstood the dates we are not meditating, so we need to communicate with them during the week.

It was nice to see The Gypsy and some of our regulars this morning. We did something different and sat in a circle for our class and everyone got involved in the discussions.

Sales were even better than yesterday which was great but my afternoon really dragged on. The last 90 minutes were slow and I was watching the clock, something I don’t normally do!

It was a very windy ride home, sometimes into a head wind which wasn’t pleasant, but I made it safe n sound.

At 5pm I got changed and rode to do Adoring Husband’s job. By the time I’d finished, it was dark and I realised that only the tail light on my trike works. I might have to tape a torch to the front of my trike for the remainder of the week.

Here are today’s bubba pics ...

Now I’m off to bed.

Nite all.